Yeon Jami shuddered faintly and hurriedly shook her head.
"There is no need for that."
She then thrust out her left hand with a resolute expression.
"Who said I would permit the marriage?"
"The same applies even if you dissolve the engagement."
Bu Eunseol spoke respectfully.
"There is the dignity of our respective sects to consider, so would a unilateral dissolution not cause problems? It is only proper for the elders of both families to meet..."
Yeon Jami answered firmly.
"I refuse."
"Palace Master."
"Our palace has always been sacred ground forbidden to men. Circumstances forced me to let you inside, but... I have no intention of allowing any more figures of the Demonic Path to enter."
Bu Eunseol nodded.
"Then I shall take that to mean you will give me an opportunity to win back the Young Palace Lord's heart."
"What?"
"Since the Pavilion Master cannot come here, I have no choice but to decide everything myself, do I not?"
Yeon Jami furrowed her brow deeply.
"Do not twist my words."
"Then meet privately with the Pavilion Master and bring this matter to a proper conclusion."
"I told you, I refuse!"
Yeon Jami erupted in anger.
Bu Eunseol's martial arts were formidable, but she did not fear him using force.
There were limits even he would observe.
But the Human Demon...
She could never permit that nightmarish man to come to the Divine Maiden Palace.
'That monster is absolutely out of the question.'
Yeon Jami had seen Ak Muryeong in person long ago.
Simply because they had touched Nangyang Pavilion, he had single-handedly annihilated the Black Heaven Sect, which once dominated the Yuanling region.
No, annihilated was not the right word.
He had crushed them.
Yeon Jami, who happened to witness the scene, learned that day just how horribly a human body could be broken.
She suffered nightmares for three days and nights afterward.
Even now, twenty years later, the memory sometimes returned in her dreams, making her awaken with a shudder.
And Bu Eunseol wanted to bring the source of that nightmare directly before her eyes?
She could never allow it.
"Does every matter not have its proper procedure? Since you insist on dissolving the engagement unilaterally..."
"This Palace Master..."
"...will invite our Pavilion Master here in accordance with propriety."
When Bu Eunseol invoked the Pavilion Master at the end of every sentence,
"I told you, that monster cannot come!"
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Yeon Jami covered her mouth.
"No, I did not mean monster, but that ignorant muscle demon..."
"Pardon?"
"No. It is nothing."
The fear in Yeon Jami's eyes gradually gave way to resignation.
If she did not grant permission, that hateful brat would bring Ak Muryeong to the Divine Maiden Palace without fail.
"Half a month."
Suppressing the rage threatening to burst from her, she spoke coldly.
"I will give you half a month. If you cannot win that child's heart within that time, you will give up."
"Understood."
Bu Eunseol bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for granting me permission, Palace Master."
Without even answering, Yeon Jami swept outside.
Namgung Sea watched her leave and spoke while suppressing her laughter.
"You found the Palace Master's weakness rather well."
She had seen through Bu Eunseol's repeated references to Ak Muryeong as an attempt to pressure Yeon Jami.
"What would I not do if it meant clinging to the Young Palace Lord's trouser legs?"
Bu Eunseol knew very well that Yeon Jami was terrified of Ak Muryeong.
That was why he had deliberately pressured her by invoking propriety.
"But will half a month be enough?"
Namgung Sea looked worried.
"We tried every conceivable method to restore the Young Palace Lord's memories, but nothing worked."
"If her memories cannot be restored..."
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly, as though he already had something in mind.
"Then we can simply make new ones."
Half a month.
It could be considered a short period.
But it was long enough for a young man and woman to fall in love.
"Make new ones?"
"That is right."
Even if every memory had been erased, she could fall in love again.
Unless her heart had been stolen by the Mind-Seizing Secret Art, he was confident that he could win it.
The next day arrived.
Bu Eunseol bought a great many beautiful trinkets in the city and strode proudly through the main gate of the Divine Maiden Palace.
Yeon Jami had granted him permission.
He was now allowed to enter and leave the Divine Maiden Palace for half a month to court Yeon Soha.
Was it because all her memories of Bu Eunseol had vanished?
Yeon Soha, who was gentle and kind to everyone, treated only him with merciless coldness.
No, she did not show even the slightest interest in him.
'All I need to do is keep trying.'
In the past, the situation might have left him in despair.
But after studying the Heart-Captivating Secret Texts, he was confident that he could somehow win back her heart.
"I have come to see the Young Palace Lord."
Bu Eunseol strode confidently toward the pavilion where Yeon Soha was staying.
Upon reaching the top of a high hill, he saw her savoring tea while admiring the scenery.
Her figure was like a painting as she sat in the open pavilion overlooking the entire Divine Maiden Palace, the wind stirring the hair beside her ears.
'That should do nicely.'
Watching her, Bu Eunseol performed the Immortal Crane Cloud-Heaven Steps to match the surrounding atmosphere.
It was a stepping art in which a handsome man lost in profound thought strolled leisurely while marveling at magnificent scenery.
But Bu Eunseol walked with an excessively grave expression, nodding his head from side to side as though lost in thought...
He looked like a scholar desperately searching for a privy because he could no longer hold himself back.
The instant Yeon Soha saw him, she spat out the tea in her mouth.
She had lived a life of restraint like an eminent Buddhist monk, and this was the first time she had ever behaved so crudely.
"Good day."
Bu Eunseol greeted her without abandoning the ridiculous gait.
Yeon Soha could not bring herself to look straight at him and turned her head aside.
"I believe you have come to the wrong place."
"What do you mean?"
"The privy is not this way..."
"The privy?"
"No, it is nothing."
When Yeon Soha's cold expression seemed to soften somewhat, Bu Eunseol brazenly sat across from her and asked,
"Young Palace Lord, what are you doing today?"
Yeon Soha's gaze instantly sharpened.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I was curious."
"Whatever I do, is there any reason I must tell an outsider?"
'The Young Palace Lord was always the sort to speak plainly rather than circle around the point.'
Having reached that conclusion, Bu Eunseol replied,
"How else can I spend time with you if I do not know your schedule?"
"What?"
"I wish to be with you."
In the past, matters would have been different.
Yeon Soha would have received those words with boundless joy.
Now, however, a deathly silence descended.
When Yeon Soha stared fixedly at him,
Grin.
Bu Eunseol lightly covered his face with his right forearm and revealed his white teeth.
It was the Wondrous Blossom Heart-Bewitching Smile recorded in the Jade Wrist Secret Classic, said to capture a woman's gaze and heart in a single instant.
However, perhaps because he had stretched every facial muscle he never normally used into a broad smile,
Tremble, tremble.
The corners of his eyes and mouth began to twitch.
Yeon Soha's gaze trembled faintly as she stared at his smile, and her black pupils widened.
'Did it work?'
Bu Eunseol opened his eyes wide, bared his gleaming white teeth, and showed her an even brighter smile.
"Is anyone there?"
Her voice thundered through the pavilion.
"Drag that man out at once!"
Rumble.
Disciples of the Divine Maiden Palace came rushing up the hill.
'It appears direct expressions of affection are not good for the Young Palace Lord as she is now.'
The palace martial artists restrained him and drove him away.
Bu Eunseol returned to the pavilion the next day at the time when Yeon Soha usually drank tea.
He shamelessly came again the next day.
This time Yeon Soha did not treat him coldly, but set down her teacup and spoke calmly.
"Many people have told me... that you and I are engaged."
"That is right. Do you remember?"
"Not at all."
Yeon Soha shook her head and spoke in a cold voice.
"Despite our supposed engagement... I hear you never came looking for me or visited our palace. Is that also true?"
Bu Eunseol did not lie.
"It is true."
"And when rumors spread that I was seeing Young Master Dam, you came running here in a panic?"
"That is correct."
"I appreciate that you do not lie."
Yeon Soha spoke firmly.
"To be honest, I do not particularly wish to recover my memories of you."
Bu Eunseol swallowed his bitterness and nodded.
"I understand."
"However, many disciples unanimously told me that you saved our palace from danger several times. That is the only reason I have tolerated your discourtesy."
Yeon Soha looked directly into Bu Eunseol's eyes.
"But I do not believe I can tolerate any more."
In her own way, she had been considerate toward Bu Eunseol.
But because he clung to her so persistently without regard for anything else... she was warning him in advance that she would respond firmly from now on.
"I understand. From now on, I will follow the proper procedure whenever I visit."
After offering a respectful bow, Bu Eunseol calmly turned away.
Yeon Soha had completely lost every memory of him.
Her behavior was entirely natural.
'The Heart-Captivating Secret Texts said that one must consider a woman's disposition.'
After pondering for a long while, he finally reached a conclusion.
'Now that she has lost her memories, I cannot approach this with an ordinary solution.'
Yeon Soha's situation was not normal.
Then he needed to approach her in a different and unconventional way.
* * *
"Brother Bu, how long has it been?"
An unexpected guest other than Bu Eunseol arrived at the Divine Maiden Palace.
A noble young man with a tall frame and large ears visited the Flower-Dissolving Hall.
He was Namgung Un, the young master of the Southern Palace and Bu Eunseol's sworn brother.
"Aunt."
After clasping both hands with Bu Eunseol and greeting him joyfully, Namgung Un approached Namgung Sea and bowed respectfully.
"It seems you have taken another fine spiritual medicine since we last met. You grow younger by the day."
After becoming the young master, his bearing had grown dignified, and his personality had become cautious.
Now he had returned to the Divine Maiden Palace, where he had once traveled with Bu Eunseol during his earliest days in the martial world.
He began speaking recklessly again, as though he had returned to his days as a wastrel.
"Anyone who saw us might think you were my younger sister... Ah! Please do not pull my ear."
Namgung Un's nonsense softened the bleak atmosphere considerably.
"But what is going on? Why did you summon me with such urgency?"
"Well..."
Bu Eunseol calmly explained everything that had happened.
Namgung Un listened in silence, then spoke with a grave expression.
"You mean that even if her memories have been erased, love can begin again."
Having discerned Bu Eunseol's plan, Namgung Un continued,
"And you summoned me to recreate the day you first met Young Palace Lord Yeon."
He smiled gently.
"A first meeting leaves that deep an impression on the mind, after all."
"Exactly."
Bu Eunseol and Yeon Soha had first met on the day he passed through the Heavenly Barrier Twenty-Four Gates.
It was also the moment when she first began to harbor feelings for him.
Bu Eunseol had resolved to recreate that day exactly.
For that purpose, he had enlisted Namgung Sea's help to summon Namgung Un as quickly as possible.
He had also received permission to reenter the Heavenly Barrier Twenty-Four Gates, which had once been used to test whether one was qualified to become Yeon Soha's husband.
"There is no time to waste."
Namgung Un rolled up his sleeves and revealed his white teeth.
"Let us begin at once."
The Jaha Secret Cave of the Divine Maiden Palace.
It was a vast underground cave within the palace, originally used to store secret manuals passed down through the generations, but ultimately sealed because of the rising damp.
Meanwhile, invitation cards from men courting Yeon Soha had arrived at the Divine Maiden Palace every single day without fail.
To select a young hero worthy of Yeon Soha, the Divine Maiden Palace Master, Yeon Jami, had installed the Heavenly Barrier Twenty-Four Gates inside the Jaha Secret Cave.
Clank.
When they opened the door of the secret cave and entered, torches burned on every side.
Dense lines covered the floor of the stone chamber, making it resemble a massive xiangqi board.
Within it stood twenty-four enormous bronze statues, each seemingly more than eight cheok tall.
'Ah, how nostalgic.'
Namgung Un smiled as he gazed around the interior of the Heavenly Barrier Twenty-Four Gates.
He had attempted to pass through the gates back then, only to fail and nearly lose his life.
Yeon Soha, who had been watching, showed him mercy by forcibly stopping the mechanisms midway, allowing him to survive by the narrowest margin.
Bu Eunseol entered the gates afterward and also fell into danger, but ultimately broke through the Heavenly Barrier Twenty-Four Gates by unleashing his formidable internal energy.
Black Leopard, who had served as Bu Eunseol's attendant at the time, was not here.
But Namgung Un alone was enough to recreate the scene from that day.
"It seems we truly must stake our lives on this."
Staring into the stone chamber, Namgung Un repeated exactly what he had said back then.
"You may still give up."
The Young Palace Lord, her face covered with a veil, replied in a low voice.
"This formation can never be passed alone. At least two masters deeply versed in formations are needed to dismantle it."
Bu Eunseol and Namgung Un's gazes met.
―'There is hope!'
Yeon Soha had played her part as well.
Had repeated her words from that day without deviating by a single syllable.
What if Bu Eunseol properly passed through the gates again after enduring countless hardships, just as he had back then?
It could give Yeon Soha an opportunity to develop feelings for him once more.
"I will give it a try."
Drawing the Golden Needle Sword at his waist, Namgung Un strode boldly into the Heavenly Barrier Twenty-Four Formation.
Vwoosh!
The moment he stepped inside, something unpleasant bored into his mind, and the heavenly generals within the formation swung their enormous greatswords.
'Hmm.'
Namgung Un pressed his lips into a flat line.
His martial arts had improved far too much.
A mechanism like this no longer posed him any threat.
'It cannot be helped.'
He was helping none other than Bu Eunseol.
Namgung Un cast aside every shred of dignity.
"Uaaaaah!"
With a mighty battle cry, he charged the heavenly generals while performing deliberately atrocious sword techniques.
'If I am going to do this, I might as well make it spectacular!'
Boom! Baaang!
Whenever he swung his sword, stone powder and clouds of dust billowed from the floor of the chamber.
He rolled across the ground, covered himself in blood, and launched clumsy attacks while pretending to fight with all his strength.
He managed to break only the greatswords of the heavenly generals.
"Ugh."
Namgung Un groaned and began swinging the Golden Needle Sword wildly.
Back then, the bewildering power spread throughout the Heavenly Barrier Twenty-Four Gates had robbed him of his senses, causing him to slash endlessly at empty air.
He had recreated even that scene exactly.
At last, when he was bleeding profusely and appeared to be in mortal danger,
"Stop!"
With that brief cry, Yeon Soha took out the Young Palace Lord Token that could halt the mechanisms.
"Stop the trial."
She then ordered Namgung Sea to stop the mechanisms.
Once again, the scene was identical to the past.
But... the reaction that followed was different.
"I do not think there is any need to watch further."
Yeon Soha spoke coldly.
"I will not continue this trial."
"Pardon?"
Namgung Sea's eyes widened.
Yeon Soha had never said such a thing in the past.
"I have no intention of choosing my husband through something like this."
"But the Palace Master created these gates to select a young hero..."
"I will make myself clear once more."
Pointing at Namgung Un, who was bleeding in a wretched state, Yeon Soha spoke firmly.
"A mechanism that gravely injures people cannot determine who should become my husband."
She turned away without hesitation.
When she swept out, Bu Eunseol and Namgung Sea stared at each other with wide eyes.
In the end, even their plan to move her heart by recreating her memories of the past had failed.
Trickle.
Namgung Un, blood pouring from his body, appeared between Bu Eunseol and Namgung Sea.
"What... happened?"
He had exerted himself so excessively that frothy bubbles were foaming from his mouth.
"Why did the Young Palace Lord leave midway?"
"She said she did not wish to judge her future husband using a mechanism that gravely injures people."
Namgung Sea clicked her tongue.
"In the end, she saw your sorry state, became disappointed, and left."
"How could this be?"
"Why did you make such a spectacle of yourself and get so badly injured?"
Namgung Un gaped in resentment and disbelief.
Trickle, trickle.
"Hm?"
He frowned at the ceaseless sound of flowing liquid coming from somewhere.
"Does the Jaha Secret Cave have a leak?"
Bu Eunseol pointed at Namgung Un's back.
"Your back."
"Pardon?"
"It is your back."
Blinking, Namgung Un twisted his head around so violently that his neck seemed ready to break.
Only then did he see the massive sword blade buried whole in his back.
There had been no need for him to go so far.
But because he had made such a commotion while passing through the Heavenly Barrier Twenty-Four Gates, one of the greatswords broken during the process had lodged deep in his back.
"Ah, I see. There is a sword stuck in my back."
"Are you all right?"
When Namgung Sea asked with concern, he laughed heartily and raised his thumb.
"Of course."
Thud.
Those were his final words.
Namgung Un rolled his eyes back and collapsed unconscious.
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