409 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

Closed-door training. In martial arts, the practice is called "mugong" rather than simply "martial skills" because it emphasizes not only the training of the body but also the training of the mind and the pursuit of enlightenment—it is a complete martial discipline. Closed-door training involves sealing oneself off from external distractions, finding inner peace, and observing oneself to battle and conquer inner turmoil. It was essential for those who felt trapped to break through to the next level. [How many times has it been now?] Even if it meant confronting the demons within one's heart. "......" Salmak's training hall. A woman with a young appearance and an expressionless face faced her heart, eventually meeting an entity that mirrored her own appearance. [Isn't it time to give up?] The entity before her was invisible to others, a phantom presence, yet it was a very real demon. "Silence." Cheon So Hee, known as Cheonsal Seong, spoke to the murderous intent within her heart and the will of the stars. [What do you think has happened to your brother who went to the Sichuan Guild?] The heart demon teased her about her greatest worry. "He'll be fine." [So Hee, save me. Please save me!!! ...Huh!] In an instant, a sword was swung. Had it not been just a phantom, it would have been cleaved in two. Her heart demon, wearing Cheon So Hee's face, laughed with an expression of derision that she never used. "Don't mimic Yoon Ho Oppa." Cheon So Hee tightened her grip on the sword facing the heart demon. Although this had emerged from within her, she had never once defeated it. Naturally so. The heart demon was as much Cheon So Hee as it was Cheonsal Seong. The will of the stars was too formidable for a girl who hadn't reached maturity to defeat. The heart demon held its sword in the exact same stance as Cheon So Hee. [How many times do you have to lose to be satisfied?] The answer to the weary heart demon's question was simple. "Until I win." Since her brother promised to do his best, she too must do her utmost. -- Cheon So Hee was ultimately unable to resolve the conflict. Though they inflicted numerous lethal blows, even severing throats, the fight was inherently one where neither could completely overcome the other. She checked her condition with Suratalmyeong Technique. By now, she had grown accustomed to healing the internal injuries left by the heart demon. [Wasn't he someone precious to you?] As she finished healing, a whisper crept into her ears. "He is precious." [You love that man. Would you let someone else be the cause of his death?] "My brother will not die." Trusting Yoon Ho Oppa, she had entered the training hall. To avoid being consumed by murderous intent, she had volunteered for closed-door training. [Aren't you worried? Come on, let's leave. The Sichuan Guild? Those poison users are the problem, right? I'll help you.] The heart demon, previously always provoking battles, now proposed kindly. "Help me?" [Give me your body. Leave it all to me. How long will you continue this charade?] "No." [How could you let someone else kill what is most precious to you?] "I can't allow that." [Exactly. You can't, right? If someone must kill them, shouldn't it be us?] The heart demon's proposal was sweet and enticing. Yes, he is precious. My Yoon Ho Oppa. More than anything, he is my cherished childhood brother. A man who shares the same pain as me. The only person in this world who truly knows me. Such a man. "That can't happen..." I cannot let him be killed by anyone other than my own hand. At that moment, a warm energy blossomed within Cheon So Hee's heart. It was merely a fragment, but enough warmth to envelop her cooling soul. [Are you interrupting again?] An annoyed expression was evident. A voice of regret was heard. The meager strand of energy stood firm against the heart demon. "Disappear." What had she been thinking just now? Venturing again into clarity with the energy her brother left her, Cheon So Hee resolutely stated. [I’m offering to help. Just nod your head once.] Yet the heart demon persisted. "I don’t need it." [Let’s leave this stifling place quickly! Let’s take revenge! I’ll lend you the power!] The voice cried out like a hungry beast urging its owner to act. "Even if I kill, it will be by my will." There was no intention to surrender control. Cheon So Hee spoke firmly. [Ha. You?] The heart demon laughed derisively. "I must protect Yoon Ho Oppa." There was no intention of handing herself over to a beast that couldn’t protect. [What if you couldn’t protect him? Don’t you need the power to avenge?] Cheon So Hee momentarily envisioned an unimaginable scenario. Yoon Ho Oppa, who went to the Sichuan Guild, being harmed by them. Only one path was open to Cheon So Hee. "I will kill him myself. I have no intention of yielding to the likes of you." More power might mean more revenge, but that wouldn’t be her vengeance. Her brother’s revenge had to be done by her own hand until the moment she died. Even if it was something within her heart, she had no intention of yielding. [Planning to kill, yet trembling at the idea of being consumed by me?] "Yes, that’s why I face you." [What?] Cheon So Hee gazed within once more. A sea of murderous intent lay before her. She had regularly thrown sacrifices in hopes of calming it. It was a sea she didn't dare tread for fear of being engulfed. But today was different. 'I must do it with my own hands.' Cheon So Hee reached into the sticky sea of murderous intent. Had it been before, she would have been dragged under. If she hadn’t constantly faced it within the training hall, that is. Cheon So Hee retrieved what was hers from the sticky sea of intent. It was not the murderous intent of Cheonsal Seong, but the murderous intent of Cheon So Hee herself that she raised. It appeared like an untempered sword but seemed sturdier than any blade. [Ha. Interesting. Very interesting. This is a first. Alright... I’ll withdraw this time.] A desire to kill simmered within her, yet it elicited no response. Even the tempting allure of sticky persuasion slipped away like oil off smooth metal. The voice vanished, seemingly amused. "It won't be necessary." After facing each other, she found what she had been avoiding all along—her own self. The turmoil settled. The sea of murderous intent did not react. What she held now was neither the heart demon's nor the stars' will; it was hers alone. Cheon So Hee realized that the time had come for her to leave. She opened the door to the training hall. In the distance, a light beckoned. Walking down the long corridor, she was finally greeted by the dazzling brightness. "What is this?" She quickly grasped that the entrance to the training hall was lined with assassins from Salmak. —— "Have you emerged?" The first person Cheon So Hee encountered upon leaving the training hall was her master, Jeok Nachal Dan Seowol. "Why are you all gathered here?" Numerous martial artists from Salmak were stationed around the training hall. It appeared not to celebrate a return, but clearly to surround someone. "After six months, shouldn't your first greeting be towards your master? When will you learn manners?" Dan Seowol sighed lightly, maintaining his usual demeanor. "Half a year?" "Yes. Half a year has passed since you entered closed-door training." The realization that six months had passed after endlessly battling her heart demon left Cheon So Hee momentarily disturbed, even when she had remained unflustered by the encirclement. Much time had passed. What about then? "...Oppa. What happened?" She finally voiced the concern she couldn't erase throughout her training. "..." Jeok Nachal Dan Seowol's lips showed no intention of moving. "Yoon Ho Oppa. What happened to him?" Despite the presence of many people, a heavy silence filled the air. Could it be... A terrible premonition flashed through Cheon So Hee's mind. "If something happened to him, what will you do?" Dan Seowol studied his disciple's subtle change in expression before asking. "I'll go to the Sichuan Guild." Her reply was immediate. "And then?" "I will kill them all." It wasn't Cheonsal Seong's killing intent, but Cheon So Hee's that emanated in all directions. "Gasp." "Eek! Protection! The technique of serene reflection!" "All those lacking deep mastery, step back." Dan Seowol raised his hand, calming the surrounding atmosphere. "Tell me. What happened to Yoon Ho Oppa?" "..." Again, Dan Seowol did not answer. "Is he really... gone?" Fear seeped into Cheon So Hee's voice. Despair showed on her youthful face. Her pupils began to quiver. The sticky murderous intent she thought she had subdued started to boil inside her chest. "Calm your mind." Jeok Nachal tried soothing his disciple with a composed voice. "If Oppa dies, I die too." "It's not the only way to suppress your deadly intent." Jeok Nachal and Cheon So Hee locked eyes. A woman on the brink of losing something irreplaceable spoke in a plaintive tone. "If Oppa dies, I have no reason to live." "..." "Step aside." As Cheon So Hee took a step forward, many of Salmak's assassins flinched. "If I let you loose into the world, countless people will die." "I'll only kill those who killed Oppa." "Are you sure about that?" Though a strange warmth colored Dan Seowol's voice, his disciple did not notice. Cheon So Hee gazed at her master for a while before nodding. "If I'm still alive after that, then let me die." If she were to live, it would mean she had tasted too much blood, her sanity compromised. Becoming a celestial assassin consumed by murderous intent, dying by her master's blade would be preferable. Cheon So Hee coldly conveyed this to her master. "My disciple speaks such harsh words." Dan Seowol commented, seemingly incredulous. "Indeed! Such words couldn't be harsher on the master!" added Seolja, who had approached Dan Seowol's side. "...Because I trust you." If her brother was no longer in this world, the only person she could entrust with final matters was her master. Cheon So Hee looked at her master with eyes full of trust. Caught off guard by her unexpected words, Dan Seowol's mouth opened slightly before he chuckled softly. "Very well. Your mind is intact. Disperse." "Disperse!" "No abnormalities. Withdraw!" As Dan Seowol raised his hand, the assassins retreated like receding tides. "What?" "It seems your training wasn't in vain." "What is going on?" Cheon So Hee looked at her master, bewildered. Dan Seowol smiled with pride and spoke words that contradicted her fears. "Your beloved is safe." ——————— "I thought I'd die, really!" Seolja exclaimed with exaggerated relief. "I told you if you couldn't handle it, don't come." "My affection is such that I couldn't leave the fifth alone!" "What happened?" Jeok Nachal Dan Seowol began to explain the recent events while pointing at his disciple, still seething with anger. "You haven't killed anyone for over a year. Nobody in Salmak thought you'd come out with your reason intact." "Lies! Jeok Nachal trusted you above all!" "Silence." "The favoritism is real! It's unfair!" Seolja turned away, feigning indignation with her hands on her hips. "Was it because of an outburst?" Cheon So Hee finally grasped why the people of Salmak had gathered. She had regularly undertaken assassination missions to control her deadly intent. However, after parting from Yoon Ho Oppa, she hadn't killed anyone since. Without Yoon Ho Oppa's abilities, her outbreak would not have been unexpected. Had she emerged as an uncontrollably violent celestial assassin, she would have killed indiscriminately. Thus, the entire force was prepared the moment the training hall opened. "I made you confront a trial." Jeok Nachal admitted that his delay in clarifying the truth was to verify whether she had been consumed by murderous intent. "As long as Oppa is safe, it's fine." "Then all is well." Jeok Nachal, who often found his disciple's indifferent demeanor to be disappointing, was actually pleased this time. "Is Yoon Ho Oppa safe?" He was relieved by her initial lack of awareness, but seeing her immediately show a worried expression was almost amusing. Dan Seowol let out a small chuckle of disbelief and pulled something from his robe. "A letter from your beloved. Would you like to read it?" [To my beloved So Hee,] It was a letter Yoon Ho had sent to Cheon So Hee as soon as he returned from the Sichuan Guild.