Book 11 Chapter 6

Poetry recitation!

The surprising changes seen in Biryuyeon lately

showed that he too could engage in the delicate thought process of deliberation.

Originally, Biryuyeon didn't know what deliberation was. He hadn't learned how to intentionally live his life seriously. However, even he has had a worry lately. It was also a doubt.

'Again!'

Biryuyeon couldn't help but feel bewildered by the fact that he couldn't even count how many times this situation had happened before. He pondered why she was acting like this, but no clear answer came to mind. Of course, what kind of worry in this world would have an answer! Worry can be considered a mental byproduct generated during the process of problem-solving to find an answer. Once an answer arises, the worry will naturally be resolved.

After the group left Cheonmu Academy, on the journey to Hwasan, Nayelin kept avoiding eye contact with him. If it were once or twice, he could dismiss it as a coincidence, but it seemed to have happened dozens of times already. It was clearly a deliberate act.

What troubled Biryuyeon was the question 'Why?'. He felt that Nayelin was constantly trying to create distance between them. Why was she trying to avoid him? Her actions were far from the cold demeanor she had when they first met. Nor was it like the gentle way she was in the Illusion Demon Cave. However, even he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Biryuyeon was not the type to take a roundabout approach to get answers. But if he were to confront her directly, there were too many obstacles and hindrances from those around him. After escaping the Illusion Demon Cave, the watchful gaze of Dokgoryeong towards him had intensified. It seemed as though he was being treated like a plague spirit.

However, Biryuyeon was not someone to be swayed by such obstacles. Perhaps he was comfortably thinking that a bit of difficulty would make the romance more dramatic. Of course, a romance with so many diverse obstacles would be rare in the world.

'Lady Nayelin of Bingbaek Peak is the idol of all us men! For her to become the woman of one man is an absurd notion! It defies heavenly reason!' There were not a few men who shouted this. It was as if half the men in the world were already positioned as enemies. And that was calculated by excluding the men of the dark arts and a few rare homosexuals.

It could be called a quite dangerous and eventful romantic environment.

Biryuyeon was excellent at calculating profit and loss, but he didn't know how to capture a woman's heart with beautiful and elegant verses in long poems, with their rhythm and meter. It was an area that even he, who prided himself on being omnipotent, couldn't touch, nor did he want to touch or get involved in.

That's why he couldn't help but worry about how to talk to Nayelin, who had suddenly become cold to him, like a biting winter wind.

"I'd rather fight ten thousand enemies… Damn it, this is a truly impossible task!"

Biryuyeon pouted and genuinely grumbled, blaming the heavens. Nayelin was less than three meters away, but he felt a distance of over a thousand meters in his heart. It was clearly after the time he was summoned by her father for a one-on-one meeting(?).

Did she even recognize this fact? Biryuyeon was very curious about it, but he decided not to find out. It was clearly the wise thing to do, and it would undoubtedly be beneficial for his mental health.

"…I still don't know."

Biryuyeon decided to give up easily. To risk his life searching for an answer to something that couldn't be solved, for which there were no prepared solutions, answers, theories, panaceas, or formulas, was a waste of time, a waste of money.

"Gungsang!"

Biryuyeon quietly called out to Namgung Sang. The group was currently crossing Gu gong Mountain, located on the border between Jiangxi Province, where Cheonmu Academy was located, and Hubei Province, where Wudang Mountain was located.

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

"What do you think one should do to capture a woman's heart?"

Namgung Sang was taken aback by Biryuyeon's sudden question. That was an uncharted territory for him as well.

"Let me see? Isn't it best to capture a woman's heart with the melody of beautiful language?"

"Eloquent speech?"

Biryuyeon had never thought of himself as inferior in eloquence. 'One who falls behind in logic cannot achieve complete victory! Therefore, one must have strong eloquence!' It was the teaching he had heard incessantly since childhood. His master believed that it was difficult to achieve victory if one fell behind in eloquence in any matter. If one lost an argument, they would be handing over the advantageous position to the opponent. Then, they would inevitably be in a disadvantageous fight throughout. If one couldn't convince the opponent with logic, it was difficult to claim it as a true victory. However, the winner of an argument isn't necessarily the one with the louder voice.

Of course, there are countless people in the world who only understand fists, not logic. And when words fail, when one feels at a disadvantage verbally, humans sometimes use violence as a tool. In that case, one inevitably has to respond with fists. But the area Namgung Sang was talking about was obviously not that. It seemed Biryuyeon was thinking about it incorrectly.

"Uh, I mean, something like poetry."

"Poetry?"

His voice trailed off, rising high into the sky. Biryuyeon's expression changed strangely. At that moment, Namgung Sang's heart sank.

"You seem to have read too many romance novels!"

He wouldn't have made such a strange expression even if he had said, 'What captures a woman's heart are her face and money.' Biryuyeon suddenly wanted to pat Namgung Sang's head.

'Poor innocent fool!'

Actually, Biryuyeon didn't know why he should call him innocent. He had just followed the example of the old master Cheolhwajang when he was young.

"From the way you say that, you seem to have a knack for poetry. Then, you try composing a poem!"

Biryuyeon commanded Namgung Sang. It was a powerful command, akin to military discipline where disobedience was not tolerated.

"Me… me?"

This was an unexpected turn of events. Namgung Sang was momentarily flustered. Of course, he had learned. The Namgung family, one of the eight great families of the martial arts world, paid attention to general education such as poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, and painting, not just martial arts, so he had the basics from childhood. However, poetry required breaking down, arranging, and combining language to match rhyme and meter, so learning a little wasn't enough.

And Namgung Sang, in good conscience, could never say he was a good student in this area of poetry.

"Yes! You have a proper partner, don't you? What are you so surprised about?"

"Uh, about my partner… we're not officially engaged yet…"

Namgung Sang replied with a voice as faint as a mosquito, his face blushing.

"Oh really. If you do that, I'm not responsible if someone steals her."

"But… such a heartless thing to say…"

Namgung Sang's face immediately crumpled. Despite his martial arts growing stronger, his timidity seemed to remain the same.

"Anyway, you said you need to write a beautiful poem to capture a woman's heart, right?"

"Yes…"

Namgung Sang's reply became as small as a mosquito's buzz.

"So, you try composing one."

"So… so… you mean me?"

Namgung Sang pointed to himself with his finger. Biryuyeon, who had the complex status of Namgung Sang's master and senior disciple, nodded.

"Is there anyone else here besides you?"

It seemed there was no escape. After taking a breath, Namgung Sang recited a poem. It was an act of great courage for him. However, courage alone doesn't guarantee good results.

"You are my sun!

Ah, a world without you

is an eternal night

where morning never returns!"

Namgung Sang recited the poem, closing his eyes and striking all sorts of poses to conjure inspiration and emotion. However, because his eyes were closed, he didn't notice Biryuyeon's face contorting strangely. After spending a long time reciting the poem, Namgung Sang cautiously opened his eyes and glanced at Biryuyeon. Biryuyeon just smiled faintly.

A faint smile! Despite sensing the ominousness within that smile, Namgung Sang smiled along.

"You try it then."

"Huh? Me…? How dare I, to Lady Nayelin…? I'll be beaten to death by Ryungmae. Please, anything but that! Senior Brother! Be merciful!"

Namgung Sang's face immediately fell, and he wailed. He was truly desperate. No, rather than desperate, he was terribly afraid of something.

'Tsk tsk, your future is bright. So bright!'

The distant future of Namgung Sang, who would likely be called the most henpecked man in history, flashed clearly in his mind. No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn't imagine any other future for Namgung Sang.

Thwack!

"Ow!"

Namgung Sang flinched and clutched his head.

"Tsk tsk, what a useless fellow! Who told you to recite a poem to Yerinn? You wrote it, so you should recite it to your own partner! Why are you looking at someone else's thing?"

Biryuyeon clicked his tongue and growled, raising his fist.

"To… to Ryungmae?"

Biryuyeon nodded his head vigorously. Namgung Sang stood frozen in place.

"What, you're not confident?"

"No… it's not that, but…"

"Then hurry up and go! Execute!"

At Biryuyeon's resounding command, Namgung Sang had no choice but to take a reluctant step forward. Biryuyeon silently observed Namgung Sang's flustered state like an audience member. Namgung Sang's steps were as heavy as if his feet weighed a thousand pounds. It seemed uncertain when he would ever reach his beloved.

He looked pitiful as he approached Jinryeong, who stood far away, sweating cold sweat. But he had no intention of showing mercy now. It was Namgung Sang's fault for being so slow in romance from the start.

Finally, Namgung Sang and Jinryeong met. He seemed to be saying something. Jinryeong nodded. It seemed to be a sign of acceptance.

The moment of truth has finally arrived!

Namgung Sang forcefully threw out the words, which he was ashamed to call his own poem, using his tongue. His psychological discomposure was evident even from afar. Jinryeong's face, which had been quietly closing her eyes and appreciating the poem with a faint smile, suddenly stiffened. The gentle smile had completely vanished. And the space between her eyebrows creased once.

Wham!

At that moment, Jinryeong's elbow struck Namgung Sang's abdomen with dazzling speed. The speed was so fast that it was imperceptible, and the people around them couldn't understand why Namgung Sang suddenly clutched his stomach and bent in half.

"Oh no!"

Biryuyeon exclaimed.

"In such situations, he should have smacked him on the head."

Biryuyeon waited with a pounding heart for an opportune moment, but unfortunately, there was none. It seemed their feelings hadn't completely faded yet. At that moment, only one phrase came to his mind.

'Cause and effect!'

Biryuyeon's attention was no longer focused on Namgung Sang and Jinryeong. He sank back into his own mental world.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Gungsang, Gungsang! A single sincere word would be more effective than such superficial, false language."

Biryuyeon was insightful in strange ways. In fact, Namgung Sang's plight was a foregone conclusion. Biryuyeon, for all his appearance, had learned the zither. While he couldn't compose properly, he could listen and feel the rhythm and melody, as poetry and music share common ground.

Such clumsy words couldn't move a woman's heart. To think that it was possible seemed to be treating women as fools. However, there are still many men in the world who haven't given up and are challenging this. And it seems that successful cases are occasionally reported. A regrettable reality.

His gaze returned to Nayelin. At that moment, perhaps by coincidence, their eyes met. Then, again without any reason, Nayelin's head quickly turned away.

'Is this what people call turning away? Hmm…'

Why did she look so flustered every time their eyes met? Biryuyeon began to feel a headache. The distance between them hadn't narrowed beyond a certain point since that day. He could clearly see her avoiding him.

Why? That's all Biryuyeon was curious about now. But the reason was as elusive as a riddle. All he knew was that her actions were sudden, abrupt, and unexpected.

'Well, when were things good anyway…'

If he were to get discouraged to this extent, he wouldn't be Biryuyeon.

"Ryungmae…!"

From afar, Gungsang, clutching his abdomen after being hit, was diligently chasing after Jinryeong, who was walking away quickly with a pout. However, despite Namgung Sang's desperate calls, Jinryeong didn't stop. Instead, she sped up, not even looking back.