Chapter 475: To You Who’s Lost in Oblivion (2)

“…Who are you?”

Elder Shin’s voice echoed as he made a confused frown.

“What…?”

What was this old man even saying?

His unexpected response made my jaw drop.

It sounded like he had a ton of things to complain to Tang Jaemoon, but now he acted like he didn’t even know who she was.

“Elder Shin…?”

“Hmm? You know this person?”

Without knowing how shocked I was, Elder Shin frowned after seeing me.

“A woman again… tsk, tsk. Your thirst for them still hasn’t changed, huh?”

Elder Shin’s gaze then aimed towards Tang Jaemoon’s chest area.

“Ahem…”

“…Elder Shin.”

Had he gone insane?

What was this old man doing?

Putting aside the fact that he didn’t recognize Tang Jaemoon, but a Taoist blushed after seeing a woman’s chest.

This whole situation left me speechless.

“…What do you think you are doing, Elder Shin?”

“Ahem… What are you talking about?”

It seemed like he felt shame as well, judging by his awkward coughing and him avoiding eye contact.

His reaction was funny and all, but I had to ask him a question as I couldn’t understand this situation.

“You don’t know who she is?”

“How would I know a lady like that?”

“But…”

As I became more confused after hearing Elder Shin,

Chuckle…

I started to hear Tang Jaemoon chuckle from a distance.

She was quietly laughing to herself while covering her mouth.

“Huh?”

But then, Elder Shin opened his eyes widely after seemingly realizing something.

I finally became relieved after seeing that sight.

Of course, there is no way that he wouldn’t recognize her.

Right as I was about to nod at the thought,

“You… are you perhaps Jaehee?”

“Huh?”

I heard a completely new name from Elder Shin’s lips.

Jaehee? Who was that?

Despite hearing Elder Shin, Tang Jaemoon continued to smile without responding.

“Jaemoon’s younger sibling. Right? I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“…”

Hmm.

I thought to myself as I heard Elder Shin speak in joy.

Where did I even need to start?

…Jaehee, so Tang Jaehee?”

Her older brother was Tang Jaemoon, and she was Tang Jaehee… what a lazy effort in naming their children.

Wait, that’s not the important part.

I had a strange thought because I was swept away by the situation, but that wasn’t the important question.

“Elder Shin, what are you talking about…? That person over there isn’t Senior Tang Jaemoon?”

“Hmm?”

When I asked him while pointing at Tang Jaemoon, Elder Shin responded while giving me a strange look.

“What are you bastard talking about? How could you see that lady as Tang Jaemoon?”

“Huh? That’s because…”

“You’ve been like this ever since last time, but you keep on saying these nonsensical things…”

Elder Shin spoke again with a strong frown after hearing my confusion.

“Jaemoon is a guy to begin with. Why do you keep on saying these disgusting things about him…”

“…”

After hearing Elder Shin speak in a speechless tone, I frowned and gazed at Tang Jaemoon.

…What’s going on now?

Tang Jaemoon was a guy? I looked at him with a rather shocked expression.

How could that person be a guy?

Even if she tried to cross-dress, it wouldn’t have been possible with her body.

As we continued to talk, the lady who was supposedly Tang Jaemoon… continued to smile.

For some reason, her smile was filled with a sense of longing.

After some time, the lady stood up from her seat.

Then, she spoke while looking at Elder Shin.

“It’s been a long time, Cheol Orabeoni.”

Orabeoni?

That was an unexpected way of calling him.

I made a strange expression on my face after hearing her, but Elder Shin’s expression brightened up instead.

“I knew it…! So, you were Jaehee.”

Judging by how he spoke, it seemed like he still remembered Tang Jaemoon.

So did that really mean that lady wasn’t Tang Jaemoon after all? It made me wonder why that lady called herself Tang Jaemoon in the first place.

“Jaemoon’s little sister, Jaehee- “

“And you sure are still as slow as ever.”

“Hmm?”

Huuuh?

As Tang Jaemoon slowly walked up towards Elder Shin, her body started to change.

With each step, Tang Jaemoon’s body grew gradually larger.

She became taller, and her bones became wider.

“…Huh… Huuh?”

Elder Shin started showing a shocked reaction as well.

After Tang Jaemoon’s body became bigger, he tied his hair behind him and spoke while confidently poking his body towards Elder Shin.

“Now, can you tell?”

Even his voice changed, as well as his tone.

Wow.

My jaw instantly dropped at the sight.

Tang Jaemoon was a man who was tall as Elder Shin, and he had physique that was comparable to the martial artists of Hwangbo or Peng Clan.

His voice was extremely deep as well. It was probably one of the deepest voices I have heard in my life.

What even is that?

Instead of the beautiful, elegant lady who stood there before, there was now a huge man whose presence would make anyone fear him.

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one surprised, as Elder Shin started to speak in a shaky tone, his jaw dropping.

“Jaemoon…?”

Judging by his reaction, it seemed like that was Tang Jaemoon’s true appearance.

…Then what was the answer?

My mind became complicated.

Elder Shin called him Tang Jaehee when he still had the appearance of a lady, and considering how this was Tang Jaemoon’s true appearance…

…Who is who?

Which one was the real Tang Jaemoon?

Was it the lady who went by the name Tang Jaehee?

Or was his current appearance his true self?

As my thoughts became more complicated,

You…

Elder Shin stared at Tang Jaemoon with a frown.

“Were you using the Qi Body Transformation Technique?”

Qi Body Transformation Technique? I became interested in what Elder Shin said.

It was the first time I’ve heard of such a technique.

After hearing Elder Shin’s question, Tang Jaemoon nodded lightly with a short smirk.

“So, you… have been tricking us all along.”

“Wrong.”

Tang Jaemoon firmly denied Elder Shin.

“I only tricked you.”

“What…?”

Elder Shin’s eyes widened after he heard Tang Jaemoon.

He seemed confused about why only he was tricked.

Tang Jaemoon continued to speak in a calm tone.

“You are the only one who was tricked. Other friends recognized me right away.”

“…Eh?”

“…”

I became embarrassed just by hearing the conversation.

Qi Body Transformation Technique.

Judging by the name, it sounded like a martial technique that changed one’s body using Qi, but I’ve never heard of such a technique that could change a person’s body so much like that.

Moreover, it definitely wasn’t easy for a thin lady to turn into a huge man with large muscles.

It might have been possible if a person had been trained in transformational martial arts all their life, but a master of the Tang Clan wouldn’t have only trained in that field.

Then what was going on?

As I became more amused at that mysterious ability,

“T-Then…”

Elder Shin started to ask Tang Jaemoon a question in a shaky tone.

“…What about Jaehee?”

When Elder Shin asked about Tang Jaemoon’s earlier appearance as a lady whom he thought was his little sibling named Tang Jaehee, Tang Jaemoon spoke with a smirk.

“I regret to inform you, but I’m an only child, Shincheol.”

“Ughhhh…!!”

After hearing Tang Jaemoon, Elder Shin fell to the ground as if he were greatly shocked.

I smirked in my mind after seeing his reaction.

To be fair…

His reaction was understandable, as it turned out that his friend was a girl all along.

If a bastard like the Water Dragon were a girl, I would’ve reacted the same way he did.

But it is funny how he was the only one who didn’t realize.

Every one of his friends knew that Tang Jaemoon was a female, but only Elder Shin didn’t know her true gender, even till his death.

Moreover.

That old man also didn’t know how Tang Jaemoon felt about him.

Just hearing that left me speechless.

And he says I’m the slow one?

That old man had been calling me dumb and slow every time a girl was near me, but seeing him like that only left me speechless.

As Elder Shin was still in shock on the ground, Tang Jaemoon’s body started to return back to normal again.

The large muscles that almost ripped her clothing became smaller, and she went back to her elegant lady appearance.

…It fascinates me every time I see it.

How was it possible to change one’s appearance that much?

As I continued to gaze at her amusedly,

“You bastard!”

Elder Shin suddenly shouted at Tang Jaemoon.

“Then… you! You’ve been tricking me up until now!?”

After seeing Elder Shin shout out in a frustrated tone, Tang Jaemoon lightly bit her lips.

“…I’m sorry…”

Both her body and voice returned back to normal.

“I had a reason to- “

“Even now, you are looking at me in that appearance…! You damned bastard…!!”

“Pardon?”

As Tang Jaemoon was about to give an excuse, Elder Shin started to say things that made me confused as well.

It sounded like he was referring to something else.

“You are trying to play with me even after death…!”

“Shincheol… What are you talking about…?”

Tang Jaemoon stared at Elder Shin with a confused look, and he shouted while pointing his finger at her.

“You created a girl named Jaehee when she didn’t exist to begin with so that I would fall for her…! And it had been a joke all along…! You deserve to go to hell!”

“…”

“…”

Oh.

So that’s how he understood it.

I realized after seeing Elder Shin speak with a disgusted expression.

That old man, it seemed like he didn’t even consider the possibility of Tang Jaemoon being a lady in the first place.

To be fair, I might have had the same reaction because Tang Jaemoon’s lady appearance differed so much from her male look…

But even so.

Didn’t she go too far?

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who thought that way, as Tang Jaemoon had her thin fingers pinching her glabella.

“…Hmm…”

Judging by her reaction, it seemed like she was wondering how she needed to go about this situation. Even Tang Jaemoon didn’t think that Elder Shin would react that way.

Without knowing anything, Elder Shin continued to angrily shout at Tang Jaemoon.

“You bastard…! Of course, you would make her look disgustingly beautiful. Even her chest is-!”

“…Shincheol.”

“What!”

“Can you screw o… No, can you please leave for a moment?”

“What are you saying you bas- “

Snap.

Tang Jaemoon lightly snapped her fingers after saying those words.

Swooosh-!

Then, a transparent green barrier started to spread out from Tang Jaemoon’s feet and grew in size.

After instantly growing huge in size,

“What…!?”

It expanded the whole space while pushing away Elder Shin, who was right in front of her.

The surprising part was that only he was pushed back, as I was still standing near Tang Jaemoon.

Slam, slam-!

Elder Shin knocked on the barrier, shouting something, but I couldn’t hear anything and was only able to see his mouth move.

…A sound barrier of some sort, I assume?

It felt similar, but I didn’t exactly know what this technique was.

“Hah…”

I turned towards the sigh I heard.

In that spot, Tang Jaemoon continued to sigh as if she were exhausted.

“That regretful man… how did he not change one bit?”

She spoke with very tired eyes.

I carefully asked her a question after seeing her speak.

“…Um… Senior?”

“I pray that you don’t become like him.”

“…Ah, okay.”

I thought about saying something, but I shut my mouth after seeing her cold, deadly expression.

Let’s just ask her something else for now.

“…Uh, how did you do that thing from earlier?”

“Do what?”

“You know, how you changed your gender- “

Ddddd-!

“Oh, you don’t have to actually show me.”

When I spoke quickly, Tang Jaemoon stopped transforming her body after she started to.

“Wait, so you are a female, right?”

“Yes.”

I became relieved after hearing her calm response. I was glad. I would have been shocked if her male appearance were her true self.

“But then why… would you put on such an appearance?”

When I spoke in a curious tone, Tang Jaemoon spoke like it wasn’t a big deal.

“A Lord of a clan cannot be female.”

“…!”

I was able to understand as soon as I heard her response.

It was a much simpler reason than I expected.

It was obvious in the current generation, and it likely wasn’t different in the past either.

However.

It wouldn’t seem like her gender would matter at her level as a martial artist.

I didn’t know how powerful Tang Jaemoon was or how high of a level she reached, but she was at the very least in the same realm as the Three Venerables, considering how powerful Elder Shin seemed to be.

If she wasn’t much different from Elder Shin, then surely her gender wouldn’t have mattered in her becoming a Lord…

It seemed like she knew what I was thinking, judging from my expression, as Tang Jaemoon started to explain.

“Well, at first, that was the intent…”

A strange sense of longing filled Tang Jaemoon’s expression.

“I lost the chance to tell him the truth as I had fun teasing him.”

“…Pardon?”

“Moreover, other comrades noticed early on, so I thought he would realize after some time…”

Clang-!

A teacup beneath her broke in half with a harsh sound.

I noticed Tang Jaemoon was clenching her fist, shaking.

“But I didn’t think he wouldn’t realize even after death.”

“…”

Elder Shin really was impressive in many ways.

Slam, slam-!

Whether he knew that we were talking about him or not, Elder Shin continued to slam the barrier from outside, but there wasn’t even a crack in it.

“Hah… seriously…”

Tang Jaemoon, who had a calm demeanor before, broke that mask of hers and let out continuous sighs.

It truly was fascinating.

It was very shocking to see a beautiful lady like her turn into a hunk of a man.

As my eyes slowly drifted towards where her chest was,

“Descendant.”

“Y-Yes!”

I responded in shock after hearing her sudden call.

I thought I was well-trained since I’ve been near Namgung Bi-ah for a long time, but letting my guard down for a little made me weak.

I gulped nervously.

I couldn’t afford to do such a thing.

I couldn’t let myself become a pervert like that old man from Mount Hua.

I managed my gaze and only looked into Tang Jaemoon’s eyes.

Her eyes were a much brighter light green in color, compared to the Poison Queen’s eyes before she lost them.

That meant one thing.

The proof of Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity”

Or at least that’s what I heard… but I honestly didn’t know.

That was the level that Poison Queen achieved in my past life, and I’m sure Tang Jaemoon achieved the same.

As I continued to stare into her eyes, Tang Jaemoon slowly started to speak.

“Have you talked to that bad man a lot?”

All of a sudden, she called him a bad man instead of Shincheol.

“Yes, we’ve had a decent amount of talks.”

That would be the case if I included the times before Elder Shin disappeared.

Though truthfully, I haven’t heard much about his own story.

Tang Jaemoon asked me a question as I thought in my head.

“Did he mention you at all?”

“Oh, yes. I don’t think he talked about you that much- …Ah.”

As I thought about Tang Jaemoon, I was suddenly reminded of a person that Elder Shin mentioned from time to time.

Because of that, I accidentally spoke out loud.

“I’ve heard him mention a lady from the Moyong Clan a few times.”

“Ha.”

Tang Jaemoon’s expression became cold in an instant when I told her.

I nodded to myself after seeing her reaction.

I think I fucked up.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought that up?

It seemed like I was right, because Tang Jaemoon spoke to me with a much colder expression than before.

“So he talked about Lady Moyong but not me.”

I quickly added on in order to lighten up the situation.

“Uh… no, he only mentioned that the Thunderous Sword stole her from him…”

“Stole? Namgung Myung stole her from him?”

Tang Jaemoon’s eyes widened after she heard my response. She then smirked shortly after.

“So he still thinks that way, huh?”

“Huh?”

“That might be a good thing actually.”

Tang Jaemoon’s eyes bent, and she smiled.

I, for some reason, felt a chilling sensation after seeing that sight.

“I was originally going to tell him about this, too, but…”

She may have been smiling, but a cold atmosphere slowly rose from her.

“I guess I’ll never tell him.”

Chuckle.

Tang Jaemoon slowly chuckled to herself. Meanwhile,

Slam, slam-!

Elder Shin continued to knock on the barrier while shouting out in anger.