## Chapter 201 – (13)
With Master having left to allow us to prepare for the martial arts tournament, the three of us gathered in the common room.
At first, we were awkward with each other after not having met for so long, but as we started asking questions,
the awkwardness dissolved with the flow of conversation.
“Seol-yeong, you said you received training from the master sent by the Bukhae Ice Palace?”
“Yes.”
Seol-yeong brushed back her white hair as she spoke.
Her hair had grown a bit longer, and more than anything, the internal energy and yin energy within her were remarkably stable.
‘…She’s grown.’
Originally, even before suffering from the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, she was said to have had a talent for ice techniques that was among the best in the Bukhae Ice Palace.
And since I had healed her severed meridians when I came to the Murim world last time, it seemed that her past talent had blossomed once again.
I had also grown a lot during the month, but if you only considered the growth rate, I felt that it might not match hers.
Even the master, before leaving, had looked at Seol-yeong and said that she might be useful.
However, on the other hand, I was also worried.
“Um, is your body okay?”
I had never heard of the severed meridians recurring, but still, based on this world, she had been a patient until recently.
A patient who had suffered from the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, which threatened her life.
I wondered if Seol-yeong, whose stamina must have been weakened by suffering from such an illness for so long, was okay to train.
Seol-yeong then covered her mouth and laughed, looking at me warmly.
“Seong-han says the same thing as my parents.”
“Really?”
I felt a little awkward.
“It’s okay, do you want to check?”
“Check?”
“Yes, like before, check my dantian.”
To check the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, I would clearly have to—
Place my hand on her stomach or back.
I began to seriously consider it.
“…Hey, I’m here too, you know.”
A slightly sulky voice came from beside me.
Jeong-seon looked at the two of us, who were exuding a strange atmosphere, with a dumbfounded expression.
I smiled awkwardly again, and Seol-yeong sipped her tea with a playful smile.
Had Seol-yeong’s expressions been this diverse?
It seemed that the expressions that had been frozen due to the treatment of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians had returned to normal.
“Where did you train for a month?”
“Me? I went back to the pleasure house where I used to live.”
Jeong-seon was originally born in a pleasure house.
She had said that the reason she started cross-dressing was because of that.
Jeong-seon’s mother had made her cross-dress to protect herself from the bad men who came to the pleasure house.
That continued, and she was still cross-dressing when she entered the Martial Arts Academy.
“My mother introduced me to a man.”
At those words, Seol-yeong and I frowned.
Only then did Jeong-seon realize that there was some room for misunderstanding, and she hurriedly waved both hands.
“Ah, no, not that kind of introduction! She introduced me to a martial arts master, a master to train me.”
“Ah…”
“Sorry, we misunderstood.”
“No, it can’t be helped, my mother is the madam of the pleasure house.”
Since Jeong-seon’s mother had a certain position, the words “introducing a man” could sound a little strange.
The fact that she had returned to the pleasure house also added to the misunderstanding.
“She introduced you to a master?”
“Yes, he’s a gambling addict, but he used to be a very famous master. He was originally a master from the Shaolin Temple.”
“A Shaolin Temple master addicted to gambling…”
It was hard to believe, but at the same time, it was understandable.
For a Shaolin Temple master who lived a life of no desire, no, abstinence, gambling would have been too stimulating a game.
If they succumbed to that addiction, they would surely fall deeper than ordinary people.
Anyway, it seemed that the gambling addict master had been hired for a large sum of money.
He probably accepted the offer to teach in order to gamble more.
On the one hand, I was skeptical whether such a master would be helpful, but surprisingly, he was a really competent teacher.
‘It seems like it was helpful.’
It was strange, but I could feel the same weight from Jeong-seon as from other masters.
But there was something unique.
Was it internal energy?
Or the degree of muscle development?
“What martial arts did you learn?”
“Um… I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
Jeong-seon was genuinely contemplating.
“Shaolin martial arts practical compression…?”
“What’s that?”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but somehow the words themselves were familiar.
It was like the name of a certification exam study book in the modern world.
One book is enough, or something like that.
Well, since they had to teach in a short period of one month, there was no time to teach the basics step by step.
Perhaps the gambling addict master had also taken that into account and omitted many things.
Finally, it was my turn.
“…Who is that person?”
Jeong-seon asked me with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
That person obviously meant Mo Yong-yeon.
“What does it matter to her if I cross-dress or sleep in the same room as Seong-han…”
“Haha…”
Our master had a lovesick side.
…Or could it be jealousy?
I wasn’t sure.
I told them what I had learned from Master.
The Yeongsal Sword Technique.
At those words, the two of them said with a slightly peculiar expression.
“A sword that kills spirit creatures…?”
“Since spirit creatures are said to be dangerous…”
Then, the example of the Sacheon Tang Clan naturally came up.
When choosing the strongest poisons held by the Sacheon Tang Clan, the poisons created by spirit creatures always ranked at the top.
Many warriors of the Tang Clan lose their lives in obtaining that poison.
Nevertheless, the Sacheon Tang Clan always hunts spirit creatures when they appear.
The inner core, which is no different from a spiritual medicine, the poison, the hard outer skin, and even the meat.
All of those things are precious things that cannot be bought with gold.
“It would be better to hide the name of that sword technique.”
There was even a joke that if someone knew my sword technique, they might try to kidnap me.
It seemed that my sword technique was that valuable.
Knock knock.
The sound of knocking on the door was heard.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and a familiar voice was heard.
It was Instructor Cheol-ung.
The timing was good, Mo Yong-yeon had left not long ago, and he had returned just in time.
As soon as he came in, he placed a piece of paper on the table.
The paper said “Tournament Bracket.”
“The tournament bracket has changed a bit.”
“Oh, the number of clans participating in the tournament has decreased.”
“Yeah.”
The reason for the decrease was obvious.
First of all, all the Martial Arts Academies except for us had given up on participating, and the Mo Yong Clan had given up on participating.
The Martial Arts Academies must have been intimidated by the clans and families that had decided to participate and gave up.
The Mo Yong Clan—
I had a guess.
‘Did I hit them a little too hard?’
It seemed that they had not recovered well from the fight a week ago.
Perhaps their bodies had recovered, but they may have suffered great damage to their confidence or mentality.
“I heard that the Mo Yong Clan was attacked by a stranger.”
“The Mo Yong Clan…”
“It seems like it wasn’t an ordinary stranger.”
The two of them were shocked by Cheol-ung’s words.
I pretended not to know and answered nonchalantly.
The Mo Yong Clan seemed to have decided to hide the truth out of embarrassment.
Well, how could they say that all of their disciples had been defeated by one student from the In Martial Arts Academy?
As a result of the reduced tournament bracket, the opponent we would meet was—
“Namgung? The Namgung Clan…”
The Namgung Clan.
Somehow, it felt familiar.
Was there something…?
It felt a little familiar.
I searched my memory, but I couldn’t quite grasp anything.
“Everyone, please take note.”
With those words, Cheol-ung left the room again.
He seemed a little busy.
Was there something to prepare?
“If it’s Namgung, will that woman from the Cheonmu Academy come out too?”
“Yeah. She’ll probably come out.”
‘That woman…?’
Even while Jeong-seon and Seol-yeong were talking, I couldn’t quite remember.
Knock knock.
And once again, the sound of knocking on the door was heard.
I thought it was Instructor Cheol-ung again and waited for him to come in, but the door didn’t open.
Eventually, we looked at each other, and I got up and slowly opened the door.
When I opened the door, a beauty with fair skin in refreshing blue attire was looking at me.
With a subtle smile on her lips.
The gaze, which even felt like a slight eye smile, made it clear that she knew me.
“…Gaga♥.”
“…Ah.”
It came to mind.
With a voice that oozed a sticky affection as if coated with honey, and that special title.
My memory was deeply stimulated.
The woman in front of me was Namgung Yu.
She was from the Namgung Clan and was one of the top talents in the Cheonmu Academy.
She was the woman I had taken from Pung-un.
“Oh my…”
Namgung Yu looked at Seol-yeong and Jeong-seon inside the room, then covered her mouth and laughed.
Then, she put her hand around my waist.
“Our Gaga is always being rude…”
As soon as she said that, the temperature inside the room seemed to drop several degrees, and a chilly atmosphere flowed.
It seemed that Seol-yeong and Jeong-seon’s moods had soured due to the appearance of Namgung Yu, following Master.
…Master was one thing, but this uncomfortable relationship between these three…
It felt like my past karma had returned.
“Haha, well, haha…”
With an awkward reaction, I took Namgung Yu’s hand and went outside for now.
It seemed better than talking in that space, at least.
In the process, I had to grab Namgung Yu’s wrist and pull her along a bit abruptly.
Even with that sudden touch, Namgung Yu didn’t seem displeased.
Rather, she whispered to me with a subtle smile.
“Gaga…♥ You’re being aggressive…♥”
She certainly wasn’t an ordinary character.
“Namgung Yu…?”
“Yes.”
Just in case I had mistaken someone, I called out her name one last time to confirm.
Namgung Yu nodded and answered brightly.
