“Hey Black Cat, wanna have a match?”
“Hmm. Should we?”
The Black Cat gave a wry smile, looking at Ho Cheon-an, who appeared to have the fierce look of an overbearing grade school bully. The Black Cat had also been watching Sara’s eccentric behavior since morning. It felt only right to respond to Sara’s effort.
The two took their positions and stared at each other, slightly surprised.
“You’ve gotten much stronger, Senior.”
“You’ve changed a lot too!”
Ho Cheon-an felt that the Black Cat’s aura had completely transformed. She didn’t seem to bear any pressure compared to her level. To put it positively, she was hiding herself well; negatively, it meant she was impossible to intimidate. However, after teaming up with Rano Jingbu, that typical expert pressure soon settled in.
The Black Cat realized once again that watching someone and facing them was two different things. Thanks to Tang So-yeol’s special training to awaken his sword energy, and then learning sword handling from Yeo Il-ye, Ho Cheon-an had become quite the Peak Expert.
Swoosh!
“Here I go, Senior.”
Ho Cheon-an’s sword energy began the match as it cut through an invisible circle created by the Nine Yin technique.
‘Senior is dazzlingly growing.’
The Black Cat thought back to Ho Cheon-an before he had awakened his sword energy and extended her techniques. Back then, he would only have been able to create a thin boundary around himself, making a proper match with the Black Cat, who was operating Nine Yin, impossible.
The Nine Yin technique could freeze even a powerful force. Just coming into contact with it would have easily frozen the boundary that Ho Cheon-an had created.
“Counter!”
The Black Cat twisted her upper body, dodging Ho Cheon-an’s sword and simultaneously executed her technique. With two of her techniques rendered useless by Ho Cheon-an’s sword, frost clung to it.
If it had hit his body, the chill contained in her technique would have been enough to cause frostbite, but it only contacted the sword. The Black Cat smiled as she saw Ho Cheon-an interrupting the flow of energy he was trying to raise. If he had maintained his energy, the Nine Yin could have infiltrated his body through his sword, so her response was appropriate.
However, Ho Cheon-an had just awakened his energy, so interrupting and continuing it repeatedly was a burden for him.
Soon enough, Ho Cheon-an found himself looking at his palm resting in front of his chest.
“I lost.”
“Good job, Senior.”
After the match ended, the two drank tea side by side.
“Ahh, it feels so good to have something warm inside.”
Ho Cheon-an tightly held his cup with both hands. No matter how well he responded by blocking the Black Cat’s techniques with his sword and interrupting the energy before it penetrated him, he couldn’t avoid the remaining chill seeping into his palm.
The Black Cat chuckled softly, finding it funny that Ho Cheon-an was gripping his cup so tight.
“Hehe, after operating the Ice Technique, a warm cup of tea is the best.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
“Well, you can’t help that your body gets cold.”
Watching the Black Cat smiling contently while sipping her warm tea made Ho Cheon-an’s heart feel a bit heavy.
‘Should I have paid more attention to the Black Cat?’
He stared at the Black Cat’s white hair. Perhaps due to just using the Ice Technique, her previously black hair now appeared completely white. No matter how much a natural genius she was, even the Black Cat would find it burdensome to absorb the Nine Yin technique into her body.
Just how ruthless the Nine Yin technique could be. It was so profound that even the highest spiritual medicine couldn’t completely overcome it, requiring mixing multiple medicines just to achieve a balance. Yet here was the Black Cat, braving it all bare-skinned. To think she had said she was fine and would endure it — that was a major oversight.
“I’m sorry.”
“…?”
“No, I just thought it would have been good to make a strengthening medicine for you while making the remedy for Sara…”
Observing Ho Cheon-an’s apologetic demeanor, the Black Cat chuckled softly.
“What about me now?”
“Hmm… Well, I think the white hair suits you.”
“Senior, are you stupid? I mean beyond that.”
Seeing the puzzled expression on Ho Cheon-an’s face, the Black Cat furrowed her brow. Sometimes he was the sharpest person in the world, and at other times, he turned into a complete fool without any situational awareness.
“Am I now a person who is with people?”
“Oh.”
Ho Cheon-an pushed aside thoughts of the Black Cat’s hair or the sight of her drinking tea, considering why she had accepted the Nine Yin technique in her body — it wasn’t just a byproduct of absorbing Sara’s technique.
“…I see.”
The Black Cat wanted to save Sara.
Realizing this fact brought various thoughts to Ho Cheon-an’s mind. Among them, the most prominent was the idea of ‘Chivalry.’
The cat that had lurked in the shadows had become a chivalrous person.
“You’ve been a great help.”
Recognizing this, Ho Cheon-an instinctively spoke the first word that came to his heart.
The Black Cat smiled upon hearing those words.
“The magic performance was successful, but the Lord of the Palace stubbornly refused treatment. With hope pinned on various people, facing failure and frustration had wavered the Lord of the Palace’s spirit. As I pondered whether I could persuade the Lord of the Palace in the remaining time, you absorbed Sara’s Nine Yin technique.”
Having seen Sara’s improved state firsthand, Ho Cheon-an said the Lord of the Palace could regain her spirit.
“Thanks to you absorbing Sara’s energy, we gained ample time, and thus everything could be prepared.”
Ho Cheon-an recalled the time they hunted the Spirit Deer. What would have happened without Yeo Il-ye’s efforts? They would still have captured the Black Armored Dragon, though they would have surely suffered significant injuries and casualties among the Monastics.
Had the Black Cat not absorbed the Nine Yin technique to buy them time, they would have been forced to hastily push the Monastics forward, leading to even more casualties.
As he spoke, Ho Cheon-an realized the Black Cat had provided immense assistance in healing Sara.
To only realize it now.
‘I’ve been blind.’
Ho Cheon-an thought he had kept his composure. He continued training, hammering metal, and even performed a delightful magic show as usual.
But that was just a mirage he had woven for himself.
He had been only focused on maneuvering the Podalap Palace, unable to see what surrounded him.
Thinking that having gained a powerful Nine Yin technique was merely a good thing, he belatedly considered whether it was such a simple matter.
Acquiring the powerful Nine Yin technique meant the Black Cat had to completely overhaul the martial arts she had honed her entire life, not to mention her hair color had changed as well.
The Black Cat bore many burdens to save Sara and had accepted them gracefully.
Ho Cheon-an finally understood the Black Cat’s resolve and determination.
And he realized how engulfed in anger he had been.
Not only did he fail to understand the Black Cat’s resolve as she absorbed the Nine Yin, but he also hadn’t even attempted to see it, too consumed by his own rage toward Jeong Cheol.
“…Thank you.”
Ho Cheon-an expressed his gratitude to the Black Cat, filled with mixed emotions.
Was it gratitude for the help that enabled him to devise plans for moving the Podalap Palace by absorbing Sara’s energy? Or perhaps gratitude for the fact that the Black Cat had patiently waited for his blindness to lift? Maybe it was gratitude just for the Black Cat always being with him, or for finally helping him awaken to his current state?
Ho Cheon-an spoke, filled with a sentiment he could not clearly define.
As he did, the Black Cat set her teacup down.
[Oh come on, sis! It’s obvious you like Ho Cheon-an the magician! Why aren’t you doing anything about it?]
‘Yeah, why haven’t I done anything?’
The Black Cat recalled the first moment she had shown her true face to Ho Cheon-an, shedding her mask. Why hadn’t she acted then?
Now, she would give an answer.
She had been scared.
She feared that if she acted recklessly, the connection she had with her senior, even if it was just an absurd excuse of a hunting trip, would end.
The Black Cat asked herself… Was she still afraid of being abandoned by Ho Cheon-an?
‘Not anymore.’
This senior was overflowing with compassion, tirelessly caring for everyone. Even while taking care of others, he would stride ahead without hesitation.
The Black Cat reflected on everything. Since deciding to learn the ways of being with her senior, she had formed so many connections.
After the adventures in Sacheon City, she had been coaxed by Tang Do-yeon to ride on the Bicheongmacha.
Becoming friends with the bright Hyeok Gi-rin and shocked to discover her liking for Ho Cheon-an while playfully mixing with the sly Yeo Il-ye, they even rode the Bicheongmacha together to the Tang Clan. After that, she met the adorable Ryeo Ah, who forcibly pulled her into the company of Yeo Il-ye. She had become part of the group with Tang So-yeol, who, like her, was born with the energy of the stars.
She reached out to others.
And rescued Sara.
And now, Sara’s actions for her were so endearing and appreciated.
Then shouldn’t she respond to those feelings? After all, it was time created by Sara’s sacrifice, who even gave her a cheeky slap. If she didn’t act during this moment, how could she face Sara later?
“Senior, this is all thanks to what you’ve taught me about how to be together.”
“What?”
The Black Cat reached out, grasped the front of Ho Cheon-an’s robe, and pulled him closer. She saw a flustered expression flash across Ho Cheon-an’s face.
Ho Cheon-an swallowed hard at the sight of the Black Cat’s face right before him. The scent of the Black Cat, which he thought he would never smell again, filled the air.
The Black Cat was also nervous in the current circumstances, causing some of her Qi to slip away.
To drown out the pounding of her heart in her head, the Black Cat desperately muttered the first thing that came to her mind.
“Now that I think about it, it’s quite irritating.”
“Huh?”
“If you’re thankful, it shouldn’t just be words. You need to reward me.”
Yeah, this is a proper return. The Black Cat thought as she tightened her grip and pulled Ho Cheon-an’s upper body closer.
Their lips brushed against each other’s. After the brief contact, the Black Cat took a deep breath.
“Blah…”
Ho Cheon-an, who was about to say something, felt his lips covered again. Unlike that previous light touch, the Black Cat pressed in deeply.
‘Seriously, Senior is special.’
After learning how to be together, the Black Cat had tasted so much joy. She had laughed with Hyeok Gi-rin, shared meals with Members of the Wolbok-dang, played with Tang Rye-ah, and taken care of Sara.
All these were joyful experiences. Days where she could understand why her senior had become a person capable of enjoying the company of others.
Yet still…
Despite all those experiences, her feelings toward Ho Cheon-an remained unchanged.
Their lips danced in a playful manner. The Black Cat, observing the wavering glimmer in his eyes, couldn’t help but laugh and pulled back. At that moment, it seemed she knew what Ho Cheon-an was thinking. He probably wondered why someone like him, blessed with skills, would be engaged in such a thing.
No one had created this scenario, yet here he was, minimizing himself.
The thought flickered through the Black Cat’s mind, but soon she decided it didn’t matter. After all, this was Ho Cheon-an.
“Senior.”
The Black Cat pulled on his robe again and muttered.
“I won’t let go anymore.”
Not ever.
Determined, the Black Cat once again pressed her lips against Ho Cheon-an’s.
Their playful exchange went on for quite a while.
