A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 221

Beneath the blue moonlight, the noble young master’s face was like a painting. It was a fantastical sight that would captivate anyone, but not Sasu-yeon.

“That was a rash move,” Sasu-yeon said in a frigid tone.

“This is not a place someone like you can enter carelessly.”

Sasu-yeon’s voice was as cold as frost. One could even sense a subtle murderous intent in her tone. However, the young Jade Dragon smiled.

“I am a guest who has received a formal invitation. I simply returned because I had forgotten something for a moment…”

Swish.

The young Jade Dragon said, lightly waving his jade fan. “It’s my first time receiving such a cold reception. Most women blush at the thought of a secret, clandestine meeting.”

Beautiful, profound eyes turned towards Sasu-yeon. It was a gaze so captivating that even a man would feel his heart flutter, but Sasu-yeon only frowned.

“If you intend to spout nonsense, I will kick you out immediately.”

Ssk.

As if to show she wasn’t just talking, Sasu-yeon placed her hand on her sword, Myeong. Blatant hostility poured out towards the young Jade Dragon.

“Understood.”

The young Jade Dragon immediately raised both hands lightly, wearing a relaxed smile. “But please calm down. I doubt Milady wishes to wake up Gongja Son [Master Son] in the middle of the night, does she?”

Sasu-yeon flinched. The young Jade Dragon was right. If she stirred up a commotion here, everyone in this mansion would rush over in an instant, even Son Bin, who was already asleep.

“What do you want?”

“Just a brief conversation.”

The young Jade Dragon’s eyes were serious, but Sasu-yeon let out a sneer.

“May I offer a piece of advice?” Sasu-yeon’s sharp eyes stared straight at the young Jade Dragon. “You’re clumsy. You shouldn’t tell such obvious lies.”

The young Jade Dragon’s eyebrows twitched at Sasu-yeon’s scathing tone, but her eyes did not waver in the slightest.

Swish.

“Follow me,” Sasu-yeon said, turning her body. “This place is too precious to be allowed to someone like you.”

This rear garden was where Son Bin practiced the Hyeoncheon Training Sword Style [a specific sword technique]. It was also the place where she and he had unfolded the Hyeoncheon Swordplay together. It was not a place for just anyone to enter.

Step, step.

As if it didn’t matter whether he followed or not, Sasu-yeon moved forward without hesitation. The young Jade Dragon, who had been gritting his teeth, roughly unfolded his fan.

Flap.

“Hmph.”

The young Jade Dragon’s gaze towards Sasu-yeon revealed blatant hostility. However, not wanting to wake up Son Bin either, he quietly moved his feet, following behind Sasu-yeon.

∴

Creak.

The old side gate of the mansion opened with a sound, and Sasu-yeon stepped outside. The area around the mansion was overgrown with bushes, but in the middle, there was an empty clearing.

It seemed like there used to be a building or pavilion for enjoying the scenery, but now it was just a desolate place with only the foundation remaining.

Step.

Sasu-yeon stopped and turned her body. Under the moonlight, the picturesque noble young master stood opposite her.

Holding a jade fan and with one hand behind his back, he looked as relaxed as a nobleman who had come out for a stroll under the deep night moonlight.

“So,” Sasu-yeon said. “What is it you want to ask?”

“Gongja Son is surrounded by quite a few women.”

Sasu-yeon frowned at the sudden remark.

“Every single one of them is a beautiful young lady with an impressive background. There are young ladies from the Tang Family and the Namgung Clan, and even the Blood Phoenix, isn’t that so?”

Sasu-yeon let out a hollow laugh. “So, are you jealous? Because those women’s eyes are not directed at you?”

“That’s not it. No, if the opponent is Gongja Son, I can fully understand. I myself can’t take my eyes off Gongja Son.”

The young Jade Dragon said, shrugging his shoulders as if to say so. Sasu-yeon frowned.

“What exactly are you trying to say…”

“Aren’t you anxious?”

The young Jade Dragon’s voice flowed from behind his jade fan like a subtle temptation. “I know that you are the young mistress of Bukhae [North Sea]. In terms of background or appearance, there is no reason for you to be inferior to the other women. But you are essentially a foreigner. And today, I saw Gongja Son’s expression as he looked at the children.”

The young Jade Dragon’s eyes were quietly smiling. “It was truly a heartwarming smile. Those children might steal your Gongja Son and give him to the young lady of the Tang Family. To the precious daughter of the Tang Family, a proud member of the Murim Alliance [Martial Arts Alliance], not some foreigner.”

He said in a small, whispering voice. “People’s perceptions are surprisingly shallow and easily changed. Can you really say that such a thing will never happen?”

Sasu-yeon was silent for a moment, but it wasn’t because she had nothing to say.

“You don’t know anything,” Sasu-yeon replied, looking straight at the young Jade Dragon. “Those children are also my and Gongja Son’s children. And if I were to put it into words, there are countless children that I and Gongja Son have saved.”

Son Bin’s calming of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Crystal and Ice Soul was the same as saving countless children of Bukhae.

Moreover, considering the meaning that Young Mistress Sasu-yeon holds for the people of Bukhae, Sasu-yeon’s words that there were countless children were by no means an exaggeration.

Because all the people of Bukhae revered Sasu-yeon like a mother.

“And there are quite a few younger sisters who follow Gongja Son.”

A smile unknowingly bloomed on Sasu-yeon’s lips as she thought of the Bukhae Twelve Beauties [a group of beautiful women from Bukhae]. Of course, some of the Bukhae Twelve Beauties were older than Sasu-yeon.

“So, don’t bother trying to shake me with your futile efforts. As I said, you’re clumsy, and I already know that’s not why you came here.”

The smile that had appeared on Sasu-yeon’s lips soon disappeared, and a sharp gaze turned towards the young Jade Dragon.

Clack.

The jade fan closed. The expression on the young Jade Dragon’s face revealed an undisguised displeasure.

“Do you know that women who pretend to be too smart are not attractive?”

“That’s fortunate,” Sasu-yeon said. She, too, did not hide her unpleasant expression. “I have no intention of appearing attractive to you.”

The young Jade Dragon let out a faint smile, but that smile was completely different from the smiles he had shown so far.

“Then I can’t help but ask. What do you think I came here for?”

The young Jade Dragon’s tone changed, and with it, the jade fan in his hand began to emit a low wail.

Woo-oong.

“It’s not difficult to figure out what you’re thinking.”

Sasu-yeon’s tone also changed. Her white hand rested on her sword, Myeong.

Ssk.

Sasu-yeon’s sword, Myeong, revealed its form. The straight blade of Myeong shone blue under the moonlight.

“It seems impossible with Gongja Son. But wouldn’t I be able to defeat that woman? If so, wouldn’t the day come when I could compete with Gongja Son?”

Sreung.

Sasu-yeon’s sword, Myeong, cried out, like a mocking laugh ridiculing the young Jade Dragon.

“Hehehe.”

The young Jade Dragon chuckled, shaking his shoulders. “To be honest, I wasn’t planning on going this far.”

Flash.

The young Jade Dragon’s eyes flashed.

“Now, I can’t let you go.”

Whooooosh.

It was neither momentum nor internal energy, but Sasu-yeon could clearly feel it: the sharp claws of a dragon tearing through the air and bearing down on her.

Kwaaa.

Violent energy erupted from Sasu-yeon’s entire body like a storm. It was an energy that even made the young Jade Dragon flinch for a moment.

However, a smile soon spread across the young Jade Dragon’s hardened face because Sasu-yeon was standing there as still as a statue, as if bound by something.

“Hehe, so you too…”

Sasu-yeon’s voice was low. Her eyes, looking at the young Jade Dragon, did not waver in the slightest.

“Is this all you’ve got?”

Paang.

The moment Sasu-yeon’s body seemed to falter for a moment, she shot towards the young Jade Dragon.

“You’re clumsy.”

Kwaaa!

With Sasu-yeon’s cold eyes, Myeong struck with a blue light.

‘I, impossible…!’

The young Jade Dragon’s face was filled with astonishment. His bloodline ability had not worked, not on Son Bin, but on Sasu-yeon.

It was an unbelievable result, but the blue light of Myeong bearing down on him was an undeniable reality.

Clench.

The young Jade Dragon immediately regained his composure and once again unleashed his bloodline ability towards Sasu-yeon, who was rushing towards him.

Whoong.

Pat.

Sasu-yeon’s figure disappeared in an instant, and the young Jade Dragon knew once again that he had failed.

But now was not the time to dwell on that failure.

The young Jade Dragon’s gaze searched for Sasu-yeon’s figure. With the large moon behind her, she was falling towards the young Jade Dragon.

Woo-oong.

The blue sword energy of Myeong, making even the moonlight dim. The young Jade Dragon did not back down and immediately unleashed his bloodline ability.

Whoong.

But Sasu-yeon was no longer there. By the time the young Jade Dragon realized that fact, a sword filled with blue energy was rising from below, as if to cut his chest in half.

Kwaang!

The blade of Myeong, wrapped in blue energy, was blocked by the jade fan wrapped in jade energy, but it was clear who had suffered the damage.

“Keuk.”

A groan escaped from the young Jade Dragon’s lips. The jade fan had stopped Myeong’s blade, but it could not block the tremendous impact.

The immense internal energy contained in Myeong shook the young Jade Dragon from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. But the young Jade Dragon instead drew up all the internal energy in his body and swung his jade fan.

“Kuaaaa!”

Sasu-yeon did not confront the young Jade Dragon’s attack. The moment she confirmed that Myeong’s blade had stopped, she flew backward.

Whoong.

The jade fan wrapped in jade energy futilely tore through the air, and Sasu-yeon’s body was soaring into the moonlit night sky.

Flutter.

The hem of Sasu-yeon’s clothes fluttered under the moonlight, like the figure of a fairy descending to the mortal realm on a moonlit night.

Tap.

Her small feet landed on the ground, but the eyes of the fairy who had descended to the mortal realm were shining coldly.

“Kekeke.”

The young Jade Dragon laughed. It was only a single clash, but the impact it had brought was by no means small.

The neat hair of the refined young master was scattered in disarray, and his sparkling eyes were bloodshot.

The face where an enchanting smile had lingered was distorted like the visage of a demon.

“Amazing…”

The young Jade Dragon said, biting his lip. It was the greatest praise for the young Jade Dragon, but not for Sasu-yeon.

“Not really.”

Sasu-yeon said calmly, as if she didn’t feel much emotion. “Compared to the power of the previous Jade Dragon, it’s nothing. When he used that ability on me, I couldn’t do anything.”

The ability of the previous Jade Dragon that had bound Sasu-yeon was like an evil spirit that had appeared behind her back in an instant.

Not only her sword-wielding hand, but her entire body was as if it had turned to stone, unable to move anything. Even that eerie feeling as if someone was gently squeezing her heart.

That was definitely not a delusion.

“But you’re too shallow.”

Sasu-yeon said with cold eyes.

Compared to the bloodline ability manifested by the previous Jade Dragon, the young Jade Dragon’s ability was too easily predictable.

Of course, it may also be because Sasu-yeon’s level had risen in the meantime, but Sasu-yeon did not think it was just that.

The bloodline ability manifested by the young Jade Dragon certainly did not reach the level of the previous Jade Dragon. She could tell not only when he would use his ability, but even when that ability was bearing down on her.

“To be so shaken by a single failure. Did you not imagine that there would be someone against whom your ability would not work?”

The reason why Sasu-yeon had unleashed violent energy was to hide her movements. Hidden in that energy, Sasu-yeon had disrupted her position, and as expected, she was able to avoid the young Jade Dragon’s ability.

Strictly speaking, it was different from Saja-hyeok breaking free from the previous Jade Dragon’s restraint, but the young Jade Dragon’s agitation was great.

After that, it was even easier.

The panicked young Jade Dragon unleashed his bloodline ability as soon as he grasped Sasu-yeon’s position, but that was like telling her when he was going to grab her.

“And a moment ago, you should have used that ability instead of pushing me away. To forcibly draw up your internal energy in that state, can you even stand properly?”

Sasu-yeon’s cold voice looked down at the young Jade Dragon.

Gritting.

The young Jade Dragon gritted his teeth. Murderous intent rose uncontrollably with each word Sasu-yeon spoke.

But the result was too clear.

The immense power and Hyeoncheon Freezing Ice Art of Sword Saint Sasu-yeon were already comparable to the experts of the Outer Sect [a high-level division within a martial arts organization]. In comparison, the young Jade Dragon’s martial prowess, excluding his bloodline ability, was only at the beginning of the pinnacle. If his bloodline ability did not work, all that remained was a terrible defeat.

“Indeed, Sword Saint…”

The young Jade Dragon murmured lowly, suppressing his boiling anger. This was not just an event that had occurred because her martial prowess was stronger.

The young Jade Dragon had been thoroughly toyed with. Sasu-yeon had thoroughly grasped the opponent’s psychology and abilities.

“This, I have no choice but to admit.”

Correct judgment and patience were the lessons he had learned in Seolsan [Snow Mountain, a place of cultivation]. That was now forcing patience on the Jade Dragon.

That if he continued to show hostility towards Sasu-yeon now, he would surely die.

As if he no longer had any will to resist, the young Jade Dragon raised both hands lightly with a bitter smile.

“Is that so?”

Step.

Sasu-yeon took a step forward, but the coldness in her voice had not yet disappeared.

“But I have no intention of ending it yet?”

Step.

With another step, Sasu-yeon approached the young Jade Dragon. The sword she had drawn, Myeong, was emitting an eerie blue energy.

“Something inside me is warning me that I shouldn’t just let you go.”

Swaaaaa.

Sasu-yeon’s eyes, looking down at the young Jade Dragon, were covered in a chilling coldness, a cold will that seemed like it would not be shaken by anything.

Darkness spread from behind the young Jade Dragon’s back as he met her eyes. It was the fear of death.

Step.

It was when Sasu-yeon’s foot took another step that she frowned and looked up at the sky.

Flutter.

Someone was falling from the sky, but there was no hostility or murderous intent.

Tap.

The person who landed, as if to shield the young Jade Dragon, was Han-wol, the pinnacle expert of the Blood Dragon Gate [a martial arts sect].

“Hmph.”

Sasu-yeon let out a sneer. It was a confidence that Han-wol alone could not stop her, but Han-wol had no intention of stopping Sasu-yeon with force.

Ssk.

Han-wol knelt on one knee, not towards the young Jade Dragon, but towards Sword Saint Sasu-yeon.

“What… does this mean?”

Sasu-yeon said, frowning. It was a tone as if rebuking the rudeness of a subordinate, but Han-wol had no intention of objecting to that attitude.

“Please stop your sword.”

Han-wol’s voice was calm. A sneer appeared on Sasu-yeon’s lips as she looked at him.

“Now that I think about it, I owe you one too.”

Han-wol, the pinnacle expert of the Blood Dragon Gate, had struck Sasu-yeon at the Pavilion of Prince Teng in Namchang [a location].

Sasu-yeon, whose condition was not normal, was greatly shocked by that attack and eventually fell into a coma.

If it hadn’t been for Son Bin, she would have died.

“Too bad. It seems like you’ve only increased the reason why I can’t stop my sword.”

The beautiful voice of Sasu-yeon, like jade beads rolling, was like a declaration of cruel judgment to Han-wol and the young Jade Dragon at this moment.

Step.

Sasu-yeon took another step. Han-wol bit his lip and immediately drew his sword.

Sreung.

Han-wol’s sword flashed under the moonlight. It was at that very moment that Sasu-yeon’s eyes shone with mockery.

The sword that had risen fell towards Han-wol’s own arm.

A situation that no one had expected. Sasu-yeon’s eyes widened.

Swoosh, crack.

Sasu-yeon immediately raised one hand behind her head. In the moment that something seemed to sparkle in her hand, a small silver hairpin was already shooting towards Han-wol’s sword.

Kaang.

With a sharp metallic sound, Han-wol’s sword soared into the air. The hand he was holding it with was torn and bleeding, but still, it was fortunate.

If it had remained as it was, one of Han-wol’s arms would have been cut off.

Clang.

“What are you doing?”

The sound of the sword and hairpin falling to the ground. Sasu-yeon asked.

“Trying to cut off one of my arms is an apology for my previous rudeness.”

Han-wol said lowly, gritting his teeth. There was no emotion in that extremely businesslike voice.

“If you stop your sword, I will cut off my own head after my lord leaves.”

The young Jade Dragon turned his head towards Han-wol so quickly that it made a sound. As if he had suffered an unbelievable insult, the young Jade Dragon’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Han-wol.

“Is that so?”

But Sasu-yeon’s eyes did not change in the slightest. She said, still with cold eyes, “But that’s not enough to stop my sword.”

There was not a single emotion in Sasu-yeon’s eyes as she looked at Han-wol.

“Now, so tell me again.”

Step.

With another step, Sasu-yeon approached.

“Why I should let you live.”

Sarasak.

Her black hair, which was pouring down belatedly, and intensely beautiful eyes that looked down at him with a cold gaze under the moonlight.

Han-wol could clearly see that the woman standing in front of him was the one called the ‘Empress of Bukhae’.