A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 273

The blue reeds swaying in the moonlight resembled rising night mist. They might grow taller than a person in time, but for now, they barely reached the waist.

“What’s wrong?”

Hwa-sa smiled faintly, a triumphant look on her face as she watched Dang-wol hesitate.

“Are you scared?”

“Promise.”

Dang-wol said in a low voice. Hwa-sa’s eyebrows twitched at the single word.

“Wh-what pr-promise?”

Hwa-sa’s voice was noticeably flustered. She glanced away, clearly hoping to gloss over it.

However, Dang-wol had no intention of letting her off easily.

“You have to call me ‘Unni’ [older sister or respected older female friend].”

She simply stood there, but Dang-wol’s slender frame radiated a determination not to back down.

“Tch.”

Hwa-sa bit her lip. Had she gotten carried away by the sparring? Her fatal weakness, which she had somehow managed to avoid, had been exposed.

Originally, Dang-wol was not talkative. There were few opportunities for them to converse, and Hwa-sa intentionally spent her days with the children, avoiding encounters with Dang-wol. If there was no conversation, there was no need to call her ‘Unni’.

But in this situation, she couldn’t avoid it. As a result, she was faced with Dang-wol’s perfectly legitimate demand.

“U-un……”

Hwa-sa gasped and stammered but couldn’t bring herself to finish the word.

‘Damn it.’

She wanted to shout, ‘I quit!’ But if she did, she wouldn’t be able to spar, and she would be tormented by the compulsion to call her ‘Unni’ for the rest of her life, while being in a losing position.

Besides, Se-hwa, whom she respected, and Tal-hon were here. She didn’t want to appear irresponsible to them. No, she couldn’t allow herself to be seen that way.

“Un!”
Hwa-sa shouted the first syllable and muttered something under her breath.

‘Huh?’

Sa-soo-yeon, who had been listening intently, looked puzzled. Hwa-sa had just said, “Jen-gan ban-deu-si” in a small voice. [This seems to be a made-up phrase for comedic effect, playing on the sounds of Korean honorifics.]

‘Ah.’

Sa-soo-yeon realized what Hwa-sa was thinking and chuckled.

‘Hwa-sa is something else.’

Hwa-sa’s intention was to say a part of the sentence loudly to make the other person misunderstand.

For example, if she had to say, “Nuna, save me,” she would say, “Who will save me?”

However, she would say “who” and “will” very quietly, or almost inaudibly. Then the other person would think she had called them “Nuna” [another term for older sister, often used by males].

‘Sometimes she’s like a child.’

Sa-soo-yeon smiled as she looked at Hwa-sa. Considering Hwa-sa’s personality, it was impressive that she didn’t just throw a tantrum and flip the table.

Judging from Hwa-sa’s expression, she seemed to think she had come up with a clever idea, and her face was full of triumph. But that smile soon disappeared.

“Uh, um, so……”

Hwa-sa stammered. And Sa-soo-yeon realized what the problem was.

‘Oh, dear.’

Sa-soo-yeon wasn’t the only one who noticed Hwa-sa’s problem. Dang-wol said quietly,

“Can’t find a word that starts with ‘Ni’?”

Hwa-sa flinched at Dang-wol’s sharp remark.

“Th-that’s not it!”

“It’s all over your face.”

Dang-wol’s voice was calm, but it was like a merciless blade to Hwa-sa.

“Give up. It’s too difficult for you.”

Crack.

It sounded like something was breaking. No sound was actually made, but everyone who was watching Hwa-sa at that moment felt the same thing.

“Really.”
Hwa-sa said with a bright smile. There was no more hesitation or stammering in her voice as she stared straight at Dang-wol.

“You’re really making me want to spar, huh? Un, ni.”

Hwa-sa said, enunciating each word clearly. At the same time, the reeds around her rustled and danced.

Swish.

Hwa-sa’s aura was so intense that Sa-soo-yeon flinched. The Hwa-sa she had seen in the past came to mind, and she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Tal-hon, who was behind her, also flinched. But no one saw it.

Thud.

Dang-wol took a step towards Hwa-sa.

Thud, thud.

The steady footsteps were a sufficient answer. As Dang-wol approached, the aura surrounding Hwa-sa grew stronger.

Whoosh.

Hwa-sa’s aura had become like a tangible mist, swirling around her and rising up. Through it, Hwa-sa’s white hands seemed to glow even brighter.

Dang-wol also drew her sword, So-wol. As if to express its master’s will, So-wol let out a cry.

Whoosh.

The green blade of So-wol was clearly visible even through the blue reeds.

Rustle.

Dang-wol stopped. The reeds between the two swayed back and forth as if swept by a strong wind.

“You’ll let me have the first move, right? Since I’m your ‘Unni’.”

Hwa-sa said with a cold smile towards Dang-wol. Dang-wol’s veil swayed gently.

“No.”

Dang-wol replied.

“The promise is until the sparring. So, there’s no need to call me Unni anymore.”

Hwa-sa realized her mistake. The moment Dang-wol stepped forward, the sparring had begun, and everything had returned to normal. There was no need for her to call her Unni a moment ago.

“Ha, is that so?”

But Hwa-sa was no longer concerned with such things. All her attention was focused on the opponent in front of her, Dang-wol.

“Then I can fight with a clear mind now, right?”

Hwa-sa’s eyes flashed as she looked at Dang-wol.

“Shall we go?”

Whoosh.

Hwa-sa’s last words were barely audible. The moment her body blurred, Dang-wol was already shooting forward.

Clang!

Thwack.

A gust of wind erupted with a loud explosion. In the midst of the reeds soaring in all directions, So-wol and Hwa-sa’s bare hands met with a chilling aura.

Clang, clang, clang.

The impossible sound emanated from between the incandescent bare hands and the green aura of So-wol.

The hems of their clothes fluttered wildly in the aura they emitted, but Dang-wol’s veil only swayed slightly.

Whoosh.

Hwa-sa’s other hand glowed white as she lunged at Dang-wol. Dang-wol lightly kicked off the ground and dodged the hand.

Whoong.

Dang-wol’s slender figure drew a circle in the moonlit night sky. But that was what Hwa-sa had been waiting for.

“Taha!”

Hwa-sa’s hand lunged towards Dang-wol, who was floating in the air. If it were just her hand, it wouldn’t reach Dang-wol, but Hwa-sa’s hand had already created a terrifying white palm shadow several times larger.

Boom.

The huge white hand shadow soared into the night sky like a pillar of light. For a moment, even Dang-wol seemed to be swept away by the explosive force, but Hwa-sa was not fooled.

Whir.

Dang-wol, who seemed to be scattering helplessly, twisted her body in the middle of the moonlight.

The green aura burst from her sword, So-wol, like flames. And Dang-wol fell like lightning towards Hwa-sa.

Clang.

With a thunderous sound, So-wol and Hwa-sa’s bare hands collided once again. Hwa-sa’s incandescent hands blocked the falling green So-wol, but the aftermath was not small.

Crack.

The reeds around Hwa-sa collapsed all at once, and Hwa-sa’s feet, standing on the ground, dug into the earth in an instant. The reeds flying in the air were pushed away in all directions as if they were exploding.

“Tch. So heavy……”

Dang-wol’s venomous energy was the opposite of Hwa-sa’s inner strength. Hwa-sa had no choice but to accept the shock of the venomous energy with her strength.

Hwa-sa frowned and then raised Dang-wol high with both hands.

“You little……!”

Boom.

Dang-wol lightly flipped over like a swallow and landed far away from Hwa-sa.

Tap.

“That’s rude.”

Dang-wol said in a slightly sulky voice.

“I’m not heavy.”

“You are heavy.”

Hwa-sa grumbled as she pulled her feet out of the ruined ground.

“You’re eating all day long. Where do you think it all goes? Of course, you’re gaining weight.”

Hwa-sa said, lightly twisting her wrist. Dang-wol flinched and then replied quietly,

“I’m careful to separate the snacks……”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Hwa-sa moved her neck from side to side.

“It’s a good thing, isn’t it? You’ll lose a lot of weight from today’s sparring.”

Dang-wol was silent for a moment. But Hwa-sa was satisfied. She could feel Dang-wol’s aura slowly but surely becoming sharper.

“I’m the type to gain weight in my chest, but in your case……”

Ping.

A small sound touched Hwa-sa’s nerves. Hwa-sa lightly raised her hand.

Clack.

A small iron dart was caught between Hwa-sa’s fingers. Hwa-sa frowned.

“What is it? Are you imitating Old Man No-gun?”

Cheee.

The iron dart was thrown by Dang-wol. The small iron dart contained a considerable amount of inner strength. Even at this moment, it was spinning fiercely, trying to escape Hwa-sa’s fingers.

“That’s, poison.”

Dang-wol replied in a low voice. Hwa-sa glanced at the iron dart caught in her fingers.

“So?”

Hwa-sa smiled faintly, holding the iron dart between her fingers.

Sizzle.

A sound came from Hwa-sa’s white fingers. It wasn’t just the friction of the spinning. It was proof that the poison of the iron dart was fighting against Hwa-sa’s bare hands.

But even an iron dart containing Dang-wol’s inner strength, and even if it was the venomous energy of the Divine Art of Annihilation, it couldn’t penetrate Hwa-sa’s bare hands to this extent.

Hwa-sa opened her hand and released the iron dart. The iron dart, unable to achieve its purpose, fell weakly to the ground.

“With this kind of……”

But Hwa-sa’s words were cut off.

Whoosh.

The moment the iron dart fell to the ground, the venomous energy contained within it burst out in all directions.

A sweet fragrance that stung Hwa-sa’s nose. But the result of this would be death, or something even worse.

“You’ll be poisoned through your breath.”

Dang-wol said. The fragrance at the end was just a result. The poison had been spreading from the moment Hwa-sa held it in her hand.

“This!”

Hwa-sa, feeling caught off guard, explosively drew up her energy.

Whoosh.

Everything around her was pushed away along with the fragrance. Dang-wol’s venomous energy, which had already begun to cause paralysis, disappeared from Hwa-sa’s body along with it.

“You……”

It was the moment Hwa-sa, gritting her teeth, took a step towards Dang-wol.

Ping.

The iron dart bounced up from under Hwa-sa’s feet. She didn’t repeat the same mistake. Hwa-sa slightly turned her head to avoid the iron dart.

Swoosh.

The iron dart, soaring high into the sky, drew a semicircle and returned towards Dang-wol.

Clack.

Dang-wol caught the iron dart. The iron dart spun like a top in Dang-wol’s palm, slowly stopping its movement and falling down.

“You’re using the Tang family’s hidden weapon technique? No, more than that.”

Hwa-sa shook her head as if she was dumbfounded.

“Seriously, how much inner strength did you pour into that piece of iron?”

She could tell that it contained an unusual amount of inner strength when she held the iron dart. She thought that the inner strength had been used up to spread the poison, but the venomous energy was separate from the inner strength.

Moreover, it didn’t end with it falling to the ground. The iron dart, which had been holding inner strength, reacted violently and bounced up as soon as Hwa-sa moved and gave it a small stimulus.

“Not much inner strength.”

Dang-wol said, holding the iron dart.

“To be exact, about one-tenth.”

“Really? That’s……”

Hwa-sa, who was speaking mockingly, suddenly had a strange thought.

“One-tenth?”

“Yes.”

Whoosh.

Along with Dang-wol’s words, very small objects, or rather, nine iron darts, appeared around Hwa-sa.

“The other nine were there.”

They were occupying nine directions centered on Hwa-sa. Four in all directions, and another four diagonally upwards, staggered above them. And one above her head.

Hwa-sa’s complexion changed. The fiercely spinning iron darts were surrounding Hwa-sa like a hemisphere.

“I took inspiration from Sword Empress’s techniques and Old Man No-gun’s skills. The basics are the Art of Controlling Swords with Intent, with a slight combination of the Tang family’s hidden weapon techniques. So there’s no originality at all.”

Dang-wol said without hesitation in a clear voice. She spoke as if it was nothing, but it was a complex task that made Sa-soo-yeon, Dang-woon-yeong, and even Tal-hon’s expressions change, wondering if such a thing was even possible.

But Hwa-sa didn’t have the energy to pay attention to that.

“The effect is quite useful.”

Swish.

Dang-wol’s small hand lightly stretched out towards Hwa-sa. At that moment, nine iron darts shot towards Hwa-sa.

Ping, ping, ping.

The nine iron darts containing venomous energy and Dang-wol’s inner strength. They were no longer something that could be called iron darts.

“Taha!”

Hwa-sa’s hands struck all directions so quickly that they couldn’t be seen.

Bang, bang, bang.

The pure white palm shadows instantly covered all directions. At the same time, sharp metallic sounds erupted from all over the place.

Clang, clang, clang.

However, the deflected iron darts soon drew a semicircle and returned to Hwa-sa. Hwa-sa’s white palm shadows never showed any gaps, but the fiercely spinning iron darts also constantly struck Hwa-sa according to Dang-wol’s will.

‘Tch.’

Hwa-sa recognized that this was a very unfavorable situation.

Dang-wol’s iron darts were easily deflected by her bare hands, but they returned again. Compared to the Art of Controlling Swords with Intent, it only slightly twisted the direction of the spinning iron darts, so Dang-wol’s inner strength consumption was definitely small.

On the other hand, Hwa-sa could never lower the inner strength she put into her bare hands. The movements of the nine iron darts were very irregular, and the inner strength contained in those iron darts was by no means light.

This was, so to speak, a situation where the iron darts were deflecting her bare hands, so in terms of efficiency, it was a one-sided loss for Hwa-sa.

‘Besides……’

There was another problem. The nine iron darts were spreading poison in all directions. It wasn’t enough to invade Hwa-sa yet, but as soon as Hwa-sa’s inner strength dropped below a certain level, the poison would take effect.

This was exerting a psychological pressure on Hwa-sa at the same time as it was a real threat.

Bang, bang, bang.

Hwa-sa was skillfully blocking the nine irregular iron darts. But even if she deflected them, the nine iron darts were already attacking her from behind, from the side, and from above and below.

Clang, clang, clang.

“You, you!”

Hwa-sa gritted her teeth. Dang-wol, watching Hwa-sa being toyed with by the nine iron darts, said quietly,

“I’ve even named it. It’s called Iron Coin Hell.”

Dang-wol said, stretching out one hand towards Hwa-sa. Her expression was calm, but Sa-soo-yeon and Seo-rin, who were watching her, couldn’t hide their surprise.

‘Amazing.’

Sa-soo-yeon admired. Dang-wol said it as if it was nothing, but it was definitely not something to be taken lightly.

‘If it were me……’

How should I react if I were attacked like that? Sa-soo-yeon pondered. Seo-rin and Tal-hon were also doing the same.

But judging from the fact that they were all frowning, it seemed that they couldn’t come up with an exact answer.

“Haa!”

An enormous aura erupted with a shout. In the end, Hwa-sa decided to cut off this chain, even at the cost of a huge loss.

It was a very wise choice compared to losing by exhausting her stamina and inner strength.

Bang.

The nine iron darts retreated in the face of Hwa-sa’s inner strength pouring out in all directions. Taking advantage of that brief gap, Hwa-sa lunged straight towards Dang-wol.

Clang.

Hwa-sa’s bare hands and So-wol clashed once again.

Ping, ping, ping.

The nine iron darts shot towards Hwa-sa, but Hwa-sa didn’t care. The uncontrolled iron darts were no longer a threat.

Pik.

One of the iron darts tore through Hwa-sa’s clothes. But it didn’t make much of a difference. Hwa-sa’s clothes and hair were already in terrible shape.

Grind.

Hwa-sa said to Dang-wol, gritting her teeth.

“Who do you think you are, sending me to hell? I……”

Clang.

At the same time as Hwa-sa’s white hands glowed, a huge white palm shadow bloomed like an illusion.

“I’m going to live a long life!”

Clang.

The huge white hand shadow lunged at Dang-wol right in front of her nose. But Dang-wol didn’t dodge or deflect it.

Whoosh.

The green aura on Dang-wol’s sword, So-wol, flared up like flames. The green flames were directly confronting Hwa-sa’s huge white palm shadow.

A battle of strength against strength, a clash of inner strength against inner strength, had begun.

“Yes.”
Hwa-sa smiled as if she was pleased. She realized that Dang-wol had chosen a head-on confrontation.

“That’s how you should come at me! You little wildcat!”

Boom.

The huge white palm shadow seemed to crush Dang-wol at any moment.

‘Ah!’

At that moment, Dang-woon-yeong thought that they should stop here. In fact, it was long past the time to stop.

Even a life-or-death battle between masters couldn’t compare to this sparring.

However, Hyeok-ryun Se-hwa, who had the authority to stop this sparring, was rather calm. She lacked the insight to follow the two’s sparring, and she didn’t have the ability to grasp its meaning, but Hyeok-ryun Se-hwa clearly knew.

That Hwa-sa and Dang-wol’s eyes towards each other had not changed at all from the beginning.

Creak.

Hwa-sa’s white palm shadow, that huge bare hand, was slowly pushing Dang-wol back. Considering that it was night, Dang-wol’s choice to engage in a head-on confrontation from the start may have been a mistake.

Creak.

It was at that moment when Dang-wol’s defeat seemed imminent.

“Mommy!”

Little Hong-ah’s voice burst out. Hong-ah, who had been watching with sweaty hands, couldn’t bear it any longer and shouted.

It was at that very moment.

Boom.

As if answering Hong-ah’s cry, Dang-wol’s green flames soared with tremendous power. It was a fierce force that seemed to burn even Hwa-sa’s huge white palm shadow to ashes.

“Hey, you……”

Hwa-sa, with a distorted face, said as she looked into Dang-wol’s eyes.

Dang-wol’s veil was already fluttering violently, unable to perform its original function. It was truly the moment when all of Dang-wol’s inner strength was erupting.

Dang-wol’s silver hair danced under the moonlight, and her crystal-like eyes shone beneath her silver eyebrows. It was the gaze of the strongest woman in the world.

“This is cheating……”

Clang.

Hwa-sa’s last words were cut off. Hwa-sa’s white palm shadow, which had been enduring with all its might, was engulfed in Dang-wol’s green flames and shattered into pieces.

* * *

The sparring was over. There was no need for Hyeok-ryun Se-hwa to intervene.

“Haa.”

Hwa-sa, who was a mess, sighed. With a look of exhaustion, she placed one hand on her waist and used the other to brush back her disheveled hair. The area around her was in such a terrible state that it could no longer be called a reed field.

Swish.

Hwa-sa raised her head and looked at Dang-wol. Dang-wol was also in a disheveled state, unlike her usual self. Judging from the way her shoulders were shaking, it was clear that she didn’t even have the strength to speak.

“I lost.”
Hwa-sa said in a calm voice.

“I’ll call you Unni until the next sparring. I still have to spar with Soo-yeon anyway……”

Hwa-sa looked at Sa-soo-yeon. Sa-soo-yeon also had the authority to spar.

“My sparring can wait. Take a good rest first, Hwa-sa Unni.”

Sa-soo-yeon said. Hwa-sa shrugged her shoulders.

“How kind. Anyway, she, or rather Unni, is in this state, so she’ll have to rest for a while.”

Dang-wol quietly gathered her breath instead of answering. Hwa-sa gave a bitter smile and walked towards Dang-wol.

“Good job. You’re amazing, Unni.”

Hwa-sa tapped Dang-wol on the shoulder and walked past her.

“Teacher!”

Only then did the five children rush to Dang-wol. Hwa-sa didn’t look back and walked straight to Tal-hon.

Thud, thud, tap.

Hwa-sa stopped right in front of Tal-hon. Hwa-sa smiled.

“I lost.”

No, she tried to smile.

“I wanted to win…… I really did…… That’s why I called her Unni……”

Swish.

Tal-hon quietly hugged Hwa-sa before her tears could fall.

Hwa-sa’s face was buried in Tal-hon’s chest, and Tal-hon closed her eyes and patted Hwa-sa’s back.

Tears flowed and gradually soaked Tal-hon’s chest, but a warm smile appeared on Tal-hon’s lips.

“That’s good.”

Sa-soo-yeon said in a tearful voice. Her gaze was warmly directed towards Tal-hon and Hwa-sa, and towards Dang-wol and the five children.

“Yes, that’s good.”

Dang-woon-yeong also said. Dang-wol’s smile, surrounded by the five children, even made her eyes moist.

“Ah, I miss Bin.”

Seo-rin’s quiet murmur replaced everyone’s feelings.