Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: How Should I Kill Him?
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The bustling banquet had come to an end. Some returned to their lodgings for more drinks, others were lost in thought, some trained in the practice grounds, and others simply went to sleep.
Baekri Jang-won stood before Zhuge Siyeon's room, a bottle of liquor in one hand and snacks in the other.
“My lady. I've arrived.”
The door opened.
“Why are you here?”
Baekri Jang-won held up what he was carrying.
“Are you crazy for alcohol?”
“No. I'm about to go crazy for you, my lady.”
“Hmph.”
Zhuge Siyeon wasn't displeased by Baekri Jang-won's words or his boldness.
“But where did you get the liquor...”
Baekri Jang-won suddenly threw the door wide open and barged into Zhuge Siyeon's room.
“Are you crazy? This is my room.”
“Drinking under the moonlight is nice, but it's too hot outside. Please, have a seat.”
Baekri Jang-won neatly placed the bottle and snacks on the table.
Zhuge Siyeon acted exasperated, but a smile was already forming on her lips.
“Crazy. Absolutely crazy. A man brazenly entering a woman's room.”
“It seems so. This is a first for me, too. My heart is pounding for some reason.”
“Then why do something that makes your heart pound? It's not like you're copying someone.”
She was referring to Namgung Urin.
“That fellow's actions looked so cool. How was it? Was I cool?”
Finding the situation too ridiculous, Zhuge Siyeon laughed.
At the sight of her laugh, Baekri Jang-won licked his lips.
“I guess I really can't compare to him.”
“You just figured that out? A crow-tit shouldn't try to imitate a stork. It should live like a crow-tit.”
“I was just trying it out for a moment. Come on, let's sit and drink.”
“Alright. But... you didn't come here with any strange expectations, did you?”
“Strange expectations? Weren't you the one having them, my lady?”
“Never mind. Let's just drink.”
* * *
Namgung Urin and Han Seo-hui were also having a cozy drinking session in his room.
After a drink, Han Seo-hui smiled brightly and asked Namgung Urin a question.
“How was it today?”
She had already heard about the atmosphere at the banquet from the Iron Blood Sect disciples. But Han Seo-hui wanted to hear it from Namgung Urin... no, she wanted to confirm it.
“It was a really busy and tiring day. Maybe it's my personality, but dealing with people is so difficult. How was it for you, Sect Leader?”
That wasn't what she was asking...
She was asking if there were any women prettier or better than her, if any had caught his eye, how much he had missed her...
Or maybe...
he was avoiding the question, knowing full well what she meant...
and the reason for his avoidance was that he had seen a woman better than her...
Han Seo-hui wanted to confirm and know so many things, but Namgung Urin's answer was completely off the mark.
Still, Han Seo-hui maintained her lovely smile.
“I was so bored and listless.”
Part of that was because she already knew everything that had happened.
“Sect Leader.”
“Yes?”
“Don't worry.”
“...Worry? I don't have any worries.”
Namgung Urin gave Han Seo-hui a bright smile.
“If you had been at the banquet today, you would have been the most beautiful woman there. So please, rest easy. You're the only woman in my heart.”
“...”
With eyes that looked ready to spill tears at any moment, Han Seo-hui gazed endlessly at Namgung Urin.
The countless worries that had plagued her vanished in an instant, as if washed away. A thrill ran through her entire body. She felt as if she would be swept away by a wave of emotion, unable to escape.
“My dear Sect Leader, you must have been worrying about useless things.”
Namgung Urin wiped away the tears that finally fell from Han Seo-hui's eyes.
“Let's promise not to worry about things like that. Alright?”
Han Seo-hui stopped crying and nodded her head like a young girl.
“My dear Sect Leader. You're so good.”
“Thank you.”
For understanding her heart so well. For making it so she didn't have to struggle with words or fight.
They say romance is a game of push and pull.
For making even that unnecessary.
“Don't say things like that. We're past that now. Right?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Well then, let's have a drink to that.”
“Yes.”
As the tears on Han Seo-hui's face dried, it shone.
“By the way, Sect Leader.”
“Yes. Go on.”
Namgung Urin called her title, then simply gazed deeply into her eyes for a moment.
“...Why, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
“Seo-hui. Han Seo-hui.”
The Iron Blood Sect Leader, Han Seo-hui, thought her heart had stopped for a moment.
“...”
“Can't we call each other comfortably like this? Sect Leader.”
“...Ah, th-that... It's not bad... If the Young Lord wishes... But if we call each other that, won't we start treating each other carelessly?”
Han Seo-hui was so dazed she didn't even know what she was saying.
“Seo-hui.”
Han Seo-hui's heart, which had felt like it would stop, now began to pound like crazy.
“...”
“But I want to treat you carelessly, Seo-hui.”
“...B-be... rough... if you're rough... what... I mean, what kind of... rough...”
“How?”
Like this.
“Oh my!”
Namgung Urin swept Han Seo-hui into his arms. Then he headed for his own bedroom.
Han Seo-hui's mind was burning white hot.
And then.
“Mmph.”
Namgung Urin pressed his lips against Han Seo-hui's red ones.
And then...
A fire was lit.
Fortunately, it didn't burn down the bedroom and the pavilion.
And then...
The sun rose.
Despite not sleeping a wink all night, Han Seo-hui looked happy, her eyes clear.
“The tournament starts today. Are you okay?”
Han Seo-hui was now also speaking casually to Namgung Urin.
“I'm fine. I won't be the one getting on the stage.”
“That's a relief, then.”
The tournament starting today was a series of matches where ten representatives from each sect would compete in a winner-stays-on format. It was a system where one person could potentially defeat all ten opponents in a winning streak.
Namgung Urin and Han Seo-hui dressed to have breakfast.
Han Seo-hui said.
“I'll eat in my own quarters.”
“Why not eat here?”
“I'd be embarrassed if people found out.”
“Alright, do as you please.”
It was then.
Namgung Urin's door was suddenly thrown open.
It was Suyeon, the handmaiden in charge of the Young Lord's quarters.
“...Suyeon. So early...”
“I thought you might be very hungry, so I brought it in early.”
“...Ah, right. Thank you. But there's one more person...”
“I know. I've prepared meals for two, so the Sect Leader can eat here as well.”
“...Yes. Thank you.”
“And please, speak comfortably.”
“...Uh.”
Suyeon set down the meal and spoke to Namgung Urin again.
“Young Lord.”
“What?”
“I want to wear pretty flower shoes. And I want to wear clothes made of fine silk.”
“Uh, right. You can do that.”
“Young Lord?”
“Whaaat?”
“May I run to Lady Yeonhwa right now and tell her that you and the Sect Leader were making love all night, completely naked?”
“Oh my!”
Han Seo-hui was so shocked she turned her back.
“...Su-Suyeon.”
“It was so noisy all night. What should I do? Shall I run to Lady Yeonhwa right this instant?”
“N-No. Wait a moment.”
Namgung Urin frantically took out a money pouch from his robes and tossed it to Suyeon.
After checking the amount inside, Suyeon's face bloomed into a wide smile.
“As expected of our Young Lord! Then I shall take my leave.”
“Uh, uh. R-right.”
But just as she was about to leave, Suyeon's steps paused.
“Young Lord.”
“...What now? That's all I have.”
“Am I some kind of thief?”
*You're already no different from a thief!*
“...Then?”
“In return for your generosity, I was thinking of giving you a piece of good information.”
“...What is it?”
“Right now, the Young Lord of the Baekri Family is sleeping in Lady Zhuge Siyeon's room.”
“Is that so?”
Surprised by Suyeon's words, Han Seo-hui turned back around.
“Really?”
She had felt sorry for her. But she couldn't give up her love. And yet, to think she was in the same room with the Young Lord of the Baekri Family at this hour...
Just as she and Namgung Urin had been all night, she was overjoyed to hear that those two had also gotten together.
“Yes. But he didn't turn into a beast like you, Young Lord. Well then, I'm off.”
Leaving behind such a bright smile, Suyeon disappeared from Namgung Urin's room.
Flabbergasted, Namgung Urin looked at Han Seo-hui and spoke.
“...She called me a... beast.”
“She's right. A beast.”
“...”
Meanwhile, in Zhuge Siyeon's room, where Baekri Jang-won—who hadn't turned into a beast all night—was sleeping.
“This idiot. What a complete moron! A total moron!”
Zhuge Siyeon was fuming.
And Baekri Jang-won was still passed out from his hangover.
* * *
Wolhyang was entering Hefei. The city, once said to be dead, was now returning to its former state.
On her way to Hefei, Wolhyang had gathered a great deal of information without spending any money. Still, to fill in the remaining gaps, she sought out a crowded tavern.
Most of the people in the tavern were talking about the Anhui Martial Arts Alliance.
“But why are they holding a banquet for five whole days?”
“I heard there's a tournament as well as a banquet.”
“A tournament? If they're having one, they should have invited spectators. Why are they keeping it a secret?”
“I know, right? This is the first time I've ever seen something like this.”
“I'm dying to know what they're plotting.”
No useful information for Wolhyang emerged from the tavern. So she focused on the taste of her liquor.
“Keuh.”
*This is the stuff.*
*Life is all the same.*
Upon arriving in Hefei, Wolhyang was constantly plagued by a very ominous premonition that this assassination would be her last.
“The young brat.”
Not even twenty years old and already at the peak of the supreme realm? Does that even make sense?
Even if he'd been training since he was in his mother's womb, this is impossible. Is he even human?
Well, it's not like he's so great that he can't be killed. In terms of martial prowess, Wolhyang herself was at the peak of the supreme realm.
And not just that, but at the very edge of it, with the transcendent realm in sight.
Although the transcendent realm is the pinnacle of the supreme realm, the difference between the two is quite significant in every aspect.
So, killing him shouldn't be difficult. If the Young Lord of the Namgung Family's power was at the transcendent level, it would require much more planning and time, but that was impossible.
“At his age? No way.”
It's utterly ridiculous.
She even suspected that the claim of him being at the peak of the supreme realm was an exaggeration.
“Nonsense.”
Still, as an assassin, Wolhyang was not taking this job lightly. She couldn't let her guard down until the moment she successfully completed the assassination and left Anhui.
That was the fundamental principle an assassin must follow, and it was the very reason Wolhyang had survived to become the best.
In addition, the Young Lord of the Namgung Family had only been in the martial world for about a year, so he would be severely lacking in experience. The easiest targets for assassins were inexperienced young martial artists.
However, the important thing was that he was the Young Lord of Namgung. He would have many escorts, and the security around him would be tight.
“How should I kill him...”
Wolhyang sank deep into thought as she downed her liquor.