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Chapter 520 – Just Grant It Just Once

Four teacups laid haphazardly on the table.

Ignoring the tea that had been brought, I could only fix my astonished gaze straight ahead.

“Where do you think you’re going…?”

Did I really just hear what I thought I heard? I still held the teacup I intended to drink, staring at Nangong Bi-ah.

Where…? Where exactly are you saying you’re going?

“North Sea? Did you just say North Sea?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t believe it and asked again, but her answer was the same.

So I decided to ask something else first.

“… Why there?”

“…”

“Do you even know where you’re planning to go?”

If the North Sea that Nangong Bi-ah mentioned was a place I knew…

‘… That must be the New Outer Martial World, right?’

A region outside of the Central Plains where we currently stood.

I’ve heard it was involved in the Blood Calamity caused by the Blood Demon.

It was also a place that had not participated in the wars when the Heavenly Demon descended and caused the Blood Calamity.

If she’s talking about the North Sea now…

‘That means it’s where the Ice Palace is located.’

Surely, it refers to the territory ruled by the North Sea Ice Palace.

I had heard that it was a place covered in snow year-round, filled with a deadly chill.

I guess that’s because…

‘… It was said to be the doing of a White Grade Demon Beast, right?’

According to the records, it was.

I wondered how just one demon beast could turn such a vast land into a cold wasteland.

‘But seeing how it can create rivers and cover entire forests in fog, it seems quite possible.’

Recalling the mischief our ancestors caused, I couldn’t outright dismiss the possibility.

[You idiot! Do you even know how much hardship I went through?]

I heard one of the ancestors who caused that calamity flare up, but I ignored it.

Anyway, coming back to the topic.

Since the New Outer Martial World forbids the entry of outsiders, even the bloodlines of the Martial Alliance or noble houses couldn’t easily go there.

Especially the North Sea made it even harder.

‘And that’s true for the Ice Palace as well.’

In the past, when the former Ice Palace Lord visited the Central Plains, right after he fought the Sword Sovereign and turned the western region into ruins, the North Sea has been forbidden to step foot in the Central Plains ever since.

This meant that both sides were in a state where they could not easily exchange with each other.

‘But she wants to go to the North Sea.’

No matter how I thought about it, it was an utterly absurd statement.

Even more so because it was coming from Nangong Bi-ah.

So I turned my gaze away from her.

“What on earth is this?”

“Ahem….”

Unintentionally letting my emotions seep into my words, someone coughed lightly.

It was the only man among the three who had entered my residence before me.

“You’re glaring like you’re about to kill someone… could you ease up just a bit?”

The awkwardly coughing man resembled Nangong Bi-ah in some uncanny way.

That made sense since he was a direct bloodline of the Nangong Clan.

“What did I ask?”

Frowning, I repeated my question, and the man, Master of Wudang, slowly sipped his tea.

He was the one who threw the Thunder Fang around and then disappeared.

To think he would randomly show up in my place a few days later, how am I supposed to process that?

‘Honestly, if it were just the things above, it wouldn’t matter.’

Well, it wouldn’t really matter.

There was nothing to steal or anything significant.

It was something trivial that I could let slide.

But the reason I was so pissed off was something else entirely.

“Are you taking her as a disciple? Who do you think you are?”

The issue was with what the Master of Wudang spat out as soon as he saw me.

I ground my teeth and glared, causing the Master of Wudang to hurriedly wave his hands.

“Prince, please calm down first….”

“Calm down?”

Calm down, my foot.

I was barely holding back from exploding right now; you want me to calm down?

If I could, I’d love to flip the table over, but I bit my lip and held it in.

Hah.

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.

Was it my imagination, or did the breath I just exhaled feel warm?

Hiding my grinding teeth, I looked at the Master of Wudang.

“… You are a person of the Wudang, right?”

“Indeed, I am a Wudang person.”

Although he had heard all kinds of nonsense about whether having been sent out by Wudang made him a true master.

Despite all that ridicule, he was undeniably a disciple of Wudang’s current Sect Leader, the Wudang Sword Master.

So then…

“Why is Wudang wanting her as a disciple?”

“Well….”

At my question, the Master of Wudang rolled his eyes around before looking at me.

“First, it seems there’s some misunderstanding in our words, so I’ll correct that. Wudang doesn’t want this girl.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“It’s not Wudang, but ‘I’ who want her. This is unrelated to Wudang’s intentions.”

His words further knitted my brows tighter.

It was just some ridiculous wordplay that didn’t amount to anything.

But even so, would anything change?

I shifted my gaze to Nangong Bi-ah.

Nangong Bi-ah showed no signs of denying the Master of Wudang’s comments.

That meant this conversation had likely been pre-established.

‘Hah.’

Why on earth did the Master of Wudang suddenly want Nangong Bi-ah?

I couldn’t comprehend it.

She was part of the same bloodline as the Master of Wudang, but there was a significant issue preventing that.

‘She’s already reached the Peak level through the unique martial arts of the Nangong Clan.’

The fact that Nangong Bi-ah had already ascended to the peak using Nangong Clan’s energy arts meant that…

If she were to become the Master of Wudang’s disciple…

It would mean discarding all those realizations and starting anew with his martial arts.

‘… That’s insane.’

It sounded like something a madman obsessed with martial arts would do.

[Calling my master a madman, you brat.]

‘That old geezer is indeed a certifiable madman.’

Although Pejon was a person who was utterly crazy about martial arts, that was one thing.

Could Nangong Bi-ah seriously make such a choice?

I absolutely could not believe it.

“I can understand your concerns, but I won’t have her abandon all her martial arts to start anew.”

It seemed the Master of Wudang had grasped what I was worried about.

He continued clarifying.

“… What do you mean by that?”

You want her as a disciple but not for her to abandon everything? That didn’t make any sense.

Then what was the point?

‘Unless it’s not like my case.’

In cases where it wasn’t a problem to have different energy arts embedded in the body, this wasn’t a situation that made any sense.

‘No way.’

A sudden thought struck me, and I glared at Nangong Bi-ah.

Don’t tell me she’s planning to insert another energy art into her body?

‘No way that’s happening.’

If that were the case, I had to forcefully stop it.

Don’t tell me…

Just as I was about to say, I thought of how those who looked at me in the past must have felt.

‘…’

I recalled how Pejon and my father dealt with me angrily, a tinge of guilty feeling sneaking into my heart.

I tried to shrug it off.

“What about learning another energy art… could it be that?”

The Master of Wudang spoke, and I swallowed dry saliva lightly.

I hadn’t said a word, yet he had known since earlier.

“I’m saying I’ll take her as a disciple…. though that sounds a bit grand. It’s not all that great. As you know, I already have one disciple.”

“… Huh.”

I was thinking of Woo Hyeok, who might be sleeping somewhere right now.

“That guy is also quite difficult to teach, so it’s not a grand affair at all.”

“Then, what exactly will you teach her?”

“Swordsmanship. I’m not entirely sure of anything grand, just thinking of teaching my niece the sword a bit.”

“… Sword?”

Does that mean swordsmanship?

What kind of swordsmanship could it be…

“…!”

As I grasped the implications, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

‘… This guy. The sword he mentions isn’t likely…’

I quickly turned around to look at the drawer.

The place where the Thunder Fang had been making all that noise.

Up until now, the Master of Wudang had been holding onto the Thunder Fang.

Inside the Thunder Fang might be something related to Nangong Ming.

Shin Noya had claimed he wasn’t Nangong Ming, but something about it still felt unsettling.

If that’s the case…

‘… Did the Thunder Fang know that the Nangong Clan’s swordsmanship had fallen?’

If whatever was inside knows about it and had tried to rectify it through the Master of Wudang…

‘You don’t mean…’

Was the sword he was referring to actually the Nangong Clan’s swordsmanship?

If that were true, it would mean he was aware of the forgotten sword techniques of the Nangong Clan.

As a myriad of thoughts swirled in my mind, the Master of Wudang spoke.

“It seems you know something. Is it the story of that individual contained within you?”

“…”

I could tell the Master of Wudang suspected I carried something within me, just like himself.

Understanding this, I asked him once more.

“… So your words mean, as I suspected, that you intend to teach the Nangong Clan sword?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hah….”

I released a long sigh as I nodded at the Master of Wudang.

“How on earth do you know this?”

“Huh? Is it really that surprising? I am, after all, a person of the Nangong Clan.”

“No, that’s not the issue here.”

This technique had already disappeared and devolved.

Without Shin Noya’s assistance, I would have been unable to inform the Sword King about it.

How does the Master of Wudang know this?

To that question, he responded nonchalantly.

“What’s the issue? I happen to have a madman attached to me who wants to tell me how to do this.”

As he spoke, the Master of Wudang took something out to show me.

It was the Thunder Fang. I narrowed my eyes at the sight.

‘Did he take it out from the drawer?’

Did he do it without permission when I was gone?

This felt like a serious overstep, and just as I was about to say something…

The Master of Wudang continued speaking smoothly.

“I apologize for doing such without permission. I would have preferred to keep it there, but this person has been making quite a ruckus….”

Seeing the Master of Wudang genuinely apologize, I decided to let it slide for now.

I understood what it meant for Nangong Ming to be making a fuss.

“…”

“Swordsmanship wasn’t something I learned because I wanted to, but because I had to learn it.”

I could vaguely sense the situation unfolding.

I didn’t know why the Master of Wudang, while establishing himself in Wudang, learned separately based on Nangong Ming’s will.

But even then.

‘That alone isn’t the entire reason.’

“Why does it have to be learned in the North Sea?”

Having to go all the way to the distant North Sea to learn the Nangong Clan’s swordsmanship meant there was still a lack of explanation there.

“I don’t see why I need to disclose that to the Prince.”

“… What did you say?”

I couldn’t help but feel annoyed by the Master of Wudang’s words.

However.

“It’s a personal matter of mine, and my niece has agreed to this part. I believe there’s no reason for the Prince to interfere more than this.”

“…”

I had no way to rebut his words.

It was true after all.

The justification of being engaged felt strong, but it was also weak.

In reality, it was something that could be cut off at any time, so this couldn’t be wielded as a tool.

I kept trying to hold my breath while forcing myself to bring up another subject.

“At least, you can’t just go to a place like that without permission.”

“There’s a way to do that. Your older sister will solve it.”

At my question, the Master of Wudang smiled.

Older sister…?

“… Baek Cheon-gyeom?”

He meant Baek Cheon-gyeom, who was next to me.

So she would help them go to the North Sea?

Upon hearing this, Baek Cheon-gyeom exclaimed.

“No way!”

Crash—! She slammed her fists down on the table.

“I’m not going to solve anything for you! You crazy idiot!”

“Really, you could propose something.”

“What are you talking about! Who do I think I am that I would do that! Are you out of your mind?”

“You know… No doubt you could.”

Baek Cheon-gyeom was visibly angry, but the Master of Wudang simply smiled confidently.

“Wow… this is driving me insane….”

Baek Cheon-gyeom seemed to turn red in embarrassment, but I caught onto something peculiar there.

‘Something.’

There’s definitely something there.

Given the Master of Wudang’s confidence and Baek Cheon-gyeom’s reaction, I could tell she was hiding something.

‘… Is there really a way?’

A way to go to the North Sea.

Could it be that Baek Cheon-gyeom really has one?

‘No, why North Sea?’

As the conversation progressed, my head started hurting more and more.

Why on earth would she want to go to a land she didn’t even know?

What would they do there?

Would she, who couldn’t even find her way, want to go to a cold, distant place to do something?

‘No, I won’t let her go. Absolutely not.’

I couldn’t allow it.

‘It’s not like I’m in a position to go together.’

There’s so much to do here. It’s not a situation where I can move at will.

Let alone, how long would it take?

‘Going from here to the North Sea is no small distance.’

Knowing that, I struggled to come up with a reason to refuse.

“… Let me go.”

“…”

Nangong Bi-ah’s voice reached me.

“You….”

“… I have to go…. Let me go….”

Her eyes as she spoke were resolute. It was the first time.

It was the first time I saw Nangong Bi-ah so determined.

“Why can’t you stay? Where is that place you’re heading?”

“… I have to go….”

“Why?”

“Because my uncle is going….”

Nangong Bi-ah spoke while looking at the Master of Wudang. She mentioned her uncle.

Her uncle is a piece of work…

It’s true, but it still pissed me off.

“… I have to go…. I have to learn swordsmanship.”

I couldn’t understand it.

I truly couldn’t understand it.

Why was Nangong Bi-ah so fixated on the sword?

What’s with that?

As inexplicable anger began to rise in my mind…

“That’s how I’ll be able to protect you.”

“…”

I felt all the heat drain away in response to Nangong Bi-ah’s final words.

“What did you just say…?”

“No matter what… at this moment… I can’t do it…. So I have to go.”

“You just….”

“This is… something I have to do….”

Words lingered on my lips, but my mouth kept getting stuck.

It was all absurd.

Was trying to learn swordsmanship in the North Sea really the reason you want to go?

“Who are you trying to protect?”

To think she would say she was trying to protect me.

Stunned by such a ridiculous statement, I looked at Nangong Bi-ah, but her eyes remained unwavering.

Once dark blue eyes that appeared cloudy were now clear and glimmering.

Those sparkling eyes stared directly at me.

Unintentionally, I found myself wanting to look away.

I forced myself to hold her gaze instead.

I was irritated.

At this whole situation.

With so much to do and no time to spare…

It felt as if she was trying to take away my one pillar of support, and that angered me.

“Prince, for now, let’s talk a bit more….”

“Excuse me, could you all step outside for a moment?”

“Huh?”

“It won’t take long. I have some things to think about.”

“Um…. certainly.”

Though it seemed a bit rude, the Master of Wudang nodded and respected my wish.

As he stood up and began to leave…

“Master of Wudang.”

I grabbed him again.

When he looked back at me with a perplexed expression…

“Can you lend me that for a moment?”

“What?”

At my request, the Master of Wudang’s eyes widened.

What I was asking to borrow at that moment was none other than the Thunder Fang.

“I need it while I think.”

As I reached out for it, the Master of Wudang momentarily appeared startled but quickly shook that off and handed it to me.

Swoosh.

“… Hahaha.”

The Thunder Fang slipped into my grasp easily.

The Master of Wudang let out a dejected laugh.

He didn’t show any signs of resistance this time either.

“I’ll return it soon….”

“If you like it, you can keep it. That’ll be better for both of us.”

Having no shred of reluctance, the Master of Wudang left.

I then asked Baek Cheon-gyeom and Nangong Bi-ah to leave as well.

Once everyone had exited, the room fell silent.

Buzz.

I unleashed my energy barrier throughout the room and then turned to the Thunder Fang while addressing it.

“… Now, let’s hear what you have to say.”

Frustration laced my voice; it was thick with annoyance.

I couldn’t help it.

Given the situation, it was impossible not to recognize its implications.

“What kind of absurd situation is this?”

It was clear that Nangong Ming also had his own intentions and plans for this situation.

 

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