How much time had passed in the stillness, she could not say.

From beyond the setting sun, the sound of noisy chatter drifted toward them.

Seolhwa lifted her gaze, and Choryeon, who had been organizing medicinal herbs, straightened her posture and looked toward the source of the sound.

In the distance, Seop Mugwang could be seen, surrounded by children.

“Just once! Just once, please!”

“Me too! Let me try! Me!”

“No, it’s my turn this time—!!”

“You little peanuts! What do you take me for? Try clinging on all at once, you brats!”

As Seop Mugwang shouted, the children giggled, hanging from his arms.

He lifted them up easily, swinging them around in play.

“Is it not strange?”

“?”

“For some reason, they love that grumbling man.”

A smile, impossible to hide, crept across Choryeon’s lips as she spoke.

Her gaze toward Seop Mugwang was also different from before.

Seolhwa tilted her head in quiet curiosity.

By now, Seop Mugwang and the group of children had drawn nearer.

“Go home already, you little peanuts! You’re driving me crazy, geez!”

He shooed them away with exaggerated gestures, and for whatever reason, the children burst into laughter as they ran off.

Once he had chased them all away, Seop Mugwang let out a faint chuckle and turned around.

“I’m ba—”

Just as he stepped into the yard, he saw Seolhwa and came to an abrupt halt.

“D—”

Their eyes met directly.

Seolhwa curved her lips faintly and nodded her head lightly.

He stared at her blankly, then furrowed his brow with a hollow laugh.

“Huh?”

His expression practically said, ‘Would you look at this?’

“It has been a while.”

“That brat... is not a brat anymore, huh?”

“Have you been well?”

“Not well at all, you little rascal!”

Yet despite his words, Seop Mugwang made no effort to hide his joy as he strode over and embraced her.

“How did you grow so much, you little rascal! You’ve come back as a giant brat! Hah, you’ve grown splendidly! You impressive thing!”

He patted Seolhwa’s back with loud thumps.

His low, chuckling laughter echoed pleasantly.

Awkwardly swaying within his arms, Seolhwa merely stared at the basket filled to the brim with herbs.

****

“I knew from the start the clan head would never leave us be. I just pity the guy stuck following orders.”

What need was there for a guard in such a peaceful, remote place?

A waste of manpower, that was all.

Seop Mugwang grumbled about Namgoong Mucheon’s excessive concern.

“He was the Commander of the Bipung Division. He probably thought something dangerous could happen.”

“Still—! What am I, a kid? Huh? Well, I suppose... in a way....”

Tsk....

His voice trailed off awkwardly.

If they had come all the way here, they surely knew everything already.

There was no need to bother hiding the fact that he could not use internal energy.

“No one comes to this village, and no one leaves. What danger could there possibly be?”

“Come back to the clan with me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’ll live as I please. You saw it earlier, didn’t you? How popular I am in this village.”

Seop Mugwang chuckled softly.

It was the same as when he avoided Choryeon’s questions earlier.

Laughing to deflect the conversation.

But Seolhwa had no intention of letting it pass as she had with Choryeon.

“Do you know how long I waited to hear from you?”

“I am no longer Commander.”

“Do you know how much I struggled to save you?”

“Thanks to you, I’m still alive, so what, you want credit for that?”

“You have not even taught me all of your martial arts yet.”

“Sorry to say, but I’m in no state to teach anyone anymore.”

Seop Mugwang let out a short laugh as he spoke. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Who could I possibly teach, when I spend my days wandering the mountains picking weeds?”

“I have not even given my formal disciple’s bow yet.”

“Forget it. What kind of master is a cripple with shattered internal energy?”

Seop Mugwang waved his hand dismissively and turned his gaze away.

His expression was hidden, but it was clear he was no longer smiling.

“You already taught me the martial arts you devoted your life to mastering. That makes you my master.”

“What, you want me to boast about teaching you for a few days?”

“Even a single word of instruction is enough to call someone a master, if there is learning to be gained.”

“You would have turned out great even without me.”

“If you saw the sword art I created, you would not say that.”

Seop Mugwang furrowed his brow and turned to look at Seolhwa.

Hearing that she had developed a new martial art based on his techniques, the curiosity of a martial artist sparked in his eyes.

“You that confident?”

Without hesitation, Seolhwa nodded.

Seop Mugwang fell silent for a moment.

But in the end, he waved his hand dismissively.

“Forget it. I am not interested.”

Seolhwa’s expression gradually hardened.

If he intended to distance himself from the family and disappear without a word, he could at least offer a reason.

She had come here with the goal of bringing Choryeon back to the family, fearing she might become a future Poison Moon again, but hearing her master outright deny their bond stirred something sharp within her chest.

“Why will you not seek treatment?”

Seop Mugwang turned his head away instead of answering.

“The Namgoong Clan is the foremost family in the Central Plains. Even if Choryeon does not know the cure, there is no better place to find one.”

“....”

“If you had stayed, if you had fought to recover, Grandfather would have found a way, no matter the cost....”

“That is exactly why.”

Seop Mugwang cut off her words and turned to face her.

“That is why.”

There was no trace of amusement left on his face now.

“Your grandfather. The Sword Emperor. The clan head.”

Seop Mugwang paused briefly.

Swallowing something down, his voice emerged low and subdued.

“Do you know what he was willing to throw away just to heal me?”

She did not know.

She had never heard.

But if Seop Mugwang had been driven to sever ties with the Namgoong Clan entirely, it must have been something irreplaceable.

And that expectation was not wrong.

“Tianming .”

“...!”

He was willing to give up Tianming...?

Tianming—the famed sword of the Sword Emperor, known throughout the world.

Namgoong Mucheon’s sword.

For a swordsman, their blade was no different from their life itself.

The sword he had carried by his side his entire life—he had been ready to part with it?

“There was someone who claimed they could restore my meridians. That man told your grandfather, if I recover, hand over your sword. And without a moment’s hesitation, he agreed.”

Seop Mugwang’s hand, resting atop his knee, trembled faintly.

“Do you know what your grandfather, the Sword Emperor, means to me?”

A respected senior of the martial world, a clan head worthy of following.

A lord to whom he had pledged his loyalty, and a savior who once risked his life to rescue him.

The one person who had the greatest influence on the man known as the God of Wind and Thunder, the one who helped him the most.

And in exchange for regaining his martial arts, he would take away that person’s life in the form of his sword?

It was no different from killing his benefactor with his own hands.

“I do not want to become such a shameless man. I am done with martial arts.”

Seop Mugwang rose from his seat and left the room.

Seolhwa could not stop him.

[Done with martial arts? Hmph. Saying words you do not mean. You run wild on your own and speak as if you have given up.]

She had seen Seop Mugwang training alone in the mountains.

He was desperate. He was relentless.

After seeing that, how could anyone believe he had truly forsaken martial arts?

[What now? Will you return to the family?]

“I have no choice.”

[Good. This place lacks food, lacks... what?]

“I will be staying longer than expected.”

[...?! W-What are you saying! Staying? For what reason! You saw it yourself! That so-called master of yours has no intention of returning!]

“Do not worry. I will not drag this out for too long.”

She had promised Grandfather and the clan that she would return before the family assembly.

Until then, she would do her best to persuade him.

****

The next morning.

Returning from her dawn training, Seolhwa found Seop Mugwang preparing to head into the mountains.

“Did your training go well?”

Seolhwa nodded.

“You are diligent.”

Seop Mugwang slung the basket over his shoulder and stood up.

“You are not leaving?”

“The surroundings here are ideal for training. I plan to stay a little longer.”

“This place is good, I admit. You should visit that side later. There is a perfect spot for training. Ah, if you head toward the rocky mountain and turn east, there is even a waterfall....”

Seop Mugwang suddenly cut himself off, clicking his tongue softly.

“Anyway, do not stay too long. The elders will worry.”

“Yes.”

Seop Mugwang gave Seolhwa a short glance and passed by her.

Seolhwa called after /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ him belatedly.

“May I come with you?”

“Huh?”

“To where you are gathering herbs. May I come along?”

“It is boring.”

“I do not mind.”

“Suit yourself, then. Go inside and ask Choryeon for an extra rice ball.”

“Yes.”

Watching Seolhwa dash into the kitchen, Seop Mugwang let out a short sigh, set down his basket, and collapsed onto the veranda.

A tune hummed from his lips, light and unrestrained.

Tapping his foot without reason, Seop Mugwang gazed at the distant sky.

It looked to be a remarkably clear day.