—
Chapter 38
—
It didn’t take long to piece together the situation.
“I’m innocent, martial artists!”
“Owner, do you think it’s right to keep someone bound by debt?”
“Oh dear, I need to collect what’s owed to me, don’t I? Hwaran’s debt is as much as three gold coins.”
“Try explaining that to the authorities.”
“Martial artists!”
“The loan document is absurd. Don’t tell me you’re unaware that such practices are prohibited by the state?”
The reason behind Umgang and Hwaran’s charade lay in Hwaran’s debt.
She had borrowed money from the owner of the Moonlight Pavilion to cover her ill father’s medical expenses.
But after her father passed away, the only thing left to Hwaran was a mountain of debt that had accumulated through compound interest.
‘There are still people like this around?’
It was the sort of thing you’d expect to see in a rural tavern.
Binding people with money… The interest was higher than what she could earn, meaning Hwaran was condemned to a lifetime of exploitation at the Moonlight Pavilion.
“So, did you set this up hoping the Murim Alliance would intervene?”
“…”
“Answer truthfully—it’ll be better for both of us.”
“Yes, sir.”
Umgang had been causing a scene at the Moonlight Pavilion daily.
It was his daring attempt to break the situation.
If he had truly wanted to abduct Hwaran, he could have done so anytime.
Instead, he deliberately created minor conflicts at the Pavilion to provoke the Murim Alliance’s involvement.
When he heard that we were coming, he put his plan into action, aiming to expose the owner’s misdeeds.
“Did you think about appealing to the authorities?”
“I tried numerous times. But they were all in cahoots. The officials, who were bribed, sided with the owner.”
It was a common occurrence. What good are laws if things remain hidden from the public eye? That’s why Umgang chose such an extreme method.
He figured that if the Murim Alliance intervened, they’d uncover the owner’s actions while investigating the cause.
“Honestly, this doesn’t sit well with me. Do we look like an organization that gets involved in personal disputes?”
“I’m sorry. What will happen to me?”
“We’ll handle it by the book. You’ll be punished for causing disturbances at a privately-run tavern and for confronting a White Sun Squad warrior. Regardless of the owner’s actions, the Alliance will impose penalties on you.”
“What… what about Hwaran?”
What a romantic. Even knowing he’d be punished, Umgang cared only about Hwaran’s fate.
Considering he even tried to stab a warrior of the Murim Alliance, it was understandable.
Jegal Yeong glanced at me, and Umgang looked at me anxiously.
“Anything else to report?”
“!”
“I remember you rushing forward to protect her, but the rest is fuzzy. Your resistance must have been strong. Your skills were quite impressive—I was too focused on you to notice anything else.”
In reality, I’d simply disarmed him with a finger strike and restrained him, but I let it slide.
Jegal Yeong turned to Umgang with an expression that suggested there was nothing more to say.
“If she wasn’t involved in anything else, we have no grounds to punish her. Her fate is beyond the Alliance’s concern.”
“T-Thank you! I’ll never forget this kindness!”
“Kindness? That’ll be the last thing on your mind once you’re imprisoned.”
He was a peculiar man, grateful even as he faced imprisonment.
***
“It’s surprising.”
“What is?”
“I thought you’d be stricter, senior.”
After safely handing Umgang over to the Murim Alliance, Jegal Yeong looked tired from writing up the report.
“You’re usually very by-the-book with rules and procedures.”
“…”
“Few approach training as diligently as you do. Most people just go through the motions.”
Though I tried to brush it off, Jegal Yeong’s leniency towards Umgang was certainly unexpected.
“Do I really come across as cold-hearted?”
“A little, yes.”
“Sure, our job requires us to follow regulations and procedures. But… why do you think the White Sun Squad exists in the first place?”
Jegal Yeong’s tone turned serious.
“We work to punish villains who harm civilians, capturing those who abuse their martial skills.”
“…”
“Ultimately, it’s to protect the defenseless. Would it have been right to chastise a courtesan who was being exploited, accusing her of daring to raise a blade against a Murim Alliance warrior?”
“Well, good things are good, I suppose.”
It was a glimpse into Jegal Yeong’s philosophy.
Each member of the White Sun Squad had their own motivations—some loved fighting, others sought to gather among the strong, while others aimed for fame or used it as a stepping stone to advancement.
Jegal Yeong, however, seemed driven by a strong sense of duty.
“Then again, going to jail for a lover… it’s almost touching, isn’t it?”
“?”
“You seem to be soft-hearted about things like this.”
“What? Weren’t you planning to let it slide yourself?”
“Of course.”
“You…”
The conversation was getting too serious, so I threw in a light-hearted comment to shift the mood.
But Jegal Yeong’s reaction was unusually intense.
“I get why you went easy on him.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Yes, of course!”
It was amusing to tease him.
There’s a saying about it—the ‘punching sensation.’
When you poke, and the response comes back tenfold, how can you resist?
“Not that I wasn’t a bit impressed. It was fascinating. Sacrifice for love… I thought that sort of thing only happened in novels.”
“Novels? I thought you mostly read military texts.”
I had sometimes seen her engrossed in books—thick volumes like The Art of War or Six Secret Teachings.
Even with her dedication to martial arts, perhaps it was her Jegal family background that made her seem well-rounded. But novels? I never expected that.
“What… what are you talking about? Of course, it’s a military strategy book. I only mentioned it because I remembered something from before.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course! Where would I find time to read novels? You may not have noticed since I’ve been training you, but I’m a busy person. I don’t have time to waste on things like that.”
It was suspicious, but pushing further was impossible.
She looked like she would explode if I pressed even a little more.
“I just… thought it didn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t?”
“Giving yourself up for love. I’ve never met anyone like that.”
Jegal Yeong’s face held a hint of loneliness as she said that.
There was a sense of sadness, as though she were looking somewhere far away, perhaps hinting at her own hidden story.
Despite her claims of many romantic encounters, it seemed she had only encountered scoundrels. It was best not to pry any further.
***
After sending Lee Se-woong home, Jegal Yeong had to draw upon her inner energy to calm her racing heart.
As her refined inner energy flowed through her body, her mind gradually settled, though it wasn’t quite enough.
‘I nearly got caught!’
The matter with Umgang and Hwaran… her desire to protect the powerless was genuine.
That single conviction was why Jegal Yeong joined the White Sun Squad.
It’s also why, despite her complaints, she hadn’t left. But this time, there was another reason for her leniency.
‘He reminded me of Kang Se-pyeong.’
The protagonist of Chronicles of the Nine Dragons, Volume 3, Kang Se-pyeong, a character from her beloved novels, had sacrificed himself for the woman he loved, accepting guilt for her sake, even if it meant his own downfall.
His fierce devotion, fuelled purely by love, had left a deep impression on her.
She couldn’t help but be moved by Umgang’s fervent heart.
‘To witness such a tender scene in real life!’
Yes. She was an avid reader of romance novels.
Starting with The Peach Blossom Love Record, a book she discovered in her cousin’s library, Jegal Yeong had devoured countless romance novels.
She had learned about love through books. The stories of romantic, sometimes tragic, love affairs unfolded on the pages—heroes who lived for one woman, plots filled with passion.
Sometimes the explicit and shameless descriptions shocked her, but they only drew her deeper into the story.
Reading these stories targeting women’s tastes, she developed romantic illusions, albeit ones slightly detached from reality.
‘It’s impossible in real life.’
Exceptional looks, a well-trained body, and intelligence—qualities Jegal Yeong possessed.
Men flocked to her, their intentions clear.
She constantly turned them away, unsatisfied.
‘Love? They only wanted to satisfy their lust.’
This only made her dive deeper into her novels.
Unlike the men who openly displayed their desires, the love stories in novels were the only things that stirred her heart.
‘How did it come to this?’
It started as a small lie, a little misunderstanding.
Perhaps it was because men pursued her relentlessly.
At some point, a false rumour circulated that she had extensive experience with men.
But in reality? She’d never even held hands with a man.
“Noona, my fiancé keeps cheating on me. What should I do?”
That was from Hwang Bo-ryeong, a young woman from the Hwang Bo family, with whom Jegal Yeong didn’t have much of a connection.
It hurt her pride to admit she had no experience in relationships, so she made an irreversible choice.
“A woman’s approach depends on the man. Try this first.”
It was advice that shouldn’t have worked, pieced together from phrases in romance novels.
A façade that could crumble at any moment. But to her astonishment, it worked.
“Wow, they were right when they said you’re a dating expert, older sister!”
‘Why is this even working?!’
Her knowledge of love was purely from books. To her surprise, the hastily borrowed words worked.
The lie grew, one after another.
Rumours ballooned like snowballs, and soon women lined up to seek her advice.
Jegal Yeong, who had never even held hands with a man, became known as a mysterious woman who never failed to ensnare her chosen man.
‘I don’t know either!’
Now, she couldn’t bring herself to reveal the truth.
She had flaunted her supposed knowledge to even her closest juniors.
How could she admit that she had never dated, let alone held hands with a man, at her age?
All she could do now was feign as though she had a complex past, as if she bore hidden scars.
Just as she had with Moyong Hye and Lee Se-woong.
‘This has never happened before.’
Lee Se-woong was a fatal poison to her.
She thought she could never develop interest in a real man and would spend her life content with novels.
Yet here he was, turning her world upside down.
‘Why can’t I stop thinking about him?!’
Whenever she read, she imagined the scenes vividly in her mind.
The protagonist’s face was always shrouded in shadow, hidden from view.
She could never quite picture her ideal.
But recently, her imagination had been invaded.
In every imagined scene, it was always Lee Se-woong in the role of the male lead.
“Senior, I didn’t think you’d be so desperate, even while pretending otherwise.”
The imagined him was rough.
He only called her “senior” in words, but he looked at her with that same fierce gaze from their first meeting, like a beast, rough and domineering.
Each time his taut hand touched her, it felt like a burning brand.
“Stop!”
Jegal Yeong shook her head, barely escaping the daydream.
Her heart, which she had worked so hard to calm, resumed its rapid rhythm.
She knew tonight would be another night of sleepless tossing and turning.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment