Surviving as a Rival in a Martial Arts Novel

Chapter 8 – Didn’t Expect This Development (02) (Modified on 22.03.02 Wednesday)

Fortunately, my robust body and the mediocre internal energy technique I learned prevented severe injuries despite experiencing a retrograde incident due to the counterattack.

There was no need for additional effort or constant probing of acupuncture points.

The martial arts technique commonly referred to as third-rate or fourth-rate in martial arts novels, although slow in gaining strength compared to other methods, is known for accumulating pure internal energy without significant side effects.

‘The vital energy seems a bit different… is it because the protagonist has a unique constitution?’

The flow of blood vessels I feel during breathing exercises is somewhat different from when I cultivate internal energy.

“That’s enough.”

“…”

Even though I didn’t give much time, Ban Gyuseong quickly recovered enough to perform breathing exercises on his own.

‘Anyway, this guy’s body is remarkably robust… that’s probably why he survived rolling around like that.’

After confirming Ban Gyuseong’s body managing vital energy properly through proper breathing exercises, I distanced myself from him.

‘Is it because I’m still young that my skin is so good?’

I felt uneasy as if the soft touch was lingering in my hand for no reason, so I erased the lingering sensation by rubbing it against the wall.

‘Well, the job is done for now, but…’

Samae, who had been waiting outside the room, cautiously made her presence known.

If I had regained my senses, it would mean that I should detect this presence and come out.

“Ha… Now the real problem begins…”

I turned around to look at Bangyuseong, who was engrossed in the morning ritual, and went out of the room where Samae was waiting.

Thud.

Just in case, I closed the door tightly and when I came out, I saw Hansoso, who was massaging the wrist that I had subdued earlier, and Samae, who was standing next to her, looking helpless.

‘They really look alike when I see them like this.’

The two of them looked so similar that they could be mistaken for identical twins.

“Execution. Are you okay with your hand?”

“Who are you? What’s your identity?”

Their manner of speaking was vastly different, but even the tone of their voices was different.

If they were both pretending to be each other’s voices, it would be impossible to tell, but their expressions and speech were so vastly different that I could immediately distinguish between them.

‘In the first place, there shouldn’t be a situation like this.’

Yeoncheongha and Bangyuseong clashed, and Yeoncheongha fainted as she was, recovering from her injuries by being taken back to the original place where she lived with the nuns.

In other words, Yeoncheongha and Hansoso would only reunite after a long time, and they would be lured out as bait and face a life-threatening crisis, and then make a grand entrance, apologizing for mistaking someone they knew while drunk, and severing their ties according to the plan of Princess Jinryang.

But now, there was no way to avoid it.

‘It’s an unavoidable fate, but…’

“Call me Yeoncheongha.”

“Hmph! Let’s go at it again. Our match hasn’t been decided yet.”

“…Ha.”

I knew he didn’t like losing, but honestly… I was already drained from treating Ban Gyu-seong’s injuries, and I had no desire to exert myself further.

“If there was just a clash in chaos between us, let’s pass it off and move on.”

“If resolving our relationship with words could bring peace to the world, it would have been more peaceful than it is now. Let’s face each other properly without any other variables.”

I felt a prickly sensation behind me, but Han Soso quietly closed his mouth before saying anything.

“Huh? There’s no one behind me except Han Soso, and there’s no way he could emit such energy… Am I imagining things?”

“Hmph… How dare you, a cheeky little brat, leave an impression on me?”

Our faces may look alike, but our personalities are so different.

Fortunately, Han Soso seemed to have calmed down a bit. He didn’t make any move to draw his sword anymore; he just grumbled with his mouth, so I took the opportunity to distance myself from Samae and prevent any unnecessary conflicts.

“By the way, is there anywhere you’re hurt?”

Normally, I should have just deflected her sword and subdued her without any injuries just before Ban Gyu-seong intervened. However, due to Ban Gyu-seong’s late intrusion, I ended up subduing Han Soso myself and accidentally broke my wrist. So, I unexpectedly caused an injury during the process.

“I can’t afford to get injured by someone like you.”

Though she boasted, my grandson’s mark was clearly visible on her hands.

I would have ignored it if it were someone else, but seeing her proudly boasting while hiding the injured part with a face similar to Samae’s made me feel somewhat sorry and concerned.

Considering the nature of the people here, minor injuries would heal quickly, but the pain felt during the recovery process couldn’t be avoided.

“It’s a relief if you’re unharmed.”

It’s good that she’s not in pain. Now, let’s get away with Samae before getting involved in any troublesome matters.

“Well then!”

“Just a moment, you…”

Before Hansoso could say anything, I took Same out of the inn.

“What should I say to Same?”

On the way back to our lodging, and even when we awkwardly entered the room together.

I was contemplating how to answer if Same were to ask me a question, but Same didn’t ask me why I did this, or what happened.

Even though we were sharing the same room, there was only an awkward silence, making me feel frustrated and uncomfortable. So, I quietly closed my eyes and apologized to Same, who was still lying on the bed, focusing on the breathing exercise.

“Phew… I’m sorry, Same.”

“……”

Same didn’t hear my apology because they were too focused on the breathing exercise… or so I thought.

If Same was really doing the breathing exercise, then the scent of the medicinal herbs would be emanating from their beautiful black hair, transforming it into a shining white color.

They were just considerate enough to let me have some quiet time to organize my thoughts while doing the breathing exercise.

“To explain why I did that…”

“Execution.”

“Huh?”

“Did you have something to hide from the girl?”

I was at a loss for words at Same’s piercing question.

“…Ah…”

There were various circumstances for the original Hansoso.

They had lost all their beloved family members and even the one they cherished, Yeonmo.

Unlike me, who had nothing to lose, they had recklessly involved themselves with the main characters.

But I had Same, and in that situation, just like in the original work, a conflict naturally arose, causing me to disappoint Same.

“Disappointed?”

“…A bit.”

After answering like that, Samae opened her eyes again, got up, and approached me.

“Yeol’s execution.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t drink alcohol from now on.”

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“Oh. I’ll try… to do that.”

Even before getting hit by the Yeon’s curse, I came to my senses and quit drinking. ‘Well, I never liked alcohol in the first place…’

Forced by Gangmae, I reluctantly had a sip. Just one sip… I left the remaining Deathleaf tea in Bangyuseong’s room. He probably drank it. What a waste.

“Then it’s settled.”

“Aren’t you going to ask about anything else?”

“Yes. People can do bad things, you know.”

After saying that, Samae got close to me, whispering in a small voice that only I could hear.

“But don’t do it to others from now on. Got it?”

“Well… I can’t be sure, but I’ll try not to harm others in the future, Samae.”

There might still be incidents to resolve, but I should try to handle them discreetly or calmly without Samae finding out.

“That’s not it.”

Suddenly, a faint light began to emanate from Samae’s hair.

“Execution. Don’t touch other women.”

“……Hm?”

“Even in unavoidable circumstances, you shouldn’t touch it like you did today. Understand?”

“Hmm…”

Did I feel bad after hearing about the incident with Hanso’s face? But then again, maybe it was an unavoidable situation and Sa-mae thought she had no choice because she was drunk.

“You can do good things or bad things to me, but not to other women. Understand?”

Why do I do bad things to Sa-mae? Even if I always do good things, it’s not enough for precious Sa-mae.

“I can’t pretend not to know. It’s a promise.”

‘Ah… Sa-mae is misunderstanding, huh?’

She thought that I caused this trouble because I showed interest in Hanso.

It seemed like I was feeling anxious, like when a younger sister cries and gets jealous when her older brother gets a girlfriend and goes out with her.

“Ah, Sa-mae… I got it.”

Finally, Sa-mae’s stiff face softened, and she started smiling brightly as usual.

“Okay then, sleep well, Sahyeong.”

“Yeah. You sleep well too, Sa-mae.”

And so, this tiring day was coming to an end.

* * *

I woke up early and barely regained my senses thanks to Sa-mae waking me up after drinking Soju.

“Are you okay, Sahyeong?”

“I’m fine… ugh…”

“Why do you drink something you don’t even like…”

I was caught by the strong current… If I were to say that, Samma might have taken it as an accusation and rushed towards me, so I just gave him a cool smile.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll fetch some honey water for the girl.”

Samma occasionally went downstairs to order honey water with long strides, leaving me alone in the room.

‘By the way, this guy Yeoncheong… His alcohol tolerance is disgustingly low. Is this all after just one drink…’

As the luck breakfast began, and I started to cultivate my inner strength, the lingering scent of alcohol evaporated from my body, and a warm heat rose as if I were being steamed in a sauna.

Until now, I didn’t know because there was no one to compare to other than Samma, but clashing with Bangyuseong this time, I realized that I was improving my skills much faster than the original novel’s development strength.

‘With this level of inner strength… Am I at the level of regaining the martial arts prowess of the training period and progressing in the novel?’

Of course, it was only natural. Taking care of my master for a year, as Yeoncheong originally intended, and even after retiring, I drank alcohol while my body was injured.

In other words, while I spent more than a year neglecting training and undermining martial arts, I, unlike Samma, did not stop honing my martial arts skills while practicing with him, so naturally, my martial arts were not regressing but becoming stronger.

‘Is it too strong compared to what I thought?’

Originally, at first, I had the strength to overwhelm the protagonist Bangyuseong, but as I watched Han Soso, my composure wavered, leading to defeat. After that, I had a slight advantage, similar to the protagonist but unable to win, experiencing the humiliation of a typical rival character.

Only at the end, using the Qingxin Yurigong, did I perform better than the protagonist and gained recognition, saying, ‘Yes, Yeoncheong, you are stronger,’ but immediately afterwards…

‘But he already crushed Bangyuseong from the beginning, so I don’t know how the story will unfold from now on.’

To prevent the infiltration of the Black Shadow organization’s mid-level, Bangyuseong is necessary.

Through his righteous cooperation, the central martial arts world, which was divided by political and profit struggles, comes together, forming two major martial arts alliances that were scattered, and a showdown with the Black Shadow organization ensues. But if the protagonist does not step forward, the result will be…

Knock, knock.

“Sohyeop. I have something to discuss with you.”

Dark Jegal Yeonji, dressed as Jumsi, entered.

‘For a moment, I thought she was the real Jumsi.’

With a face clearly similar to Jegal Yeonji, one of the Seven Peaks, she was a remarkable beauty. However, her expression and different makeup concealed the beauty somewhat…

“And the soldier who had a quarrel yesterday is looking for the residence of Sohyup. Should I scatter or block intelligence so that he can’t find it?”

“Is Hansoso coming to find it?”

In the original work, under the false investigation of Yoncheong, who disappeared under the name of Bangyuseong, the reunion is delayed when the girls of Kiru lie, saying they haven’t seen such a man.

“The development is too different. Perhaps Bangyuseong is injured, so he didn’t come to find it directly, and Hansoso is coming instead.”

“Yes. I ask you to keep the information hidden.”

“Understood.”

Saying so, Jigal Yeonji of the darkness turned his clothes inside out and began applying makeup. Just a moment ago, she looked somewhat modest, but suddenly transforming into a vibrant woman was unbelievably surprising.

“More importantly, there’s a man, and his clothes are loose…”

As a secret agent, she underwent training, abandoning her femininity. I’m concerned about that setting.

“I will leak incorrect information to that cross-dressing lady and send her elsewhere.”

Although I doubted whether Hansoso dressed as a man, considering her personality and behavior resembling a loyal servant, I let it pass.

If it’s fate, I’ll meet that guy again.

For now, we’re rivals, after all.