***
“I was busy a moment ago, so my greeting is late. I am Seong Mo-ran of the Cheol-geom-mun.”
As her half-moon-shaped eyebrows curled roundly and she showed a smile, Gye Cheol-yeong’s face, which had been frowning like someone who had eaten shit instead of rice the whole time, brightened up.
“There is a beautiful flower among the wolves of the Cheol-geom-mun. I heard of it, but this rumor really can't keep up with the actual beauty.”
“Your praise is excessive. Young Master Gye. Please come inside. The Small Sect Master is anxiously waiting for the people of the Gye-ryong Merchant Guild and the Tae-eul Sect.”
Gye Cheol-yeong looked like an idiot, straightening his shoulders twice as much as usual.
The inside of the Cheol-geom-mun was literally a sea of people.
The windows and doors in the pavilion were all open, and people sitting densely inside were eating and drinking, sharing snacks, and having noisy conversations.
“Hahahaha, welcome, Merchant Guild Leader! Oh my, Cheol-yeong, you’ve come too! How long has it been!”
Seong-ju-tak, a middle-aged man with eyes similar to Seong Mo-ran’s, welcomed Gye Yeon-seok and Gye Cheol-yeong with a laugh.
“It’s been a long time, Small Sect Master.”
“Haha! Come on, just put aside the formalities. In a situation where you and I are both getting old together, why are you building such a wall!”
While Seong-ju-tak said that, his face was full of satisfaction.
“Have you been well all this time?”
“I still can't sleep at night thinking about missing a talent like you,
Cheol-yeong.”
“You are overpraising me.”
“Really, if it weren't for that unreasonable special treatment of the Baek-pal-bong, I would have taken you as my disciple. Hahahaha.”
When I turned my head slightly and looked at Gang Chae-seok and Jin Tae-san, their faces were also expressions like they had chewed on something strange, just like Gye Cheol-yeong a moment ago.
“Father, these are people from the Tae-eul Sect. You should greet them.”
Only after Seong Mo-ran barely drew attention did Seong-ju-tak’s gaze turn
toward us.
“I am Gang Chae-seok, the Hall Master of Tae-gwang-jang.”
“......I am Jin Tae-san.”
The two people clasped their hands and showed courtesy, but Seong-ju-tak just nodded his head.
“I’ve seen you, Gang Chae-seok, a few times at the Murim Alliance, and it’s been a long time for you, Jin Tae-san. Is it about twenty years?”
“......That’s right. Time has already flowed like that.”
“Keke. You guys must be really happy. We haven't been able to take in a child like Cheol-yeong for the past twenty years no matter how hard we tried, but you guys have such a lucky person come in even if you just stay still.”
“.......”
At the sarcasm that sounded like praise but wasn't, Jin Tae-san and Gang
Chae-seok’s faces were getting worse and worse.
“This person must be Sect Master Hong’s daughter, and this friend is...... who is it?”
Gye Cheol-yeong intervened without reading the room.
“He is the Outer Hall Master’s son.”
“Ah, was he your son? Let me see, but the aptitude is really not it. You guys
shouldn't waste your energy on useless things, just push Cheol-yeong hard. Don't I know the martial arts of the Tae-eul Sect well? Keke.”
This situation was very different from this moment in my past life.
The Cheol-geom-mun, which was hiding its intentions, ignored the Tae-eul Sect and hit them in the back, and didn't embarrass them while so many people were watching like this.
Because if such an explicit intention was seen, the plan to humiliate them later would go awry.
Because what the Cheol-geom-mun wanted was to bring the Tae-eul Sect to its knees, not to be called back-alley thugs themselves.
Moreover, it was the first time I heard that they visited the Cheol-geom-mun
twenty years ago.
In the first place, Seong-ju-tak was busy taking care of the Gye-ryong Merchant Guild and didn't even have a conversation worth having.
Of course, the me in my past life was busy keeping the Ssang-rang-cheol-geom and Nam-gung San in my eyes.
“Yes. How far have you learned the martial arts of the Tae-eul Sect?”
What should I do about this? I know the ending will be a catastrophe, but
wouldn't it be better to show a patient appearance?
“Did you not even learn how to speak? Haha, truly, what will become of the
future of the Tae-eul Sect.”
“Geez, it’s not like we’re back-alley thugs, but everything you spit out is
terribly annoying.”
“...!”
The area, which was full of noise, was submerged in silence.
People looked like they had seen a ghost that appeared in the middle of the day, and they were busy dropping the cups they were holding in their hands.
“Wha, what did you say?”
After spitting out the words, I thought, ‘Oops.’
The me in my past life was never like this, but while hanging out with the
So-jeong-dae guys, who lived at the bottom of life, I got tainted by bad water.
They are truly damn bastards who are of no help at all.
“You brat! What are you babbling about right now?”
Since it’s already like this, there’s no need to stop. Is there a way to stop an
arrow once it has been shot?
“Ah, I apologize. I meant to say it to myself, but it ended up coming out of my mouth.”
“Is that even something to say right now.......”
“Honestly, isn't it? A moment ago, you called the father of my junior sister and the Sect Master of the Tae-eul Sect like a friend, you slandered the martial arts of the Tae-eul Sect, which is my sect, and lastly, didn't you ask about the achievements of an opponent that one should not ask a Kang-ho person about carelessly.”
“......Heo, th, this brat.......”
“Having heard such things, how can a person who holds a sword not feel offended?
Still, since the words of the sages said not to treat even an arrogant and rude person without propriety, this is indeed my fault. I will apologize once again.”
I roughly clasped my hands, and Seong-ju-tak’s face turned nicely red.
But why is Seong Mo-ran unable to hold back her laughter even though her father is being humiliated?
Anyway, those who were focusing their eyes and ears this way as if to sympathize with my words were nodding their heads one by one.
“You, you...... you.......”
Just as Seong-ju-tak, who couldn't do this or that, was about to spit out some curses with a flushed face.
“The Chief Strategist of the Murim Alliance is arriving!!”
A booming sound rang through the hall, and everyone sitting stood up from their seats.
From the pavilion, Seong Cheon-wol, the Cheol-geom-mun Master, and his vassals ran out with socks on their feet.
“What are you doing here? Not following immediately!”
At Seong Cheon-wol’s roar, Seong-ju-tak, who was alternating his gaze between me, gnashed his teeth and began to follow Seong Cheon-wol, and Gye Yeon-seok and Gye Cheol-yeong also followed.
“Sh, should we go too?”
Hong Sa-ryeon, who had been dumbfounded, suddenly said that, and I answered.
“Anyway, there will be hundreds of people rushing to form a connection with the Chief Strategist, so it would be a hundred times better to just go in and take a good seat.”
“.......”
Sa-ryeon looked at Jin Tae-san and Gang Chae-seok as if hoping for a decision, but the two were also in a dumbfounded state.
In the end, Seong Mo-ran made the decision.
“The Young Master’s words here are correct. I will guide you to a good seat, so let’s go.”
As Seong Mo-ran took the lead, everyone had no choice but to follow.
“Didn't I tell you to be self-restrained!”
From behind, Gang Chae-seok approached with his eyes wide open.
“Please speak honestly. If I hadn't interrupted, wouldn't you have drawn your sword?”
“.......”
It’s useless to deny it. I clearly saw everyone putting their hands on their
swords.
If I saw it, Seong-ju-tak wouldn't have known.
Perhaps we would have been kneeling and apologizing on the first day, not the last day of the banquet.
“.......”
Gang Chae-seok shut his mouth tightly as if he had become a mute.
“Please, do not act rashly. You know clearly what the Cheol-geom-mun’s
intentions are.”
“.......”
“Act like a gentleman as much as possible and don't step on poop unnecessarily.”
“You brat! ......I know that too.”
“Then please relax that expression. What on earth happened twenty years ago when you were looking at Seong-ju-tak with that expression? Is he an enemy of your
parents?”
Gang Chae-seok hesitated and looked at Jin Tae-san once.
When Jin Tae-san shook his head, Gang Chae-seok hurried his steps as if he had nothing more to say.
When we reached the same location as in my past life, a person from the
Cheol-geom-mun stepped forward and said,
“The seat for the Tae-eul Sect is over here.”
As we moved, the place guided by the Cheol-geom-mun person was one corner of the training ground, a place full of drinkers.
The moment I was about to sit down first, Seong Mo-ran opened her mouth.
“Please fill that seat with someone else. I will guide these people.”
Seong Mo-ran headed to a large table in the deepest part of the pavilion.
Every time we moved, people’s gazes continued to follow behind us.
“Please sit here.”
“I am grateful for the young lady’s consideration.”
Jin Tae-san, who had been silent for a long time, uttered a word for the first
time, and Seong Mo-ran sat across from me with a smile.
“......!”
“......!”
In such a large event, the fact that the protagonist sits with them at the seat
meant that they were thinking of the opponent that was important.
Her actions like this surprised not only us but also those watching us from the surroundings.
“Here! Bring the alcohol first!”
As Seong Mo-ran spoke, alcohol and snacks came out like an arrow, and although there were many people who arrived and waited before us, there was no one among them who complained.
My father and Hall Master Gang Chae-seok were unable to move with food in front of them due to tension.
I first picked up a chicken leg and brought it to my mouth.
“What is the young master’s name?”
“I am called Jin So-un.”
“I saw earlier that your skills were outstanding...... oh dear, is this a rude
question?”
Seong Mo-ran’s excessive interest and kindness.
If it were me in my past life, I wouldn't have known if the food was going into my nose or mouth because of the emotion of meeting the Mi-rang-cheol-geom.
“Yes. It is quite burdensome to have the Mi-rang of the Cheol-geom-mun sitting in front of me and watching me eat.”
“Oh my? Hoho, I apologize.”
“By the way, the Chief Strategist has arrived, don't you have to go?”
“Well. Anyway, it is the rule of the Cheol-geom-mun not to include women in important matters, so I won't be punished just because I am not in such a seat.”
“I heard that the Mi-rang’s teeth are sharper than the Hyeol-rang’s, but from
the perspective of our Tae-eul Sect, would it be a good thing instead?”
Seong Mo-hyeon, the Hyeol-rang-cheol-geom, grows up monopolizing various spirit herbs, including Beol-mo-se-su [Cleansing the Marrow], as the next successor of the Cheol-geom-mun from a young age.
On the other hand, the Mi-rang-cheol-geom entered martial arts for the first
time at the age of nine. Nevertheless, she enters the Martial Arts Academy
alongside the Hyeol-rang-cheol-geom.
Even in the future, after the Hyeol-rang-cheol-geom half-ruined the
Cheol-geom-mun, Seong Mo-ran, the Mi-rang-cheol-geom, tenaciously led the Cheol-geom-mun, chased them to the North Sea, and put them into the Murim Alliance to maintain the line.
“Hahahaha. You are an interesting person. I will apologize on behalf of my
father for what happened a moment ago. Since there has been interaction with the Gye-ryong Merchant Guild from a young age, you must have felt a great deal of regret about Young Master Cheol-yeong.”
“I think you could take him even now.”
“Hahahaha.”
Seong Mo-ran was laughing while holding her stomach as if it were painful.
At the sudden change in atmosphere, Gang Chae-seok and Jin Tae-san couldn't even touch the food and were just drinking alcohol repeatedly.
“I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“Why did the Cheol-geom-mun invite the Tae-eul Sect?”
Jin Tae-san and Gang Chae-seok’s heads turned like lightning.
Seong Mo-ran smiled knowingly and said.
“Isn't the meaning of a banquet even brighter when many people gather to
celebrate?”
“Many assassinations in history have happened while hosting a feast.”
Seong Mo-ran, whose eyes widened at my story, soon returned to a smiling
expression.
“Fufu, Young Master Jin is a really interesting person.”
Seong Mo-ran stood up from her seat.
“Are you not eating with us, Young Lady?”
“I would like to join to ease the suspicion, but I think I should get up now.”
Seong Mo-ran greeted my father and Hall Master Gang Chae-seok like that and turned back.
“......Young Lady?”
Hong Sa-ryeon, who had been silent for a long time in the seat next to me,
grumbled as if dissatisfied.
“Huh? Then should I have called her Young Master?”
“Hmph!”
For me, I was trying to dig into how much the Cheol-geom-mun had prepared, but Sa-ryeon was looking at me, who had a conversation with Mi-rang, as if I were an enemy without knowing the circumstances.
Is she still young and lacks a sense of the situation?
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“Young~~ Lady? Hmph!”
Hong Sa-ryeon was unpacking her luggage in the accommodation she received separately thanks to Seong Mo-ran’s consideration.
But her attitude was quite rough.
“‘You are an interesting person? Hohoho?’ Where did that fox-like thing.......”
Hong Sa-ryeon strangely imitated Seong Mo-ran, whom she had seen a moment ago, and let out a small sigh.
Beautifully colored clothes made of high-quality silk, accessories that draw
eyes, a stiff posture with grace, and confident eyes. On top of that, a beautiful appearance that naturally draws people’s gazes.
There was nothing she was confident she could win against by comparing.
“Phew.......”
Because the atmosphere of the Tae-eul Sect was opposite to that of the
Cheol-geom-mun, she couldn't express it openly, but she knew the rumors of the Mi-rang-cheol-geom herself.
Rumors of her, who has excellent skills at a similar age, are ringing loudly
throughout An-hwi Province.
She knows that because she was born differently, their growth trends are
different.
The appearances seen from her, whom she actually met, made her feel unreachable envy rather than jealousy.
“.......”
She came wearing the cleanest martial uniform in the Tae-eul Sect, but for some reason, the touch on her hands felt rough today.
Knock, knock.
Sa-ryeon woke up from her thoughts.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
“Cheol-yeong Sa-hyeong?”
When she opened the door, Cheol-yeong, who had taken off his martial uniform and changed into silk clothes, was standing in front of the door.
“Change into this.”
Gye Cheol-yeong handed out colorful silk clothes.
“What is this?”
“They say that the descendants of prominent families in An-hwi Province, including Young Master Nam-gung San, are having a separate banquet. It will be difficult °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° to attend that seat in such a martial uniform.”
“......I’m tired. Go alone, Sa-hyeong.”
“Strictly speaking, I am going as the representative of the Gye-ryong Merchant Guild. If you don't go, Jin So-un will attend. Are you okay with that?”
It must be a place where people with close ties to the Cheol-geom-mun gather, and it will be an uncomfortable place for the Tae-eul Sect. Their gazes and stories won't be comfortable at all. Truly.......
He even stood up to the Small Sect Master of the Cheol-geom-mun, but would he be obedient just because they are descendants of prominent families?
“.......”
“At the very least, if you go with me, the atmosphere will be much better.”
Hong Sa-ryeon bit her lip tightly.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
“Change quickly.”
Sa-ryeon looked at the clothes Cheol-yeong handed out and pushed them back.
“Forget it. If you want to wear it that much, you can wear it, Sa-hyeong.”
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