The sky is clear, and the wind is cool.
I hold a cup of tea in my hand and quietly take a deep breath.
The fragrant tea scent brushes my nose, calming my mind.
In this moment, I wish I could throw away all the chaos of the martial world, the power struggles, and all the troublesome matters.
How peaceful it is.
Truly, it is so peaceful.
It’s been 35 years since I was reincarnated into this martial world.
Joining the Mount Wudang sect was purely by chance.
Like a beggar—no, wait, not a beggar, I was wandering through the mountains thinking about maybe gathering wild herbs to eat, when a Wudang Taoist saw my potential and took me in.
From then on, I started learning martial arts.
Even now, martial arts still feel so mysterious.
I can fly through the sky?
Shoot a palm strike and shatter a cliff?
I haven’t been able to shake off my modern sensibilities, and I’m still amazed by the traces I leave behind.
Well, in my younger days, I did cause a bit of trouble with my overflowing youthful energy.
Thanks to that, I’ve already been far from the power structure of the Wudang sect, but now, luckily, I’m living well as an elder.
Though I’m an elder in name only, with no real authority.
Anyway, these days, this martial world doesn’t seem so bad after all…
Except for one thing.
I have a problem.
Lately, my disciples have been acting strangely.
I set my teacup down and sighed.
The disciples I took in are good-hearted.
Really, perhaps it’s because they’re my disciples, but they’re all kind and diligent.
However… recently, they’ve been saying things I don’t understand.
In the past, they would have been noisy, either joking around or fighting with each other, but these days, their attitude towards me has become unnervingly cautious.
Of course, it’s a good thing that they respect me.
But isn’t this level of reverence unnecessary?
Is this how a father raising a daughter feels?
When a grown-up daughter calls him not “dad” but “father,” is this the feeling?
And there’s also some strange tension between them.
Not long ago, Chohee was staring at Seorin and smiling, but the look in her eyes was somehow chilling.
Then, Hwaran tries to subtly push my hand away every time Seorin hands me a teacup, and Sowol suddenly tries to sit right next to me.
Something feels off, but… well, maybe they’re just getting along well.
And… sometimes, there are moments when they seem to hesitate to say something.
When Seorin almost says something and stops, when Chohee absentmindedly mutters “this time…” and when Hwaran makes a serious face every time she looks at me, and even when Sowol suddenly kneels in front of me and swears loyalty…
Have they seen some strange rumors or something?
“Hm…”
I picked up my teacup again and fell into deep thought.
I don’t really understand why they’re acting like this lately.
They’re all such good kids, so there must be some reason for it.
But as their teacher, I don’t think it’s necessary to dig into it.
I’ll just enjoy another cup of tea in this peaceful atmosphere.
“Should I just keep an eye on them for a bit longer?”
I lifted my teacup again and looked outside.
As expected, peace is the best.