Chapter 133
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: New Year's Eve (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After the long conversation with Yeon Hwaran.
"Both of you, the sun's starting to set, so head back carefully."
"I'll be going now, sister."
"Yes, Mother."
Seo Dohee and Moyong Seol offered their farewells, each with their own sense of distance, and exited the inner quarters.
As Yeon Hwaran had put it.
The days were growing shorter, and the sun had already vanished from sight.
The winter wind felt sharper than usual today, brushing coldly even against Moyong Seol's side—her, who had mastered the Ice Palace techniques and was impervious to the chill.
On their way out of the Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress.
The two walked in silence.
Each mulling over the conversation's echoes in their own way.
Of course, as Yeon Hwaran had said, it wasn't uncommon in the jianghu—especially for men—to take multiple wives.
Moyong Seol's own father, the head of the Moyong Family, had done just that for strategic reasons.
Moyong Seol suddenly thought of her mother.
Even before leaving the family to return to the academy, they'd had a serious talk while preparing the marriage contract.
- Seol-ah. I respect your judgment. Whatever you choose, just be happy.
But.
There was one question Moyong Seol had never mustered the courage to ask.
Are you happy, Mother?
Is a life of sharing a man's love—or even his attention—truly fulfilling?
As that heavy question coiled around Moyong Seol's mind.
If there was one thing she'd inherited strongly from her mother—
Her optimism, the ability to adapt anywhere with ease.
"It still seems like it could be happy, though...?"
"Hm? Instructor Seol, what was that?"
"Ah, nothing!"
The Ice Duke's happiness circuits quickly found an answer.
And so.
If they were to share Geum Sihyeon among several women anyway.
It was far better to approach it with an embracing attitude, like her own mother, rather than constant jealousy and rivalry.
After all, hadn't the young master himself said that a woman prone to envy and jealousy fell under the seven grounds for divorce?
Thus.
Moyong Seol made a rock-solid resolution.
Soon after, that resolve spilled from her lips as words.
"Instructor Seo... from now on... could I call you sister?"
Riding the cold evening air, those weighty words—laden with deep meaning—wove through the empty sky.
.
.
.
The word that emerged from Moyong Seol's lips.
After long deliberation.
And firm resolve.
Sister.
In truth, considering their standings in the jianghu.
Or the gap in their realms.
It was something that should never happen.
How dare a Superb Realm girl try to share a table with a Flower Realm master?
But.
That was merely the unwritten rule of the jianghu, of martial artists.
Looking at it more realistically.
No matter how much she'd rejuvenated to look youthful, how could a woman in her forties compete with one in her twenties—no, thirties in spirit?
Thus.
"Uh, uh, sister...?"
At that violently bold word choice.
Seo Dohee short-circuited for a moment.
Her life had been more accustomed to bandit slang like "big sis," "boss," "chief," "head honcho," or "leader."
At the age when she should have been called "sister," she'd been disguised as a man.
By the time she shed the disguise and revealed her femininity, it was already too late for such girlish terms between them.
Even with female acquaintances like Moyong Seol, "sister" had always felt distant in her life.
Sister.
How sweet that ring was...!
Seo Dohee, moved to tears!
In truth.
Every time she saw the academy girls laughing and enjoying their youth, her heart—and eyes—had stung with envy.
At her age back then, the martial world hadn't yet known the peace it had now.
Orthodox and demonic factions clashed endlessly.
The Demonic Cult ravaged lands under the pretext of expansion, while the Orthodox under chivalry tore up the mountains—the dark ages of banditry.
Her push to reform the bandits through the toll road business stemmed from those childhood hardships.
Though rejuvenation had restored her youthful beauty.
She'd thought her worn heart could never recapture that fresh innocence.
But.
"...Yeah, little sister Seol."
As she gazed at Moyong Seol shyly linking arms with her, pressing her modest chest against her side.
Seo Dohee thought.
It wasn't too late.
In fact, maybe it was just beginning.
If Geum Sihyeon had witnessed that scene.
It would have been a moment of unity to make him tremble in fear, crying out, 'The birth of the cluck-cluck alliance...! Oh no, majikayo...!'
Two days later.
Geum Sihyeon was, as usual, loitering around the Gold Mystery Sect construction site, officiously directing where to place pillars and foundation stones.
In the midst of that.
Ding─
"Hm?"
The absolute privilege granted to only three people in the world.
The power to make his chest vibrate with a notification sound instead of a buzz when sending a Murim Talk message rang out.
[Mother: I have a favor to ask]
[Mother: You free tonight?]
[Mother: Come to the VIP room at Golden Coin Tavern]
[Mother: I've reserved a great spot.]
"Hm..."
Pondering the weight of the messages, Geum Sihyeon sent a reply of acceptance.
Of course, he had prior plans.
"She rarely asks for favors in her life... Tch. No helping it."
[Luri: Nooo]
[Me: Mom asked]
[Luri: Uuuu]
[Luri: Uru rang]
How could he compare Luri's whining about eating frozen fruit at the night market in this cold weather to his mother's request?
Besides, a "great spot."
She must have pulled strings from the conglomerate's network for him, who'd been running around for the Gold Mystery Sect.
Savoring the filial piety swelling even fuller in his chest—already abundant—Geum Sihyeon headed to his temporary lodgings.
If he was going.
He couldn't just go dressed sloppily.
A short while later.
Wearing a neat blue martial robe inside.
And his beloved overcoat No. 33 outside, Geum Sihyeon strode out of the temporary Gold Mystery Sect toward Xi'an with utmost dignity.
Light qinggong before entering the city.
Then a leisurely stroll once inside.
"Here it is."
Arriving at the entrance of the Golden Coin Tavern—the most lavish and expensive in Xi'an—Geum Sihyeon looked up.
The four bold characters "Golden Coin Tavern" carved in a majestic script.
And below them, the two characters "Ten Thousand Gold."
He'd never used it before.
Among the taverns run by the Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress, this was the five-star equivalent in modern terms.
Oddly enough.
Geum Sihyeon had a strange feeling that once he stepped inside, he might not easily escape.
However.
A promise was a promise.
Entering the tavern, enduring the fuss over "the third young master," he climbed to the top floor's VIP room.
One door away from the meeting spot.
Swallowing the rising unease, Geum Sihyeon lightly knocked and slid the door open.
That instant.
"Gasp, heuk...!"
A cosmic force invaded Geum Sihyeon's cerebrum, overwhelming his mind with mere presence.
A deep forest.
A path lined with trees so dense not an inch ahead was visible.
Familiar winds whispered through, while icicles seemed to drip from the sky.
And between the trees.
Webs sprouting menacingly from every branch, as if vowing never to let any intruder leave alive.
Only forward.
Only deeper into the forest—a one-way path drawing him in.
The moment he took a single step.
Anxiety swirled that he'd never return to how things were before entering...
"What are you standing there for? Come in."
"Sihyeon! Come on in!"
Two very familiar voices snapped Geum Sihyeon back to reality, on the verge of enlightenment.
Shaking his head—what was that just now?—before his eyes appeared.
A dining table laden with light dishes, still in preparation.
And.
"Master...? Sister Seol?"
Seo Dohee and Moyong Seol.
At that time.
In Geum Sihyeon's room.
"Hmph."
Having brazenly succeeded in her sneaky illegal occupation, Cheon Luri was rolling around on Geum Sihyeon's bed, wrapped in his blankets.
- Hmm, the way to captivate a man's heart... Sharing the same blanket has to be the best, right?
She was personally putting Cheon Yuri's teachings into practice!
Of course, if Cheon Yuri saw the sight, it'd be half relief, half pounding her chest in lament: "Why did I raise that child like this?"
Fortunately or unfortunately.
No one was there to stop Cheon Luri's mischief, nor correct her misguided knowledge.
Roll, roll.
Tumble, rollll.
Cheon Luri simply wriggled like a plump caterpillar, her small, flat, soft body rolled up in the blanket.
It could be called a grand revenge against Geum Sihyeon for breaking their promise.
"Hmph."
But even that grew boring soon enough.
Cheon Luri pulled out her smartphone and tapped away.
[Me: Me] [1]
[Me: Bored] [1]
But the recipient.
No reply came from Geum Sihyeon.
Curiosity piqued Cheon Luri.
Geum Sihyeon's mother, the one who bore him.
The one who pinched her cheeks fondly, changed her clothes—contact that felt warm and comforting, not repulsive.
For such a person's request, Cheon Luri could endure that much.
But curiosity was curiosity.
Cheon Luri invoked her Soul Link Technique.
However.
Geum Sihyeon had refused vision sharing, so all she saw was his mental image.
Little Geum Sihyeons scurrying about in panic, as if facing some crisis.
Among them, one tiny Geum Sihyeon with shackles dangling from his ankle looked at her and waved triumphantly.
"Uuum..."
Maybe something was wrong? Unwarranted anxiety bubbled up in Cheon Luri.
And rightly so.
She'd later heard the details from Myo Narang.
It had nearly been life-threatening.
How her heart had pounded then.
Thus.
Though Cheon Yuri had strictly forbidden it.
Cheon Luri pushed the Soul Link Technique to its limit.
At full power, even without vision sharing, she could glimpse the surroundings briefly.
Just to check if Geum Sihyeon was in danger.
Absolutely no other thoughts, she brainwashed herself.
And soon.
With the sensation of her soul leaving her body.
Cheon Luri's vision flipped instantly.
And.
Faces familiar to Cheon Luri.
Flanked by Hundred Flowers Academy's Instructor Seo Dohee and Instructor Moyong Seol.
Geum Sihyeon smiled softly, enjoying his meal.
She couldn't help but see it.