Chapter 4: His Grand Sche? -02
Namgung So-yeon’s eyes sparkled.
She spoke with a face full of anticipation.
“Do you want to win that badly?”
“If I’m going to do it, I should keep my pride and win too. Isn’t that nice? You said you were curious about that man too, unni.”
“I am curious. But at Shaolin, there’s not much we can do. Especially when we can’t even et oppa.”
“If it’s Hye-jeong, wouldn’t she find a way?”
“If you really want to see him, why don’t you go find him yourself?”
At Namgung Su-yeon’s words, Namgung So-yeon shook her head firmly.
As if that was absolutely sothing she could not do.
“That would look far too bad. I’m still the precious jewel of the Namgung Family, you know.”
“If you only uphold your pride, you could end up looking even more pitiful and miserable.”
“That’s why I need to find a way.”
Namgung Su-yeon let out a quiet sigh.
It felt like she was standing on her pride in a strange place.
“Could your current interest be genuine interest?”
“What do you an by that?”
“I an, are you interested in him as a man?”
“Eh, no way. You know how high my standards are, unni. He’s not my type.”
Namgung So-yeon shook her head decisively.
No matter how outstanding his skills might be, appearance was important to Namgung So-yeon as well.
Of course, the possibility that she would marry the man she truly wanted was virtually nonexistent.
“Then why are you so obsessed? If the chance cos later, you can et him then. There’s no need for the two of you to et alone, is there? If strange rumors spread for no reason, only we’ll get tired, and Father will be put in an awkward position too. So let’s stop here.”
“We can et with three people.”
“Don’t waste your energy on pointless things. And don’t burn your competitive spirit over trivial matters either.”
“Alright.”
Knowing that those words were a final ultimatum, Namgung So-yeon no longer persisted.
She had already done this much, and if it still wasn’t possible, there was essentially nothing more she could do.
Instead, Namgung So-yeon engraved this humiliation deep into her heart.
Thinking that one day, she would certainly return this humiliation to Ban Hojin.
Well past noon, Ban Hojin left his quarters.
Despite countless people requesting etings, he did not respond to a single one.
He thought there was no need to entertain children’s gas.
However, the person he was visiting now was different.
“Hup!”
As he approached the lodging assigned to the Seonwu Family, the martial artist who had been naturally keeping watch around the area flinched in surprise.
He had never imagined that Ban Hojin would co looking for them.
Since yesterday, all the Rising Juniors who had visited Shaolin had hoped to et Ban Hojin.
They wanted to form ties with him.
But not a single person had achieved that goal.
Not even Sambong.
“I would like to see the Young Lord. Would that be possible? If it is difficult right now, I can co again later. It would be even better if you could tell
a ti that works.”
“A, I-I’ll go ask inside right now.”
At Ban Hojin’s words, where he bowed lightly and stated his purpose first, the middle-aged man replied with an unmistakably flustered expression.
He then inford a nearby martial artist that Ban Hojin had arrived.
“You may take your ti. It’s not urgent.”
“N-No, not at all. For you to co in person like this… Ah, please co inside.”
“Thank you.”
Following the middle-aged man, who was acting so honored it felt almost burdenso, Ban Hojin went inside.
After a short while, a young man who had been standing and waiting entered Ban Hojin’s view.
He had an equally ordinary appearance, but perhaps because of Ban Hojin’s sudden visit, his face was filled with surprise.
“Welco, Young Master Ban.”
“I startled you quite a bit by coming so suddenly, didn’t I?”
“Haha. To be honest, yes. I didn’t expect you to co here.”
Seonwu Bang replied, unable to easily shake off his surprised expression.
Both of his eyes were filled with questions.
“It’s not as though I’ve co to a place I cannot co to.”
“That is true, but I thought you would go elsewhere. There are many people who wish to et you, Young Master Ban.”
“I did suddenly receive a lot of ssages.”
Ban Hojin sat down with a sly smile.
He didn’t think there was any need to hide the truth.
“I heard you even declined Sambong.”
“It seems the Main Temple is small. The fact that news like that has already spread.”
“That also ans it was quite shocking.”
“Is there soone you have in mind, by any chance?”
“That couldn’t be.”
At Ban Hojin’s sudden question, Seonwu Bang panicked and waved his hands.
He had never even dared to dream of such a thing.
“Do you think there’s no possibility of things working out?”
“Realistically, it’s true that the chances are slim. But may I ask why you ca looking for ?”
As he poured tea into Ban Hojin’s teacup, Seonwu Bang asked.
His eyes were filled with curiosity.
“I wanted to beco close with Young Master Seonwu.”
“Pardon?”
Drip.
Seonwu Bang’s eyes turned round like a rabbit’s.
Not only that, but the teacup overflowed.
In his fluster, he had forgotten to tilt the teapot.
Only after the tea overflowed did Seonwu Bang snap back to his senses, hurriedly searching for a cloth and wiping the tea table with a panicked face.
“I-I’m sorry. I was so surprised that I—”
“I understand. But I’m not very good at speaking in a roundabout way.”
“So, you an you want to beco close with ?”
“Yes.”
“Uh…….”
With a blank expression, Seonwu Bang took a sip of tea.
He couldn’t understand the situation at all.
Standing before him was Ban Hojin, the very person the Rising Juniors of the Five Great Families all wanted to et.
Even Sambong, who was like a tree impossible for him to climb, had wanted to et him.
“As you can see, this isn’t a joke. I don’t particularly like frivolous jokes or wasting ti.”
“That’s why it’s even more puzzling. There are the Five Great Families as well, so why ….”
“You don’t necessarily need a reason to beco close. That said, it’s not as though there’s no reason at all.”
Seonwu Bang wore a dazed expression at the sight of Ban Hojin spouting words that were utterly impossible to understand.
He was definitely speaking, but none of it made any sense.
Every word was completely off the mark, and Seonwu Bang was left utterly speechless.
‘His personality really hasn’t changed.’
Seeing Seonwu Bang standing there with his mouth slightly open and a blank look on his face, Ban Hojin chuckled inwardly.
Whether ten years later or now, his personality seed exactly the sa.
That was why Ban Hojin could see right through what Seonwu Bang was thinking at this very mont.
He was probably unable to understand why soone had co to seek out an insignificant person like himself.
‘Right now, he’s just a so-so rising junior from a prestigious family. For now.’
Slurp.
Casting a glance at the utterly disoriented Seonwu Bang, Ban Hojin took a sip of his tea.
At present, Seonwu Bang was a rising junior who did not stand out in the slightest and had absolutely no presence, but ten years later, it would be different.
The man standing before him was soone who would personally embody the aning of late bloor.
When those called the Nine Dragons perished aninglessly in the war against the Four Tyrants of the World, Seonwu Bang had appeared out of nowhere and displayed astonishing feats.
‘No one ever knows how life will turn out.’
When he was a rising junior, Seonwu Bang attracted no one’s attention.
He was rely one among countless rising juniors, but ten years later, it was different.
As the Nine Dragons, who were naturally thought to inherit the position of the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven, died off one by one, only Seonwu Bang shone brilliantly.
“May I ask the reason, perhaps?”
“I wanted to get close.”
“Ah.”
“I need friends too. Even if others don’t think so.”
At that simple yet strangely heart-piercing remark, focus returned to Seonwu Bang’s previously vacant eyes.
Those sincere words had stirred his heart.
It wasn’t as though Ban Hojin had approached him aiming for the influence of the Seonwu Family either.
Objectively speaking, judging by status alone, he could not dare to compare himself to Ban Hojin.
“Thank you for thinking well of .”
“I know what my first impression must have been like. But that isn’t everything.”
“I don’t judge people based only on a single facet.”
“I thought it would be so.”
“But it feels a bit strange. This is clearly our first conversation, yet sohow I feel comfortable.”
Seonwu Bang tilted his head.
This was the second ti he had seen him, and the first ti they had spoken.
Yet strangely enough, there was no sense of awkwardness at all.
It felt as though he was with an old friend, and that made Seonwu Bang feel intrigued.
“Maybe it’s because we’re about the sa age.”
“Ah, co to think of it, I didn’t ask your age. I’m twenty.”
“Well, what a coincidence. We’re the sa age.”
“Is that so?”
Although he already knew Seonwu Bang’s age, Ban Hojin replied as if he had no idea at all.
Since this was their first conversation in this life, Ban Hojin acted in a way that fit the situation.
“We’re the sa age, so let’s speak comfortably.”
“Oh, should we?”
“Let’s do that. We’ll probably be seeing each other often from now on.”
“Hahaha.”
At Ban Hojin casually dropping honorifics without the slightest hesitation, Seonwu Bang let out a hollow laugh.
Just like yesterday, he really was utterly unrestrained.
Yet strangely enough, that didn’t look bad at all.
Rather, it seed refreshing.
“If it still feels awkward, we can always go back to how it was. I don’t mind either way.”
“Isn’t it weirder to go back to using honorifics after we’ve already dropped them?”
“That’s true.”
“But what do you an we’ll be seeing each other often?”
“For martial artists, shouldn’t friends also share conversations like this?”
Ban Hojin smiled mischievously and tapped the sword at his waist with his finger.
At that, a strange heat flickered in Seonwu Bang’s eyes.
Just because he didn’t receive public attention didn’t an he lacked the desire to grow stronger.
So people felt despair when faced with a high wall, but others instead burned with competitive spirit.
“, really?”
Seonwu Bang was naturally the latter.
Still, he had a sense of propriety.
While sparring would be of great help to him, it wouldn’t be to Ban Hojin, so Seonwu Bang cautiously gauged his reaction.
“Experience is important. And I’d like to get a look at the martial arts of the Seonwu Family.”
“Our family’s martial arts aren’t all that great.”
“What? You don’t believe in your own family’s martial arts?”
“That’s how the world evaluates them.”
A bitter smile ford at the corner of Seonwu Bang’s lips.
It wasn’t that he lacked pride in his family’s martial arts.
However, pride and reality were separate matters.
In the end, what mattered were results and achievents, so Seonwu Bang believed that what needed to be accepted should be accepted humbly.
“And what do you think?”
“Of course they’re worth aiming for the best under heaven. They say that once you comprehend the ultimate essence, any martial art can beco the greatest under heaven.”
“There was even soone who pacified Murim with just the Three Talents Sword Technique.”
“That’s right.”
Seonwu Bang grinned.
He had no intention of ignoring objective evaluations.
He simply continued to put in effort.
He didn’t possess the heaven-bestowed talent of soone like the Four Dragons, but that didn’t an giving up made any sense.
“So you can do it too. Everyone has potential. It’s just that soone might be a bit ahead right now.”
“You think that too?”
Seonwu Bang’s eyes widened.
He had never imagined that Ban Hojin, who had subdued Namgung Gwang—called the greatest of the rising juniors—would think this way.
“I’m human too. I may be at an age where I’m called a rising junior, but I’m still a martial artist. And for martial artists, age isn’t important. In the end, martial artists speak through martial arts.”
“That’s true.”
Seonwu Bang was inwardly shocked.
He hadn’t expected Ban Hojin to be looking that far ahead.
And then he realized it.
How narrow the world he had been living in was, and how he had never truly tried to escape it.
‘Is this what they call opening one’s eyes?’
As if a fra that had been invisibly enclosing him was breaking apart, Seonwu Bang felt a strange mix of excitent, fear, and competitive fervor.
He found himself wanting to stand in the sa place as Ban Hojin.
At the sa ti, the vague goals he had only ever thought about seed to beco clear.
“Can we do it right now?”
“Of course. I’m always ready.”
“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
Seeing Seonwu Bang’s eyes blazing with fervent desire, Ban Hojin rose from his seat.
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