"Three hundred years ago, the revered patriarch who transformed the merchant house of Namgung into a martial clan discovered a thousand-year-old divine creature at the Caishi Quarries of Ma'anshan. That creature's name was the Golden Oriole."
"Three hundred years ago? Then why hasn't the clan gone after it yet......?"
"Haha, there were good reasons for that. The Golden Oriole is extraordinarily elusive. There is even a legend that the Poet Immortal Li Bai drowned at the Caishi River while trying to catch it. But in its final years, the creature lays a single egg in its nest before dying. And this year happens to be exactly that time."
"Ah!"
"As a condition for saving the Namgung Clan, I will give it to you......"
That was the pact they had made over drinks that night.
Thinking about it now, it had been a trifling story — believe it or not.
'In any case, it's flat enough to make a fine bed. Might as well lie down for a bit......'
The sun was already nearing its zenith. When he climbed atop the boulder — about three feet tall — and lay down, his back was warm.
Before long, drowsiness began to creep in.
'Training martial arts with a body like this — what a joke. I'd count myself lucky if I could manage it in my dreams.'
Just then.
"Y-Young Master! The First Young Master is......!"
So-i's voice shattered his comfort in an instant.
But Hyeol-u did not even glance over and irritably waved him off.
First Young Master, Second Young Master — what did any of it have to do with him, lying here?
That was when a voice — presumably the First Young Master's — reached him.
"Ahem...... Leave him be. When he wakes, tell him to come to my quarters."
"Yes, sir!"
'Smooth......'
It was a pleasant voice.
It almost sounded like the Namgung Clan head, who used to sing lullabies when he was a child.
But sleep was pressing in so heavily that his judgment blurred from that point on.
By the time Hyeol-u awoke from his slumber, the sun was peeking at the western mountains — it was nearly the end of the Hour of the Monkey.
"Ahhhmm......"
"Young Master! You're awake!"
He stretched wide, and an eager voice greeted him at once.
After shaking his head in momentary confusion, Hyeol-u remembered that this was the Namgung Clan and that he was the Third Young Master, Namgung Seong.
"Ah...... right. Haah......"
"Young Master! Hurry and go see the First Young Master!"
"Where is that?"
"Oh, heavens...... just follow me."
Hyeol-u climbed down from the boulder.
"By the way, what's the First Young Master's name?"
At that, So-i, who had been leading the way, stopped dead in his tracks.
His shoulders trembled faintly, as though he could barely contain his frustration.
"Why...... are you angry?"
"Ugh, I just want to......"
"Want to what?"
"I just want to tell you, that's all...... It's Namgung Ryong."
"Bastard, how anticlimactic......"
Past several halls, an overgrown garden, and through a moon gate—
Behind a quaint garden and a pond stood a single-story hall that looked like a painting.
Hyeol-u's home was—
No, the home belonging to this body was, in a word, a doghouse.
That one looked like a palace fit for a king.
Realizing just how stark the contrast with his own standing was, his mood soured a touch.
'The discrimination against the illegitimate son runs deep.'
And there, on the railing of a pavilion set atop the pond, connected to land by a stone bridge—
A young man in blue, elegant as a jade tree standing in the wind, reclined with a fan painted with a flying dragon clutching a wish-granting jewel in its mouth, fluttering it idly as he watched Hyeol-u with a steady gaze.
'Showing off.'
His mood dropped further in an instant.
The resemblance to a young Namgung Hyeon was unmistakable.
His age appeared to be just past twenty.
Out of habit, Hyeol-u gauged his aura.
There was an oddly sickly pallor to his face, and something seemed off.
The presence emanating from his body was nothing remarkable either.
'Surely he hasn't reached the level where he can conceal his aura entirely......?'
He left the thought at that and strode up the stone bridge toward him.
As Hyeol-u approached, Namgung Ryong folded his fan with a soft snap and smiled.
"It's been a while. Time has really...... cough, cough!"
But mid-sentence, Namgung Ryong broke into a violent coughing fit and quickly covered his mouth with his sleeve.
His tightly contorted face spoke of his pain.
'Blood......?'
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Ah, haha! I've gone and shown my brother an unsightly display on our first meeting in so long. Pay it no mind. Come, up to the pavilion."
He wiped the blood with a handkerchief and pointed toward the pavilion.
"Ah...... yes."
Inside the pavilion sat a small tray table.
Upon it, a glistening roasted chicken and a plate of steamed freshwater fish sent up gentle wisps of steam, filling the air with a savory aroma.
"As you know, this is a chicken dish called Xiaoyao chicken, and this is a fish dish called Yanjiang fish. I heard you drink quite a lot, so I prepared dishes that might help restore your vitality."
Hyeol-u had been too busy eyeing the look of the food on the plates to actually listen to the explanation.
"This is...... for me?"
"Haha, yes."
The sight of the piping hot food with steam curling upward set off a fierce hunger.
Hyeol-u quickly sat down before the tray and tore off a leg of the Xiaoyao chicken.
***
Namgung Ryong sat down gracefully across the tray and watched Hyeol-u for a while.
He picked up a wine bottle and was about to pour a cup.
But Hyeol-u snatched the bottle first.
"Hm? Haha, my younger brother must have been craving some hair of the dog."
'Oh?'
The encounter felt uncannily like meeting Namgung Hyeon himself.
'Ha, you're a perfect copy of him. How nice for you — leaving behind a living double even in death.'
Those were his thoughts, but Hyeol-u's hands moved without hesitation.
He poured the wine straight into the cup and drained it in one go.
"Ah, that's the stuff."
Something he would never taste again after death.
"Hahaha! You certainly drink with gusto. If only Father could have been here to see this......"
'What is this reaction?'
Namgung Ryong's words did not seem forced or exaggerated — they genuinely felt sincere.
So Hyeol-u eased his guard a fraction and ventured a remark.
"A man in poor health shouldn't be drinking on top of it. This younger brother is drinking on your behalf, out of concern for your wellbeing — so please be satisfied with that. Once you've recovered a bit, we'll drink to our hearts' content together."
"Heh, has someone been lecturing you? Don't worry about me — drink as much as you like."
He was even laying out the welcome mat.
Hyeol-u seized the moment and poured cup after cup in rapid succession, draining each one.
"Haha! That's it, that's the way......"
He felt like a complete child.
As if he were performing tricks with a wine cup and getting praised for doing well.
'I was planning to flip the table the moment anything seemed off......'
But the meeting with Namgung Ryong had turned out unexpectedly warm and amicable.
Before he knew it, Hyeol-u had emptied the entire bottle.
His head was spinning and the drunkenness was settling in.
In his previous life, he could polish off a whole barrel of Bamboo Leaf Green and ask for another.
This body clearly had no inner arts — even his tolerance for liquor was pathetic.
"Hic."
He had barely drunk anything and the hiccups were already starting.
So Hyeol-u hastily steered the conversation toward the main point.
"By the way, Elder Brother — what was your reason for calling me?"
Namgung Ryong, who had been picking at the Yanjiang fish with his chopsticks, finally raised his eyes and regarded him steadily.
"Today...... is the very first time I've sat alone with you like this. It feels good."
How distant must the brothers have been, for this to be their first private meeting?
"......"
"The reason I called you...... hm?"
He had started to speak while reaching for the wine bottle, then set it down with a puzzled look.
It was the empty bottle — Hyeol-u had drained every last drop.
"Well, you did say I could drink as I pleased."
"I did, didn't I......"
But the way Namgung Ryong reached for the wine made Hyeol-u wonder if this was the kind of conversation that needed liquor to lubricate, and he tensed up.
"Sigh...... As you know, the Blood Sand Wind's recent invasion killed or drove away many of our household. Right now, only about a hundred members remain in the entire Namgung Clan."
So that was why the grounds had felt so chaotic, and yet paradoxically so deserted.
"......"
"All of our clan's businesses and farmlands have been seized or sold at rock-bottom prices. All that's left is this estate and the land it sits on. So I'll have to reduce your allowance as well. I hope you understand."
Unbelievable.
The great Namgung Clan — reduced to a pauper's ruin.
'Wait, then......?'
Hyeol-u's mind snapped to attention.
This was not someone else's problem — it was his own.
While he sat in momentary bewilderment—
Namgung Ryong produced a small pouch of silver from his sleeve.
"Here — ten nyang of silver. If you spend it carefully, it should last a year."
"A year......?"
For years now, famines and floods had alternated relentlessly, sending prices through the roof.
The value of money had naturally plummeted.
Under those circumstances, ten nyang of silver would barely last a single person three months.
"Of course I know it's nowhere near enough compared to what you've been spending. But from now on, the entire household must tighten its belt."
Had he ever been in a position to beg like this before?
Thinking of it that way stirred a pang of sympathy.
'But!'
At that moment, resolve hardened in Hyeol-u's eyes.
They say a servant does not even have the money to buy lye to drink himself to death, while the master lives in luxury.
Therefore, Namgung Ryong must have stashed something away, despite claiming poverty.
If not — then he was genuinely an idiot.
'In that case, should I throw a proper tantrum?'
Perhaps he should cling to him and whine that ten measly nyang would not cover anyone's expenses, demanding he hand over the hidden money.
But then.
'The great Hyeol-u, whining over a few coins — that just won't do......'
The moment that thought surfaced, all desire to make a scene evaporated.
If he did not have money, he could earn it.
"Very well. I'll make good use of it."
When he accepted gracefully and stepped back, a faint look of relief crossed Namgung Ryong's face.
"Thank you. This is all because I'm not good enough......"
"As long as you know that."
"Hm? Mm...... Also, keep the fact that you received money from me to yourself. Understood?"
"Of course."
Namgung Ryong seemed like a good person, but there was something slightly timid about him.
A short while later.
The wine had mostly worn off, but Hyeol-u's steps wavered slightly as he came through the moon gate.
"Ugh, Young Master! Did you drink again?"
"Yeah, I did......"
He answered, and then his heart sank with a jolt.
'Oh no, I forgot about So-i.'
That meant he had to redo the money calculations.
'Right, in hard times like these — instead of having someone serve as a personal servant, maybe I should set him free?'
A spontaneous thought born purely from wanting to reduce the number of mouths to feed.
Passing the stone in the yard, Hyeol-u stepped into the main hall and turned to look at So-i, who had followed him in.
"Got any liquor in the house?"
"Liquor? Oh, why are you looking for more booze? You nearly died cracking your skull on the ground this morning......"
So-i's lips jutted out in a pout.
"Don't argue. Do we have any or not?"
"There's exactly one bottle left......"
"Then bring some side dishes too."
"Side dishes? You always just drank straight from the bottle without any."
Drinking without side dishes was the fastest road to ruin.
Namgung Seong had been quite something, apparently.
"I'm hungry. Two cups."
"Huh? Is the First Young Master coming over?"
"Just...... bring what I asked for!"
And so a modest drinking table was set.
The side dishes were stir-fried vegetables and a block of tofu.
"Sit down across from me."
"......Pardon?"
Even as he questioned it, So-i seemed to sense something was up and quickly sat down before Hyeol-u.
"Here, take this. This is probably the first time we've shared a drink face to face......"
"No it isn't? Sometimes you'd say I deserve a drink for working hard following you around......"
For a moment, Hyeol-u was at a loss for words.
'So Namgung Seong did at least act like a decent human being from time to time......?'
But he had no desire to chase So-i's thread any further.
"Right. Thanks for all the hard work."
Clink.
Their cups met.
He downed his in one go, and the fellow had already emptied and set down his own.
From there, the two drank as though racing each other, and before they knew it, the night had deepened to the sound of owls hooting.
CLINK.
Hyeol-u laid out the silver pouch and glanced at So-i.
So-i, his face flushed from the liquor, narrowed his eyes.
"What's...... this money for?"
His pronunciation and voice were a touch slurred, but his mind seemed perfectly sharp.
He was probably in that pleasantly warm stage just before the real drunkenness set in.
Hyeol-u untied the string binding the silver pouch and slid half of it across to So-i.
So-i's bulging eyes went wide as an owl's.
"The First Young Master gave this to me as spending money. You take it."
"Why? Why would you give this to me?"
"Don't want it? Then I'll keep it all......"
So-i immediately cupped the silver with both hands.
Nobody in the world hated money, after all.
But then So-i pushed the coins right back toward Hyeol-u and shook his head.
"So the rumors were true."
"Rumors?"
"That they're letting most of the servants go."
"What? Everyone already knows?"
"Of course. I am a servant — how could I not know?"
Come to think of it, being invited to a private drinking table and given pocket money was suspicious enough in itself.
Especially from an illegitimate son, not even a branch family member.
'Then again, leaving a pouch of silver just sitting in the house would nag at me like a bone stuck in my throat......'
But Hyeol-u hated complications.
The more he tried to think his way around it, the more annoyed he became.
'To hell with it.'
He squeezed his eyes shut and pushed all ten nyang across to So-i.
"Take it all. I'll earn my own."
"Wh......?!"
That settled the matter of money.
Even if So-i asked for more, there was nothing left to give.
And since he had already said he was giving it all, there was no getting it back.
But the fellow's expression was not quite right.
"What? Is something wrong......"
"Bwaaahh!"
He suddenly prostrated himself and burst into sobs, tears streaming.
"BWAAAAHH!"
His wailing was so loud it was a wonder no one came running.
"What are you crying for all of a sudden? At least tell me why."
"Waaaahh!"
The crying only grew louder.
Alarmed, Hyeol-u could not help but check the surroundings for eavesdroppers.
"Hic, hic...... We may not have been born on the same day at the same hour, but you swore we'd die together on the same day at the same time......"
'When did I ever say that?'
He briefly wondered if So-i was just making things up, taking advantage of his faulty memory.
'Fine. If you're going to play it that way, then there's even less reason to give you the money, right?'
Oddly enough, Hyeol-u found himself grateful that So-i had said it.
"Enough, stop! You and I — together in death......"
"And together in life! Hehehe."
But the moment those words left his mouth, So-i's hand shot out and deftly swiped several silver coins.
"These five nyang are mine. Right?"
"You little......?"
His face was like a bear's, but his brain could outfox a fox.
Hyeol-u felt like he had been played, but at the same time, it offered a small measure of comfort.
In this tumultuous world, it seemed he had found someone he could actually trust.