Chapter 111
“Shadowless Taoist Priest…? Why on earth… Gasp!”
Questioning my eccentric behavior, one of the Lay Disciples gasped.
It was because he had seen Yoo Somyung’s bare face.
Even if they were Taoist Priests, men were still men.
Furthermore, being at an age full of youthful vigor, the other disciples immediately blushed upon seeing Somyung’s objectively beautiful face.
“Who is… that young lady…”
I introduced her in place of Somyung, whose mouth was covered by my hand.
“Ah…, this is Young Lady Yu of the Shanxi Yu Family. Haha…”
“Ooh-! If it’s Young Lady Yu of the Shanxi Yu Family-!”
“The famous!”
Somyung must have been quite the celebrity among the Righteous Faction, given the Lay Disciples' intense reactions.
One of them even asked this.
“Then, does the Shadowless Taoist Priest have a personal relationship with Young Lady Yu of the Shanxi Yu Family?”
“Of course. You could say we’re close enough to be called sworn siblings.”
“…Mmph! Mmmph!”
Somyung’s expression twisted as if she had a lot to say.
Feeling her lips moving against my palm, I tightened my grip and led her to a secluded spot.
“Yes, Young Lady Yu. I also have much to discuss with you. Shall we step over there for a moment?”
“Mmmph-!”
My forceful dragging of her body must have looked to the others like we were walking closely and affectionately, as gasps of envy echoed behind me.
“Wow…”
“To be acquainted with Young Lady Yu of the Shanxi Yu Family…”
“As expected of Jongrimun…”
To those guys, I probably look like an alpha male with outstanding martial arts and a pretty female friend…?
However, as I dragged Somyung away, far from feeling any sense of superiority, I was so anxious I felt like I was going crazy.
“Let’s go quietly… Yeah?”
Whispering threats into Somyung’s ear, I headed toward a quiet alley behind the Inn.
* * *
After dragging Somyung into the secluded back alley and confirming that no one was around, I finally took my hand off her mouth.
“Pah-!”
Having struggled to breathe while blocked by my hand, she immediately gasped for air the moment she was released.
Lifting my palm, I found it damp with Somyung’s saliva.
As I wiped it off on Somyung’s shoulder, she glared at me and lashed out as if firing off shots.
“You - ! Why are you here - !”
“Young Lady Yu… Calm down for now… I’ll explain everything slowly…”
“And Jongrimun? You’re a Disciple of Jongrimun?! What on earth are you plotting here-!”
This fucking bitch. Everyone outside will hear.
When I saw her after a long time, it seems she’s forgotten my personality…?
For a moment, various ways to teach Somyung a lesson flashed through my mind, but I had to hold back.
Even though no one is around right now, someone could pass by at any moment.
If I were caught ruthlessly punishing the Precious Child of the Shanxi Yu Family in a secluded back alley, I would obviously be kicked out, Dragon-Phoenix Gathering be damned.
Thus, mustering my patience, I placed a hand on Somyung’s shoulder as if telling her to calm down. Of course, it was the shoulder opposite to the one I had wiped my spit on.
“I’ll explain it to you slowly. What happened was…”
It was then.
“…Great Hero Muyeon?”
In Anhui, I had introduced myself as Mu-Yeong, not Muyeon.
But since someone was calling me Muyeon, I turned around in surprise…
“…Who?”
…A man I was seeing for the first time was looking at me with bewildered eyes.
Since no matter how I looked at him he was a complete stranger, I tilted my head, prompting him to shout as if he felt that it was unjust.
“…It’s me, me! Yu Jinmyeong! Don’t you remember? Somyung’s Older Brother…”
“Ah… The one I saved back then…”
I remember.
He was the one who got beaten to a pulp by a Demonic Cultist and almost died, until I saved him and even brought him to the Medical Hall.
When one looked at him now, he definitely resembled Somyung.
No, with those puppy-like eyes, should I say he gave off even more of a pushover vibe than Somyung?
“…It is late, but I would like to express my gratitude for your grace back then.”
“No, no. It was something I naturally had to do.”
Ultimately, this guy was also one of the people who knew my true identity. Needing to get on his good side, I waved my hands dismissively and adopted a rather humble attitude.
Seeing that, Somyung, who now knew enough about me, glared at me with a deadpan look.
“Stop playing tricks on my Older Brother. Just hurry up and tell us why you’re here.”
“…Yes, Great Hero Muyeon. It is currently the period of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, a festival of the Righteous Faction. I must hear why you, a martial artist of the Unorthodox Faction, are here wearing the martial uniform of the Zhongnan Lay Branch.”
“Ngh… Is there any chance you could just pretend you didn’t see me and let this slide?”
“Not a chance.”
“As a rising star of the Righteous Faction, I absolutely cannot do that.”
Faced with the Yu siblings' unyielding gazes, I had no choice but to sigh.
Come to think of it, this family was the very epitome of the Righteous Faction.
Flimsy flattery or coaxing wouldn’t work on people like them.
Rather…
It might be better to break through with a frontal assault.
Thus, I let out a sigh and began my story.
“One day, a certain guy came to our Green Forest…”
From meeting the Blood Demon Corpse King to Bang Sam-i getting hurt, the Yu siblings listened attentively to the story I brought up.
* * *
“To think such a thing happened…”
“A Demonic Cult Elder, all the way in Hunan Province…”
After hearing my story, Yoo Somyung and Yu Jinmyeong took on serious expressions.
If they were any other rising stars of the Righteous Faction, they wouldn’t have believed my words. However…
‘These two have been burned by the Demonic Cult before.’
Having suffered a great disaster in their family because of Demonic Cultists, Yoo Somyung and Yu Jinmyeong believed my words and expressed the gravity of the situation.
“…Right, rumors that a Demonic Cult Elder led a Jiangshi Legion to invade Hunan Province definitely circulated in Shanxi as well.”
“But the Murim Alliance probably didn’t believe this information. Right?”
“It’s shameful, but…, you’re right.”
Yoo Somyung nodded with an ashamed expression.
“After going through that incident because of the Demonic Cult, we have continuously warned the Murim Alliance about their danger. But the Murim Alliance refuses to listen to our Family’s words.”
Yu Jinmyeong picked up where Yoo Somyung left off.
“The current Murim Alliance is far too complacent. Even after experiencing what happened at our Main Family, and the events in Qinghai, it has not set up any defenses.”
Despite vaguely knowing the Demonic Cult’s strength, the Murim Alliance continues to stand by as spectators. This becomes the reason the Murim Alliance will rapidly collapse when war breaks out in the future.
‘Still, is it a relief that at least these two know the terror of the Demonic Cult?’
In the original work, the Shanxi Yu Family suffered irreparable damage when traitors within the family defected to the Demonic Cult, leaving them unable to exert any strength during the Righteous-Demonic War.
But right now, the Young Master is alive, and the Shanxi Yu Family is relatively intact.
Later, when the Righteous-Demonic War breaks out, the Shanxi Yu Family will become a pillar of the Murim Alliance and firmly block the Demonic Cult’s attacks.
Seeing the two of them stiffen at the danger of the Demonic Cult, I felt somewhat relieved. I just needed to do my own job.
I placed my hands on the shoulders of the two serious-faced siblings and continued earnestly.
“Anyway, you two believe me, right? My subordinate, who fought at the very forefront against the Demonic Cult, was severely injured. I absolutely need the Gongcheongseokyu to treat him.”
“…”
“…”
Perhaps feeling a prick of conscience over the fact that the Green Forest had done what the Righteous Faction originally should have done, the Yu siblings couldn’t easily answer.
As expected, compared to the other rotten Righteous Faction bastards, these two knew what shame was.
Not missing this opportunity, I grabbed the hands of Yu Jinmyeong, who seemed like an easier target, and pleaded.
“Young Master Yu. I saved your life before, and I even helped when the Shanxi Yu Family was on the verge of annihilation…”
“That is true…, but in exchange, Great Hero, you also looted all of our Family’s treasures…”
“No! If I saved your Family, shouldn’t I be allowed to take that much as compensation? Do you know how many members of the Shanxi Yu Family I saved? Do you have no conscience, Young Master? Are you a cheapskate?”
“Cheapskate…, no, Great Hero… That’s not what I meant…”
When I shouted, “Blaming the Victim,” Yu Jinmyeong stammered, seemingly weak in this kind of verbal argument.
‘Good, this side is done…’
This time, I changed targets, grabbing Somyung’s hands and pleading with her.
“Somyung-a…, it’s me…, your favorite Muyeon… We’ve had so many good memories together, haven’t we? For the sake of those memories, please turn a blind eye just this once…”
“…Well. I don’t know if they were good memories.”
“…”
However, Somyung firmly shook her head at my words.
She’s become quite vicious…
She wasn’t the Somyung of the past. Having spent a lot of time with me, Somyung had lost her former mild-mannered self and had become vicious, as if covered in thorns.
It couldn’t be helped. To persuade this vicious Somyung, I had no choice but to change my methods.
“Somyung-a, then I’ll fucking spread rumors Under Heaven that you have a scar on your cleavage.”
“…Wh-what? H-hey, you perverted bastard-!”
“I’ll make sure even the beggars rolling around on the streets know you have a scar on your chest. If that happens, you won’t be able to get married until the day you die.”
“No, but Great Hero! How do you know Somyung has a scar on her chest? You son of a bitch! How did you know!”
“Whoa, whoa, both of you calm down for a second.”
I soothed the two siblings, whose faces had turned red with excitement, and continued gently.
“So let’s do this the nice way. Yeah? You two know what a shattered dantian means to a martial artist, right? So just let this slide, and think of it as saving a person’s life. Yeah? I’m begging you like this.”
“Haa…”
At my earnest pleading, Somyung let out a sigh and eventually nodded.
“Alright…, we’ll just pretend we don’t know.”
“Somyung-a, your older brother hasn’t agreed yet…”
“Really? You’ll really pretend you don’t know?”
As I said that and held Somyung’s hands tightly, she pretended to dislike it but nodded once more.
“…I said all right. I’ll pretend I don’t know. You’ll pretend you don’t know too, right, Older Brother?”
“…Of course.”
“Thank you, Young Lady Yu. And Young Master Yu.”
As I finally let out a sigh of relief, having taken a load off my mind, Somyung spoke with a worried expression.
“However, we aren’t the only ones in the Murim Alliance who know your face. For starters, there’s our Father…”
When their father was mentioned, Yu Jinmyeong also nodded heavily.
“Great Hero… Father is not someone who would ever tolerate such a thing.”
“I didn’t expect that old geezer to cut me any slack anyway.”
“What did you just call our father…”
“I’ll take care of the Righteous Sword Knight-errant and the others myself. So you two just pretend you don’t know for now.”
“…”
“…”
The Yu siblings exchanged glances for a moment before accepting it and nodding.
“Alright.”
“Understood, Great Hero.”
I was only able to relax after seeing the two of them nod.
“Then, since we’re done talking, I’m going to go eat.”
I was already hungry, but perhaps because I had used up so much mental energy, I felt twice as starved.
As I turned my body back toward the Inn, Yoo Somyung also brought her older brother and followed behind me.
“…We’re coming too. We came out in the middle of eating.”
“Sure, then. Just don’t act too familiar. Let’s just keep it at the level of acquaintances.”
“…Hmph, as if I want to act familiar.”
And so, I went back inside the Inn with the grumbling Yoo Somyung.
However…
Buzz, buzz.
“…?”
When we returned after talking in the back for a while, the Inn had become strangely noisy.
The Inn was originally noisy, but this time, I could hear loud shouting going back and forth.
“What, did a fight break out or something?”
“…Looks like it?”
Well…, fights breaking out in an Inn were a common occurrence, so there was no need to pay it much mind.
But the problem was…
“…Isn’t that my seat?”
…The fight was breaking out right where I had been sitting.
As I looked closely, the Zhongnan Lay Disciples who had accompanied me were raising their voices and even pointing fingers.
Flustered, I watched the scene until Dongryong spotted me and ran over.
“Leader…, no, Senior Martial Brother!”
“Yeah, Dongryong…, no, Dong-Bong. What’s going on?”
“A fight broke out over there between the Zhongnan Lay Disciples and the Mount Hua Sect Lay Disciples.”
“Huh…?”
Come to think of it…
There was a plum blossom pattern on their clothes.
But it was slightly different from the Mount Hua Sect’s pattern.
“How dare mere Zhongnan Lay Disciples-!”
Only then did I realize that the one pointing fingers at the Zhongnan Lay Disciples was a Mount Hua Sect Lay Disciple.