Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: The Peak Expert's Backer (2)
Dang Soran led me into a high-class inn.
The entire place had been rented out by the Tang Clan of Sichuan, and the first floor was packed with the clan's retainers.
As soon as they spotted Dang Soran, veiled in her face covering, they all rose from their seats in unison.
I could feel their curious gazes turning toward me as well.
They were probably wondering who this guy was that the clan's eldest daughter was dragging along by force.
Like they were asking what the hell this beggar was that the young lady, who had never acted like this before, was behaving this way.
Unable to withstand the pressure, I hurriedly spoke up, trying to make it clear that Dang Soran and I were nothing to each other.
"Do, Dang Sojeo. So... why exactly did you seek out this lowly one..."
But Dang Soran didn't even respond.
If anything, my words seemed to stoke her anger further, as the grip on my wrist slowly tightened.
She felt far colder now than when she had been with Cheongwol.
What came through from her back was blatant irritation and suppressed fury.
Just a few days ago, there hadn't been this kind of aura from her at all. What on earth had changed her so much?
My one comment just now couldn't have set her off like this...
Thud thud thud thud!
Dang Soran stomped up the stairs, pulling me along.
No matter how much I tried to wrench my wrist free, her grasp held firm like a pair of handcuffs.
I already knew this, but it hit me anew just how vast the gap was between me and a martial artist.
Come to think of it, Dang Soran was a peak expert now, wasn't she?
It was a relief she was a being with reason intact—if she were a mute beast, she might be scarier than any tiger or bear.
If she truly wanted something from me, she could rip it away without a second thought.
Damn it, at least let go of my wrist... I't hurts like hell!
Dang Soran went up to the third floor and headed to a secluded room in the corner.
Standing guard in front of it was Muksol, who had come to Mount Song with her as her escort.
Now that I was familiar with his face, Muksol blinked at me in greeting before promptly cupping his hands toward Dang Soran.
As she approached the room, he quickly opened the door for her.
Dang Soran entered wordlessly, shoved me inside, and slammed the door shut.
I rubbed my wrist and glanced around the room.
I steadied my breathing.
"--Hoo."
At first, I'd come along because she said she'd repay the money, but midway through, I realized the atmosphere had shifted entirely.
Something was wrong.
Pretending to be calm, I turned to Dang Soran.
She stood with her back against the door, head bowed.
"Sojeo, why exactly did you--"
"--Click.
At the metallic sound, I swallowed involuntarily.
Dang Soran had locked the door behind her.
If I let on that I'd heard it, this fragile situation—like thin glass—might shatter in an instant, so I pretended not to notice and asked again.
"So, why did you bring me all the way here?"
"I saw it."
Dang Soran glared at me as she spoke.
Her eyes blazed with a sharpness I'd never seen before.
It was a different expression from when we first met.
Earlier, she'd had a slight smile, gazing at me warmly, but now it was utterly sincere.
It was just like following a friendly uncle who lured you with ice cream, only for his face to change the moment you climbed into the truck.
She'd said she'd repay the money, but I couldn't comprehend what was happening now.
"What did you see?"
"I saw it. Do I need to say more? I never thought you'd be like that, Young Master! Trash! Beggar! Pervert! Playboy!"
"--Pardon?"
She sneered at me.
"You're in big trouble, Seojin Young Master. I'm going to tell everyone. You've got a weakness in my hands now."
"So, what exactly--"
"I saw everything last night--you playing with Cheongwol!"
Only then did my breath catch.
"She saw that?"
"You're panicking now? Do I have to spell it out for you to get it? Yeah, I saw it all."
"But after a moment's thought, I realized it wasn't that big a deal.
It was just embarrassing, but she already knew I played with Cheongwol.
Or was it betrayal? That I played with Cheongwol but not with her?
If that was it, maybe I should apologize.
"--Sorry..."
"--No? I'm not going to let it slide. What happens when Ga Yeong Sojeo finds out? It'll be over for you."
Why would Gayeong...
Ah. She still didn't know the marriage was fake.
This was another misunderstanding to clear up, but exposing the embarrassing lie made me hesitate a bit.
As I hemmed and hawed, the brat's expression grew even smugger.
Or perhaps more venomous.
"----"
Dang Soran gazed at Han Seojin's flustered face, savoring a dark thrill.
The sensation of finally grabbing the ankle of a bird that had been flying freely on its own.
The exhilarating feeling that he was finally in her grasp.
"You're done for too, Young Master. What will you do when the rumors spread all over Mount Emei? Ga Yeong Sojeo might be sad, but it's better than marrying a pervert like you. In the end, you'll be alone forever. I was going to warn the villagers about what kind of man you are."
Han Seojin had always said it.
That being alone was lonely, that he wanted a demure wife and fat kids to live happily over and over again.
Dang Soran pictured it in her mind.
It was an image she utterly despised. She couldn't just stand by and watch him marry some average woman.
Him sitting side by side with another woman, laughing.
Dang Soran wondered if she simply didn't want Han Seojin to be happy.
But it was different from that. No matter what, she couldn't forgive Han Seojin for the humiliation, the scorn, and rejecting all her sweet offers.
Relying on that one facade-face to act so freely.
Just like her mother said--good looking men all behave badly because they trust their faces.
Even with a fiancé, playing like that with Cheongwol--it didn't make sense to Dang Soran.
The emotions she'd felt upon seeing their play were still indescribable.
Was it disappointment? Betrayal? Anger? Outrage? Immorality... envy?
But one thing was certain: those feelings were far from mild... they were shocking and intense enough to control her completely.
She desperately craved revenge for all those emotions.
"It's all your fault, Young Master. Don't blame me. If you were scared of getting caught, you shouldn't have done it in the first place."
Yet even as she scolded him, Dang Soran couldn't understand this filthy craving within her.
If Han Seojin could play with Cheongwol despite having a wife...
...Why not with me?
Even if he was a married man.
...If she twisted this weakness in her hands.
Until he treated her as more precious than his wife... if she held on.
"--"
Dang Soran bit her lip against the surging, unpleasant temptation.
Perhaps the moment she saw that some yesterday, this delusion had already taken root.
Maybe that's why she'd dragged him here--to blackmail him.
"--So, Sojeo."
"Be quiet."
Unable to resist the temptation, she approached him.
She placed her hand weakly on his chest and whispered her proposal.
"--Pardon? Young Master. If I open my mouth, you're done. A man who does perverted things with another woman while having a wife. What do you think will happen if that rumor spreads?"
She placed her hand on Han Seojin's lips as he tried to speak, speaking seductively.
"But... I could stay silent. Of course, there'd be a price. If you want to protect your marriage to Ga Yeong Sojeo and not lose your reputation on Mount Emei, grant my request. I can even give you money if you want."
Then, after a brief hesitation, Dang Soran whispered in a trembling voice.
"--A guy like you, Seojin Young Master, could do it with me too, right? So, keep it secret from Ga Yeong Sojeo and with me..."
She fantasized about crossing countless lines with him.
"With me..."
Even secretly using yang noble essence oil wouldn't give her this immoral thrill.
"So, just me--"
"--Sojeo, I'm not getting married."
Han Seojin muttered, her finger still on his lips.
"--Pardon?"
Dang Soran's fantasy shattered along with him.
Han Seojin spoke with an awkward smile.
"--It was a lie."
Han Seojin then explained why he'd told that lie.
The story of how the dumpling shop uncle had helped him as a child.
The story that, though hard to explain, there were people helping him.
The story that when he called him father-in-law, he'd found a physician.
And the story that he no longer needed that lie.
Dang Soran stood in bewilderment.
Many questions arose, but this shocking tale left her speechless.
She must have felt that he hadn't given his heart to anyone.
But the absurdity outweighed it.
Han Seojin kept apologizing.
But more than anything, Dang Soran felt dazed at losing her control over him once more.
How would she persuade him now?
No, were they back to square one?
"--Does that mean you can play with me again?"
Dang Soran finally asked amid her tangled emotions.
"Is that it? Young Master, that's it, right?"
"That's..."
But Han Seojin was lukewarm.
He scratched his head and said to Dang Soran.
"Sojeo. Now, is there any reason we need to keep playing together?"
"--Pardon?"
And his following words shook Dang Soran to her core.
"Ha, haha. You've overcome your heart demon now! You've reached the ranks of peak experts, haven't you? Is there any reason you still need me..."
From those words, Dang Soran realized.
He was trying to push her away because she was a martial artist.
Somehow, she had entered the fence he designated for martial artists.
Dang Soran forcibly tried to climb back over that fence.
"Where's the logic in that? What about Cheongwol then?"
Han Seojin took a deep breath as if it were a tough topic, then told her plainly.
"--There's one thing I've decided. From now on, I don't want to play with anyone except Cheongwol Sojeo."
A horrific pain stabbed near her heart.
It was worse than when she'd said he was marrying Ga Yeong Sojeo.
Perhaps because she'd already sensed something off about Ga Yeong Sojeo.
The way he looked at Ga Yeong Sojeo was never like gazing at something precious.
"But with Cheongwol, sometimes during play, he'd had that look. That's why those words hit even harder.
"--Only with Cheongwol?"
"Yes."
"Did Wol I agree to that?"
"No, it's just... what I want. It seems better to stick to one person..."
"--Why Cheongwol?"
"Pardon?"
"Is it because Young Master respects her like other people do promising later-generation talents? Young Master, I get yesterday, but you saw today. Me defeating Cheongwol...I'm stronger. I'm stronger..."
As she spat out the words, Dang Soran hadn't realized she'd desired Han Seojin this much.
"It felt like her hidden feelings were slowly emerging.
"I tamed Cheongwol's heart demons, yet I lost to you. I won without you going easy on me..."
"Tha...why you definitely don't need heart demon relief anymore, right, Soran Sojeo?"
"U, Uu--!"
She ground her teeth, at a loss, letting out frustrated groans.
Han Seojin was leaving. He was only looking after Cheongwol.
That infuriating Cheongwol. Cheongwol, so strong despite her young age.
She'd bled and sweated for Han Seojin, while Cheongwol just got tended to for living on Mount Emei.
Was all her suffering just to end up like this?
As her heart poured into a mess, Dang Soran's mind paradoxically sharpened.
Colder, icier, veering to extremes.
"Young Master."
"Yes?"
"Young Master, you've been betting money on Cheongwol all this time, right? I've been betting on myself."
"Is that okay?"
"I'm not deliberately losing, so what's the problem? So..."
She nodded toward the box behind Han Seojin.
When she looked at him meaningfully to open it, Han Seojin did so.
Han Seojin quietly swallowed.
Inside was packed with gold ingots, their gleam lighting up even his face.
"That's yours, right, Young Master? I think that's about how much you bet last time."
Han Seojin gasped.
"--Shall I give it to you?"
At her proposal, his eyes wavered.
"Then tend to my heart demon instead of Cheongwol's."
She said that, but in truth, it was asking him to play with her instead of Cheongwol.
"Wol I doesn't like it. What are you going to do, liking a nun? A peak expert too. She can handle it herself now. Whereas I... I know my precaution. I need you. So... so stay by my side..."
"--Sojeo."
"Wol I can't give you this kind of money. I can keep giving it. I'm offering money too--if you're not an idiot, you should help me. Right?"
Han Seojin thought for a moment, then carefully closed the box as if refusing.
At that night, Dang Soran's heart grew more urgent.
Han Seojin had already drawn a line, so she felt she couldn't let him slip away here.
"--If worst comes to worst, we can do it secretly. Without Cheongwol knowing."
At that, Han Seojin stiffened.
"--Secretly?"
As expected, one box of gold ingots was a huge temptation for him.
She might not need to give a whole box, but having last everything, he lacked even the drive to return to Mount Emei.
Because there were more than one or two people he had to look after.
Himself, Ga Yeong Sojeo even if just in name, the Beggars' Sect elders, the donkey...
But in the end, he squeezed his eyes shut and stood up.
"Ar, are you trying to buy me with money? No way!"
"I'm saying make the wise choice."
Dang Soran grabbed Han Seojin's arm.
"Pardon? You like playing with me. I don't get why you're suddenly like this. The wife was a lie too, so how can you just toss me aside and say you'll only look after Cheongwol? Why only her? What about me? Does it mean it's fine if my heart demon devours me?"
"Cheongwol Sojeo has nothing, right? Whereas Soran Sojeo has your clan, retainers, and money too."
"Then if I abandon it all and come to you, will you look after me?"
Words she couldn't muster the courage to say lingered at the tip of Dang Soran's tongue.
She couldn't follow the conversation.
The sharper his refusal, the worse the stabbing pain in her heart.
So, was he saying he'd abandoned her for Cheongwol?
What exactly do I lack compared to that bitch?
Dang Soran increasingly understood her own craving.
She wanted Han Seojin to cherish her. More than any other woman. She didn't know when this greed had grown so large.
And Dang Soran was the type who, if she wanted something, had to have it no matter what.
Yet she could see even with her eyes that Han Seojin was wavering too.
So close to grasping yet slipping away--it was driving her mad.
"It's over?--Just like this, all of a sudden?"
"It's not--I'm just saying we stop the way. We can stay friends from now on, right? No, Sojeo, do you only meet me for the play?"
"Th, that's not it, but--"
"--The people you play with are closer, aren't they?"
It means the one you want to release your desire with is Cheongwol, not me.
"--You're going to play it like this?"
Dang Soran clenched her fist.
There was still one method left. She had one wish voucher.
From her father, no less, who had promised to grant her any request.
"--"
"--Sojeo?"
Dang Soran looked at Han Seojin.
She was etching him deeply into her eyes.
...For now. If I can just hold onto this.
While holding him, build affection...
Knock knock knock.
Then, someone knocked, snapping her from her violent thoughts.
Dang Soran snapped irritably.
"What is it?"
Muksol spoke from outside the door.
"Miss. A guest is here. The... Namgung Clan Leader."
Han Seojin looked at Han Seojin.
Clear bewilderment rose on Han Seojin's face.