## Chapter 193 – (5)
The first day of living with my master – well, not exactly living together.
Unfortunately, there were no heart-fluttering or exciting moments.
Training started from day one.
Mo Yong-yeon declared we would train and led me out of the cave, up the mountain behind it.
“Cut down all the leaves.”
With those words, Mo Yong-yeon kicked a tree on the mountainside behind the cave.
Normally, only a few leaves would flutter and fall, but Mo Yong-yeon’s strength was anything but normal.
It seemed like a light tap, but leaves rained down, momentarily obscuring my vision.
I was taken aback by the sudden situation, but I calmly grabbed my wooden training sword and began cutting down the falling leaves.
Swish! Slice!
“Kuh!”
I swung as fast as I could, putting in every ounce of effort, but it wasn’t easy to cut down all the falling leaves.
Again, and again.
Simply increasing the speed of my arm wasn’t enough to cut down more leaves.
This wasn’t something that could be solved with strength and speed.
“Again.”
Mo Yong-yeon didn’t offer any advice.
She just had me repeat it endlessly.
And slowly, I realized.
“Calmly…”
It was important to carefully decide the sword path and cut down as many leaves as possible at once.
It was an obvious fact, but I, who had been solving everything with strength and speed until now, only realized it after several failures.
Thump.
Mo Yong-yeon kicked the tree again, and leaves fell in a shower.
But this time, I didn’t swing hastily.
I gritted my teeth, calmed my mind, and carefully timed my strike.
Only then could I see.
The leaves scattering and beginning to clump together.
“Hah!”
Swish!
I cut down the quickly falling leaves and the slowly scattering leaves simultaneously.
[Cut down 20 or more leaves at once.]
[Acquired skill: Calmness.]
I calmly cut down the continuously falling leaves, and for the first time, I was able to cut down all the falling leaves.
“Took you two hours. It took me two days.”
“…Master?”
“…”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but Mo Yong-yeon, looking slightly displeased, kicked the tree hard.
Naturally, an impossible number of leaves fell, and I had the unpleasant experience of leaves getting into my clothes.
Only then did Mo Yong-yeon nod and tell me to return to the cave.
“…”
I realized that my master might be more petty than I thought.
Still, I didn’t feel too bad since I had succeeded in the training quickly.
Today’s training ended early.
“Can you cook?”
“Cook? Yes, I can.”
I happened to have the Cooking skill.
“Here, this.”
Then, she tossed a pouch to me again.
This pouch was also full of silver coins.
…Did Poong-woon only steal elixirs? Mo Yong-yeon casually handed over such a large sum of money.
“It’s okay. I still have money from the last time you gave me…”
“Then, that’s for your allowance.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t refuse the money she gave me.
Allowance.
How long had it been since I received one?
I couldn’t even remember, but it didn’t feel bad.
I guess people are fickle.
Receiving an allowance made me feel like she was a real master.
Even though it was basically just giving me money and telling me to cook.
“Then, I’ll go buy some ingredients.”
I went to the market to buy some ingredients.
China was vast, and there were many different kinds of food ingredients.
And I only knew a limited number of them.
Even with the Cooking skill, it wasn’t easy to make food with ingredients I didn’t know at all.
So, in the end, I picked familiar ingredients.
Pork, cabbage, and chili peppers.
“Sigh, the cut is a bit disappointing…”
I chose boiled pork and kimchi, especially quick-to-make fresh kimchi.
Of course, I was disappointed that there were no fermented seafood sauces or sesame oil, and that the pork wasn’t pork belly but a cut that seemed to be a combination of various pork parts.
However, since it was a dish I understood well, my Cooking skill shone.
“Oh.”
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yeah.”
Mo Yong-yeon answered briefly and continued eating, moving her small mouth.
As someone who knew the original boiled pork and fresh kimchi, I felt a bit disappointed.
But at least Mo Yong-yeon seemed satisfied.
On the second day, a new training began.
“Now, try to block my attacks.”
“…Me?”
It wasn’t much different from yesterday’s training.
Cutting down all the falling leaves was the same, but at the same time, I had to block Mo Yong-yeon’s attack, which was swung only once.
Of course, it wasn’t a sincere attack. It was a slow, light attack with considerable restraint.
Even so, I couldn’t block it.
Tap.
Mo Yong-yeon lightly tapped my shoulder with a branch.
“Ah.”
“Again.”
I was frustrated that I couldn’t block such a slow attack.
Mo Yong-yeon’s attacks always came quietly at the timing I least wanted to be attacked.
For example, the moment I was concentrating on cutting down leaves, or the moment I was swinging my sword at the last falling leaf.
At that moment, she slowly approached and aimed for my neck.
Tap.
This time, the branch touched my neck.
“Spiritual beasts are more cunning than humans.”
“I guess so.”
In the end, one tree became bare, unable to drop any more leaves.
Still, I hadn’t succeeded.
“It’s usually like that.”
Mo Yong-yeon’s face, which seemed a little happy as she comforted me, made me feel resentful.
A week passed.
Clang.
I lightly knocked away the branch flying towards my neck with the tip of my sword.
“Hoo…”
I finally blocked it.
I tried various methods.
I deliberately created openings and learned how to defend more simply.
I even tried to cut down the leaves more efficiently.
The conclusion was that I had to do all of that at the same time.
I deliberately exposed my neck to the timing of the falling leaves, and defended against the snake-like attack while cutting down the leaves at the same time.
I didn’t have to put much effort into the defense.
By slightly pushing the end of the flying branch, its trajectory was shaken, and it didn’t become a proper attack.
“…As expected of my disciple.”
“Thank you.”
I learned something while living for a week.
Those words were Mo Yong-yeon’s own way of praising me.
“Let’s go to the inn today.”
“Sounds good.”
Perhaps she thought it wasn’t right for me to cook today after working so hard, so we decided to eat at the inn for the first time in a while.
Since we were going to the city after a long time, I changed from my training clothes to my original clothes.
The mountain, which seemed a bit steep when I first climbed it, now felt like walking on flat ground.
“There are a lot of people.”
“Yeah.”
It had only been about a week since I lived in the cave.
Seeing so many people felt very awkward.
Just as we were looking at the people with curiosity.
The people were also looking at us with curiosity.
More precisely, they were looking at Mo Yong-yeon with curiosity.
“Hey, hey.”
“Whoa…”
I had been seeing Mo Yong-yeon every day for a week, so I had gotten a little used to it, but the reactions of people who saw Mo Yong-yeon for the first time were all of surprise.
“Mom, look at that older sister.”
“She’s a very pretty older sister, isn’t she?”
“Hey, over there…”
“Wow… is that a bodyguard next to her?”
Whether it was modern times or a martial arts world.
The gazes towards beautiful people were the same.
Seeing the person next to me as a bodyguard was definitely more like a martial arts world.
Even though Mo Yong-yeon next to me was someone who didn’t need a bodyguard.
I looked at Mo Yong-yeon from the side.
Her high nose and flawless, beautiful face.
Even though it was a face I had seen so much during the past week that I was sick of it, it was a face I couldn’t help but stare at blankly every time I saw it.
There was definitely a reason why people unanimously said she was pretty.
Honestly, it would be a lie if I said I wasn’t attracted to Mo Yong-yeon during the past week, but I didn’t think about trying to conquer Mo Yong-yeon.
The reason?
‘I’m just spoiled, I guess.’
That’s all I could say.
As I met women in various worlds, my standards naturally rose.
It wasn’t that my standards rose in terms of looks.
Rather than looks—
‘…Background? Relationships?’
Come to think of it, it was the same in the horror world.
What should I say?
Honestly, unless I was taking something from someone, I wasn’t very moved anymore.
I had become more faithful to my tastes.
I smiled bitterly and followed Mo Yong-yeon into the inn.
“Two of your best dishes and two bowls of noodles.”
“Yes.”
It was a short and concise order.
As the most expensive inn in the area, the inside was clean and luxuriously decorated.
Come to think of it, I didn’t really know much about Mo Yong-yeon.
I glanced at Mo Yong-yeon and used my ability.
When I appraised her tastes, two words were written.
[Taste: Older Brother, Forbidden Love]
“…”
I turned my gaze away.
Did I see that right?
“Why?”
“No…”
As soon as I made a slightly uncomfortable expression, Mo Yong-yeon noticed it like a ghost and asked.
I took this opportunity to ask some things I had been curious about.
“Master, how did you end up leaving the Mo Yong Clan?”
“…Hmm.”
Mo Yong-yeon looked up at the empty air with hazy eyes for a moment.
“When they kicked out my older brother, I just left too.”
It was a statement that reminded me that the tastes I had peeked at earlier were definitely not wrong.
I calmed my expression and asked in detail.
“Then, how is he now…”
“He’s doing well, with his new family in Sichuan.”
Even as she said he was doing well, Mo Yong-yeon’s expression wasn’t good.
Her tone was blunt as if she was full of dissatisfaction, and her eyes were fierce.
“When we were young… we were going to be together…”
The forbidden love that couldn’t be fulfilled.
It seemed that it had come to an end as expected.
“You must have liked your older brother a lot.”
“…Yeah.”
Mo Yong-yeon didn’t deny it.
As if that feeling still remained.
Just my light question made her think of her older brother, and Mo Yong-yeon’s cheeks were slightly flushed.
I swallowed hard.
It wasn’t because of the delicious smell wafting from the inn.
Suddenly, my liking for Mo Yong-yeon was increasing a little.
