"I think I see why Jeom-chil spoke of you that way."Sohwa received praise from none other than the Taeguk Sword Sovereign, yet rather than being moved, she narrowed her eyes."…Is the young lady still being called Jeom-chil? Is it not yet time for her to be given a Daoist name?"The unpleasant name stuck in her ear, so she asked. The Taeguk Sword Sovereign let out a laugh like a sigh."I promised to bestow one, but no matter what I do, a good name won’t come to mind, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) so I’ve been putting it off.""Shouldn’t you give her one quickly? I heard she’ll be entering the martial tournament; it would be a pity for her to become known to the world under the name Jeom-chil.""That’s why I’m troubled. Perhaps I’ve grown greedy, it’s not easy to decide. Haha, would you help me?""I don’t know if I can be of help, but I’ll think on it as well. What is the rotating character for the generation allocation?"Sohwa was offering a hand because she didn’t want to hear the name Jeom-chil any longer, not because she had confidence she could recommend a proper Daoist name. She simply wished anything would be decided quickly.Surely anything would be better than Jeom-chil.But to her question came an unexpected answer."For the third-generation disciples, we use the character Yeon.""…Yeon?"The Taeguk Sword Sovereign nodded, then spoke with a grave expression."The Sect Leader said he felt the spirit of a tiger in Jeom-chil, and wanted to give her the Daoist name Yeon-ho, but to my eyes she does not look like a tiger at all, so I opposed it. And if we are to call her a tiger, wouldn’t a dragon be better? So I proposed Yeon-ryong. Then one Elder said it is better for women to use the phoenix, and suggested Yeon-bong. That one wasn’t bad either, so I’ve been torn."The more the Taeguk Sword Sovereign spoke, the darker Sohwa’s face grew.In what way would Yeon-ryong or Yeon-bong be better than Jeom-chil?They were too grandiose to suit her.Listening quietly, Sohwa offered her view."I know that, in bestowing a Daoist name, there is an intent to sever ties with the mundane world. But Yeonjuda is less the mundane world than a group from legend passed down by word of mouth like the phoenix and the dragon. Yeonjuda’s reverence for the life of the living accords with the Dao as well, so it may not be bad to place Yeonju’s bond within the name.""Oh? Do you have a name you’d like to recommend?"They say fate is contained in a name.About to recommend a Daoist name, Sohwa closed her mouth for a moment.‘Would Yeon-a’s fate be finding its owner?’A strange feeling arose, but she thought that if the name were reclaimed, that too would be Yeon-a’s fate, and she cast the name out.She wanted to see whether fate truly existed in this world."Since the young lady Jeom-chil is the last disciple of Yeonjuda, how about the Daoist name Yeon-a?""Yeon-a. You mean ‘a child of Yeonjuda’… Hm, just as you say, that name is closely bound to Jeom-chil’s past, so the Sect Leader may not like it. Still, I will bring it up. It seems to suit that child better than dragon or phoenix."The Taeguk Sword Sovereign gave a faint, private chuckle, then stepped back a pace.Seeing that he meant to leave, Sohwa cupped her fist."Then I’ll head in now.""Yes, I’ve kept you too long. Rest well.""Thank you."Sohwa finished her salute and entered the pavilion.***The East Wing was sumptuous within as well, but none of it entered Sohwa’s eyes.She wiped her body briefly with a cloth soaked in warm water and changed into bedclothes the maidservant had prepared. When the maidservant went to take away the clothes she had removed to be laundered, Sohwa stopped him."Leave them. I depart tomorrow; there’s no need to have them washed.""Ah, yes. Understood."The maidservant folded her clothes again and left the room.Sohwa picked up the clothes she had taken off and drew out the small wooden case she had fixed inside the sleeve.Inside were five pills.Blue, red, white, black, yellow. An antidote pill kneaded in five colors, and the corresponding poison powders and venom. Having checked what she always carried, Sohwa set the poisons and antidote pills on the writing desk for the moment.Then she ground the ink that had been set out on the desk and took up the brush.It seemed best to write out one more copy of the treatment before sleeping.Judging from the Taeguk Sword Sovereign’s words, there was a chance the treatment would not be shared to the West Wing. It wasn’t certain, but there was no harm in preparing.If she were asked tomorrow to write the treatment, it would delay her departure; better to prepare it in advance and catch some sleep.Reconstructing the scene of Wu So drawing out the heat, Sohwa described the process in detail.Waiting for the ink to dry each time she filled a sheet ended up taking a great deal of time."There’s no time to rest…"Heavy fatigue made Sohwa mutter without realizing it. Having filled the last sheet, she closed her stiff eyes for a moment while she waited for the ink to dry.Then, outside, she sensed a strange energy.Opening her eyes slowly, she looked at the window frame beaded with moonlight.Yet there was nothing at the window.Only a heat flowed in that did not suit the cool night air.Tak.Sohwa reflexively drew her body toward the wall. Suddenly the heat picked up speed and shot in like an arrow.But nothing entered the room.As if it had stopped somewhere, the heat pooled at arm’s length.Keeping her eyes on the window, Sohwa stretched her hand toward the desk. Grasping the poison powder, she knit her brows.‘Strange…’Powerful fighters of Wudang and the Zhuge family were staying at the Hubei branch.‘No one noticed someone like this intruding?’She had even been told that the Zhuge family had more than ten people confident in their internal-energy control.‘…Could it be someone from the East Wing?’If from the East Wing, then it was someone of the Zhuge family. Rolling the poison-powder pouch in her palm, Sohwa decided and set it down on the desk, then approached the window.She felt heat from the roof across the way.Sohwa kept her eyes on the roof and waited carefully. Whether the intruder threw a hidden weapon or thrust a blade, she wanted them to do something and show their face.But suddenly the heat subsided. It did not fade as if receding, but vanished with a snap."Do not move."A small voice came from behind.It was Hanwon’s voice, who had entered without a trace.Sohwa did not turn around.Because the Black Tiger Unit warriors were slowly raising their internal energy, a faint fragrance drifted. They were approaching from the left and right of the window.Perhaps thinking Sohwa felt uneasy, the warrior standing to her right whispered in a low voice."Cheolho and Ranhee have gone to track him. He’ll be caught shortly."She had wondered why the intruder suddenly withdrew his internal energy; it seemed he had sensed the Black Tiger Unit’s movement.Sohwa sighed and spoke."Judging by how quiet the East Wing is, he may be one of theirs. If so, Cheolho and Ranhee might be falsely accused, so call them back.""No. The East Wing’s fighters have all vacated their posts, so they likely failed to notice the intrusion.""They vacated their posts?"Hanwon answered in his stead."Yes, they say a fire broke out at the East Wing’s Medical Division. They were all summoned to quell the flames—this fellow may be the arsonist.""Why did you not tell me?""We heard only a short while ago as well. They told us it wasn’t a large fire, so not to worry; we merely heightened our vigilance."Since they had to set out on a long road again tomorrow, they wanted Sohwa to conserve her strength even a little. It wasn’t an incomprehensible judgment, so Sohwa did not pursue the point further.Wordlessly, Sohwa turned her gaze to Hanwon."Young lady, it would be better not to move right now…""You said the Medical Division?""Yes."The warrior standing to Sohwa’s right answered in a calm voice.In a low tone he added,"It seems the Sword Sovereign’s suspicion was not an empty worry."A moment of silence passed. None of them thought the fire was a coincidence.Sohwa turned her steps to the door. When she showed her back to the window, Hanwon took fright and raised his voice."Young lady, it’s dangerous. Please stay here.""If all the branch’s fighters are at the Medical Division, wouldn’t it be safer to be over there?"Out in the corridor, Sohwa turned her head and fixed her eyes on the hesitating men."If there are no onlookers, this seems the optimal place to strike."That, too, was true. The Black Tiger Unit warriors pressed close to Sohwa.Whether the flames were yet unchecked, sooty smoke was billowing up over the roofs. It wasn’t far, so they arrived in front of the Medical Division in an instant.The Medical Division was chaos."Bring more water!""Have you requested aid from the West Wing?""Great Hero! Have you by any chance seen Juhyung? He hasn’t been seen for a while!"From the Medical Division ravaged by the fire demon, smoke poured out without cease.Just then, a fighter who spotted the Tang party ran over."The medicinal stores have all burned, so the smoke is dreadful. If you inhale it wrong, you could lose consciousness—please return to the pavilion and wait."He pointed toward a place removed from the Medical Division. People who had fainted were lined up on straw mats. Most were maidservants. It seemed they had been overcome by smoke while trying to put out the fire.Feeling a tightness in her chest, Sohwa looked over the collapsed maidservants.She felt a bit lightheaded, but at this distance the smoke was not so toxic as to make one faint. Amidst the clamor, Sohwa focused on her body’s reactions.Then the fighter standing in the front row lost consciousness."Jungho! Get a hold of yourself!""Is aid here yet?""Great Hero! Please, find Juhyung!"People frightened out of their wits were not themselves.Meanwhile, the number of those collapsing increased, and the flames grew larger.Sohwa approached the fallen fighter. His face was calm, as if plunged in sleep. The physician taking his pulse spoke in a grave voice."This won’t do. Let’s move him to the West Wing Medical Division first."Sohwa closed her eyes and drew the smoke deep into her lungs.The sensation spreading swiftly with her breath was strange. She felt no pain at all. Only a mushy feeling of her head melting, then a chill ran through her entire body.To think she would feel cold with the fire demon before her.As the sensation in her shoulders gradually loosened, Sohwa mulled over the cause.It felt like opium that relaxed the whole body, and also like sour jujube seed that forcibly induced sleep. But it was neither opium nor sour jujube seed.The speed of the reaction was different.The sensation seized her entire body in an instant—faster and rougher than those by comparison.This was not a medicinal herb so much as something that disordered the mind like Mihonsan.A thing she did not know, though she had seen every manner of medicinal and poisonous substance for decades.Sohwa opened her eyes and looked at the burning Medical Division pavilion.She could not let this situation pass lightly. Because she remembered what results had arisen when events occurred in fields she did not know, ignorance always made her uneasy.With her gaze she searched the place where smoke was billowing up. Her eyes, lifted high, stopped on the second floor.Fixing her eyes on that spot, Sohwa opened her mouth."Hanwon.""Yes.""In a quarter of an hour, it will come out.""…Pardon?""If you follow me in and faint, the Tang Clan might end up having the blame thrust upon it for nothing. Block the entrance well.""What do you mean by that?"Not understanding, Hanwon asked back, but Sohwa did not kindly answer.Chwa-ak.Snatching the water dipper from the fighter in front of her and dousing herself, Sohwa leapt straight into the pavilion."What are you doing!"The flustered fighter tried to seize her, but Sohwa had already vanished inside."Young lady! Please come back! It’s dangerous!"The fighter who had reflexively tried to follow her could not move forward. A Tang Clan warrior had gripped his shoulder."Just wait one quarter-hour.""Are you mad? The one who just went in is of your direct line, isn’t she? You should be the first to rush in!""Wait."They spoke firmly, but in truth, the Black Tiger Unit was uneasy. However, the Tang Sohwa they knew was not one to risk danger without reason.The Black Tiger Unit counted off the quarter-hours in their hearts, praying she would come out quickly.

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