Book 19 Chapter 7

Patrols

-shift

"Big brother, it's time to go out on patrol."

Bi Ryuyeon's expression turned stiff at the words of the Namgung Sang who had opened the dormitory door. It was a look that matched the chair he was currently balancing on, with only one leg supporting his body at an angle, the other three aside. His right arm, resting on the armrest, was doing its best to keep his head from tilting further.

"Patrols be damned!"

The words that came out of his stiffly drawn mouth were as inarticulate as the slant.

"Twisted!

Namgungsang tensed for a moment.

For I have noticed that this human's judgment has become quite multi-stranded at this moment. In fact, there was not a single one of those assigned the duty of patrolling who liked it.

It wasn't going to be easy to get my ass out of that chair.

"But what can you do, the instructions came down that way, so you have to follow them."

Two days earlier, a memo had appeared out of the blue with the following instructions, which had all the "golden armbands" rolling their eyes.

Once a day, immigration officers must patrol the city in groups of two.

It's supposed to be a supervision station to keep an eye on prospective entrance examinees to make sure they don't get into trouble, but its hidden purpose is so obvious that it smacks of malice.

Exhausted from days of raids - they preferred this phrase to confrontations - the examiners increasingly avoided going out, preferring to stay cooped up in the halls. The general consensus was that it was not worth the trouble. However, for the elderly, it was difficult. It was clear that the patrols were a deterrent to this kind of behavior.

Kindly, even the groups were pre-planned. Apparently, they knew this was going to happen before they started. It was quite a bit of proactive preparation. Some of the examiners cynically referred to the patrols as "sacrificial marches," and they weren't far off the mark.

In any case, by the time things got to this point, the golden armbands could no longer be flippant. They had to be careful. There is such a thing as seniority, and there is such a thing as hierarchy, and to lose a duel to a junior prospect meant that the senior's prestige would be shattered. Once the dignity is broken, it cannot be restored at any time. As a senior, it was not acceptable to meekly concede defeat to a junior.

But when he realized who he had been paired with, he let out an uncontrollable scream.

"This is a lie!

Why should he be one of the many who dreamed of being paired with the dreaded Big Brother? The star shining above his head was clearly a star of misfortune.

The patrols are made up of upperclassmen and lowerclassmen, and I understand why classmates are not allowed to be paired together. It's a kind gesture for the upperclassmen to look out for the underclassmen.

"Kindness is a freezing bastard!

His burden, the mental and physical toll, and the physical toll on his body were all because of one thoughtless group organizer. Who takes care of who? He had only one body, but he had to do all the work.

"Well, Big Brother… Of course, I realize that you're very reluctant to waste your energy on such a tiresome, unproductive, and unprofitable task. But we can't help it, can we? That's the way the instructions have come down, and I'm asking for a little help."

Bi Ryuyeon pretended not to hear, still sitting with her butt in the chair, propped up by one of the chair legs.

"大型……."

Namgungsang called out to Bi Ryuyeon in a fuller voice. This time there was a response.

"What a bunch of brilliant minds! This is how it's supposed to work? I made it very clear in the contract that I wasn't going to do any extra work. My mistake!"

Bingo!

The chair, which was balanced on one leg, spun around like a spinning top, but the body of the man sitting on it did not stir at all. He still sat stiffly with his chin cupped in his hands.

"Bother……."

It was annoying, that was the biggest problem, but it wasn't the only problem.

"Is it really that hard to figure out the topic?"

Or at least a fraction. Either would have saved me a lot of hassle.

Shouldn't you have to pick and choose who you deal with? I don't see it that way…….

"It's definitely a hassle, and it's tiring."

Namgungsang agreed; he was three or four times as hard and tired as anyone else these days. It felt like a miracle that he was still alive and not dead.

"That's exactly what I meant. You're saying the right thing for the first time in a long time."

Bi Ryuyeon clenched her jaw and nodded.

"How many have been successful so far?"

"We haven't had one yet, and if we did, it would be a big deal."

"Yeah, right, because they've got nothing left but shame, and they're going to make a big fuss about your prestige and stuff. Mommy, mommy, mommy."

Bi Ryuyeon pretended to cry.

"I think it's fair to say that there hasn't been a success story yet. Probably because the golden armbands have stayed home."

"But I'm a little disappointed that there aren't any, they're all so incompetent… Maybe this year's freshman class won't be much better."

"What if the other examiners think they're competent?"

Namgungsang offered a more positive interpretation.

"You can't do that, lying is bad!"

Namgung Sang was surprised to hear such a common sense line coming out of Bi Ryuyeon's mouth.

"Incompetent is incompetent. You can't call something incompetent competent, can you?"

"But that includes metabolites."

Namgungsang pointed to the golden armband on Bi Ryuyeon's right arm.

"Oh, me, of course."

The brazenness of the man's words left Namgungsang suddenly speechless.

"So… what do we call the guys who lost to those incompetents?"

"Well, they're probably incompetent at espionage."

Dumbfounded by the absurdity of the answer, Namgungsang couldn't say anything for a while.

"Intelligence incompetence, is there such a thing?"

"Of course not, I just made that up."

The story was that it was a knockoff.

"That… that……."

"No, if you're competent, I don't know, but why do you need to wrap your head around portraying incompetence, it's a waste?"

"That's a harsh assessment."

"So if you treat the good guys and the bad guys the same, that's equality?"

"Not really, but……."

"It's the same thing."

"Oh, that's right……."

I stopped being convinced and went to Namgungsang.

"Well, I'm a little pissed off that I'm being bothered by a bunch of espionage incompetents. Is there any way to make it easier?"

When asked about alternatives to deal with the reality of the situation, Namgungsang paused.

"Is there even a way to do that?"

They were sad creatures whose only goal in life was to get into the Academy of Heaven and Earth. Though pitiful, their fearsome tenacity was not the kind to be ignored.

"Well… there is one."

"What is that, is there even such a thing?"

"恐怖!"

"What? Fear?"

The short answer was so compressed that Namgungsang didn't understand.

"Spread the fear!"

A smile spreads across her face as she gives a slightly longer answer.

"You're going to put fear into their hearts and souls so they won't have the heart to try again. Be kind, be gentle, be as gentle as you can, heh heh heh!"

A dark, grayish aura emanated from Bi Ryuyeon's entire body as she laughed in a grotesque manner.

Are you sure you want to do this?

'That guy might be a real jersey…….'

The most horrific images he could imagine flashed through Namgungsang's mind.

Torn limbs, falling flesh, and gushing blood…….

I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

"It's still not okay to kill, no matter what."

Namgungsang soothed her trembling heart and advised her sincerely.

"Huh? Who said anything about killing? How could someone as weak as me do something so horrible?"

"Enough!" I thought, but I still had enough sense to not dare say it out loud. It wasn't worth the risk of tearing my throat out.

"Oh, no?"

Namgungsang replied with a frown, and Bi Ryuyeon looked at him as if he were pathetic.

"Where else have you been selling your mind, you won't get paid much for such a rotten mind, so send it back!"

Despite the omission of the words "when speaking well," Namgung's ears had already automatically and reflexively picked up the missing phrase. It was an amazing learning effect.

"But that would mess up this entrance exam, wouldn't it?"

It's going to be a cauldron of chaos. That's not what you want, either.

"That's certainly a possibility."

She didn't deny it.

"Right?"

"But wouldn't it be more interesting than this tedious and annoying development?"

It was clear that the virtue of liking the ordinary was far from this man.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Namgungsang asks cautiously, trying to calm his voice.

"Well, what do you think I should do?"

"I don't know……."

Namgung Sang cringed as he watched the sinister smile spread across Bi Ryuyeon's lips.

"Gung Sang, why do your eyes wobble?"

Namgungsang was dumbfounded at this point, as if to ask whether it was his trust or his pupils that were shaking. It was as if he had been given a glimpse into his own mind.

"That… that can't be right, my trust in my godbrother is absolute!"

"Really?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

Fortunately, he didn't say anything more.

"Phew!

Namgung-san patted his chest, relieved that he was no longer being questioned.

"Shall we go then?"

"Let's go!"

"I wonder how many more I'll get today, I can't wait."

"Please don't get your hopes up!

Namgungsang screamed inwardly and prayed to the heavens that his carefree life would continue.

"You don't expect me to bother!

He hoped that the number of them had dwindled, for it was always up to him to deal with the swarming flies. More often than not, Bi Ryuyeon didn't even lift a finger.

"You don't really want to break up with Qinling, do you?

How can you say no to that? How dare you!

I was already nervous about the showdown that was just a few days away, and I wanted to avoid any further physical and mental abuse, but Bi Ryuyeon's training - read: pushing through - was grueling.

You haven't seen the limit yet!

Every time he defeated a group of children, every time he fell and rose again in a duel with an ice sword, Bi Ryuyeon's words echoed in his ears like tinnitus. When would he be able to cure it? Another doubt hindered his approach to that day, and he pushed himself to his feet and followed behind Bi Ryuyeon, careful not to step on his shadow.

It was customary for patrol changes to always take place at the main gate. The previous patrol had already arrived at the gate and was waiting for them.

"Ah! Yerin!"

When he recognized one of the two women who were waiting at the front gate guard post to switch patrols, he waved back. It was always a pleasure to see his lover, and it eased his irritable mood a bit.

Regardless of the repeated cycles of day and night, sun and moon, Na Yerin was beautiful and graceful. But standing in the middle of the night, bathed in moonlight, she had a unique and fantastic aura about her, like a fairy not of this world. Her deep eyes, in which the night seemed to shine forever within them, were more beautiful than starlight and more mysterious than moonlight.

Na Yerin raised a hand to her hip, then lowered it again, bowing her head slightly in a graceful greeting.

"Good night, Ryuyeon!"

Like the moon lighting up the night, she was glowing softly.

"Hello?"

The woman I was traveling with waved back.

"Huh? Ah!"

The woman's cheeks puffed out in a series of blatant reactions as if she had just realized something. It turned out to be a jinling.

"Anima!"

Recognizing her, Namgung Sang exclaimed with a wide smile.

When you're feeling down, looking at your lover's face can lift your spirits. Even if it's a pouty face. She deflated her puffy cheeks a little, as if the sight of his face had lifted her spirits.

"Prize!"

It was a very short greeting, but it seemed to be enough for both of them. Bi Ryuyeon smiled at Na Yerin, ignoring the two of them as they were lost in their own world.

"Yerin, you're having a hard time with the flies at night, aren't you?"

These days, the golden armbands were in short supply due to the swarm's abnormal growth. Na Yerin could have gotten preferential treatment because of her status and special circumstances, but she didn't.

"You can't move forward if you're just dodging, right?

This is what she told Mazinger when she said she'd make a special exception for Na Yerin.

"No, nothing happened, it's nighttime and they need to sleep."

Na Yerin's somewhat distant, yet calm, response caused the jinn's head to tilt. Despite this small gesture, her mind was screaming with excitement.

'Rice, you said everything was fine……?'

I couldn't understand how she could look at me with such an expressionless face and say that nothing had happened.

Na Yerin lied. These days, flies come in both sexes, day and night. They stalk their prey with wide-open eyes, unable to sleep at night.

How thirty men from the Bingfeng Movie Guards had tried to escort her, and how she had turned them all away, If 'uneventful' can be used to refer to the series of events that led up to the fact that, when she finally made it to the patrol in comfort, she gracefully 'ahhhh'd' two people - it was definitely two people - who, overwhelmed by her beauty, asked for a face stamp, three 'shameless' guys who asked to be her lover if she won, and two guys who drooled and had bloodshot eyes… then and only then… Read more: ….

'Yeah, only then can we say that today's patrol was 'uneventful'!'

But before that, I don't think I could have used that phrase in good conscience.

But what did she say at the time!

"That's okay, I'm used to it!"

For the first time, I suspected that this jealously guarded beauty had had a harder life than I could have imagined, and for the first time, I was convinced that she was both amazing and terrifying.

"Maybe I'm not a normal person after all……."

Muttering to himself, Qin Lie glanced at Bi Ryuyeon's side.

'Well, it would be impossible for me to date a guy like that in my right mind…….'

In that respect, it was a real tribute.

"Oh, by the way, my master would like to have another meeting with you."

"Again?"

We hadn't had a meal together in a while.

"Yes. You want me to do a little 'exercise' this time, and not just eat."

"It's a light workout……."

I had a feeling this wasn't going to be light.

"You didn't just say that, did you?"

"Yes, actually, you said something else."

"What did you say?"

"If a thousand won't do, I'll cut down two thousand, just give me a few days."

It was clear that he was still haunted by the destruction of the "Sea Flying Birds of Heaven" that he had spent so much time devising on the volcanic Tianmubong.

It's a bit of a stretch to say it's a scavenger hunt, but it looks like they're enhancing their herbivory for something like that. The idea of being able to add extra power to a terrifying herbivore that's already been perfected is almost too good to be true. Herbivory is an intricate and organized network of pathways, and trying to enhance its power without disrupting its flow was as outdated as trying to plant a flower in a crack in a rock. It was a task that even the best of us could only dream of. Besides, it was only a matter of days…….

"Sounds like you have a clear purpose."

To bring yourself to your knees.

"He's the kind of guy who can't lose, and you two are probably the most aware of that fact."

"You must have been beaten up a lot."

"Quite a bit."

A rare smile appeared on Na Yerin's face.

"That's too bad, by the way."

"What is it?"

In response to Na Yerin's rebuttal, Bi Ryuyeon shared her honest feelings.

"Two thousand when there are so many thousand……. Soon the seabird seed will dry up in the South Sea."

Gum Hu had the power to make it so. She had the power to turn yesterday's commonplace landscape into today's non-existent landscape.

"An ocean where no bird flies is a lonely place."

He adds.

"Especially when the sacrifice is in vain."

Even if there were a sword that could ring all the seabirds at once, it would never succeed. It is impossible to defeat me. I can never lose.

"Your master will be pleased to hear that."

It'll mean something different to them, but they'll be happy.

"I haven't met a guy in a long time that I could really take down."

"That's an honor."

The hilt of the sword is pointed at you.

Despite the fact that this was something that would have made any normal, common, common-sense martial artist blush and recoil in horror, Bi Ryuyeon smiled.

It's always nice to be the center of attention for a beautiful woman of any age.

The patrol rotation ritual was simple.

I was handed the patrol plaque that belonged to the previous patrol, signed the patrol book, and that was it. The only additional checks were to make sure the golden armband was worn properly on the right arm, but there was no doubt that it was a deceptive process.

When the shift was over and they were alone with Bi Ryuyeon, Namgung-sang asked.

"Big brother?"

"Why?"

"Why didn't you go to escort Na Yerin Sojae, or at least accompany her, if you don't like the pretense of escorting, when you and I were both in such a fuss to get a seat at the table?"

A night out under the moonlight with the most beautiful woman in the world (even if it was in the name of patrolling, the similarity was appealing enough, even if the nature of the act was completely different). For some time, there had been a commotion in the streets, as the men of the city were eager to experience this fiery situation that every man dreams of at least once in his life. There was an uproar when Nadina insisted on accompanying Na Yerin on her patrols; she didn't have to be chosen for the same patrol group to accompany her on outings, and she was even willing to break curfew to make it happen. In the midst of all the commotion, Bi Ryuyeon didn't join in, just quietly counted money and read a book, which piqued the curiosity of the men in the palace.

"Huh? Why would I do that?"

The person who asked the question was a bit of a dilettante.

"No, that's……."

Namgungsang was suddenly speechless as his common sense was denied.

"I don't want to insult her."

The answer was also not within the scope of his common sense.

"Why does the word insult come out of there?"

"Yerin is no child, and her sword is quite sharp. I don't think even you can guarantee a win."

"That's right, but……."

He was a swordsman himself, though it was hard to tell from his extraordinary beauty, and he knew without a fight how strong Bing Bing Peak Na Yerin was. Maybe he would lose.

"But she's a woman, right?"

Namgungsang had finally spoken. His words were the crystallization of common sense and stereotypes, and as such, they circulated with powerful persuasive power within society. But for Bi Ryuyeon, they had already expired.

"What's wrong with a woman? She's strong, she's capable, she doesn't need me to do something for her that she can do for herself, just because she's a woman? That's the kind of behavior that even a parent should avoid, because it's only foolishness that breeds self-doubt."

"But she's a woman, after all……."

Namgungsang said in a voice that sounded like a mosquito crawling in.

"Are you a parrot, or are you brainwashed, and that's all you can say, on a subject you're not even sure you could win in a fight?"

The sneer on Bi Ryuyeon's lips was a powerful one, but the man who had cut to the chase had nothing to say in response.

"It's annoying that those persistent pathological followers can't figure out what they're talking about and keep insisting they're going to protect her. They're a hundred times weaker than Yerin, and they don't know who's going to protect whom. I'd tell them to take a look at their own asses before they start talking."

The biological fact of being a man didn't change the social reality that he was the underdog - no surprise there!

"If I accompany her on patrol, it's the same as saying that there's an underlying idea at the root of my mindset that I don't trust her, which means that my subconscious has already concluded that she's incompetent. Do you think she wants to be treated like that? Besides, it's not private, it's public, at least for now. If I were Yerin, I'd feel very uncomfortable being treated like that, wouldn't you?"

"But… but… I'm a woman, and a man should always protect a woman……."

Namgungsang's voice was even more strained than it had been a moment ago. He no longer believed in the legitimacy of what he was saying.

"Yes, she's a girl, and I'm a guy."

I meant to say, don't waste air by stating the obvious.

"If you think you're an equal, shouldn't you have a corresponding attitude? Are you just paying lip service? I don't think women want to be ignored like that."

"So you're saying we shouldn't protect a woman, no matter how vulnerable she is? No matter how much danger she's in?"

It was a hard fact and reality that women were more at risk than men.

"You're an idiot, aren't you? Women aren't the only ones who are weak, there are plenty of men who are weak too, it's just that there are more women who are weak than men who are weak. Shouldn't we help them because they're weak, not because they're women? Or shouldn't we help them because they're weak, like everybody else out there, weak before the strong and strong before the weak?"

His words were poignant.

"Just because you're a woman, you have to help me without thinking twice? Why don't you go talk to Gum Hu about that?"

"Well, that's……."

He didn't want to commit suicide in such a reckless way, even if he was a bit of a prick. He had no choice but to raise the white flag.

"There's no way I'm going to betray my faith in her now."

Bi Ryuyeon said in a firm voice.

"Don't just talk respect, walk the walk. Don't use words as masturbation. Because there's nothing uglier and more cowardly than words without action, and you think you're getting away with it."

Namgungsang could say no more.

So she decided to ease poor Gongsang's worries.

"Fool."

"Yes?"

"But were you in there too?"

"Yes? Where?"

Namgungsang replied in a surprised voice.

"Right in the middle of the action."

What's the point of asking if you know what you're talking about?

"Boo, don't say anything ominous, or I'll die instantly!"

When asked if he was not one of the flies, Namgungsang shuddered and denied it, his face contemplative. Although he preferred a leading role to a supporting one, he didn't want to play the protagonist of a tragedy in which he was killed by his lover just yet, because the next one would surely not come along.

It was still a virtue to cherish and love life, especially if that life was one's own, and to cherish, love, and maintain it was a duty to the body that worked so hard to keep it alive.

"Well, I don't think you have that much of a wall, but……."

"Well, yes, of course. You know I'm a little timid, don't you? I have a strong liver and no swelling."

I could see the future.

It might be a way of life, but it wasn't his cup of tea. It occurred to him that he was crying out for the protection of women in such a pathetic state. And then a premonition of sorts flashed through his mind with a very strong conviction.

"He's going to get caught.