Out of nowhere, a confession attack.
Qing responded.
“I don’t want to.”
“What!? Why?”
At that, Woo Na-ram yelled.
“Of course!! Isn’t it obvious!! Between women!! What on earth!!!”
Qing frowned at Woo Na-ram, whose volume had reached new heights.
But Na Yang-gyeol remained calm.
“Lady Seomun is a Disciple of Divine Maiden Sect, right? It shouldn’t be unfamiliar for women to share love, ah, unless you already have a partner? Oh, could it be, you two!”
“Huh?”
“What! Older Brother!? You’ve been looking at me like that! I, I—!!”
Woo Na-ram’s face turned red as she looked away.
“Older Brother, just give me a moment, I—I do respect you immensely, but if you desired this…”
Qing’s eyebrow arched sharply.
“Nope. Na-ram is not my type.”
“Well, it’s because my skin isn’t fair enough—”
“Lady. Why are you suddenly digging a hole? Don’t turn someone into a Han-centrism advocate. And Na-ram’s skin is so beautiful.”
Han-centrism refers to a dangerous ideology that sees only the Han people as the rightful rulers of the Central Plain while belittling others as foreign invaders and lesser beings.
Of course, this outdated notion is gradually losing power as people have mixed over generations, and “We are all part of the Central Plain” has become the sentiment.
But for some reason, in Qing’s hometown, a ruthless Han nationalist has long been holding the throne and has been conducting ethnic cleansing for a pure Central Plain.
They even went so far as to edit out the Manchu traditional dress, the qipao, from stories, replacing it completely with Han traditional clothing.
Anyway, Woo Na-ram’s eyes were glistening.
“Older Brother! It’s definitely because of your massive! Enormous! Expansive chest! Such a capacity! If it’s you! I, Woo Na-ram, may be unworthy, but! I humbly ask for your support!!!”
Thud!!
With a sound like chestnuts popping in the fire, Woo Na-ram held her head and rolled on the floor.
Apparently, what I was trying to endure as the older person has become a true disaster that my silly sister brought upon herself.
Qing sighed deeply as she watched Woo Na-ram rolling on the floor with her loud screams and then turned her gaze to Na Yang-gyeol.
Na Yang-gyeol, witnessing this tragicomic scene, merely smiled, looking pleased as he gazed at Qing.
“Me, a young lady? Who’d nod to someone wanting to be a partner from the first meeting, regardless of gender?”
“But, I’ve fallen for you.”
“You don’t even know what kind of person I am.”
“I used to think the same, but just seeing Lady Seomun’s face makes me happy. I could watch you for a thousand years and never get tired. My expression must be saying it, right?”
Indeed, Na Yang-gyeol’s expression strongly proclaimed, ‘I am happy.’
Full of genuine happiness, unlike mere followers of certain athletes, showing true joy.
“So how about, Lady Seomun, we take our time getting to know each other?”
“I don’t want to marry someone just because they see my face. What if I see someone prettier?”
“No, that’s not true.”
Na Yang-gyeol firmly denied Qing’s words.
Then he continued.
“There’s no one in this world more beautiful than Lady Seomun.”
In other words, he doesn’t deny that he would be drawn to someone prettier if he encountered one.
Qing merely let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
“In this world, Lady Seomun, did you know? Even the way you look down on such a pathetic creature is beautiful. How can you be so refreshingly new the more I look?”
“…This is ridiculous. Really.”
—-
It’s common courtesy to greet the host when entering someone’s house.
And if it’s a city ruled by a prince, it’s basically the prince’s home.
So, Jayu did just that.
“Prince Suswi, it’s been a while. The memories of our time playing in the Eastern Palace are still vivid, isn’t it a pity how swiftly time passes?”
“You were cute back then.”
“Yes. You spoiled me quite a lot.”
A glimmer of nostalgia passed across the brothers’ faces.
A timid and fearful person can be seen as a warm person to someone else.
Especially so concerning a younger brother fourteen years apart; it was part of the reason why Jayu had been somewhat neglectful during his undercover missions.
“There are too many ears listening to reminisce about the Imperial Palace.”
“Ah. Let me introduce you. This is—”
Jayu pointed to the old dog on his right but paused for a moment, then a sly smile spread over his face.
“My grandpa serving me. By the way, he’s also a master of the Realm of Transformation.”
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
“This is my grandma serving me, who is also a master of the Realm of Transformation.”
“An insignificant person pays their respects to Your Highness.”
Here we have disciples of the Supreme Martial Artist, another disciple of the Supreme Martial Artist, yet another disciple of the Supreme Martial Artist, and then a peak master serving, and another peak master serving…
“Enough. How can you keep your two feet on the ground? Why not just have them speak for you?”
With so many servants, why should they stand on their own and speak at all?
“Originally, I had about five more people to introduce, but I happened to run into bandits who caused some trouble. Interestingly, these days, bandits wear silk robes and even armor.”
“Hmm.”
“So, in this dangerous world, isn’t it a thought to have at least one means of protection? After all, protecting oneself means one can do anything.”
So, he planned for his disciple to learn some martial arts.
At that, Prince Suswi’s eyes widened in surprise.
Members of the royal family should not learn martial arts.
To be specific, males of the royal family, excluding the emperor, should not learn martial arts.
There’s no real reason, just a very obvious one that they could threaten the throne.
So, royal women who do not have succession rights learn some self-defense techniques while still being able to compete in battles against princes.
Therefore, young Jayu didn’t really win against Princess Yeonsul without good reason.
With that said, Jayu expressing the desire to learn martial arts was essentially a declaration of rebellion.
“Deok-hyun.”
“Prince Suswi, we can’t rely on others’ kindness forever, right? Are you not afraid? One day you might find yourself waking up saying, ‘Ah, should I just kill my brother?’ Or maybe ‘Out of boredom, let’s go catch and kill my brother’ and then your life is forfeit.”
“Isn’t that the price of being born with noble blood? Living in this luxurious palace can fill you with envy while you live, you’re really living with a knife above your head.”
“How long will you keep sleeping, fearing that blade?”
“Then what should I say? Are you saying I should really try and stage a revolt?”
At this, Jayu sighed deeply.
“I’m not talking about overthrowing the throne. If there’s a blade over your head, at least you should wear a helmet. If someone tries to kill you, you should at least have thorns so they think twice before making a move.”
“That kind of thinking, that kind of self-preservation is what led to the rise of the Warring States and the strife of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han dynasty. All that bloodshed came from such self-interest. Heaven appointed the royal family to rule the world; should we bring bloodshed to it?”
“Brother, I haven’t blamed you. Even though I’ve returned after facing an attack from bandits and even after you sent invitations to the Hongmun banquet, I don’t want to blame people for doing what they must to survive. Just like me.”
Seeing this, the expression of Prince Suswi filled with guilt.
He had tried to kill his brother in order to survive, and standing face to face like this makes him realize the cruelty of his actions.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Thinking about it, didn’t you hold me dear when I was little?”
“It wasn’t that much.”
“So, I’m here to repay that kindness. Wouldn’t it be nice if my cute nephews could relax in the warm land of Sichuan? Especially since a prince should both practice and rest?”
“Deok-hyun.”
“And after seeing the martial world, I realized how marvelous such studies are! Isn’t it incredible how a person can fly like a bird and slice through rocks with one sword? Although I’ve been told I’m late to the game, it seems to be the best opportunity for my precious nephews.”
“Give me your kids.”
“And I’ll teach your kids martial arts.”
Prince Suswi’s face turned pale.
“Deok-hyun, must it really be that way?”
“Brother, I want to live too. But I don’t want to be the only one surviving. We all have to live. Honestly, think about it. Do you really believe that a scoundrel will let you survive just because you’re hidden away in this country bumpkin place?”
“If being safe or not makes no difference, they’d probably forget about it. Originally, the ones who can’t see one thing can’t see the other either.”
“If there’s a reason for them to want something, they’ll kill as many as necessary. Remember the mess in Sichuan? They sent a letter saying that a martial artist had poisoned me as a justification to pull that trick, so how long until you’re safe?”
Prince Suswi’s expression darkened.
Finally, he let out a sigh.
“Leave the children alone. Aren’t they your nephews too? If there’s still a hint of old feelings left, then let me learn martial arts instead.”
“Brother, I remember well how well you treated me, and I’m still grateful. But, where do you think is safer, Sichuan or here?”
“But martial arts is a bit much. That could truly make me a rebel.”
“Just look at what’s happening now. With all your masters, what can the royals do? The army is far away, and right now there’s no means to protect yourself before blades and swords. But I genuinely think martial arts is appealing. At least then, I’d have a way to escape.”
Prince Suswi shook his head hesitantly.
“So, is there a way to indeed secure your safety?”
“There’s gunpowder. The crop yield is good. Already, I have more than eight thousand pounds.”
At that, Prince Suswi looked horrified.
“You, truly are a rebel.”
“First, let’s leave the children to their fates, and you should be careful for yourself. Um, for now, it might be good to root out the people hiding in the royal court and bring in some retainers.”
Suddenly, Jayu thought of Qing.
If one has received kindness, one should repay it.
“There are some trustworthy ones in the martial world called Zhengpai. Since the Golden Guards and eunuchs might make trouble, raise them well to use later. Those who value honor as if it were gold should be easy to handle.”
—-
“What!? What!? Say that again! Speak up!”
Sahun, the Vicious Tiger of Haeju, had a glorious title, but Haeju isn’t that prosperous a city.
It’s the kind of martial artist humorously referred to as the ‘number one character’ by skilled fighters.
But the skilled fighters can bully the weak as they please.
However, this warrior is obviously not something lowly that one can offend, so it’s understandable that the warrior of the Black Beast Gang would tremble in fear.
“Well… it was just a simple gathering, and suddenly some woman ambushed us. Yes! An assassin! It must be! Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense for a lowly wandering performer to be that powerful—”
Slap!
The warrior’s cheek snapped violently to the side.
When you’re a martial artist around fifty-five, you’re not an idiot.
You catch on right away what’s going on.
These dim-witted fools probably teased the wandering performer, but the problem was that that wandering performer turned out to be a master.
No matter how many times they emphasize that one should be careful of children, women, and old people in the martial world, it still doesn’t sink in.
“Was it a drama troupe or a singer?”
“Singer, it was a singer—”
Slap!
The warrior’s cheek went flying again.
“What!? You were beaten by a single woman? You barely made it back alive?”
“B-but, there were more of us!”
The warrior was desperately concocting excuses until suddenly a plausible idea struck him.
“Lady Myeonsanya, that’s right! It must’ve been the Cheonhwa-geom, the Most Beautiful Sword, that sent the assassin to attack and harmed my brothers!”