The wind was soft and unhurried across the open plain. Grass swayed under the sky, and sunlight spilled freely across the area.
Zebras grazed nearby, their striped hides glinting under the sun, while herds of antelope bounded gracefully in the distance. Tiny shapes, rabbits, field mice, darted between tufts of grass. The air was alive, warm, and full of life.
Caelrisu moved among it all with a look of pure wonder. Her eyes shimmered with a childlike brightness as she crouched low, trying to sneak up on a small brown rabbit. The creature twitched its ears and bolted. She pouted before her figure blurred soundlessly.
With just a step, she reappeared beside the rabbit and caught it gently before it could flee.
Creeping Shadow Movement Technique.
Now that, she had achieved Full Mastery in all three of the Creeping Shadow Martial Arts, they have become something she can even use in her sleep.
It was only because she wanted to be seen that the animals didn't simply ignore her existence.
Holding the rabbit in both hands, she laughed softly as it wriggled in surprise. She tossed it up into the air and caught it again, giggling like a child of her age.
Namgoong Gyo watched her from a short distance with a gentle expression on his face as he asked.
"Have you never been to a grassland such as this, Young Lady?"
Caelrisu turned, still holding the rabbit close to her chest. Her hair danced lightly in the breeze, her smile unguarded.
"No, Uncle," she said. "In fact… I've never even left the Clan's stronghold since Father brought me there."
Namgoong Gyo slowed his pace, watching her as she turned her gaze toward the vast expanse of green before them.
"Then, how do you feel right now?"
Caelrisu's lips curved into a bright smile. "It feels amazing," she whispered.
The wind brushed through her hair, and for a brief moment, she looked like a fairy among mortals.
Namgoong's expression softened further.
"Then remember this feeling well, Young Lady," he said. "One day, it will be something you'll cherish. Not the big moments but these small things you are experiencing now."
Caelrisu nodded, not understanding the weight of his words. She turned back to the field, where the rabbits hopped and she laughed and crouched to play with them again, her presence so gentle that even the timid creatures didn't run this time.
For a while, there were no battles, no burdens of clan or vengeance, just the endless sky, the dancing grass, and a girl laughing and smiling.
***
"How long, Uncle?" Caelrisu asked, hopping and running as they walked through the tall, swaying grass.
"We should be able to reach the Market within a day," Namgoong Gyo replied, his eyes closed as he remembered the map.
"Why do we have to go there?" she asked, tilting her head, her tone full of innocence and curiosity.
"Well," he began, "first, we need to arrange a fake identity for you. Second, we'll buy a few spare knives, you'll need those. And lastly…" His lips curved into a small smile. "We'll need to find a job."
"A job?" she repeated, blinking. "Why a job?"
Namgoong chuckled softly. "How else will we be able to eat, Young Lady? Grass may look plentiful, but I doubt either of us can digest it."
Caelrisu puffed her cheeks, clearly dissatisfied. "Why don't we just find a secluded mountain and live there? I've read many stories where the hero and his master train in the mountains and come back years later, stronger than anyone!"
He laughed lightly, shaking his head. "Ah, if only the world were as simple as those stories. Every mountain is already claimed, by Clans like yours, by Martial or Magic Families like mine, or by bandit groups. Some of them are even Peak or Transcendent Martial Artists. You'd be walking straight into their lair."
Her bright eyes dimmed slightly. "Is that so…?"
Then, something clicked in her mind. "Wait, does that mean there are no Awakened outside?"
"Not normally, no." His tone grew quieter, more thoughtful.
"Awakening requires the existence of a Mirror Lake. And the caves where Mirror Lakes exist… those are things only the powerful can claim and guard. If a powerless person were to find one, someone stronger would simply take it from them."
Caelrisu frowned, processing the truth. "So that's why Mundane Humans serve Clans… they want a chance to Awaken."
She used to think that it was only due to safety and pay but today, she learned another reason.
Namgoong nodded slowly. "Yes. It's the only path left for most, to serve, obey, and hope for a turn before the Mirror Lake."
Her gaze dropped to the ground. "But… that didn't happen in my Clan, Uncle."
"Oh, it did, Young Lady," he said quietly, his voice tinged with something heavier. "It happened right after your own Awakening. Out of a hundred children who entered, only thirty-one returned. The rest… succumbed to the temptation of the Faceless Entities."
Caelrisu stopped walking for a moment.
"Why haven't I met them?" she asked softly.
Namgoong looked ahead, his expression unreadable. "I don't know what your Clan did after, Young Lady.
In the Namgoong Family, those who showed potential were trained as assassins. The rest became guards or instructors serving our family."
They walked in companionable silence for a while, Caelrisu's brow furrowed as the questions inside her were sorting themselves into order.
"What sort of job are we supposed to do?" she asked at last.
"Well, for the first month I will teach you, Sword Art of Unbounded Sky which you know well, Seven Emotions Sutras which is the Essence Technique used by me and finally Memory Carried on the Wind, a movement technique.
All three of them are Transcendent Techniques created by my Namgoong Clan Ancestor, Namgoong Xiu. Even I have not fully mastered them due to their high difficulties."
Hearing this a wide smile appeared on her face. A new Martial Arts, new power, new feeling of accomplishment.
"I will also teach you another technique used by our assassins," he continued, his voice dropping. "Crimson Veil Exchange, it is also a Transcendent Art with seven masteries in total but none of our assassins have managed to reach beyond fourth."
Her smile widened even more from expectations. "What does it do?"
The look on Namgoong Gyo's face darkened.
"It's a face tearing technique in which you tear apart someone's face and use it on your own to look exactly like them. You walk as them, speak as them. It is a tool of complete disguise.
I am not going to force you to learn it but it would be useful in your journey not just here, but your revenge and even beyond that."
A chill ran through Caelrisu. "Where does something so… evil come from, Uncle?"
"No one knows where it came from, or who first made it. But our Family has used it for generations."
He paused, his gaze distant and full of sorrow as if thinking of something unpleasant, "And remember this, Young Lady: there are no evil techniques, only evil people. Even my arts could be turned to slaughter. Even the gentlest technique in your hands could become a weapon if your heart turns that way. Even a mere child can turn into disaster to some, not by doing something but just by existing, his mere presence can turn the heart in evil and wickedness. So, it isn't the art that is wicked or kind... it is the heart that wields it."