It rained the next day. As was typical for the hot and humid Sichuan region, the rain fell often. Sama Hyeon had left for a while to continue his business dealings, and Jin Cheonhee was resting, the aftereffects of yesterday’s battle still lingering.

‘What should I eat today? Should I just accept whatever food is given to me?’

While he was pondering this, Tang Ah came to visit.

‘Huh? She’s not wearing her mask today?’

She, who always wore a mask, had come today with a plain face for some reason.

“As I thought, you’re fine.”

She saw Jin Cheonhee and then plopped down next to him.

“Are you alright, Miss Tang?”

“Mm. I’m fine.”

‘Did she come because she was worried I was seriously hurt? If that’s the case, then why on earth did we have a life-and-death duel?’

From the perspective of a medical professional, he didn’t want to understand, but from the perspective of a martial artist, he did. To attain enlightenment, one had to further hone their skills.

“I came because I wanted to review yesterday’s fight.”

“I’m tired.”

When Jin Cheonhee refused flatly, Tang Ah clicked her tongue, ‘Tch’, and then said, “If so, how about we fight with words?”

“A verbal duel, I see.”

Not a direct fight. It meant to fight by words, assuming a combat situation. In a verbal duel, it was common to reveal each other’s stances and speeds. Even so, it was quite different from an actual spar. Still, Tang Ah and Jin Cheonhee had already crossed blades once. They had come to know each other well, so a verbal duel was worth having. It was because they had already experienced how the other would move.

‘That, too, is a part of the romance of martial arts, I suppose.’

As he was choosing his words, debating whether to accept, Tang Ah spoke first. “Since I lost our previous duel, I will take the first move. I attack with the third form of the Tang Clan Poison Dragon Whip, the Poison Dragon’s Beckoning!”

Poison Dragon’s Beckoning[1]. It meant to summon a poison dragon, but in reality, it was a form where one pulled the whip with both hands and then, using the recoil, flicked it out towards the opponent. It was a form centered on speed. Of course, Jin Cheonhee knew this form well.

“Where are you aiming?”

“Targeting the chest.”

“In that case… I will take one step back and use the fourth form of the Taiji Immortal-Destruction Sword, the Heavenly Origin Sword Severance[2].”

Heavenly Origin Sword Severance. A defensive form where one draws a circle with the sword, deflecting any attack that enters the trajectory. Of course, when imbued with Sword Qi or Sword Aura, it transforms into a fearsome form that combines both offense and defense, not just deflecting but severing.

“Hoh… in that case, I shall…”

The two of them continued their verbal duel. However, this verbal duel was destined to have a set conclusion. There was no way Jin Cheonhee, who had mastered the Jewel of the Condor Dragon and the Profound Origin Heaven and Earth Divine Technique to their extremes, would lose in a battle of wits!

“Keuk… If it comes to that, I’ll run out of internal energy.”

“Yes. You would.”

“Mm, I admit defeat.”

Tang Ah admitted defeat easily, with a surprisingly relaxed expression. She looked at the falling streaks of rain and then opened her mouth.

“Why are you playing along with me?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s strange. You don’t deny that I’ve fallen to the Tang Clan’s inner demon. But you also don’t cough up blood, saying it reminds you of your past, like the Tang Clan elders do.”

“Hahaha.”

“And you’re not trying to use me.”

It was a good thing Hyeon wasn’t here. No, considering his personality, he might not have reacted at all even if she had said it to his face. He might have even affirmed it, saying that of course he was trying to use her.

Tang Ah rested her chin on her hand and sat at an angle, looking at Jin Cheonhee. “Why on earth did you play along with me like that?”

“Was it not fun?”

“It was fun. That’s the problem.” She let out a small smirk. “Mmm… My father is constantly worried about me, and the Tang Clan elders have a hard time just looking at me. It was fun, but… sometimes, it was lonely, too.”

Her gaze drifted to the ceiling. “I don’t know why you’re being so nice to me.”

For a brief moment, Jin Cheonhee had shared the same worldview as her. A strange gaze that neither mocked nor looked down upon her. That had become a good memory for Tang Ah. So much so that when she went back, instead of ruminating on her enlightenment, she replayed that ‘game’ from that day.

She held out her wrist. “My father asked you to perform a pulse diagnosis, didn’t he?”

“The clan head did.”

“Kekeke, do you think I can be fixed?”

“…Hmm… I haven’t performed the diagnosis yet, but… I believe that if you wish it, Miss Tang, you will be fixed, and if not, you will remain as you are.”

“You don’t think it’s an illness. Truly, my fated adversary.”

She said that and then, finding it amusing herself, let out a small laugh. “Aah, but it’s boring to just live like this.”

Jin Cheonhee took Tang Ah’s wrist, which was quite muscular. Of course, it looked far too slender to wield that giant whip as if it were a piece of paper. But it was also an arm that had swung that whip against a wall by itself a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand times.

“Then I will begin the diagnosis.”

“Go ahead.”

Jin Cheonhee closed his eyes and performed a True Qi Pulse Diagnosis for a long time. Tang Ah’s eyes followed the streaks of rain. Finally, when Jin Cheonhee opened his eyes, Tang Ah’s gaze was, for some reason, fixed on the space between his brows instead of the raindrops.

“Is there something wrong?”

“I have reconfirmed that the Tang Clan’s true qi is composed of poison qi. Because of this, your metabolic response is quite different from an ordinary person’s.”

“You could have known that from the other Tang Clan martial artists, couldn’t you?”

“Yes. Also, your endocrine system does have a tendency to over-secrete. This, of course, has a large effect on the body, but it is bound to affect the psychological side as well.”

“And so?”

Jin Cheonhee smiled gently. “Miss Tang’s body is quite strong and full of vigor.”

“Good.” She let out a smirk.

If she were the masked Blood Whip Queen, it would have been terrifying, but the unmasked Tang Ah still had a trace of youthfulness to her.

Jin Cheonhee said, “If you were to learn an internal art with properties that support the mind and body, it might get a little better.”

“Like the Profound Origin Technique of the Zhuge Clan?”

He hadn’t expected her to pinpoint it so accurately. Jin Cheonhee replied, “This is something I should be telling the clan head, but… in the end, it’s your choice, isn’t it, Miss Tang?”

“That’s right. Whether I learn the Profound Origin Technique or something similar and pretend to be an adult, or enjoy this period a little longer.”

She realized that Jin Cheonhee had noticed she wasn’t crazy but was simply playing because it was fun, and that he didn’t find it strange. “The adults say it’s embarrassing, but why is it that I only find it fun? Is that also still the influence of the inner demon?”

“Mmm… I don’t know about that. Whether it’s your personality or something else.”

Tang Ah watched with amusement as the space between Jin Cheonhee’s brows narrowed.

“I suppose I shouldn’t make the adults worry too much.” She had played enough. But she still wanted to play more. “I want to live as the Blood Whip Queen, and I want to say whatever I want… kekeke.”

Tang Ah’s gaze returned to the falling rain. She smiled like a mischievous child. “Because in my current state, it’s fine whatever I say.”

When she entered the Transformation Realm, she had already perceived her surroundings and herself. She had also realized that if she were to return to being the good child the Tang Clan elders wanted, she would never be able to enjoy this freedom again. Her talent had seen through to the very essence of how boring that life would be.

Contrary to the clan head’s worries, in Jin Cheonhee’s eyes, the current Tang Ah was very normal and intelligent. In the first place, it was impossible to achieve this much in martial arts every single day while possessed by an inner demon. The more they had their verbal duel, the more he understood what her mental state was like. And that was why Jin Cheonhee liked this Tang Ah, who was enjoying the present with a perfectly sane mind.

Doing what you want regardless of what others say was something Jin Cheonhee himself did as well. He was doing crazy things while being called the Mad Physician, but it was fun.

‘Sometimes, to assert myself, the gazes of others don’t matter at all.’

The world is like a wave, and a young rock is always battered until it becomes round. If that is what it means to be an adult, then Jin Cheonhee’s heart wanted to leave at least one sharp edge. And so, he couldn’t help but deeply understand such a Tang Ah.

“Hmm.”

“I will say that I have taught you a part of the Profound Origin Technique. If I say you’ve become a little more controlled… the clan head will…”

“He’ll believe it. My father.”

“…”

Swaaaaaa…

The rain began to fall even more heavily. She watched the rain for a long time and then said, “This is the first time I’m saying this, but. Actually, I liked it when the adults were flustered because of me.”

“I see.”

“It was fun to be able to smash the heads of all those who were in a situation where I, as a child of a great family, was supposed to back down.”

“That’s certainly something to enjoy.”

“Right? They bad-mouthed the Tang Clan. Of course, not openly, but in a subtle way that you’d only know if you thought about it for a while, but I couldn’t stand it. The joy of thoroughly beating down guys like that.”

“I can’t stand it when people bad-mouth my master, either. I can’t stand it even if they do it indirectly.”

She wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. Whether it was from the moisture created by the raindrops, or from tears, two stains appeared on her sleeve.

“…I… wanted to spend more time in my childhood. But I know now that that’s just being greedy. It’s time to grow up.”

From the perspective of Jin Cheonhee, who was living his second life, she was still young. But from the perspective of this place, Tang Ah was an adult. And as the Young Clan Head of the Tang Clan, she would have to live a life of endurance. It could be said to be the fate of a great family responsible for Sichuan. The only thing she could do as she pleased was achieve mastery in martial arts; besides that, even her marriage would have to be with someone her parents decided on. Even if it were a live-in son-in-law, she couldn’t just marry anyone.

Just as Tang Ah had resolved to let go of her childhood, Jin Cheonhee suddenly made a proposal.

“Then how about this?”

“Hmm?”

“When you wear the mask, you’ll be the Blood Whip Queen, and when you don’t, you’ll live like an ordinary child of the Tang Clan.”

He felt like he had seen a similar setup in a comic he had read a long time ago.

“What kind of… insane suggestion is that.”

“No, no, if you just say you’ve only half-returned to normal, what can other people do? You can just say that even I, the White-Robed Divine Dragon, don’t know for sure, right? And that’s actually the case, judging by the pulse diagnosis alone.”

The Hwaju Medical Pavilion couldn’t give an answer, and the White Dragon Medical Pavilion couldn’t give an answer, so how could her father possibly know? This was just Tang Ah deciding to live while (catering to) her surroundings because her heart wasn’t cruel enough. If she just pretended to be crazy and kept playing like this, wouldn’t her parents be none the wiser? Jin Cheonhee played along playfully. “You don’t necessarily have to cater to others, do you?”

“…!”

In that moment, more tears began to flow from Tang Ah’s eyes. “Is it really okay to do that?”

“Yes.”

“Is it okay to play like this until I become a stooped old grandmother?”

“Will you only be playing? As Miss Tang, you will do a fine job as the clan head as well.”

“If this game isn’t embarrassing even when I become a grandmother.”

“Then that’s great.”

“…And if it does become embarrassing.”

“Then I will examine you at that time. So that it doesn’t devolve into qi deviation.”

“You’re a strange doctor, you are…”

“Hahaha. And it’s okay if you don’t come back to normal. Miss Tang is already too strong.”

“Dammit… you beat me twice, and you have no conscience.”

“I’m… hmm… I’m in a unique situation.”

Jin Cheonhee said that much but didn’t say what was unique about it. Tang Ah covered her face with her sleeve for a long time. Jin Cheonhee stayed by her side, watching over her until she had sorted out her feelings.