Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Eavesdropper's Wager
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"Then I'll head out."
"Me too."
"You two get home safe."
I sent Seol-yeong and Jeong-seon off at the door.
Seol-yeong's face was still as pale as winter snowflakes, but her cheeks were flushed red, giving her a different look from before.
This act must have really helped with her Severed Yin Meridian.
Remaining Time Limit: 4 Months
The remaining time had actually increased.
Thinking back on it sent chills down my spine.
The fact that it had increased meant that if I hadn't treated her today and two months had passed instead...
Seol-yeong's Severed Yin Meridian might have worsened, leading to disaster.
As those thoughts crossed my mind, I suddenly felt a gaze and turned my head.
"Eep."
Someone was covering their mouth, ducking behind the wall.
They'd hidden their body, but not the fluttering strands of hair.
"..."
That hair alone was enough to identify the lurker.
I had Fetish Emotion, after all.
Fetish:Sadist, Possessiveness, Destructive Urge, Bold and Aggressive Man
"Aha..."
It was obviously Namgung Yu.
I had no idea what she was doing here at this hour, but hiding like that meant she'd seen—or heard—something.
I could have ignored her, but curiosity got the better of me, so I slowly approached the wall where Namgung Yu was hiding.
She must have noticed me coming because I heard her sharply inhale, then she suddenly leaped out.
"Don't come any closer!"
"..."
Her face was like she'd spotted a criminal.
Namgung Yu's cheeks were red, and she was poised to attack at any moment.
It was pretty intimidating.
Inner energy crept up over her tightly clenched fist.
Getting hit by that fist wouldn't end well.
"Calm down. What's the problem?"
"Two men and one woman—how could you—!"
Namgung Yu clamped her mouth shut, as if she couldn't even say it.
Her ears were red too.
"You're misunderstanding. It was just treatment."
"Liar. I heard everything."
"Heard what?"
"You want me to imitate the sounds or something?"
Namgung Yu glared at me with eyes full of killing intent.
She must have heard properly.
Fine, I admit it.
The sounds were a bit too indecent for "treatment."
It wasn't a lie that it was treatment, but Namgung Yu wasn't about to believe me.
So I decided to own it boldly instead.
"And? What's the issue?"
"And...? Unmarried men and women doing such impure things... and two men at that..."
"We didn't break any laws, did we?"
"...Well, no..."
Acting bold threw her off, and she mumbled in a shrinking voice.
The energy drained from her inner energy-charged fist.
I hadn't committed any crime, after all.
Right?
Honestly, I didn't even know the laws of this martial world.
But judging by Namgung Yu's reaction, it seemed it wasn't illegal. Thankfully.
"Come to think of it, didn't someone decide to marry Poong-un over just a hug?"
"It wasn't just the hug! It was the whole process leading up to it...!"
Namgung Yu waved her hands emphatically, full of grievance.
"Poong-un didn't seem all that into it, though."
"..."
My words hit a sore spot, and Namgung Yu fell silent.
After some deliberation, she slowly spoke up.
"Someone must have bewitched my Ga-ga."
Bewitched, huh.
Come to think of it, Poong-un was head over heels for Seol-yeong right now.
Not that Seol-yeong returned the interest.
"Any idea who it might be?"
Namgung Yu asked me, a fellow student at the same academy.
"Why ask me?"
"You seem like you know."
Women's intuition is scary.
Her piercing eyes bore into me.
But I needed to correct her misconception.
"It might not be what you think."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe no one's bewitching him. Maybe Poong-un just fell for someone other than you."
"So you're saying he has someone in mind right now?"
"...Yeah."
No point hiding it.
Unless you were from Heavenly Martial Academy like Poong-un, pretty much everyone at Benevolent Martial Academy knew he had feelings for Seol-yeong.
He'd only started learning martial arts from Cheol-woong because she was.
"Who is it?"
Namgung Yu leaned in close.
I hesitated, then made a proposal.
"If you beat us in tomorrow's sparring match, I'll tell you."
"...And if we lose?"
She was quick on the uptake.
"Then give me a hug or something."
"Ha!"
Whether angry at the mockery or not, she yelled loudly and glared at me.
"Fine! You're on! If I lose, I'll hug you—or do worse."
She ground her teeth and turned away.
"But if we win, you'll give me your right cheek for Ga-ga and the woman he likes."
"...Deal."
The provocation had landed perfectly.
I was confident our academy would win.
Especially with Poong-un, who'd claimed a spirit beast's core and the Sword King's tomb.
Still, a thought lingered.
'Is targeting Namgung Yu really okay?'
I recalled the look she'd given Poong-un.
That sticky killing intent she'd directed at him—far more intense than what she'd sent my way.
Even though things had gone my way, remembering that left a bad taste.
If we won, maybe I'd stick to just a hug after all.
"Waaaaah!"
"Here, have some candied hawthorns!"
"Line up properly!"
"Ugh..."
The noise from outside forced my eyes open.
I'm not particularly light sleeper, but this was impossible to sleep through.
Stumbling to the window to investigate, I flung it open—
Overnight, the dorm entrance had turned into a bustling market.
"...It was Heavenly Martial Academy just yesterday."
Was I sleepwalking? Had the dorm moved near a market in my sleep?
No, the room and the surrounding structures confirmed this was still Heavenly Martial Academy dorm.
A full-blown market had sprung up inside Heavenly Martial Academy.
Teeming with people and merchants.
The sight chased away any lingering sleepiness.
Propping my chin on the windowsill, I dazedly watched the scene.
With the crowd gathered for the sparring match, vendors everywhere shouted about today's event.
"Heavenly Martial Academy's on a five-win streak—they've got this, right?"
"Nah, Benevolent Martial has Poong-un. Mount Hua Sect's second disciple and a Heavenly Martial alum? He'll snag at least one win."
"True. Heard the latest? Poong-un's impure scandal with that girl. Apparently, it was just a hug."
"Haha, you think they'd kick him out over a hug?"
"Rumors say he ran off himself..."
As expected, no one besides Heavenly Martial alum Poong-un even registered.
Not even Namgung Hyeok of the Namgung family or Seol-yeong of North Sea Ice Palace.
These locals' pride in Heavenly Martial Academy ran deep.
They weren't even considering a single loss, let alone defeat—except maybe to Poong-un.
It lit a fire under me.
Knock knock.
I opened the door to find Cheol-woong waiting.
"Time to get ready."
"Yes."
The other students must have been woken already; I was last. The remaining four stood behind him.
I threw on my clothes and followed Cheol-woong out.
"Hey, over there..."
"Yeah..."
"That's our sparring opponents?"
As we exited the dorm, the massive market crowd turned to stare.
Some glared with hostility, others with pity.
Friendly looks were scarce.
The few friendly ones came from...
"Reverse sweep, let's gooo..."
A handful betting big on us.
We strode on confidently, ignoring it all.
Not bad at all.
None of us were the type to get intimidated anyway.
"Those stares? I'll make them change after the sparring. And once this match ends—"
"Please, shut up."
I silenced Namgung Hyeok before he could lay more defeat flags.
The attention was a bit uncomfortable with so many eyes, but it had perks.
The crowd parted around us despite the packed market, clearing our path.
We walked straight to the sparring grounds without stopping.
"Whoa..."
"It's on another level."
Exclamations rose from our group.
Nothing like the open field back at our academy.
Following Cheol-woong into a building, we found a coliseum-like circular arena.
Circular stands surrounded it, with a massive sparring platform at the center.
The stands were packed with spectators munching snacks, eyes on the platform. Across from it stood yesterday's Heavenly Martial entrants.
"Order: Namgung Hyeok, Jeong-seon, Seol-yeong, then... Poong-un and Sung-han last."
"Got it."
"I'm last?"
"Yes."
I was surprised I was after Poong-un, but Cheol-woong had his reasons.
"They know Poong-un as well as we do."
As a Heavenly Martial alum, they understood his techniques and strength intimately.
Cheol-woong figured they'd prepared countermeasures since Poong-un was their main threat.
Plus,
Mount Hua Sect techniques were so famous, prepping for them was straightforward.
'My turn might not even come.'
I saw it differently.
If counters were that easy, Mount Hua's reputation wouldn't be what it is.
No one could beat Poong-un, who'd absorbed two fortuitous encounters into Mount Hua arts.
"Are both academies present?"
A man climbed the platform and asked both instructors. Cheol-woong and the Heavenly Martial one nodded.
With confirmation, he faced the crowd from the center and bellowed.
"Let the sparring match begin!"
His shout ignited a massive roar from the audience.
My heart pounded to the deafening cheers I'd never heard before.