Capítulo 35: Without Hindrance (1)

Chun had just arrived on time. Sungho could no longer stand to be alone in a room with Daewon as well as he did not want to debate with someone who was this irritating.

When the books Sungho had been waiting for finally arrived on the round table before him, he immediately browsed and opened the last book left pertaining to archery. He lifted it and neared the contents by his face for him to read.

Proceeding, Sungho shrugged off the soldier's stares while he tried to study the writings. The elegantly written characters astonished Sungho as he thumbed through the pages; the illustrations drawn were clear and neat as well.

Polished and precise. These were the words he thought would best describe how the book was written. Sungho found it satisfying to read, and the instructions were simple as they were easy to follow. His contentment was enough to compare it to the first archery book he had read.

When Sungho continued to turn the next page, his attention was caught by the beautifully drawn image of a child, covering the whole page of the book, standing as she positioned her posture, facing sideways while she was loading the bow with an arrow.

The image of the girl felt real. Her goldenrod hair was shining, seemingly waving as he stared for too long. Just in, Sungho sensed the strange tingling in his stomach, rushing to tighten his ribcage as he failed to take his eyes off the image.

'She looks oddly familiar…'

Sungho proceeded to trail his gaze down the characters inscribed below the image and read it. "Du Hyeon Ju."

"Hm? Why did you state your name, Your Highness?" Chun asked, placing a cup of tea on the table.

However, Sungho was preoccupied that he could not hear her and continued to read aloud the name written below the one he just spoke. "Du Baek Hyeon."

A flashing prickle resembling a needle that was punctured in his temples caused him to drop the book on the table and it immediately collided with the cup sitting, staining the papers as the drink was spilled on the book.

Sungho brought his hand on his head, wishing that it would help to ease the following stings—the pulsing sensation on the side of his head.

"Whoa. You hit it!" The man standing beside him with a book and charcoal in hand celebrated, lifting his hands as he went. "You hit the wall!"

The scenarios that seemed to be owned by someone rashly invaded Sungho's mind; the distinct and clear pictures were rolling in endlessly, tracing like they were old drawings printed deep, wandering at the bottom of his memories.

"First older brother," said a thin yet harmonic voice. "I missed."

"It's fine, our cute little sister. I can see your progress. You're already near the target, you're doing well." Seeing his lips curled upwards, Sungho listened to his soothing voice as he talked.

Following, he seemingly found himself looking up to the tall man from the memory who had similar dark goldenrod hair before feeling the gentle pats on his head as if they were real and fresh.

"... No," the thin voice returned in a discouraging tone. "I can't do this after all. This is impossible for me. I'm just as good as blind."

"What are you saying? Having a disability does not mean you cannot do what you want. Let's practice again tomorrow!"

After the beaming man chanted those words, his image inside Sungho's head faded, dissolved before it vanished, making him recover his grip back to reality. The concerned shouts that rang within the room became muffled in his ears; his eyes were locked on the book supping the tea, creating a large stain to the picture.

While he struggled to the throbbing pain in his head, Sungho pulled the soaked book away to the spilled drink and ran his thumb to its first page.

"... Copy from Du Clan. The Book of Archery," he read the characters written on the paper. Sungho knew that the name of the book was enough to illuminate the explanation for Hyeon Ju's regular visits to the library.