From the edge of the courtyard, Ji Seol-Hwa watched with arms folded and a smirk playing at her lips.
"You're going easy on them."
Heuk Cheon glanced sideways. "They bled. They deserve one day to remember what breathing feels like."
"Soft," she teased.
"Strategic," he countered. "I need them to think they're recovering."
She raised a brow. "And tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, we start breaking them properly."
While the kids ran, Heuk Cheon stood before a freshly drawn map laid across a long table. Several red markers had been stabbed into it, mostly along the western border.
"Trouble's stirring," Seol-Hwa said quietly. "Rumors of disappearances near Gray River. And some say the Moon Serpent Sect's been pushing north."
He tapped one of the markers with a finger. "We'll need to fortify our scouts."
"You're planning to send the children out, aren't you?"
"Eventually. They won't learn anything locked behind these walls."
Training began in earnest.
