Chapter 65: Three-way Confrontation
Tak-tak-tak.
The sharp sound of heels echoed through the airport.
With every step Bing Ye-hwa took, people parted to either side like the miracle of the Red Sea.
And then, as though entranced, they could do nothing but gape in admiration.
"Wow....... insane......."
"What? Is she a celebrity?"
"Honestly, she might be prettier than any celebrity."
"To think soone like that actually exists in this world......."
Despite the flood of complints, Bing Ye-hwa paid no one a single glance as she walked straight ahead.
As though she alone existed in this world.
Just then, a middle-aged man quietly slipped in beside her.
"Excuse . Might I ask if you are Miss Bing Ye-hwa?"
An unremarkable face one might find anywhere—and a few scars that were anything but ordinary.
Bing Ye-hwa looked the man dead in the eye.
"Yes, that's . And you are?"
"Ah, forgive the late introduction. I am Yu Baek, a top-grade intelligence operative affiliated with the Murim Alliance. The North Sea Ice Palace submitted a request for personal protection, which is how I ca to find you."
"Tch....... Even Dad with his unnecessary ddling."
Few people knew she was coming here.
But the fact that he had found her the mont she set foot on the ground—his identity was surely legitimate.
She let out a quiet hmph through her nose and gave a slight bow of her head.
"I'm sorry, but I am quite capable of protecting myself. I appreciate the goodwill, but I must decline."
"You may say that, Miss, but the Murim Alliance cannot afford to see it that way. Should anything happen, the responsibility falls entirely on us, and it could easily escalate into a diplomatic dispute with the North Sea Ice Palace."
"......."
"I won't get in your way. I will simply keep my distance and stand guard. All I ask is that you call on when necessary, and use as a guide."
"Very well. That much I can accept."
Bing Ye-hwa gave a nod.
As she began walking again, Yu Baek quietly followed behind her.
Tak.
Stepping out of the airport, Bing Ye-hwa gazed up at the darkening sky.
The icy expression on her face trembled, ever so slightly.
A man as sharp-eyed as Yu Baek could not possibly miss such a change.
"Might you have nowhere to stay, Miss?"
"...... It's fine. I grew up in the South Pole, so weather like this is laughable to . I could sleep out here just like this and not catch so much as a cold."
"If word spread that we left Miss Bing Ye-hwa to sleep on the streets, the Murim Alliance's reputation would be ground into the dirt. Please give just a mont—I will arrange the finest five-star hotel imdiately."
Yu Baek raised his phone.
Just as he was about to contact a subordinate, Bing Ye-hwa stopped him.
Her expression was brimming with curiosity.
"Co to think of it, you said you were a top-grade intelligence operative just now, didn't you?"
"That is correct, but......."
"Then, by any chance—do you know who this man is?"
Bing Ye-hwa turned her phone around and showed him a photograph.
It was a face he could not fail to recognise.
"Muyeong? Why him, all of a sudden?"
"I knew you'd know him. The thing is—I sent him several challenge mails requesting a sparring match, and he completely ignored every single one. So I ca all the way here to speak with him face to face."
"......Pardon?"
The words were so out of nowhere that Yu Baek's mind went blank.
She flew all the way from the South Pole to Seoul for a sparring match with Muyeong? Without even setting up an appointnt—just on her own, completely one-sidedly?
What kind of nonsense was this?
Was she reckless, or simply naive?
Or was there so hidden sche lurking behind it all?
Having no idea which it was, Yu Baek bought himself so ti.
"What exactly is it you wish to find out?"
"His current whereabouts."
"......I ask only on the off chance—but you aren't, by any stretch of the imagination, planning to just barge into Muyeong's ho, are you?"
"That is exactly what I'm planning."
In that instant, Yu Baek felt a wave of intense dizziness wash over him.
He should have claid to be busy and sent a subordinate instead.
Why had he personally co out at this hour of the night to suffer like this.
If he were to bring together Muyeong—a specially managed individual—and this young lady who clearly had no grasp of how the world worked, a catastrophic incident was sure to follow.
That, he could not allow.
Yu Baek broke into a pleasant smile and changed the subject.
"Ha ha ha! In any case, it's late tonight—please stay at the lodging for one evening. I will escort you to Muyeong's ho tomorrow."
"Really? Then please book sowhere as close to Muyeong's ho as possible."
"However, I will take no responsibility whatsoever for anything that transpires afterward. I am rely escorting the young lady to the vicinity—no matter what incident occurs, I have nothing to do with it."
"That's fine. That's more than enough."
"...... Then I will take you to the finest accommodation near where Muyeong is currently staying. Please follow ."
Yu Baek ca to a stop in front of a car with deep black tinted windows.
He had her seated inside, and they set off toward their destination.
.
.
.
.
A few hours after wrapping up the eting with Gasarang.
Muyeong lay on his bed, lost in deep thought.
A martial arts tournant.......
Just thinking about it set his heart racing and made his hands itch with anticipation.
It wasn't simply because of the prize money.
It was because a martial arts tournant was a lawful arena where one could cross hands directly with countless masters.
—Back in the Murim, it was only those of the rising generation who clashed with one another to produce results. But this one has no age restriction, so I hear even masters of the previous generation are welco to participate.
—That's correct. That is the intention of this tournant.
It wasn't just people around Muyeong's age—every manner of renowned master would be there.
Where else in this world could you find a tournant this insane?
By the sound of it, they said it was the first of its kind.
"As long as the Five Zones don't enter, I'm confident."
The leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the Demon God Wi Ji-cheon.
The Alliance Lord of the Murim Alliance, the Martial God Dan Jung-seon.
The abbot of Shaolin, the Divine Monk Hyeon Baek.
The forr head of the Namgung Family, the Sword Sovereign Namgung Cheon.
The forr family head of the Sichuan Tang Family, the Shadow Emperor Dang Gun-ak.
Would figures of that calibre honestly co just to take ho prize money?
At most, they'd be watching from the sidelines or providing comntary.
Entering a tournant like this would do nothing but chip away at their own dignity.
"Huuu......."
Muyeong exhaled briefly, then checked the ti.
8 o'clock in the evening.
His motel appointnt with Yu Ye-rin was coming up soon.
Muyeong got straight out of bed and headed out of the house.
He made his way to the underground car park, where a familiar vehicle was waiting.
"Muyeong-nim......! Over here, over here!"
As he drew closer, Yu Ye-rin poked her head out from the driver's seat.
Muyeong climbed into the passenger seat and asked,
"No full disguise today."
"Last ti it was dayti, but now it's night. If I slip in quietly, there's no one to see anyway."
"One trip to a motel and you've grown bold."
"Eut......!"
Yu Ye-rin, who had been fidgeting with her fringe, froze.
She turned her head slightly sideways as though trying to gauge a reaction—and one glance at her face made it perfectly clear.
"You put on makeup."
"N-no! This is just the most basic makeup I wear whenever I go out! Like sunscreen and moisturiser......!"
"Looks a bit heavy for that, doesn't it? And besides, won't it all be wasted once you start sweating?"
"This product doesn't co off even when it gets wet, so it's fine. The kind that stays perfect even after training for hours!"
Is that so?
Muyeong, knowing little about makeup, tilted his head to one side.
Just as he was about to ask more questions—
Bururureung!
"The check-in ti's coming up soon—shall we head off? I'm itching to train and I can't hold back any longer."
"...... Let's go then."
The car was moving before Muyeong had even finished speaking.
.
.
.
.
While on their way to the motel.
Yu Ye-rin was the first to speak.
"I booked the sa place as last ti. It's reasonably close to ho, the facilities are good, and there aren't many places with two capsules available."
"Good thinking. It's better to go sowhere familiar than to poke around new places for no reason."
"Right? Besides, if we go too many different places and word gets out—what if we run into soone with a loose mouth for a landlord, or bump into people we know......?"
"That would certainly beco a headache."
Muyeong agreed, glancing over at Yu Ye-rin as she focused on driving.
"Did I happen to ntion where I went today?"
"Hm? No?"
"I went to et soone from Monster World. We drew up a new contract and I heard a few things...... apparently they're hosting a martial arts tournant."
"A martial arts tournant?"
Her eyes went wide.
"That's why I called you here in a hurry. They said it starts in exactly one month, so there's not much ti."
"A month....... Can we achieve anything aningful in that ti?"
"Of course. My personal goal is this: to master the Twenty-Four-Form Plum Blossom Sword Technique from start to finish."
"T-that's a bit......."
"We can do it, so don't worry. I'll help you."
And Muyeong's own goal was straightforward.
He wasn't sure whether to call it the Heavenly Demon Four Swords now, but for the ti being—to fully master the fourth form of the Heavenly Demon Three Swords.
He rembered the drawing carved into the wall mural clearly enough, so that wasn't the issue.
It was just proving far more cryptic than expected, and giving him a great deal of trouble.
The cult leader who devised this thing is just.......
At so point in the past, he had heard sothing from Shin-ryong.
That the cult leader had attained a new enlightennt and ascended to an even higher realm.
Could this perhaps be connected to that?
This was none other than the Heavenly Demon Divine Skill.
A martial art so formidable it ranked within the top three in all of Murim.
And to think he had forged sothing entirely new with it.
Muyeong was shaking his head in disbelief when a familiar building ca into view.
"We're almost there."
Yu Ye-rin pulled into the ground floor car park with practiced ease.
Even on a weekday, it was roughly half full.
She was parking neatly in a corner spot when another car turned in through the entrance.
"Looks like they've co to spend the night as well."
"Should we wait a bit before getting out? There's no point in drawing unnecessary attention, and I don't have anything to cover my face with either."
"No need. They just pulled in, so it'll take them a mont to park. Let's go first."
"Okay."
Muyeong and Yu Ye-rin hurried toward the motel entrance.
The female owner they had seen last ti was there.
"I made a reservation on the app. Yu Ye-rin."
"Yes, yes, one mont please. Let confirm."
The owner began tapping away at the keyboard.
It was only the briefest of monts, yet even that felt long.
"Yes, confird. Yu Ye-rin-nim, if you head to room 704......."
Just as the owner handed over the key card along with a bag of disposable anities—
Tak.
Tak-tak.
The sharp sound of heels rang through the building.
Footsteps that seed to announce their own presence—I am here.
Who on earth walks like that?
Curiosity piqued, Muyeong turned around.
He locked eyes with the middle-aged man walking ahead.
"Oh......? Oh-oh? Oh-oh-oh!?"
The man's face drained to white in an instant, as though he had seen a ghost.
He ground to a halt on the spot and stretched out his arm to block whoever was coming behind him.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"W-wait. Just hold on a mont!"
"What on earth is going on?"
The owner of that clear, bright voice stepped out from beside him.
Long silver hair and blue eyes—a breathtaking beauty that in no way fell short of the Iron-Blooded Witch or Yu Ye-rin.
Muyeong was quietly stunned inwardly.
She's cultivated an ice technique?
The faint chill radiating off her made that much certain.
Muyeong's gaze t hers.
And then—the silver-haired woman broke into a wide, beaming smile and began walking toward him.
Seuuk.
Yu Ye-rin pressed herself tightly against Muyeong's side.
At the sa mont, the mysterious woman ca to a stop directly in front of Muyeong.
"Muyeong?"
"...... That's . And you are?"
"It must be that the heavens are on my side after all. To think we'd run into each other like this."
Having said sothing utterly incomprehensible, she abruptly pointed straight at him.
With that sa smile from before, she declared brightly,
"Muyeong, let's have a match. Right here, right now."
"Pfft!"
"Cough cough!"
"Keh-hk!"
The motel owner, Yu Ye-rin, and the middle-aged man all choked at the exact sa mont.
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