The Heaven-Slaying Sword

“The White Sword Unit?!”

In the captain’s office, Mok Riwon jumped up from his seat, exclaiming with a broad smile.

While his usual enthusiasm could be dismissed, this time was different.

The news Tang Hwa-seo brought was in regard to scheduling a sparring session with the White Sword Unit, one of the Martial Alligance’s representative organizations. This was exciting news even for the other members present.

“What a coincidence. We were just talking about Brother Mok and the Golden Sword.”

“Yes, he has graciously agreed to a sparring session.”

Tang Hwa-seo smiled and responded to Zhuge San’s comment.

Mok Riwon looked at her with eyes full of admiration, feeling grateful to her for arranging this much-desired duel with an expert of the Martial Alliance.

“As expected, only Young Lady could do this! You’re truly amazing!”

His praise, delivered with clenched fists and shining eyes, was music to her ears, melting away all her fatigue up until this point.

Of course, it was just a momentary feeling.

“…Anyway, I gathered you all to tell you to prepare for the sparring session, which will be a week after the inauguration ceremony. That’s all I needed to say, so you can return to your daily routines.”

Namgung Jincheon was the first to rise. Though his face was expressionless as if it wasn’t a big deal, he headed straight for the training ground.

Next, Il-woon and Hyeun rose from their seats, thanking Tang Hwa-seo before leaving to offer prayers. Il-woon was dragging Hyeun along.

The remaining two were Zhuge San and Mok Riwon.

Tang Hwa-seo asked them.

“Aren’t you two leaving?”

“Huh? Should we go?”

“You should. I have more work to do.”

Tang Hwa-seo smiled unconvincingly, which Mok Riwon noticed.

The Young Lady seems to overworking herself...

Thinking back, he realized they hadn’t spent time together since Tang Hwa-seo became captain. Whenever he visited, she was either out or working.

Her complexion had noticeably darkened compared to before, as if she had been overexerting herself.

Naturally, he felt concerned.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“Hmm… Not at the moment.”

“T-Then are there any errands I can run?”

“No, there’s nothing I need done outside.”

Tang Hwa-seo tilted her head.

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…!”

Mok Riwon laughed awkwardly and stood up. After offering some words of encouragement, he left the captain’s office and asked Zhuge San.

“Brother Zhuge!”

“What is it?”

“Young Lady looks very tired! But she won’t accept help! What should we do? I’m worried she might collapse at this rate!”

She isn’t accepting your help because you would be useless.

But Zhuge San couldn’t possibly tell him the truth. Instead, he smiled and patted his shoulder.

“If she gets too exhausted, she’ll ask for help. Isn’t Sister known for her strong sense of responsibility? She probably wants to prove she can handle things on her own, so let’s just cheer her on.”

“Is that so…?”

“Definitely.”

While she was certainly pushing herself, Zhuge San wasn’t too worried. After all, this was Tang Hwa-seo. He believed she would rest when needed.

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“Why don’t you focus on training, Brother Mok? It would be a shame to waste the opportunity that Sister has arranged for us.”

“Hmm, that’s true...”

Even as he said this, Mok Riwon’s gaze remained fixed on the captain’s office.

Despite Zhuge San’s words, he couldn’t help but worry.

However, with little he could do to help, Mok Riwon had no choice but to turn away.

* * *

A few days later.

An undeniable shadow of worry clouded Mok Riwon’s face.

Ever since realizing Tang Hwa-seo was overworking herself, he had been closely observing her, and the results weren’t good.

She really doesn’t rest for even a moment.

Tang Hwa-seo’s daily routine was incredibly monotonous.

Work. Work. Work. Then sleep and wake up.

Mok Riwon could confidently say he had never seen her take a break in between.

It wasn’t like she was always this way. When she first ran the courtesan house in Suyang County, Jiangxi, Tang Hwa-seo wasn’t the type to push herself this hard.

Mok Riwon thought that Tang Hwa-seo was so busy because she was sacrificing her personal time for the sake of the members.

…Even though I can’t be of help.

He wanted to at least offer some encouragement. So Mok Riwon knocked on the door of the captain’s office.

“Young Lady, are you there?”

—Ah, please come in.

Mok Riwon opened the door and peeked his head into the captain’s office. Tang Hwa-seo smiled weakly with her gaunt face.

“What’s the matter? You haven’t caused trouble again, I hope?”

“N-No, nothing like that!”

Mok Riwon entered the captain’s office, startled, then said.

“I was worried that you might be overworking yourself, so I came to check on you. Ah, would you like this? It’s tea I asked the chef to prepare. It’s said to be good for fatigue.”

As she was offered a cup of steaming tea, she blinked once before accepting.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to...”

“But you’re working so hard! I wanted to help in whatever way I could”

Tang Hwa-seo fiddled with the teacup as she thought.

Was it that obvious?

She wondered if she had been receiving guests with fatigue evident on her face. Even at this moment, Tang Hwa-seo was recalling her previous ‘work’. She had become completely immersed in her duties.

Mok Riwon sighed at the sight of her once again lost in thought, and approached her.

“This won’t do. Young Lady, please give me your shoulders for a moment!”

Tap.

Moving behind Tang Hwa-seo, Mok Riwon placed his hands on her shoulders. She froze for a moment.

“Wh-What are you…!”

“I will give you a massage!”

Mok Riwon said energetically, his voice filled with confidence.

“I’ve been praised by my master for my massage skills since I was young! If you try just once Young Lady, you’ll feel your fatigue melt away and your strength return!”

Tang Hwa-seo finally understood his intention and relaxed a little. However, she couldn’t help but feel her heart racing with Mok Riwon’s large hands enveloping her shoulders.

“Umm… Then, if you will for just a moment?”

Although she had a mountain of work to do, it seemed impolite to refuse when he was so excited about it.

Mok Riwon nodded with his characteristic lovely smile.

“Then I’ll begin!”

Squeeze.

Mok Riwon’s hands applied pressure. It wasn’t too strong. His massage was rather impressive, gently kneading her shoulds as he had claimed.

“How is it? Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Yes… You certainly have a knack for this.”

Tang Hwa-seo was surprised. Even though he didn’t seem to be using any inner qi, her tense muscles were slowly melting, and her body was relaxing. Her body sank deeper into the backrest.

“My goodness, I’ve never felt this comfortable before.”

“Master said the same thing! He said if I hadn’t become a martial artist, I might have ended up as a masseur in the imperial palace!”

“I can’t disagree with that assessment.”

“Feel free to ask anytime! I’d be happy to do this a hundred times for you, Young Lady!”

Tang Hwa-seo chuckled at his words, but in her drowsy state, she couldn’t continue the conversation. Her eyelids were gradually drooping.

As her fatigue and tension melted away, her body naturally began preparing for recovery.

There’s still more work to do...

She knew she shouldn’t fall asleep, but she felt incredibly drowsy.

Mok Riwon’s hands on my shoulders, his gentle voice tickling my ears.

And the silence of the captain’s office all encouraged her to fall asleep.

“Young Lady, I may not know much about the world, but there’s one thing I’m certain of.”

“Yes...”

“Comrades are meant to lean on each other. And we are comrades, are we not?”

“...”

“So please don’t push yourself so hard all alone. It pains my heart to see you struggling.”

“...”

Mok Riwon smiled as he watched Tang Hwa-seo, her eyes now half-closed, giving automatic responses.

Seeing her fall asleep so peacefully finally put his mind at ease.

“…I’ll move you to your bedroom.”

Lifting her carefully into his arms, he escorted her down the corridor.

Tang Hwa-seo, half-asleep, leaned against Mok Riwon. Not even knowing where she was being taken, she just curled up more, finding the chest she was leaning on very comfortable

It didn’t take long for her to fall into a deep sleep.

She’s asleep.

Mok Riwon chuckled at the sight of Tang Hwa-seo curled up into a ball in his arms. Soon, he arrived at her sleeping quarters.

Opening the door revealed a room with bedding on either side.

It was easy to tell which bed belonged to Tang Hwa-seo. It would be the neatly arranged one with a book placed at the head.

Smiling at the sight of her sleeping area, which was so characteristic of her, he gently laid her down and covered her with a blanket.

“I’ll see you in the evening.”

Saying this, he quietly left the room.

Only the soft sounds of her breathing could be heard in the room.

* * *

Tang Hwa-seo only opened her eyes as the sun was setting.

After blinking about three times, she suddenly sat up with a startle.

Oh no!

A sense of dismay filled her.

Her heart sank as she remembered falling asleep with a mountain of work left unfinished.

Without even pausing to fix her disheveled hair, she bolted from the room and rushed to her office.

Bang!

The door flew open, and Tang Hwa-seo froze in surprise.

“…Sword Dragon?”

Namgung Jincheon was sitting at her desk.

But he wasn’t alone.

Zhuge San was flipping through documents in a corner, while Il-woon greeted her with a smile.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

“What’s going on...”

“We were taking care of the work. Benefactor Tang, it’s not right for you to shoulder so much alone.”

Il-woon stood up and spoke with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry we didn’t realize earlier. We’ve finished today’s tasks, so please return and get some more rest. I am the vice-captain, after all.”

Tang Hwa-seo stood dazed, their words washing over her without quite sinking in.

It was then that Mok Riwon returned.

“Ah, Young Lady! Have you eaten?”

“Young Hero Mok...”

“I felt bad about waking you up, so I asked the others for help! We couldn’t finish everything, but we’ve done what we could, so don’t worry!”

As Mok Riwon flashed a thumbs up, the realization finally dawned upon her.

“Ah...”

Her feelings of surprise began to die down. Her breathing returned to normal, replaced by an inexplicable warmth rising from within.

She realized she hadn’t even considered asking for help.

…I didn’t trust them enough.

In her desire to excel, she had forgotten to rely on her comrades. In her pursuit of perfection, she had only pushed herself.

Even with all these good people around her, her sense of burden had blinded her, reducing them to mere troublemakers in her eyes.

“Young Lady, shall we eat? I asked the chef to prepare your favourite five-spice pork belly!”

Tang Hwa-seo bit her lip, feeling a tug at her heart, then nodded.

“…Yes.”

Mok Riwon smiled brightly at her response and reached out to smooth her hair.

“Your hair is tangled!”

“Ah!”

Her face flushed as she tried to fix it herself, but Mok Riwon was quicker.

“Let me do it for you!”

As he gently combed through her hair, Il-woon and Zhuge San watched the scene with warm smiles.

Feeling oddly embarrassed, her shoulders slightly hunched.

“Thank you...”

She wondered why her heart was suddenly racing. Despite her embarrassment, Tang Hwa-seo couldn’t help but laugh at her own flustered state.

This happened two days before the inauguration /genesisforsaken