Chapter 194. The New Cheonli Guesthouse

After checking the martial arts achievement list that I had been unaware of.

I also learned that I had been included among the Six Dragons, a title grouping together the rising stars of the Righteous Path.

I am the Hao Sect Leader, as well as Ijaha of the Six Dragons.

However, since clinging to fame or aliases makes life bothersome and trivial, I headed toward the shabby Cheonli Guesthouse, where the cleaning was being finished.

Gwima, who had neat tastes despite his appearance, spoke.

"Must you insist on staying in such a filthy place? You have plenty of money."

"A quiet guesthouse is comfortable. I can just have the guards do the cleaning."

"I wish to stay at the lodgings in Baek Eungji for the time being and challenge Senior Geomma further. His swordsmanship was most impressive. However, I cannot trouble him every time, so…"

Gwima looked at Saekma.

"When you give me the word, I shall pay him a visit then."

It seemed Gwima still harbored the sting of having cleanly lost after crossing swords with him. This had always been Gwima's nature. He was the type to prepare his revenge very meticulously and finish it over a long period of time. In truth, this was how a martial artist of the gangho should become stronger.

Saekma answered.

"He would welcome a sparring match, but if you challenge him without any significant realization, he would likely find it even more unpleasant. Train and tell me when the time is right. I will arrange it. But not now."

"Understood."

Gwima was showing an attitude of devoting himself to training with Geomma as his goal. Shortly after, I arrived in front of the Cheonli Guesthouse and spoke to the two who had followed me here as if taking a stroll.

"It's definitely better here than a guesthouse that is clean, smells nice, and serves delicious food."

"Why?"

I pointed at the signboard of the Cheonli Guesthouse with my finger.

"Look. The Butcher's traces remain. Though I killed him, to be honest, the Butcher was stronger than you two."

Saekma nodded silently without a word.

"How strong must the Butcher's master be? If I train at the Cheonli Guesthouse, which I seized after beating his disciple to death, every day will be anxious and uncomfortable, won't it."

Saekma and Gwima stared at me intently.

I conveyed my resolution to the two of them.

"As long as I can endure that discomfort and grow stronger, that's enough. I don't give a damn about the Six Dragons or whatever. For a while, I intend to forget the Hao Sect, my subordinates, and even the Demon Sect. The Butcher was so strong it was strange. You two be careful as well."

In fact, Gwima, who had lost to Geomma, and I, who had killed the Butcher, were probably in similar mental states. For the time being, I could think of nothing but becoming stronger.

After confirming that Saekma's and Gwima's eyes changed, I wrapped it up succinctly.

"Check."

At my words, Saekma and Gwima responded as well.

"Check."

"Me too, check."

I watched the two depart for a moment, then entered the Cheonli Guesthouse. The martial artists of the Pungunmongga were waiting and spoke to me.

"Sect Leader, you've arrived?"

"You've worked hard. Young Master Mong just went back, so follow him."

Looking around, the entrance door had been repaired, and the corpses seemed to have already been moved by cart. A few people had remained and patched the walls of this floor with planks, making temporary repairs.

When I absentmindedly took out my money pouch, all the martial artists waved their hands.

"Sect Leader, the Second Young Master told us not to take money, so we shall take our leave."

"I am not Mongrang's subordinate."

I took out some silver currency enough for drinks and forcibly pressed it into the hand of the martial artist at the front.

"At least have a drink before you go back."

The martial artists, who had been wearing awkward expressions, replied awkwardly.

"Yes, then we shall put it to good use."

As the martial artists filed out of the Cheonli Guesthouse one by one, one of them spoke to me.

"Sect Leader?"

"Speak."

"We too are learning for the first time that Mongrang has a male friend, and not a female one. His temperament is rough and willful, so it must not be easy for you. You must be having a hard time."

I nodded.

"I'm not his friend, so there is no need to feel grateful."

"Yes, I see. Please continue to get along well with him in the future."

I waved my hand and spoke.

"Ah, whenever that fellow goes astray, I'll beat him up regularly, so don't worry. As you all know, that guy needs a beating."

The martial artist in his mid-twenties who had spoken to me answered in a calm tone.

"You're right. He is on the verge of being kicked out of the family residence, so please beat him often, Sect Leader. We will make sure to relay this to the Family Head."

Only then did I answer with a smile.

"Now you're making sense. Take care on your way back."

"Yes."

When I went to the kitchen, the Third Young Master's guard was wiping the floor. I felt that something was a bit strange.

'Couldn't he have just run away?'

With only the Mong Family's retainers at the Cheonli Guesthouse, it would not have been strange for him to leave.

"…Have you eaten?"

The guard answered.

"I had some dumplings."

"Where did the dumplings come from?"

"The Mong Family's martial artists shared them with me. And there are some food ingredients left here, so I think I can make something to eat."

"Why didn't you run?"

The guard answered while mopping.

"I made a promise, so I'll finish cleaning first and then think about it."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

I looked at the guard and smiled. I didn't know what this guy was thinking. I felt as though both great and small variables of life were coming all at once, but I accepted them all just as they were.

* * *

Evening, when the sky had grown dark. While I was sitting in meditation on the entire floor I was occupying, someone entered the Cheonli Guesthouse. Confused, I thought for a moment—this was a guesthouse that received guests. I should have put up a sign or mark saying we were not open for a while, but I had forgotten.

I had been sitting in meditation at the spot where the tables were joined together, and quietly waited to hear what the guest would say.

The guest who sat in an empty seat opened his mouth.

"Are you not open for business?"

The guard cooped up in the kitchen answered.

"We are not."

"Where is Disciple Tu?"

My eyes snapped open instinctively.

'Disciple Tu?'

Since he had said the Tu of the Butcher, it meant he was a martial brother or acquaintance of the Butcher. I released my meditative posture, went to the railing, and looked down at the man sitting at the table.

A man in his forties, who had placed a black fishing rod on the table, asked me.

"Who are you?"

I answered while gazing into the man's eyes.

"The man who killed the Butcher."

The man said with a laugh.

“You? Impossible. Where is my junior brother?”

Who did this bastard think I was? Even when I confessed with my own mouth that I had killed him, he didn’t believe me at all.

Just then, a woman in red entered through the doorway and spoke to the guest who had come in first.

“Senior Brother Diaosou, I’m late.”

Diaosou roughly meant an old man who fished.

I looked the woman in red up and down. Since what she held in her hand was a horsewhip, I could guess what her title was.

I said to the woman I was seeing for the first time.

“Junior Sister Bian, welcome.”

The woman looked at me with a somewhat startled expression.

“Who are you?”

In that case, Diao, Tu, and Bian were disciples of the White-Clad Scholar.

Put simply, their meanings were fishing, slaughtering, and whipping.

In terms of occupations, that made them a fisherman, a butcher, and a horse driver.

It was a composition that felt just like looking at the black-path branch of Haomun that I had created.

The fellow who had come in carrying a fishing rod said to the horse-driver woman.

“That bastard says he killed Junior Brother Tu. The one in the kitchen, if you don’t want to die, come out here too.”

Just then, at the entrance, a tall man lowered his head for a long while, then appeared as though he were pulling his body through, and said to the fisherman.

“Senior Brother Diao, I’m here.”

I asked the newly arrived giant.

“And what are you? Were you late because you were performing feats of strength? Or were you late because you were stuffing your face?”

The giant placed the hand axe he had taken from his waist onto the table and answered.

“What is that retard? Where is Senior Brother Tu?”

The fisherman shook his head.

“I don’t know. I’m figuring it out.”

It was the first time I had ever seen a hand axe look so dainty. Judging by the sleeveless bandit’s beast-hide garment he wore, he seemed to be a woodcutter of sorts.

I nodded toward the woodcutter.

“So you were Junior Brother Qiaoshu.”

Judging by their level of martial arts and their bearing, it seemed they were Diao, Tu, Qiao, and Bian.

Just then, the Third Young Master’s guard, who had come out of the kitchen, opened his mouth with a shameless expression.

“Senior Tu and the Third Young Master are pursuing the Haomun leader. Please wait a moment. Shall I bring you some wine?”

The woodcutter, who had entered last, waved his hand.

“The wine is bound to taste awful, so never mind.”

“Yes, sir.”

Only then did the fisherman smile and say to me.

“Ah, so you were the reinforcements called by the Third Young Master. Come down here. Since we’ve ended up working on the same task, we should at least exchange names.”

I answered with a smile as well.

“Exchange names, my ass.”

The fisherman, the woodcutter, and the horse driver looked up at me.

If the order of seniority among martial siblings was closely tied to skill, then the fisherman was stronger than the butcher. The woodcutter and the horse driver were either around the butcher’s level or a few moves below him.

In any case, it meant that if the three of them joined forces, I didn’t have much chance of winning.

Of course, killing and being killed was a different matter.

As a brief silence flowed, I heard two people talking in front of the Thousand Li Inn. Just as I made up my mind to properly deal with these three, two more appeared, and a sigh escaped me on its own.

“There are more?”

The conversation from outside went like this.

“Let’s have a drink before we go.”

“The inn is filthy, so I don’t want to go in. The food is bound to taste terrible too.”

“Don’t be so fussy. Let’s have just one drink here, then go to Geumhwaru.”

“Must we do it in a place like this?”

“Drinks are expensive in Baekeungji. And among them, Geumhwaru is the most expensive. We have to drink here to save money. This is why it’s so frustrating to go around with someone who doesn’t know how to have fun. Why are you so stuffy?”

The two people who appeared at the entrance looked around inside, then sat in empty seats. I nodded and silently looked at the newly arrived guests.

Fortunately, they were the shit-pants Lecherous Demon and Gwima, Master Liuhe.

Judging from their conversation, it seemed that while returning to Baekeungji, they had seen the woodcutter or the horse driver and followed them here. Of course, those bastards had at least that much sense. They wouldn’t have casually overlooked an expert they met on the road.

The Lecherous Demon looked up at me and said.

“Take our order, you waiter bastard. Customers came in, so why are you just standing there glaring like an idiot?”

Gwima, who was beside him, nudged the Lecherous Demon.

“Why are you speaking so rudely to a waiter?”

“Look at his face. He looks like an insolent prick.”

Gwima stared at me for a moment, then nodded.

“That is true.”

“…….”

The fisherman, the woodcutter, and the horse driver all glared at the Lecherous Demon and Gwima at once. Since they were all clearly people of the jianghu and knew it about one another, it seemed they were at a loss for words.

Just then, that mad Third Young Master’s guard opened his mouth again.

“Since the Third Young Master has stepped away, you two should wait as well. The inn is undergoing interior repairs, so the only thing we can offer is wine. Please wait a moment.”

What was I supposed to do with this atmosphere……?

For a moment, chaos swirled inside the ordinary, shabby Thousand Li Inn.

The Lecherous Demon said to the horse driver who was glaring at him.

“Why are you staring like that? First time seeing a handsome man?”

The Red-Clad Horse Driver snorted and began fiddling with her horsewhip. The fisherman, the leader of their group, answered in her place.

“Ah, did you two also come to help the Third Young Master? The second son of the Fengyun Meng Clan and Master Liuhe? Meng Lang, you belong to the orthodox path, and Master Liuhe, I understand you stand between the orthodox and the unorthodox. Since when did you cling to the Demon Cult?”

The Lecherous Demon and Master Liuhe closed their mouths with awkward expressions.

“…….”

The fisherman looked up at me again.

“I wondered because you were so young, but you are the Haomun leader. Did you truly kill the butcher? That should be impossible with your skill. Or did the Third Young Master betray us, trusting in the Cult’s forces?”

I crossed my arms, then let out a sigh and said.

“The truth is……”

“Speak.”

“It took about one tea’s time to kill him. I’m sure you’re all flustered, but you’ll have to avenge your martial brother, won’t you?”

The fisherman answered.

“There are not many experts who could kill Junior Brother Tu within one tea’s time. It is not you. I will torture you and find out what happened.”

The fisherman then warned the Lecherous Demon and Master Liuhe.

“You two had better not interfere without permission and bring calamity upon yourselves.”

I pressed my palms together, then made a request of the fisherman, the woodcutter, and the horse driver.

“Fine, so let’s go outside. I’m tired of watching inns collapse.”

“…….”

“I am the Hao Sect Leader, yes. And it’s true that I killed the Butcher. I have no intention of running away, so let’s go outside and fight somewhere spacious. I won’t run. Please.”

The fisherman, the woodcutter, and the coachman rose to their feet.

“Come out.”

While the Butcher’s martial siblings headed outside, I looked at the Lust Demon and the Ghost Demon. I had nothing in particular to say.

“Confirmed.”

The Lust Demon stood up and smiled with a fearsome look in his eyes.

“I’ll fight the Red-Robed Demoness.”

Teacher Yukhap, who still did not quite know whether the identity of the man traveling with him was truly the Lust Demon, asked with a puzzled expression.

“Why?”

The Lust Demon replied with a savage expression.

“I originally grow stronger when I fight female masters of the evil and unorthodox paths. It’s instinct, so don’t pry too deeply.”

After staring blankly at the Lust Demon for a moment, Teacher Yukhap answered as though he understood something.

“Confirmed.”

With that, the matchups were set: the Lust Demon versus the Red-Robed Demoness, the Ghost Demon versus the woodcutter, and the Mad Demon versus the fisherman. The referee, in all likelihood, would be the Third Young Master’s guard, who had been cleaning in the kitchen the entire time.