Hwan Do hated climbing mountains. Scratch that he loathed it. The burning thighs, the thin air, the way his lungs screamed like an overworked donkey. But here he was, trudging up the Celestial Lotus Summit like some kind of masochistic pilgrim, all because Senior Sister Seo Rin had that look in her eye the one that said try me.
And the worst part? His last rice ball was gone.
Can we stop for a break? he whined, sweating like a steamed dumpling.
No, Seo Rin replied without even turning.
What if I said I saw a snake?
You did. It bit you. You fainted for six minutes.
See? That's trauma. We should rest.
She paused just long enough to say, You bit it back.
...Ah. That explains the weird aftertaste.
The trail to the summit was lined with beautiful blue lotuses, ancient stone markers, and the occasional spiritual monkey throwing pinecones at people below their cultivation level.
They had been walking for three hours.
In that time, Seo Rin had said fifteen words.
Hwan Do had said two hundred and seventy-nine.
I just think, if you look at it from a cosmic angle, he rambled, my laziness is actually the universe conserving energy. I'm helping balance the yin and yang, you know?
Do you ever stop talking? she muttered.
Not until someone feeds me.
She gave him a look.
The kind of look that said: One more word and I push you off this cliff and say it was the wind.
By sunset, the trail opened to a mist covered plateau.
A lone tea pavilion stood at its center. Beautiful, ornate, and suspiciously not covered in bird droppings.
Hwan Do's stomach growled. It's either a trap or dinner. I'm going in.
Seo Rin stepped in front of him. It's too quiet. Be careful.
He peered past her shoulder. I see teapots. I see snacks. I see... ooh, dried plum cakes!
She grabbed his collar. Hwan Do. Focus.
But it was too late.
He was already sliding under her arm, skipping toward the snacks like a joyful raccoon.
The pavilion's sliding doors creaked open on their own.
Inside sat a woman in red robes, pouring tea into three cups.
Her face was hidden behind a crimson veil, and her voice was low, melodic, and laced with something strange.
Ah. The Fool and the Blade. You're right on time.
Seo Rin stepped in with her hand on her sword.
Hwan Do stepped in with both hands full of sticky buns.
You know us? Seo Rin asked sharply.
I know of you, the woman replied. I am the Red Seer. The mountain sent me a vision.
A vision?
The Red Seer turned to Hwan Do. You, boy. Sit.
He blinked, mouth full. Me?
Seo Rin narrowed her eyes. We don't have time for
I see three paths in his fate, the Red Seer said, voice echoing slightly in the mist. One leads to death. One to great calamity. And one... to a love so strong it warps the heavens.
Hwan Do slowly swallowed.
...does the love one come with snacks?
The Red Seer laid out three cards on the table, each with strange symbols: a tiger, a broken sword, and a blooming lotus.
Choose one.
Hwan Do stared. Is this like when I pick dumplings and one's secretly cabbage?
CHOOSE, she said firmly.
He reached out... and picked the lotus.
A gust of wind howled. The card glowed.
The pavilion trembled.
And Seo Rin, trying very hard not to look concerned, whispered, What... did you just do?
The Red Seer stood. You have chosen the Path of the Blooming Calamity.
Hwan Do paled. That sounds... bad?
Her lips curled. It is also... romantic.
Seo Rin's left eye twitched.
Without warning, the roof exploded.
A masked figure dropped from above, dual curved daggers gleaming with venomous qi.
BLACK VIPER ASSASSIN! Seo Rin shouted, drawing her blade.
Hwan Do ducked under the table with a scream.
The Red Seer vanished like smoke.
The assassin lunged
only for Hwan Do to trip on a teacup, swing around in panic, and accidentally kick the assassin in the throat.
The man crumpled with a croak.
Seo Rin stared.
Hwan Do peeked from under the table.
...Did I win again?
That night, they camped in the misty woods below the summit peak.
Seo Rin sat sharpening her blade in silence.
Hwan Do roasted mushrooms over a small fire.
After a while, he looked at her.
You okay?
She blinked. You're asking me?
Well, yeah. You nearly got stabbed. Again. Because of me.
She didn't answer right away.
Then, quietly, she said, You're infuriating.
Thank you.
That wasn't a compliment.
I'll take it anyway.
She glanced at him. His expression was different. Less silly. More thoughtful.
I didn't pick that card 'cause it was pretty, he muttered. I picked it 'cause... when everything's trying to kill you, might as well choose something worth living for, right?
Seo Rin's grip on her sword tightened.
Her cheeks? Definitely pink.
At the Summit's Peak
Far above, atop the summit, shadows gathered.
A man in black armor stood beneath the moonlight, watching the forest below.
He held a scroll with Hwan Do's face drawn on it badly.
The boy's begun his journey, he mused.
A subordinate bowed. Shall we eliminate him?
The man smirked. No. Let him grow. Let him bloom.
His fingers tightened.
Then we'll rip him out by the roots.