Chapter 159: How a Frog Survives
Chapter 159: How a Frog Survives
Jo Sin’s eyes shifted the moment the word "attendant" was mentioned.
Had he not known the man’s true nature, he might have missed it, but Geom Mu-geuk saw it clearly—the contempt flickering in his gaze. A frivolous, unbearable rage radiated from him, as if he were thinking, How dare a lowly thing like you drink with the woman who is to be mine?
So, he was like this even back then.
No, rather, in his youth, he was simply unable to hide his true nature. The older Jo Sin had been exceptionally skilled at concealing his inner self.
"To share a table and drink with an attendant... your heart is truly as generous as the rumors say."
Jin Ha-ryeong countered the remark, which he had intended as a backhanded compliment.
"Does one need a generous heart just to sit with an attendant?"
Had the issue of sitting with an attendant not been her recent preoccupation? Setting aside the seating arrangements, the word that had occupied her mind most over the past few days wasn't "Young Dragon Tournament," but "attendant."
"I meant that I don't mind eating with an attendant at all," Jo Sin added smoothly.
"Ah, I see. Your spirit of treating subordinates with such equality is admirable. Well, tomorrow’s banquet will surely be a stiff affair, so why don't we start our own little gathering for the youth right here?"
It was a casual suggestion laced with praise, but Jin Ha-ryeong rejected it flatly.
"I’m sorry, but I must decline."
To be honest, Jo Sin was handsome. Under different circumstances, she might have felt a slight inclination to share a drink with him.
However, Geom Yeon took precedence over that feeling.
If she drank with Jo Sin, she would have to send Geom Yeon away. Yet, if she let him stay, he would surely become a target of Jo Sin’s spite. Neither option appealed to her. She particularly didn't want to say the words, “We’re going to drink now, so please excuse yourself.”
"This is a first," Jo Sin remarked, his voice tightening. "Being rejected after asking a lady for a drink."
"We’re going to see each other tomorrow anyway, aren't we?"
Jin Ha-ryeong didn't see it, but Geom Mu-geuk did. The moment she refused, Jo Sin’s eyes changed. Beyond mere annoyance at being rejected, a dark, chilling emotion began to bloom.
As Jin Ha-ryeong turned to leave, Jo Sin sat down across from Geom Mu-geuk.
"Then I shall have a drink with this attendant instead."
To the startled woman, Jo Sin said, "I want to see what kind of charm this attendant possesses that allows him to sit where even I cannot."
The moment she heard those words, a surge of irritation rose within Jin Ha-ryeong. Jo Sin’s behavior was a blatant declaration that he intended to harass Geom Yeon. He was acting this way simply because she wouldn't drink with him? The favorable impression she had of his looks vanished in an instant.
Does he have no intention of making a good impression on me?
She couldn't understand it. If his grandfather had brought up the marriage proposal, Jo Sin must have known about it.
She sat back down.
She had returned to protect Geom Yeon, but that only provoked Jo Sin further.
"What a truly charming attendant. To make Miss Jin, who was about to leave, sit back down." Jo Sin turned to Geom Mu-geuk. "What is your name?"
"It is Geom Yeon."
"A fine name for a mere attendant."
"Thank you."
"Do you know who I am?"
"You mentioned earlier that you are Young Hero Jo of Jinryong Manor."
"Good memory. Where did you find such a fine servant, Miss Jin?"
Her expression soured at the word "servant." Jo Sin was watching that irrepressible emotion, while Geom Mu-geuk was watching the shifts in Jo Sin’s own feelings.
"Miss Jin is beautiful, isn't she?" Jo Sin asked.
"She is beautiful."
"Beautiful enough to think of at night? How about it? With her..."
Since it was obvious what crude remark would follow, Jin Ha-ryeong cut him off.
"Watch your tongue! You are repeatedly crossing the line."
"Seeing you drink with a servant, I thought you were broad-minded, but it seems your tolerance is selective."
The two locked eyes.
In that moment, an image flashed through Jin Ha-ryeong’s mind. It was a pitch-black venomous snake, flicking its tongue and rearing its head. It was her first time experiencing such a visceral chill while looking at a person, and she was inwardly shaken.
Then, Jo Sin laughed with a friendly face.
"My jest was a bit much, wasn't it?"
He tried to brush it off as a joke, but Jin Ha-ryeong had already felt a wave of total revulsion.
Is he trying to show off some sense of pride by treating the Alliance Leader’s granddaughter so recklessly?
Jo Sin turned back to Geom Mu-geuk. "I simply cannot figure it out. What kind of person is our Miss Jin?"
"I do not know well, either."
"You don't know?"
"I am an attendant, but I am not Miss Jin’s attendant."
"You're not?" Jo Sin looked surprised. "Then whose attendant are you?"
"I am the attendant of Young Master Seo Ryong of the West Blade Sect, who is participating in this Young Dragon Tournament."
"Then why were you drinking with Miss Jin? That makes it even stranger, doesn't it?"
Geom Mu-geuk had also sensed something strange.
Why is this man so agitated?
Even in his youth, Jo Sin was supposed to be a cautious man. His behavior today was too excessive to be attributed solely to jealousy.
What is making you act out like this?
Like a child praised by a schoolteacher, a merchant who had struck it rich, or a martial artist who had achieved a great breakthrough, he seemed swept up in an uncontrollable heat.
Thud.
Jin Ha-ryeong set her glass down firmly. It was a silent warning to stop.
At that, Jo Sin’s attitude shifted. He asked her softly, as if they were old friends.
"Don't you find it strange, Miss Jin?"
"Find what strange?"
"The granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Leader is sharing a table and drinking with the servant of a martial artist participating in this tournament. Everyone else would be shocked, yet the granddaughter herself doesn't find it strange at all. What do you think?"
"So? What is your point?"
"They say if you put a frog in lukewarm water and boil it slowly, it dies without even realizing it's dying, right?"
The corners of Jin Ha-ryeong’s mouth curled up. Before she could vent her anger, Jo Sin continued.
"What if this man approached you with a specific purpose? What if he approached you to slip Energy-Scattering Poison into your drink before the finals? Will you just say you were deceived then?"
Jo Sin leaned his face close to Geom Mu-geuk’s.
"What is your objective?"
Geom Mu-geuk said nothing. As Jo Sin’s fierce aura flared as if he might strike at any moment, Jin Ha-ryeong stepped in.
"Young Hero Jo."
Her cold, sunken tone made her feelings clear.
"I will see you at the banquet hall tomorrow. There is still a long way to go before the water boils."
Their gazes met. Jin Ha-ryeong stared back boldly at the rearing snake. She was not afraid of that snake right now.
Jo Sin smiled.
"It seems I’ve made a mistake upon our first meeting. My apologies, Miss Jin. I shall see you at the banquet hall tomorrow."
He stood up and gave Geom Mu-geuk a smirk. Both Geom Mu-geuk and Jin Ha-ryeong felt it—the thick murderous intent contained in that smile.
Once Jo Sin left the inn, Jin Ha-ryeong drank in silence. She looked as if she were chewing over what Jo Sin had said. Geom Mu-geuk waited silently for her to speak.
After a moment, she let out a sigh. The coldness she had shown Jo Sin was gone, and she had returned to her usual self.
"It’s hard. So hard. Why is everything so difficult?"
"They say life is originally difficult," Geom Mu-geuk replied. "If you asked someone from a hundred years ago, they’d say it’s hard; if you asked someone from five hundred years ago, they’d say the same. The Alliance Leader would say it’s hard, and even that waiter over there would say it’s hard. Even a child born tomorrow will say it’s hard once they grow up."
"This is exactly why. How can you not be suspected when a mere attendant says things like that?"
"Do you suspect me as well, Miss Jin?"
She answered honestly. "To be frank, I flinched the moment I heard that story about the frog."
"If you fall for those words, you’ll be moved from a warm spring into a pot that’s actually boiling."
Jin Ha-ryeong shook her head. "You are far too silver-tongued. You win."
"What do you mean?"
"I’d rather die than believe that man, so I have to believe you."
"In times like this, you shouldn't believe either. Why choose between the two?"
Jin Ha-ryeong looked at Geom Mu-geuk. She thought it would be a disaster if this man were truly a villain. She had a premonition that stopping him would be even harder than stopping the snake-like Jo Sin. However, she decided to trust her instincts.
"This isn't the time to worry about me. You’re in big trouble. This frog here might still be swimming in warm water, but that frog over there was just placed squarely on a rock in the middle of lava."
She was born with a keen sense for reading people. She realized that a man like Jo Sin was not someone who would let an attendant live after seeing him drink with the woman he wanted to marry—especially an attendant that the woman had taken a side for.
"My young master will protect me."
"No, even if your young master is a skilled fighter who made it to the finals, he can't protect you. That man’s family is no ordinary clan. Go back to your hometown immediately."
"I cannot leave my young master behind. And if that man intends to harm me as you say, would I be able to escape him by going home? I would only bring trouble to the young master’s sect."
"That’s true." She suddenly stood up. "Wait here. I’ll go find a pole to get you out of that lava."
She hurried out of the inn. Shortly after, Seo Dae-ryong took her place.
"This is more interesting than the tournament, isn't it?"
"I thought you were tired?"
"No matter how tired I am, I couldn't bear the curiosity. Who was that guy? Is this one of those things where an obstacle always appears in a fated love?"
"To him, I’m probably the obstacle."
"He looked decent enough."
"Those are the dangerous ones."
"Exactly. It’s only because he hasn't seen the Pavilion Master with his beard shaved."
"I’m more dangerous?"
"Is there even a comparison? In looks or danger level."
Seo Dae-ryong laughed to himself as if he’d made a hilarious joke.
"I’ll just win the tournament while watching this fated love unfold."
"Do that. I’ll handle this business while watching the fated duels."
I was curious to see what Jin Ha-ryeong would do. And the solution she brought the next day was a method I hadn't anticipated.
"Come to the banquet with me."
She was asking me to go to today’s banquet. A banquet where the Murim Alliance Leader and Jo Sin would be present.
"I believe I told you I couldn't go, even if it meant being called a coward."
"The situation has changed since then. I will take responsibility for your life."
"How?"
"You’ll see when we get there."
Meeting the Murim Alliance Leader?
Could I truly hide my existence from him? My realm had already reached the state of Return to the Natural State, so I could appear as if I had never learned martial arts at all.
But would that work on the Murim Alliance Leader? Could I truly hide the presence that I, as a person, radiated?
Probably not. I might be able to disguise a Nine-Star realm as Eight-Star, but I wouldn't be able to fool him into thinking I was a mere attendant. Meeting the Murim Alliance Leader meant I had to be prepared to reveal my identity.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
"I’m thinking about how your grandfather will react after he finds out about me."
Of course, she was worried about something entirely different.
"Grandfather won't harm you because of your status. Even if he gets angry, he’ll take it out on me."
"He is a great man, so he must treat subordinates with dignity, right?"
"Of course."
Then how would he treat the blood of the Heavenly Demon?
It was a question I couldn't bring myself to ask her.
Of course, even if it were discovered that I was the Heavenly Demon’s kin, I wouldn't be killed within the Murim Alliance. Doing so could trigger a war. In that sense, the Murim Alliance was a safer place than the Main Cult. Instead, I would be expelled, and this successor trial would end in failure as I took responsibility for causing trouble with the Murim Alliance.
I pondered for a long time. Jin Ha-ryeong understood and waited for me. Eventually, I finished weighing the various scenarios.
"Fine, let’s go."
"Ah, good choice."
"Let’s meet at the entrance of the Murim Alliance in half an hour. I need to prepare a bit for the banquet."
"Alright."
After sending her off, I went up to my room and informed Seo Dae-ryong that I was going to the banquet hosted by the Alliance Leader.
Seo Dae-ryong asked worriedly, "Will you be alright?"
"Do you think I will be?"
"Until now, you’ve said you were going to meet all sorts of dangerous people, Pavilion Master. From Demon Monarchs to Demon Lords. But now, you’re going to meet the Murim Alliance Leader."
"How is it? Having a leader like this?"
"In the past, I would have hated it."
Whenever I said I was going to meet the Demon Lords, Seo Dae-ryong would recoil in horror.
"And now?"
"Even if I recoil in fear, it’s still just a sparring stage."
We laughed together. The fact that we were alone in enemy territory was drawing us closer.
"Have a safe trip. I’ll be here training."
I looked at my reflection in the bronze mirror. Shaggy, disheveled hair and cheap clothes. I actually mussed my hair even more and didn't change my clothes.
When Jin Ha-ryeong saw me at the entrance of the Murim Alliance, she cried out.
"You said you were preparing for the banquet! What on earth did you prepare?"
"Don't I look better?"
"Not at all!"
"Should I go change?"
"No, we’ll be late. Let’s go!"
As Jin Ha-ryeong and I entered the banquet hall, the eyes of those around us focused on us.
Among the gathered heroes, my father’s presence always looked like a splash of red, like blood, in a black and white painting. The Murim Alliance Leader’s presence was much the same. Though there were countless people in the hall, I recognized him instantly.
It felt as if everyone else appeared in black and white, while the Murim Alliance Leader alone stood out in blue.
Truly, the presence radiated by the world’s strongest masters was astonishing.
In the distance, Jin Pae-cheon, the Murim Alliance Leader, who had been conversing with guests, slowly turned his head toward us.