Shaanxi was vast.

Crossing its fringes didn’t make it suddenly bustling.

They had to go much farther.

But Mount Hua was different.

Two more days, and it stood out clear even from afar.

It was a blade itself, standing tall.

“...Is there a Daoist temple up there, Master?”

“There is.”

“Living in a place like that could turn even a loafer into a Daoist.”

“Not always.”

Eunsong poured Cheon Soyak a cup of tea.

Their last meal before entering Mount Hua.

“Well then—how do you feel? You’ll soon belong to Mount Hua.”

“Master.”

Cheon Soyak called to Eunsong in a low voice.

A slight tilt of her head, her black eyes narrowing.

“Why look at me like that?”

“Think about it. I was originally a person of Mount Hua.”

“...Ah.”

The Flower-Halo Sect was a branch family of Mount Hua.

In other words, her father had been a branch-line disciple of Mount Hua.

Only—Mount Hua had not protected her.

“...Was the Flower-Halo Sect cast out by Mount Hua?”

“I hardly know what to say.”

“So they were cast out.”

Cheon Soyak smiled bitterly.

She sipped the cooled leaf tea and looked toward Mount Hua, heavy with plum blossoms in the distance.

For some reason, it felt like she might cry.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. It isn’t strange.”

“Once we go in, you’ll likely pass through the admissions hall first.”

“I won’t go straight under you?”

“That’s how it used to be—until five years ago.”

Eunsong took a sip of tea to wash away the bitterness.

Five years ago, he had still been in the latter ranks of the young generation.

Call it the greenness of twenty-five.

“At that time, a certain remarkable talent went to the Dragon-Phoenix Conclave and showed off so much that every place started clamoring to bring in branch disciples.”

“They want to connect themselves.”

“Exactly. And I’m not so powerful within the sect yet—at least not enough to just haul in a disciple on my own.”

Watching her master nod so leisurely, Cheon Soyak added:

“Was that talent you, Master?”

Eunsong choked on the tea he was swallowing.

He waved a hand and shook his head.

“How could that be. I was ordinary.”

“Ah...”

“That talent was my junior—a disciple I often helped train.”

His mind for principle and his gift for teaching had been genius even then.

Only his body had been no more than that of a typical prodigy.

Even reaching the threshold of Transcendent Apex had taken relentless effort.

Among the seniors and juniors, Euncheon—said to be the most naturally gifted—was already looking beyond mid-Transcendent Apex.

“Are you jealous?”

“What?”

“I asked if you feel jealousy.”

Faced with the girl’s steady, unblinking gaze—

Eunsong could not bring himself to lie.

“My junior never had proper manners toward me. How could I not be jealous, not be envious.”

“You don’t have to be.”

Cheon Soyak set her emptied cup down gently.

“My father often told me this.”

“What did he say?”

“That people fear monsters.”

“...Isn’t that obvious.”

“Prodigy, gifted, genius—these all refer to ‘people’ born with talent.”

Her eyes flashed deep.

What lived and breathed within them was a boundless, measureless cosmos—

something unfathomable that stirred a primal fear in humans...

“My father called me a monster. So he taught me never to frighten other ‘people.’”

“Huh.”

What father would call his own daughter a monster?

And yet, it was true, and even helpful.

Thanks to it, Cheon Soyak had thought early on about how to stand alone.

Because she did not give her heart first, she wasn’t hurt when others feared her.

“My father wasn’t a man to speak idly, nor was his view of the world narrow. So it must be true.”

“Very well. I admit it. You are...”

“Yes, Master. I’m a monster in human shape.”

The Heavenly Killing Star.

A beast born under a star.

A monster descended wearing the frail, pitiful body of a girl.

“So you won’t have to envy anyone anymore. Because you’ll be my master. Isn’t that so?”

Eunsong found his gaze stolen by the girl before him.

Not because she was bold.

Because she was matter-of-fact.

“...That’s quite a pleasant thought. Think you can press down that arrogant junior’s nose for me?”

“Yes.”

****

At the foot of Mount Hua, the market town of Huaeum.

The bustle wrapped them on all sides.

For the first time, Eunsong sensed tension from Cheon Soyak.

“Are you alright?”

“...Probably. I’m alright.”

How loud could the Heavenly Flower House ever have been?

It was expensive; generally there were few people and it was quiet.

What you heard were low voices, music, sliding doors opening and closing.

But this was a street market.

All sides a tumult—shouts and loud voices tangled in a brawl of sound.

Unfamiliar surroundings demanded a period of adjustment.

“Don’t worry. I’m here.”

“...I’ll try.”

Eunsong bought Cheon Soyak a bamboo hat and a new sword.

The Falling Blossom Tranquil Edge she originally had was too long for her height.

“Four and a half feet tall at fourteen.”

“You don’t have to nail it down; I know I’m small.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it...”

Cheon Soyak still slung the Falling Blossom Tranquil Edge across her back.

Only a short shortsword hung at her waist besides.

“It will be easier to wield.”

“Use that for now.”

Cheon Soyak dipped her head slowly.

Though it was a short sword...

it was expensive.

“...Are you sure, Master?”

“About what?”

“It’s a very expensive... item.”

Blinking, she asked; Eunsong looked down at his disciple and patted her.

Yes, he had spent the rest of their travel funds.

But now that they’d arrived at Mount Hua, what did remaining travel funds matter?

“Don’t worry. It’s not my money.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s Mount Hua’s. You don’t think the Great Mount Hua Sect is so stingy it tells disciples to sort out their own travel expenses, do you?”

“But this isn’t a travel expense.”

“No one will care, Soyak.”

Cheon Soyak blinked, then narrowed her eyes.

And then she dropped a bomb.

“Embezzlement.”

“W-what?”

Cheon Soyak gave a tiny shrug.

A dry laugh escaped Eunsong.

“Then I’ll be off, Master.”

“Go on. Don’t get lost. I’ll be at that teahouse from before.”

“Yes, Master.”

Cheon Soyak turned to face Mount Hua.

A mountain whose force rose like a blade.

Plum blossoms in full bloom dyed everything pink.

Though it wasn’t the season for plum to bloom.

“...So those are Mount Hua’s blossoms that haven’t withered for twenty-seven years.”

But the scent of plum was faint.

If that many blossoms had covered the mountain for nearly thirty years, the market town should have been thick with fragrance.

Cheon Soyak knew the answer.

No flower lasts more than ten days.

Which is to say, conversely...

if it lasts beyond ten days—even if it lives—it isn’t a living flower.

Cheon Soyak moved her small feet and entered the great admissions hall.

Many people had gathered, lining up and submitting documents.

And most had come holding an adult’s hand.

A long line.

Cheon Soyak took her place at the end.

As the line shortened, she had to endure the eyes and words aimed at her.

“Black clothes and a black hat... a drifter, isn’t she?”

“Could be some stray bitch from who-knows-where.”

“No parents, no guardian. Isn’t that too rootless?”

“She might end up admitted with our child.”

Cheon Soyak answered with silence.

Speculation and slander rolled like a snowball.

Some called the girl deaf.

Some called her dumb; some called her blind.

But Cheon Soyak still did not open her mouth.

She only pulled the new black hat lower.

The line dwindled, and she stood at the very front.

A martial artist of about forty, broad-shouldered, looked down at the small girl.

“Did you come alone?”

“Yes. I did.”

“Have you someone to recommend you?”

“Eunsong of Mount Hua.”

The martial artist blinked.

“Eunsong? You mean Eunsong of the Second Generation?”

“If he’s thirty, that should be right.”

“Good grief. He said he was going to seek a disciple, and he really did.”

“...Yes.”

“Have you received instruction from Eunsong?”

“I learned Hidden Fragrance Drift. You could say so.”

The conversation seemed to be going differently from what Eunsong had said.

She was sure she needed to pass through the admissions hall.

But from how things were going now—well.

...He sent only me in so he wouldn’t get tangled in trouble.

Cheon Soyak let out a sigh.

Likely he’d taught her Hidden Fragrance Drift on the spot for the same reason.

A child who had already received Mount Hua’s martial arts.

If they didn’t abolish her skills, they couldn’t turn her away.

But in this peace the Martial Alliance had forged—

Mount Hua, as an orthodox elder among the Nine Great Schools, would not cripple a young girl and cast her out.

“...Will it be difficult for me to enter?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just... Very well. Could you call Eunsong to come here?”

“To tell him who summoned him?”

“Say Master Myunggon is calling.”

“...Ah. I will.”

Cheon Soyak bowed her head politely.

When she turned around, the way people looked at her had changed.

But she felt nothing.

She’d seen it before.

When the Flower-Halo Sect had been the village landlord.

And when her father’s head was taken.

How had the villagers looked at her then?

Cheon Soyak pressed her hat down.

To shield her heart from people’s eyes.

Only then did she realize why Eunsong had bought her the hat.

He was a meticulous teacher indeed...

Chapter 6

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