Chapter 14
“Aaaah~ Go on, my pretty girl. There you go.”
“Mom, I can eat by myself. I’m not a child.”
“Now, now! After spending seven whole days and nights in a dark, cold place without even a bite to eat, of course you’d be weak!”
“I didn’t go without food. I did have some jerky, at least…”
“So-ha?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Mother lifted a spoon and brought it close to my lips.
I fidgeted with both hands beneath the blanket, but finally gave in and opened my mouth.
Munch, munch.
Ever since I came out of seclusion, Mother had been like this.
Today, too, she was ransacking the kitchen to bring me every delicacy under the sun.
There was carp soup simmered until tender, chicken that fell apart at a touch, honey-soaked jujubes, ginseng tea, and Mother’s endless head-patting.
It had been a full day since I’d woken up after finishing my seclusion training.
I had become the pampered princess of the Ryu household, in the most literal sense.
“Ugh, it’s so fishy, Mother.”
“That can’t be right.”
‘Ah… That fishy taste suddenly brings back the moment I came to.’
That forced-bath episode had been truly mortifying.
As soon as I’d finished explaining everything, they’d dragged me straight to the bathhouse against my will.
I protested several times that I could wash myself, but it was no use.
In the end, I gave up and let the maids take care of me.
“Aaaah……”
The moment the warm water enveloped my skin, a groan escaped me without my meaning to.
‘Heaven. This is heaven.’
Immortality is nice, and so is learning the truth of the universe, sure.
But there are few truths that can save a person like a nice, hot bath can.
Bubble, bubble, bubble.
“Is the water temperature all right?”
“Oh, yes, yes. This girl is in paradise right now.”
“What? Heehee, I was asking if it was too cold.”
“Oh! Yes, yes! Of course. I feel like I’ve been reborn in paradise.”
“Oh my, thank you.”
‘Damn it, I don’t know where to look.’
Even though I’d lived as Ryu So-ha for fourteen years, there was still a remnant of Kim Muyeol inside me.
It was still incredibly awkward to let Mother and the maids see me naked.
Honestly, the full-body pampering felt nice, but…
At first, the maids couldn’t hide their dismay at that indescribable smell.
They rinsed me again and again with flower-petal water and scented oils, and washed me from the tips of my hair to my toes. Only then did I finally smell human again.
What kind of cultivation process was this, to be so filthy?
Did you have to pass through a sewer before you could become an immortal?
And yet, even while all that was going on, the maids kept brushing my hair and showering me with compliments.
“My lady, you’re truly so beautiful.”
“Yes…”
“Ever since your seclusion, your beauty has reached new heights. You’re lovelier than any woman I’ve ever seen.”
“That can’t be true.”
“Heehee, it really is! You couldn’t find anyone with your looks in all the world! Those eyes of yours, especially—they’re so captivating, like they’re set with blue jewels.”
“You’re making me blush.”
That was what I said, but the truth was, I knew it.
My reflection in the mirror.
Needlessly beautiful.
No, seriously, incredibly beautiful.
I’d already been unfairly pretty before my seclusion, but after the murky qi left my body, my skin had become even clearer.
“But what should we do? It’ll be a disaster if word reaches the emperor.”
“Why?”
“There’s already a huge fuss over him taking the beauties of Zheng as concubines, as if he’s collecting them. They say he has over thirty already.”
“That does sound… troublesome.”
“And what about the cultivation clans that protect Zheng? There’s a grim rumor that they choose a woman each year and offer her as a sacrifice. But you’re beautiful and have a spiritual root, so you’re in danger…”
“Oh, honestly, don’t say such unlucky things and worry our young lady.”
The senior maid beside her hurriedly cut her off.
“I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn. Please kill me.”
“No, of course I won’t kill you. Actually, I wanted to hear more about what’s going on in the world.”
This world seemed steeped in the old-fashioned idea that ‘when the hen crows, the household falls,’ so even I was completely in the dark about what was happening beyond our doors.
All I knew was that our village belonged to the Kingdom of Zheng, and that each kingdom had a cultivation clan backing it.
That was the full extent of what I knew, despite being practically ignorant and illiterate.
I was far too short on information.
“My lady, you’re so kind, too. I’d love to serve you for the rest of my life.”
“…Please stay by my side for as long as you wish.”
“Oh my?”
The maid’s face turned bright red.
What was wrong with her?
I was only promising her job security.
“My lady… what you just said…”
“Yes?”
“N-no, it’s nothing. I-I really will serve you for the rest of my life!”
After that bathhouse episode, I was now taking on the Food Fighter Challenge.
“You need to eat lots of meat to regain your strength. Your bones and joints might be damaged, so you must drink every last drop of the soup made from simmering carp.”
“Mom, I just finished two bowls of rice…”
“Ahem!”
“Yes, Mother.”
“That’s right, that’s right, our So-ha!”
Now, a full day had passed since I’d woken up after finishing my seclusion training.
I was monopolizing the Ryu family’s main room and being treated like a princess—receiving such lavish attention that even a mountain spirit would envy me.
Since I’d been reincarnated as Ryu So-ha, this was the first time I’d eaten enough to feel like I might burst.
Ever since I was little, Mother had drilled ladylike manners and behavior into me, so by the standards of my previous life, I’d been practically skin and bones.
Once I entered my growth spurt, I started to fill out, but amazingly, the extra weight only went where it was supposed to.
For example, my butt…
“Hehe, have some of this ginseng tea, too.”
Mother lovingly blew on the ginseng tea to cool it, then fed it to me by the spoonful.
“It’s okay. I…”
“Didn’t I tell you not to be a picky eater?”
“All right. Aaaah~”
Munch, munch.
‘Ginseng tastes awful. Ughhh.’
Ginseng root was naturally bitter, but this tasted especially dry and unpleasant.
It was almost like eating something people weren’t meant to eat.
‘Did it go bad? No, there’s no way yesterday’s ginseng could have spoiled.’
Rattle—
“How are you feeling, So-ha? Isn’t the floor cold? I’ll stoke the furnace some more!”
Father came in and out of the main room so often, he was practically wearing down the threshold, checking my complexion each time.
Wasn’t I the daughter he’d always cherished like the apple of his eye?
Now, his affection was practically dripping from his eyes.
He could’ve taken up beekeeping at this rate.
“Dad, the room is already blazing hot. I’m so full of energy I could go mountain climbing right now.”
“No. Your body must be worn out. Don’t even step out from under the covers for at least three days.”
“Hehe.”
It seemed Mom and Dad had been terribly worried while I was in seclusion.
They’d been imagining things like me being possessed by a heart demon or eaten by a yaoshou. They must have been so anxious.
But now that I thought about it, I’d gotten through the heart demon too easily.
Looking back, I must have broken the old woman’s rule not to talk. Why was I perfectly fine?
‘Could it have been a rules-based ghost story?’
Anyway, I decided to be considerate of my parents’ feelings and enjoy a life of eating, sleeping, and doing nothing beneath my cozy blankets.
“I’m proud of you, our daughter, for becoming a cultivator without a master.”
“Hehe, I didn’t really do much.”
All I’d done was apply the scientific method to cultivation.
I’d observed spiritual qi as waves, treated my meridians like spiral coils, and run Maxwell’s demon inside my dantian.
Now that I said it aloud, maybe I had done quite a lot.
“It’s an incredible feat. No one in all of history has ever done anything like it!”
“Oh, surely not. You’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not exaggerating! Our daughter is a heaven-sent genius!”
“Hehehe.”
The corners of my mouth kept creeping upward.
No, I had to be humble. People should be modest.
A humble genius… as if! In America, humility was a sin.
‘Take the praise when you can get it, and enjoy it.’
Honestly, my parents’ endless pampering wasn’t so bad.
Even I, a physicist in my thirties at heart, blushed at how embarrassing it was… but it felt amazing.
Still, I couldn’t spend the rest of my life lying in one room and eating fried dumplings.
Now that I’d proven the theory, it was time to test it in the field.
Just as I’d said beforehand, I was going to step out into the world.
###
“Father, Mother. Now that I’ve become a proper cultivator, I have a request.”
“What is it this time? Your father will grant you anything.”
“I’d like to go out by myself.”
The air froze instantly.
That was only natural. Whenever I went out, I always rode in a palanquin with a guard accompanying me.
I’d hardly ever even walked through the village on my own two feet.
People haggling in front of shops, children playing in the alleys, and even the herbs and knickknacks piled up in the market—I’d only ever caught glimpses of them through the palanquin’s curtains.
Given the way things were, women weren’t allowed to leave the house alone in the first place.
They said the roads outside were teeming with yaoshou and monsters.
I’d never seen one myself, but apparently there were yaoshou like wolves three or four times bigger than a person.
On top of that, the very concept of public safety was practically nonexistent in this world.
There were guards, of course, but it was far too dangerous for a woman to go about alone late at night.
If I’d been caught sneaking out to throw an ax and see if there were immortals, I’d probably have been grounded for a year.
Maybe that was why…
I’d never once left this village in my life.
Which meant I hadn’t even been able to test the ‘flat Earth theory.’
But now I was a cultivator.
I wasn’t a mortal anymore.
“Go out alone? No, So-ha. It’s far too dangerous outside. There are ruffians everywhere who might target you!”
“Father, I’m a cultivator now. Even if I’m only at Qi Refining, I have the strength to protect myself—I can even break a pillar.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. What if I’d steeled my resolve and swung my sword?”
“I actually knew you were coming from several zhang away, Father.”
“What?”
“If you’d been a bandit, I could have subdued you easily.”
‘That’s a lie. A hundred percent pure lie. I still don’t know how to use this power properly.’
But what does a man need? Swagger!
I bluffed my way through it.
“I read in a cultivation manual that ‘a cultivator investigates the Heavenly Dao, and so ought to walk the vast world with their own feet, gaining insight into the principles of all things and the Dao.’”
Of course, no such passage existed.
But once I pulled out that all-purpose cheat code, Father was left speechless.
I’d made it up on the spot, but it worked.
“E-even so, your beauty is so extraordinary… Men won’t leave you alone when you go out.”
“Don’t worry. I have a brilliant plan.”
“And what is this brilliant plan?”
“I’ll disguise myself as a man.”
At long last, I got permission to go out alone for the first time in my life.
When I said I’d dress as a man—a pastime only women could enjoy—Father flew into a rage, demanding to know what good that would do.
He said nothing could hide the beauty that was the greatest under heaven.
But Mother agreed, saying, ‘So-ha is a mischievous girl no one can hold back.’
And Mother even helped me disguise myself.
No, rather than helping, she seemed to be enjoying herself.
She cheerfully wrapped plain cotton cloth around my chest.
“Hngh…!”
When she bound my chest tightly, a grunt escaped me.
These lumps of fat were making it hard to breathe.
Ever since I’d become a woman, these heavy, soft lumps of fat had been the most bothersome part.
“Ugh… You certainly developed more than you needed to. Still…”
As a result, a very pretty young boy stood in the mirror.
The problem was that he was far too pretty, even for a boy.
“Oh my, even Mom might fall for our handsome son!”
“Ahaha, do I look like a boy?”
“At this rate, we should be worrying about the women, not the men.”
Even I thought I was so pretty I could barely keep from giggling.
Was it the effect of seclusion? My skin was so pale it practically sparkled like sunlight reflected on water, as if I’d had a treatment at a dermatologist’s office.
Had all those toxins acted like a mud mask?
As if she wanted to put on a fashion show, Mom took the opportunity to dress me in all sorts of outfits.
“Our daughter looks good in everything. How is that possible?”
She was absolutely right.
I’d been the sort of person who wore a hoodie and jeans by default, but now I’d discovered the joy of dressing up.
‘At this rate, Kim Muyeol is going to fall for the face-genius Ryu So-ha.’
If I’d been born in the modern era, I could’ve become a celebrity with looks like mine.
If I didn’t want to be a celebrity or model, I had the makings of a successful influencer or streamer, at the very least…
But in this era, I didn’t even have the chance to make proper use of those looks.
‘I was born in the wrong era.’
Anyway, once I put on a loose men’s martial outfit that hid my feminine figure and a bamboo hat that covered my face, I looked exactly like a wandering martial artist.
A wandering martial artist who was a little too handsome, though…
When I was ready, the maids let out one admiring exclamation after another.
“Oh my, oh my! You look so dashing, my lady.”
“So handsome… You’re exactly my type! I’d want to marry a man like you, my lady.”
Their praise was almost too much to bear.
“…That might be a little difficult.”
“I… Could I hold your hand just once…? Eek! Thank you!”
“Me too! My lady… Eeeek! What am I going to do? I won’t be able to sleep tonight!”
They were making as much noise as a flock of crows swooping in.
Then Father spoke up.
“What’s all that commotion? So-ha, are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m all ready, Father.”
When the servants opened the door, Father’s eyes widened.
“Ahem. Yes, well done. This should do.”
“Does your daughter look like a man to you, Father?”
“I thought you’d look like a pretty-faced gigolo, but you look like a refined young man with the bearing of an immortal.”
‘A young man with extraordinary grace, like an immortal…’
“So, are you really sure you’ll be all right? Shouldn’t I send someone along to attend to you?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. I want to try managing on my own.”
Mother took both my hands in hers and gently rubbed them.
“Be careful, and then be even more careful. Do you understand? Especially, don’t hurt that pretty face of yours.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“But what are you going to do about the way you speak?”
I tipped my bamboo hat slightly lower and dropped my voice.
“It’s all right. This son has always been prepared.”
“This son? Oh my!”
The servants, their faces red as tomatoes, whispered among themselves, while Father seemed to get a little excited and sprayed spittle as he spoke.
“What name will you use? You can’t go by Ryu So-ha, can you?”
“Oh, I decided that a while ago. I’m going to use the alias Kim Muyeol.”
“Kim Muyeol… Kim isn’t a common surname. Will that be all right?”
“That’s true. Mom’s worried, too. Kim is so rare—why not choose a more ordinary surname?”
“No, Kim is the one I want.”
That name held a lot of meaning.
Who I’d been, where I’d come from, and what I’d dreamed of.
Even now that I was Ryu So-ha, the person named Kim Muyeol hadn’t disappeared.
That name remained inside me…
In a way no one else could know, I wanted to prove it to myself.
Mother couldn’t have known how I felt, but strangely, she didn’t ask any more questions.
She simply brushed the back of my hand.
“All right. Then today, you’re Muyeol.”
“Yes.”
It took another shichen just to hear all their earnest reminders.
Come back before sunset.
Stay only in crowded places.
Don’t talk to suspicious people.
Even if you buy something delicious, don’t eat so much you get a stomachache.
If you’re in danger, forget about appearances and run.
There was nothing shameful about running away, and so on and so forth.
Father’s nagging never seemed to end, and Mother nodded along beside him, adding reminders without missing a single one.
At last, I stood before the main gate and bowed deeply to them both.
“Have a good trip, So-ha! No, Muyeol, right! Muyeol!”
“If anything happens… Nghhh.”
Father seemed so worried he could hardly bear to let me go.
“This son will be back before the Hour of the Pig.”
“Be sure to come back before the day is over!”
“Yes!”
Since this was the first time I’d gone out alone, it was only natural that they’d let me take a day trip.
But still, how could I complain?
My first solo outing in life.
It was only a day trip, but to me, it was nothing less than my first voyage out into the world.
My heart swelled with excitement at the thought of adventure, pounding so hard I could barely contain it.
And so I hurried along the wall.
But then I couldn’t help overhearing my parents talking on the other side of it.
I could even see through it, though only faintly.
‘Amazing. Is this a basic passive skill for cultivators?’
Father wrapped his arms around Mother in a romantic embrace.
“I wish So-ha had a little brother.”
“Madam, since things have turned out this way, how about we make So-ha a little brother?”
“Oh my, you… Shall we?”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one whose heart was pounding.
‘Oh my, how embarrassing.’
I cleared my throat for no reason and quickened my pace.
I hadn’t heard anything.
The mysterious martial artist Kim Muyeol, a secret identity hidden beneath a bamboo hat,
and Ryu So-ha, a cultivator who studied physics, set out on a modest but meaningful journey.
‘Let’s see, what’s on my bucket list… Right, first, how about measuring whether this planet is round and how big it is? What if it’s flat?’
