NOVEL NEXT Chapter 90
90th Episode: The Heart of Neungwolhyang – Illustration
If it weren’t for those guys.
I could have had more secret meetings with that person. I could have been held in that person’s embrace more. I could have accepted more of that person’s gentle strokes. I could have been called Hyangmae a bit more.
Hyangmae.
The face of Jeoksawol, who inwardly said that nickname, turned red. Her heart went thump thump.
“Gaga······.”
On the fifth floor of Gonhwa Pavilion, where no one was around, Jeoksawol called Lee Cheol-soo’s nickname.
“Gaga sold Night Pearl to Hyangmae.”
Jeoksawol cherished the Night Pearl sold by Lee Cheol-soo. This must surely be a treasure that was treasured in the sect.
The treasure of the sect. The treasure of Gaga.
I was trusted enough to leave the sale of a treasure to that person. That person found Hyangmae for me.
“They said we are a pair.”
But that wasn’t all.
That person said we are a pair. Yes. We are a pair. Gaga and I are a pair.
A world just for the two of us, where other women can’t intrude.
The thought brought a sly smile to Jeoksawol’s face.
It was an expression so relaxed it was hard to believe she was the number one in the dark world, devoid of blood or tears.
Clink.
As Jeoksawol activated the mechanism, the wall opened up to reveal the hidden room on the fifth floor.
Inside the hidden room was······.
A massive portrait of Lee Cheol-soo, no, a portrait showing his handsome features was attached to the wall. Beneath the portrait, there was a neatly organized stack of reports documenting Lee Cheol-soo’s actions, sent daily from Hao Mun.
In the middle of them, Jeoksawol placed the Night Pearl she cherished.
“Gaga, my Gaga. Hyangmae’s Gaga······.”
As Jeoksawol gently stroked the Night Pearl, she muttered.
“······I will definitely······ win Gaga’s heart.”
Not a child, but I, overflowing with experience and wisdom, will surely.
I will seize that person’s heart.
“So always think of me.”
As Jeoksawol made that promise, she suddenly stopped laughing while stroking the Night Pearl with a look of ecstasy.
“Ah, no, this······.”
Only then did the scene in the hidden room properly register in her eyes.
Not only was there a huge portrait of Lee Cheol-soo and stacks of reports detailing his deeds, but there was also a treasure he had cherished.
This was······
Wasn’t it the appearance of a woman in love?
Moreover, genuinely jealous of other little girls······.
“No······. It’s not genuine.”
Jeoksawol murmured in a low voice.
Yes, it’s not genuine.
That’s not a portrait, it’s a handsome likeness, and gathering those reports is to track his actions.
Yes, Jeoksawol did not give her heart. I have never been sincere to a man.
······I must not become sincere to anyone.
Then again······.
Like back then.
With that thought, a scene from long ago, yet vivid like it was yesterday, flashed in Jeoksawol’s mind.
The night when the moonlight beautifully descended through the bars. The figure of her master turned into a beast, the sight of her cutting his neck, the blood of her master on her hands.
The voices of people pointing fingers at her as a vile person for injuring her master echoed in her ears.
She couldn’t allow that day to repeat.
Jeoksawol thought that and bit her lip.
Her crimson eyes shook.
“······My heart······ cannot be given to just anyone······.”
Exactly.
This trembling, this heartbeat, this feeling of unease is all.
Just the feelings of Neungwolhyang.
It is not Jeoksawol’s true heart.
However, the heart of the 61-year-old, the most beautiful, Jeoksawol, was gradually, oh so slightly, beginning to shake.
*
At the same time.
Shanxi Province, Hangshan.
A famous mountain known as the North Peak of the Five Sacred Mountains of the Central Plains.
On the peak of Heavenly Peak Ridge, where clouds floated beneath, the renowned Hangshan Sect, one of the prestigious sects, stood tall.
Hangshan Sect Main Base.
In Wol Eun Pavilion, where the sect leader resided, there was Geumhu.
“The contest will start soon. Prepare to welcome guests flawlessly so as not to tarnish the honor of Hangshan Sect.”
A beautiful woman in her twenties with striking silver hair and silver eyes.
Under the guidance of Geumhu Eun Seol-ran, her disciple So Geom-hu Cheon Sobin nodded.
“Got it! Master! Just leave it to your disciple!”
So Geom-hu Cheon Sobin laughed, ha ha ha ha.
Her hair, mixed with black and silver, swayed.
‘Lee Cheol-soo, be ready. I’m going to show you it’s a big world out here!’
How dare he target my Master.
The day to publicly embarrass him finally approached.
Of course, she had to prepare thoroughly.
‘Master must surely be planning to use this contest to embarrass that reckless colorful horse Lee Cheol-soo! Hehehe! The girl will follow Master’s orders!’
It wasn’t just her.
The whole Hangshan Sect was brimming with rage towards Lee Cheol-soo, who dared to challenge Geumhu.
That blazing anger would pour out towards Lee Cheol-soo in the contest.
Thinking this, So Geom-hu completed her preparations and left the main hall.
After exiting the hall, So Geom-hu headed toward the Hangshan Grand Martial Arts Venue.
In the Hangshan Grand Martial Arts Venue, where the sea of clouds and the rocky cliffs combined, all the elders, first disciples, second disciples, and third disciples of Hangshan Sect had gathered.
As the noisy disciples of Hangshan Sect spotted So Geom-hu, silence fell like a mouse was dead.
Standing confidently in front of the gathered disciples, So Geom-hu stopped and declared, “I have come under Master’s orders!”
At her words, all the gazes of the Hangshan disciples turned toward her.
Receiving the attention of everyone, So Geom-hu smiled.
“Master has ordered us to thoroughly prepare for the contest! What do you think this means? It means to show that reckless Lee Cheol-soo and his Gongdong Sect gang a fiery lesson! A year ago, Lee Cheol-soo dared to challenge Master during the Orthodox Faction Competition······. As disciples of Hangshan Sect! As Master’s sisters! We have a duty to punish them! Through this contest!”
Flames ignited in the eyes of the Hangshan disciples at So Geom-hu’s words.
Every single disciple present, no, every single member of Hangshan Sect, though differing in intensity, fiercely admired and supported Geumhu.
Only a man who can defeat her shall be her husband. She shall determine her own fate.
Many women in the martial world admired the confident ambition of Geumhu.
Among those various female martial artists, those who admired and supported Geumhu to the extent of joining Hangshan Sect became the very disciples of the sect.
“Spread the word throughout Shanxi Martial World, no, across the entirety of the Gangho Martial World! Expose the true identity of that reckless Lee Cheol-soo before the eyes of the world, and make sure he never dares to insult Master again!”
Flames burned in So Geom-hu’s eyes.
Hearing her words, the female disciples of Hangshan Sect nodded with serious expressions.
All of them agreed with So Geom-hu’s words.
They were the ones who admired Geumhu more than anyone.
It was tantamount to insult for Lee Cheol-soo, who belonged to a different sect, let alone a colorful horse, to publicly challenge Geumhu.
Everyone thought that way.
So after So Geom-hu’s passionate speech, the next day.
A rumor began to spread in Shanxi Martial World like a swift wind.
There will be a contest between Hangshan Sect and Gongdong Sect.
It was rumored that Lee Cheol-soo’s qualifications as a challenger would be verified by Hangshan Sect.
This was the rumor So Geom-hu had instructed to spread.
As the rumor continued to circulate, it began to gain more meat.
“Did you hear? The Hangshan Sect girls are ready to pounce on Gongdong Sect’s Lee Cheol-soo!”
“Gongdong Sect? Isn’t that just a two-blade colorful horse? Qualifying as a challenger, it’s only natural! Well, if Geumhu wouldn’t fall for someone like him!”
“Exactly! Isn’t Geumhu a beautiful figure in the Orthodox Faction Martial World and the idol of all female martial artists? Even though Gongdong Sect tried to delay the challenge until adulthood, the result will be the same. Once again, Geumhu will easily defeat that two-blade colorful horse in the contest!”
Before long, this contest began to be referred to as the Hangshan Great War in the world.
It was a rumor that would make Geumhu and Lee Cheol-soo grab their necks in shock.
*
Tap.
As So Geom-hu withdrew and the door closed, Geumhu, realizing she was alone through her senses, took out a carefully hidden chest and opened it with a key.
Clink.
Inside the chest was a diary.
Geumhu flipped through the diary, which contained memories shared with Sangong.
She carefully took a brush and began to write in the diary.
“Sangong. The day I finally meet you is drawing nearer. Sangong······. The days I wait for you feel longer than a year. Just thinking of you makes my heart race and my face flush. You must come see me soon.”
The face of Geumhu, writing the diary, turned crimson.
She hugged the diary to her full chest affectionately.
This diary was her most treasured possession, a precious token of love between her and Sangong.
“I will wait, Sangong.”
I want to see you soon.
My one and only beloved husband.
“If you come tomorrow, I will have been excited since a year ago.”
Geumhu’s heart went thump.
On that day.
After parting with Lee Cheol-soo on Gongdong Mountain, from the next day, Geumhu waited for this day, thinking of Sangong.
Every night she soaked her pillow with tears, thinking of that person.
I miss you.
I want to see your face. I want to smell your scent. I want to hold you close like before.
“Sangong, my Sangong. How much more magnificent and charming you must have grown, just thinking of you makes my heart thump.”
Boys and girls in their growth years change dramatically as the years go by.
Her disciple So Geom-hu, now sixteen, was no longer a mere girl!
Sangong must also have turned fifteen this year, changing from the way he looked a year ago.
Because Sangong was also in his growth period.
In a more handsome and gallant form.
“I love every part of you.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean she disliked the fourteen-year-old Sangong either.
She loved every aspect of him.
Even the sight of him diligently raising a significant figure during training was charming to Geumhu.
The past year apart did not lessen her love, contrary to the saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder; instead, Geumhu, at forty-seven, found her feelings growing deeper.
Geumhu thought as she awaited Sangong with longing.
This had happened the day before Lee Cheol-soo’s group departed from Gongdong Sect.
*
After receiving the payment for the Night Pearl from Jeoksawol.
Before long, all the members of our Gongdong Sect departed from Gongdong Mountain.
Of course, since there were only five of us, including Master, Same, Sahyeong, Seomun Cheong-ha, and me, the scale was small.
Thus, as we departed from Gongdong Sect, we traveled through Gansu and Shanxi provinces and finally arrived at Shanxi Province, Hangshan.
It was the day before the contest began.