Episode 159: How Frogs Survive.
The look in Jo-shin’s eyes changed at the word “attendant.”
If I didn’t know about him, I could see the sword dance. The contempt in his eyes. That unbearable, frivolous anger that said, ‘Why are you drinking with the person who will become my woman?’
‘It’s been like this since then.’
No, rather, he was unable to hide his true nature when he was young. When he was older, he was really good at hiding himself.
“You drink with your servants, so you really are a generous person, as rumored.”
Jin Ha-ryeong asked back at the words that were said to be pleasant to hear.
“Do you have to be broad-minded to sit in the same place as a servant?”
Wasn’t the issue of sitting with a servant a hot topic for her recently? Leaving aside the sitting with a servant, the word that had been occupying the most space in her mind these past few days was not ‘Little Dragon Story’ but ‘servant’.
“I mean, I don’t care at all about eating with my servant.”
“Oh, I see. You treat your subordinates fairly, that’s admirable. Well, tomorrow’s banquet will probably be a predictable affair, so let’s have our young people’s banquet here.”
It was a candid proposal that even included praise, but Jin Ha-ryeong rejected it outright.
“I’m sorry, but I have to decline.”
Honestly, Jo Shin is handsome. So I wanted to sit down with him and have a drink.
But what came before that thought was the swordsmanship.
If we drink together, we will have to let out the smoke. But if we drink together, we will become a source of ill-feeling for the king.
In both cases, I didn’t feel like it. In particular, I didn’t want to say, “We need to drink, so please step aside now.”
“It’s my first time. Asking a girl out for a drink and getting rejected.”
“We’re going to see each other tomorrow anyway, right?”
I didn’t see Jin Ha-ryeong, but I saw Geommu-geuk. The moment she rejected him, Jo-shin’s eyes changed. How dare you reject me? A dark and cold emotion beyond that irritation rose up.
As Jin Ha-ryeong was about to turn around, Jo Shin sat down in front of Geommu-geuk.
“I’d like to have a drink with this servant.”
Cho Shin said to her, who was startled.
“I can’t be there either, but I want to find out what kind of charm this attendant has that would make me want to join them.”
The moment he heard that, Jin Ha-ryeong became irritated. Jo Shin’s current behavior was an open attempt to harass Geom Yeon. He was going to act like this because he refused to drink alcohol? The goodwill he had felt because he was handsome disappeared in an instant.
‘Don’t you want to look good to me?’
She didn’t understand. If his grandfather had mentioned marriage, Josin would have known about it.
She sat down again.
I sat down because I was worried about the smoke, but that only made me more cautious.
“What a charming servant. How dare you make Lady Jin sit down again when she was about to leave.”
Jo Shin asked Geommugeuk.
“What is your name?”
“It’s black smoke.”
“What a cool name, by the way.”
“thank you.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“You said earlier that you were the Jo So-hyeop of Jinryongjang.”
“And you have a good memory. Where did you find such a wonderful servant?”
Her expression slightly frowned at the word “servant.” Jo-sin was looking into her emotions that she couldn’t hide, and Geommu-geuk was looking into Jo-sin’s emotional changes.
“Isn’t Miss Jin beautiful?”
“Is beautiful.”
“Enough to make you think about it at night? How is it? With her… … .”
Jin Ha-ryeong cut him off because it was obvious what he was going to say next.
“Watch your words! You keep crossing the line.”
“I thought you were broad-minded since you even drank with your servants, but it seems that you are also very selective about people.”
The two people made eye contact.
At that moment, an image came to Jin Ha-ryeong’s mind. It was a black poisonous snake with its tongue flickering and its head raised. She was inwardly embarrassed because it was the first time she had seen something like this while looking at a person.
At that moment, Jo Shin smiled with a kind face.
“Did I go too far with my prank?”
He tried to pass it off as a joke, but Jin Ha-ryeong was in a state of shock.
‘Are you trying to show off your pride in treating the lord’s granddaughter carelessly?’
Jo Shin asked Geommugeuk again.
“I don’t know at all. What kind of person is our Lady Jin?”
“I don’t know either.”
“You don’t know?”
“I am a servant, but I am not Lady Jin’s servant.”
“No?”
Cho Shin was surprised.
“Then whose servant are you?”
“I am the attendant of the Seo-ryong Young Master of the Seo-do faction who participated in this So-ryong War.”
“But why were you drinking with Lady Jin? Isn’t that even stranger?”
Geommugeuk also sensed something strange.
‘Hey, why are you so excited?’
Even though he was still young, Jo Shin was a very cautious man. His actions today were too much to be attributed to mere jealousy.
‘What makes you act so wild?’
Like a little boy who had been praised by his schoolmaster, like a merchant who had made a fortune, like a warrior who had achieved great success in martial arts, he felt as if he was consumed by an uncontrollable passion.
widely.
At that moment, Jin Ha-ryeong put down his glass loudly. It was a silent warning to stop now.
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Then, Jo-shin showed a different attitude than before. He asked her gently as if they were old friends.
“Isn’t it strange, Miss Jin?”
“What do you mean?”
“The granddaughter of the martial arts leader is drinking with the servants of the martial arts masters who attended this martial arts competition. Everyone is surprised, but the granddaughter herself doesn’t find it strange at all. What do you think?”
“So? What are you trying to say?”
“If you put a frog in lukewarm water and boil it slowly, it will die without even knowing it is dying?”
The corners of Jin Ha-ryeong’s mouth went up. Before she could say anything angry, Jo Shin continued.
“What if this guy approached Miss Jin with some kind of purpose? What if he approached her to add some kind of poison to her drink before the finals? What if he said he was tricked when it happened?”
Jo Shin brought his face close to Geommugeuk’s.
“What is your purpose?”
The swordsman didn’t say anything. Jin Ha-ryeong stepped forward in the face of Jo Shin’s fierce aura, as if he was about to blow up the battlefield at any moment.
“Joe So-hyeop.”
Her cold, calm tone told the story of her feelings.
“See you at the banquet hall tomorrow. The water still has a long way to go before it boils.”
The two people’s eyes met. Jin Ha-ryeong glared at the snake that had raised its head. Now, she was not afraid of the snake.
Cho Shin smiled.
“I think I made a mistake when we first met. I’m sorry, Miss Jin. I’ll see you at the banquet hall tomorrow.”
He got up from his seat and smiled at me. I could sense the dark spirit of the swordsmanship as well as the dark spirit of the swordsmanship. I could sense the deep murderous intent in that smile.
As Jo Shin left the inn, Jin Ha Ryeong drank in silence. It seemed as if he was mulling over what Jo Shin had said earlier.
The sword dance waited silently for her mouth to open.
After a while, she sighed and said, returning to her usual self, not the cold feeling she had shown to Jo Shin earlier.
“It’s difficult, it’s difficult. What’s so difficult about it?”
“They originally said that life is difficult. If you ask someone from a hundred years ago, they will say it is difficult. If you ask someone from five hundred years ago, they will say it is difficult. Even the leader will say it is difficult, and even that little girl over there will say it is difficult. Even a child born tomorrow will say it is difficult when she grows up.”
“That’s why. How can I not be suspected when you keep saying things like this?”
“Do you also suspect me, Miss Jin?”
She answered honestly.
“To be honest, the moment I heard the frog story, I cringed.”
“If you fall for that, you will be transferred from a warm hot spring to a pot that actually boils water.”
Jin Ha-ryeong shook his head.
“You speak so well. You win.”
“What does it mean?”
“That guy doesn’t want to believe it even if he dies, so I have to believe you.”
“In times like this, you shouldn’t trust either one. Why would you choose one over the other?”
Jin Ha-ryeong looked at the sword dance. If this person was really a villain, she thought it would be a big deal. She had a feeling that it would be harder to stop this person than to stop Jo-sin, who was as scary as a snake. However, she decided to trust her instincts.
“This is not the time to worry about me. You’re in big trouble. This frog is still swimming in warm water, but your frog just got dumped on a rock in the middle of lava.”
She had a natural sense for recognizing people. She realized that a man like Cho-shin would not spare a servant who sat and drank with the woman he wanted to marry. Especially if the servant was on the woman’s side.
“Your Majesty will protect me.”
“No, even if your master is a skilled person who has advanced to the main competition, he cannot protect you. That person’s family is not ordinary. Go back to your hometown this way.”
“I can’t leave you behind. If the author tries to harm me as you said, can I escape by returning to my hometown? On the contrary, it will only cause harm to your sect.”
“That’s right.”
She jumped up from her seat.
“Just wait. I’ll get you a pole to come out of that lava.”
She left the guest house.
Soon after, Seo Dae-ryong sat down in the spot where she had left.
“Isn’t this more fun than the rain?”
“You said you were tired?”
“No matter how tired you are, you have to be able to endure it because you’re curious. What was that guy just now? Is it like, in a fateful love, there’s always an obstacle?”
“I must be an obstacle to him.”
“It looks like it’s normal.”
“Those kinds of guys are more dangerous.”
“That’s why. That guy didn’t see you shave your beard.”
“Am I more dangerous?”
“How can they be compared? In terms of appearance and risk.”
Seo Dae-ryong laughed to himself as if he thought it was a funny joke.
“I’ll watch this fateful love and win.”
“Okay. I’ll just watch the fateful rain and deal with this matter.”
I was curious as to what Jin Ha-ryeong would do.
And the solution she came to me with the next day was something I hadn’t thought of.
“Come to the banquet with me.”
He asked me to go to the banquet that was being held today. It was a banquet where the leader of the martial arts world and the court officials were present.
“I told you I couldn’t go, even though it was so cowardly of me.”
“Because things are different now than they were then. I will take responsibility for your life.”
“how?”
“You’ll know when you go.”
Meet the leader of the martial arts world?
Will I be able to hide my existence from him? My realm has already reached the point of returning to the truth, so it may seem like I have not learned any martial arts at all.
But will that work on the leader of the martial arts world? Will the presence that I give off as a person be able to be hidden?
No, it won’t be. You may be able to fool the martial arts realm of the composition with the eight stars, but you won’t be able to fool me with the servant.
Meeting the leader of the martial arts world means I must be prepared to reveal my identity.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about how to deal with my grandfather after he finds out about me.”
Of course, she had something entirely different to worry about.
“Grandfather won’t harm you because of your status. If he gets angry, he’ll take it out on me.”
“You are such a great person, I’m sure you treat your subordinates with respect, right?”
“sure.”
‘Then how will you treat Cheonma’s blood relatives?’
It was something I couldn’t bring myself to ask her.
Of course, I will not die in the Murim Alliance if it is revealed that I am the blood relative of Cheonma. If that happens, war may break out. In that sense, the Murim Alliance is a safer place than our school.
Instead, I will be exiled, take responsibility for causing trouble with the Murim Alliance, and fail this successor exam.
I thought about it for a long time. Jin Ha-ryeong understood me and waited for me.
After a while, I finished thinking deeply about the various situations.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Oh, I thought about it carefully.”
“See you at the entrance of the Murim Alliance in half an hour. I have to prepare for the banquet.”
“great.”
After sending her off, he went up to the guest room and told Seo Dae-ryong that he was going to a banquet held by the leader of the martial arts world.
Seo Dae-ryong asked worriedly.
“Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?”
“You said that you had been meeting all sorts of dangerous people. From the Demon Lord to the Demon Lords. But now you are going to meet the leader of the martial arts world.”
“What do you think? A chief like this?”
“I would have hated it in the past.”
Every time he said he was going to the demons, Seo Dae-ryong would get scared and take a step back.
“now?”
“It’s no use taking a step back because you’re scared.”
We laughed together. The fact that we were alone in the enemy’s territory brought him and me closer together.
“Have a nice trip. I will be practicing.”
I saw myself reflected in the mirror. My hair was disheveled and I was wearing cheap clothes. I disheveled my hair even more and didn’t change my clothes.
Jin Ha-ryeong shouted when he saw me at the entrance to the Murim Alliance.
“You said you were preparing to go to the banquet? What on earth did you prepare?”
“Isn’t it better?”
“Not at all!”
“Shall I change my clothes and come?”
“No, then you’ll be late. Let’s go!”
As Jin Ha-ryeong and I entered the banquet hall, everyone’s attention was focused on us.
Among the warlords, the father’s presence appears alone, like blood, red, in the black and white picture.
The presence of the Murim Alliance leader was the same. There were many people in the banquet hall, but I recognized the leader of the Murim Alliance at a glance.
It felt like everyone was in black and white, but only the leader of the martial arts world was in blue.
It’s truly amazing the presence of the strongest masters in the martial arts world.
Jin Pae-cheon, the leader of the martial arts world who had been chatting with guests in the distance, slowly turned his head towards us.
