What kind of beggar-like... (1)
Seonguibang (誠醫房) within the Murim Alliance.
Because of the martial arts tournament, there were many injured people, so the medical ward was packed.
"Heok...!"
Amidst that crowd, Namgung Cheonjun let out a gasp and opened his eyes.
"Haa... Haa!"
He continuously let out rough breaths, and Namgung Cheonjun's body was covered in cold sweat.
It was as if he had an extremely terrifying dream.
Panting for a long time, Namgung Cheonjun seemed to realize something and urgently pulled back the blanket covering his body to check his lower half.
"...A... dream?"
Everything he had experienced seemed like a dream.
Especially the chilling sensation in his lower body that he felt right before losing consciousness—it was a true nightmare and hell.
But fortunately, it seemed it wasn't real.
"Are you alright...?"
At the voice, Namgung Cheonjun's head snapped around.
Beside him sat Seolbong's Mo Yong Hui-a.
"...Miss Mo Yong?"
Namgung Cheonjun struggled to fix his mask that was on the verge of cracking.
In an instant, pain surged through his entire body.
"...Keuk..."
It throbbed as if someone had used his body as a drum and beaten it with a club.
Only then did Namgung Cheonjun realize reality.
That the recent match was not a dream.
That he.
Had been defeated.
"...Nonsense...!"
Emotions surged, and for a moment, his internal energy flared up, but along with a throbbing pain, Namgung Cheonjun hunched over.
"Keueuk...!"
"Young Master...!?"
Not only the physical pain but even the excruciating agony felt in his dantian was the recoil from the match.
The recoil of having all his sword paths blocked.
The drawn internal energy scattered.
The backlash of the ceaselessly surging internal energy was borne by his dantian.
Thanks to that, his exhausted body rolled on the ground and spasmed, and his dantian was screaming.
'...To be so humiliated...!'
His resentment towards that bastard grew even stronger.
What kind of sorcery did he use this time?
Even if it wasn't sorcery, the fact that he was defeated by such a bastard pierced him to the bone.
'Does he have to interfere with me until the end to satisfy his anger?'
It was resentful. As much as that, he wanted to kill him.
What should I do... How should I...
"...!"
Namgung Cheonjun's shoulders, burning with intense emotions, trembled violently.
It was because he recalled the two eyes of that bastard looking down at him in the final moment.
The red-tinted pupils and the flames that erupted as if to burn the world away.
Namgung Cheonjun unconsciously grabbed his own shoulders and cowered.
It was fear.
This emotion, gripping his chest tightly and blocking his breath, was definitely fear.
Namgung Cheonjun, a bloodline of the great Namgung Sect, was feeling fear towards that young bastard.
"That... That...!"
Within the eyes that shone as if burning.
He saw a bottomless darkness where the floor couldn't be seen.
Yes, like Pang U-jin's eyes—no, something even deeper than that.
"Young Master Namgung... What's..."
Smack!
Right before Mo Yong Hui-a's hand could touch his body, Namgung Cheonjun fiercely pushed it away.
"...Do, do not touch me."
Namgung Cheonjun knew that Seolbong had an ulterior motive towards him.
He didn't know what it was for.
But with her not seeming to have any intention of hiding it, he couldn't not know.
Still, Namgung Cheonjun tried hard to keep his mask on.
Since Mo Yong Hui-a was from a similarly prestigious family, there was much to gain by keeping her by his side.
She also seemed to wish for that, so he thought it wouldn't be a loss for either of them.
However, in this current situation, Namgung Cheonjun couldn't even maintain his fabricated facade.
The fact that he was miserably defeated in front of the sister he loves.
The fact that his opponent was the bastard who took away that very sister.
And lastly, the fact that he was feeling fear towards such a bastard.
"Why... I was clearly... even chosen..."
Right, it must be because he couldn't properly use the energy that had seeped into his body.
That's why he must have lost to that bastard. His shoulders were still trembling, but he struggled to calm down.
He was just startled. He believed so.
As they had said, he was told not to use it unnecessarily until it fully seeped into his body and became one with it.
'It wasn't like I could use it as I pleased in the first place anyway.'
He tried to use it several times, and while he could definitely feel there was some other energy in his body, it didn't move according to his will.
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'...Huh?'
The trembling of Namgung Cheonjun's body, which had been shaking for a while, finally stopped.
It was because he felt something strange enough to make it stop.
'Wh-where did it go...?'
He couldn't feel the energy that had been coiled inside his body.
"Where... where in the world...!"
Mo Yong Hui-a withdrew her hand as she watched Namgung Cheonjun like that.
Haah... hoo.
The trembling pupils that seemed worried were erased, returning to her originally dry, apathetic eyes.
'He didn't seem to be this kind of person originally.'
Even if he was a bit arrogant when they first met, he was a person tightly packed with confidence and high self-esteem.
At least, that was likely the case until last year's banquet.
'Why of all times, from this year...'
Who would have thought he would change like this from this year, the year she planned and resolved to approach him.
Should this be described as broken? Other than that, there was no other word to express it.
-There is no way to treat it at the moment.
-...Either repeat your prayers hoping for a miracle.
-Or burn away the cold qi contained within your body...
Mo Yong Hui-a struggled to erase the memory she didn't want to recall.
At the same time, she drew out her internal energy and wrapped it around her body again.
Only then did the cold seem to fade a little.
'Burn it away? How?'
It's not like the Absolute Meridian Syndrome is some object that can be burned away.
For a moment, a boy burning with flames crossed her mind, but she quickly erased it.
Because she knew very well that the words "burn away" didn't mean using fire arts.
It must have just been words blurted out of frustration.
Even knowing that, Mo Yong Hui-a couldn't help but be exhausted.
Because she knew there wasn't much time left.
Because of that, she needed the Namgung Family's help even more.
To be exact, it would be right to say she needed the help of the Heavenly Venerable (Cheonjon), but...
Her father had tried to obtain it by giving up a lot of the Family, but she didn't want that.
In her eyes, that was the last resort.
She didn't want to make the Family suffer such an emotional loss.
'It will still be okay.'
Rather than a conviction that it would be so, it had to be so.
Mo Yong Hui-a reached out to Namgung Cheonjun again but stopped.
Because someone had appeared.
"It's a relief that you look more unharmed than I thought."
"...!"
The one who appeared with a black robe fluttering was precisely the Young Patriarch of the Pang Family.
Pang U-jin.
He, who appeared suddenly, spoke to Namgung Cheonjun.
"Young Master Namgung, if your body is fine, shall we have a chat?"
His smiling face was that of a handsome, elegant Young Master, but...
Mo Yong Hui-a somehow felt a chill from that sight.
Rumors are like wind and waves.
The fierce wind and currents spread without stopping, so standing on the boundary of the unknown end could be terrifying.
Or it could be wondrous.
Of course, for someone experiencing it for the first time, it would be somewhat scary.
But for someone like me, I didn't feel much of anything.
-I heard the Thunder Dragon was defeated?
-I heard he lost to a martial artist much younger than him.
-Who? By any chance, that bloodline of the Jang Family who beat the Poison Phoenix?
-My good man, rumors started spreading everywhere ages ago, and you're still asking about that?
-No, if you don't know, just let me tell you. Why are you throwing a fit?
-If you're so pissed off, go to the Beggar's Sect and buy some information yourself.
The defeat of the Thunder Dragon Namgung Cheonjun caused much bigger waves than the Poison Phoenix Dang So-yeol's defeat in the first round.
That was naturally the case, as it was the Eight Strong Battle, the audience was composed of those who sponsored the Alliance or were connected to it.
There were many eyes watching, and at the same time, many mouths.
Because of that.
From the moment I came down from the arena, there were a lot of slightly annoying gazes.
-No, does it make sense that someone beat the Thunder Dragon? The Thunder Dragon of the Namgung Sect.
-And the Poison Phoenix getting eliminated in the first round makes sense?
-That's the Jang Family. The bloodline of the Alliance Leader.
-...Do you know who the Thunder Dragon's opponent was?
-Hmm? Who was it?
-The Shanxi Gu Family. And the younger brother of the Sword Phoenix, at that.
-Ah.
Why do they accept that as an explanation?
"What on earth has that crazy bastard been doing..."
Hearing it briefly, he didn't just do the martial arts tournament but set fire to the banquet hall and burned down half of it.
It was full of terrifying stories, like how he caught the annoying guys who hovered around and burned their hair off.
The problem was that all those rumors sounded exactly like something Gu Hwi-bi would actually do, which was terrifying.
"...With that personality, he'd do that and more."
My head throbs.
The fact that the probability of the trouble he caused was resolved by the name value of "Gu Hwi-bi's younger brother" alone was convenient, yet also absolutely absurd.
"You were so cool, Young Master!"
When I returned to the pavilion after finishing the match, Dang So-yeol welcomed me as if she had been waiting.
"You saw all of that?"
"Of course! I didn't miss a single thing and saw everything!"
She made various gestures with her hands as if boasting that she had worked hard, and it looked truly bright and innocent.
Even though she herself was eliminated in the first round, she didn't seem depressed at all.
Amidst that, Dang So-yeol's hands, which were moving busily, were dyed red.
It was probably because she kept watching the matches in the cold weather.
I thought about slightly warming the air of the pavilion with my internal energy, but...
"Hmm."
I was about to exert power but suddenly stopped.
It was because the new energy writhing inside my dantian bothered me.
'This pig-like bastard...'
The energy I pulled from Namgung Cheonjun in the previous match.
To be exact, the energy that had been drawn out was the problem.
If he was going to eat it, he should at least get permission before swallowing it... Why does he keep swallowing it in a flash the moment he touches it?
Even though it's not even demonic energy.
'...That's the problem.'
The fact that the Urine Dragon... no, the Thunder Dragon possessed this energy was also a problem.
But the immediate biggest problem was that I could take in such energy.
How? How on earth could I have absorbed this?
Dang So-yeol stood beside me, constantly talking to me, but I was busy examining my body while giving half-hearted answers.
'As expected, it's similar.'
The energy absorbed from Namgung Cheonjun was similar to the energy I had felt from Wi Seol-ah in the past.
It was closer to Daoist energy than internal energy, but to call it completely Daoist energy, there was something else to it.
It was also hard to see this as exactly the same.
But at least one thing was certain: it was not demonic energy.
It felt closer to the opposite.
'The problem is that even this, my body considers delicious and eats.'
Like when purifying demonic energy, the Gu-yeom-hwa-yun-gong was quickly swallowing up the energy that had seeped into the dantian.
Looking at it one way, it seemed to treat it the same as demonic energy.
Tap.
"Hm?"
Even though I already had a lot on my mind, someone put their hand on my shoulder.
It was Namgung Bi-a.
"What's wrong?"
"..."
When I asked what was wrong, she slightly frowned as if she didn't like something.
Why is she acting like this?
'Did I perhaps not hear something?'
Namgung Bi-a wasn't the type to get upset over something like that. Normally, Namgung Bi-a was much more fiercely aloof; there were even times I had to call her several times before she would answer.
Seeing me looking puzzled, Dang So-yeol, who couldn't stand it, came up beside me and whispered in my ear.
"Ninth Young Master..."
"Hm?"
"...That, in a little while, older sister's match... mmph!"
Dang So-yeol, who was diligently giving me information, was pushed away. It was because Namgung Bi-a pushed her with her hand.
Pushed away by the sudden action, Dang So-yeol frowned with a round expression and said to Namgung Bi-a.
"Sister! You know that's really cheap!?"
"...No."
"I was just trying to help sister! You could at least let this slide...!"
"Still... No..."
"Ugh...!!"
What are these guys doing?
As I watched in bewilderment at the suddenly unfolding situation, Dang So-yeol coughed once and straightened her posture.
"...Since you're done, Young Master, it's sister's turn to compete now."
"Ah."
"Don't you think she wants you to cheer for her?"
At Dang So-yeol's words, I looked at Namgung Bi-a.
Namgung Bi-a wasn't looking my way. To be exact, she seemed to be trying not to look.
Her ears were slightly flushed red, which caught my eye. Seeing that, I let out a hollow laugh.
"Was that it?"
"......No."
Yeah, right.
She didn't seem to care about that kind of thing, but was she secretly hoping for it inside?
'In reality, I'm the person who just beat up her younger brother.'
I thought older sisters were essentially all like this.
If I were to nitpick that, Namgung Cheonjun, who had an unusual affection for his older sister, was an even weirder guy.
"Go and come back safely."
Even at my bluntly thrown words, Namgung Bi-a seemed satisfied and gave a small nod.
Her face wasn't visible, covered by her hair, but just by looking at her even redder ears, I could roughly guess.
I didn't say the words, "Win and come back."
Because even without saying such things, she would win and come back anyway.
...I felt sorry for Gu Jeol-yeop, her match opponent, but what could I do.
They were on entirely different levels.
I recalled Gu Jeol-yeop, who had worn a gloomy expression as if he had received a shock after seeing the tournament bracket.
According to my memory, I had seen the two of them spar a few times during the camp.
At that time, Gu Jeol-yeop couldn't even graze Namgung Bi-a's collar.
Knowing that, Gu Jeol-yeop must have despaired at the bracket.
'He'll probably gain something from it too, though.'
It seemed I wasn't the only one who would gain various things.
Wouldn't Namgung Bi-a also gain something?
Whether it be a name or fame.
Even though the person herself didn't seem interested in such things.
For example, after some time had passed since I was called the Demonic Sword Empress in my past life.
There was even a time when I called her the Demonic Sword Empress, and she asked what that meant.
Namgung Bi-a was someone even less interested in worldly affairs than I was.
As many things had changed in this life, it seemed the time for Namgung Bi-a to become known to the world would be brought forward.
Even so, I had heard rumors that there were already some guys resembling fanatics around her.
'...It must be a false rumor, right?'
That was somehow a bit scary.
What's a fanatic in this world... If they really existed, I wondered what kind of guys they were.
Just imagining it gave me slight goosebumps.
"Young Maaaster!"
Someone skipped into the entrance of the pavilion.
It was Wi Seol-ah, whom I had barely seen yesterday and today.
Following her, Hong-wa came in and bowed to me.
"I have returned."
"You're late."
"I apologize... It is my fault."
It was Hong-wa who spoke.
She didn't add any excuses as to why she was late.
It must have meant she would gladly accept any punishment.
'I didn't really intend to punish her, though.'
I figured something must have come up since she was late. As far as I knew, I heard Mu-yeon had also gone with her.
Of course, if they had caused trouble, I slightly suspected Wi Seol-ah wouldn't have held back, but...
"Uh, sister did nothing wrong. Young Master... I am the one who got lost..."
Sure enough, right after she confessed, I immediately flicked Wi Seol-ah's head hard.
"Ugh...!"
"I sent you to run an errand, and you got lost?"
"...I'm sooorrry..."
Looking at her expression, she seemed to genuinely know she did wrong this time.
Or maybe she felt guilty because Hong-wa got scolded.
I let out a deep sigh, then released the hand that was about to hit her one more time and stroked Wi Seol-ah's hair instead.
"Nothing happened anyway, right?"
"...Yeah."
I wondered if it was okay to just pass it over like this, but...
As always, seeing Wi Seol-ah's face, I couldn't say anything.
It was even more so because I didn't know if I even had the right to do so to this child.
"Sisteeer!"
When I let her go, Wi Seol-ah ran and hugged Namgung Bi-a as if she had been waiting for it.
Namgung Bi-a held Wi Seol-ah and stroked her hair, as if she was now used to it.
At a glance, they looked like close sisters.
Wi Seol-ah, who rubbed her face against Namgung Bi-a's embrace for a moment, seemed to recall something, turned her head, and spoke to me.
"Ah...! Young Master!"
"Hmm?"
"Someone is waiting outside!"
"Who?"
Waiting for me? Who could it be, Gu Jeol-yeop? Or Pang A-hui?
There shouldn't be anyone who would visit at this time.
Before I could even question it, Wi Seol-ah gave the answers.
However, it was just a completely unexpected answer.
"The beggar mister!"
"...What?"
At Wi Seol-ah's words, my face scrunched up hard.
It was too absurd of a story.
I immediately asked what nonsense she was spouting and told her not to joke around, but...
"My goodness! Hello! I am Choo-ong of the Beggar's Sect! My, my... To think I would meet the bloodline of the famous prestigious family...! What an honor for my cheap life!"
Going outside as Wi Seol-ah said, a real beggar was waiting.
It was truly a beggar-like situation.