Book 20 Chapter 13
Debt Repayment
— Clearing Debts
‘Why am I here, doing this?’
Under the dark midnight sky, where not even the moon shone, Mo Yong-hwi couldn't help but question himself. Sadly, he knew the reason all too well. He just couldn't accept it.
‘This is an advance payment.’
That's what Bi Ryu-yeon had said then. After hesitating for a long time, Mo Yong-hwi grasped his friend's outstretched hand and replied,
‘It’s on credit!’
At that, his friend wailed in despair and cried.
‘Ah, how can this be! Oh, what a tragedy! Hwi, my friend! Where has the pure and spotless you of the past gone! Who could have possibly corrupted your untainted, innocent past self to this extent! Ah! Ah! Will I never see that cute and naive young man again! Where must we go now to find him! Ah, heavens, heavens!’
With an embarrassingly exaggerated expression, Mo Yong-hwi yelled in anger.
‘Wh-who are you calling a cute and naive young man?!’
Bi Ryu-yeon’s finger pointed directly at Mo Yong-hwi’s heart.
‘You! If it were you back then, you wouldn't have dared utter such immoral and dishonest words as ‘on credit.’ That is proof of your corruption!’
‘Don't arbitrarily corrupt others just because of something like credit.’
‘Something like credit! This friend is going to cause trouble! There’s no such thing as credit in my dictionary. If you don't have money, you can’t help it… you have to repay it with your body!’
‘Wi-with my body…….’
‘Yes, with your body.’
‘Bu-but how with my body?’
Mo Yong-hwi asked, swallowing dryly.
‘Hehehe, you’ll have to sweat a little.’
‘Wh-what! How could you….’
The face of the innocent young man, Mo Yong-hwi, turned a deep crimson, unrecognizable.
‘Hey, hey, what kind of delusion are you having right now? Stop it. It’s nothing. I mean a different kind of body and sweat, not that kind of body and sweat. Understand?’
‘Is-is that so? Phew~ I thought… If it’s that kind of thing, then….’
If only he hadn’t nodded then…
‘This wouldn’t have happened!’
Mo Yong-hwi sighed softly and looked ahead.
“Wait!”
Just then, Namgung Sang, a year his senior, was asking a question to an assailant.
“Can I ask just one thing before you take me away?”
Yi Shi-geon replied in a gruff tone.
“I’ll answer your question if I feel like it. Before I kill you!”
“I intend to listen even if you don’t feel like it… but why specifically him (Bi Ryu-yeon)? Is he a threat to you?”
What came back was a snort of contempt.
“Hmph, a threat? We are not threatened by anything. Bi Ryu-yeon, we had never seen nor heard the name of such a ridiculous-looking fellow until recently. The few rumors we heard were all absurd and bizarre, with nothing substantial except for his extraordinary luck. No one even bothered to pay attention to the skill of that unknown nobody. They only hated and despised him. So why would we need to fear such an insignificant person?”
His assessment of Bi Ryu-yeon was ruthless.
“Then why did you specifically choose him?”
Yi Shi-geon shrugged.
“Actually, anyone would have been fine. As long as they were the winner of the last Huashan meeting, anyone would have been completely fine. We just needed that symbolic title. But how could we have known that the one we picked would be the one who won the Huashan meeting ‘by accident’? Honestly, I did have some concerns because of that. There were many more plausible-looking individuals, like Yong Cheon-myeong, Ma Ha-ryeong, or even the young master of the Mo Yong family standing over there. Everyone here seems to agree. That guy, Bi Ryu-yeon, is a coward. They all vehemently condemn him, calling him the most cowardly person in the world, who took advantage of the chaos caused by the flames to snatch victory by chance. They say he’s a terrible scoundrel, not hesitating to commit such a cowardly act out of greed for the prize money.”
It seemed they were talking about the rally that took place in the front yard of the sect leader’s office.
‘Well, the prize money was one of the objectives.’
Namgung Sang wholeheartedly agreed with that point.
But he also knew that it wasn’t the whole story. Bi Ryu-yeon was always someone who aimed for maximized efficiency, achieving three or more benefits at once.
‘As expected, this guy doesn't know his true nature!’
Yi Shi-geon, who found the scene quite amusing as he recalled it, let out a chuckle and continued.
“So, before we could even make a move, they tried to kill him themselves. It was the first time I’d seen such a sight in my life. There was no need for public opinion manipulation. It was quite an interesting spectacle. Is that what they call ‘self-inflicted chaos’ (自中之亂)?”
Since he was a member of the Cheonmu Academy and they were also members of the Cheonmu Academy, Namgung Sang’s face felt hot with embarrassment.
“It’s a bit shameful to have such things pointed out by an enemy. Is my face not turning red? As a reward, let me offer you some advice!”
“Advice? What advice?”
Namgung Sang said with a cold smile.
“You still don’t know his true fearsomeness. You truly, truly don’t know. You don’t realize that your ignorance is tightening the noose around your own neck. Isn’t that right, Hwi?”
Mo Yong-hwi nodded in agreement.
“He… is a bit scary.”
“Listen, Hwi. Do you really think that friend will be safe after directly inflicting financial damage on him?”
Standing between Yi Shi-geon, Mo Yong-hwi replied with great skepticism.
“I think that would be difficult, Senior. I’m here in the middle of the night because I incurred a debt once myself.”
Namgung Sang nodded as if he understood that sentiment perfectly.
“I understand, I certainly do. However, you should consider yourself fortunate compared to me. Debts can be repaid and cleared, but there are also those persistent relationships that cannot be cleared no matter how much you struggle.”
Namgung Sang grumbled. He seemed to have completely forgotten about Yi Shi-geon, who was caught between them.
“What do you mean….”
Mo Yong-hwi, who didn’t know the details of the relationship between Bi Ryu-yeon and Namgung Sang, could only be bewildered by Namgung Sang’s lament.
“It’s nothing, just a grumble. Absolutely. Don’t tell him, that person.”
Namgung Sang urged him, his tone so serious and somehow earnest that Mo Yong-hwi couldn’t refuse and replied, ‘Yes.’
Yi Shi-geon, who had been watching the scene blankly, let out a hollow laugh.
“Heh heh…”
This was the first time in his life he had been so thoroughly ignored. The topic and focus had shifted from him to Bi Ryu-yeon, a person he had never even seen. He didn’t care what power made that possible. He felt displeased and needed to vent his anger.
“Alright, alright, since the small talk seems to be over, how about you die now?”
Yi Shi-geon said, dusting off his hands. Namgung Sang was astonished.
“Aren’t you being too overconfident? There are two of us here, is that really possible?”
“Of course!”
Purple Cloud, Dark Wind.
Ultimate Skill.
Swift Wind Blade.
Black Eagle Flying Flash.
Yi Shi-geon crossed his hands, bent like a hawk’s talons, near his chest, and again, an invisible gust of wind raged.