Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Sore Finger
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Cheers poured down like a waterfall, filling the world with noise praising the victor.
But at the center of my vision, there was only one person: Peng Soyeon.
Her head bowed, covered in dust and dirt, she looked as if she might shatter at any moment.
"Soyeon."
I pushed my still-extended hand a little closer to her face.
Her wet eyelashes trembled faintly.
She stared at my hand hesitantly, then grasped it carefully yet desperately, like a drowning person clutching a lifeline.
Her palm was rough.
The calluses from endless training dug into my hand, testifying to the lonely hours she had endured alone.
Yet beyond that coarseness, the warmth transmitting through was surprisingly delicate and hot.
I gently pulled on her hand, helping her to her feet.
As her unsteady body leaned toward me, I naturally reached out, supporting her waist.
"Let's go."
We descended the steps of the Training Grounds side by side.
The red sunset light stretched our shadows long, merging them into one.
Peng Soyeon leaned on my shoulder, breathing raggedly, while I bore her full weight and kept walking.
The scent of blood and sweat emanating from her didn't feel fishy; instead, it came across as heartbreakingly pitiful.
At the base of the Training Grounds, Peng Jeongbo had already come down and stood like a massive mountain.
A rare hearty smile played on his lips.
"Indeed! My eyes didn't deceive me."
Peng Jeongbo's booming voice overwhelmed the crowd.
He gripped my shoulder as if to crush it, his eyes gleaming.
"What a swift sword! To parry the Peng clan's overpowering saber style with such fluid grace—truly awe-inspiring. Who knew Mount Hua's sword could be so profound and subtle."
His praise was genuine.
However, the more it continued, the lower Peng Soyeon's head drooped beside me.
Her brother's acknowledgment.
The one phrase she had craved so desperately, now directed not at her, but at the one who had defeated her.
Her shoulders trembled faintly with misery.
Thud.
She roughly shook off my hand.
Before I could say a word, Peng Soyeon plunged into the crowd like she was fleeing.
Her retreating figure looked precarious, as if she were a criminal hurrying away.
"……."
Senior Disciple approached me silently.
Her gaze already pierced through what I needed to do.
"Go to her, quick."
Senior Disciple's low voice brushed my ear.
"You're the only one who crossed blades with her and can console that child. Hurry."
I nodded briefly and turned urgently toward the direction Peng Soyeon had vanished.
Behind me, I heard Peng Jeongbo raise his puzzled voice.
"Young hero? Where are you off to in such a rush? I still have words to—"
But his words didn't finish.
Because Senior Disciple quietly but firmly blocked the massive frame of Peng Jeongbo.
"Peng Swordmaster."
Senior Disciple's voice was cool yet weighty.
The aura emanating from her was in no way inferior to his.
"What you should be watching now isn't the victor's back."
"What...?"
"If you can't even fathom the broken heart of your own flesh and blood, how will you bear the weight of the clan head's seat?"
She stared straight into Peng Jeongbo's eyes, spitting out each word with bone-chilling weight.
"For now... let my junior brother shoulder her burden as well. You'll wait here, Swordmaster."
Breathless, I chased after her and arrived at a annex of Purple Cloud Pavilion—her quarters.
From the gap in the closed door, muffled sobs leaked out.
I hesitated a moment before carefully opening the door and entering.
The room was dim.
Peng Soyeon sat precariously on the edge of the bed.
Her dust-streaked training robes were disheveled, her shoulders trembling faintly.
She was roughly rubbing her eyes with her hands.
A wound deeper than the defeat itself seemed to weigh down her back.
I approached silently and plopped down beside her.
"You okay?"
My cautious question hung in the air, met only by heavy silence.
She didn't even lift her head.
Unthinkingly, I reached out to wrap her trembling shoulder.
I wanted to comfort her.
Having witnessed her desperate struggle closer than anyone.
Thud.
But before my hand could touch, Peng Soyeon irritably swatted my hand away.
It was a sharp rejection, but the force in her fingertips was feeble.
She whipped her head around to glare at me.
Her reddened eyes still brimmed with tears, but her gaze burned fiercely.
"Don't get the wrong idea."
She sniffled and snapped at me.
"This time... I might've lost because I was too exhausted, but next time, I absolutely won't lose to you."
Those words were stubborn refusal to admit defeat, the last flailing of her shattered pride.
But how could I not see the fragile heart hidden beneath that bravado?
I nodded with a gentle smile.
"Yeah... of course."
My soft reply seemed to displease her, as she pouted her lips.
I said nothing more, simply staying quietly by her side.
As silence flowed, her ragged breathing gradually calmed.
How much time passed?
Peng Soyeon, who had been stealing glances at me, suddenly blurted out in a voice full of complaint.
"...What're you doing?"
"Huh?"
"You just gonna sit there like an idiot?"
She turned her flushed face away and mumbled.
Her boldness mixed with cuteness nearly made me burst out laughing.
"Hurry up... and pet my head. Girls don't like guys who just sit there like morons, dummy..."
She jerked her chin like she was ordering a servant, but her earlobes were red as ripe peaches.
The hair touching my fingertips was damp with sweat but soft as silk.
The woman who wielded her saber like a fierce ghost now narrowed her eyes like a cat and meekly submitted to my touch.
Her head moved subtly in time with my stroking hand.
"You're such a baby."
My unthinking words made her eyes narrow in annoyance.
"You think a brat like you has the right to say that? And... I know I'm quite a bit older than you."
"Just four years older."
"Just four years?"
Her eyes curved sharply.
A flash of the Peng clan's venomous bloodline crossed her face, but she didn't reject my touch.
"You just became an adult, so why're you so cocky? Didn't they teach you manners toward senior brothers at Mount Hua?"
She grumbled even as she leaned slightly toward my thigh.
My hand, trailing down her hair, naturally slid past her jawline to her collarbone.
The unguarded nape and the boundary of her upper chest.
The skin there, dotted with beads of sweat, was startlingly pale and smooth.
"This won't do. You have to come to the Peng clan with me. I'll personally teach you manners with Peng clan discipline. And sparring too... I'll teach you properly this time..."
As her voice grew husky, my fingertips brushed the curve of her upper breast peeking from her collar.
Peng Soyeon flinched and side-eyed my hand.
"......That's my chest."
"Ah... sorry!"
I startled at the soft, hot sensation and tried to pull away.
Thud.
Peng Soyeon swiftly grabbed my wrist.
Her grip was firm, unlike before.
She pulled my escaping hand back to her chest and tilted her head coyly.
Half-turning her flushed face, she muttered in a curt yet strangely sticky voice.
"No... I didn't mean don't touch it."
Her heartbeat throbbed through my palm.
"A Taoist holed up in the mountains your whole life—have you even touched a woman's body before? If you're that curious... it's okay to touch a little."
"Is that... really okay?"
Her gaze avoided mine, wandering the air, but the hand holding mine was slick with sweat.
I panicked and struggled to pull my hand free.
But Peng Soyeon tightened her grip, showing no intention of letting go.
"Why."
Her voice sank low.
The gaze she shot me blazed with an emotion I couldn't tell was jealousy or defiance.
"You groped Senior Sister Hwa Yeon plenty, so my body's not interesting enough?"
"......!"
My heart plummeted.
Too shocked to even breathe, I stared blankly at her.
My mind went blank.
"H-how...?"
My voice came out trembling, squeezed out.
Peng Soyeon smirked as if my reaction amused her, snorting derisively.
"Idiot. You think I don't know how thick the night-blooming flower's scent gets in a closed room when you do that stuff?"
She pulled my hand deeper toward her chest and whispered.
"You think I wouldn't notice the heat from a man and woman tumbling in that tiny room? Are you dense or just stupid?"
My face burned hot. I wanted to crawl into a hole.
I couldn't believe someone had caught on to my secret tryst with Senior Disciple—and of all people, Peng Soyeon.
"She said... to keep it a secret..."
As I mumbled weakly, Peng Soyeon let out a deflating chuckle. Her expression softened, taking on a strange allure.
"Yeah. Stuff like this is always a secret."
She pressed my palm firmly against her soft breast.
Through the thin undergarment, the pert nipple poked into the center of my palm.
"This time too."