Chapter 141: Falling Sword, Long Sky. (3)

It was truly a storm of a meeting.

Moreover, it was a meeting that left behind the discomfort of having swallowed a fruit full of thorns.

[Your grandfather always seems to hand you a bomb.]

“…Grandfather?”

I shuddered slightly at Shin Noy’s words.

Why do they keep trying to tie me and Elder Lee together by blood relation?

We don’t have a shred of resemblance.

Of course, our blood might be mixed, but still.

[Moreover, to be entangled with a ghost artifact again. Your life is truly unfortunate.]

‘What kind of terrifying words are those? I wasn’t entangled this time.’

To be precise, I almost got entangled.

For now, I had many questions.

If Lord Pae really intended to give me a recommendation letter, why was the content like that?

If Lord Pae simply inserted my name into a recommendation letter he had already written.

Why would he bother?

Especially with such a potentially misleading phrase.

It would have been obvious to rewrite it.

Of course, considering Lord Pae’s personality, it was plausible…

‘Did Lord Pae even have a disciple in the first place?’

The word ‘disciple’ written in the phrase made me try hard to recall my memories, but…

At least, there wasn’t in my memory.

Among the Three Venerables, only Sword Venerable had disciples.

As for Sky Venerable, since his surname was Namgung from the start, it’s acceptable to consider Namgung Jin or Namgung Cheonjun his disciples. However, no one explicitly called them disciples.

This was the same for Lord Pae.

If so, perhaps he intended to screw over Elder Lee?

‘…That’s entirely possible.’

Considering this old geezer’s usual behavior, I thought it was quite possible.

However, did Elder Lee really not know the content of the recommendation letter?

Especially, the last phrase bothered me for some reason.

-The ghost artifact was used well. I will send it via my disciple, so please don’t complain too much.

Handing over the ghost artifact.

It was a familiar phrase, like something I’d experienced before.

I recalled Elder Lee shoving it onto me when I was leaving for Mount Hua, telling me to deliver the ghost artifact for him.

And linked with that thought came another realization.

“Ah, no way.”

With a bad premonition, I hurriedly rummaged through my clothes.

I pulled out a coin pouch that had been hidden deep inside.

Elder Lee had given it to me as pocket money before he left for Henan.

The jingling feel and sound were still the same.

I only opened it occasionally when buying snacks for Wi Seol-ah, and it really did contain pocket money.

[Why are you doing that?]

Shin Noy asked, wondering what I was doing.

I silently turned the coin pouch upside down.

Clang-!

The silver coins inside tumbled out with a rattling sound, making an unpleasant noise.

I just rolled my eyes in that moment.

Only after all the silver coins had poured out could I let out a sigh of relief.

[Brat.]

“…Yes.”

[Surely you didn’t think there might be a ghost artifact inside?]

“You never know.”

Having been tricked so often, I just wondered if perhaps.

I kept doubting it, but fortunately, it seemed not to be the case.

Right? Even for Elder Lee, this would be a bit much.

[What do you mean ‘a bit much’! He bet it on a wager after getting drunk!]

“Why are you angry, Noy… Ah, I suppose you might be.”

I often forgot the fact that Shin Noy was the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.

Anyway.

‘I was being too sensitive.’

Even though Elder Lee had tricked me before, there was no way he could have had the Ghost Artifact of the Oath that Lord Pae possessed and passed it to me…

Jingle-

My hand, reaching to pick up the silver coins, stopped dead.

It was because I felt an indefinable texture from the coin pouch still held in my other hand.

Wondering if there were any remaining silver coins, I opened the pouch and examined the inside.

“…Huh?”

[Oh…]

Rattle-

Something caught on my fingertips, and I pulled it off with force.

Along with loose threads stuck to the outside came…

“…Haha, oh fuck.”

---

“Young Master Gu is late. It’s starting soon.”

Tang Soyeol spoke up calmly, taking a sip of tea.

Seeing that, Wi Seol-ah, standing behind, shuddered.

Because Hong Wa had told her how many poisonous herbs were in that tea.

“Perhaps the preparations are taking a long time?”

Moyong Hi-ah said, resting her chin on her hand and scanning the surroundings.

She could feel gazes glancing sideways at them from all directions.

The banquet for the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly always felt like this.

The thickly spread gazes filled with desire still felt dirty and unpleasant.

Yet, since all those gazes held a certain value for exploitation, Moyong Hi-ah simply smiled calmly.

Slightly raising the corners of her mouth, she subtly changed her expression.

With her most attractive face.

When Moyong Hi-ah flashed a smile, the faces of others who had been subtly watching slackened halfway.

“Still amazing.”

Tang Soyeol said, genuinely admiring it.

“Miss Tang can certainly do the same.”

Though it was a slight exaggeration, it wasn’t untrue.

Tang Soyeol was good at utilizing her own unique cute and kind charm.

Tang Soyeol surely knew that, though.

“…It’s meaningless if it doesn’t work on the person it needs to.”

At Tang Soyeol’s words, Moyong Hi-ah seemed to know who she meant.

It was impossible not to know.

I had seen Tang Soyeol pursuing him so openly.

“…Your taste is still unique.”

What was so good about that scary-looking boy that Tang Soyeol was chasing him?

‘He was indeed a peculiar person.’

It was the first time she had encountered someone so indifferent to her gaze.

The boy from the Gu family, without needing to say it, had erected a huge wall in front of him.

Giving off the vibe that she shouldn’t cross it.

‘Is it because that woman is beside him?’

Moyong Hi-ah shifted her gaze elsewhere.

Towards the woman currently bearing the brunt of the gazes.

‘Her name was Namgung Bi-ah…’

The woman who was a blood relative of the Namgung family and the sister of Thunder Dragon.

Moyong Hi-ah was seeing her for the first time.

Despite having interacted frequently with the Namgung family, she had never heard of her, other than the fact that Thunder Dragon had a sister.

‘Beautiful.’

Just as Thunder Dragon’s good looks were undeniable, so were his sister’s.

I had no complaints about having my gaze stolen.

Her appearance was beautiful enough for it.

There was some jealousy, but I didn’t have the leeway for such trivial thoughts.

Moyong Hi-ah cautiously spoke to Namgung Bi-ah.

“Miss Namgung, your younger brother isn’t here either.”

Namgung Bi-ah moved her dazed eyes at Moyong Hi-ah’s words.

“…He’ll come soon.”

“What?”

In Moyong Hi-ah’s view, her face looked much more tired than before.

‘He’ll come soon?’

I wondered if they had contacted each other separately, since they were siblings.

‘As expected, this isn’t easy.’

Moyong Hi-ah unconsciously let out a sigh.

Although she had tried her best recently to get closer to Namgung Bi-ah, she was an unknowable person.

With almost no change in expression, all her time outside of training was spent with her fiancé, or with the attendant and Tang Soyeol behind her, or sleeping – a monotonous life.

‘What a waste, even with that face.’

In a way, it looked busy, but if you thought about it, it was a leisurely life.

It was truly enviable for Moyong Hi-ah.

‘I don’t have time.’

There wasn’t enough time to strive to raise my realm as a martial artist, nor time to express emotions and love someone.

‘Where is Thunder Dragon?’

Therefore, I needed to obtain Thunder Dragon’s cooperation as quickly as possible.

Along with the Namgung family’s help.

Namgung Bi-ah quietly watched Moyong Hi-ah.

Then she quietly asked Wi Seol-ah, who was standing behind.

“…Aren’t your legs hurting…?”

“Huh?”

“Want to sit…?”

She seemed concerned about Wi Seol-ah standing behind the empty seat.

“Unni, as I said before, that’s not possible.”

Tang Soyeol said with a sigh at Namgung Bi-ah’s words.

“But….”

“I know how you feel, Unni, but making a servant sit down in the current situation isn’t favorable for Young Master Gu.”

While the usual Gu Yangcheon wouldn’t care about sitting or eating together with anyone, be it Wi Seol-ah, a servant, or a guard.

It shouldn’t be like that for this particular occasion.

“…Mm-hmm.”

Namgung Bi-ah finally accepted, seemingly resigned upon hearing Gu Yangcheon mentioned.

Anyway, whenever Gu Yangcheon is mentioned, she seems to just nod along, whatever the topic.

‘How a person can change like that.’

In just a few months, Namgung Bi-ah had become much brighter and talked much more.

Thinking that it was solely because of Gu Yangcheon felt fortunate, yet bittersweet.

Tang Soyeol stared only at the banquet hall entrance, pouting.

“Seriously, when are they coming….”

She was slightly worried about Gu Yangcheon, who seemed like he might be a little late.

Because it seemed too late.

“The fortunate thing is that the Alliance Leader is also late….”

It seems there was a slight delay due to the schedule.

Thanks to that, it seemed the misfortune of Gu Yangcheon having to enter after the banquet started was avoided.

“It’s strange that the Alliance Leader is late too.”

Moyong Hi-ah suddenly said this, and Tang Soyeol nodded in agreement.

The Alliance Leader always came out around the time the banquet started to begin the proceedings.

The Alliance Leader had never been late for this.

If anything, they would appear a bit earlier.

As it was a gathering of the blood relatives from the families and sects constituting the orthodox factions, the Alliance Leader also had no benefit in being late.

“Did something come up….”

“He’ll probably arrive soon.”

She frowned slightly at the voice that interrupted.

It was an approach from someone else, not someone already present.

Tang Soyeol turned her slightly sharp gaze towards the culprit who had interrupted the conversation.

At the end of her gaze stood a boy giving an awkward smile.

He was a handsome young nobleman with slightly downturned eyes, a smiling face, and a gentle appearance.

“I apologize. I didn’t intend to interrupt, but the topic was something I knew.”

“Before speaking, I’d prefer you introduce yourself first.”

Despite Tang Soyeol’s somewhat brusque tone, the boy’s smile didn’t fade.

The boy bowed slightly at Tang Soyeol’s words and introduced himself in a dignified tone.

“I apologize for my behavior, which was somewhat lacking in etiquette. I am.”

At the boy’s words, it felt like a wind was blowing from somewhere.

“My name is Jang Seon-yeon.”

A very cold wind, indeed.