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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Chapter 61
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Rustle.
The large pine tree behind the western training ground of the Outer Hall.
Seolhwa, leaning against the pine tree in its shadow, turned her head at the sound of approaching footsteps.
She had sensed someone approaching a moment ago. And she knew well who the owner of that presence was.
"Hello."
Yugang, standing in the moonlight, waved his hand.
Seolhwa straightened her posture from leaning and faced him.
"Hmm... we were supposed to meet here, right?"
"Yeah."
After the daytime martial arts match ended.
In the chaotic situation, Seolhwa sent a telepathic message to Yugang.
"Meet me at the pine tree behind the western training ground at Jasi (11 PM - 1 AM)."
He was so startled by just one telepathic message.
He looked incredibly suspicious, glancing around and nodding, which made her sigh.
"You managed to find it? I thought you'd get lost."
Yugang scratched his cheek.
"Hehe. Actually, I did get a bit lost. I'm terrible with directions. But I figured I might get lost, so I came out early."
"Smart."
At least he kept the appointment time.
"But why did you want to meet? I mean, I'm happy to talk to you more, but..."
Seolhwa slightly furrowed her brow and handed him the note she was holding.
"This."
"What's this?"
"Give this to your sect leader. He'll understand when he sees it."
"..."
Yugang looked back and forth between the note and her face.
His eyes were filled with obvious curiosity.
'I thought he'd be angry. But he's not?'
The secret Hwasanpa tried so hard to hide was related to Hwasanpa's sect leader.
So, it was natural for the atmosphere to turn hostile and for suspicion to arise when the sect leader was mentioned.
'…Does he perhaps know nothing?'
"...How long has it been since you saw the sect leader?"
"Well... about two years? The sect leader went into secluded training."
He lowered his eyebrows.
"So, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can deliver this..."
Secluded training, huh.
'So that's what they told the disciples.'
Indeed, for someone of the sect leader's standing to disappear publicly, secluded training was the only plausible reason.
With that reason, it wouldn't be strange for him not to appear for a long time.
Seolhwa pushed the note back to Yugang as he tried to return it.
"Your sect leader isn't in secluded training. So deliver it."
"...He's *my* sect leader?"
"Yes. Exactly. There's a place your elders visit regularly. Your sect leader is there."
"..."
Yugang furrowed his brows.
Suddenly, the image of Nobaek, the Hall Master of the Martial Arts Hall, rushing somewhere came to mind.
'If you go that way, there's only the latrine? Hmm... he must be in a real hurry.'
Well, of course. Elders are people too. People naturally relieve themselves.
That's how he'd dismissed the memory.
The problem was that the Hall Master wasn't the only one who showed such behavior.
'The elders did frequent that path.'
Yugang knew it well because the tree where he secretly rested was on that path.
He had merely assumed that the latrine beyond might be special.
"Yes. There."
"...I didn't say anything."
"It's written all over your face."
"On my face?"
Yugang touched his face. Then he frowned and lowered his hand.
"Let's say you're right. Then why did the sect leader say he was in secluded training?"
"You find that out. He's your sect leader."
"You know, though. Tell me. You're the one asking for a favor here."
Yugang held up the note.
Seolhwa's lips curved in amusement.
"Are you threatening me right now?"
"Ugh... not a threat, no. It's... a request..."
Seolhwa nodded with an understanding expression.
"Your sect leader is unwell."
"What?"
"Quiet down. Do you want to call all the Outer Hall guards?"
"Whoops, sorry."
Yugang whispered quietly.
"What...?"
"...I don't know the details either."
(She actually knew roughly. But it wasn't certain, and knowing *this* much would be truly strange, so she decided to gloss over it.)
"What's important is that your sect leader won't live much longer if his illness isn't cured. And there's someone in Hwasanpa trying to harm him."
"!"
"I don't know who that is. That's all I know."
Yugang's expression hardened.
He was no longer smiling, nor did he look relaxed.
"Then this note..."
"A way to save your sect leader."
"..."
Yugang gripped the note tightly.
He still seemed unable to believe it.
"Why entrust something so important to me? My master is an elder of Hwasanpa. He's also the leader of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, who represent Hwasan. It would be more reliable to tell my master."
"You said you hadn't heard about the Daehwandan, right?"
Yugang nodded.
"Do you think Hwasanpa is weak?"
He shook his head. Firmly.
"Then why do you think a sect like Hwasanpa was robbed of something as incredible as the Daehwandan by an unknown Heukdo faction?"
"That's..."
Yugang cast his gaze downwards, confusion in his eyes.
After a moment of thought, he looked at Seolhwa with a firm gaze.
"Are you saying you don't even trust my master?"
"More accurately, everyone who knew about the Daehwandan. In fact, I only trust two people in Hwasanpa."
"Who are they?"
"Your sect leader, and..."
Seolhwa pointed at Yugang.
"You."
"!"
There was only one reason she trusted Yugang.
Because she had seen what kind of person he was in her previous life.
She knew he had tried to uphold Hwasanpa's legacy even as he was dying, and she knew why he had stood alone, risking his life against the Hyeolgyo.
He would never betray Hwasanpa.
"It doesn't matter if you don't trust me. But I hope you deliver that note to the sect leader with your own hands."
Yugang's grip on the note tightened further.
"For now... I'll take this note."
He put the note into his pocket.
"But whether I deliver it or not, I'll decide after seeing for myself."
"Alright."
Seolhwa nodded obediently.
"You can read the contents of the note, it's fine."
"...Okay."
"You have a complicated look on your face?"
Yugang's gaze was filled with confusion.
It would be strange if he remained calm after hearing that the sect leader was dying and that there was a spy in Hwasanpa.
However, after closing his eyes tightly for a moment and sighing, when he opened them again, he had returned to his usual playful expression.
"Today's martial arts match was fun. Right?"
The topic naturally changed.
As he asked for her agreement, she paused to think of a reply, but he quickly became sullen, staring blankly into the air.
"Again, I was the only special one..."
He seemed to remember her words from their first meeting in front of Noh Mun, where she said it wasn't special.
She was about to tell him it was quite fun, but Yugang's expression had already brightened in the meantime.
Unable to keep up with his rapidly shifting emotions, Seolhwa decided to just stay silent.
"Thanks to you, I learned a lot. As I said earlier, I'm quite strong in Hwasanpa. At least among my peers, I can't find an opponent."
Among Hwasanpa's first-generation disciples, Yugang was the youngest. Yet, no one disregarded him for his age.
"But, listening to you, I realized something. I've been complacent all this time. Even when the elders repeatedly told me not to neglect my training, I just brushed it off."
Yugang clenched his fist.
"Now I regret it. There was no room for laziness."
"You're still strong."
Thinking he was blaming himself, she said a word, and Yugang's eyes widened.
He then grinned widely.
"Reaaally?"
"As you said, not being able to find an opponent among your peers means you're exceptionally talented."
"Is that so?"
Yugang chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
"If I had trained hard during all the time I spent playing, could I have become your opponent?"
"No, you wouldn't."
"...You just called me a genius..."
"Because I'm someone who can't be described with words like 'genius' or 'monster.' If you really want to win, you'd have to die and come back to life."
(But would that even work? Considering her previous life... maybe?)
As she was calculating the odds internally, Yugang trembled and suddenly shouted.
"What if I win then? What if I beat you without dying and coming back to life?"
Seolhwa blinked. Soon, her eyebrows curved sadly.
"Well, I don't think you can?"
"What if I do? What if I do win?"
"I'll grant you one wish."
At that moment, Yugang's eyes sparkled.
"My wish? Anything?"
"Yes. Anything."
(It wouldn't happen anyway.)
"Alright, good! You promised, okay? Huh?"
She immediately regretted her words at his bouncing enthusiasm. An uneasy premonition brushed over her, as if she had said something unnecessary.
Yugang clenched his fist tightly.
A fierce desire to win blazed up in his eyes.
"I'll win no matter what! No matter when, no matter how!"
"...Alright. Do your best."
By this point, Seolhwa was a little curious herself. Would the day really come when he could be her opponent?
At that moment, Yugang suddenly shouted.
"The Jianghu is vast, and strong individuals are numerous! I, Yugang, a first-generation disciple of Hwasanpa! This night, I declare to the moon, which observes the heavens and earth!"
Seolhwa's eyes clouded over.
"I, Yugang, will absolutely defeat Namgung Seolhwa!"
'...Is this guy crazy?'
(He wasn't entirely sane in her previous life either, but she never imagined he'd be such a madman when he was young...)
The moonlight brightly illuminated the two figures.
Watching Yugang stretch his fist towards the sky as if embracing the pouring moonlight, Seolhwa stepped back into the shadows.
Just in case someone passed by, she wanted him to be the only one who looked strange.
Yugang looked back towards the dark shadows with an innocent face.
"By the way, how old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"...I see. Thirteen..."
Yugang was fifteen years old.
"I'm leaving tomorrow. You'll come see me off, right?"
"I'll be busy then."
"...If you're busy, then there's nothing for it."
It was a night when the bright moonlight made Yugang's fair skin shine even more brilliantly.
