Chapter v8c24

“Never would I have imagined that Peng Yu kyung, known as Jade Blade, one of the eighteen masters of the military assembly, would fall so easily.”

Such a person who could surprise her to this extent was rare. Maha Ryeong felt as if she had been drenched with ice water from the top of her head. The anger that had been raging like a blazing volcano cooled down abruptly.

She was, after all, the leader of an assembly. She had the ability to gauge the strength of her opponents to some extent.

Swoosh! Snap!!

Maha Ryeong’s left wrist was caught too easily in Bi Ryu Yeon’s hand. Despite the simplicity of the move, she could not escape. All her years of training felt in vain, such was the absurdity of the situation. It was complacency that had invited disaster.

“Let go!”

“I don’t want to!”

Bi Ryu Yeon flatly refused her request.

“Let go!”

She shouted fiercely, but it was as if she was caught in a snare she could not shake off Bi Ryu Yeon’s hand. An intangible career seemed to be suppressing her entire body through her wrist. She struggled to escape, but it was futile. She had never been treated so harshly in her life. For her, who had always been pampered and lived in luxury, it was a shocking experience.

“What are you so afraid of?”

“Let go!”

She shouted sharply again, her hand trembling.

“Why can’t you stay still?”

Bi Ryu Yeon asked in a puzzled voice.

“…”

She turned her head away from Bi Ryu Yeon’s face in a flash. It was an exercise of her right to silence.

“Ah! Is it because of that? Because of what happened that night?”

Before he could finish speaking, her face turned back towards Bi Ryu Yeon.

Bi Ryu Yeon cheered.

“Aha! So it was because of that. Were you that anxious?”

She did not respond again.

“Of course, it was a sight too marvelous to be seen alone.”

Bi Ryu Yeon smiled slyly. That smile seemed to Maha Ryeong as if she was being mocked. Her face flushed with shame.

“You… you bastard!”

Whoosh! Her palm flew towards Bi Ryu Yeon’s cheek.

There was no slap sound. Bi Ryu Yeon had easily dodged her palm. She was furious. She felt as if she would die of shame if it continued. She wanted to vent her frustration somehow. Her voice quivered.

“You… you… you…”

In her anger, she said something she should not have.

“You low-born wretch!”

It was an absolute taboo, a mistake that should never have been made. A flash of light from Bi Ryu Yeon’s eyes pierced through her entire body. The atmosphere suddenly cooled. Maha Ryeong felt suffocated. The thing that was constricting her heart was fear.

Bi Ryu Yeon no longer felt the need to hold back.

“Slap!” (TLN: equal rights equal lefts)

A loud noise echoed in the sky.

It seemed she was out of her senses. She had fallen into a state of mental panic because of the tremendous event that had happened so suddenly. She stood there, dazed, holding her swollen red cheek. It took a moment for her reason to return.

“You lowly creature! How dare you!”

She had once again carelessly handled the root of all evil, her tongue. It was a reckless act. Her strong pride had controlled the tip of her tongue. It was an act that invited trouble.

“Slap!” (TLN: Bruh )

This time it was the other cheek. Now both of her cheeks bore red handprints. Bi Ryu Yeon’s eyes had turned cold. The smiling face from moments ago was gone. Now he was the epitome of indifference. She felt a chilling tremor in her heart.

Although her hair covered her eyes, she felt she could see the kind of look Bi Ryu Yeon had. It was a look as deep, dark, and cold as a bottomless pit. No one had ever looked at her with such a gaze before.

She felt like crying.

“What?”

“What?”

“What?”

The same word burst out simultaneously in three different places. The incident caused by Bi Ryu Yeon had been almost simultaneously reported to the Gu Jeong Hoe, Gun Ung Hoe, and Aesojyeohoe. It was natural for those who heard the report to be astonished by this unprecedented situation. The one who arrived at the scene first and controlled the surroundings was not the Gun Ung Hoe, where Maha Ryeong was the leader, but the Gu Jeong Hoe. The fact that the Gun Ung Hoe’s response to the incident was slower than the Gu Jeong Hoe’s was a disgrace in itself. They had arrived later than their competitor, even though their leader’s safety was at stake. All the resentment was inevitably directed at Bi Ryu Yeon.

Baek Mu yeong, who had surrounded the area with a screen of officials to control the entrance and exit of people, hurried to the scene. There was still a strange standoff between Bi Ryu Yeon and Maha Ryeong.

It was at that moment that Bi Ryu Yeon was instilling fear in Maha Ryeong, the leader of the Gun Ung Hoe, for the first time.

Hastily!

“Wait!”

The one who burst onto the scene as if forcibly intruding was none other than Baek Mu yeong. Baek Mu yeong’s eyes widened as he saw the woman who had been slapped by Bi Ryu Yeon and was holding her cheek. Baek Mu yeong’s words began to tremble severely. Judging by the high frequency of the vibration that even shook his body, it seemed he was not just astonished.

“You… you?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you calling me?” Bi Ryu Yeon turned his head as if he was giving a speech with his whole body. Bi Ryu Yeon had already regained his former demeanor. Now he seemed to have enough leisure to show pleasure at seeing Baek Mu yeong.

Seeing this, Baek Mu yeong was certain that Bi Ryu Yeon had no idea of the enormity of what he had done. He would have bet his entire fortune on it.

“How dare you lay hands on that person? And to slap her? Have you lost your mind?”

Baek Mu yeong, who was in shock, poured out his words without pause. Bi Ryu Yeon’s expression soured instantly. There was no reason to listen to him just because he had lightly disciplined a girl who was nothing but a snob with no manners. At least, that was what Bi Ryu Yeon thought.

“I’m perfectly sane. I don’t see why I should be scolded for providing some home education on behalf of someone else’s family. It seems senior Baek’s opinion is wrong, isn’t it?”

A smile formed on Bi Ryu Yeon’s lips.

There was an unusual chill in his smile today. Baek Mu yeong couldn’t help but tense up at the sight, which was quite different from his usual sly demeanor. Of course, inwardly, he was more than willing to actively agree with the supplementary lesson in home education for that haughty and terrifying young lady, but due to his assigned duties and the public eye, he couldn’t just stand by and play the scarecrow.

Baek Mu yeong could not back down gracefully. Perhaps the Gun Ung Hoe had already hit rock bottom in terms of dignity just by having its leader show such a disgraceful appearance to Baek Mu yeong. That was enough for Baek Mu yeong. Now he had to wrap up the incident as quickly as possible.”

“Over there…”

It was just when Baek Mu yeong was about to say something to Bi Ryu Yeon.

Rumble!

“Leader! Are you alright?”

Baek Mu yeong couldn’t utter a word. Just as he was about to speak, eight warriors suddenly broke through the human barrier and rushed in. Taken aback by this sudden event, Baek Mu yeong hastily drew his sword and aimed it at the unexpected intruders. However, recognizing the identity of the warriors, Baek Mu yeong immediately sheathed his sword. He knew them well, so there was no need to aggressively draw his sword to confirm their identities and engage in conversation.

Peng Hyuk Seong, the Furious Tiger Blade! A member of the eighteen masters of the Gun Ung Hoe, he hailed from the Peng family of The North. His nickname included ‘Furious Wind’ for his hot temper. It was doubtful whether things would end quietly.

“Do you want to die?”

Peng Hyuk Seong, the leader of the hastily formed rescue team for the leader, drew his sword and aimed the blade tip at Bi Ryu Yeon’s head, speaking in a threatening tone. Apparently, he wasn’t curious about how the leader, who was far stronger than him, got caught by Bi Ryu Yeon. He didn’t seem to have the wit to think that far. Baek Mu yeong shook his head. He knew well that Bi Ryu Yeon would not fall for such petty threats.

“Well…”

As expected, Bi Ryu Yeon remained calm and composed. He was a monster who had single-handedly blocked the path of the Iron Cavalry Brigade. Baek Mu yeong was very curious whether Peng Hyuk Seong could even make Bi Ryu Yeon twitch an eyebrow.

“How dare you, you insolent fool!”

Peng Hyuk Seong wanted to rush in immediately, but since the leader, Maha Ryeong, was held by Bi Ryu Yeon, he couldn’t act rashly.

“No matter who this woman is, her identity, status, or lineage, it has nothing to do with me. I have no intention of leaving alone someone who has insulted me, even if that person is a woman.”

Bi Ryu Yeon continued to speak in a calm tone.

“I’d like to hang her outside the city gates for a few days. Then maybe some of her rotten mentality would drain away. Too bad. Let me be clear, if I let her go in this state, her existence will ‘definitely, I’m sure’ be a nuisance to those around her.”

“Shut up! And let go of that filthy hand?”

Peng Hyuk Seong shouted angrily. To Baek Mu yeong, it looked like he was digging his own grave. Bi Ryu Yeon quietly turned his head to look at him. Peng Hyuk Seong had to tense his muscles due to the sudden murderous intent.

“Why are you making such a mad statement, arbitrarily deciding the cleanliness of someone else’s hand?”

Even while speaking to Peng Hyuk Seong, Bi Ryu Yeon’s hand did not leave Maha Ryeong. He had a twisted personality, like a contrarian frog, doing more of what he was told not to do, twisted and more twisted. His personality was so twisted that there was no room left to twist, so he wouldn’t simply comply with Peng Hyuk Seong’s authoritative command. And then, suddenly, Bi Ryu Yeon let go of her wrist.

“Here!”

As Bi Ryu Yeon’s right hand let go of her left hand, she felt the intangible pressure that had been entangling her like a spider web recede like the tide. Just as her body found freedom, she tried to move away from the man who had first infuriated her and insulted her in every way. But her attempt failed miserably. Before she knew it, Bi Ryu Yeon’s left hand had silently ensnared her right hand.

“That… that guy! That… tear him to pieces!”

Peng Hyuk Seong’s eyes flipped in rage. His rationality had already flipped out, interpreting that the leader he admired was being toyed with in the hands of another man. His rationality had long since flown away.

Tears welled up in the eyes of Maha Ryeong, the leader of the Gun Ung Hoe. She was not one to show tears or have a fragile personality. But today, she couldn’t contain her anger. What had she gained from special training in seclusion for half a thousand days? She had worked so hard to defeat that man.

Was this all the result she got? She couldn’t understand why she had to be humiliated by someone of unknown origin. She felt powerless for the first time, as if her own flaws had been exposed and nothing else.

“Aaaargh!”

Boom!

Unable to bear it any longer, Peng Hyuk Seong swung his sword. It was the Peng family’s unique Quick Sword Technique, the Five Tiger Slash. The giant sword swept through the air like a windmill.

Swoosh!

Bi Ryu Yeon easily dodged the murderous sword aimed precisely at his neck with a simple bow of his head. Peng Hyuk Seong’s sword, though powerful, lacked speed. Dodging such a sword was easier than eating cold porridge.

“Oh! Oh! It seems they don’t consider your safety at all. To try to forcibly separate a man and a woman who are so close with a sword, what terrible people.”

Bi Ryu Yeon scratched Maha Ryeong’s pride with a leisurely and soft voice. Maha Ryeong, unable to understand why she had to show such a disgraceful appearance in front of the members, bit her lip hard. It was the first time she had ever felt such shame.

“Please let go!”

Bi Ryu Yeon looked at her and spoke word by word in a playful voice, yet his face was serious.

“What?”

Her words were still short. She hadn’t spoken anything other than commands recently, so it would be difficult for her to suddenly speak at length.

“Please let go!”

Once again, Bi Ryu Yeon spoke clearly. She turned her head to one side, ignoring Bi Ryu Yeon’s face.

A brief silence followed. Maha Ryeong, armed with her lofty pride, could not show in front of everyone that she had succumbed to the pressure of such a young man. It was an act her high pride could not tolerate, an unforgivable crime in her heart. How could she, as the leader of the assembly, speak in a pleading tone to a younger junior? It was impossible for the leader of the Cheonmu Academy.

“Please let go! I beg you.”

Bi Ryu Yeon was quite persistent. This time, one more word was added.

Gulp!

Everyone held their breath and watched for Maha Ryeong’s reaction.