Chapter 475: To You Who's Lost in Oblivion (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 475: To You Who's Lost in Oblivion (2)
“…Who are you?”
Elder Shin’s voice echoed, his face a mask of confusion as he frowned.
“…What?”
What was this old man even saying?
His completely unexpected response made my jaw drop. He sounded like he had a mountain of grievances to air with Tang Jaemoon, yet now he was acting as if he didn’t even recognise her.
“Elder Shin…?”
“Hmm? You know this person?”
Completely oblivious to my shock, Elder Shin frowned at me.
“A woman again… tsk, tsk. Your thirst for them still hasn’t changed, has it?”
His gaze then drifted pointedly towards Tang Jaemoon’s chest.
“Ahem…”
“…Elder Shin.”
Had he lost his mind? What was this old man doing?
Setting aside the fact he didn’t recognise Tang Jaemoon, since when did a Taoist blush after seeing a woman’s chest? The sheer absurdity of the situation left me utterly speechless.
“…What do you think you are doing, Elder Shin?”
“Ahem… What are you talking about?”
He seemed to feel some shame, judging by his awkward cough and his refusal to meet my eyes. His reaction was admittedly funny, but I had to press him. I couldn’t make sense of this.
“You don’t know who she is?”
“How would I know a lady like that?”
“But…”
As I grew even more bewildered by Elder Shin’s words…
Chuckle…
I heard a soft chuckle from a distance. Tang Jaemoon was covering her mouth, quietly laughing to herself.
“Huh?”
Then, Elder Shin’s eyes snapped wide open, as if he’d just realised something. A wave of relief washed over me at the sight.
Of course, there’s no way he wouldn’t recognise her.
Just as I was about to nod in agreement with that thought…
“You… are you perhaps Jaehee?”
“Huh?”
A completely unfamiliar name fell from Elder Shin’s lips.
Jaehee? Who’s that?
Despite Elder Shin’s question, Tang Jaemoon simply continued to smile, offering no response.
“Jaemoon’s younger sibling. Right? I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“…”
Hmm.
I pondered to myself, listening to the joy in Elder Shin’s voice. Where did I even need to begin?
…Jaehee, so Tang Jaehee?
Her older brother was Tang Jaemoon, and she was Tang Jaehee… what lazy naming sense.
Wait, that’s not the important part.
I’d gotten swept up in the strangeness of the moment, but that wasn’t the core issue here.
“Elder Shin, what are you talking about…? That person over there isn’t Senior Tang Jaemoon?”
“Hmm?”
When I asked, pointing directly at Tang Jaemoon, Elder Shin responded while giving me a profoundly strange look.
“What nonsense are you spouting, you bastard? How could you possibly mistake that lady for Tang Jaemoon?”
“Huh? That’s because…”
“You’ve been like this ever since last time, spouting utter rubbish…”
Hearing my confusion, Elder Shin spoke again, his frown deepening.
“Jaemoon is a man, to begin with. Why do you keep saying such disgusting things about him…”
“…”
Hearing the speechless tone in Elder Shin’s voice, I frowned and stared intently at Tang Jaemoon.
…What’s going on now?
Tang Jaemoon was a man? I looked at him with a thoroughly shocked expression.
How could that person possibly be a man? Even if it were some form of expert cross-dressing, such a physique would be impossible to fake.
As we continued talking, the lady who was supposedly Tang Jaemoon… just kept smiling. For some reason, her smile seemed filled with a deep, poignant sense of longing.
After a moment, the lady stood up from her seat. Then, she spoke while looking directly at Elder Shin.
“It’s been a long time, Cheol Orabeoni.”
Orabeoni?
That was an unexpectedly intimate way to address him. I couldn’t help but make a strange face upon hearing it, but Elder Shin’s expression, in contrast, brightened considerably.
“I knew it…! So, you were Jaehee.”
Judging by his words, it seemed he still remembered the real Tang Jaemoon. So did that mean this lady genuinely wasn’t Tang Jaemoon after all? It made me wonder why she had introduced herself as such in the first place.
“Jaemoon’s little sister, Jaehee- “
“And you sure are still as slow as ever.”
“Hmm?”
Huuuh?
As ‘Tang Jaemoon’ slowly walked towards Elder Shin, her body began to change. With each step, her frame grew gradually larger. She became taller, her bones broader and more pronounced.
“…Huh… Huuh?”
Elder Shin began to show a shocked reaction as well.
Once ‘Tang Jaemoon’s’ body had fully transformed, he tied his long hair back and spoke, confidently thrusting his chest out towards Elder Shin.
“Now, can you tell?”
Even his voice had changed, along with his entire tone and demeanour.
Wow.
My jaw dropped instantly at the sight. The person before me was a man as tall as Elder Shin, with a physique comparable to the martial artists of the Hwangbo or Peng Clans. His voice was incredibly deep, probably one of the deepest I’d ever heard in my life.
What even is that?
Gone was the beautiful, elegant lady. In her place stood a hulking man whose very presence commanded fear. It seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised; Elder Shin’s jaw was on the floor, his voice shaky.
“Jaemoon…?”
Judging by his reaction, this was indeed Tang Jaemoon’s true appearance.
…Then what was the answer?
My mind became a tangled mess. Elder Shin had called him ‘Tang Jaehee’ when he had a woman’s appearance, and considering this was his true form…
…Who is who?
Which one was the real Tang Jaemoon? Was it the lady who went by the name Tang Jaehee? Or was this current, masculine appearance his true self?
As my thoughts grew more convoluted…
You…
Elder Shin stared at Tang Jaemoon, his face a deep frown.
“Were you using the Qi Body Transformation Technique?”
The Qi Body Transformation Technique? My interest was piqued by what Elder Shin said. It was the first time I’d ever heard of such a technique.
Hearing the question, Tang Jaemoon gave a short smirk and a light nod.
“So, you… have been tricking us all along.”
“Wrong.”
Tang Jaemoon firmly denied Elder Shin’s accusation.
“I only tricked you.”
“What…?”
Elder Shin’s eyes widened in confusion. He seemed baffled as to why he was the sole target of this deception.
Tang Jaemoon continued in a calm tone.
“You are the only one who was tricked. The others recognised me right away.”
“…Eh?”
“…”
Just listening to their conversation was enough to make me feel embarrassed.
The Qi Body Transformation Technique. Judging by the name, it sounded like a martial technique that used Qi to alter one’s body, but I’d never heard of any technique that could change a person’s physique so drastically. Moreover, transforming from a slender woman into a hulking man with bulging muscles was definitely no easy feat.
It might have been possible if someone had dedicated their entire life to transformational martial arts, but a master of the Tang Clan wouldn’t have focused solely on that one field.
Then what was going on?
As I grew more and more fascinated by this mysterious ability…
“T-Then…”
Elder Shin began to ask a question, his voice still trembling.
“…What about Jaehee?”
When Elder Shin asked about the lady he had believed to be Tang Jaemoon’s younger sister, Tang Jaemoon responded with another smirk.
“I regret to inform you, but I’m an only child, Shincheol.”
“Ughhhh…!!”
Hearing this, Elder Shin collapsed to the ground as if struck by a monumental shock. I smirked internally seeing his reaction.
To be fair…
His reaction was understandable. It turns out his close friend was a woman all along.
If someone like the Sleeping Dragon had turned out to be a woman, I probably would have reacted the same way.
But it is funny how he was the only one who didn’t realise.
All of his other friends had known Tang Jaemoon was a woman, yet only Elder Shin remained ignorant of her true gender, even unto his death.
Moreover.
That old man had also been completely unaware of how Tang Jaemoon felt about him. Just thinking about it left me speechless.
And he had the nerve to call me slow? That old man was always calling me dumb and slow whenever a girl was near me, but seeing him like this… it was beyond words.
While Elder Shin was still reeling on the ground, Tang Jaemoon’s body began to revert to its previous form. The large muscles that strained against his clothing shrunk away, and he returned to the elegant lady’s appearance.
…It fascinates me every time I see it.
How was it possible to change one’s appearance to such an extent?
As I continued to gaze at her, utterly captivated…
“You bastard!”
Elder Shin suddenly shouted at Tang Jaemoon.
“Then… you! You’ve been tricking me up until now!?”
Seeing Elder Shin shout in a frustrated tone, Tang Jaemoon lightly bit her lip.
“…I’m sorry…”
Both her body and voice had returned to normal.
“I had a reason to- “
“Even now, you are looking at me in that appearance…! You damned bastard…!!”
“Pardon?”
As Tang Jaemoon tried to offer an excuse, Elder Shin started saying things that confused me as well. It sounded like he was referring to something else entirely.
“You are trying to play with me even after death…!”
“Shincheol… What are you talking about…?”
Tang Jaemoon stared at Elder Shin with a confused look, and he shouted while pointing a finger at her.
“You created a girl named Jaehee when she didn’t even exist, just so I would fall for her…! And it was all a joke from the start…! You deserve to go to hell!”
“…”
“…”
Oh.
So that’s how he had interpreted it.
I finally understood, seeing the disgusted expression on Elder Shin’s face. That old man… it seemed the possibility that Tang Jaemoon was actually a woman had never even crossed his mind.
To be fair, I might have had a similar reaction, given how vastly different Tang Jaemoon’s female and male appearances were…
But even so.
Didn’t she take it a bit too far?
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Tang Jaemoon was pinching the glabella between her slender fingers, a deep sigh escaping her lips.
“…Hmm…”
Judging by her reaction, she seemed to be pondering how to handle this situation. Even Tang Jaemoon hadn’t anticipated Elder Shin would react this way.
Completely unaware, Elder Shin continued to shout angrily at her.
“You bastard…! Of course, you would make her look disgustingly beautiful. Even her chest is-!”
“…Shincheol.”
“What!”
“Can you screw o… No, can you please leave for a moment?”
“What are you saying, you bas- “
Snap.
Tang Jaemoon lightly snapped her fingers after saying those words.
Swooosh-!
A transparent green barrier instantly erupted from her feet, rapidly expanding in size. In the blink of an eye, it grew enormous…
“What…!?”
…and filled the entire space, forcibly pushing Elder Shin, who had been standing right in front of her, away. Strangely, I was still standing near Tang Jaemoon; only he had been pushed back.
Slam, slam-!
Elder Shin began pounding on the barrier, shouting something, but I couldn’t hear a sound. I could only see his mouth moving.
…A sound barrier of some sort, I assume?
It felt similar, though I didn’t know the exact nature of this technique.
“Hah…”
I turned towards the source of the sigh I heard. Tang Jaemoon was standing there, sighing repeatedly as if completely exhausted.
“That regretful man… how did he not change one bit?”
She spoke with eyes that looked utterly weary. Seeing her like that, I carefully asked a question.
“…Um… Senior?”
“I pray that you don’t become like him.”
“…Ah, okay.”
I thought about saying something in response, but I quickly shut my mouth after seeing the cold, deadly expression on her face. I decided to ask something else for the time being.
“…Uh, how did you do that thing from earlier?”
“Do what?”
“You know, how you changed your gender- “
Ddddd-!
“Oh, you don’t have to actually show me!”
I spoke quickly, and Tang Jaemoon stopped the transformation she had just begun.
“Wait, so you are a female, right?”
“Yes.”
Hearing her calm response, I felt a wave of relief. I was glad. I would have been genuinely shocked if her male appearance had been her true self.
“But then why… would you maintain such an appearance?”
When I asked in a curious tone, Tang Jaemoon replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“A Lord of a clan cannot be female.”
“…!”
I understood immediately. The reason was much simpler than I had expected. It was an obvious reality in the current generation, and it likely wasn’t any different in the past.
However.
It wouldn’t seem like her gender would matter at her level as a martial artist.
I didn’t know exactly how powerful Tang Jaemoon was or what realm she had reached, but she was at least on par with the Three Venerables, considering Elder Shin’s own strength. If she wasn’t much weaker than him, then surely her gender shouldn’t have been an obstacle to her becoming a Lord…
She seemed to read my thoughts from my expression, because Tang Jaemoon began to explain.
“Well, at first, that was the intent…”
A strange sense of longing filled Tang Jaemoon’s expression.
“I lost the chance to tell him the truth because I had so much fun teasing him.”
“…Pardon?”
“Moreover, the other comrades noticed early on, so I thought he would realise after some time…”
Clang-!
A teacup on the floor beneath her suddenly shattered in half with a harsh sound. I noticed Tang Jaemoon’s fist was clenched, trembling slightly.
“But I didn’t think he wouldn’t realise even after death.”
“…”
Elder Shin really was impressive in many ways.
Slam, slam-!
Whether he knew we were talking about him or not, Elder Shin continued to slam against the barrier from the outside, but it didn’t show a single crack.
“Hah… seriously…”
The calm demeanour Tang Jaemoon had maintained earlier completely vanished as she let out a continuous stream of sighs. It was truly fascinating.
It was profoundly shocking to see a beautiful lady like her transform into such a hulk of a man. As my eyes unconsciously began to drift downwards…
“Descendant.”
“Y-Yes!”
I responded in shock, startled by her sudden call. I thought I was well-trained, having been around Namgung Bi-ah for so long, but letting my guard down for even a moment had made me weak. I gulped nervously.
I couldn’t afford to act like this. I couldn’t let myself become a pervert like that old man from Mount Hua. I forcefully managed my gaze, locking my eyes solely onto Tang Jaemoon’s.
Her eyes were a much brighter, lighter green compared to the Poison Queen’s eyes before she lost them. That meant one thing.
‘The proof of Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity.’
Or at least, that’s what I had heard… though I honestly didn’t know for sure. That was the level the Poison Queen had achieved in my past life, and I was certain Tang Jaemoon had achieved the same.
As I stared into her eyes, Tang Jaemoon slowly began to speak.
“Have you talked to that bad man a lot?”
All of a sudden, she referred to him as a ‘bad man’ instead of ‘Shincheol’.
“Yes, we’ve had a decent number of conversations.”
That was true if I included the times before Elder Shin had disappeared, though truthfully, I hadn’t heard much about his own personal stories.
Tang Jaemoon asked me another question as I thought to myself.
“Did he mention you at all?”
“Oh, yes. I don’t think he talked about you that much- …Ah.”
As I thought about Tang Jaemoon, I was suddenly reminded of someone Elder Shin had mentioned from time to time. Because of that, I accidentally spoke the name aloud.
“I’ve heard him mention a lady from the Moyong Clan a few times.”
“Ha.”
The instant I said it, Tang Jaemoon’s expression turned icy cold. Seeing her reaction, I nodded to myself.
I think I fucked up.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought that up.
It seemed I was right, because Tang Jaemoon spoke to me with a much colder expression than before.
“So he talked about Lady Moyong but not me.”
I quickly added something to try and lighten the mood.
“Uh… no, he only mentioned that the Thunderous Sword stole her from him…”
“Stole? Namgung Myung stole her from him?”
Tang Jaemoon’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing my response. Then, a short smirk played on her lips.
“So he still thinks that way, huh?”
“Huh?”
“That might be a good thing, actually.”
Tang Jaemoon’s eyes curved into a smile. But for some reason, I felt a chilling sensation run down my spine seeing it.
“I was originally going to tell him about this, too, but…”
She may have been smiling, but a cold atmosphere slowly began to emanate from her.
“I guess I’ll never tell him.”
Chuckle.
Tang Jaemoon slowly chuckled to herself. Meanwhile…
Slam, slam-!
Elder Shin continued to knock on the barrier, shouting out in anger.