Chapter 274: Receiving Guests (6)
When they came up to the top floor, it was truly a state of chaos.
“Great Hero Murong! I will offer you a glass of alcohol! Please accept it!”
“A-no, I am not a Great Hero…….”
“Great Hero Murong! Please try this! This is the most expensive snack in this tavern! It just came out! I haven’t laid a single finger on it yet!”
“I, I am…….”
“Heok! A-are these people perhaps belonging to the Evil-Annihilating Army? Evil-Annihilating is written on their breastplates?!”
“It is true, but…… no, rather than that, we are also about to have a meal now…….”
“Please join us! We will serve you the best!”
Like any other tavern, the top floor of this tavern was also a place one could not go up to without money.
Although it was a county quite far from the provincial capital, it was very close to Henan, and to the west were Mount Longzhong and Xiangyang, the main estate of the Zhuge Clan. As it was a place where many wealthy merchants who disliked bustling places came, the majority of those situated on the top floor belonged to famous families or merchant groups.
Murong Yu spoke in bewilderment.
“Thank you for your goodwill, but we are in a situation where we need sufficient rest ourselves. Please understand.”
Although his bewildered feelings were clearly revealed, it was a somewhat resolute tone. Combined with his distinctively good-natured voice, it exerted a power that made people step back on their own.
Soon, embarrassment was etched on the faces of the people who had been chatting noisily.
“Keoheom! W-well, seeing as people who should be at the Alliance have come all the way here, it must be because you have your own business.”
“We were chattering a bit too frivolously, right?”
“You are such a famous person that I committed a discourtesy without realizing it. Please forgive me.”
Murong Yu smiled.
“Not at all. Rather, I am the one who is sorry. Since everyone understands, I am just grateful.”
The people gave embarrassed smiles and each returned to their seats.
Yeon Ho-jeong whistled lowly.
‘He is definitely different.’
Murong Yu knew how to make people step back on their own without getting angry or speaking coercively.
It was an interpersonal charm that Yeon Ho-jeong lacked. His nature, which he hadn’t known while living suppressed in Zhejiang, was waking up along with his strong will to pioneer his future himself, and developing into a charm that drew people’s hearts.
Yeon Ho-jeong could not do that. His personality was like that too, and because he was a person who had lived his whole life fighting, fast and intuitive words and actions were ingrained in him like a habit.
‘As expected, I am a good judge of character.’
A person who can handle the crowd according to his will.
It is an innate talent more precious than martial arts. Whether he becomes the Murim Alliance Leader or the Clan Head of the Murong Clan, Murong Yu will become an excellent head.
“Heot! Big Brother!”
Gang Ryang waved his hand.
No matter how fast his recovery was, his wounds wouldn’t have completely healed, but he thought that he was truly a sturdy guy.
Yeon Ho-jeong waved his hand and approached the party.
“Heok!”
“……Green Mountain Tiger General?”
“It’s the Evil-Annihilating Army Commander!”
“That axe is tremendous.”
People murmured to themselves as they looked at Yeon Ho-jeong.
It was completely different from when they treated Murong Yu. In their eyes looking at Yeon Ho-jeong, there was a subtle fear residing aside from the emotion of envy.
It was natural if one thought about it. As a veteran master who had survived going through ten thousand battles, his aura itself was different. Especially when he came out to the Jianghu, Yeon Ho-jeong was keeping himself sharp so that he could react to any surprise attack at any time, so he naturally emanated a blade-like presence.
Yeon Ho-jeong sat down.
Thump!
When he stood the Crazy Dragon Axe on one side, a brutal sound rang out enough to make the entire floor tremble.
Murong Yu spoke with a calm face.
“Did you have a good trip, Commander Yeon?”
It was in front of people watching. He called him by his position, worried that unexpected rumors might spread.
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded his head.
“She is said to be staying in Shanggao County, Jiangxi Province. We will take a good rest here today, and it seems we will have to move a bit quickly starting tomorrow.”
“Mmm, were there any unusual matters?”
“There were no personal unusual matters. However, it seems she is suffering from a headache due to the Medical God Society.”
“Medical God Society?”
Yeon Ho-jeong briefly relayed the information he heard from the Branch Head.
Murong Yu frowned.
“How can people whose profession is to heal the human body act so much like petty people?”
“Exactly.”
Muk Bi, who was eating plain noodles, spoke as if tossing out a remark.
“You’ll be going through quite an ordeal.”
“Hm? What do you mean by that, Vice Commander Muk?”
Muk Bi pointed at Yeon Ho-jeong with chopsticks.
“He might seem like he doesn’t care about other people’s business at all, but he actually has a personality that secretly can’t stand seeing such things. I wonder if he’s going to smash the entire Jiangxi Province Medical God Society to pieces.”
Yeon Ho-jeong snorted.
“Our mission is to safely escort the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions to the Alliance. I have no interest in other matters.”
“Really?”
“Unless they mess with us.”
Muk Bi chuckled.
“Young Master Yeon also knows, right? That you have a destiny where fights break out wherever you go.”
“I don’t know about that?”
“Then let’s confirm it this time.”
“It sounds like you’re wishing for a fight to break out?”
“There’s no way.”
Muk Bi stuck out her tongue mischievously.
Yeon Ho-jeong spoke coldly.
“There are plain noodle leftovers on your tongue.”
“Eek!”
Muk Bi, whose face had turned red, suddenly turned her body away and finished eating her plain noodles. Seeing her eating deliciously even in the midst of that, it seemed she was very hungry.
Gang Ryang asked.
“But even if it’s an alliance or whatever, it’s a place where powerless physicians are gathered, so wouldn’t they immediately back out if we mention it is the Murim Alliance’s business?”
Murong Yu shook his head.
“That is not a problem to be seen so simply.”
“Eh?”
“If it was a problem that could be solved with power, they wouldn’t have dared to do such a thing either. Moreover, we are the Orthodox Murim. Unless they messed with us directly first, it is difficult to just blindly tell them not to do that without any clear evidence.”
Gang Ryang scratched his head.
“Honestly, I do not really know the reason for thinking about it so complicatedly.”
“That is…….”
“There might be various political issues, but anyway, isn’t chivalry the primary value of the Orthodox? Patients are dying because of those bastards, so politics or whatever, we should slap their cheeks first.”
Murong Yu’s eyes widened.
“The primary value of the Orthodox…….”
Gang Ryang shook his head.
“Fixing what is wrong, isn’t that what people of the Orthodox always say? Well, even I would be pissed off hearing this story and go find them immediately.”
“Heo-eo.”
Murong Yu nodded his head.
“Swordsman Gang’s words are right. It seems I had been tainted with very bad habits.”
“Yes?”
“There are people suffering from illnesses, and I should have thought of that first. It wouldn’t be too late to think about this and that political problem after bursting the matter.”
Murong Yu smiled.
“Thanks to Swordsman Gang, I was able to look back on myself. Thank you.”
“……Is it okay to receive thanks for something like this?”
Gang Ryang, who felt embarrassed for no reason, also buried his nose in his bowl of plain noodles.
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“Sometimes there is a need to look at the world simply. Gang Ryang’s words also have a point.”
Murong Yu sighed.
“Seeing things like this makes me feel that I still have a long way to go.”
“Rather than having a long way to go, you are being cautious. You said we shouldn’t act rashly, but Commander Murong probably wouldn’t have held back either if those bastards were actually in front of your eyes.”
“Heoheo.”
“But as I said, our mission is the escort of the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions. Setting aside the values of the Orthodox or whatever, let’s consider the mission as our top priority.”
“Commander Yeon’s words are right.”
“We’ve talked too much unnecessarily. Let’s eat first.”
Yeon Ho-jeong and Murong Yu also soon buried their noses in their bowls of plain noodles.
Stir-fried vegetables, braised pork, and all sorts of dishes filled the table. Having only eaten beef jerky and dry rations all this time, they hurriedly devoured the proper dishes they were tasting after a long time.
In particular, Gang Ryang ate an exceptionally large amount. It was understandable, as a lot of nutrition was needed to heal his wounded body.
After gorging themselves like that, the party went into their respective quarters and rested.
The time was past midnight.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had washed up cleanly, came out to the rear garden and looked up at the sky.
“The moonlight is nice.”
Perhaps because the weather was cold, there was no one out in the rear garden.
Boisterous sounds were still flowing out from the tavern. Even though it was late, it seemed many people were enjoying alcohol.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
‘It smells like people.’
Every day was either a mission or training, or else he was keeping an eye on Murong Jun.
No matter how much of an iron frame he had, he couldn’t help but be exhausted. Of course, Yeon Ho-jeong’s mind and body were healthy, but there were times when he needed this kind of leisure once in a while.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was quietly looking up at the sky, lifted the Crazy Dragon Axe.
“Leisure my foot. Let’s do even one more axe swing.”
Woooong.
The Crazy Dragon Axe let out a languid cry.
‘Should I try practicing forms for the first time in a while.’
The place was too narrow to practice properly while even pouring in internal energy. Of course, his ability to control true qi was top-notch, so he wouldn’t cause any damage to external objects, but he didn’t want to make it unnecessarily noisy.
‘A Slow Sword.’
Suddenly, Yeo-guk came to mind.
He had said his sword speed had become minutely slower because he was in the middle of practicing the Slow Sword. Although there was a risk of losing practical effectiveness, it was also proof that he was completely immersed in the Slow Sword.
‘Should I also practice the Slow Sword for the first time in a long while.’
The Slow Sword was literally a slow sword.
Swinging a sword slowly might seem easy at first glance, but terrifying effort and devotion were needed to cultivate the Slow Sword to the point of reaching a high state.
In order to freely use precision, Sword Intent, and variations, there is no training like the Slow Sword. If the Slow Sword reaches a high state, one can suppress ten thousand variations with a single sword.
He had long since awakened to those martial principles, but a martial art perfectly mastered sometimes handed over another realization at an unexpected moment.
Yeon Ho-jeong gripped the Crazy Dragon Axe with both hands and swung it.
‘…….’
The Crazy Dragon Axe moved slowly.
Its speed was way too slow. Even worse, the weight of the Crazy Dragon Axe was over eighty catties. Whether it was muscle strength or internal energy, it required much greater power than swinging it quickly.
How much time had passed like that?
Drip. Drip.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s body was drenched in sweat.
Even the winter’s east wind could not cool his body down. To begin with, swinging an eighty-catty heavy weapon was itself a divine technique. Moving it this slowly, and at a constant rhythm at that, was a difficult task even if one was born with innate divine strength.
‘This is better than I thought.’
Yeon Ho-jeong let out a shout of joy inwardly.
‘The slower the speed, the exponentially the load placed on the muscles and joints increases. I knew this, but the effect is much better.’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s martial art was one-hit certain kill. Because it was focused on rushing in at once and killing the enemy in one strike, his muscle strength was also adept at producing explosive power.
However, doing the Slow Sword training, and at a speed that barely seemed to be moving at that, his muscle strength bottomed out in an instant.
‘Why didn’t I do this training earlier?’
The answer was clear. It was because there was no need to specifically do the Slow Sword training.
But not now. His muscle strength, which had been trained to its limits, was about to advance to the next stage due to the Slow Sword training.
‘Very good.’
Although his legs trembled from the tremendous pain, a smile of joy hung on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.
‘With this, my body can become stronger.’
Was there anything more welcoming than a new stimulus coming to someone whose daily routine was training?
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had done the Slow Sword training for over half a shichen, sat down while heaving rough breaths.
“Heok! Heok! Huu, I think this might become a habit?”
After repeating his breathing about ten times, his heavy breathing had subsided before he knew it. His breathing returned quickly because his basic stamina was so good.
“I should do it tomorrow too.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who stood up from his spot, slung the Crazy Dragon Axe over his shoulder.
He looked at a large tree next to the tavern.
“Did you enjoy the spectacle? Why don’t you come out now?”
Rustle.
The person who revealed himself as if he had been waiting was an elderly man who looked to be in his fifties.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes turned cold.
“Who are you?”
The elderly man gave a short bow with his hands clasped.
“I greet the Evil-Annihilating Army Commander of the Murim Alliance, the Green Mountain Tiger General.”
“I am asking who you are.”
“I am Ga Yeok-so, the Hubei Branch Head of the Medical God Society.”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled without realizing it.
Muk Bi, you were right. It seems I am destined for this after all.