***
Seong Mo-ran was accumulating fatigue while welcoming guests.
“Hahahaha, Young Lady! As rumored, your beauty is outstanding!”
“There is no Seo-si [a legendary beauty] separate from you. Your father must be very pleased.”
“The moment you entered, I thought the sun was already rising.”
Countless men are showing excessive interest.
“I heard that the Young Lady’s sword is terribly sharp. Can I see it sometime later?”
“I also have deep knowledge of swords, so how about we discuss swords while drinking tea later?”
“How about you come to our family as an exchange disciple? I can tell my
grandfather.......”
They were acting cocky as if they had great skills.
‘Flowers in a greenhouse who have never experienced a real fight.’
Is acting cocky like that possible only with one’s own skills?
Without the protection of the sect, without the investment of the family, is it
truly possible?
She didn't think he was like herself, who had risen to this position without
receiving anything from the family at least.
Of course, she couldn't express such feelings.
Because she remembers how strangely distorted Seong Mo-hyeon’s face was when he couldn't overwhelm her in a sparring match against her, and how worried the eyes of the family elders were, Seong Mo-ran didn't create work for nothing.
‘There isn't even a decent man, let alone a real warrior.’
It was boring.
Because of her mother, who was pouring out nagging saying that the family’s face is this and that, she was enduring it forcibly, but it was nothing but boring.
Father, grandfather, and even Seong Mo-hyeon seemed to be plotting something, but they didn't tell her, and she didn't have much interest.
‘It must be something about Baek-pal-bong or whatever.’
To think that the story that men gather and barely manage to do is about a plot.
Rather, they should at least have a heated duel. Hadn't the power of the Tae-eul Sect been overwhelmed a long time ago?
If they show the difference in power and embrace the opponent fairly, they would at least look like warriors.
“Boring.”
It was a great pity that Nam-gung Seon-hwa could not attend the banquet.
If at least she had been there, it wouldn't have been this boring.
“She must be crazy right now.”
She heard that a banquet would be held under the auspices of Nam-gung San, who attended the 60th birthday instead of Nam-gung Seon-hwa, but she had no desire to attend.
Anyway, if she goes, it will be full of people who are dying to fawn over the
Nam-gung Clan and the Cheol-geom-mun.
She had heard enough praise and flattery that she would have to listen to for a
while.
“Young Lady! Young Lady!”
A maid was looking for Seong Mo-ran.
“Eek.”
Seong Mo-ran, who knew what the purpose was, lightly kicked the floor and landed on the roof without a sound.
“Where did she go?”
The maid, who reached the place where Seong Mo-ran had been until a moment ago, was still turning her head and looking for Seong Mo-ran.
“The Young Master is looking for you. Young Lady! Young Lady!”
Only after the maid disappeared did Seong Mo-ran sigh small.
“Augh.......”
The moment she, who hadn't been able to stretch properly because she was pretending to be a modest young lady, stretched refreshingly.
Her eyes were fixed on the man and woman between the pavilions.
It was Gye Cheol-yeong and the young lady of the Tae-eul Sect.
“Hmm...... Are the two of them going alone?”
Seong Mo-ran remembered the person named Jin So-un, whom she had seen during the day.
Clearly, his internal energy seemed insignificant, and there were no traces of Tae-yang-hyeol [Sun Point] marks.
Even though the martial arts he possessed seemed insignificant, he instantly subdued the bamboo salt of the Cheong-juk-bo.
“It’s strange.”
The one move shown at that time was not the only strange thing.
A person’s attitude is determined by what they possess.
A person with a solid family background naturally straightens their shoulders, and a person who doesn't is bowed at the waist. A person who has built a family through personal effort, excluding background, can also have a dignified attitude.
However, the man named Jin So-un had the Tae-eul Sect as his background, and he was too young to have built a family.
On top of that, his eloquence blocks the words by answering logically to the words of her father, Seong-ju-tak.
“Was the Cheol-geom-mun not very scary?”
Thinking like that, she jumped up from her seat.
“It will be fun.”
It seemed that the boring banquet would suddenly become enjoyable.
Seong Mo-ran lightly kicked the roof and flew into the night sky.
<><><>
“......Isn't it a bit strange?”
Gang Chae-seok, who had entrusted an important mission to Jin So-un, said to Jin
Tae-san, who was changing clothes.
“Hmm...... it is a bit strange. The restaurant seat, the guest room.”
“No, no, not that, Jin So-un. Your son.”
“So-un?”
“No, isn't that a bit strange? Didn't you see it too earlier, holding his head
stiffly in front of Seong-ju-tak and hitting him with words. It was painful for
me watching.”
“.......”
“Come to think of it, starting from Gye Yeon-seung, the guy seems to have become a strangely different person these days.”
“......You know too. So-un’s specialty. Maybe he remembered the things he saw in books in the past.”
“Then, Gye Yeon-seung? Winning against that guy?”
“Didn't you say it was a simple form of fight? Since he can memorize everything just by seeing it once, didn't he find some way?”
Gang Chae-seok, who was listening to Jin Tae-san’s story, thought about it and tilted his head.
“The Mae-hwa-geom-beop [Plum Blossom Sword Technique] of the Hwa-san Sect?”
“.......”
“Can you find weaknesses just by seeing that? Moreover, they say he used the So-cheon-geom-beop?”
“......I don't know about that.”
“By any chance.”
Gang Chae-seok lowered his voice without knowing it.
“Isn't So-un practicing something alone?”
“??”
Jin Tae-san’s face was full of questions. That fun-loving guy practicing?
“No, I’m talking about that part. The fact that he wanders around mountains and rivers for days. ...I’m wondering if that might be for personal practice. If he imagined sparring thousands of times using that memory to win against the Mae-hwa-geom-beop.......”
So-un’s memory transcends common sense.
Perhaps, as Gang Chae-seok said, it might be possible.
“Hut.”
Nonsense.
So-un, who learned easily without much effort because of his excellent brain from a young age, had laziness embedded in his body because of that.
Jin Tae-san thought that maybe laziness was the guy’s destiny because he could memorize it even if he read a book once, and could follow the forms even if he saw them roughly.
But Gang Chae-seok’s thoughts seemed a bit different.
“Think about it. What was the condition when he made a bet with that guy Gye Yeon-seung? Wasn't it the Bu-saeng-dang’s successor?”
“.......”
“They say he doesn't return home for days and wanders around because he doesn't
have to go to Bu-saeng-dang?”
“.......”
“And I watched him from behind all the way to the Cheol-geom-mun, and his physique has changed a little.”
Jin Tae-san began to be drawn into Gang Chae-seok’s story, even though he couldn't believe it.
“In my opinion. I think the guy is harboring tremendous anger.”
“Anger?”
“Yes, after Gye Cheol-yeong entered the Tae-eul Sect, how much has the hierarchy been ruined. In addition, how much Gye Cheol-yeong has been bullying the disciples, knowingly or unknowingly. On top of that, since it is practically decided that Gye Cheol-yeong will go to the Martial Arts Academy in the future,
wouldn't he be angry?”
It was something he had never thought of.
“Earlier, too. Seong-ju-tak. I don't want to admit it, but he is an expert who has reached the peak. No matter how much he doesn't emit momentum. Is it easy for a child of So-un’s level not to tremble and meet his eyes?”
Jin Tae-san, who listened to Gang Chae-seok’s story for a long time, shook his head and said.
“Those are the worries. The Murim world is too harsh for the Tae-eul Sect to live by boldness alone.”
“Tsk tsk. You have aged too. The will to move forward. The courage to take a step away from fear. Isn't it that such things gather in the end to raise the
Tae-eul Sect again?”
In Gang Chae-seok’s words, Jin Tae-san had nothing to say for a long time.
He just chewed over the words Gang Chae-seok said several times.
“I’m back.”
Jin So-un appeared carrying a large bundle in one hand.
Gang Chae-seok shouted angrily.
“You stupid brat. Why are you wasting time on such an important mission when you are the one who will lead the Tae-eul Sect?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Leading what. And what kind of mission is this?”
Jin So-un was mixing into the kitchen and taking out some precious alcohol that didn't come out on the general banquet table.
“This is all part of an important process of measuring the financial power of
the Cheol-geom-mun.”
Gang Chae-seok hurriedly approached Jin So-un, received the bundle as if
stealing it, and then stopped and looked at Jin So-un.
“Sniff.”
“......Uhm. Ah, it’s stuffy, I’ll get some air.......”
“You, did you drink?”
“Is that something you can say to a disciple who risked his life to gather
information? I spilled a little while bringing the alcohol.”
Gang Chae-seok grabbed the back of Jin So-un’s neck, who was about to go out.
“You, say ‘Ha~’.”
“How can I present my dirty breath to the dragon face of the Kwae-hwa-dang Hall Master, who is like the sky.”
Gang Chae-seok’s head turned stiffly.
“Tae-san, forget what I said just now. I saw it wrong.”
“What are you talking about? By any chance, is it an important story- Aak! Aak!”
When Jin So-un could not escape from Gang Chae-seok’s rough touch, there was someone knocking on the door of the pavilion.
Knock, knock-
Gang Chae-seok and Jin So-un made eye contact, and the two people began to move like an arrow.
Gang Chae-seok hid the alcohol inside the bedding, and Jin So-un hid the bundle in a place that couldn't be seen.
“Young Lady Mo-ran?”
When I opened the door, it was Seong Mo-ran, the Mi-rang-cheol-geom, not the manager or servant of the Cheol-geom-mun, who appeared in front of the door.
“What is the matter late at night?”
“The young descendants of An-hwi Province have prepared a banquet. I thought it would be good for you to participate together.”
Jin So-un looked back and saw Jin Tae-san, and Jin Tae-san shook his head.
“Thank you, but since I walked all day, my mind and body are exhausted, so I think it would be better to have the seat next time.”
At Jin So-un’s refusal, Seong Mo-ran hesitated for a moment and said,
“...Are you sure? It seems like Young Lady Hong has already gone.”
Jin So-un, Jin Tae-san, and Gang Chae-seok’s gazes intertwined.
<><><>
Hahahahaha.
Hohohoho.
Laughter overflowed in the banquet hall.
Beautiful men and women, as if they had something happy, laughter did not stop.
But among the silk clothes, the face of Sa-ryeon, who was the only one wearing a martial uniform, was hardened.
She was prepared.
That she wouldn't be treated well anywhere.......
No, that it would be fortunate if she wasn't ignored or ridiculed.
She attended this seat because she was prepared for that.
At least with a glimmer of hope that they would show minimum courtesy in front of her, the Sect Leader’s child.
“Actually, as someone who holds a sword, it was my dream to see the sword of the Tae-eul Sword Emperor. When can you make an appointment with the Sect Leader sometime?”
“.......”
The words coming out of the mouth of a man wearing jade-colored silk were not as beautiful as his clothes.
“Hey, this person! Tease him moderately.”
On one side, it looks like he is stopping him.
“Isn't that Tae-eul Sword Emperor story all made up to get into the
Baek-pal-bong.”
“Heo! Is that so?”
Exaggerated and absurd actions.
At those gestures, the women in the Gung-jang [palace clothes] covered their mouths and smiled.
“No, in the first place, can you get into the Baek-pal-bong with such a story?”
“Isn't the story very realistic? It must have been reasonable enough to get in.”
Stories that would have been no problem if the person concerned were not there.
“.......”
It was what she was prepared for.
“Stop it, Young Lady Hong will be embarrassed.”
The person who teased the most is the first to step forward and speak.
“I apologize, Young Lady Hong. Because we are men, the jokes are excessive.”
On one hand, she thought it was fortunate.
If it were So-un Sa-hyeong, he probably wouldn't have been able to endure it.
He might have been enraged and angry.
He might have been beaten up after acting cocky like that.
‘But how did Cheol-yeong Sa-hyeong win?’
Suddenly, thinking about something else made her heart more at ease.
Somehow, she felt like she could hold on more comfortably.
It’s really fortunate.
It’s really fortunate that I came instead of So-un Sa-hyeong.
Sa-ryeon smiled at her mouth instead of answering.