Book 24 Chapter 6

Mr. Friendly Spirit

-Battle of the Winds and Thunderbolts

"I never thought I'd love something other than a sword!

For Qinling, it was a miracle. She had never thought she could love a man. Before, like most girls, she had thought of men as unclean and unnecessary in this world. She couldn't understand how other women could fall in love with such barbarians who knew nothing but fighting, violence, and power.

"I'm normal and they're weird!

And so she believed, until one day she woke up and found herself in love. If there is such a thing as a miracle, it was certainly a miracle when the impossible happened. The man's name was Namgungsang.

I was happy.

For the first time she knew how happy it was to love a person. She was grateful to him for teaching her that. He had even fought her aunt, whom she admired and respected, for her sake. He had cheerfully (!) endured the harsh and terrible lessons of the great brotherhood for her sake. She was thrilled that he would endure the training that everyone else was afraid to do for fear of death.

And he won.

It was the greatest gift he could give her. Now that the greatest obstacle had been overcome, there was only one step left, and she thought she knew it, as well as he did. When would that day come? Qin Ling waited in blissful anticipation for the day to arrive.

But one day, her happiness was shattered on the other side of the wide-open door. There was a sight she thought she would never see. Unable to believe her eyes, Qinling hurriedly closed the door and turned around. What had he just done? He didn't want to know. What had happened to all his waiting? Was he even thinking about it now?

The euphoria that had filled my heart ebbed away, and in its place came a tidal wave of betrayal.

She vowed revenge, as most women do.

Still, Qin Lie's eyes were haunted by the image of the half-unbuttoned robe, the silver hair that fell in waves, the bare shoulders, and the face of the man holding it.

Puddle!

"I'm not going to let it happen, ever."

Qin Ling fought like a demon. Powerful men lured by 300,000 yuan stood in her way, but they were unable to block the sword of Ami, which had become a demon sword. Even her aunt, the Ami Goddess Qin Xiaolong, was astonished at her fearsome prowess.

"I don't know what the hell is going on, that kid, he's wielding a sword like a nachal out for revenge right now."

But Qin Xiaoling was not suitable as an advisor at this time; she was unskilled in such matters. And as she was suffering from her own inexperience, the Dot Chang First Sword, Yue Eunsung, shaking her head at the side, added a word.

"I don't know why, but I feel sorry for whoever it is, because they're going to be the target of that dreaded sword."

Who is this, the poor man who touched something he shouldn't have? I don't know, but it's probably a man. Whoever it was, she was going to have a very difficult life ahead of her. Fortunately, however, Qin Lie was not alone. She had allies and friends, especially Maha Lie, who was now quite enthusiastic about the whole affair.

"You're right, you don't have to let it go, you don't have to let it go, men need to be shown the error of their ways, I'll support you."

He sympathized with the woman's plight, and the two had grown close, but now Qin Ling was in a very unfriendly mood. He couldn't even accept the cheers of his colleagues.

"Beware the masochist, for all men are wolves. All wolves……. I want to eat wolf meat."

Qin Lie was starving for wolf meat, but Maharishi was still doing just fine with the Long Tian Ming. She knew it, and Qin Lie knew it, which made her even sadder. There was no one who could understand her feelings right now.

"Are you okay, Jingling? You don't look so good."

In a cautious tone, Nangong Shanshan asked, for she, too, felt deeply betrayed by her brother and had set out to punish him by raising one of Qin Lie's arms.

"Of course I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm not……, I'm fine, I'm fine."

In truth, Qin Lie wasn't looking for understanding right now; all she wanted was revenge. Nan Gongshan's heart ached at the sight of his friend like that.

"Gongsang, you fool, you fool!

Namgungsansan's tentative conclusion was that this situation was caused solely by her unscrupulous brother. Therefore, as the elder sister (albeit a twin!), she had to retaliate, or the order of the heavens would not be upheld. This time, she would face off against him. The moment had finally come to settle the score.

"I want to be nice, so I'll be nice and get rid of it."

Qin Lie's eyes glowed with determination, and her entire body exuded a breathtakingly rich aura of life, overflowing everywhere.

"Let's all be nice."

* * *

"Why?

No matter how hard he tried to understand why things had gone so horribly wrong, he couldn't, and probably wouldn't, ever understand. No, to be honest, he didn't even want to.

"I didn't do anything wrong, why?

However, he was now facing a quarterfinal fight to qualify for the semifinals. He needed the 50,000 yuan in prize money to make up for the money he'd lost gambling in Kanghorando, and to do that, he had to place in the top three in this contest, which is why he named his group "Debt Liquidation". But to his dismay, it was no one else who stood in his way but his beloved, Qin Ling, and her companion, Zhao, the Frost of Autumn. Behind her back, the wings of her fiery rage still flared and fluttered incessantly. Even a quick glance revealed that she had no intention of backing down.

He wasn't the only one feeling the unspoken momentum of, "You're not going to get through here without stepping on me!" She was about to collect a debt of heart, not cash.

"How did things get to this point? Why?

Once again, the question that had been nagging at the back of my mind reared its ugly head, and once again, I couldn't figure it out.

"Tsk, tsk, why did you have an affair or something?"

Long Tianming beside him sighed and shook his head. It was even more frightening that he couldn't figure out why he was supporting a Maha spirit that he had such a bad relationship with, especially since he had a personal relationship with Nan Gongshan Mountain.

"Who, who, who, are you saying had a ba, ba, affair?"

Namgungsang stammered in his excitement, saying, "Even so, misunderstandings are giving me a headache, and how can he remain calm when someone like you is now salting beside him?" But Yong Tianming said nonchalantly, whether he knew what he was thinking or not.

"That's you."

Long Tianming's finger was pointing exactly at Nan Gongsheng's heart. Nan Gongsheng's heart sank and he cried out.

"Oh, no, it's a misunderstanding, nothing really happened, nothing!"

But Yong Tianming wasn't convinced.

"Maybe nothing happened then, but then again, who knows what would have happened if someone hadn't burst through the door with a bang? How can you be sure that nothing happened even then? You were inexcusable at the time. The Buddha said, "When the mind is in motion, the deed is already done. Amitabha. Did you really not 'move'?"

I was even more pissed off when I went to the end and tried to sound like a pseudo-scientific Shaolin disciple. Moreover, the constant emphasis on the "dong" character was clearly intended to mock.

"That's ridiculous! Don't ask me strange questions. How does Mr. Yong know whether my hand is up or down at that time? You've never been inside my mind."

"I can tell you from experience, experience! Most men's hands go down in that situation. Color is void; void is color; color is void, Amitabha Buddha."

Yong Tianming shouted a displeasure at the half-formulation.

"Don't keep coloring, I'm so frustrated, and besides, what does this color have to do with anything? Don't make a good thing into a bad thing."

Of course, I didn't say anything about it having anything to do with anything, or meaning anything at all, but it's just a tease.

"But in reality, your words are not having any effect on Gene Sojae, are they?"

"Well, by the way……."

I didn't know what to say when it hit me where it hurt, but I didn't want to admit it either.

"Besides, with your experience, isn't Mr. Yong sympathetic? I'm not convinced."

Liu Eun-kyung, who had been keeping her mouth shut next to him,'s face lit up. It was no different for Long Tianming.

"Niu, niu, who is a virgin? Crab, crab, what else is a virgin? I am a Shaolin disciple. It's natural for me to abstain from carnal desires."

Namgungsang's eyes widened at the unexpectedly high level of panic.

"You really were a…… virgin."

In fact, I was only skimming the surface.

"That's bad! What about you? No way are you……."

This time, Namgungsang's face lit up.

"Non, it's a secret."

He said, stammering. And then we both fell silent. Both of us realized that to continue the conversation would be to dig our own graves. It took a while for the awkwardness to dissipate. It was Long Tianming who spoke again.

"You're intimidated by Gene Sojae, and I'm not sure you can win this fight in your current state of mind."

"We must win. If we don't fulfill our wish to pay off the debt we owe the gambling house, we're doomed. Aside from me, Senior Yong, are you confident of beating Ma Sojae? You lost once before, didn't you?"

Revenge? Namgungsang has touched a sore spot.

"Well, that's……."

Long Tianming didn't seem to have anything to say about it either. After all, it was a clear-cut win\/lose match, and he had gained something valuable instead of losing, so he had no regrets about it. But there was no excuse, and the conversation between the two was interrupted again. After what seemed like an eternity, Long Tianming spoke first.

"Can we win?"

It was a question, not a certainty, that came out of his mouth, but Namgungsang wasn't sure either.

"I don't know…… I'm honestly not sure."

Liu Eun-kyung was the one who provoked the incident, so she just stood there, not saying a word. There was no way to avoid this fight, so she would have to face it, like it or not.

"Should I or shouldn't I?

Namgungsang thought for a moment.

He could have defamed her, but he had no choice but to say it. The first player in this match was Ryu Eun-kyung, and in his mind, there was only one opponent for her.

"Liu Sojae's probably going to be shattered."

"His last name is Mr. Namgung? Do you know him?"

"It's me and my twin brother."

The words startled Ryu for a moment.

"Please abstain."

After a moment's hesitation, Namgungsang finally said what he wanted to say.

"Why, because you're brother and sister with him?"

Namgungsang shook his head.

"Excuse me, but I don't think Liu Sojae can beat Shan Shan right now."

Namgungsang said coldly.

"Didn't you say you don't know until you fight? Even if you lose, you can at least take some of the power out of it."

Ryu Eunkyung replied undeterred.

"He could get hurt. Besides, if Liu Sojae pulls out, Sansan will pull out, too, because he's always been the worst at taking care of other people."

"How do you know that?"

"We've been brother and sister for over twenty years now, so you know that much, so abstain. Nobody's criticizing Sojae or anything, this match is between me and Jinryung in the first place."

Of course, the culprit was Ryu Eun Kyung, right in front of me.

"……."

Liu Yun didn't answer, just looked back and forth between the Southern Palace and the Southern Palace Mountain. Then her gaze locked on the Southern Palace Mountain's face. Was it because they were twins? There were certainly many similarities between them. Then her gaze shifted slightly to the right. There stood Qin Lie. His arms were crossed and his eyes were fierce. Her gaze was fixed on the statue of the South Palace, as if Liu Yun'er herself were not even in the picture. Liu Eun-kyung's gaze returned to the South Palace statue.

"No."

Her unexpected answer came out. It was such an unexpected answer that I didn't expect it to come out of the mouth of Ryu Eun Kyung, who was always so polite and apologetic.

"Bye."

He hurriedly bowed, then walked away at a brisk pace. In the center of the arena, Namgung Shanshan was already waiting.

"Why didn't you do it?"

The first words out of Namgung Sansan's mouth were an out-of-the-blue question.

"What?"

Liu Eun Kyung, who was standing next to him, asked with a puzzled look.

"Abstain. I thought I told you to do that."

His tone was confident.

"How do you do that……."

A surprised Ryu Eun-kyung asked.

"I know that much, because……."

"Because they're twins?"

Ryu Eunkyung asked.

"Right."

She had always had a tendency to say whatever she wanted to say without hesitation, especially since she had been so heavily influenced by her godbrother. However, the ease with which she spoke was so natural that the listener, Liu Eun Kyung, was not offended. It seemed to be due to his hairy personality. Besides, the fact that she was related to Namgungsang, who had lent her a helping hand, made her harbor a very strong favor.

"You're like brother and sister, huh?"

There was an unbridgeable gap between her and her younger brother because she always looked out for him, even when they were together. Perhaps that gap would never be bridged, not in her lifetime.

Namgung San San chuckled in amusement.

"If you say that to him, he'll start a fight."

"Is it that funny?"

Namgung Sansan, still clutching her stomach and close to tears, nodded.

"Yeah, a lot!"

Liu Eun Kyung didn't understand what part of him could laugh so hard that his back broke. When he finally stopped laughing, Nan Gongshan straightened his posture. He was no longer as lighthearted as he had been a moment ago, and a faint aura was emanating from his entire body, silently pressuring Liu Yunqing. Nervously, Liu Eun Kyung swallowed dryly.

"Is this the ability of one of the seven peaks of the Heavenly Martial Academy, and if so, does that mean that this Qinling is on par with this person or even better?

I didn't think I could beat him. He didn't even look his age.

"As a reward for your hilarity, I'm going to suggest it again. Abstain."

It was certainly an invitation. It was loud enough to shake Ryu Eun Kyung's mind a bit. But she had her own reasons for coming.

"No."

Ryu's answer didn't change in the end.

"You're secretly stubborn, aren't you?"

"I've never heard that before, because I've always been told by my teacher to be more confident because I'm always negative and timid."

It turns out that her habit of always interpreting every situation in a negative light was not triggered right now.

"You'll be hearing that a lot in the future."

Namgungsansan said in a confident tone.

Boom!

"Well, that's the way it is."

Nangong Shanshan silently drew his own sword.

"Be careful, this guy's got a pretty good shot at me one out of three times."

Namgung Sansan warned. Liu Eun Kyung tensed. She wasn't bluffing. The way she stood there with her sword drawn was enough to tell. She was strong, and it felt so natural. There was no tension at all. I almost thought she was ignoring it, but she wasn't. I couldn't tell if she was strong enough to be natural, or natural enough to be strong.

Boom!

Liu Eun Kyung drew his own sword, a sword that sounded like a clear bell.

In such a short time, her sword had grown in the last few days, especially with the intense practice that had allowed her to absorb much of the swordplay she had known only in form. She had grown. She almost wondered if she should be thanking the man who had forced her to do this.

"You'll have to be careful, too."

The wind picked up around Liu Eun Kyung's body, causing her silver hair to dance.

"That's interesting."

Namgung San San giggled like a child who had gotten his hands on a fun toy.

Click! Clack!

With what seemed like a flick of his wrist, Sanshan's sword flew toward his opponent with the sharpness of a whip, not that he had any particular preference. The Southern Palace Sanshan's sword was thinner and lighter than the Southern Palace's, but it was also much faster. At first, it was easy enough to parry or dodge, but with each successive strike, it became faster and faster. It was hard to read the flow of air with such a fast attack, but Lord Liu did not allow her to make a valid attack. She dodged the barrage of blows with minimal movement. Her sword never clashed, never came back at her, she simply dodged. After three swings with no results, San San stopped and shook his head.

"How did you read that, the trajectory of my sword?"

"Through the wind."

Ryu replied briefly.

"That's an interesting ability."

Namgungsansan seemed quite intrigued.

"Every movement vibrates the air, and yours should be no exception."

It was more a honed talent than a skill: she could move the air around her body to aid her movements or read her opponent's aura.

"Hmm, air movement……. Does that mean I just have to move faster than the wind?"

At that, Ryu Eun-kyung exclaimed in surprise.

"That's not possible."

At the word impossible, Namgung San San smirked.

"You'd better not say that in front of my big brother."

"Why?"

"Because I'm sure they're going to go through hell, and I like to experiment to see what kind of hell I can show them and see if they'll take the 'no' out of 'impossible' and say 'possible'."

The existence of Namgungshan's godbrother, whom he had never met, was of little interest to him.

"What do you want to say?"

Namgung Sansan had already decided what he was going to say.

"It's possible, a sword faster than the wind. That's what I wanted to say."

She was now saying that she would swing her sword faster than the wind.

"Is that possible?"

"I told you, the impossible exists to be possible. It's something my godbrother often says."

As a member of the Namgung Sega, Sansan was also trained in the Sega's version of thunder sword. However, because it was so intense and emphasized speed and power, it was not well suited for women. Learning it the same way meant that women would be inferior to men. This was an inherent problem before discrimination.

But being different was no reason to despair. Nangongshan didn't despair because she was different. Even if her strength was weaker than his, she had other advantages. Instead of giving up her strength, she pushed her speed to the limit. When you can't kill two birds with one stone, it's better to be sure of one than to starve to death. If she gained the skill to kill one outright, she wouldn't have to go wide-eyed and dazed when another one appeared in front of her sooner or later. That way, her electricity, though thin, would be as sharp and fast as a razor's edge. It was enough to cut through swaying, falling hair and cut a hanging sheet of paper into dozens of equal parts without creating any wind at all.

Liu Eun Kyung was certainly far superior to others of her age. However, such talent was not uncommon in the Heavenly Martial Academy. What's more, she and her friends had a different kind of experience, thanks to a certain someone who was outrageous, someone who didn't make sense to humans, a 'big brother'. If you were to ask her how many times she'd gotten so excited, she and the rest of the cast would say in unison, "A lot.

"Number of hell experiences!

And he was ready to show everyone at any moment what he had brought up from the depths of hell. The slender blade of her sword shuddered with a loud cry. But to all outward appearances, her blade didn't move in the slightest. A single, threadlike flash cut through the air.

I didn't feel any wind.

Voila!

A few strands, thin silvery hair, fell to the ground in the silence.

"What do you think, am I right?"

Nangong Shanshan laughed. Liu Eun Kyung was speechless. Before he knew it, he could feel the chill of the blade on his neck, sending chills through his thin skin.

"You lost."

"Yeah, you lost."

"Will you surrender?"

"I surrender."

It's not a good habit to obsess when the game is already won.

Seeing the scene unfold as he expected, Namgungsang nodded.

"Did you know this was going to happen?"

Long Tianming said in a nonchalant tone.

"Yes, it would have been better if Liu Xiaojie's opponent had been Ma Xiaojie, because their compatibility was not too good."

Although that could lead to some unpleasant surprises.

"Okay, now you're going to have to leave us alone. We don't want anyone else intruding on our lovers' conversation. Besides……."

"And?"

"Wise people don't go near marital quarrels."

"A couple? Are those two already married?"

Liu Eun-kyung was surprised and asked, "How could that be?" Namgung Sansan smiled bitterly. Then he replied.

"No. But it will be soon, I think."

I left out the "but only if the palace can survive this fight" part.

"Well, I did, but it doesn't matter."

Ryu Eun Kyung muttered in an inaudible voice.

"What?"

"No, I was just talking to myself. By the way, what's the name of this herb?"

Looking at the sword that had sliced through his Wind Crystallization, Liu Eun Kyung asked.

"Not yet."

It was a sword herb obtained solely by the diligent cultivation of the Namgung Sanshan individual, not by the subtlety or changeability of the herb. Therefore, it did not yet have a name.

"Do you mind if I name it?"

"Hmm…… okay."

"A sword as fast as lightning cuts through the wind, so why not 'Cut Wind Thunder'?"

"A flash of lightning that cuts through the wind……. Not a bad name, though it lacks a bit of grace and is a bit too manly. Thanks."

"Next time, I'll show you a wind that can't be broken by a sword as fast as lightning."

It was a proactive attitude that we hadn't seen from Ryu before, and it was clear that this fight had sparked something new in her.

"I expect."

He thought about it for a moment, then looked at Ryu Eun Kyung again and said.

"Oh, by the way, there's one more thing I need to tell you?"

"What is it? Tell me."

"That was good, and it was fun, so what do you say, we get to go to the Academy of Heaven?"

"I'm, I'm in the Heavenly Martial Arts Center?"

Ryu Eun-kyung, who hadn't expected to receive such an offer, rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, if you're as talented as you are, you can get in, but once you're there, you have to stay there for four years."

"For four years?"

"Of course, I'm a boarder there. Why, is it too long? Four years seems a bit long, but it's only a short time, and I get to visit home twice a year on vacation."

Home visits? None of that was necessary. What made the offer so appealing to her was something else.

"No, it's not long, it's too short, I don't care if it's four years, I don't care if it's ten years, I'm not going back to that house, not until no one can ignore me!"

Ryu declared.

"Are you okay?"

Upon hearing that question, Ryu realized what she was lacking: the determination to break through her hesitation.

"Is that okay? Sure. I'm going to be independent."

She had nowhere to go back to, so why not go out on her own?

She was a grown woman now. She could live on her own if she wanted to.

"Why didn't I think of that before?

It's so frustrating when you're trying to figure out a solution.

"This moment has finally arrived."

Qin Lie sprang to her feet. Determination flashed in her eyes.

"Can you win?"

Nan Gongshan asked. At this moment, she was Qin Lie's best friend, not his twin brother, and she was supporting him as a friend.

"Of course, and my sword will prove it!"

"No," the spirit replied, not missing a beat. Still, her anger hadn't abated, but only burned stronger.

The same question was being asked on the other side of the world.

"Can you win?"

Long Tianming asked in a quiet voice.

"If you'd let go of the reins against Ryeong-ah, we could have won."

A slightly resentful Turo Namgungsang said.

"Do I really want to do that?"

Long Tianming looked directly into the eyes of the Southern Palace Lord and asked. It was an unspoken request for an answer. After a moment's thought, Namgung Sang shook his head.

"No, that would have hurt me more."

"If you know that, shouldn't you say that?"

"I'm sorry, sir. But I'm honestly scared to go out."

I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to do it. Fighting and winning wasn't going to end this, and it wasn't going to be a matter of pushing and shoving. Honestly, I wasn't even sure I could, which made it all the more frustrating.

Long Tianming, who had been silent for a moment at that frank statement, spoke heavily.

"Hmm…… actually scares me too."

Then he added one more thing he didn't need to say.

"Don't die."

Namgungsang sighed heavily and replied.

"That's not comforting at all."

And, as I would later learn, this fight was certainly not one that could be solved by force, but without it, I was in danger of dying in the blink of an eye.

In May, the frosty air felt horribly heavy.

"So that's a 'lovers' duel,' a time-honored battle that's been going on since ancient times. Now that's exciting."

Yunbi seemed to find the sight more amusing than horrifying. He seemed to wonder how a snowball rolled from the top of a snowy mountain could be inflated. "Is that what makes it so exciting?" asked Na Yerin, and without hesitation, he replied, "Of course!

"Before, the time-honored blood feuds were only happening between complete strangers, so it was just somebody else's business, and that had a side effect: It didn't feel real. But this time, it's happening between people who know each other, so it feels real, or should I say, more real. It's a little more relatable. Who's going to win? It's really a toss-up."

He said with excitement in his voice, trying to get the Yeonbi up.

"I've always wondered who would win if the two of you fought, and today we'll finally find out, but wouldn't it be half the fun to know in advance who would win?"

"He's got a point," I said, "but it's human nature to want to analyze it."

Na Yerin replied.

"The two of you are evenly matched, I mean, objectively, I'd say the Palace Captain has a slight edge, but…… you know damn well that it's not necessarily objective brute force that determines victory or defeat, right?"

The game, like a living thing, was subject to many variables.

"So you're saying we don't know?"

Yeonbi scratched his cheek again and pondered for a moment.

"I don't know, maybe the one with the stronger heart will win."

The victor, then, was already decided. Standing before Qin Lie, Namgungsang was as stiff as a prisoner brought to his sentence.