Chapter 55 :

A First-Rate Warrior Who Shocked the Divine Sword (3)

The aftermath of the battle was handled swiftly.

Although they were saddened by the loss of their comrades, they showed no signs of wavering. Watching them, I quietly admired them.

‘This must be the kind of thing that separates prestigious families from others.’

The procession headed toward the Namgung Family once more, but the three of us standing at the front had a very different atmosphere from when we had entered Mount Gueom.

Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa were weighed down by a deep heaviness, and since I knew well where it came from, I accepted that atmosphere and kept my mouth shut.

“Hm? What brings Father out here?”

When we reached the Namgung Family, Namgung Jinmyeong was waiting outside with the family’s warriors.

The people lined up to visit the Namgung Family all looked curious as to whom the young family head of the Namgung Family was waiting for.

“What? The family head came out personally to greet someone?”

“It looks like Young Master San and Young Lady Seonhwa.”

“Look closely. The place the family head is heading toward is someone else.”

At that moment, Namgung Jinmyeong looked at me and raised his hand brightly.

“You have finally arrived! Welcome!”

Though he had surely heard about what happened at Mount Gueom, Namgung Jinmyeong showed no sign of it and laughed heartily as he patted my back.

“Do you know how eagerly I have been waiting since I heard you had departed?”

“I apologize for being late.”

“No! No! If anything, I should blame these children for not providing you with a comfortable journey.”

Namgung Jinmyeong glared at Namgung San.

“I heard the story. If not for Young Master Jin, you would have gone through something terrible, would you not?”

“I apologize.”

“Tsk, tsk!”

At Namgung Jinmyeong’s attitude, I had to work hard to hide my surprise.

Right now, at the entrance, there were not only us but dozens of people waiting to visit the Namgung Family.

He was openly scolding his child in front of all those people.

“Now, now, let us go inside. And I am truly sorry, but there is a family meeting for a moment, so could you wait at the detached residence?”

Since I knew they had to discuss something because of the incident at Mount Gueom, I nodded.

“Please take your time. I also need to unpack.”

#

After parting with Namgung San’s group, on the way to the detached residence following a maid’s guidance, there were five training grounds, each three times larger than the size of the training ground that existed in the Taeul Sect.

And on those training grounds, countless martial artists stood densely packed, training in martial arts.

“““Haat!”””

When they thrust their fists out at the same time and shouted, the air burst apart, and it felt as if the entire training ground shook.

It was only a single move, but it was a scene that showed the power of the Namgung Family.

Indeed, I strongly felt that they were worthy of being called a great family capable of influencing all under heaven.

And in a family like this, battles against internal enemies were usually fiercer than those against external enemies.

‘If one could possess a family like this, anyone would inevitably grow greedy.’

All martial families were experiencing difficulties similar to the Namgung Family.

The Namgung Family was merely in the middle of a fierce internal power struggle a little earlier than other martial families.

“This is the place.”

The lodging the maid guided me to was a small pavilion with a quiet atmosphere and a modest pond attached to it.

Calling it small did not mean it felt shabby.

Rather, the pavilion itself had an antique elegance flowing through it, making it look extraordinary.

Even if it was not large in scale, a private pavilion was still a private pavilion.

Among warriors wandering the murim world, there were countless people who said they would have no regrets if they could visit the Namgung Family and be assigned a private pavilion.

Because being given a private pavilion meant nothing less than that the Namgung Family regarded one as an honored guest.

‘At this level, I am being treated well enough that others would envy me.’

When I entered the pavilion, maids suddenly rushed in all at once.

Then, without warning, they grabbed my hands and feet and tried to drag me to one side.

“W-What are you doing right now?!”

“Before meeting the family head in the evening, a bath comes first.”

I lightly unfolded Lotus Flower and gently slipped free from their hands.

The maids looked a little surprised when they saw their hands slip off as if they had been coated with oil.

“If it is a bath, I will do it alone!”

I had already suffered all the humiliation I could at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency.

There was no way I could repeat the same humiliation twice.

“…….”

The maids exchanged glances, then tried to slowly approach again.

“Ahem! Stop! If you come any closer, I will not wash.”

“……Understood. We will guide you.”

Crossing the pond and entering through a door on one side of the pavilion, there was a wooden bathtub with hot steam rising from it.

When I looked at the maids who did not leave from in front of the wooden bathtub, the maids stood there blankly, looking at one another.

“We will help you with your bath.”

“I am not a child. I can do it alone.”

“Still…….”

“I clearly said it. If you want me to stand before the family head looking grimy and smelling foul, then stay here.”

“Understood. Please call us anytime if you need anything.”

The maids lined up the bathing tools on one side and all left.

I shook my head as I took off my clothes.

“Do they have no hands and feet, or do they not know shame?”

I soaked my body in the large bath and washed away all the dust and blood I had been covered in during the battle.

When I finished bathing and came out, clothes made of black silk embroidered with silver thread had been prepared.

“Because of that damned nickname Black Flame Dragon, it looks like I will end up wearing only black every time.”

Still, it was not bad.

If I wore black martial clothes, they did not stain much, and even if I was covered in blood, it did not feel repulsive.

Especially since subtle silver patterns were embroidered into them like this, I even looked like someone rather extraordinary.

Just as I looked at the clothes reflected in the bronze mirror, the door rattled open and the maids stormed in.

“I…… I clearly…….”

“We will help with the next step.”

Then they grabbed my hair, brushed it, and even powdered my face.

This time, resistance was useless.

“Do not lie down so the face powder and hair oil do not get messed up.”

“……I will sit.”

“If you sit, the hem of your clothes will wrinkle.”

“……You are not telling me to stand, are you?”

“…….”

“……You are not telling me to stand, are you?”

Even when I repeated the question, the maid gave no answer.

“…….”

Who was the bastard who said they would have no regrets if they could receive an invitation from one of the Five Great Families?

#

Having no other choice but to stand, I was looking at the pond outside the detached residence.

As I watched carp swim freely and wondered how much those things would be worth, a maid trotted over and offered me tea.

I thought she was simply preparing it for me and brought the tea to my lips, but the taste was extraordinary.

“The taste is…… excellent.”

“It is Junshan Silver Needle, the tea the family head cherishes most.”

“Pfft!”

Startled, I spat out the tea in my mouth.

And the thought that immediately came to me was that it was a waste to spit out expensive Junshan Silver Needle.

As expected, it seemed that the habits of poverty ingrained in the body did not easily disappear, even if one possessed promissory notes worth tens of thousands of nyang.

“J-Junshan…… Silver Needle?”

It was a precious tea whose name had been known since the Tang era and which was monopolized by the imperial family during the Qing era.

Now, that monopoly had been lifted, but if one asked whether that meant just anyone could drink it, that was not the case.

Because Junshan Silver Needle was a precious tea that could be called the height of luxury, to the point that it could not be bought even with gold of the same weight.

“……Does the Namgung Family serve this kind of tea to guests?”

“That is not the case. It is a tea served only to guests staying at the Imperial Pavilion.”

“……This place was the Imperial Pavilion?”

The Imperial Pavilion of the Namgung Family was where the founding ancestor first established the family and resided.

Now, the family itself had expanded and there was a separate pavilion used by the family head, but the Namgung Family named the former pavilion used by the family head the Imperial Pavilion and would only offer it to their most honored guests.

Among the renowned elders of the murim world, had they not even engaged in subtle contests of pride over whether they were given the Imperial Pavilion during their stay at the Namgung Family as one way of assessing their own worth?

Gulp.

Without realizing it, I swallowed dryly.

“It was vacant before you came to stay here, young master. Ah, recently, the chief strategist of the Murim Alliance stayed here.”

“…….”

The place that I had felt was comfortable because it was small and quiet suddenly felt suffocating.

‘……Still, perhaps this is fortunate.’

There were many uncomfortable matters related to the Namgung Family.

The Seven-Colored Jewel, including Namgung San’s Great Swallow Divine Pill, was one thing, and I also needed to ask them to handle the matter of the Hundred-Hair Fire Cylinder I had used at Mount Gueom.

If they were paying attention to me enough to offer the Imperial Pavilion like this, I thought I could feel a little at ease.

“Is that not the scent of Junshan Silver Needle? Why on earth are you serving something like this to someone who does not even know its taste?”

At that moment, someone entered the Imperial Pavilion while grumbling.

“Who are you?”

A young man of medium height, with eyes slit sharply like a weasel’s, a face covered in pockmarks, and slightly dark skin, perhaps from seeing a lot of sun, ignored my question and glared at the maid.

“You are really trying to ruin the household finances of the Namgung Family. Is it because it is not your money, so you think you can spend it carelessly?”

“……That is not it. The family head told us not to be negligent in serving him…….”

“Even so, how could you bring out Junshan Silver Needle? For someone of his level, he would have been overwhelmed with gratitude even if you had brought out Biluochun.”

I was a little irritated, but I was also somewhat in agreement with what he said.

‘Still, even when he was young, he was arrogant beyond measure.’

Since it was not a face I was particularly happy to see, I watched what he was doing with an expressionless face.

“……I-I apologize.”

When the maid eventually lowered her head while sounding tearful, only then did the weasel nod in satisfaction.

“Always think before you act. The money was earned through the blood and sweat of us, the branch line.”

“……Yes.”

After saying that, the weasel perched his butt on the table and held out his teacup to the maid.

The maid filled his cup with Junshan Silver Needle.

“Jin Sowoon, was it?”

“That is right.”

“……Hmph, ‘that is right’? You have no manners.”

I could see a certain clear intention from him.

An intention to pick a fight and cause an incident.

Otherwise, no matter how much he was from the branch line, there was no way he could do such a thing in front of a guest assigned to the Imperial Pavilion.

‘It is probably because of what happened at Mount Gueom.’

The Namgung Family would immediately dig deeply into this incident.

It was a situation where they could not allow the Namgung Family to move before they erased their own traces.

Since a guest like me, whom the direct line considered important, had arrived just in time, their purpose of diverting attention was obvious.

‘They think they can smooth over something like the Taeul Sect at the level of their branch line as much as they want.’

Being treated like this kind of expendable item was not something that happened only once or twice, but seeing how I felt freshly displeased every time it happened, it seemed I would never get used to such treatment until the day I died.

“I was not taught what kind of etiquette I should show to someone who does not even introduce himself.”

“You mean you do not know me?”

I knew him from the future.

At present, he was not yet at the level of making a name for himself like Namgung San.

Of course, he himself probably thought he was making as much of a name for himself as Namgung San.

“Do I need to know you?”

“Huh-huh! Well, now.”

As someone of the same generation who was two years older than Namgung Seonhwa, he was a person who believed that he had been born with talent no less than Namgung San’s, yet had been robbed of countless things by the direct line simply because he belonged to the branch line.

“Well, I suppose it is far beyond the knowledge of a disciple from a sect placed at the bottom of the One Hundred Eight Peaks.”

Because of that, his desire for recognition was also tremendous, and when I thought of the money he had spent in the Murim Alliance in my past life, it was comparable to the yearly operating expenses of a decent martial sect.

“Well. It is true that our martial sect is humble, but even my youngest junior brother knows the name of Senior Namgung San, the Blue Dragon Sword.”

And what such a person hated most was being compared to Namgung San.

“What did you just say?”

“You are speaking as if I am picking a fight. Is saying your own name once really that difficult? Or is it because it is a shameful name?”

His lips trembled as he spat out the words as if chewing them.

“Have you never heard the nickname Boundless Sword?”

“Ah…….”

When I let out a small exclamation, the bastard immediately became triumphant.

He was truly an easy fellow to understand.

If I provoked him one more time here, trouble would break out just as he wanted.

‘Should I hold back? Or not?’

I did not care whether the direct line and branch line fought each other inside the Namgung Family, but as for me, I had almost been swept up in the aftermath and placed in danger.

They owed me a debt that had to be repaid.

“I have never heard of it before. Was there such a childish nickname?”

“You bastard!”

The weasel put down his teacup, then struck both hands together and gathered internal energy.

Then he poured out the Heavenly Wind Palm Force that Namgung San had shown at Mount Gueom.

“Kyaaaak!”

The maid caught in the palm force fell, and the Junshan Silver Needle spilled onto the floor.

What a waste.

Wanting at least to avoid a situation where the Imperial Pavilion was damaged, I unfolded Lotus Flower and diverted his palm force into the air.

Pung, pung.

Along with the sound of air bursting, the palm force scattered.

Looking blankly at that scene, I said.

“Seeing as your nickname has sword in it, it seems you are not much to speak of except with a sword.”

“You bastard!”

In the end, the weasel could not hold back and drew his sword.

And he immediately unfolded the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art.

Though he did not have talent comparable to Namgung San, the level of sword art he displayed was considerable.

However, the breaking form of the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art had already been completed in the future.

Unlike the time with Namgung San, I drew the Black Dragon Sword and unfolded the breaking form of the Boundless Blue Sky Sword Art in a single move.

Unlike when my internal energy had been weak, now that I unleashed it with internal energy reaching two cycles, the suction force rose to an unbelievable level, and although the weasel tried hard to endure, in the end, his sword entered my hand.

“H-How!”

I tripped the bastard, whose eyes had opened wide, and spun him once on the floor to knock him down.

Thud.

Then I stepped on his neck and subdued him.

“What is going on here?”

Hearing the commotion, Namgung Jinmyeong, Namgung San, and Namgung Seonhwa came running.

Soon, they saw the scene before them and were greatly shocked.

“What on earth.”

I spoke brazenly.

“Someone who would not reveal his identity came in and caused a disturbance, so I subdued him.”

“What?”

“I asked his identity several times, but he would not answer. I was suspicious that he might be someone connected to Mount Gueom, so I had just caught him.”

“…….”

Perhaps because the situation of being subdued was humiliating, the weasel’s face flushed bright red.

At that moment, a middle-aged man with a long beard appeared behind Namgung Jinmyeong.

“That child is my son.”

The heads of Namgung Jinmyeong, San, and Seonhwa turned back.

The man, who looked a little older than Namgung Jinmyeong, had a large build and a face full of stubbornness.

“How dare you oppress a child of the Namgung Family in a place like this?”

Namgung Jinmyeong said in embarrassment.

“Brother, it seems there was a misunderstanding between them.”

“Misunderstanding? If someone entered the Namgung Family, he should have naturally thought they were a person of the Namgung Family and acted carefully. What on earth is this sight!”

“…….”

Only then did I quietly remove my foot and speak.

“So you were a young master of the Namgung Family. If you had told me earlier, I would have been careful.”

The weasel shouted furiously, as if he was wronged.

“Did I not tell you! I said Boundless Sword!”

“Why do you go around mentioning a nickname that no one knows? If you had simply said Namgung…… your family name, this would not have happened. And for someone of the Namgung Family, your martial arts were far too meager.”

“…….”

Unable to refute my words, the weasel’s body trembled.

I quickly turned around and raised a fist salute to Namgung Songju, the weasel’s father.

“I apologize. If I had thought he was a child of the Namgung Family, I would never have dared do such a thing. Please forgive me. Still, your son attacked first and was subdued, so that is not my fault, is it?”

“He was not ambushed…… but attacked first?”

At the words that he had attacked first, Namgung Songju’s body trembled as he glared at his own child.

Soon, that blazing gaze turned toward me.

I raised a fist salute with a friendly smile.

‘It seems your son being an idiot was not part of the plan, was it?’