Chapter 267 : Giving Enlightenment (1)

Chapter 267: Giving Enlightenment (1)

“Ah!”

She tried not to moan, but the pain of an arrow piercing her lower abdomen wasn’t something she could suppress simply by will.

Yong Hwarin moved slowly at the sound of Jeong Minji’s moan.

He already knew well that pain from rupture had to be soothed and caressed to lessen the torment.

A burning arrow had penetrated, and now, a cold ice arrow followed.

It was a sign that pain was vanishing, replaced by the joy of ecstasy.

Every time Yong Hwarin moved, Jeong Minji tasted both the pain and pleasure of hot and cold arrows alternately striking deep into her lower abdomen.

Then, as Yong Hwarin’s hips rose high and plunged down, Jeong Minji felt as if she had turned into a bird soaring through the sky.

And when she crashed back down to earth, it was as if she had fallen into boiling water, her breath growing ragged.

That was when she recalled the harsh training from long ago—alternating between yin cold energy and yang heat energy to master the Vermilion Grand Flame Art.

Back then, she had been in so much agony that she wanted to die.

She hadn’t known why she had to master such martial arts.

So she had resented her mother.

Because when one is in pain, there must be someone to blame.

But now, though her body repeatedly cooled and heated just like then, the pain had vanished, and she was immersed only in ecstasy.

Drip—

Tears suddenly streamed down her face.

“Min Mae, are you alright?”

Yong Hwarin asked gently.

Even his unsteady breath felt pleasant to Jeong Minji.

"Is this what they call loving even the crow because of the house?"

“If you love someone, even the crow on their roof is dear.”

In the past, she had loathed the sticky sweat or breath of others. But now, even Yong Hwarin’s sour sweat smelled fragrant.

“Ah!”

The feeling she had when she first dipped into hot water after a hundred days of intense isolated training swept over her entire body.

It was as if her body melted away, accompanied by a numbness that made her lower half feel as if it had vanished.

Her mind turned into clouds, her heart became rain, soaring and falling through the void again and again.

‘I think I finally understand why people call it union in passion.’

Jeong Minji clawed onto Yong Hwarin’s back like a cat with bared claws.

She held onto him as if she’d die if she let go, and Yong Hwarin responded by putting more strength into his lower body.

Yong Hwarin, with his years of experience, knew how to handle a woman’s body.

That was the difference between him and a young man.

Again and again, he brought Jeong Minji to climax.

Jeong Minji soared high like a cloud and felt as if she had become a single raindrop, seeping into Yong Hwarin’s body, letting out a long moaning scream.

At that moment, Yong Hwarin opened a qi barrier to block the sound.

Jeong Minji’s spine, which had been bent like a curved bamboo, slowly settled back down.

Her face was flushed red, and her chest, still filled with excitement, remained firm and stiff.

Yong Hwarin gently and lovingly caressed Jeong Minji’s body.

“Gaga, I love you.”

Jeong Minji lamented that there were no more perfect words than these.

To become one in body and spirit with a man was a feeling too profound to express in any other way.

And so, the words she chose were simply that she loved him. No other phrase came to mind.

“Min Mae, I love you.”

As Yong Hwarin caressed her chest, Jeong Minji threw her arms around him.

And then, she sobbed.

“Huhuhuk!”

Never in her life had she been so happy.

She hadn’t even expected to be happy.

She never imagined that meeting and loving a man could bring such happiness.

How often she had sneered at those who risked their lives for love.

But now she understood.

Even the saying that the world crumbles when love is lost—she understood it now.

She realized only now that when something is so precious and dear, tears come not from sorrow but from love.

Yong Hwarin silently stroked Jeong Minji’s head.

Early the next morning, Yong Hwarin went to see Jeong Minji before departing.

There were many things the two wanted to say, but they simply looked into each other’s eyes in silence.

Then Jeong Minji slightly parted her lips.

“Mother hopes that if we’re separated, we’ll grow distant.”

“Don’t worry. Min Mae, you’re like the Bigfoot of Dusobu to me.”

“Ah.”

Upon hearing those words, Jeong Minji leaped into Yong Hwarin’s chest.

And in his arms, she recited a verse.

“海內存知己。”

“Within the four seas, there are kindred spirits.”

Yong Hwarin gently caressed her hair and softly recited the next line.

“천애약비린(天涯若比隣).”

“Though separated by the ends of the world, it feels as if we are neighbors.”

This couplet comes from Sending Du the Junior Magistrate to His Post in Shu Prefecture, a poem by Wang Bo (王勃), one of the Four Talents of Early Tang (初唐四傑) who tragically died at the young age of twenty-seven.

Yong Hwarin used these words to speak figuratively to Jeong Minji, saying that even though they were physically apart, he always kept her in his heart, so it felt as though she were by his side.

Yong Hwarin embraced Jeong Minji tightly and said,

“Even if Min Mae is anywhere in the world, because Min Mae is in my heart, our bond will only deepen.”

Hearing such sweet words, Jeong Minji felt at peace.

When she looked up toward Yong Hwarin, he stole a kiss from her lips.

The two couldn’t bear to part because of the sadness of farewell.

Yong Hwarin saw off the Jeong Family Manor people at the River Center Escort Agency.

Jeong Minji, reluctant to leave, kept looking at Yong Hwarin.

At that moment, Jeong Suji approached Yong Hwarin.

“I’ll say one last thing before I go.”

“Speak.”

“You listen here. If you ever cheat, just know I’ll kill you. If you make my sister cry, I won’t stand for it. Got it? You know exactly what I do to bastards like that, don’t you?”

Yong Hwarin chuckled gently at her words.

“Suji, next time you talk to me that rudely, just know you’re getting your butt smacked.”

“What? What did you just say?”

“Want me to say it louder? The only reason I’ve tolerated your rude behavior isn’t because I find you cute. It’s because of your sister. Understand? So you should consider it a blessing that I haven’t smacked you yet. If you keep acting this insolent, something serious will happen. I’ve been holding back because it’s me. Understand? If you pull this nonsense at Shaolin Temple, you could end up in big trouble.”

Saying that, Yong Hwarin gave Jeong Suji a pat on the back.

From a distance, it looked as if he were consoling her in sadness at parting.

“You, you…”

“If you grind your teeth like that, you won’t be able to chew meat later. Compose yourself at Shaolin Temple.”

“What?”

Just as Jeong Suji was about to blow up, Yong Hwarin said,

“Shall I tell your sister every word you just said?”

At those words, her raised fist quietly lowered.

Everyone knew—even if she wasn’t scared of anyone else, Jeong Suji was terrified of her sister Jeong Minji.

Though normally gentle, if someone did wrong, her sister would scold them so fiercely it brought them to tears.

If word got out that she had been rude to the man her sister liked, she would undoubtedly suffer until they reached Shaolin Temple.

There was no doubt that she’d be harassed through endless sparring demands.

If it was about this man, Jeong Minji would transform into the most relentless of elder sisters.

“Listen to your sister. Got it? Now go.”

With a firm push to her back, Jeong Suji’s eye twitched.

Still, since Jeong Minji was watching, she forced herself to wave her hand and grit her teeth.

‘Just wait till we get to Shaolin Temple.’

Yong Hwarin smiled toward Jeong Minji.

He didn’t want to show his beloved a sorrowful face.

When Yong Hwarin waved his hand, Jeong Minji turned to walk away, afraid she might cry for no reason.

“Ugh!”

But then pain rose in her lower abdomen, making it hard to walk.

It ached from the night of passion they had shared.

“Huh? Sister, what’s wrong?”

Jeong Suji approached and asked.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“No.”

Jeong Minji waved her hand in flustered denial.

“What do you mean no? You can’t even walk.”

“Last night, I was walking and stepped on a broken porcelain shard. It pierced my sole.”

“What? A master got stabbed by something like that without noticing?”

“A true master is like that. They don’t notice such things.”

Mumbling a poor excuse, she forced herself to walk.

Each time the pain surged, a smile spread across Jeong Minji’s face instead.

That pain made her feel as if a part of Yong Hwarin remained within her body.

So, rather than a burden, the pain became a source of comfort to Jeong Minji as she parted.

Yong Hwarin sat absentmindedly for a while, feeling empty now that the Three Chivalrous Sisters, who had always been with him, were gone.

He even found himself missing the way Jeong Suji spoke so rudely.

‘I must’ve grown deeply attached to the Jeong Family Manor’s three sisters. I didn’t realize how empty I’d feel after they left.’

Thinking that a bout of training would help lift his spirits, he headed to the rear garden of Yeongbingak.

He thought working up a sweat might ease the hollow feeling.

But the rear garden had already been occupied by someone else.

Poong Imso was absorbed in training and hadn’t even noticed Yong Hwarin’s arrival.

Poong Imso, too, was channeling the emptiness from parting with the Wudang Sect’s senior brothers through training.

Since watching other sects' sword arts was a taboo in the murim, Yong Hwarin turned away the moment he saw Poong Imso.

However, even though he had barely seen a few movements, they kept replaying in his mind.

‘What is this?’

Unaware, Yong Hwarin turned back.

Poong Imso was performing the Plum Blossom Sword Art, one of the representative sword techniques of the Mount Hua Sect.

It was the first time Yong Hwarin had seen it with his own eyes, though he had heard its name before.

But as soon as he saw the movements, he could tell it was the Plum Blossom Sword Art.

It was elegant, laced with a mysterious aura, and its main and variant forms were well balanced, making it beautiful to behold.

In terms of beauty alone, it was a sword art that could easily be counted on one hand.

Yet a few movements were so simple and unpretentious that they didn’t seem to belong to the Plum Blossom Sword Art.

They were far removed from the grandeur one would expect.

There seemed to be a slight dissonance with the essence of the Plum Blossom Sword Art.

And before he knew it, Yong Hwarin let out an exclamation.

“Ah, the Plum Blossom Sword Art is truly outstanding. What sword technique could possibly surpass it? Just this one sword art is enough for the Mount Hua Sect to live up to its name.”