Free Web NovelObviously, I didn’t manage to catch even a single fish before the sun went down.
It would have been stranger if I had. Catch fish with coins? That was about as nonsensical as telling someone to stick an elephant into a refrigerator.
I stared blankly at the pond glowing under the sunset. Coins drifted along the reddened surface, bobbing toward the edges.
The way that heap of wet coins glittered on the water felt oddly familiar. I’d seen something like that a lot at tourist spots.
...The pond had turned into a wish-granting fountain.
I crouched in front of the water and peered down into the pond.
Was I supposed to fish all of those out too?
I tapped the surface with my index finger, still debating, when Tang Jung called me.
“The sun has set. That’s enough. Come inside.”
“Yes.”
Guess I didn’t have to.
At his welcome summons, I ran toward the pavilion like I’d been waiting for it. Leaning against a pillar, Tang Jung asked,
“How was it once you tried?”
“It was difficult.”
“What was difficult about it?”
“Mm...”
I thought for a moment.
“When the wind blows, the direction goes off, and that’s hard. Ah, and how it slows down once it goes into the water too. It was difficult to adjust the strength so it wouldn’t lose speed before it reached the fish.”
“You’re much better than the blockheads.”
At my answer, Tang Jung smiled, pleased.
“When it comes to hidden-weapon techniques, you see, it isn’t just about stupidly throwing poison-smeared blades. Our ultimate goal is to control countless variables.”
With that preface, he lifted one arm high. His sleeve slipped down and fluttered lightly in the direction the wind was blowing.
“Look. The direction and strength of the wind are different every day. The weight of the air is the same. On humid days, the air is heavy so hidden weapons sink more than usual; on dry days, they float lighter than usual.”
Feeling out the direction of the wind with his open hand, Tang Jung flicked a coin. It shot out like an arrow and buried itself in a rock by the pond.
“You have to perceive all of these changes and know how to adjust your force and speed. That is the realm we pursue. Hidden-weapon techniques are a beautiful, delicate martial art.”
The calm way he explained it was soaked in pride.
“Beautiful and then some. Hmph, completely different from the brute strength show-offs with their crude swords.”
Then, as if remembering someone, he ground his teeth.
Sounded like he’d been tormented plenty by sword-wielders in his youth.
He quickly smoothed his expression and patted my head.
“Sohae, you’ll soon understand the joy of it too. Let’s eat dinner.”
“Yes.”
Answering meekly, I followed him into the pavilion.
Dinner was rough in a different way. Sharing a table with him was one burden; the bigger problem was that my arms were trembling so badly I could barely hold my chopsticks.
It felt like my arms weren’t my own. Like someone had wrung every muscle in my body dry—I just couldn’t put any strength into them.
Watching me strain just to lift my chopsticks, Tang Jung started placing side dishes onto my plate himself.
“You’re all skin and bones, no wonder you’re weak. I’ll have to put some flesh on you.”
A moment ago you said my strength was decent, Elder. Maybe you should take a second to think about whose fault it is I’ve ended up like this.
But oblivious to my inner complaints, he just clicked his tongue and kept his hands moving. Thick slabs of meat piled endlessly onto my plate.
My eating speed, on the other hand, slowed and slowed. I’d kept stuffing myself with whatever he gave me, and now my stomach felt bloated and heavy. When I finally managed to clear the plate, he asked,
“Is that not enough? Shall I give you more?”
He was clearly about to push another plate at me, so I hurriedly stopped him.
“Elder, I can’t eat any more. I’m full.”
“Already? Have just one more piece.”
“If I eat more, I think I’ll get indigestion.”
When I shook my head, he set his chopsticks down with a regretful sigh. That look was the moment his real age hit me again.
He was no different from the elders back home who try to feed their grandkids anything and everything when they come down to the countryside.
Before he could think of anything else to push on me, I quickly cleared away the dishes.
“Elder, then I’ll be going now.”
“Fine. Take this with you as well.”
As I was getting ready to leave, he held out a bundle wrapped in green cloth.
“Writing tools and the Thousand-Character Classic. Memorize it.”
“...How much of it should I memorize?”
“As much as you can. Copy each character ten times.”
Elder, it’s eight at night right now. And I told you I can’t read.
Even at my tearful look, he only shrugged, not budging an inch. A silent command to take care of it on my own.
I sniffled.
*****
Cleaning, throwing coins, memorizing the Thousand-Character Classic.
Cleaning, throwing coins, memorizing the Thousand-Character Classic.
My days turned into a hamster wheel.
Since meeting Tang Jung, I’d been drying up by the day, and Songji’s worry grew bigger right along with it.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
“I’m dying...”
I staggered in and flopped down on the floor, and Songji shook me.
“Sleep on the bed. We didn’t clean there.”
“Can’t I just sleep here?”
I really felt like I might die.
At my whining, Songji snorted. freewebnøvel.coɱ
“If you want to clean the floor with your body, go ahead. Take tomorrow off. I’ll go clean in your place.”
Ah, soft-hearted Songji. Even knowing what a terror the Elder is, you can still say that. You’re an angel.
“No. The Elder told me to come personally.”
“How did you end up catching the Elder’s eye in the first place? You’re driving me crazy, you know that?”
She smacked my back in frustration. I wanted to know that too. How had I ended up on Tang Jung’s radar?
In martial arts novels, the more the characters trained, the healthier they got, but somehow I felt like I was being whittled down to skin and bones.
What good was it if the food I ate looked nicer? My own face was getting duller by the day.
Maybe it was because I didn’t have a dantian yet. Maybe things would change once I started learning an inner-strength mental method.
Groaning, I slowly pushed myself upright. With no heated floor, my stomach was cold. I needed to sleep in the bed.
That was when someone called me.
“Sohae. Are you asleep?”
It was an unfamiliar man’s voice.
Startled, I turned my head. A long shadow stretched across the papered door.
Who could it be? The only men I knew here were Tang Jung and the few men who ran errands for him. Oh, and the Head Steward.
From the gentle way he called my name, it seemed like he’d originally known Sohae, but I was reluctant to answer carelessly.
What kind of relationship did they have, for him to come all the way to her quarters like some ex texting at two in the morning?
When I didn’t answer, he called me again.
“Sohae. If you’re awake, would you come out for a moment?”
“Yes! Sohae is coming out! Hey, the Young Master has come. Hurry and go.”
Before I could say anything, Songji answered for me and shoved me toward the door. From her attitude, it seemed he wasn’t someone who came by often.
If he’s “the Young Master,” is he the Clan Head’s son?
Wondering who he was, I slid the door open.
Cool air swept in, carrying a subtle orchid scent.
I rubbed my eyes to adjust to the darkness and saw a man standing under the porch, a lantern in his hand.
“Did I wake you while you were sleeping? I’m sorry.”
The man apologizing with a gentle face was a handsome, refined type.
Mid-twenties, maybe. Unlike the Tang people, who all seemed dark from head to toe, his hair under the moonlight had a brownish tint.
If not for the green robe, I wouldn’t have thought he was Tang at all.
Maybe he took after his mother’s side. I stared at him, dazed.
“Uh. Yes.”
“Why do you look at me like I’m a stranger? Is it because it’s been so long since I came?”
We’ve never met in my life.
I swallowed the words that rose up to my throat and forced down a gulp.
His mild, even tone matched his soft features perfectly.
“Young Master, what brings you all the way here...?”
As I let my words trail off, his face crumpled into one of wounded offense.
“Young Master? This older brother is hurt. I told you not to call me that. Call me Brother Un like before.”
“But...”
“Even if you don’t want to, call me Brother.”
He shook his head and put on a stern expression.
Letting some lowly maid call you “Brother” like that... they must have been pretty close. Just what kind of relationship was this?
“...Yes. Brother Un.”
When I awkwardly changed the way I addressed him, he broke into a bright smile.
“That’s better. Now you sound like the real Sohae.”
Over his smiling face, I suddenly saw Tang Jung’s smiling face superimposed.
Blood will tell, I guess. They did resemble each other a bit when they smiled. freёwebnovel.com
Of course, what that meant was that he was good-looking.
So his name is Un, then? Would that make him Tang Un? Or maybe Un was just a pet name.
Bending down so our eyes were level, Un asked,
“Nothing happened while I was gone, right? I didn’t think my trip through the martial world would take this long. I was worried.”
“Yes.”
“You seem to have grown a little taller. You’re not hurting anywhere?”
“No.”
I parroted the same answers over and over. Since I didn’t know who Un was, there wasn’t much I could say.
Even with my half-hearted responses, he didn’t lose his smile. His light-colored eyes curved as he held something out to me.
“I bought this for you, Sohae.”
It was a hairpin decorated with delicate peach blossoms.
The quality jade shone clear and bright, and the flowers carved from coral looked so vivid they seemed like ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) they might give off a scent. Even I, who didn’t know much of anything, could tell it wasn’t some ordinary trinket.
I looked from the hairpin to Un and back again. I had no idea why he was giving something this precious to a mere maid.
After grinding my gears for a while, what floated up was a conversation I’d once had with my manager.
“Manager, what does it mean to give someone a hairpin? They keep talking about hairpins.”
“That’s a proposal. Back in the day, they proposed with hairpins, apparently.”
...He definitely said hairpins were for proposals.
I was so taken aback I couldn’t even speak.
Is this guy seriously proposing to a maid who’s at least ten years younger than he is?
When I hesitated, Un waved the hairpin slightly, urging me to take it.
“I didn’t buy any for Juhui or Chohee. So you have to keep the fact that I gave you this a secret.”
His whispering voice practically dripped kindness, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile.
Who Juhui and Chohee were was one thing; more importantly, what kind of relationship did he think they had, gifting her a hairpin like this? It wasn’t something I could accept lightly.
To brush it off as some harmless misunderstanding, the whole situation was just too suspicious.
Why would a direct-line Tang heir come all the way out to the outer estate maids’ quarters in the middle of the night and act familiar with her?
Why was he pressing a hairpin on her in secret, telling her to keep it between them?
One dubious thought led to another, chaining together in my head. My face twisted all on its own.
Does this bastard have dirty thoughts about Sohae or what?
