Chapter 13: Black Emblem (1)

“I’ve really messed up….”

This was my thought upon returning to my quarters after the Nine Dragons Competition ended.

Shit. I think I’m really screwed.

“You idiot, why did you do that?”

I remembered Gu Yeonseo, who collapsed after getting slapped across the face as a finisher. His nose was bleeding profusely…

Since my body was weak, I couldn’t put much strength into it, nor did I channel my internal energy, so he probably wasn’t seriously injured.

“Still, it was too much.”

I don’t mean my technique was excessive. By my standards, he deserved worse, not something I could easily overlook.

I simply forgot Gu Yeonseo’s status.

Should I have let a member of the Gu family, surrounded by hundreds of onlookers, fall so disgracefully at a festival hosted by the Gu family?

Gu Yeonseo, who genuinely intended to destroy me, was young, so I could overlook that.

Considering I’m twice Gu Yeonseo’s age, even counting my past life, I let my emotions get the better of me.

“After going through all that, I still haven’t matured.”

Or maybe it’s Elder Lee’s fault for putting me in that position at my age?

…Why question it? It’s that old man’s fault.

-Swoooosh

The wind brushed past, tickling my ears.

Even though winter was long gone, the spring night was still cold.

The reason I didn’t feel the cold much, despite wearing only a light martial arts uniform, was thanks to the Gu Flame Wheel Technique.

“Achoo!”

At the sound of a short sneeze, I turned around to see Mu Yeon and Wi Seol-ah.

As Mu Yeon greeted me, Wi Seol-ah approached, holding a bundle of cloth.

“What are you holding?”

“Young Master… Your hand…”

At Wi Seol-ah’s words, I finally checked my hand.

The skin was completely peeled off, and a little blood was dripping.

Gu Yeonseo had been channeling internal energy throughout his body, so it must have been the effect of striking him without channeling any energy myself.

Humans who already possess internal energy in their dantian regenerate faster than ordinary people; this level of wound would disappear quickly if left alone.

“What’s this for… This much is fine…”

Before I could finish speaking, Wi Seol-ah wrapped my hand with the cloth. She just spun it around uncertainly, her skills still clumsy.

If it had to be done, I wanted to wrap it myself, but seeing the tears streaming down Wi Seol-ah’s eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to interfere.

She seemed excited when Elder Lee was beating up Peng Woojin, but seeing her react like this to such a minor injury made me a little flustered.

‘I’m even getting my bandage wrapped by Wi Seol-ah, how strange.’

This is something the future greatest martial artist under heaven would do. Isn’t it a rather honorable thing?

The cloth she was rapidly wrapping stopped only when it became as thick as two of my palms.

Stroking what looked like a lump of cloth rather than a hand, Wi Seol-ah whimpered.

“Young Master, does it hurt a lot…?”

“It didn’t hurt originally, but it feels like it will hurt because of this.”

“So you’re saying it doesn’t hurt? That’s a relief…”

“…Uh, yeah.”

Are you perhaps only hearing what you want to hear?

After a short, unexpected stroll, I walked along the night path for a bit and returned to my quarters.

Will Gu Yeonseo be okay?

‘I don’t know.’

I decided to try not to worry about it.

It’s not like any lingering familial affection would suddenly appear now.

Not just for Gu Yeonseo. For me too.

When I returned to my quarters, the lights were on in my room. Wondering what was going on, I asked a nearby servant, who looked startled.

‘Huh…? They said they had made arrangements beforehand….’

they said, their face instantly turning pale.

Sensing someone inside, I wondered who could possibly be there and opened the door, only to find…

“Oh! Young Master Gu!”

That crazy bastard… No, Peng Woojin was sitting there.

---

“It’s nice to meet you, I am Peng Woojin.”

“I know. Young Hero Peng.”

“Feel free to call me Brother Peng or Brother Wu familiarly.”

“No, we aren’t close…”

Why is this crazy bastard here?

And why is Peng Ah-hee covering her face next to Peng Woojin?

Seeing her ears turn bright red, she seemed incredibly embarrassed.

Roughly grabbing the collar of Peng Woojin, who was acting friendly for some reason, Peng Ah-hee spoke.

“Brother… Since we’ve caused trouble, shouldn’t we apologize first?”

I could feel her voice trembling with embarrassment.

At Peng Ah-hee’s words, Peng Woojin made a ‘my bad’ expression.

“I see… Since we’re engaged to be broken up with, Ah-hee should have stayed behind. I was too oblivious.”

“What do I do… He really is a crazy bastard.”

I agreed with Peng Ah-hee’s words.

Since he kept spouting nonsense, Peng Ah-hee reluctantly began to speak.

“I’m sorry for rudely showing up so late without notice. Our crazy bastard… Brother insisted on seeing you, and I couldn’t stop him.”

“Young Hero Peng, me?”

“You can call me Brother Wu.”

“No, it’s fine.”

I don’t want to get involved with you, man.

Until the tea, hastily ordered by a servant, cooled down, Peng Woojin just kept smiling good-naturedly and didn’t say much else.

“So, why did you come all this way…?”

Was he perhaps here to blame me for Elder Lee’s actions? It seemed slightly healed, but one side of Peng Woojin’s cheek was still swollen.

That was where he took a direct hit from Elder Lee.

‘He said he controlled his strength…’

How does that look like controlled strength? If he’d added even a little more force, would his head have exploded?

…

…Somehow, I felt like that might have been the case, which was a bit scary.

“I have absolutely nothing to do with what Elder Lee did. I clearly tried to stop him.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Huh, so it wasn’t because of that?

As I looked on in confusion, Peng Woojin continued.

“It’s nothing major; they say you’re Sword Phoenix’s younger sibling, and I also wanted to see your face again, so I came for both reasons.”

“Are you close with my first elder sister?”

I hadn’t heard that Peng Woojin was close with Gu Huibi; of course, Gu Huibi and I weren’t particularly close either.

If anything, maybe slightly better than my relationship with Gu Yeonseo?

“I think we are close, but I can’t say for Sword Phoenix’s side.”

‘Then you’re probably not close.’

Considering Gu Huibi’s personality, that was even more likely. She wasn’t the type to get along well with Peng Woojin; they’d more likely fight.

“So I came to both pay respects and make my presence known.”

“What do you intend to use a seal on me for? I don’t have much ability.”

What could he possibly want to gain from someone like me, who lives half-abandoned by the family?

Moreover, since I had a broken engagement with the Peng family once, we couldn’t exactly be on good terms.

Peng Woojin said.

“I thought Sword Phoenix was the only interesting person in the Gu family, but it turns out there’s one more.”

Is he referring to me?

Interesting? What’s with this sudden talk of ‘interesting’? It was the same when I first saw him; he keeps looking for ‘fun,’ but I don’t know what that means.

‘He definitely seems like a weirdo.’

Considering how none of the future top experts were normal, it wasn’t surprising that he showed signs from the start.

Of course, I still didn’t want to get involved.

Thinking about Peng Woojin’s future reputation as a ‘disciple,’ it might be good to build connections…

‘He’s somehow a difficult person.’

Perhaps due to his inscrutable personality, he was truly a difficult person.

“If you want a seal, it would be better to go to my sister in her quarters. I’m not particularly useful.”

“You won’t be able to see her if you go now…?”

“…Wouldn’t it be better to go tomorrow instead of now?”

Hmm, is she still unconscious?

“I came to see you, Young Master Gu. Honestly, I’m not particularly interested in Young Lady Gu.”

“Brother, can you please filter your words first?”

“Hmm, sorry. I’m not good at that.”

Good heavens, what should I do with this person?

My headache, which had subsided recently, felt like it was returning.

Whether he knew how I felt or not, Peng Woojin suddenly took out a black token from his inner pocket.

“This is the seal I am giving to you, Young Master Gu.”

“A seal?”

The black token simply had the character 팽 (Peng) written in yellow patterns. It didn’t look particularly impressive, but Peng Ah-hee looked startled, as if he had given something important.

“Brother, no matter what, does it make sense to hand this over so carelessly?”

“What’s the big deal? It was given to me to use. It’s my choice who I give it to.”

“No, but still…”

“What exactly is this?”

“It’s a token proving you are a guest of the Peng family. If you present this when visiting our family, you will receive treatment equal to that of a blood relative.”

“Please take it back…”

Why would you just hand over something so burdensome?

If I accepted this, I felt like I would truly be tied to Peng Woojin without any excuses.

“As I have a history of a broken engagement with your family…”

“I don’t care about that.”

“Brother, I care!”

“Please accept it, Young Master Gu.”

Peng Ah-hee’s interjection was swallowed as easily as taking medicine. Building good relationships with the Four Great Families wouldn’t be a bad thing, but…

I couldn’t understand at all why Peng Woojin was suddenly acting like this towards me.

“How about keeping it for now and giving it to my first sister? You two are close…”

“I already tried to give it to her, but Sword Phoenix didn’t even acknowledge it. Even I think this is an amazing item… Why wouldn’t she accept it?”

She already rejected it! Damn it.

“Then what about my second sister?”

“I’m giving this because I’m interested in you, Young Master Gu.”

“…I like women, Young Hero Peng.”

“Ah, of course, I like women too. Or is it? I think that’s right.”

Why are you questioning it, you bastard? Saying it like that is creepy.

As I continued to firmly refuse, Peng Woojin regretfully put the token back into his pocket.

Peng Ah-hee couldn’t lift her face due to her crazy brother’s actions.

Thankfully, she seems like a normal person.

As time passed, I just wanted to lie down already.

Maybe it was because I moved my body so much during the sudden sparring match; I was tired.

Perhaps noticing my physical state, Peng Woojin, though regretful, stood up, saying it seemed time to leave.

It seemed that was really all he came for.

As Peng Woojin was about to leave, he asked me.

“Will you also be entering the Dragon God Academy, Young Master Gu?”

“Hmm, I suppose so.”

Born as a righteous disciple of a noble family, one had to go through the Dragon God Academy, established by the Martial Arts Alliance, at least once to live as a martial artist.

Skills and the like would be taught well by families or sects, so that wasn’t the issue.

To operate as a Sword Demon Gate closer, one must graduate from the Sword Academy to handle and gain knowledge about demons, which then issues the Sword Gate Certificate.

In reality, Sword Academies aren’t limited to just the Dragon God Academy; there are likely academies in every region.

It was the general atmosphere that sects or families forming the mainstream of the righteous path would naturally attend the Dragon God Academy overseen by the Martial Arts Alliance.

‘I’ve been contemplating ways to escape since long ago.’

The training period after admission is a whole year.

I didn’t have the luxury to waste a year so carelessly.

“Then, you’ll soon be my junior.”

Peng Woojin grinned and patted my shoulder. Blood ties were out, gifts wouldn’t work, so was he aiming for school ties?

‘Was it not enough that I didn’t lose to Gu Yeonseo, but hitting him too hard was the problem? Why is he so obsessed with me?’

Even if a woman acted like this, it wouldn’t be great, but seeing a grown man do it was downright creepy.

Peng Woojin left my quarters, and Peng Ah-hee followed, then stopped and looked back at me.

“What is it now?”

“I told you I’m older than you.”

“You said calling me ‘older sister’ was disgusting, so what am I supposed to do?”

Peng Ah-hee hesitated for a long time before speaking.

“I was sorry.”

“What’s with the sudden, out-of-the-blue apology?”

“…The day we broke off the engagement, when I threw you and broke your arm.”

“…Did I?”

Did something that terrible happen to me?

“What did I even do to deserve such a terrible act…”

“You called me a child of a concubine or something.”

“You deserved it.”

I wouldn’t have had anything to say even if both my arms were broken. Rather, Peng Ah-hee apologizing seemed strange to me.

“It’s okay if you don’t apologize. If anything, I should be the one apologizing; I’m sorry about that time.”

We’re both from concubine backgrounds, who was I to say anything to whom?

It was probably just pure inferiority complex.

Whether she accepted my apology or not was up to Peng Ah-hee, but her expression seemed a little brighter.

“Take care.”

“You too. And even if you’re displeased with what Brother gave you, he probably meant well, so use it usefully later.”

“What did he give me? That thing earlier, I gave it back…”

It was chilling. A dagger seemed to fly and pierce me.

Frantically searching my pockets, I found the black token Peng Woojin had put back earlier.

‘When exactly…?’

When Peng Woojin patted my shoulder.

Could he have put it there then?

Recalling that, I let out a hollow laugh.

“He really is a crazy bastard.”

Finally, sighing, I put the token back into my pocket.

---

On the third day of the Nine Dragons Festival.

It was the day for the after-party and street festival, but I lay down in the carriage to return to my family estate.

I was told Gu Yeonseo had already departed at dawn.

‘Thankfully, he woke up.’

It was fortunate he regained consciousness properly, but our relationship was already awkward, and now it seemed even harder to face him.

Once preparations were complete, the carriage soon departed.

I tried to rest a bit, but Wi Seol-ah kept leaning on my shoulder, unable to fight off sleep.

Quickly tossing Wi Seol-ah to another attendant, I too succumbed to sleep.