Sohui’s True Identity
It wasn’t a long trip to Anhui Province, but we decided to go together.
Sohui didn’t know martial arts, so our pace slowed quite a bit, but since it didn’t seem like we’d be late for the Martial Alliance tournament, I matched her speed and kept the journey leisurely.
It had only been a short trip, but I’d talked with Sohui a great deal, and along the way I learned a few things about her.
For one, Sohui was one year younger than me.
She seemed to be heading to Anhui Province to see her father after a long time.
And despite her young age, she knew a great deal.
She naturally poured out all kinds of knowledge, from the effects of medicinal herbs growing on the mountains to events that had taken place in the Central Plains.
Sohui is younger than me, and yet she feels far more mature and clever.
Still, perhaps because she was young, Sohui liked interesting rumors and stories about the North Sea that weren’t well known in the Central Plains.
I told her amusing stories and gossip I’d heard on my trip with my second brother exactly as they’d been told to me, and her reaction was so good that I found myself feeling oddly grateful to my second brother all over again.
Laughing and chatting like that, we kept walking until at last Anhui Province came into view.
When she spotted the city in the distance, Sohui recognized it at once and pointed it out to me.
“That’s Anhui Province.”
We’d finally arrived at our destination, but my mood was not exactly good.
It made me realize that the time had come for Sohui and me to part, and I felt more reluctant than I expected.
Perhaps she could read that feeling on my face, because Sohui made the first suggestion.
“Do you have somewhere to stay in Anhui Province?”
“I was probably just going to stay at some inn.”
“Then would you like to stay where I’m staying? There are still some rooms left, since it’s the house where I stay when my father’s in Anhui Province.”
I didn’t even need to think about Sohui’s offer before I nodded.
“I’d be very grateful if you’d let me.”
“Then I’ll go see my father first. Yugang-oppa, you can go sign up for the Martial Alliance tournament. Just register at the reception desk, and I’ll come find you after that.”
Sohui finished what she had to say and vanished in a flash.
We’d grown quite close over the course of the trip, so she’d started calling me oppa naturally from time to time, but I still found the word making the corners of my mouth twitch.
I stood there blankly, staring in the direction Sohui had disappeared, and once she was completely out of sight, I headed for the reception desk.
When I arrived, the place was packed with people.
They all seemed to have come to participate in the Martial Alliance tournament.
I took my place at the very back of the line and waited my turn for a long while.
By the time the hot sun hanging in the middle of the sky had been hidden behind the mountain peaks and the evening glow had begun to spread, my turn finally came.
The attendant handling registrations looked exhausted too, and without even glancing up at me, he focused only on the paperwork.
“Are you here to participate in the Martial Alliance tournament?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then please tell me your age and name.”
“I’m fifteen. My name is Han Yugang.”
“Do you belong to any sect or organization?”
“Uh... I’m from the North Sea Ice Palace.”
At the mention of the North Sea Ice Palace, the attendant jerked and looked up at my face.
My eldest brother and second brother had never participated in the Martial Alliance tournament or come to the Central Plains, so there were probably not many martial artists from the North Sea Ice Palace around. He seemed to find it fascinating that I had come from there.
“If your name is Han Yugang, are you the youngest son of the North Sea Ice Palace...?”
“That’s right. I’m the youngest son of the current palace lord.”
I smiled faintly and showed him the token my father had prepared for me.
The attendant hurried through the paperwork and handed me a wooden tag.
It was marked Provisional.
“Since Young Hero Han is participating as a member of a verified organization, you may proceed directly to the main tournament without going through the preliminaries.”
So this is what family connections get you?
“For reference, the main tournament will be announced once all the preliminaries are over. The notice will be posted here on the registration board. Do you have any other questions?”
“Then how many people will compete in the main tournament in total?”
“It varies by tournament, but looking at the list of participants this time... we expect thirty-two.”
“Thank you for letting me know. When will the preliminaries finish?”
“They’re scheduled to end in ten days.”
“I see. Good work.”
I finished registering and turned around. When I did, Sohui was waiting for me.
“I figured you’d be done registering around now, and I was right.”
“Did you meet your father all right?”
“My father was more or less the same. He’s only half-agreed to let you stay.”
“Half-agreed?”
“I explained who you are, but he said he still wants to meet you once before giving his permission. If you haven’t eaten dinner yet, would you mind joining my father and me?”
Seeing the slight tension in Sohui’s expression, I readily agreed.
She was probably worried that, since I came from a commoner family, I might feel uncomfortable or dislike the arrangement.
“That suits me just fine. If he’s going to let me stay, I should meet him, of course.”
I followed Sohui into the center of Anhui Province.
Unlike the North Sea, the streets here were crowded and lively, giving the unmistakable feel of a major city.
Well, this is Anhui Province, ruled by the famous Namgung Clan even in the Central Plains.
Sohui led me into a large, glittering building in the heart of the city.
It looked unmistakably like a high-end restaurant.
Sohui climbed the stairs as if it were the most natural thing in the world and stopped before a private room on the third floor.
Dining in a place like this, her father really did seem to be wealthy, even if he was a commoner.
Does he run a trading company or an inn?
Just as I was wondering, Sohui opened the door.
When it swung open, my eyes fell on a middle-aged man seated far inside, exuding an unmistakable presence.
Unlike the commoner I had imagined, he looked more like a neatly dressed scholar.
“Greetings. My name is Han Yugang, and I’ve come from the North Sea.”
To make a good first impression, I bowed deeply.
My manner must have pleased him, because Sohui’s father relaxed a little.
“I’ve heard about you from Sohui. Sit down first.”
Sohui and I took our seats.
“First, I want to thank you for saving Sohui from danger.”
“I only did what I should have done.”
“I hear you came to participate in the Martial Alliance tournament. You’re the youngest son of the North Sea Ice Palace, then?”
“Yes. I came to take part in the tournament and gain some experience.”
Sohui’s father had a rather powerful air about him.
He swept his gaze over me from head to toe, then, apparently satisfied with what he saw, spoke again.
“Good. For someone like you, I can offer some help. I’ll lend you a room in my house for the duration of the Martial Alliance tournament.”
“Thank you very much.”
On the way here, I’d passed a number of inns with signs saying they were full, so I’d been worried. This was a relief.
It seemed the tournament had brought in so many people that lodging had become scarce.
“Since we’ll be staying together for some time, we should introduce ourselves properly. Let me do so formally. I am Je Gal Jinhyeon, the current clan head of the Jegal Clan.”
“...Pardon?”
The Jegal Clan? The clan head?
I was utterly flustered.
Wasn’t Sohui a commoner?
Then again, thinking back on it, she had never actually said she was a commoner. She’d only never mentioned her surname.
I stared at Sohui, eyes wide.
She was wearing her usual bright smile.
“Then...?”
“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Je Gal Sohui of the Jegal Clan. There are so many people who try to use our family if they learn who we are, so I hid it at first. I’m sorry.”
“I heard that my daughter had spent the whole trip treating you kindly and warmly, even while thinking she was a commoner. Lord Han really raised his son well.”
Je Gal Jinhyeon chuckled and began eating.
Still dazed, I sat there blankly until Sohui’s glance nudged me into picking up my chopsticks.
“Ahem. That’s a little surprising, I have to admit. I had a feeling Lady Sohui was quite brilliant, but...”
“Of course she is. Who do you think her father is? Still, she lacks talent in martial arts and ended up in a dangerous situation, so thank you again for helping her. That’s just like the Northern Sea Divine Dragon, isn’t it? Skill and character both.”
I could only laugh along.
My mind still hadn’t caught up with how suddenly everything had changed.
Still, the good thing was that Je Gal Jinhyeon seemed to think well of me.
After the meal, which I barely even knew if I was swallowing through my nose or my mouth, Je Gal Jinhyeon excused himself, saying he had to return to work.
Sohui still looked awkward, probably because she felt bad about hiding her identity.
“Why are you so awkward? I don’t mind at all. You could keep a secret. I didn’t know you, after all.”
“Still, I did deceive you... I didn’t mean anything bad by hiding it. I guess I just missed the right time to tell you...”
“Don’t apologize so much. I really am fine. I was just a little surprised.”
My answer seemed to reassure her.
“Then can I keep calling you Yugang-oppa?”
“Of course.”
After that, I followed Sohui to the Jegal family’s villa in Anhui Province.
Je Gal Jinhyeon, the head of the Jegal Clan, served as the Martial Alliance’s chief military advisor, so it seemed he had kept a residence in Anhui Province, where the Martial Alliance was located.
I also learned from Sohui that the Martial Alliance was based in Anhui Province because the current Alliance Lord was the head of the Namgung Clan.
So does the Martial Alliance move every time the Alliance Lord changes?
The thought crossed my mind, but it wasn’t important enough to dwell on, so I soon forgot about it.
While staying with the Jegal Clan, I spent every day with Sohui. We walked through the garden together, wandered the marketplace together, and somehow it started to feel like we were on dates.
Sohui worried a little that I was spending every day just having fun, but when I told her it was fine, she didn’t argue and simply kept going out with me every day.
And then, at last, the Martial Alliance preliminaries ended and the announcement for the main tournament was posted.
The main tournament would be held in a knockout format, and the number of participants was thirty-two, just as the receptionist had predicted.
It looked like the main event would begin tomorrow.
At last, the Martial Alliance tournament is beginning.