Jehwa Battle (3)
I was about to ask what kind of reaction there had been when Guryeonghwa was mentioned during the journey to Seomseo.
Seeing Sinhyeon’s reaction now, I wondered if I had misunderstood something.
But after hearing me, Sinhyeon instead said that there was something he wanted to ask me.
It was about everything from when Guryeonghwa first came to the Mount Hua Sect up until now.
And about why that little girl had been in the Mount Hua Sect in the state she was in.
Even as Sinhyeon explained, he was asking me.
Wasn’t it my fault that Guryeonghwa had become like that?
There was only one answer I could give.
“Yes. It is my fault.”
For something he had brought up so suddenly, saying that he had something to ask, it contained a deeply serious matter.
From my perspective, this was the first time I had heard about what Guryeonghwa had gone through after entering the Mount Hua Sect.
That she had cried while looking for me.
That she had been afraid of men.
I had barely noticed those things at the time because her reactions had seemed so slight.
But it seemed to have been worse than I expected.
I didn’t think the Guryeonghwa I had encountered recently had overcome it.
It seemed more likely that she had merely been enduring it.
Sinhyeon said nothing after hearing my answer.
But from his slightly furrowed brow and somewhat roughened breathing, I could sense that he was not feeling very good.
He looked as if he were forcing something down inside himself.
At first, I thought Guryeonghwa might have been bullied or something, but seeing this, I was relieved that it fortunately wasn’t the case.
If anything, it seemed she had received a fair amount of affection.
‘If anyone had bullied her, it would have been me.’
That was an undeniable fact.
Since Sinhyeon had no further words, I asked him,
“Aren’t you going to ask why I did it?”
At my question, Sinhyeon’s brows drew together slightly.
“…I thought it was something for which asking you, Young Hero, would not bring an answer.”
As Sinhyeon said, it was not something I could particularly answer.
It was my own shame, and not something I could tell another person.
“And.”
Sinhyeon continued.
“I still do not believe that my eyes were mistaken.”
“…”
I didn’t know what he had seen in me to make him think that way.
I simply met Sinhyeon’s gaze.
I could not understand everything contained in his eyes, but there was one thing I did know.
The faint resentment he directed at me had come from his concern for Guryeonghwa. Knowing that, I did not feel particularly bad.
This could not have been why Yeongpung had led me here….
As expected, Yeongpung appeared from behind and bowed to the second-generation disciples.
“Greetings, Senior Martial Uncles.”
“Junior Martial Nephew Yeongpung.”
“Yes….”
“Did you bring Young Hero Gu here?”
“Yes, Senior Martial Uncle.”
“This is a place where no one may come and go freely unless they are members of the sect. You know that, don’t you?”
“…I’m sorry. They asked about Fourth Senior Sister Gu, and I thought it would be better to let them speak directly.”
“You asked about Fourth Senior Sister Gu?”
Sinhyeon looked toward me. His gaze was a little different from when I had first met him.
Perhaps it was because of the answer I had given earlier.
From Sinhyeon’s words, it seemed Yeongpung had not been allowed to bring me here in the first place.
Even knowing that, Yeongpung had gone ahead and done it.
‘He’s quite reckless himself.’
Perhaps not as much as the Murim Alliance, but sect members were famous for following their seniors’ orders to the letter. Yeongpung had ignored that and brought me here anyway.
I let out a small sigh and said,
“I wanted to ask why my younger sister was going to duel the third-generation disciples.”
“Ah… That.”
Sinhyeon opened his mouth as if he meant to answer for me, but another voice interrupted him.
“Oppa?”
I turned around at the familiar voice and saw Guryeonghwa standing there.
She looked surprised to see me here.
Then she spotted the second-generation disciples hiding conspicuously here and there, and her face quickly crumpled.
“…Senior Brothers.”
“Ah, we’ve been found.”
“This is all because of Senior Brother… What kind of person openly talks like that when he was the one who suggested we hide?”
“Junior Sister Gu… Senior Brother coaxed us into coming here. None of this is our fault!”
“…Selling out your senior brother right away. What an excellent state the sect is in. You crazy bastards.”
Their excuses came out with such familiarity that it was almost as if they had rehearsed them. Meanwhile, Sinhyeon wiped his face in embarrassment.
Guryeonghwa watched them and muttered softly,
“I told you not to come….”
At her quiet lament, Sinhyeon hurriedly explained.
“I’m sorry. My junior brothers kept insisting that we come….”
“What the…? He just scolded us for selling him out first, and now he’s immediately selling us out.”
“It’s not as if this is the first or second time. Why are you surprised? Senior Brother is always like that.”
The men muttering behind him fell silent when Sinhyeon growled.
Guryeonghwa simply watched them.
She looked as though she had a lot to say but had no intention of bringing it up.
Then she sighed and lowered her head.
“…Thank you for worrying about me. Still, I wish you wouldn’t worry so much.”
There was something unusually firm about her words.
In a sense, her behavior might have seemed disrespectful to her seniors.
Without realizing it, I glanced at the men’s expressions, as if checking their reactions.
‘Huh…?’
They weren’t angry or displeased.
If anything, what was that expression supposed to be… surprise? Emotion? Something along those lines.
“Th-The heavens! Junior Sister just thanked us.”
“She didn’t even avoid our eyes or take a step back.”
“What is this? What’s happening? Am I going to die tomorrow?”
…Their reactions were frightening at this point.
What on earth was wrong with these lunatics?
Sinhyeon kicked the men, who looked as though they had half-lost their minds, out of the way and approached Guryeonghwa.
“…Will you be all right?”
At Sinhyeon’s question, Guryeonghwa nodded.
“As always, I respect my junior brothers’ choice.”
“Yes… Thank you.”
“I think this is the first time I’ve heard you thank me. It feels strange.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Your apology is enough. Whether thanks or apologies, I did none of those things in the hope of receiving either.”
Sinhyeon smiled faintly as he looked at Guryeonghwa.
Perhaps his gaze made her uncomfortable, because Guryeonghwa turned her head away.
“I’ll take these fools with me. It seems there isn’t much time left, so I hope you achieve results you can be satisfied with.”
The men behind him grumbled at Sinhyeon’s words, but when his back turned to them and his face transformed like a tiger’s, they all clamped their mouths shut.
I had thought he had a pleasant face, but he could make an expression like that too…?
For a moment, I found myself a little intimidated.
“Oppa, what brings you here?”
I shifted my gaze at Guryeonghwa’s call.
It seemed I had once again grown accustomed to her calling me Oppa.
The problem lay with me when it came to that.
‘Do I even deserve to be called that?’
That was all I could think.
I quickly erased those useless thoughts from my mind and said,
“I heard you were going to duel the third-generation disciples.”
“Ah.”
“I just wanted to ask why, but I ended up being dragged all the way here.”
By then, Sinhyeon had disappeared, taking all the disciples with him.
Yeongpung was gone too, so I supposed he had been taken along.
Guryeonghwa answered my question calmly.
“I thought it would be right to do it in a place suitable for my level.”
I understood what she meant.
At present, Guryeonghwa was nowhere near strong enough to fight a second-generation disciple.
Since most of the Mount Hua Sect’s current strength was concentrated among the second-generation disciples, there was no place for Guryeonghwa among them.
‘Though the third-generation disciples will probably be difficult for her too.’
Guryeonghwa had trained steadily, but it wasn’t as if the other third-generation disciples had neglected their training.
I couldn’t know for sure, since the only third-generation disciple I had properly faced was Yeongpung….
In any case, if that was why she had decided to compete against the third-generation disciples, there was nothing more for me to ask.
She must have been allowed to be here by the higher-ups in the first place.
‘Yeongpung among the second-generation disciples, and Guryeonghwa among the third-generation disciples.’
The situation seemed somewhat reversed.
Perhaps the difference was that Yeongpung had been forced into it, while Guryeonghwa had chosen it herself.
“…Do your best.”
I let the words trail off as I spoke, and Guryeonghwa raised her head.
Her eyes looked slightly surprised.
“What’s with that expression?”
“I… I didn’t think I’d hear something like that from you.”
“From the looks of things earlier, you seem to hear it often enough. You seem to be quite well-liked.”
I remembered the second-generation disciples fawning over Guryeonghwa as though they were praising a deity.
“…They’re just rather strange people.”
Guryeonghwa looked somewhat burdened by them.
If I were in her place, I would probably want to hide too if a group of muscular men kept shouting, “Our Yangcheon is the best!”
Still, she didn’t look like she disliked it entirely.
She was merely uncomfortable.
“Anyway, I’ve seen you, so that’s enough. I’m leaving.”
“Wait.”
Guryeonghwa, who had turned to go back, called out to me and stopped.
When I looked at her with a questioning expression, she approached me slightly and caught hold of my sleeve.
I couldn’t help but be surprised by her action.
Guryeonghwa had once found it difficult even to face me, after all.
“Are you going to watch the Jehwa Battle?”
“I came here to watch it.”
“Is Unnie… here too?”
If she meant Unnie, was she talking about Namgung Bi-a? Namgung Bi-a was probably seated with Wieseol-a.
I answered Guryeonghwa.
“She’s here. She’ll probably be in her seat.”
“Are you too?”
“I…”
I had come to watch Guryeonghwa’s duel, but saying that I would watch the event from here before leaving felt strangely embarrassing. I cleared my throat a little before speaking.
“…I’ll watch it.”
At my answer, Guryeonghwa released my sleeve. Her hand was trembling faintly, as if it was still difficult for her.
Why had she grabbed me if it was so hard for her?
Guryeonghwa stroked her trembling hand and gave a bitter smile.
“I guess it’s still a little difficult.”
I’m sorry. If it’s hard, don’t do it. You don’t have to force yourself.
There were many words that felt as though they might burst from my mouth, but I did not say them.
The young Guryeonghwa was trying to overcome it on her own.
This story was already very different from the one in my previous life.
“…All right. I’ll be watching.”
Whenever I saw her like that, I felt both regret and resolve.
The belated regret that I should never have done such a thing, and the resolve that I had to change, even now.
Guryeonghwa returned to her place, saying that she had to prepare.
I, too, watched her back for a while before walking away.
With somewhat complicated feelings, I returned to where the spectators had gathered and searched for my companions.
Finding them was easier than expected. All I had to do was find Namgung Bi-a.
As expected, there was a place toward which people’s gazes subtly converged.
Although she wore a veil, perhaps because of Namgung Bi-a’s distinctive presence, people’s attention kept drifting toward her.
Namgung Bi-a was leaning against Wieseol-a, looking somewhat exhausted, when she suddenly lifted her head and began looking around.
As though searching for something.
After glancing about, Namgung Bi-a’s gaze turned in my direction. Perhaps she had spotted me, because she waved.
Wieseol-a, sitting beside her, waved as well.
‘She was quite far away. How did she find me?’
Had she used some kind of bet?
It didn’t seem like she would go that far, so was it coincidence?
‘It must have been coincidence.’
Thinking such pointless thoughts, I went over and found the seat beside them empty. They had probably saved it for me.
Wieseol-a asked when she saw me,
“Young Master, where did you go?”
“I went to see my younger sister. I heard she was competing today.”
Perhaps she heard us, because Namgung Bi-a reacted from beside her.
“Today… she is?”
“That’s what I heard.”
Namgung Bi-a’s lips twitched as if she wanted to ask something else, but she soon turned her head away.
Her gaze was fixed on the dueling platform.
There was no need to ask why.
The somewhat noisy murmuring around us faded away.
Everyone’s eyes were directed toward the dueling platform.
On the platform, which had been utterly quiet, crimson energy suddenly gathered in the low air overhead, forming a small leaf.
The leaf, filled with light, swayed gently as though carried by the wind before drifting downward.
Then, the moment it touched the ground—
Whoosh!
The crimson energy instantly whirled outward, enveloping the entire dueling platform.
It was an enormous amount of inner energy, obvious at a glance.
The energy swept across the platform like a whirlwind before suddenly bursting outward with a bang! It left a faint trace in the air, then vanished.
Standing on the platform now that the energy had disappeared was the Mount Hua Sect’s Sect Leader, Maehwaseon, at the front.
Behind him stood what appeared to be the third-generation disciples who would be competing in the Jehwa Battle.
The spectators seated around us immediately erupted into cheers.
“…That’s insane.”
It was probably a performance by Maehwaseon for those who had climbed all the way up Mount Hua to attend.
Still, it was more astonishing that he could use that much inner energy for a mere performance without showing the slightest sign of exertion.
When Maehwaseon raised a hand, the crowd fell silent again as if on cue.
“Every year, you come all the way here, climbing this high mountain in the sweltering heat, all for this small event… I am truly grateful.”
Each time Maehwaseon took a step, I had the illusion that a breeze was blowing.
Was this another change created through inner energy?
“There is nothing more tiresome than an old man’s long-winded speech, so I shall conclude with my thanks and take my leave. I ask only that you watch how brilliantly our children have worked and trained.”
True to his words, Maehwaseon descended from the dueling platform and went elsewhere.
Sword Dragon Yeongpung might be no more than a promising younger-generation martial artist, but Maehwaseon was an absolute master widely known throughout the Central Plains. Many people seemed disappointed that they could not hear more from him.
From my perspective, however, it was good that I could watch the Jehwa Battle sooner.
Once Maehwaseon sat among the elders, the third-generation disciples on the platform began preparing as though they had been waiting for him.
Two of them stepped out from the group, drew wooden swords, and faced each other.
‘They’re using wooden swords?’
I thought I had heard beforehand that the second-generation disciples would be using real swords.
The man who appeared to be the referee glanced at the young men on both sides, checking whether they had finished preparing.
“…Begin!”
At his shout, infused with inner energy, the two immediately leaped forward and charged at each other.