Mistaken for a Fairy
ch4

Namgung Se-In left. Of course, Seo-yeon never found out his true identity until the end. She knew he was a high-ranking person from the way he called himself and the dignity he exuded, but that was it.

'If the upper stream is clear, the lower stream will be clear too.'

Seo-yeon muttered inwardly.

The reason why the Namgung Clan grew into a prestigious orthodox sect must be because the leaders were so fair and just.

Of course, only Namgung Se-In had left. Namgung Seolhwa and Namgung Cheonghae were still in the hut.

Seo-yeon tilted her head, looking at the siblings standing in front of her with perfect posture.

'Why did he leave only his children behind?'

Surveillance? Escort?

But when she thought about it, if the purpose was surveillance, he wouldn't have left only his children. Rather, it seemed to mean that it was safe enough for her to feel at ease.

Seo-yeon nodded.

Indeed, the Namgung Clan. The more she saw, the more she realized they were the real deal. She could see why the common people praised the orthodox sects.

The siblings, who would be high school students in her previous life, seemed admirable for no reason.

Of course, the reality was completely different from Seo-yeon's thoughts.

-You two stay here. Since she is a peerless master like me, you will have a lot to learn.

He didn't even bother to say things like 'show proper courtesy' or 'be humble' from the start. Although they were bickering siblings within the family, they were known as talented individuals outside the family.

It meant they knew how to behave.

The two siblings secretly exchanged telepathic messages.

-

A peerless master?

-

I roughly expected it. But I didn't know she would be at the same level as Father.

-

I think she's from the Daoist school. But I can't pinpoint exactly where.

-

Behave yourself. You stupid brother. I don't want to miss this opportunity because of you.

-

You do the same.

Namgung Cheonghae's telepathic message was rough, but his eyes couldn't hide his admiration.

Although his perception and insight were inferior to his sister, his control of qi and his physical strength were among the best in the world.

Therefore, he had no room to pay attention to anything else, as he was busy recalling the swordsmanship inherent in Seo-yeon's movements just now.

Namgung Seolhwa was a little different. While casually sending telepathic messages, she slowly calmed her breathing inside.

Only five in the vast world.

A realm granted to only five.

That's why they were called the Five Greatest of the World, and that's why they were peerless.

But here, before her eyes, was a unique person who had reached the realm of peerlessness without being among the Five Greatest of the World.

And she was a rare female master.

Perhaps due to the innate difference in physical strength and build, the number of female masters who reached the ranks of masters was overwhelmingly smaller than that of men. The only female masters who made a name for themselves in the world were the Sword Empress of Mount Hua and the Barehanded Witch of the Demonic Cult. Even they had not reached the realm of peerlessness.

'So that's why Father brought me here.'

This was an unparalleled opportunity for Namgung Seolhwa.

Simply being humble was not enough. The other person had a status that could easily surpass even the name of Namgung.

If she drew her sword, the Eight Great Families and the Nine Sects, and even other peerless masters, would be wiped out overnight.

So, she would have to carry luggage and follow the vagrant swordsmen to even set foot on the threshold of learning.

Namgung Seolhwa's judgment was quick.

There was no hesitation.

She immediately knelt respectfully before Seo-yeon. It was a kneel she had only given to the head of the family. It meant she was treating Seo-yeon as equal to the Namgung family head.

"Please call me Seolhwa. I will serve you with all my heart."

Although only for a moment, she even dropped her surname, Namgung. She lowered herself as if she were a real servant.

"..."

Seo-yeon couldn't answer. She stared in surprise at the scion of a prestigious family who had knelt down without hesitation. It was fortunate that her surprised face was hidden by the veil.

'...Isn't this a bit too much?'

She was inwardly embarrassed. She wondered how strict the family's code must be for a girl who looked like a high school student to kneel down so readily.

It was also because she had never seen the Namgung Clan act so submissively to a commoner in martial arts novels.

'Are they doing this so I'll sell all the sculptures?'

She thought that they must have liked them so much that they asked their son and daughter to do this.

Since she was going to leave the sculptures behind anyway, there was no reason for her to refuse if they even gave her money.

The more she saw, the more she liked the Namgung Clan.

"Have you eaten?"

"You can speak comfortably."

"I'm more comfortable with honorifics."

"......Yes."

At the unexpected answer, Namgung Seolhwa nodded with a sullen face.

"I have eaten."

"Hmm."

Seo-yeon pondered for a moment. She couldn't possibly not treat a high school girl who was acting so submissively to a meal. Her pride as a Korean wouldn't allow it.

Soon, an idea flashed through her mind.

"Wait here for a moment."

* * * * *

Seo-yeon headed to the warehouse next to the hut. All the unfinished sculptures and various materials for sculpting were stored here.

There were sculptures modeled after living things like stag beetles and dragonflies, as well as human figures and trees with paintings on them.

'Those are just toys to martial artists.'

She doubted that a grown girl would be happy to receive a dragonfly or stag beetle sculpture.

Although she had lived apart from the martial arts world, Seo-yeon prided herself on knowing what martial artists liked.

'Protective armor, peerless weapons......'

Namgung Seolhwa was a martial artist, so she would definitely be similar.

Although she had never worked as a blacksmith, it wasn't as if she couldn't make weapons at all. She could certainly carve a wooden sword.

'This should be enough to save face, right?'

Seo-yeon took out ebony from one side of the warehouse.

It was a material she had received as a reward for giving a merchant a mid-grade sculpture in the past. The wood had a subtle luster in each grain, and the deep, heavy black color had depth. It was a color that was clearly different from wood that was simply painted black.

The disadvantage was that it was hard and the texture was dense, making it very difficult to process. But it was no problem for Seo-yeon at all.

If she made a wooden sword with this, it wouldn't break in most sparring matches.

Seo-yeon took the ebony and came out of the warehouse. The siblings were still waiting for Seo-yeon in a respectful posture.

Leaving behind the thought that the scions of prestigious families were truly inflexible, Seo-yeon opened her mouth.

"There's a pond not far from here. There's something I want to show you there, would you like to come with me?"

The siblings nodded without asking any questions. They had faces as if they were possessed by something.

'What kind of foolishness is this.'

'No way!'

It was because they saw the blades of grass raise their heads wherever Seo-yeon's feet touched, and the petals bloom as if they were absorbing the sunlight.

'There's no sign of qi manipulation at all. Is she drawing it from the outside? No. From the beginning, was it possible to draw natural qi like that at will?'

'I'm going to learn it no matter what. No matter what!'

Namgung Cheonghae admired her again in his heart, and Namgung Seolhwa couldn't suppress her excitement to the point that she felt unfamiliar with herself.

The person in question, however, narrowed her brows, thinking that some kind of druid-like ability had manifested again.

Seo-yeon soon arrived at the pond. It was a quiet and beautiful place with pink lotus flowers in full bloom.

She headed to a small pavilion on one side of the pond, which she had carved herself in the past. It wasn't very big, but it was enough for three people to enter.

"Please sit comfortably. It won't take too long."

The siblings took their seats on one side of the pavilion with questioning faces. Their gazes were directed at the ebony in Seo-yeon's hand. Now that they saw it, it seemed she was going to sculpt.

'Ebony with bare hands?'

'Is she trying to test our patience?'

That was what they thought because they knew that sculpting wasn't something that could be done in a day or two.

It wasn't something they couldn't understand. The masters who had made a name for themselves in the world were originally known for having bizarre hobbies.

Although no one had actually seen it, it was said that the Sword Immortal of Wudang also enjoyed disguising himself as a beggar and wandering the world.

It was not strange for Seo-yeon, a peerless master, to have a bizarre hobby.

'That's for sure. This is a test.'

Namgung Seolhwa made her behavior even more proper. She straightened her posture. She didn't disturb the angle of her knees, the position of her hands, or even her breathing.

Namgung Cheonghae was a little different. Perhaps because he had been repeating the swordplay he had seen earlier in his head dozens of times, he was even a little dazed.

Of course, there was no sign of it on the outside. His eyes were clear, and he was watching Seo-yeon's fingertips correctly. However, one side of his heart was directed elsewhere.

There was a reason why the character 'Mad' was attached to his nickname.

Namgung Cheonghae was a young man whose desire for the sword was no less than that of his father, Namgung Se-In. That's why he knew his place well.

'I don't know what kind of teachings she will give us, but trying to have both is reckless. It's right to yield this to my sister.'

That was why he took a more relaxed posture than his sister.

It was then that Seo-yeon's fingertips moved.

The start was so sudden that even Namgung Seolhwa's eyesight couldn't catch it. A decisive hand movement arose from Seo-yeon's shoulder.

A faint pink light flickered in her eyes beyond the veil, and the ebony she was holding was cleanly cut off.

Mind Sword.

The realm of transcendence, which had only been passed down as a legend, revealed itself in the place watched by the two Namgung siblings. But the siblings did not realize it. It was because their level was low. Even with Namgung Seolhwa's eyesight, she only managed to guess that it was a noble technique.

Swoosh—

The pink light, flowing from her mind to her shoulder, from her shoulder to her arm, from her arm to her fingertips, and from her fingertips to the ebony, vibrated mysteriously.

It wasn't that she couldn't control her qi and it was leaking out.

It was that nature was surprised by her auspicious vibrations and was surging.

"T, this is......"

"It's just a trick to distract the eyes. It's been like this since some point."

Seo-yeon replied calmly. She really acted as if it was nothing.

But inside, she was thinking.

'Maybe I really am a druid.'

Right now, the Namgung Clan was a prestigious family that truly knew righteousness, unlike the exaggerated image shown in martial arts novels. So, she couldn't conclude that this world was the same as a typical martial arts world.

To put it bluntly, the real world might be mixed with fantasy.

'Could it be that the Blood Demon Lord is a vampire?'

In martial arts, vampires are heretics. Even if they really existed, it would be right to call them blood demons.

'Then what should I call elves? Since their ears are big, should I call them the Ear Tribe?'

At that point, Seo-yeon shook off her thoughts. She didn't intend to keep the scions of prestigious families waiting for a long time from the beginning.

Swoosh—

The movement of her fingertips gradually began to speed up.

There was no hesitation. The finger that stretched out in a straight line contained the mystery of a flash.

The sunlight distorted along the trajectory.

Seo-yeon placed the two finished wooden swords in front of the siblings.

They contained a deep black color, the sword bodies were smoothly refined, and the weight was perfectly balanced.

In the meantime, she had estimated their bodies, and the length and thickness were slightly different.

"This is my small gift."

Her voice was still calm.

"You must be tired from staying in an uncomfortable place for two days, so please accept it without feeling burdened."

"H, huh......"

"T, thank y-"

The siblings were so grateful that they didn't know what to do.