Chapter 26: Murim (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: Murim (3)
“Hee-hee~”
“...”
Having polished off two bags of chocolate, Cheon Yeo-hwa returned to the lakeside, humming happily.
I trotted along behind her.
“Why did you come back here?”
“Is it not because I have luggage I failed to retrieve?”
Leaving Cheon Yeo-hwa to collect her things from a hidden corner, I plopped down in a suitable spot.
I could have just given her the chocolate and we could have gone our separate ways, but as long as she was my match, I needed to improve our relationship to get the settlement reward.
Even without the reward, who knows what this crazy app might do if I just abandon my match, Cheon Yeo-hwa.
I couldn't just blindly trust that the app would only give me rewards for my actions.
Depending on the situation, it might slap me with a penalty.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
For one, Cheon Yeo-hwa was beautiful. As beautiful as Iris, even.
It would be a lie to say that, as a man, I didn't have some ulterior motives.
She’d be fine if her personality wasn't so... peculiar.
Of course, if she refused to travel with me, I’d just be counting my chickens before they hatched.
In this bleak world of Murim, would any woman really travel with a strange man she just met, even if he did save her from bandits?
Besides, I have no idea what a lady of the Heavenly Demonic Cult is doing out here in the first place.
I had a feeling this would be just as complicated as Iris's situation.
The problem was, unlike with Iris, I couldn't use the Dating Consulting Curriculum to find out what had happened.
It’s not like she’d answer if I asked, either.
We just met. The fact that I even know she’s the Lady of the Heavenly Demonic Cult is fucking weird to begin with.
Should I just tell her I’m from another world?
I’d told Iris without much thought, but the more I considered it, the more I realized it probably wasn't the wisest choice.
This was a one-sided match.
I initiated it to meet women or to get stronger, but what about the other person?
Iris, for instance, had no idea she had been matched with me.
That meant the matching was done without the other party's consent, at the very least.
So how could I be sure that my match would be a normal person every time?
This app?
Even with my vague guess that this was my awakened ability, this app was the hardest bastard to trust.
I could write off Iris's case as a stroke of luck, but from now on, I needed to hide the fact that I was from another world.
I had no idea what the other person might think upon hearing it.
Just looking at the fact that the survey included hobbies like "human dissection" and "corpse artist," it was clear this app held no prejudice whatsoever against its users' interests.
“Got everything?”
“Do not rush me. For a lecher, you certainly have a knack for saying things that women find unappealing.”
“...”
Should I just ditch her, farm some elixirs here, and find another match?
I seriously considered it.
*
“Travel with you?”
“Yeah, to the nearest city. How about it? I’m kind of lost right now.”
I racked my brain, but I couldn't come up with a good excuse to stick with Cheon Yeo-hwa.
So, I decided to buy some time by traveling to the nearest city with her while I figured something else out.
“Hmm...”
Cheon Yeo-hwa seemed lost in thought.
If she refused even this, my only remaining option was to stalk her, so I couldn't help but feel tense.
“Very well. It is an obvious ploy, but I shall fall for it just this once.”
“What are you...”
“Is it not obvious? You cannot make a move on me right now, so your plan is to travel with me and wait for an opportunity, is it not?”
“...You actually want me to make a move?”
“Huhu, do not try.”
The sword at Cheon Yeo-hwa’s waist glinted ominously.
It was in its scabbard a second ago. When did she draw it?
“I do not wish to see blood so early in the day.”
“...You were the one who came at me trying to kill me earlier.”
In any case, after agreeing to a few conditions, I was allowed to accompany Cheon Yeo-hwa to the nearest city.
First, I would walk in front.
“Is that not a given? I know nothing of you. To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, it is only natural that I walk behind. As for the way, I need only point you in the right direction.”
Second, I had to answer her questions as truthfully as possible.
“What was that you used against the bandits earlier? A martial art that hurls lightning? I have never heard of such a thing. It cannot be a dark art, and... is it an immortal art?”
“Magic.”
“Magic...? What is that?”
“If you’re that curious, let me touch your chest.”
“You act the part of a lecher well.”
“You called me a lecher, so I have to play the part.”
I was done bowing and scraping before the Lady of the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
Third, I had to provide chocolate.
“You ate it all earlier.”
“That is a lie.”
“...Eat in moderation. You’ll get fat.”
“Impossible. I have learned several Immortal Maiden Arts. Thanks to them, I do not gain weight even if I eat more than necessary.”
What the hell is that?
That sounded like a martial art that reeked of money.
If I could sell that to rich women, they’d probably come running with bundles of cash.
“Ah, of course, there is a side effect where a man’s sexual functions are weakened if he learns it. What say you? I believe it is a martial art you truly need.”
“With my face? I don’t think I need it.”
“...You have quite the high opinion of yourself.”
As the two of us walked through the forest, exchanging idle banter, Cheon Yeo-hwa watched Kang Hyun-woo, who was walking ahead, with a chilling gaze.
The undisguised killing intent of a third-rate assassin was nowhere to be seen.
Her perfectly refined killing intent was so quiet that even Kang Hyun-woo, who was right next to her, couldn't feel it.
Just who is he?
From the moment she met Kang Hyun-woo, Cheon Yeo-hwa had not let her guard down for a single second.
Not when she was trapped under the iron net.
Not when she was defenselessly gathering her things by the lake.
She was always prepared to pull the hidden dagger from her robes and stab him in the neck the instant he tried to take her life.
But should she call it fortunate? Since meeting her, Kang Hyun-woo had not shown a single trace of killing intent.
The only exception was when he was dealing with the bandits.
That made it even harder to guess his identity.
If he were an assassin under the 1st Young Master, he wouldn't have come alone. She had considered that he might be stalling for time to call his comrades, but he had shown no signs of doing so.
Moreover, the food he gave her, the chocolate, wasn't laced with poison or aphrodisiacs. It was just a normal... no, an incredibly delicious confection.
Of course, she couldn't rule out the possibility that his previous actions were a ploy to lower her guard, so she couldn't drop her suspicion just yet.
But as time passed, she began to wonder if he really was an assassin sent by the 1st Young Master to kill her.
Currently, the Heavenly Demonic Cult was in a bloody succession struggle.
Among the five heirs, she and the 1st Young Master had been the most promising candidates.
But that was in the past. After falling for the 1st Young Master's scheme and losing most of her faction, she was no longer a candidate for the heir of the great cult, but a simple loser.
Her martial prowess, which had once reached the Transcendent Realm, was now barely at the level of a first-rate master after being poisoned.
Thanks to her Moon Spirit Demonic Art, she was resisting the poison, but that too was reaching its limit.
The extreme poison that had invaded her dantian was slowly eating away at her life.
Having lost her position as heir, the subordinates who followed her, and the martial arts she had practiced her entire life, she had left the cult and was now wandering the unfamiliar lands of the Central Plains, constantly on the run from assassins who could appear at any moment.
Kang Hyun-woo's appearance in such a situation made Cheon Yeo-hwa's mind incredibly complicated.
It was as if he had just fallen from the sky.
Even though her current level was only at the cusp of first-rate, she could confidently say that while bathing, she could sense the presence of even someone at the absolute peak.
But he had been standing before her at some point.
As if he had been there all along.
It was an excellent stealth technique for an assassin, but if he was one, why was he just standing there blankly instead of aiming for her neck?
And then there was the problem of that ability he called magic, an unknown art that could be either dark or immortal.
If he were an assassin, he would never have done something as foolish as revealing his trump card to his target.
That's why she was so confused.
It was too late to trust him now; she had lived a life where she couldn't trust others.
It was more comfortable to endlessly suspect than to trust. It was more reassuring to think that others were looking for a chance to stab her in the neck than to believe they trusted and followed her.
The reason she had allowed him to accompany her was that if he might be an assassin, it was better to keep him close and observe him.
I don't know exactly what this 'magic' is, but it can't be perfect. If I see even the slightest suspicious sign...
Cheon Yeo-hwa quietly caressed the sword at her waist.
“So, what city are we heading to?”
“...Xi'an.”
*
To be honest, I don't know enough about Murim to be an expert on all the place names.
Even though she kindly told me it was Xi'an, to me, it was no different from telling a foreigner, "Let's go to Pocheon!”
A foreigner might know famous cities like Seoul or Busan, but wouldn't it be weirder if they had memorized the names of all the provincial cities?
“Where’s Xi'an?”
“...Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
What? Why? A guy can not know things. You don't have to look at me like, 'What kind of person is this?' It's a little off-putting.
Makes me want to confiscate her chocolate.
“Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi Province, one of the largest cities in the Central Plains.”
“Shaanxi? Where the Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect are?”
“Correct.”
The Nine Great Sects and One Alliance. A group consisting of nine sects and one alliance that appears in most Wuxia stories, claiming, "We're super strong and influential. And we're nice, too.”
The Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect were Taoist sects belonging to that group.
So Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi Province, huh?
But something's weird.
Does that mean those bandits from earlier were trying to operate near the capital city?
Aren't they afraid of the government soldiers?
I voiced my question to Cheon Yeo-hwa.
“It takes about two days to get to Xi'an. And government soldiers? Patrolling outside the capital? The soldiers in your homeland must have been quite diligent.”
It was about a two-day walk, and apparently, the so-called government soldiers were only interested in maintaining security inside the city walls, not outside.
“Of course, if the bandits become too rampant and even the large merchant guilds complain, then they will step in. That's why bandits don't mess with the really large guilds. Besides, guilds of that size usually have skilled escort agencies with them.”
“Thanks for the explanation.”
As a reward, I tossed her a piece of chocolate. The sight of her happily unwrapping and eating it was becoming quite familiar.
She's kind of like a cat.
“But why are you going to Xi'an?”
What I wanted was to travel to the nearest city, I never asked to go to Xi'an.
No matter how close Xi'an was, there was no reason for her to go somewhere that wasn't her destination.
Especially if it was a two-day journey.
“Why do you wish to know?”
As soon as I asked, her voice turned ice-cold, a complete reversal from when she was eating chocolate. I was taken aback.
“No particular reason.”
“Do not forget. You and I are merely traveling together as far as Xi'an.”
Her firm tone reminded me of the girls in my school days.
Was I coming on too strong...?
Other than Iris, I'd never really had a proper conversation with girls my age, so I had no idea how to respond in these situations. My only option was to quietly put a little more distance between us as we walked.
Oh, right. Iris is 500 years old, isn't she?
But aside from her age, she seemed younger than me in every way, so it was hard to think of her as 500.
Her face, her voice, her body.
I suddenly miss Iris.
I felt like a newlywed couple suddenly separated after their first night together.
No, we didn't even get to have a proper first night.
There was the sudden appearance of the temple, the World Tree, and the dungeon exploration.
Honestly, with my current stamina, I could probably go five rounds in a row, but I only got to do it once. Just thinking about it makes me so frustrated I want to pour cow dung on the World Tree as fertilizer.
Of course, Iris would probably foam at the mouth and collapse if I did that, so I couldn't actually do it.
Anyway, Cheon Yeo-hwa and I continued to walk through the forest without much conversation.
Considering her cold reaction earlier, I was a bit hesitant to start talking first.
As we continued walking with her just pointing out the direction, the sun began to set.
They say night comes early in the forest, and it seems they were right.
Wait, wasn't that for mountains?
That wasn't what was important right now.
“The sun will be setting soon. What’s the plan?”
We would obviously have to camp out. If we didn't find a spot and start a fire soon, we'd wake up covered in morning dew.
“This way.”
Cheon Yeo-hwa, who had told me to walk in front, suddenly tossed out a single phrase and then quickly walked off somewhere.
Her speed was unusual.
Is that also a martial art?
Her speed itself seemed normal, but she moved through the trees, bushes, and uneven path as if she were walking on a well-paved trail.
Now I understood how she had kept up with my speed during the day.
No matter how fast I was, there were sections where I had to slow down to avoid trees and pass through bushes.
But Cheon Yeo-hwa had no such sections.
Honestly, if I could learn it, I wanted to. There were martial arts on Earth, but it wasn't something you could learn just because you wanted to.
...I heard there's chocolate supplied to the royal family. Should I try to sweet-talk her with that?
It seemed like other things wouldn't work, but she might teach me martial arts if I gave her expensive desserts.
Following Cheon Yeo-hwa, we arrived at a spot under a large tree.
“We will spend the night here.”
It certainly looked like we wouldn't get wet even if it rained, and there was enough space to build a fire in the forest.
“Have you camped out before? Judging by your clothes, you look like a rich young lady.”
“Of course.”
Cheon Yeo-hwa began to clear the area, skillfully preparing a place to sleep.
“You go and find some dry firewood. Even though the days have gotten much warmer, it will be cold at dawn.”
“Do I have to?”
I took out a small brazier and a stone from my inventory.
“...Is that also magic?”
Seeing Cheon Yeo-hwa's surprise as I pulled an object out of thin air made me feel good.
“Something like that.”
After setting up the brazier in a suitable spot, I took out a small stone from my inventory.
This was a special stone from a volcano called a Fossil. Its effect varied depending on the size, but one this big would burn for up to 12 hours once lit. I had bought several to keep at home to give to Iris the next time I saw her.
I tossed a small Fireball into the brazier with the Fossil inside, and a rather large flame flared up.
“How's that?”
I grinned and looked at Cheon Yeo-hwa. She immediately avoided my gaze, looking displeased.
“...Chasing only convenience makes one lazy.”
“Better than wasting energy on pointless tasks.”
I walked over to Cheon Yeo-hwa, who was still clearing her sleeping area, opened my inventory, and this time took out a tent.
It was a one-person tent from Mountain Spot, considered the most expensive brand in camping gear.
It had automatic temperature and humidity control and was made of a material that couldn't be torn by a wild bear's claws.
Other advantages included insect repellent, a self-cleaning function, and a mattress as comfortable as a hotel bed.
“W-what is that thing?”
“A tent.”
The moment Cheon Yeo-hwa saw the thing called a tent, she couldn't take her eyes off it, as if mesmerized.
The sight of Kang Hyun-woo starting a fire in an instant was certainly surprising.
Not having to painstakingly find dry firewood and rub sticks together until a flame caught was nothing short of revolutionary, but she disliked his triumphant expression and forced herself to look away.
But the tent was different.
It had been half a year since she had been pushed out of the succession struggle and came to the unfamiliar lands of the Central Plains. In all that time, she had never once slept peacefully.
The anxiety of not knowing when an assassin might come forced her to sleep lightly, whether outdoors or in an inn.
Outdoors was the worst.
For her, who had been raised and treated like an imperial princess since birth, life sleeping outdoors was indescribably miserable.
She could still never forget that first day she had to sleep outside. All she had to lie on were a few large leaves she had hastily gathered. She had barely managed to find dry ones, but the moment she lay down on them, Cheon Yeo-hwa realized something.
Even if you stack leaves, it doesn't change the fact that your back will hurt.
And that wasn't all. The insects that constantly poked and prodded her made the already uncomfortable sleeping arrangement and the light sleep needed to watch for assassins even more terrible.
Moreover, after sleeping on the dirt ground, she always had to wake up with a groan because of her aching back.
But this thing called a tent was different.
As if by some magic, the inside was warm and pleasant. And the soft, plush fabric on the floor stirred something within her that made her feel unexpectedly emotional.
Most importantly.
A man who can perform such magic cannot be an assassin under the 1st Young Master.
Of course, nothing was clear about his identity, but there was absolutely no way the 1st Young Master had someone like this under him.
If rumors of someone with such abilities had spread, the Cult Leader himself would have made an effort to recruit him.
He had several opportunities to take my life. The fact that he showed no sign of doing so means that my life is not his objective, at least for now.
Normally, she would have scolded herself for such a complacent thought.
But right now, she couldn't help it.
The fatigue accumulated from a month of continuous camping and the poison that was slowly eating away at her dantian made it difficult for Cheon Yeo-hwa to make rational judgments.
To her, the existence of this tent and her speculation about Kang Hyun-woo's identity were nothing less than an opportunity to get a comfortable and sweet night's sleep, free from worries about assassins or camping, just for today.
However, there was one problem that stood in the way of her burgeoning desire.
“...But this thing you call a tent. Is there only one?”
“Only one.”
A silence fell between the two.
“Yield it to me.”
“Why should I?”
“...”
Cheon Yeo-hwa, activating maximum brainpower.