Chapter 44
The screams that had been shaking the air for a while completely stopped.
"Let's go."
"Yes, brother."
"No... I wasn't talking to you."
At that, the poisonous creatures all came to me and entered the places where they had originally been staying.
Thinking that I could no longer afford to be leisurely with Pae Maling, from then on, I headed to the Danli family without even having time to think for long.
* * *
"So...cheong."
Although it was embarrassing to come back like this after saying a grand farewell, I was grateful that the outer hall martial artists welcomed me first.
"Can I see the family head now?"
The family head of a place like the Danli family was not someone you could just come and meet at any time, but they immediately nodded.
"The family head said to send word to the family head's residence anytime if you came and asked to see him. Let's go."
Hearing that the family head had even said that, I was relieved.
It seemed that the story could be resolved much more easily.
The people were very curious about who the child I was carrying on my back was, but since I had covered her from head to toe with the robes of the people I had killed, they wouldn't be able to recognize her no matter how hard they looked.
The people guarding the family head's residence looked at me with even more surprised faces and then hurriedly opened the way.
The family head, who was waiting for me in the family head's office, had his eyes wide open.
"What is it, Ya Socheong? Who is that?"
"It's been a long time, family head."
I greeted him simply and put Pae Maling down on the floor.
At that, Pae Maling took off her robe and looked around with a bewildered face, and then she bowed her head to the family head.
Since she was not used to such a place, it seemed she didn't even know how to be polite.
"This child is..."
"Could it be Pae Maseong's family?"
Strangely, the family head spoke first.
"I see. It seems so. She has Pae Maseong's face. Is she his younger sister?"
"Yes, family head."
"Come closer. It seems you've been through a lot. Tell me what happened, Socheong."
Then he looked at Pae Maling carefully.
Pae Maling looked at me as if she were scared, and I nodded.
"This is a place called the Danli family, and your brother, Pae Maseong, has been revealed to have great martial talent, so many places are coveting him. Pae Maseong was a member of the Cho family, but he has left. And the one who has been holding you captive until now is a man named Son Eun of the Cho family. He was trying to control Pae Maseong as he pleased by using you."
I had to explain to the family head, but right now, it felt more urgent and important to talk to Pae Maling.
The family head would understand the situation by listening to what I was saying to Pae Maling anyway.
The family head nodded as he listened to my words and understood the situation.
"The Danli family is where I was a member until recently. When Pae Maseong and I were young, we were dragged to a place called Nether Shadow Valley, an assassin training facility of the Cho family, and were trained as assassins. Then, recently, the two of us went there, rescued the children who were trapped there, and killed the Valley Lord and the instructors. So the Cho family is grinding their teeth at us. I came here because the family head is the only one I can ask to give you a place to stay until you meet your brother again."
Then I looked at the family head, and he nodded.
"So that's what happened. First, come closer to me. It's a relief that the wounds are not as deep as they look on the outside. It seems you thought that if Pae Maseong saw you like this, he would go on a rampage."
"That's right."
When the family head held out his hand to Pae Maling, she looked at me again.
"You can give him your hand. It seems he's going to inject his internal energy to treat your wounds."
At that, Pae Maling nodded and held out her hand to the family head.
The family head's eyes widened for a moment as he took Pae Maling's pulse, and then they became calm again.
Seeing that, I wondered if Pae Maling also had great martial talent.
But from then on, the family head didn't say anything else and just injected his internal energy.
Pae Maling was embarrassed and just left her hand in his.
Pae Maling herself might not have realized the change directly, but I could vividly see her complexion changing and her wounds healing.
The bruises that had been all over her body disappeared as if by magic, and her dry skin became lustrous.
What I had asked for was just to treat her wounds, but the family head was injecting much more internal energy than I had expected.
I wondered if he wanted to put Pae Maseong in his debt by doing this, and if so, he had thought very well.
I was once again struck by how amazing the power of internal energy was.
Later, her hair and skin also became lustrous, and her stooped shoulders and back straightened.
"How are you now?"
When the family head asked, Pae Maling looked at me.
"How do you feel?"
When I asked, Pae Maling looked at her hand and then slowly turned her arm.
"Huh?"
At first, she didn't know that she had gotten better and had to answer something, so she moved her body and then seemed to have belatedly realized that the familiar pain was not there.
"Huh?"
"It doesn't hurt?"
"Yes, it really doesn't hurt."
Pae Maling, as if she couldn't believe it, swung her arm much more widely this time.
The family head looked at such a Pae Maling with satisfaction.
"That man named Son Eun was too foolish. If he had recognized this child's constitution, he should have taught her martial arts long ago. It's just a shame that her blood vessels have not been developed. It's a rare thing that happens once in a hundred years for a girl to be born with such a good constitution. It's a truly strange thing. After Pae Maseong, for his younger sister to be born with such a constitution."
At first, his expression had seemed to change when he took Pae Maling's pulse, and it seemed that this was the reason.
I looked at Pae Maling.
The reason I had come here at first was to ask if he could give Pae Maling a place to stay until her wounds healed and her body recovered to some extent, but that reason had disappeared all at once.
It seemed that there would be no problem even if I went to see Pae Maseong like this now.
The family head, as if he had also thought that, said to me.
"What did you say her name was?"
"It's Pae Maling."
"Yes, Pae Maling. I will make you a proposal. How about you stay at the main family from now on and be in my guard?"
I didn't understand and looked at him.
Hadn't he said that it would have been good if he had taught her martial arts long ago, but that it was already too late?
But I couldn't readily understand the words to join the guard.
The family head, as if he knew the question I had, said.
"My guard is full of excellent guards anyway. And I don't really need a bodyguard. The reason I'm telling you to join my guard is mainly because if you are the bodyguard of the family head of the Danli family, the gadflies of the Cho family will not dare to look down on you in the future, and if I take you in, Pae Maseong will feel indebted to me for a long time."
If so, it seemed that it would be difficult to make a better plan than that.
It wouldn't matter if Pae Maling met Pae Maseong for a short time, but it was a difficult position for Pae Maseong, who was living a rough life in a mountain bandit stronghold, to continue to take care of Pae Maling.
As Pae Maling looked at me, I nodded.
"You'll have to decide after meeting Pae Maseong, but I think it's very good. In the Heavenly Demon Sect, no one can look down on the Danli family. If you are the family head's guard in that Danli family, no one in the family will be able to look down on you. And since your brother and my master, the Grandmaster of the Blood Martial Force, are here, there will be no better option for you."
Pae Maling slowly nodded.
"Our master often comes to see us, so you can come with him then. We're staying at a mountain bandit stronghold now, but the place we're staying can change at any time, so it will be easier for us to come and see you. We will think of this place where our master is staying as our hometown and come often, so it would be good to do that."
"Yes, brother. Then I will do so. Thank you for taking in someone as insignificant as me, family head."
The family head nodded and then looked at Pae Maling carefully.
"The wound on your arm looks different from the others. How did you get this wound?"
That was the wound Pae Maling had gotten when she had blocked Son Eun's subordinates when they were trying to attack me.
Since I had a lot to say about that anyway, I started to talk about it.
"Pae Maling, family head."
As I spoke with eloquence, the family head laughed as if he found it amusing.
"Weren't you scared?"
"I was scared, but I felt like I had to do something. If I could have done martial arts, I would have picked up a weapon, but since I didn't know how to do anything, I couldn't think of anything else at that time."
The family head nodded.
"Other people wouldn't be able to think of that. They would be frozen with fear. They would give up while feeling sorry. But you threw your body. As a result, you bought the crucial moment that Ya Socheong needed. If you hadn't stepped up then, I would not have been able to see you here today and would have had to hear the rumor that you had died."
Although it seemed a little extreme, it was not wrong.
That was a clear fact.
Pae Maling looked at me with a surprised face, and I nodded.
"Hmm... it's late, but should I try teaching you? What do you think, Pae Maling? If I say I will teach you martial arts, are you willing to learn?"
I wondered what I had just heard.
The family head of the Danli family would personally teach martial arts.
If he had said that to me, I would have said yes without a second thought.
As I nodded enthusiastically, Pae Maling also seemed to have realized that this was an opportunity that should never be missed and said that she wanted to.
The family head, as if he found me funny, burst out laughing.
"Ya Socheong, if it turns out like this, you will be hooked by me again. Didn't you leave, shaking everything off because you didn't want to be hooked?"
"That's not it. It's just that my path was different."
"So that's what it is. Now that your master and Pae Maseong's younger sister are also at the main family, you will have to do better for the main family in the future."
The family head always said that, but in retrospect, I had received more from him.
After talking for a while, the family head said.
"You're not leaving this place today. Stay at the main family for a few days."
Then he gave Pae Maling a small garden.
Pae Maling also looked at me with a pleading gaze.
If I brought her to a place she didn't know well and then left, pretending not to know, there would be no greater fear for Pae Maling.
(End of Chapter)