Chapter 78

It wasn't just Bi Ryu-yeon and Moyong Hwi who were taking the sound art class today. As the two left the room, Hyo-ryong was standing outside with a zither on his back.

"Huh? Hyo-ryong, what are you doing here?"

At Bi Ryu-yeon's words, Hyo-ryong frowned slightly.

"Have you already forgotten?"

"Ah, come to think of it, I applied for the class with you, didn't I?"

After thinking for a long time, Bi Ryu-yeon clapped his hands and said. If Hyo-ryong hadn't come and waited first, he would have left Hyo-ryong behind.

"Do you remember now?"

"Yeah."

Bi Ryu-yeon nodded his head nonchalantly. Without any sign of being sorry.

"I'm sure you would. Oh my. But looking at your zither, it seems to be an extraordinary object."

The darkish ink zither on Bi Ryu-yeon's back had caught his eye from the very first time he saw it. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't curious about its history.

"Ah, this? Well, in a way, it's also a quite absurd object."

It was Bi Ryu-yeon's answer, accompanied by a strange smile.

"If you have such a famous instrument, can I look forward to your playing skills too?"

There was a clear look of doubt. No matter how he thought about it, the reckless Bi Ryu-yeon and sound and rhythm did not harmonize well.

"Of course. Look forward to it!"

Bi Ryu-yeon was always full of confidence.

The sound art class of the Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, was in a special lecture room on the third floor of the Sound and Rhythm Hall. It was equipped with a triple and quadruple perfect soundproofing facility to avoid disturbing other lectures. Moyong Hwi, who liked to be separate from others, sat separately in the back, and Bi Ryu-yeon sat with Hyo-ryong.

As expected of the Cheonmu Academy, where the descendants of famous families and prestigious sects were gathered in droves, the zithers that others had were also many famous and masterpiece instruments, but compared to Bi Ryu-yeon's Ink Thunder, they were all a little lacking. The Thunder Zither, Ink Thunder, that Bi Ryu-yeon possessed had a divine energy that attracted the attention of others.

After the simple greeting of the Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, the class began. The class, as expected, started with a theoretical lecture on sound art. After all, this class was a time to teach the basics of sound art.

"Sound art refers to all martial arts that use sound to agitate and inflict damage on the enemy, not just the power of instruments such as the zither, chime, lute, jade flute, and pipe, but also the Lion's Roar."

Her lecture, which flowed like water, began.

The Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, maintained the beauty of her twenties despite being in her forties. Still, one fortunate thing for Bi Ryu-yeon was that he was not learning zither sound from a shriveled old hag. After all, isn't it best to learn zither sound from a beauty? (Bi Ryu-yeon was unhesitatingly thinking a thought that was extremely lacking in respect for the elderly.)

Even the Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, could not hold back her admiration when she saw Bi Ryu-yeon's ink zither. As soon as she saw the ink zither, the instinct of a musician stirred within the Heavenly Sound Fairy's sensibility. She couldn't stand the excitement of wondering what kind of sound the eight strings, made of thin and transparent silver thread that could be missed if not looked at closely with enhanced vision, would make under her ten fingers. Even for her, a master of zither sound, it was the first time she had seen a zither that used such transparent silver thread.

Just as a swordsman feels a strong urge to swing a divine sword or a treasured sword when he sees one, just as a gourmet wants to eat a delicious masterpiece dish by any means necessary when he sees one, a musician also wants to play a masterpiece instrument with a divine energy when he sees one. That would be even more intense for a famous musician. The Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, could not be an exception.

"What is your name, young hero?"

"My name is Bi Ryu-yeon."

'Huh? Has this lady already fallen for me even before I started my work?'

"If it's not rude, may I try playing your zither once?"

As a musician before being a martial artist, the Heavenly Sound Fairy politely asked Bi Ryu-yeon. She had shown Bi Ryu-yeon the utmost courtesy. As a reward for her courtesy, which she felt was excessive, she had no doubt that Bi Ryu-yeon, as a mere student, would not refuse. But...

"No."

Her belief was shattered like a high-class glass plate that had fallen from this floor. Bi Ryu-yeon's expression, which had shattered her expectations in one blow, was so firm that it showed no room for negotiation.

Although it had already been five years since she had passed her forties, the Heavenly Sound Fairy, who still maintained the appearance of her late twenties using her powerful internal energy and age-defying art, unconsciously drew a fatal wrinkle, the greatest enemy of beauty, on her smooth face.

"May I hear the reason?"

Because she had her face to save, the Heavenly Sound Fairy barely suppressed her anger and then asked.

"Because I don't want to learn zither sound from a teacher without fingers."

"...?"

She did not readily understand the meaning of Bi Ryu-yeon's words. It was not unreasonable. In fact, the Thunder Zither, Ink Thunder, that Bi Ryu-yeon had was certainly a divine instrument, but it was an object with a very nasty characteristic, so if one touched it carelessly, one's fingers were likely to be cut off like a rotten radish. The eight zither strings of the Ink Thunder were made of a peerless strange object called the Thunder Spirit Thread, and its sharpness was incomparable to that of a famous sword or a treasured saber. Bi Ryu-yeon had also once been in danger of having his fingers cut off when he had touched it without knowing, just by looking at its appearance. He had almost ruined his life by becoming a finger-cut person in a flash. Of course, these days, there was no problem even if he touched it carelessly.

"You don't believe me."

Bi Ryu-yeon said, looking directly into Hong Ran's eyes, which were full of suspicion and doubt.

Why don't people try to believe his words from the beginning? Yeomdo was the same. Thinking back, after transforming Yeomdo into a disciple with a trick that was nothing short of brilliant, when he had entrusted the Ink Thunder to him instead of a porter, he also had not believed Bi Ryu-yeon's repeated warnings. When he had entrusted the ink zither, he had clearly told him to be careful because it was a finger-cutting demonic object, but he had not listened to him in the end and had touched it, and had almost had to hold a saber with four fingers.

Perhaps the ink zither had a strange demonic power, and it exuded the scent of blood and tempted people. A zither that he had not even played by studying sound art was already calling for the blood of several people, so Bi Ryu-yeon became happy just by imagining what would happen when it was properly played (is this something to be happy about?).

"Phew, if you don't believe me, I can't help it."

Bi Ryu-yeon, who knew the past record of the ink zither well, gave up on persuading Hong Ran any more. It seemed that those who saw that Thunder Zither would only come to their senses after seeing blood. The Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, was no exception.

Still, Bi Ryu-yeon, who had no intention of learning zither sound from a teacher with fewer than ten fingers, did not forget one piece of advice. For the Heavenly Sound Fairy, it was a precious piece of advice that had saved her fingers, which were as precious as her life, a piece of advice worth a thousand pieces of gold.

"Touch it gently. Very lightly!"

The Heavenly Sound Fairy, whether she had heard his words or not, lightly plucked the transparent strings of the Ink Thunder, which were barely visible.

Swish!

The result was as expected. Unless one was a person who had professionally learned an external martial art above a certain level, the result was all the same.

"Ah!"

The Heavenly Sound Fairy hastily withdrew her jade finger. At the tip of her snow-white finger, a drop of blood had formed like a crimson fruit.

"What kind of trick is this?"

"See? I told you so. I'm definitely not taking responsibility."

Bi Ryu-yeon grumbled.

The Heavenly Sound Fairy had no choice but to silently blame herself for her carelessness and rashness. From the moment she saw the drop of red fruit formed at the tip of her index finger, her gaze towards Bi Ryu-yeon had completely changed 180 degrees. A person who could play a demonic zither that had injured even her own hand without any problem could not possibly look ordinary.

"Then let's start the class."

She hastily hid her face, which had turned red with embarrassment, and started the class. Bi Ryu-yeon's first sound art class thus began with a drop of red blood. In addition, Bi Ryu-yeon's first class began splendidly.

Throughout the class, the strange and, in a word, burdensome gaze of the Heavenly Sound Fairy, Hong Ran, towards Bi Ryu-yeon did not cease.

• The Duel with the Ice Soul Phoenix, Na Ye-rin

Na Ye-rin, with her mysterious and beautiful eyes that seemed to have
studded the night sky with stars, half-closed,
was sitting under a tree, immersed in meditation.
Her appearance, in which the artistry of God had clearly been
at its best, was always full of mystery and holiness.

The wind and the light seemed to mingle with her and stay in harmony. No sense from the surroundings succeeded in stimulating her. If it had succeeded in stimulating her, her meditation would have been broken. But her meditation was never broken.

What was she waiting for now?

The sunlight of dawn was still insufficient to send the bright morning dew formed on the leaves to the sky. The dew, which could not be called up to the sky, slowly gathered using their cohesion, and soon, unable to bear the weight, flowed down the groove in the middle of the leaf. At the same time as the dew, which had gathered the essence of the morning, fell, a sword was drawn from her scabbard, and a dazzling sword ki like a sun halo was emitted like a fantasy. The sharp edge of the sword ki passed by, leaving two traces on the drop of dew falling to the ground. Not one, but two traces. It is not necessary to talk at length about how high a level of difficult technique it is to divide a drop of dew, which one does not know when it will fall, into three parts with two traces while one's eyes are closed. She had done it as if it were nothing.

Clap, clap, clap!

At the sudden sound of applause, her eyes, like the Milky Way in the night sky, which had been buried in meditation like an eternity, opened. A woman entered her mysterious eyes, which seemed to contain a shrunken universe. For her, a slight sense of welcome appeared in her eyes for a moment and then disappeared. Others might not know, but for her, it was a great expression of emotion that could be called rare.

"Excellent. It's a smooth and beautiful sword ki that I can't raise any more objections to, junior sister."

The left eye of the woman who had unhesitatingly called her junior sister was covered with a black eyepatch and was not visible. She was, surprisingly, one-eyed. She was none other than the One-Eyed Phoenix, Dokgo-ryeong, who had suddenly appeared when Bi Ryu-yeon had first visited the Young Lady Lovers' Society a week ago and had given the men an infinite sense of awkwardness and had made them run away. She was beautiful. The permanent absence of her left eye was insufficient to fade her beauty and strength.

"Welcome, senior sister."

Na Ye-rin and Dokgo-ryeong were fellow disciples who had received the same martial arts and teachings from the same master. At her calm greeting, Dokgo-ryeong smiled. Although she was as scary as an Asura to the perverted men, she also had a side where she did not spare her smile for her lovely junior sister, Na Ye-rin.

"What's up? To be putting so much effort into your sword ki from this early in the morning. It's something that hasn't happened these days. Is there something to refine your sword ki for?"

When there is a special occasion, the act of calming one's disordered mind and concentrating is expressed as refining one's sword ki. The methods are various, but since they were fellow disciples, the One-Eyed Phoenix knew well what her action just now meant.

"I have a promise to keep."

"A promise?"

Considering Na Ye-rin's sociability, Dokgo-ryeong, who had thought that there would be no occasion for her to even make a promise with someone, asked as if she were puzzled.

"With whom?"

"A man."

"What? A man!"

Dokgo-ryeong almost fainted from a heart attack due to the shock. She could not believe that the Ice Soul Phoenix, Na Ye-rin, had made a promise with a man. Dokgo-ryeong, who knew her life process better than anyone, knew well that her androphobia was quite severe. For such a child to make a promise with a man?

She unconsciously looked at the sky where the morning sun was hanging. It was clearly the eastern sky.

"Surely it's not Wi Ji-cheon?"

Dokgo-ryeong asked with a cautious attitude.

"No."

Dokgo-ryeong was bewildered.

'Did that punk Wi Ji-cheon let a man other than himself approach her?'

It was impossible. Who was Wi Ji-cheon to let another man approach Na Ye-rin, whom even he found difficult to approach! No matter how she thought about it, it was a story with a slim possibility. Although she didn't like that punk, Dokgo-ryeong had been tacitly acknowledging his existence as a shield. Although it was a somewhat unstable shield, if even that was gone, she didn't know what else would happen. Yes, like before...

"It's not that punk?"

"Yes, I promised not to make a mistake next time."

"...?"

The One-Eyed Phoenix, Dokgo-ryeong, did not immediately understand her words.

Perhaps she had not yet forgotten what had happened with Bi Ryu-yeon a week ago. The existence of a person of the opposite sex who had brought a stir to her heart in several years. Her sensibility, which was different from the ordinary, had not reacted greatly to Bi Ryu-yeon's rudeness, but she had no intention of just letting it go.

A promise not to make a mistake next time, she would definitely keep it.

"I don't know what kind of promise it is, but seeing you refining your sword ki from this early in the morning, it must be a very important promise. Who is the promise with? You wouldn't be having a duel..."

Refining and neatly managing one's sword ki was a preparation done before a duel. Of course, it's not that there are no people who do it in their daily lives.

"I have a promise."

"What promise?"

Dokgo-ryeong could not believe that her junior sister, whose interpersonal relationships could be evaluated as the worst, had made a promise with someone.

"It's a promise with a person who has escaped my eyes."

"What?"

Her one and only lonely right eye shot up in surprise. Today was a continuous series of astonishment.

"He escaped your eyes, junior sister? Even I can't completely escape your Dragon's Eye, but there was a person who escaped from it?"

To have escaped her Dragon's Eye meant that she had not been able to read the opponent's movements or that her attack had been in vain. Both were facts that were hard to believe. If one were to pick one person who knew Na Ye-rin's true skill better than anyone, the person who would unhesitatingly pick herself was the One-Eyed Phoenix.

"Yes, senior sister."

Her reaction was still limited. Dokgo-ryeong always found that pitiful. And she felt more sorry than anyone for her misfortune of having to close her heart because of her divine beauty, which made even women's hearts pound.

"Right, then can I know what promise you made with that person?"

She lightly brought her beautiful fingers, which were like carvings of white jade, to her red lips. A slight stir swirled in her calm eyes. Even for her, that incident was not something that could be easily forgotten. Her mind said no, but her body clearly remembered the touch.

"I said there would be no second mistake."

"...?"

It was still her own words that Dokgo-ryeong could not understand.

"Oh my, senior."

There was a voice that had prevented their atmosphere, which could have become serious, from doing so. The One-Eyed Phoenix turned her head and looked at the source of the voice. A person she knew well was standing there with a bright smile on her cute and adorable face. Dokgo-ryeong was getting a headache.

With her appearance, the conversation between Na Ye-rin and Dokgo-ryeong had no choice but to end. Dokgo-ryeong was very sorry that she could no longer investigate the truth of the incident. Because she didn't know what kind of rumor the story would turn into and circulate in the academy if it came out of her mouth. She could not take such a risk.

The woman who had called them with a cheerful voice like the chirping of a bird waking up the morning was a girl who had not yet completely shed her girlishness.

What was so good that her constantly smiling, bright face was full of a smile that seemed to make even the viewer happy? Two twin swords were crossed and slung on the back of her small school uniform.

Dokgo-ryeong also greeted her with a smile. The girl was the only daughter of the Jeonju Lee family, which was famous for its twin sword style, and she was a junior whom she usually found cute. She was none other than Lee Jin-seol, who would later be called the Twin Sword Butterfly in the Cheonmu Academy as well as the Jianghu Murim and would gather the interest and expectations of many men.