Chapter 200 – Long Time No See (2)
“Mother, are you really okay?”
“Yes, don’t worry and go out.”
Ma So-hyang roughly replied to Nung Hwi-yeon’s worried question and gestured for her to leave.
Knowing Nung Hwi-yeon’s personality, she would probably sneak off to some hard-to-find place if her mother wasn’t around, but Ma So-hyang wasn’t in a situation to take care of that.
It was because that man had appeared.
‘Why? Did he have a connection with Nam Gung-se? I didn’t see any signs of that.’
She hadn’t seen him exchange a word with Nam Gung-chang, who had participated in the Gu-ryong Jaeng-pae with her.
Thanks to Nam Gung-se’s care, she had been spending a fairly comfortable time without any discomfort, but it had suddenly collapsed.
‘No, it’s not.’
Come to think of it, it was actually a good thing. She hadn’t planned on finding him in the first place. There was a possibility that he knew something that Ma So-hyang hadn’t been able to figure out.
The problem was that she didn’t feel like seeing his face again.
No, she was even afraid.
As soon as she saw the man’s face, her body reacted. The memory of pure pleasure that dominated her mind, making her feel like she was going crazy, was more like terror.
‘Why! Why that guy!’
If she had to classify it, she resented the fact that Kwak Cheong-ra had brought the man who was friendly with O Dae-se to her.
Ma So-hyang controlled her heightened emotions as she took a deep breath.
“Whew…”
But in the end, Ma So-hyang’s choice was already made. After the Gu-ryong Jaeng-pae, as Kang Yoon had said, there was no sign of her son’s power growing.
In his early twenties, like crops that receive the summer sun and grow rapidly, her son’s martial arts skills were still lackluster, even though almost a year had passed.
If they didn’t solve the problem quickly and just wasted time, they could miss this precious time and end up becoming a mediocre master.
In the worst case, they might remain in that state for the rest of their lives, stuck at the level of a second-rate master.
“Well, there’s nothing special about that guy anyway, right?”
She hadn’t done a thorough investigation because she was worried about not being caught by others, but Ma So-hyang hadn’t found out anything so far.
As an inexperienced young man, she had no power other than the help of her mother, Jegal Mi-ryeong, or her teacher, Paeng Yeon-hwa, to find out information about the Ma-gyo.
Since there was a possibility that she might have a useful clue, it was enough to check it out.
“…So in the end, that lazy cow ate up all the grass.”
“Huh, then that lazy cow must have died?”
(Translation by AI. Character limit reached.)
“But after eating the radish, didn’t the lazy cow shed its skin and iron headgear and return to its human form?”
Kwak Cheong-ra clapped her hands in delight as she listened to the story of the lazy cow turning into a cow. Baek Ri-myo-yang also concentrated on the story, gripping her hands tightly.
“They say that the lazy cow, who returned to human form, became diligent, regretting the past.”
“That’s good to hear…”
Baek Ri-myo-yang wiped her chest. It was just a story, there was no need to be so tense.
Usually, when meeting new people, they would talk about their backgrounds, but in reality, there wasn’t much I could say.
I was born and raised in South Korea, my clan is Saekcheonmun, and my master is Hyeolma. What else could I say?
I grew up in the mountains without even knowing my name, and after my master died, I trained in martial arts alone and retired last year. The topic quickly died down when I told them.
In the end, my choice was to tell an old story that came to mind, and it was more popular than I thought.
“Well, what story do you have this time…”
“When did you become such a storyteller?”
I turned around at the voice behind me and stood up, politely greeting Nam Gung-so-jeo.
“You haven’t been here for a long time.”
“…Were you really coming?”
Nam Gung-hye looked at me with a bitter expression, as if her whole face was saying, “Did you really come?”
“I sent a reply saying I would come.”
“That’s right. I just didn’t feel like it.”
The man next to her, who looked good, hesitated and called out to Nam Gung-hye, who was expressing discomfort with his new presence.
“Hyemae, who is this…?”
“Oh, Hwangbo Gagga…”
It seemed that this man was Nam Gung-hye’s fiancé.
“This is Sonryong Kang Yoon Sohyeop.”
“Oh, I see. Nice to meet you, Kang Sohyeop. I’m Hwangbo Jun.”
“I’m Kang Yoon. Congratulations on your wedding.”
Hwangbo Jun was a good-looking man with a gentle appearance. According to Eun So-young, he was quite skilled in swordsmanship and was almost at the peak.
He was a few years older than me, but if he was almost at the peak, he must have had great skills. Me? I’m learning the best martial arts in the world, so of course I can do this much.
“You seem quite close to Hyemae. I don’t think Hyemae has ever treated anyone like this before…”
“Nam Gung-so-jeo is just someone I…”
“Oh, right! After I got to know her face, I found that our personalities matched well… Right, Kang Sohyeop?”
Nam Gung-hye seemed to not want to show any dislike towards others in front of her future husband, sending a signal with her eyes that they should just be seen as friends.
“Nam Gung-so-jeo is right. We became friends by chance during the Gangho journey.”
I pronounced the word ‘friend’ clearly and repeatedly to make sure that Hwangbo Jun didn’t misunderstand.
“If she’s a friend to Hyemae, she’s a friend to me too. I hope you two have a comfortable time until the wedding is over.”
“Thank you.”
Hwangbo Jun finally let go of my hand, which he had been holding tightly, and left with Nam Gung-hye.
[Thank you.]
Nam Gung-hye sent me a quick glance as she left, and her previously cold demeanor seemed to soften a bit.
It seemed like it had been a while since Nam Gung-hye hadn’t given me a hard time.
Hwangbo Jun’s kindness was shown that evening.
I was originally assigned a room for regular guests, but they had prepared a special place just for me.
Even though I was just the female friend of the woman he was going to marry, he went out of his way to do this for me.
‘Is it because he’s a good person, or because Nam Gung-hye likes me that much?’
The room wasn’t bad to begin with, but with the poor soundproofing of modern buildings and the sensitive senses of a martial artist, it was uncomfortable with so many people around.
I gratefully accepted Hwangbo Jun’s kindness, and it made one more thing easier for me.
On a night when the moon was shining bright, I greeted the woman who secretly came into my room.
“It’s nice to see you again. Are you feeling a little better now?”
“…”
Ma So-hyang silently closed the window she had come in through.
When we moved rooms, Ma So-hyang had told me earlier that she would come to see me tonight.
I didn’t know how she found out which room I was in, but since she had come on her own accord, I was more than happy to see her.
“…It seems like you have a pretty good relationship with Nam Gung-se. They even gave you a separate room.”
“I don’t know. I just accepted what they gave me.”
Ma So-hyang stared at my face for a while after my answer, then let out a sigh.
“I’ll stop talking nonsense. If you’re not a fool, you should know what I mean. I wouldn’t come to see you for no reason.”
“I’m not sure what you mean…?”
“Is this really happening? We made a promise! To find a way to help my son together!”
I had done it before. It was a carrot to calm down this woman who had gone crazy after being soaked in cum.
But did she forget about this?
“I don’t remember promising to help you with my bare hands.”
“Ugh…!”
“Besides, the problem with Lord Ahn hasn’t been resolved yet. Can you treat me like this even though I’m still in this situation?”
It seemed like Ma So-hyang was mistaken. As long as she couldn’t give up on Nungfengyeon, she was definitely on a leash.
“Should I cancel all the promises and just enjoy myself here without any gain? Or should I just reveal everything now?”
As long as the effect of the Holy Blood Pill remained, I could always leave a deep scar on Nungfengyeon’s life if I wanted to.
He would be plagued with all sorts of suspicions from the orthodox sects. No matter how much he said he was innocent, doubts would continue to linger.
Moreover, now that my martial arts skills had improved, even if Ma So-hyang had a vicious heart and wanted to kill me, it was impossible, so the situation had actually worsened.
Under my sharp threat, Ma So-hyang lowered her head and mumbled something.
“…I was wrong…”
“What?”
“I shouldn’t have… please don’t… sniff…”
And then she started to cry miserably, burdened by her conscience.
Actually, I was the bastard in this situation. Wasn’t I threatening her to take advantage of the Holy Blood Pill that Yeonghogyeong had given her?
I quickly approached Ma So-hyang and wiped away her tears with my sleeve.
Maybe it was Ma So-hyang’s acting that I had identified as being weak to tears, but the guilt was overwhelming.
In fact, I was the one taking advantage of the situation by threatening her with the Holy Blood Pill.
“I’ll tell you what I found out, so stop crying for now…”
“Sniff… okay…”
Ma So-hyang sniffled for a while after that, but then stopped crying as if she had calmed down.
And then she cautiously turned towards me. She was waiting for me to give her the information.
But there was no way. Even if I had attached the incident earlier, I never intended to give her the information for free.
“Speak up. Did I promise to help you with my bare hands?”
“…No…”
“Then what did I say? Do you remember?”
“I don’t remember…”
“Liar.”
Ma So-hyang’s rabbit-like eyes shook violently. She definitely remembered.
“If you don’t tell me honestly, you won’t get anything.”
At my words, Ma So-hyang closed her eyes tightly and hesitated to speak.
“Tongue… cooperative…”
“Yes, and then?”
“Cooperative… vagina… if you touch it… sniff!”
As soon as I put my hand on her shoulder, Ma So-hyang flinched and gasped.
I felt really sorry. I felt bad for pushing her this far, but since she had come this far on her own, I couldn’t back down.
“Well, then it’s your choice. Will you accept the condition and get help, or just leave?”
I thought she wouldn’t do something like this since she came to congratulate me on my wedding, but seeing that Ma So-hyang chose the former, I realized that I was a real bastard.
