Chapter 55 - The First-Rate Warrior Who Astonished the Divine Sword (3)

The aftermath of the battle was handled swiftly.

Despite the sorrow of losing their comrades, they showed no signs of wavering. I marveled slightly as I watched them.

'I suppose this is what distinguishes a prestigious clan from the rest.'

The procession headed toward the Namgung Clan once more, but the atmosphere among the three of us standing at the front was completely different from when we entered Mount Gueom.

Namgung San and Namgung Seonhwa were being crushed by a deep sense of heaviness, and since I knew perfectly well where it stemmed from, I adapted to the mood and kept my mouth shut.

"Huh? What is Father doing here?"

As we arrived at the Namgung Clan, Namgung Jinmyeong was out front with the clan's warriors, waiting for us.

The people lined up to visit the Namgung Clan all wore curious expressions, wondering who exactly the Minor Patriarch was waiting for.

"What? Someone the Patriarch is coming out to greet personally?"

"I think it's Young Master San and Lady Seonhwa."

"Look closely, the Patriarch is heading toward someone else."

At that moment, Namgung Jinmyeong looked at me and raised his hand high.

"You're finally here! Welcome!"

Even though he had definitely heard about what happened at Mount Gueom, Namgung Jinmyeong didn't show any sign of it and patted my back with a hearty laugh.

"Do you know how eagerly I've been waiting for you ever since I heard you set off?"

"I apologize for my late arrival."

"No! Not at all! Rather, I should blame my foolish children for failing to provide you with a comfortable journey."

Namgung Jinmyeong glared at Namgung San.

"I heard the story. They say that if it weren't for Young Master Jin, you would have suffered a great disaster?"

"I apologize."

"Tsk, tsk!"

At Namgung Jinmyeong's attitude, I had to struggle to hide my surprise.

Right now, there were dozens of people waiting at the entrance to visit the Namgung Clan, not just us.

He was openly scolding his child in front of all those people.

"Come now, let us head inside. And I am truly sorry, but there is a brief clan meeting I must attend, so could you wait in the annex for a while?"

Knowing they needed to discuss the incident at Mount Gueom, I nodded.

"Please take your time. I also need to unpack."

* * *

After parting ways with Namgung San's group, I followed the maid toward the annex. Along the way, there were five training grounds, each three times larger than the one at the Taiyi Sect.

And on those training grounds stood countless warriors, packed tightly together, practicing their martial arts.

"Hah!"

As they extended their fists and let out a battle cry in unison, the air burst, making it feel as though the entire training ground were shaking.

It was only a single strike, but it was a scene that displayed the might of the Namgung Clan.

I got the strong impression that they were truly fitting of a great house capable of exerting influence over the entire world.

And for a family like this, battles against internal enemies were bound to be fiercer than those against external ones.

'Anyone would inevitably grow greedy if it meant they could take over a clan like this.'

All martial sects experience difficulties similar to those of the Namgung Clan. The Namgung Clan was simply going through a fierce internal power struggle a little earlier than other sects.

"It's here."

The quarters the maid guided me to was a small pavilion with a cozy atmosphere, complete with an elegant little pond.

Just because it was small didn't mean it felt shabby. Rather, the pavilion itself exuded an antique beauty that made it look quite extraordinary.

Even if the scale wasn't large, an independent pavilion was still an independent pavilion.

Among the warriors wandering Jianghu, there were countless who claimed it would be their life's wish to visit the Namgung Clan and be assigned an independent pavilion.

Being given an independent pavilion was practically the same as the Namgung Clan considering you an honored guest.

'I'm being treated well enough not to envy anyone else with this.'

As soon as I stepped inside the pavilion, maids suddenly swarmed in.

Then, without warning, they grabbed my hands and feet and tried to drag me to one side.

"W-What are you doing?!"

"A bath takes priority before you meet the Patriarch this evening."

I lightly used the Lotus hand technique to gently slip out of their grasp.

The maids looked slightly surprised as my hands slipped away as if they had been greased.

"I will bathe myself!"

I had already suffered every possible humiliation I could endure at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency. I could not repeat that same humiliation twice.

"..."

The maids exchanged glances and tried to slowly creep closer again.

"Hey! Stop! If you come any closer, I refuse to wash."

"... Understood. I will guide you."

Walking past the pond, she opened a door on one side of the pavilion, revealing a large wooden bathtub giving off rising clouds of hot steam.

When I stared at the maids who refused to leave the tub area, they just stared back at each other and stood there blankly.

"We are here to assist you with your bath."

"I am not a child. I can do it myself."

"Even so..."

"I have made myself clear. If you want me to stand before the Patriarch looking and smelling like a filthy mess, then by all means, stay."

"Understood. If you need anything, please call for us at any time."

The maids lined up the bathing tools to one side and finally left. I shook my head as I took off my clothes.

"Do they think I don't have hands and feet, or do they just have no sense of shame?"

I submerged myself in the large tub and washed away all the dust and blood I had been covered in during the battle.

When I finished my bath and stepped out, there was a set of black silk robes embroidered with silver thread waiting for me.

"Because of that damn Black Flame Dragon alias, it looks like I'll be wearing nothing but black from now on."

Still, it wasn't bad.

Wearing black martial arts robes meant they didn't show dirt easily, and even if I got covered in blood, it wouldn't be as repulsive.

Especially with this subtle silver embroidery, it made me look like some sort of extraordinary figure.

Just as I was looking at my reflection in the bronze mirror, the door rattled open, and the maids barged back in.

"I... I distinctly said..."

"We will assist you with the next step."

Then didn't they just grab me by the hair, start brushing it, and even powder my face?

This time, resisting was useless.

"Please do not lie down, so as not to ruin the powder and hair oil."

"... I will sit."

"Sitting will wrinkle the hems of your robes."

"... You can't possibly mean for me to just stand here, right?"

"..."

"... You can't possibly mean for me to just stand here, right?"

Despite my repeated question, the maid gave no answer.

"..."

Who the hell was it that said receiving an invitation from the Five Great Noble Clans would be their life's wish!

* * *

With no other choice but to stand, I was looking out at the pond outside the annex.

As I watched the carp swimming freely and wondered just how much those things cost, one of the maids hurried over and offered me a cup of tea.

Figuring it was just something they prepared normally, I took a sip, but the taste was extraordinary.

"The taste... is excellent."

"It is Junshan Yinzhen, the Patriarch's most beloved tea."

"Pfft!"

Startled, I spat out the tea in my mouth.

And my immediate thought was that it was a waste to spill such expensive Junshan Yinzhen. It seemed the habits of poverty ingrained in my body wouldn't disappear so easily, even if I possessed bank notes worth tens of thousands of nyang.

"J-Junshan... Yinzhen, you say?"

It was a precious tea, famous since the Tang dynasty and exclusively monopolized by the imperial family during the Qing dynasty. Though that monopoly had since been lifted, it didn't mean just anyone could drink it.

Junshan Yinzhen was the pinnacle of luxury, a tea so precious you couldn't even buy it with its weight in gold.

"... Does the Namgung Clan serve this kind of tea to all its guests?"

"That is not the case. It is a tea served only to guests staying in the Sovereign Pavilion."

"... Is this place the Sovereign Pavilion?"

The Namgung Clan's Sovereign Pavilion was the place where their first ancestor lived when he initially founded the clan.

Now that the clan itself had expanded, there was a separate pavilion for the Patriarch. However, the Namgung Clan had named the former Patriarch's pavilion the Sovereign Pavilion and would only offer it to their most honored guests.

Among the renowned figures of Jianghu, didn't they often wage wars of nerves over whether or not they were assigned the Sovereign Pavilion during their stay at the Namgung Clan, seeing it as a measure of their own worth?

Gulp.

I swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

"It was empty until you took residence, Young Master. Oh, recently, the Murim Alliance's Chief Strategist came and stayed here."

"..."

This place, which I had found comfortable due to its small and cozy feel, suddenly felt suffocating.

'... Still, perhaps this is for the best.'

There were far too many unsettling matters regarding the Namgung Clan.

There was Namgung San's Great Swallow Divine Pill, as well as the Seven-Hued Jewel, and I also needed to ask them to cover up my use of the White Hair Fire Tube at Mount Gueom.

If they were paying enough attention to me to offer the Sovereign Pavilion, I felt I could rest a little easier.

"Is this not the scent of Junshan Yinzhen? Why are you serving something like this to a person who doesn't even know its taste?"

Just then, someone grumbled as they entered the Sovereign Pavilion.

"Who are you?"

A young man of average height, with eyes slanted sharply like a ferret's, a face full of pockmarks, and a slightly dark complexion—likely from spending much time in the sun—was glaring at the maid without answering my question.

"You are trying to completely squander the Namgung Clan's household resources. Do you think it does not matter if you spend it recklessly because it is not your money?"

"... That is not it. The Patriarch instructed me not to neglect our guest's treatment..."

"Even so, how could you bring out the Junshan Yinzhen? For someone of his level, he would have been deeply honored with mere Biluochun."

I was a little annoyed, but I somewhat agreed with the guy's words.

'By the way, it seems he was incredibly arrogant even in his youth.'

He wasn't exactly a welcome face, so I watched him act out with an expressionless face.

"... I-I am sorry."

When the maid finally bowed her head on the verge of tears, the ferret-like man nodded in satisfaction.

"Always think before you act. That money was earned through the blood and sweat of us branch lines."

"... Yes."

Saying that, the ferret perched himself on the edge of the table and held out a teacup to the maid.

The maid filled his cup to the brim with Junshan Yinzhen.

"You are Jin Sowoon?"

"I am."

"... Hah, 'I am'? You have no manners."

I could see a clear intent from him.

The intent to pick a fight and cause an incident.

Otherwise, no matter how much of a branch line member he was, there was no way he would do something like this in front of a guest assigned to the Sovereign Pavilion.

'It's probably because of the incident at Mount Gueom.'

Right now, the Namgung Clan would dig deeply into this incident.

It was a situation where the direct line couldn't be allowed to make a move before the branch line erased their tracks.

Since a guest like me—someone the direct line considered important—had arrived, his goal of drawing away their attention was painfully obvious.

'He's figuring that a sect like the Taiyi Sect is something his branch line can easily smooth over.'

Being treated like an expendable pawn wasn't a new experience, but seeing how it felt freshly unpleasant every single time, I doubt I'll ever get used to this kind of treatment until the day I die.

"I suppose it is because I never learned what manners to show a person who does not even introduce himself."

"Are you saying you do not know who I am?"

I knew the future version of him.

Currently, he was not at the level of making a name for himself like Namgung San.

Of course, he probably believed he was making a name for himself just as much as Namgung San.

"Am I supposed to know you?"

"Hah! Unbelievable."

A peer two years older than Namgung Seonhwa, he was an individual who felt he had been born with a talent matching Namgung San's, yet believed his rightful share had been stolen away countless times by the direct line simply because he was from the branch line.

"Well, I suppose I am far too distant for a disciple from a sect sitting at the very bottom of the 108 Peaks to know."

Accordingly, his desire for recognition was immense; considering the amount of money he spent in the Murim Alliance in my past life, it was comparable to the entire annual operating budget of a decent martial sect.

"I wonder about that. It's true that we are a humble sect, but even my youngest junior brother knows the name of Senior Blue Dragon Sword Namgung San."

And the thing he hated the most was being compared to Namgung San.

"What did you just say?"

"You are speaking as if I am the one picking a fight. Is it that difficult to state your own name? Or is it because you have a shameful name?"

Trembling at the lips, he spat out his words as if chewing on them.

"Have you never heard the alias Boundless Sword?"

"Ah..."

When I let out a soft gasp, the guy instantly looked triumphant.

He was a truly easy guy to read.

If I provoked him one more time here, an incident would break out just like he wanted.

'Should I hold back? Or not?'

I didn't care whether the direct and branch lines of the Namgung Clan fought among themselves, but I had nearly been put in danger by being swept up in the aftermath anyway.

They owed me a debt.

"It is my first time hearing it. There was such a childish alias?"

"You bastard!"

The ferret slammed down his teacup and slapped his hands together, gathering his internal energy.

Then he unleashed the Heaven Wind Palm force, the very same technique Namgung San had displayed at Mount Gueom.

"Aaaah!"

Swept up by the palm force, the maid fell over, spilling the Junshan Yinzhen all over the floor.

What a waste.

Wishing to avoid the Sovereign Pavilion being ruined at the very least, I used the Lotus hand technique to redirect his palm force into the empty air.

POP!

With the sound of bursting air, the palm force was scattered.

As I stared blankly at that sight, I spoke.

"Seeing as how the word 'sword' is in your alias, it seems you are quite useless without one."

"You bastard!"

Ultimately unable to hold himself back, the ferret drew his sword.

And he immediately unleashed the Cangqiong Boundless Sword Technique.

It wasn't a talent comparable to Namgung San's, but the level of swordsmanship he displayed was substantial.

However, the Destruction Form for the Cangqiong Boundless Sword Technique had already been perfected in the future.

Unlike when I sparred with Namgung San, I drew the Black Dragon Sword and unleashed the Destruction Form against the Cangqiong Boundless Sword Technique in a single move.

Unlike when I had weak internal energy, executing it with internal energy reaching 120 years' worth increased its drawing power beyond words. Though the ferret struggled to hold on, his sword eventually flew into my hand.

"H-How!"

I tripped the wide-eyed fool and flipped him over, sending him crashing to the floor.

THUD.

"Urgh."

Then I stepped on his neck to pin him down.

"What is going on here?"

Hearing the commotion, Namgung Jinmyeong, Namgung San, and Namgung Seonhwa came running. Soon enough, they were shocked by the scene unfolding before their eyes.

"What in the world."

I spoke shamelessly.

"Someone who refused to reveal his identity came in and caused a disturbance, so I subdued him."

"What?"

"I asked for his identity several times, but he wouldn't answer. Suspecting he might be someone related to the incident at Mount Gueom, I apprehended him."

"..."

Perhaps humiliated by being pinned down, the ferret's face flushed a deep red.

Just then, a middle-aged man with a long beard appeared behind Namgung Jinmyeong.

"That child is my son."

Namgung Jinmyeong, San, and Seonhwa all turned their heads back.

The man, who looked slightly older than Namgung Jinmyeong, had a large build and a face entirely filled with stubbornness.

"Where do you think you are, daring to persecute a child of the Namgung family?"

Namgung Jinmyeong spoke in a fluster.

"Brother, it seems there was a misunderstanding between them."

"A misunderstanding? If someone is inside the Namgung Clan's estate, he should have naturally assumed they were from the Namgung Clan and been cautious. What the hell is that sight right now!"

"..."

Only then did I stealthily lift my foot and speak.

"Oh my, so you were a young master of the Namgung Clan. If you had just said so earlier, I would have been more careful."

The ferret screeched as if resentful.

"Did I not tell you! That I am Boundless Sword!"

"Why go around spouting an alias that no one even knows? If you had just mentioned your surname was Namgung... this never would have happened. And besides, wasn't your martial arts far too lowly for you to be a member of the Namgung Clan?"

"..."

Unable to refute my words, the ferret trembled.

I quickly turned my body and offered a martial salute to the ferret's father, Namgung Songju.

"I apologize. If I had known he was a son of the Namgung Clan, I never would have dared to do such a thing. Please forgive me. Still, since your son attacked first and got overpowered, surely it isn't my fault, is it?"

"He wasn't ambushed... but he attacked first?"

At the words 'attacked first', Namgung Songju trembled as he glared at his own son.

Soon, that blazing gaze turned toward me.

I offered a martial salute with a smile full of goodwill.

'I guess your son being an idiot wasn't part of the plan, huh?'