༺ True Dragon (1) ༻
She closed the windows so that a cold breeze wouldn’t enter and drank so spicy hot tea made with dried round herbs of spice to warm herself.
This spicy tea would make an ordinary person feel extre heat, but for Moyong Hi-ah, it only had a minor effect.
It would only make her feel slightly warr.
Yet one small leaf of this herb sold for an amount that could feed a farr for a whole month.
There was no extravagance more extre than this.
The clan gave it to her, but it was still way too expensive for it to be used for a re tea and not even dicine.
“…Funny, isn’t it?”
Moyong Hi-ah spoke in a bitter tone, as she sipped her tea little by little.
“I don’t even know why I even get to drink this, even though I was defeated without being able to do anything.”
“…Young Lady.”
“There is no need for you to look at that way.”
When Moyong Hi-ah saw that her guest’s teacup was empty, she filled it back up.
“What made you visit ?”
“…”
“I expected you to be very busy around this ti. Are you sure you don’t need to go?”
The final match of the tournant was probably starting about now.
The fight had garnered so much attention that it even reached the ears of Moyong Hi-ah, who was enduring the cold while sitting in the corner of the room.
‘And it’s probably especially important to this guest of mine, Tang Soyeol.’
Because it was that boy’s fight.
“Young Lady Tang.”
“Yes…”
Moyong Hi-ah stared at Tang Soyeol’s face.
She had a cute face that complented her green hair nicely.
It was the face of a small cute animal unlike her own face, one that exuded coldness.
Moyong Hi-ah read Tang Soyeol’s emotions seemingly written inside her big eyes, then spoke.
“I know that Young Lady Tang feels guilt towards .”
“…”
“And because I’m a shrewd person, I know how to take advantage of that.”
“And I believe that Young Lady Tang knows this as well because you are no fool either.”
Tang Soyeol didn’t say anything to Moyong Hi-ah’s words, but her silence was an acknowledgnt of what Moyong Hi-ah had said.
The guilt that Tang Soyeol felt towards Moyong Hi-ah.
It was sothing she honestly couldn’t understand.
Because, to be more accurate, the only sin Tang Soyeol posessed was that she shared the surna of the Tang Clan; that was all she did to her.
“Is what happened that day still serving as a burden to you?”
“It is a burden I’ll have to carry even until the end of ti.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I am a person of the Tang Clan in the end, and the suffering Young Lady Moyong has to go through will last forever.”
Suffering, huh?
“A re scar on my back?”
‘The scar that’s left on my back is easily hidden as long as I wear clothes.’
‘Furthermore, besides my servant, no one else has seen the scar on my back for close to 10 years.’
“I don’t just think it’s just a re scar.”
‘That’s what Tang Soyeol is saying, but the Tang Clan has already given enough compensation.’
‘Even the tea I am drinking right now,’
‘And the fact that I’m able to research and do experints to find a cure for my disease is all thanks to the compensation that Tang Clan gave .’
‘Well, the outco of the experint was the scar on my back and the worsening of my coldness.’
‘But even if I didn’t go through with that experint, I wouldn’t feel that much different.’
It was fine for Moyong Hi-ah since her clan was compensated for the outco.
Though, it seed that only Moyong Hi-ah was fine with it, as no one else seed to feel that way.
Especially the Lord of the clan, her father.
“So what brings you here on a day as important as this?”
“…”
“Especially when you don’t even know what this would an to .You only ca here for the sake of it and not to apologize.”
“Would my apology even an anything to you…?”
“To be honest, it won’t be very effective.”
It actually could be seen as a negative thing, as it could seem like a cheap apology to Moyong Hi-ah.
Which was why even though Tang Soyeol ca here every ti, she didn’t apologize.
‘Still, it’s uncomfortable.’
Moyong Hi-ah simply felt uncomfortable.
Tang Soyeol wrote her a letter every year from Tang Clan,
And the fact that Tang Soyeol always seed to be cautious around her, made Moyong Hi-ah feel uncomfortable.
It would be beneficial if she chose to take advantage of Tang Soyeol feeling this way…
‘…Sigh.’
But because Moyong Hi-ah knew that Tang Soyeol wasn’t lying about her feelings towards her…
She found it hard to do that.
Even though she wasn’t really in a position to be picky about things.
“…I understand your feelings, but you need not be bothered to do this.”
The Poison Phoenix was famous for being ferocious to others, which didn’t seem to complent her cute appearance.
Moyong Hi-ah thought that Tang Soyeol had a personality that would drive others away if ca to know her true nature.
After all, her own self was like that as well.
However, the Tang Soyeol she was seeing right now seed like a very gentle person.
‘Her appearance that I’ve seen recently…seed rather different from the appearance she showed back then.’
Back then, Tang Soyeol used to look like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, yet now she seed as gentle as a lamb.
‘Though it seed like she still had the sa personality as before, judging by how she handled Hwangbo Cheolwi back at the guesthouse.’
‘But the personality she showed whenever she was around them, is probably closer to her true self.’
‘To be more accurate, maybe she started to show her true self around them.’
She opened the window and looked outside.
It was still winter.
There was still a long while left before the end of winter.
It seed like winter had ended for Tang Soyeol…
Yet it was still winter for Moyong Hi-ah, the sa as ever.
‘Even if the seasons and temperature change, I will still be alone in the cold.’
‘Because that is what had been planned for my life.’
‘Will it be different if I try to struggle?’
That’s what ca to Moyong Hi-ah’s mind.
‘Or maybe struggling is pointless.’
‘It may be that I was only born so that I could disappear along with the cold wind.’
“Young Lady Moyong?”
Moyong Hi-ah wondered if her expression seed strange because Tang Soyeol had called Moyong Hi-ah in a worrying tone.
Tang Soyeol also probably had such a reaction because she was one of the few people that knew about Moyong Hi-ah’s condition.
“Is it perhaps…that you were injured from your fight?”
Moyong Hi-ah smiled slightly after hearing Tang Soyeol’s question.
“No, I was not hurt anywhere.”
She wasn’t lying.
She really hadn’t been injured anywhere.
Despite having been swept away by that giant fla, there were no injuries anywhere on her.
‘This ans that he had full control of that attack.’
‘Hah. Could I even call that an attack?’
‘I was completely powerless against that boy.’
‘I knew that I wouldn’t be able to win against him, but I at least expected to exchange a few attacks.’
‘He was way out of my league.’
Last year, the person that shocked Moyong Hi-ah the most, was the Sword Dragon.
The young man, who made plum flowers blossom, showed the overpowering sword art that truly proved Mount Hua’s legacy.
Thus, Moyong Hi-ah thought that no more young prodigies would appear with talent greater than his.
The Sword Phoenix, the Sword Dragon, and the Water Dragon.
And if one were to go even further, Peng Woojin who used to be the Heavenly Dragon.
Even just one of them had enough genius in them to give a new na to the current generation of the world, so Moyong Hi-ah naturally didn’t expect that soone greater than even them could appear.
Yet there was a person that had completely broken her expectation.
Gu Yangcheon from the Gu Clan of Shanxi.
Moyong Hi-ah thought about the boy that had co from Shanxi, but she did not have much to say about him.
Because even the grand title of ‘Genius’ wasn’t enough to describe his existence.
‘I just thought that he was a unique person.’
When she first saw him, the girls around him had such radiant presences that his own presence was obscured.
All that Moyong Hi-ah had thought was that he was a guy who had luck with won, despite his looks.
He was a person with a talent for charming people,and that was about it.
‘And the strange manner in which he treated and the way he looked at reluctantly.’
‘I thought he was only doing that to attract .’
‘Yet, I still noticed myself looking at him more than I would want to admit.’
‘However, it wasn’t long until I realized that my thoughts about him were a mistake.’
‘Hwangbo Cheolwi and the Gu Clan’s…’
‘What was his na again?’
‘He was from the sa clan as Gu Yangcheon, so it was Gu sothing.’
‘Well if I can’t really rember his na, then he’s not that important after all.’
‘Anyway, when the conflict popped up for a short mont back in the guesthouse…’
‘I was able to see.’
‘Everyone in Gu Yangcheon’s party was eyeing him.’
‘The one that was going against Hwangbo Cheolwi was a different person, but everyone had beco wary of Gu Yangcheon instead.’
‘It really showed who the center of the group was.’
And as more ti passed…
‘I was able to know the truth.’
‘It wasn’t that Gu Yangcheon’s presence was being covered by the others around him.’
‘It was that he was hiding his presence voluntarily.’
‘He shone so brightly, that he had to conceal it to the extent that he wasn’t visible.’
Moyong Hi-ah rubbed her chest while reminiscing about the fla she had seen yesterday.
It was because she was reminded of the sensation she had felt at that mont.
Back when she was facing Gu Yangcheon’s flas in the arena, the warmth she had felt.
‘…Was it…a mistake?’
The mont when heat filled up her whole chest, as the Ice Qi that seemingly froze her body, disappeared.
When she had regained consciousness, she concluded that she was simply mistaken.
‘Does that even make any sense?’
‘If my Ice Qi could be dispersed by simply standing in front of hot flas, then my life wouldn’t be this cold and lonely.’
‘I was just mistaking it because of how giant that fla was.’
‘That’s what I thought.’
‘Yet…’
‘…Perhaps.’
A person’s hope is bound to sprout even for the smallest of things.
It was a desolate land, so even a tiny stream of water could easily perate through the soil.
But Moyong Hi-ah’s emotions were already frozen for her to have any faith in her hopes.
“Young Lady Moyong, are you really okay? Should I call soone?”
Tang Soyeol continued to ask Moyong Hi-ah about her well-being due to her strange reaction.
Moyong Hi-ah remained silent for a bit as if pondering about sothing, then she looked at Tang Soyeol and spoke.
“Young Lady Tang.”
“Yes…?”
“May I…make a reque-“
Knock knock.
Right as Moyong Hi-ah was about to say sothing, she felt a presence outside.
-My Lady.
The owner of the voice was Tang Soyeol’s servant.
“What is it? I’m still talking with Young Lady Moyong.”
Tang Soyeol frowned, seemingly bothered by her servant’s interference.
The servant’s tone also changed into a more careful one as she noticed Tang Soyeol’s annoyance.
However, it seed like she had co for an important business.
-It’s not a pressing matter…but Lady had ordered us to notify you when the battle concluded.
As soon as her servant finished talking, Tang Soyeol promptly rose and opened the door.
Moyong Hi-ah’s eyes widened seeing Tang Soyeol’s sudden movent.
“W-What’s the result?”
She seed rather curious judging by how she asked her servant.
It looked like she was lying when she had said that she was fine even if she wasn’t able to see the battle.
“Oh…uh, I heard that Young Master Gu had won…”
“…!”
Hearing her servant, Tang Soyeol reached her arms out to the sky and scread.
‘How happy was she to scream like that?’
“Oh…Um…Sorry.”
It seed like Tang Soyeol had also realized that reaction was overly loud, as soon after she shrunk back while covering her mouth with her hand.
After seeing that appearance of hers, Moyong Hi-ah laughed out loud, which was a rare sight.
Tang Soyeol then blushed slightly, thinking that was being laughed at mockingly.
‘How can she change that much.’
‘And was it really sothing that made her that happy?’
Moyong Hi-ah couldn’t understand.
“Oh…Young Lady Moyong, you said you wanted to make a request to earlier?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Moyong Hi-ah swallowed her words.
It wasn’t sothing she could say right now.
“I’ll co visit later myself.”
“Huh? Young Lady Moyong will?”
“I think I found sothing for to visit.”
Instead of making a request to Tang Soyeol, Moyong Hi-ah believed that it’d be better for her to go herself.
Taking advantage of Tang Soyeol’s guilt made Moyong Hi-ah uneasy, especially considering how genuinely happy Tang Soyeol’s smile appeared.
“You should leave now, or you might be late.”
Tang Soyeol hesitated for a bit after hearing Moyong Hi-ah.
But eventually, she lowered her head and hurriedly went outside the door.
Moyong Hi-ah, who watched her leave, closed her eyes and lied down once again.
For so reason, she wanted to sleep for now.
******************
After leaving Moyong Hi-ah’s room, Tang Soyeol quickly hastened her steps.
If she didn’t, she would feel frustrated.
‘She said that Young Master Gu had won.’
Tang Soyeol had believed that Gu Yangcheon would win.
She was captivated not only by his sharp, fierce gaze, but also his outstanding martial prowess that matched his striking appearance.
While she thought that it was obvious that he won since he seed stronger than any young prodigies of the world even in the eyes of the Poison Phoenix herself.
Yet for so reason, she felt extrely excited.
One may ask what made her so happy when it was soone else’s victory, but Tang Soyeol couldn’t hold back her excitent.
“I need to quickly go and congratulate him.”
‘Wait can I only congratulate him?’
‘Shouldn’t I prepare a gift?’
‘If I rember correctly, he said this is his first Dragons and Phoenixes tournant.’
‘Hmm… Do I have any poisonous herbs left?’
Tang Soyeol had plenty of herbs that helped the flow of Qi and cured exhaustion.
She had saved them so that she could have them later, but she was very much willing to give it up for Gu Yangcheon.
Though it was a little problematic that the poison within the herb is a bit strong.
‘Well since I’m here, I should be able to detoxify him.’
As she was about to reach Gu Yangcheon’s barrack with excited steps…
-Oh, so you’re saying that he isn’t here right now?
She heard voices from around Gu Yangcheon’s barrack.
“Hmm?”
When Tang Soyeol followed the voice to see what was happening, she saw two familiar faces.
One of them was the precious servant of Gu Yangcheon, Wi Seol-Ah, who Tang Soyeol found difficult to get close to for so reason.
And the other one was…
‘A hobo…?’
It was Chuwong of the Beggar’s Sect who always appeared in every year’s tournant.
Chuwong was an individual that Tang Soyeol had t many tis as well.
He didn’t really leave the best impression on Tang Soyeol as he appeared way too many tis while concealing himself, but she regarded him as soone who had good talent in gathering information.
‘But why is such a person talking to Wi Seol-Ah?’
As Tang Soyeol was wondering, Wi Seol-Ah responded to Chuwong.
“Young Master isn’t here right now!”
“…Damn, around now would have been a good ti. Then, you don’t even know when he’s coming back?”
“Yeah!”
“…Hnnngh.”
Just by hearing the conversation, it seed evident that he ca here after hearing about Gu Yangcheon’s victory.
Tang Soyeol couldn’t help but admit that the Beggar’s Sect was fast when it ca to things like this.
After watching that, Tang Soyeol walked towards that direction with calm steps.
She wanted to speak in place of Wi Seol-Ah, thinking that she might handle things related to this better, considering Wi Seol-Ah was only a servant.
“Hngh, was I too impatient? I could’ve sworn he promised to have a conversation after the tournant ends…”
It seed like he had already spoken to Gu Yangcheon before.
Tang Soyeol fixed her throat as she was approached Chuwong.
“Then could you please deliver these words to the True Dragon? That Chuwong from Beggar’s Sect had visited.”
Tang Soyeol halted her steps upon hearing Chuwong’s words.
She rolled her eyes in confusion, questioning if she had misheard him.
‘What did he just say?’
True Dragon…?
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