Chapter 8. A Third-Rate Warrior Who Protects His Sect’s Honor (2)
“I was too flustered a moment ago, so my greeting was late. I am Seong Mo-ran of the Iron Sword Sect.”
When her crescent-like brows curved softly and she smiled, the face of Gye Cheol-yeong, who had been frowning throughout the journey as though he had eaten dung instead of rice, brightened at once.
“I heard that among the wolves of the Iron Sword Sect, there was a single beautiful flower. It seems the rumors fall far short of your true beauty.”
“You praise me too highly, Young Master Gye. Please come inside. The Young Sword Lord has been anxiously waiting for the people of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild and the Taeul Sect.”
Gye Cheol-yeong squared his shoulders twice as much as usual, making himself look like an utter fool.
The inside of the Iron Sword Sect was, quite literally, a sea of people.
All the windows and doors of the halls stood open, and within them, people sat packed together, sharing wine and food as they conversed noisily.
“Ha ha ha, welcome, Guild Master! Goodness, Cheol-yeong has come too! How long has it been?”
A middle-aged man with eyes similar to Seong Mo-ran’s, Seong Ju-tak, laughed as he welcomed Gye Yeon-seok and Gye Cheol-yeong.
“It has been a long time, Young Sword Lord.”
“Ha ha! I told you to put aside such formalities. You and I are both growing old together, so why build such walls between us?”
Though Seong Ju-tak spoke that way, his face was full of satisfaction.
“Have you been well all this time?”
“Even now, when I think of how I missed out on a talent like you, Cheol-yeong, I become so indignant that I cannot sleep at night.”
“You praise me too highly.”
“Truly, if not for the absurd privileges of the One Hundred Eight Peaks, I would have taken you in as my disciple. Ha ha ha ha ha.”
I turned my head slightly and looked at Kang Chae-seok and Jin Tae-san. Their faces, too, wore expressions as though they had chewed something strange, just like Gye Cheol-yeong a moment ago.
“Father, these are the people of the Taeul Sect. You should greet them.”
Only after Seong Mo-ran barely drew his attention did Seong Ju-tak’s gaze turn toward us.
“I am Kang Chae-seok, Hall Master of Swift Blossom Hall.”
“……I am Jin Tae-san.”
The two clasped their fists and showed courtesy, but Seong Ju-tak merely nodded his head slightly.
“You, Kang Chae-seok, I have seen a few times at the Murim Alliance. As for you, Jin Tae-san, it has truly been a long time. Has it been about twenty years?”
“……It seems so. That much time has already passed.”
“Heh heh. You people are truly fortunate. We have worked so hard for the past twenty years and still could not receive a child like Cheol-yeong, while you sit still and such a blessing walks right into your arms.”
“……”
At the sarcasm, which sounded like praise and yet was not praise at all, the faces of Jin Tae-san and Kang Chae-seok gradually darkened.
“This must be Sect Leader Hong’s daughter, and this fellow is…… who?”
Gye Cheol-yeong tactlessly cut in.
“He is the Outer Hall Master’s son.”
“Ah, he is your son? Let me see. But his spiritual aptitude is quite lacking. You should not waste your strength on something useless. Instead, work hard to support Cheol-yeong. I know the Taeul Sect’s martial arts well enough, do I not? Heh heh.”
The current situation was very different from this moment in my previous life.
Back then, the Iron Sword Sect had hidden its intentions, pretended not to notice the Taeul Sect, and struck us from behind. They had not humiliated us openly in front of so many people.
If such blatant intent showed, their later plan to inflict humiliation would be ruined.
What the Iron Sword Sect wanted was to make the Taeul Sect kneel, not to hear people call them back-alley thugs.
Moreover, this was the first I had ever heard that Father had visited the Iron Sword Sect twenty years ago.
In the first place, Seong Ju-tak had been busy attending to the Gyeryong Merchant Guild, and we had never had anything resembling a proper conversation.
Of course, in my previous life, I had been too busy engraving the Twin Wolf Iron Swords and Namgung San into my eyes.
“So. How far have you learned the Taeul Sect’s martial arts?”
How should I handle this? I knew the conclusion would end in ruin anyway, but would it not still be better to show that I had tried to endure?
“Did you not even learn how to speak? Hah, one wonders what will become of the Taeul Sect’s future.”
“He speaks in such an irritating way with every word he utters, as if he were some back-alley thug.”
“…!”
The area, which had been full of noise, sank into silence.
The people looked as though they had seen a ghost appear at midday, and more than a few dropped the cups they had been holding.
“Wh-what did you say?”
Even as the words left my mouth, I thought, Ah, that was a mistake.
The me of my previous life had never been like this. But after mingling with the dregs of the Sojeong Squad, who had lived at the bottom, I had been tainted by bad influences.
They were truly damned bastards who had never been helpful in the slightest.
“You wretch! What did you just say?”
Since it had already come to this, there was no need to stop. Was there any way to halt an arrow once it had been loosed?
“Ah, I apologize. I meant to say that inwardly, but it slipped out of my mouth.”
“Do you call that an apology……”
“To be honest, is that not the truth? A moment ago, you referred to my junior sister’s father, the Sect Leader of the Taeul Sect, as though he were your friend. You belittled the martial arts of the Taeul Sect, which is my sect. Lastly, you asked about another person’s attainment, something one must never carelessly ask a Warrior.”
“……Hah, y-you wretch……”
“As one who holds a sword, how could I not feel anger after hearing such words? Yet the sages said one must not answer even the arrogant and discourteous with discourtesy, so this is indeed my fault. I apologize once again.”
I casually clasped my fists, and Seong Ju-tak’s face reddened beautifully.
But why did that Seong Mo-ran look as though she could barely suppress her laughter when her own father had been humiliated?
In any case, as though agreeing with what I had said, the people who had been focusing their eyes and ears on us began nodding one by one.
“You, you…… I will……”
Just as Seong Ju-tak, unable to do this or that, was about to spit out some curse with his flushed face—
“The Grand Strategist of the Murim Alliance enters!”
A thunderous voice rang through the hall, and everyone seated rose from their places.
From the main hall, the Iron Sword Sect Leader, Seong Cheon-wol, and his retainers rushed out in their stockinged feet.
“What are you doing here? Follow me at once!”
At Seong Cheon-wol’s shout, Seong Ju-tak, who had been looking between him and me, ground his teeth and began following behind Seong Cheon-wol. Gye Yeon-seok and Gye Cheol-yeong followed after him as well.
“Sh-should we go too?”
Hong Sa-ryeon, who had been stunned, suddenly said that, and I answered.
“In any case, there will be hundreds of people rushing in to form a connection with the Grand Strategist, so it would be a hundred times better to go inside and take good seats.”
“……”
As though seeking a decision, Sa-ryeon looked at Jin Tae-san and Kang Chae-seok, but the two of them were also stunned.
In the end, Seong Mo-ran made the decision for us.
“His words are correct. I will guide you to good seats, so please follow me.”
When Seong Mo-ran took the lead, everyone had no choice but to follow.
“Did I not tell you to restrain yourself?”
Behind me, Kang Chae-seok approached with both eyes glaring.
“Please speak honestly. If I had not cut him off, were you not going to draw your sword?”
“……”
There was no point denying it. I clearly saw him place his hand on his sword.
If I had seen it, there was no way Seong Ju-tak had not known.
Perhaps we might have ended up kneeling and apologizing not on the final day of the banquet, but on the very first day.
“……”
Kang Chae-seok kept his mouth tightly shut, as though his lips had been sealed.
“Please do not act rashly. Do you not clearly know what the Iron Sword Sect is plotting?”
“……”
“I am telling you to behave as much like a gentleman as possible and not to deliberately step in dung.”
“You brat! ……I know.”
“Then please relax that expression. What in the world happened twenty years ago that you look at Seong Ju-tak with such a face? Is he the enemy of your parents?”
Kang Chae-seok hesitated, then glanced once at Jin Tae-san.
When Jin Tae-san shook his head, Kang Chae-seok also quickened his steps, as though he had nothing more to say.
When we reached the same place as in my previous life, a person from the Iron Sword Sect stepped forward and spoke.
“The seats for the Taeul Sect are this way.”
As we moved, the place where the Iron Sword Sect’s man guided us was one corner of the training ground, where many drunkards had gathered.
Just as I was about to sit down first, Seong Mo-ran opened her mouth.
“Fill those seats with other guests. I will guide these people myself.”
Seong Mo-ran headed toward a broad table deep inside the hall.
Every time we moved, the eyes of the people continued to follow behind us.
“Please sit here.”
“I thank you for your consideration, Young Lady.”
Jin Tae-san, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke for the first time, and Seong Mo-ran smiled as she took a seat opposite me.
“……!”
“……!”
At an event of this scale, for one of the central figures to sit with you meant that they considered the other party to be that important.
Her action was enough to astonish not only us, but also those around us who had been watching.
“Here! Bring wine first!”
When Seong Mo-ran spoke, wine and dishes appeared as swiftly as arrows. Though many people had arrived before us and had been waiting, not one among them voiced complaint.
Father and Hall Master Kang Chae-seok were so tense that they could not move an inch despite the food before them.
I first picked up a chicken leg and brought it to my mouth.
“What is your name, Young Master?”
“I am called Jin So-un.”
“When I saw you earlier, your skill seemed exceptional…… Ah, is that perhaps an impolite question?”
Seong Mo-ran’s excessive interest and kindness.
If I had been the me of my previous life, I would have been so moved by meeting the Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword that I would not have known whether the food was going into my nose or my mouth.
“Yes. With the Iron Sword Sect’s Beautiful Wolf sitting before me and watching me eat, it is rather burdensome.”
“Oh my. Ho ho, I apologize.”
“By the way, the Grand Strategist has arrived. Should you not go greet him?”
“Who can say? In any case, the Iron Sword Sect’s rule is that women are not included in important matters, so I suppose I will not be beaten merely for not attending such a gathering.”
“I heard in the rumors that the Beautiful Wolf’s teeth are sharper than the Blood Wolf’s. From the Taeul Sect’s point of view, should I say that this is a fortunate thing?”
The Blood Wolf Iron Sword Seong Mo-hyeon was the next successor of the Iron Sword Sect. Since childhood, he had monopolized all kinds of spiritual medicines, including Marrow-Cleansing and Hair-Shedding.
By contrast, the Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword had first begun studying internal energy at the age of nine. Despite that, she entered the Murim Academy alongside the Blood Wolf Iron Sword.
Even later, after the Blood Wolf Iron Sword had ruined nearly half the Iron Sword Sect, the Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword Seong Mo-ran tenaciously led the Iron Sword Sect all the way to Bukhae and placed it within the Murim Alliance, preserving its line.
“Ho ho ho. You are an amusing person. I will apologize on my father’s behalf for what happened earlier. Since we have had dealings with the Gyeryong Merchant Guild since I was young, he must feel great regret over Senior Brother Cheol-yeong.”
“You could still take him now.”
“Ho ho ho.”
Seong Mo-ran laughed as though it pained her, clutching her stomach.
At the sudden change in atmosphere, Kang Chae-seok and Jin Tae-san could not even touch the food and merely kept drinking wine instead.
“There is one thing I am curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Why did the Iron Sword Sect invite the Taeul Sect?”
Jin Tae-san and Kang Chae-seok turned their heads like lightning.
Seong Mo-ran smiled in a way that was difficult to read and spoke.
“Is a banquet not made more meaningful when many people gather to offer congratulations?”
“Many assassinations throughout history have occurred while banquets were being held.”
At my words, Seong Mo-ran’s eyes widened, but she soon returned to a smiling expression.
“Heh heh. Young Hero Jin is truly an amusing person.”
Seong Mo-ran rose from her seat.
“Will you not dine with us, Young Lady Seong?”
“I would like to eat together to lessen your suspicions, but I think I must rise now.”
With that, Seong Mo-ran offered greetings to Father and Hall Master Kang Chae-seok, then left.
“……Young Lady?”
Hong Sa-ryeon, who had been silent in the seat beside me for quite some time, grumbled as though displeased.
“Hm? Should I have called her Young Hero instead?”
“Hmph!”
From my side, I had only been trying to probe how much the Iron Sword Sect had prepared. Sa-ryeon, unaware of the circumstances, was looking at me as though I were her enemy merely because I had conversed with the Beautiful Wolf.
As expected, was she still too young to have any awareness?
“Young La~~dy? Hmph!”
Hong Sa-ryeon was unpacking her belongings in the separate lodging they had received through Seong Mo-ran’s consideration.
However, her attitude was quite rough.
“‘You are an amusing person, ho ho ho?’ That fox-like woman……”
Hong Sa-ryeon strangely imitated Seong Mo-ran, whom she had seen earlier, then let out a small sigh.
Beautifully colored garments made of high-quality silk, ornaments that drew the eye at once, a straight posture filled with dignity, and eyes brimming with confidence. On top of that, she possessed a beauty that naturally seized people’s attention.
Hong Sa-ryeon had no confidence that she could win against her in any one thing.
“Hoo……”
Because the atmosphere of the Taeul Sect was one of opposition to the Iron Sword Sect, she could not express it openly, but she too had heard the rumors of the Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword.
The rumors of a girl of a similar age who possessed excellent skill rang loudly throughout Anhui Province.
She knew that each person’s growth differed because what they were born with differed.
Yet the sight of the woman she had actually met made her feel, rather than jealousy, an unreachable envy.
“……”
She had come wearing the cleanest martial robes in the Taeul Sect, yet for some reason, the fabric that touched her hands felt rougher today.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Sa-ryeon woke from her thoughts.
“Who is it?”
“It is me.”
“Senior Brother Cheol-yeong?”
When she opened the door, Cheol-yeong stood there, having taken off his martial robes and changed into silk clothes.
“Change into this.”
Gye Cheol-yeong held out colorful silk garments.
“What is this?”
“They say the later-generation members of Anhui Province’s prominent families, including Young Master Namgung San, will be holding a separate banquet. If you wish to attend, it will be difficult in martial robes like those.”
“……I am tired. Go by yourself, Senior Brother.”
“Strictly speaking, I am going as the representative of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild. If you do not go, Jin So-un will attend. Are you all right with that?”
It would be a gathering of those with ties to the Iron Sword Sect, and for the Taeul Sect, it would be an uncomfortable place. Their gazes and their words would not be at all easy to endure. Could he truly……
He had already snarled at the Young Sword Lord of the Iron Sword Sect, so would he obediently endure the later-generation heirs of those powerful families?
“……”
“If you go with me, at the very least, the atmosphere will be much better.”
Hong Sa-ryeon bit her lip firmly.
“Fine. I will go.”
“Hurry and change.”
Sa-ryeon looked at the clothes Cheol-yeong offered, then pushed them back toward him.
“No, thank you. If you want to wear them so badly, Senior Brother, you may wear them yourself.”
