Chapter 32: Just Bear It Three Times. (2)

Endure It Three Times (2)

Tang Soyeol had different tastes from childhood.

While the children of noble families chased dogs or cats, she chased reptiles like snakes.

Later, she chased beasts of the feline family, like wolves or tigers.

Fierce, slanted eyes and a growling charm. The aura of a predator unleashed upon a weaker animal couldn’t have been cooler.

That’s why, when engagement talks with the Namgung family were underway in the past, she grit her teeth and rebelled for that very reason.

Tang Soyeol didn’t like Namgung Cheon-jun.

Even though everyone else said he was handsome, a genius of the world, and whatnot.

‘He looks like a gigolo.’

Every time I see him, he looks so greasy.

She also hated the inexplicably sinister feeling she got, not being swayed by Namgung Cheon-jun’s appearance.

There’s something strange about him.

His affectionate demeanor felt unnatural.

She couldn’t understand why the other later disciples were so head-over-heels for Namgung Cheon-jun.

Compared to him, Namgung Bi-ah is a good person.

She’s quiet and doesn’t show much on her face, but her caring actions feel genuine, and she’s like an older sister who accepts everything, even when she’s sometimes harsh.

Tang Soyeol likes Namgung Bi-ah, who accepts even her flaws without a second thought.

She was truly touched when Namgung Bi-ah kept her promise to come to the next Tang Clan Martial Gathering, but.

Seeing Namgung Cheon-jun following behind, she wondered why that guy tagged along again.

Wherever Namgung Bi-ah goes, Namgung Cheon-jun is there.

Why on earth?

From what she could see, Namgung Bi-ah didn’t seem to like Namgung Cheon-jun that much.

Since her sister rarely showed expression, she couldn’t really tell. It didn’t seem like something she could ask about, either.

“Right, Tang Lang?”

-Grrr.

A giant wolf with a black mane, Tang Lang, the mountain wolf Tang Soyeol raised.

How could this fierce face be so cute? Tang Soyeol gently stroked Tang Lang.

“…Aw, what a cute boy. I wish all the men in the world were like you.”

Tang Soyeol harbored the wish that it would be nice, but she knew it was impossible.

Just looking at Namgung Cheon-jun, that brat from the Moyong family, or Peng Woo-jin from the Peng family, they were all handsome young masters with soft features.

How could all three of them look like gigolos?

Even the sons of the Namgung and Moyong families had something unsettling about them for some reason.

‘…Brother Peng Woo-jin is just a weird guy.’

Thinking about the messes he and Tang Ju-yeok had caused together gave her a bit of a headache.

It was no wonder she became friends with Peng Ah-hee right after meeting her. That’s how sisters with strange older brothers bond.

The last time she met her seemed to be right after Peng Ah-hee’s broken engagement.

Who was she engaged to again? She didn’t think she heard the details.

She remembered Peng Ah-hee saying he was just a degenerate scoundrel and that it was better she broke off the engagement.

“…Aren’t there any cool guys out there?”

Tang Soyeol, the Poisonous Whip of the Tang family, was an adolescent craving love.

That night.

Tang Soyeol was walking by the lake with Namgung Bi-ah.

The Lotus Lake, known as a work of art of the Tang family, was a place one couldn’t enter carelessly without the company and permission of a clan member.

The lotuses floating on the lake, though appearing ordinary, were all spirit herbs containing spiritual energy.

The lake supporting them, and the fish living there, were the same.

According to Tang Ju-yeok, it was evaluated as a luxury item that the old Tang family artisans had painstakingly created unnecessarily.

Tang Soyeol honestly agreed with that assessment.

It was incredibly beautiful… but that was about it…

Walking slowly along the night path, Tang Soyeol asked Namgung Bi-ah.

“Bi-ah unnie, was the way here okay?”

“…Yeah, I got a little lost, but….”

“…You got lost again.”

Namgung Bi-ah was strangely directionally challenged.

Even when walking normally, she’d always wander off onto a different path alone. Tang Soyeol thought that perhaps her seemingly naive personality was partly the cause.

“Still, you found your way here somehow… I was worried.”

“I had company.”

“Company?”

“Yeah.”

Was she talking about the people from other families who came with the Namgung family today?

She thought she heard they were from the Gu family. Honestly, she didn’t know much about them.

All she knew was that a chivalrous hero, famous for his superhuman skills, was the head of the family.

Sword Phoenix was a clan member there, and that they were the best in Shanxi.

Perhaps because they rarely had external schedules, Tang Soyeol knew almost nothing about them.

It was also an unusual event for a Gu family clan member to attend this Tang Clan Martial Gathering.

Maybe Tang Ju-yeok, being the young master, would know a bit?

“Are you talking about that Gu family?”

“That’s right….”

What could it be? Tang Soyeol had the illusion that Namgung Bi-ah might be smiling slightly.

She had never seen Namgung Bi-ah smile before.

They walked a bit further, enjoying the night breeze.

It seemed less like Tang Soyeol’s preference and more like Namgung Bi-ah didn’t want to go back.

As they walked, they stopped.

It was because they sensed a presence.

“…It doesn’t feel like my brother’s presence.”

There were two presences.

Though their faces were hidden in shadow, they were definitely not people of the Tang family.

“Who’s there?”

Tang Soyeol asked.

They seemed startled by the voice.

They didn’t seem like intruders or enemies, so perhaps they were guests visiting the clan who had taken a wrong turn.

“This is a place outsiders cannot freely enter.”

Slowly, the moonlight shone, revealing the faces of those hidden in shadow.

Tang Soyeol saw their faces, especially the boy’s, and her breath hitched for a moment.

No, perhaps time itself had stopped.

쿵! 쿵!

She could feel her heart pounding as if it would explode, in real-time.

A boy with jet-black hair, slightly narrowed eyes, and eyebrows furrowed in displeasure, exuding a fierce aura.

“If, if you don’t answer, I’ll call the guards….”

Her voice trembled, and she even stammered slightly. Did it show? Tang Soyeol couldn’t understand why she felt anxious.

Namgung Bi-ah, standing quietly beside her, whispered into her ear about the boy.

He was from the Gu family.

-Gu Jeolyub.

The boy spoke.

Gu Jeolyub…. Even his name sounded cool.

Ah, this isn’t right. What was I saying?

What he said, what I replied…

She couldn’t remember.

She wished her wildly beating heart would just calm down.

Tang Soyeol realized she was in big trouble.

This wasn’t good. She felt like she needed to get away immediately.

The boy eventually turned and left, and Tang Soyeol pretended to be nonchalant, but that night…

She couldn’t sleep a wink.

The next day, Tang Ju-yeok apparently organized a dinner gathering exclusively for the later disciples who had come for the Tang Clan Martial Gathering.

Her exhausted body, sleep-deprived, inexplicably started buzzing with energy at the news.

‘…Snap out of it, please.’

She told her heart, but her heart seemed to ignore her completely, starting to pound 쿵쿵 again.

What if he comes?

What if he doesn’t?

She thought it was a ridiculous, contradictory thought.

Soon, the boy from yesterday walked in.

For some reason, he had his arm around Namgung Cheon-jun’s shoulder.

Were they friends? Their vibe felt strangely off.

The meal started quickly, but Tang Soyeol had no idea if the food was going into her nose or her mouth.

Her gaze was fixed solely on the boy.

‘His eyes are slanted. How… cool.’

‘He probably can’t eat spicy food. Cool.’

‘Ah, he’s coughing. Cute.’

Lost in her own thoughts, she suddenly realized she was sitting next to him without even noticing how she got there.

‘I must be crazy… What is this initiative?’

Her impulsive initiative was excellent, but separately, her voice, which seemed to have shrunk, was a problem.

Seeing his slightly furrowed brow, as if he couldn’t understand her properly, made Tang Soyeol feel like she was going crazy.

A servant once said that when someone is too fond of another, they tremble. Tang Soyeol was starting to understand what that meant.

She felt like she should ask something.

What should I ask…?

‘Do you have a favorite poison…? I’m pretty good with daggers, would you like to practice dagger techniques with me…?’

‘…This doesn’t seem right.’

Favorite food? Yeah, let’s ask something conventional.

“Young Master Gu… do you perhaps like….”

“Tang hyung-nim, is that the training ground down there?”

The words Tang Soyeol uttered with the highest courage in her life were cut off by Namgung Cheon-jun’s words.

“Miss Tang, what did you say?”

The boy kindly asked Tang Soyeol again, but she couldn’t bring herself to repeat her interrupted sentence.

She just vowed to put poison in Namgung Cheon-jun’s tea someday.

That oblivious guy kept interfering, even down at the training ground.

Suddenly, Namgung Cheon-jun challenged the boy to a sparring match.

At that absurd suggestion, Tang Soyeol involuntarily shouted her objection.

“No!”

What wasn’t allowed?

The age difference, the skill difference in the match, she could list those reasons if she had to, but.

‘His face… What if it gets hurt!’

That was the problem for Tang Soyeol.

What would happen if even a scratch appeared on that precious face?

If a scar appeared on that wild, captivating face that seemed to look down on anyone else.

Tang Soyeol felt like she could do something wicked to Namgung Cheon-jun.

However, despite Tang Soyeol’s dissuasion, the boy accepted Namgung Cheon-jun’s challenge.

Namgung Cheon-jun wasn’t using his internal energy, nor was he using one of his legs, but.

Even so, he was the Thunder Dragon (雷龍).

Tang Soyeol wondered if she, even called the Poisonous Whip, could even touch Namgung Cheon-jun’s clothes without using internal energy.

That’s how high Namgung Cheon-jun’s standing was among the later disciples.

Perhaps only someone like Gu family’s Sword Phoenix, the top later disciple, could contend with the Thunder Dragon.

In such a situation, Tang Soyeol could only watch with anxious eyes.

Should she intervene if he seemed like he might get hurt? What relation did she have to him?

‘Exactly, what relation do I have.’

Not knowing what to do, she looked at Namgung Bi-ah beside her.

“Unnie…?”

Namgung Bi-ah’s expression was the same as usual, but she had one hand gripping the hilt of her sword.

Or maybe, her expression seemed slightly different from usual. Her breathing seemed a little faster, too.

Was she watching her brother’s match?

If so, her gaze didn’t seem to be directed at Namgung Cheon-jun.

“…!”

Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes widened for a moment. Wondering what was happening, she immediately turned her gaze to the sparring stage.

“Huh…?”

Tang Soyeol couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.

A wooden sword rolling on the ground, and Namgung Cheon-jun, who had collapsed and was clutching his wrist.

And the boy, looking down at Namgung Cheon-jun with languid eyes.

It was incomprehensible.

But it was thrilling.

A shiver ran down her spine, and Tang Soyeol involuntarily let out a hot breath.

The image of the predator she had dreamed of.

So what if he seemed vulnerable? His face was that outstanding.

Tang Soyeol’s thoughts were overturned.

The boy looked at Namgung Cheon-jun and said.

“Aren’t you going to pick it up?”

As he took a step towards Namgung Cheon-jun while saying that.

Tang Soyeol finally sank to her knees.

---

This is an incomprehensible situation.

Namgung Cheon-jun thought so.

Why did I drop my sword…?

He had intended to strike the shoulder, then the leg next.

How should he torment that bastard? It was time filled with only interesting considerations.

But why did I drop the wooden sword?

His arm throbbed.

By some means, his wrist had turned red.

He struck my wrist in that brief moment? But why couldn’t I see it?

“It’s quite strange.”

At the voice, Namgung Cheon-jun lifted his head.

The guy, who had approached unnoticed, was looking down at him.

“Geniuses always get distracted during sparring. If this were a real fight, you would have been dead three times already. You know?”

Namgung Cheon-jun, about to reply to that remark, moved his body hastily.

It was because the boy swung his arm.

He succeeded in dodging, but due to his destabilized posture, he couldn’t possibly evade the next attack.

Kicked in the chest, Namgung Cheon-jun rolled over twice and gasped out a scream-mixed breath.

“Guhk….”

As he groaned and gasped, the wooden sword suddenly dropped in front of him with a ‘톡’.

“Hurry and pick it up. You said it was a sparring match, right?”

The boy spoke and then clapped his hands together with a ‘짝’.

“Ah, perhaps I’m teaching you? If that’s the case, I’m not too confident.”

으드득.

At the provocation delivered with a bright smile, a rough sound escaped Namgung Cheon-jun’s lips.

Then, Namgung Cheon-jun grabbed the wooden sword and got back up.

“…I was careless….”

“You shouldn’t say things like ‘I was careless,’ should you? There’s no excuse more disgraceful for a warrior.”

At the boy’s words, Namgung Cheon-jun fell silent.

He thought it was a disgraceful excuse himself.

He just quietly took his stance.

‘…He actually had at least one move.’

I underestimated him too much.

I should have realized that the brother of Sword Phoenix would have something up his sleeve.

Namgung Cheon-jun took half a step forward and drew his sword in a straight line.

It was to fight properly.

Then, drawing a semicircle, slightly slower, thrusting, slashing, retracting the sword, then one strike, two strikes.

These were footwork techniques practiced for years to apply force according to the sword’s path.

Thanks to this, he could incorporate unparalleled solidity into executing his forms.

This would become the Swift Sword (速劍) that the Namgung family boasted of, and proportionally, it would contain sharpness.

The number one sword under heaven.

Currently, it was a title held by the Sword Master, but Namgung Cheon-jun was confident he would inherit that name someday.

When it came to swordsmanship, even his father, the clan head, said Namgung Cheon-jun’s talent surpassed his own.

Therefore, it would surely come to pass.

Because he was a genius.

But why.

‘Why won’t it connect…!’

How many times have I swung? How many exchanges has it been?

His sword was definitely fast.

There were no gaps in his forms, and the transitions were seamless.

The flow of his breath, which might have been disturbed by anger, was restored as he swung his sword.

There was no reason for him to lose to that guy.

But why, for heaven’s sake??

How could he move as if he knew where and how my sword would be swung?

The boy was narrowly dodging Namgung Cheon-jun’s sword strikes.

His collar brushed past, his hair grazed.

But he wasn’t hit.

His breathing wasn’t disturbed either.

Since he was dodging with minimal movement, his stamina should also be ample.

This was something impossible unless one was more familiar with the Namgung sword path than he was.

So, what was the answer?

‘Is that bastard… stronger than me?’

His crumbling pride and self-esteem twisted his thought process.

…I want to kill him.

That guy who receives the attention of my beautiful older sister.

That guy who dodges my sword so effortlessly.

I want to kill him.

Uncontrollable murderous intent filled him, and the internal energy stored in his dantian enveloped his sword.

So subtly, almost imperceptibly.

Namgung Cheon-jun, using his firmly planted lower body as a base, swung his sword towards the boy’s head.

-Swaaack!

Before the sword could connect, a fist struck Namgung Cheon-jun’s face.

“Gahhh!”

Namgung Cheon-jun staggered and collapsed.

Then, he slapped Namgung Cheon-jun’s cheek.

Slap! With a sharp sound, Namgung Cheon-jun fell.

“You fucking bastard.”

The boy… Gu Jeolyub shouted as he approached Namgung Cheon-jun.

His voice was filled with rage.

“I kept going easy on you, and now you’re trying to cheat? Look at this bastard, he even added killing intent? Why? To kill me?”

With blood flowing down, Namgung Cheon-jun couldn’t regain his senses.

“Ah, this fucking sucks, really. I’ve tolerated a lot, right?”

He rambled on, seemingly to no one in particular.

He kicked Namgung Cheon-jun in the groin as he staggered.

“Aaaargh-!”

“Huk…!”

Tang Ju-yeok, watching this, flinched involuntarily.