"Shh!"
In the dead of night, Tang So-wol snuck into my room and brought a finger to her lips with a playful smile.
Good heavens.
I froze at the unexpected sight. Tang So-wol leaned her face close and whispered.
"Father mustn't find out, so be quiet. Can you promise?"
"…"
When I nodded silently, Tang So-wol finally lowered the hand that had been covering my mouth.
Feeling a slight pang of regret as her warmth receded, I spoke.
"What brings you here at this hour, anyway?"
"Why, of course I wanted to have a little talk with young hero Cheon."
"A talk?"
"Yesss. I would have preferred to do it during the day, but you were fast asleep, so this was the only time I had."
"If that's the case, couldn't it wait until tomorrow?"
"That's true, but…"
Tang So-wol trailed off there and pouted her lips.
"It's just that the moon is bright, and I couldn't sleep, so I thought of you, young hero. I hope you don't mind me coming here like this?"
"…"
Even before the regression, Tang So-wol used to sneak into my room on days when she'd crossed swords with the Demonic Cult, coming up with all sorts of excuses.
Come out and enjoy the moonlight with me. Let's have a drink to celebrate surviving another day. I saved your life once, so keep me company for a while—and so on.
Looking back, they were rather forced demands, but at the time, I didn't mind them.
And that was still true now.
"How long are you going to stand there staring blankly?"
"Huh?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to talk? Make yourself comfortable."
"Ah?"
Tang So-wol smiled warmly as she perched on the edge of the bed. Feeling awkward lying there alone, I slowly sat up and settled down beside her.
"So? Is there something you wanted to talk about?"
"Of course there is. But before that, let me confirm one thing. How is your body now? If you're still in pain, I can give you a bit more of the Paralysis Poison."
I let out a dry laugh at the sight of Tang So-wol sticking out her tongue, and shook my head.
"It still hurts a little, but it's bearable."
"So you say it still hurts. Then, let's see…"
I pressed my hips close and felt her shoulder press against mine. I barely had time to swallow the saliva that gathered in my mouth at how close we were.
Tang So-wol smiled slyly and whispered in my ear.
"Could it be that you were looking forward to it a little?"
"What do you mean?"
"That I would lick your wounds directly, just as I did during the day."
"…I wasn't."
"How sly you are. Young hero Cheon, you must never go around telling lies. To think you'd be this easy to read."
She giggled once, then grabbed my arm and pressed her palm against mine.
"Back then, I had no choice because I needed to stop the bleeding. If you only need pain relief, just holding hands is more than enough. Well, there's also the fact that I got scolded a bit by my father. But I'll hold your hand for a long time instead, so don't be disappointed."
"I've never once said I was disappointed."
"Of course, of course. If that's what the young hero says, then that's how it is."
Tang So-wol brushed off my words and operated her poison art. I could feel a faint poison energy seeping in through our pressed palms, but I didn't resist it—I accepted it.
Before long, the pain slowly began to fade. What had been barely bearable dropped down to a comfortable level.
Tang So-wol noticed my eased expression and shifted her body away again. Closer than before, but farther than a moment ago. Our shoulders were just barely about to touch.
Yet our hands remained clasped in that subtle distance. Within it, Tang So-wol's black eyes, tinged with a hint of green energy, sparkled.
"Well then, shall we move on to the main topic now?"
"Was there really a main topic?"
"Of course there was! I knew the young hero Cheon was strong, but I didn't expect it to be to this extent. How on earth were you able to face two martial artists of a higher rank at once?"
Ah, so that was what she was curious about.
I let out a small laugh and shook my head.
"Hard to say. For one thing, I think the expression 'higher rank' is wrong from the start. What do you think determines the high and low of a martial artist?"
"That would naturally be one's realm, wouldn't it?"
"I think it's strength."
"But isn't one's realm exactly what makes one's strength?"
"No. Realm and strength are separate things. It's true that those who reach a higher realm have an advantage, but they aren't unconditionally stronger. In the first place, what do you think is the standard by which realms are divided?"
After pondering for a moment, Tang So-wol tilted her head.
"Isn't it the depth of enlightenment? Even if each person's enlightenment differs, if the depth is the same, wouldn't they reach the same realm?"
"Then what is that enlightenment? Who decides the loftiness of enlightenment? Does superiority and inferiority even exist in enlightenment in the first place? Before that, does enlightenment even truly exist? Aren't we just placing excessive meaning on fleeting thoughts? Tang So-wol, what do you think?"
"Uh, um. Uhh?"
Tang So-wol fumbled for words, at a loss. Her eyes, which had been sparkling with interest just moments ago, had lost their light and grown murky, spinning in circles—it was a little amusing.
She probably couldn't answer easily because it wasn't a line of thought she'd ever entertained before. That was only natural. I'd been the same at first.
I shrugged and continued speaking.
"Think it over carefully later. There's no single right answer, but you should at least reach a conclusion you can accept yourself."
"Let me ask, then—how would you define enlightenment, young hero Cheon?"
It's a knack. A knack for killing people better. A knack for surviving in this harsh world.
But that's only my definition of enlightenment. I can't tell Tang So-wol that.
"If you hear my answer, you'll be influenced without realizing it. When you find your own answer someday, we can talk about it then."
"…You sound just like my father when I ask him something too deep."
"Any martial artist who cares about your future would say the same, Tang So-wol."
"Hmph. You're just flattering me."
I've never done that.
But saying so would have been pointless, since Tang So-wol looked pleased, so I decided to let it go.
"Now then, let's return to what we were talking about. What do you think is the standard for dividing realms? For reference, anyone who has properly learned martial arts should know this. It's the first thing I want to impress upon you."
"Something I already know…?"
Tang So-wol tilted her head left, then right, then tilted it back and forth a few more times before carefully speaking up.
"Is it… the harmony of Essence, Qi, and Spirit?"
"See? You know it well after all. That's correct. You can call it Essence, Qi, and Spirit, or Mind, Qi, and Body, or even simply Mind and Body. What matters is that every element that makes up one's self comes together as one."
Every person is born with a body of flesh and blood, and what keeps it alive is the True Origin Vital Energy held in the deepest part of one's being, and what moves the former two is will and thought.
From Third-Rate to first-rate is the process of making the body one's own. It is the most basic stage, and that is why anyone—even without talent or special experience—can reach first-rate through effort alone.
The only difference is how quickly one reaches first-rate.
Anyway, once one has fully made the body one's own, the next step is internal energy. The state of freely unleashing it outward like an extension of the flesh is called Peak Realm or Transcendent Peak, and from that point on, one is acknowledged as having entered the ranks of masters.
Those who skillfully handle both body and internal energy finally take on the challenge of will and thought—that is, what is called Intent…
"I haven't reached that state myself, so I can't say much about it."
"Anyone listening would think you've already set foot in the previous realms."
"I've actually got half a foot in."
"Ah."
Was she recalling the Sword Qi I had briefly shown her? Tang So-wol's eyes widened.
"Now then, let's review what we've discussed so far. As you said, Tang So-wol, the standard for a realm is determined by how well one achieves harmony. If you can handle your internal energy as naturally as you move your arms and legs, that is what we call the Peak Realm. Nowhere in that definition does it mention how well one fights."
Of course, being able to use Sword Qi gives you an advantage over those who can't. It's like fighting with both arms while your opponent only has one.
But if you asked whether a one-armed swordsman's blade was completely useless, that would be wrong too. After all, a stab to a vital point sends you to the afterlife just the same.
"This incident is similar. I fought better, to the point that the difference in realms was irrelevant. That's all there is to it."
"I think that's even more impressive."
"Is the daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan, who handles poison and hidden weapons, really saying that?"
"Hmph."
Tang So-wol looked embarrassed, twisting a strand of hair around her finger.
It wasn't for nothing that Assassin Valley, a group of killers, dealt with poison and hidden weapons. They were simply the most efficient tools for killing someone.
"Of course, there are exceptions. Once you reach the Harmony Realm, you can use Protective Qi."
Only Aura can break through Aura.
Though one might say the line between life and death hangs by a hair's breadth, if you can't pierce through that hair's breadth, your opponent might as well be invincible.
"That's why those who reach the Harmony Realm are called absolute masters rather than mere experts, and why their aliases contain arrogant words like 'King' or 'Lord.' No matter how many martial artists—even an entire army—come at them, they won't fall until they collapse from exhaustion themselves. What else would you call such a person?"
"Well, realistically, that kind of situation wouldn't happen, but the fact that it's possible is what matters."
Tang So-wol nodded. She was right. Aura was certainly an asymmetric force, but there wasn't just one Harmony Realm martial artist in the Central Plains.
That is why the Heavenly Demon is a monster.
He was someone who, even while under the combined attack of Harmony Realm martial artists, turned the tables and annihilated them all.
The memory of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's might, still vivid in her mind, chilled her heart—but only for a moment. Tang So-wol suddenly stretched.
Her arms, extended straight upward, trembled slightly, and as she leaned her upper body forward, the lines of her figure were faintly revealed. With her eyes squeezed shut, a breath slipped from her half-parted lips.
"Huuuh… haah."
She was entranced by her strangely seductive posture for a moment. Then, as if the clouds happened to part, the suddenly brightened moonlight illuminated Tang So-wol's face, which looked more languid than usual.
But no matter how bright the moon, it can never match the sun.
While one side of her face revealed its beauty in the pale moonlight, the other side was cast in deep shadow, barely visible at all.
A sight as if half her face were hidden.
"…"
The Tang So-wol before me now seemed more mature than usual, resembling the person she was before the regression, and for a moment I froze.
Was the moonlight bothering her? Fixing her gaze on the full moon visible beyond the window, Tang So-wol opened her mouth.
"If I return to the Tang Clan like this, they'll formally hold the Engagement Ceremony."
"Th-that's right."
"Honestly, I'm looking forward to it. I thought I'd never marry in my lifetime, or if I did, that I'd be rushed into a Wedding Ceremony with someone I didn't even know."
"Anyone listening would think the wedding was already happening. It's still only an engagement."
"Even so, I have no intention of breaking off our engagement, young hero. So wouldn't you say this Engagement Ceremony is as good as a Wedding Ceremony?"
Tang So-wol giggled softly as she said this, then turned her head to look at him.
"And so, I wish to ask you now, before the ceremony has even taken place."
"What is it?"
"Young hero Cheon."
The corners of Tang So-wol's mouth curved into a wistful smile.
"Could it be that you see another woman through me?"
"…"
That atmosphere was far too similar to the Tang So-wol in my memories—the woman I loved.
"If you speak now, I will graciously let it pass. Would you not tell me?"
"…"
It was precisely because of that resemblance that I could not answer right away.