WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ The Heaven-Slaying Sword ◈
Chapter 40: Chapter Five - Dragon-Phoenix Assembly (13)
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The next day, early in the morning, before the darkness had fully lifted.
Dang Hwa-seo opened her eyes in her bedroom.
For a moment, she stared blankly at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. Then she shuddered and covered her face with both hands.
‘...I've lost my mind.’
Only when the last of her drowsiness faded did she remember what had happened the day before.
Her younger half-brother, whom she had met the previous night, and his cutting words.
Mok Ri-won catching her when she had nearly fallen apart, and the moment his smile had washed her heart clean.
So much had happened that her thoughts should have been a mess, yet one feeling stood out with startling clarity.
‘I've...’
Fallen in love.
She had begun to look upon someone with longing.
The realization felt so unfamiliar, so embarrassing, that Dang Hwa-seo trembled.
It was a strange feeling.
She had heard that when someone fell in love, their heart pounded wildly, their face grew hot, and they lost their senses. Yet her own reaction was a little different.
Her heart did not pound so much as clench tight.
The heat filled her lungs rather than her face, and every breath she let out was unbearably hot.
Only the part about losing her senses was not so different from what she had heard.
As she examined herself, Dang Hwa-seo suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
‘What a strange feeling.’
Her circumstances were so complicated, with so many difficult problems to solve, yet she could not focus on any of them.
She ought to have been worried about that, but she was not worried in the slightest.
Joy came first.
It was truly strange.
Dang Hwa-seo sat up.
Keeping one hand over her chest, she drew a deep breath, then pressed her palms against her hot cheeks, trying to cool them down.
Only then did she get out of bed.
At that moment.
“Miss! Are you awake?!”
Mok Ri-won's voice came from outside the door.
He must have come because he was still concerned about what had happened yesterday.
The corner of Dang Hwa-seo's mouth twitched upward at the thought before settling back into place.
“Yes, I'm awake.”
It would look pathetic to step outside smiling after crying so much yesterday.
Letting her needless pride take hold, as suited her nature, Dang Hwa-seo opened the door.
* * *
“Did you sleep well?”
Mok Ri-won wore his usual bright smile.
It was completely untroubled, a smile that once again conveyed his intent to pretend nothing had happened the previous day.
It was consideration that made her both grateful and sorry.
Dang Hwa-seo felt something clench tightly inside her as she replied.
“Yes. Did you sleep well, Young Hero?”
“I did! Ah, not terribly well, actually. You see, Brother Jegal came by last night and told me something interesting. It was about a merchant from She County...”
Mok Ri-won had already begun chatting away.
Dang Hwa-seo listened as they walked, smiling at parts of his story and sharing his surprise at others.
Then she thought.
‘...Can I leave?’
Could she leave this man behind?
Would this longing she had only just recognized truly let him go when the time came?
The answer came easily.
The thought of being separated from him filled Dang Hwa-seo with an indescribably strong aversion.
It was a terribly troublesome emotion.
A fluttering feeling without reason had shaken the resolve she had kept firm all this time.
Dang Hwa-seo wondered why she had developed these feelings.
It was only natural for her to wonder.
Every moment of her life had been filled with endurance and hardship. There had been no room in it to spare for anyone else.
With a body that made even romantic longing feel like an extravagance, she had tried to turn away from such matters.
That was what it meant.
Her life had been so exhausting that even love needed a reason.
Why had she come to like him?
...The moment that thought arose, Dang Hwa-seo came up with an answer so shallow that even she was taken aback.
‘His face...?’
The moment she thought it, self-loathing washed over her.
Was she truly so weak to a handsome face? Had her standards been so high that only someone like Mok Ri-won could make her heart waver?
Her face suddenly turned red.
Mok Ri-won tilted his head at the sight.
“Miss?”
“It is nothing. I remembered something embarrassing.”
“What was it?”
“It's a secret.”
Curiosity deepened on Mok Ri-won's face.
He looked as though he desperately wanted to ask, but because of the promise he had made yesterday, he could only struggle silently against the urge.
Even that was beautiful.
“I'll tell you later.”
“Ah! You promised!”
“Of course.”
Dang Hwa-seo chuckled as she entered the inn.
In an instant, every gaze in the inn turned toward Mok Ri-won.
“That's the Ink Sword.”
“Isn't he incredible? Challenging the Sword Dragon at his age already.”
“I wonder what will happen... Considering the sword he showed against the Immortal Dragon...”
“Come on. Surely he can't defeat the Sword Dragon.”
Whispers drifted in from all around them.
Dang Hwa-seo glanced at Mok Ri-won, but he was too occupied with his meal, humming to himself.
‘Right. Of course.’
She realized something anew.
Mok Ri-won had reached the finals of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering.
A martial artist whose strength far surpassed others his age, whose talent made the entire Central Plains martial world salivate.
‘Compared to that...’
What was she?
A fugitive from the Tang Clan.
Martial arts that had stagnated for six years.
And a body that could not even bear children.
She knew the comparison was meaningless, yet Dang Hwa-seo could not stop comparing herself to Mok Ri-won.
“I can't believe your match is tomorrow already, Miss!”
“...Yes.”
“What do you think? Have you prepared any special move? If you tell only me...”
She had no special move prepared.
She was not even confident she could win.
She would probably lose.
And lose miserably.
It was only natural.
The Sword Dragon, Namgung Jin-cheon, was beyond the heavens.
He had been extraordinary until now, and he would become an even greater martial artist in the future.
He was far too different from someone like her, who wanted nothing more than peace.
It was only natural.
‘...And yet, now of all times.’
Dang Hwa-seo found herself resenting it anew.
She was a martial artist by nature.
She might have fled her clan. She might have hidden herself while wishing for peace. But when it came to martial arts, she was a woman with ambition.
That was not the only reason.
Dang Hwa-seo added another reason to the one that had come to mind.
She wanted to stand beside Mok Ri-won.
She wanted to become someone who could be more confident in herself.
It was an uncontrollable desire.
Without forcing down the emotion rising within her, Dang Hwa-seo looked at Mok Ri-won.
“...I should at least do everything I can.”
“If it is you, Miss, you will surely manage it!”
“I hope so.”
Dang Hwa-seo clenched her fist.
‘I don't want to leave.’
She wanted to stand by his side.
No, more precisely, she wanted to keep him by hers.
But the situation was not so accommodating.
Though Mok Ri-won had repelled them, the Tang Clan would continue to target her.
No, now that they knew persuasion would not work, they would resort to harsher measures, whether threats or force.
What could she possibly do against that?
Dang Hwa-seo thought.
Soaked in a longing whose cause she still did not fully understand, she set practical concerns aside to protect it.
Only then did she reach a resolution that was almost unreasonable.
‘If...’
If she achieved a result in her match with Namgung Jin-cheon that she could be proud of.
If she earned the right to knock on the Martial Alliance's doors with her own strength, without relying on Shaolin Temple.
Could she not change her plans then?
A faint smile formed on Dang Hwa-seo's lips.
‘It is a gamble. And an unreasonable one.’
But what did that matter?
Dang Hwa-seo had finally learned something as well.
It was a trite truth she had learned through the man before her.
‘Those who have committed no sin need not run.’
There was no need to fear what came, nor to hide after frightening herself in advance.
“Young Hero Mok.”
“Go ahead!”
“If I achieve a good result in this match...”
“If you do?”
“Will you grant me one request?”
Mok Ri-won blinked.
His mouth hung open for a moment, then he broke into a broad smile.
“Of course! As long as it is something I can do, I will do anything for you!”
‘Anything.’
It was a good answer.
Dang Hwa-seo wanted to place her hopes in that answer as well.
She wanted to make a request born of selfishness, to ask him to go to the Martial Alliance with her if she won this match.
“A man's word is worth a thousand pieces of gold, they say.”
Suppressing the unease and fear swelling within her, then placing Mok Ri-won's promise over them, Dang Hwa-seo spoke.
“You must keep your word.”
She smiled with determination.
Yet Dang Hwa-seo's expression was naturally stern, so her smile somehow carried a hint of threat as well.
“O-Of course...!”
Mok Ri-won suddenly felt afraid for no reason.
* * *
The day of the match arrived.
As with Mok Ri-won's match against Hyeon-gong, the sparring arena was packed with people today.
The heat and humidity rose as always, along with the cheers.
Mok Ri-won sat in the fairly uncrowded section assigned to him, watching Dang Hwa-seo climb onto the platform.
Then he looked at Namgung Jin-cheon across from her.
Those jade-blue eyes remained as blue as ever.
There was also the sharpness of his features and the oppressive presence he carried.
‘He really is on another level.’
While in She County, Mok Ri-won had heard stories from Jegal San.
Stories about the life Namgung Jin-cheon had lived.
“Brother Mok, did you know? The cost of the spiritual medicines Brother Namgung consumed while growing up would be enough to build a castle in Anhui. People say he was fed so many remarkable medicines that the unabsorbed remnants inside his body have formed an inner core.”
How many spiritual medicines had he consumed to gain such Inner power?
“Ah, there is another story. While Brother Namgung was growing up, from around the age of ten until seventeen, masters of the previous generation took turns coming to Anhui to spar with him.”
How many masters had crossed swords with him so that he could gain experience?
“So there is nothing to be done. To Brother Namgung, this Dragon Phoenix Gathering is little more than children's play.”
Even what he thought of this Dragon Phoenix Gathering.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
A woman's voice came from behind Mok Ri-won as his thoughts continued.
Mok Ri-won startled and turned around.
“Venerable Hye-un?”
White Phoenix Hye-un stood there.
Beside her, a man wearing a foolish grin stared blankly at the sky.
Mok Ri-won swallowed hard.
‘The rumors were true!’
He had heard that she always kept men around whenever she came to the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, and he finally understood why.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Hye-un glared at Mok Ri-won.
He flinched and quickly lowered his head.
“Ah, it is nothing...”
“Hm...”
Hye-un watched him for a moment, then went to sit beside him.
The man at her side seemed completely uninterested in their conversation and did nothing but keep grinning.
He looked like someone who had been struck by the Soul-Seizing Art.
“Are you cheering for the Poison Phoenix?”
“Isn't that obvious? Miss will surely show everyone something impressive.”
“You do not say she will win.”
Mok Ri-won's mouth closed.
An awkward smile settled on his face.
“...I am hoping she wins.”
It was an evasive answer.
Hye-un looked at his smile with an indifferent expression, then turned her gaze toward the sparring arena.
“...At least he has some sense.”
“What did you say?”
“I was talking to myself.”
Hye-un looked at Dang Hwa-seo standing on the platform.
‘She is impressive, though.’
As a martial artist, Dang Hwa-seo had many qualities worthy of respect.
Her mindset, her tenacious nature, and even the delicacy with which she controlled her qi.
But that was all.
“The outcome is obvious.”
Her opponent was Namgung Jin-cheon.
And Namgung Jin-cheon would be the winner.
“I wonder how many exchanges she can last.”
Three at most.
That was likely all.
Mok Ri-won blinked at Hye-un's confident words.
Then he spoke.
“Why do you think that?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Why do you think Miss will only be able to endure?”
Mok Ri-won spoke to Hye-un as though he truly could not understand.
To Hye-un, it was absurd.
“Benefactor Mok, do you not know? The Poison Phoenix cannot defeat the Sword Dragon.”
“I do not deny it. But that does not mean Miss will suffer a miserable defeat.”
She could not understand what he was saying at all.
Hye-un even wondered whether he had been blinded by love and was clinging to a foolish hope.
As Hye-un suppressed the headache rising within her, Mok Ri-won suddenly cried out.
“Ah! Miss looked this way!”
Mok Ri-won waved broadly at Dang Hwa-seo.
Hye-un looked at Dang Hwa-seo as well.
‘Oof, that stings.’
If someone wished to kill with their eyes alone, that was how they ought to look.
Hye-un let out a hollow laugh at Dang Hwa-seo's glare, then made a move.
If she had to find a reason, it came from playfulness and a wicked desire to tease this foolish man.
Thunk.
Hye-un rested her head on Mok Ri-won's shoulder.
Mok Ri-won froze, and Dang Hwa-seo's eyes became bloodshot.
‘This is fun.’
They really were a pair worth teasing.
Footnotes:
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