Chapter 21 :

Third-Rate Warrior Who Greets an Uninvited Guest (2)

The first person to greet the visitor was Hong Saryeon.

After finishing her class at Busaeng Hall, she was on her way to personal training when she discovered the visitor.

He wore a luxurious sword at his waist, his clothes were far finer than anything Saryeon owned, and his handsome face and tall stature made him seem extraordinary.

Even though he had entered an unfamiliar place, his bold air, showing no sign of unfamiliarity, made him feel like an unusual person.

Most of all, his face seemed like one she had seen somewhere before, but she could not remember at all.

“What brings you here?”

“I am looking for someone. Is there perhaps a man named Young Master Jin Sowoon here?”

At the unexpected words that came from the noble young master’s mouth, Saryeon’s eyes narrowed.

His face clearly looked four or five years older than Sowoon, so she wondered when he had become acquainted with such a person without her knowing.

“What business do you have with him?”

“I came to meet him for a personal matter.”

“Senior Brother Jin has not come back for several days already. I think you will have to come again next time.”

“Hmm…”

She had indirectly issued an order for him to leave because of his rudeness in not even introducing himself, but the noble young master did not budge.

“Then may I wait here?”

“…What do you think you are doing right now? The Taeul Sect is not an inn.”

Only then did the noble young master seem to realize his mistake.

“Ah, I made a mistake. I will first greet the sect leader and receive permission. Would you guide me to the sect leader?”

“Excuse me!”

At the moment Saryeon’s patience finally ran out and she shouted,

the noble young master smiled and said,

“I am Namgung San of the Namgung Family.”

“Divine Dragon of Creation?”

Only then did Saryeon remember that he had been present at the place where they were humiliated in the Iron Sword Sect.

“That is right. That is me.”

#

The Taeul Sect was somewhat excited because of Namgung San’s presence.

Gye Cheolyeong was going in and out of the annex so often that the door might wear out, and the hall masters of other halls also subtly stopped by the annex to build a friendly relationship.

The commotion was especially greater among the young disciples.

A rising expert they had only heard about through rumors of the murim world, and one famous as a handsome young master at that, was staying in the Taeul Sect. It was simply hard for them to endure.

“Great Hero Namgung San is so cool.”

“How nice would it have been if I had been born in a place like the Namgung Family too?”

“At the very least, I wish I could learn the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art of the Namgung Family. I heard they carefully select even their disciples there.”

In any case, I had no guess as to why he had come looking for me.

There was no way Namgung Sangwon and he were connected.

To begin with, Namgung Sangwon’s goal was to suppress the direct line of the Namgung Family and make the branch family the master of the family.

To Namgung San, who was practically the next-generation master of the Namgung Family, he was no different from a sworn enemy.

Then had he come to praise me for what I had done?

The timing was too early.

Even if he knew about that matter, would the Namgung Family under all heaven send their one and only legitimate heir just to meet some insignificant warrior of the Taeul Sect?

And the Divine Dragon of Creation, said to be the greatest talent of Anhui Province, at that?

None of the reasons made sense.

Namgung San coming here was something that had not happened in my previous life.

If something that had not happened in my previous life happened in this life, that meant there was something needed to fill that gap.

‘Something that existed in my previous life but does not in this life… or the opposite.’

At the end of that thought, I had a guess.

“…So that was it.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is nothing.”

“When on earth did you build a relationship with the Namgung Family? Do you go out every day just to meet people?”

“It is nothing like that.”

“Anyway, hurry and go. Since he has already stayed for a week, everyone in the Taeul Sect is uncomfortable.”

“Understood.”

“That is Daehyeon Hall. The guest is staying in the annex.”

“I will greet the sect leader first before going. You go tell that person I have arrived.”

“No, I said he has been waiting for a week!”

“Waiting was that person’s choice. Since nothing was promised, I will also act according to my own schedule.”

“No! What on earth…! And since when have you gone around properly greeting the sect leader?”

“…I have always done well. You should go and deliver the news.”

Saryeon grumbled, “If you’re going to go later anyway, why tell me to deliver the news…” and headed toward the annex.

When I entered Daehyeon Hall, Father and Hong Mungi happened to be discussing matters within the sect.

“Sect leader. Disciple Jin Sowoon has returned from going out.”

At my greeting, both Father and Hong Mungi could not hide their surprised eyes.

Seeing them become that surprised, it seemed that, just as Saryeon said, I usually did not go around greeting people properly.

“Yes, did you return safely?”

Hong Mungi, who recovered his expression first, accepted my greeting with a benevolent smile.

On the other hand, Jin Taesan still could not hide his surprised eyes.

“Good heavens, what happened? You actually came to greet the sect leader.”

“Father, if you say that, you are spitting in your own face.”

“You rotten brat…”

Unlike the fiery Saryeon, Hong Mungi gave an elegant laugh.

“There is a guest of yours in the annex. Did you hear?”

“Yes. I heard.”

“Good, then go.”

“That guest is not someone I made an appointment with. I have a few things to report first, so I will sit for a moment.”

This time, even Hong Mungi could not erase his surprised expression, just like Jin Taesan.

“Could I perhaps have a cup of tea?”

“You are going to drink tea before going? You rascal, Namgung San is waiting.”

“Father, just what is the Namgung Family that I must go meet them without even reporting to the sect leader? When I look at you, Father, you seem like a person of the Namgung Family rather than a person of the Taeul Sect.”

“You, you… rotten!”

“Hehe, Taesan, I am sorry, but could you prepare tea? It would be pleasant to drink tea with Sowoon after so long.”

“Haa.”

Jin Taesan prepared tea with practiced movements, and soon, a steaming cup of tea was placed before me.

Leaving out everything unnecessary before and after, I reported the story of rescuing Wang Soso.

“…Haha, so you thought the child seemed to have been kidnapped, chased after them, and rescued her.”

“Yes. However, while rescuing her, the child seemed to have an illness, so I transmitted the Taeul Heart Method to her. I apologize for not receiving permission.”

“It is all right. Martial arts are, by nature, meant to benefit people. If she could be saved with basic martial arts, then you have done what you should have done.”

Hong Mungi and Father roughly understood it as me having rescued a woman from human traffickers, and the reason I deliberately spoke like this was to prevent Wang Geumsan from coming later and misunderstanding.

“By the way, why did Young Master San of the Namgung Family come looking for you? For a whole week, he occupied the best room in the Taeul Sect, and it was a headache serving him three meals a day.”

“Who knows? Perhaps he came to learn a move from me.”

“What?”

Father’s face crumpled like a sheet of paper, and it was always enjoyable to see.

“Am I not someone who defeated Seong Mohyeon of the Iron Sword Sect? On top of that, I even took the Ninefold Sword, so would even the eldest young master of the Namgung Family under all heaven not want to learn a move from me?”

“Bah! You rotten brat. If you are going to talk nonsense, get out!”

“Yes, sect leader. This disciple will take his leave and go greet the guest.”

#

Namgung San felt a strange emotion.

He had not even seen the other person or spoken with him, yet he felt anger.

The even stranger point was that this emotion had suddenly risen.

When he learned of the other person’s absence, he had not felt anger.

Because he had not made an appointment with him.

He spent seven days in shabby lodgings and ate poor meals, but he did not feel anger.

Because he was the one who had said he would wait. He could not complain that the Taeul Sect’s treatment of guests was only at this level.

However, the moment he heard that Jin Sowoon had returned to the Taeul Sect,

anger surged up from deep within his chest.

It was the first time in his life he had experienced this, so he too was flustered.

“What kind of person is Young Master Jin Sowoon?”

The girl beside him, anxiously delivering the news.

Though she could not be compared to him, she was a child who carried the burden of having to inherit the next generation of her sect, so he had taken some interest in her.

“Senior Brother? Hmm. He is such an unpredictable person.”

The girl, who had been frowning as if speaking of something unpleasant, grew more and more excited as she continued.

“Well, he does a lot of unpredictable things, but I do not think he does them just because he wants to. In any case, he cares a lot for the junior brothers of the sect. He is rude, but he also takes terrifyingly good care of the elders. Even though he himself does not greet people properly, when someone else says something disrespectful, his eyes flip, and he charges at them.”

“It seems your Senior Brother is reliable.”

“Pardon? What are you talking about? I just told you.”

“Is that so?”

The girl whose name he did not know stuck out her tongue and made a face as if she had chewed bitter gall.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

A young man entered the annex.

A common blue steel sword tied at his waist.

An old but neatly washed martial uniform.

Long hair tied up cleanly.

Nothing about him seemed special.

‘How strange.’

And yet, the emotions Namgung San felt upon seeing him boiled like heated iron.

“Are you Jin Sowoon?”

“Did you come looking for me without knowing me?”

The nameless girl who had been keeping him company looked back and forth between Jin Sowoon and Namgung San’s faces, trying to understand what was going on.

“I have only heard stories about you that were passed on to me.”

“Were you not… there that day?”

“That day?”

“The Iron Sword Sect.”

Come to think of it, he felt as if he had seen that child and this nameless girl at the place where the Iron Sword Sect lost the Ninefold Sword.

“Ah! That is right. Now that I think about it, you were there too.”

“…Do you have a problem with your memory?”

How should he put it? Was the very existence known as Jin Sowoon drawing rejection from deep within his heart?

Even words that seemed to be thrown out without much meaning stirred his emotions violently.

“No. I simply tend not to give my attention to things I have no interest in.”

“…Then why did you come looking for me?”

Where should he begin?

With the fact that the item Jin Sowoon possessed had originally been his?

Or with the fact that Jin Sowoon had intercepted it in the middle?

Namgung San turned his head and spoke to the nameless girl.

“Leave us for a moment.”

“Ah… yes. Understood.”

“What did you just say?”

Jin Sowoon furrowed his brow deeply.

For a moment, Namgung San felt as if he had done something wrong.

But nothing had been wrong.

“I asked her to leave because I have something important to discuss with you.”

“‘Leave us’ is an order. It is not a request.”

“…Uh, S-Senior Brother. Why are you acting like this? I am fine. Please talk. I will go now.”

The nameless girl became flustered instead and left.

The person named Jin Sowoon blankly stared at the girl’s back.

“What did I do wrong?”

“Does the Divine Dragon of Creation not know the difference between ‘leave us’ and ‘could you leave us’?”

“…”

Only then did Namgung San realize the source of all this displeasure, anger, irritation, and rage.

“You… are quite arrogant.”

The emotions he had felt from everyone in the Taeul Sect.

Adoration, awe, fear, respect, reverence, praise.

He could not find even a speck of those things in Jin Sowoon.

Instead, Jin Sowoon radiated contempt, disdain, belittlement, and insult, emotions Namgung San had never once experienced in his life.

“How strange. Since when did the Namgung Family become the emperor’s family?”

“…”

Namgung San decided to stop.

Because he thought that if he continued talking with Jin Sowoon any longer, he might lose his temper.

“You likely do not know why I suddenly visited and came looking for you, do you?”

For some reason, he felt he could understand Jin Sowoon’s feelings as well.

There were people like that.

People who displayed hostility when they met an enormous opponent because of their own insignificant presence.

People who feared all the more because they knew nothing.

Properly considering such people was also a virtue of the strong.

“The reason I came is…”

“Is it not because of the entrance pass?”

“!!!”

This bastard, had he known from the beginning?

#

What reason would Namgung San, who had not been interested in the Taeul Sect at the Iron Sword Sect, have to visit the Taeul Sect?

Most of the elixirs and secret manuals I had obtained were things no one knew about, so if one had to pick something among the things I had obtained that someone else knew about, there were only the Steel Guardian Pill and the entrance pass.

There was no way the legitimate heir of the Namgung Family had come because he wanted the Steel Guardian Pill, so that meant it was the entrance pass.

His attitude was quite shameless.

He had clearly come to ask a favor, yet there was none of that.

He simply looked as if he firmly believed I would give it to him if he asked.

“That was originally mine.”

Even the way he spoke had the natural tone of someone asking to be repaid money he had lent.

I had not intended to give it to him anyway, but seeing him act like this made my insides twist even more.

“The chief strategist said no such thing.”

“It was an item I requested in the first place, and that is why it ended up in your hands.”

If the chief strategist had made a definite promise to Namgung San, there would be no reason for Namgung San to come to me and ask me to return the entrance pass.

The chief strategist could have simply made another one and given it to him.

In the end, the chief strategist, who had been planning to give the entrance pass to Namgung San, had decided that it would not matter much even if he gave that entrance pass to me.

The conclusion was that the entrance pass did not belong to Namgung San.

“How strange. If it was so clearly yours, Great Hero, why did the chief strategist give it to me? It seems this is a matter you should question the chief strategist about, not me. Or did you come here because the chief strategist is too difficult to deal with, while the Taeul Sect is easy?”

Namgung San let out a long sigh.

“You have a talent for getting on people’s nerves.”

“If my words do not go against reason, then if they got on your nerves, that would be your problem, Great Hero.”

“Of course, I am not asking you to return it for nothing.”

“…”

“I came prepared to pay a sufficient price. This is a jewel called the Seven-Colored Jewel. It is a precious treasure that could buy at least a ninety-nine-room mansion. I will give you this.”

On Namgung San’s palm, a jewel emitting seven colors shone brilliantly.

In my memory, it was a treasure valuable enough to buy three ninety-nine-room mansions.

“The reason I came under the family’s name and did not make this public was all for the sake of the Taeul Sect and you. If the people of the murim world learn that you coveted something belonging to the Namgung Family, how do you think they will look at you? And how do you think they will look at your sect, the Taeul Sect?”

Just as he said, if he made it public, the matter would grow large.

And the Namgung Family’s story would spread even more powerfully, tightening around the Taeul Sect.

On top of that, he was not asking me to give it to him for free, and he even said he would give me the Seven-Colored Jewel, so I ought to be thanking him.

“Cut the crap.”

I meant to express gratitude, but my true feelings accidentally came out instead.

“…What?”

“Well, do whatever you want.”

“Do you think… I cannot?”

“The Taeul Sect is not such a small sect. You look down on me too much when I belong to that place.”

“…You want this matter to grow large. Can you handle the Namgung Family?”

“Even if I cannot handle it, you will not find the entrance pass.”

“…”

“And you should choose carefully. The Iron Sword Sect acted as you are acting now and lost the Ninefold Sword.”

“…!”

Namgung San’s face stiffened for the first time.