If I Win, Come With Me
At Yoo Eunhyeon's suggestion, Yu Yeop and Hong Ju-goe withdrew and settled on a modest rise some distance away.
It was close enough, yet placed so cleverly that the sparring ground itself was out of sight. They could have snuck a look if they wanted, but Seong Jung-hyeok was not the sort of man to miss even that much. There was no point in trying.
"Vice Commander. Do you think they can win?"
There was a reason Hong Ju-goe asked Yu Yeop. The two were close friends of nearly the same age and generation, but when it came to martial attainment, Yu Yeop—who had stepped into the Yeonhwagyeong—stood higher.
Yu Yeop seemed to weigh the question for a moment, then nodded.
"In a single bout, Uiseon Suga might have been at a disadvantage. Forcing it into three rounds looks like it swung things their way."
"That much? Even if the Donghyeol Medical Lord's eldest daughter was famous as a prodigy, that was over twenty years ago—and the fact that she's living in seclusion out here…"
Hong Ju-goe let the rest trail off. Yu Yeop, reading his mind, spoke first.
"Ju-goe. I understand what worries you. It's that veiled woman, isn't it?"
"I can't hide a thing from you, can I. Yes—she bothers me. I could at least roughly sense internal energy from the others, but with her, I couldn't gauge her strength at all."
"My eye told me the same."
"…You couldn't read her either?"
Hong Ju-goe's eyes went wide at Yu Yeop's answer.
"Then that means…"
"Even at the lowest estimate, she's a master who has reached the Yeonhwagyeong. And a master of that caliber…"
"Is likely from the Demonic Cult. So there really is something here?"
"There must be a reason we were dispatched, don't you think?"
"True enough, but… Vice Commander. No—Priest Yu. You aren't hiding something, are you?"
Hong Ju-goe looked at him as he asked, but Yu Yeop only nodded as if the answer were the most natural thing in the world, and admitted it without a fight.
"Of course I am. There wasn't anything at first—then something appeared."
"I take it you can't tell me what."
Knowing Yu Yeop's nature well enough to understand that anything he was allowed to say would already have been said, Hong Ju-goe only gave a bitter smile and let the matter drop.
"We'll keep watch on the surroundings and see how the match turns out."
"We should. It looks fine for now, but… if things go wrong, we'd better be ready to jump in, yes?"
Yu Yeop answered Hong Ju-goe's question with a smile instead of words. And so the two of them focused their senses on the sparring ground while their eyes swept the broad slopes of Mount Taesan.
Yoo Eunhyeon's party had already decided the order of their fighters, so Eunhyeon glanced back and gave the signal.
Ju Yu-ryeon stepped lightly forward, straightened her shoulders, and spoke with open confidence.
"Ju Yu-ryeon of Uiseon Suga. Who's my opponent?"
Her expression was bright and lively, without a shred of fear—only overflowing self-assurance. Seeing that she did not seem the least bit tense, Yoo Eunhyeon relaxed a little and looked toward the other side.
He watched Seong Jung-hyeok, the veiled woman, and a man he did not recognize, wondering who would come out. No one on their side moved.
Only that unfamiliar man twitched and half-started, as if he could not decide whether to step forward. He looked so restless that Eunhyeon found himself frowning inwardly.
What is with him?
Seong Jung-hyeok glanced at the dithering man, let out a short sigh, and struck him between the shoulder blades, shoving him forward.
"E-eek!"
Even his cry was timid and half-stammered. The man staggered out and came face-to-face with Ju Yu-ryeon. He was a young man of average height and a rather thin build, and there was something so awkwardly hesitant about him that he looked utterly devoid of confidence.
Even so, he did not look weak.
Shoved out as if against his will, the young man stared hard at the woman in front of him. Yu-ryeon, growing impatient at his silence, planted a hand on her hip.
"Isn't the other side supposed to introduce themselves?"
"Young Master of Chukhobang. Ho Won-jik."
At her prodding, Ho Won-jik startled as if he had just remembered, hastily clasped his fists in salute, and bowed his head.
"Pleasure to meet you. Shall we start right away?"
Both sides already knew exactly what this was about, so Yu-ryeon suggested they begin at once—but Ho Won-jik's face went flustered at her words.
"B-before that, I have a proposal."
"A proposal? What kind of proposal?"
"If I win… c-come with me."
"Excuse me? I think I misheard you."
The suggestion was so far beyond anything she had imagined that Ju Yu-ryeon could only stare blankly and ask again.
In that instant, every face present wore a different expression.
"That habit of his never improves with age…"
Only Seong Jung-hyeok muttered as he clutched his head, looking as if he had a splitting headache. Judging by his reaction, Ho Won-jik did this sort of thing often. As if to prove it, the young man spoke again.
"I like you."
The sheer shamelessness of it seemed to snap Yu-ryeon back to herself; she burst out laughing in disbelief. Looking at Ho Won-jik, who stood there in stubborn silence, she went on.
"Go ahead and try—if you can."
Her words were cutting, but Ho Won-jik's skin was thick enough that, far from flinching, he only twisted his mouth into a smile as if he liked her even more.
"Th-then I'll take that as acceptance."
Faced with that brazenness, Yu-ryeon snorted a laugh and shrugged.
"If you're going to make a wager, you have to put something up too. If I lose, I only lose—what kind of idiot proposes a bet that stupid?"
There was nothing wrong with what she said, and everyone present—even Seong Jung-hyeok—nodded along.
"If there's something you want, j-just say it. Whatever it is, I'll accept it."
Whether he had any sense of proportion at all was doubtful, but the instant he said it, Yu-ryeon's eyes lit up with interest.
She flicked a glance at Seong Jung-hyeok—and he, who had been waiting for an opening, seized it at once.
"You'll accept whatever? You fool. That woman-chasing habit of yours is exactly like your father's. This is why I didn't want to bring you. As expected, you're nothing but trouble. This isn't like usual. Don't get any foolish ideas."
Seong Jung-hyeok's tone was stern, almost a warning.
"But Uncle…"
"Didn't I tell you to call me Vice Leader when we're outside? This is not Chukhobang territory. Don't think everything will go your way."
"I-if I win, doesn't that settle it…?"
"And if you lose? You don't even know what the other side will demand. What if Chukhobang takes a serious loss because of it?"
Seong Jung-hyeok was right. If this had been Chukhobang ground, they could have buried any accident under the sect's power—and they had done so more than once. But here, Chukhobang's reach was thin, and the other party was Uiseon Suga, one of the Seven Great Families. This was not a place where they could start something and then brush it off as a joke when it went wrong.
"But…"
"Win the spar first, then think about it. If you win, the way she looks at you will change."
Ho Won-jik pouted as if he hated every word, but even so he could not go against Seong Jung-hyeok. He nodded reluctantly. Watching him, Yu-ryeon stuck her tongue out a little in open mockery.
"If you really win, I might even see you once."
"G-good. I'll win and make you kneel myself…"
Ho Won-jik clenched his fists as if steeling himself.
There had been more fuss than necessary, but at last they seemed ready to fight in earnest.
"Huuu…"
Straightening a little from his hunched posture, Ho Won-jik steadied his breath and, from the very start, began hauling up his internal energy with raw force. He was the one in a hurry, so it was only natural.
Seeing that, Ju Yu-ryeon drew a slender soft sword from her waist. It did not look particularly sturdy—but the moment she poured her internal energy into it, a keen, almost luminous edge began to flow from the blade.
"He doesn't have a weapon?"
"Chukhobang's ultimate arts are fist-and-kick methods. The martial art is called Yeonchuk-yeolkwon."
At Yoo Eunhyeon's question, Su Hwa-seon answered, and Eunhyeon looked at Ho Won-jik with open interest. Judging by the energy he was gathering alone, it looked like an extremely fierce technique.
Consecutive Compression Heat Fist
Taht!
And as expected, Ho Won-jik moved first.
He set his arms behind his back in an odd, reverse-handed stance and charged straight at Ju Yu-ryeon.
Hopping lightly into the air, he snapped a side kick at her. The blow cut the air with a whip-like edge, but Yu-ryeon twisted her body with practiced ease and slipped it by without trouble.
That was not the end. Ho Won-jik spun and drove an upward kick with the opposite foot. When she dodged that just as lightly, he flowed straight into a downward stomp as if to prove he had already planned for it. His movements were smooth and sharp enough to make even the onlookers hold their breath.
"Oh… flashy."
The chain of kicks that followed drew a murmur of admiration even from Yoo Eunhyeon. The clean execution alone was proof of how thoroughly Ho Won-jik had trained.
"Heh. Better than I expected. I might actually have to tense up a little."
Yu-ryeon let out a note of praise of her own at the unexpected bite of his assault—then, without missing a beat, piled on the provocation.
"Well, if you can't pick up girls with words, I guess a guy like you has to be good at something. Of course, as ways to impress a woman go, this is just about the worst of the worst."
Even under the constant taunting, Ho Won-jik's face did not change; whether from focus or sheer stubbornness, he simply kept chaining his strikes.
Whoosh!
"Hah!?"
Then, just as Yu-ryeon was slipping past the sequence with ease, she gasped and twisted her body in a sudden, desperate scramble.
The rhythm of Ho Won-jik's linked attacks, which had been so steady, warped in an instant and came knifing in at her.
Caught off the flow, she could not help but falter for a heartbeat.
Ho Won-jik's eyes flashed. He did not miss the opening—he drove straight in toward Ju Yu-ryeon.