As night fell, Hongryeon and Chaejin gathered in a room to meditate in preparation for entering the Mirror Realm.
Sayoon watched them anxiously, while Chaeran and Hyunhwi lightly held her hands.
“I wonder if I can sleep with all this tension,” Hongryeon murmured softly, and Chaejin nodded in agreement.
The Doje flashed a grin at them.
“I can forcibly put you to sleep!”
Oh, is she planning to donate some blood? Indeed, bloodletting is the pinnacle of martial arts. I never saw that in Heavenly Bright Moon, but here I am witnessing it…
He picked up a club.
“With just one good whack on the head, you’ll be out like a light!”
Not just sleep but eternal rest, it seems?
Seeing it was none other than the Doje, they hurriedly shut their mouths and closed their eyes.
“Okay, sleep tight!”
“Goodnight!”
I looked at the Doje, and he chuckled to himself.
“I was kidding.”
It sounded pretty serious, though.
I heard martial artists can fall asleep quickly through their energy flow.
Is that why?
As the two lay comfortably snoring on the bed, I glanced at Sayoon.
It’s much past bedtime, and it’s pitiful she’s still awake worrying about Hongryeon and Chaejin.
“Now go to sleep.”
“But…”
“If something happens, the Doje is here, and I’ll be watching.”
But if something really goes down, I’ll have to step in.
I told Hyunhwi and Chaeran to sleep too, and they hesitated before heading into the inner room. The door was slightly ajar, as if they were ready to jump out at any moment.
The Doje, watching that, casually waved his hand. With just that, the door closed silently.
How much time passed? It seemed they had finally fallen asleep inside. I took out the Simhonggyeong he had given me.
Focusing on where two of the jewels meant to be in the mirror had been destroyed, he chuckled slightly and opened his mouth randomly.
“As I told Lady Sa, everyone has a Simma. But that Simma always hides its form and only reveals itself when a person’s heart grows weak, which is why the strong believe there’s no Simma.”
A moment of silence. He stared at me and continued.
“A few years ago, after obtaining the Simhonggyeong, I too entered the Mirror Realm to overcome the Simma within me.”
If he had succeeded, only one would have been destroyed, but he must have failed. Someone must have used this to rescue him.
A bittersweet smile lingered on the Doje’s lips.
“I failed, and my wife saved me. Thanks to her, I was able to prevent the Simma from dominating me.”
I couldn’t help but be astonished by the unheard secret.
By the way, if the Doje has a Simma, does the Sword Saint have one too?
I thought for a moment and shook my head.
She probably does. After all, she’s faced such trials.
Then, could I use this to help her overcome her Simma?
“I’ll be stepping out for a bit.”
The Doje exited. I was the only one left in the room.
I crossed my legs and closed my eyes.
“Ugh…!”
A low groan echoed. I subtly turned my head. It was a sound coming from Hongryeon.
If it gets worse, I can jump in, right? I fiddled with the Simhonggyeong in my pocket.
“Ugh…!”
Her body jerked slightly. Chaejin’s beautiful face scrunched up, and her body bounced lightly.
But it was short-lived.
As Chaejin fell quiet once more, I continued to observe the situation.
After a few cycles, both were intermittently expressing distress. Yet somehow, they seemed to calm down quickly, although their state was deteriorating.
Both of them were intermittently moaning in pain. However, they soon quieted down as if trying to endure it, but their condition was gradually worsening.
The candle I had lit to check the time was slowly melting away. Just as the flickering flame of the half-melted candle began to sway slightly,
“Ugh…!! Euuuhhh…!! Huh…!! Kugh!”
Came a groan that anyone could tell was laced with excruciating pain.
It was Hongryeon. I looked at her, then got up from my seat and opened the window. Outside, the Doje was leaning against the wall, lost in thought.
“I will go in now.”
“Um. Be careful.”
I lay down beside her as she was sweating profusely and writhing in agony. Seeing her tear-filled eyes, I held up the Heart Soul Mirror.
Reflected in the mirror was Hongryeon.
But my own form was nowhere to be seen.
In that moment of realization, everything around me began to fade to white.
The first sight was a desert. A desert that seemed to have no end.
In the center of that desert was a path, and it looked like someone had walked it.
Had Hongryeon walked here?
I followed the path, and as I walked, I spotted something.
It was a small bag. I picked it up and peeked inside.
– I’ll do it. I’ll take care of the disciples.
It was Hongryeon’s voice.
A voice I thought sounded a bit younger than now.
Along with that voice appeared a young girl with red hair, whom I assumed was Hongryeon’s childhood self.
– Master is struggling, so I’ll do it.
– Are you sure? It might be too much for you…
– I’m fine! This is what the eldest sister should do!
The girl, smiling brightly, took on the responsibilities of managing the Hongseong Clan after saying that.
No matter how talented she was, it wasn’t easy for a young girl to manage an entire sect.
Despite this, she maintained the struggling Hongseong Clan well.
To achieve this, she sacrificed opportunities for herself.
Whenever good fabric came her way, she used it for her sisters, and if she had money for cosmetics, she spent it on her siblings.
Yet, she didn’t feel sad.
She believed it was her duty as the Grand Disciple, as the eldest sister.
I held the bag and took another step, finding another bag.
– How about training a bit more?
At the Sword Saint’s suggestion, a younger Hongryeon shook her head, shedding her childlike appearance.
Training with the Sword Saint was important, but she could not give up activities in the Murim Alliance either.
– I’m planning to use the funds from this inspection department’s activities to get a new sword. Ryuhyun’s sword is quite worn out, you know?
– But your training…
– I can grow enough just by teaching my sisters.
– Then at least take this elixir. I made it just for you.
Smiling, Hongryeon replied to the concerned Sword Saint.
– Right now, Ryuhyun lacks internal energy. I might be able to get an elixir through this Murim Alliance activity.
She willingly sacrificed her own strength.
As the first disciple of the Sword Saint, she could rightfully ask for a lot, but she prioritized her sisters.
She wanted the Hongseong Clan to grow and wished for her sisters to become stronger.
Thus, she gave up her own ambition.
The desire for growth that any martial artist should naturally harbor.
Once again, as the illusion faded, I picked up the bags and walked on.
Another bag appeared, bag after bag.
All of them were things that Hongryeon had given up while living as the Grand Disciple of the Hongseong Clan.
I collected those bags and walked on, discovering the bodies of countless Evil Monsters at the end of the path.
I discovered countless corpses of evil monsters.
And beyond those bodies, I found a red-haired woman sitting on the ground, weighed down by a massive burden.
Everything she was holding was a brilliantly shining red jewel.
I knew what it was.
It was the Hongseong Clan.
They were disciples of the Hongseong Clan.
Despite abandoning her desires and wishes, she tried to keep holding onto it, so I approached her with a smile and sat down beside her.
“Are you okay?”
Gently, Hongryeon turned her head. With a sweet smile, she leaned her head on me.
A rich scent of apricot blossoms wafted as she looked up at me and smiled at the bags I had brought.
“…Ah, I’m relying on you again.”
She must have had a tough time.
Seeing her indulging in affection, which she usually didn’t show, made me realize I had indeed come at the right time.
“Aren’t you going to take these?”
Hongryeon looked at the bags I brought with regretful eyes. She then nodded.
“That’s already a thing of the past.”
As soon as her words left her lips, the bags I had brought disappeared.
However, there was no bitterness on her face. She just looked proudly at the sight of the bags vanishing.
It seemed she felt a sense of pride for what she had lived through and for the things she had given up.
“Shall I help you?”
If I lifted her burden, she might feel a bit lighter, but overcoming the Simma would still be impossible.
But it was still better than continuing to sit here.
As I extended my hand, Hongryeon gazed at it thoughtfully and shook her head.
“This is something I need to carry myself. Relying on you must be a burden too, and I can’t place this onto you. Instead… can you walk with me?”
“Um. I will do that. But what’s that? It looks a bit different from the others.”
“Oh, this… um…”
That was something different from what she had been carrying. A small bag emitting a subtle blue light.
Unlike the others, it looked brand new, and Hongryeon clutched the small bag tightly as if not wanting to part with it.
Seeing her hesitate to answer, I nodded at her.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
“…Thank you.”
Thankful or not, Hongryeon seemed to have regained her spirit and walked again by my side.
“Is this road my Simma? Or is it this burden? Or maybe this desert?”
“Well…”
“…Did you see what I dropped along the way?”
“I did.”
“…There were times it was regrettable and times it was hard.”
As we trudged along, Hongryeon continued. The weight a Sword Saint’s first disciple needs to bear, and that duty.
It would be a lie to say it wasn’t tough.
Being a person herself, she was quite weary of that burden.
“…But still, I could press on. Because everyone was there for me.”
What she held now was indeed worth carrying to the end.
Saying that, Hongryeon gazed toward the end of the road with a more relaxed expression.
“…The great disciple of the Hongseong Clan, the first disciple of the Sword Saint, the overseer of the Murim Alliance, the Falling Sun Sword… everyone’s elder sister. Those make up who I am.”
“But isn’t there no Hongryeon in all of that?”
“Well, that is true… but it’s a bit different now.”
Hongryeon looked up at me slightly. With a melting smile in her gentle eyes, she fiddled with the small bag containing the blue jewel.
“Because I have something precious that I can’t give to anyone. So, I’m enough with this. Even when it’s hard.”
Gently, Hongryeon grabbed my arm.
“You promised you’d stay by my side, didn’t you?”
“Hello?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Hehe. That’s enough for me. I mean… Actually, it’s a bit lacking.”
Hongryeon slightly lowered her head. We walked in silence for a while until we reached the end of the path.
A large door revealed itself, the exit of the Mirror Realm.
As we approached, the path we traveled and the desert began to fade into a bright white.
“I thought it would feel endless when walking alone, but with you, it feels so short. Thank you, really.”
“No, I did nothing.”
Honestly, I didn’t do anything. If I had carried that burden, that would be different, but she handled everything alone.
All I did was walk beside her.
In response to my words, Hongryeon looked at the exit and smiled brightly. Then she said,
“…What did you ask me earlier?”
She fidgeted with her blue gem bag.
“Hehe. I want to say it here anyway.”
Hongryeon smiled softly and took a step closer to me.
“This is my heart.”
Another step.
“It’s a heart I cherish dearly.”
And another step.
“But it’s a heart filled with fear of rejection.”
The final step.
“Yet, I can’t throw away this fluttering feeling.”
“…Huh?”
“I still can’t tell the real you, but I want to convey my true feelings to the you that my heart has created.”
“…Huh? Wait a minute, Hongryeon. Right now…”
I feel like I’m having one heck of a dangerous misunderstanding.
It seems she thinks I’m Yu Wol, conjured by her heart.
“I’m—!”
Just as I was about to speak, Hongryeon fully approached me, grabbed my face, and stood on tiptoes.
Her pretty face came closer.
It was awkward. It was so sudden that our teeth lightly touched, and I could feel her lips trembling, clearly nervous.
Still, her lips were plump, soft, and sweet.
Before I could savor it, Hongryeon slowly lowered herself back down.
Then, hugging me, she buried her face against my chest, unable to lift her head, and in a sweet tone, she said,
“Do you know? Yu Wol? I like you. Oh no, I said it. I said it! If I could say this in reality too, how nice would that be…”
Feeling sorry for her, Hongryeon slowly pulled away and gazed at me with sad eyes.
Her white hand, which had fallen powerless, slowly transformed into a fist.
Filled with determination, with a resolve to surely achieve this.
“One day, I will definitely say this proudly in front of you. So… the you inside me, please cheer for me, like this. So I can say I like you.”
As she said this and headed for the exit, she turned around and added, “So please wait for me.”
Did Hongryeon pass through the Mirror Realm?
I snapped back to reality.
Looking at the hourglass, it seemed hardly any time had passed.
“…Ugh. Ahh… Ugh! Aaaah!”
There was no time to sort my thoughts. Seeing Chaejin writhing in pain beside me, I immediately grabbed the Heart-Will Mirror and rushed over to her.
And the moment I illuminated us both with the Heart-Will Mirror, the surroundings turned completely white again, transforming into something else.
Is this Chaejin’s heart?
As I looked around, I groaned.
If Hongryeon’s heart was an endless road in the desert.
Then Chaejin’s heart was…
A pitch-black underground prison.
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