—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: cyno
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Uncle, aren’t you going to eat?”
Jin Gayoung asks while tearing into a chicken leg.
Lately, she’s been craving chicken legs more often, and the memory of her pushing herself too hard at work comes to mind, stirring worry.
“I’m fine.”
“Aw, come on, eat with me. The new chef is especially good at cooking chicken legs, you know?”
“Really, I’m fine.”
I’ve just finished lunch. Even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be particularly hungry right now.
But it seems she’s determined to feed me something.
Tear—
Jin Gayoung rips off a chunk of meat from the chicken leg and holds it out to me.
“You think I don’t know what kind of food you like?”
“I eat anything.”
“Is that why you’re drooling like that?”
“…….”
Gulp.
Refusing my lord’s kindness too often wouldn’t be right.
“…Fine, I’ll take just one bite.”
“Heheh.”
Let me be clear—this is absolutely not because I want the chicken leg.
It’s simply improper to refuse food offered by one’s lord.
“I knew you’d say that.”
As I reach out to take it, Jin Gayoung, wearing a mischievous smile, suddenly pulls the meat away.
Now what?
“Say ‘ah~’.”
“Sigh….”
“Huh? You don’t want the chicken leg anymore?”
No matter how you look at it, treating me—once the greatest in the Central Plains—like this is downright disrespectful.
“Ah…….”
But if I leave it like this, the poor food will just grow cold in the empty air.
“Hehe, you should’ve just done this from the start.”
That’s right. This is purely to prevent the chef’s hard work from going to waste.
It absolutely does not mean I’m bending my pride just to eat a chicken leg.
“Mmm…….”
Jin Gayoung’s pinched fingers, holding the chicken, slip into my mouth.
Slurp—
Her fingers, now coated in the sauce from the chicken, slide back out after being in my mouth.
‘She’s a young lady who’s supposed to have a man she likes—should she really be doing this?’
Jin Gayoung treats me far too casually. I should really sit her down and talk to her about it someday.
…Though, given her recent behavior, I can’t help but entertain some absurd thoughts. But that’s just my delusion.
“You know what? Your eyes light up when you eat chicken legs.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, that’s when you look the best.”
“Then I’ll have to keep making my eyes sparkle.”
“Your eyes are always so empty otherwise.”
“If that’s what you wish, I can always swap them out for new ones.”
“Uwahh… That was way too creepy just now…….”
Jin Gayoung blushes and stuffs the chicken leg back into her mouth.
Munch munch…….
Though, it looks more like she’s chewing on her own thumb and index finger.
As she licks her fingers with her eyes closed, savoring the taste, I update her on today’s schedule.
Somehow, I’ve gone from being just a bodyguard to something closer to an aide.
The Sega clan treats me accordingly now.
“Once you’re done eating, head to the training grounds. You’ve got practice today, too.”
“Again…? Ugh….”
“Yes. And after two hours of training, there’s a meeting scheduled with the Jin family executives.”
“Cough…!”
“Also… today’s training will be a bit rough. You’ve been struggling to adjust to the axe, right? I’ll personally spar with you to help improve your proficiency.”
“You’re going to be rough with me? I’d love that……!”
“…I will be rough, so prepare yourself.”
“Yes, yes…!”
Suddenly, she’s burning with enthusiasm.
I wonder how far that enthusiasm will take her.
When I first introduced her to the newly modified Jincheonbyeongeomwol, I thought the road ahead would be smooth.
But even a genius like Jin Gayoung finds it difficult to switch from a weapon she’s wielded her entire life.
Then again, this is the same girl who once beat a person instead of firewood.
I even considered just forging a new Jincheonbyeonggeom for her, but—
“Son-in-law! Didn’t you say you weren’t in a relationship with my descendant?!”
Jin Wooyong’s furious outburst, still echoing in my head, forced me to abandon that idea.
“Young people these days—exchanging indirect kisses without even dating? Hah… What has the martial world come to…….”
‘That’s not what’s happening. Stop twisting things.’
“Then what was that just now? You were sucking on her fingers like it was the best thing ever. Is this why martial arts are in decline?!”
‘Says the one who’s been peeking into my life without permission.’
“Kehehe, well, a son-in-law like you is someone I can trust with my descendant! Still, avoid gossip—you know better than anyone how annoying that can be.”
‘I’ll handle it. When are you planning to leave my body?’
The ghost Jin Wooyong, who’s been squatting in my head rent-free for who knows how long.
I’ve thought about forcibly ejecting him, but—
“Hoh? Son-in-law, what are you scheming? Is that any way to treat your father-in-law?”
‘…….’
Hearing his story made me sympathize with him, so I couldn’t bring myself to kick him out.
Setting aside that he’s a martial arts senior far beyond me, the fact that he, too, was ruined by his younger brother weighs on my mind.
“And have I not told you? Your body may be fine, but your soul is in tatters.”
‘That’s an overstatement. And make up your mind—am I “son-in-law” or “brat”?’
“That’s irrelevant. What matters is that your soul could collapse at any moment.”
‘My mind is perfectly sound.’
“That’s what you think. Do you really believe someone who regressed countless times to save the martial world wouldn’t lose his mind over a little betrayal and isolation? A man who endured for millennia, broken by just three years of suffering?”
‘……I realized it was pointless, that’s all.’
“No, your mind was already broken from the start. The cracks were there, and your brother’s actions were just the final push.”
‘What do you want me to do about it now?’
“Nothing. Just know that I’m the one holding your soul together.”
It doesn’t seem like a lie. Ever since Jin Wooyong entered my body and sifted through my memories, I’ve been feeling more at peace.
‘…I never asked you to.’
“Wha—what?! You ungrateful—! Do you think I’m helping you for my own sake?!”
Jin Gayoung and Jin Wooyong—though their methods differ, they both have a knack for healing others. It’s a reminder that they truly are of the same bloodline.
“By the way, Uncle, the Seven Flowers Tournament is right around the corner. Is it really okay to train in a new martial art this late? Shouldn’t we stick with what we know for now?”
Having licked all the sauce off her fingers, Jin Gayoung voices her concern.
Venturing into a new discipline must be making her anxious.
“Outrageous! Just when the legacy of Jincheonbyeongwol is finally being properly upheld, she says something like this?!”
Jin Wooyong’s indignant shout, audible only to me.
I partially agree with him.
Whether it’s because of their bloodline or not, Jin Gayoung’s physique is naturally suited for wielding a great halberd.
Even if years of swordplay have altered some of that.
“No. We must change your martial arts now.”
“Okay… If you say so…….”
“Think long-term. The Seven Flowers Tournament is just a brightly colored fish. Don’t let it distract you from the ocean’s beauty. You’re aiming for the Five Great Families, aren’t you?”
“Ah, I get it… Enough, please….”
I might be pushing her too hard, but now that I know her dream is to reach the Five Great Families, I’ll do everything to help her.
I’ve seen far too many people succumb to laziness and comfort, only to regret it later.
As her aide, I don’t want my lord, Jin Gayoung, to end up like that.
“I’ll go change into my training clothes.”
“Alright.”
“Head to the training grounds first. I’ll join you shortly.”
Once Jin Gayoung leaves to change, I’m alone.
Well, outwardly at least.
“Perfect timing. Master and disciple, uncle and young lady, lord and aide. How lovely!”
‘She’s not even twenty yet. What are you implying?’
“Kehehe, masters often become husbands, and uncles become lovers. Such is the way.”
‘Keep talking like that, and I’ll send you back to the Moonlight Division.’
“Bwahaha! The audacity, threatening your father-in-law!”
‘Weren’t you bound to the Moonlight Division? Shouldn’t you return instead of haunting my body?’
“Well, here’s the thing—I don’t know why, but after a few days in your body, I can’t leave.”
‘……What?’
“Hoho, isn’t life just full of surprises? Though in my case, it’s more of a ghost’s fate.”
‘Wait, hold on.’
He can’t leave my body? What kind of thunderbolt-from-the-blue nonsense is this?
I try expelling him using my inner energy, but just as he said, his soul doesn’t budge.
‘W-why is this happening?!’
I’ve never experienced—never even considered—something like this.
Jin Wooyong, stuck inside my body? Two souls sharing one body?
Indefinitely?
“I’m just as confused. Stuck in the mortal world, unable to move on, haunting my son-in-law’s body—do you think I’m happy about this?”
‘…….’
“You should be grateful. Do you even realize how fragile your soul is? It could vanish at any moment, and here I am, forcibly holding it together. Yet you show no appreciation.”
His words buzz in my ears without really registering.
This absurd feeling—it’s the first time I’ve felt this way since being cast out from the Namgung family.
“I’m not doing this because you’re my son-in-law. It’s because you’re a hero of the martial world. Your deeds, your past—they moved me. Take it as praise.”
‘This is dizzying…….’
“Life is dizzying. After all the chaos you’ve lived through, are you really going to falter over something like this?”
‘Haha….’
A deep sigh escapes me, though not aloud.
Will the White Blade Guest mask, my contingency plan against Namgung Su-ah during the Seven Flowers Tournament, be ready in time?
In my unsettled state, I can’t help but resent the fact that the lifelike mask hasn’t been procured yet.
“Clan Leader, it’s time to depart.”
Flick—
At the call of her subordinate, a woman slowly opens her tightly shut eyes.
Her snow-white eyebrows part, revealing pupils as pale as her complexion.
Her gaze, colder than ice—perhaps even colder than that—sweeps across the world.
The summit of Kunlun Mountain, where she had been meditating, was so high it seemed to overlook all under heaven. And her vision was vast enough to encompass it all—a divine majesty made possible by her unparalleled sight.
“So soon?”
The woman rises slowly from her seat.
Those waiting at the base of Kunlun’s highest peak kneel respectfully as she stands.
“Save the formalities. This humble one is no immortal.”
Using her inner energy to lift their bowed heads from dozens of yards away, the woman descends gracefully, stepping on air as if it were solid ground.
The snow-capped peak, too high for anything but ice, and the woman—her hair, her robes, her entire being as white as snow—blend into the landscape so seamlessly it’s almost surreal.
“Are preparations complete?”
“Y-yes! The carriage and horses are ready!”
“All you need to do is board, Clan Leader!”
The martial artists in uniform answer in unison, each pointing in the same direction, eager to catch her attention.
Of course, the woman known as the Iron Maiden as much as by her formal title doesn’t spare them a single glance.
“Good. Then let us depart.”
Amid the reverence of her disciples, the woman trudges toward the carriage and steps inside.
Her footsteps, light as a celestial being’s, leave no trace on the snow.
Her disciples watch with awe.
“Practice diligently while I am away. Do not let your focus waver.”
With that reprimand-laced farewell, the woman settles into the carriage.
“Move.”
The moment she speaks, the carriage lurches forward.
“To the Seven Flowers Tournament.”
The Jade Flower, one of the “Three Heroes” alongside the Sword Saint and the Divine Monk, descends upon the martial world.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Your Text Here]
