Chapter 43: Sun and Moon 1

The kiss stretched on.

Even when they occasionally broke apart and met each other’s eyes, neither spoke. In truth, they had so much to say. Especially for Jin Sohye, there were countless reasons and circumstances why she shouldn’t become Baek Mujin’s lover.

But even while kissing Baek Moo-jin, she didn’t utter a single word. She was simply thinking, as fiercely as her martial arts and as intensely as a flame.

‘Reasons why it can’t happen don’t matter. This is my heart.’

Baek Moo-jin was thinking much the same as Jin So-hye. She was the young mistress of the Sunghwa Palace. He couldn’t help but worry about what might happen if they formed a bond. But Baek Moo-jin, above all, had nothing to fear.

Both of them were aware of the world’s judgments and perceptions, the distinction between the black and white paths, the lines that must not be crossed, and the differences in status and affiliation. Yet, they were determined to pursue this connection.

The woman, who seemed to have blossomed from flames, wrapped both hands around the man’s neck. Even in his icy gaze, a light as fiery as her martial arts burned. After that, only the act of sharing love remained.

Men and women meeting and causing trouble has been part of human history. But what these two were committing today was nothing short of a major disaster. Knowing its significance, they did not pause for even a moment as they drew closer to each other.

They were clumsy, yet happy.

Moreover, because they were both martial artists, their hearts became firmly bound together during their lovemaking, like black and white, ice and flame forming an alliance. Even after a period of intense passion, they remained locked in an embrace, gazing at each other for a long while.

Still, neither spoke.

In a way, their dispositions could be described as gentle on the outside, strong on the inside. Baek Moo-jin needed a moment to calm the shock of embracing a woman for the first time, while Jin So-hye, experiencing physical pain for the first time, was in an even more difficult state than Baek Moo-jin.

Yet, surprisingly, even amidst this, they were looking at each other and thinking the same thing.

Baek Moo-jin looked at Jin So-hye and gave a faint smile.

“······.”

Though he didn’t speak, Baek Moo-jin sent her a gaze that was fiery, the polar opposite of his martial arts.

Jin Sohye was even more remarkable. She was certainly hot-blooded by nature, more so than Baek Moo-jin. Before being a woman, Jin Sohye was also a martial artist pursuing the profound depths of martial arts. In this moment, she forgot the fact that Baek Moo-jin was stronger than her and shared a similar thought to his.

‘I’ll protect you. No matter what happens from now on.’

It was rare for a man and woman to look at each other and simultaneously think they would protect one another. It meant they would protect each other mentally, but it was even rarer because it also meant they would protect each other from a martial artist’s standpoint.

Moments later, Baek Moo-jin’s gaze, which had been stroking Jin So-hye’s long hair, had wandered to her snow-white, pert breasts. Jin So-hye, who had been nestled in Baek Moo-jin’s embrace, covered her chest with both hands.

Baek Moo-jin reached out and pulled Jin So-hye’s hands away. Jin So-hye pushed his forehead with her palm and asked,

“What are you doing?”

“What? I just wanted to look.”

“I don’t like it. And why are you suddenly using informal speech?”

Baek Moo-jin blinked and retorted.

“I don’t know. I plan to keep talking to you like this.”

“Then I will too.”

“Whatever makes you comfortable.”

“Alright.”

After Jin Sohye switched to informal speech, she cautiously watched Baek Moo-jin’s reaction. His hand moved toward her chest again. This time, Jin Sohye grabbed his hand.

Baek Moo-jin said.

“That hand… it’s going to get a little cold from now on.”

Of course, it was Baek Moo-jin’s playful teasing. Jin So-hye immediately retorted. But instead of using informal speech, a more relaxed formal tone flowed out naturally.

“Try it. My hand will be hotter.”

Baek Moo-jin raised one finger. As if to say, “Let’s compare,” he held it out. Jin So-hye extended one finger and touched it to Baek Moo-jin’s.

Baek Moo-jin unleashed cold energy using the Cold Moon Technique. It was an exquisite technique where the cold energy flowed out, concentrated only at the fingertip. Jin So-hye then generated her own cold energy to resist Baek Moo-jin’s.

For a moment, the two slowly and steadily increased their power, clashing cold and heat. Yet the process itself was remarkably gentle. Baek Moo-jin raised his power while ensuring Jin So-hye wasn’t harmed, and Jin So-hye did the same for Baek Moo-jin, each showing consideration.

Where their two fingers touched, the pure white cold energy and the fiery red heat energy clashed, sparking a strange, multicolored flame. As they both maintained their power appropriately and continued to pour out the two energies, the two forces, while repelling each other like opposites, formed a strange balance, as if creating a Taiji symbol.

What had started as a playful game had now become a focused stare at their fingertips.

Then Baek Moo-jin’s expression turned serious. He was deep in thought.

‘This is quite peculiar.’

Jin Sohye felt the same. She was beginning to suspect that their martial arts might not be opposites, but could actually harmonize. Yet, no clear clue presented itself immediately. Above all, they were young. While they each had a deep understanding of the martial arts they had learned and mastered within their respective sects, they were not grandmasters capable of combining two entirely different martial arts to create a new martial discipline.

This was something that required time.

Yet both faintly glimpsed a possibility. Baek Moo-jin contemplated the scene they had created:

‘This is as wondrous as the sun and moon meeting.’

Jin Sohye was thinking something similar to Baek Moo-jin.

‘The energies of yin and yang spinning like the pattern of the Taiji…’

Their experiences differed, so their thoughts diverged. Yet their core understanding aligned. It was a realm they could never have glimpsed had they not gazed so closely at each other.

2.

The two stayed together until the sun set again. In between, they washed, ate, and returned to where they had been staying. Standing at the door, they embraced each other silently.

Today, they were unusually quiet. But facing parting, they needed to say something.

Jin So-hye asked.

“When and where shall we meet again?”

Baek Moo-jin grinned.

“Soon at the Iron Blood Pavilion? Weren’t you planning to seek revenge?”

“Yes.”

“The North Heaven Alliance was also preparing to challenge the Iron Blood faction.”

“Is that so? Then will there be no issues between the North Heaven Alliance and the Holy Flame Palace afterward?”

In response to her words, Baek Moo-jin posed a question from his position as the head of the Baek family of Seolsan.

“What trouble? Have the two factions been in conflict?”

“No. Not at all.”

“We can mediate to prevent any problems from arising.”

“I can do that. I am the young mistress, after all.”

Jin Sohye smiled faintly and looked at Baek Moo-jin.

“Is it possible?”

“It is possible.”

“What position does our Baek family head hold in the North Heaven Alliance?”

Jin Sohye said it with a hint of teasing, and Baek Mujin deliberately smiled as he replied.

“A greenhorn rookie over there?”

“Then it must be impossible.”

“Is that really the case? If the two of us join forces, what level of expert would be needed to handle us?”

“Well, I suppose…”

“Remember that feeling when the flames and cold air clashed earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s find time to practice passing the test.”

“What’s the point of practicing passing?”

Baek Moo-jin joked in a half-hearted tone.

“To put an end to this martial world, of course. I’ll freeze them, and you burn them.”

At those words, Jin So-hye nodded.

“I will obey the master’s command.”

At that moment, Baek Moo-jin stopped speaking and turned his gaze toward the door. Jin So-hye’s head turned as well.

For a moment, Baek Moo-jin silently watched the door.

Then a man stood before the door, casting a shadow. Without asking a word, he reached for the lock’s metal part. With a hissing sound, he instantly melted the lock and quietly opened the door.

Not knowing who the intruder was, Baek Moo-jin instinctively moved Jin So-hye behind him. But Jin So-hye, realizing the lock had been severed by the Heaven-Shattering Flame Sword, had already darkened in expression. It wasn’t fear of someone’s interrogation; it was the awkwardness of how to explain Baek Moo-jin’s presence.