Episode 428: Long Time No See. (3)
By the time I arrived at the assigned quarters.
The first words out of my mouth were pure annoyance.
"Ah, why do I have to share quarters with you."
I spat the words out while unpacking.
Behind me, one tall man was diligently unpacking his luggage alongside me.
It was Uhyeok.
I was in the same room as Uhyeok.
"Haha, they say there are no rooms. What can you do."
"Damn it all."
The Dang Clan had claimed quarters were insufficient and shoved me and Uhyeok into one room.
How does a great house like the Dang Clan run out of quarters? What kind of dogshit situation is that?
When I first heard it, I'd wondered if they were spewing bullshit because they didn't want to give us a room.
But the servants' expressions and Dang Soyeol's words were so apologetic that I had no choice.
For reference, Cheol Jiseon had come as well.
He was probably unpacking in the small room next door right now. As I kept voicing my irritation, Uhyeok snickered and spoke.
"Goodness, I know it's a shame you're not my wife, but try to bear with it."
"What are you saying, you crazy bastard. Who's your wife."
"Well. There are so many it's hard to pick just one...."
Smack—!
"Gah!"
Uhyeok, who had finally spouted nonsense and gotten smacked on the back of the head, let out a scream.
"You're asking for a beating. A beating."
I had only struck him in passing, but ignoring Uhyeok as he rolled across the floor as if convulsing, I went back to unpacking.
I had only one thought right now.
I should unpack roughly and get some sleep first.
That was my only thought.
I could have dispelled my fatigue using internal energy, but once in a while I needed to rest deeply like this.
When I had more or less finished, I spoke to Uhyeok, who was still rolling on the floor.
"They say the banquet is at night. Are you going out somewhere?"
"Go out? Where?"
As expected, it had been an exaggeration; at my question, Uhyeok stopped rolling.
Seeing that, I added.
"Didn't you say your teacher was here?"
"Ah...."
When I brought up the Wudang Gwaeseon, Uhyeok's expression hardened in an instant.
It was quite a fresh sight to see that bastard make such an expression.
"I suppose it'll be fine... if I go see him a bit later."
What was that bitter expression for, when he had come all this way to meet him?
He clearly didn't want to go. Uhyeok was someone who didn't discriminate against people, so if he disliked someone to that extent, just what kind of person could he be?
I had never met the martial artist called Wudang Gwaeseon, so I couldn't tell what he was like.
'I'll know when I meet him.'
Anyway, I had to meet him once regarding the Noea.
I had also been wondering why a martial artist of Wudang suddenly possessed the treasured sword of the Namgung family.
The purpose of meeting Wudang Gwaeseon was simple.
I was thinking of handing the Noea over to Namgung Bia.
The Demon Sword Empress had originally been a martial artist standing in a high position as a sword master, but.
When she had the Noea in her hands, the visage she displayed was truly nothing short of monstrous.
For the Noea was the sword that could best bring out Thunder Qi (雷氣).
I wasn't sure if she'd hand it over just because I asked... but if she refused.
'I'll deal with that when the time comes.'
It wasn't as if I lacked methods, so I decided to think about it after seeing her first.
As I was organizing my plans like that, Uhyeok asked.
"What will you be doing until the banquet?"
What would I be doing? What else but....
"Rest."
"Rest...? You?"
Hearing my answer, Uhyeok made an expression as if he couldn't believe it.
"...What's with that reaction? A person says he'll rest a bit. You got a problem?"
"Got water too."
"You trying to get yourself killed?"
At that lousy joke that didn't even warrant a palm strike, the back of my neck tingled.
Aha, this bastard.
If he wants to be folded in half, he should say so beforehand.
As I was cracking my knuckles and moving toward him, Uhyeok urgently continued.
"No, I just meant that you and rest are so incompatible."
"What nonsense is this? Why am I incompatible?"
Where is another guy who likes being lazy and lying around as much as me?
Speaking as if it were absurd, Uhyeok let out a hollow laugh and spoke.
"You train all day. If you aren't training, you're wandering around somewhere. I've never seen you rest."
"..."
Hearing Uhyeok's words, I supposed he had a point.
Throughout the journey, I had been training or handling matters, and if not that, I had gone out to kill demonic beasts and absorb their energy.
Come to think of it?
Now that I thought about it, I hadn't rested a single day.
So it wasn't strange that Uhyeok saw me that way.
'I wasn't this diligent of a person.'
How had I ended up like this?
"Ah, whatever. Anyway, I'm resting today."
Shouting so, just as I was about to lay out the bedding to lie down.
A presence was felt outside the door.
—Young Master!
"..."
Listening to the voice, it was Dang Soyeol. Why had she appeared so suddenly?
A foreboding feeling brushed past me.
—Are you there?
As the presence gradually approached, I opened the door and poked my head out.
"Ah!"
Upon confirming me, Dang Soyeol approached with a bright smile.
"Why...."
Feeling somehow uneasy as I asked, Dang Soyeol spoke to me brightly.
"Father is looking for you! Something has come up!"
"..."
At Dang Soyeol's words, I ran my hand down my face.
I had been about to rest a bit now... As expected, the world had no intention of leaving me alone.
This fucked-up world.
******************
Hearing Dang Soyeol's words, I headed toward the Poison King.
Honestly, I didn't want to go, but I figured something must be happening for him to call so urgently.
'It better not be.'
If it wasn't urgent, I was willing to show my temper.
To hell with the Dang Clan.
Since a direct bloodline descendant was glued to my side, no one stopped me from wandering the great house as I pleased.
"Where are we going?"
I asked Dang Soyeol.
Because the place we were heading wasn't where the head of the house stayed.
"Ah, Father is at the guest quarters."
"Guest?"
A guest? Who could it be.
Was it from the Moyong Hui'a side with the White Lotus Sword?
Just as the question briefly arose, Dang Soyeol spoke as if to resolve it.
"Ah, not the other young masters, but another guest who arrived a few days ago."
"Hm?"
A few days ago?
Ah?
'No way, is that why they said rooms were insufficient?'
Now I finally understood why they had asked us to share a room.
It seemed rooms had been lacking because an unexpected guest had arrived before.
If there was something strange, no matter what, they were a prestigious house and renowned clan.
The question was whether it was a guest important enough to cram people into one room like this.
It was just that my companions were the type not to care much about such things, but if there had been a difficult person among us, they might have made a fuss about it.
Of course, I doubted there was anyone bold enough to argue with the Dang Clan, a prestigious house.
'Just who is it?'
Moreover, it was a guest received when the Poison King wasn't present.
That meant they were a figure of great importance.
As we were nearly arriving at the quarters, I saw the Poison King standing ahead.
I bowed my head and paid my respects.
"I heard you called for me."
The Poison King smiled faintly at my words.
"I apologize for calling you when your journey is nearly at its end."
"...It's nothing."
If you knew, why call me?
I barely held back what I wanted to spit out.
I was already poor at controlling my emotions, and being tired made it even worse.
Lately, it had been especially so.
Suppressing my emotions with effort, I asked the Poison King.
"What did you call me for?"
How urgent could it be to call me especially like this?
Perhaps because he knew my expression was quite unpleasant, the Poison King answered with a somewhat awkward expression.
"The guest... instructed me to bring the Ninth Young Master, so I called you urgently."
"Pardon?"
I had to furrow my brows at the Poison King's words.
The guest was looking for me?
...A guest of the Dang Clan was looking for me?
It was completely incomprehensible. Why would a guest look for me?
"Who is this guest who asks for me?"
"Follow me for now."
The Poison King said so and turned around, walking into the quarters.
Not even giving a proper explanation before going right in....
Furrowing my brows, I moved my steps for now.
If there was no satisfactory reason, I might explode soon.
This was my limit by nature.
Dang Soyeol also followed behind, reading the room at my rotten expression.
The quarters we entered were quite large.
Compared to the quarters I was staying in, they were almost twice as large.
It was a building that wouldn't be inferior even to the lord's chambers where the Poison King stayed.
Seeing that, I thought.
'How great of a person are they hosting to provide such a place?'
It was a building that looked unusual at a glance.
I could guess that this was a space for receiving a guest who must be treated with the utmost hospitality.
A figure worthy of such treatment from the Dang Clan was looking for me?
No matter how much I thought, no one appropriate came to mind.
Continuing to follow the Poison King, I saw that inside there was even a small garden.
It seemed they had poured in quite a lot of money.
After walking for a considerable time, the Poison King stopped in front of a door.
And looking inside the room, he spoke.
"Elder, I have brought the Ninth Young Master."
'Elder...?'
My eyes widened at the Poison King's attitude.
To think the Poison King, head of one of the Four Great Houses, would observe such manners.
Finishing his words that he had brought me, the Poison King stepped slightly aside.
And looked at me.
"..."
It was a signal to quickly enter the room.
At that sight, I moved toward the room while harboring slight tension.
The moment Dang Soyeol tried to follow me, the Poison King raised his hand to stop her.
It was a sign not to enter.
I cautiously approached the room and surveyed the inside.
Just who on earth could it be....
"Hm?"
The moment I confirmed the figure drinking tea inside, question marks popped above my head.
First, what I saw was a boy with bangs covering half his face so his features couldn't be properly seen.
The boy, upon confirming me, dipped his head slightly.
It was a face I knew.
"You...."
The boy's identity was none other than Jegal Hyeok, who would later be called the brains and foremost strategist of the Demonic Cult.
I wondered why Jegal Hyeok was suddenly here, but there was something more important.
'If this guy is here...?'
I swiftly turned my head and looked at the figure sitting opposite Jegal Hyeok.
The old man's gaze was already directed at me.
An old man with white hair, bearing wrinkles full of the traces of time, and a body so emaciated that his bones were clearly visible.
Though he looked shabby and frail, there was likely no one in the Central Plains who could disregard him.
"It's been a while."
A high, dry, and sharp voice.
Unlike his accumulated achievements or his deeply affectionate nature, his still chilly gaze caught my eye.
"Elder...?"
"Hmph."
A famous physician said to have reached the pinnacle of medical arts, rumored capable of saving anyone so long as they still drew breath.
Many had gazed upon the old man and called him so, filled with respect for his great healing arts.
"It seems you've been rolling around a great deal while we were apart. Looking at your sorry state."
They called him the Divine Physician (神醫).