Episode 124
Hwang Se-jin has been called a genius from heaven by everyone in the family since childhood.
Literally, he possessed natural talent, and of course there was no one in his age group to follow him.
However, as the years passed, another monster named Hwang Ji-hak appeared in the royal family.
Even compared to Hwang Se-jin, Hwang Ji-hak’s talent was not pushed at all, and he even seemed to be a little ahead of him.
‘… upstart.’
Unlike Hwang Se-jin, who spent her early and mid teens accustomed to only admiring those around her, Hwang Ji-hak never wastes a single day.
Naturally, the difference between the two has gradually narrowed, and now, in fact, even Hwang Se-jin cannot guarantee that he has an advantage over Hwang Ji-hak.
From the perspective of Hwang Se-jin, who is now in her mid-20s, it can be said that it is a very self-defeating thing.
‘Ttt. I thought the Hwang Jung-wook clan was over.’
At a time when Hwang Ji-hak was not yet prominent, Hwang Se-yeon’s sluggish growth, who was expected to lead the Hwang Jeong-wook clan in the future.
Because it was a symbiotic relationship with the Hwang Jeong-wook clan and a rivalry in charge of the neighboring districts, Hwang Se-jin used to laugh at Hwang Se-yeon without knowing it.
It was at that time that I first met Han Kang-yoon.
‘It was really unpleasant to see people who didn’t know each other wrap around each other.’
It was obviously Han Kang-yoon, who had shabby skills that could not even be compared with Hwang Se-jin at the time, but he did not back down and expressed his opinion to Hwang Se-jin.
It was very disturbing, and Hwang Se-jin has not forgotten Han Kang-yoon for a single day from that day.
‘Heh, I thought it would somehow work if my head got a little bigger.’
Of course, compared to that time, it seems that I have developed my own capabilities, but Hwang Se-jin judged that it was not enough to cause a problem.
“… There it is.”
Luckily, Hwangwoojo was found while heading to the middle of the mountain.
Hwang Se-jin followed the movement path of the guy and finally found his base.
There were a few trials and errors in the process, but it was clear that it was very fast.
If it is Han Kang-yun’s skill predicted by Hwang Se-jin, it will probably take a day or two to catch that Hwang Woo-jo no matter how bad it is.
‘It’s roughly a win.’
After fighting for about an hour, Hwang Se-jin, who had adapted to Hwang Woo-jo’s movements, was finally able to capture the one he had been eyeing.
Hwang Se-jin returned to the starting point with such a majestic momentum.
It was exactly seven hours after the match started.
jerk.
jerk.
“… … .”
While moving, Hwang Se-jin, who noticed something, stopped and wrinkled her eyes.
It was because Hwang Jin-cheol, who was in charge of the referee, was already standing next to his opponent, Han Kang-yoon.
‘why… … .’
Too fast than expected. Hwang Se-jin looked at Han Kang-yun’s whereabouts with shaky eyes. And then I noticed something strange.
There is Han Kang-yoon, but there is no Hwang Woo-jo. Hwang Se-jin breathed a deep sigh of relief for a moment.
‘Hey, he couldn’t have succeeded so quickly.’
Hwang Woo-jo, which Hwang Se-jin directly experienced, was a very sensitive and agile creature. It’s not that it’s not, but it really has the ability to be called a spirit creature.
Even Hwang Se-jin, who luckily discovered the appearance of Hwang Woo-jo from the beginning, took this much time, but it was like an absurdity that Han Kang-yoon surpassed him.
However, it didn’t take long for Hwang Se-jin’s self to be broken.
whistle.
As Han Kang-yoon whistled lightly, a clear chirping of birds could be heard from somewhere, and a wind blew past Hwang Se-jin’s head.
When he confirmed his identity with trembling eyes, he suddenly saw Hwang Woo-jo, who climbed onto Han Kang-yoon’s shoulder and flapped his feathers without warning.
‘this. Unbelievable.’
It was not that Han Kang-yun failed to capture Hwang Woo-jo. Rather, it was a situation where I had already finished catching it a long time ago and even tamed it with my own hands.
Realizing that fact, Sejin Hwang naturally lost strength in her steps.
Hwang Jin-cheol, the referee, said to Hwang Se-jin, who returned to the starting point while chewing his teeth.
“Exactly five hours and 37 minutes. If you are a smart person, you know what I’m talking about, right?”
Of course. It was clear that it was the time difference between Han Kang-yun and Hwang Se-jin to complete the purpose of the bet.
However, that made it even more unbelievable.
“… don’t joke So, does that mean kid caught Hwang Woo-jo in less than two hours? You can’t do that unless you cheat on something.”
Hwang Se-jin was sure. At Han Kang-yun’s level, it’s impossible to capture Hwang Woo-jo in such an early time.
However, the answer was not Hwang Jin-cheol, but Hwang Kwang-soo, a powerful member of the Hwang Jeong-wook clan.
“There was no cheating in the game. As the watcher, I guarantee.”
If it comes out like that, Hwang Se-jin has no way to respond.
So all that was left was the ugly struggle of those who couldn’t understand defeat.
“… Hwang Kwang-soo, you too have lost your senses. The foreigner cleared the catch of the Hwangwoojo at this speed, which even exorcists from the royal family could not easily succeed? Hi, do you think that makes sense?”
“Hey, you still haven’t given up on that habit. What does it have to do with being a foreigner or something? It’s just that Han Kang-yoon’s skills were good and you were lacking.”
At the words of Hwang Kwang-soo, Hwang Se-jin bit her lips tightly.
Judging by the aura that is clearly felt, Han Kang-yoon is inferior to himself. But why the hell did this happen?
Hwang Ji-hak, who was observing the situation, approached Hwang Se-jin, who was trembling in an indescribable feeling.
“There is nothing to worry about. Because it was a natural result.”
“… what?”
“Even if my opponent was me, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve that quick result. It means that the current Han Kang-yoon has that level of skill.”
“Great.”
“Han Kang-yoon, who had been ignoring that you would never be an exorcist for the rest of your life, has now become one of the top talents in the academy. Isn’t it time to fix that narrow-minded way of thinking?”
It was the words of Hwang Ji-hak, who was so skeptical, but now Hwang Se-jin could not refute it at all.
Because the visible results were so clear.
In the end, Hwang Se-jin had no choice but to admit defeat while barely suppressing his disappointment and humiliation.
“I lost.”
It was the moment when the winner of the bet over Hwang Woo-jo was decided.
***
A traditional house with an old-fashioned atmosphere, deep inside.
A man, sitting neatly on the floor, frowns his brows, sipping a glass of wine.
He was one of the elders of the Cheong family and one of the top exorcists, Qingdao-Yul.
“… Shit. Those stupid bastards.”
The Qingdao Yul faction has not been in a very good condition lately.
The first reason was that the factions within the faction began to waver, and the second reason was that they lost much of the support of the neutrals.
And the cause of all this was the disappearance of the Blue Dragon, who is called the guardian deity of the Blue House.
‘Really, things go awry without end.’
He had already lost the approval of the Blue Dragon, and his heart was twisted, and now he even disappeared.
The blue dragon is the guardian deity of the family that does not belong to anyone, but since the Cheongdo-yul was in charge of the area after the Cheongsaun family was expelled, most of the responsibilities had to be shouldered as well.
From the point of view of Qingdao-Yul, it was like a disaster.
‘It can’t be like this. If this state continues, the balance of power within the clan is sure to tilt toward the shogunate.’
It had to be stopped no matter what. Qingdao-yul threw the glass he was holding onto the wall with growing annoyance.
Wheeik!
Whoa!
Tiddick.
tick.
The fragments of the glass were scattered all over the place, and then someone came in from outside the door and began to carefully organize them. It was Cheong I-rin, who could be said to be the henchman of Qingdao-yul.
Looking at Cheong I-rin, Cheong Do-yul, who barely swallowed his irritation, opened his mouth.
“… I guess it’s time to move on my own.”
“Have you thought of something?”
“Yeah, first of all, I will definitely clean up the inside of the group. You intentionally created friction with the forces of Jeong-ha.”
There is no surer way to establish the original cluttered atmosphere than to create a common enemy.
And at the same time, in the current situation, there was a person who was very suitable to be targeted.
“… Obviously, you said your name was Cheongjuhwa.”
“You mean the daughter of Cheongsaun. Are you going to use her?”
“okay. At the same time, Jeong-ha reaped that young girl, and the cause is also here. There is no reason to hesitate.”
The Cheongsawoon family was expelled from the family for violating a taboo. And if you tell them that the existence of Cheongjuhwa, the last bloodline, caused the anger of the Blue Dragon, there will surely be those who are convinced even by the neutral family of the family.
‘Accordingly, the criticism of the disappearance of the Blue Dragon could be put to rest to some extent.’
Then what happens next is simple. The Chungcheong-ha faction protecting Cheongjuhwa will be under pressure, and inevitably there will also be armed clashes.
A secret strategy that can weaken the power of Jeong-ha, who has always been annoyed, and at the same time silence the negative views on the atmosphere within the faction and the Blue Dragon incident.
Qingdaoyul was convinced that it was the best decision.
“Call together all the representatives of the faction. I will take action right away before my opponent notices.”
“… Yes, I understand.”
So, finally, a small crack that had formed inside the blue house began to grow in size.
***
After admitting defeat in the match, Hwang Se-jin apologized for insulting Hwang Se-yeon while staining her face red, and then left.
Even though that attitude was negligent, it could be said that it was a perfect victory for this side, which in fact received everything it could receive.
“I will also keep my words. Here is the promised Hwangryongseonokcho. I brought it in the best condition, so I hope it will be useful.”
“thank you. old man.”
Hwangryongseonokcho, which was handed over to Hwang Jin-cheol, went straight to the same place as last time and took it without hesitation.
Since there was not much time now, he was going to quickly absorb the power of the elixir and leave the realm of the imperial family.
“What do you plan to do next?”
“Well. He must be busy in many ways.”
“Then we will meet again after we return to the academy.”
Having absorbed the power of the elixir up to the target level while immersing myself in Hwangjigwa training, I immediately started moving according to Jiyeon Cheong’s message that disturbing movements were detected.
“… Will you come back later if you have a spare time? Because there is not much to do here.”
“I’ll listen to you again when I get a chance.”
After saying goodbye to Hwang Se-yeon, I left the Hwang family’s territory with an intuition that the case was about to begin in earnest.
‘… … .’
And after a while, an urgent call flew in to me.
Its owner was Cheongjuhwa, the main character in the second half of Chapter 3 of this story.