LOSE MY BREATH

LMB 10

10: Night Hunting.

His first night-hunt was the first time he flew with a sword. Now, Jisung supposed the concept of balancing on a thin piece of metal way up in the air would’ve felt more natural to him had he grown up a cultivator.

Unfortunately, he was raised in an environment where his only experience flying had been in an airplane, which was a slightly different kind of experience. One was that, in an airplane, he was unable to see below his legs to the ground and also, there was free alcohol.

There was also, sort of, free alcohol here. As promised, Minho paid. But in the air, it didn’t seem like a good idea to order a mimosa or the local equivalent.

Jisung wasn’t a quitter though, and after a rough start, he managed pretty well. He was just turning to shout at Minho  to look at him, look how well he was doing, when he hit a tree.

Which made Minho strictly order that they should walk.

“What? No way!” whined Jisung, who had just started getting the hang of it.

“Yes, Master Minho.” said the six little Lee disciples, all fifteen or sixteen or so, models of good behaviour.

“Senior Han, are you alright?” One of them asked, concerned. Jisung looked down on himself, checking if anywhere was bleeding, but his clothes had no red in them. Only dirt and leaves.

This was why he normally wore black. The Lee clans clearly had something wrong with them. Jisung had not seen a single spot of dirt on any of their clothes, ever.

“Of course! The branch only hit my chest, and everyone knows that’s not critical.” he assured.

The junior disciples didn’t seem convinced. Minho looked at him in what Jisung had learned was maybe his worried face, or possibly annoyance.

“Jisung.” he only said, and it sounded kind of like do not downplay your pain, and also, do not mislead my juniors, they see you as an authority figure.

“Minho… fine! We’ll walk.” He gave in. They were only halfway down the mountain. “Is our destination very far?”

“A day’s journey by sword. A couple more walking.” Minho said. “We have time.”

“We need to stop in Silla town, don’t we? Well, no matter! Minho will just have to make it up to me.”

Minho inclined his head in what must’ve been an exasperated indulgence. They’d had many conversations like this before. Minho had stopped fighting his audacity a while ago, seemingly finding quiet acceptance the less difficult way.

They started walking while the six junior disciples followed after the two like ducklings. Jisung found it absolutely adorable.

Sometimes back home, when he’d been drunk enough, Jisung had thought about different paths in life. Like technical engineering, inventing things, getting to do something creative and maybe even useful. He’d always been good with his hands. He’d loved fixing up things his friends had broken.

Well. Most often things that he himself had broken.

Another thing he’d kind of wanted to do was teaching, or working with kids in some capacity. He liked kids. They were at that age where their curiosity and ambition were not yet crushed by the realities of adulthood, like rent and job hunting and having to take care of your own mental health.

“Senior Han,” one of the kids called from the back.

Jisung swirled around and walked backward, trusting that Minho  would catch him should he stumble. “Yes, disciple Lee?”

“If this one may ask, which sect are you from?”

Jisung glanced at Minho, but his only help was that there was a slightly raised eyebrow. Which sect, indeed?

“None,” he replied. “I’m a rogue cultivator!”

He’d read about those in one of the cultivation books he’d borrowed from Chan. It seemed the answer was believable, as the juniors made sounds of understanding.

“Why did you come to the Geumgangsan?” asked another one, and the question was a strong mix of curiosity and politeness.

“Ah… that...” Jisung tapped his chin. “I had to meet with your Master Minho.”

None of the kids seemed very surprised by this; it was obvious that they had been watching them sparring occasionally or seeing them around together.

“Why did you have to meet with Master Minho?” Someone boldly inquired.

“To avoid something or like I was told,” he replied.

Their youthful visages furrowed in perplexity, but they promptly relaxed into the appropriate expressions of the clan. The person who asked looked a little embarrassed.

“Please forgive this one for intruding,” he said, bowing.

“Aigoo, I think it’s good to ask questions. Right, Minho?”

Minho gave him a look. “Jisung should face the road.”

“Wow, so wise Master Minho! Well, you heard it, kids.” Jisung spun around, returning his focus to the man beside him. “Are we staying at an inn, Minho?”

“Mn.”

Jisung smiled to himself, considering the possibilities. While in Geumgangsan, he had not heard any good gossip.

However, he had read about something called Emperor's Smile in the books he had been reading for weeks. Yeah, once they got settled for the night, he was going to order that to his heart's content.

Minho took a look at him, then, but Jisung just smiled innocently. “Sounds good to me!”

He was aware that the act had failed to fool Minho, but as long as he was not called out on it, he was willing to continue.