Chapter 62

"Ugh…."

Danmookseong repeatedly pondered as he examined the sword steps back and forth. After a while, he seemed to have figured something out and abruptly stood up.

"Ah! I get it! It's to get out of the opponent's attack range!"

"It also seems to be an attempt to gain the distance needed to attack simultaneously. Since the sword needs a certain amount of space to swing…."

As he listened to Ryeon's slight addition, Danmookseong repeatedly flipped through the sword steps back and forth.

[Danmookseong's Learning]

[Luck Value: 23/120 (2▲)]

'Oh.'

It seemed that Danmookseong, who was bright and talented, was making rapid progress as he became engrossed.

After being absorbed in the surprising insight he had discovered, Danmookseong finally composed himself and flipped a bit further through the sword steps.

"Hey, what I wanted to ask about was this. The third move. I can't move the sword smoothly, so how do you do it?"

"Ah! That move seemed to be designed with the idea of countering a sword. You step one pace to the side from the direction of the incoming thrust and use that momentum to strike down with your weapon. So…."

Ryeon demonstrated with a pair of chopsticks she had intended to use for snacks.

Danmookseong's eyes sparkled as he watched, but then he became a bit subdued.

"Then it won't be useful in this sparring. Jinjagang uses a sword…."

Ryeon quickly shook her head.

It was clear from the side that Danmookseong was blossoming as he learned the sword, and how much he was enjoying it, regardless of his talent.

"Anyway, maybe it's something to just remember for now. There might be a use for it someday, right?"

Ryeon whispered. It seemed to Danmookseong that this was a way of saying he would be able to continue learning the sword, so he involuntarily tried to smile but stopped and quickly urged Ryeon to ask more questions.

Ryeon, seeing the look in Danmookseong's eyes, thought of Danmookhyonyo and smiled bitterly.

'Aunt…'

No one in this family could escape the shadow of Danmookhyonyo.

Danmookseong's name was taken from Danmookhyonyo. A name given to him as he watched the once most reliable person gradually weaken.

Danmookhyonyo wished for her daughter to stand at the pinnacle with a sword like her brother.

She believed she could.

Ryeon felt a bit melancholic and quietly put down the snack she was eating.

Danmookseong, buried in his book, did not notice Ryeon's mood at all.

Unable to wait for Ryeon's questions, Danmookseong started asking various things, and Ryeon answered each one sincerely.

Thanks to this, the luck value increased by '1', but Ryeon could not smile as easily as before.

* * *

After finishing her reply to the short letter Danmookbi had written to her, Ryeon carefully put down the brush.

"Phew. It's hard to write a reply using only the characters Biya has learned…."

"Did she give you a hard time?"

Hwaryun, who had been watching Ryeon write while petting a white cat, suddenly spoke.

Ryeon's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? Biya?"

"No, I mean… Danmookseong."

"Wh-Why my cousin? What did he say to you?"

"It's not what he said to me, but what he said to you. Why did you seem upset after playing with Danmookseong?"

"No… no, I… was I upset?"

Ryeon continued to look bewildered, but Hwaryun just stared at her as if she was saying something obvious.

Feeling that Hwaryun might really run to Danmookseong if she didn't do something, Ryeon quickly grabbed Hwaryun's hand.

"No! Hwaryun, it's not like that."

"Then what is it?"

"It's not that I was upset."

Hwaryun stared at Ryeon with a look that said, "Don't lie to me." Ryeon sighed.

"Well. I wasn't upset, but I felt a bit strange."

"Because of him?"

"No, it's not that Seong did anything wrong…."

"Then Danmookhyon…."

Ryeon quickly covered Hwaryun's mouth. This child tends to speak without considering the context, though only in front of her.

"Well. Seong's name is taken from the last character of our father's name."

"So?"

"Our father is already gone, but Seong…."

Ryeon smoothed her fallen hair and continued.

"I thought it might be a burden for Seong. Suddenly, thoughts of her father, who is no longer here, came to mind… and I was a bit worried about Seong, so…."

"Hmm, I don't even know who my father or mother is."

Ryeon was left speechless by Hwaryun's sudden comment.

It wouldn't be as calm as this after the thunderbolt.

The intense silence even made Hwaryun, who had spoken, feel awkward.

"No, what I mean is… well, in my case, I hope you can feel better."

"You don't have both parents, and I have a mother, so telling me to feel better makes me feel…."

This is not just any kind of garbage?

Ryeon's embarrassed muttering made Hwaryun burst into laughter, even coughing.

"What are you saying?"

"That's what I should say. What are you saying?"

"Having one or none doesn't make it better or worse."

"You're not a baby."

"Yes, yes?"

Hwaryun turned her head sharply.

"From what I see, you… are too smart to be a seven-year-old baby. Really. You can achieve great things in anything you do."

"Ah, really! What is it… I've already decided to learn martial arts."

Ryeon narrowed her eyes and smiled.

"How about the pipa?"

"I'll learn the pipa too. Okay?"

"Then the qixianqin…."

"Which one of the two is better to learn?"

Ryeon pondered seriously before speaking.

"Then the pipa."

"Why the pipa?"

"The qixianqin is too big to carry around. We might go on a journey together later, and it would be hard to bring."

"Oh."

Ryeon and Hwaryun continued to bicker about this topic until the ink in Ryeon's inkstone started to run low.

"Let's say the pipa, but do you really need to learn that sword technique too?"

Hwaryun asked, holding a few ink sticks.

Ryeon was also trying to find techniques that could be applied to the Heukpungdancheon sword, which was not something people focused on learning swords would do.

Ryeon shook her head, tapping her arm, which was aching from muscle pain.

"Still, it might be useful to learn it for later."

Bakryun, who had been purring and sleeping on Hwaryun's lap, suddenly opened her eyes and leaped into Ryeon's arms. The inkstone almost wobbled, but Hwaryun quickly steadied it.

"Bakryun… has grown a lot?"

When she first found her, she was a small, white cat the size of an adult's fist, but now her paws were plump and her tail was chubby, giving her a peculiar feeling.

'Could it be…'

Ryeon briefly thought of the phoenix but quickly dismissed the thought. Such things couldn't happen so easily and repeatedly, could they?

"Hey, Hwaryun, do you think…."

She was about to ask if this white, cute cat might turn into a white tiger.

Danmookhanso's Enlightenment 5

Current Luck Value: 28/120 (4▲)

I have partially repaid the help I received. I gain more luck value through repayment.

'What? He just stared at me intensely… and then he had this enlightenment on his own?'

I owe Danmookhanso a lot, so I want to repay him if possible.

But I didn't expect him to have such a sudden enlightenment.

'What did he hear from me that made him like this?'

From the luck value I received, it seems he saw something while with me, but I don't know where he got his inspiration. I'm not saying I dislike it, though.

"Nu-ee?"

"Ah… no. Well, about the cat. Should we adjust her diet a bit?"

As she gently stretched the white cat's belly, Hwaryun frowned.

"That's not fat, it's Bakryun's body."

"No, I mean…."

"How much can she eat? You can't stop her from eating."

"No, Hwaryun. I mean…."

Hwaryun quickly snatched Bakryun from Ryeon's arms. The white cat dangled her limbs in the air, looking confused as she alternated her gaze between the two.

Hwaryun looked at Ryeon with a very aggrieved expression and then left the room. Ryeon, who had reached out to stop her, burst into laughter and chased after her.

"Hwaryun!"

"Do you want to stop this little one from eating what she wants?"

"No, no. Of course not. But cats can also have knee pain if they gain too much weight…."

"It's fine since she's still growing. She needs to eat a lot to grow tall and strong."

"Right, right. I was wrong."

As Ryeon spoke soothingly, Hwaryun raised her eyebrows and looked at her with a slightly angry expression, as if she felt she had been drawn into Ryeon's trap.

Ryeon ruffled Hwaryun's hair. Hwaryun sighed deeply and gently cradled the cat Bakryun.

Bakryun meowed softly, still looking confused.

"Didn't Bakryun's meow just sound a bit strange? It had a strange growl, didn't it?"

"Are you now criticizing the cat's voice? Trying to stop her from speaking freely?"

"No, that's not what I mean…."