Chapter: 297
This guy.
No, should I say this girl?
Anyway. I don’t know much about this person.
Jegal Ji-hee.
That was the name of this girl I knew.
A woman with the surname Jegal.
She had prominent freckles on her face.
She had a small, squinty-eyed impression.
In reality, what’s more important than her first impression is…
She is a person with the surname Jegal.
The Zhuge family, once known as one of the Five Great Houses, was a pillar of the Central Plains.
One day, out of nowhere, their clan was wiped out by the Murim Alliance.
The reason recorded by the Murim Alliance for the downfall of the Jegal clan was as follows.
Rebellion and bloodshed.
If you ask what sort of rebellion and bloodshed a noble family like the Zhuge prepared…
You’d figure it out by considering another name they went by.
‘Descendants of the Blood Demon.’
People looked at the Zhuge family and called them descendants of the Blood Demon.
The Blood Demon, according to records, left no blood relatives or successors.
The reason they call the Zhuge family descendants is none other than the pursuit of the Blood Demon’s legacy.
Based on the path he took.
The Zhuge family secretly plotted a rebellion.
It is said that the Murim Alliance quickly suppressed them, leading to the extermination of the Jegal clan.
The claim that they pursued the path of the Blood Demon… honestly, I don’t understand.
How could a place known for its righteousness choose such a path?
From the very beginning, I wasn’t even interested, let alone understanding.
Anyway.
Because of this, the Jin clan, the root of the Zhuge family, were beheaded.
Now, most of those with the Jegal surname are the surviving blood relatives of Bangga.
Even they live hiding their last names.
Or, most people live without even remembering their last names.
Just among the Jegal clan I know.
There were only Jegal Hyuk and Jegal Ji-hee.
Of course.
If Jegal Hyuk is truly the grandson of Shin Ui,
There’s a possibility that Shin’s surname is also Jegal.
But that’s not really important, so I never thought much about it.
What really matters is…
What position she will hold in the future.
Jegal Ji-hee.
What she proclaimed to the world upon her appearance was a declaration to clear the Zhuge clan’s name and restore their lost honor.
Isn’t that amusing?
A descendant of a clan that dreamed of rebellion and wanted to cause bloodshed,
Now claims she wants to regain their reputation and honor.
According to her, the claim that the Zhuge family plotted rebellion using the Blood Demon’s power was false.
But there’s no way the Murim Alliance would acknowledge that.
If they recognize it, it means admitting that it was their own mistake.
There’s no way they would do that.
In fact, even if what Jegal Ji-hee said was true,
And maybe there really were no mistakes on their part…
The current Murim Alliance wouldn’t recognize it.
Those guys are predictable.
In the meantime, the one who supported Jegal Ji-hee was none other than Meteor Sword Jang Seon-yeon.
He didn’t come out saying Jegal Ji-hee was right, but rather asked to believe in her capabilities and strength.
She proved her power.
Because she also indicated a willingness to help the Zhuge family rise again.
Whether it was the influence of the Meteor Sword or if the upper management of the Murim Alliance accepted it, I’m not sure,
But the Murim Alliance accepted Jegal Ji-hee.
The position given to her was…
That of a strategist, no less.
Of course, that doesn’t mean she performed admirably in that role.
Sadly.
It was a time stained with blood.
Her opponent, appointed as the strategist of the Murim Alliance, was Jegal Hyuk.
The brain of the Demonic Cult.
He was a genius known as the head of the Celestial Horse.
When surrounded by three peak martial artists,
With the body of an ordinary civilian, he evaded their pursuit.
Utilizing terrain and conditions.
The tale goes that he ended up slaying all three with his own hands.
It’s a very famous story in the Central Plains.
Against such an opponent, Jegal Ji-hee…
Wasn’t exactly a brilliant strategist.
To face Jegal Hyuk,
At the very least, you’d need someone of Mo Yong-hee’s caliber.
But Mo Yong-hee had already passed away by then,
So that example doesn’t quite fit.
And.
While Jegal Ji-hee didn’t possess exceptional strategy skills,
The power she had wasn’t without its worth.
Plus.
In the end, she achieved one feat.
The death of Jegal Hyuk.
That was something done by Jegal Ji-hee herself.
From that moment, the tide of the war against the Demonic Cult began to shift.
“What are you doing?”
But.
Is this really the Jegal Ji-hee I’ve been looking for?
If this is indeed the Jegal Ji-hee I sought,
‘Why does she look like this?’
Why does she look this way?
No matter how I scrutinized it, the appearance was not that of a woman.
‘Is she cross-dressing?’
I wasn’t entirely certain.
Even if the form is graceful, it lacked the curves to be called a female physique.
‘… What are the odds that the future Jegal Ji-hee is in disguise?’
That seemed more probable. I wondered why she would engage in such perversion.
Her current appearance certainly gave that impression.
‘Her facial features…’
Freckles abound, and her eyes are squinty.
Not much different from what I know.
Kwak-
“Ugh…!”
She looked to be around the age of a young adult.
Though her voice was thin and delicate,
There was definitely a masculine aura about her.
“Hey.”
“Uh, I made a mistake… ssut…”
“What’s your name?”
“Cough… cough…”
It seems I might have held her too tightly.
I loosened my grip a bit, feeling she couldn’t speak.
“Hah…!”
“Name.”
“It’s Ji… Ji-seon.”
“Add the surname.”
“…”
When I asked for her surname, she fell silent.
I wasn’t planning on waiting.
“I’ll give you three seconds. If you don’t answer, I’ll break your arm.”
Kwak-
“Ugh.”
“This… this thing.”
“You said three seconds, so why are you starting from this second…! I’ll answer!”
Only after hearing the urgent response did I finally relax.
“Speak.”
“Iron… Iron Ji-seon.”
*Iron surname.
‘That’s a lie.’*
Judging by the name Ji-seon, I couldn’t tell if it was true or false.
But at least, the surname was likely a fabrication.
Naturally, she must be using a pseudonym.
“What do you want with me?”
I needed to find out what she was after.
“Uh… I need a belt…”
I found her lying down, exhausted.
It appeared she thought to sneak off with it.
“Hm…”
So, she’s at an intermediate level, it seems.
I’d guess she’s something like second-rate.
That’s the vibe coming from her gestures and aura.
How on earth did this girl pass?
‘This may not be everything she has.‘
Hiding strength is entirely possible.
That’s what I was doing right now.
Of course, all of that was discovered…
Damn it.
“Hey.”
“Please, just let me go…! From now on, I won’t even pretend to be pretty while I sleep…!”
That’s quite a pathetic plea.
Is this girl really Jegal Ji-hee?
I wasn’t in a position to act rashly, considering she might be acting.
“Do you have an older sister?”
We might want to entertain other possibilities.
“Yes…?”
“Or maybe a younger sister.”
“…”
You have to ask what needs asking.
The expression on her face changed at my words.
What should I say? It felt more like she was repulsed than caught red-handed.
What’s with that expression?
“That… why are you asking…?”
“Uh…”
“Oh, no!”
Only after hearing that did I release my grip on her.
“Cough… Cough…”
Only then did she fall to the ground, struggling to cough up the air.
I gazed at her and thought.
‘That’s another lie.’
The tiny differences when saying nothing and when she spoke.
Noticing disruptions in her breath or the energy she exuded.
That answer was definitely a lie.
I really didn’t care if she had a sister or not.
What mattered was…
‘She’s hiding something.’
That alone was enough.
If this girl has a secret, whether she’s Jegal Ji-hee or not,
It increases the likelihood she’s related to her.
‘The timing to act is definitely now.’
She said she was a classmate of Jang Seon-yeon.
So this should be the right moment.
Is something off?
That could be possible.
I don’t accurately remember the moment.
This is right when the butterfly effect began spreading like crazy due to my nonsense.
Things could’ve changed.
‘But, we still don’t know.’
I watched the girl sprawled out.
No matter how I looked at her, I wondered how someone so weak got to the third trial.
‘Should I make her mine?’
As I thought this, I felt a stir in my energy center.
As if it had been waiting for this moment.
Honestly, that would be the easiest way.
But I had to forcibly suppress the stirring energy.
‘… Not yet.’
Yet it feels right to endure for now.
Especially since I was nursing internal injuries and it’d be hard to corrupt someone now.
If I went that far…
I might be out cold for days.
Then.
What other approach is there?
“There must be something.”
There was a very simple method still available.
“Hey, friend.”
“Yes… yes? D-duh… yes?”
I called out sweetly, meeting her gaze.
I deliberately knelt down on one knee.
Giving her a bright smile, she trembled.
This was different from the original plan.
I don’t know what kind of person this is.
Well then.
Once I find out, that’ll be it.
“Shall we be friends?”
Isn’t that something I can easily find out by keeping her close?
I was going to approach her anyway,
And with the clue practically landing at my feet!
I couldn’t let it slip away.
The problem is, at my suggestion of friendship,
She started crying out of nowhere.
“… Ugh… Ugh…”
She seemed to struggle to hold in her tears, but once they started, they wouldn’t stop.
‘… What on earth? Why all of a sudden the waterworks?’
I just wanted to be friends.
Why’s she crying so sorrowfully?
Killing my mood here!
I addressed the sobbing Cheol Ji-seon.
“Hey, are you crying?”
“No, it’s not…”
“You really don’t want to be friends with me, huh?”
“No! I… I want to!”
“Great, let’s do our best at this.”
“Yes… yes.”
“Let’s get along. You owe me one too, right?”
“Well… if that’s the case…”
As I used her earlier attempt to swipe my belt as leverage,
The self-proclaimed Iron Ji-seon fumbled and brought out the belt, trembling.
“I, I’ll give you this….”
“Hey, friend.”
I grabbed the belt she was trying to hand me and forcefully returned it to her.
“Friends don’t take things like this. Do I look like someone who just takes things from others?”
“…”
“Answer me.”
“No, I don’t!”
Hearing her earnest reply,
I nodded in apparent satisfaction.
What can I say?
I felt like I had gained a good friend… no, make that one.
Lucky me.
Absolutely.
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