Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: A Companion to the Heavenly Academy
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Dang Heeran sent Wi Seongcheon an unabashed gaze. And as she did, she mulled things over.
Was there any reason for Wi Seongcheon to lie? There might be reasons to lie in general, but to cover it up specifically with Heavenly Flower Sect?
No matter how she thought about it, there was no reason to lie about being the son of the Heavenly Flower Sect Leader. Using the Heavenly Flower Sect's name would only bring scorn.
'Then... is it real?'
Her mind was leaning that way, but it still didn't make sense logically.
The Heavenly Flower Sect that the world knew was a pathetic little sect. Even Dang Heeran knew that much. She'd seen the sect leader a few times at events hosted by the Murim Alliance. But... she'd never paid him any real attention.
The so-called Petty Hero Wi Juseok wasn't someone the renowned Tang Clan—one of the prestigious noble houses—needed to care about.
Of course, even pathetic sects occasionally produced exceptional talents like dragons.
But only rarely, very rarely.
And the Wi Juseok that Dang Heeran remembered wasn't some dragon-like prodigy.
"That's why I didn't want to say it."
Wi Seongcheon found Dang Heeran's intense stare burdensome. He cleared his throat and tried to push his chair back to stand, but Dang Heeran immediately reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"Where are you going?"
"We're both uncomfortable, aren't we?"
"I'm not. Why? Are you?"
"How could I not be?"
"I'm sorry."
It was an unexpected apology.
Wi Seongcheon blinked and stared at Dang Heeran's face. She averted her eyes slightly, tilting her head and bowing it a bit.
"I was just... surprised. That's all. Honestly, I'm still not fully buying it."
"That I'm from the Heavenly Flower Sect?"
"Yeah, that's right. But it doesn't seem like a lie. If you were really lying... you'd have picked some other sect's name. To be honest, I probably would've believed you even if you'd claimed to be from one of the Nine Great Righteous Sects."
"Why would I tell an obvious lie that'd get exposed?"
"It's not like I have every disciple of the Nine Great Righteous Sects memorized."
"Even without memorizing, you'd have plenty of ways to check."
Dang Heeran still hadn't let go of Wi Seongcheon's wrist. He cleared his throat again and sat back down. Only then did she release his hand.
"But I've never heard anything about the Heavenly Flower Sect Leader having a son."
"This is my debut. I haven't caused any trouble, so there's no reason for a nobody like me to be known."
"This feels like an interrogation... Can I ask one more thing?"
Dang Heeran let out an embarrassed chuckle. Wi Seongcheon smacked his lips and nodded.
"Where are you headed now? Oh, if it's something secretive, you don't have to answer."
"It's not like that. No point lying at this stage, and you'll find out eventually anyway."
"Pardon?"
"I'm going to the Heavenly Academy."
Dang Heeran was currently enrolled at the Heavenly Academy. Even if they parted here, if Wi Seongcheon's recommendation letter was real, they'd end up meeting there anyway.
Wi Seongcheon started turning things over in his mind.
They'd met by chance. And fortunately, Dang Heeran didn't seem to harbor any displeasure toward him yet.
Not just any noble house, but the Tang Clan—one of the Four Great Clans, boasting especially high prestige.
No harm in building a connection with her.
'Not sure if she sees it that way, though...'
It was clear she felt some curiosity toward him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sat down in front of him or stopped him from leaving after he'd revealed his sect.
"The Heavenly Academy!"
It was a day full of surprises. Meeting the hitherto unknown son of the Heavenly Flower Sect Leader was shocking enough, and now that son was headed to the Heavenly Academy too.
"It's not... just some errand, is it?"
"I'm going to enroll."
"Look... just to clear up any misunderstanding, I'm not saying this to offend you."
"That not just anyone can get in? I know."
"So you have a recommendation letter."
"Yeah, for now."
This year's regular enrollment was already over.
From late every year, the Heavenly Academy sends admission letters to disciples from various sects and clans, as well as promising talents they've scouted. There was an entrance exam held at year's end, but at this late stage, the only way in was a recommendation letter.
'How did that happen?'
The only ones who could issue a Heavenly Academy recommendation letter were the Academy Chief, high-ranking instructors, the Murim Alliance Leader and executives, the heads and elders of the Nine Great Righteous Sects, clan leaders and elders...
It seemed like a lot, but they were all heavyweights with fame and status in the righteous murim world. One of them wrote a recommendation for the son of the Heavenly Flower Sect Leader?
It didn't add up.
"And you, Lady Dang?"
Wi Seongcheon spoke up, mindful of the presence outside. One person, she'd said. Her attendant. Someone from the Tang Clan?
"Why are you here? I thought you were already enrolled at the Heavenly Academy."
"It was vacation."
Dang Heeran gave him a look like he was stating the obvious.
Ah, Wi Seongcheon realized belatedly and nodded. It was already September.
"From June to September. The Tang Clan's home in Sichuan isn't too far from the Heavenly Academy, so I spent the break at the main house. Now I'm heading back."
"Lady Dang Seona went separately, then?"
The concubine-born Dang Seona. Dang Heer's younger sister. At the mention of the name, Dang Heer's expression stiffened slightly.
"Yeah. She's not a kid anymore; no need to travel together."
Her stiff expression relaxed quickly, but Wi Seongcheon didn't miss that brief change.
Do they not get along? The book from Elder Woo hadn't mentioned anything like that. He felt he'd asked something unnecessary.
"Perfect timing, then."
Dang Heer's face was no longer stiff. She giggled, her eyes sparkling.
"You've never been there before, so you probably don't know the way. And we're going to be classmates from now on, right? Let's go together."
"Classmates..."
The word felt awkward.
As the Heavenly Academy drew nearer, enrollment was starting to feel real, but meeting Dang Heeran and hearing talk like this made the distance shrink dramatically.
Classmates, seniors. The thought of rubbing shoulders with total strangers at the academy left him uneasy.
"Won't it be inconvenient for you, Lady Dang?"
"Me? Why?"
"Well, it's embarrassing for me to say it myself, but my father and sect aren't anything to brag about. Getting tangled up with a guy like me for no reason..."
"Ahaha!"
Dang Heeran burst into laughter at Wi Seongcheon's words. She slapped the table with her palm and laughed for a good while before shaking her head.
"What a needless worry. You don't strike me as the type to fret over something like that anyway."
"Honestly, it's less about you and more about my own situation being a hassle. I don't want people saying a baby bat is clinging to you for scraps."
Wi Seongcheon spoke in a nonchalant tone, and Dang Heeran burst out laughing again.
"If you put it that way, I guess I have no choice..."
"No, it's not that I mind."
Dang Heeran, wiping under her eyes with her fingertips after laughing so hard, blinked in surprise.
"If I just agree right away, it'd seem too obvious. This was just a polite refusal."
"...Obvious?"
"I'm a total newbie to the murim world. Born and raised on Mount Sinryeong where the Heavenly Flower Sect is, and the only time I left was ten years ago, holding my father's hand once. I've lived like that, and suddenly I'm told to go to the Heavenly Academy. I don't want to go."
But he had to. Even if he didn't want to, he had no choice. Wi Seongcheon grumbled visibly, wrinkling his brow.
"Since I'm going anyway, and we're almost there. Now I need to think about how to survive at the Heavenly Academy going forward. Classmates... yeah."
The word still felt off.
"I've met a classmate before even enrolling, and there's a chance to get friendly. Kicking her away just because it's a hassle would be a waste—your name and background are too appealing."
He said it outright. Normally, people would beat around the bush or not say it at all. But Wi Seongcheon didn't bother.
Their meeting had been brief, but he had a rough sense of her personality.
"You're surprisingly honest."
Dang Heeran looked taken aback. Wi Seongcheon shrugged.
"Doesn't it suit me? My father's nickname is Petty Hero. The teasing name for our sect is Bat Sect."
"Self-deprecation?"
"Call it knowing my place. Does that sound worse?"
"Maybe I've misjudged the Heavenly Flower Sect."
"I don't know what you think you know, but you're probably right on the money. So, Lady Dang, am I making you uncomfortable? If so, just say it—no hard feelings."
"No, not at all. If anything, Young Hero Wi, I'm even more curious about what kind of person you are."
"That's the idea behind acting like this."
Wi Seongcheon smirked. Dang Heeran just quirked the corner of her mouth in a smile. His boastful words rang true. It didn't bother her.
"How old are you, Young Hero Wi?"
"Twenty."
"Same as me. We'll be seeing each other a lot at the Heavenly Academy—mind if we drop the formalities?"
"Sure, go ahead. But aren't all first-years the same age?"
Wi Seongcheon switched to casual speech right away. Dang Heeran blinked, caught off guard.
"Uh, well. Twenty's the youngest, but... not everyone’s the same age... There are students who enroll later after making a name for themselves."
"If it bothers you, we don't have to."
"No, no. It's fine."
Dang Heeran waved it off. The more they talked, the more inscrutable the man sitting right in front of her became.
He seemed to care about the Heavenly Flower Sect's poor reputation, yet he ultimately did whatever he wanted.
This conversation was the same. At some point, Wi Seongcheon had taken control of it.
"Alright, shall we get going? Or are you planning to stay the night in this village?"
"No, not planning to. Oh, I forgot to mention... I have some business to take care of before heading to the Heavenly Academy. That okay?"
"Business?"
"I'll explain on the way. If you're coming with me, that is."
The corner of Dang Heer's mouth lifted slightly. Throwing out a hook and not answering right away—a simple way to seize the initiative.
But Wi Seongcheon just smiled like it was no big deal.
"It's on the way anyway, right?"
"You know, don't you ever get suspicious? What if I'm not really Dang Heeran? What if this is a trap to lure you in?"
"Me? I'd be honored. I can't imagine which idle fools would set up a trap like this for the Heavenly Flower Sect Young Lord, a total murim newbie. Setting a trap means they've rated us pretty highly, no? If this is a trap, the trapper's the one who values the Heavenly Flower Sect the most in the entire murim."
At his snarky remark, Dang Heeran blinked. A moment later, she let out a hollow laugh.
"That much, I can guarantee. Even if it's not the Heavenly Flower Sect, you... you're no one to take lightly."
"What do you think you know about me?"
"You sensed my hidden attendant's presence. That's way beyond average. And the recommendation letter—whoever wrote it, they must've verified you first."
"I don't think so."
"No, you're misunderstanding. Recommendation letters aren't handed out to just anyone. Who'd want to smear their own reputation? Especially the murim elites who value face above all."
"What if the recommendation letter itself is fake?"
"...What?"
As Dang Heeran widened her eyes in shock, Wi Seongcheon pulled a sealed recommendation letter from his bosom.
"No matter how I think about it, no murim heavyweight would write one for my father or the Heavenly Flower Sect. Plenty would curse us, though."
"Wait..."
Dang Heeran leaned in. She brought her face close, staring at the seal on the recommendation letter.
'...Round...?'
In the center of the red wax seal was the character for "Round."
"You recognize it?"
Wi Seongcheon shook the letter as he asked, and the name that flashed in Dang Heer's mind drained the color from her face.