EP.32 Endure It Just Three Times (2)
Dang So-yeol had different tastes from others since she was young.
While the children of the family chased after puppies or kittens, she chased after reptiles like snakes.
After that, she chased after beasts of the wolf or tiger variety.
The charm of a growl paired with fiercely slit eyes. The aura of a predator exuded before weak prey couldn't be more magnificent.
So when the engagement talk with the Nangong family came up in the past, she had gritted her teeth and opposed it for that very reason.
Dang So-yeol didn't like Nangong Chun-jun.
Even if everyone else said he was handsome, a genius of the world, or whatever.
'Looking like some pretty-boy parasite.'
Every time she saw him, he looked soft and greasy.
Since she wasn't bewitched by Nangong Chun-jun's appearance, the inexplicable damp and chilly feeling she sensed was also unpleasant.
He was somehow strange.
She felt a sense of alienness in his affectionate behavior.
She couldn't understand why other female rising stars looked at Nangong Chun-jun like they couldn't live without him.
Compared to that, Nangong Bi-a was a good person.
Though she was quiet and her expressions didn't show much, her caring actions felt genuine, and even when she was occasionally harsh, she was a sister who accepted everything.
Dang So-yeol liked Nangong Bi-a who accepted even her ugly parts without any fuss.
When Nangong Bi-a promised to come to the next Dang Martial Assembly and kept that promise, she was truly moved.
But when she saw Nangong Chun-jun who had followed along, she wondered why that guy had come again.
Wherever Nangong Bi-a went, Nangong Chun-jun was there.
Why on earth?
From what she could see, Nangong Bi-a didn't seem to particularly like Nangong Chun-jun.
But with her sister being so expressionless, she couldn't really know for sure. And it didn't seem like something she could just ask about.
"Come here, Dang-rang."
-Grrr.
A massive wolf with black fur, the mountain wolf that Dang So-yeol was raising.
How could this fierce face be so cute? Dang So-yeol gently stroked Dang-rang.
"..Aww, you cute thing. I wish all the men in the world were like you."
Dang So-yeol harbored that wish, but she knew it would never happen.
Just looking at Nangong Chun-jun, or that brat from the Murong family, or Peng Wu-jin from the Peng family—they were all pretty young masters with soft features.
How could all three look so much like pretty-boy parasites?
Even the sons of the Nangong and Murong families had somehow unsettling aspects about them.
'...Peng Wu-jin is just a weird person.'
Thinking about the troubles he and Dang Ju-yeok had caused together made her head hurt a bit.
No wonder she got along so well with Peng A-hui right from their first meeting. The empathy of sisters with weird older brothers was like that.
The last time they met seemed to be right after Peng A-hui broke off her engagement.
Where did she say she was engaged to? She didn't catch the details.
She only remembers Peng A-hui saying he was a total scoundrel, and that breaking the engagement was a blessing.
"...Is there no handsome man anywhere."
Dang Sect's Poison Phoenix Dang So-yeol, was in puberty hungry for love.
That night.
Dang So-yeol was walking by the lake with Nangong Bi-a.
The lotus lake, said to be the Dang Sect's work of art, was a place that couldn't be entered without the accompaniment and permission of the blood relatives.
The lotus flowers floating on the lake looked ordinary at a glance, but they were all spiritual herbs containing spiritual energy.
The lake that held them was the same, and the fish living there too.
According to Dang Ju-yeok, it was evaluated as a luxury item that the old craftsmen of the Dang Sect had worked uselessly hard to create.
Dang So-yeol also honestly agreed with this part.
It was incredibly pretty... but nothing beyond that...
Walking the night path slowly, Dang So-yeol asked Nangong Bi-a.
"Sister Bi-a, was your journey here alright?"
"...Yeah, I got lost a bit on the way though..."
"...You got lost again."
Nangong Bi-a was surprisingly bad with directions.
Even when going straight, she would keep veering off to a different path on her own. Perhaps her seemingly oblivious personality had something to do with it, Dang So-yeol thought.
"But you still managed to find your way... I was worried."
"I had a companion."
"A companion?"
"Yeah."
Was she talking about the people from other families who came with the Nangong Family today?
She heard it was called the Gu family. Honestly, she didn't know much about them.
What she did know was only that the famous Chivalrous Hero was the family head, and that Sword Phoenix was a blood relative of that place, and that it was the number one in Shanxi.
Perhaps because it was a family that rarely engaged in external activities, Dang So-yeol knew almost nothing about them.
It was also unusual that blood relatives of the Gu family came to this Dang Martial Assembly.
Dang Ju-yeok would probably know more since he's the young master?
"Are you talking about that Gu family place?"
"That's right..."
What was it, Dang So-yeol had the illusion that Nangong Bi-a was smiling slightly.
She had never seen Nangong Bi-a smile before.
Walking a bit more in the night breeze.
Rather than Dang So-yeol's position, it seemed Nangong Bi-a didn't want to go back.
Walking like that, they stopped their footsteps.
It was because they felt a presence.
"...It's not Brother's presence."
There were two presences.
Shrouded in shadow, their faces weren't clearly visible, but at the very least, they weren't people of the Dang family.
"Who are you."
Dang So-yeol asked.
They seemed startled by the voice.
Since they didn't appear to be intruders or enemies, probably guests who visited the family had wandered into the wrong place.
"This is a place outsiders cannot freely enter."
As the moonlight slowly shone, the faces of those shrouded in shadow were revealed.
Dang So-yeol's breath momentarily stopped when she saw them, especially the boy's face.
No, perhaps even time had stopped.
Thump! Thump!
She was feeling her heart pound like it would explode in real-time.
A boy with pitch-black hair, slightly furrowed eyes, and eyebrows contorted as if displeased with something, creating a fierce atmosphere.
"I-if you don't answer, I'll call someone..."
Her voice trembled, she stuttered slightly—did it show? Dang So-yeol couldn't understand why she was feeling anxious about this.
Nangong Bi-a, who was quietly beside her, whispered in her ear about the boy.
That he was from the Gu family.
-I am Gu Jeol-yeop.
The boy said.
Gu Jeol-yeop... Even his name felt handsome.
Ah, this isn't right. What was I saying?
What he said and what I replied.
She couldn't remember.
She wished her madly pounding heart would calm down.
Dang So-yeol realized she was in big trouble.
This was not good. She felt like she needed to get away from this place quickly.
The boy eventually turned and left, and Dang So-yeol tried her best to act calm through that night.
But she couldn't sleep a wink.
The next day came, and Dang Ju-yeok said he had arranged a meal gathering with only the rising stars who came for the Dang Martial Assembly.
Her sleep-deprived, exhausted body started to come alive on its own at those words.
'...Get a grip, please.'
She told her heart, but Dang So-yeol's heart didn't seem to listen at all and started pounding again.
What if he comes?
What if he doesn't come?
Even she thought it was an absurdly contradictory thought.
Then, the boy from yesterday entered.
For some reason, he had his arm around Nangong Chun-jun's shoulders.
Were the two close? That atmosphere was strangely not it though.
The meal started quickly, but Dang So-yeol didn't know if the rice was going into her nose or her mouth.
Her gaze was solely directed at the boy.
'His eyes are slit. How... handsome.'
'He can't eat spicy food, I guess. Handsome.'
'Ah, he coughs. Cute.'
Thinking so arbitrarily, by the time she noticed, she was already sitting next to him.
'Am I a crazy bitch... What's with this action?'
Her impulsive action was excellent, but apart from that, her shriveled-sounding voice was a problem.
Seeing him slightly furrow his brow as if he couldn't properly understand her, Dang So-yeol felt like she'd go crazy.
The attendant once said that when someone is too good to you, you shiver—she felt she somewhat understood what that meant.
She felt like she should ask something.
What should she ask...?
Do you have a favorite poison by any chance...? I'm decent with daggers, would you like to practice dagger techniques with me...?
'...That doesn't seem right.'
Favorite food? Right, let's ask something more conventional.
"Young Master Gu... by any chance, your favorite..."
"Dang Brother, is the place down there the training hall?"
The words Dang So-yeol had spat out with the greatest courage of her life were blocked by Nangong Chun-jun's words.
"Miss Dang, what did you say?"
The boy, with a kind heart, asked Dang So-yeol back, but Dang So-yeol couldn't spit out the already broken words again.
She just resolved to put poison in the tea Nangong Chun-jun would drink someday.
That clueless bastard continued to interfere even after coming down to the training hall.
Out of nowhere, Nangong Chun-jun asked the boy for a sparring match.
At that absurd remark, Dang So-yeol shouted in opposition without realizing.
"No!"
What was not okay?
The age difference in sparring, the difference in level—if she had to give such reasons, she could.
'His face... what if it gets hurt!'
That was the problem for Dang So-yeol.
What if that precious face got a scratch?
What if that face, brimming with wild beauty that seemed to look down on anyone, got a wound?
Dang So-yeol felt like she might do something wicked to Nangong Chun-jun.
However, despite Dang So-yeol's dissuasion, the boy accepted Nangong Chun-jun's sparring request.
Nangong Chun-jun said he wouldn't use internal energy nor one leg.
Even so, he was the Thunder Dragon.
Even if Dang So-yeol was called the Poison Phoenix and didn't use internal energy, she doubted she could even touch the hem of Nangong Chun-jun's clothes.
That was how high Nangong Chun-jun's standing was among the rising stars.
Only someone like the Gu family's Sword Phoenix, the greatest rising star, would be able to face the Thunder Dragon.
In that situation, Dang So-yeol could only watch with anxious eyes.
Should she intervene if it seemed like he'd get hurt? As what relationship to him?
'...Right, what relationship am I to him.'
Not knowing what to do, she looked at Nangong Bi-a beside her.
"Sister...?"
Nangong Bi-a's expression was the same as before, but she was gripping her sword handle with one hand.
No, her expression seemed slightly different from usual. Her breathing seemed a bit faster too.
Was she watching her younger brother's sparring?
If so, her gaze didn't seem to be directed at Nangong Chun-jun.
"...!"
Nangong Bi-a's eyes suddenly widened. Wondering what happened, she immediately turned her gaze to the sparring platform.
"Huh...?"
Dang So-yeol couldn't understand what she was seeing.
A wooden sword rolling on the ground, and Nangong Chun-jun sitting down clutching his wrist.
And the boy looking down at Nangong Chun-jun with languid eyes.
She couldn't understand it.
But it was thrilling.
With a sensation that sent shivers down her spine, Dang So-yeol exhaled a hot breath without realizing.
The figure of the predator she had so dreamed of.
So what if he was frail, his face was that outstanding.
Dang So-yeol's thoughts, which had been thinking like that, were overturned.
The boy spoke while looking at Nangong Chun-jun.
"Are you not going to pick it up?"
At the sight of him taking a step toward Nangong Chun-jun while saying that.
Dang So-yeol ultimately sat down.
******************
This was an incomprehensible situation.
Nangong Chun-jun thought so.
Why did I drop my sword...?
He was going to hit the shoulder and then the leg next.
How should he torment that pest. It was a time when only the fun worry remained.
But why did I drop the wooden sword?
His arm throbbed.
Before he knew it, his wrist had turned red.
He hit the wrist in that brief moment? But why couldn't he see it?
"Truly a miraculous thing."
At the voice, Nangong Chun-jun raised his head.
The guy who had approached without him noticing was looking down at him.
"You so-called geniuses always have stray thoughts during sparring. If this were real combat, you'd be dead about three times already. You know?"
Nangong Chun-jun, who was about to answer those words, hastily moved his body.
It was because Gu Yang-cheon had swung his arm.
He succeeded in dodging, but due to his collapsed posture, he couldn't avoid the next attack.
After rolling a couple of times from the kick to his chest, Nangong Chun-jun let out a breath mixed with a groan.
"Urgh..."
While he was groaning with crackling sounds, a wooden sword dropped in front of him with a light tap.
"Please pick it up quickly. You said this was a sparring match too."
Gu Yang-cheon spoke and clapped his hands.
"Ah, by any chance am I supposed to teach you? I'm not very confident if that's the case."
Crack.
At the provocation from the bright expression as he walked over, a rough sound came from Nangong Chun-jun's mouth.
Then Nangong Chun-jun grabbed the wooden sword and stood up.
"..I was careless..."
"You're not going to say something like you were careless, right? There's no uglier excuse for a martial artist than that."
At Gu Yang-cheon's words, Nangong Chun-jun closed his mouth.
It was because he himself thought it was an ugly thing to say.
He just quietly took his stance.
'...So he does have some skill.'
He had looked down on him too much.
He should have thought that as the Sword Phoenix's younger brother, he'd have something.
Nangong Chun-jun took half a step and thrust his sword in a straight line.
It was to do it properly.
Next, he drew a semicircle a bit slowly, thrust and slashed, retracted the sword, and again one sword, two swords.
It was the footwork he had practiced for years to apply force according to the sword's trajectory.
Thanks to that, he was able to mix in unmatched solidity when unfolding techniques.
This would become the Nangong family's proud Swift Sword, and proportionally, sharpness would be contained within it.
The Number One Sword Under Heaven.
Currently, it was a name held by the Sword Sovereign, but Nangong Chun-jun was certain that he would inherit that name in the future.
When it came to the sword, even his father, the family head, said that Nangong Chun-jun's talent surpassed his own.
So it would surely come to be.
Because he was a genius.
But why.
'Why isn't it reaching...!'
How many times had he swung? Just how many exchanges was this?
His sword was certainly fast.
There were no gaps in the techniques and no breaks in their continuity.
The flow of breathing that would have been ruined by anger was recovered while swinging the sword.
There was no reason for him to lose to this guy.
But why on earth??
How could he move as if he knew where and how his sword would be swung?
Gu Yang-cheon was barely dodging Nangong Chun-jun's sword.
His collar brushed, his hair brushed past.
But he wasn't hit.
His breathing wasn't disturbed either.
Since he was dodging with only the bare minimum of movement, his stamina would have plenty of room too.
This was something that couldn't happen unless one was more thoroughly versed in the Nangong's sword paths than himself.
Then what was the answer.
'Is that trash... stronger than me?'
With his crumbling pride and self-esteem, the circuit of his thoughts became distorted.
...He wanted to kill him.
That guy who received his beautiful sister's attention.
That guy who dodged his sword as if it was nothing.
He wanted to kill him.
As uncontrollable killing intent was contained, the internal energy held in his dantian wrapped around the sword.
So minutely that it wouldn't be noticed at all.
Nangong Chun-jun, using his strongly planted lower body as a foundation, swung his sword at Gu Yang-cheon's head.
-Smack!
Before the sword could reach, Gu Yang-cheon's fist struck Nangong Chun-jun's face.
"Keugh!"
Nangong Chun-jun staggered and sat down.
Gu Yang-cheon then slapped Nangong Chun-jun's cheek.
Slap! With a sharp sound, Nangong Chun-jun fell.
"You fucking bastard."
Gu Yang-cheon approached Nangong Chun-jun while shouting.
His voice was full of anger.
"I was going to keep letting it go, and now you're wrapping qi around it? Look at this bastard, there's even killing intent in it? Why? Trying to kill me?"
With blood streaming down, Nangong Chun-jun couldn't come to his senses.
"Ah, fuck, seriously. This counts as enduring a lot, right?"
After spitting out words that seemed meant for no one in particular.
He kicked Nangong Chun-jun's groin as he was swaying.
"AAAAAAAH-!"
"Heok...!"
Seeing that, Dang Ju-yeok involuntarily shrank his body.