Chapter 533

The third floor, where the commotion had broken out earlier, had long since emptied.

Not many people had the nerve to sit drinking as if nothing had happened after a fight between martial artists had brought down the railings and even parts of the walls.

Besides, martial artists wealthy and important enough to frequent Gowolru were more likely to drink at a winehouse than an ordinary inn.

So it wasn’t hard to guess what the uninvited guest, still smiling amid the wreckage, was.

A martial artist.

That much was obvious.

The man looked thirty at most. He had an open, handsome face, and a dark saber scabbard hung at his waist.

And then there was…

His aura.

I let out a silent whistle. The power and aura I sensed from him surpassed those of every member of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes I’d met so far.

Even Jin Mukyung before he entered seclusion.

Could it be?

A name I knew but had yet to put a face to flashed through my mind.

Murong Yeonghwi, the One-Ride Heavenly Dragon. Eldest son of the Murong Family, and foremost among the ten dragons and phoenixes hailed as Murim’s greatest young prodigies.

Should I use Qi Sense to check his name?

While I was considering it, Hyuk Mujin approached looking like he desperately needed to shit.

“Um, he’s an acquaintance of mine. He said he really wanted to meet you, Captain…”

I kept my eyes on the man.

“Mujin.”

“Yes?”

“I’m genuinely curious. You didn’t expect me to believe that, did you?”

“Ghk.”

“Tell me the truth. Now.”

“…I shit my pants, and he helped me.”

“I figured it was something like that. We’ll talk later. Step aside.”

As Hyuk Mujin backed away with an expression like he wanted to kill himself, the smile at the corners of the man’s mouth deepened.

“Well, now. You’re quicker on the uptake than I expected.”

“Not really. It’d be stranger if a textile-shop owner’s son had a friend like you.”

“Hm. I didn’t know that. Though, to be honest, I didn’t have particularly high expectations.”

“You’re taking your time introducing yourself. Who are you?”

“A traveler passing through.”

“And you’re talking pretty casually for someone we’ve just met.”

“If it bothers you, speak casually yourself. Make yourself comfortable.”

He was an odd one. He felt different from the others I’d met. I folded my arms loosely.

“Sure. Let’s do that.”

He laughed aloud.

“I’d only heard rumors about the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon. You’re more entertaining than they led me to believe.”

“It’s not exactly a fun situation from where I’m standing. Anyway, are you still planning to introduce yourself as a passing traveler?”

“You don’t know me, then. A few people here seem to.”

His gaze shifted to Ju Hwaran, Gung Gibang, and Song Ilseom.

The faint smile Hwaran had worn only moments ago was gone. Her expression hardened.

“It’s been a while, Young Sect Leader.”

Young Sect Leader?

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

“Young Lady Ju. You know him?”

“We met once. In Gansu.”

“Gansu…”

Along with Qinghai and Sichuan, it was one of the regions hit hardest during the Great Faction War. It was also home to the Kongtong Sect, one of the Nine Sects and One Gang.

I studied the man.

“You don’t look like a Kongtong Daoist to me. Tell me now if I’ve got that wrong.”

“No, you’ve got it right. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

He shrugged.

“If Kongtong found out it had been associated with a demonic, heterodox practitioner like me, it would be displeased. Of course, I feel the same way.”

“A demonic, heterodox practitioner?”

“Ever heard of the Black Dragon Demon Gate?”

Black Dragon Demon Gate. It didn’t take long to place the name.

“I have.”

I’d heard of the unorthodox sect that held sway over Gansu. Kongtong might be among the weakest of the Nine Sects and One Gang, but I’d still been surprised to learn that an unorthodox sect shunned by the public could wield that much power there.

Now I get why this guy isn’t one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.

In that respect, he was much like Song Ilseom.

People could talk all they wanted about all Murim standing together as fellow martial artists. In the end, they still had their own little club.

People—orthodox martial artists, that is—didn’t want wandering martial artists who sold their swords for money or demonic, heterodox practitioners they saw as criminals-in-waiting among the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes.

“So what brings the Young Sect Leader of the Black Dragon Demon Gate here?”

The man’s brow furrowed.

“That’s all?”

“What else do you want?”

“Well…”

“Oh, if you’ve got more to say, give me your sobriquet. I might forget it, but I ought to hear it first.”

“…Black Dragon Saber. Sama Pyo.”

“I didn’t ask for your name. But all right, now I know.”

“…”

“Cool name, though. Any relation to Sima Yi?¹”

“What?”

“What do you mean, what? Sima Yi. The one from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

Sama Pyo looked taken aback.

“We share a surname. That’s all.”

“Really? What a shame. If you were sworn enemies of the Zhuge Clan, I was going to introduce you to someone I know.”

“…That doesn’t mean I’m on good terms with the Zhuge Clan.”

“Yeah, fair enough. So why are you here?”

Sama Pyo studied me with a strange gaze before speaking.

“I came for my subordinate.”

“Your subordinate?”

“Yes. That bear of a man sitting over there.”

No one at the table had to ask who he meant. Every gaze, mine included, turned toward the giant.

Despite standing eight cheok² tall, he was hunched in on himself, watching Sama Pyo nervously.

“Taishan.³ Get up.”

He’s with the Black Dragon Demon Gate, too?

Whoever had named him had certainly picked the right name.

At Sama Pyo’s call, the mountain of a man answered in his halting voice.

“Lord. I am not Taishan. You have wrong person.”

“…”

He really needs to put some points into Intelligence.

Sama Pyo clicked his tongue.

“You troublemaker. Every time I leave you alone, you cause a scene. Enough. Get up.”

“Cannot. Food not here yet.”

“What a bear of a man. You’ve eaten that much and you’re still not full?”

“Today. Only six meals. Barely ate.”

“What? Six meals?”

Sama Pyo’s face went rigid.

“Only six? Have you suffered an Internal Injury?”

“…”

“…”

Fuck. I don’t even know what to say.

While the rest of us sat speechless, Sama Pyo gave it some thought and nodded.

“All right. We’ll eat before we go.”

“Food! Good! Taishan eat all food here!”

I spoke from the heart.

“Could you please take that guy—Taishan or the whole beautiful landscape, whatever his name is—and get the hell out?”

Where do these lunatics get off trying to join our table?

Sama Pyo frowned.

“That’s stingy.”

“Yes! Stingy! But Lord, what is stingy?”

“Taishan, it’s short for ‘hey, you fucking bastards.’”

Having kindly explained it to a child from the Sunshine Class,⁴ I pointed at the stairs.

“So please leave now, you fucking bastards.”

“…!”

A heavy tension settled over the room.

Hwaran exhaled and reached for the flexible sword at her waist. Song Ilseom straightened from his relaxed posture.

Their sudden wariness had one target.

Sama Pyo.

But he didn’t move. His eyes widened slightly, and he merely stared at me with an unreadable look.

Then his tightly closed lips parted, and a gentle voice flowed out.

“How refreshing. I’ve never had an experience like this in Gansu—or in my entire life.”

“The first time is the hardest. It gets easier from the second time onward. I’ll give you plenty more of it from now on, so don’t worry.”

“Plenty more in the future, too?”

“I get the feeling we’ll be seeing each other often. Could be wrong.”

“You’re certainly different. Very different. Don’t you agree?”

The question wasn’t for me.

Taishan, whose huge eyes had been darting around, nodded.

“Lord. Yes. That man. Different.”

“Yes, I believe he is.”

A smile I couldn’t read appeared on Sama Pyo’s face, then vanished.

The next moment, Sama Pyo reached up and grabbed Taishan by the nape of his neck, far above his own head, then hauled him upright.

“Hard to linger where we aren’t welcome. Come on, you fool.”

“Taishan disappointed. But Taishan follows Lord. Obeys well.”

“Then we’ll be going. See you again, Blazing Flame Divine Dragon. And you too, Young Lady Ju.”

With that, they went downstairs. A little later, I heard the inn’s door close, and Hwaran’s stiff expression eased.

“Whew.”

She let out a quiet sigh. Song Ilseom leaned back in his chair.

“He’s stronger than before. No—more dangerous might be the better way to put it.”

That only deepened the question I’d been turning over.

From their reactions, they’d clearly met before. More than that, something had happened between them.

What was it?

Perhaps someone noticed my expression, because a foot tapped mine beneath the table.

Tap. Tap.

I didn’t need to look. It was Gung Gibang. He moved his chapped lips.

—Don’t say anything. And don’t ask.

—Why?

—Just don’t, you fucking bastard.

What the hell is his problem? What’s this about?

But that was how people worked. Even if I wasn’t going to ask Hwaran herself, I wanted to hear it from someone who knew.

—What happened?

—Not telling.

—Why?

—You’re better off not knowing.

At that moment, Ju Hwaran, who was sitting right beside Gung Gibang and directly across from me, handed me a plate with a smile.

“Try this, Great Hero Jin.”

“Ah, yes.”

I ought to have smiled back. For some reason, I couldn’t.

I stuffed the food she’d given me into my mouth and kept sending Sound Transmissions.

—Tell me.

—No.

—I said tell me.

—And I said no.

This fucking guy.

He could at least have pretended he knew nothing. Instead, he’d let on that there was a story, then dug in his heels. I was getting pissed off.

I was about to send another Sound Transmission when Hwaran spoke.

“Oh, Great Hero Jin. There’s something I forgot to tell you.”

“Tell me while I’m still asking nicely, okay?”

I nearly made a huge mistake.

I looked up, my mouth full of food, and Hwaran continued.

“That man. The Young Sect Leader of the Black Dragon Demon Gate.”

“Sama Pyo?”

“Mm. Yes.”

“Uh… Did something happen?”

“You could say it did. Or you could say it didn’t.”

Hwaran looked straight at me and said one sentence.

No. It was a bomb.

“He used to be my fiancé.”

“Pffft!”

“Aaaaaah!”

“Uaaaaah!”