Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Difference in Discipline Between Sect and Clan
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“Biyeon, what happened to your face?”
Uihyeon grabbed my face and examined it from every angle. I gave him an awkward smile in response.
“I was play-fighting with the junior brothers using broomsticks and twisted my ankle, so I took a tumble.”
“Those rascals. I told them to clean, not play around.”
I let out a secret sigh of relief at the gentle tap on my head that didn’t hurt. Phew, looks like I got away with it.
Or so I thought...
“So, neither of you two is willing to talk?”
The back of my head throbbed from where it was planted on the floor.
Why is it that we fought the exact same fight, yet he just has to kneel while I’m stuck bowing my head with my hands behind my back?
Sure, my blood’s circulating nicely from the early morning routine...
Is this the difference in discipline between a sect and a clan? Wow, it’s seriously unfair. I wanna be the youngest daughter of a martial clan too.
Grand Sect Leader, I miss you.
Even as I kept my head down, I could feel the Sect Leader’s icy gaze like frost on my scalp. I sniffled and swallowed back my pitiful snot.
In front of Namgung Seheon and me stood the Namgung Family Head, my master Uihyeon, and the Mount Hua Sect Leader.
Come on, it’s just a kids’ fight. Why make such a big deal out of it?
The Namgung Family Head was almost certainly the one who arranged this meeting.
Uihyeon didn’t even know a fight had happened because I’d desperately hidden it.
So that brat went crying to his dad about fighting me?
I shot a sideways glare at Namgung Seheon, who knelt there with a sulky face, and ground my teeth.
The Namgung Family Head announced in a chilling voice.
“For a direct descendant of the Namgung Family to be so thoroughly beaten by a third-generation disciple of Mount Hua—this is not something we can simply overlook.”
Hey, I got hit too! And your son was the one who grabbed a sword and charged first!
No matter how much arms bend inward, you’ve gotta speak straight even if your mouth’s crooked...!
How much of the story did that Namgung Seheon punk twist?
Rising fury made me want to lift my head and show off my wounds. But with my hands behind my back, lifting my head would just get my jaw smashed. So I kept my forehead glued to the floor and rolled my eyes up as far as they’d go.
Of course, part of it was that my wounds were noticeably fewer than the ones on Namgung Seheon’s face.
“Biyeon, you’re not planning to stay like this all day, are you?”
I bit my lip hard at Uihyeon’s rare stern tone.
Fresh blood seeped from my busted lip from yesterday, so I stubbornly clamped my mouth shut again.
If I could endure it—if I could just hold out—I’d stay like this all day.
I couldn’t bear to say it with my own mouth, couldn’t admit that my defeat had made Mount Hua’s sword a laughingstock.
I couldn’t utter words that would tarnish Mount Hua in front of its elders.
I’d already been grounded as punishment. Pushing back more would just land me locked in the Reflection Cave.
Not that being confined would change much.
“I wasn’t the one who got beaten one-sidedly.”
Just then, Namgung Seheon’s gruff voice rang out.
“Father, are you treating me like some weakling? I just said I got hit while fighting—I never said I was getting beaten one-sidedly.”
Ah, too bad. If my hands weren’t bound behind me, I’d have nodded vigorously.
“It was just a slip of the tongue. One I deserved to get punched for.”
Namgung Seheon spoke flatly to the Sect Leader, then frowned and turned back to his father.
“And I didn’t lose. I won with the sword. I just lost at the fistfight.”
“Win or lose, a slip of the tongue doesn’t justify violence. Especially a fistfight after the duel was over—that’s far from righteous.”
Ugh, Namgung Family Head. I’m a disciple of a major Righteous Faction sect too, you know? I know all about the proper mindset and conduct in a duel.
Do you think I’d have slugged a kid if I wasn’t pushed that far?
“I—”
As Namgung Seheon started to speak, I released my hands from behind my back, propped myself up on the floor, twisted my head sideways, and yelled.
“Hey, you! Don’t say—”
“I was the one who insulted Mount Hua’s sword first.”
The Namgung Family Head’s mouth clamped shut at the perfectly valid reason from his son’s lips—one even he couldn’t argue with.
A rough breath laden with anger and resentment burst from my mouth.
I hadn’t wanted him to hear something like that because of me.
“Both of you, stand up.”
I rubbed my throbbing crown and rose at the Sect Leader’s softer tone from moments ago.
“It’s hard to say one or the other is solely at fault, so why not just have the children reconcile and call it done? What do you say, Namgung Family Head?”
“An excellent idea.”
The Namgung Family Head quickly agreed.
His relief that a kids’ fight hadn’t escalated into a conflict between Mount Hua and the Namgung Family was plain to see.
Look at that guy flip his stance.
Following the adults’ orders, Namgung Seheon and I unwillingly stood face-to-face and shook hands.
“Sorry.”
“Me too.”
We spat out our apologies in tones that conveyed zero regret, mechanically gripped hands once, and immediately let go.
Worried we might start fighting again, no doubt, we were each dragged away by our guardians as we left the Sect Leader’s office.
I stuck my tongue out at Namgung Seheon, who kept glancing back nervously.
Go get chewed out good and proper. You need to learn what your words mean and how much they weigh.
“Biyeon, why did you do it?”
The moment we arrived at Uihyeon’s room, the question hit me, and I racked my brain.
Was he asking why I hit Namgung Seheon, or why I kept my mouth shut about the fight even in front of the Sect Leader?
It’d be awkward to ask which one, so I decided on an answer that covered both.
“I can take mockery for my defeat, for my weakness. No matter how much it stings, a result is a result—I’ve gotta acknowledge what’s real.”
I tried to sound nonchalant, but my eyes and nose started to tingle.
Tears were already welling up, blurring my vision.
“But that... I could endure anything else, but, ugh...!”
I irritably wiped away the tears I’d been holding back and sniffled.
“I couldn’t stand Mount Hua’s sword being disrespected.”
Saying it out loud made it hurt even more!
I wailed pitifully, scrubbing away the flood of tears with the back of my hand.
A large hand silently pulled me into an embrace, gently patting my back. Safe in that warm hold, I bawled my heart out.
I didn’t do a single thing wrong except losing the duel, and here I am with my head bowed for nothing! Damn it, this is so unfair!
“Keeping it all to yourself must have been so hard.”
“I lost, so Mount Hua, Mount Hua’s sword...! Sniff...!”
“Mount Hua’s sword isn’t so weak that one defeat will tarnish it. Especially not when it’s the sword of a third-generation disciple who hasn’t even learned advanced techniques yet.”
I burrowed deeper into Uihyeon’s embrace at his calm, straightforward comfort. It had been ages since I’d acted spoiled like this.
“Next time, I’ll definitely... ugh, win...!”
“Yes, yes.”
Uihyeon chuckled softly as he wiped my tear-streaked eyes with a handkerchief.
Once I’d thoroughly blown my nose too, I started feeling a bit better.
After soothing me for a good while, Uihyeon lifted my grounding. As expected, my crying master was the most flexible and awesome teacher ever.
“No more fighting. Next time, I really will ground you.”
“I won’t fight until I’ve mastered true swordsmanship, so don’t worry, Master!”
I grinned and answered, then quickly flung open the door.
“Oh, and please don’t tell Second Martial Uncle Uiseong!”
Uiseong would tease and nag me for years if he found out I’d lost to that Namgung Seheon punk in a duel.
Before Uihyeon could grab me, I bolted out of the room and raced outside the sect gates.
The place I arrived at was the Jade Maiden Pond—my personal sanctuary.
With the flowers gone, the pure white and pink had given way to lush green shading the pond, and just looking at it calmed my heart a little.
‘This is landscape therapy...’
As I headed familiarly toward the tree that was basically my hammock, my eyes caught a single figure.
The yellow amid the greenery was impossible to miss.
Especially with a long veil draped over the wide-brimmed hat she wore.
The fabric hanging from the hat’s brim lent her an air of needless mystery.
Mount Hua was full of people wearing black uniforms 365 days a year, so this one wrapped in bright yellow cloth was 100% an outsider.
“Hey, outsiders aren’t allowed here.”
At my words, the child sitting primly in the grass turned around. The veil on her hat fluttered, briefly revealing her face.
For a moment, I was entranced, staring blankly.
Whoa, I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as Biryung.
And...
‘Albinism?’
Snow-white hair and crimson eyes. In a world where black and brown hair and eyes were the norm, that color combo was rare.
Her skin was so pale it was almost transparent, as if she’d never seen sunlight, and her face was bloodless. I furrowed my brow slightly.
Is she even human...?
Just to check, I waved my hand in front of her face. The girl raised her hand and smacked mine away with a crisp tap.
A slender wrist peeked from her slipping sleeve.
No matter how I looked, she didn’t seem like someone who belonged in the martial world.
Sure, the saying “beware women, children, and elders in the jianghu” was famous, but she looked way too fragile.
The clothes on the girl were fancy and pretty, like doll outfits. Up close, the fabric was clearly high-end.
A stark contrast to my plain black uniform.
The girl blinked her long-lashed white eyes at me and replied.
“There’s nowhere I can’t go.”
Her voice was a touch low, unlike her delicate features.
I told you outsiders aren’t allowed. Acting like she’d heard something outrageous, I dug in my ear with my pinky.
“Oh, what, are you some emperor’s daughter or something? Forgive my ignorance, Your Highness.”
I shrugged sarcastically.
But since trespassing is forbidden, you’ll have to leave the martial world now, you know.
“No, not a princess.”
The girl met my mocking smirk head-on, her red lips curving into a smile.
“I’m terminally ill.”