Chapter 251. Now, If We Are to Burn Down Jahageokjan

I caught the scent of the pork backbone faster than anyone.

"……The backbone is coming. The pork backbone that Baldy can't eat is coming."

Each of us lost in our own thoughts, we watched the pork backbone placed on the table. Judging by the stronger aroma compared to what we'd eaten at Chunyang Banjeom, this was Jahageokjan-style pork backbone that had undergone a transformation. At any rate, it was also the best hospitality I could offer.

I spoke to the villains, excluding Baldy, and to Cha Seongtae.

"Let's eat first."

I rubbed my hands together, then grabbed the pork backbone with my bare hands. It wasn't intentional, but I ended up tearing off a piece of meat while making eye contact with Sasuk Dongsu.

"If you're jealous, have a piece."

Sasuk Dongsu waved his hand dismissively and replied.

"I'm fine."

"Are you really fine?"

"Yes."

The Mad Monk had declared the breaking of precepts and ate meat and drank alcohol to his heart's content. That didn't mean I could offer it to Dongsu too, so I just thought I'd tease him occasionally.

The Sword Demon finally closed his book and stared intently at the pork backbone. In truth, pork backbone was a delicacy that could only be eaten in Ilyanghyeon, and it tasted good. Once the Four Great Villains began eating the pork backbone, Cha Seongtae, who had been somewhat listless, ate his meal as well.

I didn't nag them while we were eating, either.

Every time I chewed a morsel of meat from the pork backbone, I checked the expressions of the Four Great Villains as they focused on their food.

'As expected, there's no way this taste wouldn't work.'

They weren't the type to make a fuss, so they didn't even say it was delicious, but they silently tore into the pork backbone with utter focus.

In the end, the Ghost Demon looked at the Lust Demon and spat out a word.

"It's tastier than the wild boar you caught."

The Lust Demon snorted.

"You call that a comparison? There wasn't even any seasoning. And no way to get rid of the gamey smell."

The Ghost Demon asked the Sword Demon.

"What about you, Eldest Brother? You had that expression like everything tasted bad."

The Sword Demon cleared his throat and answered curtly.

"It's delicious."

I couldn't help but let out no small amount of admiration.

"Wow, who knew I'd have to work so hard to hear such a simple word."

This was the very pork backbone that made even the Sword Demon say it was delicious. The somewhat pitiable one was Sasuk Dongsu, but he was eating the noodles that had arrived late.

I tore at the pork backbone as I thought.

That we should rest here for a few days.

We needed to sleep in proper bedding where the cold wind didn't blow all night, and replenish our nutrition with meals that made words of deliciousness spill out naturally the moment they entered our mouths.

The villains needed an ordinary daily life.

Most of all, without being pursued by anyone,

we needed to take a brief rest in a place with no one coming to kill us. If we fought life-and-death battles every single day, it was no different from living the life of a beast rather than a human.

The villains and I were merely somewhat peculiar and wicked humans; we were not beasts.

Since there was plenty of pork backbone, we each emptied two or three bowls of rice and filled our stomachs. Fortunately, the other side dishes were decent as well, so after eating his noodles, Sasuk Dongsu even ate rice.

Was it because I'd had my entire money pouch snatched away by Brother Deuksu?

As soon as the meal ended, sealed jars of Dugangju and drinking snacks arrived and were laid out on the table.

Only then did Jang Deuksu reappear and ask the guests,

"Was the seasoning not too strong?"

Jang Deuksu was checking the guests' expressions to see if anything was wrong with the food.

The Ghost Demon nodded and answered.

"Innkeeper, we ate very well."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Jang Deuksu said what I would have said.

"As you can see, I squeezed quite a lot of money out of the Sect Leader. If you stay comfortably for a few days, I'll prepare various ingredients and make all sorts of dishes. Please enjoy your stay."

After Brother Deuksu finished speaking, he returned to the kitchen.

People ought to do what they are good at, and at any rate, when it came to cooking food and entertaining guests, I felt that Brother Deuksu was the absolute expert of this place.

Taking in Gongdeok, who had been wandering, was likely Brother Deuksu's decision as well. Since he needed to hire more people and pay monthly wages, Brother Deuksu seemed to have taken the entire money pouch because he needed more flexible funds. The money obtained from beating up dark path factions was going back to those who worked, so this was indeed Hao Sect business.

At any rate, the Hao Sect's funds were abundant enough to overflow at present.

If funds ever ran dry, I planned to tour the martial world and beat up dark path factions big and small.

Before that…….

I broke the seal on the Dugangju and poured drinks for everyone except Sasuk Dongsu.

Lastly, I filled my own cup with Dugangju as well, then raised my glass.

"A toast to defeating Mureungja and his group, the public enemies of the martial world on whom the Murim Alliance had placed a bounty."

When I added such excessive words to the commemorative toast, the Sword Demon finally seemed to have relaxed completely, and a faint smile formed on his face.

"Let's drink."

I washed down my stomach, which was thoroughly coated with grease, with the alcohol.

Were we heading west, or were we heading east?

Today was a day for drinking without moving.

I looked around while holding the bottle of Dugangju and called out to Gongdeok.

"Gongdeok, have a drink. This is to commemorate our reunion alive."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Gongdeok approached and held out a cup with both hands. I filled Gongdeok's cup with alcohol as well.

Without a word, I met eyes with Gongdeok, then poured the liquor down my throat.

* * *

I'd fallen asleep drunk and roughly, and when I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Since it was a guest room at Jahageokjan, I didn't feel particularly out of place.

Come to think of it, it had been a very long time since I'd slept in my own house.

Since I'd had several guest rooms made at Jahageokjan from the start, the villains and Sasuk Dongsu were likely sleeping nearby as well.

It was still before dawn, but I washed my face with water someone had set aside, got dressed, and went outside. Perhaps because my sleep was usually a mess, I didn't feel particularly tired even though I'd woken up at dawn.

I sat at a table set out in front of the still-dark guesthouse and watched the sky as dawn broke.

While the color of the sky slowly changed, I reviewed the events of my past life. There was still some time left before the incident where the Demonic Cult sparked regional wars, so I had plenty of time to prepare in my own way.

I watched the gradually brightening sky and began my qi circulation with my eyes open. By the time I finished one round of qi circulation with the most familiar Geumgu Soyogong, my surroundings were already bright.

Cha Seongtae, who appeared to have come out of Maehwaru, was passing in front of Jahageokjan in his martial arts uniform.

He seemed to be in the middle of training, so I deliberately didn't strike up a conversation.

Then, the Sword Demon appeared at the guesthouse entrance and looked at me briefly.

The Sword Demon took several deep breaths, then went out to the wide clearing and stood still for a moment with his arms crossed.

I figured he was organizing in his own way the logic of the Dokgo Jung-geom he'd read last night, so I left him be.

Even though he knew I was watching, Geoma abruptly drew the Gwangmyeong Sword and began moving across the wide clearing, swinging his blade. Since I had also read the Dugu Heavy Sword manual, I could immediately recognize that those movements belonged to the Dugu Heavy Sword martial art.

Of course, the movements were still somewhat far from completion.

Shortly after, Gwima and Saekma appeared and sat down near me. We watched in silence as Geoma swung his sword alone in the clearing.

The Dugu Heavy Sword was a sword art devoted entirely to offense.

However, since there was no target to attack, Geoma's training did not look easy.

I looked at Gwima.

"The Six Harmonies Sword."

Gwima grabbed the sword at his waist and held it out to me. The moment I drew it, I soared into the air and called out to Geoma.

"Senior."

Geoma looked at me floating in midair and nodded slightly.

As I descended with Gwima's sword still extended...

Geoma deflected with the Gwangmyeong Sword and poured attacks onto me. As expected, it was the martial art of the Dugu Heavy Sword.

I stared into Geoma's eyes as I appropriately mixed offense and defense, swinging my sword before injecting the lightning qi of the Hundred Battles Ten Barriers Technique into the blade.

The moment Geoma parried the sword imbued with lightning qi, he quickly switched to offense. Whenever I saw an opening in Geoma's attacks, I thrust my sword in slyly like a rogue. Geoma counterattacked with an expression of sudden alertness, as if sleep had fled him, but at some point, unable to find a thread for a counterattack, he unleashed a left palm strike.

I gauged Geoma's internal energy and met the blow.

With a dull impact, we pushed each other back...

Saekma's voice rang out.

"Master."

Saekma leapt in as I was stepping back, unfolding his palm technique as he rushed at Geoma.

I stepped aside for a moment and watched the duel between master and disciple. Saekma deliberately left behind afterimages of ice spheres formed from cold energy around them, so Geoma had to swing his sword busily to drive away the cold.

The two of them seemed to have crossed swords many times before, as their harmony was better than when I had dueled him. Saekma seemed to know his master's responses well, as he often launched surprise attacks with footwork aimed at creating variables.

Suddenly, perhaps because the ice spheres hindered him, Geoma stomped the ground with his left foot...

The remnants of ice spheres floating in every direction scattered into tiny pieces in an instant. Then, as Saekma crossed his palms and pushed them forward, a white palm force I had never seen before surged toward Geoma.

But the palm-shaped force soon split into a U-shape before shattering into pieces.

When I returned the sword to Gwima, this time Gwima headed for the clearing.

While I sat watching, Gwima blended together with Geoma. For some reason, the two of them harmonized even better than when Saekma had faced him.

Come to think of it, it was because Gwima's sword technique focused heavily on defense.

Perhaps that was why.

The two of them clashed for quite a long time. Of course, since Gwima was deliberately matching Geoma to help him train in the Dugu Heavy Sword, their exchange lasted even longer.

Before anyone knew it, dawn had broken, yet the two of them were still ringing with the sound of clashing metal, destroying the morning of Ilyang County.

For the time being, it seemed the people of Ilyang County wouldn't be able to sleep in.

If anyone came looking for a fight because they had slept poorly in the morning, I would be the one who had to intervene. Because those people were the Four Great Evils.

As they were dueling for a long while, a window opened on this floor, and Jang Deok-su's voice was heard.

"...Please eat."

As if they had made a prior appointment, Gwima and Geoma sheathed their swords and stopped.

"..."

I stroked my chin. The food must have been delicious. I went up to this floor first and sat at the table. The people who had been fighting since morning came up one by one and sat down obediently.

There was nothing in particular to say.

Shortly after, Martial Uncle Dong-su joined us as well, and we ate the breakfast that Deok-su had prepared. When we had finished about half a bowl, Cha Seong-tae, steam rising from his entire body, joined us and sat in an empty seat.

I told Cha Seong-tae what he needed to do.

"Seong-tae."

"Yes."

"We'll be staying at the Jaha Inn for the time being, so check the list of martial achievements distributed by the Martial Alliance. Among them, inform the Alliance that the Wuling Master was killed by us."

"Yes."

"Spread word to the Hao Sect disciples to locate the remaining achievements. In the meantime, tell anyone who has had problems at the stronghold or has something to say to me to come to the Jaha Inn."

"Should I inform the Heukmyo Chamber as well?"

"Everyone must be informed. The Nammyeong Association, the Heukseonbo, the Namcheollyeon bald guy—everyone. If there are any problems, I'll have to resolve them to some extent."

"Understood."

"Until then, I will train here."

Cha Seong-tae grabbed his chopsticks and replied.

"Understood. I'll have to contact them all."

I spoke while eating.

"Tell them that if they have nothing to say to me and no major problems, not to come. Just living as they always have is best."

I suddenly met eyes with Martial Uncle Dong-su. Dong-su asked me.

"Ah, so there is a temple at the Hao Sect as well, it seems?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Isn't Namcheollyeon a temple?"

"He's just a bald guy from the Dark Path."

"Ah, I see."

I remembered someone I had forgotten and spoke to Cha Seong-tae.

"Let Teacher Murong know as well. What's this guy doing?"

Cha Seong-tae smiled and answered.

"He has been closing his doors lately."

"Why?"

"From what I've heard, word is he goes to distant places to gather medicinal herbs."

I clicked my tongue and resumed eating. I had tossed him a martial arts secret manual, and it seemed he was now running around seeking miracle pills. At any rate, since the Reincarnated Poison Demon was also important combat strength, I had no intention of stopping him from traveling around for martial arts training. Anyway, once Murong Bai and Cha Seong-tae grew to the level of martial artists I had in mind...

The inn possessing the strongest force in the martial world would be the Jaha Inn.

If someone were to try to burn down the new Jaha Inn...

Frankly speaking, they would need something on the level of the Alliance or a great family to come storming in.