麻豆工作室

Except for Tang Hwa-seo.

“It’s time to spar, come out Ink Dragon.”

“I must not! It’s said that when you wake up, you must circulate your qi! Don’t use me for your training, Sword Dragon! If you really want to, in the afternoon...”

“That’s when I will be meditating.”

“Eh? Then what do you me to do?!”

“Hey, just train individually. Brother Namgung and Brother Mok, there’s no rush for sparring, right?”

“Brother Zhuge, aren’t you training?”

“As expected of Brother Zhuge!”

“Tsk...”

Tang Hwa-seo’s face went blank at the chaos unfolding before her eyes.

She found herself at a loss—Despite having three training grounds, Mok Riwon and Namgung Jincheon were bickering from the early morning. Beside these two, Zhuge San was lying down and laughing as they quarreled. Hyeun had already departed, having left at the crack of dawn. And there was Il-woon who did not attempt to stop any of this.

As Tang Hwa-seo’s gaze drifted towards Il-woon, he just smiled awkwardly as if there was nothing he could do.

…Right, I was prepared for this.

Tang Hwa-seo closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. In the next instant, she opened her eyes and shouted.

“Just use separate training grounds!”

Since Zhuge San had declared that he wouldn’t be training today, each member could occupy an individual training ground.

When they heard Tang Hwa-seo’s stern voice, the prior commotion ceased in an instant.

“…Young Lady, don’t you need to use one?”

Mok Riwon said in the middle of that, worried about her practice, to which she laughed wearily and said.

“I’m going to find that damned White Phoenix bitch.”

Before focusing on her own training, her first priority was catching Hyeun, who had run away while everyone was asleep. Setting a precedent now by establishing discipline was crucial for their future success.

After exactly two hours, Tang Hwa-seo found Hyeun walking arm in arm with a martial artist in front of an inn near the Martial Alliance. Grabbing her by the ear, she dragged her back to the Dragon Phoenix Squad’s Pavilion.

None of the members dared to open their mouths at Tang Hwa-seo’s icy cold rage that morning.

* * *

“Maintain your dignity.”

In the Captain’s Office of the Dragon Phoenix Squad, Tang Hwa-seo, sitting in the main seat, said with bloodshot eyes.

“Always be mindful of your behavior. Do not forget that we are always under the Alliance’s watchful eye. Do you understand?”

The day’s transgressor, the White Phoenix, hung her head low while absently toying with her reddened earlobe.

The others were no different.

Beyond her martial prowess, Tang Hwa-seo exuded an imposing aura that could subdue others. Even the headstrong Namgung Jinchoen felt an inexplicable pressure when she got angry.

She let out a deep sigh.

The following admonition was unavoidable for her.

“The same goes for everyone else. I will turn a blind eye to the commotion inside the pavilion as long as you maintain some decorum. However, it’s not acceptable outside the pavilion. Please do not forget that the source of the Dragon Phoenix Squad’s funds is from outside backing.”

Because all the martial artists belonging to their group except for Tang Hwa-seo would eventually return to their original clans, little support came directly from the Alliance.

This luxurious pavilion and all the extravagances they were enjoying were sponsorship money sent from outside to maintain connections with them, so they had to live up to those expectations.

As someone who had run her own business before, only Tang Hwa-seo understood the importance of this.

“It’s our first day of living together, so I won’t lecture you all for long. Let’s go have a meal now.”

After her tone softened, Mok Riwon and Zhuge San’s faces especially lit up. It was because her lecture session lasting less than half an hour was a record-breaking achievement.

“Yes! Let’s go quickly!”

“Brother Mok, did you know? I heard there’s a dedicated chef assigned to the Dragon Phoenix Squad’s Pavilion!”

“Ooh…! Then we can have some somen noodles with bamboo leaf liquor here too!”

“That goes without saying!”

The two of them rushed out, with Namgung Jincheon following leisurely behind. Il-woon trailed after them.

“Can I go eat too?” Hyeun asked.

Tang Hwa-seo’s face twisted into an expression difficult to put into words, but after a brief pause, she nodded.

“…Well, what’s the point of all this if we can’t enjoy a good meal?”

It was something she had to endure.

* * *

Il-woon was facing the greatest crisis of his life.

…There’s so much meat.

They entered the dining hall. The sight of meat made Il-woon’s eyes glaze over. He had heard that the chef specially assigned to the Dragon Phoenix Squad was renowned for his meat dishes. Already aware of this fact, Il-woon swallowed hard, his mouth watering as he found himself lost in contemplation.

…I should abstain from a carnivorous diet.

In principle, Buddhist prayers should be offered with a pure body through uncooked food and with a clear, empty mind. Therefore, as a monk, it was improper to be tempted by such meat.

But how could that possibly be as easy as it sounds?

The smell...

The aroma was so fragrant. This burst of meaty scent was like torture for Il-woon. He yearned to take just one bite, if only to savor the taste.

These desires warred with his guilt towards Abbot Won-myung, who had trusted him enough to send him here. The conflicting emotions tangled inside him.

And then.

“Monk Il-woon, aren’t you eating?”

Hyeun asked while chewing her food.

His eyes widened in response.

“M-Monk Hyeun! That is…!”

Her plate was full of meat. It wasn’t just for a mere taste; there was enough to make her stomach burst.

Il-woon was shocked.

“J-Just how much…!”

Is this behavior something to be envied? Or is it an unforgivable transgression?!

How can Hyeun, a fellow student of Buddhism, indulge in cooked food, let alone meat?!

As Il-woon trembled in his seat, Hyeun just tilted her head.

“What?”

She didn’t even know what she was doing wrong. In fact, if she were the type of woman to feel guilty about such things, she wouldn’t have been so fond of men in the first place.

Il-woon was envious. Of her shamelessness.

I-I too…!

Right as he was thinking that, Il-woon felt a gaze on him.

He startlingly turned around, finding Zhuge San there with a grin plastered across his face.

Il-woon’s heart turned to ice.

With a heart crying tears of blood, he forced his eyes away from the meat.

…I am a student of Buddhism.

As he comforted himself like that, another thought came to mind saying.

If only Zhuge San wasn’t here...

* * *

Tang Hwa-seo was busy.

The contrast was stark compared to the other members who were enjoying their leisure time on personal activities and rest.

Of course, having taken on the mantle of leader, there was much she had to do.

From the most basic tasks like managing members to drafting letters for sponsors.

Fostering relationships with other captains and commanders in the Alliance and mastering the intricacies of administrative report forms.

On top of that, there were discussions about upcoming schedules.

Trying to accomplish all of this within the allotted time made her feel like even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.

Nevertheless, Tang Hwa-seo was steadily accomplishing all these tasks. Now that she could move without hiding or running away, she was determined to prove herself.

A week passed in this manner.

After putting out the urgent fires, Tang Hwa-seo sat in her office for a short break.

The inauguration ceremony is in a week.

It would be quite a large-scale event. This ceremony wasn’t just to announce the formation of the Dragon Phoenix Squad, but also served as a declaration of war against the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult that had invaded the Central Plains.

While official missions would be assigned after the ceremony, Tang Hwa-seo needed to make preparations now.

We’ll probably have to travel to other provinces regularly.

Why wouldn’t they? The Dragon Phoenix Squad, personalities of its members aside, was undoubtedly a formidable force. With all six members at the Peak Realm, and two of them even beyond the realm of other martial artists, this elite group was most likely to be assigned intelligence-gathering missions.

To move around in disguise, we’ll need...

Human skin masks, forged identity tokens, and training for the members.

Tang Hwa-seo sighed as she continued pondering.

…How am I supposed to educate these people?

They were the type to cause trouble at least once a day, as if they’d get itchy if they didn’t. Today, even the usually well-behaved Il-woon had caused a commotion.

For heaven’s sake, he had punched Zhuge San in the gut during a spar, causing him to be carried away.

Tang Hwa-seo felt especially betrayed since it was someone she had trusted.

…There’s nothing to say if it was a mistake.

Since he had only used external arts for that single strike, the injury wasn’t severe. It wouldn’t affect the inauguration ceremony.

Tang Hwa-seo held her throbbing head.

It was at that moment when a martial artist from the Alliance arrived at her office.

“Captain.”

“…Ah, you’re here.”

It was a martial artist she had become familiar with recently named Go Jeol, the adjutant of Military Advisor Zhuge Muyeon.

Tang Hwa-seo guided him to a seat with a gentle smile.

“You must be tired from all the back and forth.”

“It’s my job after all.”

Go Jeol returned a slight smile. He pulled out some papers from his chest and handed them to Tang Hwa-seo, saying.

“These are from each division. You requested them directly, didn’t you?”

“Oh! That’s right.”

Tang Hwa-seo’s expression brightened. The documents Go Jeol was delivering were something she had been eagerly anticipating.

It wasn’t anything grand—just schedules for sparring and joint training sessions with each organization. This was something Tang Hwa-seo had arranged for her members.

Go Joel smiled at her delighted face and said.

“It’s good to see you paying attention to every detail, even the training schedules of your members.”

“Well, they’re not exactly sociable people. They’re all used to being pampered, so I wanted to at least help them build relationships with the Alliance members.”

“I believe it’s an excellent quality for a leader to have. You’re using your personal time for the public good, aren’t you?”

Tang Hwa-seo felt embarrassed hearing those words. It wasn’t entirely for the public good.

Why not? It was because she started this because of Mok Riwon’s constant talk of ‘wanting to compete with the experts of the Martial Alliance!’ before even arriving.

In other words, her desire to look good in his eyes had played no small part in this.

“…I am truly grateful to Great Expert Go. Would you like to have some tea before you go?”

“It’s alright. The Military Advisor makes a fuss if I’m away for even a short while.”

Go Jeol joked as he stood up.

“Then take care.”

“You as well.”

He left the room. Now that she was alone, Tang Hwa-seo started checking the documents and matching up the training schedules.

I can probably schedule a sparring session with the White Sword Unit in approximately two weeks.

Tang Hwa-seo felt happy.

Although the process had been arduous, her fatigue was disappearing as she anticipated Mok Riwon’s expression when she told him this news.

Without further delay, she stood up and headed towards the training grounds.

At this time, Mok Riwon would be engrossed in sword training.

When she arrived at the training ground.

“Brother Zhuge! I just saw someone in the Alliance wearing a golden sword! It was amazing!”

“Ohh… You must have met the Golden Sword. It’s not that the sword is gold, but the scabbard is. That’s the Commander of the White Sword Unit.”

“Wow…! If only I had such a cool sword!”

Mok Riwon was making a fuss.

Nearby, Zhuge San was handling him while groaning and leaning on a crutch.

As Tang Hwa-seo took in the scene, she blinked before bursting into laughter with a pfft.

Really...

There’s never a moment of boredom around these people.

That was the thought that came to her /genesisforsaken