NovelGod had produced a total of three illustrations for this novel.
Shin Ye Hwa, Yoo Hwa Yeon, and Tang Seon Yeong.
He was a so-called illustration powerhouse who could write like a dog but was incredibly good at drawing illustrations.
Among the three illustrations—Shin Ye Hwa, Yoo Hwa Yeon, and Tang Seon Yeong—the depiction of Tang Seon Yeong’s decadent beauty completely captivated Baek Woo Jin. He became so eager to see the parts of the novel where Tang Seon Yeong appeared that he didn’t even bother to check the author’s name. And this led to this unfortunate situation.
Of course, that didn’t mean he harbored any resentment or dark feelings toward her.
She was far too charming to resent, and the author’s harsh backstory for her made it difficult to hold a grudge against her.
“I’m Baek Woo Jin.”
Baek Woo Jin greeted her with a formal bow while lowering his guard slightly.
Seeing his polite gesture, Tang Seon Yeong’s eyes sparkled with interest.
Interesting.
Tang Seon Yeong saw Baek Moo Hyeok as a man as unyielding as stone. He remained completely unaffected by her charms that had trapped countless men and didn’t react to her provocative remarks, no matter how hard she tried to provoke him.
If it weren’t for his long hair, one might have mistaken him for a disciple of the Shaolin Temple rather than a member of the Shaanxi Baek clan, given how he carried himself like a deeply disciplined monk.
But there was one thing. There was one topic that Baek Moo Hyeok would react strongly to. It was anything related to his younger brother Baek Woo Jin.
Perhaps because he feared that she might trap Baek Woo Jin just as she had done with other men, whenever the three syllables of his brother’s name left her lips, Baek Moo Hyeok would unleash a menacing aura and leave a stern warning for her not to approach his younger brother.
Each time, Tang Seon Yeong would take a step back, but she never gave up.
Foolish of him. Does he really think I won’t approach him just because he says so?
Not a chance.
She was a rebellious woman. She was the type of person who would become even more obsessed if told not to do something.
“I originally wanted to be introduced to you through the White Dragon later, but… I heard your voice.”
(TN: White Dragon or Baek Dragon. Most likely talking about Baek Moo Hyeok.)
“My voice…?”
“You said you wanted to drink but didn’t have enough money?”
“Oh.”
Baek Woo Jin’s face flushed slightly.
How embarrassing, seriously.
Letting a woman hear that he couldn’t even afford a drink!
The humiliation almost reached a lethal level.
“Fufu, there’s no need to be so embarrassed.”
After a few exchanges, Tang Seon Yeong confirmed that Baek Woo Jin’s guard had lowered and began to close the distance between them.
“Coincidentally, I wanted to have a drink tonight too. If it’s alright with you… how about joining this noona for a drink?”
The distance between them shrank with each step she took until she was close enough that he could reach out and touch her.
Baek Woo Jin unconsciously sniffed the air.
A sweet scent emanated from her skin as she drew near.
The more he smelled it, the more he wanted to keep inhaling it; it was a scent so intoxicating that it stirred a powerful urge to press his nose closer and take a deep breath.
Baek Woo Jin pinched his thigh hard without her noticing. The sharp pain, coupled with a dizzying sensation like plummeting from a great height, washed over his entire body.
Baek Woo Jin snapped back to his senses and swiftly stepped back from her. A cold chill ran through his heart as he realized that, had he been just a moment slower, he might have seized her in his arms and breathed in her scent.
“Oh my.”
Tang Seon Yeong was just as surprised.
He stepped back?
The scent Tang Seon Yeong emitted was laced with a subtle yet potent aphrodisiac, one that usually left most men too dazed to think clearly as they lunged toward her. But Baek Woo Jin had retreated instead.
Her bright red lips curled into a smile.
“You… really are an interesting one.”
A surge of curiosity far stronger than before welled up inside her. She started to wonder just how long the man before her could hold out against her.
A flush of red appeared on her cheeks, and at the same time, the scent she exuded grew even more intense.
Baek Woo Jin stepped back once more in response.
This is too much.
Another critical flaw in the Drunken Immortal Cultivation Technique became clear.
To continually accumulate internal energy through the Drunken Immortal Technique, Baek Woo Jin always needed to be drunk. And as everyone knows, the more one drinks, the more one’s rationality blurs.
My compatibility with Tang Seon Yeong is the worst.
Her scent also stimulated a man’s instincts and dulled his reason. When these two factors combined, even Baek Woo Jin’s ironclad willpower wavered like a candle in the wind.
This is troublesome.
She was one of the main reasons he had come to this place. Her face which he had once seen in 2D had lost none of its allure when seen in person.
It felt like gazing at a flower blooming on the edge of a cliff. Even though he could see its radiant beauty, the fact that he couldn’t have it made the longing even more painful.
Well, I’ll just have to push through.
“Hmm?”
At the moment when Tang Seon Yeong was focused on the ever-changing expressions of Baek Woo Jin, he suddenly raised the stakes. In an instant, he rushed toward her.
“Ah…!”
In the blink of an eye, the distance between them closed. Before the startled Tang Seon Yeong could react, Baek Woo Jin who had reached her side, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her close.
“Eek?!”
A cute scream escaped her lips. Although she had led countless men into the depths of despair, this was the first time a man’s body had directly touched hers.
“W-What are you doing?”
She tried her best to appear calm, but the flustered expression was still written all over her face.
Baek Woo Jin, who savored the sight for a bit, slowly released his arm from her waist and stepped back.
It had only been a brief moment of contact, yet his energy was nearly depleted.
Tang Seon Yeong regained her composure. The embarrassment that had colored her face quickly turned to venom.
“You…!”
It was the first time she had ever been toyed with by a man, and it left her with a deep sense of humiliation.
A hidden weapon appeared in her hand. When she took a stance as if she was about to unleash it, the alarmed Baek Woo Jin raised his hands.
“Whoa, calm down.”
“Would you calm down if you were me?”
“Never been in your shoes, so I wouldn’t know.”
“You…!”
Unable to contain the rising emotions sparked by his annoying expression and response, she hurled one of the hidden weapons in her hand.
Swoosh!
The weapon flew at a moderate speed as if there was no killing intent behind it, and Baek Woo Jin twisted his body to dodge it.
As she prepared to throw another one, Baek Woo Jin used the last of his remaining energy to activate his movement technique.
Baek Woo Jin who had readied himself for a quick escape waved his hand with a smiling face.
“Next time, let’s try to get to the point where we can really share a drink.”
And with that, he was gone!
Dang Seon-young, who had been staring blankly at Baek Woo Jin’s rapidly retreating figure, let her arm that was still holding the weapon drop limply to her side.
“What on earth…?”
Not only had he resisted her scent, but he had also managed to make physical contact, something she had never allowed anyone to do.
“Ugh…!”
The moments from earlier vividly replayed in her mind.
The face of the man who had approached her so closely, the sensation of his hand at her waist, and his deep voice.
From Baek Woo Jin, there had been a fragrant scent of alcohol she had never encountered before.
“A surprisingly pleasant scent… What am I saying!”
Her face, illuminated by the moonlight, blushed as red as an apple.
***
What woke Baek Woo Jin wasn’t the warm morning sunlight or the sound of chirping sparrows but the intense burning sensation he felt inside.
“Ugh, I’m dying.”
After using the last bit of his internal energy to return to the dormitory, his Dantian had been completely drained. In an attempt to replenish it, he had overindulged in alcohol and passed out, leaving his insides in turmoil.
“Ugh, but at least the bet was worth it.”
It seemed the pain was not without reward.
Baek Woo Jin rubbed his stomach as he reached for the special hangover remedy of the Jegal clan that he had carefully stored in a small drawer.
Now was the perfect time to use it.
He peeled off the wrapper and popped the pill which emitted a strong herbal scent into his mouth. As he chewed, it soon turned into liquid and slid down his throat.
A refreshing sensation spread throughout his body as it traveled down his esophagus.
“Ah, this is the feeling.”
A cool refreshing sensation filled him and made him feel as though his entire body was being recharged. If he could feel this way every morning, he might even consider selling his soul to the devil.
Now that he had recovered, Baek Woo Jin strapped his sword and the gourd to his waist and left the dormitory.
“It’s Baek Woo Jin!”
“It’s Young Master Baek…!”
“Ah, it feels like there’s a halo shining behind him.”
The path to the Grand Martial Arts Arena was more difficult than ever.
When he finally reached the martial arts stage with his body drained of energy, his eyes met those of Shin Ye Hwa who had arrived earlier.
“……”
Her eyes which were usually so lively were now deeply subdued. Her once-chattering lips were now firmly shut. As if to convey a resolute determination that was hard to understand.
She radiated a grim determination like a warrior steeling himself before a final battle. She then averted her eyes, turned her back, and walked away.
He felt a bit uneasy. If she had been acting like this out of sight, he wouldn’t have known, but seeing her so unlike herself right in front of him, and then refusing to even talk when he tried to ask, made it all the more frustrating.
“You’re here.”
Not long after she disappeared from view, Baek Moo Hyeok arrived and gave him a light pat on the back.
When Baek Woo Jin glanced up at his brother’s lightly smiling face, a perfectly reasonable suspicion suddenly crossed his mind.
“Big brother, by any chance…”
“Hmm?”
“Did Ye Hwa confess to you, and you turned her down?”
Baek Moo Hyeok burst into laughter at the unexpected question.
“Hahaha! What’s that all of a sudden?”
“Well, you know, don’t you? Ye Hwa likes you.”
Baek Moo Hyeok was perceptive. He wasn’t so dull or foolish that he couldn’t notice when someone had feelings for him.
“Well, I’m not sure.”
Yet even then, he dodged the question with a noncommittal expression on his face.
Baek Woo Jin felt even more frustrated.
“If it’s not that, then why has she been acting so strange these past few days? You’ve talked to her; you must know something.”
As he blurted out his words like a rapid-fire barrage, Baek Moo Hyeok smiled faintly and finally spoke.
“You’ll probably understand the reason once the duel begins.”
“What?”
“Woo Jin-ah.”
By then, the smile had vanished from Baek Moo Hyeok’s face as he placed a hand on Baek Woo Jin’s shoulder and continued.
“Just follow your heart.”
“What are you talking about?”
Puzzled by the sudden remark, Baek Woo Jin asked again but Baek Moo Hyeok simply stepped back with a smile.
“I’ll be watching from the stands.”
With that, Baek Moo Hyeok walked away without answering the question.
“Seriously, what the hell.”
Baek Woo Jin who was left alone again drowned his confusion in alcohol. He was frustrated by this situation that he couldn’t understand.
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