Chapter 143 - The Ones Wearing Black Masks (2)

"If you see your senior, you should greet him first. What are you doing!"

Demanding a greeting they didn't even want was a deliberate attempt to look down on the other party.

"..."

Anyway, I thought Elder Moyong Gang would have disciplined him a bit, but I guess the beatings didn't hurt that much.

Or maybe his physical endurance was better than I expected.

"Were we close enough to exchange greetings? Shouldn't we be exchanging swords instead?"

I tried to provoke him, but he didn't react as impulsively as he used to.

"This is why those without roots are... Tsk, tsk."

Flying Cloud Divine Wind Jong Byeokgi.

He should have been active in the Dragon-Phoenix Summit, but he was alone in Hunan Province.

"Lady Namgung, people have their own 'levels.' If you keep associating with guys like this, how ridiculously will the people of the world view you?"

"Levels... you say?"

Namgung Seonhwa looked at him with contempt before tying her hair up again with her hairpin.

It meant he wasn't even worth the minimum amount of response.

She turned around and took her seat, but Jong Byeokgi didn't seem to have any intention of ending the conversation here.

No, the people with him actually began taking an interest in Namgung Seonhwa instead.

"If it's Namgung Seonhwa, isn't she the biological granddaughter of the Divine Sword?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I run a merchant group in Hunan Province..."

The men, adorned with flashy accessories, competed to introduce themselves one by one, but Namgung Seonhwa didn't even pretend to listen and focused on taking care of The Geum-eun-dong Brothers' meal.

Unable to just watch, Jong Byeokgi stepped in.

"Lady Namgung, I am late in introducing these gentlemen. These gentlemen are..."

They were the children of high-ranking officials or massive merchant groups. There were also the children of shipowners who owned hundreds of ships on Dongting Lake.

They were truly the ones who wielded significant influence within Yueyang.

The men being introduced puffed out their chests every time their names were called, but Namgung Seonhwa still had an indifferent expression.

"Is that so."

"That is correct. Meeting like this is a good twist of fate, so how about we move to another table and chat together for a bit?"

At Jong Byeokgi's words, Namgung Seonhwa slowly swept her gaze over the men.

"To hang out together... you people are not at a level befitting the Namgung Clan."

"..."

"...!"

At Namgung Seonhwa's words, the faces of Jong Byeokgi and the men contorted as if they had chewed shit.

Seong Moran bit her lip hard to hold back her laughter, and The Geum-eun-dong Brothers were looking at Namgung Seonhwa with somewhat sparkling eyes.

Despite being clearly insulted, none of the men got angry or stormed out of their seats.

Just as she said, Namgung Seonhwa was an existence they couldn't easily dare to cross.

Jong Byeokgi also read the room and quickly spoke up.

"Ah, Lady! I apologize for my words being a bit harsh earlier."

"Why are you apologizing to me for that? Aren't the disciples of the Taiyi Sect the ones who were insulted?"

"Ah..."

"Please go back now. You're interrupting our meal."

Just as Jong Byeokgi was finally about to retreat at Namgung Seonhwa's order of eviction.

"We'll consider the apology accepted. In that spirit, how about you buy this meal for us, Senior Jong?"

At my words, Namgung Seonhwa glared at me with narrowed eyes.

But wasn't that the truth? I couldn't just let Jong Byeokgi go when we had finally met after a long time.

Since ancient times, a dog that bites people recklessly must be disciplined with a beating.

Shouldn't I take this opportunity to give him the education he seemed to have missed from Elder Moyong Gang?

"..."

Jong Byeokgi alternated between looking at me and the faces of the men standing behind him.

"And to commemorate our reconciliation, why don't you join us at our table."

"S-Should we?"

The most baffling moments since I returned to this life were when I saw the moronic sides of these guys.

Why on earth was I so afraid of these guys in my past life? I felt a sense of self-reproach and regret.

Jong Byeokgi and his companions gleefully took the empty seats, but Namgung Seonhwa didn't even give them a glance.

Some also showed interest in Seong Moran, but Seong Moran was already completely disgusted with them as well.

When an awkward atmosphere dominated the table and only the sound of The Geum-eun-dong Brothers' chopsticks filled the air, I opened my mouth.

"By the way, what about the Dragon-Phoenix Summit? What brings you all the way here?"

"... That's none of your..."

Jong Byeokgi, who clearly intended to spit out some harsh words, glanced at Namgung Seonhwa for a moment before continuing.

"I came to find an artisan to use at our main mountain."

"Doesn't Mount Cangshan already have excellent artisans?"

"Did you think our Mount Cangshan is a place that can make do with just one or two artisans? Isn't the Namgung Clan the same?"

"..."

Namgung Seonhwa ignored Jong Byeokgi's words.

As the situation gradually unfolded like this, Jong Byeokgi's anger immediately began to direct itself at me.

"I heard you luckily managed to enter the academy. But to maintain that petty status of yours, shouldn't you not have the time to be fooling around in a place like this?"

"Haven't you heard? The news that I received perfect scores in both the written and practical exams this time?"

"... You did?"

The men who had shown absolutely no interest in me until now also began looking at me with disbelief in their eyes one by one.

"Furthermore, I didn't come here to play either. I came to invite an artisan to join my sect."

"What? ... Kuhehe, hahaha."

Jong Byeokgi burst into laughter out of nowhere, and his companions inadvertently laughed along without knowing why.

"Would there really be an artisan here willing to join the likes of the Taiyi Sect?"

"What's wrong with the Taiyi Sect? Isn't it still the sect established by the legendary Taiyi Sword Emperor?"

"You're still spouting that kind of nonsense..."

Just as Jong Byeokgi was about to yell in anger, I lowered my voice.

"Elder Moyong Gang's beatings must not have hurt that much. Senior Jong."

"..."

At my words, Jong Byeokgi's face contorted as if he had chewed shit.

And as soon as I finished speaking, his companions made surprised expressions and blurted out.

"Oho, you said you had traveled together with Elder Breaking Sword, and it seems that was actually true."

"I heard the Moyong Noble Clan doesn't interact much with other sects, so that is impressive."

"When might we be able to meet you together with Elder Breaking Sword?"

It seemed he had framed being forcefully dragged away by Moyong Gang as if they were closely acquainted, as his eyes were shaking violently.

"Did you seriously go around telling people you were close to Elder Moyong Gang?"

"..."

Jong Byeokgi's companions turned to look at me. It was an expression showing they didn't want to talk to me, but they wanted to hear the story.

"Elder Moyong Gang didn't even treat Senior Jong as a human being. Saying a son of a bitch had to be taught with beatings, he was trying to drag him back to the noble clan to beat him to a pulp."

Jong Byeokgi's face flushed red and pale with humiliation, and his companions had expressions of not knowing how to react.

"K-Ahem, h-how about we take our leave now."

Once Jong Byeokgi's companions finally opened their mouths, Jong Byeokgi also silently rose from his seat.

"Ah right, you said you would buy us the meal as a sign of reconciliation, so please pay on your way out."

"..."

The gaze Jong Byeokgi directed at me was burning with a fierce rage, much like looking at his parents' sworn enemy.

But in the end, he quietly stood up.

"... Just what were you thinking?"

Seong Moran rebuked me in a pressing manner.

I looked at the door he had exited through and spoke.

"I thought he wouldn't be able to hold back. He held it in well. Has his patience grown?"

* * *

Before heading to our destination, we stopped by a drapery first.

Since we saved money on an expensive meal, I wanted to get new clothes custom-made for The Geum-eun-dong Brothers.

Inside the luxurious drapery, beautiful silks of all colors were lined up in a row.

"Please give us clothes with the exact same texture as our Eldest Senior Brother's here."

"Me too."

"Me too."

What the three Geum-eun-dong Brothers ordered was black martial attire.

Wonder who they took after to have such frugal tastes.

"You can have black martial attire made as much as you want inside the academy, so since we're already here, try looking for clothes you can wear to banquets."

"Hmm..."

After pondering my words for a moment, Dongryong looked at the owner and spoke.

"Please use white silk and embroider 'Taiyi' on the chest with gold thread."

"Hold it right there!"

Frugal my ass...!

I grabbed hold of Dongryong, feeling utterly horrified.

Just what was he thinking, wanting to walk around wearing clothes like that.

Stitching 'Taiyi' on the chest?

It was a fashion sense terrible enough to make even the late Taiyi Sword Emperor roll over in his grave.

"Don't you wear white clothes during events, Eldest Senior Brother? Shouldn't we, your junior disciples, naturally match that?"

At Dongryong's words, Geumpyo and Eunho's faces also turned pale.

My ceremonial attire must have left quite an impression on Dongryong.

While I was pondering how to persuade him out of this, Namgung Seonhwa spoke up.

"Dongryong, wouldn't Young Master Jin's splendor be overshadowed then? How about doing it in blue instead? I think it would match well with his white attire."

Dongryong, who pondered Namgung Seonhwa's words for a moment, quickly nodded his head.

"Please do that then. But instead, please embroider the word 'Taiyi' on the chest very large."

"Dongryong, that's not right."

Eunho was desperately trying to stop Dongryong.

From the beginning, the three of them had agreed to get matching clothes they could wear together.

"Brother Eunho, are you ashamed of the Taiyi Sect?"

Because of Dongryong's innocent expression, Eunho became a shameless scoundrel who was embarrassed of his own sect.

"No...! Why are you interpreting it like that? It's just embarrassing to stitch the name right on our chests!"

In the end, after a fierce conflict between Eunho and Dongryong, an agreement was reached to lavishly embroider the word 'Taiyi' on the sleeves of the attire.

Leading The Geum-eun-dong Brothers, who were already completely drained from the bout of arguing, and the women, who were just starting to perk up as if it were only the beginning, we headed to our original destination.

The red-light district.

The Geum-eun-dong Brothers were distracted looking at the young women wearing sheer clothes while blushing, and the women's expressions were gradually turning sour.

We eventually arrived at the edge of the red-light district.

The ornament shop run by Jang Dowon came into view.

"..."

"... Is it here?"

However, the ornament shop, which should have been busy with business, already had its lights off.

I followed the outer wall of the shop and knocked on Jang Dowon's door located at the back.

"Is anyone there!"

The door, which had yielded no response for a long time, *creaked* open, and Jang Dowon appeared.

"It has been a while. Elder."

"..."

Leaving the door open, Jang Dowon went back inside.

As I carefully stepped inside the door, an untidy courtyard and an extinguished furnace caught my eye.

Jang Dowon sat on the edge of the wooden porch with a blank expression.

"Elder?"

"..."

"Elder?"

Only after calling him several times did Jang Dowon raise his head.

"... What is it?"

"I'd actually like to ask you that. What on earth happened?"

The house was completely unmaintained, looking as if ghosts lived in it.

Jang Dowon, who had been full of energy despite his old age, was living like a ruined man.

"... It's nothing for you to worry about. What brings you here?"

Originally, I was going to try proposing that he join the Taiyi Sect while having him make Moyong Jaehwa's bow. But it didn't seem like the situation to bring that up at all.

"I don't think that's what's important right now. What in the world happened to you?"

"What happened... What happened... What happened, you say... What happened to me?"

Jang Dowon's words tangled together as if he had lost his mind. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened as if he had been struck in the back of the head.

"... Seol-yeon."

"Pardon?"

"Seol-yeon is..."

Jang Dowon's face, which had held a blank expression, twisted in an instant. Then, tears began to stream down his dry face.

"Seol-yeon has been kidnapped. Seol-yeon...! My granddaughter Seol-yeon was kidnapped by the Demonic Cult... What should I do..."

The Demonic Cult, the Demonic Cult had appeared again.