Chapter 405: Hi!? (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 405: Hi!? (2)
After trailing Pe Woocheol for a short while, I spotted an unfamiliar carriage ahead.
The carriage was in a sorry state, and the horse pulling it looked utterly spent. It seemed the rider had been exceptionally rough on both.
…Is that horse going to die?
It genuinely looked on the verge of collapse. Despite its well-built muscles suggesting a quality breed, it had been driven to this pitiable state. I stared at the panting creature with a pang of sympathy as I continued forward.
A moment later, I recognized a familiar figure: Moyong Hi-ah, leaning exhaustively against the carriage as if she could barely stand.
What’s she doing in such a state…?
I approached cautiously. “What happened to you?”
“M-Master Gu… Blegh…”
Moyong Hi-ah was in terrible shape. Her usual grace had vanished; her hair was a tangled mess.
Did she get sick on the road? Impossible.
As a First-rate martial artist, simple motion sickness couldn’t possibly reduce her to this.
“Are you okay…?”
“No…”
“You’re right. You don’t look fine at all.” What could have possibly happened to her?
“…”
I studied her for a moment, then stepped closer and knelt on one knee. When I suddenly met her gaze, Moyong Hi-ah stared back, startled by my action.
I reached out and gently brushed aside the strands of hair clinging to her sweaty cheek.
“…!”
Was that a problem?
Moyong Hi-ah’s eyes widened instantly. She quickly grabbed my wrist as it brushed her reddening cheek.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Hmm…?”
I looked at her, confused by her reaction and the grip on my hand.
“What is… this?” she pressed.
“What do you mean?”
My curious question only seemed to deepen her incomprehensible reaction.
Then she spoke again. “Why are you flirting all of a sudden?”
“What?”
What was she talking about? When did I flirt with her?
“Seriously, what’s gotten into you? Do you have a fever or something?”
“Aren’t you the one acting strange right now…? Are you sick?” I reached to check her temperature, but she recoiled in shock.
“S-Seriously, why are you doing this?”
“…Uh.”
“Did something happen to you…? You must be sick.”
Why was she panicking so much? What was her problem?
As I began to wonder if I was the one at fault here…
Hmm.
A strange sensation made me retreat a step, putting some distance between us. I realized we had gotten a little too close.
This.
Was it because my conversation with the Poison King had solidified that these girls were on my side? Or was it some latent possessiveness surfacing? My behavior seemed to have shifted.
I should be cautious.
The thought left me feeling unsettled, unnecessarily guilty. I couldn’t allow that yet.
Not yet.
I repeated the phrase in my head. I couldn’t afford to become possessive over anything at this stage. Leaving the exhausted Moyong Hi-ah behind, I stood up.
The White Ripple Sword came too, right?
Seeing Moyong Hi-ah arrive safely had eased my mind a little. Now, it was time to pay my respects to a Senior.
I instructed a servant to look after Moyong Hi-ah and headed off to find the White Ripple Sword. Just before leaving, I turned back and spoke to her.
“Come visit me tonight.”
“…!”
After I left to find the White Ripple Sword, Moyong Hi-ah was left standing alone, wearing a speechless expression as she stared into the distance.
The young man she hadn’t seen in a while had changed. That change made her feel unusually flustered, and she was shocked by her own reaction.
Moreover,
Seriously… what’s wrong with him.
Moyong Hi-ah understood the implication of his words. He had told her to come, knowing he needed to transfer his heat to her.
-Come visit me tonight.
But the emotion she sensed behind those words felt strangely different.
It would have been infuriating if he had said it to tease her, but Moyong Hi-ah knew he wasn’t that type of person.
“…What an unfair guy he is.”
That only made her feel more frustrated.
Finding the White Ripple Sword wasn’t difficult.
Since Pe Woocheol had felt the need to inform me of her arrival, it meant she had gone somewhere immediately. There was only one likely destination: she would have gone to report to the leader of the group, the Poison King.
With that in mind, I headed to where the members of the Tang Clan were gathered.
Just as I expected, I spotted one person who stood out among them, standing near the Poison King.
Moreover,
“It’s been a while, huh!”
Their voice was incredibly loud. I looked toward the source.
Hahaha-!
A woman was laughing heartily as she greeted the Poison King. She hadn’t changed a bit since I last saw her.
“Should I be calling you the Lord of the Tang Clan now?”
The Poison King offered an awkward smile in response to the woman, known as the White Ripple Sword.
“It has been a while, White Ripple Sword.”
“I heard you became a Lord.”
“It’s been decades since I took the title…”
The White Ripple Sword smiled awkwardly at the Poison King’s reply.
“I’m not really interested in worldly affairs, you know.”
“Putting that aside, may I ask why you are here, White Ripple Sword?”
The Poison King inquired about her purpose. Hearing his question, she tilted her head with a confused expression, as if the answer were obvious.
“It’s nothing special. I was sent as an escort. He was feeling nervous.”
“…You were sent as an escort?”
“Indeed.”
The Poison King looked at her skeptically. I would have done the same.
It was undoubtedly strange for someone of the White Ripple Sword’s stature to be working as an escort.
She came as Moyong Hi-ah’s escort, huh.
Of course, the Poison King wasn’t in a position to object. He had no reason to refuse her, and having a martial artist of her caliber here was beneficial.
However, he seems a bit reluctant.
I didn’t know much about the White Ripple Sword, but I could tell she was unusual just from the Poison King’s hesitant expression. For him to react that way… what had she done in the past?
“Anyway, that’s how things are.”
“…”
What did she mean by that?
I listened to their conversation as I drew closer, and it only grew more perplexing. Did she truly have the blood of the Moyong Clan? Members of the Moyong Clan were known for their calculative nature, but I had no words for her.
She certainly looked the part of a Moyong, but her personality was completely different. I couldn’t understand it at all.
“Oh and… oh.”
Noticing a presence during their talk, the White Ripple Sword turned her head toward me. She immediately abandoned her conversation with the Poison King and bounded over.
“Hi!?” she shouted, stopping right in front of me. Her voice was so loud it felt like it was echoing inside my skull.
“We’ve met before, right?”
I already felt exhausted just hearing her.
“Hello, Senior.”
The White Ripple Sword frowned, seeming displeased with my response.
“Isn’t that a bit cold? Didn’t I tell you to call me big sis?”
“That’s a bit…”
How could I call a woman ‘big sis’ when she was the same age as my father? She was being utterly unreasonable.
Moreover,
Why was she really here? Was it truly just because the White Heavenly Sword had requested her as an escort? I had my doubts. It felt like there was another reason.
But it’s not my concern.
I decided not to dwell on it. Seeing the White Ripple Sword reminded me of Gu Huibi, but she didn’t strike me as a bad person. I would just do my best to keep my distance.
Just as I was about to turn away with that thought, she spoke.
“Well, I’ll be counting on you.”
“Yes… I’ll be—huh?”
I stared at her, confused. Counting on me? For what?
“What do you mean?”
“Hmm? I just told you. I came here as an escort.”
“Yes, I heard that part.”
But what did that have to do with me? Whether she was an escort or not was irrelevant to me.
“I’d like to know how that involves me…”
“Of course it does.”
The White Ripple Sword answered me with a laugh.
“I came here as your escort. Where else would I be?”
“What?”
Her answer was so shocking I felt my soul leave my body for a moment.
The White Ripple Sword hadn’t come as Moyong Hi-ah’s escort?
Moreover,
“…Me?”
She came here as my escort? What was she talking about?
As I stood there dumbfounded, she smiled.
“Therefore, I’ll be in your care, okay? My nephew-in-law.”
I barely registered what she called me, still reeling from her previous statement.