Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 72: The Namgung Clan (4)

Seojun put Chunbong to bed as night fell and wandered around the courtyard.

The accommodations provided by the Namgung Clan were as grand as their reputation suggested. It wasn’t just a single building either.

The courtyard had well-maintained plants and even a pond. Seojun stared blankly at the moon reflected in the pond while listening to the sound of water.

What could it be...

It was more than just a little concerning.

That look on Namgung Suah’s face. Some might label it as meddling, but he found it impossible to disregard such an expression from someone he had come to care for.

“Hm...”

Seojun suddenly leaped onto the roof, his brow furrowed, lips pursed, and feet dragging against the ground.

There, he found someone in a similar situation not far away.

Seojun soared through the air seemingly weightlessly and landed on the roof, asking.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, Young Expert Lee.”

It was Namgung Suah.

She had been gazing blankly at the sky, but now she turned to Seojun with a slight smile.

“What about you, Young Expert? What are you doing out so late?”

“Well... Just couldn’t sleep.”

Seojun dropped down next to Namgung Suah, looking around before breaking into a grin.

“Hey, big sis, the Clan Head didn’t seem particularly bothered that you’re not married?”

“Pardon?”

“So I’m curious, why did you make me act? I’m talking about the whole lover thing.”

“Oh...”

Namgung Suah smiled shyly while fixing her long hair.

“How embarrassing...”

Seojun stayed silent, just waiting for her to keep going.

“The truth is... nothing special. It would simply be strange for me to keep following you around when you’re not even heading to the Namgung Clan, right?”

“What’s strange about that? If you want to travel together, just do it.”

“Fufu, is that so? I thought it was strange. I wanted to stay together a little longer... Yes. I think that’s all it was.”

As the air grew chilly, Namgung Suah exhaled a puff of visible breath and tucked her face between her knees.

“It looked fun, just traveling together with Young Expert and Sister Geum and chatting.”

“Really?”

“Yes... Truly.”

Namgung Suah fell silent for a while.

Instead of forcing the conversation, Seojun sat next to her and looked up at the sky.

In the sky full of stars, the moon, not even a half moon, still shone brightly.

After hesitating, he gently patted her still-silent back.

“I don’t really know what’s wrong, but... cheer up. Why do you seem so down?”

“I don’t know. I just feel foolish.”

“Hmm...”

Seojun scratched his head.

“I don’t know how to respond to that even when you say it straight to my face. Wanna hear about all the stupid things I’ve done?”

“Would you really?”

Is she seriously asking for this? Though slightly taken aback, Seojun wracked his brain.

It had been nearly two years since he fell into this martial world. He felt like he’d done plenty of foolish things, but trying to remember them all wasn’t so easy.

So Seojun went back to the very beginning, retracing the countless events one by one and began his story.

When he first fell into this world and heard a woman’s scream. His mental state was off and he couldn’t tell if it was a dream or not, so he charged at some guy with a sword and got his gut sliced open.

Then there was the time he stripped Chunbong who was obviously a girl trying to pass as a boy, just to make sure, since it was difficult to tell because she was just a kid. And that other time he charged at another sword-wielding guy with just a stick to claim revenge.

“...Wait a minute. There’s way too much! We’d be up all night till after sunrise if I told them all.”

“Fufu, how foolish.”

“What...!”

Namgung Suah looked up and burst into laughter.

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“I wasn’t talking about you, Young Expert. I meant I feel foolish for getting so worked up over something so trivial when you’ve been through such serious ordeals.”

“So, what is it?”

“Are you curious?”

“Of course. They say that when you share your pain it gets cut in half. It honestly sounds too good to be true, but... you never know, wouldn’t you say?”

Namgung Suah chuckled as she stared at Seojun with her chin resting on her knees.

“You’ll think it’s really foolish when you hear it.”

“More than myself?”

“Yes.”

“Uh... That’s a pretty serious problem then.”

He scratched his head while she burst into laughter again.

She’s laughing a lot today. That’s good. What harm can come from laughing?

As she watched Seojun, Namgung Suah paused for a moment before finally parting her lips.

Though she hadn’t drunk a single drop, something about the moonlight above made her words come out impulsively.

“Young Expert Lee saw them too, right? My father and brother.”

“They were quite unique. Both of them.”

“Mm... they are.”

Namgung Suah pouted her lips, then bit them and chewed.

“Did I ever tell you why my mother passed away?”

“No.”

“It was because of chronic illness. She was always frail, and her realm was only at the Second Rate.”

Haah... Namgung Suah sighed, staring at Seojun’s face.

“Father tried everything he could, but... it was inevitable. The birth of Myeong and I also greatly weakened mother’s vitality.”

“I see...”

“In the end, mother passed away... and father took up the sword. And Myeong, as you saw, grew up cheerfully.”

“Yes.”

“But you know what? Watching that made me feel strange. While I couldn’t do anything, everyone else seemed to overcome it on their own.”

Could you really say Namgung Jincheon overcame it well?

The way he spent every spare moment talking with his sword didn’t exactly give that impression.

“To be honest, I felt largely responsible for my mother’s death. If she hadn’t given birth to Myeong and me, I don’t think her condition would have deteriorated to that extent.”

When their eyes met, Namgung Suah smiled slightly, her eyes curving.

Those blue eyes peeking through her narrowed eyelids are beautiful.

They remained silent for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes.

After a moment, Namgung Suah added.

“Actually, that’s why I resented Myeong too. Thinking that if it weren’t for him, mother might have lived.”

Namgung Suah averted her gaze slightly.

“I felt the same towards father. That in the end, the head of the great Namgung Clan couldn’t even save the one woman he loved... what an insignificant position it was, I thought.”

“And now?”

“I just feel foolish. Why did I have such petty thoughts? Now I’m even scared to face them properly, and just... well. It’s hard to put into words.”

Seojun watched her closely, his lips barely moving. He wanted to say something meaningful, but the words just wouldn’t come.

After thinking for a bit, Seojun gently grasped one of her hands resting quietly on her knees.

“That’s because you’re just too kind, big sis. Who honestly goes through life without having thoughts like that at least once?”

“You think so?”

“Of course. People typically live their lives blaming others.”

“Hmph...”

Namgung Suah let out a small sound before burying her face between her knees again, then abruptly sprang up.

I don’t expect a few words to solve everything, but I can only hope it makes her feel at least a little better.

Seojun sat there, looking up at Namgung Suah. She laughed, grabbed his hand, and pulled him up.

“Young Expert Lee, that reminds me... you said something back then, didn’t you? That I like getting hit.”

“Uh... yeah.”

It was an abrupt change of topic, but Seojun was secretly glad for it. He was running out of things to say.

“I’ll prove to you that’s not true.”

But this wasn’t quite what he had in mind.

Namgung Suah guided the hand she was holding to her lower abdomen. To that smooth yet slightly rounded area protecting her precious parts.

“W-Wait a moment... Aren’t things moving a bit too fast...?”

“Shh.”

Namgung Suah leaned in close and whispered in his ear.

“Can you feel it?”

“Feel what...?”

“My heartbeat.”

“No I don’t... why would I feel that from your lower abdomen...”

If someone asked him whether he could feel it, he would say yes. Thump, thump, her heart raced.

If a Transcendent Realm martial artist couldn’t notice this, they would have reached their realm in vain.

“Here.”

Soon, Namgung Suah pressed his hand on her lower abdomen firmly, hard enough to make it push in slightly.

“Haa...”

Seojun shivered as the warm breath brushed against his ear.

“What do you think...?”

“Think about what...?”

“I’m not getting excited from being hit, am I...?”

What on earth am I supposed to do in this situation?

Feeling dizzy, Seojun quickly pulled his hand away and stepped back.

“P-Pervert...!”

Namgung Suah chuckled when he shouted.

“How cute.”

“Wh-What...!?”

Seojun snapped back to his senses. This was an important matter. A man’s pride was at stake.

He moved closer to her, and she looked up at him with a smile.

“What is it?”

“Huu...”

Seojun raised his hand. Namgung Suah tilted her head, confused as she watched him, before it quickly came flying towards her.

Smack!

“Kyaaahngg...!?”

Namgung Suah fell down with a thud, clutching her plump bottom.

“Y-Young Expert...?”

“See! I was right! You like getting hit!”

“N-No this is because....”

As she attempted to stand up, she quickly plopped back down again.

“Huh...?”

Seojun stared blankly at her, who was smiling awkwardly.

“My legs... seem to have given out...?”

It really had been an eventful day.

*Last night, Seojun had no choice but to carry Namgung Suah demurely in his arms back to her room.

Even he couldn’t bring himself to do something as trashy as abandoning her on the roof and running away.

From the journey to her room until even the moment he laid Namgung Suah on her bed... the strange atmosphere had left his mind in complete disarray.

Thanks to that Chunbong was frowning as he sat there lost in thought all day.

“DId you eat something bad?”

“Seems like it...”

“What’s going on, seriously?”

Chunbong sighed and pouted, crossing her arms firmly.

“Didn’t you say you had something to teach me? Are you going to keep sitting there like that?”

“Oh, right.”

Seojun snapped out of it and jumped to his feet.

He couldn’t let his mind wander before such an important task.

After squishing Chunbong’s cheeks a few times to calm himself, Seojun declared.

“Blue Cloud Divine Art Mk.2!”

This could be considered the beginning of Operation: Cure Chunbong’s Meridian Blockage.

Wait a minute.

If her meridians are really cured, will she grow even more? That’ll be kind of sad.

Just imagining Chunbong growing up into an adult made him dizzy.

“How cruel the heavens are!”

Why must children grow into adults!?

“...You’re seriously losing it.”

Chunbong sighed.