18 History

"And I don't deny it, I've personally seen when her son loves her" Looking at the child in Sujin's arms, Shadow continued "But just like every man, he will grow up, and when he does, his life will somehow lead him to where he should be. Men always seek to establish themselves while we women always seek power and wars, such is life."

"It seems you didn't understand what I'm trying to say" Gently caressing Seojun's face, Sujin smiled slightly and continued "He will be happy with me."

"I don't understand..."

"He wants to get married and have children? Let him do so, but whoever tries to take the fruits of my labor will have to pass over me."

"My mistress..."

"Whoever tries to meddle will just have to die, it's no big deal" Without even bothering to listen to Shadow, Sujin got up from the bed with Seojun in her arms and spoke "Now clean the remains of that garbage and give the orders to the servants to bring the hot water, I'll take a bath with my son"

"*Sigh* So be it" Knowing full well that it doesn't matter what she says anymore, Shadow sighed with resignation and disappeared from the place.

***

Sitting in front of a large cliff as the moonlight covers his body, Seojun suddenly opened his eyes as a translucent crimson cloak surrounds him.

"M-mother!"

"What's wrong?" instantly appearing beside Seojun, Sujin looked at the surroundings cautiously and asked.

"I-I managed to feel the energy" Taking a thoughtful breath, Seojun's face flushed as sweat began to fall down his forehead "B-but it's too suffocating, I feel like I can't b-breathe"

"Let me help you" Sitting behind her son, Sujin tucked her hands inside her yukata and pressed his lower back "Concentrate on breathing and stop absorbing for now."

"W-well."

"What you feel right now is natural" While calming the erratic internal energy inside Seojun, Sujin continued calmly "External energy is everywhere, even on yourself. When you learn to see and feel it, it is normal to experience suffocation or panic, after all the feeling is not much different from being underwater."

Taking a deep breath, Seojun managed to regain control of his inner self and reopened his eyes, then looked sideways and smiled awkwardly "But I don't see the energy, I just feel it".

"You are just starting" Pulling Seojun into her embrace, Sujin caressed his skin and continued "But when you get to see the energy, you will feel that for some reason it is much thicker than you feel it now, so the feeling of suffocation may become much greater as you get stronger... I say this to prepare you, if I had not been with you today, you would have experienced a detour of energy."

"*Gulp*" Swallowing saliva nervously, Seojun stammered "I-I was just taken by surprise, you didn't tell me that would happen."

"You should never lose your cool how much you absorb energy. Just one little mistake and you will lose everything, don't forget" Gently stroking Seojun's hair, Sujin continued "And I didn't tell you because you have to experience it for yourself. I want you to understand that I will only be able to give you some directions, but ultimately it is you who will have to walk your own path and learn to deal with the unexpected, since the path you started on is not at all as easy as you think it is"

"I know mom...but how do you want me to keep my cool when I'm suddenly being pressured by something I don't even know?" Grumbling to himself, Seojun continued "I'm not made of stone, it's inevitable that I'll be surprised by the unknown."

"Of course it's avoidable, you just have to learn to control your body" Smiling, Sujin continued "Don't worry honey, I'll make sure nothing can take you by surprise."

"Not even you?"

"You wish"

"Mother?"

"Yes?"

"How fast do I learn by your standards?"

"You want to know if you're a genius?"

"Mn"

"Mmmmmm" Rubbing her chin for a few seconds, Sujin replied "You certainly fall into the genius category, after all you have a very special constitution, and I also have to remark that you are quite smart for your age, perhaps smarter than I would like you to be."

"I'm sorry I'm not the fool you expected."

"I'm sorry too" Sighing with resignation, Sujin murmured "Just imagining how nice my life would be if you were a bit of a fool..."

"Do you want to hug the pillow today?"

"Just kidding" Smiling innocently, Sujin rubbed her cheek with Seojun's and continued "But you have to know that you have a great talent and that in all the central plains there shouldn't be more than a handful of people who maybe have similar talents and opportunities."

"So I'm great?"

"Of course you are, after all you're my favorite son."

"I'm your only son"

"That's what you think"

"If I have a brother I can only feel sorry for him, after all you don't take off from me even if I ask you to" Snorting, Seojun replied.

"Who did you get your temper from?" smiling with amusement, Sujin squeezed Seojun's chubby cheek and continued "You complain about everything, snort all the time and spend most of the day with your arms folded and grumbling to yourself."

"You have the nerve to ask me that?" looking at his mother with surprise, Seojun smiled quizzically and continued "Haven't you seen yourself? You don't talk to anyone, you just snort coldly and let me tell you, your look is really scary, it took me some time to get used to it."

"Are you blaming me for you being a rabid child?"

"Exactly."

"You're a very cheeky little boy."

"I inherited it from my mother"

"I don't like your eyes, they're ugly."

"I get them from you."

"Your name sounds silly"

"You gave it to me"

"I can't really mess with you, can I?"

"Sadly no" Smiling brightly towards his mother, Seojun continued "My mother would kill you if you did, she's very overprotective and she's kind of crazy"

"I'm crazy?"

"You didn't know?"

"Who would have the guts to say it in front of me?"

"I do."

"Tsk, you're taking advantage of the fact that I like your cheeks" Snorting with annoyance, Sujin continued "If it wasn't for your squeezable cheeks, I would have disowned you by now."

"..." Staring at his mother's smiling face, Seojun smiled softly and stood up slightly, then turned around and clung onto Sujin like a koala bear.

"What's wrong with you?" suddenly seeing herself wrapped up and with a head between her breasts, Sujin asked with amusement.

"Don't you like it when I do it?"

"Sure I do, but I usually have to beg you. I feel weird having it so easy."

"I can't help but be more and more surprised..."

"Why?"

"I still don't understand how this is possible" With a strange smile on his face, Seojun raised his hands and lightly squeezed his mother's cheeks "How does such a brute of a woman have such a delicate face?"

"Are you calling me a brute?"

"Aren't you? Always wanting to kill everything, growling instead of talking and so much more" Snorting with mockery, Seojun replied.

"You are really a bold child" Chuckling, Sujin held Seojun's cheeks and stretched them wide "I never thought someone would have the guts to talk to me like you do, maybe I should discipline you".

"Children who are disciplined have the habit of sleeping alone and not hugging anyone."

"Disciplined children are idiots."

"I thought you'd like to have an idiot son."

"Life is like that, sometimes you like something, sometimes you don't."

"So now you like that I'm smart?"

"Being smart means you'll give me hugs and sleep with me?"

"That's right."

"Of course I love my smart boy, only an idiot would love a dumb boy."

"..." Staring at his mother's smiling face, Seojun casually commented "I'm sure your people would die of surprise if they saw how you behave and talk right now. The dreaded heavenly demon smiles at every turn and clings foolishly to her spoiled son."

"Apparently you do know you're spoiled."

"Of course I do, it's my greatest pride."

"Being spoiled is your pride?"

"I'm spoiled thanks to my mother loving me too much, of course I'm proud of that, after all my mother is a dangerous maniac and not just anyone could achieve what I achieve"

"I'm the one who is the most surprised here" Shaking her head as a rare smile appears on her face, Sujin continued "I can't believe my son ends up being so rebellious and cheeky. I always thought my son would be polite and filial."

"It is what it is."

"Are you planning to read today?"

"Mmmmm" Thinking for a few seconds, Seojun nodded as he mumbled to himself "It wouldn't be bad to start reading something... I got totally dedicated to this and the time went by so fast"

One thing Seojun discovered when he started his training is that meditating can end up being both addictive and weird at the same time.

Just by closing his eyes and taking a few breaths, he manages to feel a rare but comforting sensation of flying thanks to entering his consciousness, and as you circulate your energy, time goes by so damn fast.

Just by closing your eyes and working on your energy, you don't even notice it and when you open your eyes again a whole day has passed, and even though you spend the whole day sitting around doing nothing, once you are done you feel nothing but relaxation.

No boredom, no tension or fatigue, just a pleasant relaxation that could certainly get you addicted.

Considering that pleasant feeling, plus an excitement for the new, along with the feeling of being stronger and stronger, Seojun simply couldn't help but spend all his time on this, totally forgetting about the horrible scene of ground meat and totally putting aside his interest in learning about the world.

"Do you want me to read with you?"

"It would help me quite a bit, I'm not sure I can read everything on my own."

"Mmmmm... maybe I can make the time to help you, but you know, I'm not feeling very motivated."

Rolling his eyes, Seojun nodded "I'll make it worth your while."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from my son" Smiling instantly, Sujin continued "What do you want to read today?"

"Important events"

"How about I tell you? That way we avoid having a clumsy scroll getting in the way."

Pursing his lips as he instantly understood his mother's intention, Seojun asked "Do you promise to tell me the truth?"

"Why would I lie to you? As long as you don't ask me to leave here, everything is allowed for you."

"Even sleeping alone?"

"Almost everything."

"Good"

"Perfect" Getting up, Sujin took Seojun in her arms and carried him to the bed with a big smile, then lay down next to him and hugged him against her body "So... what do you want to know first?"

"You've been telling me about the empire and the righteous factions..."

"What exactly do you want to know?"

"You said this world is ruled by force, right?"

"Exactly."

"Then the emperor or empress must be very strong."

"Of course not, the empress is nothing but a decrepit old woman" Laughing with disdain, Sujin continued "But unlike the other forces, she has many loyal people who have considerable strength. The noble families, their generals and several warriors who answer only to them."

"Why would they follow someone weak?"

"Wealth, power or a silly tradition" Shrugging, Sujin continued "There are many reasons why the imperial family can stay in power by being so weak, one of those reasons is their forces trained since childhood. They have several conscience-washed warriors who have considerable forces."

"Conscience-washed?"

"By raising them from childhood they manipulate them to be totally loyal to the imperial family."

"And the righteous factions allow it? Sounds very unethical."