Chapter 374 – That Day (1)
Long ago,
More than a hundred years before the present.
On the north, east, and west sides of a large training ground sat three extraordinary middle-aged n, each guarded by what appeared to be their escorts.
These three middle-aged n were swordsn from the Three Veins that had branched off from a single origin long ago.
To the north was the Heaven Vein, to the west was the Earth Vein, and to the east was the Moon Vein.
They had been periodically eting every year to exchange martial arts through sparring matches, and today was that day.
Crack!
The sound of sothing breaking echoed throughout the training ground.
It was the sound of a wooden sword shattering.
At this, Ryu Gang, the head of the Moon Vein sitting on the east side, frowned.
This was because there was a beautiful young woman holding the broken wooden sword, and she was his only heir.
[Damn it!]
A harsh sound burst from the woman’s lips.
Hearing this, Ryu Gang, the head of the Moon Vein, raised his voice while remaining seated:
[Ahem!]
[I was just unlucky. If only the wooden sword hadn’t broken…]
The woman, who appeared to be around eighteen years old, spoke as if complaining but then stopped mid-sentence.
Her gaze was fixed on the tip of a wooden sword touching her neck.
The handso young man holding this wooden sword,
He was Bi Yong-heon, the heir of the Heaven Vein.
Bi Yong-heon grinned mischievously, in contrast with his handso face, and said:
[Luck is also a skill, isn’t it?]
[…You’re really annoying.]
[A win is a win, so you’ll keep your promise, right?]
[Hmph, who said I wouldn’t?]
Pak!
The woman snorted and then threw the broken wooden sword to the ground.
Seeing her behavior, Ryu Gang, the head of the Moon Vein, rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache and shook his head.
[Growing up like such a tomboy…]
She had grown up like a real tomboy, even without a mother.
Of course, he had raised her that way.
After his firstborn son and younger brother died of an unknown illness, the only one who could succeed him was his sole daughter, Ryu So-wol.
So he raised her more like a man than a woman.
At that mont, Yu Soon, the captain of his guard sitting to his right, smiled and said:
[Hehe. But Master, the young lady’s swordsmanship has improved trendously…]
[It’s junior head!]
[…I apologize. In any case, Junior Head has made great progress. Who would have thought she’d improve this much when just three years ago she couldn’t even beat the Earth Vein’s heir?]
[She still has a long way to go. At this level, she’s still far from being worthy of being called Junior Head.]
[But Master…]
[Don’t you know how much the Heaven Vein’s heir was going easy on her? That child is acting like this because she knows that and is frustrated.]
[…]
At these words from Master Ryu Gang, Guard Captain Yu Soon closed his mouth.
He too had guessed this to so extent.
The swordsmanship of Bi Yong-heon, the Heaven Vein’s heir, had reached an excellent level that was hard to believe for soone so young.
He was already comparable to the top masters of each vein.
[If only Hun were still alive…]
Master Ryu Gang muttered softly, as if regretful.
Ryu Hun was his deceased son.
He was a promising talent of the Moon Vein, said to have martial talent even greater than Bi Yong-heon.
He had hoped that on the day of the Three Veins’ unification ceremony, as per the long-standing agreent, that child would defeat the heirs of the other two veins and beco the leader of Heaven-Earth Moon Society, ford by the union of the Three Veins.
But that child had died and left his side.
As he was feeling regretful like this, a subdued voice was heard:
[Yes, things would have been different if my brother were here.]
‘!?’
It was Ryu So-wol’s voice.
Master Ryu Gang, who hadn’t been aware of her approaching, felt a pang of regret.
But she had already run out of the training ground with a hurt expression.
[Ah ah.]
He had hurt that child again.
He had tried his best not to make verbal mistakes, but as the gap seed to widen over ti, he had unknowingly revealed his true feelings.
[Master…]
Guard Captain Yu Soon called out to him with a disappointed look.
[No. Why didn’t you tell she was coming?]
[Who was lost in thought when she was approaching right in front of us?]
[…Right. It’s all this master’s fault.]
[And cleaning up after the master is always my job. Hwa-yeon, Deputy Captain.]
[Yes, Captain.]
At his call, a woman with a sturdy face who appeared to be in her early thirties stepped forward.
Guard Captain Yu Soon gave her an order:
[Comfort Junior Head and bring her back.]
[Understood!]
Pat!
As the deputy captain called Hwa-yeon followed after her, Master Ryu Gang clutched his throbbing head and stood up from his seat.
[Let’s go back.]
[Master… over there?]
[Hm?]
But then, soone was seen approaching.
It was Bi Hyeong-myeong, the current head of the Heaven Vein.
Although they had been seeing each other every year recently, he had changed a lot since his father’s funeral three years ago.
He had beco less talkative, and his whole deanor had changed, you could say.
As he approached looking like he had sothing to say for the first ti in a while, Master Ryu Gang couldn’t hide his puzzlent.
In truth, he didn’t really want to talk after Ryu So-wol’s defeat.
***
Ryu So-wol was running out of the Heaven Vein’s estate.
Soone caught up with her and blocked her path.
[So-wol.]
It was Bi Yong-heon, the heir of the Heaven Vein.
She raised one eyebrow and spoke with an annoyed voice:
[Why are you following ?]
[Were you planning to just leave without keeping your promise?]
[…You’re really persistent.]
[No, what’s persistent about claiming what was promised?]
At his words, Ryu So-wol clicked her tongue, then tore off an ornate jade orb accessory hanging at her waist and threw it.
Pak!
Bi Yong-heon caught it with a smile.
She said to him with displeasure:
[Even if it was a bet, do you really have to take sothing soone cherishes to feel satisfied?]
[It’s special because it’s sothing you cherished.]
[What?]
[Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, I’ll take good care of it. Or do you want to make another bet? I’ll give it back if you win in our next match.]
[No thanks. Do you think I’d want sothing that’s been in soone else’s hands?]
[Don’t be like that…]
[Enough. If you’re done, I’m leaving.]
[No, wait, I have sothing else to say besides this.]
[Sothing to say?]
Although she wasn’t in a good mood after losing a cherished accessory, she stopped to listen since he seed quite serious about having sothing to say.
As she turned her head, Bi Yong-heon spoke, fidgeting slightly unlike his usual self:
[Um… you know, So-wol.]
[What? Hurry up and say it, man.]
[No, why are you rushing? We haven’t seen each other in a while.]
[We’ve seen each other, that’s enough. Why are you hesitating and fidgeting like that when you said you had sothing to say?]
In truth, Ryu So-wol knew.
She had noticed for so ti that he was showing signs of liking her.
Every ti they t, he would blush and avoid eting her eyes. One would have to be a fool not to notice.
But she didn’t feel the sa way.
To her, he, the heir of the Heaven Vein, was soone to be compared against and a mountain to be conquered.
That’s why Ryu So-wol couldn’t bring herself to like him.
[No, I’m not doing this on purpose…]
[Hey, it’s late. I need to run away, you know.]
[Huh?]
[If you have sothing to say, tell next ti.]
Pat!
With those words, Ryu So-wol imdiately used her lightness skill and jumped over the estate wall.
Seeing this, Bi Yong-heon bit his lip hard and was about to follow her but then stopped.
He had heard soone calling from behind.
[Junior Head!]
It seed to be the Moon Vein’s deputy guard captain.
Knowing he would only be interfering if he followed, Bi Yong-heon couldn’t help but feel regretful.
***
Pat! Pat!
Ryu So-wol displayed her nimble lightness skill as she cut through the undergrowth.
‘Almost there.’
Among the many mountain peaks, there was one particularly special place.
This mountain peak, which held a place she treasured like a treasure, was the highest and most scenic.
She had discovered it by chance three years ago and had been visiting it every year since then.
The circumstances that led her to find this place were quite amusing.
It was after she had fled from her father’s disappointed gaze following her defeat in a sparring match, just like today.
She had climbed up there after running for several ri without rest to shake off the deputy guard captain and guard warriors sent by her father, Master Ryu Gang.
There, she was srized by the red-tinged sky and the setting sun.
Could there be anything more mysterious and beautiful in the world?
For the first ti, she felt comfort for her tired and wounded heart.
After her mother, older brother, and younger uncle had died of illness, her father had raised her strictly and sotis didn’t hesitate to say hurtful things.
“The one who will beco the next head is no longer a woman.”
“If your brother were alive, do you think you’d even be worthy of that position?”
“Behave like a proper heir.”
Because of this, she grew up differently from other daughters.
She grew up like a tomboy, but the wounds inside had festered.
However, after seeing that scenery when she was struggling, she found solace in her heart and visited that mountain peak whenever she felt stifled, making various excuses.
[Junior Head!]
The voice of Deputy Guard Captain Hwa-yeon echoed from afar.
Perhaps because she had chased after her every ti she ran away, her lightness skill had definitely improved compared to before.
If she didn’t hurry up the mountain peak, she might be caught.
Pat! Pat!
She climbed the treacherous cliff of the mountain peak.
It was quite difficult at first, but now she was so familiar with it from frequent visits that she felt she could climb it with her eyes closed.
The sun was about to set soon, so she was excited.
Full of anticipation, she climbed to the top of the mountain peak and was about to let out a small exclamation when,
‘!?’
She couldn’t do it.
This was because on top of the mountain peak, which she had considered her own secret paradise, stood a long-haired man with his hands behind his back, his black robe fluttering.
Her face, which had been expecting to see the breathtaking scenery, imdiately turned to disappointnt.
Who on earth is that guy?
Who is he to co first and monopolize her personal paradise?
As she was wondering about this,
Pak!
At that mont, soone pressed down on her shoulder and slamd her to the ground in one swift motion.
Thud!
[Ah!]
Ryu So-wol, thrown to the ground, couldn’t hide her bewildernt.
The force pressing down on her shoulder was so strong that even though she instinctively raised her inner energy, she couldn’t move at all.
[Eeek!]
[Stay still.]
[Let… let go!]
Ryu So-wol struggled with all her might, but she eventually had to submit to the overwhelming force that felt like being crushed by a massive rock.
anwhile, the man who had been standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the scenery she had considered her personal paradise, turned his head and approached.
[Ah…]
The mont she saw the man’s face, she inadvertently let out a gasp.
Despite having black hair and skin similar to hers, he had a strangely exotic and beautiful face.
Could a man be this beautiful?
Even soone like her, who had little interest in appearances, couldn’t help but be surprised.
The man who had been staring at her intently opened his mouth.
[Is it a female?]
[Yes, it seems so. Ra…]
Swish
At that mont, the man dressed entirely in black raised his hand, cutting off what the other was saying.
Then, as if uninterested, he waved his hand dismissively and said:
[Kill her and dispose of the body.]
[I obey your command.]
Grip
With those words, the one pressing down on Ryu So-wol’s shoulder applied even more force.
She should have been scared, but strangely, a strong defiance arose in her in this situation, and she shouted:
[Female? What a shitty way to talk. You fucking male.]
[…]
The man who had been about to turn away as if he had lost interest stopped.
The one pressing down on her shoulder beca flustered and applied more force while raising his voice:
[How dare you, you worthless…]
[Quiet.]
[But…]
[Leave her be for now.]
[What?]
[I said leave her alone.]
[…]
At this, the one who had been about to crush Ryu So-wol’s shoulder released his grip.
She quickly got up and drew the sword at her waist.
Regardless, the man raised the corner of his mouth and said:
[An interesting female, indeed.]
‘Again!’
As he called her a female again, she angrily unsheathed her sword towards the man without hesitation.
It was the fastest quick sword technique in the Moon (Wol) Sword Style.
Pat!
At that mont, an unbelievable thing happened.
Tak!
‘!?’
The man had effortlessly caught her prized quick sword between two fingers.
[You know how to use so force, female.]
[Wh-who are you?]
To her surprised question, the man answered in an arrogant voice:
[I am the one who will beco your master.]
At those words, her surprise was montary, and she spoke incredulously:
[You’re completely insane.]
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