Chapter 26: It Didn’t Work on . -02
Ban Hojin’s deep, calm gaze landed on Seo Joun.
It was a look as if he knew exactly how the boy had been living these days.
Under that gaze, Seo Joun smiled awkwardly.
“Of, of course I sleep.”
“It’s not good to start piling up lies already.”
“One shijin is enough. I’ve been sleeping a lot up until now anyway. And my stamina has gone up too, so even if I sleep just half a shijin, I’m totally fine. My inner energy feels full as well.”
“Stamina and inner energy are things that can vanish in an instant. If you put blind faith in them, you’ll crash hard. You may look fine because you’re young, but fatigue is steadily piling up in your body. It just feels fine because you can’t see it. Managing yourself is also a skill. And the human body isn’t tal. You can’t lt it down and make it good as new. Once it breaks or malfunctions, it never returns to how it was.”
Ban Hojin said firmly.
It was because Seo Joun seed to be trusting too much in the fact that he had fully recovered and that his body had beco healthy.
Of course, Ban Hojin knew as well.
Just how extraordinary Seo Joun’s body had beco.
But even steel shattered if it was hamred continuously.
There was no way a human body could endure relentless overexertion.
“I’ll be careful from now on.”
“If you get injured, the pain is one thing, but you also waste ti equal to however long it takes to recover. So train yourself to your limits, but don’t cross over into abuse. You haven’t forgotten what we promised, right? Twenty years.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. But for a condition, isn’t the supervision a bit too lax?”
“Rather than lax, it’s because you’re doing well on your own. In a way, isn’t it sothing you’re working hard at for your own sake and for your family?”
“Hahaha.”
Because he had been hit right on the mark, Seo Joun laughed awkwardly.
Just then, the sound of knocking ca from the door, as if the Hao Sect group had arrived.
Knock knock knock.
“We have brought the guests.”
“Let them in.”
“Yes.”
At the uniquely aged voice of the old servant, Ban Hojin opened his mouth politely.
Soon, the door opened and two won entered the room, and at a glance it was obvious who was the superior and who was the escort warrior.
So Ban Hojin fixed his gaze on the veiled woman.
Swoosh.
eting Ban Hojin’s gaze directed at her, the veiled woman suddenly loosened the veil that covered half her face.
No one had told her to do so, yet she removed it of her own accord.
At that action, the escort warrior following behind widened her eyes.
She hadn’t expected her to remove the veil so suddenly.
“Hello. I’m Nan Hee-ju, the rumor lord of Hao Sect.”
“M, Miss!”
It was surprising enough that she had removed her veil, but when Nan Hee-ju openly revealed her identity without hesitation, the only female escort warrior who had entered the room flinched in shock.
However, it wasn’t only the escort warrior who was startled.
Seo Joun, who had been sitting across from Ban Hojin, was also taken aback.
Even with the veil covering more than half her face, it had been easy to guess that her looks were extraordinary, but once she removed it, it was beyond that.
Gulp!
It was the first ti in his life he had seen such a beautiful woman, so Seo Joun swallowed his dry saliva without realizing it.
At the sa ti, his mind went blank.
Facing a beauty he had never seen before in his life, not a single thought ca to him.
Belatedly snapping back to his senses, he hastily composed his expression, but by then, everyone had already seen his reaction.
‘Good heavens…….’
Though he had composed his face, the lingering shock remained intensely vivid.
And Seo Joun realized that every line he had read in books was true.
When you saw a beauty, you really couldn’t think of anything.
You just lost your soul.
“Tsk tsk!”
Seeing that, Ban Hojin clicked his tongue.
Even if he lacked resistance to beautiful won from only living with family, that was still far too pitiful a sight.
He usually acted so precociously, but in the end, age was sothing he couldn’t overco.
At the sa ti, he thought that n were, after all, helpless.
‘Hmm?’
anwhile, Nan Hee-ju was inwardly surprised by Ban Hojin’s complete lack of reaction.
She wasn’t boasting—objectively speaking, she was a beauty by anyone’s standards.
She believed she didn’t fall short even when compared to Sambong, who were famous throughout the world for their looks.
No, because she possessed sothing Sambong did not, she took pride in being even more outstanding when it ca to stealing n’s hearts.
Yet that confidence beca awkwardly misplaced, as Ban Hojin didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.
He wasn’t deliberately hiding his reaction—he genuinely had none.
‘Has he mastered the Child Body Technique?’
For a mont, such a thought crossed Nan Hee-ju’s mind.
Perhaps because he was a disciple of Shaolin, the Child Body Technique suddenly ca to mind.
And the sa was true for the escort warrior standing behind her.
She too looked at Ban Hojin, who showed no reaction at all, with strange eyes.
“Nice to et you. I am Ban Hojin of Shaolin.”
“I apologize for my rudeness at our first eting. I am Seo Joun of the Seo Family Estate.”
Belatedly, Seo Joun followed Ban Hojin’s lead, awkwardly performing a fist-clasp salute as he apologized and greeted them at the sa ti.
He had secretly practiced, thinking that one day he too would be able to perform a proper fist-clasp salute, yet even so, it looked awkward.
“Even though we visited so suddenly, thank you for graciously agreeing to et us, Young Master Ban.”
“I was curious as well.”
“Yes?”
Nan Hee-ju’s large eyes widened.
Because he had cut off both the beginning and the end and only said the middle, she couldn’t tell what he ant.
However, the very Ban Hojin who had flustered her was recalling Nan Hee-ju from his previous life.
Nan Hee-ju, who had been called the Iron-Blooded Witch.
‘Back then, I couldn’t see her without the veil.’
She would have been at least ten years older than now, yet her appearance wasn’t much different from the present.
Instead, her eyes had been far sharper.
And at that ti, she had a nickna.
The chilling epithet of Iron-Blooded Witch.
‘Back then, she was the lackey, the underling, the attack dog of the Four Tyrants of the World.’
Along with the Beggars’ Sect, Hao Sect—possessing the greatest information network in the Central Plains—had entered the shadow of the Four Tyrants of the World.
More precisely, the Four Tyrants of the World had drawn Hao Sect in.
In exchange for granting the long-cherished wish that Hao Sect so desperately desired.
As a result, the martial arts of prestigious families and great sects truly flowed into Hao Sect.
‘Hao Sect’s craving for supre techniques was trendous. But they didn’t know that masters aren’t born through martial arts alone.’
Hao Sect had been ford by people of lowly status gathered together.
Because of that, it had never been properly acknowledged in Murim.
In reality, regardless of whether one spoke of the orthodox or unorthodox paths, most people looked down on Hao Sect.
Perhaps that was precisely why they had clung so desperately to supre techniques.
However, the outco did not turn out the way Hao Sect had hoped.
At least not until the mont right before Ban Hojin died.
‘What if Hao Sect hadn’t sided with the Four Tyrants of the World?’
In his previous life, even though Nan Hee-ju had been a rumor lord rather than the Hao Sect Leader, she had been called the Iron-Blooded Witch and had made countless mbers of the Orthodox Martial World grind their teeth in fear.
In other words, that ant Nan Hee-ju possessed abilities worthy of that reputation.
It ant that despite her own martial arts being insignificant, she had tornted the Orthodox Martial World trendously through sheer personal capability alone.
And precisely because of that, Ban Hojin was curious.
‘If Hao Sect were to join forces after the Beggars’ Sect.’
Ban Hojin’s eyes grew deep.
The two places that vied for being the best under heaven in terms of information were the Beggars’ Sect and Hao Sect.
If those two were to combine their strength, it would beco a great boon to the Orthodox Martial World.
Even if there were no noticeable increase in direct combat power, it would still be possible to harass the Four Tyrants of the World through various channels.
‘No, just the fact that they wouldn’t fall into the hands of the Four Tyrants of the World would already be a gain.’
Ban Hojin was soone who had personally experienced just how terrifying and vicious Hao Sect beca when it received the protection of the Four Tyrants of the World.
Because of that, he wanted to prevent Hao Sect from joining hands with the Four Tyrants of the World at all costs.
That was why, when he heard that soone from Hao Sect had co looking for him, he accepted without hesitation.
Still, there was one thing he needed to confirm.
‘It might just be speculation, but they could already be in contact even now. They might not have agreed to cooperate yet, but still.’
There was still quite so ti left before the Four Tyrants of the World would launch their invasion.
However, since there was more than enough possibility that they were already communicating with Hao Sect behind the scenes, Ban Hojin intended to use this opportunity to check that.
Pour.
“Please, have so.”
“I’ll drink it well.”
“Though I’m not the host.”
Ban Hojin spoke calmly with an even smile.
Contrary to the complicated thoughts in his head, his expression remained composed.
“Then should I offer my thanks to Young Lord Seo?”
“Hahaha, strictly speaking, I’m not the host either. The Seo Family Sect Leader is my father.”
Seo Joun tried his best to maintain a calm expression, but that only made him look more awkward.
However, Nan Hee-ju instead smiled softly at his appearance.
Rather than soone hiding their intentions and making half-baked advances, she found straightforward honesty preferable.
And a sense of regret arose within her.
‘If only we had discovered him first.’
Regret flickered in Nan Hee-ju’s eyes before vanishing in an instant.
She too knew just how extraordinary the talent of soone born with severed ridians could be.
But soon, Nan Hee-ju brushed aside her regret.
Even if they had discovered him first, there was no guarantee they would have been able to treat the Nine Yang Severed ridians.
Instead, Nan Hee-ju thought of Ban Hojin in a different sense.
She focused on the fact that Ban Hojin possessed the ability to treat Seo Joun.
‘He’s definitely not an ordinary figure.’
From the mont he defeated Namgung Gwang, the Head Seat of the Four Dragons, she had known he was no ordinary man.
If he were ordinary, he would never have been able to claim victory over Namgung Gwang.
Yet after eting him in person, it felt as though the world’s evaluation of him had actually been understated.
In particular, she found it hard to believe that he was perfectly fine even after seeing her bare face.
‘Should I try it once?’
As the rumor lord of Hao Sect, Nan Hee-ju was also skilled in soul-capturing arts and bewitching arts.
The martial arts that made the best use of her beauty were precisely those soul-capturing arts and bewitching arts.
However, Nan Hee-ju soon abandoned the thought.
She reasoned that since she hadn’t co to fight, there was no need to deliberately provoke the other party.
‘But it still hurts my pride.’
Even without using bewitching arts or soul-capturing arts, most n lost their senses the mont they saw her face.
Seo Joun was a close example—hadn’t he completely failed to control his expression the instant she removed her veil?
Yet Ban Hojin showed no change in expression from beginning to end.
What angered her even more was that he wasn’t pretending to be unfazed—he was genuinely indifferent.
‘No. That’s not what’s important right now.’
Nan Hee-ju suppressed the surge of anger rising in her chest.
It was true that her pride had been hurt, but that wasn’t what mattered at the mont.
She recalled the purpose for which she had co to see Ban Hojin.
“Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
“No. The aroma of the tea is pleasant, so I was savoring it.”
“Is that so.”
At the question that felt irritatingly perceptive, as if he could see straight through her, Nan Hee-ju’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
But since letting that show would an losing, she sohow composed her expression.
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
Unaware of Nan Hee-ju’s inner thoughts, Seo Joun smiled gently.
It was ant to be a manly smile in his own way, but to Ban Hojin, it just looked foolish.
The foolish look of a man who couldn’t keep his wits about him around a woman.
Still, on the other hand, he could understand it.
“I’m curious about the reason you ca to see .”
Knowing that if he watched any longer he would only be subjected to more pitiful sights, Ban Hojin imdiately got to the point.
He was also genuinely curious.
“It’s not that I ca because I absolutely had business. I was passing nearby on matters related to my sect, and I heard that Young Master Ban was staying at the Seo Family Estate, so I thought it would be nice to at least exchange greetings. Did it displease you that I ca?”
“Not at all. I believe my expression alone should be answer enough.”
It was a statent so direct it bordered on boldness, yet Ban Hojin did not panic.
For Nan Hee-ju, Ban Hojin might have been a first, but for him, she was not.
Since he knew her personality, there was nothing to be surprised about.
“That’s a relief. I was worried you might think poorly of .”
“I’m not soone who discriminates based on a person’s status.”
“Hehehe.”
Nan Hee-ju smiled brightly.
It was because Ban Hojin had understood the intent behind her question perfectly.
At the sa ti, she raised her evaluation of him.
“I also wanted to et Young Lady Nan at least once.”
“?”
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