Chapter 134
Beopgong tapped me as I bit down hard on my lip, then gave a shrug.
“Kid, think it over while we head to the Martial Alliance. I’ve already sent word that I’m bringing you in. If we back out now, we’ll end up with nothing.”
“What about Yeon Ryang?”
“If he goes there and dies, then that’s as far as his life goes. Better for only him to die than for you to be hunted down alongside him as a public enemy of the martial world.”
“...What are you talking about? Did you eat something bad?”
Beopgong remained °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° calm despite my irritation.
“Your brother wanted your name cleared. Not to be saved himself. I’m faithfully carrying out his request. Your brother expected all of this from the start.”
“What do you—!”
“That bastard came to see me prepared to never leave the prison cells. Unless you want to ruin your brother’s plan, follow along quietly. Getting your wanted notice withdrawn comes first.”
The sheer absurdity of it made my voice rise.
“Are you both insane? How could you decide something like that without saying a single word to me? ‘I’ll sacrifice myself, so you clear your name and leave’? Did you think I’d happily agree and walk away?”
My face was red as I fumed, but Beopgong did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.
“Are you done?”
“Master!”
“I understand how you feel, but save the arguing for later. His hair is still red. He’s not in good condition, so don’t provoke him.”
With an indifferent expression, Beopgong nodded toward Yeon Ryang, who sat at the top of a tree trying to suppress his emotions. A reddish tinge still lingered in his hair.
The moment I realized he had intended this from the time he first spoke up at the hermitage, my teeth ground together.
Every last one of them did whatever they pleased.
One was trying to send me away by himself, one was telling me to cut off someone else’s family, and one kept picking fights whenever he felt like it...!
Did they think I never got angry because I didn’t know how? Why did I have to keep worrying myself sick over these thoughtless martial artists?
“You’re all the same! I don’t want to look at any of you, so get lost!”
Unable to contain my fury, I kicked a boulder. The shattered fragments came crashing down in a heap.
“Hey, kid. Hey, hey. What are you getting angry for too? Kid? Hold on!”
I heard Beopgong call out in panic, but I had no desire to answer him. I stomped away from those awful martial artists.
*****
No matter how far I walked, my anger would not settle.
After tearing aimlessly through the forest, I sat down hard on the ground, snorting through my nose.
I was furious, yet I did not even know who I should pour that anger onto. Worse, I understood every one of their positions. That only made me more irritated.
Why was I worrying about everyone else when I was so angry I could die? Was I really such a sucker?
Grinding my teeth, I took out a whetstone from my robe. Better to calm down by tending to my throwing knives than ruin my innocent teeth.
I did not want to think about anything. Everything was a mess.
I focused every bit of my attention on honing the blade of a throwing knife and emptied my mind. Then I sensed Jinseong approaching cautiously from behind me.
Anger surged up at once, and I threw the knife at him.
The throwing knife skimmed past Jinseong, split the massive tree behind him into three pieces, and sent it crashing backward.
Thud!
Dust flew as the tree came down with a deafening crash, startling birds into the air.
I snorted and pulled out another throwing knife. Before I could raise it, a long shadow fell over my head.
“Young Lady Tang.”
“...What?”
I looked up irritably and found Jinseong staring down at me with obvious hesitation. I met his gaze without expression.
“May I speak with you for a moment?”
“No. You may not.”
“...”
“If you’re here to talk about Demonic Sect members again, go away. I’m not in the mood to listen to a Taoist lecture me.”
Jinseong’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He bowed deeply and politely.
“I allowed my emotions to get the better of me earlier. My words and actions were excessive. I apologize.”
“Ah, yes. Well, I’m not in the mood to accept your apology either. Go away.”
“Young Lady, I...”
“What answer do you want from me? ‘It’s fine’? ‘I’ll do as you say’? Too bad. I have no intention of giving you the answer you want.”
Confusion flickered through Jinseong’s eyes.
I knew I should not be acting like this, but I could not make my words come out gently.
“I know you can’t just overlook something that bothers you. But every time you apologize, it feels like you’re forcing me to forgive you, and it irritates me. I don’t want to talk to you, so could you please keep your mouth shut?”
After snapping at him sharply, I passed him and pulled the throwing knife from the fallen tree trunk. Then I began sharpening its blunted edge again.
I was openly ignoring him, yet Jinseong did not leave. He simply stood there in silence.
His gaze bothered me, so I moved. Jinseong quietly followed.
“Why are you following me?”
“...”
“Why are you following me? Are you worried I’ll run away? I won’t, so go somewhere else. Let me catch my breath.”
“...”
“Is what I’m saying amusing to you? I told you to leave.”
Unlike me, who had completely lost my composure, Jinseong remained calm. He answered evenly.
“You have not yet said that I may speak.”
This rigid bastard. He was going to drive me insane.
I grabbed at my hair and jumped in place.
“Argh! Do you know how obnoxious you are?”
“May I answer now?”
His flat voice and indifferent face made anger boil inside me. It made me even angrier because I knew he was not trying to mock me.
So obnoxious!
“You’ve been talking this whole time. Why are you asking?”
I glared at him, but Jinseong was not intimidated in the slightest. Instead, he stepped closer.
“I will wait until your anger subsides.”
“Go ahead, then. Just don’t complain when a throwing knife ends up in your crown point.”
I turned my back on him and dropped to the ground. I felt like I needed to sharpen every hidden weapon I had left before I could calm down.
Jinseong watched me silently for a moment, then slowly lowered himself.
“Young Lady Tang. Should you not stop now?”
“No.”
“Your fingers are swollen.”
“What?”
“You notice the wounds on everyone else immediately, yet you fail to notice injuries on your own body.”
Muttering under his breath, he gently took my left hand in his.
Just as he said, my fingers had swollen a little. I must have gripped the whetstone too hard.
I roughly slapped his hand away.
“Don’t touch me without permission. I see you’re good at changing the subject too.”
“The other two are worried about you.”
“Let them worry. I spent days and nights worrying because of the things you people have done. Am I not even allowed to get angry?”
“That was not what I meant.”
His gray eyes remained as still as a lake as he answered slowly.
The more I snapped at him, the more he remained unmoved. It made me feel like I was the only fool here.
I glared at him, kicked at the dirt, and rubbed my face.
Fine. Getting angry would not change the situation. If we had no choice but to go to the Martial Alliance, then the first thing I needed to do was figure out how to get out safely.
I needed to talk to Yeon Ryang too.
Think rationally. Be rational.
I gathered up the hidden weapons scattered across the ground and stood.
As I brushed the dirt from my clothes and calmed myself down, I spotted something bizarre in the distance and swallowed a laugh.
Yeon Ryang had somehow crept nearby and was hiding behind a tree barely half his size, watching me nervously.
“Brother. Hiding behind that doesn’t count as hiding. I can see you.”
Did he honestly think that huge body of his would disappear behind a tree? Was he even trying?
As I grumbled and approached, Yeon Ryang flinched and slowly stepped out from behind the tree. I was about to lose my temper again, but I hurriedly gathered what little patience I had left.
He looked terrified that I might turn away from him.
Unbelievable. Now I couldn’t even stay angry.
“Sohae. Your brother...”
“Enough. You don’t need to explain.”
“Sohae...”
Yeon Ryang’s face darkened.
“Your brother was wrong. No matter how angry I was, I should have endured it...”
“What? Good grief. Do you think I’m angry because you got into a fight? Do you have no idea what you did behind my back?”
“Uh, well... Did I fail to hide my demonic qi?”
...He seriously did not know.
The utterly baffled look on his face made my stomach twist. I rubbed at the corners of my eyes and shook my head.
“Brother. I don’t want one-sided sacrifices.”
“Sohae. That was for you—!”
“No. If you really did it for me, you should never have made that choice.”
“...”
“That’s not what family is, Brother. Family means trusting each other and leaning on each other.”
At my firm words, Yeon Ryang’s eyes shook violently.
A bitter smile escaped me as I watched him stand there, completely at a loss.
You poor thing.
Swinging a sword, accepting death, and rushing alone into enemy territory did not solve every problem in the world.
The choice that seemed so absurd to me must have been the best choice Yeon Ryang could think of. That saddened me.
I softened my voice.
“If you try to pull something like this one more time, I really won’t see you again. Never do this again.”
At my threat, Yeon Ryang nodded faintly.
My softened voice seemed to ease his mind, and relief crossed his face.
“Still, I’m not over it yet. Take this!”
“Ah! Sohae! You said one hit!”
I glared fiercely and smacked the back of that foolish grown man several times, then looked toward Jinseong.
He was watching the two of us with an unreadable expression.
“Taoist Jinseong. Is there truly no room for compromise?”
“Compromise is an inappropriate word, Young Lady. The disposition of a Demonic Sect member is not a matter open to negotiation.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Perhaps because I had not expected anything in the first place, his stubborn reply did not make me angry.
Just as I turned away, Jinseong added—
“However.”
“Yes?”
“However, I can entrust all authority over this decision to Master Beopgong. In that case, Master Beopgong will have to bear full responsibility for everything that follows.”
He spoke with a blank expression.