Chapter 159〉What I Wanted to Show You. (2)
What I Wanted to Show You. (2)
The semifinal bracket went up, and I didn't show much of a reaction.
Because it wasn't all that different from what I'd expected.
Looking at the bracket from the beginning, Noeryong should have been in this spot.
That was surely their calculation.
They probably never calculated that I would make it this far.
'...Though Namgung Bia is unexpected.'
That Jang Seonyeon and Namgung Bia were paired was unexpected even for me.
I had naturally thought that Namgung Bia and I would be paired, and Jang Seonyeon would face Moyong Huia.
'That would have been a better story for him, though.'
Could it be that the Alliance pulled some strings in this part?
Or maybe they have something in mind.
I had not even a fingernail's worth of faith in the Alliance, so thinking any deeper about it would only be gloomy.
"How do you see it?"
Dang Soyeol asks me.
How do I see it, he says.
"I'm just watching."
"..."
Perhaps displeased with my answer, Dang Soyeol looked at me as if somewhat dumbfounded.
He seemed to want a somewhat different answer, but unfortunately, I didn't really have anything to say.
It wasn't as if I could just storm up to them and demand why the bracket was such a mess.
And I didn't have any grounds to make an issue of it either.
I shifted my gaze to the back.
In Namgung Bia's direction.
Namgung Bia, who was in the same space, was also looking at the bracket.
'She doesn't look like she's thinking much of anything.'
|
..
.
She really seemed to just be looking.
Seeing her usual blank expression, it seemed she was just taking it as it was.
'If anything, it would have been stranger if she had been different.'
It's not as if Namgung Bia knows anything about Jang Seonyeon to have different thoughts.
Perhaps because I kept looking, Namgung Bia's gaze turned this way.
As our eyes met, Namgung Bia tilted her head.
An expression that said she didn't quite understand something.
Then, with her uniquely light footsteps, she approached me.
She came close enough that I could reach her with a hand, and then Namgung Bia asked me.
"Why... are you like that?"
It was a sudden remark.
Why am I like what?
"What?"
"Your expression...."
Expression?
At Namgung Bia's words, I touched my face with my hand.
Had I been making some strange expression?
I didn't think I was making any particularly strange expression.
If anything, I thought it was closer to an expressionless face.
But to Namgung Bia, it seemed that wasn't the case.
"Why are you worried about me?"
At her words, I was momentarily stunned.
What is she talking about?
"When did I say I was worried?"
"You are... right now...."
Namgung Bia's delicate hand brushed past the corner of my eye.
"Are you... worried about me?"
Looking into my eyes as she spoke, I didn't give any answer.
Funny enough, the answer wouldn't come out.
All I had to do was say no, but my stiffly frozen tongue and tightly shut mouth had no intention of moving.
'Was I worried about her?'
It was something even I hadn't known.
If that was the case, just what part of me had Namgung Bia noticed?
In the silence between the two of us, Namgung Bia added a word.
"Do you think I'll lose...?"
A chilly question.
I forced my tightly shut lips to move.
"...No."
Because of that, my answer was late.
Perhaps because of this, Namgung Bia seemed to have already heard a different answer.
Honestly, I don't think Namgung Bia will lose.
And for good reason—among the rising stars, the only one who could defeat Namgung Bia right now was Gu Huibi. Because there was no one else but that crazy bitch.
Even knowing that, the reason my answer was delayed was that I felt somewhat uneasy for some reason.
An inexplicable unease.
It made my chest feel tight and constantly dampened my mood.
Perhaps sensing my mood, Namgung Bia suddenly spoke.
"...It's fine."
It was a quiet voice.
So very small, just enough for me to hear.
'What does she mean, it's fine?'
I swallowed those words inside.
Because it felt like something I shouldn't say right now.
"I'm fine."
Strange.
A feeling as if she was speaking to me, yet not.
I simply stared quietly into Namgung Bia's eyes.
Only after gazing for a long while could I understand a little.
'Is she nervous?'
Namgung Bia was nervous.
She was someone so far removed from such things that it was even harder to notice.
I looked at her and asked.
"Are you okay?"
No answer came.
I couldn't tell what she was nervous about.
No matter how I looked at it, she didn't seem to be nervous about the match with Jang Seonyeon.
"Hand."
At Namgung Bia's short word, I cautiously took her hand.
It was as if she was asking me to hold it.
Perhaps this was the right answer, for when I took her hand, Namgung Bia quietly closed her eyes.
"Nervous?"
I ask slyly, but Namgung Bia only shook her head slightly.
As if concentrating on something, Namgung Bia had stayed still, but soon let go of my hand and stepped back.
"I'm fine."
That was already the third time she'd said that.
At this point, it was enough to cause worry.
What do you keep saying is fine?
At her strange behavior no matter how I looked at it, I asked with a slight smile.
"If you're not feeling well, do you want to forfeit?"
At my abruptly asked question, Namgung Bia shook her head firmly.
"No."
So firm was she that her unique way of trailing off at the end of sentences had disappeared.
'Could it be that she can actually control that?'
As I was mulling over that idle thought, Namgung Bia added something.
"I won't forfeit...."
"I had a feeling. I was just asking."
Forfeiting in the martial arts tournament was something the rising stars of this generation would rather die than do.
You can go and lose, but you can't forfeit.
That was just the kind of pride kids this age had.
'Though it doesn't seem like Namgung Bia cares about such things.'
Sometimes, I wanted to peer into what she was thinking.
Right now was one of those times.
What on earth was she thinking?
What was she thinking to make such an expression?
'It's as if she's heading off to a battlefield...'
It was a bit of an exaggeration, but that's how it looked to me.
Having let go of my hand, Namgung Bia's lips quivered as she gazed quietly at me.
She seemed to have something more to say.
It was frustrating to see her keep at it, but I didn't rush her.
"...I'm fine."
The same words as before.
Yet at the same time, slightly different.
There must be more words to follow.
"So please believe in me and watch...."
Words spat out without any context before or after.
Words that contained not the slightest explanation of what they meant or what significance they held.
She really had no gift for words whatsoever.
Was I supposed to interpret it myself again?
"When did I ever say I didn't believe in you?"
I didn't seem to believe unconditionally, but it wasn't as if I distrusted her either.
I didn't know what kind of mindset Namgung Bia had.
It was because I hadn't thought this match held any special meaning for her.
Isn't that right?
When I thought of the Namgung Bia I knew now, she wasn't someone who acted or lived attaching great meaning to things.
"...So that you can believe..."
That was why, all the more.
"I'll show you."
I didn't know with what heart Namgung Bia had said those words to me.
Just before the semifinals began, the arena where the quarterfinals had been held was packed with far more people than that day.
Because more people had come to watch the Final Four.
When the finals arrived, probably even more spectators would gather than now.
"Who do you think will win?"
Before the match began, this was the kind of conversation spectators usually had.
"Hmm... That is far too difficult a question."
At this point, Noeryong and Dokbong had already been eliminated.
Since two of the favorites had been eliminated, it was difficult to predict easily.
"Even so, won't Seolbong win?"
It was an unenthusiastic reaction.
Though Seolbong of the Moyong Clan had not yet been eliminated, for some reason there were rather few who saw her winning.
"The remaining ones are the Moyong Clan, the Gu Clan, the Namgung, and the Jang Clan?"
"Once again, only the bloodlines of the great clans remain. It was expected, but one can't help the bitterness."
"Ah yes, Master Cheon. Didn't you say your child also participated this time?"
At the man's question, the figure called Cheon Sangju repeatedly cleared his throat.
The answer came from elsewhere.
"Tsk, you tactless gentleman! He was eliminated in the first round! Don't bring that up, it's embarrassing for Master Cheon...."
"And you say that so loudly... You're the worse man for it."
"He wasn't at a level that would have lasted long anyway; the Alliance poured so much sponsorship into him that they just let him participate."
"Are you going to keep poking at sore spots? I assure you, I'm quite confident I can poke back in reality."
"Gentlemen, stop fighting and let's talk about who you think will win."
"Why even ask, the son of the Falling Sword will win anyway."
"Hmm? Not Seolbong?"
"This man is always slow with rumors, for a merchant that is. Word has already spread throughout the Gaebang regarding the Jang Clan's son."
"Rumors?"
"Yes, they say an absurd prodigy has appeared."
Though rumors always begin from an unknown place.
Those who spread them were none other than merchants.
The ears of a merchant are always open.
It was only natural to know the flow of the world.
Essential if one wanted to make money.
That was why they paid no small amount of sponsorship money not only to the Alliance but also to the Gaebang.
A show of good faith, asking to be brought good news faster than others.
Perhaps having obtained information from the Gaebang even now, the other men listened with interest to the excitedly speaking man, but...
Cheon Munbi, who operated the Cheoneul Trading Company, a mid-sized merchant house in Hanam.
Hereinafter called Cheon Sangju, he couldn't help but make a displeased expression upon hearing those words.
Unlike the merchants conversing now, Master Cheon was someone who had watched the matches since yesterday afternoon.
These people now had probably come to watch starting from the semifinals, unlike him.
'So these people don't know.'
Cheon Sangju didn't listen very attentively to the man's words.
The son of the Falling Sword was indeed an outstanding figure, just as they said.
A beautiful young master with a splendid appearance resembling the Alliance Leader.
His skill was outstanding too.
In yesterday's quarterfinals, the boy of the Jang Clan had overwhelmed his opponent and taken victory.
It was a level befitting the child of the Alliance Leader, but...
for some reason, Cheon Sangju was reminded of a different figure instead.
'Did they say he was a blood relative of the Gu Clan?'
A martial artist with black hair tinged with red and a fierce impression.
None other than the boy who had defeated Noeryong and seized victory.
The memory was far too vivid to forget.
The heat of the fire technique that had heated not only the arena but also the spectator seats.
And the sight of Noeryong vomiting blood, unable to use his strength.
The fact that Noeryong of the Namgung Clan had been beaten to a pulp and defeated.
Having seen that, how could he think the son of the Falling Sword would win?
'Why hasn't that part spread widely? That was a bit questionable.'
Cheon Sangju knew that now, a day later, it was only just beginning to spread little by little.
Normally, they would have quickly informed the Gaebang as soon as it ended.
It wasn't as if the Gaebang was a different organization; they weren't slow with information.
This was inevitably a subtle matter in Cheon Sangju's eyes.
"Then do you think the Jang Clan's bloodline will win this match too?"
At the words of the man who had been leading the conversation eagerly just now, the others nodded as well.
"They said his opponent this time is the Namgung Clan."
"Hmm? The Namgung Clan, didn't they say they were eliminated yesterday?"
"There's one more, they say. Noeryong's younger sister."
"A daughter of the Namgung Clan? This is the first time I've heard of it.... How did I not know?"
"They say she's even strong, that she won the quarterfinals in a single blow."
That was also a match Cheon Sangju had watched.
There was no lie. The match had indeed been decided in a single blow.
'...Though the opponent seemed a bit strange.'
Even to someone who didn't know much about martial arts, that match had been somewhat hollow.
The opponent had stepped strangely in his footwork and then just lost.
'Surely he didn't just misstep.'
Surely a martial artist wouldn't make such a mistake while performing footwork.
It was probably just an unusual footwork technique.
'Hmm...? Now that I think about it, that friend also seemed to be named Gu.'
Had he heard wrong? He thought the young man who defeated Noeryong had the same family name.
"Anyway, no matter that it's the Namgung Clan, the winner of this match will be...."
The man who had been passionately extolling the son of the Jang Clan suddenly stopped speaking.
Master Cheon, who had been lost in thought, had to feel something strange.
He wouldn't have paid much mind if it were just the man, but it was because the surroundings had all gone quiet.
"What the..."
About to ask if something had happened, Cheon Sangju glanced at the arena and, like those around him, had to stop talking.
Someone was ascending the wide arena.
The hair fluttering in the light breeze was as beautiful as expensive silk.
Not just the hair, but skin as fair as if holding new-fallen snow, and pupils as if crafted from jewels.
"Sigh..."
...Oh...
An appearance that drew nothing but exclamations of awe from onlookers.
"It's insane. Insane...."
How could a person be so beautiful?
The woman's face was at a level that made even latent desires sprout in those who watched.
'...Why is this?'
While everyone was enthralled merely by looking at the woman, Cheon Sangju had to sense something strange.
'Why is she different from yesterday?'
Clearly, even when watching the match yesterday, it hadn't felt like this.
Of course, he had thought her beautiful, but not memorably so.
Then, what on earth was this woman now?
Her appearance seemed the same, but the presence she emanated was different.
The strong mental fortitude he had built facing countless figures as a merchant was on the verge of crumbling.
"...Beautiful."
"A jewel was living in the Namgung Clan... If my daughter looked like that, even I would have kept her hidden."
Swish.
The woman who had ascended the arena, Namgung Bia, felt all the gazes upon her and arranged her long hair behind her neck.
As her hair lifted, revealing the line of her neck, the groans around her grew louder, but Namgung Bia paid them no mind.
She simply and calmly took an ornament from her bosom and fixed her hair.
A crescent moon-shaped hair ornament—a gift he had given her.
Despite so many people, the stinging foul stench didn't reach her nose.
It meant that he was watching from somewhere here.
That alone was enough for Namgung Bia to find peace.
As she finished, her opponent ascended on the opposite side.
'...'
Jang Seonyeon... was it?
For reasons she didn't know, he was the boy Guyangcheon kept paying attention to.
Guyangcheon seemed to try not to show it, but Namgung Bia knew.
Jang Seonyeon stepped onto the arena with neat steps and approached Namgung Bia.
Namgung Bia didn't bother avoiding him.
"It's a pleasure. I am Jang Seonyeon of the Taeryeong Jang Clan."
A politely offered greeting. Namgung Bia pondered briefly and returned the greeting herself.
"...Namgung Bia."
Strangely, Jang Seonyeon was someone who didn't emit much of a foul stench.
It was ambiguous to say he didn't emit one at all.
It was a feeling that wasn't unpleasant.
Surprisingly, it was the most comfortable level Namgung Bia had felt apart from Guyangcheon, who emitted no smell whatsoever.
But.
'...I don't want to get close to him.'
Even though no foul stench was felt, an inexplicable queasiness arose.
She didn't know the reason, but Namgung Bia found Jang Seonyeon somehow repulsive.
"I look forward to our match. I never knew Sir Noeryong had such a beautiful sister."
The gently smiling face was handsome even in Namgung Bia's eyes, but...
Now, she liked his crude eyes more than that smile.
Not that she had liked them much to begin with.
Jang Seonyeon, too, was thinking various thoughts as he looked at Namgung Bia.
'The Namgung Clan.'
The impression Jang Seonyeon felt looking at Namgung Bia was singular.
'She's beautiful, severely so.'
It was a beauty difficult to express in words.
It was at a level where he had to use some internal energy to resist being seduced.
Setting that aside, he didn't know her skill, but...
'To what extent?'
Since Dokbong and Noeryong, whom he had considered somewhat worthy opponents, had lost, she wouldn't be much of a threat.
Except for exactly one person.
'Guyangcheon.'
At the name that rose from within, Jang Seonyeon had to force himself not to furrow his expression.
A guy who had popped out of nowhere and constantly grated on his nerves.
That fishy atmosphere too.
The faintly felt hostility too.
Every gaze he directed at him was grating.
'You think you can win? Against that monster?'
The words Paeng Ujin had spoken had tormented his ears since that day.
Did he think he would win? What a laughable remark.
Of course he had to win.
Because he and that bastard were completely different.
Losing to a bastard who had nothing was in itself impossible.
Even if he had crossed the wall and reached the peak. If the bastard didn't have 'qi,' it was meaningless.
In Noeryong's case, he couldn't even use it properly, and it hadn't permeated his body, which was why he had lost so incompetently.
'I am different.'
Even that bastard's arrogance that had flared to the utmost.
Would crumble when he met him.
He intended to make it so.
And in the end, the one who would obtain the position would be him.
'Even if I cannot become the Divine Dragon.'
Because of the agreement with Shaolin, he couldn't obtain the position of Divine Dragon, but...
for now, something else was enough.
Starting from this, he would finally rise above all men.
He was a person worthy of that.
Jang Seonyeon looked at the woman before him.
She was the most beautiful woman he had ever faced until now.
He had heard that she was Guyangcheon's fiancée.
At those words, Jang Seonyeon inwardly sneered.
'How ill-fitting for him.'
He seemed to have an ill-fitting amount of luck with women.
So much so that even he felt desire based on appearance alone.
However, despite her sharp eye corners, her expression was somewhat blank.
A feeling of whether she was really a person of the Namgung lineage.
The atmosphere she gave off was endlessly noble, yet one could say something was somehow missing.
"Semifinals."
At the referee's words, Jang Seonyeon calmly raised his sword.
He had to escape from his thoughts and concentrate.
'I don't want to use too much strength, so it would be best to end this quickly.'
In Jang Seonyeon's eyes, Namgung Bia was full of openings.
She didn't even point her sword tip; in a way, she looked as if she had given up.
'What is she trying to do?'
If she was trying to show openings to induce carelessness, it was a failed tactic from the outset.
He would not let his guard down.
Jang Seonyeon immediately raised his five senses and focused on Namgung Bia.
"Namgung Bia of the Namgung Clan versus Jang Seonyeon of the Taeryeong Jang Clan."
The start was approaching, but Namgung Bia remained the same.
Having lowered her sword, she merely watched Jang Seonyeon with a blank expression.
'Could she have truly given up?'
Just as such thoughts were beginning to creep in.
"Begin!"
He wanted to end this quickly, so there was no time to hesitate.
With the referee's shout, Jang Seonyeon raised his internal energy and moved.
"...!"
No, he tried to move.
He tried.
Jang Seonyeon couldn't move as he willed.
Jang Seonyeon's sword, filled with internal energy, was trembling violently.
His quiet breathing was instantly disturbed.
His legs, which had been full of strength, stood still in place as if nothing had happened.
"Huu... Huu."
He regulated his wavering internal energy and steadied his breath, but the trembling tip of his sword wouldn't calm.
Jang Seonyeon looked at Namgung Bia with eyes wide in shock.
Creak.
A rough sound of teeth grinding against each other issued from his tightly shut mouth.
He couldn't help it.
Because it was unavoidable if he was to endure the surging energy.
Cold sweat flowed on its own, and the goosebumps rising on his back were utterly chilling.
A terrifying pressure that prevented him from moving even a single step.
'It's coming from there....'
The place Jang Seonyeon was looking.
There stood Namgung Bia, in the same posture as before, with her sword lowered.
The absurd sense of pressure emanating from her had frozen Jang Seonyeon's body.
What on earth was going on?
"...An."
Flinched.
At the whisper-like voice, Jang Seonyeon's eyes widened to their limit.
His body tensed up greatly at the unexpected situation.
What was she going to say?
Looking at Jang Seonyeon, Namgung Bia continued.
"It... won't...?"
These were words Guyangcheon had spat at his opponent during a match in the past.
And they were something Namgung Bia had always wanted to imitate someday.