"They say this pear is called a snow pear because once you peel it, the flesh is as white as snow."
"You fool. Pears are white to begin with. It's not because of the color—it's called a snow pear because the flesh is as soft as snow."
"…"
Seol Ri-hyang swung her fist without a word. Of course, I dodged it easily.
"Hmph."
"Hey! Aren't you coming over here?!"
"No. Why would I go and get hit by someone weaker than me?"
"Fine, I won't hit you hard—just let me land one punch!"
"I don't listen to those weaker than me."
Dodging Seol Ri-hyang as she limped toward him, Blood Wolf circled around the training ground of the Iron Blood Faction.
After about two laps of this, Seol Ri-hyang—whether she'd given up or not—ground her teeth and let out a long sigh.
"I won't hit you, so come here, Blood Wolf. I need to ask you something."
"Hmph. Why should I listen to you, Ghost Sound Witch? As I said before, I don't listen to those weaker than—"
"Enough, get over here, you bastard! Do I have to chase you down on this leg?!"
"I was on my way."
Seol Ri-hyang tapped her aching leg, and as I drew closer, she held out a pear in her hand.
"Here. Cut this for me."
"Do it yourself."
"You're better with a sword anyway."
"Hmph. Fair point."
"…Did you just laugh? Was that really such a pleasing compliment?!"
I took the pear from Seol Ri-hyang's dumbfounded hands. Peeling its skin and cutting it into bite-sized pieces didn't take long at all.
As Seol Ri-hyang said, I was good with a sword.
"Here it is."
"Th-thanks."
Seol Ri-hyang took the pear slices with a subtle expression, a whole handful of them. She popped one into her mouth and chewed, then her eyes went wide.
Her face lit up so brightly that even her clouded, dead eye seemed to sparkle.
"This is really good. Want one?"
"I cut them for you—surely you weren't planning to keep them all to yourself?"
"…Did no one ever teach you how to say something nice?"
"Speaking nicely won't make a sword veer off course. Better to spend that time training a little more."
"Seriously, what terrible luck."
Even as she grumbled, Seol Ri-hyang fed a slice of pear into my mouth. It was delicious. And then.
"It's certainly soft."
"Wh-what!"
Seol Ri-hyang hastily hid the fingers that had been touching my lips just moments ago. I let out a dry laugh and shook my head at the sight.
"You lecherous thing. What exactly were you thinking?"
"That's too much to say! Could you at least phrase it more gently?!"
"Stop with the useless talk and give me another one. The taste is good, and the scent is fine—I like it."
"…You knew all along, didn't you?"
"Oh dear. Was I caught?"
"Blood Wolf, you're the lecherous one here!"
Even as she let out a shriek, Seol Ri-hyang still fed me another piece. After we went back and forth sharing bites a couple of times, we'd already finished off the rest of the pear.
Seol Ri-hyang was empty-handed once more. She wiped the juice off her hands on my clothes, then spoke in a low voice.
"Ah, right. There's something I want to ask you."
"Ask me? Did you find another pear somewhere?"
"No, not that. Something else—a more serious request."
"I can't lend you money. I hear the Yu family is in a tight spot this time, putting a few of their family's internal energy arts up for sale. I'm barely scraping by with what I have now, so I'm worried."
"Not everyone is a martial arts maniac like you, Blood Wolf. What I wanted to ask is different. Um… you know? A martial art that works with my mental cultivation method. There's a bit of a problem with it."
"Ah, you mean Erotic Arts."
"Don't call it Erotic Arts!"
"It is Erotic Arts."
"That's true, but don't call it that anyway! It makes me sound like some kind of seductress."
"Tsk, so picky. Fine, I understand. What's the request? You helped me on the last mission, so as long as it's not too much, I'll lend a hand."
Most of the missions that come down to the Iron Blood Faction are either difficult or troublesome.
That was only natural, considering the position the Iron Blood Faction held within the Black Alliance.
The mission I'd taken on the other day was a typical example of the former. It had been too much to handle alone, so I'd borrowed Seol Ri-hyang's strength — which meant this time, it was my turn to help her.
With that thought in mind, I waited quietly. Seol Ri-hyang glanced at me, then began idly scraping the ground with the tip of her foot, drawing small circles in the dirt.
"Um. So, about that."
"Yeah?"
"Tonight… would you share a bed with me?"
"…?"
I straightened my collar, which hadn't even been disturbed, and took a couple of steps back.
"So you admit you're a lecher."
"I told you, that's not what this is?!"
"You ask to share a bed out of nowhere, and yet you claim you're not a lecher. Oh, and for the record, I wiped out a bandit den that was targeting a caravan under the Black Alliance yesterday, and I'm still not a martial artist."
"I'm serious, just let me finish what I was trying to say! You ate your fill at my table, and now you won't even hear me out?"
"…Hah. Fine. We have history, so I'll grant you a chance to explain yourself."
"Yes, yes. Thank you so much. For granting me a chance to explain!"
Seol Ri-hyang let out a sigh with a face that showed not a shred of gratitude. She continued in a slightly subdued voice.
"As I said earlier, there's a problem with the martial art I've been practicing. And I don't think I can handle it on my own anymore, so I'm asking for your help."
"That… is certainly a serious matter."
I hadn't properly mastered any true martial arts either. Most of what I knew was just third-rate or second-rate techniques from the Market Street, which I'd modified and adapted to suit my own style.
But regardless, they were still martial arts. The results may not have been good, but they were disciplines created with the intention of making myself stronger.
However, what Seol Ri-hyang had learned was different.
Originally, she was a courtesan sold to a pleasure house. But she wasn't meant to serve clients.
She was meant to become a human spiritual medicine for the pavilion master, who suffered from the side effects of the Essence Absorption Art.
A Pure Yin Constitution. It wasn't quite on the level of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, but it was a constitution born with Yin Energy that far surpassed the level of an ordinary person.
Like any constitution, it came with side effects, but since they weren't severe enough to be called "severed meridians," her life wasn't in danger.
At worst, she suffered from cold hands and feet, pale skin, or a strong but unsatisfied carnal appetite—minor issues, nothing more.
But for Ru-ju, who had fallen into impatience before a wall and had broken the balance of Yang and Yin Energy until she was neither man nor woman, even that wasn't enough.
Eumhon Hwanhuigong.
A type of Erotic Arts forcibly taught to Seol Ri-hyang, a martial art focused solely on refining and swelling one's innate Yin Energy.
Just as one fattens livestock before slaughter rather than eating it raw, it was taught to extract Seol Ri-hyang's Yin Energy to the utmost.
But Seol Ri-hyang possessed talent beyond Ru-ju's imagination.
She tore apart the livestock's martial art and rebuilt it into a serviceable Mental Cultivation Method.
Humming along to a faint melody that drifted through the wall of her locked solitary cell, she awakened the foundations of a Yin Art.
She succeeded in escaping by pouring internal energy thick with Yin Energy into her voice and unleashing Gwigokseong.
After that, she wandered from place to place, earned the alias Ghost Sound Witch, and joined the Black Alliance.
Of course, perhaps because of her past experiences, her personality was far from pleasant, and she kept clashing with other Martial Artists—especially male warriors—which led to her being demoted to the Iron Blood Faction.
In any case, because of this situation, the martial art Seol Ri-hyang had mastered had a fundamental imbalance.
Even if she wanted to switch to a safer Mental Cultivation Method now, her deep connection to her innate Yin Energy made even that difficult.
Seol Ri-hyang had no choice in the matter, it seemed.
"First, let me ask—how serious is the situation?"
"If things continue like this, her energy meridians will freeze solid within three months, and she'll die."
"Have you consulted the Faction Leader about this first?"
"Of course. After all, it was the Faction Leader who told us about the three-month window in the first place. She said she was sorry there was truly no other way. Though there's no need for her to apologize."
Seol Ri-hyang let out a deep sigh. I watched her shoulders droop lower than usual and mulled it over for a moment.
I roughly understood the reason she was suggesting we share a bed. In the end, the problem was an excess of Yin Energy, so she intended to neutralize it with my Yang Energy.
Still, there was one thing that nagged at me…
"I've never done this before."
"Neither have I."
"Does it have to be me?"
"Every other man besides you is a total waste."
"But…"
"Come on! Didn't you say you wanted to buy the Yu family's martial art this time but your funds were running thin?! I'll chip in a bit!"
"Should I come to your quarters tonight?"
"…"
"It's not about the money."
"…"
"I mean it."
"…Yeah. Let's just say it's because of the martial arts."
That night, snow piled up thickly.
***
After that, our relationship changed a little.
"Blood Wolf. Why do you dress like that? The Black Alliance doesn't require a set uniform like the Murim Alliance does."
"A martial artist only needs martial robes. What more is there?"
"Enough, just come with me. I need to get my sleeves mended anyway, and while we're at it, we'll get you fitted for some clothes too."
We still bickered as much as ever, but we went out on more private errands together now.
"Blood Wolf. How did you end up drifting all the way here? You've got a decent face, so were you, what, a male courtesan or something?"
"What nonsense is that now. I just ended up this way living my life."
"Hmm. Come to think of it, I've told you my story, but I've never heard yours. Don't you think that's unfair?"
"It'll interfere with my training. Go away."
"…Die!"
"A sparring bout, is it. Fine."
We shared stories—not many, but deeper than anything I'd shared with anyone else.
"Hey."
"What is it?"
"This. Do you want to eat it?"
"A snow pear? I wouldn't mind, it's tasty… Ah. So that's what you meant."
"…Yeah."
Taking the pear Seol Ri-hyang had bought as a signal, they shared a bed as well.
"Eat."
"…Tonight too?"
"Got a problem with that?"
"That's not it, though…"
There were times when I'd buy a boat in succession, but those days were decent enough.
A place I'd arrived at after being pushed and shoved because I tried to solve every problem with my sword. Ironically, that exile was the most comfortable place for me.
The Iron Blood Faction Leader was full of nagging, but he was also someone who taught me a great deal.
Seol Ri-hyang kept picking fights and grumbling, but… she was just a person with thorns growing out of her, not someone who bore me any ill will.
Just the right distance. And time to focus solely on the sword. An environment where martial arts were easy to come by.
I won't deny it. I had come to quite like my life in the Black Alliance… the Iron Blood Faction. Until that day.
It was a day like any other—returning after resolving the trickier of the two missions, the difficult one and the troublesome one.
It was a mission that required traveling far, so it had been half a month before I returned.
As I was crossing Market Street, I suddenly spotted a pear that was pricier than the others.
Snow pear. A fruit that had now become a signal between Seol Ri-hyang and me.
"…"
Come to think of it, I had only ever received them, never given one first.
Anyway, I'd soon be receiving my reward for the successful mission from the Black Alliance, so this much was fine.
I bought the biggest-looking one on the stall, tucked it into my arms, and quickened my pace.
The Iron Blood Faction's hall, which sat far apart from the other Black Alliance buildings due to being treated like a place of exile.
The hall, which had been painted white by the snow that had piled up over the past few days…
Was now blazing in surging flames.
"Ah."
A flustered voice slipped out before I could stop it. I pulled up my internal energy and ran toward the hall.
The closer I got, the more corpses I saw, one after another. There were a few unfamiliar faces that looked like the attackers, but most of them were people I knew.
Martial artists belonging to the Iron Blood Faction. Servants who managed the hall. And.
"…Seol Ri-hyang."
"You're… late, aren't you?"
I ran toward her, gritting my teeth, as she sat slumped against the wall a short distance from the main gate.
The closer I got, the thicker the smell of blood. She, submerged in a red pool, slowly raised her head.
Her already pale skin was now so bloodless she looked like a corpse. A long sword scar was carved across her one remaining intact eye, and a wound so deep it exposed bone was etched into her chest.
A critical injury so severe it was a wonder she was still alive. Seol Ri-hyang, in a state where death would not have been surprising at any moment, trembled and forced the corners of her mouth upward.
"Blood Wolf. I almost died waiting for you."
"Who was it? Who the hell…"
"The Black Heaven Sword Emperor. Apparently he's a survivor of the Black Heaven Sword Gate, which the Faction Leader exterminated back then. He came for revenge."
"Revenge?"
"Yes. The revenge that's driving everyone mad—you, me, and every martial artist in the world. I always knew a day like this would come. I just didn't think it would be today."
Seol Ri-hyang said this, then coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her body trembled finely.
"Kugh! …Ah. This is really going to kill me."
"You'll be fine."
"Fine, my ass. Hah. I wanted to be the first to see your face, so I waited by the door—and this is what I get."
"You were waiting for me?"
"Yeah, you bastard. You have no idea why I was waiting, do you, Blood Wolf? How the hell did things end up like this…"
Seol Ri-hyang's voice trailed off more and more with each word. It wasn't that she had nothing to say. She simply had no strength left to say it.
The dying Seol Ri-hyang muttered in a weakened voice.
"I wanted to see your face. You were just handsome enough to be my type."
"…I'm sorry."
"That's not what I wanted to hear. I'm about to die, so don't you have something better to say?"
"I'll take revenge for you."
"You bastard."
"…"
Seol Ri-hyang's breathing grew slower and slower. After hesitating for a moment, I took a single pear from my bosom and held it before her face.
"This is…"
"I bought it because it smelled good."
Seol Ri-hyang let out a hollow laugh, squirming weakly. I took her hand and placed a pear into her bosom.
Only then did she smile with satisfaction, a peaceful look on her face.
"Blood Wolf. You're a real bastard."
"Is that so."
"Besides being good with a sword… there's nothing impressive about you at all…"
"That might be true."
"Even so, I…"
Seol Ri-hyang's words, her lips barely moving, trailed off.
After waiting for a long while with no voice returning, I slowly rose to my feet and looked up at the burning hall. And then.
Sreung.
I drew the sword from my waist.
As Seol Ri-hyang said, I'm a man who knows nothing but how to wield a sword well.
***
I somehow managed to escape the Honghua Pavilion with Seol Ri-hyang in tow.
But martial artists who appeared to belong to the Haomun were already packed tightly around us, blocking every path.
Sreung.
I drew the sword from my waist.
"Hey! Are you crazy?! What do you think you're doing right now?!"
"The one thing I do best."
And something I never managed to accomplish in my previous life.