Sitting at the edge of the hill enjoying the view, she turns to me and asks me;
"Ummm..." She utters as if trying to find the right words to call me.
"You can call me uncle." I say to her with a smile.
She looks at me and with her cute little voice she says;
"Huh? you are not that much older than me."
"Ok then, you can call me Yeong." I say to her with a smile.
"How about hyung?" She suggests.
I don’t know why but I immediately got flustered.
Hyung? she wants to call me big brother?
I was left speechless for a while.
Looking at her, memories of I and Diana started flooding my head.
I really do miss my little sister.
I give a little smile as I clean off a little tear that had weld up in my eye.
This stupid fifteen year old body crying at every chance it gets.
"Yes, yes, you can call me hyung." I reply with a smile.
"Ok then!" She responds with an excited tone.
"Hyung are you a Martial Artist?" She asks me.
Hmmm why could she be asking that.
"Why do you ask?..." I ask trying to find what I could call her.
"You can call me Hwa, short for Shinhwa." She tells me excitedly.
"Ok, why did you ask Hwa?" I ask again.
"Well, you don’t seem to be scared of this height.
And my father use to tell me that Martial Artists unlike ordinary people are very brave people." She states.
"I see, what else did your father tell you about Martial Artists?" I ask her.
"He says they are also very strong compared to normal people and that they were divided into levels according to their strengths." She narrates.
"You know, my father is a really strong Martial Artist, he’s the strongest Martial Artist in the entire Ximen Clan, he’s even stronger than the Ximen Clan’s Grand Elder." She boasts out loud.
Is that what that old man told his daughter?
An Early Peak stronger than the Ximen Clan’s Grand Elder? I laugh inside a little.
"Wow that’s really nice. Where is your father now though?" I ask her.
"Why do you ask?" She questions me.
"Well of course if I could meet such a Martial Arts Master it would be such an honour." I tell her.
"Of course it would be an honor to meet my father.
But he’s not around right now.
He rarely is." She says with a sad look on her face.
"Since he’s so strong and he works in the Ximen Clan, he has to be at the Clan at all times to fend off any form of threat." She says.
So that’s what he told her?
Well any father would want their daughter to be proud of them.
As an Early Peak Martial Expert, you cannot say he’s weak, though would be nothing compared to Martial Experts from prestigious families, he at least has surpassed the First Rate level which is considered the starting point of a strong Martial Artist.
So yes he was a strong Martial Artist.
"I just wish he could spend more time with me and mother." She says looking down.
Two days ago, or maybe even yesterday if I saw this I might have felt some form of guilt but now?.. Naaaa.
"I’m sure he wishes to spend more time with you too." I say to her trying to console her.
She remains silent for a while.
"Anyways, so are you a Martial Artist?" She asks again as she turns to look at me with a smile.
"Well, you could say I am, though I’m still learning a lot about Martial Arts." I reply to her question.
"Really!?" She questions, her tone high pitch from excitement.
"Yes I really am" I say with a smile.
"Can you show me something then?" She asks me still excited.
It feels so nice seeing her so happy, and I just met her today.
"Well what do you want to see?" I ask her with a smile.
She ponders for a while before speaking.
She turns to look at the giant tree behind us.
"Can you bring down that tree with you fist?" She asks me pointing at the tree excitedly.
Well I was mostly skilled with killing techniques.
I was not one known for raw power.
Though Diana could decimate an entire land as big as a state with a single swing of her sword.
I on the other hand could only devastate a little town with a swing of my scythe.
But that didn’t mean she was stronger than me.
Even up till we were ambushed I was still the one always training her.
I was always so proud when she was able to leave a scratch on me during training.
A silent smile crept up my face as that memory flows through my mind.
So now as an Early Peak, though probably the strongest Early Peak in the world right now, I don’t think I could bring down that massive tree with my fist.
Except I use the Heavenly Demon Forms and that would be straining my body.
In my prime though this would have been too easy.
Any Martial Master should be able to bring it down with a punch or two.
"Sorry but as I said I’m only still learning, I won’t be able to bring down that tree with my fist." I reply to her.
"Oohh?" She utters in response with her head down.
She looked disappointed.
I wasn’t happy with the look on her face.
"Well I can definitely try for you to see, and who knows maybe I’ll be able to bring it down if I keep trying." I say smiling trying to cheer her up.
Her mood lightens as she screams;
I smile as I pick her up and get up myself.
We walk over to the tree.
I put her down at a safe distance.
I go closer to the tree.
Looking at the tree up close I see fist marks and sword marks on it.
Someone has been using the tree for practice.
I place my hand on the tree trying to look at its top.
I had to tilt my head completely upwards to be able to see the top.
"Ok then Hwa, shall we?" I say as I pull my fist back about to punch the tree.
"Yes yes yes!" She excitedly replies jumping and clapping her hands.