Chapter 379. I Am Jang Yoran of Ilyang County.

Jang Deuksu felt unusually restless today and kept glancing out the window at the rain. It was not a fierce downpour, yet the rain had continued without stopping even once. It was a day with few customers and hardly anyone passing through the streets. After serving Hongshin and Yoran their meal, the street he looked out upon seemed even more deserted.

A carriage rarely seen in these parts was approaching from a short distance away, with several horses following behind it.

Its direction, of all places, was the Jaha Inn.

“…….”

Jang Deuksu watched the carriage come to a stop, having already decided that he should send Yoran and Hongshin to the Beggars’ Gang branch for the time being.

Men in unfamiliar attire stood in formation, completely blocking off the area around the carriage, and they showed no intention of taking shelter from the rain. For some reason, the moment he saw them, a sigh escaped him on its own.

A little while later, as Jang Deuksu stared endlessly out the window, someone’s voice came from behind him.

“…Can I have a meal here?”

Jang Deuksu turned around to look at the customer. The moment he saw him, he knew that all those waiting below were this man’s subordinates.

Jang Deuksu answered.

“Yes. Please sit wherever you like.”

The man looked around the second floor, then sat alone by the window and looked at Jang Deuksu.

“Are you the cook of the Jaha Inn?”

“I am.”

Jang Deuksu respectfully clasped both hands together and looked at the man. For some reason, he knew this would be the first and last time he exchanged words with this man. It was also the first time he had ever felt afraid simply from looking at someone. After forcibly calming himself, he asked.

“What shall I prepare for you?”

The man gave a slight nod, then replied.

“I would like something the Hao Sect Leader or the Sword Demon often ate. Is that possible?”

Jang Deuksu bit his lip lightly before answering.

“Yes, then I will prepare it. It may take a little time.”

“Take your time.”

Jang Deuksu entered the kitchen, then went all the way to the room inside, opened the door, and looked at Hongshin, who was resting.

“Shin, an honored guest has arrived, so don’t come outside. Don’t sing today either.”

“An honored guest?”

Jang Deuksu placed a finger to his own lips. Hongshin nodded, her eyes wide and round.

Jang Deuksu asked.

“Where is Yoran?”

“On the first floor.”

“Stay here and rest.”

Jang Deuksu closed the door, then went to the kitchen and checked the ingredients. If it was something the Hao Sect Leader had enjoyed, there were pork bones, and fortunately, there were plenty of ingredients left. But it felt wrong to serve only the pork bones, so he prepared several dishes at the same time. Since the Jaha Inn was already surrounded, there was nothing he could do except make the food delicious.

He prepared the food faster than ever before while keeping his wits about him so he would not make a mistake. No matter how he thought about it, the customer sitting alone seemed like Jaha’s enemy. He had no particular basis for it. For some reason, he had simply known the moment he saw him.

Though he had clearly told her not to come out, he heard the sound of the door, and Hongshin, wearing an apron, approached Jang Deuksu and said.

“…I’ll help.”

Jang Deuksu was too busy to respond. The moment Hongshin saw that several dishes were being prepared, she joined in, getting bowls ready in advance and starting to cut the vegetables that had not yet been sliced.

Hongshin asked.

“…Should I take out what’s done first?”

“Yes. Serve him some water first.”

“Wait, you didn’t even give him water?”

“I forgot.”

When Hongshin grabbed the water pitcher, Jang Deuksu looked at her.

“Don’t make any mistakes.”

“Yes.”

Jang Deuksu focused on cooking. He mixed oil and vegetables in a round pot, added seasoning, then stoked the fire even higher. After that, he put in the pork bones and coated them evenly with the seasoning.

Meanwhile, Hongshin, who had taken the water out, returned with a pale face and helped with the preparations without saying a word.

Jang Deuksu and Hongshin met each other’s eyes, then nodded once as if they had understood the situation. In terms of martial arts, Hongshin was the strongest in Ilyang County, yet even she was in a state not much different from Jang Deuksu’s this time.

As she prepared the food, Hongshin asked with the shape of her lips.

‘Who is he?’

Jang Deuksu shook his head.

‘I don’t know.’

Jang Deuksu placed a generous portion of pork bones on a plate, then left the kitchen himself and approached the customer. Remembering something he had forgotten, he said to Hongshin.

“Bring some rice too, please.”

“Yes.”

Jang Deuksu set down the pork bones and asked.

“Would you like some wine as well?”

The man nodded. Jang Deuksu refrained from asking any further questions about what kind of wine he wanted and answered briefly.

“Yes.”

Hongshin and Jang Deuksu went in and out of the kitchen, setting the hastily yet carefully prepared meal on the customer’s table.

The customer only looked at the food on the table before pouring himself a drink first.

Jang Deuksu met the customer’s eyes once, then lowered his head slightly.

“…Then please enjoy your meal.”

Jang Deuksu took Hongshin and returned to the kitchen. Only after they had finished preparing the meal in a frenzy did Jang Deuksu look at Hongshin with a startled expression.

“…Yoran.”

“I’ll bring her.”

“No. She might be sleeping on the first floor.”

For some reason, it seemed most important not to trouble the customer while he was eating. Jang Deuksu lightly embraced Hongshin, whose martial arts were far stronger than his own, and patted her on the back. A sighing murmur escaped him on its own.

“What on earth is this…”

He had heard that experts had sharp ears, so he stopped speaking midway.

* * *

The Cult Leader drank a cup of wine, then looked at the pork bones.

Eating them with chopsticks seemed inconvenient, and eating them with his hands seemed troublesome because the seasoning was far too much. In the end, he set the pork bones aside for the moment and ate the other dishes with his chopsticks first. He had intended to taste them roughly, then put his chopsticks down. He ate the twice-cooked pork as a drinking snack, then took another cup of wine and rinsed his mouth.

There was a brief creaking sound from the stairs, and then a child poked her head out and looked at him.

“…….”

After meeting the Cult Leader’s eyes, Yoran covered her own mouth with a finger. It was a signal asking him to be quiet. Then Yoran approached the Cult Leader with her footsteps suppressed as much as possible, like a cat moving.

Arriving at the table, Yoran introduced herself to the Cult Leader in a whispering tone.

“…I am Jang Yoran of Ilyang County.”

The Cult Leader nodded once, then chewed his food.

Jang Yoran asked again, as if whispering.

“How does it taste?”

The Cult Leader answered.

“Not bad.”

When the Cult Leader opened his mouth, a clatter came from the kitchen, and Jang Deuksu appeared with a startled expression.

“Yoran.”

At that moment, Yoran whipped her head around and looked at Jang Deuksu. Jang Deuksu looked back and forth between Yoran and the Cult Leader in surprise.

The Cult Leader said to Jang Deuksu,

“It’s all right.”

“Ah, yes.”

Jang Deuksu spoke to Yoran as if warning her.

“If you… bother the guest.”

Yoran nodded.

“I understand. Please go back inside.”

After exchanging glances with Yoran, Jang Deuksu went back in with a strange look on his face. The Cult Leader said to Yoran,

“You don’t resemble him.”

“No.”

Yoran watched the Cult Leader eat, then pointed at the pork bone.

“Why aren’t you eating this? You have to eat it with your hands. Hold both ends with your hands and eat it. If you don’t think you can finish it, please give me one too.”

“Eat.”

“Thank you.”

Yoran brought over a small bowl from another table, then moved one pork bone into it with her chopsticks. She sat opposite the Cult Leader, and since she was short, with only her face barely showing above the table, she began gnawing on the pork bone.

The Cult Leader asked,

“What about wine?”

“I haven’t tried it yet.”

The Cult Leader drank while watching Yoran gnaw on the pork bone. As she tore at it, Yoran said,

“I ate earlier, but it’s still going in.”

Yoran finished off the pork bone without getting much sauce on her hands, then sucked each of her fingers once. As she worked a bit of meat caught between her teeth loose, she asked the Cult Leader,

“You’re Third Master’s enemy, aren’t you?”

“And who is this Third Master?”

“The Hao Sect Leader.”

The Cult Leader nodded and asked again,

“It seems you have several masters?”

“Yes.”

“Who are the others?”

Yoran answered,

“Great Master Sword Demon is First, Second is Master Yukhap, and Fourth is Master Mongrang.”

“Mongrang is the Sword Demon’s disciple, yet you serve both master and disciple as your masters at the same time?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure either. It just turned out that way.”

“You have four masters, so why did you specifically think I was the Hao Sect Leader’s enemy?”

Yoran pointed at the pork bone and said,

“If you eat that, I’ll explain.”

“Why this?”

Yoran looked straight at the Cult Leader and answered,

“Because it’s delicious.”

The Cult Leader picked up one chopstick and stabbed it into the center of the pork bone. The wooden chopstick sank smoothly into the middle of the hard bone. Then the Cult Leader tore off some of the meat from the pork bone.

Yoran asked,

“May I have one more?”

“Eat.”

Yoran moved another pork bone over with her chopsticks, then, just as the Cult Leader had done, held one chopstick in both hands and tried to stab it into the bone. The bone was hard, so naturally, the chopstick did not go in.

Yoran kept jabbing the chopstick at the bone as she asked,

“How does it taste?”

The Cult Leader answered,

“Eat it with your hands.”

“Understood.”

Yoran immediately put down the chopstick and grabbed the pork bone with her hands. The Cult Leader, chewing the meat from the pork bone, said,

“Why Third? You should answer.”

Yoran said while chewing on the pork bone,

“You have an air similar to Great Master’s. It doesn’t feel exactly the same. Just a little similar. So I excluded him.”

“And?”

“You seem much stronger than Second Master. So I excluded him.”

“What about Fourth?”

“Fourth Master once said in passing that until his martial arts are perfected, he won’t cause any major incidents. He probably hasn’t caused a major incident yet.”

“What do you mean by a major incident?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe something like a big fight. He said losing is what he hates most in the world.”

“And that has to do with your Third Master?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“From what I’ve heard, Third Master always seems to be causing trouble. I heard he went around everywhere and fought the most. Sometimes he would sleep the whole day without getting up. Even when he slept a lot, he didn’t look especially happy. The last time I saw him, I overheard that he was going to Dongho to fight again. Just looking at it, I thought, he must have enemies all over the place.”

The Cult Leader drank his wine and then asked,

“Are there any other reasons?”

“With Third Master’s personality, he wouldn’t have left his subordinates outside in the rain.”

Only then did the Cult Leader smile.

“I can understand it somewhat now. That was decent reasoning.”

“Thank you.”

The Cult Leader looked around the inside of the inn and said,

“So this is Jaha Inn. I had received reports about it, so I came to see it once.”

Yoran answered,

“How was the taste? It’s called pork bone, and it’s the masters’ favorite dish.”

“The Sword Demon’s too?”

“Of course.”

The Cult Leader stared at Yoran.

“You have as many as four masters. How strong do you intend to become?”

Yoran answered,

“I intend to become the greatest under heaven.”

As if he found the answer unexpected, the Cult Leader shook his head and said,

“It won’t be easy. Do you think it’s possible?”

“Yes. When my masters grow old, I’ll have to protect them.”

“Your masters are not so weak.”

“I know.”

The Cult Leader nodded.

“The Sword Demon and Yukhap are outstanding in swordsmanship. The Hao Sect Leader handles the qi of yin and yang well. Mongrang is practicing a rare ice art. Each of them has different traits, so what would you have to learn from the four of them to become the greatest under heaven? If you learn too many miscellaneous things, you may not be able to properly complete even one.”

“I intend to learn only Fourth Master’s ice art.”

“Your reason?”

“He said that even if I complete only the ice art, I can become the greatest under heaven. He also said it’s a martial art more suited for me to learn than for himself.”

“Do you know the name of the ice art?”

“Yes. It is the Jade Flower Ice Art.”

The Cult Leader nodded, then looked into Yoran’s eyes. Unlike the innkeeper and his wife, it was clear she was of foreign blood.

“The place where the most beautiful and exceptional women of our cult once resided was the Jade Flower Palace. It is gone now. I would like to give you a title to use when you become active in the jianghu. Will you accept it?”

Yoran looked at the Cult Leader.

“If I like it.”

“It is the title Jade Flower Fairy.”

This time, Yoran smiled.

“I like it. May I use it?”

“If you like it, then you should be the one to use it.”

When the Cult Leader rose, Jang Deuksu, hearing the chair scrape, came out with Hongsin. Jang Deuksu approached with a complicated expression, wrapped his arms around Yoran, then looked at the Cult Leader.

“Cult Leader, you need not pay.”

“Is she your daughter?”

“Yes.”

The Cult Leader looked at Jang Deuksu and Hongsin as he spoke.

“Raise her well. She is a woman who will become the greatest under heaven in the next era.”

Jang Deuksu barely managed to answer.

“Thank you for your words.”

Yoran also lowered her head.

“Thank you for the title.”

The Cult Leader gave a light nod, then descended the stairs and silently passed by his subordinates, who were still standing in the rain, before climbing into the carriage.

One of the cult members glanced at Zaha Inn, then asked the Cult Leader.

“……Cult Leader, what shall we do?”

The Cult Leader’s voice drifted from inside the carriage.

“The lineage of the Jade Flower Palace lives on, so leave it be. Pass on the word that no one is to touch them.”

“I receive your command.”

“Let’s go.”

“We will depart.”

...Jang Deuksu and Hongsin, who had been looking out the window, let out sighs of relief, then turned and lowered themselves to Yoran’s eye level. Hongsin, her expression still tense, asked Yoran.

“Yoran, why on earth did you do that? Did you do it on purpose?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Yoran answered.

“He seemed like a formidable enemy of my masters, so I flattered him a little.”

Hongsin hugged Yoran, and then Jang Deuksu embraced the two of them. Patting them both, Jang Deuksu said,

“Well done. Our daughter is the greatest flatterer under heaven. Did I teach you how to flatter? No, I don’t think I did.”

In any case, Jang Deuksu and Hongsin knew very well that Yoran had saved all of Ilyang County. As if confirming it anew, Yoran asked,

“He’s a formidable enemy, right?”

Jang Deuksu nodded, then held up three fingers.

“Since long ago, he has been among the three strongest people.”

“What about now?”

Jang Deuksu shook his head.

“Now, I don’t know.”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone more difficult than Grand Master.”

Jang Deuksu met Hongsin’s eyes, then nodded.

“It’s my first time too. You two go in and rest a bit.”

After sending the two of them inside, Jang Deuksu began clearing the dishes and looked into the bitterness in his own heart. The thought came to him that one day, Yoran would leave her parents’ embrace and head for the jianghu, and then he thought that it was not such a strange thing after all.

After all, Yoran was far from an ordinary daughter as well.