“We will arrive at the Great Bird Guest House soon.” The wagon driver’s voice floated through the fist-sized window.
Seol-Hwi briefly thanked him and then checked the system windows.
Will I go back to the usual room1…? Not long after he got on the wagon, he discovered a new feature in the window: [Return]. It seemed he could instantly go back, just like he moved here.
How convenient.
“So, you mean…” Seol-Hwi looked at Seokdu. “You’re saying we can catch the bastard, no matter how hard he tries to hide?”
Seokdu nodded.
“Yes. I have known him since childhood. Even if he changed his face, he won’t be able to change his habits and mannerisms.”
“Well…”
“Speaking of which, he really deserves to die. Every day he told me I couldn’t meet a woman because I was ugly, or that just looking at me made him feel dirty…”
“Ah, I got that a lot too.” Seol-Hwi shook his head. Seemed like the guy had been harassed a lot.
The real question was “Is it a sin to be a virgin?”
That bastard Jeok Myung 2 was like this too. How badly did he torment Seol-Hwi? Just thinking about it made him angry. It didn’t feel the anger would go away, so Seol-Hwi thought he might go and slap Jeok Myung around once the mission was over. He’d be alive and well, now that Seol-Hwi was on a different life.
The wagon came to a stop and the driver announced that they’d arrived.
Seol-Hwi got down first and looked around.
For a moment, he was speechless. He felt a strange, indescribable pleasure as he laid eyes on the crowds of people.
A merchant hawking his goods; children playing in the corner; refreshments being sold—even the buildings lining the roads and vendors selling their vegetables.
It’s been almost thirty years. Seol-Hwi was born in a butcher’s family. He stayed in the house at all times until his parents died when he was 10 years old and he had to take over the chores.
The day they came, he was scampering and scrounging like a dog.
- Would you like to learn martial arts?
Seol-Hwi was enchanted by their sweet words; he said yes, and that was how he entered the Demonic Sect. He didn’t know that life there would be worse than the butcher’s life.
“There, Seol-Hwi.”
Seol-Hwi looked up when Seokdu spoke.
Right. He had work to do. After all, he would have to go back to the sect once the mission was done.
“Let’s go see what we can get.” Seol-Hwi spotted a large, three-story guest house on the other side of the road and took Seokdu inside.
The inside of the guest house was tense. The two sects here were prone to starting brawls. Interestingly, they were always fighting because of a woman.
“My Lady, shouldn’t they be stopped?” Yeonji watched the fight grow with an anxious expression.
Ju Sohye and a friend sat down at a table between the two young lords of the sects.
Things fell apart from there.
Mae Euk-Sang, her admirer, had approached.
“Batian sect is the best in Cheonghae?” she had asked in a low voice.
“It’s true,” Mae Euk-Sang had boldly proclaimed. “The Nine Paths sect is inferior, as the rumors said.”
That was three months ago.
Ma Sang-Jun, the young lord of the Nine Paths sect, looked at Ju Sohye and shouted. Dozens of men jumped up from their seats, and the entire guest house froze.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier that we’re both in the same boat?” Yeonji asked.
“I don’t think that’s the right expression to use here,” Ju Sohye replied.
“Why not? The two of us have the same problems, so we need to work together to get through it.”
“Does it look like I have problems?”
“It does in my eyes,” he said.
Ju Sohye smiled at him. She really was beautiful enough to draw the attention of the two lords: big eyes and red lips; a slender neck and white jade-like skin wrapped in a silk robe; eyes that didn’t blink even when the men were fighting.
She was the granddaughter of the wealthiest man in Cheonghae—she ruled this land with her name alone. With her beauty added on top of that, there was no end to her suitors.
Among those dogs, there were some who fought with swords.
“I knew this day would come!” Mae Euk-Sang wore a navy blue robe over his short, stout body.
The Nine Paths sect had about 500 warriors.
“I’ve longed for this!” a tall, skinny man in a blue robe shouted. “I will not back down today like I did last time!”
The Batian sect originated from a weapons merchant. His great-grandfather made a fortune by supplying weapons to the military and used it to establish a martial sect. He gathered power by uniting small sects. They had a similar number of warriors to the Nine Paths sect.
Hundreds of warriors drew their weapons at once.
“I will show you the power of the Batian sect!”
“The Nine Paths is the best!”
Some of the audience quietly stayed to observe the situation; the others nervously retreated outside. People were screaming and egging the warriors on. There were even people looking in through the windows.
“Maybe there’s too much attention. But it’s been like this for four months…” Ju Sohye seemed unconcerned despite Yeonji’s worried expression.
They were cowards. They’d spent the last four months growling at each other instead of settling the matter, to say nothing of using swords.
Ju Sohye made to take a sip of her drink, but paused. Something caught her eye.
“Hey, did you just eat three pieces of meat at once just now?”
There were two men in the guest house who didn’t pay any attention to the fight—they just kept munching. What Ju Sohye eavesdropped of their conversation was amazing.
“Didn’t I tell you? Haha, it’s my first time eating such tender meat…”
“What? You wrapped three pieces in vegetables, didn’t you? Did I do that, even though I’m the same as you?”
“Ah… I made a big mistake.”
It was a childish conversation, but rather compelling. Casually chatting while swords were bared was a fun idea.
Eventually, one of the warriors tried a surprise attack. He threw something, and it landed…
…where the men were eating.
“Huh?!”
Seol-Hwi and Seokdu ordered a bunch of food as soon as they were in the guest house. They didn’t even bother speaking to each other for a while—they just ate, even with all the commotion. They just ate and ate like madmen, and the piles of food on the table kept disappearing.
“Hey.” Seol-Hwi was the first to speak. “Did you just eat three pieces of meat at once just now?”
“No.” Seokdu’s expression stiffened and he hastily made an excuse, but he was already breaking into a cold sweat.
In the end, he had no choice but to confess.
“I-I did.”
“Think before you do that again.” Seol-Hwi forgave him because it was a new experience for both of them—and because he was stuffing his face, too.
“Do you have any money?” Seol-Hwi had no trust in his eyes.
Seokdu was in a bind again.
“Uh, I used all my money to pay for the carriage—” He felt Seol-Hwi’s eyes radiate killing intent. “—I’ll take care of it.”
“Right.”
Suddenly, they were interrupted—the other guests had gotten into a fight and thrown something at them, but Seokdu handily caught the blade.
“Um…” Seokdu looked at Seol-Hwi. “Are you done eating?”
“Unfortunately, this is it.” Seol-Hwi nodded and heaved a sigh.
“I understand.” Seokdu waited for Seol-Hwi to put down his chopsticks before he acted.
The first thing he did was scream.
“Ahhhhhh!” He didn’t stop there—Seokdu raised a hand and started to beat it against the table, scattering food and plates everywhere. “Ahhh, I’m dead! My hand is so fucked! Agghhh!”
Once he had everyone’s attention, Seokdu leapt up with the weapon in his hand.
“Who was it?! Which bastard?!”
The guest house went dead quiet. They seemed to exchange glances and then one of the Nine Paths warriors stepped forwards.
“Don’t get involved in someone else’s fight.” The warrior lifted his knife threateningly.
But then his expression changed. Seokdu’s fist came flying at him like a lightning bolt, and the man got launched backwards.
He slammed into the wall and passed out.
“I’ll ask again: who threw this?” Seokdu walked around, but no one spoke. The way he moved escaped the realm of common sense.
“You?”
Everyone went stiff.
“N-No!” Mae Euk-Sang trembled. He had an eye for the strong, and he knew there was no place for something like self-esteem in front of this intimidating presence. He’d never felt anything like this in his life.
“Then is it you?” Seokdu turned to Ma Sang-Jun of the Batian sect. He didn’t react much differently.
“N-Not me, either!”
“Really? You rats.” Seokdu stomped, shaking the entire guest house. Everyone shied away.
Seokdu suddenly grabbed Ma Sang-Jun and Ma Euk-Sang by their hair. The other warriors were shaken and backed away.
“You two listen carefully to what I’m saying.” Seokdu brought them close. “You will pay for my food. And since you broke the nice mood, you should compensate me for it. In return, I won’t ask why you did it. Understand?”
“Yes!”
“Yep!”
Both men, desperate to survive, answered right away. Seokdu, satisfied, let go of their heads.
“Ugh!”
“Urk!”
Seokdu went back to his seat and no one followed him. The strange force this giant man radiated was enough to make people know they were powerless.
“I took care of it.” Seokdu bowed his head.
Seol-Hwi looked around calmly and nodded.
“Let’s go.”
He was about to stand up when a woman they didn’t know sat down on the other side of the table.
“Nice to meet you.”
Seol-Hwi looked up.
Ju Sohye [Grand Daughter of Villas and Lodging Holder] Health: 80/80 Internal Energy: 0/0
Insignificant numbers, but that wasn’t the reason Seol-Hwi gave her his attention.
*Special Note: Mission 2 (Warrior Training)
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