Muwol Satae gazed at Cheongwol and Dang Soran atop the sparring platform.
In her eyes, it was an impressive stage.
Two beautiful women preparing for a spar.
Their skills were one thing, but their appearances drew such admiration... If it had been held in a larger city, the crowd would have been packed to the brim.
Yet Muwol Satae, watching it all, felt a complicated mix of emotions.
She was proud that the little girl from back then could now excite the people of the Central Plains, but Cheongwol had suffered in the process.
She still couldn't forget the horror she had witnessed on Mount Emei.
It had been a moment when the deep heart demon buried in Cheongwol's inner self had briefly surfaced.
On top of that, just a few days ago, Cheongwol had said she didn't want to spar.
She still didn't know if she had made the right choice.
Muwol Satae only hoped Cheongwol would learn something through the spar and move forward.
She hoped she would feel something from the match against Poison Phoenix.
She couldn't just leave Cheongwol alone with her heart demon.
If she let her resolve it on her own and she broke down even more?
In the end, it was all hindsight. With no clear right or wrong, it was all the more agonizing.
“...Haa.”
As she let out a sigh of worry, the Tang Clan Leader of Sichuan, Poison King Dang Jeokcheon, noticed and asked.
“You look troubled.”
Muwol Satae offered only a small smile.
Dang Jeokcheon continued.
“Don't worry too much. I've only given Soran poisons suitable for a spar.”
“...It's not that, Clan Leader.”
“...Then?”
Muwol Satae glanced at Dang Jeokcheon.
Their connection had lasted a long time.
Geographically close, they had frequent exchanges, and as renowned masters, they had known of each other since their youth.
Of course, when Muwol Satae first met Dang Jeokcheon, she had been in her thirties and he a mere child...
Now, many years later, he was one of the few she could call a friend.
She asked her old comrade.
The surrounding clamor helpfully masked their conversation.
“...I've heard rumors that Soran is afflicted with a heart demon.”
Dang Jeokcheon blinked and looked at his daughter.
He seemed a bit startled by the sudden shift in topic.
But then he leaned slightly toward Muwol Satae and lowered his voice.
As the smile faded from his face, a sharp-eyed master took its place.
“...Whether it's those Hao Gate bastards or Beggars' Sect dogs, or even issues within our own family... rumors sure spread far.”
“May I ask what makes you think it's a heart demon?”
“...Hmm.”
Dang Jeokcheon watched Soran waving cheerfully with a bright smile and said.
“...The child's energy is gone.”
Muwol Satae could sense right away that it was something more serious than it sounded.
Dang Jeokcheon's eyes held the image of Soran actively greeting the people.
“...She looks fine now, but I hardly know how long it's been since I've seen that face.”
“...”
“In the clan, she refuses to do anything. No training, no meditation... No walks, not even meals. She just stays in her room.”
“...I see.”
“At least when the youngest is around... Ah, do you remember? I had a late child. He's four now.”
“How could I not know of Poison King's late blessing? His name is... Dang Yeop, was it?”
Dang Jeokcheon had five children. Two daughters, three sons.
“Yes. She smiles brightly again only when Yeop is nearby. Around me, Jiun, or the other siblings, she won't say a word. Don't misunderstand. Even with this face of mine, I've done everything for my daughter. Without lacking anything.”
“I don't misunderstand. Everyone in the Central Plains knows of the Clan Leader's love for his daughters.”
“...Anyway. Sometimes, passing her room, I hear sobbing...”
“...The child weeps.”
“Yes. A proper eldest daughter who always acted mature for her siblings...”
Dang Jeokcheon looked embarrassed.
“...She weeps for ages. If I go in to comfort her, she brushes it off saying she's fine... I don't know what to do. It's been a year already. Maybe since the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly. It was a relief when she said she'd come to Mount Emei this time. Maybe thanks to Young Lady Cheongwol.”
“...”
“But why do you bring this up, Satae...?”
Just as Dang Jeokcheon held his daughter in his eyes, Muwol Satae took in Cheongwol.
“...Our Wol is afflicted with a heart demon too.”
Dang Jeokcheon's eyes widened.
“...Pardon?”
“A violent one. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Dang Jeokcheon hesitated a moment, then whispered.
“...Then the twenty corpses found in Nanling Valley on Mount Emei...”
“You knew?”
“...Hao Gate and Beggars' Sect both know. Being on Mount Emei drew even more attention.”
Muwol Satae let out a long sigh. Realizing the rumors were spreading whether she liked it or not made her heart heavier.
Dang Jeokcheon tried to lighten the mood with his usual banter.
“...Why didn't the Sect Leader handle the cleanup right away upon discovery?”
Muwol Satae received his jest with a gentle smile.
“...The scene was too gruesome to clean up.”
“...Hmm.”
Dang Jeokcheon couldn't jest further.
“It's a hopeless issue, making it all the harder. In cases like this, external injuries seem far better. Heart demons can't even be treated... If there were a physician, I'd shove gold at them and beg for help with our Soran.”
Muwol Satae let out a chuckle.
“...Poison King begging?”
“What wouldn't I do for my daughter? Surely you feel the same, Satae?”
At that premise, Muwol Satae pondered briefly, then nodded.
“...Of course.”
For Cheongwol, what wouldn't she do?
Words she couldn't say to other Emei Sect disciples, but Cheongwol was exceptionally special to Muwol Satae.
Not just because of her outstanding talent. Not because she could elevate the sect's status.
From their first meeting to now. Though Muwol Satae knew she had her shortcomings... She loved Cheongwol like her own daughter.
“...Both will overcome it.”
Poison King said finally.
Muwol Satae nodded, praying it was true.
“Yes.”
At that moment, Cheongwol, taking a deep breath, looked at Muwol Satae.
‘...?’
Muwol Satae was startled by Cheongwol's expression.
It was resolute. No hesitation. Completely different from their conversation days ago.
Cheongwol clasped her hands firmly in greeting and said.
“I'm ready.”
Beside her, Dang Jeokcheon tilted his head.
“...I can't even imagine that as the face of someone with a heart demon.”
...No.
That wasn't it.
Muwol Satae could feel it.
A change so profound it made her ashamed of lamenting to Poison King.
Like when her sword path had improved before, something had happened this time too.
To Muwol Satae, the clear change in Cheongwol was unmistakable.
****
As Soun announced the start of the spar and stepped back, the formal stances unfolded.
Cheongwol went first.
Her elegant, chaste posture drew admiration from all around.
Even to my untrained eyes, ignorant as they were, it looked impressive somehow.
“...As expected of Young Lady Cheongwol.”
Uncle Gwak Du muttered beside me.
“Not called Emei Sect's hope for nothing.”
To Uncle, immersed in the martial world, there must have been something touching about that stance, as he couldn't stop marveling.
Out of curiosity, I asked.
“...What sword technique is that?”
“Huh? What else? Shaoyang Sword Technique.”
...Right? Not Extermination Sword?
Next was Dang Soran.
Her stance too drew gasps of admiration from the crowd.
For me, seeing a real spar for the first time—let alone something like this—it wasn't that exciting.
If anything, just the wonder that such a beautiful woman excelled in hidden weapons and poison?
That was about the extent of my impressions.
“By the way, Seojin. I thought you hated this stuff, but here you are.”
“...Whim.”
I do hate it, but I need to know my future.
“Get hooked starting today. Without stuff like this, life's too boring.”
Uncle Gu Yeong chimed in.
“Let him be, brother. Seojin prefers his basement. Kid's a man, a man.”
Why bring up manhood now?
“Huh?”
“Nothing, kid. Anyway, Young Lady Dang Soran doesn't look like she's suffering a heart demon at all...”
“...Sichuan branch said for sure, so we trust it.”
“I trust my eyes. Collapse? Forgot that energetic young lady kindly greeting everyone yesterday?”
“Shh. It's starting.”
At that instant, Cheongwol looked this way.
“Young Lady looked over here!”
The people around acted like they'd possessed a warrior, reveling in her gaze.
Meanwhile, I was on edge.
If she breaks, just break moderately, please.
Dang Soran spoke.
In the now-silent sparring arena, her voice rang out loudly.
“First move—”
“—Then.”
With a massive explosion, Cheongwol's figure vanished in an instant.
Dang Soran, mid-sentence, startled into stance.
Her body too disappeared before my eyes.
I'd seen Cheongwol slaughter people on Mount Emei, but mostly I'd closed my eyes, covered my ears, and hidden in the trees.
The dark mountain made it invisible anyway, but seeing it now for real, the shock was different.
Realizing human bodies could move so fast they vanished.
Their figures flickered in and out sporadically.
The uncles beside me exclaimed with oohs, aahs, and whoas, as if they could see something.
All I could catch were bits of their conversation.
“—Coward! I'm talki—ng---!”
“Cowardly is—challenging to spar—then not going all ou—t. Be seriou—s—”
Even that barely came through.
Drowned by the crowd's exclamations, clanging clashes, and wind, their voices shattered and faded.
“Seojin, how is it? Fun, right?”
Uncle Gwak Du, unusually excited, shook me.
“...Yes.”
No visibility, how could it be fun?
This reaffirmed my decision not to become a martial artist was the best.
****
She had no idea how many exchanges had passed.
As the spar dragged on, the crowd's silence deepened.
The earnestness pouring from the two seemed to freeze them in place.
Even Cheongwol couldn't believe it.
That she would whip herself this hard.
In a spar where she hadn't even found a reason why she must... She was pouring in all her effort.
She fought thinking any hit meant defeat.
She steadily wrapped her body in explosively awakened qi.
Her killing intent was absent, but as the spar continued, it grew increasingly ferocious.
A poison needle grazed past her eyes.
Poison needles of various colors.
Each carrying an ominous promise of different deaths.
Yet some she couldn't dodge.
One on the shoulder, one on the thigh.
The numbing sensation spread along her nerves.
She did her utmost to circulate qi and prevent the poison from spreading.
It felt stifling. Not the poison.
Every time she gripped her sword, this Shaoyang Sword Technique of flowing and softly countering felt like ill-fitting clothes.
She knew.
Shaoyang Sword wasn't hers.
Despite years of training, only at the fifth realm now.
People praised even that as amazing... But the frustration remained.
In contrast, Extermination Sword fit her perfectly.
Tyrannical, cruel, focused solely on killing. The secretly trained Extermination Sword already at the sixth realm.
...If only she could use Extermination Sword, she felt she could defeat Dang Soran.
Every use of Shaoyang Sword brought a sense of dissonance, like wearing uncomfortable clothes.
Moving in ill-fitting garb.
...Uncomfortable clothes?
“...Ha.”
As a mortifying memory flashed, Cheongwol unwittingly let out a small laugh.
“You can still laugh.”
Dang Soran said from across, catching her breath.
“...Strange. You don't look like you have the leisure.”
As they paused, Cheongwol felt her stomach churn.
She covered her mouth to hide the dry heave.
A sight unfit for others, unladylike.
Dang Soran shook her head slightly.
“...Weird. Today's you... feels so different from before.”
“Is that so.”
“Pushing into my techniques to counter. Where'd you learn such recklessness? Not basic Shaoyang Sword stance.”
“Wouldn't I know better what Shaoyang Sword is?”
“...Wol. Forgot my nickname? I have experience too. Enough to tell you're lying.”
“...”
“And talk is cheap. Attacking through hidden weapons that'd fell you on a graze? What happened?”
“...Things aren't going as expected, so you're flustered.”
Cheongwol said nothing. Instead, she lifted her head and met her eyes directly.
Dang Soran smiled.
“...Not surprised when a junior shows such potential.”
Soon, she scanned Cheongwol up and down, then quietly said.
“Wol. It's just a spar. Don't push too hard, yield appropriately. Poison builds up badly.”
“If you thought that, you shouldn't have challenged me.”
“Still, you're the only one I take interest in? Can't you think of it positively? I wanted to see your change.”
“...Why take interest in me?”
As Cheongwol's words cut the air, a chill silence fell briefly.
Dang Soran couldn't answer immediately.
The paused spar drew intrigued gazes from the crowd.
Cheongwol couldn't comprehend for a moment.
How difficult a question it was.
But Dang Soran, after a long pause, furrowed her brow in thought...
Finally gazed softly at Cheongwol.
She said.
“...We're the same kind.”
Not the answer Cheongwol expected.
“Pardon?”
“...That's why I'm curious about your choice.”