True Dragon (1)
She firmly shut the windows to keep the cold wind from entering.
Then she drank hot tea made by drying the leaves of the Heat-Enhancing Herb, which warmed the body.
To an ordinary person, hot tea would create a considerable heat, but for Moyong Huia,
it was only mild.
It merely warmed her insides a little.
Each small leaf cost enough to cover a farmer’s food expenses for an entire month, yet it only had a mild effect on her.
There was no greater extravagance than this.
Even if it was provided by the clan, the price was far too high for tea leaves that were not even a spirit medicine.
“…Ridiculous, isn’t it?”
Moyong Huia, who had been sipping her tea little by little, spoke in a bitter voice.
“What have I done to deserve drinking something like this? I couldn’t do anything and lost, yet here I am.”
“…Miss.”
“You don’t have to look at me like that.”
Moyong Huia noticed that her guest’s teacup was empty and poured more tea into it.
“Why did you come to see me?”
“...”
“It seems like you’re in the middle of something important. Is it really all right for you not to be watching?”
The final match was probably taking place right now.
It was a martial contest that had drawn so much attention that even Moyong Huia, shut away in her room and enduring the cold, could hear people talking about it.
It must have been especially important to the guest who had come to see her now, Dang Soyeol.
After all, it was that boy’s match.
“Miss Dang.”
“Yes….”
Moyong Huia quietly looked at Dang Soyeol’s face.
She had a cute appearance that suited her green hair perfectly.
Unlike Moyong Huia’s own cold-looking features, Dang Soyeol’s face resembled that of a small animal.
After reading the emotion in Dang Soyeol’s large eyes, Moyong Huia spoke.
“I know that you feel guilty toward me, Miss Dang.”
“...”
“I’m a sly person, so I know how to use such things to my advantage. You’re intelligent, so I imagine you’re aware of that.”
Dang Soyeol gave no answer to Moyong Huia’s words.
But by now, her silence was an affirmation.
The guilt Dang Soyeol felt toward Moyong Huia.
To be honest, Moyong Huia could not understand it.
It had not been entirely her fault.
More precisely, the only thing that had been Dang Soyeol’s fault was that she had inherited the Dang Clan’s surname.
“Does the incident from that day still weigh on you, Miss?”
“Not ‘still.’ It will remain a burden I have to carry forever, no matter how much time passes.”
“Why?”
“I will always be a member of the Dang Clan, and the pain you will suffer, Miss Moyong, will last forever.”
Pain.
“You mean this mere scar on my back?”
The marks left on her back could not be seen when she was dressed.
Moreover, apart from the servants who helped her with her daily life, no one had seen them for nearly ten years.
“I don’t think it’s something insignificant.”
Dang Soyeol said so, but the Dang Clan had already given sufficient compensation.
The fact that Moyong Huia could drink this hot tea now—
The reason she could continue attempting and researching various treatments for her Cold Meridian Disorder was also largely thanks to the compensation the Dang Clan had provided.
Of course, the result of those treatments had been the worsening of both her scars and the cold within her body.
‘But even if I hadn’t attempted treatment, the difference wouldn’t have been all that great.’
In the end, compensation had come into the clan’s hands, so it was fine.
Though it was not fine for everyone besides Moyong Huia.
Especially not for her father, the clan head.
“So you came to see me on this important day because of that?”
“...”
“What did you think this would mean to me? You didn’t even come to apologize. You merely came to see me.”
“Could my apology have any meaning for you, Miss…?”
“To be honest, it wouldn’t mean very much.”
It might even turn out badly, since she could take it as a cheap apology.
Dang Soyeol knew that as well, which was why she had come like this.
‘It’s uncomfortable.’
Moyong Huia felt nothing but discomfort.
The letters Dang Soyeol sent from the Dang Clan every year were uncomfortable enough.
Whenever she met Dang Soyeol like this, Moyong Huia felt uncomfortable seeing her constantly watching her expression.
If she decided to make use of those feelings, they would certainly be helpful.
‘…Sigh.’
Perhaps it was because she knew there was no falsehood in Dang Soyeol’s heart.
For some reason, Moyong Huia found it difficult to do so.
Even though she was in no position to conceal anything or pretend otherwise.
“…I understand how you feel, Miss, but you don’t need to go this far.”
The Poison Phoenix was known for being fierce toward others and for strictly adhering to principles, despite her cute appearance.
If one did not know her true nature, she might well seem like someone people would avoid.
Moyong Huia was somewhat similar in that regard.
But the Dang Soyeol she had encountered until now was a person with an exceedingly gentle heart.
‘Though the way she’s been lately… she seems quite different from before.’
In the past, she had seemed like a predator with nothing but a cute exterior, but now she was a squirrel through and through.
Of course, judging by the way she had acted before Hwangbo Cheolwi at the lodging, her personality seemed unchanged.
Even so, perhaps the 모습 she showed when she was with them now was closer to her true self.
Or, more precisely, perhaps she had begun to reveal more of it.
Having thought that far, Moyong Huia turned her eyes away from Dang Soyeol and opened the closed window to look outside.
It was still winter.
There was still a long way to go before winter ended.
Dang Soyeol’s winter seemed to be over.
But Moyong Huia’s winter remained.
No matter how the seasons changed or the temperature rose and fell, she would continue to feel cold.
That was the life predetermined for her.
‘Would things change if I struggled against it?’
The thought occurred to her.
Perhaps struggling was meaningless.
Perhaps she had merely been born to be swept away by the cold wind and disappear.
“Miss Moyong?”
Perhaps it was because her expression had seemed strange.
Dang Soyeol called out to Moyong Huia worriedly.
Dang Soyeol was one of the few people who knew that Moyong Huia suffered from the Cold Meridian Disorder, so her reaction was probably all the more concerned.
“Did you… get hurt somewhere because of the match?”
At Dang Soyeol’s question, Moyong Huia gave a small smile.
“No. I wasn’t hurt at all.”
It was not a lie.
She truly had not been hurt anywhere.
She had been engulfed in those enormous flames, yet not a single part of her had been injured.
‘It means he controlled it all.’
Could that even be called an attack?
Before that boy, she had been utterly powerless.
She had known that she could not win if they fought.
Even so, she had thought she would at least be able to exchange a few blows.
‘The difference in our levels was simply too great.’
Had it been last year? The person who had shocked Moyong Huia the most in recent times had been the Sword Dragon.
The sword path displayed by that young man who carried plum blossoms had possessed such overwhelming majesty that it showed her precisely what the Mount Hua Sect was.
Moyong Huia had thought that no younger generation martial artist with greater talent would appear after that boy.
The Sword Phoenix, the Sword Dragon, and the Hidden Dragon.
And even Peng Woojin, who had been called the Divine Dragon.
There were already more geniuses than one could count, each talented enough to inscribe a new name into the history of the Central Plains.
She had never imagined that someone even greater would appear.
Yet there had been someone who more than overturned her expectations.
Gu Yangcheon of Shanxi.
Moyong Huia recalled the boy who had emerged from Shanxi.
But she had no words to describe him.
Even the broad term ‘genius’ could not contain his presence.
‘At first, I thought he was merely an unusual person.’
In the beginning, he had been overshadowed by the women around him, whose brilliance and presence were simply too great.
He was a man who, unlike his appearance, was rather popular with women.
A person who, unlike his talent as a martial artist, possessed the ability to take control of people. That was all she had thought of him.
Considering the awkwardness in his attitude and gaze whenever he dealt with her—someone fairly confident in her own appearance—
she had wondered whether he simply did not compete using such charms.
In truth, Moyong Huia herself had found her gaze drawn to him without realizing it.
But it did not take long for her to realize that this had been a misunderstanding.
Hwangbo Cheolwi and the man from the Gu Clan…
‘What was his name again?’
He had been from the same clan as Gu Yangcheon, so she thought it had been Gu-something.
She could not remember well. He had not been an important person.
In any case, when there had been a brief clash at the lodging,
Moyong Huia had been able to see it.
Everyone in the group had been watching Gu Yangcheon’s expression.
It had been someone else who had confronted Hwangbo Cheolwi, yet the fact that they were watching Gu Yangcheon’s reaction showed her who stood at the center of the group.
Some time passed after that.
Then she learned something unmistakably true.
Gu Yangcheon had not been overshadowed by the presence of those around him.
He had been hiding his own presence.
‘He was so dazzling that it was impossible to see him.’
Moyong Huia stroked her chest as she recalled the flames from the previous day.
It was because the sensation had returned to her.
The warmth she had felt when she faced Gu Yangcheon’s heat on the martial platform.
‘…Had it… been an illusion?’
The moment when the cold that felt as though it would freeze her entire body vanished, and warmth surged through her chest.
When she had first come to her senses, she had thought it was an illusion.
Wasn’t that only natural?
If the cold could disappear merely before hot flames,
then her life would never have been this cold and lonely.
It had simply been a brief illusion brought on by those vast flames.
That was what she had thought.
But—
‘…Perhaps.’
Hope in a person’s heart was bound to sprout from even the smallest things.
The land had been parched by longing, so even the slightest trickle of water could cause hope to seep in.
But Moyong Huia’s emotions had frozen long ago, making it difficult for her to believe in that hope and act upon it.
“Miss Moyong, are you really all right? Should I call someone?”
Dang Soyeol kept asking because Moyong Huia’s reaction seemed strange.
Moyong Huia fell silent for a moment, as if lost in thought, then looked at Dang Soyeol and opened her mouth.
“Miss Dang.”
“Yes…?”
“Could I ask you for one favor…?”
Knock, knock.
No sooner had Moyong Huia begun to speak than she sensed someone outside.
—Young Miss.
The voice belonged to Dang Soyeol’s servant.
“What is it? I’m still speaking with Miss Moyong.”
Dang Soyeol frowned, seeming somewhat displeased by her servant’s interruption.
Perhaps the servant sensed the slight irritation in Dang Soyeol’s voice, for her own voice became cautious.
Still, it seemed the matter was important.
—It’s just that… you told me earlier to inform you when the match was over.
No sooner had the servant finished speaking than Dang Soyeol hurriedly got to her feet and opened the door.
Moyong Huia’s eyes widened at the sudden movement.
“How did it go?”
She must have been terribly curious, judging by the urgency in her question.
It seemed her earlier claim that it was all right not to go watch had been a lie.
“Ah… well, Young Master Gu has won….”
“…!!”
Dang Soyeol thrust both hands into the air and shouted.
She looked so happy that she even cried out.
“Ah…! I’m sorry.”
Perhaps realizing that her reaction had been excessive, Dang Soyeol covered her mouth with her hands and shrank in embarrassment.
At that sight, Moyong Huia unusually laughed aloud.
Perhaps she thought Moyong Huia was laughing at her, for Dang Soyeol’s face flushed faintly with embarrassment.
‘Can someone really change that much?’
Or perhaps she was simply that happy.
It was something Moyong Huia could not understand.
“Ah… Miss Moyong. Didn’t you just say you had a favor to ask me?”
“No.”
Moyong Huia swallowed the words she had been about to say.
She felt that it was not the right time to bring them up.
“I’ll come find you separately later.”
“Pardon? You will, Miss Moyong?”
“I think I’ll have reason to come find you.”
Rather than ask Dang Soyeol for a favor, she thought it would be better to go herself.
The smile on Dang Soyeol’s face looked far too happy for Moyong Huia to use her guilt as a hostage and make a request.
“Go on. Before it gets any later.”
At Moyong Huia’s words, Dang Soyeol hesitated for a moment.
Then she bowed her head in a light formal greeting and hurried out through the door.
Moyong Huia quietly watched her retreating back, closed her eyes, and lay down once more.
For some reason, she felt like sleeping for a while.
******************
After leaving the room where Moyong Huia had been, Dang Soyeol hurriedly walked on.
If she did not, she felt she would suffocate from the frustration.
‘They said Young Master won.’
From what she had seen of Gu Yangcheon, she had thought he would win.
She had been captivated by his fierce eyes and her emotions had stirred, but she had recently learned that his martial prowess was no less impressive.
He was stronger than any younger generation martial artist Dang Soyeol, the Poison Phoenix, had ever seen, so she considered his victory only natural.
And yet, for some reason, her spirits were soaring.
She wondered what was so exciting about someone else’s victory.
But Dang Soyeol could not control her emotions.
“I have to go congratulate him quickly.”
Should she congratulate him with words alone?
Wouldn’t it be better to give him a gift?
As far as she remembered, Gu Yangcheon had said that this was his first Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.
‘…Do I still have any poisonous herbs left?’
Dang Soyeol possessed a medicinal herb that was exceptionally effective at increasing internal energy and recovering fatigue.
She had kept it stored away, intending to save it for later, but she could give something like that to Gu Yangcheon without hesitation.
The only problem was that its toxicity was somewhat strong.
But she was confident in her abilities. She could detoxify something of that level.
She approached the barracks with excited steps when—
—Ah, so you’re saying he isn’t here right now?
Voices could be heard from the direction of Gu Yangcheon’s barracks.
“Hm?”
Dang Soyeol shifted her gaze toward the sound and saw two familiar faces.
One was Wi Seol-ah, Gu Yangcheon’s favored servant, who gave off an intimidating air that made her unexpectedly difficult to deal with.
And the other was…
‘A beggar…?’
It was Chu Ong of the Beggars’ Sect, who showed his face at the annual banquet.
Dang Soyeol had often encountered Chu Ong as well.
She did not particularly like him, since she found his manner of approaching people while lowering himself to an excessive degree distasteful.
Still, she considered him a fairly capable man when it came to information.
‘Why is someone like him talking to Wi Seol-ah?’
While Dang Soyeol wondered, Wi Seol-ah answered Chu Ong.
“Young Master isn’t here right now!”
“…Darn, this was the perfect time. Then, by any chance, do you not know when he’ll be back?”
“Nope!”
“…Gnnng.”
Judging by the look of things, he had come immediately after hearing that Gu Yangcheon had won.
The Beggars’ Sect certainly deserved recognition for how quickly they moved when it came to matters like this.
Dang Soyeol watched them for a moment, then approached at a somewhat calmer pace.
She was more familiar with matters like this than Gu Yangcheon’s servant, Wi Seol-ah, so she intended to take over the conversation.
“Ugh, was I too hasty? I clearly heard him say we should speak again after the match ended….”
Had Chu Ong already made arrangements with Gu Yangcheon?
Dang Soyeol cleared her throat and approached him, but—
“Then, when the True Dragon arrives, could you pass along a message? Tell him that Chu Ong of the Beggars’ Sect came by.”
At Chu Ong’s words, Dang Soyeol stopped in her tracks.
Her eyes rolled wide, as if she had misheard him.
‘What did he just say?’
True Dragon…?