Chapter 362
"I-is that really true?"
The man looked back and forth between me and Jeong Ha-rin with an expression of disbelief.
"Yes. I told you everything last time and left all the meetings, so why didn't you believe me?"
"That's because... I thought you were just making an excuse for some other reason..."
"It wasn't an excuse. And even if it was an excuse, there's no reason for you to stop me from leaving the meeting, is there?"
"No reason? There is a reason. Isn't it a meeting that was created with you at the center? So you can't just leave, can you?"
"My purpose from the beginning was to create an opportunity for young martial artists to get to know each other. Since I've achieved that purpose, am I not needed anymore?"
Jeong Ha-rin answered the man's words point by point.
The man, as if he thought he couldn't change her mind no matter what he said, this time turned his head towards me and said, "Then may I ask for your name, brother?"
"Me?"
For a moment, I realized that I was not wearing the clothes of the Wudang Sect, but the black martial arts uniform I had received from the Martial Alliance.
Since I'm not a famous person in Kaifeng yet, and I'm wearing an ordinary Martial Alliance martial arts uniform, it would be difficult for the opponent to know my identity. Come to think of it, I can't even recognize who that bastard is yet.
"I am from the Wu..."
"He's a secret martial artist of the Martial Alliance! He's not someone who can carelessly reveal his identity to others!"
I was about to say that I was Unhwi of the Wudang Sect, but Jeong Ha-rin interrupted me and said.
"A secret martial artist of the Martial Alliance...?"
"If you want to hear his identity, you'll have to ask my grandfather, not me."
"Hmm..."
The man, as if he were uncomfortable with the situation where even the Martial Alliance Leader was mentioned, coughed a few times and then said, "Then it's not something I can dig into any further, is it? Miss. I will be on my way today. Please know that the rudeness and disrespect I have shown today are all because the members of our Girin-hoe missed you so much. Excuse me."
The man, after saying that, turned around and disappeared to the other side of the alley.
I, after hearing the word 'Girin-hoe' at the end, thought I could guess who that man was.
'Was that person the Sword Star, Ha Hu-myeong?'
Ha Hu-myeong is a martial artist who starts to make a name for himself in earnest about ten years from now.
Although he is not one of the Five Great Families, he is a direct blood relative of the Ha Hu family, a famous family of the sword that boasts a scale and tradition comparable to them, and later, he is even recognized for his skill with the sword and is called by the nickname 'Sword Star'.
Of course, he also dies shortly after the war with the Demonic Cult begins, without even having a chance to see his face.
The reason I guessed he was Ha Hu-myeong was because of the single sword he had at his waist and the Girin-hoe, because Ha Hu-myeong, even later, cherished the connections he had made in the Girin-hoe and even created and operated a strike team with the name 'Girin-hoe' when the war broke out.
Of course, as I just said, they all die shortly after the war begins.
"Miss. Was that perhaps Young Master Ha Hu-myeong?"
"Ah! You recognized him, Dojang. That's right. It was Young Master Ha Hu-myeong of the Ha Hu family."
My guess was correct.
Then it means that Jeong Ha-rin was the one who created the Girin-hoe...
Jeong Ha-rin must have had more time and been more diligent than I thought.
To the point where I wonder how many of these social gatherings she had.
"But what was that about?"
"It's as you heard a little while ago. I recently left all the social gatherings I used to go to. Then they started following me around and pestering me to come to the meetings just one more time."
"Why did you leave all the meetings?"
"You heard me earlier. I've been training hard in martial arts lately."
Come to think of it, as she said, the energy I felt from her was very different from a few months ago.
In fact, the reason I thought I didn't need to save Jeong Ha-rin when she was caught by Ha Hu-myeong's hand was because the energy she possessed was by no means inferior to his.
In fact, when I appeared, she had reversely subdued Ha Hu-myeong's arm and escaped from his grasp.
"I see. You've really improved by leaps and bounds compared to before. You must have worked very hard."
I said to her with a pure heart of praise.
No matter how good one's aptitude is, and how excellent the person who teaches is, it is difficult to achieve a noticeable achievement in a short time without constant effort.
But Jeong Ha-rin had done it, and I am not a person who is stingy with praise for what is well done.
But she smiled gently.
It was a smile whose atmosphere was so different from the her I used to know that I flinched for a moment.
"Anyway, thank you so much for your help."
"No. I didn't do anything, and in the end, you got out by yourself, miss. So."
"Still, if I hadn't seen you, Dojang, they would have definitely bothered me without believing the reason I left. And you were about to say you were from the Wudang Sect, right?"
"Yes. Because I have nothing to be ashamed of."
"Please just say you're a Martial Alliance martial artist to the young martial artists as much as possible. If they find out you're from the Wudang Sect, some of them will bother you to the end."
She spoke in a tone that seemed genuinely worried.
In fact, it's only been a few months since I've met Jeong Ha-rin, but her personality now is so different from the personality I remember that it feels confusing.
I don't think she was such a gentle and kind person, but it seems there has been a big change of heart in the meantime.
"Well. Anyway, I'm glad it was helpful. Then I'll see you next time."
Since I had nothing more to say to her, I was about to go back to the inn.
"Ah, wait a minute!"
She called out to me.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"Ah, that... do you have a moment? I have something I want to talk about, and if you haven't eaten yet, I was wondering if we could talk a little if we had a meal..."
"I haven't had a proper meal, but I've been snacking here and there, so I'm not hungry."
"Then how about a cup of tea for a moment?"
To be honest, I was suspicious at first.
Because she had once pretended to be interested in me like that in my past life and then humiliated me in front of other people.
Although I think I should forget the past, it is human nature to be held back by the past.
"A moment is fine. I have something to do at night, so I can't stay for long."
"Yes! A moment is enough."
In the end, when I accepted her words, she smiled broadly.
The reason I accepted her proposal was because I wanted to know what on earth she wanted to say.
I am not the naive me of the past. I also have the guts to get up and leave right away if she says something strange.
"If you go this way, there's a tea house I used to like. Of course, I haven't been there a single time since that day."
She headed somewhere with light steps.
Following her for a little while, a tea house that looked luxurious even at a glance appeared.
"Oh my, miss. Why has it been so long? I almost forgot your face."
"I've been training lately, so I've barely left the Alliance. But since I had something to do, I came here."
Jeong Ha-rin talked with the woman who seemed to be the owner of the tea house as if they knew each other very well.
Come to think of it, since she said it was a tea house she frequented, it would be stranger if they didn't know each other.
What I can guess from their conversation is that Jeong Ha-rin has really come here for the first time in a long time, just as she had told me.
"Is my favorite seat available?"
"Of course. Unless the place is full, we usually leave that seat empty. Because we don't know when you'll come, miss."
"Don't do that anymore. It might be harder for me to come in the future."
"Oh no... our tea house's sales will drop significantly."
"You were waiting for me not because you missed me, but for that reason?"
"No way. It's not necessarily like that."
The owner of the tavern, who had been chatting with Jeong Ha-rin for a while, stealthily became conscious of me and then guided us somewhere.
It was a place where a small pond was right in view, and although it was evening, it was a beautiful place because various lights and lights were on.
I, forgetting to be wary of Jeong Ha-rin, was busy looking around.
Jeong Ha-rin, seeing me like that, chuckled and said to me, "You look like you've never been to a place like this before."
"Yes. Actually, it's my first time."
"Yes...?"
"I've been in the Wudang Sect my whole life, so I couldn't have come to a place like this. And after I started my martial journey, I was busy with missions and training, so I didn't have a chance to come to a place like this. So it's my first time. It's very pretty."
Although I said it with pure admiration, Jeong Ha-rin had a troubled expression as if she thought she had said something wrong.
But I'm starting to get curious.
What on earth did she want to say to me that she brought me to a place like this.
Although I have lived thinking that I don't have any major emotional scars, seeing Jeong Ha-rin, it seems that's not the case.
Besides, I thought all the wounds I had received in my past life had been healed by the incident that happened last time, but being alone with Jeong Ha-rin in a place like this, I feel like I keep thinking about what happened in my past life.
In conclusion, it would be most correct to say that I still can't trust her.
"Ah, the reason I called you here, Dojang, is because I have a few things I want to ask. I couldn't ask anyone else because it was embarrassing, but for some reason, I feel like I can ask you, Dojang. And I brought you here because I hoped no one else would hear."
It's one of the obvious tricks.
It could be a trick to loosen my heart by saying that I am a special person to her, not anyone else.
Perhaps she will now try to take my soul away by asking private and difficult questions, and thus take the lead in the conversation.
Because that's what she was like in her past life.
"So what is it that you want to ask?"
A blunt question came out of my mouth without me realizing it.
But Jeong Ha-rin, without caring about it, looked at me and opened her mouth.
"By any chance... when you perform martial arts, to be precise, when you circulate your internal energy, do you perform the martial art as if you are moving the energy along a passage? Or do you perform the martial art with the feeling of putting the internal energy itself into the weapon?"
"Yes...?"
At the unexpected question, I asked back with a blank expression.
Because I had never thought she would ask me about martial arts.
"Ah... lately, it seems my internal energy and the destructive power of my martial arts are increasing, but because I lack the basics, I keep feeling like it's a castle built on sand. So I'm trying to build a solid foundation from the basics... but it's so embarrassing to ask anyone around about such basic things..."
"If you ask the Alliance Leader, he will teach you very well."
"My grandfather knows that I have been training hard since I was young and is trying to start with advanced martial arts right away. Fortunately, since I don't completely lack aptitude, I am somehow following along..."
She trailed off as if she were embarrassed.
"But for some reason, I felt like I could ask you, Dojang, so I gathered a little courage."
"Why me?"
"Because... you are the only one who has seen me at my lowest."
Her expression had become calm at some point.
Somehow, I felt that she was being sincere now.
(End of Chapter)