Since that day, Seomun Hwa-rin's demeanor had grown strange.
Before, she would seize every chance to treat me well, urging me to hurry up and become her adopted son.
Now, whenever our eyes met, she would stiffen up and scuttle away sideways, or she would squat alone in a corner, clutching her head and muttering something under her breath.
What was it she said? That night, Tang So-wol, shh… Only fragmented words like that reached my ears, so I couldn't quite make out what she was saying.
If I got too close, she would scuttle away again, making it hard to listen closely.
It was amusing in its own way, watching her like this, but I couldn't let it go on forever.
It was fine for now, but even at this very moment, the Murim Alliance's pursuit was slowly drawing nearer.
It was time to discuss our plans going forward. I needed to bring Seomun Hwa-rin into the Tang Clan and turn the trouble and infamy from my kidnapping into something useful.
So I made my presence known outside Seomun Hwa-rin's room. We needed to have a proper conversation about what to do next, at least once.
"Senior Seomun Hwa-rin. I'd like to talk with you for a moment. Would you mind opening the door?"
"Hic?! Y-you mean the door?!"
Thud!
A flustered voice came along with the sound of something toppling over.
Even a Harmony Realm master was still human, it seemed. She probably hadn't fallen herself, but she'd knocked over something nearby in her haste.
For a while, clattering sounds drifted through the door, then all went quiet, and the door cautiously creaked open.
However, it didn't open fully—just a tiny crack. Through that small gap, Seomun Hwa-rin's small head peeked out.
"What business do you have, seeking this lady's chambers at such an hour?"
"I wish to discuss our future together."
"Our future together?!"
Seomun Hwa-rin jumped in place as if she'd stepped on a needle. Only her head, poking through the door crack, bobbed up and down—a somewhat bizarre sight.
"Ah, no! That future cannot be good! You must not even think of it! Above all, are you not ashamed before your betrothed?!"
"I already spoke to Tang So-wol beforehand."
"What do you mean?! Hah! S-surely not… that night, that was what it meant…!"
"?"
Seomun Hwa-rin suddenly flustering about on her own. The conversation didn't seem to be lining up… As expected, she was probably having another strange thought. It happened often even before the regression.
While Seomun Hwa-rin was making a fuss, I burst open the half-closed door and stepped inside.
"Pardon the intrusion."
"I-I did not permit this!"
Seomun Hwa-rin pushed against me with her small hands, grunting with effort. However, her strength was utterly feeble, as if she didn't truly mean for me to leave.
I brushed aside that half-hearted resistance, locked the door, and even spread a Qi Barrier around us so that what I was about to say wouldn't leak out.
Seomun Hwa-rin suddenly turned red and began trembling.
"Keugh! At this rate, no one outside would know what's happening inside, wouldn't they…!"
"Yes. That was the intention, so isn't it only natural?"
"What in the world are you trying to do?! Don't you forget that I am a Martial Artist who has reached the Harmony Realm?!"
"Didn't I say so earlier? I thought we needed to align our words on what to do from here on."
"Align our wo… hmm? Wait a moment. Surely you don't mean you came here just to talk, literally?"
"What else would there be besides that?"
"…"
Seomun Hwa-rin wore a look of utter deflation and waved her hand, layering her own Qi Barrier over the one I had spread.
Then she wound her long white hair around and around to cover her face, and spoke in a deliberately composed voice.
"It seems this story will be a long one. You must be tired from your training, so I shall maintain the Qi Barrier."
"Why are you suddenly covering your face?"
"So? If you're talking about what's to come, are you referring to this ridiculous kidnapping farce?"
"Why must your words be so sharp again? Covering your face does not hide your embarrassment, and putting thorns in your words does not erase your shame."
"…If you know everything, then just stay quiet!"
Seomun Hwa-rin let out a shriek, then let her hair fall loose again and crossed her arms with a sulky expression.
"Hmph! If you came all the way here first, you must have something in mind. Speak first. After all, the reason I kidnapped you in the first place was because I fell for the trick you showed me."
"You're shifting all the responsibility onto my shoulders, so they feel heavy… but since what you say is true, I have no choice but to accept it."
I shrugged my shoulders and then voiced the thoughts I'd been mulling over.
"First, let's mix truth and falsehood in appropriate measure."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean we reveal what should be revealed and hide what should be hidden. For example, we could say that Senior Seomun Hwa-rin kidnapped me because she saw the Seomun Clan's martial arts in me, and that the reason she joined the Dragon Phoenix Gathering wasn't to play sly games with young martial artists or to mock the Murim Alliance, but because she was genuinely sick of the ways of the Unorthodox Sects."
"…So that's what you thought of me for hiding my identity and sneaking into the Dragon Phoenix Gathering?"
"I didn't think that way, but wouldn't the public see it similarly?"
"…"
Seomun Hwa-rin, looking sulky, wiggled her toes and fell silent. It seemed she was a bit shocked.
I let out a small laugh and continued.
"Isn't the point to come up with a plan so it doesn't look that way? For starters, I think it'd be best to say that Senior Seomun Hwa-rin saw the Seomun Clan's martial arts in me, lost control of her emotions, and kidnapped me."
"That's not entirely wrong, so it should be fine. More importantly, if her identity is already known, then the stories from when she was called Baekbal Nachal must have spread far and wide as well. Everyone will accept that part and move on."
"Right. What matters is what comes next. Why she participated in the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, and what happened while she had me kidnapped."
"A-ah, nothing happened! I have a clear conscience, so there's no need to explain anything…!"
"I don't know what you're imagining, but saying nothing happened isn't enough. At the very least, it should be enough to show that Senior Seomun Hwa-rin has changed a lot from the days when she was called Baekbal Nachal."
"…That's not an easy thing to do. I may have kept to myself for a while, but Baekbal Nachal's infamy was built up over more than twenty years. Do you think a few words now can overturn that?"
"So you must show it through actions, not words. The most straightforward way would be a righteous deed, but…"
"If you truly set out on righteous deeds, driving out a few petty dark path thugs won't be enough. You'll make plenty of enemies among the Unorthodox Sects."
"Yes. And if problems arise there, quite a bit of blood will be spilled. That's not what Senior Seomun Hwa-rin wants either, so I wouldn't recommend it."
"I have no intention of going that far either. Then what should be done?"
"I'm not sure either."
"???"
"At the very least, it seems certain that Senior Seomun Hwa-rin's identity will be exposed, so rather than being chased out in shame, I thought it best to do something first and seize the next opportunity."
"Hmm… So you're saying you got yourself kidnapped without a single thought in your head?"
"Not thoughtless, I'd call it flipping the board before things turned against me."
"Isn't that the same thing! And come to think of it, you've got a history of kidnapping So-wol and Hyang-i! I never imagined you'd try to get yourself kidnapped in reverse because you couldn't win by force… Is kidnapping all that's in your head?"
"But isn't it the most efficient method?"
"Ordinary people would call that the most insane method! There must have been other options!"
"There were, but Senior Seomun Hwa-rin kicked them away. I did subtly warn you that the Murim Alliance Leader participating from the early rounds posed a great risk of exposure."
"…Ahem. What does the past matter now? Let's focus on a plan first. Let's see, the key is to show that we've changed without siding with either the Orthodox or Unorthodox Sects. Right?"
"Correct. But the problem is, without being extreme, it's hard to prove we've changed."
"Ugh. I think so too. I have no idea what the right approach would be."
Seomun Hwa-rin pouted with droopy eyes. In my previous life, I'd heard that having one's emotions show plainly on one's face was one of the side effects of Rejuvenation.
Because of that, it was said that people often appeared to have regressed mentally, not just physically.
…Though, watching her now, I sometimes thought she was just like that by nature.
"After hearing what Senior Seomun Hwa-rin said last time, I had a thought. Would you care to hear it?"
"Hm? What is it? We have no proper plan anyway, so speak freely."
"I can't become your child, Senior Seomun Hwa-rin, but wouldn't it be fine to use this as an excuse to offer some guidance on martial arts?"
"Eh?"
Seomun Hwa-rin tilted her head with her mouth slightly agape. Toward her, I explained my somewhat improvised plan.
I had kidnapped her thinking she was connected to Seomun Hwa-rin's enemy, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding. Still, even if I had learned it legitimately, the fact remained that I had learned the Seomun Clan's martial arts.
So the plan was for me to stay at the Tang Clan for a while, under the pretense that she would keep an eye on me.
"Instead of worrying about what to show them, show them nothing at all. As Senior Seomun Hwa-rin said, the stares may be harsh at first, but won't the Tang Clan's walls shield me from most of it?"
"You're saying that if you stay as a retainer of the Tang Clan and do nothing for a long time, they'll let their guard down about me?"
"Exactly. Even if Senior Seomun Hwa-rin isn't praised among the Orthodox Sects, it should be enough to live a quiet, leisurely life."
"So you're saying you'll use the Tang Clan as a shield to cover my faults for a while. It sounds sweet, but the Poison King would never allow it. To bring a Harmony Realm martial artist into my own home—one who could unleash a calamity of slaughter at any moment, and who has actually done so before. Even if I were the clan head, I would never have permitted it."
Seomun Hwa-rin shook her head with a bitter smile. But there was one thing she was overlooking.
"The persuasion isn't your job, Senior Seomun Hwa-rin. It's mine."
"What?"
"I'll do it. Tang So-wol, my father-in-law, and even the other elders and captains of the Tang Clan. I'll persuade them however I can. And if there's a price to pay, I'll pay it."
"…What reason do you have to be this kind to me? If you're doing it just to learn martial arts, the price you're paying is far too steep."
"I know it won't be easy."
"More than anything, your martial art may have a few shortcomings, but it shows no signs of immaturity. Astonishingly, at your age, you're already advancing toward completion—there isn't much I can teach you."
"I know. In the end, isn't my path something I have to walk on my own two feet?"
"Then…!"
"Everything I've managed to escape from my previous life, I owe to Tang So-wol. And if I could do it, then surely Senior Seomun Hwa-rin can too."
I closed my eyes for a moment. What surfaced was the image of Tang So-wol reaching out her hand to me. And Seomun Hwa-rin, looking up at the camellia tree with bitter eyes.
I opened my eyes again and met Seomun Hwa-rin's gaze directly as I continued.
"I want to be that kind of person for you, Senior Seomun Hwa-rin."
"…Ah."
Her mouth fell open in a daze. Seomun Hwa-rin, who had been meeting my gaze without flinching, tilted her head.
"But if that's the case, wouldn't it be most effective to take you in as an adopted son, as I said at the start?"
"…"
It was a fair point, but I didn't want to admit it, so I kept my mouth firmly shut.
This was something I needed to take my time and think over carefully.
***
Unfortunately, I wasn't given that much time.
I had run here and there to evade them, but in the end, it took only a few days before the tracking party caught up with me.
However, that tracking party hadn't been sent by the Murim Alliance.