Book 9 Chapter 10

The past hidden within the scaffolding

- Love and Hate

"I understand your youthful idea of overestimating your strength, but

wouldn't it be better to stop now?"

Yong Cheon-myeong said in a soft voice.

However, Bi Ryu-yeon, who was listening, felt quite displeased.

"Overestimating? Why would I need to overestimate?"

Bi Ryu-yeon asked back in a tone of incomprehension.

"Then you're saying you're not?"

"Overestimation is a meaningless struggle for those who lack, those who are insufficient, to try and appear to have something. Why would I, an idiot who can't even properly look at myself, do such a thing! I am perfect in every way, so what would I be overestimating for?"

Yong Cheon-myeong, who had been listening silently, was dumbfounded.

"I must have been mistaken. You're not overestimating, you're arrogant! I have never in my life seen someone as universally arrogant as you in front of me. Should I be grateful for this novel experience?"

"If you want to be grateful, I won't refuse."

Yong Cheon-myeong considered him to be a man with an incredibly stiff neck. There was no precedent for a junior who would lift his head so defiantly in front of him.

"You are an irrepressible man! Do you know that you are daring to refuse my words right now?"

"Of course, I know. However, it pains me to say it again, but I have absolutely no intention of letting this young lady go until I receive an apology."

Yong Cheon-myeong's elegant eyebrows twitched for a moment with displeasure. It seemed that words alone would not be enough to subdue him. His left hand naturally reached for the hilt of his sword. He had entered a state of readiness for drawing it at any moment.

"I will make you let go soon."

His soft tone and smile were directed at Mah Ryeong. However, her reaction was unexpected.

"I don't need it!"

A voice as cold as frost!

Mah Ryeong rejected Yong Cheon-myeong's outstretched hand of help with an almost cruel, icy tone. The surrounding people were so taken aback by its coldness and sharpness.

"Can… can she really do that?"

"Isn't that going too far? He's the leader of the Gujeong Society…"

'Ugh! What temper…'

It was not unreasonable for such cautious opinions to arise. Her reaction was that intense.

"She says she doesn't want it? What are we going to do?"

Bi Ryu-yeon sneered, with a slight curl of his lips. It seemed he derived his life's satisfaction from irritating others.

"Ha Ryeong…"

Yong Cheon-myeong called her in a cautious tone.

"Don't call me that familiarly! I don't need your help."

Cold thorns of ice emanated a fierce chill. With things having come to this, Yong Cheon-myeong could not help but be flustered.

"What on earth is the problem?"

Yong Cheon-myeong had no idea what was going on. Even though the two factions were in competition, he had no memory of doing anything so bad as to deserve such a cruel rejection.

"I will never accept your help. If that's the case, I'd rather die like this. I'm fine as I am, so I'd appreciate it if the leader of the Gujeong Society would just mind your own business."

Her voice dripped with a chilling coldness and venom, as if they were hand in hand. She truly had an unrivaled pride.

'Who said I would accept help from someone like you!'

The wounds in the young girl's heart had not yet healed. Therefore, she absolutely did not want to accept his help. It was also a disgrace to the Gunung Society.

"Um… I'm sorry to interrupt your anger, but could you please not carelessly label others as murderers?"

"Who said anyone was going to die? I just want an apology."

Bi Ryu-yeon intervened for a moment, warning Mah Ryeong. He did not want to be falsely accused.

'There must be something to it!'

What happened between Mah Ryeong and Yong Cheon-myeong in the past? What unforgivable act could have caused Mah Ryeong to react so irritably to Yong Cheon-myeong? It was impossible for such a deep emotional chasm to exist without any background.

A chilling aura still flowed from Mah Ryeong's eyes.

It was when Mah Ryeong was about ten years old. At that time, the leader of the Murim Alliance, Na Baek-cheon, visited the residence of the head of the Cheonmu Academy, where she lived, with his daughter. At this time, Mah Ryeong had already started to gain weight and was much chubbier than children her age.

"Hello. I'm Na Ye-rin."

Excessively cute!

Na Ye-rin, who had eyes unbefitting a ten-year-old and spoke in a quiet voice, almost inaudible, was incredibly enviable to Mah Ryeong's young eyes.

Although she was a very young girl, Na Ye-rin was already so cute at this time that her beauty seemed otherworldly. Her skin was as white as snow, transparent and flawless, her eyes were darker than obsidian and deeper than the night sky, possessing a magical allure, and she exuded an aura of pure, unblemished innocence.

Even to Mah Ryeong, a fellow female, Na Ye-rin was so cute and adorable that she wanted to bite her and rub her cheek against hers. However, she was even less talkative than she was now.

Mah Ryeong was always so envious of Na Ye-rin, who was always praised for being as cute as a heavenly fairy. No one ever said such things to her. It seemed that people only acknowledged beauty when it was on the outside. This had been a great wound to her young heart.

Adults always paid attention only to Na Ye-rin and not much to her. That's why she might have always acted out against Na Ye-rin. In her indignant and wronged young heart, she made Na Ye-rin's life miserable. However, Na Ye-rin did not show any reaction.

Na Ye-rin's gaze did not seem to be directed at her. It was impossible to guess what the child was thinking. Sometimes, she even felt like she was the younger one.

Even when she acted out, Na Ye-rin just accepted it silently. Even when she ripped off the head of the doll Na Ye-rin was holding, or broke the flower crown she was wearing, Na Ye-rin only looked at her with a blank stare, without crying or tattling. However, she did not stop tormenting her despite this lack of reaction. No, she couldn't stop. Na Ye-rin, who showed no clear reaction to praise or spite…

Having everything she wanted, and yet being bothered by it all… Mah Ryeong could never forgive such a Na Ye-rin. That's why she probably tried to torment her every time she saw her. She wanted to make her life difficult.

However, whenever she saw Na Ye-rin's eyes, which were deep beyond her years, she felt a shame as if her inner thoughts had been revealed, and she couldn't quite carry it out. A little bit of mischief was her limit.

And then, at that time, another child visited the Cheonmu Academy, holding his father's hand.

"Ha Ryeong! Let me introduce you. This is Yong Cheon-myeong, the successor of the Twin Dragon Martial Arts. You are the same age, so get along well."

He was a handsome boy, as if carved from jade. Mah Ryeong fell in love with him at first sight. It was her first love. And she breathed a sigh of relief inwardly that Na Ye-rin had returned yesterday. She didn't want to be compared while she was there.

"Hello! I'm Yong Cheon-myeong!"

"……"

Hesitantly!

When they first met, Mah Ryeong was too shy to say a word. Until this moment, Yong Cheon-myeong was a very polite boy. However, the moment her father, Ma Jin-ga, disappeared, the boy's attitude abruptly turned indifferent. It was hard to believe he was the same boy who had been smiling brightly just moments before.

"Um…"

It was just as Mah Ryeong was trying to say something. The boy turned his head and looked at the chubby Mah Ryeong. At the boy's piercing gaze, the girl's cheeks blushed.

Then, the boy uttered a harsh word without any hesitation.

"Fatty!"

That one word inflicted unimaginable shock on the young girl's heart, which had a very sensitive temperament.

The one word she least wanted to hear!

She heard that terrible word from the boy she thought was the most handsome, the boy she had a crush on, her first love. The meaning contained in that word was immense. It was too heavy for a young girl to bear. The boy buried the words, like daggers, into the girl's tender heart and left without saying another word. Tears streamed down the girl's eyes, left alone in a field full of fragrant flowers.

"I will definitely become a slim beauty! And… and…"

The girl made a vow.

However, whether she was a mutant or had a strange constitution, no matter how much she focused on martial arts training and controlled her diet, her weight seemed unwilling to budge. On the contrary, it was increasing exponentially. When she weighed at least twice as much as a normal grown man, only then did Ma Jin-ga finally recognize the seriousness of the situation and feel threatened. As her weight multiplied by multiples, she became reclusive and stopped meeting anyone.

Ma Jin-ga's worries were immense. She seemed unlikely to get married like this. It would be a relief if she didn't develop autism before then. Her daughter remained holed up in her room, unwilling to see the sunlight. Something needed to be done.

From then on, Ma Jin-ga recognized the severity of the problem and began to seek a solution. Once the head of the Cheonmu Academy, Iron Fist Ma Jin-ga, made a decision, there was almost nothing impossible in this world.

And finally, he discovered the miraculous qigong (奇功) 'Tian Zhu Da Sheng You Jia Shen Gong' (天竺大乘柔家神功), which could control all parts of the human body with consciousness.

It was a ray of brilliant light for Mah Ryeong, who was trapped in the abyss of her deep, dark self.

From then on, she gritted her teeth and began to practice the divine skill fiercely, as if her life depended on it. Her father, Ma Jin-ga, spared no support to help her master the divine skill as quickly as possible. He gave her all sorts of precious herbs to eat and even shared some of his inner energy to help her achieve her goals.

After six years of arduous training that felt like cutting bone and flesh! Finally, she was able to master the Tian Zhu Da Sheng You Jia Shen Gong. She could now control the fat on her body at will.

Her waist, which two grown men couldn't encircle with their hands, became as thin as an ant's. Her face, which had appeared as large as a watermelon, became as slender as an egg. Her legs, which were like centuries-old logs freshly cut, became as thin as wires. It was a miracle.

And when she emerged from her long, dark, and difficult seclusion, she had transformed into a woman with a physique and beauty that everyone admired. It was a metamorphosis.

The sun she saw anew after six years was never so dazzlingly bright. Everyone she met marveled at her beauty. She heard endless praise for her beauty, which she had longed to hear so much.

'Is the world really such a bright, warm, radiant, and beautiful place!!'

The world looked different. The world she saw in the past was a dull, monochromatic gray, but the world she saw now shone in full, vibrant rainbow colors. The girl who had been called "fatty" in the past had died, and she was reborn.

'But… but…'

But the person who was trying to dredge up that past nightmare had suddenly appeared before her eyes.