Chapter 231: Chapter 231

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The three of them looked at each other, but no one spoke. Beggar Emperor Bang Man-jung, his eyes wide in surprise, saw the figure of his dead friend entering while holding a young child’s hand.

At first, he thought he was dead.

Because seeing a dead person meant that he himself was also dead.

However, as Hoyeon Ji casually passed by and greeted them, “You’re here?”, he realized that this was not the afterlife but the living world.

Beside him was even Namgung So-hye, who was said to have gone missing.

“What in the world is going on?”

“What brings you here?”

“No, why the hell are you still alive?”

“I’m alive because I’m alive.”

Bang Man-jung groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand, so he pondered repeatedly before clapping his hands together.

“Don’t tell me you were the Gentleman Sword?!”

“How did you know that?”

When Namgung Cheon gasped in surprise, Namgung So-hye sighed.

This was because rumors about the Gentleman Sword of Yueyang and the Demonic Heavens Lord had already spread throughout the entire Central Plains.

“Sister, who… is that?”

“Ah, he’s an acquaintance of Grandfather’s.”

So-mi asked as she tugged on Namgung So-hye’s sleeve.

Since there were strangers in the house, she seemed a bit unadjusted, a frightened expression clear on her face.

This was especially true because of the man standing next to the Beggar Emperor.

However, she soon gathered her courage, stepped forward, and bowed.

“Hello… I am So-mi.”

After offering that awkward greeting, she hurriedly hid behind Namgung So-hye’s back.

A short gasp of exclamation escaped at the sight.

The gazes of Bang Man-jung and Namgung Cheon turned to the side.

Bi Cheon-ung blinked his eyes and then looked away.

“Is she a child you know?”

“…I do not know her.”

“Hmm… Really?”

Namgung Cheon narrowed his eyes and looked at Bi Cheon-ung. He was none other than the Killing Emperor.

A man who could be called the most dangerous man in the martial world.

While it was surprising enough that such a person was here, Namgung Cheon had clearly felt him staring intently when So-mi stepped forward.

Namgung Cheon spoke as if he had guessed something.

“You like children, don’t you?”

“…I hate them.”

“Tsk, tsk! How old are you…”

“…”

Bi Cheon-ung glared sharply at Namgung Cheon.

His expression showed that if Namgung Cheon uttered one more word, he would pour hidden weapons into his mouth.

Namgung Cheon shut his mouth and frowned.

He was still a boring fellow.

“Anyway… you have guarded the manor well during this time.”

“Haha, no. Anyone could do this much.”

Zhuge Un smiled with hollow eyes.

In truth, guarding the manor was more difficult than expected. Occasionally, he had to give advice to Geum Eun-hak and Hong Won-chang, and in his remaining time, he had to sweep and clean the yard, and even hunt to make a living.

Since a whole day would pass with just those tasks, how could there be anything more exhausting than this? He swore to himself several times that he would treat the servants well when he returned to the clan.

At that moment, Namgung Cheon looked at Zhuge Un with a rather serious expression.

“I have something to tell you. Follow me.”

Namgung Cheon led Zhuge Un and entered his quarters. Seeing that he did not bring Namgung So-hye or anyone else, it seemed a rather serious conversation would take place.

But when Namgung Cheon looked to the side, Bang Man-jung and Bi Cheon-ung were following them.

“Why are you two following?”

“I just followed to see how a friend I thought was dead has been living.”

“…”

Bang Man-jung sat down, taking up space, speaking in a somewhat gruff voice.

He stared quietly at Namgung Cheon’s no-longer-existent left arm, then turned his head away sharply, as if something displeased him.

“Damned bastard…”

“…”

Namgung Cheon frowned but did not reply.

For the closer a friend was, the harder it would be to accept such a situation. He figured that was likely how Bang Man-jung felt.

He smirked unconsciously and looked at Zhuge Un.

“By any chance, did you…”

Namgung Cheon’s story began.

From his mouth, the things he had seen in So-mi’s hometown unfolded one by one. The sword marks and other traces he had seen there.

And the corpses of which not a single trace could be found.

Even while telling a story that would make it unsurprising for anyone to be shocked, Namgung Cheon seemed quite calm.

Having been the leader of the Martial Alliance, he had experienced things much worse than this.

Having heard the entire story, Zhuge Un nodded his head.

“…There are many organizations in the martial world that do not reveal their identities. I suspect it might be one of them, but… it is certainly strange that they took the corpses.”

Usually, even if they made jiangshi, it was common to use the bodies of martial masters rather than those of ordinary people.

Bi Cheon-ung stared silently at the two who were worrying, and then turned his gaze toward the window.

At the end of his gaze was So-mi, who was smiling in the yard along with Zhuge Yeon and Namgung So-hye.

As Bi Cheon-ung watched this, he smirked, and then his eyes changed slightly as if he had thought of something.

It was only for a split second, but it was a look that felt somehow alien.

* * *

“Wow…”

“…Amazing.”

The place where Dan Woo-hyun, who was traveling toward Jangbaeksan beyond Shanxi, stopped was none other than Beijing.

This city, known as the imperial capital, felt very different from the towns they had seen so far.

The population was certainly several times larger.

Dan Woo-hyun and Jang Sam-tae, setting foot in Beijing for the first time in their lives, were busy looking around in all directions like country bumpkins.

Some people even snickered at the sight of the two.

At that moment, the woman following behind them snapped in a low voice.

“Stay still for a moment. What are you doing? It’s embarrassing.”

It was Mae-hyang.

Having chased them all the way from Shanxi to Beijing, she still remained by their side without leaving.

Since she followed along so naturally, they now felt almost like a single group.

“Why are you even here? Please, just go! Go!”

“Hey, I told you my destination was Beijing too, so let’s travel together!”

“So now that we’re in Beijing, go your own way!”

Jang Sam-tae shouted with a frown.

At his loud voice, passersby looked at the two of them.

A pretty woman standing blankly, and a man scolding her.

Mae-hyang plonked down on the spot, as if she had sensed something.

“Sob, sob… Are you truly abandoning me?”

“You crazy…!?”

Tongue-clicking could be heard from all around. With some people even pointing fingers, Jang Sam-tae felt like his chest was about to burst with frustration.

Jang Sam-tae urgently turned back to look at Dan Woo-hyun.

“Lord, please do something about this girl…”

“Leave her be.”

“Eh?!”

Dan Woo-hyun smirked.

As if their banter was amusing.

While he had thought traveling with just Jang Sam-tae was not bad, the atmosphere seemed to have brightened even more after Mae-hyang joined.

It was completely different from the journeys he had experienced in the past.

It felt as if he were with So-mi and the others back at the clan.

“The wind is pleasant. She is not a bad child, so keep her by your side and watch over her. She will bring fortune, not calamity.”

“Who asked you to tell my fortune?!”

Instantly, with a sharp smack, Jang Sam-tae collapsed. Moaning as he rubbed his head, he could not get up easily this time, seemingly in quite a bit of pain.

Mae-hyang clicked her tongue as she quietly watched him.

“You’re just asking for a beating.”

“It’s because of you!”

“Why is it because of me? You brought it on yourself.”

Mae-hyang stuck her tongue out as she said so.

Jang Sam-tae struggled to suppress his boiling anger.

‘Think positively, think positively!’

She had not held him back at all during the journey from Shanxi to this place.

Whether he was fighting bandits or training, she had simply watched silently with a bored expression.

However, he did not like that personality of hers.

“Someone so young…”

“Isn’t it nice? You, who have passed thirty, get to hang out with a girl who has just turned twenty.”

“Lord… I’ve been hearing strange things from you for a while now.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t have a single bit of intention to do anything with that girl!”

Jang Sam-tae said so as if making a firm declaration.

Whether she was a courtesan or not was not the issue; if he married a woman with a personality like that, he felt he would not live out his natural lifespan.

“Seeing you speak like that, you must have thought about it.”

When Dan Woo-hyun said this with a smirk, Jang Sam-tae’s face turned beet red.

He was about to shout in denial, but before he could, Mae-hyang waved her hand from afar.

“Over here! The rooms here are great!”

Watching her, Jang Sam-tae sighed.

Seeing her wave her hand like a child, his heart softened for some reason.

Besides, he knew that even if he sent her away elsewhere, she had nowhere else to go.

Mae-hyang and Jang Sam-tae were in similar situations.

That was one of the factors that made his heart soften.

Jang Sam-tae walked toward Mae-hyang despite frowning.

Dan Woo-hyun watched their retreating backs quietly and smiled.

“As expected, fate is truly unpredictable.”

In Dan Woo-hyun’s eyes, Jang Sam-tae was lacking in many ways.

He was somewhat rough and had an unpredictable personality.

Therefore, he had thought it would be difficult for Jang Sam-tae to form a relationship with a woman, but an unexpectedly good fate had found him, bringing a refreshing breeze.

The woman named Mae-hyang was definitely interested in Jang Sam-tae.

Whether it was because she owed him a debt of gratitude he did not know, but the fact that she had followed him all the way from Shanxi to here was no ordinary thing.

Moreover, since she stuck to Jang Sam-tae wherever he went, what could this be if not a match made in heaven?

“Why did I not know this before?”

Dan Woo-hyun thought with a smile.

He had not known in the past.

That watching such a sight would feel this good.

That there was a bond that warmed the heart and made him want to keep watching.

The world looked different to Dan Woo-hyun now.

‘This, too, is thanks to So-mi.’

Had he not met that child, Dan Woo-hyun would not have felt this kind of emotion at all.

That was why he wanted to protect it all the more.

“Lord!”

At that moment, a familiar voice was heard from somewhere.

Dan Woo-hyun and Jang Sam-tae, who was walking ahead, turned their heads.

They saw Hong Won-chang approaching while waving his hand.

“Why is that guy here again?”

Jang Sam-tae grumbled and frowned.

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