The Fragile Elixer of the Fallen Clan

‘What if he feels bad if I tell him? Or he might think it’s just nonsense from a kid.’

“Yeong.”

“Huh, yes? Yes!”

Jeong-yeong, who was walking beside me, jumped and looked at me, surprised. He didn’t expect me to know his name.

“Are you practicing your footwork?”

“Oh… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m still very lacking…”

Jeong-yeong, doubly surprised, hurriedly apologized. It was understandable since he was supposed to be attending to me, not practicing.

“No, no, I’m not scolding you. It’s just that…”

I trailed off for a moment and let go of Jeong-yeong’s hand. Although I had never trained in martial arts, I had lived in a martial arts family all my life. Naturally, I knew the basic footwork of the family.

For someone who’s just starting, not tripping over their own feet is an accomplishment, but I had the advantage of harmony.

My steps were light and smooth.

“This isn’t just about distancing yourself from an opponent. It’s a good move for dodging and then advancing again. So when you step back, put solid strength in your left leg to push your body backward, then use that momentum to move forward.”

“What?”

“Using your left leg as the pivot, drag your right leg back and then extend it again. Don’t be afraid of your body tilting slightly in the process; it might make the movement better.”

Tap, tap!

I demonstrated the move, stepping away from Jeong-yeong and then back towards him. It was light, almost playful, like a child teasing an older relative, but there was skill in my steps.

“Oh… oh, yes! I will keep that in mind. Thank you for the instruction.”

Jeong-yeong clasped his hands together and bowed. I felt a bit embarrassed by how readily he accepted my advice and scratched my cheek.

‘Well…’

‘If the eldest grandchild of the family tells them to do something, they’ll just say okay, not argue.’ Feeling awkward and regretful for speaking up, I fell silent.

It was a large estate that would take at least half an hour to fully explore. By the time we quietly reached Jaekyung Pavilion, the morning sun was shining brightly.

“You want to go into the Jaekyung Pavilion archive now?”

“You sound just like Yeong. Is it not allowed?” I smiled as I asked, making the Jaekyung Pavilion master startle and grab my hand, looking at the guard.

The master, Seol Gwan-hee, was just over forty but already had gray hair, though his face was smooth and youthful.

“Oh, of course you can go in. Absolutely.”

Seol Gwan-hee led me to the archive, trying hard to recall its state from the last time he entered ten days ago.

‘Was it organized? Or not? I remember piling up the documents and telling Choeil to organize them. Did he do it right?’

Even though I was only eight years old and had barely been awake for a year, he still felt nervous and uneasy about what I might see.

I left Seol Gwan-hee, who looked like he was about to have a meltdown from curiosity, standing at the door and went inside. I could feel his presence as he stretched his neck like a rooster, trying to peek inside.

‘To do anything, you need to understand the state of the household.’ I already knew the family was in decline. The fact that my aunt, Dan Mok Hyeon-yo, the head of the family, couldn’t stay home and had to be at the Martial Alliance made that clear.

To stand up, you need to know where you’re sitting. If you’re on eggs, you’ll break them if you get up too quickly; if you’re on sand, your feet might sink. I took a deep breath and started looking around with my bright, sparkling eyes.

***

“Is our sister… really sick?”  

“It doesn’t seem like it…”

Two young boys peeked around the area near my quarters. Guard Jeong-yeong, who was on duty, noticed their presence and turned to look, smiling at the sight of them whispering. But his smile quickly faded. A few days ago, in the early morning, I had visited Jaekyung Pavilion. Everyone was curious but soon understood, thinking I wanted to read different texts since I was almost done learning the Thousand Character Classic.

The problem was that since that day, my complexion had become clouded. My smile faded, my laughter grew rare, and I even lost my appetite, causing the entire household to be on high alert. Even my younger brothers were worried enough to gather quietly and peek inside, holding their breath.

“Should we pick some plum blossoms? Maybe seeing flowers will cheer her up?”  

Dan Mok-bi murmured. The small boy, too short to reach the branches, craned his neck upwards, searching in vain for blossoms on the plum tree. Next to him, another boy shook his head, looking unimpressed.

“You’re too short to pick them, and it’s still too early for the flowers to bloom.”

“But there are already plenty of osmanthus flowers around.”

“Those won’t cheer her up.”

“Then what should we bring her?”

“Hmm… maybe a bunch of vouchers or something.”

“Vouchers? What’s that?”  

Jeong-yeong glanced at the boys, particularly at Hwa-ryun, who had mentioned the vouchers.

Despite his age, Hwa-ryun had large, clear eyes and distinct features. When standing next to Dan Mok-bi, anyone would think they were both young masters, not a master and his servant. I had heard that he was a boy who had caught my eye by chance, seeming so bright that I intended to raise him as a close companion from a young age.

“Vouchers? Is that all we need? Where can we get them? Should we ask Mother?”  

“It was just a thought. If they were easy to get, Sister wouldn’t be like this.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Good question… I think I might know why, though.”  

Hwa-ryun’s quiet voice sounded more mature than his age.

Jeong-yeong had been keeping an eye on Hwa-ryun since he joined the Dan Mok family. Despite being a servant, he thought that in ten or twenty years, this boy might become one of the family’s key members. But one day, Hwa-ryun suddenly turned to him and stared, not blinking, looking him up and down. Then, as if losing interest, he turned away. Since then, Hwa-ryun had never paid him any attention, but that piercing gaze left a strange, cold impression on Jeong-yeong.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do now. Let’s just focus on learning the Thousand Character Classic. Have you memorized it all?”

“What? No… not yet. How about you, Ryu-ni?”

“I know about as much as you do. Let’s go and finish memorizing it.”

“But our sister…”

“If you memorize the Thousand Character Classic and learn swordsmanship from the Grand Elder, it will make her happy. She’ll be thrilled.”

“Really?”

“If you become the best in the world, she’ll be so happy she’ll dance.”

“Really, really? But can I become the best in the world?”

“Well… it won’t be easy.”  

Jeong-yeong watched the two boys walk away.

The best in the world… He once had dreams like that too. Those days felt so distant now.

Jeong-yeong suddenly remembered the day I visited Jaekyung Pavilion. That early morning, I had watched his footwork and given him some advice. Honestly, he hadn’t taken it too seriously. If the eldest child of the family gave a few words of advice to the servants, it wouldn’t be helpful to dwell on every little thing. But after that, he felt self-conscious and stopped practicing his footwork for a while. He glanced down at his feet.

***

I lay sprawled on my bed.

“Ugh…”

Then I turned over and buried my head in my arms.

‘What am I going to do?’ I couldn’t sleep. The days I spent extending my lifespan by using accumulated energy now seemed like a distant dream. My decision to check out Jaekyung Pavilion was partly impulsive, but I never expected the family’s situation to be this bad. The number of shops directly run by our family had dwindled to just a few, and the Yu Seong Escort Agency, once stretching as far as Xinjiang, had shrunk in size as if that was all a lie.

Now, the only escort services leaving Zhejiang were to Henan and Shaanxi, and that was only because of the Martial Alliance in Henan and my uncle in the Huashan Sect in Shaanxi.

Whenever quick cash was needed, land was sold off, so our holdings had halved in the past twenty years. The orchard trees had long since withered, and half of our various pavilions had merged with Hosan Medical Pavilion in Hangzhou, leaving only the medicine hall. We even skipped the last round of new disciple recruitment that was supposed to happen every three years.

Instead of recruiting new disciples, we decided to take better care of the ones we already had. Why? Because we couldn’t maintain the family’s current size any longer.

Our numbers were cut, and the warriors we painstakingly trained slipped through our fingers like grains of sand.