The voice came out again from his mouth with a deflating sound, looking at Hyuk Dojin for a long time with eyes that didn’t understand what he had heard.

“Young Cult Leader…?”

“Have a simple spar with Sowol for about thirty seconds. You’ve memorized all the sword techniques of the orthodox sects, right?”

“Those are just sword techniques I learned as an excuse to frame others when assassinating. There’s no depth to them.”

“It doesn’t matter. What Sowol needs now is just to see how the orthodox sects’ sword techniques are used. Most of what I learned and mastered are the destructive martial arts of the Demon Cult. It would be nice if I directly crossed swords with her, but that’s mostly relying on my experience and skills. For Sowol, rather than that, it’s more important to see how someone who actually learned the sword techniques uses them in a spar.”

Hyuk Dojin grinned as he faced the trembling Eun Do. He turned his head and looked at me.

“Sowol. Do you have the sword I gave you?”

“Ah, that’s in the room. But are we really going to spar? It’s so sudden…”

“Not everything happens after being discussed and prepared.”

“But…”

“You don’t have to worry too much. Eun Do won’t hurt Sowol by any chance.”

Hyuk Dojin lightly extended his hand. As his hand moved, the sword hanging on the wall shook lightly and slowly flew over. The principle of moving objects without touching them was an extreme realm that not just anyone could demonstrate.

I blankly looked at the sword floating and stopping in front of me, then slowly grabbed it.

“What are you doing, Eun Do? Get up.”

“…I understand.”

Eun Do grabbed the sword with a face so crumpled that it wouldn’t be strange if he died right away. As Hyuk Dojin stepped aside, Eun Do took his place.

Eun Do glanced at Hyuk Dojin, then lightly bowed his head to me and quietly spoke:

“I’m sorry for having to draw my sword against you when I should be protecting you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I rolled my eyes and examined Hyuk Dojin. He showed his palm as if it was okay and raised his chin. After letting out a small sigh, I nodded my head. Eun Do quietly looked at me and took a stance.

“Since you’re currently learning the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, I will also demonstrate that sword technique. However, I’ll tell you in advance that I only learned it superficially. As an assassin, I couldn’t use the martial arts of the main sect, so I tried to learn as many orthodox martial arts as possible. Therefore, both the weight and depth are shallow. Please keep that in mind.”

“I understand.”

“Then…”

Eun Do exhaled lightly and nodded his head at me.

“You go first…”

At his invitation, I took the basic stance that I had learned countless times. It felt awkward to take the stance towards a person when I had always practiced facing the wall, but Eun Do’s gaze, looking at me with infinitely serious eyes, naturally calmed my emotions as well.

With my right foot forward, I moved as if pushing my center of gravity forward and quickly approached Eun Do. As I charged at him and tried to swing my sword within the range of the sword, I suddenly thought of the sword in my hand.

If he gets hit by this, even if it’s a wooden sword, it would hurt. I was slightly worried, but only for a moment.

“Swing with the intention of knocking me down. If other thoughts and distractions creep in, the direction of the sword will twist. Remember what you learned and attack accurately. Otherwise…”

The moment his words seemed to slow down, a dizzying impact hit my eyes.

“…You die.”

It wasn’t that I got hit. His right fist had only stopped right in front of my face.

However, at that moment, the fist wind that came out felt like it was hitting my face. My nose felt numb. I opened my eyes wide in surprise. Only then did I properly see Eun Do in front of me.

I felt Eun Do’s skills that I didn’t know until then.

What was I worried about? No matter how much I tried or threw a tantrum, the sword I swung couldn’t even graze the collar of his clothes. Somehow, I felt like laughing. What kind of expression am I making right now?

“Brace yourself.”

I sincerely swung my sword at him.

* * *

“How is this spot?”

“It seems good.”

The sound of flesh colliding was sensitively heard. In the empty room, the only voices were coming from the bed. Faint exclamations and groans filled with heat or pain filled the room.

If others heard it, they would think that the newlywed couple living in this room was engrossed in marital activities, but unfortunately, such sounds had never echoed in this room until now.

Therefore, the sounds currently heard were just audible.

“When I press here, there’s a reaction.”

“Well… because it feels good.”

A small chuckle settled on my body as I responded in a languid voice. I tilted my head slightly and glanced at Hyuk Dojin, who was constantly massaging my neck, shoulders, legs, and arms.

When exercising, it was natural for muscles to knot up and cause pain as a result.

However, after training, Hyuk Dojin refreshingly loosened the knotted and heated muscles. Thanks to that, even though I had to suffer from muscle pain every day, I had never complained about the pain of muscle aches even once.

I quietly looked at Hyuk Dojin, who placed my calf on his thigh and massaged it, and slowly opened my mouth.

“Dojin.”

“Yes.”

His voice, smiling softly as he turned his head towards me, was sweet. I rested my cheek on my arm and spoke.

“How was it earlier?”

“Do you mean the spar with Eun Do?”

“Yes. Wasn’t it strange? I couldn’t even hit Eun Do once. I dropped the sword more than ten times and couldn’t properly demonstrate the sword techniques I learned. Let alone the footwork, I often stumbled and fell while trying to catch up forcibly.”

I quietly muttered, burying my mouth in my arm.

“Am I untalented?”

“…”

At my small voice, Hyuk Dojin’s arms seemed to stop for a moment, but my other calf was placed on his thigh.

“Usually, everyone looks like that at first… I want to say that, but unfortunately, masters who have reached a certain level are born with talent from a young age. Even a master of Eun Do’s caliber is not possible with effort alone. Some senseless people think that if they have incredible superior martial arts and eat tremendous spiritual medicines, they will reach the ranks of the absolute masters, but that’s not the case. Even if they meet an opportunity and eat medicine and have a good teacher, the difference in skills is evident.”

Hyuk Dojin’s voice brought drowsiness. I closed my eyes and listened to his words.

“Most are clumsy at first, but even so, that lacking part is compensated by the realm of talent. Aren’t there people who stand out from a young age? I heard that Sowol’s older brother is like that too.”

Moyong Do? I opened my eyes and thought for a moment. It’s definitely true. Come to think of it, I took all the medicines I could when I was young.

Nevertheless, Moyong Do’s growth rate was steep. He had no match among the disciples of the same generation and even showed higher achievements than the disciples of the previous generation.

Is it that a promising tree can be recognized from its leaves? Do I really have no talent in swordsmanship or martial arts?

“I was like that too. I stepped on what others had built up with difficulty as if it was natural. Faster than others. And as time passed, those memories became blurred.”

“Then, was Dojin also very strong when he was young?”

“The criteria for being strong is ambiguous. I just had the pressure to grow differently every day.”

He smiled wistfully as if recalling something and shook his head.

“Coming back to the topic, it doesn’t matter whether Sowol has talent or not. The key is for Sowol to become healthy and furthermore, reach the Flowering Realm.”

“But you said it’s difficult to reach without talent.”

At my question, Hyuk Dojin turned to look at me. He tilted his head as if thinking for a moment and grinned.

“I never said that Sowol lacks talent. If you consider it, you’re overflowing with talent.”

“Me? I don’t know…”

Hyuk Dojin shook his head with a smile.

Do I have talent? I was well aware that the sparring I showed today was closer to a child’s dance than actual sparring. Just as my face was about to turn red again at the thought of rolling on the floor, Hyuk Dojin’s voice was heard.

“The enormous internal energy and pure blood vessels embedded in Sowol’s body are none other than talent. It’s just that you’ve never held a sword and directly fought or used your body before, so you fell and broke like today.”

Is that so? I clenched and unclenched my palm a few times and closed my eyes. Although I was buying time, in a situation where it wasn’t a fundamental treatment, the pressure to become stronger and become stronger faster was considerable in its own way. Was I being too impatient?

“You don’t have to worry too much.”

“…Yes.”

Hyuk Dojin’s laughter overlapped with my small answer.

A brief silence passed. As I was pondering how I should have done it while envisioning the scenes from today in my head, Hyuk Dojin’s voice came from above.

“Sowol.”

“Yes.”

“I think I’ll have to sleep alone for a while.”

“…What do you mean?”

I opened my eyes and bent my waist. What did I just hear?

When I turned to look at Hyuk Dojin, he was sitting with a calm expression, his hands down. As I slightly narrowed my brow, his mouth opened slowly.

“I think I need to go somewhere for a bit.”

“Where…?”

“I made a deal with someone. In exchange for getting what I wanted, I agreed to take care of the task that person had to solve. I thought I would be back quickly since it was a nearby place, but the situation got complicated, so it might take a few days.”

His hand slowly stroked my cheek. It was the first time. Him leaving my side.

“It won’t take long. A week at most. I’ll be back in three days at the earliest.”

“…”

Was it because I thought he would always be by my side? At his words, I lowered my eyes to examine his reaction. Someone he made a deal with, could it be that? I let out a small sigh and spoke.

“Is it a dangerous task?”

“It’s not dangerous for me at all.”

“Either way, it means it’s dangerous.”

Hyuk Dojin rolled his eyes and smiled, avoiding an answer. I narrowed my eyes, looked up at him again, and put strength into my voice.

“One week. If you’re even a day late, you better be prepared.”

“I’ll have to hurry and finish the task. I don’t want to get scolded by my wife.”

I glared at him as he smiled as if deflating, then tried to turn my body again, but suddenly, a memory came to mind, and I turned to look at him again. Hyuk Dojin tilted his head as if asking why, and I hurriedly spoke.

“Isn’t it four days from now that the guests from the Righteous Sect are coming?”

“That’s right. You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve already made arrangements and told the Righteous Sect not to approach you. They won’t even set foot in the pavilion where we’re staying, so you don’t need to be concerned.”

“…”

In his arms, I quietly closed my eyes, smelling Hyuk Dojin’s scent.

My mind was complicated. Was it because I thought it wasn’t a particularly good thing? Him leaving my side felt very unsettling.

As I kept silent, Hyuk Dojin’s arm settled on top of my head. He lay diagonally next to me, pulled me into his arms, kissed my forehead, and quietly spoke.

“I’ll be back soon. You don’t have to be anxious.”

Yes, there won’t be any problems. He’s just leaving for a bit.

Just for a very short while.