episode_0043

“I don’t doubt the donation, but Janggyeonggak is a place where many precious books and secrets are stored… … .”

“Oh, of course. Isn’t it natural to want something when you see it? I totally understand.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Please memorize all the verses or let me know if you have any questions in the middle. We cannot bring food into Janggyeonggak, but I have brought some bikgokdan.”

Gong-woo, who ended up taking on the role of surveillance officer, said it as if he was sorry, but Yeon-jin nodded without caring.

Shaolin Temple Janggyeonggak.

A place where you can find a wealth of martial arts secrets from the Shaolin Seventy-Two Seasons, including the Baekboshin Kwon, Yeoraesinjang, and Yeondae Gupum, as well as ancient books from the Sixth Dynasty.

If you were to wander around and pick up a random book, it would be an ancient text written nearly a thousand years ago or a book about the secret martial arts of Shaolin, so it would be natural for a guard to be attached.

‘I need to wake up.’

Even Gong Woo is currently a senior in the Shaolin Four Great Diamonds, but isn’t he just silently serving as a watchman?

My heart still flutters when I think of the overwhelming presence that Hyun-Heo gave off at the end, but what good is there to be gained by showing displeasure when even Gong-Woo is criticizing me?

Confidence also has to cross a certain line before it can be packaged as self-confidence or pride. The moment it crosses the line, it quickly changes into arrogance or reckless attitude.

Should I say that it’s fortunate that Gong-woo has a strangely friendly attitude?

Thinking like that, Yeonjin silently opened the secret book of Banya Great Power that Gongwoo had given her and recited the spell.

Originally, it was almost taboo to learn a lot of different things.

If everything reaches its peak, it would naturally become the strongest, but the reality is that if you stretch out your octopus legs half-heartedly, they will often get cut off.

But somehow it happened.

‘The combination of the Heavenly Demonic Power and the Banya Great Power is a combination I’ve never even thought of.’

Yeonjin has reached the point where she possesses both the strongest divine art in the history of magic, the Heavenly Demon Art, and one of the strongest divine arts in Buddhism, the Banya Great Power.

It’s not really harmful, but isn’t it a rather shaky combination?

However, since it was given to him in exchange for returning the secret weapon of the Bokma Yeorae Sword that had been specifically pointed out by Hyun-Heo, it was something he could not help but learn.

There is no harm in cooking it, but the problem is that it is a rather bland combination.

Yeonjin shook her head as she read the part written in the preface of the emergency manual that said that if you raise your power, a golden light will appear like daylight.

Because I had to shake off all distracting thoughts and focus on reciting the urgent command.

To be honest, I didn’t really want to stay at Shaolin Temple for long.

* * *

Yeonjin’s actions were surprisingly agile.

As soon as he had memorized all the secrets of the Great Power of the Ban-ya, he left Shaolin and returned to Shaanxi Funta as quickly as possible.

In return for the martial arts he had lost, he was given another new skill, the Banya Great Power, so Shaolin had no reason to keep him like Jongnam and tell him to stay longer.

From the beginning, he made an exception for Shaolin, which was Geumnam’s territory, so when Yeonjin expressed her intention to leave, he didn’t bother to hold her back.

And fortunately, I never had to meet Master Hyeonheo, the Shaolin abbot, again.

Yeonjin’s strange adventure of crossing mountains and rivers finally ended with her return to her warm home in Seomseo Bunta.

From the Tianma Shingyo Shaanxi Bunta in Xi’an to the Zhongnan Sect, and from the Zhongnan Sect to the Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

“Jin-ah!”

And it is painful to say that in the process, the reunion between Yoo Ye-hyang and Yeon-jin, which could not be seen without tears, took place.

“How long have we been apart?”

Tsk tsk, there was even a former Shaolin monk who clicked his tongue and was moved by the reunion of the disciples, but that monk disappeared with his head sunken in by the original Cheonma Shingong.

And as if it might fly away if I blow it, or as if I might miss it.

It was natural that the first thing Yu Ye-hyang did was to wrap Yeon-jin in the hem of her skirt.

“There were guys called Geumjeokjeonjang on the Jongnam side, and as it turned out, they were just bad guys.”

“Green Forest Alliance patrol lion? What kind of bandit is that? A patrol lion. Anyway, there was that guy too, and I killed him.”

“I met the head of Jongnampa and went to Shaolin because of the Bokma Yeorae Sword.”

“They told me to learn the power of the Ban-ya? Wow, but the Shaolin abbot really seemed to be a tough guy. He gave me just one warning, but he made the atmosphere so scary.”

Minor details that cannot be found in the restrained reports of the court’s experts.

Naturally, Yeonjin was excited and told the story in detail, and Yuyehyang’s actions of sitting next to Yeonjin and listening to the story from beginning to end were expected.

“Yeah, it’s okay now that my sister is here with me. Why don’t you go to bed together tonight for the first time in a while?”

After listening to Yeonjin’s story in a quiet voice, he organizes the list of people to kill in his head.

Since you dared to sit down and warn our Jin-ah, the Shaolin abbot will kill you one day.

In the first place, the great law that created this situation, Cheongyeon Lee Ddaengjung, must be killed.

Iseo-ran? That girl I don’t even know followed our Jin-ah around and pestered her with requests for military service, so you should die too.

Green Forest? Bandits are crawling up the subject. Yeah, it’s time to clean up the trash.

After accumulating resentment surprisingly quickly, the natural suggestion to just hold hands and sleep came out like when we first stopped by the guest house.

“Yes, I like it.”

And Yeonjin also readily agreed.

‘The young leader hasn’t been in a good mood lately.’

‘I heard that when the Great Guardian was bored, he would get beaten up in vulgar language by the Young Leader… ‘

Before entering the Shaanxi Fanta, it was thanks to the court guardians who had been following me as contacts who had come to visit me in advance and given me advice.

Since we are not married, it is a bit odd to call it a separation anxiety disorder, and it is also a bit strange to call it a separation anxiety disorder.

It’s been a low-pressure day, so what’s the big deal about just holding hands and sleeping in the same bed for a day?

The corners of Yu Ye-hyang’s mouth went up at Yeon-jin’s cheerful answer.

And as soon as the night that a woman had been counting the days until came, Yeon-jin, who was tired, quickly climbed onto the bed and lay down.

They say that from Shaolin to Xi’an, it’s a distance that even a martial artist would take nearly ten days to cover, so it’s no different from running while shortening the rest time.

“You must be very tired.”

And as always, Yu Ye-hyang, who was stronger than anyone when she took the initiative and pushed forward, but had little tolerance for such situations, lay down on the bed with a slightly red face.

A close distance to soft silk bedding that rustles with every movement.

It would be a shameful thing to do if you kick the bedding and run away, saying you couldn’t stand it because you recommended it to someone.

While Yu Ye-hyang desperately suppressed her shame, Yeon-jin was forcing her eyes open.

‘I feel like I can finally live.’

It’s as if in a past life, which is now quite a distant past, I had sworn never to urinate in the direction of Gangwon-do again.

The tension that had been so tight that I had made a firm resolution not to urinate in the direction of Shaolin was suddenly released.

Naturally, my body was tired and my eyes were blinking shut, but I felt like I couldn’t fall asleep right away after lying down on the bed, so I forced myself to keep my eyes wide open.

And as Yeonjin turned to the side, enduring the drowsiness, her eyes met with Yu Yehyang’s.

Bright red eyes that are clearly visible even in the dark after dark adaptation.

It is a red color that is hard to find naturally, but it is not strange or odd. Rather, it would be more correct to say that it has a kind of magical power that steals the viewer’s attention like a ruby.

When a man and a woman share a bed, it is natural that some hot sensation and subtle currents arise, even if they do not pursue more peripheral pleasures.

And now was the moment when that subtle current was slowly beginning to spread.

“… … It looks like Jinah is very sleepy.”

“Well, just a little. The way back was much harder than I thought. I barely rested and just slept the whole way.”

“Still, I wish it had been a little easier.”

“Hey, my sister is waiting for you. Of course you should come quickly.”

Yeonjin jokingly replied, but Yu Yehyang’s heart had already reached the point where it would rise and fall with every word she said.

Even though I knew in my head that it was just a joke, my body reacted honestly and my heart started pounding.

Yeonjin blinked her eyes, not knowing whether she knew it or not, and examined Yu Yehyang’s face closely.

It didn’t look like she was taking care of herself, but her flowing hair was falling down and covering part of her face.

It was an appearance that still had the air of youth, but at the same time, it also had a decadent and alluring beauty.

Her red eyes shook and shook, and her pink lips opened and closed as if trying to say something.

A new yet beautiful sight.

Unless your sense of beauty is seriously distorted, you can acknowledge that a hundred of them are beauties.

Not only does it have a unique atmosphere that requires expressions like elegant, graceful, and charming, but the red eyes that look like dragon points create a decadent yet alluring beauty.

For a long time, the man and woman stared at each other’s faces in silence.

In that subtle atmosphere, the first one to avert eye contact was Yu Ye-hyang.

“Yeah, you must be tired, so it’s time to go to sleep. You don’t have to worry here. I’m right here with you.”

Unable to bear it any longer, he averted his gaze, slowly sweeping his hair with his outstretched hand.

A clumsy compromise between shame and desire.

Yeonjin, who had been enjoying the touch with a satisfied expression for a moment, answered briefly.

“Go to sleep now.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Yu Ye-hyang answered in a small voice, stopped sweeping her hair, and tried to chase away her worries while tightly closing her eyes.

It’s a relationship that’s difficult to express in words.

It’s not like she formally confessed to dating him, and if you think about it, it’s just a one-sided relationship where she’s clinging to him because she remembers the past before her regression.

Even now, she sometimes projects onto Yeonjin her pre-regression image.

Even though Yeonjin back then and Yeonjin now are clearly completely different people.

A heavy truth that I have been thinking about for a long time. Should I just reveal the fact that I have regressed and tell the truth about everything?

Then how will Yeonjin react?

Should I believe it or not? Or should I feel offended and tell her not to project herself on me? Or should I sympathize with her pain?

If I don’t want to keep this ambiguous distance, I have to confess to her someday. Her feelings, and the fact of the regression and the things that happened in the past.

But I lacked the courage to take that last step.

Even if people criticized me and pointed fingers at me, I couldn’t help it. Because I knew better than anyone else that the pain of loss was greater than anything else.

As these thoughts continued to occur, Yu Ye-hyang suddenly felt sad.

Even though the person she loved more than anyone else was lying right next to her, she suddenly felt like she was left alone in the world.

When she tried to force herself to close her eyes and fall asleep in the unbearable loneliness and silence, Yeon-jin, who had fallen asleep with a ragged breath, stirred.

“… … Huh.”

I swallowed my breath for a moment at the sight of her instinctively seeking warmth and burrowing into his arms while sleeping, but soon Yu Ye-hyang gently stroked his hair.

The negative feelings I had felt until just now were fading away, and the warm warmth I was feeling in his arms was erasing them.

Slowly and gently stroking the head.

“Okay. This is enough for now.”

Yu Ye-hyang muttered softly in a low voice so as not to wake Yeon-jin, who had just fallen asleep.

At least for now, this was enough.

I don’t know why I experienced this inexplicable miracle called regression.

But now I think I know why. It must mean that I should never miss this warm feeling in his arms again.

Yu Ye-hyang spoke with a voice full of mixed emotions.

“I will never miss it again. That will be enough.”

Her mutterings dispersed gently, and Yu Ye-hyang, who carefully held Yeon-jin close, closed her eyes to fall asleep.

As if to prove her determination, or as if she would never let Yeonjin go.

The arms that held Yeonjin tightened a little.

“… … Ugh.”

As soon as she fell asleep, Yeonjin suddenly felt pressured and had a dream in which she was crushed by Hyunheo’s Tathagata body.

Of course, Yu Ye-hyang couldn’t know that.