Chapter 177: v8c2 - Parting and Reunion
Volume 8 Chapter 2 – Parting and Reunion
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
===================
The Third and Fourth Young Ladies, the twin sisters, were able to hear all the answers to the questions they had initially brought.
Second Young Lady Yeon Seo-rin answered them with all her heart and soul.
Now it was time to return.
“……”
Yet, for some reason, their feet did not move easily.
This was because the twin sisters felt that their curiosity about their eldest brother, Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon, had grown even larger.
Second Young Lady Yeon Seo-rin wore a bitter smile at them, who did not actually move their feet even after finishing their greetings.
“If you are so curious, why not go and meet him in person?”
Startled by those words, the sisters shook their heads.
“W-We should go find Eldest Brother directly? That would make it seem as if we are standing on Eldest Brother’s side.”
“It is impossible. Because the business support division must maintain political neutrality, no matter what.”
A situation where even these young children had to talk about political neutrality just to meet their own brother.
The children merely wanted to see his figure in person and know him upon hearing the news of their forgotten flesh and blood, but even that was a difficult situation.
Yeon Seo-rin once again felt disillusioned by such a family, feeling bitter water rising from within.
“Hmm. But hearing your story, it seems the scale of the business support division has tilted toward the Second Young Master now?”
However, without showing such feelings at all, she spoke persuasive words for her cute younger sisters who wanted to see their eldest brother.
“That is……”
“Indeed, it seems certain that a part of the support side colluded with the Second Young Master’s faction, after all.”
“But if we, who are Young Ladies, make a move, won’t things get bigger?”
Yeon Seo-rin showed a refreshing smile as always.
“Did you not say you belong to the support side, even if only temporarily?”
She winked at her younger sisters.
“For such of you to visit the Valley of Sin, which the support side is involved in, and meet the person in charge is not a strange thing.”
“Oh!” the twin sisters shouted at the same time.
“T-That is true!”
“Ahem,” Third Young Lady Yeon Da-eun cleared her throat as if she had no choice.
“If that is the case, it cannot be helped.”
“The director of the business support division would also think it natural if that is the reason.”
“Cute rascals,” Yeon Seo-rin, who smiled from the bottom of her heart, stretched out her large hands and patted her younger sisters’ heads.
“W-Waah?!”
“Is this sudden violence?”
Yeon Seo-rin, who withdrew her hands awkwardly, cleared her throat.
“Ahem. Soon my master will return. It would be best for you to vacate your spots before then.”
It was certain, seeing how the Training Hall Director, who had let them in without authorization, had been glancing from a distance with anxious eyes since a while ago.
“T-The Guard Pavilion Lord?!”
Yeon Seo-rin’s master, the Guard Pavilion Lord, was also an aunt to the twin sisters, but just mentioning her made the sisters stamp their feet in panic.
“T-Then, Sister! We hope to see you again soon!”
“Please take care of your health……”
They read her expression for a moment, then mustered up their courage, saying “Ei,” and took turns giving their Second Sister a light hug.
“……Thank you.”
Yeon Seo-rin felt her nose tingle.
“You are suffering a lot because of foolish adults.”
At Yeon Seo-rin’s words, the twin sisters shook their heads.
“It is Sister who is suffering.”
“We are also of the Yeon clan, but there is no one we like among those called the Yeon bloodline.”
At their words, Yeon Seo-rin’s eyes widened.
“If those people harass you too much, don’t think about the aftermath and just beat them all down!”
“We will also be of help to you then.”
That was a reference to the darkness cast over the Yeon bloodline of the Luoyang Sword Family, and also a story about the chains with which those called relatives of the same family were binding Second Young Lady Yeon Seo-rin.
She thought they would not know because it was a fact too heavy and dark for these little sisters to know.
‘Indeed. The cleverness of these children has been famous since long ago.’
Yeon Seo-rin, who at first wore a slightly embarrassed expression at their words, smiled bitterly.
“……You do not need to worry about me.”
Since further mention could rather feel like ignoring the Seamless Heavenly Robe Yeon Seo-rin, the twin sisters politely offered their greetings to her.
“……”
The Third Young Lady, who was moving away after leaving Yeon Seo-rin behind, suddenly stopped her steps.
“Has some new question occurred to you?”
Third Young Lady Yeon Da-eun cautiously looked back at Yeon Seo-rin.
Fourth Young Lady Yeon Da-hye’s steps had also stopped.
“Excuse me, Sister……”
Yeon Da-eun, who looked at Yeon Seo-rin, looked vulnerable, as if she might break down at any moment.
She hesitated after trying to open her mouth several times.
Yeon Seo-rin did not urge her even once and simply waited for her words with a soft expression.
In the end, the Fourth Young Lady, Yeon Da-hye, asked.
“……By any chance, will Eldest Brother welcome us if he sees us?”
Yeon Seo-rin nodded with a large and definite motion, carrying the greatest certainty she could muster.
“Of course.”
* * *
Only Yeon Seo-rin was left in the outdoor training ground again.
The faces of the twin sisters as they left were bright.
Their steps had become noticeably lighter, and they darted away as if they were using lightfoot techniques.
“……Cute rascals.”
They were children like a small gust of wind.
Yeon Seo-rin, who chuckled after recalling those sights, picked up the live sword she had set aside.
A time-honored longsword.
It did not have particularly splendid decorations, nor did it take on a unique shape.
It was merely a sword that embodied practicality, and the only peculiar point was that it was extremely well-maintained.
However, unlike its simple appearance, that sword was a famous sword under heaven that anyone would be surprised by if they knew its original owner.
“……Father.”
That sword was the Grand Patriarch’s sword.
She brought the sword hilt to her forehead and recalled the being who was her father and master.
“……When will I be able to reach that ‘single sword’?”
* * *
Luoyang, Old Town.
The branch of the House of Benevolence and Love where the headquarters of the Fairy Cult was located.
The branch was bustling as always with the poor receiving help, but no one came and went in the place where the man and woman were waiting.
“Hmm……”
Since a while ago, the bulky man was constantly fidgeting to tidy up his attire.
“Ah! It is distracting, seriously. Just stay still……”
A girl with conspicuous beauty kicked the giant’s shin.
It was a relentless kick laden with internal energy.
“Aaargh……”
The giant hopped in place while holding his shin with one hand.
He wanted to rub it vigorously with both hands to banish the pain, but unfortunately, he only had one hand left.
But fortunately, since his accumulated cultivation was cultivation, the pain quickly subsided.
“Y-You damn brat. We are meeting the Eldest Young Master of the Sword Family, so if we don’t care about our attire first, would he even treat us properly?”
The girl clicked her tongue.
“Stupid guy. That Eldest Young Master is the one who operates this House of Benevolence and Love, so do you think he would judge a person’s first impression by mere attire?”
“Ah, that is true.”
The giant scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
Seeing him like that, the girl clicked her tongue once more.
“……Sigh. To think such a guy is my assistant.”
The giant flared up at those words.
“An associate, not an assistant!”
“If it were not for a broad-minded young lady like me, do you think anyone would even accept a guy who lost his arm and became unemployed like you?”
“If it were not for a broad-minded man like me, do you think I would have partnered with a madwoman like you?”
The two, who practically resembled cats and dogs, bared their teeth and growled at each other, but only for a moment.
With their occupational habit kicking in, they soon began to look around and inspect the surroundings.
“It is somewhat different from the House of Benevolence and Love I know. Were the facilities of the House of Benevolence and Love this good? Or is it because this is the branch where the headquarters is located?”
The girl shook her head.
“No. I have been here before, but the facilities were not clean like this. This was definitely repaired recently.”
Rather than spending their scarce funds on repairing worn-out facilities, using that money to help even one more poor person was the House of Benevolence and Love they knew.
However, the House of Benevolence and Love they were looking at now was repaired so neatly that it was hard to find the parts that had collapsed or crumbled.
“Even so, it is not that they have neglected helping the poor.”
“On the contrary, it seems the personnel of the House of Benevolence and Love have noticeably increased?”
Not only had the personnel increased, but their attire and medical equipment also looked strangely better in quality than before.
The two soon reached the same conclusion.
“……Is it indeed the influence of that figure called the Eldest Young Master.”
“There is no other way to explain it.”
The Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Family, who ended his seclusion, showed a terrifying course of action to the point where his silence all this time felt like a lie.
Since the movement he showed in just yesterday alone was enough to spread rumors throughout Luoyang.
“……As the Crescent Moon Pavilion Lord said, I hope he will definitely cooperate with us.”
The “we” spoken by the giant naturally referred to the Spring of Luoyang.
“Because among the powerholders, someone who could become our comrade is rarer than a spiritual beast……”
The girl wore a bitter smile.
Why would a person with vested interests, having nothing to lose, shake hands with them who want to change the existing order?
The giant raised his hand to stroke his short beard.
“Still, if he is the Medicine Fairy’s son, operates this House of Benevolence and Love, and confronts that trash-like Second Young Master, maybe we can at least communicate a bit, so I am hoping at least.”
The expectation they placed on Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon was not actually that large.
Unless several members within the Spring of Luoyang had strongly recommended it, let alone in their personal capacity, they would not have come representing the Spring of Luoyang like this.
“……I hope he is a person who is at least half of what we heard.”
At the giant’s words, the girl wore a strange expression.
“Hmm. For some reason, I have an extremely good hunch. I smell a jackpot from the figure of the Eldest Young Master.”
At her words, the giant wore a blatantly distrustful expression.
“The last time you said that, we got caught in the succession struggle of the underworld and both of us almost died……”
Once again, a relentless kick slammed into his shin.
While the giant was groaning while holding his shin, the door of the room they were in opened.
“Thank you for waiting so long.”
She was a beauty to the extent that the room felt brightened the moment she entered.
“……”
As his gaze met her eyes, which were exceptionally light in color, the giant who was holding his shin jumped up.
“Hahaha. H-Hello. I am……”
At that moment, the girl shouted.
“Aaaah?! You are……?!”
Since Jeong-ah’s appearance was distinctive and it was harder to forget for anyone who had seen her once, it was natural for the girl to recognize her.
Jeong-ah also recognized the girl and smiled.
“Ah! You are the martial hero who lent me the gauntlets back then. I was greatly indebted to you at that time.”
Jeong-ah had memories of receiving the gauntlets from the girl and using them well in her battle with Geum-ju.
“Ah, no. You saved us who were trapped in the formation back then, so we are the ones who should be grateful.”
Those who had met in the final battle with the Black Bone Gang in the past reunited like this once again.
“……By the way, were you from the House of Benevolence and Love? Your attire back then did not look like you belonged to the House of Benevolence and Love at all.”
At the girl’s words, Jeong-ah covered her mouth and smiled.
“No. I am Jeong-ah, the Head Maid serving the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Family.”
“Eh?! The Eldest Young Master’s Head Maid?! Then why were you in such a place at that time?!”
Startled by her identity, the girl asked with rabbit-like eyes.
“The Crescent Moon Pavilion Lord, Se-ah, is my older sister.”
At those words, the girl understood.
“Ah, so that was it……! You were looking for Sister Crescent Moon Pavilion Lord back then, so that is why.”
The nodding girl realized that she was throwing questions without even introducing themselves.
“Ah! Dear me, how impolite. To introduce ourselves……”
The girl was about to fold her hands to greet in introduction, but felt her business partner was being too quiet and looked to her side.
“……”
The girl let out a small sigh at the stupid face of the giant, who was staring only at Jeong-ah with a dazed, enchanted gaze.
Striking the shin once more.
“We are Suran, who came to see the Eldest Young Master, and……”
Enduring the pain rising from his shin, the giant greeted.
“Cheongho-wi.”
Jeong-ah received their greeting with absolute elegance.
“The reputations of you two, who are called the resolvers of the slums’ grievances and the last hope of the common people, are famous even in the Main Family.”
Jeong-ah stepped back and pointed outside.
“Now, let us go. My master, the Eldest Young Master, welcomed your visit.”
The solvers who listened to the grievances of the poor.
The two extraordinary people belonging to the Spring of Luoyang walked behind Jeong-ah.
‘Come to think of it……’
The girl, Suran, thought.
Meeting Jeong-ah, she could not help but recall that day of the final battle with the Black Bone Gang.
And when she recalled that day, a being she could not forget even if she tried was naturally remembered.
‘Dark Venerable.’
That indescribable being who drove the night around, holding banquets of blood and slaughter.
A being who seemed like someone from tales or legends, executing heavenly punishment on earth on behalf of the uncaring heavens.
‘If only that being would become our ally, it would be reassuring beyond measure……’
She was someone who could not think, even by one chance in ten thousand, that the Dark Venerable and the Eldest Young Master they were going to meet now were the same person.
‘No, no. According to my hunch, the Eldest Young Master’s side will definitely be a hit as well.’
Guided by Jeong-ah, they walked without hesitation down the passage leading to the underground grand aqueduct.