Episode 4: The Benevolent Sword Sees the Wicked.
The fire had gone out, and she had covered herself with a blanket long ago, but Jin Sohyeon could not fall asleep.
Jin Sohyeon knew that Wang Suryeon and the others, even Ju Cheongcheong, were awake.
“Is Head Chef Jang... a master?”
Though everyone was awake, no one answered.
“I wish Head Chef Jang weren’t a master.”
Namgung Inhye spoke while lying down, staring at the pitch-black ceiling where nothing could be seen.
“Head Chef Jang... won’t just up and leave us.”
No one could say anything. Somehow, it felt like speaking might somehow make Jang Ingeom leave.
After a moment, Wang Suryeon spoke.
“Didn’t I tell you I had my fortune read at the beginning of the year? It said I would meet a benefactor this year.”
“Oh my, unnie, wasn’t that about getting a man this year?”
“You—no, not like that. It just said I’d meet a benefactor.”
A moment later, just when she thought everyone had fallen asleep, Jin Sohyeon’s whisper was heard.
“But Head Chef Jang really is a chef. The food is so delicious, isn’t it?”
+++
After dinner, gathering in the back courtyard of the mess hall had become their routine.
For several days now, they had gathered in the back courtyard to watch Jang Ingeom demonstrate martial arts, and they too had taken up swords to train.
This gathering had become their own little secret, and sharing something unknown to others was a small happiness.
Jin Sohyeon, holding a wooden sword and earnestly performing the Hoshin Sword Technique, approached Jang Ingeom and asked.
“Head Chef Jang. Why weren’t there any clouds in my Flowing Cloud Sword Technique?”
After thinking for a moment, Jang Ingeom said.
“There is a landscape painting drawn on paper. There are mountains, trees, and clouds. Are the clouds in the landscape painting... clouds?”
The clouds drawn on paper were also clouds. But the drawn clouds were not clouds.
Jin Sohyeon, who had been staring blankly at Jang Ingeom, smiled brightly and said.
“Hehe, I don’t know. It’s hard~”
Watching Jin Sohyeon return to her place and pick up her sword again, Jang Ingeom smiled.
Since she had said she didn’t know, she could learn.
Having acknowledged it was difficult, she would be less likely to give up.
And in fact... Jang Ingeom felt that Jin Sohyeon might already understand a little.
Namgung Inhye quietly regulated her breathing as she watched her comrades train.
She appeared to be resting leisurely, but she was constantly engaged in mental training, and she was the one training most intensely.
Was this the caliber of a prestigious sect? Even in Jang Ingeom’s eyes, Namgung Inhye’s level was high.
Namgung Seolhyeon was her inner demon.
Long ago, Jang Ingeom had asked his masters.
How to eliminate an inner demon.
Whether one had to overcome it through courageous and vigorous progress, or deliberately ignore and bury it.
Though they remarked that such a young lad asked peculiar questions, the First Master had answered.
The best way is to take it as a traveling companion and walk alongside it.
Since when this inner demon goes, another will come, isn’t an old friend preferable?
Jang Ingeom could not understand it then, and the Second Master had merely laughed.
If he told this story to Namgung Inhye, would she be able to laugh?
What Wang Suryeon practiced and pursued seemed to be the Sensory Sword.
A sword that cannot be learned unless one is born with it.
Before one’s senses awakened, one couldn’t even face a third-rate martial artist; after they awakened, one could cut down a first-rate martial artist in a single strike.
But if one’s senses were inconsistent, it was a sword with which even she herself could not define her own skill.
That was why. He had learned from his master that swordsmen who walked the path of the Sensory Sword were either born optimists with few afflictions, or they isolated themselves from the world and walked a lonely path.
Fortunately, Wang Suryeon seemed to be a cheerful and positive person.
However, it did not take long to learn that even she had an inner demon.
+++
The next morning. The Phoenix Terrace Reserve members were eating while laughing and chatting.
It was a familiar morning with no reason to be different from usual, and familiarity brought relief and stability.
It was a morning perfectly suited to begin a day that would always be new and never easy.
But unfortunately, the peace created by ten people was something that could be shattered by a single person alone.
“Hoo~ So this is where the beautiful heroines of Phoenix Terrace dine?”
“Hahaha, Brother Gwak. Actually, it’s not Phoenix Terrace but the Phoenix Terrace Reserve. If the real Phoenix Terrace heroines heard this, they’d be angry, eh?”
Two men with lecherous voices steeped in roguishness entered the mess hall.
The mess hall of the Phoenix Terrace Reserve was not a forbidden space for men, but it was not a place where meals were permitted for those outside the reserve.
It was not a place where men should enter.
At the unwelcome situation, everyone stopped eating and all gazes turned toward the two roguish men.
The men seemed to enjoy these flustered gazes.
The man draped in a luxurious blue martial robe, wearing a hero’s headband adorned with jade, made a playful cupped-fist salute and spoke.
“I am called Gwak Jagi, who has recently entered the New Dragon Team. I heard my old friend was here at Phoenix Terrace, no, the Phoenix Terrace Reserve, so I stopped by to say hello.”
As he spoke, Gwak Jagi’s eyes, which had swept over the members, fixed on Wang Suryeon.
They were the eyes of a viper eyeing its prey.
“Haha, here you are. Miss Wang. It has truly been a long time.”
Complex expressions appeared on the face of Wang Suryeon, who had been silently staring only at her rice bowl.
Confusion, anger, desperation, and shame.
When no answer came from Wang Suryeon, Gwak Jagi approached her and spoke again.
“Did you think I couldn’t find you if you hid in the Martial Arts Alliance? What am I to do? I’ve joined the Martial Arts Alliance too.”
As Gwak Jagi swayed before her eyes with a smile perfectly described as despicable, Wang Suryeon placed her chopsticks on the table and quietly stood up.
“Young Hero Gwak. Don’t disturb the others’ meal. Let’s go outside and talk.”
Wang Suryeon tried to hurry out of the mess hall, but she was forced to stop as Gwak Jagi roughly grabbed her wrist.
Unable to watch anymore, Namgung Inhye rose from her seat with a frown.
“Young Hero Gwak Jagi. Let go of that hand. Even as a spectator, I find it quite unpleasant.”
“Hmph, who is this young lady butting in? This is a matter between Miss Wang and me. If you interfere, I would be the one displeased.”
“I am Namgung Inhye, who shares a room with Suryeon unnie. If you wish to compare displeasure, I will gladly oblige, but first, let go of that hand.”
Hearing the surname Namgung, Gwak Jagi inwardly couldn’t help but flinch.
He had heard that the Phoenix Terrace Reserve only gathered unremarkable women from mediocre minor sects and had pushed his way in without worry, but suddenly there was a Namgung.
Not everyone with the surname Namgung belonged to the Namgung family, but a Namgung within the Martial Arts Alliance was highly likely to be from the Namgung family.
And if it was the Namgung family, it was a household that even Gwak Jagi could not treat carelessly.
But then Hong Jabang, the man in the white martial robe who had come with Gwak Jagi, approached and whispered in his ear.
Gwak Jagi’s expression gradually changed as he listened to Hong Jabang’s words, and the depraved smile at the corners of his mouth only deepened.
“Aha, so you’re the protagonist of the rumors. I was actually planning to pay my respects separately to Miss Namgung Seolhyeon anyway.”
Having dismissed Namgung Inhye by mentioning Namgung Seolhyeon, Gwak Jagi put more strength into the hand holding Wang Suryeon.
As Namgung Inhye was insulted because of her, the anger and shame Wang Suryeon felt grew even greater.
In a heavily trembling voice, Wang Suryeon spoke quietly.
“Young Hero Gwak. I clearly asked you to talk outside without disturbing people.”
“Hah, isn’t this the very picture of the guilty party acting angrier? Disappearing without paying back a whopping five hundred nyang, and now feeling ashamed in front of your comrades?”
Wang Suryeon’s anger surged.
She wanted to draw her sword.
Perhaps because shame was even greater than anger, she wanted to shake everything off and run away from everyone.
But what came out of her mouth was a plea.
“Young Hero Gwak. Even if it takes time, I will definitely repay the money my father received. Please, I beg you, let’s talk outside.”
“Hehehe, so you’ve finally found it in you to beg. Very well, if Miss Wang begs so earnestly... let’s have a drink tonight in some quiet place and talk things over. Perhaps, depending on the circumstances, I might even give you more time...”
Just as Namgung Inhye, feeling this was utterly unacceptable, tried to speak again, and Jin Sohyeon could bear it no longer and was about to rise from her seat, Jang Ingeom stepped forward before them.
“Young Hero Gwak Jagi. You are gravely disturbing the members’ meal, so I would ask you to leave the mess hall immediately.”
On Gwak Jagi’s face as he looked at Jang Ingeom with a “what’s this now” expression, clear contempt and scorn bloomed.
“There are truly many here who like to butt in. This is a matter between Alliance members, not something for a cafeteria manager or cook to interfere in. Disappear from my sight before I draw steel.”
“I too am a formal Alliance member. And according to Alliance regulations, I am responsible for maintaining a comfortable environment in this mess hall. Young Hero Gwak is currently creating a severely uncomfortable environment.”
“Your responsibility? Just who are you?”
“I am Jang Ingeom, the head chef in charge of this mess hall.”
The moment Jang Ingeom finished speaking, Gwak Jagi, who had released Wang Suryeon’s wrist, drew his sword.
He seemed quite skilled, for the tip of his sword was already placed before Jang Ingeom’s throat.
Perhaps fearing that the enraged Gwak Jagi would cause a major incident, Hong Jabang hurriedly grabbed his arm and whispered something again.
Only after Hong Jabang’s whisper ended did Gwak Jagi withdraw his sword from before Jang Ingeom’s throat.
“Tch, fine. You’re an Alliance member too, aren’t you? You seem fond of Alliance regulations, so you must know that Alliance members may spar with one another? I, Gwak Jagi, formally request a sparring match. Let me personally educate this measly cook on what happens when he’s rude to us who risk our lives to uphold justice in the martial world.”
“Alliance regulations state that a sparring match requires mutual consent. I have no reason to spar with Young Hero Gwak, so I will not accept the request.”
“What? You stepped forward so boldly earlier, and now you’re scared and tucking your tail? Did you realize you might die trying to look cool in front of the women?”
“Member Gwak Jagi. I will accept that sparring request in his place. I’ll fight you to your heart’s content on the next official sparring day, so I hope I never see you again until then.”
Wang Suryeon, who had been rubbing her wrist that had been roughly grabbed by Gwak Jagi and had swollen red, spoke in a cold voice.
Her eyes were even redder than her swollen wrist, and blood seemed about to seep from her lower lip, which was bitten between her teeth.
“What? Why is the atmosphere like this? Miss Wang, don’t tell me you’re involved with this cook? That would be boring. Hmph, very well. I shall deliver a stern lesson even to Miss Wang. And remember, fighting me in a sparring match does not make your debt disappear.”
With a furious expression further twisted by a depraved smile, Gwak Jagi and Hong Jabang left the mess hall. With an expression of even greater anger mixed with shame, Wang Suryeon also hurriedly left her seat.
Namgung Inhye and Jin Sohyeon rushed after her, and the remaining members could no longer eat.
In Jang Ingeom’s eyes, it had not taken even a quarter of an hour for one who appeared unvirtuous to ruin the day of good people.
Wang Suryeon did not appear at lunchtime.
After the meal, Jin Sohyeon came to deliver news: she had cried in her quarters and was now resting blankly.
“Suryeon unnie lived alone with her father. Her father was a wandering martial artist, and apparently quite skilled, a renowned master in the Gansu region. He accepted a commission from the Gwak family head and received five hundred nyang as a down payment, but he disappeared suddenly before completing the job. It seems the Gwak family had been harassing Suryeon unnie to return the five hundred nyang instead, even before she joined the Martial Arts Alliance.”
Her father, who knew nothing but the sword, had no savings.
Wang Suryeon, distraught with worry over her disappeared father, had been continuously harassed and pestered by Gwak Jagi, the second son of the Gwak family head.
Her father knew nothing but the sword, and what his daughter had learned was also nothing but the sword.
Unable to make her way as a wandering martial artist with a woman’s body, Wang Suryeon took the entrance exam and joined the Martial Arts Alliance.
“She planned to save up her salary to repay the money. We receive fifteen nyang a month. The Alliance’s salary isn’t high, so it would take a long time. But when Gwak Jagi suddenly showed up today... unnie seemed very ashamed. That we might think poorly of her. That we might see her as someone who ran away without paying her debt.”
“You wouldn’t think that, would you?”
“Of course not. We wouldn’t. Unnie is a good person. She has a sense of responsibility. Actually... it would be better if she didn’t pay scum like Gwak Jagi, but unnie wouldn’t do that.”
“What kind of person is Gwak Jagi?”
“Inhye unnie looked into it... He’s an outer disciple of a Gongdong Faction elder. Though he’s an outer disciple, because the Gwak family is wealthy, his master dotes on him a lot. He taught him meticulously, so his skill is quite good, and his character... well, as you saw earlier. This time, the representative dispatched by the Gongdong Faction to the Martial Arts Alliance changed, and Gwak Jagi’s master came to the Alliance. The disciple who followed him entered the New Dragon Team.”
“Will the sparring match... happen?”
“Inhye unnie and I tried to dissuade her, but Suryeon unnie said she could endure insults to herself, but she couldn’t bear seeing Inhye unnie and Head Chef Jang insulted. She will face Gwak Jagi on the next Alliance-scheduled sparring day.”
“I see. Then, what about the five hundred nyang that must be repaid?”
“Cheongcheong unnie’s family is really wealthy. Cheongcheong unnie offered to lend it, but Suryeon unnie refused. We’ll have to persuade her more.”
Jang Ingeom wanted to say that he could help too, but held back. He felt that sometimes giving time was the greatest help.
As Jin Sohyeon was leaving the mess hall, she suddenly seemed to remember something and turned around.
“Oh, Suryeon unnie asked me to tell you thank you. For stepping forward bravely earlier.”
“What thanks? We’re comrades.”
Jin Sohyeon was able to leave the mess hall smiling.
She had never imagined that being called a comrade by the chef could sound so joyful and reassuring.
It was Jang Ingeom himself who had said he wanted to visit the Martial Arts Alliance when his masters told him to see the world.
When his masters asked why the Martial Arts Alliance, he had said he wanted to help the weak against the wicked.
His masters had said nothing, merely laughed. Then they told him to go to the Martial Arts Alliance.
He now thought he understood what that laughter had been about.
Just as not all people outside the Martial Arts Alliance were evil, not all people in the Alliance were good.
No, determining who was good and who was evil was itself a delicate matter.
In any case, at this moment, the opponent Namgung Inhye had to face was at Phoenix Terrace, and the enemy Wang Suryeon had to overcome was in the New Dragon Team.