Just as I was starting to get a feel for the Gwiyeongbo.
The people the Tang Clan had sent to bring us back arrived.
"So the Dark Soul Corps Master has come in person."
"Well, we did cross paths once before. I thought it'd be better to send someone familiar, so the clan head dispatched me."
I had traveled with the Dark Soul Corps Master when heading to Guangdong Province. We hadn't exchanged many words, but I knew enough to tell that he was highly skilled and loyal to the Tang Clan.
As I nodded, the Dark Soul Corps Master chuckled and spoke to Tang So-wol, who was fidgeting awkwardly behind me.
"My lady. You may be displeased that I arrived so late, but I rushed over the moment I heard the news, so would you be so kind as to forgive me?"
"Oh, no! It's not that I'm upset with the Dark Soul Corps Master or anything like that. It's just… I recalled what I said before we set out, and I suddenly felt embarrassed, I suppose…"
Tang So-wol trailed off, slipping behind me to hide. Curious, I tilted my head, and the Dark Soul Corps Master's eyes went wide as he exclaimed.
"Ah! You mean the words you spoke before leaving the Tang Clan. That is indeed something to be embarrassed about, but this matter couldn't be helped, could it? I don't think you need to worry about it too much."
"What exactly are you talking about? I feel a little left out, being the only one who doesn't know."
"Haha! It's nothing much. As the young master knows, I've been helping the young lady with her Hidden Weapon Art training recently."
"That's right."
"Back then, you told me—and I'm sure you told many others as well—that you had achieved not only mastery in poison art but also accomplishments in the Hidden Weapon Art that far surpassed your Murim Debut, so there was no way you'd return in under a month without some mishap. You always share good news with those around you, after all."
"Oh dear. How long has it been since we left the Tang Clan?"
"About twenty days. If we leave Mount Zhongnan today and ride hard, we'll reach the Tang Clan in four days."
"Still, that falls a bit short of a full month. You declared it with such confidence—you never imagined it would turn out like this, did you?"
I let out a snort and turned around. There was Tang So-wol, slipping off my back and hiding behind the Vice-Captain of the Poison Blood Squad.
"Why do you keep hiding like that?"
"It's been quite a while since I first came to know young hero Cheon. I can read your thoughts by now. …You were planning to tease me just now, weren't you?"
"Tease you? You misunderstand. I was merely looking at you because I was curious about something."
"What are you curious about?"
"If we stayed here for about seven more days and nights, we'd pass the full month. I was wondering if you were thinking of leaving then."
"…"
"If the Dark Soul Corps Master here keeps his mouth shut, no one will ever know. So, what do you think?"
"…Hmph! No way! Absolutely not! Even if I stubbornly dragged this out for a full month, nothing would change! In the end, I'd just be a pathetic woman who set out on her second journey into the martial world with a full escort, all puffed up with pride, only to turn back before even seeing half of Shaanxi Province right next door!"
For a wandering Unorthodox Sect drifter with nowhere to go, like me before my regression, a trip into the martial world was nothing special—just another part of daily life…
But young martial artists raised in the prestigious Orthodox Sects often harbor grand fantasies about it.
Especially for rising talents who had just left the safety of their fences, I'd heard that what you experienced during your journey became a point of pride.
Whether you wiped out a band of bandits oppressing the common folk, struck down some villainous scoundrel from the evil Unorthodox Sects, or won a sparring match against someone somewhere—things like that.
These were encounters you'd run into often enough while wandering the martial world with a blade at your side, but for those experiencing everything for the first time, they couldn't help but seem impressive.
But Tang So-wol had ruined that not once, but twice. And this time, she'd even brought guards along just in case.
Of course, both times had their own circumstances.
"Hmm. I understand being embarrassed about breaking your word after speaking so confidently, but honestly, this time it couldn't be helped, just as the Dark Soul Corps Master mentioned."
She had survived facing five Slaughter Ghosts and over a dozen first-rate assassins. Even with the help of Gwiyeong Sin-tu and the Vice-Captain of the Poison Blood Squad, any other rising talent would have been seriously injured or dead by now.
It was the kind of incident where, if you heard the full story, no one would say a word even if she went back without completing a single month.
"Still, though… when the next Dragon Phoenix Gathering comes around, I'll be meeting familiar faces. What am I supposed to say when I go there…"
"What to say? Just brag about your capable betrothed."
I shrugged and reached out toward Tang So-wol, who was hiding.
"Enough, come out. We should pay our respects to the Sect Leader before we leave."
"…"
Tang So-wol stared at me for a moment before placing her hand in mine. Then she nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Hmph. This is certainly something worth bragging about wherever we go. What about you, Dark Soul Corps Master?"
"I've already paid my respects to the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal. I also had a letter entrusted to me by the clan head, so I stopped by there first."
"Understood. Then we'll go on our own, so please prepare to return with the Vice-Captain of the Poison Blood Squad."
"Take care."
I returned the Dark Soul Corps Master's bow with one of my own, then headed toward the Sect Leader's quarters with Tang So-wol.
The Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal I met again looked no different from before. He seemed busy, seemed tired… and yet there was a strange ease about him, as if all of this could be overturned at any moment.
"Elder Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal."
"Yes. Did you come because you're curious about the contents of the letter from the Tang Clan head?"
"I came to pay my respects before leaving."
"Well, it's nothing much. Half of it was the usual talk of gratitude for protecting you all, half was a meaningless promise to share a drink sometime like in the old days, and the last half was the worry that although his son-in-law is a bit fierce, he's no Heavenly Killing Star."
"That adds up to one and a half, doesn't it… And I'm not curious about the contents of the letter."
"Since no one's watching, we both padded it with needless titles just because we're a clan head and a sect leader, so one and a half is about right. And I didn't tell you because you might be curious—it was just a light topic to open the conversation."
Having said that, the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal let out a deep sigh and tucked the letter into his bosom.
Only then did he look this way, a faint smile playing on his lips as he spoke.
"First, has there been anything uncomfortable during your stay so far?"
"It was fine."
"I feel the same."
When Tang So-wol and I answered almost simultaneously, the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal nodded with satisfaction.
"Then that's a relief. I was worried you might have felt uncomfortable because you gave the Zhongnan disciples such a hard time in the sparring match."
"I believe it was all within the bounds of a sparring match, but…"
"I'm joking. However, I heard that you paid particular attention to that boy Jin Baek, young hero Cheon. Might I ask the reason?"
"There is no great reason. It simply reminded me of old times."
As the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal intended, the sparring match between Tang So-wol and me must have been a good experience for the Zhongnan disciples.
They were able to safely experience the Hidden Weapon Art, which is rarely seen except in special cases, as well as a killing sword that differs from the Taoist sword.
However, unlike Tang So-wol, who—perhaps because of her Tang Clan background and her reliance on hidden weapons—sometimes lost sparring matches against the older second-generation disciples.
I, on the other hand, had never lost a sparring match except against the Third Elder, and with my youthful appearance and a sword brimming with killing intent, how should I put it…
There were those who were somewhat wary of me. After facing me once, they would be put off and never request another sparring match.
Among such people, Jin Baek stood out considerably. Even after losing several times, he would not be discouraged and would request another match with a smile, or politely ask if I could teach him techniques he could not understand.
As if victory, defeat, or the pressure of a sparring match meant nothing to him, he simply kept his eyes fixed on the sword.
It seemed that the upright disposition I had seen in him before my regression had been somewhat tainted by the Zhongnan Sect's extermination, but at its core, it was simply his nature.
"Heh. That brings back memories. Young hero, you're still young, yet you speak like an old man sometimes."
"Ah! Young hero Cheon does have that side to him."
"…"
As if she had been waiting for the chance, Tang So-wol nodded in agreement. I stared at her in disbelief, and she raised her chin as if to ask whether she wasn't right.
Faces looked up at from below were usually ugly, so why did Tang So-wol look pretty?
No, how could she possibly look ugly in the first place?
No matter how hard I tried to picture Tang So-wol looking disheveled, every image that came to mind was beautiful.
True enough. I had thought the same even when I saw Tang So-wol with half her face melted away, so how could I think any differently now that she was perfectly fine?
As I nodded, the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal let out a soft chuckle and continued.
"I thought that Jin Cheon, who cherishes my daughter so dearly, had suddenly arranged a betrothed for her, and that with the young hero's outstanding talent, he must be someone worth keeping bound to the Tang Clan… but it seems that wasn't the only reason."
"…Ah."
Only then did Tang So-wol notice my gaze and blush. Seeing her like that, the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal's laughter grew a little louder.
"I've never once lamented not having a child of my own, but now I find myself envious of my old friend. Anyway, young hero Cheon. You'll be leaving Zhongnan soon… how about it. Did you get what you wanted?"
"What I wanted, you say."
On the first day, the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal had said this: if there was anything I could take away from Zhongnan, I was welcome to it all.
And now. Though I hadn't learned Zhongnan Sect's martial arts, I felt I had a vague understanding of what the sect pursued as a martial art.
I wasn't talking about the Dao of Zhongnan. I meant how they sought to reach that Dao through martial arts.
What mattered was the unbroken flow. Even if a strike missed or a stance collapsed, that too was embraced as part of the process.
A sword meant not to sever the opponent's flow and cut his neck, but to create one's own flow.
It was clearly a martial art with more depth than mine, but it was too different from what I pursued to take it as my own.
But if you asked whether it held no meaning at all, that wouldn't be true either.
A sword that carried into the next technique from any stance. The countless techniques, loose-looking yet intricately woven, mattered, but what mattered most was the distribution of the center of gravity.
Even if the body swayed and the sword was knocked away, as long as that center never wavered, one could keep stepping with the footwork and swinging the next technique.
I couldn't figure out how to resolve it since I don't know the Zhongnan Sect's martial arts, but I could at least imitate it by using the mysteries of the Thousand-Jin Drop or the center of gravity.
How to blend my sword art into it was something I'd have to research and train from here on, but I'd already gained a decent result.
I offered a respectful fist-and-palm salute toward the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal.
"I've received more than enough."
"Heh heh. Then I'm glad."
For a moment, the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal's weary expression softened into that of a gentle Taoist.
Benevolent, yet with eyes that seemed to see right through me. A hint of relief held within them.
I didn't know what he was aiming for, but it seemed the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal had his own intentions as well.
It didn't seem like it would do me any harm, so it wasn't of great importance.
The Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal gave us a light fist-and-palm salute and spoke.
"Even if it weren't for an unfortunate incident like this, you're welcome to visit anytime. I have no intention of treating the daughter of a friend and her betrothed coldly."
"I am grateful for your kind words."
"Next time, tell your father to show his face instead of just sending a letter!"
With those words, we left the Sect Leader's chamber.
And in the corridor a short distance away, I met eyes with Gwiyeong Sin-tu, who had been waiting for us.