Chapter 505 - Just Let Me Hold It Once.
Clatter, clatter.
A liquor bottle rolled across the table, and empty plates were piled high. Traces of food still lingered on every dish, indicating they had once held meals.
In other words…
He had devoured all that food.
And all by himself, at that.
“Buurrp….”
The handsome, white-haired middle-aged man let out a satisfied burp. He even reeked of alcohol.
“…Ha.”
Seeing this, the woman spat out a breath, utterly dumbfounded.
“Just look at you. Are you really a Taoist?”
“Mm…?”
At the woman’s voice, the man, who had been trying to sleep, opened his eyes blearily. Then he saw her—a beauty with dark black hair, her brows furrowed.
“Oh.”
Upon recognizing her, the man, Nangong Hyeong, sprang upright. It was a familiar face.
“Nunim?”
At Nangong Hyeong’s words, the woman’s frown deepened.
“Argh! The stench of alcohol!”
The odor wafting from him was simply too foul. It was not merely the reek of liquor but also the smell of food mixed in—no ordinary stench.
It must have been truly unbearable, for the woman bit her lip tightly.
Fwoooosh—!
From the woman’s body, a gust of wind laced with internal energy spewed forth.
To vent the noxious odor that had permeated the entire inn.
Hwaaaaahk—!
A fierce wind swept through the room. Only after the smell had subsided somewhat could the woman smooth out her expression.
“…Ah, you crazy bastard. Are you really a Taoist? How do you look more ragged every time I see you?”
“Agh…. I’m dying…. The hangover…. Nunim, some water, please….”
“Expel the alcohol if you don’t want to die. Shall I draw a blade right here?”
“…Ugh.”
At the woman’s words, Nangong Hyeong closed his eyes helplessly.
Then.
Shwiiiiing….
A faint heat haze rose from Nangong Hyeong’s shoulders.
It was the reaction caused by using internal energy to draw out the alcohol toxins.
Watching the heat haze rise clearly into the air, the woman let out a hollow laugh.
“How much did you drink for it to come out like that?”
“What a waste…. To think I have to expel all of it.”
“Don’t tell me you ate meat too?”
The woman said, glancing at the dishes on the table. Her voice sounded thoroughly fed up.
“The world truly keeps turning. Since when does a Taoist eat meat?”
“How can a man live without meat? One may eat a little.”
“Sure, one may eat a little. But if your master found out, he’d rise from his grave.”
“Hmph, do you think that old man doesn’t know? He’s simply given up on me.”
“How impressive. Truly something to boast about. You must be proud.”
At his brazen words, the woman pinched her brow.
Nangong Hyeong, having expelled the toxins for some time, opened his eyes again.
Looking at the black-haired woman before him, he scrunched up one eye.
Seeing that, Nangong Hyeong smiled slightly.
“It’s been about ten years, hasn’t it? Isn’t that right, Nunim?”
“…Crazy bastard. You’re still the same.”
At the woman’s—Baengnyeongeom’s—words, Nangong Hyeong grinned wide.
“You’re the same too, Nunim. Especially your face; it’s exactly as it was back then.”
Compared to when they had last met, Baengnyeongeom still maintained her looks.
Watching this, Nangong Hyeong sneakily reached for the liquor bottle in front of him.
Baengnyeongeom, standing before him, shifted her body slightly.
Then.
Srak—!
Clink—!
The liquor bottle split in two and fell to the floor with a clear sound.
“…”
Watching this, Nangong Hyeong smacked his lips in regret.
“What? Go ahead and drink it.”
“I was going to. But no matter how I look at it, it seems more like water from the Samdocheon than liquor.”
Giving up on the alcohol, he took the water beside him and gulped it down.
Gulp, gulp.
Having quenched his thirst, Nangong Hyeong finally looked at Baengnyeongeom and asked.
“What brings you here? It’s not as if we were fated to meet in a place like this.”
“Ah, I was just passing by when I heard some crazy Taoist was causing a commotion at an inn.”
“My, what kind of crazy bastard was it?”
“That’s what I’m saying, you crazy bastard….”
“Ah, was that me?”
Only then did Nangong Hyeong realize she was referring to himself, flashing an awkward smile.
“But what commotion did I cause? All I did was drink….”
“What commotion, you ask?”
At those words, Baengnyeongeom glanced behind her.
There, the innkeeper was watching them cautiously.
Seeing that, Baengnyeongeom let out a deep sigh.
“Can’t you see the business here is failing because of you?”
“Hmm?”
At those words, Nangong Hyeong looked around, and only then did he realize—
That there was not a single other customer in the inn aside from himself and Baengnyeongeom.
Was this a place that didn’t get business? It couldn’t be. When Nangong Hyeong had first arrived, the place had been packed.
Then what had happened?
“You beat up every last person who picked a fight with you and kicked them out.”
“Ah.”
Hearing that, Nangong Hyeong understood what had happened.
There had been a group that bothered him while he was enjoying his first taste of freedom in over a decade.
They had acted aggressively, displeased to see a Taoist drinking so freely.
That seemed to have been the problem.
“…I don’t think I hit them that badly….”
“Of the ones you kicked out, was there a single person capable of walking away on their own two feet?”
“Ahem….”
At Baengnyeongeom’s words, Nangong Hyeong let out a dry cough.
He supposed he had hit them a bit hard.
Watching this, Baengnyeongeom broke into a faint smile.
“Of all the people I know, you were always the one whose appearance and actions diverged the most. That hasn’t changed.”
*You’re the same.*
He wanted to say that, but Nangong Hyeong held it back.
“…So why did you bother coming all the way here?”
“I was just passing through. I heard a story that sounded exactly like you, so I came to see your face while I was at it. But I’m glad I did.”
Baengnyeongeom’s eyes swept over the table.
“All the Wudang Taoists I know are neat freaks.”
“That’s why Wudang is so dull. Those gentlemen speak of cultivating the Dao, yet rather than cultivating that, they are busy cultivating only themselves.”
“Is that something a renowned Taoist of Wudang should say?”
“What of it? I am already in a disgraced position anyway. Keh keh!”
Nangong Hyeong laughed heartily. Amidst it all, the bits of food stuck in his teeth were all too clearly visible.
“You’ve got chives in your teeth.”
“I was saving them for later.”
“…If you’re done eating, stop causing harm to the inn and get up. That kid over there is going to waste away.”
She did not mean he would actually die, only that he looked so nervous he might wither from anxiety.
At those words, Nangong Hyeong looked toward the innkeeper.
Meeting the sharp, cold gaze unique to the Nangong family, the innkeeper flinched and trembled.
Seeing this, Nangong Hyeong smiled broadly.
“Well, my apologies! I’ll pay you generously for the business I ruined and be on my way.”
“Ah, ah…. Th-thank you.”
Just as color returned to the innkeeper’s face at the unexpectedly smooth resolution—
Nangong Hyeong, who had been rummaging through his clothes to pay, suddenly froze.
Seeing this, Baengnyeongeom asked with an uneasy expression.
“…What is it?”
“Mm. I see. There was something I had forgotten for a moment.”
“What?”
“That I don’t have a single coin on hand.”
“…What?”
“So, Nunim.”
Nangong Hyeong looked at Baengnyeongeom, scrunching up one eye and playing the fool.
“Lend me some money.”
At that refreshingly brazen remark, Baengnyeongeom smiled brightly.
And promptly brought her fist down on Nangong Hyeong’s crown.
Whack—!
******************
Right after Baengnyeongeom took out the money and settled the innkeeper’s lost earnings for the day, she led the bizarre man, whose wretched appearance was beyond words, outside.
“…It hurts.”
Nangong Hyeong rubbed his crown, stinging so badly he wondered if a bump had formed.
Fortunately, it seemed no bump had risen.
*That’s even scarier.*
The impact from earlier had been tremendous. Nangong Hyeong had thought he would faint.
That he had not formed a bump meant only the shock itself had been delivered.
*This Nunim isn’t dead yet.*
Though her appearance was unchanged, her skills had clearly grown considerably.
While Nangong Hyeong was inwardly expressing his respect, Baengnyeongeom had to put on a tearful look at the sight of her money pouch, now completely empty.
“You… crazy bastard, just how much did you eat?”
Baengnyeongeom had lost all the money she had squeezed out of her younger brother.
Ah, well, of course she had spent quite a bit along the way, but it should not have vanished all at once.
It was because that pig in Taoist’s clothing had devoured an incredible amount.
Add to that the payment for lost business and the furniture smashed during the commotion, and nothing remained.
“Ahh. That was a fine meal.”
Nangong Hyeong followed along, picking his teeth with a toothpick.
Watching this, Baengnyeongeom debated whether to hit him once more.
“…Nunim.”
“What.”
“I sense killing intent in your eyes. Might you lower your hand?”
“…”
He had caught her.
Sharp as always, this one.
“Huu….”
“Do not worry. I shall pay you back.”
“…With what?”
“…”
There was no answer.
Nangong Hyeong himself knew it—that it would be rather difficult to pay her back with money.
“…I shall think on that later….”
“Damned bastard.”
“Is it not nice to see each other after so long? It has been over ten years for us.”
However annoying his attempt to change the subject was, she decided to let it slide for now.
“There is no need to ask what you have been doing…. There were so many rumors about you that there is no point in asking.”
Rumors about Nangong Hyeong, the Wudang Eccentric, had erupted every so often; there was no need to ask.
Rather.
“Is that not something I should ask you?”
It was what he should ask of Baengnyeongeom, who had hidden herself away for ten years.
Perhaps she knew this herself, for Baengnyeongeom let out a bitter smile.
Perhaps it was because of that subtle smile that Nangong Hyeong turned his head slightly.
“You need not speak if you do not wish to. It is not as if I am particularly curious.”
He was somewhat sincere. Nangong Hyeong, in truth, had little interest in the affairs of others.
“Let us set that aside. What brings you all the way to Sichuan?”
“Ah, I thought I might help our niece with her love life a bit.”
“…What does that mean?”
Nangong Hyeong furrowed his brow.
Because it sounded like such a random thing to say.
But it was truly just that.
“If it is your niece, would that be the Sword Lord’s daughter?”
The only daughter of Moyongtae, the Baekcheon Sword Lord…. If so.
*Does that mean her daughter?*
A figure from the North Sea who had lived cloaked in frigid air flashed through Nangong Hyeong’s mind.
He did not know the details, but it was someone with a slight connection to himself.
To be precise, it would be a deeper connection with the Palace Lord.
And more than to Nangong Hyeong himself…
It would likely be a deeper connection to his disciple, Uhyeok.
*Well, it should be fine.*
He figured it would not matter, as his disciple did not seem to care much anyway.
And he had already been planning to head to the North Sea for that very reason.
The Sword Lord’s daughter.
That the people of the same era were each having children and settling into their stations was, to Nangong Hyeong, a rather wondrous thing.
Perhaps that was why.
“Ah. Now that I think of it.”
A story came to Nangong Hyeong’s mind.
“Hm?”
“I saw the son of the Gu Clan Head.”
“…!”
At the unexpected words from Nangong Hyeong’s mouth, Baengnyeongeom’s eyes widened.
If it was the son of the Gu Clan Head, there could be only one: Gu Yangcheon.
“You… saw that child?”
“Hmm? You know of him as well?”
“…”
Of course she did.
She was traveling with him and had even been acting as his guard for a time.
Moreover, the man her niece liked and followed around was him.
Unaware of this, Nangong Hyeong thought of Gu Yangcheon and began to speak excitedly.
“He was incredible. Like father, like son…. Blood does not lie, it seems.”
“…What did he do?”
“Well, due to this and that, we had a duel.”
“What?”
At Nangong Hyeong’s words, Baengnyeongeom’s eyes turned cold in an instant.
A duel?
“…Nunim, you are looking at me as though you wish to kill me with your eyes.”
“Are you saying a decrepit old bastard laid his hands on a child?”
“Beat him? What do you mean, beat him? I was the one who got beaten! I lost!”
When Nangong Hyeong shouted in frustration, Baengnyeongeom paused, hearing his words.
“…You got beaten?”
“Yes, I took a beating and lost, I tell you!”
It was not exactly something to boast about, but the meaning behind his words was unusual.
*…He lost? Him?*
Rumors were one thing.
He had once been one of those who contended for the position of Sword King.
And it was none other than Baengnyeongeom who knew how strong Nangong Hyeong was.
Though Gu Yangcheon possessed nonsensical talent.
He should not have been at a level capable of defeating the current Nangong Hyeong.
“His fists were so fierce…. I nearly cried from being hit, you know?”
“…”
Listening to Nangong Hyeong’s manner of speech, Baengnyeongeom soon shook her head.
Because she thought it was nonsense.
From the start, Nangong Hyeong was not someone obsessed with victory or defeat.
He also did not possess much pride as a martial artist.
He was the sort who would readily claim to have lost to the neighborhood seven-year-old brat, so this would be no different.
*Still, it seems true that he saw the child.*
It seemed true that he had seen Gu Yangcheon and assessed his talent.
And well. It was surprising enough.
It was a level of talent Baengnyeongeom had never seen in her life.
Furthermore.
*He is a child full of secrets.*
Apart from that talent, he possessed much of something.
Though fierce and passionate, there had been something dry and dead in his eyes.
Exactly.
He resembled the one she had once followed.
Though their personalities were quite different.
It was not only Baengnyeongeom who thought this.
“He greatly resembled his father.”
Nangong Hyeong uttered the exact same words.
“Well. You would know better than I, Nunim.”
At those subtly spoken words, Baengnyeongeom turned her head slightly.
Because talking with Nangong Hyeong made the impetuousness of days past resurface.
In the quietly surfacing memories, he was always there.
The man who had been both ardent and cold, and even the women who had stood by him.
She recalled the things she had done with them. At the same time, a certain emotion brushed past her.
Was it longing? No, rather than longing.
*What a pity.*
It was full of regret.
There were too many things left undone and words left unspoken.
Of course, even knowing this.
*I cannot go to see him.*
Unless she released the bound emotions, she did not think she could ever see him.
There was already a past instance where she had gone to Hanam and returned after seeing only Mihyoran without seeing him.
She was still far.
Thinking thus, the moment Baengnyeongeom looked at Nangong Hyeong.
“Huh?”
Nangong Hyeong let out a strange sound.
His eyes were wide open, and he even rubbed them as if he had seen wrong.
“What is it?”
Seeing this, Baengnyeongeom asked.
Nangong Hyeong pointed his finger forward and said.
“Isn’t that… the Gu Clan Head?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? No matter what, that is too far a joke to—”
Baengnyeongeom, who had looked in the direction Nangong Hyeong’s finger pointed.
Immediately stiffened like a stone.
Someone stood with hands clasped behind their back, looking at the two of them.
A red martial uniform filled with golden motifs.
Simply tied black hair.
And red eyes that seemed to burn.
Meeting the gaze she had wanted to see yet had not wanted to see, Baengnyeongeom’s breath stopped.
At that, the man.
Gu Cheolun spoke with an indifferent expression.
“It has been a while.”
At that voice.
Baengnyeongeom’s time stopped.