Chapter 13

As Guhae’s head began to heat up, I cooled it with a wet cloth. When the cloth became lukewarm from the heat, I dipped it in a nearby basin of water to make it cool again.

Silently, I repeated the process of nursing Guhae.

“Young Master, I’ll take over from here. You should rest a bit.”

“…It’s fine. I’ll do it. And sorry, but could you fetch some fresh water in the basin?”

‘Wow, the word “sorry” came out of that guy’s mouth. I don’t know what happened, but he must really be down. I should make some meat side dishes for him tomorrow.’

Thinking this, Jang Sam-i took the basin and left.

After confirming that Jang Sam-i had completely left the room, I rolled up Guhae’s sleeve and checked her pulse.

Fortunately, nothing was seriously wrong. Her dantian’s internal energy was completely drained, and she had pushed her body too hard, leading to exhaustion.

“When the mind is calm, forget emotions. When the body is weak, replenish energy.”

I adjusted her posture and began the Mystical Taoist Inner Energy Technique, sending internal energy through her wrist. This wasn’t the first time I used the technique for healing. I had used it before to hide minor injuries from my mother after training.

“When the mind dies, the spirit lives. When yang flourishes, yin perishes.”

It was my first time using internal energy to heal someone else, but it was fine. I was Sima Mantian, the genius who could even deceive the heavens. Besides, both Guhae and I had learned the Mystical Taoist Inner Energy Technique. There was no risk of internal energy getting tangled and leading to qi deviation.

Perhaps because she was naturally strong, her energy recovered quickly once I started the technique. Now, all I had to do was wait for her fever to go down while changing the wet cloth.

…I blinked my eyes and came to my senses. I must have dozed off while nursing Guhae. The cloth must have gotten lukewarm. I should change it.

In the dark room, I saw a pair of cat-like, shining blue eyes staring at me. It was Guhae.

“…You’re awake?”

“Yeah.”

“Any pain?”

“No.”

“That’s good.”

Silence filled the room. After a moment of hesitation, I asked an important question.

“Guhae, do you like martial arts?”

“…I’m not sure.”

This was unexpected. Whenever I taught her martial arts, her eyes sparkled, and she was full of enthusiasm. I thought for sure she loved martial arts itself.

“Then why did you work so hard to learn it?”

Guhae carefully studied my face, then suddenly pulled the blanket over her head.

“…Because I like it.”

The blanket lowered slightly, and only her round, pretty blue eyes peeked out, looking up at me.

“Because Mantian likes it. So I like it too.”

“…I like martial arts?”

“Yeah. Whenever you talk about martial arts, your eyes sparkle. So I like it too.”

Because I like it, she likes it too? Is she a child? …Well, she is a child. I feel deflated. What was I so afraid of? I’m such an idiot.

I touched Guhae’s forehead, and the fever had already subsided. There was no need to nurse her anymore, so I lay down beside her and stretched out my arm to hold her. She snuggled right in.

“!!!!!”

“You’ll just climb on top of me when I fall asleep anyway. Let’s just sleep like this today.”

I slowly moved my hand, patting her small back.

“It’s not that I like martial arts. I like martial arts ‘too.'”

I whispered gently to Guhae, who had buried her face in my chest and couldn’t speak.

“…Martial arts are nothing. There are so many more fun things in the world than martial arts. So let’s play together from tomorrow.”

Pat~ pat~

“Let’s go to the market and buy snacks. Let’s look at toys too.”

“Ah, flower viewing sounds nice too. Let’s go swimming.”

Pat~ pat~

“Yeah… yeah… and let’s bring Chirpy too.”

“…Come to think of it, I haven’t taught you the most fun game, Yutnori.”

Pat~ pat~

“Well, we have plenty of time. Let’s do it… a lot… together. …I’m sleepy now. …Good night.”

Mantian fell asleep feeling refreshed, but Guhae couldn’t sleep. Her fever had definitely gone down, but her face was hot. It was burning red. She needed a wet cloth.

***

Life at the Jiegal Family, which had been boring, was now very busy.

While teaching Guhae various games, I also taught her martial arts. After all, if I was going to teach her, I had to do it properly. Once I decided to do something, I never did it half-heartedly.

As I continued to teach her martial arts, I realized something. There really is such a thing as a natural aptitude for martial arts.

“Really? You don’t get it? This is super easy.”

“…No. It’s hard.”

I thought she would easily learn the Mystical Taoist Inner Energy Technique and the Empty Clarity Fist, and master the Heavenly Polar Bear Formation just as easily. But surprisingly, she couldn’t learn it.

No. You just have to memorize the core of the formation and move accordingly. Why can’t she do it?

It seems she’s not suited for group tactics like this. But then again, she learned the Double Hands Fighting technique incredibly easily. How?!

“What? I only explained the theory. How are you using it already?!”

“Huh? It’s easy. Like this. Like this. Like that. That’s all.”

…It seems that, as Master said, the Double Hands Fighting technique is something only blockheads can use. Smart people can’t do it.

Honestly, I don’t care if I can’t use the Double Hands Fighting technique. I’m not jealous at all. I have the Dog Chasing Stick Technique. Dog Chasing Stick Technique is the best~ We’ll be together forever.

Dog~ Dog! (Of course, partner!)

As I polished my staff, swallowing the bitter taste of defeat, Guhae also started playing with her soul partner, Chirpy.

“Chirp~ chirp~ chirp chirp~ chirp~”

Chirpy’s condition had improved a lot, and he could now fly around a bit. Well, I spent a lot of money on his treatment at the clinic. If he couldn’t fly, he’d be roasted sparrow that day.

“Getting treated by the doctor really helped. He’s flying around now. But treating a sparrow~ The doctor must have been surprised. How much did it cost?”

In response to Jang Sam-i’s question, I pulled out some jerky from my pocket, chewing it, and held up two fingers.

“Two silver coins. He said it was harder to treat because it’s so small.”

“Damn. You should’ve just bought a new one.”

I watched Guhae, who was playing with the sparrow, smiling as if she owned the world. Even though we were in the same room, it felt like we were divided into two groups: the dirty, jaded forces of society and the pure, untainted forces.

“Don’t be like that. There are many sparrows in the world, but to Guhae, Chirpy is the only one.”

Hearing this touching statement, Jang Sam-i suddenly rolled his eyes and abruptly held out his hand to me.

“Then I’m the only Jang Sam-i in the world too. Give me two silver coins.”

I immediately hit Jang Sam-i’s head with my well-polished, shiny staff.

Thud!

“Ugh?!”

“Lately, I’ve been too quiet, so you think I’m easy, huh? Go make some food. Brat.”

***

I taught her martial arts, and I taught her how to play in the room and the yard. She’s really good at tag and hide-and-seek. Anyway, now it’s time to teach her how to have fun outside.

There’s a festival coming up soon, so I planned to take Guhae out then. But a problem arose. The Jiegal Family blocked Guhae from going out.

And someone from the Jiegal Family came to me and gave me some advice that wasn’t really advice. They told me to stop getting involved with Guhae.

If Jiegal Bi-Young, my father’s friend, had been at the Jiegal Family, he might have taken my side, but unfortunately, he was away on some mission for the Martial Alliance.

Can a little brat who knows a bit of martial arts protect a poor girl in the home ground of a family mafia cartel? The answer is no.

But that doesn’t mean I should stop thinking. I need to figure out why and how this situation came to be. I need to keep my mind moving.

There are a few truths in the world. One of them is that the fish that stops swimming dies first.

…From what I can see, the person trying to isolate Guhae again is at least not the family head, Jiegal Gyu-geun. He may have been the one who created the situation where Guhae was abused, but at least this time, it’s not him.

The family head is a hands-off type. He doesn’t care if Guhae is abused or not. He just wants to keep her out of his sight.

Anyway, that means if she stays out of sight, he won’t bother her even if she’s taken care of and loved. In fact, I’ve been taking care of Guhae for weeks, washing her, feeding her, and looking after her, and he hasn’t sent anyone.

That means he’s not interested in what I’m doing. So there’s no reason for him to block her from going out for a short time during the festival.

Hmm~ So, it seems that some other force, with unknown intentions, has taken an interest in Guhae. This is tough. I need to ask someone who knows the internal affairs of the Jiegal Family well.

Another truth of the world. If you don’t know something or hit a wall, consult someone else.

It was also time for my appointment. That old man is very sensitive about time, so I shouldn’t be late. I walked towards the old pavilion in the corner of the garden, leaning on my staff.

“Hey~ Old man, long time no see.”

As I raised a hand in greeting, the damn old man, now my Go partner, Jiegal Yang, flicked a Go stone and hit my forehead.

Thud!

“Ugh?!”

“Stop the nonsense. Sit down quickly. Time is precious.”