Chapter 16: Chapter 16
The Five Mountains Gathering, which could be said to be long if one called it long, or short if one called it short, concluded while leaving behind a shocking result.
The Mount Hua Sect’s first defeat.
Since the Five Mountains Gathering was held, it was a humiliation the Mount Hua Sect experienced for the first time in their lives.
However, most of those who had observed the Five Mountains Gathering were only mentioning the Daoist name of the young boy who had appeared later and displayed outstanding divine might, rather than the Mount Hua Sect’s defeat.
“…Plum blossoms bloomed along with the wind, and filled the sparring arena, I tell you?”
“Right, it was a truly beautiful sight.”
At the words of the female disciples who muttered with hazy eyes as if recalling that time, another female disciple who could not observe because she had work tilted her head and opened her mouth.
“But is that real?”
At the question mixed heavily with doubt, the two women beat their chests at the same time.
“Oh my, how frustrating.”
“Sigh, you should have seen it.”
Even at the rebuke of the two who were frustrated, the female disciple wondered rather than shrinking back.
“But I heard that Martial Uncle Cheon-hwi is only fourteen now. On top of that, I heard that he had been in bad health since the past and had only been recuperating continuously…”
For an instant, the two disciples flinched.
Come to think of it, it was so.
They knew about Cheon-hwi, but until they saw him directly at the Five Mountains Gathering, to them, Cheon-hwi was no different from an illusionary existence like a dragon or a qilin.
They only heard rumors that he was recuperating, and had almost never seen his appearance.
“Was he not sick?”
“Could it be that the elders hid that he was sick in order to raise Martial Uncle Cheon-hwi as our sect’s secret weapon?”
“A secret weapon?”
“Recently, our sect’s prestige and reputation have been on the decline, right. So they were secretly raising him in order to regain our former prestige again. Otherwise, it makes no sense, right?”
Clap!
The two clapped their hands and agreed with each other.
“That could be so.”
“It’s not our sect for nothing!”
Like that, when the distorted rumors about Cheon-hwi gradually spread within the Mount Hua Sect.
“…”
A chilly coldness was flowing in the Purple Cloud Pavilion, the residence where the Sect Leader was staying.
At the center of the coldness was Hyeon-ryeo.
She was alternately glaring at the Sect Leader and Hyeon-do sitting opposite and in front of her with cold eyes like a sheet of ice.
Sip…
“Hmm, hmm.”
Facing her stinging gaze, the Sect Leader avoided her gaze and sipped tea, and Hyeon-do next to him profusely sweated.
Around the time such an awkward airflow flowed.
“Senior Brother.”
Hyeon-ryeo’s mouth slowly opened.
At her call, the Sect Leader and Hyeon-do immediately looked at each other and laughed.
“Haha, Junior Brother. She is calling you.”
“Hahaha, Senior Brother really. If Junior Sister calls someone Senior Brother that seriously, it must be the Sect Leader of our sect! Wouldn’t she mean exactly you, Sect Leader Senior Brother?”
Seeing their attitude of trying to pass it off to each other, Hyeon-ryeo fiercely raised her eyebrows and spoke.
“Sen.ior. Broth.ers.”
“Hahaha.”
“Ahem.”
At the sharply cutting tone, the moment the Sect Leader laughed as if troubled, and Hyeon-do let out a dry cough while turning his gaze away.
“Why didn’t you inform me that Cheon-hwi possessed such martial prowess?”
Hearing Hyeon-ryeo’s words that suddenly came in, the two made expressions of having faced what they wanted to avoid, and then squeezed their two eyes shut.
And just as they thought, Hyeon-ryeo’s mouth moved as fast as a fast sword.
“That’s not all! To suddenly make a child whose body is not even well yet spar! Just what did you do to the child…”
At her harsh voice that sounded like piercing his ears with a needle, the Sect Leader urgently opened his mouth.
“Junior Sister.”
“Therefore… Speak.”
After Hyeon-ryeo stopped speaking at the call, she narrowed her eyes and waited for the words to follow.
“It was all for Cheon-hwi.”
“For Cheon-hwi… you say?”
Hyeon-ryeo’s voice became even sharper, but the Sect Leader responded calmly.
“With this, we made Cheon-hwi’s existence known to our sect and the Five Mountains Sword Sects. When would there ever be an opportunity to raise his reputation like this?”
In fact, it was nonsense.
He had merely called Cheon-hwi urgently to resolve the situation that was heading for the worst, and had absolutely no such intention.
But so what.
Whatever the process was, the result was so.
“But it hasn’t been long since Cheon-hwi recovered his body yet.”
At Hyeon-ryeo’s refutation, the Sect Leader let out a low voice with a serious expression.
“Can you still say such words even after seeing Cheon-hwi’s martial prowess that day?”
“…”
Hyeon-ryeo closed her mouth.
It was because, as he said, Cheon-hwi’s martial prowess seen that day was overwhelming.
However, that was that.
She couldn’t help but be displeased.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
The Sect Leader stealthily looked at Hyeon-do.
‘You answer this.’
At that gaze, Hyeon-do flinched.
Soon, as if his throat was burning, he picked up the cold tea and gulped it down at once.
“Wasn’t Junior Sister truly busy because of the Five Mountains Gathering?”
“I was going to tell you when it ended.”
“Is that true?”
Around the time Hyeon-ryeo looked at the two with a suspicious expression, the Sect Leader and Hyeon-do nodded their heads, pretending that nothing was wrong.
“Hahaha, isn’t it obvious.”
“It’s a matter Junior Sister personally asked of me, so how could I not inform you.”
Around the time the two were relieved at Hyeon-ryeo, who was becoming convinced even while tilting her head.
‘What are these?’
Cheon-hwi, the person involved in the scuffle they were having, abruptly distorted his face at the situation that occurred suddenly.
Glance…
Keeping a distance of about three zhang, they didn’t come close to him anymore, but they were sweeping their gazes over his every single move.
At the gazes that pecked at him like a stinging scorching sun, Cheon-hwi’s brow narrowed.
‘What are you looking at?’
Cheon-hwi glared at them.
Then they hastily turned their heads. However, perhaps because they turned their heads in a hurry, some of them had their noses buried in books, or held the books upside down.
His expression frowned naturally.
At that moment, the faces of the female disciples who were hiding behind books and glancing at him blossomed wide.
Seeing the change in their expressions, Cheon-hwi made an absurd expression.
They like it when I frown? Are they crazy?
In the past, when he frowned, most people were terrified and fled with pale blue faces, or bowed their heads.
But they like it.
Shaking his head from side to side, he walked past them.
“Ah…”
Shaking off their voices letting out sighs as if it was a shame, he walked with large strides. Around the time he descended the stairs in a single breath and the stinging gazes also disappeared.
“Hwi.”
Hyeon-cheong, who had become noticeably close with him from going to the Ten Thousand Scenery Pavilion every day, called him.
He was looking at him with a face quite puzzled by the crowd that flocked to the Ten Thousand Scenery Pavilion.
Soon, his mouth opened.
“It’s the first time so many disciples came to the Ten Thousand Scenery Pavilion. Do you perhaps know what happened?”
“I don’t know.”
Hyeon-cheong tilted his head seeing Cheon-hwi, who spoke firmly and left the Ten Thousand Scenery Pavilion.
No matter how he looked at it, there was no one deeply related to the current situation but Cheon-hwi.
Because the gazes and interest of the disciples who entered the Ten Thousand Scenery Pavilion were all directed at Cheon-hwi.
‘Just what happened?’
Question marks settled in Hyeon-cheong’s eyes.
Soon, he swept his gaze over the disciples watching from above, and closed the book he held in his hand.
* * *
A long time after leaving the Ten Thousand Scenery Pavilion, how much time had passed since he climbed the narrow mountain path.
“…nim!”
At the faintly heard voice, one of Cheon-hwi’s eyebrows wriggled slightly.
It sounds like it’s coming from my thatched cottage?
He hurried his steps.
Step… Step…
“Please teach me martial arts!”
The booming shout that was heard again at that time.
The closer he got to the thatched cottage, the louder and clearer that shout pierced his ears.
Then the thatched cottage entered his eyes.
And also the shadow in front of it.
The shadow, which seemed to be the epicenter of the noisy shouts, was politely kneeling with both hands gathered toward the thatched cottage.
At that time, the shadow raised its head again.
“Martial Uncle!”
Martial Uncle?
He gave strength to his eyes.
The back of the shadow’s head was somehow familiar.
I’ve seen it somewhere…
The stupid guy who had frozen in tension while barely sparring came to mind.
Ah! Jeok-geom or whatever. It’s that guy.
At that time, Jeok-geom shouted again.
“Please teach me martial arts!”
Did he perhaps think I was inside?
Watching Jeok-geom’s gaze not fall away from the thatched cottage even once, Cheon-hwi approached him.
Soon, he stood at his back and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Heup!”
At the voice suddenly heard from behind, Jeok-geom was startled and swallowed his breath.
“Ma, Martial Uncle?”
Greatly flustered, he looked at Cheon-hwi.
Then he quickly looked at the thatched cottage.
Looking at Cheon-hwi, looking at the thatched cottage.
After a few nods of his head like that, his face and ears turned bright red.
It seems he really thought I was inside.
The moment Cheon-hwi stared at the embarrassed Jeok-geom with a pathetic gaze and stepped into the thatched cottage past him.
Grab!
He felt a rough grasp snatch his trouser leg.
“Martial Uncle!”
Jeok-geom, who almost lay flat on the ground from reaching out his hand urgently, grabbed Cheon-hwi’s trouser leg and gave off an earnest gaze.
“Could you give a lowly martial nephew a little teaching?”
Making eye contact with Jeok-geom, Cheon-hwi’s closed mouth opened.
“Why should I?”
“…Yes?”
At the completely unexpected question in return, Jeok-geom let out a deflated voice.
Watching him unable to make any answer, Cheon-hwi’s foot moved.
Swoosh…
In a short brief moment of not even a breath, he unfolded the Seven Stars Footwork and slipped out of Jeok-geom’s strong grasp that held his trouser leg and entered the thatched cottage.
Jeok-geom, who stared blankly as if possessed by something, belatedly came to his senses and shouted when Cheon-hwi disappeared inside the thatched cottage.
“Ma, Martial Uncle!”
It was an urgent shout, but Cheon-hwi lightly ignored it and furrowed his eyebrows.
Is it because of that spar?
While thinking about the interest and gazes focused on him particularly today, he nodded his head.
There was no answer other than that.
“Well, it won’t last long.”
Cheon-hwi, who thought it was brief interest that would naturally be forgotten as time passed anyway, immediately took a cross-legged sitting posture.
Soon, around the time about one shichen passed.
“I will come visit again later.”
A low voice was heard.
Following that, he felt the presence of Jeok-geom, who had been continuously waiting outside the thatched cottage, leaving.
I’m incredibly busy just organizing the martial arts books of the Ten Thousand Scenery Pavilion, so what teachings.
He immediately withdrew his qi cultivation.
“Shall I try focusing a bit now.”
Making an inwardly refreshed expression at the bothersome thing dropping off, he formed a satisfied smile.
“Among the things I saw today…”
Enjoying peace, he immediately recalled the Sweeping Leaf Kick Technique he had read with considerable interest at the Ten Thousand Scenery Pavilion today.
However, was it a trick of fate.
Cheon-hwi’s peace did not last long.
Step… Step…
Footsteps were heard from far outside, and perhaps feeling something ominous, Cheon-hwi’s expression hardened like a stone.
At that time, a voice was heard.
“Martial Uncle.”
This time, it was a woman’s voice.
“It is your martial niece, Seol Ran.”
Seol Ran, who politely revealed her name, left a moment’s gap, and then spoke with distinct internal energy carried in her voice.
“If it is not an imposition, could you teach your martial niece martial arts?”
At her request that didn’t differ by a single particle from Jeok-geom’s, Cheon-hwi scratched his head vigorously and abruptly lay flat on his back.
“Dammit.”
Today was not his day.
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