Chapter 12: A Warrior Dies for the One Who Recognizes His Worth (3)
“Cheers!”
A banquet was held in the Tiger Pit Sect.
In the widest part of the inner courtyard, numerous tables were set up, and alcohol and food were brought out.
Ho Yeon-am, the Sect Leader of the Tiger Pit Sect, raised his cup high.
“To Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa, the number one contributor of this escort mission!”
“Cheers!”
Numerous people raised their cups.
At the center of it, the escorts who had successfully completed this escort mission sat with proud expressions.
“I really thought I was going to die this time.”
“Who would have thought those bastards from the Black Path Gang would make up their minds to launch such an attack.”
“Still, it was fortunate that we met the deadline. If we had slipped up, we would have had to pay a penalty.”
“To think I’d see the manor of the Tiger Pit Sect again alive like this. I feel like tears are about to fall.”
“We finally returned. Phew—”
They had complicated feelings out of guilt toward the dead, but the joy of surviving was greater than that.
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa raised her cup.
“Although the souls of our fallen comrades are something we must carry in our hearts for the rest of our lives, let’s forget it all for tonight! Let’s forget everything and enjoy the joy of the living!”
“Cheers!”
The escorts also raised their cups.
Empty seats here and there.
The faces that should have filled those seats if things had gone as normal.
But anyone who earned their living by the blade was accustomed to this.
A life where one had to part today from the faces they spent yesterday with, and a life where they might part tomorrow from the faces they spent today with.
Perhaps because of a newfound regret for such a life, the banquet was proceeding much more boisterously than usual.
At that moment, Ho Ye-yang, who was carrying alcohol and food herself, discovered something.
A boy with an expressionless face and shabby attire.
Chui was sitting at the lowest seat of the banquet table.
There was no alcohol or food in front of Chui, but the bowls of the other stable boys next to him were full of things to eat.
“…Those bastards, seriously!”
Ho Ye-yang walked over with an angry expression.
And she shouted toward the stable boys.
“Hey, everyone! How can you eat the food only among yourselves!”
At that, the stable boys, including Woo Dong-won, were startled.
Soon, Woo Dong-won stammered an excuse.
“W-We were planning to share and eat, Miss.”
“If I see you discriminating like this with food one more time, I will get really angry, okay?”
“Of course! We were just about to share it! It is really the truth!”
As Ho Ye-yang glared, Woo Dong-won hurriedly scooped meat and rice cakes from his bowl and poured them into Chui’s bowl.
The other stable boys also got up in a flurry and shared the food from their bowls.
“…”
Chui was silent with an expressionless face.
Ho Ye-yang patted Chui on the back.
“I told you to come to me right away if anyone bullies you.”
“…”
Chui still showed no particular response.
At that, Ho Ye-yang picked up a rice cake from a bowl and forced it into Chui’s mouth.
Chew, chew…
Seeing Chui chewing the rice cake, Ho Ye-yang smiled brightly.
“Eat a lot. You’re so skinny. Are the kids starving you?”
Ho Ye-yang took her eyes off Chui and glared.
Woo Dong-won and the other stable boys quickly buried their faces in their bowls and watched her reaction.
“You guys, I will be watching you from now on. Got it? Don’t bully Chui.”
Ho Ye-yang strictly threatened the stable boys.
At that moment,
“Hee-ya—come here.”
From afar, the sound of Ho Yeon-am calling Ho Ye-yang’s childhood name was heard.
It seemed he had something to discuss with Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa.
Ho Ye-yang looked at Chui once more and said.
“If you don’t have enough food, come to me. Got it?”
“…”
Chui did not give any particular answer this time either.
Soon, Ho Ye-yang went to the place where Ho Yeon-am and Ju Ye-hwa were.
At that, Woo Dong-won’s expression changed immediately.
“This bastard, how on earth did he coax the lady to make her act like that?”
“Exactly. Ha—what a cheeky fellow. A young bastard like him.”
The other stable boys also frowned and looked back at Chui.
Woo Dong-won picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks.
And he threw it at Chui’s face.
“Hey—pick it up and eat it.”
“Hehehe—if someone of your status wants to even taste meat, you have to eat it. What else can you do?”
“Why? Are you unhappy with your seniors? If you’re annoyed, you should have entered earlier, huh?”
“Control your facial expression. Do you want your life in this stable to be completely messed up?”
The stable boys began to bully Chui.
Tick—tack—splat!
Pieces of meat, scraps of rice cakes, and drops of alcohol began to fly toward Chui’s face.
* * *
…At that very time,
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa was sharing drinks with Ho Yeon-am.
Ho Yeon-am and Sa Ji-won praised Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa so much that their mouths went dry.
“Thanks to Escort Leader Ju, this escort mission ended safely. The payment also came in well, and thanks to that, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”
“Do not worry about the families of the escorts who did not return from this escort mission. I will stake my honor on taking good care of them until the end.”
“I only did my job. I do not know what to do since you are even thinking of the families of my colleagues. Thank you very much.”
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa bowed her head toward the master couple of the Tiger Pit Sect.
At that moment, Ho Ye-yang sat down.
“You worked hard. Please accept a cup, Escort Leader Ju.”
“Thank you, Miss.”
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa raised her cup and received the drink poured by Ho Ye-yang.
Ho Ye-yang said as if she suddenly remembered.
“Ah, regarding the guest mentioned in the letter you sent.”
“I was actually going to ask you about that, Miss. I did not see his face at the head table, so what happened?”
“Mmm. There was no particular visit from any martial artist to the Tiger Pit Sect.”
“Oh dear. It seems he did not visit the Tiger Pit Sect.”
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa’s expression was filled with regret.
“He was a young chivalrous hero who used a spear. Thanks to him, we were able to survive the attack of the Green Forest bandits, no, the Black Path Gang. I really wanted to visit him and express my gratitude for saving our lives… It is a pity that he did not seem to come to the Tiger Pit Sect.”
“Was that chivalrous hero that strong?”
“He was incredible. With just a single spear, he knocked down countless members of the Black Path Gang. Despite his young age, it was truly an astonishing display of martial power. Why else would I have even handed him my gold plaque?”
“If someone carrying your gold plaque had come, we would have treated them as a VIP. But no one came.”
“It is indeed a great pity. If only we could keep such a master as a guest retainer, the prestige of the sect would rise greatly.”
“Indeed. Just hearing about it makes me feel regretful.”
But harboring lingering regrets would not bring back a past connection.
Especially eccentric experts who liked to wander freely could never be held back by others.
Since Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa knew that well, she tried to shake off her regret.
“If he did not visit the Tiger Pit Sect, it cannot be helped. I must forget all about it with this cup of alcohol.”
“Very well.”
Ho Ye-yang smiled gently.
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa almost forgot that she was holding a cup for a moment at that beauty.
‘I am glad I can see the lady’s smile again.’
Thinking this in her heart, Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa raised her cup.
The Tiger Pit Sect, which she returned to from the brink of death, was a very familiar and welcoming place.
People she believed in, trusted, and loved.
Every single wall, building, garden, tree, stone, and pebble of the manor felt warm and precious.
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa raised her cup.
Ho Yeon-am also encouraged the other escorts and prepared a toast.
“Give us a toast, Escort Leader Ju! The hero of this occasion must say a word!”
“Ahem—hem—then, though I am lacking, I will say a word!”
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa spoke toward everyone in the Tiger Pit Sect while holding her cup.
“I hope that the appropriate joy, honor, and reward will be returned to everyone present here.”
She looked around at everyone, starting from the honored guests sitting at the head table, passing through the middle section, to the servants at the lowest seats.
Honored guests wearing silk clothes and sitting at the head table with satisfied expressions.
Martial artists eating and drinking gently with joyful expressions.
And the servants at the lowest seats eating and drinking frantically as if asking when they would ever taste such delicious food again.
“Now then, cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Everyone brought their cups to their mouths.
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa also tilted her cup and tried to wet her lips.
At that very moment, something caught her eye.
It was the table of the stable boys located at the lowest seat of the banquet.
“Hey, look at this bastard keeping his mouth shut tight. Do you really want to get beaten up?”
“Forget eating or whatever, should we have a round of beating today?”
“This won’t do. Hey, don’t eat this.”
“Ah—if we don’t give him anything, we will get scolded by the lady again. That bastard will tell on us for everything.”
“Then eat these leftovers here. It fits your status perfectly, you punk.”
A boy whom the stable boys were collectively bullying.
Wearing particularly shabbier clothes compared to the other stable boys, his face was covered with food scraps.
Swish—
As the boy wiped the scraps on his face with his sleeve,
‘…!’
Far away, the eyes of Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa sitting at the head table grew as wide as lanterns.
The alcohol that was about to pass smoothly over her throat felt as if it had suddenly turned into a lump of sawdust.
“Cough!?”
Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa spat out all the alcohol she held in her mouth.
Splurt—
The alcohol spewed from her mouth splashed directly onto Ho Yeon-am’s face.
“Uwah!? What is this! Escort Leader Ju! What’s wrong!?”
Surprised, Ho Yeon-am wiped his face and raised his head.
But Escort Leader Ju Ye-hwa did not even care about Ho Yeon-am’s reaction.
She was just trembling with her eyes wide open as if they would tear.
While looking at the lowest seat of the banquet table where Chui was sitting, that is.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost