Free Web NovelThe next day, the sun rose just as mercilessly as ever.
I’d gone to sleep hoping that when I opened my eyes I’d be back home, but my body was still in the Sichuan Tang Clan, and there was still a broom in my hand.
With a dead face, I swept across the blue stone courtyard. Right in front of me, Tang Jung had plopped down and was polishing throwing knives.
If you sit there, you’re going to breathe dust, Elder. You could do that over there. Why are you right here.
Clicking my tongue, I skirted around him with the broom and asked,
“Elder, didn’t you say to come at late afternoon?”
“I did. But if I call you after dark, people might get the wrong idea. Just do the cleaning while you’re here.”
I see. Ha ha ha. Ha. Ha ha.
Swallowing a hollow laugh, I looked around the vast space that was now my responsibility.
This was the moment yesterday’s dusty hall officially became my assigned area.
Dizzying. Absolutely dizzying.
According to Songji, Tang Jung was a picky master who hated other people touching his belongings and had refused to let maids clean.
He’d even hung a “no entry” flag; that said it all. And yet, he also couldn’t stand things being dirty.
He didn’t care if the sitting room was caked in dust, but he’d blow up over a single speck in the tearoom. Because dust in the tearoom ruined the flavor of tea, supposedly.
He didn’t want anyone going through his quarters, but he wanted the tearoom spotless, so the maids used to climb in through the window, clean, and then climb back out.
“They say the older Tang people get, the more eccentric they become, and it must be true. ‘Don’t clean,’ but if it’s dirty, he gets mad. You be careful too.”
Whispering that, Songji had worried I’d skip a meal and tucked a dumpling into my sleeve.
“Elder Tang Jung told me to send you.”
Even Simyang, who delivered the message, had looked at me with pity, which told me plenty about the Grand Elder’s fearsome reputation among the maids.
Judging by how they let you rest the next day after you visited his quarters, his tyranny had to be something special.
...In that case, wouldn’t it be simpler if you just did your own cleaning, Elder.
I stared at the back of his head while he focused on his weapons.
From this angle, he just looked like an ordinary kid, but his personality was something else. He didn’t seriously expect me to crawl in and out of the window to clean too, did he.
Maybe he felt my eyes on him, because he spoke up.
“Done sweeping?”
“Sorry? Yes, Elder.”
I squeaked, startled, and he let out a brief laugh and gestured.
“Come here.”
“Yes.”
I scurried over, and he held out his palm toward me. It looked like he wanted me to show mine.
Taking the hint, I held my hand out. Tang Jung put his hand over it and clicked his tongue.
“Your hand is small for handling throwing weapons. It should be at least three inches bigger.”
Even though we were about the same height, his hand was a whole joint longer than mine. Long and slender, almost pretty.
Does turning back one’s age make your hands and feet pretty too. While I was busy thinking nonsense, he set something on my palm.
“Throw it.”
It was an iron coin.
It had a square hole in the middle—the ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) kind of thing you only ever saw in textbooks.
When I rubbed it between my thumb and forefinger, the surface felt rough. Awkwardly, I closed my fingers around it.
“Where should I throw it?”
“What would be good... Do you see that red cloth tied to that tree?”
“Yes, I see it.”
“Hit that cloth.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. The tree was nearly a hundred meters away. How was a person supposed to hit that.
Even archers shot at seventy meters with a bow, and I was a normal person. There was no way I could throw something a hundred meters with pure muscle and no equipment.
When I hesitated, Tang Jung urged me on.
“It’s fine. Just throw it.”
I bit down hard on my lip and threw the coin. I was sure it wouldn’t make it even halfway before plummeting—
...Huh?
I blinked.
The coin tore through the air and buried itself dead-center in the red cloth.
“Did you throw that, Elder?”
“No.”
I looked back and forth between my hand and the tree trunk. It all felt weirdly unreal.
That actually worked?
Why did that work?
Judging the distance between me and the tree, Tang Jung’s eyes took on a new gleam. He held out another coin.
“Throw again. This time, hit that blue cloth.”
“Yes.”
Without expecting much, I took the coin and threw it. I’d hit by sheer luck once; there was no way I’d hit twice—
...And yet I did.
My eyes flew wide. The coin had ripped through the center of the blue cloth and was lodged at an angle in the middle of the trunk.
What is this. Why is this working.
Tang Jung jerked his chin.
“Go pull them out.”
“Yes.”
I sprinted over and yanked the coins out. The edges embedded in the wood were mashed and bent.
My jaw dropped. Were my arms really that strong? Had I just discovered some hidden talent I’d never known about? I thought it over and realized the truth. freewebnoveℓ.com
This was Sohae’s ability.
She could hand-wash laundry all day without getting tired. Her muscles and bones were on a completely different level from my office-worker body that used to be wiped out after a thirty-minute walk.
Maybe Sohae’s parents had been martial artists. Physical talent was heavily influenced by genes.
I brought the two dented coins back and held them out. After a slow inspection, Tang Jung spoke.
“You’ve got quite a bit of strength. You’ll keep up with training just fine.”
Looking satisfied, he stroked his chin, then casually flung the coins far over the wall.
Elder, if you throw them out that way, I’m the one who’ll have to pick them up.
I gaped, and he waved it off.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring a whole bundle.”
That’s not the point. The words Please don’t just throw trash anywhere rose to the back of my throat, but I forced them down.
You really are an Elder who doesn’t understand a maid’s heart even a grain of millet’s worth.
He slipped the polished throwing knives into his sleeve and looked up at the sky.
“It’s about midday. Let’s eat first.”
Without waiting for my answer, he slipped inside the hall. I scrambled after him.
*****
After eating nothing but rice balls, dumplings, and plain noodles, the Grand Elder’s lunch table looked like something out of a royal banquet.
Every dish on the table was piled high, and there were all kinds of things—from meat to fish.
I worried whether it was really okay for me to sit and eat at the same table as him, but Tang Jung didn’t seem to care. He actually pushed a plate of meat toward me.
“Eat plenty. That’s how you grow.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
Hearing that kind of grandpa-style advice come out of a child’s face gave me cognitive dissonance. I forced a smile and carefully picked up my chopsticks.
The seasoned meat hit my tongue with that spicy kick unique to Sichuan food.
Watching me chew, Tang Jung propped his chin on his hand and asked,
“Sohae. What do you think martial arts is?”
Elder, why are we talking martial arts at the table. I’m going to get indigestion.
I managed to swallow my mouthful and answered,
“I’m not sure.”
“Just say what comes to mind.”
“Um... Isn’t it training to reach the highest realm of martial skill a human can touch?”
“You’re sharper than you look.”
Apparently pleased with the fancy answer, he smiled.
“Right. Just like you said, countless martial artists devote their whole lives to reaching the peak of martial arts. This old man is the same. Soon, you will be too.”
...Do we really have to. I’d like to politely decline having my life plan drawn up for me, Elder.
I swallowed my complaint and slowly set my chopsticks down. His dark blue eyes were fixed on me.
When I met his gaze, he spoke, unhurried.
“Martial arts are like building a tower. If you pile it up without first making the foundation solid, what do you think will happen?”
“It won’t be able to bear its own weight and it’ll collapse.”
“Right. Martial arts are the same. If you get greedy for flashy techniques before you’ve laid the groundwork, all you’ll end up as is a third-rate fighter who accomplishes nothing.”
“Yes.”
“Why do you think I’m telling you this?”
“I think you’re saying that I should build a good foundation.”
“Exactly. Whatever you do, you have to climb one step at a time from the first rung. So starting today, you’ll be learning external training.”
“External training?”
“Yes. We have to build a body that’s good for cultivating inner strength. Learning an inner method comes after that. Here, eat this too.”
He stopped talking and carefully deboned a piece of fish, then set it on my plate.
So he was saying I needed to build the body first.
My eyes rolled awkwardly.
It felt similar to building up basic fitness before you started really working out.
“But there’s no need to rush. It’s not too late. It doesn’t matter if other people started at five, or at twelve. That has nothing to do with you. You just keep walking your own path with a stubborn spine.”
His confident voice had a strange power to it. Before I knew it, I was nodding along, almost entranced, and he let out a short laugh.
“Well, this isn’t something I need to say now. I’ll tell you again later. For now, eat your fill. You’re going to get hungry fast once you start splashing in the water.”
A playful glint came into his eyes.
Splashing in the water? In this weather? Was he planning to throw me into the river or something. My stomach dropped.
He wouldn’t... right?
*****
Of course he would.
The moment we finished eating, his eyes lit up and he marched me straight to the pond. There was a touch of madness in his gaze that made me nervously twist my sleeves.
I had not the slightest desire to go into water that was cold as ice. As if he’d read my mind, the corners of his mouth curled up.
“Now that you’ve eaten well, it’s time to use your body.”
“Elder, isn’t there maybe some other, more moderate method?”
Ignoring me entirely, he held out a bundle of coins.
“Catch fish with these.”
“...Sorry?”
I tried to make sense of his words. Thankfully, it didn’t sound like he was planning to make me go into the pond. So what did he mean?
Was I supposed to bend the coins into hooks and use them as fishing gear? Or use them as bait?
While I stood there blank, he poked my cheek and snickered.
“Think it can’t be done? Watch closely.”
With a light flick of his wrist, he threw a coin.
It flew, pierced the surface of the water, and went clean through a fish’s gills.
The fish floated up, dead in an instant. Completely clean work.
Scooping the fish up at his leisure, Tang Jung looked over at me.
“That’s all there is to it. You can do that, right?”
...How would I.
“I’ll keep you at it until you can, so don’t worry.”
He smiled brightly, as if he were reassuring me.
So that’s what you meant when you said I’d get hungry again soon, huh!
I wanted to cry.
