Thrushes — Chapter 255: The Letter Sent by the Master. (1)
Facing fierce eyes.
I couldn't hide the fluster in my voice and blurted out.
"Madame Mi... why are you here?"
And in the midst of it, the one I asked wasn't Madame Mi, but Moyong Huia.
Moyong Huia, too, seemed to not have expected me to come so suddenly,
and was looking at me with eyes far more surprised than usual.
"Y-Young Master Gu, how did you get here..."
"...I had some brief business.
Truthfully, there was no business at all; I had just come to see your face.
Yet in this situation, saying that somehow felt difficult.
At my question, Madame Mi didn't budge and merely sipped her tea.
She had probably been conversing through voice transmission from the entrance.
'There's no way Madame Mi answered.'
It was impossible for Madame Mi, who wasn't a martial artist, to use a voice transmission capable of crossing walls.
If that was the case....
The moment the thought occurred, my gaze shifted to the wall behind Madame Mi.
'So it was that person.'
A single figure whose faint presence could be felt.
It was a slightly different feeling from the martial artist I had run into at the entrance earlier.
Shallower, fainter.
No matter how I looked at it, that one seemed to be a true dark guest (暗客).
"It seems you've noticed the Uibi as well."
Madame Mi seemed to have realized where my gaze was directed.
"You've truly changed a great deal...."
"Madame Mi."
"I do not know what you were worried about, but the reason I came to find the young lady Moyong is simply for business."
"Business, you say?"
"Yes. If you say you intend to do business in Shanxi, I cannot simply pretend not to know."
If it was a pretext, it was a pretext in its own right.
Still, doubts were unavoidable.
'The business has been underway for several months. Why now?'
If the Moyong clan was conducting business in Shanxi, there was no way the Baekhwa Merchant Group could be unaware of it.
They might have known since before it was even established, so saying they had only just found out was strange.
'Could there be some hidden motive?'
While not yet widely known in detail, the Baekhwa Merchant Group held quite a high position in the Upper Realms.
The commercial value the Moyong clan possessed was considerable as well.
It wouldn't be strange for the other side to cast greedy eyes on it.
Moreover, since Moyong Huia appeared to hold significant authority within this branch,
it wasn't so strange for the Merchant Group Leader, Mi Hyoran, to approach her.
However.
'No matter what, I'm a guest.'
It was bound to be a somewhat burdensome situation.
The moment I was about to say something to Madame Mi while looking at her.
"Young Master Gu."
"Hm?"
"Nothing is the matter, and as Madame Mi said, we are in the middle of a conversation related to business, so would it be alright if I come find you shortly?"
Moyong Huia's eyes were filled with emotion, pleading for me to please leave.
Because she was filled with such desperation, as though she was being disturbed, begging me not to do this.
I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut.
'...It seems they were really in the middle of an important conversation?'
Since I was the one who had barged in.
If we were to be precise, the unwelcome guest wasn't Madame Mi, but me.
"I apologize for interrupting your time."
"No. I understand."
Without even casting a glance this way, Madame Mi finished speaking.
I stole a glance at Moyong Huia and moved my steps outside.
'A conversation about business.'
It didn't feel like that at all.
Strangely, Moyong Huia seemed to be watching Madame Mi's mood.
'If it were about a partnership or something related to that, Moyong Huia shouldn't be the one watching for cues.'
Rather, it would be to the extent that the Moyong clan had to request to work together.
Moyong Huia was unmistakably in the superior position.
'I can't understand it.'
Whatever the case.
It was a story I would have to ask Moyong Huia about when she came out.
Inside the room where the two remained after Gu Yangcheon left.
Moyong Huia had to put aside Gu Yangcheon's sudden appearance.
And brace herself once more.
'...This is unexpected.'
The appearance of the Baekhwa Leader, the lady of the Gu household, was unexpected.
And her intentions were as well.
'What is this?'
From what Moyong Huia had investigated... no, from what she had heard, Mi Hyoran was the principal wife.
And Gu Yangcheon was said to be the son of a concubine.
She had even heard that the relationship between them was not particularly good.
Just what was this feeling?
When she first heard the news that a guest had come to find her.
The emotion Moyong Huia felt was bewilderment.
Because there was little reason for anyone to come looking for her.
Usually, when she stayed at other great families or sects.
Most of the reasons the lady of the house sought her out were
to arrange a marriage engagement with their son.
It was only natural.
Moyong Huia was someone who knew her own worth well.
Whether it be appearance, age, or background.
Moyong Huia was someone who would not lose to anyone anywhere.
And since the seat beside such a woman was empty,
it was common for them to try somehow to tie her to their son.
It wasn't a strange thing.
Indeed, even someone with a similar background like Dang Soyeol
must be receiving relentless courtship from the Dang clan.
However.
'Madame Mi shouldn't have any sons.'
To her knowledge, she had only two daughters.
One was the famous Sword Peak.
The other was presumably a rising prodigy called a new star these days.
Gu Yangcheon and his younger sister were the children of another woman, the blood relatives of a different family head, so it was ambiguous to consider them her children.
Then.
'Why is she looking at me with such eyes?'
Madame Mi's eyes were unusual.
Moyong Huia had only met such eyes a few times.
Back when the talk of an engagement with the Namgung clan had briefly come up.
It was the gaze with which the head of the Namgung clan had looked at her.
'A gaze that tests me, that sees whether I am a fitting human for their child.'
There were few who dared direct such eyes at a blood descendant of the Moyong clan.
Only someone like the Sword King (劍王), the current lord of Namgung, would be able to look at her with such eyes.
And now Madame Mi was looking at her like that.
Should she be offended by this?
Moyong Huia couldn't bring herself to be so.
The gaze she felt and the overwhelming aura she emitted made it harder for Moyong Huia to breathe than when she had faced the Sword King.
"I'm sorry. That child made a mistake."
At Madame Mi's apology, spoken in a composed voice.
Moyong Huia forced herself to hold back a smile.
"Not at all. Since you came because you were worried about me, it was not the slightest discourtesy."
"Worried... Are you and that child in a relationship where you worry for each other?"
Having misspoken once, it coiled around like a snake.
Moyong Huia felt as if blades were pointed at her from all directions.
Still, the mask did not break.
"No. I merely thought that perhaps you came out of concern that something might happen to a guest of the great family."
"Is that so."
Whether and how she had accepted that answer, she could not tell.
Without adding anything further, Mi Hyoran merely took another sip of tea.
Looking at such a Mi Hyoran, Moyong Huia did not lose her gentle smile.
Though inside, she was incomparably dizzy.
'What story had we been in the middle of?'
So much so that she couldn't even remember the conversation they had been having.
'Ah...'
She remembered.
She had been talking about the business the Moyong clan was conducting in Shanxi.
And ended the question about why she was staying at the Gu household with a prepared answer.
What foods she liked.
What her hobbies were.
Whether she endured stuffiness well.
If she had patience...
'...Hm?'
She had answered everything when asked.
But looking back, the conversation she had exchanged with Madame Mi was somehow subtle.
Moyong Huia quietly looked at Madame Mi.
She sat upright as she had from the start, yet the expression with which she looked outside gave off a feeling that something had changed.
'Is it possible the two of them aren't on bad terms?'
The relationship between a principal wife and a concubine's child was never one that could be good from the outset.
Moreover, thinking of Gu Yangcheon, who had been called the Mad Dog of Shanxi.
She might have hated him even more compared to her daughter, the Sword Peak.
Something.
Something was
constantly pricking at Moyong Huia's intuition.
She had good intuition.
This sharp, pricking feeling had never been wrong.
It had been that way since earlier.
From the moment she first saw Madame Mi.
Moyong Huia had vaguely felt that if she made a wrong move here, it would be the end!
That was why she had sent away Gu Yangcheon, who had come to see her.
She felt that it had to be done.
'It's a pity, but....'
She trusted her intuition.
While Moyong Huia cautiously observed Madame Mi.
Madame Mi, who had been quietly looking out the window, soon turned her head to look at Moyong Huia and spoke.
"The child came to visit as well. Mealtime will be upon us soon, so I shall take my leave after imposing only this much rudeness."
It was a sudden statement.
But Moyong Huia did not express doubt.
"Ah... then perhaps, we could have a meal together...."
"I cannot impose such discourtesy upon you, young lady, and afterward, I have a place by my husband's side."
As Moyong Huia offered empty courtesies.
Madame Mi responded with a bright smile.
"Thank you for indulging my discourtesy. I hope there will be another such occasion next time."
"Not at all... It was a pleasant time for me as well, being able to converse with Madame Mi."
At Moyong Huia's words.
Smiling, Madame Mi exited the quarters.
Without lowering her guard until the end, Moyong Huia saw her off.
Maintaining her posture until Madame Mi disappeared from sight,
once she finally disappeared, only then did Moyong Huia let out a sigh.
Because it had been a much more difficult time than expected.
Her body and mind were so exhausted that she thought of sitting down to rest immediately, but.
"Clothes, makeup...!"
Earlier, she had given Gu Yangcheon the pretext that she would come find him later.
There was no time to rest.
After all, she could rest beside him.
While Moyong Huia called for a maid and received clothes.
Mi Hyoran was moving to leave the quarters where the members of the Moyong family were staying.
Walking with composed steps while looking straight ahead,
Mi Hyoran suddenly spoke aloud.
"Not bad."
-Are you referring to the young lady of the Moyong clan?
This time as well, a voice drifted from thin air.
"Yes.
-For the Leader to give a positive reaction, it seems you are quite pleased with her.
She was a woman endlessly harsh and cold to others.
The words "not bad" coming from such a woman's mouth held considerable value.
"She knew how to constantly read her opponent's expression, and she was adept at concealing herself as well."
The young lady of the Moyong clan.
She was called Seolbong, wasn't she?
From what she had investigated, she had lived with Gu Yangcheon at the front lines for over a year.
Though it was said they traveled together due to a personal matter.
'Indeed.'
A meeting with an unknown purpose surely had a reason.
There was no way there wasn't.
Moreover, when she had asked her own daughter, Gu Huibi, about Seolbong.
Rarely, Gu Huibi had frowned and said that Moyong Huia was the foxiest of them all.
She had even said that the Namgung clan's young lady was better because she was simple-minded.
'Well, she said she disliked both anyway.'
From Mi Hyoran's standpoint, she thought a woman ought to have something of a fox about her.
Such was also one of the abilities needed to survive in this world.
Anyway, that child needed to grow up quickly too.
Moreover.
Having met her in person, Seolbong was a better woman than expected.
Of course, Mi Hyoran's way of looking at others was a bit different from most.
But even if one lowered the standard slightly, Seolbong was indeed a fine person.
'Her self-esteem is high, and she's excellent at reading people.'
...
The ability to elevate the other party without lowering oneself.
This was not easily possessed.
Not to mention, she did not lose her dignity while doing so.
Truly, she carried herself like the child of a prestigious family.
However.
'She couldn't hide her heart.'
Though excellent in all other aspects, she still seemed unaccustomed to concealing her feelings of love.
The moment Gu Yangcheon entered, one could tell immediately by looking at Moyong Huia's eyes.
Yesterday, with the Namgung clan's young lady, and now with the Moyong clan's young lady.
'He seems to be quite blessed with women.'
It seemed he resembled his father not only in appearance but in this aspect as well.
-Then, Leader.
As they neared the entrance.
Mu Jin asked the Leader.
-Are you planning to change the Young Master's fiancée...
"What nonsense. What justification do I have to do such a thing?"
—Then?
Why did you bother to see the two of them?
Mu Jin was curious. Because he could not fathom the Leader's intentions.
At Mu Jin's question, Mi Hyoran stopped walking for a moment and looked at the entrance.
Gu Yangcheon was standing there.
"...The reason."
Seeing that, Mi Hyoran quietly whispered.
So quietly that Gu Yangcheon might not hear.
"I just wanted to see."
Whether it was the child called his fiancée, or another child.
Whether there was someone who could love that child.
She had simply been curious about that.
She already knew from a past encounter that there were things in human relationships more important than whether they were rationally helpful or not.
"-Unni, you have a flower petal on you."
Mi Hyoran already knew this from a past encounter.
"Were you waiting for me?"
"Huh? Ah, yes...."
Without hesitation, Mi Hyoran moved her steps and approached Gu Yangcheon.
"Were you worried about the child inside?"
...It is not to the extent of worry.
At Gu Yangcheon's answer, the corners of Mi Hyoran's eyes drooped ever so slightly.
She felt proud that the child had grown capable of worrying for someone.
Yet she also felt bitter that she had done nothing for him while he improved so.
"Do not worry. I have done nothing to harm the Moyong child."
"I did not think so."
"Hm?"
"Madame Mi... I know that you are not someone who would do such a thing."
At Gu Yangcheon's words, Mi Hyoran's expression changed, something rarely seen.
Because she had never expected to hear such words.
"...I never thought I would hear such words from you."
Mi Hyoran raised her hand and extended it toward Gu Yangcheon.
At the approaching hand, Gu Yangcheon flinched, but fortunately, he did not seem to avoid it.
Did Gu Yangcheon know?
Just how much courage went into that gesture.
The hand that calmly reached out
plucked a leaf stuck in Gu Yangcheon's hair.
"You have a leaf in your hair."
"...Thank you."
He pretended to speak indifferently while suppressing his trembling heart.
He wondered if he disliked the touch.
But he did not have the courage to ask.
Mi Hyoran, clutching the leaf in her hand,
did not say anything more and walked past Gu Yangcheon, moving her steps again.
Because she felt she could not remain in this place any longer.
The direction of her steps was toward where her second daughter was waiting.
" "
Left alone, Gu Yangcheon's expression immediately crumpled.
It wasn't because he disliked the situation just now.
It was because of the letter in his breast pocket.
The letter that First Elder Gu Ryun had delivered to him.
Just now, he had barely managed his expression because he ran into Mi Hyoran.
The reason he had been standing at the entrance was actually
not because he was waiting for someone,
but because the letter's contents had made his body stiffen with tension.
Rustle.
Gu Yangcheon took out the letter from his breast pocket and unfolded it again.
He had hoped that he had seen it wrong.
Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case.
The letter's contents were the same as when he had unfolded it earlier.
On a single unremarkable page,
crude words were written.
It was a short line that was difficult to even call a proper sentence.
The written contents were:
-I shall come to see your face once.
Truly, it was a single line with hardly any substance.
At first, he had wondered what this was.
But the moment he saw the sender written below the letter, he was instantly suffocated.
-Your master.
"...Crazy."
It's not like he had any master.
He thought it was utter nonsense.
But the problem was the person who had given this to him was Gu Ryun, and the modifier attached to his current epithet.
The person who was rumored to be his master in the Central Plains right now.
Thanks to the insane letter of recommendation Gu Ryun had prepared,
and the people who refused to listen no matter how much he denied it, the rumor had grown even more.
Disciple of the Defeat Venerable.
It was an undeniably shitty rumor.
He had hoped that this wouldn't cause the Defeat Venerable to move for no reason, but.
"Haha, fuck."
In the end, it seemed things had blown up.
One of the Three Venerables of the World.
Currently staying in Biga, acting as a rising talent called Turyong.
The person called the Defeat Venerable, Biju.
It seemed he was coming to find him.