NOVEL WEB Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Hero and Beauty’s Ten-Year Plan (英雄好色 十年大計)
Yujinhwi murmured while gently patting the head of her disciple, Lee Cheol-soo, who was shaking and crying softly in her arms.
“I’m sorry…”
She genuinely felt remorse for the young disciple.
From the moment she was born until now.
Yujinhwi had always grown up alone, without peers.
Ever since she was picked up by her master, Jeonyeong, in the back alleys, until before Cheol-soo arrived.
For her, the world comprised only the Gongdong Sect Main Base and the lower village.
Up until now, she hadn’t had a peer disciple with whom to share martial training.
Moreover, as Jeonyeong was a stoic who rarely gave praises, Yujinhwi had never realized that she was a genius.
Her master would occasionally say she was talented, but mostly emphasized that relying solely on innate talent without effort would not do.
Thus, bolted up in the mountains without a comparison, Yujinhwi, despite possessing the Heavenly Body’s Martial Bone, remained unaware of the level of talent she had.
She did not understand how quickly ordinary talented disciples learned martial arts, nor could she discern the differences between ‘slow-witted’, ‘ordinary’, ‘gifted’, and ‘genius’ disciples.
That was why she nagged Cheol-soo about his excessive training.
Her master always said that too much training is worse than too little.
But it wasn’t so.
Upon hearing the disciple’s words, Yujinhwi realized she had been wrong.
His potential was inferior to hers.
She had subconsciously felt this truth during her two months living with him.
Of course, this was because the reincarnated Cheol-soo moderated his training speed to appear ordinary, allowing him to harmoniously blend into the future swordsman Yujinhwi’s environment without standing out.
In his past life, Cheol-soo was a master of Hyeongyeong’s Mastery.
Had he chosen to, he could have mastered Gongdong Sect Martial Arts within a week and displayed qualities surpassing Yujinhwi, but he chose not to, hiding his strength.
His goal was simply to enjoy pleasure behind the scenes, shifting the burdensome and annoying responsibilities onto Yujinhwi while indulging in Samcheosacheop and Cloud and Rain Pleasure; he had no intention of leading the Gongdong Sect.
He knew that revealing his talents could lead to him being appointed as Gongsan’s future leader instead of Yujinhwi, placing him at the helm of a sect was terribly bothersome, and Cheol-soo, having stood at the pinnacle of power in his previous life, was well aware of that.
He had no need for responsibilities that come with power. All he sought were the delights of Samcheosacheop and Cloud and Rain Pleasure.
Though Yujinhwi presented as a woman, Cheol-soo was convinced of his male gender.
This was not just because Yujinhwi perfectly disguised herself as a man using the Bone-Wasting Technique and Reverse Transformation Technique, but also because Cheol-soo trusted information he had gathered from Dongchang and Seochang during his past life.
Dongchang and Seochang, being two rival organizations, provided highly corroborated information, and with Yujinhwi being classified as male in the Imperial Palace’s information—where the most accurate details were found—it was something Cheol-soo couldn’t dismiss.
This created a cognitive dissonance fueled by confirmation bias and Cheol-soo’s latent animosity towards extraordinarily handsome men.
Yet, Yujinhwi was oblivious to all these intricacies.
That was why the disciple’s words resonated deeply with her.
Cheol-soo was the slow-witted one, while she was the genius.
Thus, his statement of feeling unworthy to stand beside her pierced her heart like a dagger.
The scream of her disciple wishing to stand next to her echoed in her ears.
There was nothing incorrect about his words.
So, Yujinhwi felt a pang of guilt towards him.
Cheol-soo had always showcased an overly mature demeanor.
Therefore, subconsciously, Yujinhwi had treated him like an adult, a little grown-up.
She thought, “It should be fine if it’s a disciple; they are mature enough for this much…”
To say she didn’t think that would be a lie.
But the disciple was not an adult; he was a child.
And seeing him crying, not wanting to be expelled from their sect or fall behind, desiring to stand beside her, Yujinhwi reflected.
The disciple, while appearing somewhat mature, was in reality still like a child of his age.
Only after witnessing the tears of her beloved disciple did Yujinhwi realize.
The reason he acted mature was probably due to his hardships from a young age…
She was aware of his past.
He had grown up poor in a village of dispossessed people, lost his parents during a raid in childhood, wandered the world, and then came to admire the Gongdong Sect from tales told by storytellers.
Yujinhwi herself was an orphan, so she understood.
How hard and challenging it is to wander the world after losing one’s parents at a young age.
She had been taken in by Jeonyeong when she was about five or six and hadn’t wandered long, but her memories of the back alleys were tainted with pain she did not want to relive.
If she felt this way, what had Cheol-soo gone through, who had endured even more?
…He might think he could get expelled. It’s understandable to feel that way.
Perhaps, the mature facade he had shown until now was a defense mechanism borne from a fear that Jeonyeong might expel him for being dull-witted.
Yujinhwi knew her master wasn’t that kind of person, but the disciple who had only joined two months prior might think differently.
After all, she had once thought so too.
Yujinhwi couldn’t forget the feelings she had when she was taken by Jeonyeong into Gongdong Mountain, having wandered the streets.
It was the first time she had slept under a warm blanket in a proper room and had a proper meal.
She was so happy that she felt anxious.
Fearing that such happiness might one day shatter.
Of course, now that she was older, she understood that the anxiety she had back then was just a baseless fear, but the disciple wasn’t aware of this.
Just like her past self, Cheol-soo would surely be burdened with that kind of anxiety now.
Moreover, unlike her past self, he had a direct comparison in the form of his gifted senior, so his anxiety probably was even more pronounced.
That anxiety manifested as additional training.
Not being able to see through the anxiousness hidden behind the disciple’s mature facade and only pushing him further…
Yet, she hadn’t noticed the difficulties he faced until he spoke directly.
As the senior, she felt an immense responsibility to guide and look after her disciple.
Yujinhwi chastised herself.
“It’s okay. You can relax. Don’t cry. Disciple. No one will expel you. Not your master, nor I…”
While gently patting Cheol-soo’s quaking back and softly stroking his head, the disciple’s trembling and sniffles gradually subsided.
Looking at him, Yujinhwi couldn’t help but shed a few tears and smile bittersweetly.
“I’m sorry, Disciple. I’m sorry for being such a foolish senior that I couldn’t recognize your worries.”
…
Cheol-soo was silent.
As she continued to stroke him, Yujinhwi said, “As you said, I might never really understand a dull-witted disciple like you for the rest of my life.”
She had begun to realize.
That she was a genius.
While she hadn’t yet fully grasped that she possessed the Heavenly Body’s Martial Bone and the potential to be a peerless figure, she recognized that she was certainly exceptional compared to commoners.
And she felt it.
The genius that she was might indeed never grasp the mind of a truly dull-witted disciple like Cheol-soo.
But despite that…
“However, I promise. Regardless of your talent, whoever you are… you will never be expelled from our sect. You will forever remain my disciple, the one I treasure most… standing by my side. I will ensure that happens.”
He was now a cherished disciple who had only recently entered her small world.
Yujinhwi did not want to lose him.
“So, if it’s hard, stop pretending to be mature; whenever you feel like it, just… if it’s difficult for our master, then lean on me instead. I will always support you, Disciple. After all, we’re the only pair of seniors and juniors in the world.”
Yujinhwi whispered to Cheol-soo in a tender voice.
Cheol-soo, despite trying to act mature, ultimately was still a child, a younger brother.
Thus, it fell on the senior, being older, to take care of him.
She wanted to fulfill his dream of standing by her.
Because that was the duty of a senior and junior.
…Guhuk, sniff.
As soon as Yujinhwi finished speaking, Cheol-soo stopped crying.
It was only then that Yujinhwi released him from her embrace.
Under the moonlight, she could see the red, swollen eyelids of Cheol-soo.
His body, sticky with sweat, became visible.
Seeing the solid muscles of Cheol-soo gradually emerging, Yujinhwi smiled.
Her hand touched his forearm.
The sensation of Cheol-soo’s firm musculature conveyed through her touch.
“Impressive. Disciple. Your foundation in external martial arts is improving compared to my past self. I whined about not wanting to practice external martial arts… but you quietly trained without saying a word and even added extra training at night… Amazing.”
Yujinhwi praised him with a smile.
This statement was an earnest sentiment from Yujinhwi.
She had disliked external martial training as a child too.
Yet he had even taken on extra training on top of that tedious external training.
Was the effort behind that extra training paying off? The muscles she felt on Cheol-soo were indeed more solidly built than those she had developed during her own training.
At this level, starting on internal cultivation would have been entirely reasonable.
Yujinhwi’s gaze softened as she looked at him, both proud and sympathetic.
In the end, this was all due to the disciple’s earnest efforts to catch up with her talents, and a corner of her heart ached.
…Are you alright now?
Yujinhwi asked, her voice slightly trembling.
*
Am I alright?
No, not at all.
I trembled all over at Yujinhwi’s question.
Not only did she take away my first hug, but now she was deliberately rubbing my forearm muscles too.
Chills ran down my spine, and cold sweat trickled down my back.
A man touching another man’s muscles?
Moreover, with compliments disguised as evaluations, I felt the chilling sensation creeping up my spine as my hand unconsciously moved toward my backside.
This was not the camaraderie of comrades.
Could I really be a closeted homosexual? No way!
Doubt started to rise.
I had hoped to see some results from my strategy of emotional manipulation, but I didn’t want it to devolve into this perverted skinship of hugging and reviewing muscles.
If a stunning beauty were touching my muscles, saying, “Oh, this young lord! Haha! Your muscles are remarkably solid! Imagine these muscles in the bedding…” that would be one thing, but a man?!
I didn’t even want to imagine that in my dreams.
I quickly pulled my arm from her grasp and said, “I’m fine, Senior. Apologies. I’ve embarrassed myself too much.”
Wiping my tears with my sleeves, I faced my senior to bow.
“No, I should apologize more. I should have noticed the disciple’s feelings sooner… I’ll take better care of your heart from now on.”
My senior waved his hands slightly, his face a bit flushed, while forcing a bitter smile.
Why should you know my heart?
Chills returned once again.
If she were a stunning beauty, she could be open about her feelings.
But a man knowing my heart?
I continued to break out into cold sweat as I took a step back from my senior.
“Just hearing you say that is enough. Thank you, Senior. However, I will only accept your feelings. After all, this is my issue. I can’t involve you in it. Thank you for your concern.”
I politely declined my senior’s horrific suggestions.
“Oh? Hehe… understood. Disciple.”
My senior smiled brightly and nodded.
His reaction instinctively made me feel uneasy.
With nearly fifty years of experience navigating the political landscape of the Imperial Palace, reading emotions and thoughts from expressions was a necessary passive skill in the treacherous court.
So I could tell.
The implied note of “I understood” was similar to saying they didn’t understand.
However, due to my identity as a disciple, I couldn’t pursue my senior any further.
Pressing further would not only raise suspicions but also, if I overstimulated my senior, it could lead to even more awful consequences.
“…About today, should I tell our master…”
Instead, I shifted the topic.
The reason I had made such a scene, crying and carrying on, was to not let my master find out about my nighttime secret training.
To perfect my ultimate physique and cardiopulmonary endurance, nightly runs were essential, and I needed my senior’s approval to do them.
“I won’t do it. But instead…”
Instead?
Now I felt increasingly anxious.
While I was thinking that, suddenly…
“Let’s do nighttime training together from now on. I’ll help you with your training.”
My senior’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
Hearing that, I barely managed to control my facial muscles from crumpling, smiling outwardly while feeling a storm of frustration inside.
No way.
I wanted to vehemently oppose.
But it was not possible to just reject this outright.
After all, I had to maintain good relations for the benefits of future swordsman Yujinhwi, as my partner, to utilize her reputation.
For the sake of Cloud and Rain Pleasure and future Samcheosacheop, I needed to swallow my tears and accept his proposal.
The sacrifice for the greater good, pulling back to move forward.
I would never forget this humiliation.
Thus, I thought, suppressing my fury with cold rationality as I bowed toward my senior and said, “Understood. Thank you, Senior.”
Just as I put on a show of gratitude that I didn’t genuinely feel…
“Great, Disciple. And regarding your entry into internal martial arts… I’ll speak with our master tomorrow. You’ve achieved a solid foundation in external martial arts, so you qualify to begin internal cultivation.”
My senior said with a bright smile.
At that moment, I felt all the humiliation I had endured until then blow away.
Internal cultivation?
My master adored my senior tremendously, so he would definitely not refuse his request.
Moreover, my foundational skills were indeed solid enough to begin internal cultivation.
Finally, I was about to learn the genuine heart techniques.
To begin internal cultivation was akin to standing at the starting line as a true martial artist.
I had finally taken the first step on the Hero and Beauty’s Ten-Year Plan (英雄好色 十年大計).
The tears I had faked, and the resisting the skinship I abhorred had proven worthwhile.
I smiled, thinking that.
And so, after that night…
“From this point forward, we will conclude the external martial arts training you’ve been doing.”
The following morning, I would receive instruction in internal cultivation from my master, just as my senior had promised.