Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: The Way of Love
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Not long after parting ways with Yeo Sochen, Dang Ayoung returned home with a gloomy expression.
"Young master. You're back?"
I rushed out with a bright smile, hoping to cheer her up even a little since she looked so down.
"..."
-Rustle
Without a word, she brushed past me and collapsed onto the bed.
"...Young master?"
"..."
She still didn't respond at all, so it seemed her mood was really sour.
After quite some time passed with her burying her face in the blanket and maintaining that silence,
"...Hey..."
Dang Ayoung finally spoke in a dejected voice.
"Could you... maybe tell me what you two talked about?"
"...We have to go somewhere together."
"Where...?"
"..."
I started wondering if I should tell her we were heading to the Divine Church's secret annex.
It wasn't that I didn't trust Dang Ayoung, but she was the daughter of the Tang Family head from Sichuan.
As someone who would one day lead the Tang Family, she might prioritize the family over her own feelings.
While I hesitated without saying a word,
"...Forget it. You don't have to tell me if you can't."
Her voice grew even more downcast as she buried her face deeper into the blanket.
"...I'll tell you when I get back."
"..."
'This is bad.'
I'd seen her angry a few times before, but never this depressed. I had no idea how to comfort her.
I'd heard back on Earth that when women comfort men, letting them touch their chest works, but the genders were reversed here.
Sure, our roles in bed were almost opposite, but a guy couldn't just pull that on a girl.
As I pondered how to console her, Dang Ayoung spoke again.
"...Actually, I've been called a genius since I was little. I picked up every martial art I learned in no time... made poisons effortlessly... I was overwhelmingly superior even among my relatives, so lots of my friends complained to their masters about being compared to me."
It was sudden, but I stayed quiet and just listened to her.
"I was always... the best among my peers... even surpassing older brothers and sisters who were years ahead. Sure, at the last Late Bloomers Tournament, I only got second because I couldn't fully use poisons or hidden weapons... but if I could have, I would've won. I'm certain. Everyone there acknowledged it."
Come to think of it, though we were close, we'd never really opened up about our inner thoughts.
Dang Ayoung, spilling her story in that quivering, melancholic voice, felt so distant from her usual confident self.
"I'm... strong. Definitely strong. Peak realm masters aren't common in the Central Plains, especially not at my age—it's rare even in the long history of the region. I'm strong... my talent overflows..."
Her voice went beyond dejected, carrying the hint of tears.
"Why... do I feel so weak right now?"
Dang Ayoung always seemed so tough, but today her shoulders looked unusually narrow.
No matter how strong she was for her age, comparing herself to Yeo Sochen was unfair.
Even if there were hundreds of Dang Ayoungs, they couldn't match one Yeo Sochen.
The gap in power between them was that overwhelming.
That's just how this world worked.
"...Young master."
"I know. I know she's one of the top masters in the righteous faction. One of the heroes who saved the Central Plains twenty years ago. Our lives are on different scales from the start, so expecting to match her is greedy. I know all that. I do."
At this point, I couldn't tell if she was talking to me or herself.
Was the shock of that overwhelming power gap hitting her this hard for the first time?
Tears seeped into her voice.
"...Um..."
I wasn't sure if this would help, but it seemed better than nothing, so I cautiously spoke up.
"Young master. You're plenty strong."
"Yeah, of course you'd say th..."
"I know that better than anyone. I live getting beaten by you every day."
-Flinch
Dang Ayoung's body twitched at my words.
"If you're this down, what am I supposed to do? We're the same age. And I'm a guy with supposedly better physical stats. You have no idea how bruised my ego was when you beat me at arm wrestling with one finger."
"Ah, no... That wasn't my intention..."
"Well, you're from a great family and trained from childhood, while I'm an orphan with a weak body from birth, so it's only natural. If the gap wasn't that big, that would be unfair, right?"
Dang Ayoung lifted her head, revealing her face from under the blanket.
Her eyes were red and teary—she'd really been crying.
"What I'm trying to say is... don't obsess over strength so much right now."
"Don't obsess...?"
"Yeah. You're still young, right? You've got plenty of time. I don't know how far your goals go, but with talent that got you to that level at your age, time is all you need."
"...Ugh..."
Dang Ayoung grimaced.
It wasn't just annoyance—something more complex stirred in her expression.
"It's not about that... it's..."
Before she could continue, I cut in.
"You feel like she stole me away from you?"
"...!"
"Why the shocked face? I'm not that oblivious."
In this situation, missing that would make me an idiot among idiots.
She'd confessed her feelings to me first, and then got humiliated in her own home right in front of her by Yeo Sochen. It'd be weirder if she didn't feel this way.
"Let me apologize on her behalf. She's got a foul mouth and can't express emotions straight, but she's not a bad person deep down. Don't worry. She's a Daoist from Kunlun, after all."
"...You two close?"
"Not sure about close, but... we're tangled up because of heavenly secrets and such. She was the one who dragged me to the Murim Alliance before."
-Blank stare...
To me, Yeo Sochen felt approachable, but to others, she was one of the righteous faction's pinnacle masters—the Thunderclap Sword. They probably couldn't accept me talking about her so casually.
"I don't like her much either. I know she's not bad at heart, but... she causes me a ton of trouble. Foul-mouthed. Swears a lot. Looks all mysterious, but she's got this clumsy side too."
"Pfft..."
"There. You laughed."
"Ahahaha..."
Did my consolation work?
Dang Ayoung burst into light laughter.
"What was that? Say that about the Thunderclap Sword anywhere else, and you'll get beaten senseless. 'How dare you talk about a righteous hero like that?'"
"So what? It's what I've seen and felt myself."
"Pfft... Well, if you say so, then it must be. You're not the type to make up stories and badmouth people."
"I barely even tell the truth. Too scared of retaliation."
"Hahaha..."
Seeing her laugh lightly, her mood seemed to have lifted, thankfully.
"Got it. Thanks—I feel a bit better. Yeah, I can't imagine you falling for a mean girl like that."
"What? You were really worried?"
"Honestly, I worry about it sometimes. You falling for some other woman who's better than me at everything. Or someone stealing you away by force."
-Flinch
The situation was a bit different, but since I'd also been with the Sword Empress besides her, I couldn't be fully confident.
But admitting that here could lead to who-knows-what.
"As if. Me, leaving you...?"
"But... thinking about it, just holding on tight might not be enough."
"...Huh?"
I blurted out something dumb hearing her words.
"I thought keeping you from looking elsewhere was fine... but the Central Plains are vast. Some woman stronger, prettier, more capable than me could snatch you anytime. That won't cut it."
"What are you..."
"So, I'm going to become your ideal type."
Dang Ayoung wiped the tears from her eyes and put on a bold face.
"Love is about adjusting to each other, right? Filling in each other's shortcomings with love... But I'm already so satisfied with you as you are, and I love you so much that you don't need to change for me. So I'll change for you."
Dang Ayoung grabbed my cheeks with both hands.
"If I fill every space in your heart with me... no matter how alluring another woman is, there won't be room. That's my plan."
Watching her smile confidently despite the tear stains, I wondered if she'd always been this beautiful.
"But don't get the wrong idea—I'm not okaying any cheating. If you do, I'll mobilize the entire Tang Family and hunt you to the ends of the Central Plains."
"...That's pretty brutal."
"Of course. But... if, just if... the day comes when you have to let another woman into your heart, against your will..."
-Smack
A soft touch pressed against my lips.
Not the heavy, passionate deep kiss from our usual bed play, but a sweet, gentle peck.
"Don't let me go then."
I couldn't yet judge this sudden shift in her feelings, this change in her way of loving.
But I couldn't just be happy about it.
Because beneath that sweet taste lingered a bitter sadness.