Surviving as a Rival in a Martial Arts Novel

Chapter 15 – Jinang Hyeon-nyeo, Jegal Yeon-ji (02)

Of course, the crimes attributed to Magyo weren’t real.

Rather, an incident occurred where celestial demons were being poisoned by the dark organization, leading to extreme anger from the Celestial Demon Queen, Celestial Demon’s son and daughter, Minor Celestial Demon, and Minor Demon Queen. They joined forces and cooperated in response. Spoiler alert: The Minor Demon Queen, later revealed to be from the Magyo faction, is the third wife. This guy, Bang Gyuseong, is… the more you think about it, the more you realize what a truly wicked person he is. With that many wives, he could afford to be a bit more lenient.

“Magyo, what are you talking about, Sohye? This incident is clearly the work of the dark…”

“Oh, Magyo’s faction has individuals using that name? Indeed, it’s the response typical of Jegal Sojeo, also known as the ‘Beautiful Swordswoman.'”

“You know my name, yet react like that. No, more importantly, how can you blame Magyo for this! They don’t even have the traces of magic, and Magyo’s movements are currently monitored by the Surveillance Faction!”

“Huh? It wasn’t Magyo? Then, perhaps… someone unknowingly exterminated a hidden pawn planted by the Orthodox Faction?”

“What nonsense are you talking about right now!”

Veins popped on Jegal Yeonji’s forehead.

Rather than the conversation, anyone overhearing it might think they’re engaged in a rap battle. One side was delivering rapid-fire words with a strong tone, and my side was casually responding while humming along.

In the language of this place, it might be called a heated debate.

“It seems you have nothing you want to say.”

Jegal Yeonji, wiping away the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, revealed that even her bodily functions were controlled using martial arts. For Jegal Yeonji, who managed even her facial expressions with precision, having her expression distorted and cold sweat flowing down almost exposed her to her lowest point.

“In fact, exposing Jegal Yeonji to this extent is something Bang Gyuseong should do, not me…”

When she first met Bang Gyuseong, she foolishly suggested that she should use him to survive by trapping him in a trap, narrowly avoiding a hit from Hansoso, and thinking that Bang Gyuseong would intervene but didn’t, she almost died because he got angry at her for getting mad at him for not intervening. Then, thinking that Bang Gyuseong would intervene, she fought fiercely, cried, and caused a commotion while trying to find her sister, but couldn’t. Bang Gyuseong found her sister’s bracelet and handed it over, leading to them becoming friends.

“Should I resort to military intervention?”

Normally, someone like Jegal Yeonji could be easily subdued with just two fingers. But now, it was a bit dangerous. If she casually laid hands on her, Jegalsega might get upset and cause trouble.

“It seems you trust the high school student waiting on the first floor.”

She didn’t even think about hiding. Not sending out assassins separately or instructing them to conceal their presence meant the intention was to stage an unarmed protest against her.

‘If the assassins infiltrate… With the skills of assassins, I’ll subdue them without a scratch.’

Alternatively, Ban Gyu-sung was planning to get involved with Jegal Yeon-ji, but this guy had long surpassed the expected arrival time, and there was no news.

“……”

Silence envelops the room.

If it were the Jegal Yeon-ji from the original novel, if the situation didn’t resolve to her satisfaction, she would either express extreme anger here or suddenly throw a tantrum. But now, it was different.

“……”

At that time, she was also mentally overwhelmed. Now, having investigated that her twin sister Yeon-ji was alive, she composed herself a bit more and returned to her calm and indifferent expression.

“What do you desire?”

“Why should I have something I want to ask from a soldier?”

“Those who hide information often have something they want.”

Originally, she should have demanded her sister while expressing anger here. But with Ban Gyu-sung absent and Yeon-ji giving off signs of being alive, the reproduction of the original work had failed.

“Speak of what you desire. If it’s what So-hyeop wants, I will obtain it with Jegal Se-ga’s abilities.”

“I don’t know what information So-hyeop wants from me.”

Anyway, Jegal Yeon-ji knew some information about the dark organization. So, she entrusted the investigation to her twin sister.

Although what she wanted was clear, I intentionally didn’t give her a definite answer.

“I know what I want…”

“Secret techniques, high-level martial arts. Anything that’s possible.”

As I was about to refuse, suddenly, I remembered the internal energy of the Chugum that was blocking my acupuncture points.

Before panic sets in, I realized that Jegal Yeon-ji’s help might be needed to unlock this.

“I’ll listen to what information you want and decide.”

I had no intention of teaching about the organization, but for now, I was considering pretending to agree to the deal.

“There is information about a young man near the Chang River, skilled in martial arts, embracing the unowned territory of the black waters. Also, there are reports of an explosion of artillery damaging part of the harbor facilities.”

“…”

“Is she alive?”

Her question, in the end, was about Yeonji… whether her twin sister was alive.

“It seems you’ve already reached a conclusion.”

“I want to hear a definite answer.”

From Jegal Yeonji’s perspective, who had to consider even the slightest possibility of her sister being wrong, she wanted confirmation from someone else.

‘If it’s only to that extent… it should be fine.’

“She’s alive.”

“I see.”

Unexpectedly, Jegal Yeonji accepted the fact calmly.

“Then, I understand the Sohye’s statement that those who caused the disturbance at the harbor are predicted to be members of ‘Magyo.'”

It was strange for Magyo to be mentioned by Jegal Yeonji, even though it seemed that she, too, wanted to cover up the involvement of the black organization as Magyo’s actions without further investigating.

‘I might be accused by Cheonmahoo or Somahoo for falsely accusing Magyo.’

Since that part of the story is in the later part of the novel, let’s be grateful for now that we’ve moved beyond the present.

“Well then, Sohye, please state your request.”

“Um…”

As of now, there was only one thing I wanted.

“Can you save my sister?”

“Poison…?”

Perhaps thinking that the word ‘poison’ would be used for a crime, Jin Lang-hyeon’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Yes. It would be good if it’s a pure poison made directly by the Tang Clan.”

“If we don’t confirm the purpose for which you intend to use it, I’m afraid we cannot entertain this request…”

“I want to make a poison wine.”

“Poison wine?”

“If you wish, I will even show you the process of making it and consuming it.”

I was actually considering consuming it myself.

I planned to disperse my inner energy, not firmly embedded, throughout my body and then melt only the inner energy of the opponent blocking my path with poison.

Poison suppresses poison; this was the technique of poisoning in the Tang Clan.

* * *

Even if she was Jin Lang-hyeon, it wasn’t easy to obtain items from other major martial arts schools, so she requested about a week’s time.

In the first place, since Jin Lang-hyeon, affiliated with Jegal Se-ga, had come to Sacheon secretly, she could only officially engage in activities by sending a report to other martial arts schools through Jegal Se-ga.

‘Anyway, Ami Faction, Jeomchang Faction, Sacheondangga… they’ll know that Jin Lang-hyeon has arrived, but well, that’s how it is.’

Still, public and private matters should be distinguished.

In any case, through Jegal Se-ga’s connections, she sent a secret letter to Sacheondangga, requesting the temporary dispersal of my inner energy, Tang Clan’s Dangmunsan Gidok, and after negotiating to show Jin Lang-hyeon personally consuming it in front of me, I was able to secure the deal.

“Ugguggeuk… Since I have no inner energy, my body feels heavy… Well then, should I go see the sisters who must have been waiting below for a long time…”

Anyway, since Jegal Yeonji said there are high-level martial artists on the first floor, the sisters should be there too.

The only woman in this inn who could be called a master was none other than the sisters.

“Sisters. You can come up now… Hmm?”

However, the first floor was empty, probably because Jegalse’s people had come earlier. And the person sitting there was not my cute Samae, but the face of a disgusting guy.

“What? Why is that bastard here?”

It was Bang Gyu-sung.

Despite everyone else leaving, he was forcefully twirling his chopsticks in the guest room on the first floor. It was clear that he had been fooled by the phrase “If you come to the guest room, you should have one meal per person” and ordered a dish.

“I don’t like this.”

Although he looked a little more refined than the novel cover, it was just because he was still young. He would become as fickle as the cover over time.

Moreover, the thought of going to him after all the trouble I went through to convince Jegal Yeon-ji made my stomach churn.

“……!”

Suddenly.

As soon as I saw his face, I tried to go upstairs with an annoyed expression. But Bang Gyu-sung suddenly stood up and threw away the untouched dish of noodles, then ran up the stairs with me.

Thump.

Using martial arts, I jumped up two floors in one breath, using a chair as a springboard. It surprised Jeomsoui, but I gave him a stern look and said,

“What? You want to try again?”

“No, Sohyeob. I just…”

“Just?”

What’s this? Why is he avoiding my gaze all of a sudden?

“And why is his face turning red? It’s annoying.”

He wasn’t like this in the original work. This world was different from the original in many aspects, but Bang Gyu-sung was especially completely different.

“I came to thank you for helping me when my reputation was in trouble last time… that’s all.”

“It seemed like he came to break something and start a revenge fight with me, no matter how you look at it…”

Now, it’s a moment when I might stick around and fall, and since I don’t have the energy to deal with this guy enough to chat, I just roughly accepted his thanks.

“Sure. Anything else to say?”

“I came to say that. Well then.”

What’s this? Did I come here for this?

If that’s the case, I should have barged into the room, grabbed Jegalyeonji or something, rather than dealing with this unhelpful guy.

‘The problem is that I have to keep that guy alive and take him with me…’

Especially in this bloody mess, he had to play his part in his own way.

“Hey, Bangyuseong.”

“Why do you call me?”

“Last time when I checked your bloodline, your body had a peculiar constitution.”

“Peculiar constitution…? My master never mentioned such a thing.”

“When I took care of your body, I didn’t have experience with questioning and blood, so I didn’t know. But now I do.”

At that time, I didn’t know, but as someone who had checked the bloodlines of the twins, I was sure.

“Your bloodline is close to that of a woman. Keep that in mind, and if you practice martial arts with that in consideration, you can become stronger in a short time.”

Upon hearing those words, Bangyuseong’s face turned pale.

“That’s so obvious…!”

“What did you say?”

“…Nothing. Thank you for the advice.”

Somehow, that guy looks stunned, huh? Even if I say something nice, he doesn’t seem to know how to be thankful… Tsk!