Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly (2)
Soon, we arrived in front of the Jegal Clan's annex.
"Thank you for seeing me all the way here."
"No trouble at all."
"Wouldn't you like to at least pay your respects to Grandfather before you go?"
At her suggestion, I shook my head.
"No, it's getting late. I'll pay my respects to the Supreme Patriarch tomorrow. Please, go on in."
Jegal Yu-a paused as she was about to enter the gate and turned back to me.
Did she have more to say?
"Um, tomorrow... are you coming to watch the preliminaries?"
"Yes. I plan to watch with Mother."
"You'll... cheer for me, right?"
I nodded at her question.
"Of course. I wish you the best of luck in your matches."
"Thank you."
With that, she hurried inside.
I watched her go for a moment before turning away.
Speaking of which, if Jegal Yu-a is here... that must mean the Sacheon Tang Clan has arrived too.
I might run into some familiar faces there as well.
But... something about the way Palgap was looking at me felt a bit cheeky.
"What? Why are you staring like that?"
"...It's nothing, sir."
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The next day.
We started our day early in the morning.
After stopping by the Eunhae Merchant Group's temporary shop, we returned to the inn, picked up Mother, and headed out.
On the way, we met up with the wife of the Gwangjun Merchant Group's head and proceeded to the martial arena together.
"I hear the Jegal Clan's young lady is competing today."
"I heard that too."
"And the heirs of the Hubei Pang Clan and disciples from the Ami Sect are entering as well."
"Is that so? In that case..."
I quickly continued.
"Sister Hyang-ok's turn hasn't come up yet, it seems."
The wife of the Gwangjun Merchant Group's head spoke with an excited expression.
"A daughter of the Jegal Clan, no less! I can't wait to see what kind of skills she'll show."
"..."
Suddenly, I thought I understood why the heirs of prestigious families resorted to match-fixing.
People held a certain expectation that children of the Eight Great Clans or disciples of the Nine Great Sects had to pass the preliminaries at least.
But such expectations and admiration were a double-edged sword.
If they displayed commensurate skill, people would praise them as befitting their lineage.
But if they failed to meet those expectations, not only would the individual face ridicule, but so would their clan or sect.
Their standing would inevitably narrow.
That's why they resorted to match-fixing, even if just to pass the preliminaries.
They'd approach each other under the pretext of unity among those competing on the same day.
We arrived at the arena and entered.
After waiting about an incense stick's time, the announcer finally appeared.
It was the Plum Blossom Sword Hero I'd seen yesterday.
What was his name again?
"Thank you to all our spectators for joining us today as well. With that, we now begin the preliminaries for the second day of the Thirty-Sixth Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly. Our first match of the day is..."
Yesterday, several promising young experts had caught my eye. Today was no different.
The matches proceeded, and finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived.
"The next match: Jegal Yu-a of the Jegal Clan! Her opponent is Mun Suk of the Mun Martial Hall from Fujian Province!"
I smiled.
Jegal Yu-a looked truly dashing up on the arena stage.
Jegal Yu-a and the warrior Mun Suk exchanged bows with clasped fists.
"Then, begin the match!"
Dong!
With the resounding beat of the drum, the match began.
The two, in their starting stances, moved slowly, probing each other.
How much time passed like that?
Mun Suk moved first. His sword shot toward Jegal Yu-a's shoulder with sharp momentum.
But Jegal Yu-a twisted her body lightly, evading the attack.
"Attacking Mun Suk now that his balance is broken would... Huh? Why isn't she attacking?"
Just as Mother said, despite the opening, Jegal Yu-a didn't strike at Mun Suk.
Confusion appeared on her face.
Seeing this, Mun Suk seized the chance and began pressing Jegal Yu-a relentlessly.
Jegal Yu-a looked flustered.
Yet for some reason, I sensed an inexplicable familiarity in her expression.
What is it?
Why this sense of déjà vu... Ah!
Suddenly, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Jegal Yu-a was putting on an act right there in the tournament.
The familiarity came from the time she'd pretended to be a deranged madwoman with a clear mind when crisis struck the Jegal Clan.
But why was she acting now...?
Then, Seo-u Warrior spoke up.
"As expected of the Prodigy of Wonders. Not a word of it is false."
"Pardon?"
"I think I know what Lady Jegal is aiming for."
I tilted my head, looking at Jegal Yu-a. She had a plan?
Huh, when did she get so close to the edge of the arena?
Only then could I grin as well.
"I think I get it too."
But Mun Suk, completely taken in by Jegal Yu-a's act, hadn't noticed a thing.
The moment of decision approached.
"Haaah—!"
With a mighty shout, Mun Suk thrust his sword. Victory shone plainly on his face.
But Jegal Yu-a was no longer in front of him.
In an instant, she'd circled behind him and swung her sword.
"Gasp!"
The startled Mun Suk spun to block the attack. But,
"Urk!"
Jegal Yu-a's strike was fierce, and he was pushed back...
"Eh? Uwaaak!"
Thud!
He tumbled out of the arena.
That's right.
One rule of this Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly was that falling out of the arena meant elimination.
That had been Jegal Yu-a's aim all along.
"Jegal Yu-a wins by ring-out!"
"Waaaaah!"
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"As expected of the Jegal Clan!"
"I knew it!"
But I wondered why she'd gone for a ring-out when she could have won outright.
There had to be a reason.
I'd ask her later.
The morning matches wrapped up, and after about an hour's break, they resumed.
Everyone needed time for rest and lunch.
The afternoon matches continued, ending before sunset.
I headed back to the inn with Mother. But her expression seemed a bit bitter.
What's wrong?
Worried, I asked her.
"Mother, is something troubling you? You don't look well."
"Oh, is that so? Sorry. I was just lost in some thoughts, and they must have shown on my face."
"What were you thinking about?"
At my question, Mother gazed at the sunset and said,
"Long ago, before I married, my older brother entered the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly."
Mother's older brother—my uncle.
"He passed the preliminaries and joined the ranks of the 108 promising young experts. But after that, he never competed again. So I asked him why. I said he could gain even greater honor by entering again and climbing higher. And then my brother..."
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"He told me this: The Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly is just for dragons and phoenixes. So don't even think of entering it..."
"..."
"Just live quietly, and when someone you love appears, as long as he's a decent man without major flaws, you'll convince Father... Get married and build a happy family... Back then, I didn't understand. I thought he was jealous of me. Truth be told, I had far more talent than him. But..."
Mother looked at me.
"Now I think I get it. He was truly worried about me."
I listened silently to her words.
"The dragons and phoenixes of the martial world refer to the unmarried heirs of great clans."
"..."
Mother sighed.
"Some of today's matches stuck with me... Especially young hero Pang Baek-a's..."
Pang Baek-a was one of the people at the tavern yesterday with Jegal Yu-a.
And it seemed Mother had noticed their match-fixing too.
"I felt it as well. His opponent's eyes showed no will to win."
Mother nodded with a complicated expression.
"That's not all. There were quite a few cases where they could have attacked but deliberately held back."
"..."
Just as Mother said.
"But what can I say about it? It's their decision."
"..."
"I'm just concerned it might weaken the righteous martial factions."
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Soon, we reached the inn.
The sun hadn't fully set yet, so it wasn't too late.
"Mother, I'm going to the temporary shop first, then I have someone to meet. I might be a bit late."
"Alright, take care."
"Yes."
I'd promised to visit the Jegal Clan's Supreme Patriarch yesterday, so I should go.
First, I stopped by the temporary shop for a report, then headed to the annex.
I asked the gatekeeper to summon Jegal Yu-a.
He was the same guard as yesterday when I'd come with her, so he promptly sent word inside.
Soon, she came running out and greeted me warmly.
"Young hero Eun! You kept your promise."
"Of course. And congratulations on your preliminary victory today."
"Thank you."
She beamed and said,
"Come in. Grandfather's been looking forward to meeting you after hearing about you."
I smiled awkwardly and followed her inside.
As we walked, I brought up the question that had been nagging me.
"Oh, Lady Jegal. One thing I'd like to ask."
"Yes?"
"Why did you make your opponent fall out of the ring today?"
"Ah... that?"
She snorted.
"They chewed me out for not joining in on that mess."
"..."
So, it was payback of sorts.
As expected... Jegal Yu-a had some spine.
"But the others won't know. I covered it by saying I was conserving energy."
I chuckled inwardly.
Soon, we reached the building where the Jegal Clan's Supreme Patriarch was staying.
"Grandfather, young hero Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group has come to pay his respects."
The door opened promptly, and I bowed with clasped fists.
"Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group pays his respects to the Supreme Patriarch."
"It's been a long time."
I looked up at his face.
Five years ago or now, it hadn't changed much. No, he seemed even spryer.
"Have you been well?"
"Yes. Business has been good. I'm sorry for not inquiring after you all this time."
"No need. I'm always healthy. And I've heard about you through letters from my younger brother."
Chief Steward Yu still exchanged letters frequently with the Supreme Patriarch.
That's how he'd known about Jegal Yu-a's hidden dragon act.
A heartwarming thing.
"You haven't eaten yet?"
"Ah. Yes..."
"Perfect. Let's have dinner together."
"Pardon?"
I'd only planned to greet him briefly. A sudden dinner invitation...?
"Truth is, I had a dinner gathering tonight... but I didn't want to go. So I said I had a prior engagement..."
He'd used me as an excuse.
Well, since he'd put it that way, I couldn't refuse dinner.
"Understood. I'll join you."
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Dinner was delicious.
We chatted about this and that as we finished the meal, and I left the annex.
Suddenly, Mother's words from earlier came to mind.
Is the martial world really okay like this?
In my previous life, nothing major had happened until I died.
But in this life, I planned to live long.
So the martial world shouldn't face any upheavals...
Traditionally, when turmoil strikes the martial world, it troubles not just the common folk but merchants like us too.
Come to think of it, strange incidents had started popping up not long before I died...
Were those harbingers of some great calamity?
Lost in such thoughts as I walked, a voice called out.
"Hero Eun Seo-ho!"
A loud shout from behind.
I turned, and my eyes widened.
"Huh?"
A boy charging toward me!
It was Tang Jo-woong, the youngest son of the Sacheon Tang Clan.
"Huh? Jo-woong... Did you come for the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly?"
"Yes."
Tang Jo-woong nodded.
"My older sister is competing too, but I'm entering this assembly as well."
What?
A familiar aura made me turn, and there was a face I knew.
"It's been a while."
Hong-ok of the Sacheon Tang Clan, Lady Tang Su-bin. And beside her stood Tang Dae-jeong, the Crimson Flame Whip Lord, whom I'd met before.
I quickly bowed with clasped fists in greeting.
"Hm..."
Tang Dae-jeong eyed me closely before asking cautiously.
"Could it be... you're entering this Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly too?"