The training of Ho Cheon-an and Yeon-hwa continued for a while.
“Whoo… Hooook…!”
Realizing that Moyong Yeon-hwa was not only drained of energy but also physically pushed to her limits, Ho Cheon-an sheathed his sword and said.
“Let’s take a break for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Ho Cheon-an took a break with Moyong Yeon-hwa and explained the encounters with the Blood Persons and the scars etched in the Training Hall. Moyong Yeon-hwa asked questions about points that might help in the matches from Ho Cheon-an’s explanations.
However, the conversation couldn’t last long.
Though Ho Cheon-an had faced a Blood Person, the exchanges he had were minimal, and the only information about the Master of the Faction and senior members were the scars left in the Training Hall.
Just from that information, Moyong Yeon-hwa’s face showed a hint of worry about the opponent’s strength.
“It won’t be easy.”
“It’s alright. Let’s do our best from now on.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa felt a sudden pang of regret hearing Ho Cheon-an’s encouraging voice.
At a time when she needed to solidify her will for sure victory more than ever, why was she uttering these weak words?
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve troubled your ears with my weak words.”
“No, it’s quite understandable. The martial arts of the Blood Sect can be explosive, but they cannot maintain that power for long, so if we target that point, there may be a chance of victory.”
“Yes.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa nodded her head.
After that, a silence fell between the two.
Ho Cheon-an thought.
This silence was uncomfortable, but he had no idea how to continue the conversation.
Though they had been immersed in their roles as lovers for a time, all of that was just acting. Moyong Yeon-hwa’s face was familiar, but without the façade of a fake relationship, they were just two people who recognized one another without any substantial bond left.
Moyong Yeon-hwa shared similar thoughts and, wanting to dispel the awkwardness, spoke up.
“It’s quite a peculiar thing, isn’t it? Despite acting as if our lives depended on it as lovers, we can’t even manage to converse for a moment.”
“Indeed.”
As they exchanged wry smiles, the stiff atmosphere eased a bit.
The mutual awkwardness had formed a strange sense of camaraderie, which ironically served as a topic to keep the conversation going.
“Nonetheless, I must express my gratitude. While I merely had to gesture, you, Brain Knife Outcast, had to act according to the performance so it must have been quite taxing on you.”
“No, it was truly the right decision. I was genuinely impressed by your performance, Yeon-hwa Miss. Even knowing it was acting, I was taken aback many times.”
“Umm… yes.”
“With such a perfect act, the members of the Faction were completely deceived, and thanks to that, I had a chance to investigate comfortably, so it’s something I owe you gratitude for.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa felt her face flush. Under the gaze of Ho Cheon-an, who was innocently admiring her performance as if it were real, an overwhelming sense of embarrassment washed over her.
“If, perhaps, news of our actions in the Faction were to spread, it would severely tarnish the Great Hero’s reputation… I’m just thankful you played along.”
“Haha… It’s not such a big flaw for a man to act foolishly over a woman. What concerns me more is you, Miss. I worry that unfounded rumors will follow you because of this operation.”
“…Unfounded?”
“Hmm?”
“No, never mind.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa smiled wryly and shook her head. Seeing Ho Cheon-an looking at her with a puzzled expression, she suddenly remembered something she was curious about.
“When the miners arrived, you sent me a message, didn’t you? To take as many members of the Faction to the mines as possible.”
“That’s right.”
“Was that a strategy for infiltration? Or did you think the branch clans would be stirred if they went to the mines?”
“Hmm…”
Ho Cheon-an stroked his chin. Moyong Yeon-hwa sensed a bit of hesitation in his gesture.
“To be precise, it seems the latter intention was stronger.”
“…Is that so?”
Moyong Yeon-hwa sighed upon hearing that answer.
“Why do you sigh?”
“Because it seems you understand the Shengsu Faction better than I do, and that makes me truly embarrassed and regretful.”
Deep emotion painted Moyong Yeon-hwa’s face. Filled with feelings of regret, sorrow, and a sense of loss, she continued to speak almost like mumbling.
“From the moment we left the main family, no, even when I heard the news that the Shengsu Faction claims to be the Moyong Clan’s main family, I couldn’t understand why they would take such actions. Why did they make such extreme choices?”
Moyong Yeon-hwa looked up at the sky as she spoke.
“I think I understand a bit now why they made such choices. Even though the Shengsu Faction was under pressure to the extent of forming an alliance with the Blood Sect, I failed to notice that the main family of Moyong Clan, which should have understood that, was completely oblivious to it.”
“How could the current situation possibly be your fault?”
“Even if everyone in the world points fingers and scorns the Shengsu Faction, the Moyong Clan should have been their strength. But instead of understanding and sharing the hardships of the Shengsu Faction, it seems you, Brain Knife Outcast, understood the Shengsu Faction more deeply than the direct line members did… How could that not be a failure?”
Ho Cheon-an smiled wryly at Moyong Yeon-hwa’s words.
“It’s not that I fundamentally understand the Shengsu Faction deeply. I might say I was on the side that didn’t acknowledge them.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa looked at Ho Cheon-an with a puzzled expression.
Wasn’t it Ho Cheon-an who perceived the feelings of the branch clans that even direct line member Moyong Yeon-hwa didn’t know about?
If Ho Cheon-an hadn’t understood the Shengsu Faction, then who could?
“I’ll speak candidly. When Moyong Mo came looking for me, I thought he was just a lucky young master who stumbled upon a mine and was a bit clueless.”
Recalling that time, Ho Cheon-an continued to speak.
“Then I met you and infiltrated the mine. In truth, meeting Moyong Mo in the mine was almost an accident. I could never have imagined that a rich young master like him would show up there.”
“Is that so?”
Moyong Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened, thinking it was all part of Ho Cheon-an’s meticulous plan. Ho Cheon-an’s awkward expression at her reaction only continued as he spoke.
“I insisted on emphasizing our brotherhood, and we toasted together. Even though we talked a lot about the mines back then, I had no significant feelings about it. Even when reporting to you and Senior Moyong Seo, or even acting as a couple in the Faction, it was the same.”
What was the same, one might wonder.
Moyong Yeon-hwa couldn’t understand what Ho Cheon-an was saying.
Noticing her confusion, Ho Cheon-an smiled bitterly and added.
“My view of the Shengsu Faction was merely that they were luck-driven nouveau riche.”
“…Ah.”
“Looking back now, it was a nonsensical thought. Finding a mine could be pure luck, but completing a mine that could influence all of Shengsu in such a short time couldn’t have been achieved solely by luck, could it? There must have been substantial effort behind it.”
How much effort had the Shengsu Faction members put into their work?
There was no need to explain that effort in detail.
The mine of the Moyong Clan itself was the very manifestation of the labor of the branch clans.
“The moment I realized that obvious truth was when I invaded the mine with Moyong Mo. To be precise, it was when the miners who had spent many years here opened their mouths.”
“The veteran miners believed that if the branch clans of the Moyong Clan stepped up, the mine could return to its former glory.”
The miners, who held a belief in the branch clans hidden deep within their hearts.
Only after witnessing those miners did Ho Cheon-an understand how hard the branch clans worked for this mine.
“The fame of the Moyong Clan’s Faction spread throughout the world. Because they were the branch clans of the Moyong Clan. And on top of that, with a bit of luck involved, the success of the Shengsu Faction became natural. But the efforts of the branch clans hidden beneath those words were downplayed. Only a few miners working on-site remembered their efforts; who acknowledged them?”
“Even after seeing Moyong Mo and the mine, I couldn’t shake off my preconceived notions and failed to see the hard work of the branch clans. It was only after I saw the miners who remembered their efforts that I finally shook off my biases. That’s why, when the opportunity arose in the Shengsu Faction, I quickly sent you a message to revise the plan.”
“Just like the miners who believed in the branch clans and Moyong Mo, if they still had a fondness for the mine, wouldn’t they react in some way to the inspection? That’s what I thought.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa bit her lip.
“Truly… it must have been a heartbreaking affair.”
Ho Cheon-an remained silent.
“After the inspection, I received the report. From the lives of the miners to the safety of the mine and the facilities, as well as the accumulated structure and operations. The mine created through the hard work of the branch clans of the Shengsu Faction had been ruined. It’s truly a tragic matter.”
Ho Cheon-an nodded silently. Though he didn’t know much about the mine, he could roughly guess the situation.
How could a mine operate properly when its owner had turned his back?
“Were the choices of the Master of the Faction and the branch clans aimed to achieve such results?”
“I’d like to believe not.”
“Yes. I think so too.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa sprang to her feet and grabbed her sword.
“The choices of the Faction cannot be tolerated. No matter how twisted the circumstances may be, there are actions that should be taken and actions that should not.”
“Hmm.”
“However, after paying for all those choices, I want to clean this all up together with them. Not just this time with the Faction, but with the main family as well.”
Ho Cheon-an nodded in agreement and stood up.
“Will you help me?”
“Of course.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa regarded Ho Cheon-an with a firm expression.
“Please push me harshly. I absolutely want to win.”
“Then. Let’s go.”
Boom!!
Moyong Yeon-hwa was pushed back significantly after receiving Ho Cheon-an’s merciless strike. However, she struggled to recover from the shock and maintain her stance, thinking.
The stage for fully resolving this was long gone.
The odds of victory in the matches were not very high, and even if she won the matches and managed to sort things out as much as possible, the Shengsu Faction would still take a heavy blow, and normalizing the mine would also be a daunting task.
Still, she couldn’t give up.
“Winning the matches is the only way… for the branch clans of the Shengsu Faction to seize an opportunity for revival.”
If it could be concluded in the most moderate and clean way, the members of the Faction might get another chance.
Moyong Yeon-hwa hoped everything would unfold in that manner.
It was the best possible outcome that the foolish direct line, who merely gazed at their actions with bewildered eyes without knowing their hardships, could have.
Therefore, she squeezed strength into her toes and pushed against the ground, trying to stand up against the force that sought to knock her down and charging forward once more.
“Haaaah!”
The sound of Moyong Yeon-hwa’s battle cry rang out, even more fervent than before.
And so, a fiercer training session continued.
