True Dragon (眞龍). (i)
She shut the window tight so the cold wind could not slip through.
She drank a tea brewed from dried leaves of the Heat-Essence Herb, which filled her body with warmth.
To an ordinary person, the tea would induce a considerable fever.
But to Murong Xiya, it was a negligible effect.
Merely enough to warm her stomach slightly.
A single small leaf cost a month's worth of meals for a farmer, yet to her it was merely negligible.
There was no extravagance greater than this.
Though it was provided by the family, the price was too steep to spend on mere tea leaves that were not even elixirs.
"...Ridiculous, isn't it?"
Murong Xiya, who had been sipping the tea bit by bit, spoke in a bitter voice.
"What have I done right to drink such a thing? I couldn't do anything and lost, yet here I am..."
"...My Lady."
"You don't have to look at me with such eyes."
Murong Xiya glanced at the guest's empty teacup and refilled it with a steady pour.
"Why have you come?"
" "
"It seems you are quite busy right now. Is it alright for you not to watch?"
The final match was likely underway even now.
It was a martial arts match that drew the attention of so many that even Murong Xiya, holed up in her room enduring the cold, could hear the talk of it.
Especially for the guest who had come now, Tang Xiaoye, it must be of utmost importance.
Because it was that boy's match.
"Lady Tang."
"Yes..."
Murong Xiya quietly gazed at Tang Xiaoye's face.
It was a cute appearance that suited her green hair.
The complete opposite of her own cold-feeling face—a small, animal-like appearance.
Murong Xiya read the emotion in Tang Xiaoye's large eyes and spoke.
"I know that you feel guilty toward me."
" "
"I am a weak person, so I know well how to take advantage of such things. Lady Tang is a smart person, so I think you know this too."
Tang Xiaoye did not offer any answer to Murong Xiya's words, but
at this point, silence was an affirmation.
The guilt Tang Xiaoye held toward Murong Xiya.
Honestly, it was something Murong Xiya could not understand.
Because it wasn't entirely her fault.
To be exact, her only fault was bearing the surname of the Tang Clan.
"Does that day still weigh on you, my lady?"
"Not just still. Forever. No matter how much time passes, it will remain a burden I must carry."
"Why?"
"Because I am a person of the Tang Clan until the very end, and the pain you will suffer, Lady Murong, is eternal."
"Pain..."
"You mean the scar on your back?"
The scar left on her back couldn't be seen when she wore clothes.
Moreover, aside from the servant who helped with daily life, no one had seen it in nearly ten years.
"I don't think it's a mere scar."
Though Tang Xiaoye said so, the Tang Clan had already provided ample compensation.
Even being able to drink this tea now.
And the fact that Murong Xiya could attempt various treatments and research into curing her terminal meridian condition was also greatly aided by the compensation the Tang Clan had provided.
Of course, as a result of the treatment, her scar and cold aura had worsened.
'Even if she hadn't attempted the treatment, there wouldn't have been a huge difference anyway.'
In the end, compensation had gone to the family, so it was fine.
It was just that aside from Murong Xiya, others weren't fine.
Especially her father, the family head.
"So is that why you've come to me on this important day?"
" "
"What meaning could this possibly have for me? It's not even an apology—you simply came."
"Could my apology even have meaning for you...?"
"Honestly speaking, it probably wouldn't reach you very deeply.
Rather, it might be taken as a cheap apology and turn things in an unpleasant direction."
Tang Xiaoye knew that too, which was why she came regardless.
'It's uncomfortable.'
Murong Xiya simply found it uncomfortable.
The letters Tang Xiaoye sent every year from the Tang Clan were already enough.
Meeting Tang Xiaoye like this and having her watch her every reaction was uncomfortable for Murong Xiya.
If she set her mind to taking advantage of such emotions, it would be helpful.
'...Sigh.'
Perhaps because she knew there was no falsehood in Tang Xiaoye's heart.
For some reason, Murong Xiya found it difficult to do so.
Even though she was in no position to hide anything.
"...I understand your feelings, but you needn't go out of your way like this."
Dufeng was someone known, contrary to her cute appearance, to be fierce toward others and strict in upholding principles.
One might find her personality off-putting if they didn't know her true nature.
Murong Xiya was also rather close to that side.
However, the Tang Xiaoye she had faced until now was a person with a very soft heart.
'Recently, she had looked... very different from before.'
If in the past she had been like a predator with only a cute exterior, now she was a squirrel through and through.
Of course, from how she had acted toward Huangfu Tiewei at the lodgings, it seemed her personality was still the same.
Still, wasn't the way she looked when with them now closer to her true self?
Or rather, perhaps she was letting more of her true self show.
Having thought that far, Murong Xiya turned her eyes away from Tang Xiaoye, opened the closed window, and looked outside.
It was still winter.
Winter was still far from over.
Tang Xiaoye's winter seemed to have ended.
But her own winter remained.
Even as seasons changed and temperatures varied, she would always be cold.
Because that was the life allotted to her.
'Would struggling change anything?'
Such a thought occurred to her.
Perhaps struggling wasn't entirely meaningless.
Or perhaps she had been born merely to be swept away by the cold wind and disappear.
"Lady Murong?"
Perhaps because her expression had been strange.
Tang Xiaoye called out to Murong Xiya with concern.
Since Tang Xiaoye was one of the few who knew Murong Xiya suffered from a terminal meridian condition, her reaction was even more so.
"Could it be... were you injured somewhere in the match?"
At Tang Xiaoye's question, Murong Xiya smiled faintly.
"No, I wasn't hurt at all."
It wasn't a lie.
Because she truly hadn't been hurt in the slightest.
'Though I was swept up in those massive flames, not a single place on me was hurt.'
Could this truly be called an attack?
Before that boy, she was utterly powerless.
She had known she couldn't win by fighting.
Still, she had thought they could exchange a few moves.
'The level was too different.'
Was it last year? The most shocking person to Murong Xiya recently had been Sword Dragon.
The sword path displayed by the young man bearing plum blossoms carried such overwhelming majesty that it truly showed what the Mount Hua Sect was.
Murong Xiya had thought that after that young man, no late-stage expert with greater talent would appear.
Sword Peak, Sword Dragon, and Sleeping Dragon.
And even further, Divine Dragon Peng Yujin.
Geniuses enough to inscribe their names anew in the history of the Central Plains were overflowing.
She had never imagined someone greater would appear among them.
But someone remained who defied expectations and exceeded them.
Ouyang Tian of Shanxi.
Murong Xiya recalled the boy who had emerged from Shanxi.
But there were no words to describe him.
Not even the broad word "genius" could contain his presence.
She had merely thought him an unusual person.
At first, the women around him shone so brightly and had such overwhelming presence that he was hidden.
A man blessed with women, contrary to his looks.
A person with the ability to charm people, unlike his martial talent—that was the extent of it.
Seeing how he treated her with a reluctant attitude and gaze despite her own confidence in her appearance,
she had thought he competed with such charm.
Indeed, Murong Xiya had also found her eyes drawn to him without realizing.
However, it didn't take long to realize that was a delusion.
Huangfu Tiewei and the Gu clan's...
'What was his name?'
He was from the same family as Ouyang Tian, so it was Gu something.
She couldn't remember well. He wasn't a particularly important figure.
Anyway, when there was a brief clash at the lodgings.
Murong Xiya was able to see.
That the entire group was watching Ouyang Tian's cues.
Even though someone else was facing Huangfu Tiewei, the fact that they watched Ouyang Tian's cues
was proof of who stood at the center of the group.
After some more time passed like that,
she came to know an undeniable truth.
Ouyang Tian hadn't been overshadowed by the presence of those around him.
He had been hiding his own presence.
So brilliantly that one couldn't see him.
Murong Xiya recalled the flames of the previous day and caressed her chest.
It was because the sensation of that time came flooding back.
The warmth Murong Xiya had felt when facing Ouyang Tian's heat on the tournament stage.
'...Was it an illusion?'
When the cold that seemed to freeze her whole body disappeared and heat rose to fill her chest.
When she came to her senses, she had thought it an illusion.
Wasn't it?
If the cold simply vanished before a hot flame,
her life wouldn't have been this cold and lonely.
She must have briefly fallen under an illusion before that vast flame.
She had thought so.
But.
'...Perhaps.'
People's hope is wont to sprout from trivial things.
Since it was parched land thirsting for water, hope would seep in from even a trivial stream.
But to believe in that and do something—Murong Xiya's emotions had long since frozen over.
"Lady Murong, are you truly alright? Shall I call someone?"
Tang Xiaoye kept asking, wondering if Murong Xiya's reaction was strange.
Murong Xiya remained silent for a moment as if lost in thought, then opened her mouth to look at Tang Xiaoye.
"Lady Tang."
"Yes...?"
"Could I... ask one favor..."
Knock, knock.
The moment Murong Xiya was about to speak, a presence was felt outside.
"- My lady."
The voice belonged to Tang Xiaoye's servant.
"What is it? I'm still talking with Lady Murong."
Tang Xiaoye frowned slightly, seeming uncomfortable at the servant's appearance.
The servant also seemed to sense a hint of annoyance in Tang Xiaoye's voice and changed to a cautious tone, but
the business seemed important.
"It is that... earlier, you asked me to tell you when the match ended."
Before the servant could finish speaking, Tang Xiaoye hopped up and opened the door.
Murong Xiya's eyes widened roundly at the sudden movement—a bonus.
"H-how did it go?"
Her urgent questioning suggested she had been incredibly curious.
It seemed her earlier reply that she didn't need to go watch had been a lie.
"Ah... th-that the young lord has won..."
"...!!"
Tang Xiaoye stretched her hand to the sky and shouted.
How happy she must be to shout like that.
"Ah... Ahh... I'm sorry."
Realizing her reaction had been excessive, Tang Xiaoye covered her mouth with her hand and shrank.
At that sight, Murong Xiya laughed out loud—a rare occurrence.
Thinking she might be being mocked, Tang Xiaoye's face flushed slightly with embarrassment.
'Can a person change so much?'
'Or is it that good?'
It was something Murong Xiya could not know.
"Ah... Lady Murong. What were you about to ask me just now?"
"It's nothing."
The words Murong Xiya had been about to speak were swallowed back down.
Because she thought it wasn't something to bring up now.
"I will come find you separately later."
"Huh? You will, Lady Murong?"
"I believe something will come up that requires me to visit."
Rather than asking Tang Xiaoye, it seemed better to go herself.
Because using guilt as leverage to ask a favor while Tang Xiaoye looked so happy...
"Go quickly. Before it's too late."
At Murong Xiya's words, Tang Xiaoye hesitated briefly, then
lowered her head in a light bow and stepped out the door with hurried steps.
Watching that retreating figure quietly, Murong Xiya closed her eyes and lay her body down again.
For some reason, she wanted to sleep a little now.
Leaving the room where Murong Xiya was, Tang Xiaoye moved with hurried steps.
If she didn't, she felt too stifled to endure.
'The young lord won.'
She had thought that the Ouyang Tian she saw would win.
Because though she had been moved by emotions falling into those fierce eyes, she had recently learned his martial arts were no less impressive.
Though she thought it a natural victory since he was stronger than any late-stage expert Dufeng Tang Xiaoye had seen,
for some reason, her heart soared.
'Even though it's someone else's victory, why am I so happy?'
Tang Xiaoye couldn't control her emotions.
"I have to go and congratulate him quickly."
Should she only say it?
Shouldn't she give a gift?
If she remembered correctly, Ouyang Tian had said it was his first Dragon Phoenix Gathering.
'...Do I have any medicinal herbs left?'
Tang Xiaoye possessed a herb excellent for increasing internal energy and recovering from fatigue.
She had been saving it to consume sparingly, but she could give as much of this to Ouyang Tian.
The problem was that its toxicity was a bit strong.
Since she was capable, he would be able to detoxify that much.
With fluttering steps, she approached the quarters.
"Ah, so you mean he is not here right now?"
Voices were heard from Ouyang Tian's quarters.
"Hm?"
Tang Xiaoye shifted her gaze toward the sound and saw two familiar faces.
One was Wei Xue'er, a servant Ouyang Tian cherished who unknowingly exuded a difficult-to-approach aura.
And the other was...
'A beggar...?'
It was Chuong of the Beggar Sect, who showed his face at the banquet held every year.
Chuong was also someone Tang Xiaoye had frequently encountered.
She didn't look upon him favorably because his appearance of approaching while lowering himself excessively wasn't pleasing.
But she considered him quite capable when it came to information.
'Why is someone like him talking with Wei Xue'er?'
While Tang Xiaoye harbored such doubt, Wei Xue'er answered Chuong.
"The young master is not here right now!"
"...Dear me, this was exactly the right time. Then could it be you don't know when he will return either?"
It seemed he had come immediately upon hearing word of Ouyang Tian's victory.
In any case, the Beggar Sect's quickness in such matters had to be acknowledged.
Tang Xiaoye watched for a moment, then approached with somewhat calmer steps.
Since she could handle this matter better than the servant, she approached to speak on her behalf.
"Ugh, was I too hasty? I clearly heard that we would talk again after the match ended...."
Had he already arranged to speak with Ouyang Tian?
Tang Xiaoye composed her voice and approached Chuong, but
"Then when True Dragon (眞龍) arrives, could you relay a message? Tell him Chuong of the Beggar Sect came and went."
At Chuong's words, Tang Xiaoye stopped in her tracks.
She rolled her eyes as if she had misheard.
'What did he just say?'
'True Dragon...?'