༺ Fifth Chapter – Dragon Phoenix Tournament (13) ༻
Tang Hwa-seo awoke in her bedroom the next day, still in the early morning darkness.
After blankly staring at the ceiling and blinking for a while, she shivered and covered her face with both hands.
‘…I must be crazy.’
Only after her drowsiness had slightly faded did she remember the events of the previous day.
The half-brother she met last night and his words that were as sharp as a knife.
As well as Mok Riwon, who held her up when she was about to collapse and washed away her sorrows with his smile.
Even though so many things had transpired to the point it would be natural for her not to know what to think, surprisingly, she felt a clearly defined emotion in her heart.
‘I am…’
In love.
I’ve fallen for someone.
The truth felt so unfamiliar and embarrassing that Tang Hwa-seo couldn’t stop trembling.
It was a strange feeling.
I’ve heard that when you fall in love, your heart starts to race, your face gets hot, and you’re unable to think, but for me, my reaction to love was a little different from that.
Rather than pounding, her heart was tightening.
The depths of her heart were filled with heat rather than her face, and the breath that followed was the hottest.
Meanwhile, the part about losing your mind wasn’t much different from what she had heard.
Tang Hwa-seo examined her own body and suddenly burst out into a hollow laugh.
‘It’s such a strange feeling.’
It was a complicated situation, and she had too many things in her head to resolve; she couldn’t focus on all of them.
Still, even though she should be worried, she wasn’t worried at all.
Rather, her first thought was joy.
It was truly strange.
Tang Hwa-seo stretched.
After taking a deep breath with her hand still on her chest, she pressed her warm cheeks to cool them down. Only then did she get up and leave.
At that moment.
–Young Lady! Did you cough?!
She heard Mok Riwon’s voice coming from beyond the door.
‘He must have come because he was worried about yesterday.’
With that thought, the corners of Tang Hwa-seo’s mouth rose for a moment, then went back to normal.
“Yes, I’m up.”
She thought that it would be unseemly to go out smiling after crying so much yesterday.
So Tang Hwa-seo, true to her usual self, went out of the door with a needless sense of pride.
“Did you sleep well?”
Mok Riwon was smiling as brightly as always, without a single wrinkle, and one that conveyed his intention to ‘pretend not to know what happened yesterday’ once again.
His thoughtfulness was something she was both truly grateful yet regretful for.
It felt like her heart was tightening again when she responded.
“Yes, how about you?”
“Oh right! Ah, actually I didn’t sleep that well though. Last night, you see. Brother Zhuge came and told me an interesting story. It’s about a merchant in Shexian…”
Mok Riwon started talking away in no time.
As they walked, Tang Hwa-seo listened to the story while both laughing and being surprised.
And she thought.
‘…Can I leave?’
Can I leave this man behind?
Will my heart which has only just become aware of these feelings be willing to let go of him when the time comes?
The answer came easily.
Tang Hwa-seo felt herself strongly rejecting those thoughts of being away from him.
It was a truly troublesome emotion; the determination she had steeled herself with until now was being shaken by this fluttering feeling with no basis.
She pondered why she had come to harbor such feelings.
It could even be justified as a natural concern.
Every moment she lived was a series of perseverance and hardships, with no room for others in it.
So she wanted to turn a blind eye to things like affection and infatuation, which felt like a luxury for the body she possessed.
That was the case for her.
For her life which had been full of adversities, Tang Hwa-seo needed a reason even for love.
‘Why did I come to like him?’
With that thought, Tang Hwa-seo made up an answer without thinking, one that even she thought was too shallow.
‘His face…?’
The moment the thought crossed her mind, she was engulfed by a wave of self-loathing.
She started to question whether she had always been so weak to a handsome face and whether her standards were so high that only someone like Mok Riwon could shake her heart.
Her sense of self-loathing only intensified.
When her face suddenly turned red, Mok Riwon tilted his head.
“Young Lady?”
“It’s nothing. I just thought of something shameful.”
“What is shameful?”
“It’s a secret.”
A look of curiosity grew on his face.
He really wanted to ask, but he made a promise, so he could only groan.
Even that was beautiful.
“I will tell you later.”
“Ah! It has to be a promise!”
“Of course.”
Tang Hwa-seo chuckled and entered the inn.
All eyes in the inn turned to Mok Riwon in an instant.
–Wow, it’s the Ink Sword.
–Isn’t he so amazing? At that age, he’s already challenging the Sword Dragon.
–I wonder how it will turn out… Considering the swordplay he showed against the Immortal Dragon…
–Tsk come on. Look at this guy. There’s no way he’ll beat the Sword Dragon.
There were whispers coming from here and there.
Upon hearing them, Tang Hwa-seo glanced at the source of the gossip, but he was absorbed in his food and humming.
‘Right, of course.’
She came to realize something yet again.
Mok Riwon was a man who had reached the finals of the Dragon Phoenix Tournament.
A martial artist whose prowess was exceptional for his age, and whose talent was also outstanding to the point that the entire Central Plains was drooling over him.
‘Compared to that…’
What about herself?
A runaway from the Tang Clan.
Martial arts that had stagnated for six years.
And a body that couldn’t even bear children.
Even though she knew such comparisons were meaningless, Tang Hwa-seo couldn’t help but compare the two of them.
“Tomorrow is your match already, Young Lady!”
“…Yes.”
“How do you feel? Did you prepare anything specific? If you could just tell me a little…”
She hadn’t prepared anything special.
She didn’t even have the confidence to win.
It was likely she would lose.
And miserably at that.
It was only natural for her to lose.
Sword Dragon Namgung Jincheon was a prodigy.
He was great now, and would become an even greater martial artist in the future.
He was too different from her, who only wished to live in peace.
Even though it was natural…
‘…Now that it’s come to this.’
Tang Hwa-seo suddenly felt frustrated.
She was a martial artist under the heavens.
No matter how much she fled from her, no matter how much she hid herself wishing for peace, she was a woman with ambition when it came to martial arts.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
Tang Hwa-seo added one more thing that came into her head.
She… wanted to stand in the same place as Mok Riwon.
So she wanted to become more confident.
It was an unavoidable desire.
Tang Hwa-seo looked at him without suppressing her rising emotions.
“…I should at least do as much as I can.”
“I’m sure you can do it!”
“I hope so.”
Tang Hwa-seo clenched her fists tightly.
‘I don’t want to leave.’
I want to stand by his side.
Or rather… I want to keep him by my side.
But the odds weren’t favorable towards her.
Even though Mok Riwon had rejected the Tang Clan, they would continue to target her.
No, knowing that persuasion wouldn’t work, they would begin to threaten her or use force.
What could she possibly do in the face of that?
Tang Hwa-seo pondered.
She had become deeply infatuated, without fully understanding why, and had set aside practical concerns to safeguard these feelings.
Now, she was forced to make a decision.
‘If…’
If I can achieve a result that allows me to be confident in the match against Namgung Jincheon and earn the right to knock on the door of the Martial Arts Alliance through my own strength without relying on Shaolin.
At that time, wouldn’t it be okay to change the plan?
A small smile appeared on Tang Hwa-seo’s lips.
‘It’s a gamble, an unreasonable one.’
But what did that matter?
Tang Hwa-seo had also come to realize something now.
About the clichéd truth that she had learned from the man before her.
‘Those who haven’t sinned do not need to run away.’
There was no need to fear what was coming and no need to hide.
“Young Hero Mok.”
“Yes!”
“If I get a good result in this match.”
“If you do?”
“Can you grant me one request?”
Mok Riwon blinked, opening his mouth dazedly for a moment, then broke out into a beaming smile.
“As much as you want! I will do anything in my power!”
‘Anything.’
It was a good answer.
Tang Hwa-seo wanted to put her hopes on that answer as well.
She wanted to make a request putting her own desire first, a request that they go to the Martial Alliance together if she won the match.
“A man’s word is worth a thousand pieces of gold, they say.”
Tang Hwa-seo pushed down the anxiety and fear welling up inside her, prioritizing Mok Riwon’s reassurance, and spoke.
“You must keep your word.”
She smiled with determination, but perhaps due to her inherent stern expression, there was a hint of threat mixed in that smile.
“O-Of course…!”
Mok Riwon was scared for no reason.
The day of the match dawned.
Just like the match between Mok Riwon and Hyungong, the arena was packed with people today as well.
The same rising heat, humidity, and cheers.
Mok Riwon sat in a rather quiet seat saved for him and looked at Tang Hwa-seo stepping onto the arena. Then he looked at Namgung Jincheon on the opposite side.
He had the same pair of blue eyes, sharp demeanor, and imposing qi flow.
‘He’s certainly on a different level.’
While staying in Shexian, he heard a story from Zhuge San.
It was about how Namgung Jincheon had lived.
–Brother Mok, did you know? If you calculate just the value of the spiritual elixirs Brother Namgung consumed while growing up, it’s enough to build a castle in Anhui. Some say that his body still has unabsorbed spirit medicines forming an inner core because of how amazing the elixirs he took were.
Just how many elixirs had he taken to obtain such an internal force?
–Ah, there’s that story too. While Brother Namgung was growing up, from the ages of ten to seventeen, masters of the previous generation took turns visit Anhui to be in charge of his sparring.
And how many martial arts masters had he exchanged swords with to gain experience?
–So in other words, it’s inevitable. For Brother Namgung, this Dragon Phoenix Tournament is like child’s play in the end.
What kind of sentiments did he have towards this Dragon Phoenix Tournament?
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
As his thoughts continued, a woman’s voice came from behind him.
Startled by it, he turned his head.
“Monk Hyeun?”
It was the White Phoenix, Hyeun.
There was a man next to her with a dumbfounded expression blankly looking at the sky.
Mok Riwon gulped.
‘So the rumors were true!’
It was said that she was accompanied by a man every time she came to the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, and now he understood what that meant.
“Why are you looking at me so unpleasantly?”
When Hyeun glared at him, he trembled and lowered his head.
“N-No reason…”
“Hmm…”
She looked at him momentarily, then went and sat next to him.
The man next to her seemed uninterested in their conversation; he was just busy grinning. He looked like someone hit by Soul Ensnarement Arts.
“Are you cheering for the Poison Phoenix?”
“Isn’t that natural? The Young Lady will definitely show a great performance.”
“You’re not saying she will win.”
Mok Riwon’s mouth closed, with an awkward smile on his face.
“…I’m wishing for her victory.”
His answer avoided the issue.
Then, Hyeun looked at his smile indifferently and turned her attention towards the arena.
“…At least there’s some sense of reality.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just talking to myself.”
She looked at Tang Hwa-seo standing in the arena.
‘She is wonderful though.’
Tang Hwa-seo was someone with many admirable qualities as a martial artist, from her mindset to her tenacious disposition, and even her meticulousness in handling inner qi.
However, in the end that was all.
“The victor is obvious.”
Her opponent was Namgung Jincheon, and the winner would also be him.
“I don’t know how long she will last.”
Three seconds.
That was probably the max.
At her words filled with certainty, Mok Riwon blinked and said.
“Why do you think that?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Why do you think the Young Lady will only endure?”
Mok Riwon asked her as if he really couldn’t understand.
It was merely absurd for her though.
“Are you unaware, Benefactor Mok? The Poison Phoenix cannot defeat the Sword Dragon?”
“I won’t deny that, but that doesn’t mean she will lose miserably.”
His words were completely ridiculous.
Hyeun even suspected that he might simply have futile expectations because he was blinded by love. While holding back the incoming headaches.
“Ah! She looked this way!”
Mok Riwon waved his hands around at her.
Hyeun also looked at her.
‘Wow, how vicious.’
If the look in one’s eyes could kill, they had to be on that level at least.
Hyeun laughed emptily at Tang Hwa-seo, who was glaring at her for a moment, then did something.
If she had to give a reason for her mischievousness, it would be because her bad personality wanted to play a trick on this foolish man.
Thump–
Hyeun leaned her head on Mok Riwon’s shoulder.
Mok Riwon froze, and Tang Hwa-seo’s eyes turned bloodshot.
‘How fun.’
They were indeed a fun pair to tease.
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