麻豆工作室

 New encounters were exciting experiences for him, and the friendships he built along the way were treasures he held dear.

 However, there was a certain type of person that even Mok Riwon preferred to keep his distance from.

 Specifically, those who looked at him with malicious intent.

 For example, White Phoenix Hyeun who was currently before him, along with the courtesans he had met back in Jiangxi, Suyang County.

 Whenever Mok Riwon met their sly gazes, he often felt an unexplainable aversion and fear.

 “You seem to have returned from training. Your body is drenched in sweat.”

 “T-That’s right…”

 When Mok Riwon stepped back hesitantly, Hyeun felt a mischievous thought rise.

 ‘Ah, I want to make him cry.’

 Wouldn’t it be thrilling to see tears coming out of his pretty eyes, or to witness the rush of shame as he bit his lips, unable to bear the embarrassment?

 And his expression when he finally gave in to desire, panting – the look on Tang Hwa-seo’s face as she watched him…

 “…Hehe.”

 A giggle slipped out unintentionally.

 Her cheeks began to warm up at the thought, and Mok Riwon’s lips quivered at her expression.

 “W-Well I must be going now…!”

 He remembered Tang Hwa-seo saying to go to her if Hyeun approached him, so he wanted to run away from her immediately, but then,

 Thud–

 “Ahh–!”

 He had no choice but to stop when he heard a sound from behind.

 Mok Riwon quickly turned his head.

 There was Hyeun, lying on the ground while fumbling with her ankle, her attire sandalously revealing her white skin.

 “I tripped over a stone…”

 It was an absurd claim.

 For a renowned martial artist to trip over a stone was as ridiculous as the Unorthodox Path helping the poor.

 However, Mok Riwon’s flustered mind didn’t think that far.

 “A-Are you alright?”

 With genuine concern, he approached her.

 And the price of his carelessness was dire.

  Snatch–

 “Got you.”

 Hyeun playfully grinned as she grabbed Mok Riwon’s wrist.

 The trembling she felt when she caught him, the horror spreading across his face, and his helplessly writhing body was, for Hyeun, more thrilling than any aphrodisiac.

 “Let go of me…”

 “Why are you trying to run away?”

 “I-I’m not running, I just have things to do.”

 “Really? It doesn’t feel that way to me. I just wanted to get to know Benefactor Mok better, and you keep trying to get away. Even I would get hurt if you keep doing that.”

 Hyeun hadn’t approached him carelessly until now, long after the Dragon Phoenix Tournament had started.

 Like a skilled hunter learning the habits of their prey before the hunt, Hyeun had been observing the kind of person Mok Riwon was.

 ‘He’s weak to being guilt-tripped.’

 Despite his appearance, he was innocent.

 “It’s not like that…!”

 Mok Riwon felt himself growing frustrated.

 ‘W-Why is she doing this to me?!’

 Why was she making things difficult for him?

 Why was she threatening him when he had done nothing wrong to her?

 “By any chance, did Benefactor Tang say anything bad about me?”

 His eyes shook at the sudden question.

 Hyeun lamented like an unlucky woman while looking all pitiful.

 “As I expected… Tang must not like me. She’s so competitive, she probably felt offended to be on the same level as me. She’s been spreading bad rumors about me for a while…”

 Her grieving was clearly intended to drive a wedge between him and Tang Hwa-seo.

 Hyeun’s goal was simple.

 To push herself into the moment of doubt she had instigated.

 But, she miscalculated.

 ‘…The Young Lady isn’t like that.”

 For the first time, Mok Riwon refuted her properly.

 The panic from earlier was replaced by anger.

 “…What?”

 “The Young Lady is not like that. Apologize.”

 “What are you…”

 “As Monk Hyeun said, the Young Lady has a lot of pride. However, she is not a coward who would belittle others behind their backs to protect her own pride.”

 ‘What is this?’

 Hyeun was bewildered.

 She realized that she might have touched on a sensitive topic.

 ‘Quickly apologize. And don’t touch on that topic again…’

 Her swift thinking led to an apology.

 “Ah, that was a slip of the tongue…”

 “People usually don’t call that a slip of the tongue. What Monk Hyeun did was clearly sowing discord.”

 White Phoenix felt at a loss for words.

 “…Is that so important to you?”

 “If this isn’t important, then what is?”

 Mok Riwon shook off her hand and stood up with a ‘hmph’ while saying.

 “The Young Lady is honorable! And she always knows how to treat others considerately! Not only that! She’s so generous that she even covered the cost of meals for me when I’m short on money!”

 Crossing his arms, he continued to sing Tang Hwa-seo’s praises.

 Hyeun suddenly thought that his behavior resembled that of a ‘child bragging about their parents’.

 “What…”

 “She is clever too! She knows the geography so well while traveling here from Jiangxi, and planned the routes of all the places we had to drop by in her head! And you know what else? She has read so many books that she could tell me about every plant or flower we saw on the road!”

 Mok Riwon’s voice grew louder.

 It was late at night in Shexian, but because of the ongoing Dragon Phoenix Tournament, the commotion drew out many martial artists to watch. Hyeun swallowed in panic as the gathered crowd was buzzing with excitement.

 “B-Benefactor Mok. Please wait…”

 “And the Young Lady is also a great beauty! Everywhere we went, people couldn’t help but blush when they saw her!”

 The surroundings became lively.

  –What’s happening?

  –I’m not sure. That man seems to be the Ink Sword, and he’s been praising the Poison Phoenix right in front of the White Phoenix.

  –Heavens, could it be that the Ink Sword and Poison Phoenix…!

  –So, the White Phoenix approached Ink Sword and was shot down? Tsk, how troublesome, trying to meddle with someone who’s taken.

  –Shh! Shh! Be careful recklessly saying such things, man!

 The murmuring among them grew louder.

 Mok Riwon who was so absorbed in his speech didn’t notice, but Hyeun, who overheard the whispers was turning a deep shade of red.

 ‘T-This man…’

 What a humiliation this was in the dead of night.

 But beyond that, this man, Mok Riwon…

 ‘…is completely insane, isn’t he?’

 He was beyond a lunatic.

 How could someone say such embarrassing words and not feel ashamed? Why did he seem proud instead?

 Hyeun felt her own face flush with embarrassment at Mok Riwon’s eloquence.

 “T-That’s enough now…”

 “Her hands are also beautiful! You would think her hands were full of calluses from specializing in fist and claw techniques, but she knows how to minimize the damage to her body because of her precise qi control. The one time I held Young Lady Tang’s hand, it felt like a dream!”

 ‘Oohs’ and applause echoed from the crowd.

 Hyeun felt her head start to spin.

 As that was happening.

 “…Young Hero Mok.”

 The other main character in all of this had emerged.

 It was Tang Hwa-seo, having come out after being driven by anxiety about the night’s commotion.

 And her suspicions proved right.

 She had been trembling with embarrassment and waiting for a moment to intervene when Mok Riwon said, ‘Young Lady Tang is a great beauty’, and unable to bear it any longer, she stepped forward.

 “Ah! Young Lady!”

 His face lit up with joy.

 However, being too embarrassed to look up, she just shook while staring at the ground with her reddened ears visible for the world to see.

 “I was just clearing up a misunderstanding Monk Hyeun had about you! Come here!”

  Thump–!

 Tang Hwa-seo grabbed his wrist and quickly dragged him away from the scene as if she were using a Lightness Technique.

 The onlookers cheered for the departing duo.

 Hyeun was just left standing there, gazing up at the sky with a blank expression.

 ‘W-What is even happening…?’

 For the first time in her life, Hyeun found herself unable to understand a man.

* * *

 If anyone in the Central Plains were to die of shame, it would be herself.

 Tang Hwa-seo cooled her heated face in the Courtyard House’s lodgings where she had made Mok Riwon kneel.

 “No no, why in the world did you think of doing that there…?!”

  Flinch–

 His shoulders shrank down.

 Upon seeing him visibly shaken, she had nothing else to say and just sighed deeply.

 “Monk Hyeun insulted you… so…”

 That was his attempt at an excuse.

 He was truly a magnet for trouble.

 She had told him to run if he saw her, yet there he was, singing her praises – what the hell was he thinking?

 The more she thought about it, the more she felt like hanging herself out of embarrassment, but even so, somewhere deep down, she felt delighted.

  –The one time I held Young Lady Tang’s hand, it felt like a dream!

 The words that ultimately led her to step forward just wouldn’t leave her mind.

 Why was she happy about hearing that?

 As always, she turned a blind eye instead of indulging in such thoughts since she wasn’t the kind of person who could be honest with her own feelings.

 “…Anyways, you did well fending off that Sex Phoenix.”

 Mok Riwon smiled brightly, thankful that she didn’t scold him as harsh as he had expected.

 “However.”

  “…!”

 “Do not do that again. Never. Absolutely not.”

 “U-Understood!”

 “Have a good night.”

 “S-Sleep well too, Young Lady!”

 When Mok Riwon rushed out of the room, she buried her head on the desk.

 After Zhuge San had come in laughing upon catching wind of the rumor, he was met with a punch in the gut – which was a story for another time.

* * *

 [Ink Sword! Wins!]

 “Woooooow!!!”

 “KYAAAAAAAAH!!!”

 The next day was the group finals.

 Mok Riwon had once again defeated his opponent in a single strike and descended from the arena.

 Back at the waiting arena, Tang Hwa-seo greeted him with a smile.

 “Well done.”

 “It was nothing!”

 Mok Riwon cheerfully continued talking.

 “Your turn is coming up soon, isn’t it? You must also win, Young Lady!”

 Tang Hwa-seo belonged to the third group which would fight next.

 Thus, the venue was still buzzing with excitement from Mok Riwon’s victory and eagerly awaited her match.

 “Yes, I will definitely return with a victory.”

 Tang Hwa-seo smiled weakly while composing herself.

 ‘White Phoenix…’

 Her opponent today.

 She was a woman Tang Hwa-seo would never get along with, but there was one thing she couldn’t deny.

 It was that during the past five years when her growth had stagnated, the White Phoenix had been the first to overcome the wall of the Peak Realm.

 Tang Hwa-seo clenched her fists.

 ‘The chances of winning are slim.’

 But that did not mean her defeat was certain.

 Her martial arts were not inferior to any swordsmanship, and the training she had done to prepare for today was more than sufficient.

 She had invested more than half of her gold on poison qi to absorb.

 She also made sure to refine and absorb the poison gland of the Man-faced Spider she had obtained from Blood Valley.

 Her inner cultivation wasn’t lacking.

 And she couldn’t afford to lose.

 ‘I must advance to the top four.’

 For the sake of her future plans, she needed to at least show the world that she was still strong.

 While lost in thought,

 [Let’s begin the third group’s final match!]

 The announcer’s voice rang out.

* * *

 Those of the martial world shared one particular habit– they were extremely interested in the tales of others, especially when it came to assigning a ‘name’ to a martial artist who had accomplished a great feat.

 From that perspective, it was no surprise that last night’s speech from the Ink Sword and the story of the two women fighting over him had become a topic of interest to them.

 The two women were already considered worthy adversaries.

 And now, the situation where they seemed to be fighting over a single man was the perfect kindling to fuel the excitement of the spectators.

 “Poison Phoenix! Be sure to protect your love!!!”

 There were those who cheered for the love between Mok Riwon and Tang Hwa-seo.

 “White Phoenix! Love is something you seize!!!”

 Then there were some who urged Hyeun to steal Mok Riwon away, proclaiming that love was about the conquest.

 “Why not live in harmony, all three of you! Ink Sword! Just know, the more the merrier! The more the merrier!”

 …And there were even those saying to just take both of them, and called for the three of them to live in harmony.

 The entire venue was filled with laughter.

 However, there were two people who couldn’t laugh.

 “…”

 “…”

 Tang Hwa-seo and Hyeun faced each other in the arena, their faces full of embarrassment.

 As they stepped on the stage and heard the cheers, they had no choice but to forget all their resolve and tension until that moment.

 [Let’s begin!]

 The announcement prompted a rare moment when both women had the same thought.

 ‘I’ll end this in one second.’

 They both wanted to quickly win and escape from this place.

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