Chapter 36
Chapter 36
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: One Day Left
-----------------------------------------------------------------
One day left.
Tomorrow, Friday, practical training would end. They'd return to the academy from Sword Forest, then rest until Monday. New class schedules would come out on Sunday, but nothing special there.
Peng Yeonhwa popped the last half-tablet of Bigu Pill into her mouth. She'd stretched a week's worth into two days. Of course her stomach was empty.
But the hunger that wasn't from an empty stomach... that had grown sharper. The thirst that no amount of drinking could quench lingered. Her heart still pounded fiercely, her blood still burned hot.
Today.
No, ever since entering Sword Forest, something had felt off.
...Hot.
The cursed blood flowing through Peng Yeonhwa's body steadily craved violence. This alien blood, so different from human stock, drove her to yearn for violence and blood.
Not all beastkin were like that. Take Hwangbo Seongu—he was rough, sure, but he didn't have the same twisted nature as her.
Peng Yeonhwa did. The faint instincts of her blood from childhood had only grown thicker with age.
Instincts didn't vanish just because you suppressed them. The more you pressed, the harder they sprang back. And when they did... she knew better than anyone what would happen.
Tiger calamity.
...I'm different. Somehow...
Something was wrong.
Her warped instincts flaring up happened now and then, but never this vividly, never for this long.
From day one, the hunger and thirst of her instincts had tormented her. Peng Yeonhwa bit her lower lip hard. She steadied her breathing and stood.
Was this... an illness? Did such a sickness exist? She didn't know. Her head spun, maybe from fixating on it. Was that blood scent tickling her nose just her imagination?
She needed to go somewhere with no one around. One day. Just one more day. Tomorrow she'd leave this place. She had no proof, but she felt like it'd be fine once she left Sword Forest. So until tomorrow, she couldn't run into anyone...
"Where you going?"
But.
Hwangbo Seongu blocked her path. His right arm, broken by Wi Seongcheon three days ago, was wrapped in bandages and splinted with several wooden boards. If it weren't for his arm, he'd have come looking for her much sooner.
...What?
Hwangbo Seongu squinted at Peng Yeonhwa. Her cheeks were flushed red, her breathing ragged and labored.
And her eyes. Those bright yellow beast eyes narrowed sharp and thin.
"Get lost."
Peng Yeonhwa gasped out the words. Hwangbo Seongu's lips curled up at that. He'd heard it to his face before, but naturally, he had no intention of backing off. If a single word made him retreat, he wouldn't have come looking.
"Draw."
He nodded toward the sword slung on her back. Hwangbo Seongu unwrapped the splint on his right arm.
...I said get lost.
"Why should I? If not now, when will I get to fight you? And quit pretending you hate it."
...What are you talking about?
"Don't deny your instincts."
His right arm's bones hadn't fully mended. But the beastkin's miraculous recovery let him move the fully broken limb, if awkwardly.
"You think I don't know? What's the difference between you and me? Species at best? Puahaha, bears and tigers are different, sure."
Hwangbo Seongu threw his head back and laughed, untying his outer robe. Peng Yeonhwa bit her lower lip watching him.
"I get wanting to suppress it. But 'we' are a bit different from humans, right? Makes sense—half our blood isn't human."
...So?
"Means you need to let loose."
No.
Different.
Peng Yeonhwa glared at Hwangbo Seongu with chilling eyes. Beastkin. Same label, but she and Hwangbo Seongu were different. Right now, more than ever, she felt that 'difference' crystal clear.
There were many tangled reasons why Hwangbo Seongu picked fights with Peng Yeonhwa.
Peng Yeonhwa—no, the North Hebei Peng Clan. Now wiped out, the Pengs were a disgrace to the Four Great Families and an insult to beastkin like Hwangbo Seongu.
Personal curiosity too. Survivor of the North Hebei Pengs. A beastkin with tiger calamity blood. Hwangbo Seongu took pride in the blood in his veins. Just how strong was the 'little sister' of the tiger calamity?
"My body's a bit off today."
They rarely crossed paths since their bloodlines diverged halfway. Even if he sought her out, Peng Yeonhwa always dodged him. No good pretext either.
Even in student sparring during class evaluations, matching with her was rare. In those classes, she always forfeited.
That irked him. Her instincts craved battle, yet she played the saint.
"Here I come."
Hwangbo Seongu's eyes flashed. Fangs ground and protruded beneath his curled lips. His already massive frame swelled further. Peng Yeonhwa bit her lip bloody, glaring.
Please. Against her desperate wish, her feet didn't retreat.
See that?
If you hate it so much, just run. But she didn't.
Hwangbo Seongu's body grew to eight feet tall, covered in reddish-brown fur. Bear. No metaphor. He had truly become a bear.
...Get lost.
Peng Yeonhwa said it again. Still not stepping back. Hearing the obvious words, Hwangbo Seongu let out a guttural chuckle. Her eyes sharpened further. The eyes of a predator eyeing prey.
"Krraaaang!"
Hwangbo Seongu unleashed a massive roar.
* * *
That enormous sound jolted Wi Seongcheon to his feet. It prickled every hair on his body.
"Hwangbo Seongu."
Bang Jun, sprawled nearby, shivered too. Suddenly? Why? Practical training ends tomorrow? And his arm's broken! Thoughts raced through Wi Seongcheon's head, culminating in—
'Peng Yeonhwa.'
Hey! Where you going?! By the time Bang Jun yelled, Wi Seongcheon was already kicking off the ground and sprinting.
He didn't know why Hwangbo Seongu fixated on Peng Yeonhwa. But one thing he knew: she didn't want to fight him.
Scenery whipped by. The source of the roar drew near. His heightened senses caught something sharp.
Paak!
Wi Seongcheon braked his sprint and shot upward.
Ssaek!
A sharp whoosh overlapped his leap. If he hadn't slowed, he'd have been sliced. Mid-air, Wi Seongcheon widened his eyes.
"Knew you'd come."
The wheel blade arcing toward him halted atop a tree.
Ha Ji-tae stood there. He slowly moved his arm, spinning the moon wheel on his wrist faster.
"Why you heading there?"
Ha Ji-tae asked, looking down at Wi Seongcheon. His eyes gleamed coldly, like when he'd broken Hwangbo Seongu's arm three days ago.
"And why're you blocking me?"
Wi Seongcheon shot back upon landing. Ha Ji-tae shrugged and picked up another moon wheel. His moniker: Twin Moon Wheels. Two round iron rims like full moons.
Just swinging them made them razor-sharp like blades, and now they spun too. That wasn't all. Moon wheels, as exotic weapons, excelled in unpredictability against the unskilled.
"Because Hwangbo Seongu wants to fight Peng Yeonhwa."
"So what?"
"Like it or not, I'm friends with him. Unlike me, he's from a good family. Don't you think about it? What you'll do after graduation. Ah, you've got Heavenly Flower Sect backing you, even if it's small, so maybe less worry?"
Ha Ji-tae muttered as he moved both arms.
Whiiing!
The moon wheels on his wrists spun furiously.
"But not me. No family, no sect. Kinda lost on what to do after graduation. Could go ronin, but better aim for Martial Alliance or imperial palace... or tone it down, guest warrior for a prestigious clan. Fame's better at Alliance or palace, but easiest living's as a guest."
"Just say it straight. You're mad I broke his arm."
"That too."
Ha Ji-tae nodded.
"Hwangbo Seongu. Looks like an arrogant prick, but he's got good sides. While nobodies whisper about me, the rootless hunter's kid. He never did."
Wi Seongcheon had felt that too. That's why it surprised him.
"Anyway, reasons I'm blocking you: broke his arm. Wanna impress him for a guest spot at Hwangbo Clan. And your slippery attitude bugs me."
"When did I ever act slippery?"
"You took the meat without even saying thanks."
Wi Seongcheon faltered at that.
...I did?
"It's not the words. It's the attitude."
Ha Ji-tae switched statements without changing expression. Ridiculous.
"You just said I didn't sa—"
He blurted in protest, but before he finished, Ha Ji-tae whipped both arms.
The two spinning moon wheels shot from his wrists. No time for banter. Wi Seongcheon schooled his face and leaped back.
Thrown simultaneously, yet their paths differed completely. Not like normal projectiles or hidden weapons.
Not just tossed. If it were that simple, a backwater hunter like him wouldn't be in the academy's upper class, as he'd claimed.
'Qi? Damn.'
The moon wheels rushing from different angles glowed faintly. Infusing qi into thrown weapons was far trickier than sword or fist qi. It wasn't just power—the variability skyrocketed. One moon wheel's speed surged. He'd thought he had distance, but no. It closed the gap instantly and reached him.
'Get sliced or grazed...'
No dodging.
Ha Ji-tae was certain.
No time for debate.
Kwaaang!
The explosion nearby shoved Wi Seongcheon's resolve. His waist bent back sharply. His right hand shot upward.
Cheeeeng!
Fist slammed down from above, dodging the upright edge. Ha Ji-tae's eyes widened. Wi Seongcheon's punch drove the moon wheel downward just before it could slice him.
It didn't end there. Wi Seongcheon twisted his waist and swung his leg.
Knee and ankle bent on the swing. Then snapped straight. To Ha Ji-tae, it looked like the kick 'bent'.
...Dangerous.
Wi Seongcheon muttered, balancing on one foot.
Ha Ji-tae's thrown moon wheel spun, caught on his ankle.