Chapter 42
Part 17: Dragon Eyes
The day she first met Geumju,
Jeong-ah had collapsed as if she had fainted, but in truth, that phenomenon was far removed from ordinary overwork.
“This is not simple exhaustion.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon was the only one who noticed that.
Every physician who had taken her pulse before him had said that she was merely sleeping because she was tired.
He spoke to the collapsed Jeong-ah.
“You can hear me, can’t you?”
She wanted to answer, “Yes,” but her body would not move in the slightest.
“I investigated your constitution. In truth, it took quite a long time.”
It seemed that only after taking her pulse today had he finally reached a conclusion.
“I thought you had a rare constitution, but it went far beyond what I expected.”
He said that she possessed not one, but two extremely rare constitutions.
“The first is Dragon Eyes, though to be honest, I am not even certain whether translating it as Dragon Eyes is correct.”
He had even been unable to find it in the Central Plains and had found it in records from a distant land.
“They say that one born with these Dragon Eyes possesses a body closer to a dragonkin than to a human. They say it is an exceedingly precious constitution, but honestly, translating it in any more detail than that was difficult.”
In other words, her “eyes” were called Dragon Eyes.
However, the claim that it was an exceedingly precious constitution made her feel a little doubtful.
Based on her experiences until now, it was difficult to think that she had been born with an ability worthy of being described so highly.
“I know what you are wondering.”
He said that the reason the Dragon Eyes could not display their proper power was entirely because of her second constitution.
“The second is a type of severed meridian. There is no point telling you the name, since you would not know it anyway.”
He said that the severed meridian prevented her, despite possessing an innate martial body, from accumulating any internal energy at all. It had even severed the meridian through which the Dragon Eyes flowed, preventing the power of the Dragon Eyes from manifesting properly.
“I will begin treating that severed meridian of yours now. Of course, do not hope that everything will be cured in one attempt.”
His touch was astonishingly delicate, and also warm.
He was a master who usually seemed so frightening.
But when he practiced medicine, he seemed to become an entirely different person.
Soon, she fell into a deep sleep.
“With this treatment, it should be safe to say that the first stage is now completely finished.”
Covered all over in countless golden needles, Jeong-ah asked,
“Master.”
“What is it? Though it would be best if you did not speak unless you truly have to.”
But there was something she absolutely wanted to ask.
“May I dare ask what the Golden-Eyed Witch is?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon’s hand stopped in midair.
“…So you were conscious even then.”
He was referring to the time when she had fainted at Wongakjeong for the first time.
She remembered the name Yeon Sang-hyeon had used for her.
“It is a memory I had been unable to recall until now. As I received treatment from you this time, Master, I remembered it.”
“Yes, yes, I understand, so close your mouth now.”
He began placing golden needles near Jeong-ah’s face.
For some reason, she could sense that he was troubled.
Until now, she had never been able to read it at all: her master’s state of mind.
Perhaps this, too, meant that his treatment was taking effect.
“…That is a name that has nothing to do with you. So you may forget it.”
Jeong-ah wanted to hear more.
As if he had read even her heart, her master told her a little more.
“It was the epithet of a woman who lived an extremely unfortunate life. She hated the world enough to throw away even her own life.”
She sensed hesitation from him.
“…One day, in the end, I had to dissect her with my own hands.”
After prescribing all the needles, he raised his hand and brushed aside the hair that had fallen over her face.
It was a touch just like that time.
The same touch from the day she first came to Wongakjeong, when he had stroked her hair as she lay collapsed.
A deep regret and sorrow were conveyed from him.
…and an enormous anger as well.
That anger was so great that she could hardly dare to endure it.
“…Sleep for a while.”
When he tapped her acupoint, she felt her eyes closing.
“As I said, it is a story unrelated to you…”
For some reason, those words felt as though he was saying them not to Jeong-ah, but to himself.
“Forget it now.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked into her golden eyes with a solemn expression.
“The effect of the treatment is better than I expected. We have only taken the first step, yet… Or perhaps these Dragon Eyes are far more remarkable than I thought.”
He looked at her face and smiled.
“…Now you can see exactly what kind of being I am.”
He closed her eyes.
“Be at ease. I have no intention whatsoever of ordering you to walk the same path as me.”
He pulled up the blanket and covered her body.
“All I want is for you to do your best as this young master’s personal maid.”
As he left the room, he said,
“This treatment is merely a small act of goodwill I am granting to you because you offered your loyalty to me, the Eldest Young Master Yeon Sang-hyeon. Do not feel burdened by it.”
***
Her older sister, Se-ah, left only the minimum number of people behind and departed the safe house with her subordinates.
The final assault against the Black Bone Sect was about to begin.
After finishing preparations for her master’s late-night meal, Jeong-ah went to find him.
“Hm…?”
She knelt before him.
“This sword is now yours forever.”
For a while, he said nothing.
She did not say anything more than that, but her master would understand her action.
This was separate from the loyalty she had offered as a maid. It was a ceremony as a sword that would serve its lord.
It was an oath that she would walk his path with him.
“…I accept your sword.”
He accepted her sword with a slightly awkward expression.
“But where did you get this sword?”
She smiled.
“I exchanged one ornament for it with a female warrior guarding the safe house.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon burst into hearty laughter.
She felt the sadness flowing out from his laughter.
“Master. Perhaps…”
Now, she could feel his heart.
That was why she could say these words.
“If ‘she’ had met you just a little sooner, Master, she would have acted the same way I did.”
Surprise appeared on his face.
And soon, a gentle smile settled on his face.
“…Are you not afraid?”
At her sister’s words, she could not say anything for a moment.
Was she not afraid?
Of course she was afraid.
He was a more terrifying being than all the nightmares she had ever had combined.
But at the same time,
he was warmer at heart than anyone she had ever met until now.
He was the person she most wanted to resemble.
“It is because I want to become like that person too.”
“…Mother.”
It seemed that the dreadful “thing” clinging to her master was tormenting him again.
“I am sorry, Mother…”
She quietly approached him and brushed aside his hair.
Just as he had done for her.
Did it have an effect?
Soon, his expression became peaceful again.
She watched that face for a long while, then quietly left.
Without going far, she sat on the veranda where the moon could be seen and began the basic breathing circulation technique he had taught her.
***
Sensing that familiar energy, that demonic energy, Jeong-ah woke from her sleep.
She headed toward the place where she felt the demonic energy, making her footsteps as quiet as possible.
When she entered Yeon Sang-hyeon’s bedroom, she could see her master lying in bed.
Outside Wongakjeong, a cold north wind was blowing, making even sunlight feel welcome.
But inside Wongakjeong, only the cool breeze of a warm spring day brushed past flower petals.
It was the power of the barrier-like formation installed in Wongakjeong.
Yeon Sang-hyeon was sitting on a chair placed in the open space, dressed in comfortable everyday clothes.
“Do you know the root of the problems surrounding you?”
Jeong-ah, wearing not a neat maid uniform or elegant outing clothes, but black martial robes, had a different kind of charm.
“…Perhaps my status as a lowborn woman is the most fundamental problem.”
The slave system was prohibited by law in the Central Plains.
But no matter where one went in the Central Plains, one could find people living lives no different from slaves.
That had also been true of her, who had been sold to the Sword Clan as a child.
“Correct.”
He nodded.
“The highest position someone of your status can rise to is likely a position equivalent to that of a maid.”
He continued calmly.
“If one becomes the personal maid of a direct-blooded member of the Sword Clan, then regardless of one’s original status, that position alone is enough to receive respect from most people.”
He drew his knees up on the chair, rested his chin on them, and looked at her.
“…But you know well that it is not enough.”
The images of the Second Young Master’s chief steward and the Third Young Master’s Three Ultimate Warriors rose in her mind.
To those with even a little power, and to those backed by authority, the position of personal maid meant nothing.
After all, a maid was only a maid.
“Here in the Sword Clan, there is only one way to raise one’s status. What is it?”
“To become a warrior.”
A warrior, meaning “a martial artist belonging to the Sword Clan,” was itself a status and a rank.
“That is right. So no matter how hard it is, you must follow my education as much as possible.”
“This lowly woman does not know how to repay your grace, Master.”
And so, Yeon Sang-hyeon began martial instruction for her sake.
“The sword art you will learn is called Flashing Shadow Moment. It is an advanced martial art that is highly regarded even within the Sword Clan.”
He smiled broadly.
“However, the conditions it demands are strict, and the martial principles one must follow are abstruse. It is so difficult to train that even within the Sword Clan, it is hard to find someone who has mastered it to great completion.”
Jeong-ah swallowed dryly.
The things she had learned by watching over others’ shoulders with the power of her “eyes” were, at best, the skills of the Sword Clan’s lower-ranked warriors.
She wondered whether someone like her could learn and master advanced martial arts.
On top of that, had he not said it was famous for being difficult?
“Considering your constitution, you more than satisfy the conditions this martial art requires. It would be a shame not to try it at least once.”
“Yes, Master. This lowly woman will do her very best.”
“Good. Then let us begin with a basic understanding.”
He picked up a tree branch and taught her the forms, swinging it this way and that.
Because it was a form displayed without internal energy, she could not confirm its original appearance, and there were many parts where the flow was broken.
Furthermore, just as he had said, an advanced martial art was extremely abstruse.
But once Yeon Sang-hyeon’s flowing explanation was added, she could somehow infer the original form through her Dragon Eyes.
Thus, though it was difficult, Jeong-ah was barely able to learn the form.
“Master! How was it?”
What was he supposed to say to a maid who had learned the form of an advanced martial art in half a day?
Yeon Sang-hyeon let out a hollow laugh.
“You, from now on, stop preparing meals.”