Inside the hut, the three of them sat around the wooden table. Jin-ah chewed on an apple one of Gaon's buffed ones, the flesh glowing faintly with external force. Her small legs swung beneath the bench.
Seo Yerin sat across from Gaon, her hands wrapped around a cup of cold water. She did not drink.
"The Black Lotus Sect," she began, "is trying to take over a village called Seokchon. It's nothing special on the surface just farmers and traders. But beneath the village is a mining network. Jade. High-quality jade, enough to fund a small army."
Gaon listened.
"The sect doesn't look like villains, They send envoys. They offer deals. They donate to local shrines. But behind closed doors, they've been spreading false arguments claiming the village elders stole land from them, that the miners are trespassing on old sect territory. None of it is true. But they've been building a case for years, and now they're ready to move."
Jin-ah stopped chewing.
"I learned the truth from a source inside the sect," Seo Yerin said. "A higher-ranked disciple who wanted out. He gave me documents, names, the real story. My mission was to spy, gather evidence, and report back so the murim alliance could intervene."
She paused, her fingers tightening around the cup.
"I got caught. The necromancer found me. We fought. I killed him or I thought I did. But before he died, he pressed his palm to my chest and spoke the curse. It drained my power every day, I grew weaker. My strikes lost force. My speed dropped. Even my senses dulled."
She looked at Gaon.
"By the time I found you, I was at maybe half my strength. And still, you crushed me like I was nothing."
Gaon said nothing.
"The curse is gone now," Seo Yerin said. "I can feel my power coming back. But the Black Lotus knows someone is interfering. They'll be watching. And now that their curse on me has vanished, they'll know someone removed it."
She set the cup down.
"That someone is you."
Gaon's thought turned inward.
This is bad. I'm in the middle of big politics now.
He tilted his head slightly, processing. Across the table, Jin-ah tilted her head too, mirroring him without realizing it.
He noticed and almost smiled. Almost.
"Well," Gaon said, "what can I do? I just need to protect myself and Jin-ah."
He reached over and patted her head. She mumbled something through a mouthful of apple and kept chewing.
Seo Yerin nodded. "It's unfortunate you never went to an academy. If you had, we could have met earlier. I could have taught you so much."
Gaon smiled. "I don't need anyone to teach me anything. But..." He looked at Jin-ah. "I want you to teach her. So she can become strong."
Jin-ah swallowed her apple and looked up at Seo Yerin with wide eyes.
Seo Yerin studied the girl for a moment. Small. Thin. But there was something in her gaze.
"What's her name?" Seo Yerin asked.
"Jin-ah."
"Jin-ah," Seo Yerin repeated. "How long has she been training?"
"A few weeks," Gaon said.
"A few weeks?" Seo Yerin's eyebrows rose. "And she can already channel qi?"
"She's a genius," Gaon said simply.
Jin-ah's cheeks turned pink.
Seo Yerin looked at Gaon, then at Jin-ah, then back at Gaon.
"You want me to be her teacher."
"Yes."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she nodded.
Jin-ah set down her apple and leaned forward. "Beautiful lady, what is your power? What makes your qi so strong?"
Seo Yerin blinked at the unexpected address, then glanced at Gaon. He shrugged.
"Have you told her about cultivation?" Seo Yerin asked.
Gaon nodded. "Some. Not deep."
Seo Yerin turned back to Jin-ah. "Cultivation has stages. Breakthroughs. Each stage makes your qi stronger, purer, more refined. Some people use pills to help break through. Others meditate for years. Some never make it past the first stage."
She raised her hand. A faint white mist curled from her palm thin, like fog over a lake at dawn.
"My power is mist. When I release it, the area around me becomes covered. Anyone inside that mist, when I swing my sword..." She paused. "Everyone gets hurt. No matter where they stand. No matter how fast they move."
Jin-ah's eyes went wide. "Can I learn that? That power?"
Seo Yerin shook her head. "You can't learn my power. Or rather—" She softened her voice. "You need to find your own. Everyone's power is different. What works for me may not work for you. What awakens in you might be something I've never seen."
Jin-ah's shoulders dropped slightly. She looked down at her own small hands.
"But," Seo Yerin added, "I can teach you how to find it. That's what a real teacher does."
Jin-ah looked back up. Her eyes were still wide, but now there was something else. Determination.
"Okay," she said.
Seo Yerin leaned back and began counting on her fingers.
"The first stage is called Foundation. That's where you learn to feel your qi and move it through your body. Most people take one to three years to reach Foundation."
Jin-ah listened carefully.
"Above Foundation is Awakening. Your qi becomes visible. You can channel it into weapons, strengthen your body, maybe use a simple technique. Some people never go beyond Awakening."
Seo Yerin raised a second finger.
"Above Awakening is Transformation. Your qi changes takes on a quality, an element, a shape. This is where most sect elders sit. It took me seven years to reach Transformation."
She raised a third finger.
"Above Transformation is Ascension. Your qi becomes something almost alive. You can project it outside your body for long distances. Fewer than one in a thousand cultivators ever reach Ascension."
She raised a fourth finger.
"Above Ascension is—"
She stopped. Her eyes locked onto Jin-ah.
Jin-ah blinked. "What?"
Seo Yerin's mouth hung open for a moment. Then she closed it and leaned forward.
"You're at Awakening… Not Foundation. Awakening. The second stage."
Jin-ah tilted her head. "Is that bad?"
"No." Seo Yerin shook her head slowly. "It's not bad. It's... fast. Most people take years to reach Awakening. You've been training for weeks."
She looked at Gaon. "You said she was a genius. I didn't think you meant this."
Gaon shrugged. "I told you."
Seo Yerin looked back at Jin-ah.
"There are plenty of smart people who reach Awakening quickly," she said. "It's not unheard of. But it's a sign. You have potential."
Jin-ah's small hands curled into fists on the table. "Then teach me. Please. Beautiful lady."
Seo Yerin stared at her for a long moment. Then she nodded.
"Alright. But I teach hard. No crying."
Jin-ah grinned. "I don't cry."
Gaon said nothing. He just watched, thinking about the seven sins, about the voice in her head, about what she might become.
Seo Yerin turned to Jin-ah. "Have you thought about joining an academy? It would be easier for you. Structured training. Resources. Connections. You could grow much faster."
Jin-ah looked down at the table. Her fingers traced the grain of the wood.
Gaon watched her for a moment. Then he spoke.
"Jin-ah. You can choose."
She looked up at him. Her eyes searched his face—for what, he wasn't sure. Permission? Expectation?
"You're not going to tell me what to do?" she asked.
"No. This is your life. Not mine."
She was quiet for a long time. Seo Yerin waited. Gaon waited.
Then Jin-ah shook her head.
"I want to stay here. With you."
She looked at Seo Yerin. "But I still want you to teach me. If that's okay. Beautiful lady."
Seo Yerin glanced at Gaon. He gave a small nod.
"Then I'll teach you here."
***
Seo Yerin bowed slightly at the doorway. "I'll take my leave."
Then she turned and launched herself into the night sky.
Between jumps from treetop to treetop, her body cutting through the cold air her mind churned.
How can he have so much external force but no qi? No internal energy at all. That shouldn't be possible. Every cultivator has at least a spark.
She landed on a high branch, pushed off again.
If all he can do is heal with that external force, that's already remarkable. But he also has that power [Titan Mantel].
She soared over the dark forest, the moon at her back.
I've never met anyone like him.
Her thoughts spiraled, searching for an answer that would not come.
Then she smiled.
Some strong people are being born lately.
She landed on a ridge overlooking Hwagok, her robes settling around her. The city lights flickered below like scattered stars.
Maybe the demonic cult will finally fall in the future.
She stood there for a moment, watching the wind move through the trees. Then she jumped again, disappearing toward the Crimson Bamboo Sect's outpost.
To Be Continued.