Chapter 32 - An Outing

Dong Bongsu might look a sorry sight, but Tang Wu had brought him here personally. And since he had not left with the Danri Family's people for the guest quarters, he clearly belonged to the Tang Family.

'But he has no surname?'

Do Heo-ok examined him once more, but it still made no sense. Dong Bongsu looked like a servant, nothing more and nothing less. Had he at least been dressed like a beggar, Do Heo-ok might have suspected he belonged to the Beggar Sect, but that was not the case either.

Dong Bongsu answered listlessly. Do Heo-ok glanced at him, then smiled and gave his shoulder a light pat.

"Haha. It's all right. There's no need to be troubled over that. If you haven't a surname, you can always make one, can't you?"

At first glance, it looked as though a young hero was comforting a nobody. In truth, he was examining Dong Bongsu's physique. A light pat on the shoulder could not tell him everything, but it could reveal whether a body had been trained, or whether it would take readily to training.

Yet what Do Heo-ok had just felt through his fingertips was utterly ordinary. No, worse than ordinary. Dong Bongsu's body was wasted, as though he seldom ate regular meals, and his frame was frail.

Paradoxically, that was what stirred Do Heo-ok's suspicions. A fleeting question appeared in his eyes and vanished so quickly that even Tang Hwa and Namgung Hye, standing right beside him, failed to notice.

Do Heo-ok was a compulsive perfectionist. When carrying out a task, he tolerated not the slightest deviation. The perfect bilateral symmetry of his body was itself a product of that disposition.

That pursuit of perfection was one of the chief reasons he had been selected as a Shadow.

To him, people like Sosam were no more than tiny specks of dust. But this was a speck he did not fully understand. It was unlikely to cause trouble, but that did not mean the possibility was nonexistent.

Just as Dong Bongsu was watching Do Heo-ok, Do Heo-ok had begun taking an interest in Dong Bongsu in his guise as Sosam.

"Since you've been keeping Lady Tang company all this time, I assumed you belonged to the Tang Family. Is that not so?"

At those words, Dong Bongsu knew that Do Heo-ok had begun watching him closely.

'This is dangerous.'

Though he had regained his voice, he was not yet in a position to speak freely. He was merely a docile lamb, obliged to follow wherever Tang Hwa led.

He turned to look at her. She responded with a faint smile.

"Brother-in-law, stop questioning him. He's traveling with us because of certain circumstances, that's all."

"Is that so?"

"Oh, we're tired after walking all day. We'd like to rest now."

Tang Hwa was probably trying to extricate herself from an awkward situation, but her response only aroused Do Heo-ok's suspicions further.

"Ah, of course. Forgive me. I've kept you talking far too long when you're tired. Please follow me."

For the moment, they had escaped his scrutiny. But Dong Bongsu knew Do Heo-ok would continue watching him for some time. He certainly would have done the same.

With Do Heo-ok and Namgung Hye guiding them, Dong Bongsu and Tang Hwa headed toward Heaven Guest Hall.

The Namgung Clan had three classes of guest quarters. Named after the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man, they were Heaven Guest Hall, Earth Guest Hall, and Man Guest Hall.

Heaven Guest Hall accommodated visitors from the great martial sects and martial artists of high renown. Earth Guest Hall housed sect leaders and elders from smaller sects. Man Guest Hall was where everyone left over after that classification stayed—the true "poor guests' quarters."

Heaven Guest Hall was impressive in scale, but its location was especially fine. The Namgung Clan's estate stood on the shores of Soho Lake, and Heaven Guest Hall was right beside the southern water gate. Strictly speaking, neither the hall nor the gate stood on the mainland. Both were structures built out on Soho Lake—over the water itself.

The hall occupied small islands on either side of a little inlet called Soho Bay. Pleasure boats and other vessels were moored inside the bay, and a water gate stood across its mouth. Naturally, the gate also served to keep out invaders.

Guests staying at Heaven Guest Hall customarily took a trip aboard the Namgung Clan's large pleasure boat to admire Soho Lake by night.

One of the Five Great Lakes of the Central Plains, Soho Lake was famed for having the loveliest scenery of them all. Its night views were particularly beautiful, so much so that poets and men of letters had long drawn inspiration from them.

By the time Dong Bongsu and the others arrived at Heaven Guest Hall, the sun had set completely and the moon hung at an angle in the sky. Moonlight reflected off the waters of Soho Bay, lending the scene an air of mystery.

"It's beautiful..."

Tang Hwa breathed the words, unable to contain her admiration.

She had visited the Namgung Clan once or twice before, but this was her first time seeing this part of Soho Lake at night. Heaven Guest Hall and Soho Bay, resembling a garden afloat on the water, were more than enough to set the heart of Tang Hwa, now a young woman, fluttering.

"Isn't it lovely? We're planning a nighttime outing on Soho Lake today. Would you like to join us?"

Seeing Tang Hwa's admiration, Namgung Hye invited her along. Her words made it clear that the couple had already planned to go out and enjoy the lake's nighttime scenery.

"Oh, Hye. I'm old enough to take a hint now."

Perhaps it was the suggestive note in Tang Hwa's voice, but Namgung Hye blushed and lowered her head again. Fortunately, unlike earlier, the darkness concealed her face to some extent.

Do Heo-ok, who had been listening, interjected.

"It's quite all right. In a few days, we'll be spending the rest of our lives together. Surely I can spare a single day for my sister-in-law? If you're not too tired, come with us. Soho Lake is at its most beautiful around this time, when the moon is nearly full. Even more beautiful than under a full moon."

As he spoke, Do Heo-ok cast a brief glance at Dong Bongsu. That glance told Dong Bongsu what he was after: he wanted to learn more about him. The reason was obvious enough.

For a fleeting instant, their equally dissembling gazes met in midair, with Spirit Eye between them.

Dong Bongsu avoided his eyes just enough not to make it conspicuous. Even so, he could not erase suspicions that had already taken root.

But there was still a major difference between them. Dong Bongsu had a certain conviction about Do Heo-ok, while Do Heo-ok had only suspicions about Dong Bongsu.

It might seem a small distinction, but the difference was enormous. Like the difference between a student given a multiple-choice question with five possible answers and one handed an exam paper bearing a single ambiguous sentence that might not even be a question.

As Dong Bongsu deliberately turned his eyes from Do Heo-ok to the moon, Tang Hwa spoke brightly.

"Would that really be all right, Brother-in-law?"

"Of course."

Namgung Hye smiled softly at his ready answer. Judging by that expression, she had already fallen completely for Do Heo-ok's deception.

"Then shall we join you? Who knows when I'll get to admire the moon with you again, Hye? It would be lovely to do it together on Soho Lake."

"Yes. Let's do that."

Namgung Hye smiled sweetly and took Tang Hwa's hand.

Returning her clasp, Tang Hwa looked at Dong Bongsu.

"You don't mind, do you?"

She said it as though informing him of a decision. Her imperious tone gave him no choice.

From her perspective, that was perhaps only natural. Tang Wu's repeated, emphatic instructions meant that the two of them had to stay together. Even if they were assigned separate rooms at Heaven Guest Hall, she would have to remain with Dong Bongsu until Tang Wu returned. If so, she thought it would be far better to share a fond farewell with Namgung Hye while admiring Soho Lake's night scenery, hailed as a sight from heaven.

For Dong Bongsu, however, this nighttime excursion was deeply uncomfortable.

An unknown beast named Do Heo-ok was watching him. This was Murim, a world where anything could happen. However slight the chance, Do Heo-ok might discover that he possessed the Body of No Meridians.

It was dangerous.

But he could not escape, and Tang Hwa's gaze was merciless. The choice had never been his to make. He was no longer a horse handler, but he still had no freedom to act as he pleased.

'There's no helping it.'

Since matters had come to this, his only option was to go out onto Soho Lake and learn more about Do Heo-ok, just as Do Heo-ok would be studying him.

His brief reply settled the four of them on a midnight outing to Soho Lake.

A sailing boat with magnificent crimson silk sails raised aloft passed through the open water gate and set out onto Soho Lake.

Riding the cool night breeze, it cut through the water toward the spot where the moonlight shone most brightly.

The birds have all flown high and vanished;

A solitary cloud drifts idly on alone.

We gaze at one another, neither tiring—

Only the scenery of Soho Lake remains.

All the birds fly high and disappear,

A lonely cloud floats leisurely away.

We face each other, neither weary of the sight—

Only Soho Lake's fair scenery.

The Namgung Clan's boatmen sang as they rowed. Their song was Li Bai's poem "Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain," adapted to suit Soho Lake.

As though answering the song, a lone wisp of cloud was indeed passing across the round moon, making the scene exquisitely picturesque.

Before long, the boat reached the middle of the lake. The boatmen leisurely lowered the sails and dropped the anchors mounted on both sides into the water.

Soon the boat lay completely still at the very center of Soho Lake.

"The moon reflected in the lake is so beautiful."

Tang Hwa spoke in admiration. Just as she said, the moon, which seemed to have plunged into Soho Lake with a single wisp of cloud beside it, was beautiful beyond description.

That set Tang Hwa and Namgung Hye chatting.

And Do Heo-ok's inquiries into Dong Bongsu began in earnest.

"Let's leave the women to their conversation and have a drink, just us men."

With those words, Do Heo-ok led Dong Bongsu toward the bow.