Book 23 Chapter 9

A passerby

-Who are you?

"Go find out somewhere else, kid! This isn't the place to play! If you try to pick up a blade with those thin chopstick-like arms of yours, you're going to get hurt, and you're going to go 'ouch', that's what I'm saying, so go eat more of Mommy's food, okay?"

The largest of the three sneered gently and sarcastically at the boy.

"Kahahahahahaha!"

"Uh-hahahahaha!"

The other two burst out laughing. It was obvious that they were planning to kill him by ignoring him.

"But I'm still going to sign up, so get out of my way."

Undeterred by the three men's open threats, the boy spoke up. The sneering men's faces instantly turned fierce. Intrigued by the boy's confident demeanor, Yunbi moved closer to the scene with Na Yerin.

"Uh-huh, look at this spunky little guy, he'll tell you what the adults think and you'll eat it up! Huh?"

"Please get out of the way, I have to participate!"

"Heng, a kid like you would enter a contest like this, and what can you do with it? Do you think you can touch a single hair on that dreaded seven-scarred head, Ang?"

The yellow-robed Ge Han asked, his face ugly.

"I'll do my best."

"Bullshit, what can a little brat like you do?"

"I can do it! Maybe."

"What if I can't?"

The yellow-robed Ge Han asked, his face ugly.

"Well… then……."

The silver-haired boy stuttered and stammered. This was all very new to him. The three of them had killed quite a few people, and their auras, not to mention their skills, were unnerving.

"Get lost!"

The youngest of the three shoved the boy's body hard.

"Boom!"

The silver-haired boy's body flew backwards through the air. He looked like he was going to land on his ass at any moment. He landed on his butt, almost defenseless, and it didn't make as much noise as he thought it would. Na Yerin looked at him in surprise.

"Did you see that? It looked like it paused in midair?"

Yeonbi nodded and said.

"Yeah, I saw that, which is good, because it saves me the pain of having my ass split in half."

It was as if an invisible hand was holding him up.

"And before that, when I was pushed… I was pushed back before my palm touched it, like a dandelion seed."

Yunbi confirms that she saw what Naylor saw.

"Wow, wind……. That's a very interesting ability."

"It's Yeonbi, I know it at a glance."

"Lean!"

The owner of the dragon's eye, indeed. A keen observer.

"An attribute of the wind that doesn't belong to the five elements… quite interesting."

The pinnacle of that branch of the family was the city's drifting airplane. That, too, was an art of manipulating air.

"Gee, doesn't wind belong to gold among the five elements?"

Na Yerin pointed out.

"That's what the classification says, but what's the connection between wind and gold? I can understand the cycle of nature, the cycle of the Five Elements, which goes Thur-Sun-Sat-Fri-Water, but I still don't understand why wind belongs to gold. It's not something that comes easily to mind."

I wasn't naive enough to believe it just because it said so in an old book. Yeonbi was a matter of caution, not belief. The only thing blindness brings is ignorance and fanaticism.

"Even so, it's definitely a rare ability."

Both the Ice Sword and Na Yerin's own techniques were based on the properties of water. The ability to freeze, the ability to be frozen.

"If it's not the Five Elements, is it the Inner Gong Shim method, which is based on the Eight Elements?"

Yeonbi was not denied.

"That's a possibility. If it's a wind attribute, it's out of hand."

Without that, there was no theoretical basis for the wind property. Anyway, all the complications aside, one thing was clear: the silver-haired boy's abilities were highly unusual.

"That's pretty interesting."

"Yeonbi seems to be something that boy is very interested in?"

At that, Yeonbi looked at Na Yerin and smirked.

"Didn't Lean do the same thing? Besides, that kind of chi maneuvering is hard to do without a lot of inner strength, and that's not something you get easily at your age. There's got to be a story behind it, don't you think?"

"He certainly seems like a boy with a story, but……."

That's when Yeonbi raised his index finger and said.

"Oh, but Lean. I have to correct you on one thing."

"Yeah? What's that?"

Had she missed something? Na Yerin's face was asking that question. Yanbi's raised index finger pointed at the silver-haired boy.

"That kid is a girl, not a boy."

"Yes?"

Na Yerin's eyes widened at Yan's words.

"A woman?"

Na Yerin is still in disbelief.

"Yes, woman. Why, don't you believe me?"

Yeonbi asked, smirking.

"Not really, but……."

Na Yerin hesitated to answer.

"Then let's go check it out, shall we?"

The two walked straight toward the silver-haired boy, who they weren't sure was a boy or a girl.

As the boy staggered to his feet, the vicious torpedo boats still stood in his way.

At this point, there was someone who stepped in front of Na Yerin and Yunbi, and it was a woman.

Na Yerin's eyes widened at the sight of the woman. An unforgettable face was before her, the face of the one she had been searching for so long.

It was a spirit that appeared.

"What's a bitch?"

One of the men shouted harshly.

"He was just passing by."

In a blunt voice, the woman replied briefly, as if it were disgusting to even talk at length with such men.

"What's the matter with the passing bitch?"

The woman commanded, glaring at Samhung with her flaming right eye.

"Get lost!"

It was a short but strong statement.

The men seemed to flinch for a moment, but it was literally just a moment. They trusted their manhood more than they trusted their instincts. There was no way that men as proud and rugged as they were would flinch at the words of a woman like that. It was too good to be true, so they decided to pretend it never happened. The next thing they heard was a loud laugh.

"Poohahahahaha, what are you telling these old people to do, get lost?"

"Yes."

"Hey, hey, hey, he needs a little manners training, he can't be loved if he's too sassy, uhhhhhh!"

The man on the right of the three chests said with a grimace.

"There's nothing to be gained from the likes of you."

The woman's answer was short and cold.

"Heh heh heh, then let these old men teach you the joys of being a woman: the joys of submission."

Samhung laughed again, unable to compose himself. With a pathetic sigh, the spirit said.

"A stallion is a stallion."

Conversation is only possible when the other person is ready. There was no point in talking to myself anymore.

"I've talked too long with the stallions. Talking more will only dirty my mouth. Pluck! Let's get this over with!"

CHANG!

With a crystal clear crackle, the sword was drawn.

As Na Yerin stepped forward, Yunbi stopped her. She glared at him, asking why he was stopping her.

"Let's wait a little longer and see if that's really the person we know."

If it was really him, he wouldn't let himself be taken advantage of by a bunch of bullshitters whose only skill was talking. Na Yerin stopped in her tracks and watched as the spirit stood facing Samhung.

The sword-tipped woman was as unwavering as her right eye.

Shhhhhhhh!

A silver saber cut through the air.

The Scourer!

Poof! Poof! Poof!

The right arm of the three men, who were laughing and chatting about how to cook the spirits, was sliced off with a single sword, and blood poured out of their shoulder blades like a fountain.

"Kaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Die! Argh!"

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

"Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo! Kuhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Samhung screamed as he rolled in the dirt, his cheeks runny with tears. But the woman's eyes didn't move at the sight of the blood. Moreover, there was not a drop of blood on the blade that had cut off his arm.

The spirit said coldly, raising the sword slightly again and pointing it.

"First, withdraw your right arm. If any of you are left-handed, speak up! If you still have the guts to fight, I'll deal with you."

Of course, he would have to be prepared to lose his left arm as well. None of the three stepped forward; they were already in too much pain to think straight.

"Get lost!"

Instead of losing an arm, they found their plugged ears pierced. They picked up their fallen arms and scrambled away, not bothering to wipe the runny snot of tears from their faces.

Click!

The spirit flicked his hand once, and the sword slid back into its sheath.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaah!"

At that moment, cheers erupted around her. The applause was for the brave woman who had driven off the Gangnam Samhung with her short body. She blushed in embarrassment, unaccustomed to such cheers. She looked like a normal girl, her frightened demeanor gone, until she heard a voice behind her.

"Sister Ryeong!"

At the sound of her name being called, the spirit's head snapped back. A dazzlingly beautiful woman in white stood there with another woman in black. Her hands clasped together, her eyes as clear and deep as the night sky, trembling faintly like the surface of a windy lake, she was none other than Ice White Peak Na Yerin, who, after seeing the spirit's sword technique, could no longer stand it and rushed out from the crowd.

The spirit's mouth finally opened as it stared at Na Yerin.

"Who are you?"

"Who are you? …Sister Ling? It's me, Yerin."

Na Yerin's voice trembled slightly as she was struck by the spirit's response.

"I know my name is Ling, but I don't think I've ever seen you before. Who are you really, and may I know your name?"

With a puzzled look, the spirit replied.

"Dingo lion……."

A shaky voice escaped her red lips without her realizing it. I was confused.

"Dingo the Lion? That's strange, you must have the wrong person, my last name is not Mr. Dingo, my last name is Mr. Mong."

The spirit kindly corrected me.

"Mr. Mong?"

Na Yerin couldn't believe it. Every piece of information that flowed into her mind told her that she was a poisonous spirit. It wasn't just her appearance. Every little gait, every muscle movement, every high and low pitch of her voice, every tiny movement of her muscles, all pointed to her as a poisonous spirit.

As Na Yerin stood dumbfounded, two shadows rushed out and stood between her and the spirit. They were the Dreaming Twins, the maidens who had followed the spirit from the Dreaming Mountain.

"Who are you and how dare you come between me and my sister?"

Na Yerin asked in a cold voice, offended by the sudden behavior of the Dreaming Twins. A silent but powerful aura spread out and pressed down on the two of them, her majesty overwhelming everyone, forcing them to hesitate.

But as if not to be outdone, the outspoken Mongmu stepped forward and exclaimed.

"Hmph, that's not your sister! That's our master, the Mistress Mistress of the Misty Mountains. You must have the wrong person!"

"Looking at people the wrong way……."

There was no way. How could he not recognize his dear Dingo Lion and no one else? No matter what form he took, no matter how many decades passed, he could still recognize him. That person was definitely Dingo. But where?

"Monghwan Mountain?

Na Yerin had never heard of it.

"But does the Book of Dreams teach that a maidservant should not dare to stand in the way of her master?"

Interrupting the owner's conversation was unacceptable.

"There's a reason!"

I shouted in a daze.

"That's because you're the enemy of the lady!"

As I listened, I couldn't think of a more ridiculous reason.

"Enemies? That can't happen."

Meng Mu and Huan Mu shook their heads at the same time.

"Nope. There's plenty of that, because you're a disciple of the sword, right?"

The spirit's eyes widened at Mongmu's question to Na Yerin. It turned its head and looked at Na Yerin with eyes that were different than before. Yan Bi was the first to notice this subtle change in the spirit, but it wasn't something to interfere with. With nothing to hide, Na Yerin obediently admitted her origins.

"Yes, I am a disciple of the sword."

Hearing that, the spirit's complexion paled.

"Are you… are you… are you really a disciple of the Sword Gak?"

The spirit asked in a slightly shaky voice. It was a very strange question for Na Yerin to ask.

"Of course, big sister, we're disciples of the same sword master, and we're sisters-in-law, I don't suppose you've forgotten that?"

The spirit shook his head vigorously.

"You're lying!"

The spirit's mouth burst open with a snarl.

"What, you're lying?"

The words were so shocking that Na Yerin was momentarily heartbroken. How could he deny his own mastery, how could he do such a thing? Moreover, he didn't even seem to remember what he had done as a brother-in-law.

"That's a lie! That's a red-hot lie! How could I ever be a disciple of that hateful swordsman!"

The spirit's cry was a searing rage and hatred.

"What's that… we're not really……."

Na Yerin's once pearly white complexion turned even paler.

"Shut up, are you going to insult me now?"

The hatred sparked by the word "sword" radiated from the spirit's entire body. Na Yerin, stunned by the fierce vitality and hostility that radiated from the spirit's body, asked.

"An insult, what do you mean, I wouldn't do that to a lion, would I?"

Then a cold smile tugged at the corners of the spirit's mouth. A voice echoed in the depths of her mind, telling her that the swordsman was the one she should hate the most, the one she should ostracize the most. She pointed her index finger at her hair-covered left eye.

"Do you know which place made this scar on my left eye?"

Na Yerin shook her head. She hadn't told him about her left eye, though he hadn't asked, and she hadn't asked either, for she knew it was a scar that would never be erased, scarring not only the body but the mind as well. It was the most respectful thing she could do to keep it as untouched as possible.

"It is the sword angle that has inflicted this indelible wound on me!"

The spirit that said that truly hated the sword.

"Come on, you can't be……!"

It was impossible. How could Gumgak, of all places, dig out the left eye of a man who would become one of his successors?

"That can't be happening, I must have gotten it wrong!"

Desperate, Na Yerin cried out. Something must be wrong.

"So my memory is wrong?"

For a moment, Dreamy Pair stiffened.

"That's……."

Na Yerin did not answer. When she didn't, the spirit once again glared at Na Yerin with red, bloodshot eyes and cried out.

"I tell you again, I am not the one called Dokgoling. How could I be a disciple of such an iron-clad swordsman? My name is Meng Yingling, the eldest daughter of Meng Huan Mountain Chief. You are my enemy, my foe! I hate you! I hate you for stealing my eyes! Na Yerin, you are no exception. You are my enemy, and I hate you for being a disciple of K'ungak!"

The dark flames burning in his exposed right eye were clearly flames of hatred. There was no use for the power of the Dragon Eye. Endless hatred and rage radiated from the entire body of the woman who called herself a dream spirit, and who judged the sword as her enemy. The dense darkness that emanated from her body was no lie.

"How can this be……!"

Na Yerin's body shook, shocked by the cold words. To be told that she was hated by someone who looked like a poisonous spirit, whether she was or not, felt like it would shatter her heart. It was a trait of Na Yerin's that she would close her heart to others, but once she opened it, she was almost defenseless. Her heart felt like it would shatter from the sadness and pain.

At that moment, Yunbi, who had been watching from the sidelines, stepped forward and said.

"Aha, that makes sense when you look at it that way, I guess that's more convincing?"

Na Yerin looked at the hand on her shoulder. She felt a little better about being cornered.

"Who are you?"

The spirit asked in a cold voice.

"Friends."

Yeonbi smiled and replied.

"What did you just say?"

"What I mean is, in a very literal sense, it's more plausible that you've lost or changed your memory than that you're not the person you say you are."

"On what basis?"

Yunbi didn't hesitate to answer.

"Because you are indeed a lone wolf."

"Bullshit, you're both crazy!"

At the spirit's vehement reaction, Yunbi shrugged slightly.

"Well, I can understand that you don't want to believe it, but it's the truth, and the truth sometimes hurts."

"Yeonbi……."

Na Yerin stared at the Yeonbi with mixed feelings. It was as if a ray of light had shone at the bottom of the darkness. Looking at Na Yerin, the Yeonbi smirked.

"I trust Lin's eyes, if she sees it that way, it is what it is, and if she's convinced, don't give up just because they say it's not, because no one knows the truth yet, and sometimes you just have to be stubborn and stick to your guns, and we'll see who's right and who's wrong later."

It was a pretty radical idea. But Yunbi really believed it. She trusted Na Yerin's eyes, and they had never been wrong. They might not see, but they never saw wrong. Na Yerin was thrilled to have someone who trusted her this much.

"……."

I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I didn't know how to put it into words, but I could feel it in the Yeonbi.

"Rin, do you really think that's the dingo lion?"

Nod!

Na Yerin nodded without hesitation.

"Then I'll believe in Lean, so she'll believe in herself."

Yunbi said, smiling broadly without a crinkle.

"I'm emboldened by the fact that the Yeonbi says that, so I'm going to push a little harder, until I find out the truth."

Na Yerin's eyes met the spirit's with determination.

"That's ridiculous! That's delusional! Do you think that's possible? How can I not be me? How can I not know who I am?"

And then Yunbi smiled and said, "You're right.

"Oh, don't worry about that, most people in the world don't really know who they are, they're just going through the motions. If everybody knew who they were, why would there be such a thing as self-examination and identity, because they don't know who they are."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, are you making fun of me?"

The spirit, feeling as if he was being mocked, cried out.

"I'm just stating a fact. Well, I guess this is a different case, but I don't think it's impossible, the world is a big place and there's a lot of shady technology out there. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of illusion or hypnosis that manipulates people's memories, it's not like there's no precedent."

I deliberately floated away and watched the dreamscape carefully. to see if there would be any particular reaction.

"Yes. Come to think of it, that happened before. Two years ago, when we were camping at Mudang Mountain……."

Galhyo Feng, who had ambushed them, was not in his right mind and was being manipulated by someone. It was still unclear who was behind it, but the fact was true: there was no law against doing such a thing to an elderly man. Doubt gradually turned to conviction.

"You must be a poisonous lion, a poisonous lion, I'd bet my life on it!"

Looking straight at the spirit with eyes as deep as an unwavering lake, Na Yerin exclaimed with conviction in her voice.

"Then risk your life!"

Not wanting to argue anymore, the spirit spoke in a cold voice.

"Life? What does that mean?"

If you asked her to walk, she would walk. Na Yerin was not afraid of any price if it meant she could return the Dokgo to its original state.

"If you're going to say something like that, you'd better knock me out first!"

Na Yerin didn't back down.

"Okay, so if my sister is sleeping, it's up to this little brother to beat her up and wake her up, and since you say that, I'm going to prove my word with my sword, so how do we play?"

I would do anything, even duel, to find the Poisonous Spirit.

"Do you participate in the speculative system?"

The spirit asked, a pained expression on his face as he suppressed his boiling hatred.

"Yes, of course, I participate in the speculative system."

The rule was that once a player was registered, he could not fight against another player of the same registration. This was done to prevent illegal match-fixing as much as possible. With so much money at stake, it was not uncommon for fighters to cheat their opponents before a match. It wasn't good business to discredit the system before it started. You need to make sure that everyone believes that there's no manipulation, so that the money keeps rolling in.

"Great. Then I'm in. I'll settle the score there. I promise. If you meet me there, you will die under my sword."

It was very cruel to hear such cruel words from the mouth of her dear sister, but Na Yerin bit her lip to control the pain and spoke.

"I promise you, I will turn you back into your sister. I'll do it with all my might, I'll knock you out if I have to, I'll do it, I'll do it!"

The determination shone like a star in Na Yerin's bonnet. It was a promise to herself that she would not back down.

"I can't believe you still have the nerve to talk crap like that. It will all be settled in the speculative system. And it will be in the arena that we meet again."

There, someone has to fall.

"Okay, then in the arena!"

Na Yerin and the Spirit replied.

"See you again!"

"See you again!"

Without hesitation, the spirit turned and walked forward. The Dreaming Twins glanced at Na Yerin once before following.

Yunbi walked over to Na Yerin's side, and wordlessly put a comforting arm around her slender shoulders. Na Yerin was grateful for this quiet gesture during a difficult time.

'Thanks for keeping me alive, though.

For now, she told herself, that was enough.

"See you again, sister."

Na Yerin said in a low voice as she watched the spirit's back as it walked away.

'Then… then I'll be my true self…….'

But Na Yerin swallowed her words; it was her job to walk the walk, not talk the talk.

"Yeonbi……."

Gaze fixed forward, Na Yerin quietly called her friend's name.

"Why?"

I heard my friend's voice next to me.

"I… I'm not going to cry."

But Na Yerin's voice was shaking with a lump in her throat.

"That's right, tears don't suit Rin, laughter suits her much better, and she's much prettier."

The Yeonbi wasn't great, but it was warm.

"I guess we should laugh then?"

Na Yerin smirked.

"Yes. Smile, Rin."

"But you haven't laughed much, have you?"

She was the Lady of Ice, or Bing Bing Feng, as she was sometimes called. Smiling was not something she was used to.

"Don't worry, you'll be laughing a lot more in the future."

Yunbi said, squeezing Na Yerin's hand.

"……."

Na Yerin laughed at the Yeonbi. The smile, forged through swallowing tears, looked very lonely.

"I will make it happen, I will."

Yeonbi was declared with all sincerity.

Na Yerin laughed. Crystal tears rolled down her white cheeks as she smiled.