Book 7 Chapter 6

Playing a situation of being surrounded by enemies from all sides.

"Are you there?"

Hearing the clear voice that echoed in her ears, Bi Ryu-yeon had to give up the calculation he was doing while looking at the stars shining in the sky.

"I knew you would notice."

Bi Ryu-yeon turned around with a slight smile. There was no one in the space Bi Ryu-yeon was looking at. However, his gaze passed over the empty space and fixed on the back of a tree. From behind a beautiful, ancient tree ten feet away, a figure emerged. It was a dazzlingly beautiful woman with hair that seemed to have melted into the night sky.

Her skin seemed to hold the moonlight, her beauty outshining the carpet of stars. It was Na Ye-rin. Her beauty could be described as divine elegance.

Only the two of them existed under the lonely moonlight. The sky, dimly lit by the moonlight, the forest engulfed in silence all around!

Perhaps it was the moonlight, but her cold beauty stood out even more. At times, her appearance felt so unreal, like a fantasy. A fantasy that couldn't be grasped even if you tried to hold onto it.

Bi Ryu-yeon sat on a thick branch, his heart pounding as he waited for her to speak. But sadly, she didn't whisper sweet words of love as Bi Ryu-yeon had expected.

"Aren't you being too relaxed?"

In this situation where enemies were all around, she was playing the zither alone in the middle of the night… She was someone who defied common sense. She had come out for a moment to calm her mind and was drawn here by the sound of the zither coming from somewhere. And in the place she arrived, an unexpected person was waiting for her.

"Why? Is there a law that says I can't?"

"No. It's not that, but perhaps the problem is that you're too relaxed for someone who is in a desperate situation, surrounded by enemies, and utterly alone?"

"Is that so?"

"It means you can show a reaction like someone trapped on a deserted island without bothering those around you."

Why was she arguing about useless things with this person in the middle of the night? She suddenly wondered.

"Island? This is a mountain, not an island?"

Bi Ryu-yeon caught Na Ye-rin's words. It wasn't even necessary.

"I've never been there, but isn't an island a piece of land surrounded by the sea, isolated from the mainland?"

In reality, Bi Ryu-yeon had only heard about islands and had never visited one. He had never seen the sea.

"Islands aren't always surrounded by the sea, but that's generally true. It was just a metaphor, I didn't mean anything else. You have a bad personality for taking it so literally."

"Is it my fault?"

Bi Ryu-yeon asked back with a bewildered expression. He looked genuinely clueless.

"It's not polite. I just hoped you would change your perception of reality. Wouldn't it be better to show a little more tension?"

"You mean… a sense of crisis?"

"Well, you could call it that."

Bi Ryu-yeon's mental state and attitude were excessively relaxed. There was no sign of tension in a situation where he was surrounded by enemies. Just like excessive tension, excessive relaxation was not good.

Isn't it normal to feel a little tense? He was dangerously devoid of tension. She couldn't just leave him like that, as if he were rushing towards death.

What was he thinking?

'I can't read him…'

Bi Ryu-yeon was still an unreadable opponent.

"You are always alone."

It was her honest feeling as she watched Bi Ryu-yeon. It wasn't that he had no friends, but rather that he seemed to keep a step away from everyone. Yet, he faced no restraint. He only received complaints from others… But where did the fear and reverence he commanded among the Suzaku group come from? It was a mystery to her.

"That's strange, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Aren't you alone too, Miss Na?"

For a moment, a pang was felt in her chest. She didn't know why. Why was she so swayed by his single remark…

Even looking at the sky, the moon offered no answer.

Despite being completely surrounded, the moon, indifferent to the human world, shone brightly, and the stars, as if to tease, were also bright that night.

The sound of grass rustling and wind blowing through her ears, Na Ye-rin approached Bi Ryu-yeon.

Bi Ryu-yeon had no intention of getting down from the branch yet.

"It's a shame that a handsome man and a beautiful woman meet without music. A night sky filled with countless stars! Two beautiful women meeting under the lonely moonlight! Wouldn't it be perfect if there was only singing? Don't you think so?"

"I respectfully decline."

Na Ye-rin shook her head.

"Tsk! Is that so? What a shame. Our opinions are so far apart…"

Bi Ryu-yeon licked his lips. He seemed like a truly carefree person.

"It's quiet, isn't it?"

The mountain night was only filled with the quiet sounds of insects.

"That's true."

Na Ye-rin agreed with that point.

"But it's strange, isn't it?"

Bi Ryu-yeon tilted his head.

"What is?"

"They say that when you're surrounded by enemies, songs are heard… Am I mistaken?"

What was this man talking about? Na Ye-rin was momentarily dumbfounded.

"Of course. Even if you're surrounded, how could the songs of Chu be heard?"

"They're people who don't understand romance."

Bi Ryu-yeon didn't hesitate to criticize and insult his opponent.

"It's extremely common sense behavior."

Her response was cold.

"It seems they don't have any talented musicians. They're people who don't understand elegance. Don't you think so?"

"I can't say."

Na Ye-rin shook her head.

"Then how about this?"

Bi Ryu-yeon proposed an idea.

"What is it?"

"Since they won't play the songs of Chu, shouldn't we play them instead?"

As Bi Ryu-yeon asked with a serious look in his eyes, Na Ye-rin suddenly felt a sense of dread. It was because she felt strongly that he was serious. Could this man commit such a ridiculous and illogical act and still be unfazed? He was a person who defied common sense.

Nightmares are enough when you sleep. She had enough of a polite disposition to refuse nightmares while awake. However, Bi Ryu-yeon seemed to have no intention of giving up.

Bi Ryu-yeon strode forward and placed his black zither on his knee. She hadn't noticed it because of its jet-black color, but he had brought the black zither here.

It was too late to stop him. Despite her attempts to dissuade him, Bi Ryu-yeon's fingers began to glide across the strings.

"Ting!"

'What is this melody?'

Na Ye-rin was surprised twice.

The first surprise was due to Bi Ryu-yeon's astonishing action and execution in directly enacting a nightmare. The second was that his zither playing was surprisingly pleasant. Indeed, the source of the zither music that had just sounded was, unbelievably, the man standing before her.

"You! You can use the zither for more than just hitting it?"

Her reaction was as if she had made a remarkable discovery. She was genuinely impressed.

"What is this sound?"

Cheonsal perked up his ears and asked. The silence of the night had carried the sound of the zither all the way to the Ssangsall camp. Just as Cheongheun had predicted, they had surrounded the Cheongwan disciples with a net.

"Could it be the sound of the black zither?"

A subordinate named Fifteen replied from beside him.

"Who doesn't know that? I'm asking why there's the sound of a zither in this situation."

"Y-yes, sir. I apologize."

He had long ago learned that apologizing profusely was the key to survival when Ssangsall was in a bad mood. He had witnessed many colleagues who hadn't apologized quickly meet their demise.

Hearing the zither music, Cheonsal became very agitated. It was a melody that did not fit the confrontational situation at all.

A desire to catch and punish whoever had dared to put on such a performance surged from the depths of his heart. The melody flowing through the cold night air seemed to mock him. Cheonsal vowed to himself that he would not let them off the hook if he caught them.

"They're all going to die anyway, how dare they ignore us!"

"Grind!"

The enraged Cheonsal ground his teeth. Killing intent spontaneously arose. The attendant, seeing his fiercely enraged state, could only tremble.

If the zither music, which had continued without interruption, hadn't suddenly stopped, Cheonsal might have had a seizure. Subordinate Fifteen had survived today.

Suddenly, the zither music that had been playing stopped abruptly. Na Ye-rin quietly opened her eyes and gazed at Bi Ryu-yeon with eyes as deep as an abyss. Bi Ryu-yeon was looking at another spot behind her.

"Crack!"

The sound of a twig snapping! Neither Bi Ryu-yeon nor Na Ye-rin's hearing could miss this sound.

"Who is it?"

To Na Ye-rin's cry, the person who appeared from behind the tree was a most unexpected figure. Emerging gracefully from behind the ancient tree was Lee Jin-seol.

Bi Ryu-yeon looked displeasedly at the person who had interrupted his magnificent, priceless performance. If it had been a man, he would have punished him in the name of the sky and the moon, but he couldn't do that to a woman.

"What's wrong?"

In response to Na Ye-rin's question, her face suddenly flushed. Her answer was very unexpected for Na Ye-rin.

"I came to find Young Master Hyo."

"He's not here?"

Lee Jin-seol nodded. Everyone was gathered to discuss plans for the next move, and only Bi Ryu-yeon, Na Ye-rin, Hyo Ryong, and Cheong Heun were missing. So she had come to find them.

"He's not here! Look elsewhere!"

"Yes, unnie!"

As Lee Jin-seol quickly disappeared, Bi Ryu-yeon looked at Na Ye-rin with a mischievous smile.

"Heh heh!"

A sly smile spread across Bi Ryu-yeon's lips.

"Aren't you going to see an interesting show?"

"What?"

"Something very interesting is about to happen. You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you miss this fun spectacle!"

"No… I…"

She was about to refuse. But the man's hand, which pulled her remarkably white hand, did not allow for refusal.

"Ah!"

Unable to even think of resisting or struggling, she could only follow where the rough hand pulled her. She couldn't immediately decide whether to shake off this hand or let it continue to hold her. This was something she had never experienced before.