"My, the wine carries a depth of fragrance. Drunk on the liquor, drunk again on the aroma — what finer wine could there be?"
Namgung Ryong's brows creased slightly.
When his brother answered in non sequiturs, it meant—
"You're saying to just let things take their course? That there's nothing to worry about?"
"When a lethal disease draws death near, sometimes you must prescribe a drastic remedy — arsenic, even. Fighting poison with poison, as they say."
"Haha! Fighting poison with poison. Using the Tang Clan's venom to cure the Huizhou Merchant Guild's venom — is that it? It's true enough: in the martial world, there are no eternal enemies, nor eternal allies. Yesterday's friend can become today's foe."
Now that Namgung Ryong finally seemed relieved, he took a long, satisfying pull of wine, chewed his side dish, and rose.
"The Grand Steward was the mastermind behind all of this. He and every rat in this household who colluded with him will be made an example of — punish one to warn a hundred."
"That is yours to handle, Elder Brother. And do make sure to collect every last coin of the Huizhou Merchant Guild's reparations."
'Wang Hyeon-jong, of course, I'll deal with myself.'
That was his intention, but Hyeol-u kept the thought inside.
"Thank you."
The First Young Master, Namgung Ryong, left with a face as refreshed as if washed in cold water.
Overlooking the mother's crimes to prevent the clan's total collapse had been a truly fortunate judgment.
"Won't you stay for another cup, Young Lord?"
Yang Gye-dong called out quickly as Hyeol-u made to stand.
"No. I need some air."
As he stepped off the main hall, the voices of the two behind him grew somewhat louder.
"Brother Yang, pour me one too."
"Sure, little brother. Shall we toast?"
"Absolutely!"
The two of them clicked together with effortless camaraderie, trading 'brother' back and forth.
Watching them over his shoulder, Hyeol-u felt a sudden pang of sympathy for himself — for the man he had been in his Black Dragon Temple days.
'I never even knew that kind of joy.'
He had been, of course, an untouchable lone wolf and a free man without equal.
He had ridden the breadth of the martial world's hundred and eighty thousand li alone, answering to no one.
And then there was the Blood Sand Wind's supreme one — Phantom Heavenly Demon Jwa In-geol.
What had become of him?
Could he still be alive and well?
No.
Even if not fatally wounded, the man had surely sustained grievous injuries.
Hyeol-u had clearly felt his own broken blade lodge in the Phantom Heavenly Demon's abdomen.
***
Even after sunset, the heat lingered.
A humid breeze weighed his hair down with moisture.
RUSTLE.
Dozens of bamboo flowers scattered in the wind.
One drifted softly into the folds of his robe.
Seized by idle sentiment, Hyeol-u was just reaching into his robe when he jolted.
PECK-PECK-PECK!
"Ow......!"
Something sharp had jabbed his palm.
"What?"
He rummaged urgently through his robes and pulled out a fuzzy-feeling object.
"Wh-what? The Golden Oriole......?"
It had already hatched from the egg.
CHEEP, CHEEP!
Apparently startled by the sudden exposure to the outside world, its cries were plaintive.
Having basked in the warmth of its mother's — or rather, its carrier's — bosom, this was its first glimpse of the world.
Hyeol-u set the chick on his palm and studied it closely.
Yellow downy feathers, like a baby chicken's, suddenly bristled — and the creature's eyes, sharp as a hawk's, locked onto Hyeol-u's and glared.
'A battle of wills, is it?'
Hyeol-u could not afford to lose a staring contest with the Golden Oriole and returned its gaze steadily.
After a moment, the chick slowly lowered its head.
It began rubbing its beak between Hyeol-u's fingers.
"Surrender?"
COOOO—
The chick narrowed its eyes and let out a sound as if in reply.
It looked very much like it had recognized its master and was currying favor.
Just then.
SCURRY.
So-i and Yang Gye-dong came scrambling out in their stockinged feet.
"What is that?"
'How did they know?'
The little creature's cries had apparently carried far.
"What's that chirping? What is it?"
So-i pressed his face close and inspected the Golden Oriole chick — loosely held in Hyeol-u's hand — from every angle.
"It's a chick. Have you never seen a chick before?"
Yang Gye-dong shoved his head in and pretended to know what he was talking about.
The instant he did, the Golden Oriole chick's eyes flashed crimson — and it jabbed its beak viciously at both their noses and lips.
"OW!"
"Hey! Did it just peck a man's face?!"
The Golden Oriole was livid, it seemed.
Could a divine creature understand human speech?
But it had only just hatched — surely that was impossible.
The chick thrashed in Hyeol-u's grip, and every time So-i or Yang Gye-dong drew near, it lashed out with its beak.
When Hyeol-u loosened his hold, it darted straight into the folds of his robe.
"Eheheh. Just like a chick running to its mother."
"See? It is a chick."
KYAAA!
The moment the word 'chick' was uttered, the creature let out an indignant cry from inside Hyeol-u's robes.
Then it poked only its beak outside and glared at the two in turn.
"Young Master, this thing is really strange. It clearly doesn't like being called a chick, so why don't you give it a name?"
"Hmm...... its feathers are golden, so let's just call it Geum-a."
Hyeol-u played it cool.
If these two found out the creature was a chick of the legendary divine bird — the Golden Oriole — they would faint from shock, and there was no telling what kind of trouble they might cause.
"Geum-a? That's nice."
"I like it too. Cute and easy to say."
"Hahaha, right?"
With Geum-a tucked safely in his robes, Hyeol-u sent the other two back to the cottage and laid his next plan.
'First, I infiltrate the Huizhou Merchant Guild and find out why Wang Hyeon-jong went to the Flower Mountain Labyrinth Caves.'
The objective was set.
From the Namgung Clan to Taiping Lake near Mount Huang, where the Huizhou Merchant Guild was based — a thousand li south.
Not the kind of distance one could cover in a quick jaunt with a bundle over the shoulder.
Even on horseback, pushing hard, it would take three or four days at minimum.
But he could not exactly announce where he was going.
The Hour of the Rat.
Night deepened, and even the snoring from So-i and Yang Gye-dong's room had quieted.
Hyeol-u moved.
He had just reached the lakeshore stables and gripped a horse's reins when—
His hand froze.
"......!"
A furtive movement nearby.
'Intruders?'
Two masked figures.
He could not ignore their infiltration and simply leave.
With no other choice, Hyeol-u released the reins, put distance between himself and the stables, and began to shadow them from afar.
Before long, he could guess their objective.
'They've come to rescue Wang Gyeong-jong.'
The Ancestral Hall.
Also known as the Netherworld Hall.
The revered patriarch who had transformed the Namgung Clan from a merchant house into a martial powerhouse three hundred years ago was enshrined here.
Beneath this very building lay a small dungeon of several cells.
Housing a dungeon beneath the Ancestral Hall could be seen as an affront to the ancestor's dignity.
But there was good reason.
Shortly before his death, the patriarch had built the Netherworld Hall and left this edict:
"Imprison all who commit crimes against the Namgung Clan in the Netherworld Hall. I shall become the Ghost King of the underworld and personally mete out punishment upon the sinners."
A truly magnificent dying decree — though by now, it was a boast as faded as the building itself.
Last year's Blood Sand Wind calamity had destroyed every artifact the patriarch had left behind.
Only the slightly scorched building remained standing, forlorn and empty.
Even his portrait, they said, had been lost to the flames.
Since the death of the clan head Namgung Hyeon at Phoenix Mountain, even visitors had ceased coming.
Tonight, however, two guards stood watch with grim expressions, scanning their surroundings.
The rumors that the Huizhou Merchant Guild's conspiracy had been shattered and the Namgung Clan had found its chance at revival — those whispers had been enough to kindle hope among the clan members.
Hope that they could return to the glorious days of old.
If only the First Young Master, Namgung Ryong, could recover from his illness!
There was, however, one great obstacle to clear first.
The Third Young Master, Namgung Seong — a hell-spawned demon utterly unbefitting the noble Namgung Clan.
Namgung Seong was a parasite — poisoning the Namgung Clan with one hand while offering the cure with the other.
***
The surroundings were quiet. Only the occasional rustle of small creatures broke the silence — otherwise, not a hint of human presence.
Satisfied that all was clear, the two guards finally spoke.
"A picturesque night. The bamboo flowers that hung on until the very end have all fallen."
"That's right. They should have fallen long ago, but they held on so stubbornly. They say the sight of flowers lingering so long is proof that the Namgung Clan's spirit still lives."
"Who said that?"
"Seventh Elder Namgung Pil-su, who returned today."
"Tch. The man fled the moment he heard the clan head had died — what right does he have to talk like that?"
"Shh! Loose lips sink ships — the walls have ears by day, and the rats have ears by......"
He never finished the sentence.
A sharp voice cut across.
"Enough — the rat is here."
A skeletal figure, gliding through the darkness as if swimming through water.
Tall as a beanpole.
Narrow forehead, eyes sharp as a woodpecker's beak — the look of a man with a fierce temper.
"We pay our respects to the Elder!"
"We pay our respects to the Elder."
The two guards saluted with clasped hands, and Namgung Pil-su waved them off irritably.
"I said enough! What's the point of saluting an elder who gets badmouthed behind his back by his own disciples?"
Guard Jang Ji-hyeong's face reddened.
'What's he doing here at this hour?'
The Seventh Elder was known for his harsh temperament and had a reputation for raising hell when something displeased him.
But he had never heard of the man behaving that way toward low-ranking guards.
"Your eyes say you find that hard to believe. There was a time I did speak harshly to someone in a similar position within the clan. But never to men like you."
"Yes, sir......"
"But things are different now. Fewer than thirty disciples remain in the Namgung Clan. That makes us weaker than a single minor martial hall. So the only thing I can do now is ensure that those of you who remain are properly trained. Am I wrong?"
Too many words — that meant he was either buying time or redirecting attention.
From behind a boulder at a diagonal, Hyeol-u noticed the subtle flicker in Namgung Pil-su's eyes.
The way the elder dawdled, he clearly had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
'Heh...... elder he may be, but his eyes aren't blind.'
"And one more thing — words you cannot say to someone's face should not be said behind their back, either."
"W-we apologize."
"If a man has a grievance, he should voice it face to face. If he lacks the courage, he should keep his mouth shut."
"Yes, sir!"
"And skulking around someone else's home like rats — that simply won't do...... like this!"
As he spoke, his legs crossed in a subtle pattern and his body seemed to float — then his palms struck three times in rapid succession.
CRASH—!
A thunderclap, and three bolts of palm force rained down like sparks.
The Heavenly Thunder Three Palms — the palm technique representative of the Namgung Clan.
"HAAGHH!"
"GAKH!"
Twin shouts of shock, and two masked figures shot upward in a diagonal line.
BOOM.
Rock cratered and a pine trunk split with a sharp crack.
The power of palm force launched from nearly ten jang away was staggering.
"Tsk! Lucky rats!"
'Lucky? More like unlucky!'
The two masked figures had been launched directly above the very boulder where Hyeol-u was hiding.
TAP!
Silently shouting his battle cry, Hyeol-u lashed out with the dark cane.
Dark qi radiated in all directions, draping a net-like barrier across the masked figures' path.
The first stroke of Four Directions Seal!
Suddenly finding their trajectory blocked, the masked figures slashed with their swords and dropped low — and then—
A crimson qi surged in like clouds, and from within, two threads of blade qi shot outward in opposite directions.
Vault Shadow, Flying Clouds flowing into Flying Tiger Stealing Heart.
"Gkh......!"
"HAAAH!"
The masked figures, struck in the chest, rolled across the ground and tumbled to a stop right in front of the approaching Namgung Pil-su.
'They're already unconscious.'
Namgung Pil-su left the rolling bodies where they lay and raised his eyes sharply.
"Who are you? Who are you to wield this clan's martial arts?!"
"Quite the stickler. I use them because I have reason to."
"Y-you, you......!"
Hyeol-u's insolent, brazen attitude set Namgung Pil-su's wrinkled face trembling.
"We pay our respects to the Third Young Master."
"We pay our respects to the Third Young Master."
The two guards greeted Hyeol-u with deep courtesy the moment they recognized him.
TSK.
'The clan's own parasite has come up in the world.'
He was well aware of the assessments and rumors about him — So-i was diligent about relaying every one.
And yet, those respectful words.
A transformation bordering on a complete metamorphosis.
"You've worked hard."
"The Third Young Master...... you're Seong?"
"You don't recognize me?"
"The boy I remember was pudgy and short. But you've changed so much in the time I've been gone that I barely know you."
'Wait — he actually seems relieved.'
Namgung Pil-su's previously crisp voice softened considerably.
"That aside, I'm a touch hurt. Being treated like a stranger."
'D-damn it...... he might be the only person in this clan who was ever kind to this body.'
This was a moment to play dead and feign innocence.
"I-I'm sorry. Seventh Elder."
"You used to call me 'Grandfather Seven.' Hmph! What on earth happened to you? You didn't know a single technique, and now your martial arts have improved beyond recognition!"
"Ah, haha. The truth is, I had a near-death experience and lost most of my old memories."
"Goodness gracious! Well, are you all right now?"
"......Yes."
"Good, good. That's truly wonderful. Memories will come back in time. Well done, well done!"
Namgung Pil-su clasped Hyeol-u's hand and beamed.
His sincerity was palpable, and Hyeol-u felt an unbidden warmth kindle in his chest.