Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Kept in the Heart
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Because we shared that common theme(?) of "teasing Dang Gyujin" tucked away in our hearts, Yi Cheolsan and I hit it off right away.
"That’s when your junior sister over there—"
"Kyaaah! Why are you telling them up to that point!"
"Hahaha! Why so serious? It was all when we were kids, just fond memories now."
"Those are memories I want to forget!!"
Yi Cheolsan was the one who mainly dug up Dang Gyujin's hidden old stories, and every time, Dang Gyujin had to jump around trying to stop him from going off the rails.
"So, what happened next? I'm dying to know."
"Ahem! My mouth's dry or something—my throat's scratchy just trying to speak—"
"Oh no! Your cup's empty! My fault! Here you go!!"
"Hahaha. I didn't mean it like that."
"But you're still my big brother, right? Down it goes. Down!"
"You're Dang junior sister's own little brother, so I feel like you're my real little brother too. If I had family in the secular world, you'd fit the bill perfectly."
"I feel the same about you, Mountain Brother—not like some stranger."
"Really? Glad it's not just me! Hahaha!"
"Right? Heh heh heh heh!"
The louder Yi Cheolsan and I laughed, the more anxious Dang Gyujin looked in between us, like she was sitting on a bed of nails.
Anyone would think we were about to devour her.
Dang Gyujin shot us sharp glares now and then, as if begging us to stop, but I kept pretending not to notice.
Her shoulders twitched slightly.
Like she was shaking with rage.
"Those two get along way too well, don't they? Weirdly so."
"Yeah... I actually thought they wouldn't click at all."
"Told you."
Yu Sumin and Sama Seonui whispered to each other behind their backs.
As if I couldn't hear them.
"For a guy like Young Master Dang to hit it off with that straight-laced old man..."
I couldn't let that slide.
"Hold on, you two over there!"
"?"
"?"
"What exactly are you talking about?"
Yu Sumin tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
"That 'like' comment. What do you mean by it? Me—a man who's lived his whole life true to his conscience!"
"Who? Young Master Dang?"
"Then who else!"
"Hah."
Instead of answering, Yu Sumin flashed a rotten grin and brought her teacup to her lips.
Sama Seonui just blinked blankly as usual, lost in her own world.
Yi Cheolsan gave a wry smile and chimed in.
"I can't stay out of this either. 'Old man'? I'm not at that age yet—"
"Big Brother Cheolsan, how old are you this year? In Korean age."
"Age is just a number, though."
"Word is, your tens digit changed to three(三) a while back, didn't it?"
"Ahem! Not yet—"
"So next year then. Anyway, you're nine-nine this year?"
"......"
"And how old are Lady Seon and I?"
"......"
"How old?"
"I forgot?"
"Don't play dumb."
"This year... around twenty, right?"
"Yes. Spot on. Just turned twenty."
"......"
"So the age gap between you and big brother?"
"Khuhum!"
"Where's your conscience?"
"Khehemhemhem!! Cough cough!"
Yi Cheolsan surrendered without further resistance and sank.
Yu Sumin, who had effortlessly demolished(?) Sichuan's top junior expert with a few words, crossed her arms and snorted.
"Be grateful I'm even calling you big brother. Keep denying it, and I'll treat you like some neighborhood uncle."
"I'll... be careful."
Yi Cheolsan slyly averted his gaze.
「...Village wisdom killer, straight up?」
「Stabbing daggers right into the heart. Her way with words is on par with the young cult leader's. Young cult leader level.」
「A female young cult leader has appeared! A female young cult leader!!」
「What's the world coming to with this nonsense!!」
The lingering spirits went into a frenzy like an air raid siren had blared.
Quiet down, you lot. You're giving me a headache.
"And Young Master Dang."
Something told me I shouldn't respond.
Yu Sumin eyed me slyly.
Her eyes were dead-fish flat.
"Young Master Dang, isn't your lack of conscience a bit much? Working someone to the bone late into the night like that yesterday."
"Ahem! Lady Yu said she needed the training herself, so we did it together as a bonus."
"Ah, sure. Of course you did."
Yu Sumin shot me looks that screamed not to spout any more nonsense if I knew what was good for me.
Sama Seonui and Dang Gyujin nodded solemnly in agreement beside her.
This is so unfair. Where else is a guy as upright and considerate as me?
Sure, I'd worked the three of them relentlessly without sleep for days, but I'd at least made sure they got a full two hours a day.
For a cotton plantation overseer, that's pretty conscientious.
People just don't appreciate good treatment when they get it.
"Hm? You four trained all night? Mind if I ask what that's about?"
Dang Gyujin gave Yi Cheolsan a simple answer.
Ever since the Demonic Cult raid, the four of us had been taking turns reviewing each other's swordsmanship.
Yi Cheolsan's eyes widened slightly.
"You wield a sword, Brother Un?"
"Yeah. Just started recently, nothing much."
"And with that 'nothing much,' you became the Lion Sword King's sworn brother?"
Yu Sumin cut in.
I shrugged.
"Well, I'm pretty talented."
"See? Look at that—no humility even if you search with a magnifying glass. No wonder they say your conscience is fuzzy."
What can I do? Can't blame a guy for being gifted.
Yu Sumin shook her head, but Yi Cheolsan didn't hide his surprise.
"All three of you have already mastered your own styles in the sword—more than enough to call it that—and if you're exchanging with them, your skills must be no joke. Makes sense now, those familiar yet extraordinary moves against the Sword King. Haha! So it was the sword!"
Interest sparkled in Yi Cheolsan's eyes.
Like he'd found a hidden wild ginseng.
"Mind if I join in? Seeing your martial arts really inspired me too."
The shifting expressions on Dang Gyujin, Yu Sumin, and Sama Seonui were a sight to behold.
'Really?'
'Why seek out extra hardship?'
'Let's drag him in quietly! We can't die alone! Big Brother Cheolsan comes with us!'
Classic "we can't be the only ones miserable, so let's rope in more victims and console ourselves watching them flail" mentality.
The mindset of these future leaders of Sichuan's martial world was truly rotten. What a shame.
「Quiet and dark draws in more darkness—it's inevitable near food—mmph—」
「Even the righteous are slowly being corrupted by the young cult leader's personality—」
I grinned.
"I'd welcome it with open arms."
"Thanks for agreeing so readily."
Oblivious to the glares from the Three Wonders of the Vertical Alliance, Yi Cheolsan was digging his own grave steadily.
The gathering dragged on after that.
Mostly praise and admiration for my spar with the Lion Sword King.
He spoke of insights gained from approaches he'd never considered, steeped as he was in deep traditional, formal swordsmanship.
Once the topic turned to "the sword," even the sulky Dang Gyujin, and the dazed Yu Sumin and Sama Seonui, started chiming in with sparkling eyes.
It hit me then: everyone had different views on the sword, varying depths too.
No casual chatter about the Windstorm Squad, exam hardships, or daily trivia crept in.
'Guess it doesn't matter to them. Means they're all pure at heart.'
A sight only swordsmen devoted solely to the sword could show.
No matter the trials or ordeals in the exam, their confidence that their swords could overcome it all shone through.
And so, their swords reflected their personalities perfectly.
Yi Cheolsan was upright and just.
Dang Gyujin was straight-laced, with sharp, vicious glimpses of her Azure Face Demon Nerve hidden within.
Yu Sumin's was bold and fierce, matching her fiery temper.
Sama Seonui's was as flashy and grandiose as her eccentricity—chase it consciously, and you'd get swept away helplessly.
'The path of the sword is long, ever so long.'
I committed every one of their insights to memory, stacking them neatly.
The Heavenly Demon Nine Swords bound nine sword arts of differing natures.
So I needed to absorb as many perspectives as possible.
I already had my second marked sword art.
—Ten Perfections Divine Demon Style.
If the Mara Heavenly Sword Form chased extreme speed for destructive offense, the Ten Perfections Divine Demon Style pursued omniscience.
Ten Perfections: perfecting all ten elements of swordsmanship to become divine and demonic.
Footwork, body techniques, lightness skills supporting the sword.
Grip, stance, intent, imagery for wielding it.
Breath, energy gathering, channeling for inner power.
Weave them into one unbreakable sword none could challenge.
'Mara Heavenly Sword Form focuses solely on destruction, so a botched offense leaves you vulnerable to reversal. But with Ten Perfections Divine Demon Style backing it solidly, I could freely switch offense and defense.'
Master once said there was no fixed order to unlocking the Heavenly Demon Nine Swords.
It all depended on one's needs or what one lacked and needed to supplement.
That's why I envisioned merging Mara Heavenly Sword Form and Ten Perfections Divine Demon Style.
I created the Crimson Dragon Demon Body for that very reason.
Its sturdy endurance and keen senses should handle the overload from both arts.
With things like this, the warriors who'd been peeking in hoping to join our chat fled in disgust.
Who talks martial arts at a banquet like this? Headache city.
But I was loving every minute.
In my past life, bringing up martial arts got me ignored every time.
Even my loyal Five Sword Generals would smile wryly and look away.
I was a brewer, not a warrior, after all.
A natural reaction.
But no need to worry about that anymore.
As time flowed on, Yi Cheolsan glanced at the sunset sky and tilted his head.
"Speaking of, why hasn't Lady Won shown up yet? She said she'd join soon."
Lady Won?
"You mean Miss Dang Ye-yeon?"
"Miss? Hahaha! That spitfire really must be from the Tang main family. Hearing such a term from you, little brother. Yeah, that's her. She's joining us. We're all members of the Touch Mountain Alliance, after all."
「Huh? Dang Ye-yeon... the granddaughter of that Dark Lord?」
「Ooh! Finally, the young cult leader meets his fiancée! No real talk in that carriage amid the chaos, right?」
The lingering spirits were already buzzing with excitement.
『Whoa, you knew?』
Dang Gyujin must've caught the nuance in my words, sending a transmission right away.
She thought I was clueless about the prenatal betrothal.
『Yeah. Happened to find out recently due to Uncle Master's slip-up.』
『I see... huh.』
Dang Gyujin's eyes narrowed slyly, a wicked smile playing on her lips.
Uh oh.
But her grin soured into a wry one as she glanced at Sama Seonui.
"?"
I'd figured she might tease me over Dang Ye-yeon, but why look at Sama Seonui?
It puzzled me since Dang Gyujin said nothing, but I had more pressing matters.
『Sister, not really the question for this setting, but.』
『?』
『If I tell the clan head later that I want to annul the betrothal... what then?』
Dang Gyujin's face stiffened.
『What? What are you—』
『Of course, Miss Dang Ye-yeon and I share a surname but are distantly related—no issues for marriage—and with the clan head and branch leader's ties, breaking it off won't be easy. I get that.』
Maybe sensing the subtle air between Dang Gyujin and me.
The other three had gone quiet, watching us.
『But I think this loveless betrothal needs breaking.』
『Why...?』
I steadied my breath and answered calmly.
『I have another lover kept in my heart.』