Learning Martial Arts (1)
Zhuge Hualian dropped her words like a bomb.
“I will stay at the Cheonpung Merchant Group.”
I had no words to respond. It was far too sudden.
Of course, there was a need to send the manuscript to the Zhuge Clan as she said.
But such chores could be handled by a messenger.
It wasn’t something the young lady of the Zhuge Clan should do.
Yet, despite that, Zhuge Hualian suddenly declared she would stay here.
She was volunteering to be the messenger herself.
Why would she stay here when the Zhuge Clan had its own residence?
I asked her, unable to understand why she would do so.
“If that’s the case, couldn’t we just hire a messenger?”
“Well, the messenger might be in danger.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“A messenger being in danger?”
The distance between the Cheonpung Merchant Group and the Zhuge Clan was only a one-hour walk.
There was no risk of bandits appearing on the way to the city.
I couldn’t understand why sending the manuscript would be dangerous.
“You know how much people are excited about your stories, right? So, the book you wrote is bound to succeed.”
Of course.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms would succeed.
Not just succeed, but succeed massively!
It would be a huge success.
Because the Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ success has been historically proven.
“So, there must be people who are after it. They might want to snatch it just to see it first, or to profit from it, or perhaps someone with a grudge against the Zhuge Clan.”
Upon thinking, it didn’t sound wrong.
But even if her words were correct, it was strange.
After all, she didn’t need to do such things herself.
“It does seem correct. But do you really need to do it yourself, Hualian?”
It was a pure, innocent question.
Zhuge Hualian looked at me for a moment.
Then.
Her eyes narrowed.
She was clearly smiling.
A faint smile was on her lips.
But oddly, the gentle atmosphere from before seemed to have vanished somewhere.
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“I’m doing it because I want to. I’ve had nothing to do lately.”
“......”
She said she was doing it because she wanted to.
It was a phrase that made one have nothing to say.
And... for some reason, I instinctively closed my mouth and nodded my head, feeling that I shouldn’t pursue it further here.
“By the way, Hualian, did you inform your family?”
“Um... No? Well, it should be fine.”
“At least, it would be better to inform them. And if you suddenly stay here, the Cheonpung Merchant Group will be in trouble.”
“The group is fine. I was a ‘friend’ of the young master, the owner of this place, when we were young.”
Was it a friend?
There was a strange feeling with the past tense.
“I see. If it’s a friend, then there’s no problem.”
“Right? Ah! Definitely a young master is a young master. When I mentioned it, he appeared out of nowhere.”
Zhuge Hualian turned her head sideways and spoke in a sharp voice.
I followed her gaze to investigate the sudden remark.
And at the end of her gaze was Lim Seha.
“What?”
At the sight of Lim Seha, I couldn’t understand Zhuge Hualian’s sharp reaction.
She said he was a friend, right?
But his attitude...
It was not the attitude of calling a friend.
“Young Master, without any contact from the Zhuge young lady, what business do you have?”
Even with Zhuge Hualian’s sharp attitude, Lim Seha’s expression was unchanged.
“Is there any reason I can’t come here?”
“Of course not.”
It was a polite response.
Too polite for friends, but it was a problem.
“Where is the merchant group that turns away customers at the door?”
“Hmph!”
Zhuge Hualian, displeased with Lim Seha’s polite reply, crossed her arms.
“I don’t know since when I became a guest, but since I am, I’ll tell you. I need to borrow a room.”
“Our group isn’t an inn, but since it’s a request from an old friend, we can’t refuse.”
At the end of Lim Seha’s words.
Zhuge Hualian pursed her lips, perhaps angry.
“...”
She stared at Lim Seha silently for a while, then turned her body.
“Friend... Yeah, thank you. I’ll bring my luggage, so keep the room empty.”
After saying that, Zhuge Hualian disappeared outside the Cheonpung Merchant Group.
A cool scene as if a storm had passed.
Inside it, I, who had been hiding, felt my breath return.
I looked in the direction Zhuge Hualian had disappeared, then couldn’t hold back my curiosity and asked Lim Seha.
“Is it usually like this between the two of you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you were friends.”
I recalled the incident from earlier.
“It seems different from the friend I knew.”
At that, Lim Seha closed his mouth for a moment.
“Friends...”
Lim Seha said vaguely, as if recalling memories.
“It would be accurate to say we were friends.”
“Did you fight?”
“...”
At my words, Lim Seha swallowed and couldn’t say anything.
“I don’t know what happened, but seeing the two of you, I feel more frustrated. How about apologizing like a man and reconciling?”
“Like a man...”
Lim Seha pondered the words for a moment.
“Indeed, it might be difficult.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Lim Seha smiled bitterly.
“Rather, I need to prepare the room where Zhuge young lady will stay.”
After saying that, he turned from his seat.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Then, he walked into the inner part of the Cheonpung Merchant Group, as if not allowing further questions.
I watched his back and muttered.
“What?”
No matter how I thought, it didn’t seem like a normal friend relationship.
***
“Eeeek!!!”
Soso came looking for me urgently.
“Your ears are going to fall off. Soso, Soso, Soso.”
“Ack! Don’t mess with my name! I’m serious right now!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Gwang... no, Zhuge Hualian unni is staying here?”
“What? But why?”
It must have reached Soso’s ears since Zhuge Hualian left.
“What should I do? She must have marked me, right?”
“When did you do something wrong to Hualian?”
“Young Master, you heard it too. I misspoke.”
“Misspoke?”
At Soso’s words, I thought there might be a mistake and recalled, but nothing came to mind.
“Did you do something wrong when I wasn’t there?”
“Young Master! You heard it too. I said... Gwanghwa.”
Soso called Zhuge Hualian Gwanghwa.
After that, Zhuge Hualian reacted sensitively a bit, but it didn’t seem like a big problem.
“Is that a big problem?”
“Young Master! You don’t know Gwanghwa? Gwanghwa! That’s it!”
“Gwanghwa? Why?”
I had a gossiping life, but the royal village wasn’t that big.
Because of that, I knew very little about the news of murim people.
Moreover, that gossiping life was only for a few months.
I didn’t even know the alias of the governor of Sima Clan, let alone the lesser important alias of the Zhuge Clan young lady.
“Young Master, don’t just stay inside the room. Please go outside and hear various news! How can you not know Gwanghwa! It was such a famous event!”
Thud!
At Soso’s arrogant words, I naturally smacked her head.
“Ouch!”
“You idiot, you might not know about murim people. So why is she Gwanghwa? Isn’t it Cheonbong?”
“It hurts! Young Master, haven’t you heard such words? Cheonbong has two faces. One is Cheonbong, and the other is Gwanghwa!”
“First time hearing? But usually, aliases are one, right?”
“Yes! One, but because of some incident, another one was attached to her.”
“Incident?”
“Yes! Originally, Hualian didn’t have an alias like Gwanghwa and was called Cheonbong. Beautiful, smart, and skilled in martial arts, the best among the phoenixes. But.”
Soso lowered her voice.
“An incident happened where she was called Gwanghwa at the Yongbong Jihui.”
“What incident?”
“In a martial competition, she turned the eldest grandson of the Namgung Clan into a bloody mess with her fists.”
“......”
Bloody mess?
How much of a fight was it that such an expression came out?
No, rather than that, from Soso’s words, Zhuge Hualian seemed like more than just a scary person.
The Namgung Clan was definitely a famous prestigious family in the murim world.
The eldest grandson of such a family would have some skill in martial arts.
Yet, she turned him into a bloody mess with two punches?
This was scary, but not the usual scary.
“The people from the Namgung Clan tried to stop her, but she didn’t stop even after the winner was decided.”
“That much?”
“Even after the Namgung Clan side rushed in to stop her, she didn’t stop.”
“......”
Soso looked around before speaking, as if wondering if Zhuge Hualian was nearby.
“Since that day, people started talking.”
“What?”
“Cheonbong has two faces.”
“......”
“Usually Cheonbong.”
Soso spread one finger.
“And when angry, Gwanghwa. So, after the Yongbong Jihui, a proverb was born in the murim world. ‘Don’t provoke the anger of Cheonbong, Gwanghwa will come and turn you into a bloody mess!’”
“That sounds quite scary.”
“Right! I heard that Hualian doesn’t like the alias Gwanghwa, so I said it. What should I do now? Hualian said she’s staying here for a while! What if I got marked?”
“Hmm...”
Soso said almost in tears.
Indeed, having heard such terrifying words, it was understandable to be scared.
But what could I do? It was already done.
“Young Master! She seemed friendly with you, so please talk nicely.”
“Soso.”
“Yes!”
“Um... Good luck.”
“What?”
“Good luck. You can’t get me involved just because you help me.”
“Young Master! How can you say that! You said you would feed and raise me! Take responsibility!”
Soso grabbed my pants hem and said in tears.
“Who would hear and misunderstand? Don’t talk strictly! And this, let go! Eh! Pants are falling down! Don’t grab!”
While having a scuffle with Soso, I felt a presence behind and heard a voice.
“What are you doing? And you say you’ll feed and raise me? Young Master, are you not saying strange things to a young child?”
Zhuge Hualian saw Soso clinging to my pants and asked.
“Hic!”
At the sudden appearance of Zhuge Hualian, Soso screamed and hid behind me.
“No! I meant it as a way to use the money to settle disputes. Soso! If you say things that lead to misunderstandings, you’ll misunderstand.”
I hurriedly called Soso to clear the misunderstanding.
“Hmm... Really?”
Zhuge Hualian asked Soso behind me.
“Yes! Really! Young Master said he would use me for disputes!”
Soso nodded her head wildly like someone fighting for her life.
Zhuge Hualian looked at Soso for a moment and nodded.
Fortunately, the misunderstanding was cleared.
“By the way, how long has it been since you went to pick up the luggage?”
“The general said he would bring it. If I wait here, he’ll come on his own. But, Young Master.”
Zhuge Hualian looked at me and smiled faintly.
“A grown adult can’t even shake off a young maid who’s much younger. You should build up your stamina a bit.”
Since coming here, I hadn’t done any exercise like that.
Moreover, recently I had been staying in the room, so my stamina had clearly dropped.
“Ahem...”
“Because I was writing. And Soso is eating well and moving around, so she looks lighter than she is.”
“Y-Young Master! How can you say such things!”
At my excuse, Soso behind shouted and got angry.
“Young Master, it’s said that a healthy body houses a healthy mind. Since you’ll be writing your ancestors’ books in the future, it would be good to do some basic training. If you get hurt while writing, the writing will have problems too.”
“What? What does that mean...”
At my words, Zhuge Hualian smiled faintly.
“Would you like me to teach you some basic martial arts?”