EP.57 Seriously, No One Is Normal! (1)
'What's with her again...?'
I was dumbfounded.
Why is that crazy bitch here?
This isn't Shanxi, nor is it Shaanxi.
It's literally just a nameless mountain.
But running into Nangong Bi-ah in a place like this, does that even make sense?
"What the...."
I was about to ask what kind of bullshit this was, but something preceded my question.
A tingling aura could be felt from all directions.
Seeing Yingfeng get sent flying, the disciples of the Huashan Sect immediately drew their swords.
They likely judged Nangong Bi-ah as an enemy and intended to subdue or kill her.
There was no time to think about what to do.
I didn't have the ability to run over and protect her right away, so I just shouted first.
"L-long time no see!"
"...?"
Perhaps my sudden greeting worked, the countless pouring sword blades stopped before reaching Nangong Bi-ah.
"Sister!"
Taking that chance, Wei Xue-ah, who had been watching, ran over and hugged Nangong Bi-ah.
Nangong Bi-ah seemed startled for a moment, but gently stroked Wei Xue-ah's head.
Since Nangong Bi-ah was quite tall, Wei Xue-ah fit perfectly in her embrace.
"Young Master Gu, are you acquainted with that woman?"
Shen Xian approached me and asked.
How should I answer this?
Should I just say we vaguely know each other?
'Where did she suddenly pop out from this time...'
After we parted ways, I thought we definitely wouldn't run into each other for a while.
I figured we'd meet at least once regarding the engagement, and that was all I expected.
To meet here of all places...?
In a mountain valley with absolutely nothing?
'Did she come looking for me?'
No way, that was impossible.
Nangong Bi-ah is terrible with directions.
Seriously terrible.
She's the type of person who would go west if you tell her east, so maybe if we ran into each other by chance.
The possibility that she came looking for someone was out of the question.
She wasn't a human capable of finding her way somewhere.
"Young Master?"
"Ah."
I was thinking about Nangong Bi-ah and couldn't answer Shen Xian's question.
First, I had to give a vague answer and find out why Nangong Bi-ah was here.
"Just someone I vaguely know...."
"Fiancée."
"...What?"
[What did she say?]
At Nangong Bi-ah's voice interrupting, the somewhat noisy surroundings instantly fell silent.
"...What did you just say?"
I asked Nangong Bi-ah back, feeling like I heard something I shouldn't have heard.
Nangong Bi-ah tilted her head as if asking why I was reacting this way.
It must be nonsense, right? I think I just heard nonsense.
"I am his fiancée."
I didn't mishear.
As if I wasn't the only one shocked, the people around us completely shut their mouths.
Especially the glares from the men glaring at me felt particularly fierce.
'...Don't be swayed by looks, you humans.'
Even as I say that, I had to admit Nangong Bi-ah's looks were top-tier.
In my past life, I saw Nangong Bi-ah's completed appearance enough to get sick of it, but I didn't. At least when it came to her looks.
If it were me in my past life, I might have drooled hearing that Nangong Bi-ah was my fiancée.
Whether it was her hair, a complete mess covered in dust.
Or her martial uniform, torn and dirty like a rag.
It didn't detract from Nangong Bi-ah's inherent beauty.
Because she still possessed beauty even amidst all that.
Her jewel-like blue eyes were solely directed at me.
She wasn't smiling right now, but the image of Nangong Bi-ah smiling brightly earlier came to mind.
'So she can actually smile.'
I had never seen her smile in my past life.
I had only seen her slicing and cutting people down with an expressionless face.
Honestly, it was unpleasant, but her smiling face was undeniably beautiful.
"Sister!"
Wei Xue-ah, who had been rubbing her face against Nangong Bi-ah's chest for a while, spoke.
"Yeah...?"
"How did you get here?"
"Came to find..."
"Who?"
Nangong Bi-ah slowly pointed at me with her hand.
...She really came to find me?
'How did she find me?'
She's the kind of person who would climb a mountain and wander around for a long time when she's supposed to take a boat.
Or cross a river out of nowhere when she's supposed to cross a mountain.
She doesn't even grasp the basic directions of East, West, South, and North... Did she really come to find me?
[You rotten bastard.]
Old Man Shen, who had been quiet, suddenly spat out a curse.
'...Why are you suddenly picking a fight?'
[Do you feel nothing even after seeing those looks? If so, you haven't lost your mind; you never had one to begin with.]
'No, why are you sexually harassing me when I'm just standing here?'
[Just go out and die.]
I lightly ignored Old Man Shen's curses.
Why is this old man suddenly picking a fight...
I approached Nangong Bi-ah and asked.
"Miss Nangong, did you really come to find me?"
"Yeah..."
"Why?"
"Because I missed you."
...What?
What did she just...
[Please get struck by lightning and die, you rotten bastard.]
'Ah, please... just be quiet...'
[Rotten bastard... Why won't some ghost take this bastard away, ah, I am the ghost.]
My mind went a little hazy at Nangong Bi-ah's words.
Is she really in her right mind?
Why did she suddenly appear and spout nonsense.
"No, what's with the sudden weird talk..."
"Young Master."
Wei Xue-ah, who had slightly slipped out of Nangong Bi-ah's embrace, approached.
Perhaps because she kept rubbing her face against dirty clothes, there were slight black smudges on her face.
"What."
"What's a fiancée?"
"Huh...?"
It was such an unexpected question that I momentarily lost my words.
What's a fiancée?
Yeah, what is it...?
Looking at her bright, sparkling eyes, she seemed to be genuinely asking because she didn't know.
How should I answer this?
"Well, a fiancée is...."
For some reason, answering felt like committing a sin.
While my lips were drying up, not knowing what to say, someone appeared, pushing through the bushes.
"...Oh my aching back."
It was none other than Yingfeng, who had been sent flying far away earlier.
Yingfeng, appearing while patting his slightly bent back, gauged the subtle atmosphere.
"...Uh, what's this situation?"
Looking around at the situation, Yingfeng suddenly gasped when he saw Nangong Bi-ah.
When Nangong Bi-ah's blank gaze met Yingfeng's, Yingfeng suddenly flopped down.
Wondering why he was acting like that, I checked Yingfeng's condition, which was very strange.
"...Huh?"
Slightly flushed cheeks, red ears along with them, and a gaze shaking like crazy.
I've seen that face somewhere a lot before....
'Ah!'
I remembered.
It was exactly the same as Gu Jieye's face when he was drooling over Wei Xue-ah.
Uh... then, don't tell me?
As I was looking at Yingfeng with wide eyes, the other Huashan Sect disciples approached the collapsed Yingfeng.
"Junior Brother Yingfeng! Snap out of it! No, why is he suddenly like this, Senior Brother?"
"Did he hit his head while flying away?"
"He was fine even after getting hit by an Iron Palm, and you're saying he can't come to his senses after hitting a tree?"
"His body must be weak. Should we catch a chicken and make him eat it?"
Amidst the exchange of some rough treatment methods, Old Man Shen's voice was heard.
[He's screwed, he can't get out of that.]
'Excuse me?'
[Look at his eyes, he's already lost his mind. Furthermore, after seeing a beauty like her, his standards have probably risen uselessly high.]
Poor guy... what a cursed world, truly a cursed world.
Old Man Shen didn't speak after that.
In the midst of a strangely flowing situation, I spoke.
"...So what about the spar?"
My quietly whispered words were answered by no one.
...Fuck.
******************
Time had already become night.
Even though each day passes so quickly, why does the road to Shaanxi only feel far?
It was an incomprehensible thing.
I came out after roughly washing my body on one side of the valley.
Getting my body wet always felt uncomfortable, but it was summer, and since my cultivation method was what it was, I didn't spend much time drying off.
"....should we?"
"....hey."
On my way to the campsite, I saw the men clustered together for some unknown reason.
At first I thought they were the Huashan people, but looking closely, the Gu Family's guards were mixed in as well.
Why are they acting like that?
Wondering where they were looking so intently, I moved my gaze to follow theirs, and there was Nangong Bi-ah.
[Crazy....]
"Surprise...!"
Old Man Shen, who had been quiet since earlier, suddenly popped out.
[Crazy, she's crazy....]
'What are you talking about, suddenly popping out like this?'
[You brat, do you really feel nothing looking at that?]
I wondered what he was talking about, but I already knew the answer.
Nangong Bi-ah was sitting demurely in front of the campfire, chatting softly with Wei Xue-ah.
She had washed and changed out of her dirty state.
Since she didn't bring any clothes, we made her wear servant clothes for now. But did those clothes always give off that kind of vibe?
Compared to the other servants around, it somehow looked more premium.
Her appearance, which was beautiful even when messy, now seemed to be glowing as she became neat and tidy.
Especially with Wei Xue-ah next to her, it was like a painting.
At that level, I could somewhat understand the position of the people watching from afar.
'...But it feels a bit voyeuristic.'
It didn't seem like a very good sight, that is.
"...Senior Brother, it's my first time seeing someone so pretty. Are all women from other regions like this?"
"If she's from the Nangong Family, she should be from the Anhui Province area... Wasn't Senior Sister Shen Mi from the Anhui area?"
"Then it's true that she is exceptionally beautiful."
"...Junior Brother, I'll make sure to convey that part to Senior Sister."
"Huh? W-wait a minute, Senior Brother, Senior Brother!?"
What the hell are they doing?
"Young Master!"
Wei Xue-ah, noticing me, waved her hand with a bright smile.
Nangong Bi-ah had already been looking at me since the moment I was watching the men.
Ah, I was just going to go to sleep...
Feeling an atmosphere where it seemed I shouldn't just leave, I eventually moved my feet.
"What are you doing?"
"I was talking with Sister."
"About what?"
"About frogs!"
"...Frogs?"
My desire to ask vanished.
It was obviously going to be about whether frogs taste good or not, or that the portions are small.
"On our way here, I saw a frog in the valley and it was a pretty color!"
"Ah... about the colors."
...Sorry.
I naturally thought it was about eating; this is why prejudice is scary.
Nangong Bi-ah, who was next to me, silently handed me something. It was a dumpling.
"What is this?"
I asked after receiving it.
"Dumpling..."
"Why a dumpling, leaving the fish being grilled in front...?"
"Heard you like them."
"..No, yes, thank you."
Wait, where did this dumpling come from?
We've been traveling from the Family for nearly dozens of days, how does a dumpling pop out?
For now, I took a bite.
Fortunately, it didn't seem spoiled.
I was thankful for the dumpling, but there was something I had to ask Nangong Bi-ah.
"Miss Nangong."
"Yeah...?"
"What are you going to do now?"
"About what...?"
"We are going to Huashan. Not only the way there, but it's also a long way to return to the Family. It's already miraculous that you found us, but what were you thinking coming here?"
"I wanted to se..."
"..Keep that to yourself."
[Rotten bastard, I wish you'd burn to death.]
I ignored Old Man Shen's cruel curse.
Nangong Bi-ah stared at me with her blank eyes at my words.
What meaning was contained in that gaze?
A moment passed, and Nangong Bi-ah suddenly gave a slight nod.
At the same time, I couldn't help but be flustered by the words that popped out.
"I want to travel with you."
"Travel, travel where?"
I really wish she would cut to the chase and just say it.
It was Nangong Bi-ah's bad habit of thinking to herself and spitting out her own answers.
At times like this, it was easier to just figure it out myself rather than asking again.
"Do you mean until the Huashan Sect?"
"No."
"...Then how far are you planning to go.."
"All the way."
"Excuse me?"
"I want to travel with you all the way."
"...Since when?"
What kind of bullshit is this.
My mind went blank at Nangong Bi-ah's sudden words.
Travel all the way? With who? Me?
..Why me?
"Why would you travel with me?"
"Because we're fiancés."
"What kind of crazy talk is that."
Does she think 'fiancé' is some invincible word?
It was already giving me a headache because of that. With the person involved coming to find me and acting like this, it was incredibly complicated.
[You should be thankful and eat it up, why are you being so picky? Does it make sense for a woman like that to be attached to your face?]
'Why are you suddenly attacking my looks so cheaply? No, and what's wrong with me! I'm fairly good-looking...'
[A guy who looks like a praying mantis speaks absolute bullshit.]
'Praying mantis...'
Fuck, I need to do an exorcism or something quickly.
"Did you tell the Family before coming?"
"...."
"...Miss?"
"...I did."
She didn't.
She definitely came without saying anything.
The silence in between was saying so.
A blood relative of a prestigious family running away from home.
What kind of unbelievable troublemaker is this...?
'Are you Peng Wuzhen? I said are you Peng Wuzhen...!'
"You said you came to see me."
"Yeah."
"Why? Do you have some business with me?"
[He asks this. Are you really in your right mind?]
Why is this old man so angry since earlier...?
He kept yelling in my head, to the point where I was getting a headache.
At my question, Nangong Bi-ah fell silent for a moment.
Even so, her two eyes never left me.
Is she contemplating something again?
"I am..."
The lips that opened after a little hesitation.
"Young Master Gu!"
Couldn't finish speaking in the end.
It was because Yingfeng appeared, shouting.
"The spar we couldn't finish earlier... let's do it now!"
Yingfeng's bright demeanor from earlier was gone, and for some reason, his voice was flushed.
And in a slightly bad way, at that.
"Why is he acting like that again...?"
That bastard isn't normal either.
...I just wanted to go home quickly.