Chapter 8 : The Old Man, Gwang Yuwon
The date was approaching, and the people were decided. All that was left was to leave.
And now, all the people who had decided to go to the Geumjo Merchant Guild were gathered in front of the main gate of Mysterious Profound Sect.
"Alright, are you ready to go to the sixtieth birthday party, you little brats!"
"Yes! Sohyun is ready!"
"…Yes, I'm ready."
"What on earth is she doing?"
"…Don't ask me. She's always like that…"
Cheong Yeonah, who was showing an otherworldly energy without any basis, Sohyun, who was showing an equally otherworldly energy, and Yuhan, who was reluctantly going along with them. Watching them, Cheongmu and his disciple, Jang Baekseo, shook their heads.
The excited Cheong Yeonah's martial robes were as flashy as her excitement, and she had a lot of luggage.
"It'll be two or three days at most before we come back, so why do you have so much luggage?"
At Jang Baekseo's blunt question, Cheong Yeonah said, 'Ha~ you're still a child, so you don't know anything~' and then approached Jang Baekseo, raised her index finger, held it in front of his nose, and shook it from side to side, making a 'tsk, tsk, tsk!' sound.
"A woman's beauty always requires a lot~ of things? A man with any sense wouldn't point that out, unless he's helping~"
Whether it was because she was excited about the outing after a long time, or because that was her original personality, Jang Baekseo clenched his fists at Cheong Yeonah's words and actions, which artistically grated on one's nerves.
'Should I beat her up? No, endure, my inner Sword Demon…'
As Jang Baekseo was suppressing his inner Sword Demon with superhuman patience, Cheongmu flicked Cheong Yeonah's forehead.
"Ouch!"
"Yeonah! How long has it been since you passed twenty, yet you're still so playful about everything?"
Cheongmu's lecture to Cheong Yeonah continued for a while, but anyone could see that Cheong Yeonah's attitude was 'you talk, I don't know,' so Cheongmu eventually gave up, sighed once, and looked back at his disciples.
"It's a short distance to the Geumjo Merchant Guild that can be reached in a day, but we'll be staying at an inn for today."
"An inn! Hooray! It's my first time going to an inn!"
"…If it's a short distance, can't we just go straight to the Geumjo Merchant Guild?"
Cheongmu, who was looking at the excited Sohyun and the questioning Yuhan with warm eyes, nodded his head once and explained.
"Of course, one might think so at first glance. But there are two reasons why we've scheduled it this way this time."
The two reasons Cheongmu explained were as follows.
The first was that the distance between Mysterious Profound Sect and the Geumjo Merchant Guild was awkwardly far.
The Geumjo Merchant Guild's sixtieth birthday party was tomorrow.
And it was about a two-shichen walk from Mysterious Profound Sect to the Geumjo Merchant Guild. It was certainly a long distance, but in fact, it was a distance that could be covered by just going a little early on the day of.
But to go to a party in an unclean state after consuming energy, sweating, and being covered in dust on the day of was not a very polite act. Above all, it was obvious that it would take much longer and consume much more energy because not only Jang Baekseo, who had now reached the second-rate level, but also Yuhan, who was just beginning to look like a martial artist, and Sohyun, a young girl who was not even ten years old, were included.
In that case, it was much better to move leisurely the day before, have a meal and a place to sleep at an inn near the Geumjo Merchant Guild, and participate in the party in a state of full readiness, both physically and mentally.
And the second, the question of why not just go to the Geumjo Merchant Guild if they were going anyway. Of course, it was not a wrong thing to say. Since it was a place like the Geumjo Merchant Guild, they would welcome them if they went the day before, and would not be offended at all. But the problem was that Mysterious Profound Sect would not be the only one thinking and acting that way.
If people flocked in like that, of course, the more prestigious sects would get the good rooms, and the people from the less prestigious sects would get the less good rooms. First, seeing this difference in treatment would be unpleasant, and second, if they were pushed back and got a bad room, their sleep would be uncomfortable.
Even if they were lucky enough to get a good room, they would have to be mindful of the other martial sects around them, whether they liked it or not.
Considering all those factors, it was best to just move a day earlier, rest comfortably at a good inn nearby, and visit the Geumjo Merchant Guild the next day.
At Cheongmu's answer, Sohyun's attitude was 'I don't know what you're talking about, when are we going to the inn, Master?' and Yuhan, who seemed to have understood his master's words properly, was nodding his head and saying 'I see' in agreement.
After the explanation of the schedule was over, Jang Baekseo's party left Mysterious Profound Sect around noon.
***
"Welcome! Are you a party of five?"
"Yes, please prepare somyeon and hwagwayuk for five people, according to the number of people. And we'd like to stay for the day, so would it be possible to prepare three rooms? One of them should be a double room."
"Yes! Of course! We have plenty of rooms. By the way, would you like some alcohol with your meal…"
"No, no alcohol. Instead, please prepare plum tea for the number of people."
Saying so, Cheongmu handed a few iron coins to the waiter.
"Yes! I'll show you to your seats. Please wait comfortably!"
Jang Baekseo's party, who were shown to their seats, sat down on the chairs and relieved their travel fatigue.
It wasn't a rough road to the point of being called travel fatigue, but since they were traveling with a child, they were all tired in their own way.
As Jang Baekseo's party sat down, the waiter approached, served them cups and cool water, and the party quenched their thirst with the cool water.
In the meantime, people came into the inn one by one, and soon the inn was full.
In the midst of that, the waiter who had taken their order came to Jang Baekseo's party's table with a troubled expression.
"I'm really sorry, but would it be possible for two people to share a table?"
"Share a table? With us?"
It was not strange for Cheongmu to react this way. Even if the young junior brothers didn't know, Cheongmu, Cheong Yeonah, and Jang Baekseo were wearing swords.
In other words, they were martial artists.
Martial artists, who live and die by the sword, are very dangerous and scary people to the common people who live ordinary lives. But to try to make them share a table with them… Cheongmu thought the waiter was playing a mean trick.
But the answer that came back from the waiter was unexpected.
"Well, that's… the people who asked to share a table specifically pointed out you, the guests…"
What was this again? A question appeared on Cheongmu's face, and the waiter pointed to the two people standing on one side of the shop.
"I think they asked the guests who were also accompanied by a child because they were also accompanied by a child."
Standing where the waiter pointed was an old man who looked like a Daoist with a carefree atmosphere, with white hair and beard, and standing next to him was a young child with long bangs covering his eyes.
"…If that's the case, it can't be helped. Tell them they can share the table."
"Oh my! Thank you, sir!"
As she watched the waiter run to the old man and the child, Cheong Yeonah said to Cheongmu with a crooked face.
"Do we have to share a table? A child and an old man… there's no combination more suspicious than this in the martial world…"
Jang Baekseo inwardly nodded his head at Cheong Yeonah's words.
But Cheongmu shook his head as if he didn't agree.
"It's true that children and old people are often suspicious in the martial world. But we're not in some back alley of Chengdu, but in a proper bustling street of Gangjeong County, aren't we? Besides, we don't have any grudges, so is there a need to be so sensitive?"
Cheongmu was saying that, but Jang Baekseo knew the real reason why he was acting that way.
'Well, look at that old man?'
Everyone in the inn, even the peak master Cheong Yeonah, couldn't feel it, but the old man with the carefree atmosphere was currently secretly sending a wave of qi to Cheongmu.
A carefree energy with a unique Daoist color. The fact that he was sending it so that no one around could feel it and only Cheongmu could feel it meant that he was a master of unusual skill.
A mysterious master who exuded a Daoist-colored energy in Sichuan. The identity was obvious.
'A master from Qingcheng?'
Cheongmu's thoughts were the same as Jang Baekseo's, and that's why he had readily agreed to share the table.
'Are they on their way to the Geumjo Merchant Guild like us?'
He thought so at first, but for that, their clothes were too shabby. After all, they were invited as representatives of their sect. As Daoists, they didn't need to wear overly flashy clothes, but there was even less need to wear such shabby and old clothes.
Whether he knew Jang Baekseo's thoughts or not, the old man and the child smiled and approached the party's table.
"Ho ho, thank you. I was about to eat my food standing up, you know?"
"Not at all. We should help each other."
Cheongmu spoke lightly, but his eyes were not like that at all. With sharp eyes, he was still guessing the identity of the old man who was laughing 'ho ho'.
'He's by no means below me! Why on earth is a master of Qingcheng of the transcendent realm or higher hiding his identity and traveling incognito like that?'
As if he already knew Cheongmu's intentions, the old man smiled and introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you! My name is Gwang Yuwon. Just call me Old Gwang. And this child is Gwang-ah. It will be a short meeting, but I'll be in your care."
The old man introduced himself, implicitly pressuring the other party to introduce themselves as well.
Even after letting Cheongmu know that he was from Qingcheng, he still hid his identity when introducing himself.
At this, Cheongmu debated whether to reveal their identities honestly or not, but he soon decided to just honestly reveal their identities. He didn't know why they were hiding their identities and approaching them, but they were hiding their identities because they had a reason to, and they had no reason to do so.
"I am Cheongmu, a disciple of Mysterious Profound Sect. This young lady here is my junior sister, Cheong Yeonah, and the three children are all my disciples, from the eldest, Jang Baekseo, Jang Yuhan, and Jang Sohyun."
"Yes~ I'm Cheong Yeonah."
"I'm Jang Baekseo."
"…I'm Jang Yuhan."
"I'm Sohyun!"
Cheongmu finished his introduction and waited for the other party's reaction. He thought he could guess the other party's intention to some extent depending on how they reacted here.
But the reaction of the old man, Gwang Yuwon, was different from anything Cheongmu had thought.
"Oh ho! You were martial artists from Mysterious Profound Sect! Haha, who in Gangjeong County doesn't know you!?"
Well, look at this? At Gwang Yuwon's unexpected attitude, Cheongmu's eyes narrowed, and it was the same for Jang Baekseo.
He didn't know how others felt, but Jang Baekseo felt that Gwang Yuwon's reaction was very artificial. Nine times out of ten, he had approached them knowing that they were disciples of Mysterious Profound Sect.
What was important here was whether he had realized it after entering this inn and seeing them, or…
'Whether he had approached us intentionally from the beginning.'
If it was the former, it was no big deal. An incognito person from Qingcheng had happened to see people from a somewhat famous sect in Gangjeong County and had approached them out of interest.
It was a plausible thing to happen, and not a big deal…
But if it was the latter?
It was something he didn't even want to imagine.
As if noticing this, Gwang Yuwon added.
"I came here on some business and asked you on a whim, and as expected! As befits the disciples of the prestigious Mysterious Profound Sect, you are full of virtue!"
As they were people who already knew each other well enough, Cheongmu also understood what Gwang Yuwon was trying to say.
In short.
'I was just passing by and saw you, so I struck up a conversation. Don't worry about it and just eat your food.'
is what Gwang Yuwon was saying.
If one were to be suspicious, there would be no end to it.
Cheongmu decided to just let it be.
In fact, considering that Gwang Yuwon was a person of a level higher than himself, at least of the transcendent realm, there was no reason to use such a troublesome method if he really intended to harm them.
In that respect, Cheongmu judged that Gwang Yuwon's words from before could be trusted.
In the meantime, the food that Jang Baekseo's party had ordered arrived.
Appetizing hwagwayuk and somyeon. The party was about to start their meal when they looked at Gwang Yuwon and Gwang-ah.
"Ho ho, don't be shy and eat~ It's enough that you allowed us to share a table, so it would be really sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable, wouldn't it?"
Gwang Yuwon said so, but Gwang-ah, like a child, couldn't stand the hunger and looked at the somyeon and hwagwayuk with longing eyes.
"If you're hungry, eat."
And Jang Baekseo, who couldn't stand to see that, passed his somyeon to Gwang-ah.
"Thank you…"
Gwang-ah expressed his gratitude with a shy face, and Gwang Yuwon also looked at Jang Baekseo to express his gratitude. And…
Gwang Yuwon's eyes widened.
'Huh? A child who hasn't even reached twenty has achieved such a level?'
He had heard a few times before that there was a master of the transcendent realm in Mysterious Profound Sect.
That's why he had approached them first after noticing the presence of a transcendent master with Daoist internal energy when he first entered this inn. And as expected, he was Cheongmu, the transcendent master of Mysterious Profound Sect that he had only heard about in stories.
He had confirmed his curiosity, so he was about to just make some small talk, eat his food, and leave…
His attention, which had been focused on Cheongmu until now, turned to Jang Baekseo because of what had just happened, and Gwang Yuwon was shocked to learn of this young boy's achievement.
A boy who didn't even look to be fourteen, let alone twenty, had reached the second-rate level… Considering that even the outstanding disciples of Qingcheng mostly reached the second-rate level at the earliest when they were fifteen, this boy's achievement was a surprise in itself.
'I didn't expect Mysterious Profound Sect to have this much potential…'
One might think it was only a difference of a year or two, but didn't they say that a year in childhood is like three years in adulthood? As such, the boy's achievement was truly surprising.
'Did he say he was a disciple of the Mystic Heaven Sword? …It's a pity that Mysterious Profound Sect left the Qingcheng branch…'
Mystic Heaven Sword. That was Cheongmu's title.
People called Cheongmu, a master who was in the top ten in Sichuan, the Mystic Heaven Sword.
Since there were three prestigious Orthodox Faction sects in Sichuan, being in the top ten in Sichuan meant that one had the skill to surpass several masters of the prestigious Orthodox Faction.
'I thought he only had skill, but his skill in raising disciples is also top-notch…'
It wasn't just Jang Baekseo. The boy named Jang Yuhan, who was worried about Jang Baekseo, who was not eating anything because he had given his somyeon to Gwang-ah, and was offering to share his somyeon, also showed excellent achievement at a young age.
Of course, there was nothing to say about the very young Sohyun.
While each of them was thinking their own thoughts, two men entered the inn.
They were men of considerable build, with their hair neatly arranged with a hero's headband, and luxurious swords and martial robes on their waists… they were figures that could only be seen as martial artists no matter who, how, or where they were seen.
Although the inn was full when Gwang Yuwon joined, there were people who had finished their meals and left in the meantime, so the two men were able to get a table.
They ordered a decent meal from the waiter and, as if they were planning to get back on the road right after eating, they also asked for some food to be packed for their journey.
After Jang Baekseo's party had finished their meal and the food that Gwang Yuwon's party and the two men who had come in earlier had ordered had come out and they had started eating, and after a while… a burly man kicked open the door of the inn and rushed in.
(End of Chapter)