Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 370

370. Cross Purposes

Swish.

The Grand Palace Lord’s slender, white fingers grasped the teacup.

Holding the cup as if embracing it, she lifted it and quietly savored the tea.

However, Yunhyun, sitting before her, prevented the Grand Palace Lord from truly enjoying the taste.

Clink.

Setting down the teacup, the Grand Palace Lord spoke.

“Why are you smiling?”

Yunhyun flinched.

Soon, with an awkward smile, Yunhyun said,

“I think it’s because I’m happy to meet you, Grand… I mean, Grand Palace Lord.”

The Grand Palace Lord’s fingertips, which were holding the teacup, trembled slightly.

However, she spoke as if nothing were amiss.

“I see. I’m glad too.”

Staring straight at Yunhyun, she said,

“I am pleased to meet the esteemed Leader of the Azure Dragon Alliance, whose fame precedes him.”

Contrary to her words, her gaze was almost challenging.

It was a situation where tension seemed ready to erupt at any moment, but Yunhyun smiled gently.

“I see. I’m glad to hear you say that.”

The Grand Palace Lord’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly.

But Yunhyun leisurely lifted his teacup.

Fine liquor from Kaifeng [a city known for its alcohol] and luxurious dishes were laid out before them, but no one touched them.

The guest elder, sitting beside them, was also merely sipping his tea indifferently.

“Ah, now that I think of it, how is the Northern Sea? Is the Ice Emperor doing well? And the Ice Empress?”

The Ice Emperor and Ice Empress, whom he had met in the Northern Sea, had been very impressive.

Moreover, both of them had treated him kindly, so he couldn’t help but ask after them.

“They are well.”

The Grand Palace Lord replied quietly.

“Too well, if anything.”

It was a statement that seemed to carry some emotion, but Yunhyun thought that at least both of them were doing fine.

“I met the Twelfth Palace Lord at Mount Emei [a sacred mountain in China] last time. Now they say she is the Third Palace Lord. Her Mandarin is quite good now, isn’t it? Though there are still some awkward parts…”

“I know.”

The Grand Palace Lord cut off Yunhyun’s words.

“By the way, are you just going to keep talking about other people?”

The Grand Palace Lord looked at Yunhyun with an openly displeased expression.

But even her gaze was beautiful.

“Ah, well…”

With an awkward expression, Yunhyun asked,

“How have you been, Grand Palace Lord…?”

The Grand Palace Lord frowned.

“I didn’t mean for you to ask about me.”

“Oh, I see.”

Yunhyun fiddled with the innocent teacup.

The Grand Palace Lord also felt upset.

The situation not going as she wished, and her own words being sharper than she intended, displeased her.

Swish.

Lifting her head and looking straight at Yunhyun, the Grand Palace Lord said,

“Do you know about the Northern Sea One Clan?”

Yunhyun’s expression hardened slightly.

“…Not in detail.”

“I see.”

A smile appeared on the Grand Palace Lord’s lips.

“Then you probably don’t know what the Northern Sea is trying to achieve through the Northern Sea One Clan either.”

Yunhyun gave a bitter smile.

“I already know that.”

The Grand Palace Lord’s eyebrows twitched.

That was an entirely unexpected answer.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know. From when we first met the Divine Monk together in the Murim Alliance [a martial arts alliance], to when I sparred with Young Lady Bingseol at West Lake [a famous lake in Hangzhou, China], and even when we parted ways in the Northern Sea.”

Yunhyun sighed softly and looked at the Grand Palace Lord as he spoke.

“That was all anyone talked about.”

He didn’t know much about the Northern Sea One Clan.

However, what the Northern Sea was trying to achieve through the Northern Sea One Clan was simple.

It was the Northern Sea’s long-cherished desire: to restore the pride that had been shattered by the Sword Saint and to advance into the Jianghu Murim [the martial arts world].

“Is that so?”

The Grand Palace Lord smiled faintly.

“I see. If you already know everything, then the story is easier to…”

“Is that the only way?”

Yunhyun said quietly.

“Is that the only way the Northern Sea’s desire can be fulfilled?”

“As long as the past continues into the present, yes.”

The Grand Palace Lord said firmly.

But Yunhyun did not back down either.

“Then the present should be different from the past.”

“Pardon?”

The Grand Palace Lord asked back.

“I’ve been studying history a bit, and what’s important is people’s perception.”

Yunhyun said with a serious expression.

“For example, it’s like this: in the past, they were divided and fought, but not anymore. Now, no one thinks of each other as enemies. If everyone thinks that way, then the past and present become completely unrelated.”

Yunhyun continued, his eyes shining.

“Of course, solving the problems of the past is also important. Unresolved grudges keep connecting the past to the present. So, ignoring the problems of the past or acting like it was all okay back then is the worst…”

“So?”

The Grand Palace Lord said with a frown.

“That’s just idealism. I don’t have time to waste on such meaningless conversations.”

“It’s not.”

Without hesitating, Yunhyun said,

“That time that you call meaningless is precisely the time you give entirely for the other person.”

The Grand Palace Lord bit her lip.

She knew very well what Yunhyun meant.

Time just for the two of them.

The sound of the Northern Sea waves she had heard under the Northern Sea’s night sky that day, and Yunhyun’s voice, were still vivid in the Grand Palace Lord’s ears.

“Something like that…”

Amidst her wavering heart and confused emotions, she lost her composure.

Cool calculations and meticulous thoughts all disappeared, leaving only emotions.

So, she ended up blurting out the worst answer.

“Do it with another woman.”

Yunhyun’s expression hardened.

He tried hard to hide his emotions, but he couldn’t help the pain that spread through his chest.

The Grand Palace Lord also realized her mistake, but the words had already been spoken.

The jealousy and betrayal she had been suppressing until now had burst out in this way.

An awkward silence fell between the two.

“That is not an answer.”

Suddenly, the guest elder spoke.

Both the Grand Palace Lord and Yunhyun turned their heads to look at the guest elder.

“Although Hyun might do that with another woman, it does not mean he cannot do it with you.”

The guest elder’s words could cause tremendous misunderstanding depending on how one heard them.

Yunhyun quickly said to the guest elder,

“Um, Elder…”

“So, you must answer clearly. Do you like it, or do you not?”

“I do not dislike it.”

Unexpectedly, the Grand Palace Lord answered the guest elder’s question.

Yunhyun’s eyes widened.

However, the Grand Palace Lord’s answer was not over.

“But I really hate it.”

The Grand Palace Lord’s expression as she spoke was resolute.

The guest elder, not understanding, frowned, and Yunhyun was also taken aback by her reaction.

Clink.

The Grand Palace Lord rose from her seat.

“Excuse me, but I think I must be going now.”

With those words, the Grand Palace Lord politely bowed to Yunhyun and the guest elder.

“It was a pleasure to meet one of the Five Venerables of Huanwoo and the Leader of the Azure Dragon Alliance.”

With cold eyes, the Grand Palace Lord looked at Yunhyun.

“Very… enjoyable.”

Swish.

The Grand Palace Lord turned her body as it was.

Binghun immediately followed her, and Bingseol also moved her feet.

“Grand Palace Lord!”

Yunhyun jumped up and said.

The Grand Palace Lord stopped walking.

And quietly turned around.

Yunhyun said to her,

“I…”

However, the Grand Palace Lord spoke first.

“The Northern Sea One Clan will join the Azure Dragon Alliance.”

“Yes?”

That was too sudden of a statement.

But the Grand Palace Lord looked straight at Yunhyun and said,

“Joining is entirely within the authority of the Alliance Leader, isn’t it? It will be difficult to decide right now, so I will wait.”

Swish.

The Grand Palace Lord lightly bowed her head and turned her body.

And left the place as it was.

Step, step.

Her figure disappeared in an instant.

Only Yunhyun and the frowning guest elder remained.

***

Clatter, clatter.

Inside the carriage passing through the bustling streets of Kaifeng, the Grand Palace Lord was gritting her teeth.

She did not care that her beautiful eyebrows were contorting.

‘This is not what I intended.’

This was not what she had intended to do.

She had no intention of ruining an important plan in this way, nor did she want to see Yunhyun’s face like that.

But this was how it had turned out.

Tightly.

The Grand Palace Lord clenched her white hand tightly.

She wanted to ask how he had been.

But she was afraid.

She was afraid that she had already become a memory in his heart, that he was doing well without her, as he had in Shaolin.

So, she didn’t want to hear it.

She tried hard to bring up other topics.

The story of the Azure Dragon Alliance, the Northern Sea One Clan, and the Taepyeong Alliance, which was the reason she had originally wanted to meet Yunhyun.

But in the end, she had ruined everything.

‘No matter how prepared the cards were…’

Joining the Azure Dragon Alliance was by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision.

But she should not have impulsively pulled it out in that situation.

She had ruined the matter involving the Northern Sea’s long-cherished desire by being swayed by personal feelings.

“Grand Palace Lord.”

Suddenly, Binghun’s voice was heard from the driver’s seat.

The Grand Palace Lord lifted her head.

“What should we do with Seolyeongdae?”

When Yunhyun left the guest elder and the Moryong Family, Seolyeongdae immediately informed the Grand Palace Lord of that fact.

They also reported that the group consisted of only two people and that they were heading to Kaifeng.

Upon hearing the report, the Grand Palace Lord waited for a while.

It was because it was not clear where the two were going or what their purpose was.

In the meantime, strange guys had gathered around, and she had been busy dealing with them, so she did not expect Yunhyun to appear.

The Grand Palace Lord thought for a moment and said.

“Just keep track of their location.”

“Understood.”

Binghun immediately signaled Seolyeongdae to convey the order.

Clatter, clatter.

The splendid night view of Kaifeng flashed before her eyes.

But the Grand Palace Lord was not looking at it.

A pain that she could not control was spreading painfully in her chest.

***

“Are you alright?”

The guest elder asked.

Yunhyun gave a bitter smile.

“I’m alright, but I’m not alright.”

The guest elder frowned.

“You’re saying the same thing as that child from earlier.”

“…I suppose so.”

In fact, there were so many things he wanted to say to her.

He also wanted to tell her about Dokgorang, whom she also knew and had gone to the Northern Sea with, as well as the story of the Divine Monk, Dokseon, and Eunuch Park.

Although he was too embarrassed to say that she had appeared in his dreams, he also wanted to tell her that he still remembered her name.

“There’s no need to worry.”

Suddenly, the guest elder spoke.

With a calm expression, the guest elder continued.

“She said she hated it, but she also said she didn’t dislike it.”

Yunhyun gave a bitter smile.

“That’s true, but…”

“Originally, everything in the world depends on how you look at it. Isn’t it better than nothing at all?”

The words ‘depends on how you look at it’ were even more persuasive because they came from the guest elder, who was well-versed in both medicine and poison.

“I suppose so.”

Yunhyun sighed softly and said to the guest elder,

“Thank you, Elder.”

The guest elder said indifferently.

“What do you intend to do about the Northern Sea One Clan?”

“I will talk to Chief Strategist, Great Warrior Yeonghojun.”

The Grand Palace Lord would not have said such a thing on impulse.

Yunhyun was taking her words seriously.

“Do that. And let this be the gift.”

“Yes?”

“From the scent, it contains quite precious medicinal herbs. The detoxification has also been done well, so this much should be enough, don’t you think?”

Only then did Yunhyun realize what the guest elder was talking about.

He was talking about the gift Yunhyun had mentioned before entering the tavern, the gift he was going to give to the head of the Moryong Family.

Yunhyun gave a bitter smile.

Even if he hadn’t touched it, he couldn’t take opened alcohol as a gift.

But the guest elder’s expression was serious.