Chapter 53: Rage Insect (1)
Most of the Azure Forest’s third-generation disciples grew up in the Azure Forest from their childhood. Of course, there were disciples who joined from outside, but at least both Jun Myung and Yu Su-rin had. They have been together since they were kids.
Yu Su-rin was the only daughter of the Five Flower Grand Library Master, and Jun Myung was one of the orphans the Azure Forest took in.
But that didn’t mean they were distant from each other. They played together from a young age.
They seemed to have fought with each other quite fiercely as well.
Jun Myung had the role of a leader among his peers, but Yu Su-rin wasn’t timid either.
Moreover, Yu Su-rin’s martial arts skills were particularly strong among the third-generation disciples. Jun Myung was usually the one getting hit. It wasn’t just a playful fight; they fought seriously.
That was the case before they turned ten.
However, Jun Myung did not neglect his training. Growing faster than his peers, he had already surpassed six feet in height when he turned sixteen last year. Even if not in swordsmanship, he should have become stronger in close combat than Yu Su-rin.
But even after that, Jun Myung couldn’t beat Yu Su-rin.
Surely, it wasn’t because he was weaker than Yu Su-rin.
“That guy! Did he hurt you?”
Jun Myung grabbed Yu Su-rin’s shoulders and shook her back and forth.
He began to let his imagination run wild. The mind of an adolescent boy was that chaotic.
“Did he hit you? Why are you crying!”
Yu Su-rin crying wasn’t a rare sight. However, the tears now were entirely different from usual.
Feeling frustrated, Jun Myung shook Yu Su-rin, making her head sway back and forth.
“Answer me, Yu Su-rin!”
“What nonsense are you talking about!”
“Gah!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Yu Su-rin headbutted Jun Myung in the face.
With her head spinning from the shake, no more tears came out.
“It’s not… because of him.”
“Then what is it!”
Jun Myung, his nostrils flaring, asked in such a manner.
“There must be a reason!”
“Why is it any of your business?”
“What? Hey, what kind of things are you saying?”
Yu Su-rin’s eyes wavered.
“I’m sorry, but it really isn’t because of him.”
However, it certainly wasn’t because of Yi-gang.
If there’s anything to blame, it’s just—
“It’s just… it’s my fault.”
—Because her talent was lacking.
Yu Su-rin felt tears forming again and quickly fled.
“Hey! What was that…”
Even though Jun Myung had become stronger than Yu Su-rin, his agility was not on par. Using Treading Cloud, Yu Su-rin sprinted like the wind.
“Just go inside. It’s cold.”
She left behind just those words and disappeared.
Jun Myung just stood there, blankly staring in the direction Yu Su-rin had run off to. “It’s my fault,” what on earth had happened inside the Five Flower Grand Library?
Given Yu Su-rin’s nature, if she had decided not to talk about something, she absolutely wouldn’t.
Jun Myung felt a burning frustration.
“Ah, we waited for nothing.”
“That’s what I’m saying, my nose is running. But why was Sister Yu Su-rin crying like that?”
The boys chattered away, oblivious to Jun Myung’s feelings.
“Brother Jun Myung, let’s go back.”
“Yeah, I’m freezing.”
Jun Myung didn’t look at them.
“If you want to go, go by yourselves.”
“What?”
“I’m going to wait here for that Baek Yi-gang.”
“Why?”
“I need to ask him what happened to Su-rin.”
Jun Myung seemed determined not to budge from the spot.
The two boys exchanged glances and sighed.
“Ah, shoot…”
They felt as if they had needlessly followed along.
“We’ll wait a bit longer.”
“Okay.”
While still showing his back, Jun Myung awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.
“Why is it so itchy?”
Was he thankful for the boys’ willingness to wait with him? That wasn’t the reason.
There was an insect, resembling a flea, crawling on Jun Myung’s neck.
Rustle—
By its appearance, it was undoubtedly a rage insect.
It had escaped from the amulet that Yu Jeong-shin had fixed.
That yokai insect had clung onto Yu Su-rin as she passed by and escaped from the library. It seemed to have transferred to Jun Myung when he shook her.
“Ah, it’s so itchy.”
“Wash up, brother.”
Jun Myung, unaware, simply scratched his skin intensely.
Yi-gang exited the Five Flower Grand Library.
Yu Jeong-shin annoyingly stuck close. Even though there were no more tests to observe, he kept prying and questioning Yi-gang about various things. Claiming to be guiding him around the library, he also took Yi-gang with him.
「Anyway, isn’t it a good thing?」
‘Well, I suppose.’
Yi-gang hadn’t shown it, but the Grand Library Master Yu Jeong-shin knew of the Immortal Divine Sword’s existence. He said he heard it from Forest Lord.
The Forest Lord wasn’t the type to talk carelessly to just anyone.
「He may be a bit slow-witted, but he says he can help with the healing of your body.」
Yi-gang’s reason for wanting to enter the Azure Forest was to heal his body.
They say that if the Immortal Divine Sword was activated, its spiritual energy could heal the body. However, there were other ways too.
And Yu Jeong-shin claimed that one of those methods was within the Five Flower Grand Library.
It was about harnessing the power of the library’s mighty Treasures.
Getting closer to him would be beneficial if he was to receive his help after all.
“My ears might bleed with all this talking.”
The issue was that he talked too much.
Yi-gang descended the mountain alone.
The day had gradually darkened, but that wasn’t an issue. The path was well-trodden, and Azure Forest’s main mountain wasn’t far off.
Yi-gang suddenly thought of Yu Su-rin, who had left earlier.
The Immortal Divine Sword couldn’t entirely see through Yi-gang’s thoughts when he was pondering alone. However, it seemed to discern his feelings from his expression and asked, 「Are you worried about that girl?」
‘A bit.’
「There’s no need. As the saying goes, “a sharp awl pops out of the bag.” Jealousy is common.」
‘Jealousy…’
「Exactly. How could the crows silently watch the grace of a white heron?」
‘Weren’t you a genius from birth, Immortal Divine Sword?’
Yi-gang suddenly posed such a question.
「You’re asking the obvious. I held a sword at the age of five, and by ten, I was already beating adults. By twenty, I acquired the Heaven’s Shadow Sword, and there was no one in Xi’an who could match me.」
‘I thought so. Geniuses don’t understand the heart of the ordinary.’
Yi-gang contemplated this.
Yu Su-rin was undeniably a talented individual. But she seemed to think that she wasn’t a genius, at least from her own perspective.
‘I’ve seen many geniuses. Ordinary people feel inferior and defeated in front of them.’
There were many around Yi-gang who were referred to as geniuses from the start. His younger sibling, Ha-jun, was also called a sword prodigy even in the Baek Clan. Jin Ri-yeon too was an exceptional person.
And Yi-gang himself would have shown off his talent if only he didn’t have the Great Yin Meridian Blockage.
However, this wasn’t the case before.
‘It’s a bit different from jealousy.’
Before his reincarnation, he was a regular person. He had an ordinary body and an average mind.
He was always hardworking. He graduated from a slightly prestigious college and got a decent job.
Until he fell ill and passed away, he was exceedingly ordinary.
He had seen geniuses even back then. And in their presence, his ordinary self always felt diminished.
That’s why he could understand Yu Su-rin’s feelings.
‘It’d be great if she recognized her own talent and focused on it. After all, not everyone can be a genius.’
Genius was relative. In front of the Immortal Divine Sword, most martial artists deemed geniuses seemed no more than ordinary. Meeting someone even more remarkable could shatter one’s world.
However, the Immortal Divine Sword merely scoffed, 「You’re hardly one to act knowledgeable. After all, even the descendant belongs to my side.」
‘…’
Yi-gang found himself at a loss for words. Whether it was due to the Great Yin Meridian Blockage or because the blood of the Baek Clan ran thick in him, Baek Yi-gang was undoubtedly born exceptional.
Indeed, to an extent that the term “genius” would suit him.
Perhaps he was lost in such thoughts.
He realized a little late that someone had been waiting at the crossroads.
There were three individuals waiting.
The larger figure was Jun Myung, whom he had greeted around lunchtime, and the other two boys were strangers.
“Uh-uhm, hi, hello.”
“…Alright.”
“I’m Yu, uh, Yuk, Su-chan.”
The plump boy greeted first. It didn’t seem like he was trembling due to shyness but rather because of the cold.
“Uh, I, I’m, Myung Geol. Nice to meet you.”
“Right, nice to meet you too.”
Yi-gang acknowledged the greeting of the other boy as well.
Though the weather was cold, for kids skilled in martial arts to be trembling like that suggested they must have been there for quite a while.
It was clear they had been waiting for Yi-gang.
But why?
“You are…”
“I introduced myself earlier.”
Jun Myung felt no need to reintroduce himself.
Yi-gang looked up at him, who was a head taller than himself.
An odd sense of discomfort arose.
Unlike the other children, Jun Myung wasn’t shivering from the cold. Rather, his rough face was excessively flushed.
“I had something to ask. So, I waited.”
Saying so, he placed one hand on Yi-gang’s shoulder.
Yi-gang briefly glanced at the right hand he placed.
Warmth permeated through the thick outerwear. That too was odd.
“What is it?”
“Earlier, Su-rin ran out first.”
“She said she would go ahead.”
“She was crying.”
“And?”
Yi-gang glared at Jun Myung with cold eyes.
The same Jun Myung, who had been laughing like a fool in the restaurant, wasn’t laughing now.
“I asked why she was crying, but she didn’t answer”
“She probably didn’t want to talk.”
“Yes, so I thought maybe you might be able to give me an answer, which is why I waited.”
The Immortal Divine Sword chuckled lightly.
「The boy’s heart is passionate.」
Yi-gang felt the same.
Of course, he didn’t join the Immortal Divine Sword in laughter.
“Why did Su-rin cry?”
“If she didn’t want to talk about it, do I have a reason to tell you?”
“She didn’t tell me, so I’m asking as a favor.”
“For someone asking a favor, your attitude seems quite rude.”
Hearing the harsh tone in Yi-gang’s voice, the other two boys exchanged glances.
Yi-gang observed Jun Myung closely.
There was definitely something off. Not just his face, but his eyes were also bloodshot.
Furthermore, Yi-gang’s sharp intuition was telling him something.
That the state of the boy before him was suspicious, especially compared to how he was around lunchtime.
“What exactly are you asking for me to tell you?”
Perhaps he could just speak it out and move on. Maybe because Yi-gang passed the honor flower disciple’s disciple’s test so effortlessly, Yu Su-rin, out of sheer jealousy or hurt feelings, had stormed off.
But he didn’t feel like saying that.
Having been ordinary once himself, he didn’t want to blurt out the young emotions of Yu Su-rin. And also…
「Love is an illusion. Look at him, acting so arrogant.」
… he didn’t like the attitude of Jun Myung demanding an explanation, resting his chin on Yi-gang’s shoulder.
“If you’re genuinely curious, instead of acting so underhanded, go and ask her directly.”
“Heh.”
Yi-gang felt a heaviness on his shoulder. It was Jun Myung’s hand pressing down harder.
“Brother Jun Myung, what are you doing? Let’s just go.”
The other boys by his side noticed the tension.
“Just… if you would tell me…”
But Jun Myung was clearly not in his right mind.
“I said, just do it!”
At that moment, he suddenly shouted and lunged at Yi-gang.
Yi-gang’s free right hand shot up like lightning, striking Jun Myung’s chin.
Snap!
Having been hit hard on the chin, it must have jolted his head. Yi-gang quickly took this opportunity to jump back.
Forced to look upwards, Jun Myung slowly lowered his face.
“It’s because of you, she cried.”
His eyes were red, engorged with blood. Hot breaths were exhaled fiercely from his nostrils.
Despite the blow to his chin, he seemed unaffected.
Unintentionally, Yi-gang blurted out a comment, “You’re like a wild boar.”
And Jun Myung really did act like one.
Like a boar that had been struck by an arrow, he charged at Yi-gang.
“So you’re not telling me after all! Argh!”
Unlike the rather lean Yi-gang, Jun Myung had a muscular physique. His momentum was as fierce as that of a wild boar.
Standing in front of him, the smaller Yi-gang looked as precarious as a candle flame in the wind.
The other boys rushed in, startled, but it was already too late.
“It’s, it’s dangerous!”
“Brother Jun Myung, what’s wrong with you!”
It was an attack that the Yi-gang, who couldn’t use even a bit of internal energy, wouldn’t be able to fend off—
If it were the Yi-gang from the manor who was awaiting only death.
“Crazy bastard.”
The current Yi-gang was different from back then.
He lowered his body to firmly center his weight and spread both his arms. No traces of the weak appearance he had a few months ago could be seen.
「Softness overcomes hardness」
‘I know.’
Yi-gang seemed to move as if trying to dodge to the side.
“Where do you think—!”
Just as Jun Myung, with his eyes rolling back, tried to change his direction—
Yi-gang, instead, lowered himself and charged straight on. It was an excellent feint.
Jun Myung’s steps faltered. Yi-gang didn’t miss that vulnerability.
Using his lowered shoulders and arms, he caught Jun Myung’s rushing thigh.
If one could harness the opponent’s strength, then the slender Yi-gang could possibly lift the much heavier Jun Myung.
Unable to overcome the momentum of his rush, Jun Myung was momentarily lifted into the air.
“Argh!”
With a fleeting sense of weightlessness, the ground quickly approached.
Suddenly, Yi-gang, having turned around, firmly grasped the back of Jun Myung’s neck.
Without mercy, Yi-gang pressed Jun Myung’s head to the ground.
Crash!
Body weight, momentum, gravity.
A masterful move using everything at his disposal.
From above Jun Myung, Yi-gang spoke, “Pull yourself together.”
It was a cold voice that even a wild boar struck by an arrow would have to heed.
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