Chapter 57: There’s No Normalcy Anyway! (1)

‘Who is this one now…?’

I was dumbfounded.

Why is that crazy bitch here?

This isn’t Shanxi, nor is it Shaanxi.

It’s just, literally, a mountain whose name I don’t even know.

But does it make any sense to run into Namgung Bi-ah in a place like this?

“What the….”

I tried to ask what kind of bullshit this was, but something preceded my question.

A tingling sensation could be felt from all directions.

Seeing Yeongpung fly away, the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect immediately drew their swords.

They must have judged Namgung Bi-ah as an enemy and intended to subdue or eliminate her.

There was no time to ponder what to do.

Since I didn’t have the ability to run over and protect her immediately, I just yelled first.

“Oh, long time no see!”

“…?”

Whether my sudden greeting got through, the countless blades raining down stopped before reaching Namgung Bi-ah.

“Unni!”

Wi Seol-ah, who had been watching from the gap, ran over and hugged Namgung Bi-ah.

Namgung Bi-ah seemed flustered for a moment, but she gently stroked Wi Seol-ah’s head.

Since Namgung Bi-ah was on the taller side, Wi Seol-ah could be snugly hugged.

“Gu So-hyeop, do you know that woman??”

Shin Hyeon approached me and asked.

What should I say to this?

Should I just say we know each other casually?

‘Where did this one suddenly pop out from…’

After we parted, I thought I wouldn’t run into her for a while.

I thought I might meet her once regarding the engagement, that’s all I considered, but…

Not just anywhere, but here of all places…?

In a mountain valley with nothing?

‘Did she come looking for me?’

No way, that couldn’t be.

Namgung Bi-ah has a terrible sense of direction.

And very seriously so.

If you tell her east, she goes west; if we met by chance, maybe. But…

The option that she came looking for someone wasn’t there.

She wasn’t the type of person who could find her way here.

“So-hyeop?”

“Ah.”

Lost in thought about Namgung Bi-ah, I couldn’t answer Shin Hyeon’s question.

First, I had to give a vague answer and find out why Namgung Bi-ah was here.

“Just casually acquainted….”

“Fiancée.”

“…Huh?”

[What did you say?]

At Namgung Bi-ah’s voice cutting in, the noisy surroundings instantly fell silent.

“…What did you just say.”

As if I’d heard something I shouldn’t have, I asked Namgung Bi-ah again.

Namgung Bi-ah tilted her head as if asking why.

It must be nonsense, right? I think I just heard nonsense.

“I’m his fiancée.”

Oh my god, I didn’t mishear.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one shocked, as those around us shut their mouths completely.

Especially the gazes of the guys glaring at me felt particularly sharp.

‘…Don’t be swayed by appearances, humans.’

Even as I thought that, I had to admit Namgung Bi-ah’s appearance.

In my past life, I saw Namgung Bi-ah’s perfected appearance until I was sick of it, but I never got tired of it. At least, when it came to her looks.

If it were me in my past life, I might have drooled upon hearing Namgung Bi-ah was my fiancée.

Whether it was her hair, covered in dust and messed up.

Or her martial arts uniform, torn, dirty, and looking like a rag.

They didn’t mar the appearance Namgung Bi-ah originally possessed.

Even amidst that, she still held beauty.

Her jewel-like blue eyes were fixed solely on me.

She wasn’t smiling now, but I recalled how brightly Namgung Bi-ah had smiled earlier.

‘She actually smiles.’

In my past life, I never saw her smile.

I only ever saw her expressionless face, slicing and dicing someone.

Honestly, it was unpleasant, but her smiling face was undeniably beautiful.

“Unni!”

Wi Seol-ah, who had been rubbing her face against Namgung Bi-ah’s chest for a while, spoke.

“Yes…?”

“How did you get here?”

“I came looking for you….”

“For whom?”

Namgung Bi-ah pointed at me with a slow hand.

…She really came looking for me?

‘How did she find me?’

She should take a boat but ends up climbing a mountain for ages, or…

Conversely, she needs to cross a mountain but randomly crosses a river instead.

She’s a person who can’t even grasp the most basic directions like east, west, north, and south… Did she really come looking for me?

[Damn bastard.]

Shin No-ya, who had been quiet, suddenly spat out a curse.

‘…Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?’

[If that face doesn’t make you feel anything, then you’re not missing anything – you never had it to begin with.]

‘Hey, why are you sexually harassing me when I’m just standing here?’

[Just get out and die.]

I lightly ignored Shin No-ya’s curses.

Why is this old geezer picking a fight all of a sudden….

I approached Namgung Bi-ah and asked.

“Young Miss Namgung, did you really come looking for me?”

“Mm…. “

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to see you.”

…What?

What did she just….

[I hope you get struck by lightning and die, you damn bastard.]

‘Ah, please… be quiet….’

[Damn bastard… Why aren’t the ghosts catching this guy? Ah, wait, I’m the ghost.]

Namgung Bi-ah’s words slightly dazed me.

Is she really sane?

Why did she suddenly appear and spout nonsense like this.

“No, what’s with the sudden strange talk….”

“Young Master.”

Wi Seol-ah, having slightly pulled away from Namgung Bi-ah’s embrace, approached.

Perhaps from rubbing her face against the dirty clothes, a slight black smudge was visible.

“Yeah?”

“What’s a fiancée?”

“Huh…?”

It was such an unexpected question that I was momentarily speechless.

What is an engagement?

What could it be…?

Seeing her sparkling eyes, she seemed genuinely clueless, asking.

How should I answer this?

“Well, an engagement is….”

For some reason, answering felt like committing a sin.

As I didn’t know what to say, my lips drying, someone appeared, parting the bushes.

“…Oof, my back.”

If you ask who it was, it was Yeongpung, who had flown far away earlier.

Yeongpung, appearing while patting his slightly hunched back, sized up the subtle atmosphere.

“…Uh, what is the situation here.”

Yeongpung, looking around at the situation, suddenly gasped upon seeing Namgung Bi-ah.

“…”

As Namgung Bi-ah’s blank gaze met Yeongpung’s, Yeongpung suddenly collapsed.

Observing why he was acting like that, Yeongpung’s condition seemed very strange.

“…Huh?”

Slightly flushed cheeks, ears reddened along with them, and wildly darting eyes.

That looks familiar….

‘Ah!’

It came to me.

It was exactly like Gu Jeolyub’s face when he drooled seeing Wi Seol-ah before.

Oh… then perhaps?

As I watched Yeongpung with narrowed eyes, other Mount Hua Sect disciples approached the collapsed Yeongpung.

“Yeongpung Sajil! Snap out of it! No, why is he suddenly like this, Sahyeong?”

“Didn’t he hit his head when he flew off?”

“This guy was fine even after being hit by a steel cannonball, but he can’t regain consciousness after hitting a tree?”

“His body must be weak. Should we catch a chicken and feed it to him?”

As some rough remedies were being discussed, Shin No-ya’s voice was heard.

[He’s screwed, he won’t get out of this.]

‘Huh?’

[Look at his eyes, he’s already lost his mind. Moreover, having seen such a beauty, his standards must have unnecessarily risen.]

Poor thing…. It’s the end times, truly the end times.

Shin No-ya fell silent after saying that.

As the situation flowed strangely, I spoke.

“…So, what about the martial arts match?”

No one answered my softly whispered question.

…Shit.

---

Time had somehow turned to night.

Each day passes so quickly, yet why does the road to Shaanxi feel so far away?

It was an inexplicable thing.

I came out after roughly washing myself by the stream.

Getting wet always feels uncomfortable, but it was summer, and given my cultivation technique, I didn’t spend much time drying off.

“….should I?”

“….Hey.”

On the way to the campsite, I saw a group of men gathered for some reason.

At first, I thought they were from Mount Hua, but looking closely, the Gu family’s guards were mixed in.

Why are they acting like that?

Wondering where they were looking, I followed their gaze, and there was Namgung Bi-ah.

[She’s crazy….]

“Gosh…!”

Shin No-ya, who had been quiet since earlier, suddenly popped out.

[Crazy, she’s really crazy….]

‘Why do you suddenly appear and say things like that?’

[Kid, seeing that, doesn’t anything stir within you at all?]

I wondered what he was talking about, but I already knew the answer.

Namgung Bi-ah was sitting demurely by the campfire, chatting intimately with Wi Seol-ah.

She had washed up after being in a dirty state and changed clothes.

Since she didn’t have clothes brought, they had her wear servant attire for now.

Was that how the clothes originally looked?

Compared to the surrounding servants, she somehow looked rather elegant.

Her appearance, beautiful even when messy, now seemed to shine now that she was neat.

Moreover, with Wi Seol-ah beside her, it was like a scene from a painting.

At that level, I could somewhat understand the perspective of those watching from afar.

‘…But it feels a bit like voyeurism.’

Though it doesn’t seem like a very good look.

“…Sahyeong, I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as her. Are women in other regions all like this?”

“If it’s the Namgung Family, she’d be from the Anhui region… Wasn’t Shinmil Sajae also from the Anhui region?”

“Then it’s true that she is exceptionally beautiful.”

“…Sajae, I will definitely pass that message along to Sajae.”

“Huh? Wait, just a moment, Sahyeong, Sahyeong!?”

What on earth are they doing?

“Young Master!”

Wi Seol-ah waved, smiling brightly, apparently having spotted me.

Namgung Bi-ah had already been watching me since the moment I was observing the men.

Ah, I was just going to go to sleep, but…

Feeling like I couldn’t just not go, I eventually moved my feet.

“What are you doing?”

“We were talking, Unni.”

“Talking about what?”

“About frogs!”

“…Frogs?”

My desire to ask further vanished.

Judging by the context, it was probably talk about whether frogs tasted good or not, or if the portion was small.

“On the way here, I saw a frog in the stream, and it had a pretty color!”

“Ah…. It was about the color.”

…My apologies.

I naturally assumed it was about food; this is why prejudice is scary.

Namgung Bi-ah, standing beside me, wordlessly handed me something.

It was a dumpling.

“What is this?”

I took it first before asking.

“A dumpling….”

“Why the dumpling, leaving aside the fish roasting right there…?”

“I heard you liked them.”

“…No, uh, thank you.”

Wait, but where did this dumpling come from?

We’ve been traveling from the family estate for nearly ten days, how did a dumpling just appear?

I took a bite first.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem spoiled.

While I appreciated the dumpling, I had something to ask Namgung Bi-ah.

“Young Miss Namgung.”

“Hm…?”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Do what…?”

“We are going to Mount Hua. It’s a long way, and it will take a while to return to the family estate. It’s amazing enough that you found us, but what was your intention in coming?”

“I wanted to se-“

..Put that statement back where it came from.

[Damn bastard, I hope you burn to death.]

I ignored Shin No-ya’s cruel curse.

Namgung Bi-ah looked at me with blank eyes at my words.

What could that gaze mean?

A moment passed, and Namgung Bi-ah suddenly nodded slightly.

I couldn’t help but be flustered by the words that came out simultaneously.

“I want to travel with you.”

“Travel where, travel where?”

I wish she wouldn’t just say things without context.

It was Namgung Bi-ah’s bad habit to think things through herself and blurt out her own answers.

At times like this, it was easier to just figure it out myself rather than asking again.

“Meaning, all the way to the Mount Hua Sect?”

“No.”

“…Then, where are you planning to go…?”

“All the way.”

“Huh?”

“I want to travel together, all the way.”

“…According to whose permission?”

What the hell is this nonsense.

Namgung Bi-ah’s sudden words made my mind go blank.

Travel together? With whom? With me?

..Why would I?

“Why would you travel with me, Young Miss?”

“Because we’re engaged.”

“What kind of crazy talk is that.”

Does she think ‘fiancée’ is some kind of invincible word?

I was already going crazy dealing with that issue, and now the person involved shows up and acts like this, making things incredibly complicated.

[If it’s given, just gratefully stuff it in your mouth, why are you being so picky? Does it even make sense for a woman like that to be attached to someone with your face?]

‘Why are you cheapily attacking me based on looks all of a sudden? And besides, what’s wrong with me! I look decent enough….’

[A praying-mantis-faced bastard speaking such dogshit.]

‘Pra…’

Shit, I need to perform exorcism or something quickly.

“Did you tell your family before coming?”

“…”

“…Young Miss?”

“…I did.”

She didn’t.

She definitely didn’t tell them before coming.

The silence in between said as much.

A runaway from a prestigious family.

What kind of nonsensical troublemaker is this…?

‘Are you Peng U-jin? Are you Peng U-jin?!’

“You said you came to see me.”

“Mm.”

“Why? Do you have some business with me?”

[You’re asking this? Are you really sane?]

Why is this old geezer so angry from earlier…?

He kept yelling in my head, making me feel like I’d get a headache.

To my question, Namgung Bi-ah remained silent for a moment.

Even during that time, her eyes didn’t leave me.

Was she contemplating something again?

“I…”

Her lips, parting after a slight hesitation.

“Gu So-hyeop!”

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

It was because Yeongpung appeared, shouting.

“The martial arts match we couldn’t finish earlier…. Let’s do it now!”

Yeongpung’s voice was flushed, somehow, lacking the cheerfulness from before.

And in a slightly negative way, at that.

“What’s wrong with that guy now…?”

That bastard isn’t normal either.

…I just wanted to go home quickly.