Chapter 187 - Who Gave You Leave to Call Him Senior Brother?

Beneath the moonlight stood a woman dressed in pure white. Her beauty had a noble purity, as though she had only just descended from the heavens.

Cheon Sohui wiped her tears again with her sleeve, wondering whether her sudden tears were making her see things. But the beautiful woman standing before her smiled broadly and introduced herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Yi An. I used to be the Young Master's bodyguard."

Yi An greeted her cheerfully. She had always been bright, but lately she had grown brighter still. Confidence shone through everything she did.

"I'm Cheon Sohui, one of the Eastern Fist School's Black Fists."

"Oh! It's an honor to meet you."

"You know who I am?"

"Of course. Aren't you the finest Iron Fist in the Eastern Fist School?"

Cheon Sohui felt pleased, and not simply because she had been praised. Yi An's compliment carried none of the usual undertone of A woman practicing fist arts? How unusual.

"What I said when I came in was just a joke to tease the Young Master. If I offended you at all, please forgive me."

"It's all right."

"Then I'll leave you two to your conversation. I'll come back later."

As Yi An said goodbye and turned to leave, Geom Mugeuk stopped her.

"You're already here. Stay and talk for a while."

Yi An asked Cheon Sohui cautiously, "Would that be all right?"

"Of course."

Cheon Sohui had grown curious about this beautiful woman.

The two women gave strikingly different impressions. Yi An possessed a beauty imbued with noble grace, while Cheon Sohui had a toughness that suggested she would come back alive no matter where she was thrown.

"Please don't misunderstand. I wasn't crying because of the Second Young Master."

"Really?"

"Pardon?"

Her eyes sparkling, Yi An asked again, "You really weren't crying because of the Young Master? I cry because of him all the time."

She looked at Geom Mugeuk.

"You're always making me cry."

Cheon Sohui sensed it with a woman's intuition: Yi An's feelings for Geom Mugeuk were romantic.

"You said you were the Second Young Master's bodyguard?"

"Yes, though he's dismissed me now."

"Why did he dismiss you?"

"He says it was for my happiness, but that's just an excuse, isn't it?"

"It is. Be careful. Womanizers have a way with words."

"And no one in Murim has a better way with words than he does."

Geom Mugeuk laughed and said to them, "You've only just met, and you're already in cahoots?"

The two women took a liking to each other.

Yi An had always liked strong women such as Cheon Sohui, because she wanted to become one herself.

Cheon Sohui's first impression of Yi An was favorable, too. A woman this beautiful might have had something off-putting about her that made her difficult to approach, but Yi An had none of that.

Yi An asked Geom Mugeuk, "Is your training going well?"

"If the news has reached even you, shut away in the training ground doing nothing but practicing, there can't be anyone in the Cult who hasn't heard."

"Yesterday, even the kitchen cooks were talking about you passing the Red Fists' training while they made rice. I've heard people are even betting on whether you'll become his disciple."

Indeed, Geom Mugeuk learning fist arts at the Eastern Fist School was the talk of the Cult.

With a gentle look in her eyes, Yi An asked him, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

Cheon Sohui watched Yi An smile at his answer. She sensed the deep trust between them and felt a momentary pang of envy. She had no one like that in her life—not even anyone who could offer a pale imitation of it.

"What brings you here so late, though?"

"I was training, and suddenly I wanted to see you."

Geom Mugeuk studied her, then abruptly asked, "Has it come?"

At that cryptic question, Yi An nodded, her expression serious.

"I think it has."

Geom Mugeuk sprang up from the rock and walked into the courtyard.

"Let's spar."

Yi An gave Cheon Sohui a slight bow before following him out. Suddenly starting a sparring match in these circumstances was discourteous, but this was too important to her.

Sensing the mood, Cheon Sohui quickly stood.

"I'll be going now."

Geom Mugeuk stopped her from leaving.

"You may watch. No, you should watch. This match will be a great help to you, Miss Cheon."

It was a lesson he was offering the woman who would become the next Fist Demon.

"Are you sure that's all right?"

"You've shed precious tears. You should at least get your tears' worth before you go."

At the words precious tears, Cheon Sohui's eyes grew hot again.

'What's wrong with me?'

Tears kept threatening to spill, as though her blocked tear ducts had suddenly opened. This had never happened to her before, and it left her flustered. Fortunately, Geom Mugeuk and Yi An were facing each other, ready to begin their match.

"I'll fight you with fist arts."

"Yes!"

"Wait, Yi An! Aren't you worried that I'm fighting without a sword?"

"Worried? Even if you fought without either hand or foot, I still wouldn't be able to beat you."

"True enough. So long as I have this mouth."

Watching them, Cheon Sohui nodded slightly in agreement.

With his back to her, Geom Mugeuk said, "Don't nod."

Cheon Sohui nodded even more emphatically. A man with eyes in the back of his head clearly wasn't someone whose ability depended on whether he had a sword.

When the match began, Yi An initially struggled to concentrate. Despite saying she trusted him, she worried that Geom Mugeuk might get hurt fighting barehanded.

But after exchanging a few moves, she concluded that her worry could not have been more groundless. He was fast—far too fast. Even if she wielded ten swords instead of one, she doubted she could touch a hair on his head.

'Really, who's worrying about whom here?'

Geom Mugeuk pressed her fiercely.

A fist powerful enough to shatter her jaw flew toward her face.

She barely dodged it before another fist shot toward her side. Again, she narrowly avoided it by twisting her body. Had it connected, the blow would have broken every rib.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Each time Geom Mugeuk's fist flew at her, it made a crisp sound like a sword cutting through the air.

Barely managing to block and dodge, she tried everything to shake him off, but he stayed on her like a shadow. Once she let him close in, creating distance again was no easy task.

'Ah, so this is how you die!'

Yi An was experiencing something new: fighting a master of fist arts.

Unable to gain distance, she could not bring even half her swordsmanship's power to bear. Meanwhile, Geom Mugeuk's fists relentlessly flew toward her vital points.

It took everything she had simply to evade them.

Realizing she would lose if she kept doing nothing but dodging, Yi An tried desperately to counterattack.

At the crucial moment, she found an opening in Geom Mugeuk's defenses and used it to create distance.

'Now!'

She had only one chance!

Her sword embroidered the air. As she unleashed the Heaven-Changing Form, the Second Form of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art, her sword underwent twelve transformations.

The exclamation Cheon Sohui had held back throughout the fight finally escaped her.

"Ah!"

Geom Mugeuk evaded that seemingly inescapable attack using the footwork of the Black Fists' fist arts.

That was the same footwork she had learned?

She realized anew just how extraordinary the fist arts she had learned were. Her heart felt ready to burst as she watched. She wanted to leap in and fight alongside them. She wanted to perform those arts just as Geom Mugeuk did.

That was not the only impact the match had on her.

Geom Mugeuk, an supreme master and the Cult Leader's second son, had nevertheless sought out the Fist Demon to learn martial arts.

Yi An, whose looks could have earned her the title of the world's greatest beauty, had come here in the dead of night to learn swordsmanship.

Shame and respect rose within Cheon Sohui together, and the sight of those two etched itself into her heart like a scene from a painting.

"Well done!"

Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly at Yi An. He had pushed her into an extreme situation while leaving her a chance to escape, and she had seized it without fail, finding a way through. It was the fruit of her grueling training.

"I still feel as though something's tickling at me."

Geom Mugeuk understood. She had nearly reached the ninth level and was searching for its entrance.

"Come see me every night starting tomorrow."

"Thank you, Young Master."

Just as his father had forcibly led him to complete mastery of the Wind God's Four Steps, Geom Mugeuk intended to throw her Heaven-Soaring Sword Art straight into the ninth level. Once she reached that level, he could feel reassured no matter where she went.

When Geom Mugeuk and Yi An finished speaking, Cheon Sohui said in a trembling voice, "To be honest, Second Young Master, the sword you sent at me seemed so unreal that it didn't frighten me. But the sword this martial artist wielded tonight, while everyone else was asleep—that frightened me."

Could she defeat a sword honed late into the night?

Deep down, she had been confident that she was the strongest woman of her age in Murim. After watching the match, however, she knew that had been nothing but conceit. Both her fists clenched tightly at the thought of not wanting to lose.

At that moment, the fire spread to her heart as well.

Feeling that burning heat, Cheon Sohui blurted out, "Please teach me, too. Senior Brother."

Senior Brother.

She had to know.

If those words reached the Fist Demon, she would be in terrible trouble. Even if she were expelled, she would have no grounds to protest. She had staked her life on those words: Senior Brother.

Perhaps, once she returned to her quarters, she would spend the entire night regretting having said them.

That was why Geom Mugeuk answered her warmly.

"Of course. You come, too, Junior Sister."

Whatever regrets might come later, Cheon Sohui's face was filled with joy now.

Yi An might have felt an unwarranted aversion to her, thinking she would interfere with her own training. Instead, she welcomed her happily.

For one's martial arts to change, the person had to change first.

Geom Mugeuk was certain that Yi An's generous heart would lead her to the ranks of supreme masters.

And following her drinking group, Yi An created a second gathering.

"Welcome to the Late-Night Training Group."

* * *

My training with the Black Fists continued.

Meanwhile, I was locked in a battle of wills with the Fist Demon. It was a contest to see who would raise the white flag first.

I was confident I could win.

My life required me to prepare, and then prepare some more, anyway.

It wasn't as though I had to learn the Fist Demon's fist arts before moving on to the next stage. His fist arts were simply one part of all the preparations I was making simultaneously.

I could learn his fist arts now, tomorrow, or a year from now. Why? Because I had plenty to do, plenty to learn, and plenty of people to look after. Because I was constantly preparing other things, too. You think you can beat someone like me?

Every so often, my eyes met the Fist Demon's. Each time, we spoke through our gazes. Give up, sir. You give up. I can see this through to the end. So can I. I'm young. That's why you won't last.

He probably thought I would eventually grow bored of training and give in, but he had miscalculated. I was no ordinary young man.

* * *

At night, I taught Yi An and Cheon Sohui.

On her first day of training, Cheon Sohui asked me, "Senior Brother, is it really all right for me to be here while Martial Artist Yi learns such an important art?"

She had earnestly asked me to teach her alongside Yi An that night, but now that she was actually joining us, she seemed to feel guilty.

I told her, "You're more important than that martial art. The current Fist Demon is my father's Fist Demon and my brother's Fist Demon. My Fist Demon is you."

The future Heavenly Demon and Fist Demon.

Intense emotion flickered across her face. Then she asked about the worst-case scenario.

"What if I don't become the Fist Demon, and you don't become the Heavenly Demon?"

"Then the three of us will have to open a rice-soup restaurant in front of the Orthodox Martial Alliance and make our living there."

Cheon Sohui burst out laughing, perhaps imagining bowls of rice soup floating out of the kitchen through object manipulation through the air, then being delivered using Shifting Form, Changing Position. I thought it was the first time I had seen her laugh so openly since meeting her.

"But why in front of the Orthodox Martial Alliance?"

Yi An answered for me.

"Maybe there's a woman he wants to see."

"Aha!"

I shouted that there wasn't, but the two were already nodding and discussing the traits of womanizers.

On the fifth day of our late-night training, Yi An finally found the doorway to the ninth level.

Her sword became faster and stronger, its transformations dazzling.

There was no need for thanks or congratulations. Yi An ran over and threw herself into my arms, and I hugged her tightly. You've worked hard, Yi An. Now only one hurdle remains before complete mastery.

Just then, a sniffle startled us both, and Yi An and I looked at Cheon Sohui.

She was crying.

"I think my tear ducts opened that night. I'd never cried in my life, but now the tears keep coming."

Seeing her cry, Yi An began to shed tears as well.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because Martial Artist Cheon is crying."

The two women turned away in opposite directions and cried.

"What's gotten into you? You're tough women who could beat up every man in the world!"

Wiping her tears, Cheon Sohui said, "Senior Brother, please keep teaching me."

She couldn't bear the thought of our late-night training ending here.

Yi An spoke up for her.

"Young Master, let's keep the Late-Night Training Group going."

It happened just then. Someone behind us spoke coldly.

"Who gave you leave to call him Senior Brother?"

Cheon Sohui recoiled in shock, her face turning deathly pale.

The Fist Demon was approaching us, his face as frightening as an evil spirit's.

I greeted him calmly.

"Welcome."

In truth, I had known he was there. He had come twice before, too. Each time, he had watched secretly from hiding before simply leaving. What had he thought as he watched?

Standing in the courtyard, the Fist Demon looked at me, Yi An, and Cheon Sohui as though glaring at us.

Cheon Sohui was especially shaken. He had heard her call me Senior Brother, leaving no room for excuses. Terrified that she might be thrown out of the Eastern Fist School, she bowed her head deeply and trembled all over. She was probably praying only that he wouldn't say, You're expelled.

With that fiendish face, the Fist Demon uttered words none of us could have imagined.

"Let me join this Late-Night Training Group, too."