Chapter 69: If You Don’t Know the Subject. -02
Nan Hee-ju pressed her temples firmly with her snow-white, slender jade-like fingers.
It was because her head was throbbing due to the person sitting in front of her.
“You seem to have a headache. In tis like that, it’s good to take a short rest while savoring so tea. After all, headaches are a phenonon that occurs when the brain is overused. I heard that you’ve been very busy lately. As the Rumor Lord, it’s only natural that you have a lot of work, but overworking yourself still isn’t good. Sleep is especially very important for your skin.”
The handso young man with skin as pale as a woman’s smiled gently as he spoke.
However, to Nan Hee-ju, that smile looked bewitching.
He was clearly smiling, yet for so reason it felt artificial to her.
“Have you never considered that my headache might be caused by soone?”
“Isn’t it because of work?”
Shangguan Jeok, the Young Lord of the Shangguan Family who had been openly harassing her for the past few months, replied with an innocent face.
As if asking why she was even questioning sothing so obvious.
At that sight, anger surged up inside Nan Hee-ju, but she barely managed to keep her expression in check.
“My workload has always been like this.”
“Hm. Then what could be the cause, I wonder. If there’s anything I can help you with, I’d be glad to assist.”
Shangguan Jeok pretended not to know anything at all.
No, going beyond re pretense, he even spoke words laden with implication.
That was precisely why Nan Hee-ju found the situation utterly absurd.
It was because she knew full well that he was saying such things while being perfectly aware of everything himself.
“Well, fortunately, it seems there is sothing you could help
with.”
“Haha! That’s wonderful to hear. Please, just say the word. I may not look like much, but I’m fairly capable. Before long, the Shangguan Family will take one of the seats among the Five Great Families.”
Shangguan Jeok kept feigning ignorance to the very end, deftly steering the conversation elsewhere.
Out of nowhere, he began boasting grandly.
Nan Hee-ju simply gazed silently at Shangguan Jeok as he did so.
If she followed her heart, she wanted to snap at him to get lost imdiately, but she couldn’t do that.
“Hoo!”
Instead, Nan Hee-ju let out an obvious sigh.
It was a wordless pressure telling him to stop talking and leave.
Yet even at that, Shangguan Jeok only chuckled softly.
‘It must be frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do. Hehehe!’
Watching Nan Hee-ju steady her heart with a deep breath, Shangguan Jeok snickered.
Even without her saying it, he knew exactly what she wanted to say.
And precisely because of that, he continued to pretend not to know.
To reel in a big catch like Nan Hee-ju, the art of patience was necessary.
‘No matter how much you struggle, nothing will change.’
Shangguan Jeok’s eyes glinted slyly.
An atmosphere like that of a venomous snake briefly leaked out.
However, it vanished in an instant.
Until he had Nan Hee-ju firmly in his grasp, Shangguan Jeok needed to play the role of a pure-hearted youth, so he smiled brightly once more.
‘In the end, you have no choice but to beco mine.’
Others hadn’t been able to cling persistently due to concerns over face, but he was different.
Rather, Shangguan Jeok thought those people were foolish.
They had discovered an opportunity yet failed to seize it.
If he could obtain the Rumor Lord of the Hao Sect, it would be no different from possessing an information network on par with the Beggars’ Sect.
Moreover, since the Hao Sect controlled the underworld of the Central Plains, its financial power was likewise enormous.
Finding such a golden egg and leaving it alone was not just foolish—it was downright idiotic.
Opportunities had to be seized when they ca.
‘And on top of that, I heard she recently acquired the martial art of the Green Forest Great Lord. There’s no way I can let this slip.’
Without realizing it, Shangguan Jeok licked his lips with his tongue.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that incredible fortune had co his way.
If he hadn’t known that Nan Hee-ju was the Rumor Lord of the Hao Sect, he would have foolishly let such an opportunity slip by.
That was why he considered eting Nan Hee-ju to be fate.
‘Heaven gave
this chance. To stand tall in this world.’
Of course, with Nan Hee-ju alone, he couldn’t imdiately snatch a seat among the Five Great Families.
However, with the Hao Sect’s information network and financial power, he could reach his desired destination far faster than originally anticipated.
Furthermore, the fact that Nan Hee-ju’s beauty did not fall far behind even Sambong’s made Shangguan Jeok even more satisfied.
And even if he were to marry Nan Hee-ju, there was no need to give her the position of Principal Wife.
‘Second is more than enough.’
Though she was the Rumor Lord of the Hao Sect, Nan Hee-ju’s background was nothing special.
Bluntly speaking, since she ca from the back alleys, Shangguan Jeok never even considered making her the Principal Wife, even if she rendered great service by supporting the Shangguan Family.
Instead, he thought granting her the second position would suffice.
‘She’s bristling with thorns right now, but let’s see. How long can she keep them raised? In the end, you’ll have no choice but to submit to .’
Shangguan Jeok was confident.
There was a clear reason why the Hao Sect collected Supre Techniques.
It was to step out from the shadows of the Central Plains Murim into the light.
And not as so diocre force, but as a martial power with overwhelming strength.
‘So, take my hand. Then I’ll help you achieve what you want. Of course, after I achieve what I want first.’
Hiding his true thoughts, Shangguan Jeok smiled gently.
Though she was acting sharp and aloof now, in the end there was only one choice Nan Hee-ju could make.
That was why Shangguan Jeok smiled with utter confidence.
Drip.
Yet Shangguan Jeok did not know.
That Nan Hee-ju had already seen through his vile thoughts long ago.
Casting a brief glance at Shangguan Jeok, who was smiling broadly with a face full of hypocrisy, Nan Hee-ju continuously poured herself tea.
Her throat felt dry from the suffocating frustration.
‘Haah. If only I could break his legs….’
The veins on Nan Hee-ju’s forehead bulged before settling back down.
That was how she felt, but realistically it was impossible.
Even if the Shangguan Family had yet to enter the Five Great Families, it was still a prestigious martial family.
If war were to break out, she would have to fight not only the Shangguan Family but other prestigious families as well, so she had to avoid the worst-case scenario.
‘Persistent bastard.’
Nan Hee-ju took another deep breath.
If she only had to deal with the Shangguan Family, she was confident that the Hao Sect could handle it.
But since that would never be the case, Nan Hee-ju chose the thod of avoidance.
Yet as if he had placed people to tail her, no matter where she went, Shangguan Jeok appeared the very next day.
Clumsily pretending it was all a coincidence.
The problem was that, even knowing this, Nan Hee-ju couldn’t really call him out on it.
‘Even when I state it clearly, he doesn’t listen at all. What should I do?’
If he were an ordinary young master of a prestigious family, he would have either taken the hint or withdrawn on his own out of consideration for face.
But Shangguan Jeok was not like that.
Feigning ignorance with a sly smile and clinging like a leech, Shangguan Jeok had caused Nan Hee-ju’s head to throb painfully.
‘If only soone would get rid of that unlucky-looking face.’
Nan Hee-ju let out deep, heavy sighs.
She had openly and unmistakably shown her displeasure, yet Shangguan Jeok pretended not to notice.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Miss. U-gwoengi has brought guests.”
At that mont, the maid knocked on the door.
For so reason, her tone carried a slight note of excitent.
However, that very voice grated on Shangguan Jeok’s nerves.
Although he had not co by invitation, he was still, strictly speaking, a guest as well. Yet when the maid announced that other guests had arrived, Shangguan Jeok slightly furrowed his brows.
“Guests? Who?”
“Young Master Ban and his companions have arrived.”
“Young Master Ban?!”
Nan Hee-ju sprang to her feet.
That was how shocked she was.
She had never expected to et Ban Hojin here.
In contrast, a deep question surfaced in Shangguan Jeok’s eyes.
“What should we do?”
“Escort them in imdiately!”
“Yes!”
At Nan Hee-ju’s loud, almost scolding command, as if wondering why such a thing even needed to be asked, Shangguan Jeok’s eyebrows twitched.
He was curious just who this Young Master Ban was, to provoke such a fierce reaction from Nan Hee-ju.
Yet beneath that curiosity lay a strong sense of displeasure.
The title “Young Master” ant that the guest was a man, and Shangguan Jeok openly showed his discomfort.
Creeeak.
But Nan Hee-ju paid no attention whatsoever to Shangguan Jeok’s reaction.
Rather, she practically scampered all the way to the door.
Her face was filled with a radiant smile he had never seen before.
Monts later, the door opened and five n revealed themselves.
“Hello, Young Master Ban! Young Master Seonwu, Young Master Seo, it’s been a long ti!”
“I wondered if you might dislike us showing up so suddenly, but it seems that’s not the case.”
“Young Master Ban is welco anyti. But the people behind you are…….”
As she responded with brighter expression and voice than ever, Nan Hee-ju’s eyes sparkled.
Unlike last ti, there were two entirely new faces among them.
“I am Murong Cheok of the Murong Family.”
“Pleased to et you. My na is Jeong I-ryong.”
Unlike the curiosity-filled Nan Hee-ju, Murong Cheok greeted her with a clearly guarded deanor.
Though she was also the Rumor Lord of the Hao Sect, Nan Hee-ju was more beautiful than he had expected, and Murong Cheok instinctively raised his guard.
On the other hand, Jeong I-ryong politely offered a fist-clasp salute toward Nan Hee-ju.
“Ah, my introduction is late. I am Nan Hee-ju of the Hao Sect.”
The appearance of Murong Cheok—who had once been renowned as a genius not only across Liaoning Province but even throughout the Central Plains—made Nan Hee-ju inwardly surprised.
She had never imagined that Murong Cheok would be included among Ban Hojin’s new companions.
Moreover, Jeong I-ryong also seed anything but ordinary.
Simply being alongside Ban Hojin already made Jeong I-ryong special.
“I heard you were in a difficult situation.”
“Yees.”
Although she did not like him, Nan Hee-ju could not ignore her relationship with the Shangguan Family, so she replied awkwardly.
Yet at the sa ti, she could not help but feel a sense of anticipation.
At the news that Ban Hojin had arrived, she had strangely felt reassured.
She had no older brother, yet it felt as though one had co.
“They say a strange person keeps following you around and pestering you?”
“Are you talking about
right now?!”
As the remarks went further and further beyond the line, Shangguan Jeok finally could not endure it and sprang to his feet.
However, despite Ban Hojin being younger than him, he could not speak down to him.
Though younger in age, Ban Hojin’s reputation in Jianghu was beyond comparison.
Knowing that fact all too well, Shangguan Jeok could not bring himself to drop honorifics.
“I wasn’t necessarily directing that at you, but isn’t the situation rather like that? If there is a woman you fancy, courting her as a man is not wrong. Still, there should be a sense of propriety, and haven’t you crossed that line?”
“This is a matter between
and Young Lady Nan. I don’t think it’s sothing Young Hero Ban should interfere in.”
Though he wavered between polite and casual speech, Shangguan Jeok could not bring himself to point that out.
The mont he did, he would beco petty.
When he already needed to be magnanimous, he could not afford to beco a narrow-minded man here.
“That’s true. Matters between a man and a woman should be resolved by the two involved. A third party has no right to interfere. However.”
Ban Hojin cut off his own words midway.
Then he deliberately looked at Nan Hee-ju.
“If a friend asks for help, that changes things.”
“Please help .”
The instant Ban Hojin finished speaking, Nan Hee-ju opened her mouth.
As if she had been waiting for that very mont.
At that sight, Shangguan Jeok’s face flushed as though it might burst.
“It seems the situation has changed again.”
“Miss Nan!”
“Don’t raise your voice. If you’re following
because you like , shouldn’t you at least show respect for the other person?”
“I think so too.”
“So do I.”
“Tsk, tsk!”
Ban Hojin fixed Shangguan Jeok with a sharp gaze.
Seonwu Bang and Seo Jo-woon voiced their agreent, and Murong Cheok clicked his tongue.
He thought it was utterly disgraceful, embarrassing all n.
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