Mistaken for a Fairy
ch14

[To Teach Properly (1)]

Seo-yeon was deep in worry. The reason was none other than Wi Hwa-ryeon's title.

'What should I do?'

Since the commotion at Cheonhyang Pavilion, she had been absorbed in finding a suitable title for several days, but she couldn't find a good answer.

"……."

However, Wi Hwa-ryeon accepted Seo-yeon's silence in a completely different way. By nature, an absolute being's contemplation alone causes subordinates to have strange misunderstandings.

Wi Hwa-ryeon was like that right now. Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, she tried to fathom meanings that didn't even exist.

'Why is she taking off her veil? Why does she live hiding such a face?'

Wi Hwa-ryeon forgot what she was about to say and blankly stared at Seo-yeon.

The moonlight caressed Seo-yeon's shoulders, and the Nature Essence subtly fluctuated, enveloping the air. As if the earth and sky had become one, a quiet but dignified aura lingered around her.

'Beautiful. She deserves to be called a Celestial Maiden.'

Wi Hwa-ryeon's gaze was filled with awe, but Seo-yeon didn't care. Whether she looked at her or not, she was just staring at the air with a rather languid and weary gaze.

'I want to raise her politely if possible.'

It was something that happened because her thoughts were all directed elsewhere.

'I can easily gather money by selling carvings. The problem is how to raise her. If I only teach her carving and she loses interest in it, that would be a problem.'

More than anything else, she didn't want to raise her as a child who lived by the sword.

'That age right before puberty is important. If you instill bad habits at that time, it will last a lifetime. But I don't want to raise her coercively. It's difficult. It's difficult.'

She hadn't lived a life teaching someone in her previous life, but she prided herself on knowing better than anyone what kind of disaster a wrong teaching could bring.

'I understand why adults make them study first. The thought of that little kid growing up and getting stabbed is terrible.'

Money could be earned again. It was considered best to respect the child's wishes.

'Still, it would be best to ask directly.'

Seo-yeon nodded with a blank expression, then quietly opened her mouth.

"Hwa-ryeon, I'm thinking of teaching you from today."

"——Cough, cough!"

Surprised by the sudden words, Wi Hwa-ryeon widened her eyes and coughed repeatedly. Her face turned red, and she covered her mouth with her hand for no reason, flustered as if she was more shy.

"I, I'm sorry. My throat suddenly got blocked……."

"It can happen. Speak slowly."

"……I'm fine now. You can speak."

Seo-yeon quietly nodded.

"I'm thinking of teaching you how to handle a sword from today. To be called a master, you have to teach something at least. How about it, do you want to learn? You can refuse if you don't want to. I have no intention of forcing you."

"The way to handle a sword?"

Wi Hwa-ryeon's eyes widened. She had a look of disbelief.

"It would be easier to understand if I showed you once. Wait here. There's something I need to bring."

After speaking, Seo-yeon got up. Soon, she disappeared with steps as light as a shadow.

Wi Hwa-ryeon, who was left in that place, pressed her chest and calmed her pounding heart.

'The swordplay of an absolute master…… me?'

She thought it was a great fortune just to see it, but how could she receive it directly? She couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality.

Originally, as the Great Maiden of the Mount Mao Sect, joining another sect was unacceptable. But from the moment Wi Hwa-ryeon volunteered to be Seo-yeon's attendant, it was as good as excommunicating herself.

So who could stop her?

At this point, she even had the absurd delusion that the reason Seo-yeon brought her was because she had outstanding sword talent.

Wi Hwa-ryeon looked down at her palms. She was born as a sorceress, so she only knew very basic parts of swordsmanship, but being able to learn the swordplay of an absolute swordsman, what did that immaturity matter?

Sorceress Wi Hwa-ryeon died today.

She had abandoned her past regrets, so she would be reborn as a swordswoman now.

Wi Hwa-ryeon quietly inhaled. Suppressing her excited heart, she waited for Seo-yeon to return.

Soon, Seo-yeon appeared with a sword in her hand. It was a sword so short that it was embarrassing to even call it a dagger.

'What is that?'

A curious question crossed Wi Hwa-ryeon's chest. Whether she knew Wi Hwa-ryeon's heart or not, Seo-yeon continued with a smiling face.

"Look."

Seo-yeon picked up a fallen twig at her feet and quietly raised the tip of her sword.

Saaak.

The trajectory created by the short sword was like a sword form. At the end of the indifferent yet fluid hand movements, the twig gradually took shape.

The straight lines were unraveled into curves, and the blade's texture received the moonlight, adding a fleeting sparkle.

Soon, the twig had been transformed into a delicate hairpin with a small butterfly perched on the end.

She chose this shape because she thought a young girl would like it. After finishing the carving, she handed it to Wi Hwa-ryeon with a smiling face.

"Isn't it pretty?"

"The way to handle a sword you mentioned…… was it carving?"

"You could say that."

"……."

It was so well-made that she couldn't find the words to say.

Seo-yeon nodded inwardly.

Teaching originally starts with sparking interest. Having seen with her own eyes the transformation of a humble twig into an elegant hairpin, there was no way she wouldn't be interested.

Seo-yeon had never shown her carving skills in front of anyone except the Namgung sisters. Perhaps that's why she was more excited.

"I'll show you one more time."

Seo-yeon soon approached a giant tree. It was thick enough that five grown men would have to stretch out their arms to barely encircle it.

Pababak—!

The carving knife danced like lightning, tearing through the bark. The blade, which had entered the bark with a fierce momentum, ravaged the surface of the giant tree as if a dragon was dancing.

'What is she trying to do?'

Wi Hwa-ryeon narrowed her brows. She had immediately guessed what she was making a moment ago, but this time she couldn't figure it out at all.

Something resembling an arm grew in the place where there was a knot, and the deeply carved wood grain formed the shape of eyes.

Time flowed like a fleeting moment. Wi Hwa-ryeon forgot that she was immersed in it, and stared at the carving with a bewitched face.

New arms began to sprout from each place where the blade had passed. The arms wriggled like vines and stretched out in all directions, gradually increasing in number and eventually spreading out in a circle.

Thousand-Hand Guanyin.

The Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva carved in the center of the giant tree was looking down on the world with compassionate eyes.

Wi Hwa-ryeon, who was standing below it,

'…….'

Was overwhelmed. She stared blankly at the figure, forgetting to breathe. Although it was only the bark that had been carved, intense Nature Essence was swirling in each texture. It even felt as if she had enshrined a living Bodhisattva.

This is swordplay disguised as carving.

Seo-yeon said with a smile.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Wi Hwa-ryeon nodded without realizing it.

"……Can I do it?"

"If you try, there's nothing you can't achieve in this world."

"……!"

Seo-yeon's voice was calm, but there was weight in every word.

Of course, her true intentions were different. Seo-yeon was originally a person who thought that studying was also a talent. But she didn't want to give a young child the harshness of the world from the beginning.

It was a kind lie.

"Th, then!"

Tak.

The moment Wi Hwa-ryeon knelt down to pay her respects, Seo-yeon quietly reached out and stopped her.

Wi Hwa-ryeon, who was about to perform the Nine Bows, was startled and raised her head. Her face was frozen as if she had just been excommunicated by her master.

Seo-yeon was also complicated. Receiving a bow from a child who didn't know anything made her feel like the world's biggest swindler who was deceiving even children.

After much deliberation, Seo-yeon opened her mouth.

"I feel uncomfortable if I receive a bow."

"……Ah."

"So get up."

But she didn't know it would ease Wi Hwa-ryeon's face. The eyes she glimpsed were so immersed in sadness that she even had the illusion that they were moist. She misunderstood that she had not yet been accepted as a disciple.

"I have no intention of forcing you to learn. You can decide when you want to learn. If you want to learn, tell me anytime. I'll teach you."

Seo-yeon paused for a moment and smiled slightly.

"Ah, but if possible, I hope you avoid meal times. I'm busy, and it would be a disaster if a fire broke out because I couldn't pay attention."

Wi Hwa-ryeon, who was listening, carefully opened her mouth.

"Th, then, Seo-yeon-nim."

"You should call me Master."

"……!"

In an instant, Wi Hwa-ryeon, no. Hwa-ryeon's complexion brightened as if nothing had happened. It was so nice to see a smile blooming on her beautiful face. Hwa-ryeon opened her mouth again.

"M, Master! Then can I learn right now?"

"Of course."

"Wow!"

Her reaction was so innocent that it made her laugh just by looking at her.

Soon, Seo-yeon's hand moved again. The carving knife flowed slowly along the wood grain. This time, the purpose was to teach, so her hand movements were slower and more delicate than usual.

Of course, she didn't expect her to understand from the beginning. Today, it was enough to convey the feeling.

After repeating the same movement dozens of times, Hwa-ryeon hesitated and raised her hand.

"……Is there a book, by any chance?"

"Um, no."

"Then how did Master learn this?"

"I learned it myself."

Seo-yeon smiled quietly.

"Actually, it's not that difficult if you actually do it. I didn't take that long to get this far either, so if you have good dexterity, you'll learn it much faster than me."

"……."

Hwa-ryeon closed her mouth.

* * * * *

Hwa-ryeon was in her room. She seemed to have become quite close to the owl these days, and she always went around with that little Spiritual Creature. Even now, the sound of her whispering something while facing the owl was occasionally heard from inside the room.

Seo-yeon watched the scene from afar and quietly left the place. The thought of protecting her childlike innocence came first.

The moonlight was gently falling on the night sky, and the cold wind was surprisingly pleasant.

She felt like a lump in her chest had been relieved. She didn't know she would feel so comfortable with just one word of address. She was starting to feel ridiculous for hesitating all this time.

'Book, a book. Well, there's nothing like a book to study alone.'

She had finished learning the Thousand Character Classic. She could also read and write freely, but she couldn't easily answer if she was at the level of writing a book. Moreover, carving was not a subject that could be simply explained in writing.

The pressure of the knife's edge, the flexibility of the wrist, the sensation of riding the wood grain…… each one was ambiguous and distant to put into words. Then she would need a picture too.

'Then I have to hire a literary man to write the text and a painter to draw the pictures.'

There was no way such eminent people would come up to this deep mountain valley, so it meant that she would have to go find them herself.

'It would take several months to write a book. It would be better to start organizing it in my head now.'

Seo-yeon calmly closed her eyes and groped through the depths of her memory. She had to teach the basics, so she was trying to recall the basics first.

'How did I first hold the sword?'

She held it lightly. She held it comfortably. But she couldn't just write that in a book for teaching others.

'Bend your wrist about three inches, rest your thumb on the back of the blade as if leaning on it, and feel the power traveling from the tendons of your wrist to your shoulder……'

It was much better when she put it into words. But even this would be vague for someone who hadn't experienced it directly.

Seo-yeon had no intention of teaching halfway. Once she decided to teach, she was going to take responsibility properly.

'Medical book.'

In the past, when she felt bored living in the mountains, she had brought in a book through a merchant. It was called the "Hand-Man Meridian Diagram," and it contained detailed drawings of over a hundred acupoints and the flow of Meridians. She had read it once out of boredom and stopped, but Seo-yeon's extraordinary mind remembered the contents perfectly.

Her mind was already half in a state of trance. Soon, Seo-yeon's eyes shone gently as if they contained the moonlight, and she began to draw something in her mind's eye.

'For the right hand, you have to start from the Giant Bone acupoint and push the power all at once from the Laogong acupoint to the Shaoshang acupoint.'

Before she knew it, Seo-yeon was holding a sword body as clear as snow in her hand.

'When returning, go through the Shaohai acupoint and back to the starting point. At this time, the energy applied to the Shaohai acupoint should be about four times weaker than the Shaoshang acupoint. If the Tianding acupoint shakes, the posture will be distorted, and the direction of the energy will also be misaligned…….'

The sentences became sword paths.

'Now, let's think about starting from a standing position. Gather energy in the Qihai acupoint to stabilize the lower body, and use the Jianjing acupoint as the central axis of the upper body…….'

The sword paths changed into stances.

'When the energy starting from the Huizong acupoint passes under the thumb, put strength into it at once and strike down—.'

Chwaak!

Soon, it became martial arts.

The fragmented sensations scattered in her head are transformed into a single, refined language. Seo-yeon didn't even give a name to these movements. She just thought of it as a carving movement.

However, if someone else had seen this scene, they would have definitely called it this.

Celestial Maiden Sword Dance.

The wind gradually subsided, and the moonlight embraced her shoulders.

That night, at the foot of Mount Taesil.

In a place where no one knew, the martial arts of the celestial realm unfolded.