Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 162 - The Way I See You (5)

Chapter 162 – The Way I See You (5)

Gwan Seo-ye honestly admitted it to herself. Right now, she felt a slight pull toward this person named Muk Hui-yeong.

That did not mean she had fallen head over heels. Gwan Seo-ye did not believe in silly romance like falling in love at first sight. So for now, it was simply a kind of interest.

Of course, it was not as though her eyes had been drawn to Muk Hui-yeong from the very beginning. He had a neat appearance, and if one were being very generous one could call him handsome, but he was hardly some peerless beauty. Many of the men who had flirted with her before had been better-looking than he was.

In truth, Gwan Seo-ye herself had some confidence in her face these days. So many people sent longing looks her way that confidence had come naturally. But this fellow named Muk Hui-yeong showed absolutely no reaction when he looked at her, as if he did not find her pretty in the least. Usually, men his age would grin foolishly or blush if she stared at them a little and gave them a slight smile.

Muk Hui-yeong would even let out the occasional small snort when looking at her for reasons she could not understand, and from Gwan Seo-ye’s point of view, it almost felt like a provocation that said, Do you really think a mere thing like you could conquer me?

Of course, that alone was not why she had become interested in Muk Hui-yeong. Naturally, not every man showed interest in Gwan Seo-ye either. Someone like Muk Hui-yeong certainly existed, so she could have simply let it pass.

In fact, when Gwan Seo-ye had first met Muk Hui-yeong, she had not had the room to worry about him at all because of what he had said about an infiltrator from the Demonic Cult.

The moment she felt him become attractive was the second time they met. When he came forward and volunteered to act as her guard.

As she had said herself back then, Gwan Seo-ye had been slightly disappointed. She had been expecting some younger-generation expert of the martial world who was more handsome and more dashing than Muk Hui-yeong.

But as they talked, she began to see Muk Hui-yeong in a different light.

“Exterminating demonic practitioners is the natural duty of an orthodox-sect martial artist. And laying down one’s life for another is something to be welcomed as a chivalrous hero.”

At those words, Gwan Seo-ye’s heart had thumped for a moment. The sight of his long robe fluttering behind him had looked unbearably cool in her eyes. Muk Hui-yeong’s face had suddenly seemed like that of Pan An or Song Yu. Considering the situation she was in, she absolutely should not have felt that way.

Yet perhaps because of that very situation, he had looked even more handsome.

“…I must be crazy.”

So that was something she had said to herself. She absolutely could not allow herself to like Muk Hui-yeong at the moment. If she thought about what Muk Hui-yeong had said, that only made it more true.

Yet even after that, Muk Hui-yeong struck at her heart again and again. When he beat up Peng Jin-yeong for flirting with her, and when he remained utterly confident even before Peng Chae-hyang. ‘I really must be crazy.’

That was what Gwan Seo-ye thought. She truly had no idea why she felt so drawn to him. This kind of emotion was the first she had felt in all twenty-three years of her life.

Still, Gwan Seo-ye was not stupid enough to be unable to separate private feelings from public matters.

She intended to put an end to this confused heart before tonight was over.

* * * “How are we supposed to get onto boats that have already departed?”

I let out a sigh as I looked at Gwan Seo-ye. It seemed she still wanted to go ride a boat more. But right now, even the Hour of the Dog was nearing its end. No boats remained at the dock.

“Why not just do that treading on duckweed and crossing water thing those old men did earlier?”

“I told you, I can’t.”

“You are not just lying because you do not want to ride one, are you? From what I saw earlier, you were incredibly strong.” “Those old men are far stronger than I am. Why would I tell a lie like that?”

Gwan Seo-ye genuinely did not believe me. She had even concluded that I really could use treading on duckweed and crossing water, and was simply refusing to do it on purpose.

“I really can’t. Why do you refuse to believe anything I say?”

“At least try it once. Then I will believe you.”

“Why should I? So I can get completely soaked?” “Do not martial artists just release hot energy from their bodies in times like that and dry their clothes right away?”

“Do you have any idea how hard that is?”

I grumbled. Looking at her, Gwan Seo-ye really seemed to know absolutely nothing about martial artists.

Even if one went that far, that was the kind of thing only fairly high-level experts could manage, yet she tossed out the request to me so casually. Then again, she had always been the sort of person who cared only about exactly the things that interested her.

I did not like the sight of Gwan Seo-ye sticking out her lower lip. Fine. Mentally, she was thirty years younger than I was, so I had to put up with it.

“Fine. Then watch carefully with both your eyes wide open.”

In the end, unable to win against Gwan Seo-ye, I took off my long robe and folded it neatly, then set down my sword on top of it. When I also removed my shoes and socks, it looked exactly like the possessions left behind by someone who had made an extreme choice.

“Good!”

Gwan Seo-ye clasped both hands together and her eyes shone. That look was so ridiculous that I let out a small laugh. Really, when you are with a friend, there are many things to laugh about. The more friends one has, the better. “Hoo.”

I looked down below. The dark lake was beautiful, carrying within it the lights glowing along the lakeside.

As I stood at the dock and stared quietly at the water, I began to think that maybe I really could do it.

Yes, you never know until you try.

I had never actually tried to use treading on duckweed and crossing water before. “Here I go!”

I filled my feet with internal energy, made my body as light as possible, and leaped.

In that fleeting instant when my foot made contact with the water’s surface, I felt as though the water was holding me up.

Filled with elation, I tried to move my other foot forward.

Not a chance.

Splash! I fell straight into the water. It felt as if water were pouring into my nose, eyes, and ears all at once.

‘Damn you, Gwan Seo-ye.’

Swallowing a curse that never quite became words, I rose out of the water.

“Puhaha!”

When I looked toward the place I had jumped from, Gwan Seo-ye was bent over laughing and clutching her stomach. Seeing her explode with laughter without a moment’s hesitation, it looked like she had known from the start that I would fail. “…”

So she really was this good at lying.

Updating my understanding of Gwan Seo-ye once again, I splashed my way through the water.

“Here.”

Wiping away the tears that had come from laughing too hard, Gwan Seo-ye held out her other hand toward me. I ignored it and simply placed my own hand on the dock and pulled myself up. That even seemed to amuse her more, and she kept laughing as she said,

“What, are you sulking?”

“I am not sulking.”

“Come on, you are. The weather is nice, and it has been a while since you had some fun in the water. Is that not good?”

“Should I really just beat you?” When the wind was cool, the water was freezing.

At night, it was even worse.

I immediately started shivering and coughed.

“Ah-choo!”

“You startled me. Did you catch a cold? Hurry up and warm your body with internal energy.” “I told you, it does not work that way. Do you think invulnerability to heat and cold is just any random dog’s name?”

Reaching the point where one could regulate cold and heat in the body was an extremely difficult level even in the study of internal energy. I had not reached that stage yet.

“I thought someone at your level could do it. Hurry and put this on. You must be cold.”

Gwan Seo-ye immediately draped my long robe over my shoulders. What nonsense. She was the one who had gotten me thrown into the water, and now she was taking care of me.

“I was thinking we might drink a little more, but looking at the state you are in, that is not happening.” “You are the one who made me look like this.”

“I really thought it would work. First, you need to change your clothes.”

Naturally, there was a night market near the lakeside as well. Gwan Seo-ye swept her gaze over the market once and clicked her tongue.

“It is all cheap stuff. Sorry. I wanted to buy you something better, but let us just put on anything for now.”

“That is how tourist spots are.” Just as Gwan Seo-ye said, the quality of the clothes sold in the market was not very good. But right now, changing clothes came first, so I just picked something at random.

“You need to change too, right?”

“Of course. At this rate, I really am going to catch a cold.”

Shivering, I felt a strange chill pass through my body.

The autumn lake really was cold. It would take quite a while to get back to Wang Song’s house, so I needed to change before going.

We headed to an inn.

Naturally, drinking houses and inns tended to stand side by side. The moment Gwan Seo-ye entered the inn, she said in a perfectly natural tone,

“One room, please.”

“One?” The innkeeper wore a lewd smile. I was startled too, but Gwan Seo-ye turned toward me like it was the most obvious thing in the world and said,

“We are just changing clothes and leaving anyway.”

“Ah, that is true.”

“What? Were you thinking something else?”

“No.” Gwan Seo-ye grinned. Honestly, that was a lie. If you enter a room alone with a woman, what else would you think of? Even in my past life, I had no memory of sharing a single room at an inn with Gwan Seo-ye.

“Third floor, second room.”

The innkeeper told us the location of the room. We climbed the stairs and opened the door.

As expected, places near tourist sites tended to be inferior in every facility. Not only the room next door, but even the sounds from two rooms over came through clearly. The soundproofing was utter trash.

“I will change and come out. Wait outside.”

“No. I am going in too.” “What?”

“I am cold too.”

Gwan Seo-ye slipped inside through the gap while I was opening the door. Dumbfounded, I shut the door anyway.

“Hey, do not worry. I will stay under the blanket.”

“…Fine.” Was this another part where someone with a higher mental age was supposed to be understanding? It was not as though I could perfectly understand everyone. Maybe I was the one overthinking it.

In the first place, even after spending decades beside Gwan Seo-ye, nothing had ever happened between us.

I trusted that span of time.

I took off my clothes and wiped the water off my body with a cloth.

Just in case, I sneaked a glance at the blanket. Gwan Seo-ye really was fully covered beneath it.

Once I had changed completely, I gave a slight cough.

“Hey. Let us go.”

“Puhah, are you done?”

Gwan Seo-ye asked, breathing a little hard. “This cotton blanket is incredibly thick. I could not hear the sound of you changing at all.”

“Why would you want to hear that?”

“I was not trying to hear it. I am saying I could not hear it.”

Gwan Seo-ye snapped irritably.

I stood by the door to open it for her, but for some reason she kept wriggling about on the bed with no sign of getting up. “Are you not coming out?”

“Let us rest a little before we go. I am tired. We went to the trouble of getting a room, so it would be a waste.”

“Then I will go downstairs and get another room.”

“Is there really any need for that? Come here. Your older sister will not eat you.”

Gwan Seo-ye patted the blanket with her palm. Dumbfounded, I looked at her.

Bathed in the moonlight drifting in through the window, Gwan Seo-ye looked both beautiful and sensual. Given her personality, she might really mean that she only wanted to talk, so I plopped down beside her.

It would be fine as long as I did not let things go any further.

“Well, do you have something to say?”

“No. I do not think words are necessary anymore.” Just as I was about to ask what that meant, Gwan Seo-ye’s warm lips covered mine. Sweet liquor and her soft tongue tangled inside my mouth.

Startled out of my mind, I grabbed Gwan Seo-ye by the head and forcibly pulled her away.

“This is insane!”

Gwan Seo-ye’s face, once separated from mine, was red like a ripe persimmon, and a silver thread that was neither clearly my saliva nor hers still linked us between our mouths.

It was strangely suggestive. “Y-you, you, what are you doing?”

I was truly flustered.

With a bewitching face I had never seen before, Gwan Seo-ye rubbed at the corner of her mouth with her thumb and broke the silvery thread.

“A gift.”

“Do not talk rubbish.” “That hurts my pride a little. If you had responded, I was even thinking of going all the way.”

“Do you really think that would have happened?”

“Well, whatever. It could not be helped then.”

As if she had no lingering attachment at all, Gwan Seo-ye sprang to her feet.

That easy acceptance left me speechless. Speechless or not, I also tried to stand, bracing a hand on my thigh. But strangely, there was no strength in my whole body.

As I tried to rise, my legs gave out and I collapsed face-first to the ground like a frog.

“Though I doubt we could have gone all the way anyway…”

Gwan Seo-ye’s voice came from above me.

I lifted my head and looked up.

Regret and apology coexisted on Gwan Seo-ye’s face. In that instant, a cold chill ran through my guts. For a martial artist’s body to lose strength like this meant one thing.

It meant there was no internal energy.

Normally, a martial artist’s strength came from the internal energy circulated throughout the body.

I immediately tried to draw internal energy out of my dantian.

For some reason, it would not move. “It is useless. The qi-dispersing poison of our cult is potent. It also has muscle-relaxing properties.”

“…What?”

Had that sweet taste really been poison?

I bit my lip.

“It must be confusing, but go to sleep for a little while.” Gwan Seo-ye moved toward me, trying to press my sleep acupoint. My internal energy had been scattered, and even my muscles were relaxed, so it looked like I would be helplessly caught.

But in that instant, a thought flashed through my head. Internal energy was not the only power I had. There was also the method Hyeon-wol had taught me, becoming one with the energy of nature.

Could that perhaps still work even without internal energy?

I recognized this cramped room as a universe unto itself. The moment I did, I could perceive Gwan Seo-ye’s approach as if from above.

‘I can do this.’ Originally, internal energy was built up by refining the energy of nature. Then if I could fill my entire body with the energy of nature itself, even if it was not compressed enough to be strong, it would at least serve as a substitute.

The instant Gwan Seo-ye reached to press my sleep acupoint, I immediately tried to grab her wrist using a qinna technique.

“Haaat!”

My muscles had been relaxed, so I had to force out even a battle cry and muster every last ounce of strength.

Only then did my body move at all. A startled sound escaped Gwan Seo-ye’s lips, and I caught her wrist.

At once, I stirred my demonic qi.

“Ugh!”

Gwan Seo-ye’s demonic qi was rapidly sucked into my hand.

As expected, expectation proved true. Gwan Seo-ye had said “our cult,” and in the Central Plains I knew, the only group that called themselves “the cult” was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

To my surprise, Gwan Seo-ye tore herself free of my grip by force and sprang a fair distance backward. Perhaps because her demonic qi had been drained, her face was deathly pale.

“You, just what did you do…?”

“That is what I want to ask.”

How had she hidden her demonic qi right in front of me? Until now, I had been able to identify anyone who possessed demonic qi.

But when I had held Gwan Seo-ye’s wrist under the pretense of reading her palm earlier, I had sensed no demonic qi at all. It only appeared now, when she stirred it and I tried to absorb it.

On top of that, Gwan Seo-ye had clearly trained in martial arts.

She had used strength and technique impossible for someone untrained in martial arts.

She had torn free with such force that a dark bruise shaped like my hand was now blooming around her wrist. “…What are you, exactly?”

Gwan Seo-ye asked in a shaken voice.

My legs trembling, I grabbed hold of the bed and pulled myself upright.

The qi-dispersing poison had scattered my dantian, but after spreading the demonic qi I had absorbed from Gwan Seo-ye throughout my body, I could at least move a little.

“I told you that is my question.” I drew my sword and aimed it at her. My hand trembled, and the tip of the sword shook visibly.

“Gwan Seo-ye. Since when were you a demonic practitioner?”

My voice shook too, but it was not because my strength was gone.

It was because I was shocked that an old friend I had known for so long had been a demonic practitioner.

I wondered for an instant whether some action of mine after regressing had caused an unprecedented change. That maybe she had not originally been a demonic practitioner, but had become one.

That was how desperately I wanted the Gwan Seo-ye I knew to remain whole.

“Since when?”

But then.

“I have belonged to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult from the very beginning.” That answer shattered the Gwan Seo-ye I alone had known into pieces.