Chapter 136 – Fateful Encounter

The sensation of a round head and soft hair being tousled. As I gently scratched her as if to soothe her, she leaned into me until she was completely relaxed and her weight was on me.

How long had we been doing this? Occasionally, I would tug on her earlobe or pinch her cheek, and I found myself adoring Hong Yeon-hwa to the point of distraction. Suddenly, Pang Soso returned with a small tray.

“Jin Gaga? Hong Unni? What are you doing in front of the door?”

“Huh? Um…what were we doing?”

I had forgotten what we were doing. I was truly a devil…frightening….

“It’s nothing. Hong Unni said she wanted a snack, so I brought a few dumplings. Let’s eat together.”

“Okay.”

I lifted the dazed Hong Yeon-hwa and headed towards the nearby table. I tried to sit her on the chair, but she leaned towards me like a biological magnet, so I had no choice but to open the lid of the tray that Pang Soso brought first.

The freshly steamed dumplings were half-liquid. As soon as Hong Yeon-hwa smelled the moist fragrance, her eyes focused.

“What the…?”

“Oh, are you back to your senses?”

After looking around for a moment to assess the situation, Hong Yeon-hwa blushed as if embarrassed.

“I guess I lost consciousness for a moment because it’s been so long since I’ve had a chin rest.”

“Is that so…?”

“That’s how it is for me.”

Hong Yeon-hwa held out a milk carton larger than her head and nodded seriously.

What is this head patting thing to Hong Yeon-hwa…?

Whether she knew my bewildered gaze or not, Hong Yeon-hwa regained her composure and began to blow on the dumplings with a satisfied expression.

Yes, if you’re happy, that’s all that matters….

As I chuckled to myself, Pang Soso handed me my share of dumplings and asked, “By the way, Hong Unni told me that you followed the Noh Honmae Witch and learned the Jinbeop today. How was it?”

“First of all, it was a complete failure. Jinbeop was too difficult, and I had no talent for Sasul.”

“Uh-huh. Is that so? Don’t be too disappointed. After all, why do you think Mu Gong is the most widely spread? It’s because it’s so difficult to learn anything else.”

Pang Soso patted my hand as I received the dumplings.

“Thank you. But it’s okay now. I didn’t learn Jinbeop or Sasul, but I made some progress.”

“Really?”

I explained what had happened at the Yeonmu Dojang to the puzzled Pang Soso and Hong Yeon-hwa, who was staring at me with a mouthful of dumplings.

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“From the moment we split up in the DoDo, whether it’s Mu Gong, Jinbeop, or Sasul, they are just skills to become stronger… It’s not a wrong statement to say that it requires a true martial artist’s mindset,” Hong Yeon-hwa said as she wiped the dumpling crumbs off her lips.

“Many people see martial arts as a means of salvation. But as a woman, I can’t help but sympathize more with that little girl’s words.”

Perhaps it was because she grew up in a demon cult when she was young.

According to what I’ve heard so far, martial arts were like a curse thrown into the world for Hong Yeon-hwa.

Cheonma Sin Gong gathered the rebellion of those believers, and Cheonma was their spokesperson and a supernatural being who could solve all problems.

Anyway, that little girl…no matter how much I think about it, Hong Yeon-hwa seems smaller than Sama Yeoryeong, but….

Plump.

When I lightly tapped her forehead, Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head and asked what was wrong. Of course, I couldn’t tell her what I was just thinking, so I smiled and took a bite of my dumpling.

“Mmm.”

Well, it’s okay if she’s a little small as long as she has the biggest heart.

But Sama Mang was pretty big too…I wonder if Sama Yeoryeong will become like that later?

Pang Soso suddenly clapped her hands as if she remembered something, while I was trying to cover up my thoughts with a dumpling in my mouth.

“Oh, wait a minute!”

“Huh, why?”

I wondered if she had caught me thinking about another woman a little while ago, but my awkward response was completely unrelated to what Pang Soso noticed.

“Then, did Jin Gaga gain enlightenment thanks to you two?”

“…Is that so?”

“That’s right. They said they were just giving a bribe to get a little closer, but somehow they received something excessive.”

As Hong Yeon-hwa said that with a troubled expression, I gently rubbed her furrowed brow and asked.

“What are you worrying about? Just build a more friendly relationship from now on. That’s probably what they want the most, right?”

“I don’t know that much either. But…there’s something I just can’t understand.”

“Something you can’t understand?”

“That…did you say Sama Sae? That household is the longtime second-in-command of Sama Ryeon, and I heard he’s the best in the Sa Pa.”

“They’re on the verge of extinction now, but they used to be like that. Why?”

“It seems a little different from the Sa Pa’s martial artists that I had in mind….”

Now that I think about it, that’s true. When you look closely, Sama Mang and Sama Yeoryeong sometimes look more like ordinary martial artists from a prestigious family than Sa Pa’s martial artists.

Sama Yeoryeong has a bit of a tricky personality…but the successors of the Ku Pa are generally unlucky.

“Why does Jegalyeongyeong keep picking on Pang Soso, even after their fight in Yongbongjihoe? And why does Namgung Cheon keep making snide remarks about my sword being useless?” Hong Yeon-hwa asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“Oh, that’s easy,” Pang Soso said, sipping her tea with a smirk. “Before Sama Yeoryeong came along, most of the Sa Pa martial artists were like what Hong Unni described. But…things changed after Sama Yeoryeong arrived.”

According to Pang Soso, most of the Sa Pa martial artists were like bandits, committing all sorts of crimes without hesitation. Many of them were killed by the righteous martial artists or the government officials.

Feeling threatened, some of the Sa Pa martial artists banded together under Sama Yeoryeong’s leadership. They pooled their resources and formed a formidable force that could rival the righteous martial artists.

However, this also meant that they couldn’t act recklessly anymore. They had to maintain a delicate balance with the righteous martial artists, or risk being wiped out.

This was a difficult situation for Sama Yeoryeong, as the Sa Pa didn’t have a steady source of income like the righteous martial artists. They had to rely on pillaging and looting to survive, which wasn’t sustainable in the long run.

Sama Yeoryeong had to find a way to coexist with the righteous martial artists, without becoming their lackeys. This meant that they had to find a way to make a living without resorting to violence.

The Sa Pa martial artists started to settle down and form their own clans, and even started their own martial arts schools. They still had to be careful not to cross the line, but they were able to live a more stable life than before.

It was a delicate balance, but it was better than being constantly on the run.

The path of settlement that everyone reluctantly chose. Some rebels decided to leave the Sa Pa and continue living the life of a beast.

The most representative of them is Nokrim.

Not only the righteous and the Sa Pa, but anyone who dares to touch the tribute to the royal palace is recognized as the real madness of this era.

On the other hand, there are those who adapted to the changes in the Sa Pa the fastest. That would be the first lord of the Sa Ma clan, Sa Masega.

He quickly built his power with his superior intelligence and intuition.

He gathered commoners with a much more lenient collection method than the righteous martial artists, and focused on commerce.

Unlike those who rejected and abandoned each other, he actively accepted wandering Sa Pa martial artists and grew his power.

He greedily acquired anything that could help him, including the martial arts and sorcery that have been the mainstay until now.

Those who were surprised by Sa Masega’s growth rate tried to restrain him, but…they couldn’t stop him from completely establishing himself.

In the end, the Sa Ma clan’s martial artists can only follow Sa Masega’s lead.

As a result, the recent Sa Ma clan has lost its previous savagery.

The former Sa Ma clan lord openly declared himself a moderate, wanting to be recognized by the martial arts community and the royal palace.

“Of course, this is only about the huge powers. There are still many wicked people among the Sa Pa martial artists who are not part of the major factions…those who wander alone or belong to small factions. The Sa Pa martial artists that commoners fear are those kinds of people. In fact, it would be better to say that there are no sane people among the Sa Pa martial artists outside of Gwangdong and its surroundings, which is the Sa Ma clan’s headquarters.”

“That’s why the martial arts community and the royal palace don’t blindly destroy the Sa Ma clan, right? If the Sa Ma clan falls, the remaining Ongeon faction will turn back into criminals.”

“That’s right. But that’s a thing of the past now. The former Sa Ma clan lord died a long time ago, and the new lord, Blood Red Horse, who became the new Sa Ma clan lord…I heard he’s a really crazy guy, so I don’t know what will happen in the future…”

Pang Soso sighed and spoke with a tsk tsk.

“Anyway, to answer Hong Unni’s question, the Sa Ma clan’s survival strategy was to moderately pillage their own territory. Sa Masega was the most prestigious martial artist in the Sa Pa, so he took the lead in implementing the moderate policy.”

“Hmm. I feel like all the questions I’ve had so far are finally being answered…but I didn’t expect you, Soso, to know all this. It’s a bit surprising.”

“Oh, really? Hong Unni…I’m from the direct line of the Habeok Pangga. In other words, Miss! Or Geumji Ogyeop! This is basic etiquette, you know?!”

Come to think of it, that’s true.

The Habeok Pangga is one of the founding families of the Mureummaeng. In other words, they are the rulers of Habeok, who existed even before Sama-ryeon was created to counter the Mureummaeng, and the prestigious martial artist Sama-sega grew up within it.

They are practically the military kings of Habeok Castle, receiving implicit support from the royal family.

“…The only daughter of such a family is screaming and reaching the peak?”

“W-Why did that story suddenly come up, Jin Gaga?!”

Well, why not?

I’m just trying to confirm it with Una today.

***

After that, we continued our usual daily routine.

We trained all day in the training ground, Sama sisters were busy setting up the formation, Hong Yeon-hwa was shouting orders at the kitchen staff as a dumpling butcher, and Pang Soso was crying and screaming as usual.

Oh, I did get a little closer to the Sama sisters. I also received a message from Mosanpa that we might find a way there.

Anyway, other than that, peaceful times passed without much change.

…It only lasted about a month before it was shattered.