Preparation (3)
While the Mount Hua Sect was busy preparing for the Jihwa Tournament, I returned to my quarters after finishing my afternoon training.
Under normal circumstances, I should have been preparing to return to the clan by now, but….
‘Things got a little tangled.’
Since Gu Ryeonghwa had expressed her intention to return to the clan, I needed to delay the timing a little.
Especially since even the Sword Empress had said she would go.
‘Did she mean she was coming with us?’
Since she said she was going to the Gu Clan, I assumed that meant she intended to come along.
She had said she would come and speak to me in person later, so I could hear it from her then.
I believe the Divine Physician had also said he would come along….
It was about time I started wrapping up one thing after another.
‘First, I should go see the Plum Blossom Immortal.’
Even if I did not go to see her, there would probably be matters that required the Plum Blossom Immortal to approach me first. Still, as the junior, it would look better if I went to see her first.
I also had things to request—and demand.
‘To do that, I need to meet the Sword Empress first.’
When I visited the Plum Blossom Immortal later to make my request, I intended to seek the Sword Empress’s help.
That was why I had spoken to the Sword Empress beforehand.
As I roughly organized my route and returned to the lodgings, Wi Seol-ah, who had been hanging laundry in the distance, spotted me and came over.
“Young Master!”
“What brings you here? I’ve barely seen you lately.”
I had only seen her face during mealtimes for the past few days, so seeing her like this felt a little strange.
‘Is she busy? She looks tired.’
Wi Seol-ah’s face looked slightly gaunt.
Given her exceptional stamina, it did not seem like mere overwork would be enough to tire her out.
“Is something wrong?”
“Pardon?”
“You look really tired.”
So I simply asked her outright.
If even Wi Seol-ah looked tired, something had to be going on.
At my question, Wi Seol-ah smiled with her eyes.
“I’m fine! Nothing’s wrong!”
She placed her hands firmly on her waist and puffed out her chest.
She looked as though she were trying to show that she was healthy and perfectly fine.
I let out a small laugh and tousled her hair.
“Eek!”
In the past, I had hesitated to do things like this, wondering whether it was really all right for me to touch her.
Looking at myself now, this too was something that had changed considerably.
After ruffling her hair for a while, I said to Wi Seol-ah,
“Want to go out and look around the town today?”
“Yes!?”
Wi Seol-ah repeated the question in surprise.
Was it really that shocking?
Aside from when I had business to attend to, I had not exactly asked her to go out with me before….
Wi Seol-ah’s eyes grew round with surprise.
“W-When…? Right now?”
“Are you busy? If you still have work to do….”
“No! There’s none left! I’m done! There isn’t a single thing left!”
“Ah, ah, all right. That’s good.”
She was shouting in a panic, as though worried I might cancel.
I restrained the corners of my mouth, which kept trying to rise, and said to Wi Seol-ah,
“I’ll wash up and be right out, so wake her up and bring her along.”
“Yes… Huh? Bring her along?”
“Hm?”
“Yes?”
Wi Seol-ah stared at me as though she had no idea what I was talking about.
But she soon realized I meant Namgung Biya and began glaring at me.
“…It would feel a little wrong to leave her behind, wouldn’t it?”
I tried to make an excuse, though even I knew it would not work.
Of course, Wi Seol-ah had a personality of her own, so she only glared at me for a moment and said nothing.
She merely exhaled through her nose in what was nearly a sigh before going to wake Namgung Biya.
I felt a little sorry, but it seemed difficult to choose any other option.
‘To think I’ve started worrying about things like this.’
It was enough to surprise even me.
Simply thinking about someone was difficult in itself, after all.
After washing away the light sweat from training and changing into clean clothes, I came out to find Namgung Biya hanging off Wi Seol-ah.
“…Ugh… Sister, you’re heavy…!”
“Mm….”
“What are you two doing?”
Namgung Biya was still half in dreamland, wearing a languid expression as she leaned against Wi Seol-ah.
Naturally, given the difference in their builds, Wi Seol-ah looked as though Namgung Biya had pounced on her.
Namgung Biya seemed to have been sleeping more than usual lately. Was something wrong?
“If you’re sleepy, do you want to go back inside and sleep? We can go by ourselves.”
At that, Namgung Biya suddenly straightened her back.
She still looked tired, but apparently wanted to show that going out would not be a problem.
Then she rummaged through her sleeve and pulled something out.
“A veil…?”
Amazingly, it was a veil.
I had told her so often to wear one that she had started carrying it around?
She already had a sort of presence that drew people’s attention, so the stares had not disappeared entirely. Still, they did lessen once she put it on.
She did not often go to crowded places, but she seemed burdened by the looks she received whenever she did.
Perhaps Namgung Biya had found it satisfactory after trying it herself.
“You’re certainly well prepared.”
“This… is convenient.”
“Young Master! Should I call Brother Muyeon?”
“Hm?”
I had already told the guards that we would probably be going out, so I assumed he would have come out long ago.
‘Why isn’t Muyeon here?’
Strictly speaking, we could simply leave him behind, but if he came later, it was obvious Muyeon would nag me.
He had already scolded me severely over getting injured last time.
He had asked why I kept going around alone when I had perfectly good guards.
‘That time, I had no choice because it was so urgent.’
Muyeon had been so adamant about it, so was something keeping him away?
Amazingly, Namgung Biya provided the answer to my question.
“He went to spar.”
“He went to spar?”
“With a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.”
“A disciple? Who?”
If Namgung Biya meant a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, it could not be Gu Ryeonghwa. That left only one person.
“You mean Daoist Yeongpung?”
“Yes.”
Muyeon had gone to spar with Yeongpung?
What was this sudden nonsense?
Muyeon had stubbornly refused to spar with Namgung Biya or anyone else while on guard duty.
“He sparred with me too.”
“What…?”
I unintentionally asked again at Namgung Biya’s words.
She had sparred with Namgung Biya too? This was the first I had heard of it.
I did not know how Namgung Biya interpreted my reaction, but she quietly added,
“…I lost.”
I did not ask who had lost.
I could tell from the strangely shadowed expression on Namgung Biya’s face.
‘To contend with Muyeon in the first place….’
Even taking into account all the opportunities and treasures I had devoured, Muyeon’s martial cultivation was still higher than mine.
I recalled the time when the members of each Sword Unit had urged Muyeon to return to the clan.
‘If we’re talking about ability, Muyeon is by no means an ordinary talent.’
He probably could not contend with Yeongpung, but he certainly was not weak.
In the first place, that was not a level of martial prowess a young man who had barely passed twenty could possess—especially one who was not even a scion of a prestigious family.
“A spar… What’s gotten into him?”
At my words, Namgung Biya stared intently at me. Feeling uncomfortable beneath her gaze, I asked,
“What is it?”
“My feelings… I understand them a little.”
Namgung Biya muttered something, then quickly returned to her usual expression.
Wi Seol-ah was still holding Namgung Biya around the waist, asking me with her expression when we could leave.
Since this had been told to me so suddenly, I would not have known if Muyeon was not here.
Then it should be fine to leave him behind, right?
If anything happened, there were other guards as well….
As I began preparing to leave, Namgung Biya said to me,
“When you come back… spar with me….”
“…”
I stopped at Namgung Biya’s words.
Ah, right….
Come to think of it, quite some time had passed since the day we had agreed to do it.
Yeongpung had sparred with her too, so it should be fine.
‘Though it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, considering what it reminds me of from my past life.’
I could not refuse forever. It was about time I accepted.
“When we get back, if I don’t have anything else to do, let’s do it.”
“…!”
Perhaps she was surprised to receive a definite answer, because Namgung Biya’s expression changed in a way I rarely saw.
Especially around the corners of her mouth.
I watched them slowly begin to rise, let out a small laugh, and started walking.
Was this really something worth being so happy about?
We would probably return at night, given the time it took to go there and back.
If I had nothing else to do then, it would be fine to set aside a little time.
‘There was no problem when I sparred with Yeongpung last time, so it should be fine.’
There might be an issue if I used an excessive amount of inner energy, as I had when fighting the Blood Night Demon, but for now, I thought it would be all right.
After looking around the town, eating a rough meal, and returning, the spar Namgung Biya had been anticipating did not take place.
Something had come up.
“You’ve finally arrived.”
When I returned from looking around the town, the Divine Physician was sitting in my room.
******************
Lately, I felt as though a lot of guests had been visiting my room.
Yeongpung, of course, but also the Sword Empress, Gu Ryeonghwa, and now even the Divine Physician.
‘I think I heard that he was coming….’
I vaguely remembered the Sword Empress mentioning it. But although she had said she would come along, she was nowhere to be seen. Only the Divine Physician had arrived.
“What brings you here…?”
“I came to examine your condition. Why are you so surprised?”
“No. I was just caught off guard.”
Namgung Biya’s gaze stabbing into my back was painful, but what could I do? The Divine Physician had come to check my condition, nothing else.
In the end, I gestured that we would do it next time, and Namgung Biya disappeared with a slightly sulky expression.
“Hmm… Did I choose a bad time to come?”
The Divine Physician seemed to notice as well and cleared his throat.
“It’s fine. You came after making time for me, didn’t you?”
“It’s good that you say so, at least. Sit down.”
The examination began immediately and did not take very long.
There were no problems remaining in my body aside from the demonic qi.
“Hm…. What a truly fascinating body. What sort of change occurred for your energy to become this stable…?”
He called it an examination, but to me, the Divine Physician seemed closer to conducting research.
The meaning in his eyes made that perfectly clear.
‘…What if he really decides to cut open my stomach?’
What he had said last time must have been a joke.
It had to be….
I gave vague answers to his various questions.
The Divine Physician showed great interest in the Gu Clan’s martial arts, which drove out turbid qi. But since he was not a martial artist himself… it was ambiguous to explain the details.
That was my excuse, anyway.
In the first place, there was no way to explain it.
Wouldn’t something like, “That’s just how our martial arts are! I don’t really know!” be enough?
Of course, it would be somewhat troublesome if the Divine Physician took that answer to the clan and asked about it.
‘Even so, surely he won’t come all the way to the clan.’
The Divine Physician was a person sought after throughout the Central Plains.
He would not go out of his way to visit the Gu Clan, which had no need to seek him out.
Probably.
In the end, perhaps because he had found nothing noteworthy, the Divine Physician exhaled in disappointment.
“Well… Your body seems healthy.”
“…Why do you say that as though you’re disappointed?”
He looked like he was unhappy that I was healthy.
“Do you really think that could be the case?”
“Right? It must be my imagination, then?”
The Divine Physician vaguely evaded the question, then quietly pulled a wooden token from his robes and handed it to me.
“Take it.”
“What is this?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? It’s a wooden token.”
“I know it’s a wooden token. I’m asking what it’s for.”
“I’m a physician, so there isn’t much I can give you.”
The Divine Physician was trying to give me something. I had said his treatment was enough, so what else was he trying to press into my hands?
“There’s nothing significant I can give you. I received this a long time ago, but if you take it to the Beggars’ Sect later, you should receive favorable treatment.”
“Why are you giving me something like this?”
From the feeling of it, I could tell it was no ordinary item.
Moreover, if it was connected to the Beggars’ Sect….
I remembered the black token Peng Woojin had given me before and felt something strangely familiar.
“There was someone I originally wanted to give it to, but I never managed to, so I have been carrying it around. Think of it as payment for a commission rather than a reward.”
“Payment for a commission…?”
“Yes. There is something I would like you to do.”
As I thought. I had considered it too great a reward to simply give away….
So there was a reason behind it.
‘He’s not going to ask me whether he can really open up my chest, is he?’
If that was what he wanted, I intended to run away immediately.
“I heard that the Sword Empress will accompany you when you leave.”
“…Ah, I did hear that she intended to. But nothing has been decided yet.”
For the time being, I was in charge of the group, so she could only accompany us with my permission.
Besides, I still did not know whether the Sword Empress, who had only just finished her treatment, would be able to leave the Mount Hua Sect.
The problem was what the Divine Physician said next.
“I also have some business with the Gu Clan, so I think I’ll have to go with you.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve already told that Peach Blossom fellow, and I’m not the sort of person people reject wherever I go, so it should be fine.”
The Divine Physician had apparently already spoken to the Plum Blossom Immortal, assuming I would naturally grant permission.
“…Why?”
“Hm?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Because it was absurd.
Why was everyone abandoning all the good places in the world and trying to gather at my house…?
‘Is my house coated in honey or something?’
I had actually begun to wonder.
******************
—I understand what the Alliance Leader desires, but do you really think I can accomplish it?
—I have seen that girl as well, but since that Peach Blossom fellow gave his word, I did not go out of my way to confirm it.
—Just because they call me the Divine Physician does not mean I am truly a god.
At the Divine Physician’s firm words, the Sword Venerable fell silent before finally asking a single question.
—Then are you saying that even you find it impossible…?
—…
The Divine Physician did not lie when it came to treatment.
The Sword Venerable believed at least that much.
And so, he could find his answer in the expression the Divine Physician wore and in his silence.
Realizing that the Sword Venerable had understood, the Divine Physician let out a deep sigh.
—It is difficult to rashly tamper with the qi of a human being, especially one who is not a martial artist.
—Considering not only the time it would take, but also the materials required, it might be necessary to uproot the entire clan’s foundations.
—…Those things, I can—
—Alliance Leader.
The Divine Physician cut him off.
—Before obtaining those things, grant the request I made of you first. I believe that should take priority.
—…
—Until then, I will give you no answer.
His words were firm, and unreasonable.
If he refused, that would be the end of it.
But the Sword Venerable was in no position to give such an answer.
It was a single ray of light barely visible in the darkness.
Thinking of his granddaughter’s face as she smiled at him, the Sword Venerable steeled his resolve once more.
Relying quietly on a single lamp, he began writing on a letter.
When the densely written page had dried, he carefully folded it.
On the very front was written the character 盟, meaning alliance.
The letter was to be sent to none other than the current Martial Alliance Leader, Jang Cheon, the Joyful Sword.