Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 113

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#113

“Huff! Huff!”

Pansuk ran along the seashore today as well for physical training. With 50-geun weights attached to each wrist and ankle made by the blacksmith, it made for quite a decent workout.

If there was something different from usual, it was that his feet felt unusually light today.

‘Is it time to increase the weights?’

The weights already totaled 200 geun, but Pansuk felt it was insufficient.

“Huh?”

What felt lacking wasn’t just the weight. Pansuk felt something was missing.

“Miss Hwajin?”

He must have run too fast because his feet felt light. Jin Hwajin, who had been running with him, was nowhere to be seen.

“Where did she go?”

It was a straight stretch of seashore, so if someone was there, they could be spotted without difficulty. But no matter how much he looked around, Jin Hwajin was nowhere to be found.

Pansuk tilted his head in confusion and retraced his steps.

“Miss Hwajin!”

Worried, he raised his voice.

“I’m here.”

How relieved he felt at those words.

Pansuk leaped toward the direction of the voice.

Thud!

Perhaps because of the weights on his legs, the sound of landing was particularly loud.

“Huh?”

Pansuk thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

The fully bloomed rapeseed flowers were a sight he always saw in spring. Despite their pretty color, they had an unpleasant smell, so Pansuk didn’t like rapeseed flowers.

Jin Hwajin was standing in the middle of that rapeseed flower field.

A woman more beautiful than the rapeseed flowers melted Pansuk’s reason.

In the world, only she was visible to him.

‘I should go to Hyeongnim Pil-saeng for a diagnosis.’

Come to think of it, his heart was beating rapidly too.

“Miss Hwajin!”

“Yes, Dae-gyo-du.”

“I think I’m sick!”

Startled, Jin Hwajin ran toward him, leaving the rapeseed flowers behind.

“Where does it hurt?”

“Strangely, only Miss Hwajin looks clear and everything else looks blurry. And my heart is beating too fast.”

Upon hearing those words, Jin Hwajin let out a small laugh.

“It’s okay. That’s not being sick.”

“Really?”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“No. Miss Hwajin always says the right things. Just like Hyeongnim Subordinate.”

Jin Hwajin showed a disappointed expression toward Pansuk, who unnecessarily mentioned the Subordinate.

“If I’m not sick, can I train again?”

At his oblivious question, Jin Hwajin’s eyes widened as if something had occurred to her.

“Oh my! Now that I think about it, I don’t think it’s okay!”

“What isn’t?”

“Hurry and go get examined. If left untreated, your current symptoms could become a serious illness!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Go quickly! Hurry!”

“Huh? Oh, okay!”

“Wait a moment!”

Pansuk, who had been heading toward the manor, turned only his head in an awkward posture.

“You must tell them exactly the symptoms you just told me. Understood?”

“Got it!”

Pansuk ran toward the manor again.

Jin Hwajin, watching him go, let out a deep sigh.

“If I wait any longer, I’ll be the one getting sick. Someone else will have to tell him what to do.”

Jin Hwajin went back into the rapeseed flower field that had blinded Pansuk’s eyes.

Pansuk went to find Han Pilsaeng.

“Hyeongnim Pil-saeng!”

Han Pilsaeng, who had been reading medical texts in his bedroom, opened the window at Pansuk’s booming voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hyeongnim! I’m very sick!”

“What?”

Han Pilsaeng gestured urgently with the same anxious expression as Pansuk.

“Come in quickly. Let me check your pulse first.”

Pansuk opened the door, came in, and extended his hand.

“Put down the heavy things. And calm down a bit. Your pulse is beating too fast.”

“This isn’t from exercising. It’s because my body is broken. A little while ago, I saw Miss Hwajin in the rapeseed flower field and my eyes broke. I could only see Miss Hwajin and everything else looked blurry. So I called for Miss Hwajin, and that’s when my heart broke too. I didn’t do anything bad, but my heart is beating fast.”

Han Pilsaeng stared blankly at Pansuk. Then after a long while, he reached a conclusion.

“If your vision blurred and your heart beat rapidly, it could be a sign of qi deviation. Have you ever suffered internal injuries?”

“No. Not recently.”

“During sparring, without you knowing…”

“Son, you’d better stop.”

At the sudden voice, they turned to see Song Ja-in standing there. Pansuk’s voice had been so loud that she had heard it too.

“Mother. Pansuk seems to have qi deviation…”

“Watching you two, I think I’m going to get qi deviation.”

Song Ja-in sighed and went in front of Han Pilsaeng.

“How could it be your fault? I’m the sinner for not teaching properly.”

She sat next to her son and faced Pansuk.

“How much do you like Hwajin?”

Though flustered by the sudden question, Pansuk soon spoke his true feelings.

“I like her tremendously.”

“Try imagining she’s gone.”

“Pardon?”

“Try it once. Hwajin left Deungmyeong Manor today and will never return. You can never see Hwajin again.”

Pansuk turned his gaze away as if feeling resistance.

“I’m saying this for your sake, so try it.”

Still, since it was Song Ja-in speaking, Pansuk followed her words.

He closed his eyes and imagined the manor without Jin Hwajin.

“Uh…”

His chest felt stuffy. When he added the imagination that she wouldn’t return, his breath caught as if rocks had filled his solar plexus.

“Stop.”

Fortunately, Song Ja-in didn’t torment Pansuk for long.

“How was it?”

“It was so suffocating I thought I would die.”

“Yes. That’s your heart. Just Hwajin being gone makes your world suffocating and painful. If imagination is like that, what would reality be like?”

Song Ja-in said with a smile.

“You hurt as much as you love. If you just felt like dying, then you love enough to die.”

“Ah…”

“There are times in life when you fall for someone you already love all over again. That means everything has ripened to perfection.”

Song Ja-in gave her conclusion.

“It’s time to become family.”

“Ah!”

Pansuk finally understood everything.

Song Ja-in found Pansuk’s reddened face endearing and added one more piece of advice.

“As long as fate allows, love with all your heart. Without any regrets.”

Why did those words seem tinged with a sense of regret?

‘My love was far from enough.’

Song Ja-in found herself missing her departed husband.

***

“Subordinate hyeongnim!”

“The Subordinate has gone to the Donghai Merchant Guild. If it’s urgent, shall I contact him separately?”

At Secretary Jang Geon’s words, Pansuk waved his hand.

“No. I’ll wait.”

Though he said that, Pansuk felt anxious. Song Ja-in’s advice kept coming to mind.

-Take a gift that Hwajin would like and some flowers. Then just honestly tell her your feelings.

“What kind of gift should I give?”

This was why he was looking for Cheon-gu.

Actually, he had intended to ask Aunt directly, but he missed the timing.

-My son. Then let’s try something called family education.

Since Song Ja-in was earnestly explaining something to Han Pilsaeng, Pansuk had stepped away.

“What should I do? She said it’s best not to let today pass.”

Then, someone approached.

“Hyeong. What are you doing here?”

It was Ja-gang-cheon.

“Hyeongnim! Please help me!”

“Alright. I’ll help with anything. Just tell me.”

“Hehe. Hyeongnim really is the best.”

Pansuk told him everything about his current situation.

“Wow! So you’re getting married?”

Pansuk, who had been blindly following Song Ja-in’s words, finally realized what he was trying to do.

He closed his eyes like before and imagined becoming family with Jin Hwajin.

When that image disappeared, he felt suffocatingly desperate, but this time it was the opposite.

Jin Hwajin always brought him water after training ended.

She wiped away his sweat and praised him.

You’re handsome. You’re manly. You’re cute. You’re dependable.

She was the only person who said such things to him.

Sometimes she would just stare at him silently and then smile. Sometimes that was even better than conversation.

What would it be like to become family with such a person?

The answer wasn’t difficult.

“Hyeongnim! I’m going to get married!”

“Great! You thought well!”

Ja-gang-cheon was delighted as if it were his own affair.

“For that, I need to give a gift. Aunt said to take a gift she’d like and flowers.”

“Leave that to me! Follow me!”

“Yes! Hyeongnim!”

They ran off excitedly.

***

Cheon-gu finished his meeting with the Donghai Merchant Guild and returned to the manor.

He had been sharing the conflict with Nokrim and solutions, and checking the expansion status of Deungmyeongmun.

-Instructor training is slower than expected.

This was something Cheon-gu was also concerned about. But he couldn’t send inadequate instructors as Wuguan supervisors.

‘At minimum, they must be able to properly teach children basic martial arts.’

Children who showed exceptional talent there would be sent to Deungmyeongmun in Jiao-nan.

‘Healthy competition nationwide, gathering the outstanding children from among them.’

For this basic system to work well, the instructors’ skills had to support it.

“Subordinate.”

Lost in thought, he had arrived at the manor before he knew it, and Jang Geon approached him.

Having gone from inn waitstaff to Deungmyeong Manor secretary, he steadfastly maintained his position just like at first, despite the household growing larger.

“A little while ago, Dae-gyo-du was urgently looking for you.”

“Is something wrong?”

“It seems Dae-gyo-du is pondering a gift for the young lady. Lord said he would help.”

Jang Geon, who said this, stared intently at Cheon-gu.

“It seemed like he was going to propose, so shouldn’t you hurry over?”

Jang Geon clearly knew how this manor operated.

“Where are they now?”

“They went to Lord’s chambers.”

“Thank you.”

Cheon-gu went straight to Ja-gang-cheon’s chambers. And he saw the scene he had worried about.

“Hyeong! This seems like the best one. It’s the Blue Lotus Wisdom Sword that a nun from Emei Sect used. They said it symbolizes Buddhist purity and wisdom.”

“Wow. The sword is really pretty.”

“Right? Since it was used by a woman, there shouldn’t be any inconvenience. But let’s have the blacksmith change this handle. It’s too worn out, and if we just change this part, no one will know it’s the Blue Lotus Wisdom Sword.”

“Then shall we go with this?”

“Both of you put that down.”

Cheon-gu was grateful he wasn’t too late.

“Huh? Isn’t this fine?”

“You’re going to use a nun’s sword for a proposal?”

“Ah!”

Only then did the two understand the problem.

“Then with a different sword…”

“That’s not the issue. No one gives swords for proposals.”

“There is. My father gave Mother a sword saying he wanted to stop fighting with her. Mother also gave her sword in return and they became lovers.”

“How beautiful.”

“Right?”

“But this isn’t Gwigokdo. There are many gifts suitable for proposals.”

“What are those?”

Ja-gang-cheon and Pansuk both looked puzzled.

“Rings.”

“Huh?”

“Hair ornaments.”

“I have those kinds of things too.”

“Gangcheon. Stop. We need to go to the market and buy them, not the treasure vault.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re pretty and precious without any danger. She can take them out and look at them anytime without any worries and be happy.”

Cheon-gu took out a promissory note from his chest.

“You know Boyokru in the market, right?”

“Yes. I know it.”

Boyokru was a high-end jewelry store located in the trading market.

“Go there and ask for a gift suitable for a marriage proposal. Don’t worry about the price.”

Pansuk finally realized who he should consult about proposal gifts.

No one in Gyeonam Market would lie to someone from Deungmyeong Manor, so they would probably sincerely choose a gift for Pansuk.

“I’ll cheer you on.”

“Yes! Chief Manager!”

Pansuk ran toward the market.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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