"Hmm, then I'll give you a reward. If there's anything you want, just say it."
"A reward?"
The granddaughter opened her eyes wide and looked up at him. Danmook Cheon-gi was just thinking about the commoner boy whom his granddaughter liked so much these days.
He was a boy who followed a merchant who supplied food and did odd jobs, an orphan with no one to rely on. It wouldn't be bad to bring him into the family estate from a young age and raise him as his granddaughter's person.
"Then I really want to learn martial arts now!"
* * *
How can I use more, more, more spirit energy?
This was the most critical issue for Ryeon recently. It was a problem directly related to her life, and Danmook Cheon-gi's remaining life also depended on it.
However, if Danmook Cheon-gi were to force spirit energy into Ryeon, it would be like pouring seawater into the small spring he had carefully nurtured, ruining everything.
While Ryeon was pondering this, Danmook Cheon-gi once again offered her a lifeline.
'Tea ceremony!'
To Ryeon, who had once made a hard, sticky rice cake and deeply regretted it, the tea ceremony seemed like a cloud path leading to the celestial realm.
When the tea leaves were steeped in warm water, and the teapot was gently shaken, spirit energy could be filtered in at every step, and the other party would drink it right there. Could it get any better than this?
Thanks to this, Ryeon's complexion and mood had recently improved significantly. She was using spirit energy, and her grandfather was gradually getting better. It couldn't get any better than this.
The only problem was that she still couldn't learn martial arts.
'I thought he would soften up a bit and then I could say it.'
The situation of the family was difficult to describe as good, even in words.
To be honest, it looked precarious even to her eyes. The estate was large, but there were many unused spaces and few people, making it desolate in many places.
They say that even a rich family can last for three generations after falling into decline. The family was only holding on thanks to that.
'The problem is that I am the last of those three generations.'
If she didn't revive the family as soon as possible, it would really end up with nothing left, just as the future she had seen.
If she could sell the current estate and move to a smaller place, it would be easier to manage the remaining assets, but tidying up this place, which held the history of the family, would mean giving up on a comeback, which she couldn't do.
Her aunt and acting head of the family, Danmook Hyun-yo, seemed to be trying something in Henan Province, where the Martial Arts Alliance was located, but relying on others to revive the family had its limits.
So, she thought that as the eldest granddaughter, if she said she wanted to learn something, they would immediately agree.
'I thought they would tell me to learn calligraphy.'
This is also a form of learning. She already knew it, but...
She couldn't say she already knew all the characters, so Ryeon was caught by her uncle Danmook Hyun-woo, who had recently come out of seclusion, and was forced to learn writing.
"The rooster looks strange."
"It's not strange, it's magnificent... looking."
Ryeon glanced at Hwaryun, who was squatting next to her, looking at the rooster.
This boy still looked like a small animal, but his complexion had improved since the first time they met.
It was thanks to her giving him onigiri or dumplings whenever they met.
In fact, she had almost cried, fearing that Hwaryun would leave and she would never see him again, and had asked her nanny to find him and check if he was doing well.
The nanny, worried that Ryeon was showing excessive interest in a child of unknown origin, still came back breathlessly to find out where Hwaryun was staying, fearing that Ryeon might really cry.
'How did he end up going from Hangzhou to Tianshan? How can I get a little closer and invite him into the family?'
"Isn't this almost a phoenix?"
Ryeon, who had been thinking about various things, smiled slightly at Hwaryun's words.
Thinking that this boy was the next leader of the Maqian Sect made her shudder, but after giving him a few playful punches, it was endearing to see him speak with a higher tone and call a rooster a phoenix.
"No. It's an Ougulgye. A black chicken, even the bones are black. Right, Heukwol?"
The pitch-black chicken, which was walking gracefully inside the coop, nodded its head once at her.
But its eyes, which were pitch black, had a red sheen, making it look unusually intelligent, and the tips of its feathers seemed to shimmer with a warm red glow.
'It definitely wasn't like this at first...'
"It still looks strange."
Hwaryun narrowed his eyes and alternated his gaze between the Ougulgye and Ryeon.
Ryeon pinched Hwaryun's cheek and let go, then took out an onigiri from her bosom.
"Here, eat this, brat."
"But you're a brat too, young master."
Hwaryun, who had heard the nanny, Lady Zhang, calling Ryeon 'young master,' often called her that.
The words that followed were not very polite, but Ryeon didn't mind.
Hwaryun wouldn't eat the onigiri if she just gave it to him, so Ryeon split it in half, then split the remaining half and pushed it into Hwaryun's mouth.
While doing this, she brought up the topic she had been thinking about.
"Hwaryun, do you know how to read?"
"Do you, young master? Do you know?"
"You always avoid answering and ask another question."
"Where would I learn to read?"
Just by the way he spoke, it seemed like he had already finished the Thousand Character Classic. Ryeon grumbled to herself.
"Is that so? Then do you want to learn with me? I don't know how to read either."
"Why doesn't young master know...?"
The boy seemed to be about to say something but trailed off. Ryeon, feeling a bit embarrassed, stroked her cheek.
Being the eldest granddaughter of a prestigious family and not knowing how to read until she was eight was because she had been lying in bed all this time and only recently regained her senses.
"I'm going to learn from Uncle, and you can come with me. We'll learn in the evening. Uncle said it's fine!"
Hwaryun looked at her with a puzzled expression, but Ryeon, without waiting for an answer, kept pushing the onigiri into his mouth. Hwaryun waved his hands to avoid the onigiri.
"I don't think it's a good idea."
"Why?"
"What would I use reading for?"
Ryeon suddenly had nothing to say and kept pushing the onigiri into his mouth.
"Well... so you can read martial arts manuals when you grow up. I'll teach you everything."
Hwaryun chewed and swallowed the onigiri and said,
"I don't want to learn martial arts."
Ryeon, hearing such a surprising statement, opened her eyes wide and looked at Hwaryun.
"What? Why?"
Even though Ryeon was surprised, Hwaryun replied indifferently.
"Even if I do well in this family, I'll just end up being a servant to the young masters and misses."
"..."
Ryeon wanted to say that it wasn't necessarily so, but couldn't bring herself to speak. His words weren't entirely wrong.
'Ah! So that's why Hwaryun joined the Maqian Sect?'
Because there, the strongest person could sweep away everything without worrying about hierarchy?
Thinking about this made her heart sink again. He did seem to have that kind of personality!
'No!'
"Then... do you know about Huashan Sect in Shaanxi Province? It's not a family, it's a sect. Anyone can become the leader, regardless of their background! It's really cool..."
"Shaanxi Province is too far from here."
"Hey, you...!"
This brat! The headquarters of the Maqian Sect, Tianshan Mountains, is ten thousand miles northwest of here! How did you get there?
Ryeon couldn't bring herself to shout that.
"Then... where do you want to learn martial arts?"
"I can't just learn it because I want to."
"Well, just pretend you can."
When you're young, you often make ridiculous wishes and dreams, don't you? Like imagining yourself entering a ninety-nine-room mansion?
But Hwaryun didn't seem to have any interest in such things.
"If you learn swordsmanship, you'll just end up dead. It's best to stay far away from such things."
Ryeon looked at him in disbelief.
Who is this cynic?
'Was Tian Hwaryun like this when he was young? How could a kid like this end up becoming the leader of the Maqian Sect?'
Could it be that he was such a genius that he just happened to meet someone and ended up as the leader? That would be frustrating in its own way. Hwaryun, completely unaware of Ryeon's thoughts, continued to speak, holding her hand.
"Young master, don't do such things."
The voice of the boy, who was two years younger than her, was very mature. Ryeon, looking at him with a puzzled expression, tried to persuade him again.
"Still... don't you think you need a way to protect yourself when the Blood Demon Valley attacks?"
'Just once in this life, let's try being a swordsman! Please, Tian Hwaryun!'
But instead, a playful smile appeared on Hwaryun's face.
"Then the great swordsmen of the martial world will come to your rescue against the Blood Demon Valley."
His words carried a hint of cynicism towards the entire martial world. Ryeon's lips moved, but no words came out.
"No, but... if you know how to read... you can write letters."
"You need paper to write."
"If you know how to read, you can earn money to buy paper. You can buy food, and later, even a house."
"Why are you trying so hard to teach me how to read?"