Chapter 56. The Senior’s Unique (?) Preference


    Ju Da Hye headed for her senior’s room with a handful of sweets.


    As their teacher had instructed, the two had stayed behind in Sichuan in order to pull the Alliance to their side.


    “What are you doing, senior?”


    Ju Da Hye made a confused face after sticking her face into her senior’s room.


    Normally, her senior would be staring at his face in a mirror, but this time, he was thinking about something on his bed with a serious face.


    Ju Da Hye was extremely surprised. Why was her senior, the crystallisation of narcissism, not doing anything?


    ‘To think senior was following teacher’s orders to this degree…….’


    Ju Da Hye thought that her senior was giving it his all in order to ally themselves with the Alliance. She put the sweets in her hand down on the table, and spoke with a touched face.


    “I didn’t know you’d be this engaged in the mission teacher gave us. Here, have some of these sweets as you work.”


    Juk Hyul Myung looked at Ju Da Hye with a confused expression.


    “What are you talking about?”


    “It’s honestly my first time seeing you focus on something that much other than the time you take to look at yourself. I was surprised.”


    “Really?”


    Juk Hyul Myung smiled a bit as he bit into one of the sweets Ju Da Hye brought.


    “You know, I’m kind of surprised, too. I never expected that I’d be thinking about a man of all things all day.”


    “What?”


    “Gu Hui, was it? That big bear-like guy from the Nanman Beast Gate.”


    “Yes……”


    “That guy’s face just won’t leave my mind after meeting him. It’s driving me crazy, dammit.”


    Juk Hyul Myung scratched his head in annoyance. While he was doing that, Ju Da Hye stepped backwards with a shocked face.


    “C, could it be……. senior, you swung that way?”


    Come to think of it, senior was always kind of suspicious. After all, there were many beautiful women in the North Sea Ice Pce, but the senior never even nced at these women.


    Because of senior’s cold attitude towards women, there were countless rumors that suggested that he was homosexual, and tended to kidnap little boys to his room every night.


    Ju Da Hye just smiled whenever she heard those rumors, but when she actually came in contact with the senior’s hidden secrets, she shuddered a little.


    ‘But even so, to think he’d like muscr men of all things.’


    For senior, a man who possessed skin that resembled those of a woman, it seemed that a person who resembled a young boy would suit him best.


    Juk Hyul Myung frowned when he saw his junior think about perverse thoughts regarding his sexuality. He began to stomp his way towards his junior.


    “You’re beginning to think about something gross again, aren’t you.”


    “Ah, auu! It hurts!”


    Juk Hyul Myung pulled at Ju Da Hye’s cheeks with one hand as he ate his sweets with the other, then sighed soon after.


    “Damn, this is annoying.”


    surawang_56


    He was regretting the fact that he missed the chance to fight Gu Hui.


    Juk Hyul Myung was sure that he would’ve been able to give it his all when fighting an individual like Gu Hui. But since he had to suppress his urges when meeting Gu Hui, he was feeling really annoyed.


    He wanted to break something. Just when he was about to let out the burning desire to fight inside his body, a suitable target he could fight had already disappeared.


    “Argh! This is annoying, dammit!”


    “Kyaaa! T, this hurts, you know!”


    Bam–!


    Juk Hyul Myung red at his junior, who pushed him away with force.


    “Ara?”


    When Juk Hyul Myung looked upon his junior in order to exact upon her his wrath, he could see her sping her left cheek while crying a little bit.


    “Auuu…….”


    Ju Da Hye’s cheeks were swollen to an extreme degree. It almost looked like she was holding a piece of candy in her cheek.


    When Juk Hyul Myung’s eyes widened in surprise, Ju Da Hye’s eyes emanated a beastly aura as she stared at Juk Hyul Myung with hostility.


    “Uh?”


    Normally, Juk Hyul Myung would’ve immediately punished his junior for being so insolent, but since he was at fault for making her stare at him like that, he just stood in ce, not knowing what to do.


    “Se~nior!”


    “Mm? What is it?”


    Juk Hyul Myung stepped backwards unconsciously as he answered. That was because the aura his junior was emitting was extremely fierce. If he tried to have a go at her when he couldn’t even fight her properly, he would surely be punished badly.


    “What are you going to do about this?”


    Junior’s swollen cheeks made her sound a little different from usual. It was quite entertaining, butughing would surely bring Juk Hyul Myung cmity.


    “Y, you’ll have to go find a doctor, of course.”


    When Juk Hyul Myung responded as such, Ju Da Hye pointed her finger towards the exit of the room.


    “What are you trying to say here?”


    “Go bring a doctor here right now.”


    “M, me? Alone? Junior, isn’t it better to go together? Think carefully. Going together would result in you being treated faster.”


    This time, Ju Da Hye pointed her finger at herself and spoke.


    “Are you telling me to walk around outside with a face like this?”


    Juk Hyul Myung couldn’t retort to that,rgely because he had to agree to it.


    ‘Well, it is true that going outside like that would be overdoing it.’


    His junior really looked bad at the moment. Bad enough to have a negative effect on someone’s mental health.


    And as always, Juk Hyul Myung’s bad habit of speaking his mind propped up, and he managed to say the words in his mind out loud.


    “You really look like crap, huh.”


    He instantly regretted saying that, but it was toote. When Juk Hyul Myung flinched a little and nced at Ju Da Hye, he could see Ju Da Hye pointing her finger out the door.


    “Get. Out. Now!”


    Juk Hyul Myung ran outside without being able to say anything in retaliation.


    * * *


    “Who the hell would take her if she’s so fierce like that?”


    Juk Hyul Myung beganining when he came outside. Surely, what he did this time was a little over the line. But wasn’t junior really overreacting to this? Maybe it was because he was taking it too easy on her.


    Juk Hyul Myung, who had been walking around trying to find a doctor, spotted a decent teahouse and decided to go in.


    His current predicament with his junior was already long forgotten.


    “What would you like, sir?”


    “Give me a kettle of Longjing tea. A small one.”


    “Yes sir.”


    “Phew, the weather’s really good today.”


    Juk Hyul Myung looked up at the blue sky, and rxed himself for a bit. But he soon looked somewhere else when he felt something strange touch his senses.


    ‘What’s this?’


    Someone wasing here after parking a carriage.


    “What would you like, ma’am?”


    The employee of the teahouse asked this to the red-haired girl as the girl descended from the carriage. Neng Ha Young began to look for a suitable seat, then happened to cross her eyes with Juk Hyul Myung’s.


    ‘A martial artist?’


    Neng Ha Young began to think, trying to figure out who this person in front of her was. Where was he from? Since she was still within the Alliance’s territories, she was extremely alert.


    She had no real worries since Shi Yup was with her, but she didn’t want to cause amotion.


    ‘Is he a loner?’


    Since Juk Hyul Myung was wearing a set of normal clothes, instead of the North Sea Ice Pce’s martial uniform, Neng Ha Young was unable to identify Juk Hyul Myung.


    She could only see him as a handsome martial artist. One that was too handsome, at that.


    “Ma’am?”


    When the employee called out to Neng Ha Young, she took a seat where she would be able to observe Juk Hyul Myung and spoke.


    “Tieguanyin. A small one.”


    “Yes, ma’am.”


    When the employee took the order and disappeared, Neng Ha Young took a morefortable position in her seat, and closed her eyes. Right now, the martial world was in absolute chaos.


    There were small skirmishes everywhere, and many of the minor houses affiliated with the Alliance were getting pushed around everywhere.


    Compared to that, the merchantpanies and martial ns that allied themselves with the Heavenly Demon Church were going around doing whatever they wanted. The ck Moon Guild was fortunately able to gain several beneficial things by taking advantage of the situation.


    ‘Ten years…….’


    The rule of the Heavenly Demon Church would likelyst for about a decade. Just what should she do in order to gain benefits during that time period?


    While Neng Ha Young was thinking that, Juk Hyul Myung was staring at Neng Ha Young with a serious face.


    ‘’What is this?


    The moment that girl appeared, something came into Juk Hyul Myung’s sharpened senses. However, he couldn’t see anything.


    This was a first. He didn’t like it.


    ‘Interesting.’


    The girl didn’t interest him in the slightest, but the person in her vicinity sure did. Juk Hyul Myung licked his lips, and stood up.


    He came up to the table Neng Ha Young was using, and sat down on the opposite side of Neng Ha Young.


    “Excuse me.”


    Neng Ha Young opened her eyes. She could then see the smiling man in front of her.


    “Do you need anything?”


    She wasn’t particrly concerned with the man. She had Shi Yup by her side, and Neng Ha Young herself was able to take on most martial artists with ease.


    Plus, she didn’t even know what the other side wanted yet. Bing cautious even before anything happened just wasn’t her style.


    “You kept arousing my interest, so I decided toe over like this.”


    “…….”


    Was he here just to try make out with her? If so, she had to be thankful for that. It mean that the man in front of her didn’t know her identity. Juk Hyul Myung stared at Neng Ha Young with great care.


    After looking at her for quite a bit, he sighed in awe and nodded.


    “Yah~ I didn’t realize this a moment ago, but it seems you really have a bright future in front of you. I believe you’ll be a real looker in about three years.”


    “…….What are you trying to say here?”


    Neng Ha Young tilted her head in confusion, as if to say she wasn’t sure if she should be offended or not by Juk Hyul Myung’s ambiguous words. Juk Hyul Myung got straight to the point right then.


    “So, who are you?”


    “…….”


    Neng Ha Young smiled when she heard Juk Hyul Myung’s question.


    “I’m here with my father to see the outside world while he takes care of something. Since father’s business is almost taken care of, I just decided to wait for him out here.”


    “Hoh? Really?”


    Right that moment, Neng Ha Young began to feel annoyance from the man’s attitude. It was a sort of a feeling she got when her words weren’t working on others.


    “That’s a pretty good cover story. Now, can you tell me who you really are?”


    Neng Ha Young began to think. Just who was this man in front of her? Did he actually know her identity? But wasn’t this meeting too much of a coincidence for that to happen?


    “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to reveal yourself first?”


    Juk Hyul Myung grinned. It was a happy grin that disyed his white teethpletely. Neng Ha Young, upon seeing that smile, felt a chill run up her spine.


    ‘This person…….’


    Ther person in front of her was an expert. An expert whose strength she couldn’t even begin to fathom. So why was an expert that strong doing something like this?


    “It seems I’ve been quite rude to you. But since I’m in a troublesome position right now, it would be hard to reveal my identity.”


    “…….Then it would be better if we pretended to have never seen each other.”


    Neng Ha Young began to think as she felt cold sweat run down her back. The person in front of her was an expert. Probably one of the harmonious stage.


    The energy the man revealed just now was enough to prove that.


    The information she had about this man was pitifully small. Except the time where she purposefully leaked her position to the Alliance, she was unnoticed by everyone.


    Even the ck Moon Guild itself didn’t truly know her exact location. Because of this, Neng Ha Young was fairly certain that her meeting with this man was a coincidence.


    It seemed Neng Ha Young had exceptionally bad luck. When she came up with the conclusion, Juk Hyul Myung opened his mouth.


    “I would prefer we not do that. I am a man who believes rtionships are precious things, after all.”


    “…….Must we really do this?”


    When Neng Ha Young said this with a cold voice, Juk Hyul Myung smiled warmly.


    “I came here for it.”


    The surrounding air fluctuated violently. When Neng Ha Young’s eyes widened in surprise, Juk Hyul Myung’s hand moved.