NOVEL NEXT Chapter 76
Chapter 76: Brother-in-Law and Young Lady
“Ah······.”
Swish.
Was it because she couldn’t stop the Final Demon Sword Technique in time? The Geumhu’s front was cut and loosened.
Her ample cleavage was fully exposed.
At the same time, Lee Cheol-soo, who had lost consciousness, collapsed forward.
Geumhu hurriedly embraced him.
Lee Cheol-soo’s face naturally nestled in her soft, ample bosom.
“That was excellent.”
He couldn’t hear her, but with a flushed face, Geumhu whispered quietly in his ear.
‘······Sangong.’
Geumhu swallowed her words.
Thumping, thumping.
She could feel Lee Cheol-soo’s touch against her chest.
His body heat was apparent.
Geumhu’s heart raced.
She felt as if her entire body was ablaze. Her face turned crimson. She was in contact with Sangong. She was holding him. This was an overwhelming stimulus for Geumhu, who had never held a man’s hand before.
It felt as if time had stopped.
Geumhu stood there, blushing fiercely, holding Sangong tightly.
Lee Cheol-soo was also in a torn state from her sword strike. The solid muscles he had built from practicing martial arts every day with the one thought of gaining a woman’s favor were transmitted directly to Geumhu.
“It felt so good.”
If it became their first night, would she be able to nestle into this solid chest?
Sangong would come to me······.
Lost in such grotesque imaginings while holding Lee Cheol-soo, Geumhu squeezed her eyes shut.
‘What is wrong with me? Sangong, are you okay?’
Geumhu carefully detached Lee Cheol-soo from her embrace.
Supporting Lee Cheol-soo, she gently collected his sword rolling on the floor and headed towards the clean Royal Chamber with a roof. She carefully laid Lee Cheol-soo down on the floor and supported his head with her thighs.
Geumhu cautiously touched Lee Cheol-soo’s wrist to take his pulse.
Fortunately, his energy was normal. His breathing was also normal.
‘He fainted due to the backlash from acquiring a deeper understanding. Hehe. I’m honored to be able to assist Sangong in his enlightenment.’
As Geumhu quietly stroked Lee Cheol-soo’s head, her face flushed.
‘Sangong. How can you be so handsome······. And your body is so well-built······.’
To her, Lee Cheol-soo was already the most handsome man in the world. Objectively, his body was also incredibly beautiful and ideal.
Any woman would want to be held by him.
She recalled the duel with Sangong that had just happened.
Lee Cheol-soo’s rank was only second-rate. She knew that much.
Knowing it was rude, she had deliberately let her presence be known to provide him with teaching as a price for breaking the taboo ahead of the martial arts contest, and to nurture Lee Cheol-soo’s skills for the future challenge against her.
Geumhu had no intention of losing, but it would be a better outcome in many ways if Lee Cheol-soo became a master and defeated her.
‘The sight of Sangong engrossed in his sword, breaking through the first-rate in an instant, showing his sword energy······. Kyaah. Sangong. You must become an adult quickly and come to defeat me.’
Moreover, what Lee Cheol-soo had shown was beyond her imagination.
Just by sparring with her, he broke through from being only second-rate to first-rate and developed to the point where she had to use the Moon Maiden Sword.
He was growing at a terrifying pace during their duel.
If he became an adult like this, he might grow into an even more majestic young master.
Thumping, thumping.
Imagining the sight of the young master Lee Cheol-soo, who would defeat her in front of all others in the Hangshan Sect, and the image of herself snuggling into his arms that night made Geumhu’s cheeks flush even more.
The last words Lee Cheol-soo had uttered rang in her ears.
Though details were omitted, Geumhu understood what he wanted to say.
‘The swords that Sangong displayed······. The swords that will defeat me······. I felt it thoroughly with my whole body today.’
Geumhu closed her eyes.
The beautiful trajectory of Lee Cheol-soo’s sword vividly appeared before her eyes.
A direct, practical sword path opposing Hangshan’s Supreme Technique.
Eun Seol-ran, alias Geumhu, was the head of the Hangshan Sect and loved swords more than anyone else.
No, now she loved swords second only to Sangong.
That was why she understood.
Sangong’s sword path was infinitely beautiful, and there was boundless potential embedded in his sword.
Perhaps rivaling the level of Heavenly Body, the sword path of the Gongdong Sect’s Yujinhwi.
But that wasn’t all.
Eun Seol-ran had observed Lee Cheol-soo’s training from beginning to end today.
So she saw his efforts as well.
Even though he was a master who had entered the realm of inner strength, he was diligently continuing his external strength training, which was the foundation of his physique.
Starting robustly from the basics, the hardest and simplest external strength training, which is difficult to maintain, was something Sangong did diligently every day, sweating without anyone looking.
Geumhu Eun Seol-ran.
To uphold her martial arts promise with him. To keep the vow of accepting him as her husband.
The trajectory of the sword envisioned by Lee Cheol-soo was born out of continuous battles with himself and grueling efforts every day.
‘I’ve fallen for Sangong again. How can you be so admirable and perfect in every way······.’
Geumhu Eun Seol-ran couldn’t help but fall for Lee Cheol-soo again.
She had already fallen in love with him at first sight because of his determination to make her his woman in front of everyone.
But the sight of him striving so hard today only deepened her feelings for him wanting to defeat her and make her into his own woman.
‘Sangong, I’m sorry for being momentarily shaken. You think so highly of me······.’
Eun Seol-ran had felt briefly unsettled due to rumors about her interactions with Neungwolhyang.
Her coming to find him at his personal training location was also an expression of that anxiety.
She felt an urgency that she had to do something.
But Lee Cheol-soo shattered that anxiety head-on.
When he declared that he would definitely make her his woman, the Ultimate Move of Demon Sword Technique pierced through even Geumhu Eun Seol-ran’s heart.
‘I didn’t know you would completely steal my heart. My Sangong······. Now, other men don’t even register in my eyes. Only you······ can become my husband.’
She liked him so much.
It was always like that, but now she had fallen even more for Sangong.
Not Lee Cheol-soo, but she liked him.
Now, if any other man dared to challenge her, she would refuse them all.
Geumhu Eun Seol-ran’s husband could only be Lee Cheol-soo.
That position was for him.
No other man dared to sit in or covet that seat.
Geumhu Eun Seol-ran swore again like that.
Unable to contain her boiling affection for him, Eun Seol-ran detected the presence around through her senses and softly murmured in a sweet voice, so quiet that no one could hear, into Lee Cheol-soo’s ear, who was peacefully dozing with his knees bent.
“······I will wait for you, Sangong.”
Swish.
A bright smile bloomed on Geumhu Eun Seol-ran’s face.
It was the complete opposite of her usual cold, expressionless demeanor, only shown to the person she loved.
*
After a long time caring for Lee Cheol-soo in the abandoned Royal Chamber while smiling softly, Eun Seol-ran stood up, gazing at the red sky with the setting sun.
‘Sangong, you might catch a cold······. It’s a pity that our time together is ending, but······ it seems I must part from Sangong now.’
Lee Cheol-soo still showed no signs of waking.
The accumulated fatigue from his hard training every day hit him all at once after his enlightenment.
The sun would soon set. Although it was spring, the night at Gongdong Mountain was quite chilly, as other mountains would be.
For the sake of Sangong’s health, it was time to send him back to his quarters.
With that thought in mind, Geumhu quietly picked Lee Cheol-soo up, carefully ensuring he didn’t stir, and initiated her agile movement.
Whoosh.
The scenery of the Gongdong Sect bathed in moonlight came into her view.
She stepped lightly over the ruins of the once splendid main base, now left with only the foundation, and arrived at Cheongun Pavilion.
There stood Yujinhwi at the entrance of the pavilion.
A peerless young man with a beauty that could be compared to that of the world’s most handsome man, even beyond the likes of Song Ok and Ban An.
But no matter how handsome he was, to Geumhu, he was just Sangong’s senior.
What caught her eye more was Seoharin.
The platinum blonde beauty standing next to Yujinhwi with a serene expression, gazing at Geumhu.
A young girl with a beauty that could rival the current number one beauty in the Orthodox Faction if she matured.
Sangong’s senior and junior.
If Sangong were to marry in the future, they would be people she would often see.
“Geumhu-nim?”
Yujinhwi’s gaze landed on Geumhu.
The moonlight shining down on her silver hair made her look splendidly enchanting.
She was the epitome of the ideal woman she had once aspired to be, yet had to give up due to her imperfect body.
Yujinhwi’s hands trembled.
“There was a minor task earlier.”
Geumhu’s explanation echoed in Yujinhwi’s ear.
Unexpectedly witnessing his personal training while on a walk, she had felt the need to apologize for breaking the taboo and guided him in a duel. During that duel, Lee Cheol-soo broke through to first-rate and collapsed from the backlash. Hence, she had been caring for him since then.
Such explanations flowed into Yujinhwi’s ears.
“···So that’s how it was.”
Yujinhwi bit his lip slightly at Geumhu’s explanation.
His thoughts were endlessly divided. Time felt elongated like taffy.
It should have been a matter to celebrate. His disciple had reached first-rate. He had finally become a master.
Naturally, his prospects against the first-rate Geombong Seomun Cheong-ha would increase.
There was no issue with Geumhu’s handling of the situation. Although it was true she had broken the taboo, Geumhu was a significant figure in the Orthodox Faction. That was a reasonable level in terms of distribution and skills.
On the contrary, a duel with Hwakyung’s Mastery was an overly generous reward. A lesson from a grandmaster was not something anyone could receive.
But.
‘······Why······.’
I should have been there. I should have guided my disciple. So he wouldn’t face anyone who could point fingers at him.
The disciple, more precious than anyone, had to be protected by me, as his senior.
That was the significance of her existence, born with the curse-like talent of Heavenly Body.
But she couldn’t be there.
Geumhu took the place instead.
‘······It’s all because I’m insufficient.’
Because of my lack of skill. Because of Hwakyung, not to mention Hyun-kyung······.
If I rose to a higher level, I would need no one else’s teaching.
‘······I must improve.’
Even if it were against the world’s best female warrior, Jeoksawol.
Even if the whole world became an enemy, I had to be capable enough to protect my disciple.
Now, my disciple is everything to me.
I must become stronger.
Deciding to strengthen her resolve, Yujinhwi’s sense of time returned to normal.
He carefully picked up Lee Cheol-soo and bowed his head in respect.
“I see. Thank you for your guidance, Geumhu-nim.”
“It’s nothing. What I did was minor. It was all the work of this noble young man.”
“The night is late. I’ll take care of the disciple from here on, so please don’t worry, Geumhu-nim, and go back and rest.”
“Understood. Thank you for your concern. Young Master Yujinhwi and Young Lady Seoharin. Have a peaceful night.”
With a calm expression, Geumhu finished her greetings and made sure to check one last time on the lovely sleeping figure of Sangong in Yujinhwi’s arms before using her agile movement to leave Cheongun Pavilion.
‘What should I do? Young Master Yujinhwi and Young Lady Seoharin······ No, did I do well with Brother Yujinhwi and Young Lady Seoharin······?’
Seniors are like brothers.
Particularly for Lee Cheol-soo, an orphan, Yujinhwi and Seoharin were like true siblings to him.
So as his wife, she had to regard her senior Yujinhwi as her brother-in-law and her disciple Seoharin as her young lady.
As a proper wife, she must serve her in-laws well.
Geumhu thought about this, her face flushed.
‘I will become······ a perfect wife who serves my husband and his siblings well.’
For the sake of becoming a proper wife.
Geumhu leaped towards the Reception Hall, her heart fluttering.