Chapter 88
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Solo Heaven, Couple Hell
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jegal Yun brought water and a cloth. She kept sneaking glances at me, but the moment our eyes met, she shoved the water and cloth into Namgung Seheon’s hands and bolted away, even using lightness arts in her haste.
I quietly let him tend to my arm as Namgung Seheon clumsily wiped the wound and wrapped it with the cloth to staunch the bleeding. All the while, I watched Biyeon receiving her apology from the Tang Clan guy.
“All done.”
I glanced down at the sloppily wrapped cloth, chuckled at his proud tone, and asked,
“You’ve never done this before, have you?”
“…That obvious?”
“With a wrap like this? Yeah, pretty obvious.”
“Damn it, I do it and you complain. I did it sloppy on purpose so you’d go get proper treatment later, you know?”
“Yeah, yeah, sure.”
Giggling, I ruffled Namgung Seheon’s hair wildly with my freshly washed hand.
Having received her apology, Biyeon haughtily nodded and turned away. The Tang Clan guy trudged off toward his group, his face etched with wounded pride.
Look at this guy?
I picked up one of the fallen darts from the ground and flung it at him with a flick.
He whipped around in panic as the dart whistled past him, barely missing.
“Hey, where you going? No apology for me?”
His swollen face paled when he met my crooked smile.
Think you can just apologize once and slink away?
“Sorry for calling you a mangy mutt.”
After bowing his head to me as well, the Tang Clan juniors all vacated the rear garden where the late-generation disciples had gathered.
They must have been mortified at publicly admitting defeat and losing face in front of everyone.
Baek Geon rushed over to me, pointing at the blood soaking through the cloth and trickling down my arm.
“Biyeon, blood’s running down your arm.”
“Oh, really? Guess it didn’t stop the bleeding since it wasn’t tied tight.”
“Excuse me for a sec.”
With steady hands, Baek Geon unwrapped the shoddy cloth, pulled it taut, and rebound it meticulously. Unlike Namgung Seheon’s mess, he finished with perfect precision before stepping back.
“Let’s head to the Medicine King Hall. I can carry you if you’re tired.”
I’d wiped off most of the poison from my clothes and skin with a damp cloth, but some might still linger.
Better for one of our sect disciples to suffer a bit than indirectly poison someone from another sect. I beckoned one of my juniors to come carry me, but the damn cowards all averted their eyes.
Namgung Seheon, who’d been pouting ever since Baek Geon unwrapped the cloth, smacked away Baek Geon’s outstretched hand.
“Back off. He doesn’t seem to have any poison resistance—if he gets poisoned, how do you plan to handle it? Hey, get on my back already.”
Baek Geon stared at Namgung Seheon, who patted his own shoulder while looking at me expectantly, then chuckled and asked,
“Does that warning from earlier not apply to the young master?”
“Of course not, for me.”
Namgung Seheon grinned at Baek Geon, curling his lip smugly.
“My constitution’s kinda like immunity to all poisons.”
This guy really was talented enough for the Tang Clan to covet. The “kinda” suggested it wasn’t full immunity.
‘So that’s why he was fine earlier.’
In a way, it had been wise of Biyeon to keep her distance from me.
Sorry to Namgung Seheon, but there was a size difference between a fifteen-year-old and a seventeen-year-old. I eyed Baek Geon’s reliably broad back with lingering regret, then looped my arm around Namgung Seheon’s neck and hopped onto his back.
“You’re heavier than you look.”
“All this muscle I built—’course I am.”
“You look light on the outside. Shouldn’t have offered.”
Baek Geon approached the grumbling Namgung Seheon with a bright smile and said,
“Then hand him over. Even if I get poisoned, I can just take an antidote pill.”
Namgung Seheon glanced at Baek Geon, then shot off like a bullet with me on his back. It was surprisingly comfortable, so I leaned in relaxed—until I belatedly remembered his chronic affliction and stiffened up.
Does this guy even know the way…?
* * *
“Hey, it took you an entire hour to cover this short distance?”
“Ugh, I carry you and you still complain!”
“Who asked to be carried? You’re the one who insisted!”
We bickered as we stepped out of the Medicine King Hall side by side, treatment complete. Namgung Seheon’s terrible sense of direction had performed flawlessly today as always.
The doctor said no scar on my arm, and as long as I didn’t overdo it for a few days, there’d be no issues afterward. That put my mind at ease.
Tang Ha-kyung had finished his side treatment and left the hall about half an hour ago. But crediting Namgung Seheon’s navigation skills for sparing us an awkward encounter felt unfair after all I’d endured.
The sun was setting when I looked up at the sky. The late-generation disciple gathering was probably long over. I’d hoped to network a bit, but the day ended in a fight instead.
Still, it wasn’t the only day, and as long as we stayed at the Murim Alliance headquarters, there’d be more gatherings. No real regrets. I’d met the protagonist, after all.
I paused just before entering the guest quarters at the reception hall.
“Namgung Seheon.”
He turned back with a question mark on his face as he was about to head in first. For some reason, I couldn’t keep the words from spilling out.
“T-That fiancée thing… is it true?”
Namgung Seheon chuckled and shrugged.
“I’ve told you over and over—ignore weirdos saying weird shit. It’s not worth your time.”
“From what I saw, she doesn’t seem the type to make up baseless crap.”
“Jeez, one spar and you’re buddies with Tang Ha-kyung now?”
“I just saw her face once—what do you mean buddies?”
Namgung Seheon looked at me silently at my denial, then sighed.
“Fiancée… it’s not true. Not yet.”
The added words irked me for some reason, and I clamped my mouth shut. Hesitating, he blurted out,
“But it’s basically a done deal.”
I watched his retreating back as he irritably ruffled his own hair and stormed into the quarters, rubbing my brow and muttering,
“Weird… why am I in such a foul mood?”
Was it because these future newlyweds were rubbing their bliss in my face, when I was doomed to lifelong singledom?
Though Namgung Seheon’s reaction leaned more toward disgust than bliss.
The moment I stepped into the Mount Hua lodging, I thoroughly washed off the poison in the bath and tossed my training uniform straight into the trash. Changing into sleepwear and tying the sash, I crooked a finger at Biyeon.
“The elders?”
“They already know about what happened between us and the Tang Clan juniors. But since you won, senior uncle didn’t say much.”
Relief was short-lived as a chilling message followed.
“Oh, and Martial Uncle Uihyeon said to stop by before bed.”
“…What was Master’s expression like?”
“Same as always—calm and serene? He never gets mad anyway.”
“That’s ’cause you’re his direct disciple. I’m just a student. You’ve never seen him furious.”
Uihyeon hated when I fought. More precisely, he hated resorting to violence without thought.
If anything, his teachings had helped me develop at least some restraint.
Even with training from childhood, I still preferred fists over words, so if I’d lived a life praised for winning fights first and asking questions later, I could imagine how I’d have turned out.
“What the hell did that Tang Clan punk say to Biyeon to make the mood so hostile?”
Shaking out my wet hair, I asked. Biyeon glanced at Biyeon—wait, no, at Biryung? Wait, 비령 is Biyeon? Context: 비령 is the female, 비원 is Biyeon? No.
Wait, protagonist Biyeon (비연), female is 비령 (Biryung?), 비원 (Biwon).
In glossary 비연 Biyeon male protag.
Anyway, Biwon whispered low so she wouldn’t hear, glancing at Biryung.
“Uh, well… ‘You’ve got a decent face, but you picked the wrong place to be. With looks like that, you could easily snag a spot as a concubine to your clan’s patriarch.’ Or something like that…”
Biryung already disliked her own good looks and had strong pride and attachment to her chosen home, Mount Hua. Hitting both at once? No wonder she was pissed.
Hearing a junior sister mocked like that was enough to rile up any senior brother.
“Since it’s clearly their fault, this won’t blow up big. Still, thinking about it, one punch wasn’t enough.”
“I agree. But senior brother, did you really break through to first-class?”
“Yeah. Still pissed thinking about it—should I go bash a few more?”
Biryung’s cool two words stopped me as I geared up to raid the Tang Clan lodging.
“Stop it, senior brother. Do you not get why the Tang young lady went so far as to force her brother to bow to us in front of everyone?”
“I do, of course. I liked her straightforward attitude with no hard feelings.”
The losers bent first, so let’s end it cleanly here—an unspoken agreement.
Starting round two now would just be tossing fuel on the fire.
“You know that? What you want isn’t revenge for me—it’s just venting. Where else did you get offended?”
Scratching my cheek at Biryung’s sharp point, I confessed honestly.
“Not really offended, but hearing Namgung Seheon and Tang Ha-kyung are engaged just soured my mood. Why’s that?”
Biwon chimed in instead of Biryung, who eyed me like a headache.
“Maybe ’cause you like the Tang young lady, but she’s engaged to some Namgung punk you hate…?”
“…I don’t hate Namgung Seheon, though?”
Biwon grabbed my shoulders and shook desperately, yelling,
“Why not? He’s the guy who dissed Mount Hua’s swordsmanship—the one who handed you your first loss! How can you not hate him? If the engagement rumor bugs you, your subconscious clearly hates the guy!”
“Gasp, really? Do I actually hate Namgung Seheon?”
Convinced, I covered my mouth and nodded solemnly. Biryung, hand on her forehead beside me, muttered,
“Primeval Lord, please grant these idiots some damn common sense…”