During the day, I moved by watching the direction of the sun. At night, I moved by the stars.

I avoided any place where I sensed people and followed mountain paths as stealthily as possible.

They were all methods I had learned from Yeon Ryang.

“Sister. Do you see that star? That’s the Big Dipper. Greedy Wolf, Giant Gate, Store of Wealth, Literary Tune, Chaste Integrity, Martial Tune, Army Breaker. Those seven stars always point north. So when you’re looking for a path...”

Remembering Yeon Ryang’s voice, I headed east, and then farther east.

I intended to leave Hubei and hide near the border between Henan and Anhui.

If I made a hiding place on some rugged mountain peak where no one would ever think a person could be, I would be able to buy time until Yeon Ryang recovered.

I glanced over my shoulder.

“Brother.”

“...”

“Yeon Ryang. Hey. You’re not dead, are you?”

I called him quietly, but there was no answer. I listened carefully to his breathing.

His steady breathing was not much different from that of a person sound asleep.

He was alive. Just unconscious.

Good. As long as he was alive, that was enough.

Just as I reassured myself and tried to quicken my steps, I heard a familiar cry.

“Kieee!”

When I turned my head, Cane was running up the mountain ridge on all fours.

Covered in bits of leaves, it came back and leaped into my arms with its eyes sparkling.

I picked the leaves out of Cane’s fur and asked,

“Did you get rid of the sheath properly?”

“Kiee.”

“You didn’t run into the trackers?”

“Kyueoo.”

“They’re far away?”

“Kkurruk.”

“Good. Well done.”

I took out jerky, put one piece in Cane’s mouth and one in my own, then chewed. After that, I carefully laid Yeon Ryang down beneath a tree trunk.

“I’m going to disinfect your wound before we go, so wait a little.”

“...”

“It’s going to hurt a bit.”

Muttering, I unwrapped the cloth around Yeon Ryang’s back. The torn wound was now roughly covered in scabs.

Thanks to the wound medicine Jinseong had given me, Yeon Ryang’s wound was healing day by day.

It was fortunate that new flesh had grown enough to cover the bone in only a few days.

But he had not regained consciousness easily. I thought it might be because his internal energy had been badly damaged.

Still, in about three days... no, probably four.

My hands, now used to treating the wound after the past few days, moved smoothly even as I thought about other things.

Cane watched me disinfect the wound and replace the cloth with clean fabric, then whimpered and scratched at my knee.

“Kkyuu...”

It seemed worried about Yeon Ryang too. I poured water into Yeon Ryang’s mouth and answered,

“He’ll wake up soon. I need to feed him something, but I’m worried.”

I wanted to boil some rations and feed him porridge, but there was no time to light a fire.

“Let’s go another half day, and I’ll make you porridge. Carrying you is killing me, so endure the hunger. You damned brother.”

After saying words he could not hear, I lifted Yeon Ryang onto my back again and climbed the mountain path.

The forest, thick with pine trees, showed no trace of people.

There were barely any signs of wild animals either. The terrain was so rough and there was so little food that even animals did not seem to come this high.

Excited, I quickened my pace. I was certain I had found a suitable place to hide.

But the moment I pushed through the dense brush and reached the top of the peak, a building appeared.

It was a small hermitage, with layers of time settled over it.

To put it nicely, it was ancient. To put it badly, it looked well over two hundred years old. Below the hermitage, an old nun was gathering herbs.

Startled, I froze in place, unable even to think of running away.

The old nun, having discovered me, spoke.

“Have you come to make an offering?”

“Ah... well, I...”

“Or are you looking for a place to stay?”

She did not seem surprised at all to see me carrying a man as large as a door.

The old nun slowly rose from where she sat, smiled kindly, and gestured.

“Night falls quickly in the mountains. It is too late to go down now, so if you are willing, Benefactor, please come in.”

It was a gentle voice.

I hesitated and tightened my hold on Yeon Ryang.

Could I trust that old nun? Would she report us?

As I looked around warily, I soon realized how absurd my suspicion was.

It was nearly impossible for an ordinary commoner to deceive my eyes, descend this rugged mountain, and report us to the authorities.

It made more sense to worry that the old nun might be harmed by the trackers pursuing us.

While I hesitated without answering, Cane poked its head out from inside my sleeve.

“Kkyuu!”

“Haha.”

Seeing Cane, the old nun burst into laughter and covered her mouth.

“Is that your friend, Benefactor? It seems that child likes this place too.”

Since Cane was not on guard, it seemed safe to stay one night. I bowed politely.

“...Thank you, Nun. We will stay for only one night and leave.”

“Come this way, Benefactor.”

The old nun lifted a basket woven from straw and slowly began walking toward the hermitage.

I followed her cautiously.

Contrary to its appearance, the hermitage was well maintained.

The wooden floor was polished without a speck of dust, and there was not even a single ordinary cobweb.

Perhaps mindful of Yeon Ryang, the old nun took me straight to a room.

Another nun we encountered in front of the room widened her eyes.

“Nun Seoljae, these benefactors are...”

“They are guests who will stay for the night. Nun Wolam, please prepare a place for them to sleep.”

Only after meeting the other nun did I realize what kind of place this hermitage was.

It was a place where nuns practiced.

At Nun Seoljae’s calm voice, Nun Wolam also composed herself and prepared a place for Yeon Ryang to lie down.

I was worried about Yeon Ryang’s dirty clothes, but it seemed difficult to find new clothes that would fit his size.

As soon as I laid Yeon Ryang facedown on the bedding, the muscle pain I had forgotten because of tension surged over me like a tide.

Exhausted, I sank down, and Nun Wolam spoke to me.

“We only have monastic robes to offer. Would you like to change into one, Benefactor?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Then I will boil water so you may wash and change.”

“Ah, no. Nun. Just tell me where it is, and I’ll boil it myself.”

“The Buddha taught that all beings are Buddhas, and so we should treat everyone as a Buddha. Serving you, Benefactor, is also a way for me to accumulate merit. Please do not worry and rest.”

Nun Wolam answered kindly and closed the door.

I sat quietly and listened to the sounds outside.

A dipper splashed against the surface of water, as if someone were drawing water from a well, and dishes clattered, as if a meal were being prepared.

They were sounds full of hospitality for a traveler.

I slowly leaned back against the wall.

At least for tonight, I would be able to rest under a roof.

The meal the nuns prepared was simple, but it was enough to fill my stomach.

They even made separate porridge, so I could replenish Yeon Ryang’s strength.

“Brother. Are you alive?”

“...”

“You have no conscience. How can you make me take care of your meals too? Just wait until you wake up. I’m going to make you work twice as hard.”

Grumbling, I poured an entire bowl of porridge into Yeon Ryang’s mouth, then rose.

The feeling of the long monastic robe wrapped around my body was so familiar that a hollow laugh escaped me.

At this rate, I would never be able to wear anything but long robes again.

“Cane. Stay here and protect Brother.”

“Kie!”

I left Yeon Ryang to Cane and stepped out of the room. The surroundings were quiet, as if the nuns were meditating.

I slowly left the hermitage and looked around the area. I intended to check the escape routes in case of an emergency.

As I looked around, searching for a path that was not cut off by a cliff, I sensed Nun Seoljae approaching from far away. Pretending not to notice, I acted as if I were looking at the scenery.

Nun Seoljae quietly stood beside me and spoke.

“Is it not beautiful?”

“Yes?”

“Those seven peaks make quite a sight, do they not? They surround our hermitage as if protecting it. That is why this hermitage is called Seven Peaks Hermitage.”

Now that she mentioned it, seven peaks as sharp as brush tips surrounded the hermitage.

As I nodded awkwardly, Nun Seoljae asked again,

“Have you visited temples often?”

“No. This is my first time.”

“It is a pleasure to hear that Seven Peaks Hermitage is the first place where you have met the Buddha, Benefactor.”

She smiled kindly and looked beyond the peaks. The forest, still holding the last afterglow of sunset, was dyed dark red.

“The summer retreat period will begin soon, Benefactor.”

“Summer retreat?”

“In Buddhism, meditation is considered most important. When the retreat «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» period begins, entry and exit through the temple gates are prohibited for three months. No one may leave this mountain gate, and no one may enter.”

Nun Seoljae paused for a moment, looked at me, and took my hand. Her gaze was warm.

“Only nuns live here, so no one will come looking for you. Therefore, please stay here in peace.”

It meant she would not ask about my circumstances, so I should recover fully before leaving.

I stared blankly at her, bit my lip, and bowed my head.

“...Thank you. Thank you, Nun.”

Life at the hermitage itself was peaceful. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Every dawn, I woke to the scent of incense, and the sound of the wooden gong echoing through the small hermitage greeted me.

After getting up groggily, opening the door to the next room, and checking Yeon Ryang’s condition, I went outside, drew water from the well, and carried it to the kitchen.

I helped prepare the morning meal.

As I listened to the mountain birds and watched the sky brighten, I thought living buried in the mountains without any worries would not be so bad.

Becoming a nun in a remote hermitage would be better than becoming a third-rate martial artist who had to run around getting threatened.

I don’t want to shave my head, though.

“Give it to me, Nun. I’ll do it.”

“No, Benefactor. I... you are very strong.”

“I’m a bit sturdy.”

After the morning meal, I chopped firewood and washed the monastic robes in the stream. I swept the yard and cleaned the floor of the Buddhist sanctuary.

They were things I had done every day as a maid. Since the work was familiar, none of it was difficult.

Seven days and nights passed like that, living with the nuns in the hermitage.

“Huh, sister. Where is this?”

Yeon Ryang woke up.