49 Times Left, Master! (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
I was so flustered I couldn’t move or speak—only my eyes darted around.
I’d come here seeking a hiding place to escape my disciple’s murderous intent. Of all places, I had to run into him again here. I could barely breathe.
What must my disciple be thinking of me right now? Had he already heard I was looking for a hiding place? Or not yet?
If he had heard, would he find me suspicious? Or would he just dismiss it as a personal quirk?
No, that’s impossible. My disciple is clever, after all. He’d surely find me suspicious.
Damn it. Could he possibly deduce that I still carry memories from before my regression?
My heart pounded so loudly I couldn’t hear anything outside. My ears buzzed.
I stared blankly ahead until I felt a piercing gaze and barely managed to lift my head.
Master Yu was watching me with sharp eyes. Oh no—had I been too obvious in checking on my disciple?
Meeting that gaze brought me slightly back to my senses.
I concealed my fear and offered Master Yu the perfect smile for deceiving others.
Fortunately, Seon An, tired of waiting for an answer to his question, asked again.
“Grandfather? Who is that person?”
Perhaps unable to ignore his grandson twice, Master Yu finally replied.
“A distinguished guest.”
Then Master Yu glanced briefly at the Thirteenth Prince, as if checking whether his answer had been correct.
‘Master Yu doesn’t intend to tell Seon An anything about the Thirteenth Prince. Why? Is the prince’s presence at this gambling den a secret? But he’s your own grandson—surely you could tell him.’
No, more importantly, Seon An at this time doesn’t even recognize the Thirteenth Prince’s face. I thought he knew him in my past life.
How did Seon An come to know the Thirteenth Prince back then? Damn it. It’s all muddled.
I remember the broad strokes, but the details are tangled in time, making it hard to recall clearly.
While I was lost in thought, Seon An asked his grandfather again, incredulous.
“A distinguished guest?”
Seon An’s eyes landed on the Thirteenth Prince, who looked younger than himself.
It was clear he found it hard to believe his stern, fearsome grandfather would call such a fair-looking young man a “distinguished guest.”
For now, I kept my mouth shut as if I knew nothing.
I felt sorry for Seon An, but with my disciple sitting quietly, I couldn’t very well step forward and pretend I knew him.
‘But Master Yu must recognize who I am, right? Seon An introduced me as Yo Yohwa.’
Anyone who knows the Thirteenth Prince would surely know my name.
The Thirteenth Prince and his novice master, Yo Yohwa—whether for good or ill, our names had always been linked ever since I became his teacher.
“Yes, a distinguished guest.”
“Among all your distinguished guests, Grandfather, are there others as young as him?”
Master Yu frowned with his sharp eyes but didn’t scold his grandson.
Instead, perhaps running out of answers, he suddenly turned to me and said,
“So. Your friend is looking for a hiding place?”
You’re selling me out to save your grandson, you old coot.
“Yes. About ten of them. Right, Yo Hwa? Ten, isn’t it?”
Maybe I should draft my will as soon as I get home. Grandfather and grandson are so harmoniously digging my grave for the future.
I absolutely shouldn’t look at the Thirteenth Prince right now. But before I could even think that, my eyes had already turned toward my disciple. I was curious about his reaction.
Ah. I shouldn’t have looked. He’s watching me with a smile.
Well, calling it a smile is generous—it’s the exact expression he wears right before feeding me poison.
I quickly looked away from his smile and turned to Master Yu.
Perhaps because my real enemy was smirking meaningfully right beside me, the fear I’d felt toward Master Yu before entering this room had completely vanished.
With the poison-serving prince beside him, Master Yu seemed like plain water.
Anyway, my answer was already decided. If it were only Seon An, I could change my story abruptly and he’d follow my lead—but Master Yu was different.
Master Yu knew nothing about me and was close to the Thirteenth Prince. If the friend of his grandson, who’d just asked for a hiding place, changed his tune the moment he saw Master Yu’s disciple, he’d surely grow suspicious.
“Yes. Ten.”
All I could do was answer as if I had nothing to hide.
Master Yu asked again.
“Why do you need a hiding place?”
Seon An, already embarrassed that his well-intentioned act had spiraled like this, protested to Master Yu with a slightly annoyed tone.
“Oh, Grandfather. Why ask such things? He must have his reasons.”
“The danger of a hiding place varies drastically depending on its use. How can we know what he intends to hide there?”
It was useless.
“What do you mean?”
“It means—how can we know whether he intends to hide himself or a bomb?”
“No, Grandfather! A kid who’s only ever studied at home—where would he get a bomb? You just don’t want to help him, that’s all!”
Moreover, every time Seon An spoke, Master Yu’s gaze toward me seemed to grow harsher.
Not imagining things, Master Yu indulged Seon An’s complaints a few times, then eventually ignored him altogether and turned to me.
“What is the purpose of this hiding place, Lord Yo? My foolish grandson can’t give a proper answer even when asked—so perhaps Lord Yo could answer instead.”
His sharp voice and tiger-like gaze were more than enough to recall the infamous reputation Seon An had described in my past life.
“I…”
I forced the words out, muttering blankly. I barely managed to keep my eyes from drifting toward my disciple again.
My mind felt foggy, as if filled with mist. I couldn’t think of what to say.
I knew the longer I delayed, the more suspicious I’d seem—but I truly had no idea what to say.
I’d only thought about securing a hiding place; I never imagined I’d meet Master Yu and be interrogated like this.
“I…”
Seeing I couldn’t give a proper answer, Seon An grew anxious too, fidgeting his arm and glancing at me.
Unable to hold back, I stole a glance at my disciple. He was watching me with a faint, dizzying smile.
He must enjoy seeing me flustered, right?
I looked back at Master Yu. His eyes were narrowing steadily.
No, old man. Seon An’s right. Why would I hide a bomb in a hiding place? Seeing Master Yu’s expression made my blood boil.
But telling the truth was absolutely out of the question. So I had to lie—but what could I say?
An answer that wouldn’t seem suspicious at all, yet would satisfy everyone. Did such a thing… even exist?
‘Got it!’
Fortunately, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind. I quickly put on a solemn expression and answered.
“I want to maintain households in ten different places.”
“!”
I’m trash. I’ve played the flirt before, but never this shamelessly.
But I couldn’t possibly say, “The Thirteenth Prince beside you will kill me in the future, so I need a hiding place.”
Might as well embrace being trash once and for all. Being seen as suspicious couldn’t possibly get me killed faster than expected.
“Hmm.”
But seeing Master Yu look at me like I was literal garbage really hurt.
To receive such a look from someone who’s achieved mastery in the shadows…
Still, keeping my solemn expression, Master Yu asked Seon An,
“Is he always like this?”
Seon An gave an awkward smile and replied,
“He’s always like this.”
He couldn’t possibly mean that sincerely, right? He must be trying to defend me.
Master Yu clicked his tongue.
Suppressing the urge to crawl into a mouse hole if one didn’t already exist, I forced myself to keep smiling.
“My apologies, Lord Yo. A proper hiding place is exceedingly rare. Obtaining even one requires great merit. I have no desire to give such a precious thing to a dissolute lord for his nightly escapades.”
Even after going this far, Master Yu still refused to provide a hiding place.
He completely humiliated me in front of my disciple!
“If it’s money you want, I’ll pay any amount.”
I offered quickly, but at the mention of money, Master Yu’s expression grew even colder as he said,
“To move my family with money, you’d need to empty your entire clan’s treasury—and even that wouldn’t be enough.”
So he dislikes talk of money. Damn it. What now?
“Take Lord Yo away, An Ah. Don’t trouble me with such matters again.”
Even as I grew more anxious, Master Yu was already speaking to Seon An in a voice that had lost all interest.
“Grandfather…”
Seon An whined, but Master Yu didn’t even blink.
“Go. Now.”
Master Yu turned deliberately toward the Thirteenth Prince, clearly signaling he wanted no further conversation—and that we should leave so he could speak with the prince.
Seeing this, Seon An gave me an apologetic glance.
I looked at my disciple. He wasn’t looking at me, but a faint smirk played on his lips.
Seeing that, a surge of anger rose in my chest.
Though I feared my disciple, I also resented him. That’s why being humiliated in front of him stung with shame.
Damn it! Why did I make up such a trashy excuse? It’s only because the Thirteenth Prince is here! Because he’s going to kill me! And yet the culprit dares to sneer like that!
“Let’s go.”
Unaware of my inner turmoil, Seon An gently tugged my arm and whispered into my ear,
“Let’s leave for now. I’ll ask Grandfather again later. He’s probably just showing off more than usual because he has a guest.”
The moment Seon An said that, the smirk vanished from my disciple’s lips. Apparently, he disliked even the sight of me whispering to someone else in his presence.
Anyway, there was nothing I could do. My choice had vanished. I answered weakly,
“Understood.”
As I turned to leave, casting one last regretful glance around the room, I unexpectedly noticed a janggi board on a decorative table.
Earlier, distracted by Master Yu and my disciple, I hadn’t noticed it.
Seeing that board brought back a story Seon An had told me in my past life, before my regression.
“Grandfather always plays janggi when deep in thought. If he gets stuck, he leaves it untouched until it resolves itself.”
Once, after being stuck for three years, a stranger appeared.
The stranger said he wished to place himself under Master Yu’s protection, but Master Yu scoffed and ignored him.
“What makes you think I should treat you as a guest?”
Ordinarily, the stranger would have withdrawn—but unexpectedly, he calmly looked around, spotted the janggi board, and approached it.
Then he moved a piece, saying, “Two spaces up,” and Master Yu, delighted, welcomed the stranger as an honored guest.
Could this possibly be that very janggi board?
Then could I use that anecdote? Is the timing right?
Seon An had said Master Yu had been stuck for three years at the time—was the present moment within that three-year period or not?
“Yo Hwa?”
Seeing me staring blankly at the board, Seon An shook my arm again.
Instead of going with him, I slowly walked toward the janggi board.
As I neared it, I became half-certain. This was indeed the period when Master Yu was troubled by an unsolved board.
Hope surged anew. If I used that anecdote, what would happen? Could I change Master Yu’s mind?
I’m not supposed to alter the future—but surely something this small and trivial would be fine.
My disciple doesn’t know my every move, so minor changes like this outside the palace should be acceptable.
Seon An had even told me that story with a warning: “Grandfather will be embarrassed, so never tell anyone else.”
‘Alright.’
The moment I made up my mind, I looked down at the board and challenged him.
“Your thoughts have grown rigid, Grandfather. That’s why you judge people rashly—and why your janggi is stuck.”
“Yo Hwa!”
Seon An cried out my name in horror.
Still, I kept smiling as I met Master Yu’s gaze. His expression had hardened completely.
“Quite insolent, Lord Yo.”
That look was as terrifying as a tiger leaping from its cave—but because my disciple was beside me, I could actually suppress my fear.
Fueled by stubbornness, I challenged Master Yu again.
“The surroundings are tidy, yet dust has gathered only on this janggi board. It doesn’t look like mere decoration. Didn’t you stop playing alone because you got stuck?”
Fortunately, it worked.
“You speak well. If you’re so clever, why don’t you, Lord Yo, find a way out yourself?”
Master Yu suggested coldly.
“Well… I’m not very good at janggi.”
Inwardly cheering, I feigned indifference as I looked down at the board.
But my eyes were desperately searching for the piece Seon An had described—“two spaces up.”
Seon An had only told me the stranger moved a piece “two spaces up,” not which piece it was.
Think, Yo Yohwa, think! Which piece is it? Which piece must I move two spaces up to turn the tide?
‘This one!’
Finally, I found it. Careful not to let my hand tremble, I picked up the piece and moved it precisely two spaces up.
Then I looked at Master Yu and smiled.
But before I could even turn my head, Master Yu had already risen, sleeves fluttering as he strode quickly toward me.
The tiger-like elder stood right beside me, peering sharply at the piece I’d moved.
Curious, my disciple also slowly approached and stood beside me, gazing down at the board together.
My heart began pounding wildly. Would this actually work?
Yet Master Yu merely stared silently at the board, saying nothing, his silence almost suffocating.
After a long while, he finally looked at my disciple and said with a smile,
“Truly, the student matches the master.”
My heart, which I thought couldn’t beat any faster, went into overdrive. I stared at Master Yu in terror.
‘What does that mean…?’
Master Yu smiled faintly, glancing once at the Thirteenth Prince, then once at me, driving the final nail into my anxiety.
“How delightful that master and disciple have resolved my dilemma in exactly the same way.”
“!”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
This is truly just very frustrating why is the princess sooo infatuated girl have a back bone don’t ruin yourself for a man
How many chapters are replaced with that one about princess bomoon? Is it 3rd time already? 😭