Chapter 277: Chapter 277

Gwon Mu-jin, who woke up early in the morning, devoted himself to training, sweating profusely. As his training of nearly six hours came to an end, his daily routine began.

He lightly washed his body, dressed up, and came out.

Then, he wandered aimlessly around the Hunan Dan Family manor.

“…….”

“Ahem…”

Ma Jang-gang was also by his side; although the two of them were nominally in charge of guarding the manor, they did not do anything in particular.

Not a single thief could crawl into this manor.

Even assassins did not dare to enter.

There were no people who could pose a threat either.

Beside Dan So-mi, whom they had to protect the most, were two terrifying beasts.

The strength of Dan Woo-hyun, who could be called the center and pivotal point of the family, transcended imagination.

Furthermore, the old men’s skills were second to none in the Central Plains.

Thus, in this Hunan Dan Family, escorts or guards were practically useless.

In fact, due to their presence becoming as thin as air recently, there were hardly even any people looking for them. This was because if there were chores, most people looked for Jang Sam-tae first.

Since his lightness art was fast and he also lent a hand in household affairs, it was more convenient to look for Jang Sam-tae than to entrust the work to these two.

Still, doing chores did not suit their personality, so they had to idle around doing nothing except during their training time.

“How boring…”

“Indeed.”

Ma Jang-gang and Gwon Mu-jin muttered as they sat in front of Lake Dongting. In their hands, they held different bottles of liquor, which was one of the two types of liquor that Hoyeon Ji had made.

What increased here was only their training time and alcohol tolerance.

‘This isn’t what I hoped for…’

Gwon Mu-jin looked at Lake Dongting with a blank expression. Throwing himself into such battlefields of fierce fights and flying blood, and taking a step forward to become even stronger.

That was precisely Gwon Mu-jin’s goal.

But now…

‘I am no different from a ruffian.’

It would have been nice if there was at least some work.

Since repairing the manor was already finished, they became even more idle.

The two smacking their lips let out a long sigh.

“They probably wouldn’t even notice if we disappeared.”

“Don’t say that. It shouldn’t be to that extent.”

At Ma Jang-gang’s sigh-mixed words, Gwon Mu-jin shook his head, denying it. Still, if a person disappeared, they would surely notice.

No matter how much they lacked presence.

The two faced each other and fell silent.

‘There’s no way…’

‘…’

Just then, the sound of footsteps was heard from behind.

As Gwon Mu-jin, who had been sighing, glanced over there, a familiar figure slowly approached with a bright smile.

“What are you doing in a place like that?”

“Lord Hong…?”

“Haha, it has been a while.”

The one who came was none other than Hong Won-chang.

His shaggy beard, disheveled hair, and the marks visible here and there on his face were undoubtedly assumed to be because he had been severely beaten up by his wife due to what happened before.

Gwon Mu-jin and Ma Jang-gang felt apologetic for no reason.

“Are you alright?”

“Haha, as for me… well… I am not alright…”

Hong Won-chang turned his head with a lifeless expression.

Already several days had passed, but the nagging did not stop. Let alone sleeping in separate rooms, he could not even approach her.

Since she did not even prepare meals for him properly, Hong Won-chang felt like he was going crazy.

“Still, it is what I brought upon myself, so what can I do?”

“Ha, haha…”

Looking at Hong Won-chang, who showed eyes like those of a dead fish, the two of them let out a sigh.

“By the way, what brings you here? Perhaps to see the Lord…?”

“Yes. For now, let us go inside and talk.”

Hong Won-chang quickly led the two and stepped into the family manor.

* * *

Hong Won-chang broke out in cold sweat in front of Dan Woo-hyun and caught his breath.

Although he had brought up the story, it was because he did not know how it would be received.

Even though he had understood Dan Woo-hyun’s personality to some extent, if his feelings were hurt even slightly, he could suffer a bad fate.

Hong Won-chang’s discouragement had another reason.

It was that the people of this family were gathered together. On Dan Woo-hyun’s right was Namgung Cheon, on his left was Sa Do-hak, and besides them, Zhuge Un, as well as Namgung So-hye.

Since their gazes were focused all at once, he was also cautious about letting out words.

“Imperial Martial World Competition?”

“Y… Yes…”

Hong Won-chang wiped off his cold sweat and swallowed dry saliva.

The Imperial Martial World Competition was held almost every year.

Mostly, it was held in places close to Beijing where the Son of Heaven could easily move, or in Beijing itself, but for some reason, they chose Hunan this time.

“In Hunan, you say?”

“Yes, it is in Changsha of Hunan…”

“Didn’t they usually hold it in Beijing?”

“Ah, that is…”

Hong Won-chang glanced at Namgung Cheon and Sa Do-hak.

Then, swallowing dry saliva once, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“T-To be honest, this competition is directly hosted by Prince Yeong… but since most of those participating are experts from the side of Prince Geum…”

“Prince Geum?”

“Yes, he is the one who rules Hubei Province. But since he is on bad terms with Prince Yeong…”

Hong Won-chang wore an awkward expression.

In recent years, the relationship between the two had worsened rapidly.

Furthermore, in the Imperial Martial World Competition held every year, Prince Yeong had never won even once.

That was why he had made a request to Hong Won-chang, trying to send the Gentleman’s Sword and the Sky Cleaving Sword, who were his acquaintances, to the competition.

Namgung Cheon shook his head, showing a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

“This old man will not participate.”

“Eh?!”

“Haha, what would I do participating in a place that is like child’s play?”

Hong Won-chang broke out in cold sweat at the mention of child’s play.

In fact, it was not wrong either.

Since Namgung Cheon and Sa Do-hak were already absolute powerhouses counted among the best in the Central Plains, it was practically no different from having already won.

Fighting those whose exchange of even a single move was a waste was no different from hurting their pride.

“That… is true, right?”

Sa Do-hak looked at Namgung Cheon with an awkward expression.

Looking at him slightly nodding, he also struck the table with his palm with a thud.

“Exactly! What fun would it be for this Sa Do-hak to exchange moves with children?”

He asked back, shifting his gaze here and there.

Zhuge Yeon frowned upon seeing that.

Even though he had looked full of intention to participate at first. She shook her head, realizing once again that Sa Do-hak was surprisingly simple-minded.

“However, it is directly hosted by the Prince’s Palace, and if one wins, considerable wealth and honor, and…”

“Indeed, if those two go, it will be a predictable fight.”

Even Dan Woo-hyun nodded in agreement.

Knowing it would be like adults stepping into a children’s fight, the possibility was high that the competition itself would become boring.

Furthermore, since a competition hosted by the Prince’s Palace was bound to attract attention whether they liked it or not, it could become noisier than running wild in the Central Plains.

They wanted to avoid that at all costs.

Dan Woo-hyun chuckled.

“We will not participate…”

“The prize money is also enormous.”

“You guys participate.”

Instantly, Dan Woo-hyun muttered as he looked at the others, excluding Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon.

The eyes of those who had been brushing it off widened.

Since it was a word from none other than Dan Woo-hyun’s mouth, it was already something they could not refuse.

“U-Us?”

“All of you can participate.”

Dan Woo-hyun thought.

If Namgung So-hye, Zhuge Yeon, Ma Jang-gang, Gwon Mu-jin, and lastly Jang Sam-tae participated, he felt that even if outstanding experts entered, one of the five would surely be able to win.

“No, wait a moment! You are really telling us to enter the competition?”

Zhuge Yeon glared at Dan Woo-hyun with a sharp gaze.

Given her personality of not liking to stand before others, she did not have even a speck of desire to go to such a competition.

“Yes. You have nothing to do anyway.”

At Dan Woo-hyun’s indifferent response, Zhuge Yeon wore a dumbfounded expression.

Although it was true that they idled around doing nothing, it did not mean they did absolutely nothing either.

“I am also a guard, you know?”

Zhuge Yeon glanced back at Ma Jang-gang and Gwon Mu-jin, and cautiously opened her mouth.

She did not want to do chores like Jang Sam-tae, and acting as a kitchen maid was enough with Namgung So-hye alone.

Because being a guard subtly looked easy and comfortable, she was the one who chose it.

However, Dan Woo-hyun’s subsequent words shattered her concept of guarding.

“Therefore, you do not do anything.”

“That is correct.”

“Were there even guards here?”

“Hahaha, I thought idling around was your job, but it seems I was wrong.”

Voices piercing their lungs were heard from all around.

From Dan Woo-hyun, Sa Do-hak, Namgung Cheon, to Zhuge Un.

They were acting as if guards did not actually exist in the first place.

Looking at that, the three who claimed to be guards and escorts were startled.

They still believed they worked hard in their own way.

They occasionally went on patrols at night and helped whenever difficult things occurred.

But those people really seemed to know nothing.

Thud!

Ultimately, the angry Zhuge Yeon slammed the table and stood up. She glared at Gwon Mu-jin and Ma Jang-gang with burning eyes.

“You guys say something too! We are guards, aren’t we?”

“No, well…”

“Ahem…”

Gwon Mu-jin and Ma Jang-gang had nothing to say.

Indeed, when looking closely, they were not doing anything particularly outstanding.

Feeling like they were useless existences, the shoulders of the two slumped.

Looking at that sight, Zhuge Yeon raised her voice as if even more dumbfounded, and looked at Dan Woo-hyun.

“Fine! We will participate! We just have to participate and win, right?”

“Yes.”

“But let’s make things clear. Participating is participating, and the prize money is the prize money!”

“Hmm?”

Instantly, Dan Woo-hyun looked at Zhuge Yeon with a bewildered expression. He seemed to have failed to properly grasp what she wanted to say.

Zhuge Yeon smirked.

It looked like a declaration of war against Dan Woo-hyun.

“Since we are the ones who won, the prize money is also ours.”

“…”

“Surely, you don’t have the wicked intention of having us perform the tricks while you take the money?”

“…That is not the case.”

At his slightly trembling voice, Namgung So-hye pinched the bridge of her nose.

Dan Woo-hyun had undoubtedly intended to take the prize money.

Several people nodded as if to say, “I knew it.”

Even Namgung Cheon and Sa Do-hak coughed in embarrassment and looked elsewhere.

At the same time, they implicitly realized Zhuge Yeon’s frightfulness, thinking that even the great Dan Woo-hyun was flustered when she lashed out like that.

“Anyway, since we have decided to participate in the competition, let’s go do special training right away!”

Zhuge Yeon, filled with motivation, led Gwon Mu-jin and Ma Jang-gang and left the place.

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