Chapter 108. Inner Spring
***
There was a pair of eyes watching her.
While everyone was focusing on Namgung Hye and Zhong Zhihang, only those unwavering eyes were looking at her.
To be precise, they were looking at everyone.
His eyes passed over Namgung Hye, Zhong Zhihang, Gwangun, and Yeon Yeong-ha, and then encompassed the entire Main Avenue.
In his eyes, people's appearances were captured as if taking photographs, all of them flowing straight in. As if being sucked in, every single image was engraved into his mind and turned into data.
"What are you looking at so intently?"
"People."
Prey, hunting targets, and.
And things that make one shiver with excitement ....
"Why? Seeing those guys, did you also get interested in that All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament or whatever?"
Madmen.
Dong Bong-su had always been interested in them, and he would be forever.
Why?
Because without them, there would be no meaning to living. A hunter is born to hunt.
"That's right."
"I'm not looking down on you, but with only a somewhat usable level of external cultivation, you won't be able to deal with the guys over there. Are you still fine with that?"
Dong Bong-su turned his gaze and looked at the Weapon Eccentric.
Behind him, he could see Hua Ruizhi, and Ha Seon-hyang, who he didn't know when she had come over. They also seemed to be paying attention, interested in Dong Bong-su's answer.
Humans really were strange.
Even when he was just standing still, they paid attention to him. In fact, these days his appearance wasn't even particularly camouflaged. It was rather close to his original self, with only his instincts stripped away.
Being not ordinary even when staying still. Whether that was good or annoying, either way, this was the first time in recent times.
That didn't mean he had completely taken off his mask. The moment he did, they would realize that he was completely different from them.
"Somewhat usable, you say."
"Then isn't that even more of a problem? If you're not even at a somewhat usable level, how could you possibly exert any strength in a martial arts tournament where monsters that fly, run, and swim across the world participate?"
Dong Bong-su once again turned his head toward the Main Avenue and said indifferently.
"If I were only at a somewhat usable level, I wouldn't even have made it here."
At his words, the expressions of the Weapon Eccentric, Hua Ruizhi, and Ha Seon-hyang all changed subtly. It did mean he was not ordinary and was strong, but his tone was far too flat.
The content was bragging, but it absolutely did not sound like it. A plain, monotonous way of speaking.
It was ambiguous. And somehow hard to understand.
Especially for the Weapon Eccentric.
As far as he knew, with only external cultivation, one could never become an outstanding master. Yet, for some reason, he felt trust and interest.
That ... guy.
Come to think of it, he still didn't even know his name.
"Hey, you."
Dong Bong-su turned his head and looked at the Weapon Eccentric. His eyes were still hidden by his bangs.
"What's your name?"
"Dong...."
Bong-su.
"Dong Gwang-cheon."
And then he turned his gaze back to the Main Avenue.
Looking at his back, all three of them repeated the name Dong Gwang-cheon to themselves.
Dong Bong-su, his real name, was still known to no one.
He still hadn't found his name. There was no need to find it, and no reason to do so.
Spring, the most cruel and most beautiful of all seasons, had arrived. And the madmen who had been hiding in the darkness seeped into the clouds and shadows and gathered here, in Zhengzhou.
***
"Are you going to apply now?"
The Weapon Eccentric glanced at Dong Bong-su once and then asked. By application, he naturally meant the application for the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
Dong Bong-su once again slowly looked around the Main Avenue. It was still a chaotic scene where spectators and applicants were mixed together. Only the area near the path where Zhong Zhihang and Namgung Hye had passed was somewhat spacious.
"When is the deadline?"
He was asking because it didn't seem like today was the only day to apply. If that was the case, there was no particular reason to apply today.
"I dunno. How would I know that? Maybe those young ladies would know?"
The Weapon Eccentric said, jutting his chin toward Hua Ruizhi and Ha Seon-hyang behind them. At his words, Dong Bong-su turned his head and looked at Hua Ruizhi and Ha Seon-hyang.
As his hair fluttered slightly, his indifferent eyes were briefly revealed.
They flinched.
Their bodies trembled slightly. That alone showed how deeply they had already fallen into Dong Bong-su's role-playing.
"......."
"Ten days. Applications are accepted for ten days, and the tournament starts in fifteen days."
Ten days of leeway. As expected, there was no need to apply today.
Also, the tournament would start in fifteen days, on Awakening of Insects.
Dong Bong-su engraved the two pieces of information Ha Seon-hyang had given him deep into his mind and then gave a polite reply.
"Thank you. Anyway."
"Hehe -. It's nothing."
Ha Seon-hyang, who answered while shyly rubbing under her nose, was rather cute. Of course, that was not from Dong Bong-su's point of view, but what ordinary people would think.
Ha Seon-hyang was looking closely at Dong Bong-su, her crescent-moon-shaped eyes sparkling. There was no doubt she was interested. The starting point of that interest was the moment just before, when Dong Bong-su and Hua Ruizhi had almost collided in midair, and his movement and response then.
Dong Bong-su already instinctively knew what people of this world, especially martial artists, were interested in and how to please them.
He had not even investigated what women of this world particularly liked or what kind of men they were attracted to. But judging from their current reaction, they didn't seem much different from the women of the other world.
A capable man with prospects.
Simply put, that was it.
How simple and clear that was. A universal truth. At least, that was the law of the universe Dong Bong-su had felt in two worlds.
Humans are complicated creatures, yet at the same time, they tend to simplify themselves greatly. That made it easy for someone like Dong Bong-su to deceive them.
The two 'female humans' in front of him right now were also simplifying themselves greatly. That was why they were so easily being deluded by the simple illusion Dong Bong-su planted.
In the other world, ability meant money and power.
In this world, it meant strength and martial arts.
Background would be important in any world, but Dong Bong-su covered that with mystery. Knowing his own weaknesses well, he packaged and hid them so they wouldn't show, and added caution to his acting.
The slight strength and martial arts he had shown, the talent close to prospects, and finally the accessory called the Weapon Eccentric beside him, all added a touch of wonder to it.
For now, these women's interest was not affection or love, but merely curiosity or interest. But who knew how it would turn out later. If necessary, he could further heighten their emotions here.
Of course, there was no need to go further yet.
When needed, at the right time and place.
And.
Not yet.
"Ah, this bastard, really. He's the type who'll never hold a woman's hand even once in his whole life. If you're thankful, just say you're thankful. Why add 'anyway' to it? Huh? Tsk tsk."
The Weapon Eccentric clicked his tongue and pointed out Dong Bong-su's awkward way of speaking and interjections.
Dong Bong-su glanced at the Weapon Eccentric once and then quickly turned his head back.
He didn't know whether he had ever held a woman's hand, but he was definitely a man who had never had a proper romance.
He didn't know women. He really didn't know them at all.
He also completely failed to read that, thanks to his rough way of speaking just now, the degree of interest in him in their eyes had deepened. He didn't even know the basics, like how a bad guy can become a cool guy depending on the surrounding atmosphere and environment.
Perhaps the Weapon Eccentric really had never properly held a woman's wrist even once in his life. Or perhaps, in the terms of the other world, he might be a lifelong solo.
It wasn't Dong Bong-su's concern, though.
Pat!
Leaving behind the sound of the Weapon Eccentric clicking his tongue, Dong Bong-su suddenly leapt toward the quiet path leading to the Inner Hall.
"Th, that bastard! When an elder is talking!"
The Weapon Eccentric shouted, but Dong Bong-su had already reached the ground. Not only the Weapon Eccentric, but also Hua Ruizhi and Ha Seon-hyang were dumbfounded by his unexpected action.
There was absolutely no consistency in his behavior.
He wasn't a quirky woman, yet he was a man whose actions could go anywhere. That was Dong Bong-su as they saw him.
"Kekeke. He really is a funny guy."
The Weapon Eccentric, instead of being angry, chuckled lowly at Dong Bong-su's behavior and took a step forward to stand at the edge of the roof.
"Then, young ladies. Let's meet again next time."
"Um, wait a moment! Elder!"
At Hua Ruizhi's call, the Weapon Eccentric stopped just before jumping down and looked back at her.
"What is it, miss? Are you perhaps interested in me?"
When a hooligan gets old, does he throw out such low-level jokes?
The Weapon Eccentric might have said it as a joke, but no one laughed or showed interest. The timing and the content were both a mess.
That was why, despite having both strength and martial arts, he had never held a woman's wrist even once in his life. At this rate, he probably never would.
"I think it would be better if I knew your name, so I wouldn't make a mistake when we meet again next time."
"My name? Well, it's not something grand enough to call a name, but... then for now, just call me Bukgung Gi. Then I'll be going."
Pat!
With those words, the Weapon Eccentric jumped down, chasing after Dong Bong-su. With the absurd expectation that maybe they would call out to him again.
However, they merely repeated his name in low voices.
"Bukgung Gi?"
"Bukgung Gi?"
It wasn't a name that immediately came to mind. But it was a name they had heard somewhere before. It was from a very long time ago, so they couldn't remember well, but it was definitely three characters they had heard.
"Ah! Bukgung Gi!"
Ha Seon-hyang, having remembered first, cried out shortly.
"You remembered?"
"Yes, senior sister. You know, that person. That person's name was Bukgung Gi."
"That person?"
"Ah, that person, that person's nickname was .... "
She remembered the name, but not knowing how to explain it, Ha Seon-hyang trailed off, then quickly widened her eyes and said.
"Martial Match Hammer Eccentric!"
"Martial Match Hammer Eccentric!? Ah!"
Only then did Hua Ruizhi remember as well.
Martial Match Hammer Eccentric.
Whether he was the same person or just a namesake was unclear, but about ten years ago, there had been a strange man who traveled around the Central Plains holding martial matches, and his name was Bukgung Gi.
A name that suddenly appeared in the martial world, caused a huge uproar, and then suddenly disappeared one day.
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