“It was fun.”
Sara felt like she was frolicking among the clouds. Having completely downed the bitter herbal medicine she drinks daily, she lay under the covers, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Sara turned her head to look to the side. It seemed that the magicians had not yet disappeared; she could feel their presence. No, it was more like she sensed it.
“That sister… was so beautiful…”
As the excitement from the magic show settled, Sara thought of the Black Cat. Any magician who performed would have been fine, but her mind was fixated on the Black Cat’s face. Remembering the Cat’s eyes, Sara clumsily raised her body.
“I want to meet her.”
Sara glanced back toward the window. If she moved the low chest of drawers placed near it just a little, she felt she could escape through the window.
Alright. Let’s escape. Masarai took the herbal medicine outside, so no one should come for a while.
Normally, she wouldn’t dream of making such plans, but Sara nodded with a puff of breath. Perhaps it was the magic show, but her body was bursting with energy. Today, pushing aside that pesky, well, not so pesky anymore, large and thick window would surely be possible, and she felt she could soar over it.
It wasn’t like she was going far; just stepping out through the window and taking a few steps would be enough. Just that alone made her heart race. It had been ages since she could go out.
Sara immediately sprang into action.
“Ugh… Let’s go.”
Weakened by the Nine Yin Absolute Pulse, Sara was still a fifteen-year-old girl. Moving the cabinet and standing on it made her sweat like crazy, but she sat on top to catch her breath.
“Is it really necessary to go outside like this?”
As she sighed, such thoughts crossed her mind. While she did find this place stifling, she never imagined escaping like this.
Sometimes she felt the urge to open the window and look outside, but she understood well that this stifling space acted as a barrier protecting her fragile self.
Yet, for some reason, Sara felt she needed to go.
“This is right.”
Without any rationality, Sara found herself convinced that she had to go outside, but nevertheless, she rose and touched the window.
Creeeaaak…
Was it because Ho Cheon-an had swung it wide open earlier? Sara felt a twinge of disappointment at how easily the window opened. A window that hadn’t budged in years swung open effortlessly as if it had only been opened once.
Sara sat on the window frame and took a moment to breathe in the fresh air. Feeling the cool breeze fill her lungs, she hopped down from the frame.
“Ah…?”
“Who is that child?”
Surprised at the sight of Sara suddenly emerging from her room, the group waiting for Ho Cheon-an felt bewildered. They had heard that heavy contact with others was difficult due to her illness, but how could such a severely ill patient escape through a window?
Should they call the Podalap Palace people or just witness this girl’s escapade? Or was it okay to approach her, or should they distance themselves?
Sara cautiously approached Ho Cheon-an’s group and stopped a step away.
“Hello…? I’m Rano Sara.”
“Hahaha! Hello! As I mentioned earlier, I am the magician Okryong.”
Okryong quickly introduced himself. He was also puzzled about how the subordinate who was supposed to be sickly could move like this, but since someone was close, an introduction was the least they could do.
As Okryong spoke, others introduced themselves as well. However, an awkward silence followed. They weren’t sure if it was alright to interact with Sara or if they should keep their distance.
A moment passed in tension, each party wary of the other.
“Um…”
The Black Cat stepped forward. She sensed something from Sara. It may be someone else’s body, but something was stirring within her like an internal force.
Earlier, outside the window, it felt faint; but upon coming closer, it became distinct.
A great energy was occupying this child’s body.
The Black Cat felt compelled by this energy. Aware that being around others could worsen her health, she nonetheless felt strangely assured that it would be okay.
“Can I hold your hand?”
“Yes.”
Sara answered without thinking, surprised at her response. She wasn’t supposed to make contact with others; if she did, she would usually end up bedridden.
Yet, here she was, answering so easily!
Sara hesitated in front of the Black Cat. Was it really okay to make contact? The Black Cat understood her worry and silently waited.
Eventually mustering her courage, Sara took the Black Cat’s hand.
And in that moment…
Sara’s energy began to surge.
Ssssssss….!
A chilling aura emanated from Sara’s body! It was so powerful that the grass beneath her feet instantly froze.
The Black Cat thought,
“That energy is too enormous for a child to handle.”
The greatest flow of energy she had ever seen was when the legendary martial artist Hyeong-gyeong ascended. The Qi of the entire Jeomchang Faction felt alive, an image still etched in her mind.
But the ominous energy felt from within Sara’s body was something she couldn’t even compare to that moment.
She had heard many tales about the Nine Yin Absolute Pulse from Ho Cheon-an, but in this moment, she truly grasped its significance.
Not only quantitatively but qualitatively, the Qi of the Nine Yin was too immense to be contained within a single body. How could a vessel hold entire mountains or rivers?
It was an overwhelming and pure energy of Yin that was far too great to be held by a single person.
The dormant Yin energy within Sara stirred at the touch of the Black Cat. Just one ripple from such a gargantuan force was enough to send gusts of wind around, freezing the grass at her feet.
Even the Peak Expert couldn’t escape being frozen by the sheer might of the energy spreading from Sara, yet the Black Cat remained unfazed.
More precisely, she naturally processed the energy emanating from Sara.
“Taiyin.”
The Black Cat instinctually realized she could manipulate Sara’s energy. Despite it being someone else’s, she felt she could control it as if it were her own.
Her instincts whispered:
“It’s possible because of the Nine Yin physique.”
The pure Yin energy was so potent that it naturally resonated with the Black Cat, who was born with Taiyin traits.
The Nine Yin, often described as the most pristine Yin energy, was no exaggeration.
The Black Cat instinctively knew that if she desired, she could absorb this vast and pure energy. With even the slightest fluctuation, she could make the air colder than a midwinter’s chill and freeze the earth and grass beneath her feet.
The Black Cat chuckled.
While all martial artists in the world spoke of serendipity, it was different for her.
The Black Cat glanced at her own hands. More precisely, she considered her own unique constitution.
Taiyin physique.
Because of this cursed trait, her life had been completely shattered. Since childhood, the persistent gazes of men forced her to leave home at a young age, and even afterward, she had to wander, staying distant from others.
Thanks to Ho Cheon-an, she realized her life was not only a series of misfortunes, but it didn’t change how she looked at her Taiyin physique.
To the Black Cat, her Taiyin physique was merely a curse she had to overcome.
And thus, she had never thought about augmenting her Taiyin energy throughout her life. She understood well that increasing it would only lead to greater isolation.
“What would happen if I absorbed this overflowing energy?”
She didn’t know.
The Taiyin physique appeared maybe once every few hundred years, and the Nine Yin physique was just as rare. What might happen when those two energies existed within a single body was anybody’s guess.
She could only hypothesize that combining the Taiyin and the Nine Yin might have a potent synergistic effect.
“If that happens….”
The Black Cat wondered whether she could still control her Taiyin energy as she did now. Even at this moment, she struggled to contain the energy leaking from her eyes, and returning to that time when she had to cover her eyes with a mask as she bore suspicious glances from others might not be possible.
Despite having such thoughts.
The Black Cat began to draw in the Nine Yin energy lying dormant within Sara’s body.
Sara’s body was at its limits.
Even a subtle movement to contact the Black Cat filled her with the overwhelming Nine Yin energy, which was brimming to the brim.
Ssssssssss!!!
A gust of wind surged forth from the Black Cat and Sara. The grass, turned into shards of ice, shattered, and the frozen ground was exposed.
As the Black Cat slowly absorbed the energy, she thought. Just today, she had only met this child, yet here she was, going so far for her. While needed for Ho Cheon-an’s plan, surely Senior Ho could devise another scheme.
It might have been a foolish act. Just now, she was finally beginning to grasp the recreational joy of slowly facing the world alongside others. She might ruin it all.
She had promised to advance with Ho Cheon-an and to overcome her burdens, but perhaps she might never fulfill that promise.
With eyes wide open, the Black Cat looked at Sara. She remembered the joyful Sara, smiling brightly, her big eyes sparkling with starlight as she gazed intently at the magic. Often with her mouth agape or hands raised in cheers, those visuals replayed in her mind.
As she blinked at the memory of that Sara’s face, she suddenly saw herself standing in a dark alley, no longer Sara.
“Ahh…”
There in the alley, she saw a child looking at another child walking on the main street. That child was holding onto their parents’ hands with both hands.
The Black Cat turned her gaze away and continued walking through the alley. She walked and walked, gradually maturing. As she walked, she eventually reached the end of the dark alley. Bathed in sunlight, someone awaited her ahead.
It was someone familiar, wearing a black hood, leaning against the wall of the alley, turning pages of a martial arts novel.
The Black Cat kept walking. Ho Cheon-an closed his book and effortlessly walked beside her. Together they walked down the main street, looking around.
They passed a group laughing and making a ruckus, heading somewhere. Tang Do-gyeong, training his martial arts, was visible. Hyeok Gi-rin, who had walked over, waved cheerfully. Miss Yeo Il-ye could be seen carrying a backpack. Racing past was Tang Do-yeon, riding on the Bicheongmacha, who flickered away in an instant.
Then there was Tang So-yeol, leaning against the wall, puffing smoke out at an angle.
The Black Cat halted.
The street stretched endlessly.
Ho Cheon-an continued to walk, while everyone proceeded at their own pace either running or walking along.
And in the small, shaded alley…
Sara stood there.
“I see.”
The Black Cat stood before her. Sara was quietly looking up at the Black Cat. To reach for her hand, she would have to step back into the dark alley. If she just followed Ho Cheon-an, she would never need to step into the shadows again.
The Black Cat gazed at Ho Cheon-an’s retreating figure.
And with a smile, she took a step forward.
Sssssssss!!!
The moment she stepped into the alley, a chilling energy greeted the Black Cat. A frigid wind roared from the alley, so freezing it was that it was hard to open her eyes, but the Black Cat’s feet did not falter.
“It’s different.”
The Black Cat recalled the scene she had just witnessed. Ho Cheon-an waited at the alley’s entrance, but had he really waited?
No.
Ho Cheon-an marched in confidently.
Though yearning for the sunshine, having lived her entire life within the shadows, the Black Cat floundered, bewildered, as her hand was held—assuring her that she could go on, encouraging her that she could do it.
He guided her toward the light. Escaping the alley that had been impossible to leave alone, He led her back into the warm sunlight.
So…
“I, too, shall…!”
With that resolve, the Black Cat pushed through the biting cold and harsh winds. It felt as though her body was freezing up, but she did not stop.
The Black Cat clasped Sara’s hand. A chill like winter’s valley water surged through her, but she tightened her grip.
“It’s okay.”
The Black Cat couldn’t tell if the Sara in front of her was an illusion of her inner self or a true manifestation, yet she thought that didn’t matter.
“Let’s go together, sister.”
The Black Cat pulled Sara closer.
