‘What a surprise this is!’

Elder Eom Sa Hon walked into the Sword King Hall’s training grounds with a broad smile on his face.

That’s right. Look at what kind of person Ju Shi Yeol is.

Thinking that he had this plan from the beginning and regretting unfairly judging him badly, Na Rin even felt apologetic.

“Gang San! Yoo Un! Ho Cheon! Are you here!”

The children who were eating in the training grounds quickly stood up, whether they saluted or not, as Eom Sa Hon’s gaze was busy searching for the new trainees.

Among them, a tall and handsome boy with thick eyebrows put down his tableware and quickly ran up to Eom Sa Hon, saying,

“Gang San is here. Elder.”

“Quickly grab your sword and come to the small training field. Where are Yoo Un and Ho Cheon?”

“Yoo Un went for the remaining training, and Ho Cheon said he had no appetite. Should I bring them along?”

“That’s right. Make sure to do so. Hurry!”

“Yes, Elder.”

While Elder Eom Sa Hon was excitedly gathering the children, Na Rin was lightly warming up in the small training field No. 8.

Ju Shi Yeol asked Na Rin with a worried face,

“Are you really going to spar?”

“I have to in order to go to Bongma Cave.”

Na Rin swung the wooden sword Ju Shi Yeol gave her for practice a few times, diligently gauging the distance, saying ‘it’s like this here, the length is about this much’.

‘As long as it doesn’t directly hit, it should be fine, right?’

Na Rin recalled the promise she made with Gong Son Wu: “don’t hit, don’t hurt, don’t destroy”.

Judging from Gong Son Wu’s personality of enjoying shaking people up, it was clear that once he found fault, he would exhaust her for a long time.

That’s when it happened.

“Elder Eom Sa Hon! I follow the orders of Guardian Ju Shi Yeol!”

That familiar voice coming from far away and the three unfamiliar shadows following him.

‘No, that can’t be right?’

Unfamiliar? No way.

Three children in white training uniforms caught Na Rin’s eye.

‘Aren’t they my senior brothers?’

That boy with unusually thick eyebrows, a head taller than other kids his age, and quite broad shoulders was definitely Gang San.

‘He sat next to me on the wagon to Shin Gang. It feels like just yesterday when I kicked his butt, afraid of getting caught eavesdropping on the guides’ secret conversations.’

Next to him was Yoo Un.

Tall but slim build, sharp eyes, and a timid personality that didn’t match.

He was so unusually weak that Na Rin had to stimulate his acupuncture points several times during the journey, worried he might die.

‘When did he grow up so well?’

And Ho Cheon.

He was rude at Ilwol Gate and just sat down.

I’m glad his spirit hasn’t been broken and he’s doing well.

“Hello there.”

Na Rin’s eyes were filled with affectionate light.

At the same time, the faces of the three trainees who spotted Na Rin also noticeably changed.

To a clear, bright blue like an autumn sky.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Please spare our lives!”

“I can’t do it even if I die!”

“Me neither!”

Elder Eom Sa Hon had no choice but to make a troubled face as he looked at the three trainees who were pleading with both hands, refusing to spar.

The kids who would follow any difficult training without complaint turned pale like this.

“Are you afraid of getting in trouble at Dong Cheon Palace? What is there to fear when the Guardian and I are arranging this?”

“That’s not it!”

“If that’s not it!”

Elder Eom Sa Hon’s voice became even more stern.

“Are you trying to say you’re afraid to cross swords with that tiny child!”

That was exactly it.

Whoosh!

The sound of the wind every time Na Rin swung the sword was too sharp.

‘Being hit by that chestnut-sized fist is painful enough to faint.’

‘If we get hit by the sword, we’ll really die!’

‘Damn it! I thought I’d never have to see that little devil again!’

Gang San, Yoo Un, and Ho Cheon’s mouths dried up, cold sweat flowed, their hearts were anxious, and they fidgeted their feet.

Elder Eom Sa Hon couldn’t understand at all why the trainees were reacting this way.

But when they showed such disgust, there was no point in forcing them to spar, as he couldn’t expect good results anyway.

‘It might be better to replace them with other kids.’

“You’re not coming?”

Na Rin stood in the small training field, looking this way and laughing leisurely.

Is she provoking them?

Elder Eom Sa Hon’s mood became disturbed again.

‘Fighting and losing is fine. But running away is absolutely not okay.’

For a martial artist, there was nothing more pathetic than admitting defeat without even crossing swords.

Regardless of the reason, if the trainees couldn’t demonstrate their actual skills, he just needed to create an environment where they had no choice but to show results beyond their abilities.

With that thought, Elder Eom Sa Hon lowered his voice.

“If it’s 3 vs 1, will you step into the training field?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m telling you to attack together.”

Gang San, Yoo Un, and Ho Cheon looked at each other’s faces in turn.

Telling three boys to gang up on a girl half their age.

Even if the actual situation was different, anyone who saw it would only think they were bullying her.

“Isn’t that a bit… cowardly?”

“If you have the leisure to worry about appearances, step onto the training field. There’s nothing that will damage the Sword King Hall’s reputation more than running away with your tails between your legs.”

“…!”

Gang San’s fist tightened, perhaps feeling something from Eom Sa Hon’s words.

That’s right. I am a trainee of the Sword King Hall.

The place that provided a home and a sense of belonging to a young orphan who had lost his parents and had nowhere to attach his heart to was none other than the Sword King Hall.

‘To stay at the Sword King Hall, I must be a martial artist.’

Gang San saluted vigorously.

“Trainee Gang San! I accept the Elder’s order!”

At that, Yoo Un and Ho Cheon were flustered.

The timid Yoo Un urged Gang San in a whisper,

“What are you doing? Are you really going to fight Na Rin?”

“It’s 3 vs 1. The three of us against Na Rin alone. We have a chance of winning.”

“What chance!”

Ho Cheon intervened, raising his voice.

Did he forget the memory of almost being unable to walk for life after receiving a massage from those tiny fists?

Ho Cheon might not know about others, but he couldn’t forget.

The humiliation of that day.

Ho Cheon pointed at Gang San and said,

“If you want to die, die alone. Don’t drag me into it!”

“Are you really okay with this?”

“With what?”

“Aren’t you the one who wants to land a hit on Na Rin the most among us?”

At Gang San’s words, Ho Cheon flinched.

In fact, none of the Bongrim Village children had good feelings towards Na Rin.

Gang San, who was used as a servant for half a year just because he sat next to her.

Yoo Un, who had to receive a massage once a week during the trip because he was weaker than others and might collapse.

But the person who resented Na Rin more than those two was undoubtedly…

‘The one who wet himself in front of everyone, me.’

Was there any greater shame for a man?

The girl he had a crush on stopped interacting with him after that day, and he had to feel the subtle looks of disdain even from the friends he thought were equal.

There was no corner that wasn’t resentful.

“We may never get a chance for revenge again.”

“…!!”

Gang San’s calm words struck Ho Cheon’s heart.

That’s right. Let’s do it.

At worst, it’s do or die!

“Trainee Ho Cheon! I accept the Elder’s order!”

Behind Ho Cheon shouting with determination, Yoo Un also quietly saluted, as if to follow his peers.

“Hmm. I’m proud of your spirit.”

Although there was a displeased expression on Elder Eom Sa Hon’s face as he said that, the trainees had no capacity to notice it.

“Elder Eom Sa Hon. Are the trainees ready?”

“Yes, Guardian.”

[Are you certain you picked the most outstanding children from the lower ranks?]

Eom Sa Hon slightly nodded in response to Ju Shi Yeol’s secret message.

Elder Eom Sa Hon still couldn’t use secret messages.

“We are ready on this side.”

“Ah, yes. Me too.”

Na Rin also smiled brightly, as if she had finished warming up.

“Then one by one-.”

“Everyone, step onto the training field.”

At that moment, Ju Shi Yeol’s gaze fiercely turned towards Eom Sa Hon.

He was sure he had instructed them to defeat Na Rin one by one in order.

‘Don’t tell me they’re planning to gang up on her?’

Of course, Ju Shi Yeol had no intention of setting it up for Na Rin to win either.

But that didn’t mean he wanted to hurt Na Rin.

That’s why he told him to select from the lowest-ranked children.

Ju Shi Yeol ground his teeth as he looked at Eom Sa Hon.

“D-Don’t be nervous. We’ve been training for months.”

“Can we win?”

“If the three of us attack at once, maybe.”

Why were the steps of the trainees approaching the training field gradually getting narrower as they muttered such words?

On the other hand, Na Rin was welcoming them with a broad smile.

‘Yes, it’s 3 vs 1!’

Sparring against multiple opponents. Wasn’t that Na Rin’s specialty?

‘Wow. This reminds me of the old days.’

Seeing the trainees in their uniforms brought a nostalgic smile to Na Rin’s lips.

The senior brothers ganging up, and Na Rin knocking them down.

That’s right. That’s how it was.

When Na Rin was kneeling in front of the Hwa San Sect in beggar’s clothes, going on a hunger strike.

In other words, when she was being stubborn and causing trouble even after being told to leave because it wasn’t time for the Hwa San Sect to accept disciples.

Gang San, Yoo Un, and Ho Cheon, who were the most talented among the junior disciples, came to see Na Rin whenever they had a chance.

“You beggar b*tch, do you know where you came to!”

“If you want to learn martial arts that badly, go to the Beggar Clan.”

“The smell is so bad I can’t even breathe!”

Twitch.

One side of Na Rin’s face twitched and distorted.

‘Well, yeah. It was when they were immature. That can happen.’

Na Rin calmed her mind and recalled the past again.

When the senior disciples, worried that the child might starve to death in front of the gate, gave Na Rin rice balls.

The past when Ho Cheon, who was entrusted with the errand, sprinkled sand on top of the rice, telling her to eat it with seasoning.

‘…Can that happen?’

What about when the Taoist priests of the Hwa San Sect, unable to break Na Rin’s stubbornness, thought of Hyeon Baek, who was living in seclusion without a disciple, and accepted Na Rin as his student?

There was also a time when Yoo Un deliberately gave the wrong location of Hyeon Baek’s hut, almost causing her to die.

‘Really? Can that happen?’

Grind.

Na Rin ground her small teeth filled with anger and muttered in a low voice,

“No. That can’t happen.”

She hadn’t even recalled the hazing she suffered after entering the Hwa San Sect, but Na Rin’s fighting spirit soared up fiercely like a fierce tiger.

That’s right. She had forgotten.

The senior brothers were dirty little b*stards with no manners.

No wonder Na Rin had no hesitation in choosing her Hwa San Sect peers as travel companions to the Devil Sect.

‘In this life, I will fix those bad manners from the beginning.’

If she had recalled further to the point of cooperating with them during the battle against the Devil Sect, she wouldn’t have been this angry.

If the memories of them dying gloriously after she generously lent them more time came to mind, she might have even received a sympathy vote.

But it just happened to be the moment when the sparring was about to begin.