Part 1,

Chapter 30. Unkind Talent

Red fish swim in the pond.

Lotuses sway in the wind.

A truly peaceful scene.

Taat.

In a small, elegant garden, a girl was swinging her sword diligently.

Members of the Tang Clan passing by the hall would smile as if finding her cute.

Since the Tang Clan of Sichuan was a martial clan, they often received martial artists as guests. Though many swordsmen stayed at the clan, none trained so openly. The swordsmen would usually climb a nearby hill or ask if they could borrow an empty training hall.

So, this was training meant to be seen.

The gatekeepers chuckled as they watched Jeom-chil.

“She’s still young, that’s why.”

“Well, when I was that age, I thought I’d be the strongest in the world too.”

“Hmm? Unless you’re blind, that seems unlikely.”

The two gatekeepers’ jokes were clearly audible. Shame reaching its limit, and Jeom-chil lowered her sword and quickly walked away.

‘So embarrassing..!’

She was swinging her sword earnestly to stand out, but in their eyes, she just looked like a neighborhood child playing tough.

Luckily, her face, reddened from embarrassment, wasn’t too noticeable due to the sunset.

Having swung her sword since midnight, Jeom-chil quietly moved to a corner and hid behind a pillar.

An old man sipping from a liquor bottle by the pond gave a small smile when he saw her.

It felt like he was asking if she was tired now, which made her face flush even more.

Jeom-chil dropped her worn sword onto the ground and leaned against the pillar, burying her face in her knees. Tears welled up.

‘Grandfather Jin-cheol said we’d live together, so why am I…’

Divine Physician Jin-cheol was almost taken to headquarters, but fortunately, he was allowed to stay at the Tang Clan.

It had been like a dream, but not long after, Jeom-chil heard something like a bolt from the blue. She was told that only the Divine Physician would stay, while she would be sent elsewhere.

Truthfully, she knew the reason.

The physician was someone everyone needed.

Even while living hidden in the mountains, people still risked their lives to find him.

The martial artists who came to see the Yeonju Group treated Jeom-chil like a genius. Some even asked if she wanted to become their disciple before leaving. She had been tempted a few times, but she didn’t want to leave the group, and the physician had opposed it. He told her that if she was going to learn martial arts anyway, she should wait and properly learn from the best teacher later on.

That must’ve made her misunderstand.

That she was also exceptional.

Maybe because she was physically exhausted, her sorrow felt even greater.

Jeom-chil sniffled and raised her head. The clear pond and the splendid halls were reflected in her clear eyes.

‘I could be someone needed by the Tang Clan too…’

Was using a sword the problem?

They say the Tang Clan uses hidden weapons instead of swords—maybe that’s why they don’t need me?

Jeom-chil lowered her head and buried her cheek into her arm.

Even after nearly a month had passed, the Young Lady of the noble clan never sought Jeom-chil out.

The Tang Clan was different from the Yeonju Group.

They had a strict hierarchy.

The direct descendants stood high above, and as an outsider, Jeom-chil couldn’t even look at them, let alone speak to them. So she couldn’t even ask to be taken in.

Perhaps that noble Young Lady didn’t even know Jeom-chil was here.

So Jeom-chil stubbornly swung her sword with determination.

It was her own form of rebellion.

To say, I can really do well.

You’ll regret not taking me in.

But no one gave Jeom-chil a glance.

Even the old man who had watched her with some interest got up. Jeom-chil’s lips drooped as she watched the back of the old man disappear without hesitation.

Thud. Thud.

Just as she was about to burst into tears, a warm drop of water touched her small nose.

When she looked up, she saw the sky now veiled in clouds.

Unable to endure the summer heat any longer, the sky began to pour rain.

Swaaah.

Jeom-chil stayed still as her body got soaked. Even as the rain pricked her eyes, she didn’t move.

“Am I really that lacking…”

Come to think of it, there was no one who truly needed her. Her parents had abandoned her in the first place.

Even those who praised her for her talent eventually left the mountains once they recovered.

So she should’ve been used to it.

Then why, every time she encountered kindness, did her heart stir like this, never growing tired of it?

Through blurred vision, the vast estate came into view.

Would things have been different if she had been born in a place like this?

Jeom-chil couldn’t give an answer—neither yes nor no.

Because she couldn’t even imagine it.

She couldn’t picture herself surrounded by precious things or feeling at ease in a high place like it was her rightful spot.

At that moment, a shadow fell over Jeom-chil’s head.

“Tsk, tsk. What’s a young thing like you crying about so pathetically?”

It was the Grand Elder of the Tang Clan.

Tang Min grabbed Jeom-chil by the arm and brought her under the roof. It was to shield her from the rain.

Within the silence, the noisy sound of rain spread.

After a long while, Tang Min asked,

“Why were you crying?”

Jeom-chil looked up at him.

Could this be a chance?

If she told this martial artist, would her words be passed along?

Hesitating, Jeom-chil mustered her courage and opened her mouth.

“I want to learn martial arts in the Tang Clan.”

“Hmm?”

“O-Of course, I’ve never handled hidden weapons before, but I learn things quickly. If you just let me try, I’m confident I can do really well! I-I might not look that talented, but if you would just believe in me…”

“Hahaha.”

Suddenly, Tang Min burst into hearty laughter.

“Don’t you ever go around saying that nonsense about not having talent but will work hard.”

The old young man sneered.

“You’ll get hit for that.”

Flinch.

Jeom-chil shrank back, and Tang Min narrowed his eyes.

“Hey… I don’t mean I’d hit you. I mean, if someone born with talent says something like ‘I have no talent, but I’ll work hard,’ those with inferiority complexes might stab you in the back.”

“Do I… have talent?”

Jeom-chil’s eyes widened.

“What are you talking about? Why else would I, of all people, risk my precious reputation to show you off to those Wudang bastards?”

Tang Min’s reputation didn’t seem precious in the slightest, but Jeom-chil didn’t bother pointing that out. She was too stunned by the words that followed to waste her thoughts on his nonsense.

“Wudang? As in the Taoist Wudang Sect, I know?”

“Well, I did tell Mount Hua and Qingcheng to come take a look, too, but who has time to keep calling people over? From what I can see, you’d get along best with Wudang. There’s someone there who’s kind of like you.”

A mischievous twitch tugged at Tang Min’s lips, as if he’d thought of something amusing.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how that Taiji Bear—who’s been putting on airs about not having any disciples—reacts when I bring a runt like you to him.”

“Taiji… Bear is a nickname?”

Is there even such a nickname?

No, wait—can ‘bear’ even be a nickname?

Jeom-chil gave Tang Min a dubious look.

“His actual nickname is…”

Tang Min clicked his tongue with an incredibly disgruntled face.

“Tsk. It’s far too grand a nickname for that guy, so I’d rather not say it. Just go on thinking of him as the Taiji Bear.”

… She really felt she shouldn’t go on thinking that.

Just like she’d sensed back in the Yeonju Group, this old man was not in his right mind.

Now fully grasping Tang Min’s madness, Jeom-chil turned her gaze forward again. She had no more will to continue the conversation.

She stared with tired eyes at the rain-soaked courtyard, when Tang Min’s voice pierced her eardrum again.

“But why do you want to learn the Tang Clan’s martial arts?”

As if it wasn’t a question that required an answer, another question immediately followed.

“Is it because you want to stay here?”

Jeom-chil answered with silence.

Tang Min shook his head.

“Don’t. Your talent isn’t that kind.”

“……Is there such a thing as kind talent?”

At those words, Dang Min scoffed.

“You’ll have to live according to what your talent desires in the future, so accept it while you’re still young.”

Then, as if it all left him speechless, he crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“Ha, did you save a country in your past life or something? No matter how I think about it, you must’ve been born under a heaven-blessed fate. About to die, and you run into us… Now you’re bawling and happen to have the greatest expert in the world right beside you, giving you advice. I swear, recite your birthdate for me. I’ve gotta find out what kind of divine fortune lands a person such remarkable benefactors.”

Though his tone was mocking, it strangely came across as serious.

It wasn’t wrong, so Jeom-chil kept her mouth shut.

Naturally, silence resumed, and the sound of the rain became all the louder.

Swaaah—

The cool sound washed his thoughts away.

Of all the countless things Tang Min had said, only one line remained in her head.

“… What do you mean I won’t be able to live the way I want from now on?”

“There are a lot of madmen in the Murim, aren’t there? But among them, there are also those who are stupidly strong. That combination is the worst, and these guys are highly likely to have inflated egos.”

Tang Min clicked his tongue.

“They’re out of their minds and strong on top of that, so do you think you can reason with them? You just have to pamper them, act like they’re the best, but they’re also annoyingly weak to live on flattery alone.”

As if recalling someone, Tang Min shook his head.

“It’d be easier if they just accepted reality, but they can’t. So what do they do? They go around smashing everything. Clinging to things like ‘Heavenly Ten Swords’ or the ‘Three Great Swordsmen’—obsessing over those titles—and they go around picking fights, saying ‘Fine, I’ll rip that master to shreds and become the best in the Central Plains!’

In ten years or so, someone like that will come for you, too. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“… Can’t I just ignore them?”

Tang Min let out a snort.

“The world isn’t as flexible as those Yeonju Troupe physicians. If you ignore them, they’ll just find a reason to force a fight. They’ll start by targeting what’s most precious to you. So that you can’t sit still.”

Her curious gaze turned toward the master.

He was looking at the eaves of the pavilion.

Watching the raindrops fall from the delicate wind chimes, he smiled.

“If you show half-hearted mercy, every good-for-nothing will try to challenge you. That’s why you must train endlessly and grow stronger. You need to become someone no one dares to stand against, so your life can be at peace.”

Tang Min seemed about to say something more, but suddenly closed his mouth.

He snorted and turned his gaze.

The old man gently stroked Jeom-chil’s wet hair. Along the motion of his hand, a faint mist spread.

As he dried Jeom-chil’s hair, he spoke kindly.

“Having talent is like that. It shines like a lamp, so all sorts of moths will flock to it. If you don’t want gnats swarming you, you either become the sun and make them not even dare to approach, or you quietly grow up inside a house that will protect you.”

There was a faint bitterness in Tang Min’s voice.

“The Tang Clan can neither raise you to be the sun nor protect you, so you can safely focus on your martial arts.”

“Why not? Even though I lived in the mountains, I’ve heard of the Tang Clan of Sichuan’s reputation. For such a clan, why…”

Tang Min shed his playful expression.

“Because you’re not a direct descendant.”

At the shift in tone, Jeom-chil flinched.

“Do you know the difference between a sect and a noble clan?”

“…”

“It’s determined by blood.”

At that, Jeom-chil stared blankly at Tang Min’s words. Tang Min elaborated to explain it to the child.

“In a sect, you can learn the advanced martial arts depending on your own efforts. But in a noble clan, no matter how exceptional you are, there’s a line you can’t cross. It means that in the Tang Clan, there’s a limit to what you’ll be able to learn. You’ll only be raised just enough to defend the family.”

After speaking of reality, Tang Min then offered a bit of hope.

“But if you join a sect, as long as they’re not blind, the elders will invest in you. You’ll learn all kinds of advanced martial arts and grow rapidly. In time, you’ll gain reliable senior brothers, and as you grow older, you’ll be cared for by disciples who respect you. Considering your future, joining a sect would be better for you.”

He scratched the back of his head. Then he added an unbelievable remark.

“Well, I’m saying all this, but these aren’t actually my words. To be honest, I insisted that you should be registered in the Tang Clan. However, it was So-hwa who opposed it and said otherwise, and in the end, she even persuaded me.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep