Try Living Well Without Me

The day before the Seven Flowers Duel began.

Gayoung Jin was practicing martial arts for the first and last time since coming to the Mount Hua Sect.

Hoo-ong!

A towering crescent moon sliced through the sky, showcasing its might.

It spun horizontally in a full circle, then with that momentum, struck downwards in a diagonal slash. Upon hitting the ground, the rebounding shock sent it soaring high into the sky.

Jin Gayoung’s body swayed like an accessory attached to the handle, while the great moon seemed to lead the practice as if it were in charge.

‘This is going well.’

This is correct. A person should never block the path of a weapon.

When wielding any weapon, the most important thing in martial technique is to let the weapon move on its own.

That said, it should never be allowed to rampage without its master’s control.

Hoo-ong! Hooo-ong!

In that sense, Jin Gayoung’s True Celestial Ice Flame Moon technique was undoubtedly at an impressive level.

No matter how similar the True Celestial Ice Flame Sword technique she had previously learned may have been, it was after all a corrupted version.

In fact, it was all the more remarkable an achievement considering she had discarded what she originally knew and relearned everything anew, reaching this level in just a few months.

“Kya, impressive. When I was that age, I was barely able to serve as a lackey in the Moonlight Division. You truly are my descendant.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve agreed on something, hasn’t it?”

Talent.

The gift one is born with, something impossible for a dullard to reach no matter how much time they have…

Though different in direction from Heavenly Flower I saw the other day, it’s far from being inferior. An extraordinary talent indeed.

However, there is a problem…

“Auntie, how was I?”

“You resembled True Celestial Ice Flame Moon.”

“Uh, is that good?”

“It’s not good for you, Miss. You’re aspiring to be a great master, after all.”

“Kya!”

Gayoung stuck out her tongue, expressing her exhaustion.

Of course, there’s no intention to go easy on her just because of that.

“The Seven Flowers Duel starts tomorrow, so I won’t insist you correct it immediately. However, you must be aware of your current weakness.”

“Cough, what should I do?”

“Challenge me. I’ll explain more clearly during sparring.”

As I said this, I picked up a nearby branch.

A branch left over from when a Mount Hua Sect Taoist advised to leave one behind for cleaning.

Jin Gayoung looked at me suspiciously.

“Don’t worry. Have you forgotten who I am?”

“Ah!”

“Come on in. Consider me a training dummy.”

“Yes, I’ll start right away!”

Squeeeeek!

After swinging her axe a few times, Gayoung charged at me with her crescent moon, utilizing the rotational force.

Shwarak- Tuk.

Twisting my waist to avoid it, I gently pushed her technique aside with the branch, easily breaking her move.

However, she didn’t hesitate and immediately followed up with another movement.

Hoo-ong!

Together with her body, the axe spun and came crashing down vertically through the air.

Though this wasn’t an official match and she had moderated her strength, the formidable momentum still revealed the destructive power of her great moon.

Tuk, Bang!

Still, there’s a problem.

A very obvious, glaring problem.

Kwa-dur dur-dur-dur-duur!

Pushing away her great moon slightly, her weapon slid across the ground.

The stone floor cracked to such an extent that her power was certainly not lacking.

Naturally, there was nothing wrong with her proficiency in handling True Celestial Ice Flame Moon either. Just as Jin Woo-yong acknowledged before, Gayoung’s mastery of the crescent moon techniques was impeccable beyond reproach.

However…

“Your True Celestial Ice Flame Moon contains nothing.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“I don’t sense any hostility, determination, or even the usual competitiveness from your crescent moon aimed at me. Indeed, that’s the problem.”

That’s right, this is the issue.

Lack of purpose.

This fundamental question about martial arts arises because of that.

Without a clear reason for wielding the great moon, no intention can be imbued into it.

“Ahh, how am I supposed to feel hostility against you, Uncle! If it were someone else, maybe I could, but it’s impossible against you!”

“That’s not what I mean. What you’re performing is just the set techniques of ‘True Celestial Ice Flame Moon’. There’s no personal interpretation or variation in your True Celestial Ice Flame Moon.”

“…”

Gayoung made a puzzled expression. Every time I see that look, she looks particularly cute. It’s a side of her that rarely shows with her usually quick thinking while fulfilling her role as the head of the Taewon Jin Family.

Of course, this puzzled expression isn’t why I would neglect her training.

“You’re just performing the established techniques of True Celestial Ice Flame Moon. Those are undoubtedly the most efficient motions, but they’re not your martial arts.”

“Um, so… what should I do?”

“Perform your martial arts. The True Celestial Ice Flame Moon that is uniquely yours and peerless under heaven. Finding that will be your first step in setting your path in martial arts.”

“My martial arts…? Are you asking me to branch off from one martial art?”

“Let me explain it simply. Would the martial arts of Damo, the founder of Shaolin martial arts, be the same as those of the great Shaolin master Divine Monk, despite both reaching the pinnacle of Shaolin’s martial arts?”

“Ah, I think I understand!”

Indeed, she quickly comprehends with just a little explanation.

“The established True Celestial Ice Flame Moon and your own True Celestial Ice Flame Moon are different. Search for the True Celestial Ice Flame Moon that is yours.”

“Hmm… I understand… I’ll think about it.”

“One last piece of advice: thinking about why you’re learning martial arts will help clarify things. That’s how I initially discovered my own insights.”

“And what did you discover, Uncle?”

“What I realized about my martial arts is the ‘Guardian King Sword Form’. There’s no need to concern yourself with more complex matters for now. Focus on this point. Naturally, if you think about it, your martial arts will improve as well.”

Jin Gayoung’s fundamentals are nearly perfect.

Her talent certainly helps, but she’s incredibly diligent, often sacrificing sleep to practice. Therefore, her proficiency in True Celestial Ice Flame Moon has already reached a level without fault.

Perhaps, if her martial path (wu lu) is firmly established, she could reach the ranks of the Seven Flowers.

“Yes! I’ll do that!”

So-eun Yu.

Once, a promising plum flower swordswoman of the Mount Hua Sect and the esteemed disciple of Senior Dokgo Gupae, a righteous female knight.

Now, at thirty-four years old, she’s merely a lonely woman spending quiet nights alone, without a husband.

“Ugh…”

As usual, So-eun lay in bed, writhing in her undergarments.

The sticky sweat running down her voluptuous figure had soaked the bed, but she had no time to concern herself with it.

She knew she shouldn’t, yet the memories of her nights with her ex-husband kept coming back to her.

In fact, it was a rather rare memory.

So-eun had relations with Sword Sage Namgung Cheolbin only twice.

And one of those times was even before their marriage, meaning she had technically been with him as a “husband” and “wife” just once.

Though it was only two days out of thousands in her life, So-eun couldn’t forget those two nights.

Born as the daughter of Mount Hua’s Sect leader, So-eun had been raised precious from birth.

And unlike other dissolute Taoists who read lewd books, she knew almost nothing about intimate matters, although she understood love.

Therefore, her first heated night with Namgung Cheolbin became an unforgettable memory.

Moreover, recently her body had been increasingly heated, making those few sexual experiences the only stimuli available to her imagination.

“This is strange…”

Of course, even though she left her sect for the mundane world, a Taoist remains a Taoist.

No matter how much her lower abdomen twitched and shook, she would never commit the vulgar act of touching herself.

As always.

“Haah, haah…”

Instead, she could only rub her thighs together in an attempt to soothe her cravings.

Glide, Glide…

Imagining Namgung Cheolbin filling her as he had in the past.

Recollecting how he transformed the painful first experience into love and pleasure.

“Why, why like this… It keeps…”

She hated Namgung Cheolbin.

Even ignoring everything else, she hated him for leaving her and being unfaithful.

That’s why she supported his expulsion from the Namgung family.

Because she didn’t want to spend a single moment with a husband who didn’t love her.

However, there was still a lingering attachment, both then and now.

It was only natural. Namgung Cheolbin had taken both her body and heart.

People are not one-dimensional beings; it’s impossible for one’s heart to completely turn toward one side.

For that reason, deep down in So-eun’s heart, there was a small place where thoughts inappropriate for a righteous person resided.

As a woman.

It didn’t matter if he was a demon; she wished he would just love her and look at her.

But that was an impossible dream. Their relationship had ended long ago, and So-eun knew that.

“Huh…”

So, this is inevitable.

Rubbing her thighs suggestively under the blanket while imagining him was happening because he had left her behind.

At the very least, that’s how So-eun saw it.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to endure the self-disgust of longing for her ex-husband who had been disgraced and abandoned, turning him into a subject of her imagination.

“Huh-huh…”

Gradually, tears began to wet the bed more than sweat.

“Huh-huuh… Huh…”

Her position in the Namgung family collapsing like a ghost as soon as he left.

Now having to tolerate scornful glances from sects she once looked down upon, trading tributes back and forth.

Finally, herself, always thinking about the cause of all these problems, Namgung Cheolbin.

“Huh-huh… Damn woman…”

The self-disgust became unbearable.

In the midst of this, her irritatingly throbbing lower abdomen made her even angrier.

But what could she do?

All So-eun could do, wiping her tears with both hands, was to rub her thighs together.

Knock knock.

The unexpected sound of knocking at the door made So-eun quickly wipe her face with the pillow and cover her tear trails with it.

A moment later, her daughter Su-a Namgung quietly entered.

“Su-a… Why are you here today…?”

Recently, Su-a had been frequently coming to sleep with her at night, so So-eun cautiously asked.

“I want to sleep with mom…”

“Oh, again today…?”

“…Yes, today too.”

“Alright… Come in then.”

So-eun pulled back the blanket covering her.

Since Su-a only brought one pillow, So-eun understood.

“Hehe…”

“Umm… We should just sleep tonight, right? You know… Mom’s been tired lately…”

“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll fall asleep right away.”

Soon, Su-a entered the sweat-soaked, warm blanket.

“Umm…”

“Haaam- Sleepy…”

As usual, So-eun held her daughter tightly as she tried to fall asleep.

Squelch, squelch…

“…”

“…”

“…I… can’t remember…”

“…”

“…When I was happy with dad and mom… I can’t remember anymore…”

Though Su-a, burying her face in between So-eun’s breasts while crying about Namgung Cheolbin, prevented her from sleeping again,

Meanwhile, in the late hours when everyone else had either fallen asleep or was trying to sleep.

There was one green-eyed girl who was still awake.

“Damn, I can’t figure it out. Should I rebuild the theory from scratch? Where should I start?”

It was none other than Tang Sobaek of the Tang family of Sichuan, who was, as always, observing the celestial energy.

Her green eyes were, as usual, gazing up at the sky, intensely focused.

“Lord Namgung Namgung Bin.”

Her eyes were filled with insatiable curiosity.

“Why does this person not have a star?”

Her finger moved around, pointing at various stars in the night sky.

“That one in the east is definitely the star of Sword Sage Namgung Cheolbin, and that one in the south is the star of Lady Namgung So-so of the White Flowers.”

Unlike her moving finger, her gaze remained fixed on a specific area of the night sky.

On the empty space where there should have been a star.

“Why doesn’t Namgung Bin have a star? Is he so insignificant that he doesn’t even have his own star?”

Of course, that couldn’t be true.

Even if it wasn’t Namgung Bin who plotted against and disgraced the Sword Sage, he was still a war hero before that, having achieved numerous feats as a military general of the Martial Arts Alliance.

Moreover, no matter how his status had fallen, he was still the head of the Great Namgung House, known as the First House under heaven. To say he was so insignificant that he didn’t even have a star was an absurd argument.

“So, this means that Namgung Bin is dead and his star has fallen…? What could it be…?”

As always, Tang Sobaek continued her deep thought, following a linked chain of reasoning.

She enjoyed it.

Because it was something she didn’t know, something she couldn’t understand yet.

Because it was fun to unravel and discover.

So, she immersed herself completely.

Losing track of time, she repeatedly established and discarded dozens, hundreds of hypotheses in her mind, slowly painting a picture on the canvas in her mind.

It wasn’t until about half an hour after blood started flowing from her nose that she noticed the red spreading across the canvas in her mind.

Drip…

“…!”

Suddenly struck by dizziness, Tang Sobaek quickly bent over and pinched her nose.

Then, she faintly heard a voice that should not have reached her ears.

“…Bai.”

“Tang Sobaek.”

“Tang So…”.

“Wait…! Just a moment!”

She hurriedly raised her hand to cut off the sound.

“Damn it! Shit…! Is my lifespan already over?”

Soon, she slowly straightened her back, starting to wear a frustrated smile.

Her nose tingled unpleasantly, but there was nothing she could do. She had to deal with the Reaper who had come for her now.

“I practiced martial arts just to read the Celestial Will some more… damn it, am I at my limit even as a peak grandmaster? Even though I haven’t read even one-tenth of a tenth of what I wanted… what a stingy way to use up my lifespan…”

Muttering to herself, filled with irritability, Tang Sobaek soon began to glare at the Reaper who had come for her.

Though she couldn’t see them yet, since she was still in this world, she assumed they were nearby based on the situation.

“Sir Reaper!”

It was a short yet intense moment, but she relied on her confidence in her excellent negotiation skills.

“Let’s have a bet.”

Tang Sobaek proposed a bet to the Reaper to extend her lifespan.

Pretending to be calm, while secretly having a heart racing like when she saw a mouse.

*

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