Jingle.
“Welcome!”
The inn attendant’s hearty cry followed the ring of the bell above the door.
Ju Hwaran sprang to her feet, hope rising in her chest. But disappointment quickly filled her eyes.
“Ah…”
It wasn’t him. From up here, she couldn’t see the newcomer’s face properly, but she could tell that much.
No—if it had been him, she might have known him by his shadow alone.
It wasn’t him. It wasn’t that person.
Hwaran sighed softly and looked down at the first floor once more, reluctant to look away. Staring wouldn’t change anything, yet she couldn’t quite give up.
The men seated with her cleared their throats at the sight.
“Ahem.”
“Ahem.”
They had been watching Hwaran’s every move from the start. They weren’t foolish enough to miss what her reaction meant.
Three men sat across the table from her. Two of them exchanged a glance—but their eyes weren’t the only things communicating. Their lips barely moved as they spoke through Sound Transmission.
—Fellow Daoist Hwangbo. Who do you think Young Lady Ju is waiting for?
The question came from Baek Woo, the Kunlun Cloud Dragon. Handsome, clear-skinned, and dressed in spotless white, he was widely acknowledged as the Kunlun Sect’s finest young prodigy and was one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.
At his Sound Transmission, the beautiful young man with a sharp nose slightly furrowed his brow.
—No idea.
—I can think of only one person. If I’m right, it’s the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon, Jin Tae—
—Drop it.
Hwangbo Ak, the beautiful young man who had coldly cut him off, was the Lesser Family Head of the Hwangbo Family and another member of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.
He was in a foul mood.
To think I, Hwangbo Ak, would be treated as less than some other bastard.
It was unthinkable. For someone as full of himself as Hwangbo Ak, it was especially hard to accept.
The Hwangbo Family might not be one of the Five Great Families, but its name carried considerable weight throughout Murim. No one could deny that it was an old martial family that had ruled Shandong for generations.
And Hwangbo Ak was its Lesser Family Head.
He had the martial talent to earn a place among the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, too, and the looks to stand out anywhere. A fine family, immense wealth and prestige, a handsome face—it was only natural that women flocked to him.
The trouble was that, for the first time in nearly thirty years of life, everything he had enjoyed seemed worthless.
The Dagger Hidden Flower, Ju Hwaran.
The moment he saw her, he had realized that all the beautiful women he’d met before were fireflies before the sun.
She wore no makeup, unlike the others, yet her face held a beauty he couldn’t describe. Even her plain-colored martial uniform looked more elegant than an ornate court dress.
He had fallen for her at first sight.
Why couldn’t I have met a woman like her sooner?
Hwangbo Ak gazed at Hwaran as though entranced. Every small movement she made, every glimmer in her eyes—bright as the morning star—set his heart fluttering and stirred a desire buried deep within him.
But then…
“Phew.”
Hwaran sighed again, and his brow tightened.
He knew what lay behind that sigh. He knew who it was for.
The Blazing Flame Divine Dragon, Jin Taekyung.
He repeated the epithet and name silently. Beneath the table, his hand clenched of its own accord.
What’s so special about that bastard?
He had already heard about Hwaran’s connection to Jin Taekyung.
The details of what had happened between the Yongbong Escort Bureau and the Zhongnan Sect two months ago had never become widely known. But word had swept through Murim that the Taeeul Merciless Sword, one of Zhongnan’s three greatest masters, had knelt before a young prodigy barely past twenty.
Impossible.
It was something that could not and should not have happened. Hwangbo Ak had dismissed it as a ridiculous rumor and clicked his tongue.
More troubling, though, was his suspicion that the incident had left Hwaran with feelings for Jin Taekyung.
—Are you certain?
Baek Woo perked up at the sudden Sound Transmission.
—Hm?
—I asked whether what you said earlier was certain. The Blazing Flame Divine Dragon, Jin Taekyung. Is the person Young Lady Ju is waiting for really that bastard?
—Do you think she’s waiting for the Successor Beggar?
—…
Even Hwangbo Ak had to admit she wasn’t.
Whatever peculiar tastes Hwaran might have, she couldn’t possibly like Gung Gibang. The man gave off the sour reek of stale dog food just by sitting nearby.
—So it really is that bastard? Are you saying this Young Master is less than a worm that crawled out of some backwater corner of Shanxi Province?
—Not a worm. A Divine Dragon. And Shanxi Province is no longer a backwater corner. It is the hidden residence1 from which the dragon named Jin Taekyung rose, as well as the center of the trade routes running through northern Gaoyuan.
Having lightly corrected him, Baek Woo continued.
—Fellow Daoist Hwangbo, this isn’t the Jin Family of Taiyuan you used to know. Now that I think about it, I could tell the moment I met the Heaven Shaking Sword.
—The Heaven Shaking Sword? Heaven Shaking Sword Jin Mukyung?
—Is there another Heaven Shaking Sword we both know?
Hwangbo Ak’s eyebrows twitched.
If Ju Hwaran, who kept sighing across the table, and that young escort who looked like he had crawled in from who knew where had not been watching him, he would have scowled long ago.
—Don’t bring up that name. Do you think I’m asking because I don’t know who that bastard is?
—Ah, that’s right. You and the Heaven Shaking Sword were at Heaven’s Gate Temple together—
—Enough. Stop!
—You startled me. All right. Why are you shouting?
Hwangbo Ak’s clenched fist had turned red.
Jin Mukyung. That was a name he would remember until the day he died.
Hwangbo Ak had thought he possessed everything. Jin Mukyung had shown him a wall he could never climb—and humiliated him in the process.
Damn it.
Now the younger brother was standing in his way, too.
Seeing the anger on Hwangbo Ak’s face, Baek Woo moved his lips cautiously.
—Fellow Daoist Hwangbo. May I offer you some advice?
—What now?
—You remember what you said to me. If the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon comes, don’t ever mention it out loud. No—don’t even move your lips.
—Hmph. Worried we might come to blows?
—No, that’s not it. I’m worried I might get dragged into it too.
—…What?
Baek Woo regarded him with a look full of concern and pity.
—If you want to die, die alone.
—…!
—You were in closed-door training at your family’s estate during the Star-Array Grand Banquet, so you probably don’t know. But even now, whenever I think about that man, I feel—ugh. Anyway, keep that in mind. Understood?
What in the world was he talking about? Die alone?
Hwangbo Ak remained silent for a moment, staring at Baek Woo in disbelief. Then he sent another Sound Transmission.
—Are you… serious?
—Infinite Life Buddha.2 I swear before the Primordial Heavenly Venerable3 that I’m completely serious.
—Have you no pride as a martial artist?
—I lost that at the Star-Array Grand Banquet. Do you know what it’s like to have the top of your head stepped on after using the Cloud-Dragon Eight Forms?
—Even so!
—Even so, no. That man is a monster.
—W-What happened to the Kunlun Cloud Dragon, that proud, lofty crane? Where’s the Baek Woo I knew?
Baek Woo gazed into the past with a nostalgic look in his eyes.
—Come to think of it, the Successor Beggar said something similar to me back then. Then, in the very next test, he was beaten like a dog by Jin Taekyung. You heard what happened, didn’t you? Gung Gibang fell behind in movement technique, his eyes rolled back, and he tried to grab Jin Taekyung by the hair. He nearly got his head knocked off.
—…!
—Infinite Life Buddha.2 Let’s be honest. Do you think everything the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon has done is just a rumor?
—Of course!
Baek Woo let out a quiet sigh at the firm reply.
—Why?
—How could any man do those things? His master, the Fire King, must have handled everything and given his Disciple the credit!
—True. By any ordinary measure, it’s absurd. Reaching Supreme Peak when he’s barely past twenty? How could that be possible?
At last, a sensible answer. Hwangbo Ak nodded with conviction.
—Exactly. The Fire King Jeok Cheongang must have stepped in and handed his Disciple the credit.
—I’m saying this again because I’m worried about you: don’t tell the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon that his master handed him the credit. I don’t want to be paired with you as a battle partner and have my face beaten in.
—…What are you playing at?
—Infinite Life Buddha.2 It’s simple. Don’t try to reason it out with common sense. Don’t even try to understand it. Just accept it.
For a moment, Baek Woo’s almost enlightened tone left Hwangbo Ak speechless. Then he tried another angle.
—W-Wait. You have feelings for Young Lady Ju too, don’t you?
—Young Lady Ju? Of course I like her. What man wouldn’t?
—That very Young Lady Ju has feelings for Jin Taekyung. And you still intend to protect your rival?
—My life matters more to me than Young Lady Ju. So does my hair.
—What?
Baek Woo checked that no one was looking, then casually dipped his head.
A strangely bare patch showed between the neatly arranged strands at his crown.
—Infinite Life Buddha.2 See?
—What on earth happened to your—
Hwangbo Ak could not finish his Sound Transmission. Baek Woo gave him a sorrowful smile.
—My hair stopped growing after my head was stepped on during the Star-Array Grand Banquet……
—…!
—Give up. Giving up makes life easier. But if you absolutely can’t give up, please do it when I’m not around. I’d like to live, too.
What kind of insane nonsense was this?
Hwangbo Ak swallowed hard.
He was still furious, but a chill ran down his spine. Baek Woo was an old friend and a proud martial artist. If even he was talking like this…
Is this for real?
Hwangbo Ak had never believed all the rumors about the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon.
But if—if there wasn’t a shred of falsehood in them…
A monster beyond common sense.
Yes. An undeniable monster.
And at the same time, an unbearable humiliation wrapped itself around Hwangbo Ak’s entire body.
What a damnable mess.
His fist tightened. A groan escaped through his parted teeth, and Hwaran, sensing that something was wrong, spoke.
“Young Hero Hwangbo. Is something wrong?”
“Ah, no. Nothing.”
At his strained reply, the young escort who had done nothing but occupy a seat at their table gave a quiet laugh.
“You look very much like something’s wrong.”
“…I said it’s nothing.”
“If you say so. The food here is good, by the way.”
Hwangbo Ak narrowed his eyes.
He had allowed the man to join them only because he was Hwaran’s escort. From his behavior to the way he spoke, everything about him grated on Hwangbo Ak.
A mutter slipped through his twisted lips.
“This is the trouble with people who have no pedigree…”
Ju Hwaran was not a fool. A cold chill passed over her beautiful face, which had been filled with troubled thoughts only a moment earlier.
“Young Hero Hwangbo.”
“Ah, I wouldn’t want Young Lady Ju to misunderstand. I wasn’t talking about that fellow.”
Hwangbo Ak put on a false smile and pointed to a table some distance away.
“I was talking about those bastards who practice demonic, heterodox arts over there.”
And at the moment his voice, neither loud nor soft, rang through the inn—
Scrape.
Someone rose from their seat.
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