The world is always like a cold blade; one misstep could easily slice through my weak body. It is a very dangerous place.
There was nothing strange about it.
I don’t know who my father is, nor do I know who my mother is.
The only ones by my side are other beggars, eager to snatch a handful of rotten food I’ve begged for.
If living with such people is considered safe, then that’s even more ridiculous.
Even so, I’ve been nimble since childhood, so I’ve never had my possessions taken by the older beggars, but the world has never been without danger.
Even on nights when everyone should peacefully sleep, it’s never a time of rest for me.
Without even a small wall to protect me, I’ve never truly slept, always on guard against those revealing their vile intentions or trying to capture me to sell me into slavery.
If it weren’t for my instincts honed from childhood, or if I didn’t have a body that’s so thin it’s not to many people’s taste, perhaps I would have already lost my life or been sold into slavery.
Fear.
Terror.
And malice.
In a harsh world with no walls to protect me and no pillars to lean on, Sayoon was far too weak.
That’s why she felt envy.
Every time she sat in the filth and looked up at the world, she saw girls her own age.
Unlike her, who is nothing, they had faces filled with happiness, naturally holding the large, sturdy hands that sheltered them.
And those hands that softly stroked her head, filled with deep affection, were what Sayoon envied most.
“Back then… it felt similar to the gaze my father used to give me after I finished eating.”
When she approached Hongryeon’s room with a letter and a package sent from the postal service, she couldn’t help but hold her breath.
Sayoon quietly listened in front of Hongryeon’s room.
More so than her, who had become more accustomed to the malice of others while living in the sewers, it was the senior sisters who had come to Hongseongmun one day, led by the Sword Saint, and gained the strength to protect themselves but still knew very little.
This was their evaluation based on their understanding of others’ gazes.
So, Sayoon gently closed her eyes and thought.
The conversation coming from inside would likely be about what happened today.
Right. What happened today.
She had lived in the filthy sewers and then grasped the Sword Saint’s hand to come to Hongseongmun; her life there felt truly like paradise.
Other senior sisters might grumble that the food isn’t delicious, but for Sayoon, who always had to eat spoiled and meager meals, the food in Hongseongmun was a feast fit for a king.
She was now enjoying dishes that were several times, no, dozens of times tastier.
How about the soft porridge that warms the stomach and the crispy fried eggplant that followed?
The sweet and savory taste of Hongwol meat that gets better with every bite, and the crispy outer layer with a moist inside of Gyeoryuksam was delicious enough to astonish not just Sayoon but the other senior sisters too.
Thinking back, the dishes were mouthwatering.
It reminded her of the glance she had seen from the person who provided that food.
“I… don’t really get it.”
Right. She didn’t understand. But there was no way around it.
The innkeeper Yu Wol.
The gaze from a man of a familiar age was so awkward that Sayoon found it difficult to take in.
But one thing was certain: it wasn’t malicious.
Sayoon was more sensitive to malice than Hongryeon, who had grown accustomed to the world.
So, could that gaze simply be lust?
When I lay down to sleep, my senior sisters had once teased me about the frightening realities of the world.
There are insane lunatics called pedophiles out there, and those filthy creatures get excited only by small, innocent kids like Sayoon.
Sayoon was already aware of this to some extent, which sent chills down her spine.
It’s not like there weren’t people who looked at her in that way when she was in the slums.
There were indeed those who lured girls her age into rooms with just a single dumpling as bait.
Of course, thanks to her unimpressive appearance and an almost paranoid level of vigilance, those guys had never laid a finger on her, but just thinking about those eyes still made her knees tremble even now, here in Hongseong.
“But… that wasn’t it.”
Yeah. It wasn’t like that.
His gaze was warm enough to not be considered lustful, and too gentle to be viewed as contemptuous.
Recalling the kind of gaze she’d never felt before, Sayoon pondered about the voice she heard earlier.
– Back then… it was similar to the way my father looked at me after I ate.
Her father’s gaze.
The familial gaze she never had.
The kind of gaze she had so envied, exclusive to that one girl in the slums.
Could it really have been that?
Could it be that Yu Wol, the innkeeper, was sending her such a gaze?
Sayoon felt a slight warmth in her heart.
The large mister she met in the alley.
After saving him from danger and fighting against a master mercenary named Gak-jun in the corridor, that outburst during the crisis echoed in her mind.
If it weren’t for that voice, Gak-jun’s spear would have surely pierced her side.
At that time, she had been too tense to remember, but thinking back now…
“It wasn’t…”
The emotions contained in that voice didn’t seem to stem solely from the fear of her losing or being in danger.
Worrying about her getting hurt.
Sorrow for any unforeseen risk.
As she recalled those warm feelings that were directed solely at her, Sayoon began to breathe heavily.
“Whooo…”
Hongseong Divine Art moved without her realizing it. Her tense and stiff body relaxed, and a blush crept across her once cold face.
Right.
This heat on my face must be because of the Hongseong Divine Art reacting to my emotions.
Nodding slightly, she opened the door and stepped inside.
“Hmm…”
Upon entering and facing her senior sisters, the warm, strange fluttering deep within her heart diminished.
No matter how she felt, she was way too good at setting aside what she had to do.
Thus, even upon seeing the newly received box, Sayoon could only respond with a gentle smile.
“What did he send in his letters so far?”
“Um… At first, he asked if we had eaten, and then he wrote a line telling us to call him Mister.”
It was a letter from someone she didn’t even know.
But whether it was because of the enclosed silver coin, or perhaps due to her heightened wariness resulting in the trivial content, her guard had lowered quite a bit after just two letters.
However, the content of this latest letter was enough to elevate Hongryeon’s caution considerably.
Naturally, since the letter included a map, a map of Hongseong Mountain no less.
“Where is this?”
“Um… It’s about halfway up the south side of Hongseong Mountain. It looks like it’s near Dragon Head Rock.”
“We’re at the halfway point of Soocheon Peak on Hongseong Mountain. It seems like we’re near the Dragon Head Rock.”
“But why is there a map of this place in the letter…?”
“Maybe it’s an invitation to meet?”
Ryuhyun muttered coldly after hearing the situation from Hongryeon and Sayoon.
While she wasn’t as strong as Hongryeon, she was still a competent and righteous martial artist known for catching evil-doers, bandits, and monsters.
Given that, it wasn’t strange for her to feel hostility towards those who might be pedophiles or trying to toy with people through letters.
“Then it would be best to check it out.”
“But, Saja, didn’t you say we should leave early tomorrow?” Ryuhyun asked worriedly, but Hongryeon shook her head. It could be the first time someone who had kept their identity hidden was trying to reveal it.
Especially these days, with bizarre letters—like provocations disguised as love letters from annoyingly bothersome people.
The martial arts world had become chaotic, and they might hope for the Hongseong Clan to show up in response to that.
Some sects in the Murim Alliance had recently noted an increase in monsters and bandits, wishing to fight together.
They frequently received quite irritating letters attempting to use them.
No, that wasn’t the only issue.
Even if the Hongseong Clan was weak, they had a Sword Saint and were a strong clan with the Falling Sun Sword.
Letters mixed with provocation warning them that such a clan might fall to the powerful Iron Blood Clan were outright dismissive.
Things happening in the martial arts world today were things that were unimaginable before.
So.
It’d be better to be cautious if possible.
But that was just her thought; Sayoon didn’t seem to think the same way.
Thus, as she saw Sayoon looking worriedly at the letter, Hongryeon briefly remarked to comfort her.
“Maybe there’s something dangerous here, and they want us to be careful. We should check it out since it’s from that ‘Mister’ after all.”
Perhaps due to Hongryeon’s attitude of at least acknowledging ‘Mister,’ a smile crept across Sayoon’s face, and Hongryeon slyly grasped her red sun sword.
Seeing that, Ryuhyun couldn’t help but swallow hard.
If she grabbed that, it meant she was ready to commit fully to this matter, so Ryuhyun tensed up and spoke earnestly.
“I’ll have the other disciples on standby just in case.”
“Mm. And the youngest.”
“Yes?”
“You should go too. You never know.”
Of course, the possibility of someone having sent the letter was low.
After all, no time or date was specified.
But if there was a “what if,” and if the actual sender really was there, Sayoon would surely be qualified to meet him.
Whether he was a villain or not.
“Understood.”
Hongryeon soothed Sayoon, who nodded with a tense expression, patting her head to relax her as she stood up.
“If this guy is mocking Hongseong, I’ll turn him into a shard of a star.”
With her usual boisterous demeanor and low-quality jokes that made people’s faces flush, the carefree Saja transformed into Hongryeon, the martial arts prodigy known as the Falling Sun Sword.
As she witnessed it, Ryuhyun subtly clenched her fist.
Perhaps today would be the day to shed blood, or so she thought.
Even though they had put the disciples on standby for the “what if,” not everyone needed to go.
This letter might just be an attempt from the Hongseong Clan to split their disciples.
So only Hongryeon, Ryuhyun, and Sayoon would move.
Where they had to go was, after all, Hongseong Mountain. For them, it was literally their front yard.
Just another place that looked like the front yard.
Even though it was a spot not often visited marked on the map, they had plenty of ways to handle any situation that might arise.
So the three quickly moved to the location marked on the map.
Once there, they stared at it in silence, at a loss for words.
“This… it’s the hidden realm, right?”
“Yeah. Seems like it.”
As they descended along the path covered by thick overgrowth and vines, what appeared before them was beyond their expectations.
The entrance of a massive building radiating a serene red aura.
The hidden realm.
A place where the realm meets the sky, and only a select few among those who have attained enlightenment can create the hidden side of the world.
They didn’t know why it was created, but martial artists valued the hidden realm quite highly.
The hidden realm is a place of challenge.
When a challenger overcomes the trials within, they can seize what they deserve.
Whether it’s a potion that boosts their inner strength, or martial arts suitable for their trials.
Or perhaps a magical artifact containing powers unattainable by human strength.
The real question was, why was this hidden realm here?
“Oh my. How dark could it be right under the lamp…?”
No matter how little the Hongseong Clan visited this place, and even if the entrance was concealed, how could they have missed this?
Back when she was in the Murim Alliance, she had laughed heartily at the story of how the legendary master, who achieved enlightenment atop the Wudang Mountains, discovered a hidden realm created before his ascent.
I mean, how long has the Wudang Sect been based in Wudang Mountain? And they just discovered this?
Yet here they were experiencing it themselves.
How much would they laugh if they heard this back in the Murim Alliance, or in the Wudang Sect?
She clasped her throbbing head.
“Sh-should we go in? We need to see what it’s like…”
“Hmm.”
Hongryeon nodded slightly and reached for the entrance of the hidden realm. At that moment, a soft red aura enveloped her hand.
– Who are you?
“Huh?”
A gentle voice. Stern, serious, and earnest.
Remembering there are hidden realms that only those qualified can enter, Hongryeon murmured softly.
“I am one of the inspectors of the Murim Alliance, known as the Falling Sun Sword among the martial artists. I am Hongryeon, the great disciple of the Hongseong Clan, wishing for the infinite growth and glory of the Hongseong Clan.”
With her response, the red aura shifted towards Ryuhyun.
– Who are you?
Flustered, Ryuhyun answered in a similar fashion, and the red aura then moved to Sayoon.
Sayoon pressed her lips together. Unlike the earlier two, she only had one thing to present.
– Who are you?
“…I am Sayoon, a disciple of the Hongseong Clan.”
With that, the red aura was drawn into the hidden realm.
– Grrroooong…
At the same time, the stone door that had been firmly shut swung open.
When they were startled and took a step back, the stone door naturally spoke again.
– You are qualified individuals who have trained in the Hongseong Divine Art. This place is the hidden realm left behind by the Hongseong Clan.
The solemn voice was enough to make all three of them think the same thought at once.
That ‘Mister’ who knew about the Hongseong Clan’s hidden realm, which even the Hongseong Clan did not know about, couldn’t possibly be a threat.
After all, the enemies of the Hongseong Clan wouldn’t help them reclaim what they had lost.
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