Do You Happen to Know Dan Mok-gyeong? (5)
“Uncle, what do you mean by that?”
Hye-ryeong frowned at me, clearly unable to make sense of my words.
I mulled over how best to answer her question, then glanced sideways at Mok-gyeong before speaking.
“This person came because they had something to ask me, so calm down.”
“What is there to ask when they showed up with a sword? I saw them put a blade to your neck!”
Hye-ryeong’s voice brimmed with far more agitation than usual. Was she furious that I had been attacked? I placed a hand on her shoulder to soothe her.
“It was nothing more than a small misunderstanding, so don’t get too worked up. You should head back quickly. Patrol duty will begin soon, and you’ll want at least a little more sleep.”
“Ah, yes… Thank you, Benefactor. Then…”
After I gave him several meaningful looks, Mok-gyeong slipped out of the room in an instant.
With him gone, it was time to settle things on this side as well.
I sat on the bed and patted the spot beside me. Despite her sullen expression, Hye-ryeong obediently sat down and looked up at me.
“Explain it to me. I was so startled I couldn’t even finish wrapping my bandages!”
Bandages?
If she hadn’t wrapped them, then…
My gaze drifted downward of its own accord—an unavoidable reaction driven by primal instinct.
“If you stare like that… it’s embarrassing.”
Hye-ryeong covered her chest with her hands, cheeks flushing scarlet.
The implication of the unfinished bandages… Before any unseemly thoughts could fully surface, I slapped my own cheek.
“Uncle?!”
“Just trying to clear my head. Don’t worry about it.”
Former knight or not, I refused to be caught ogling a lady’s chest. I forced my wandering eyes back to Hye-ryeong’s face.
“Ahem. So you were asking who that visitor earlier was, right?”
“What have you been doing behind my back?”
“It’s nothing serious. I happened to form a connection with that fellow’s uncle and simply passed along a message.”
I had condensed the story considerably, but fortunately Hye-ryeong didn’t press for details. She simply continued to gaze up at me.
“Is that really all?”
“Of course.”
“…If it’s you saying it, Uncle, then I’ll believe you.”
That kind of trust felt unexpectedly heavy.
I said nothing and simply stared at the ceiling.
It was too dark to see much, but the shadows suited my cluttered thoughts. At least the darkness wouldn’t complicate things further.
Once I had sorted through my thoughts, I turned back to Hye-ryeong.
“Hye-ryeong, shouldn’t you go get some sleep soon?”
“Can’t I stay just a little longer?”
“It isn’t proper for an adult woman to remain in a man’s room like this.”
“You really are just like an uncle. Always saying such boring things.”
Did I truly look that old? Western faces might appear aged to Eastern eyes, but back in the West, someone my age would still be considered youthful.
“We’re only a year apart.”
“Aren’t you being a bit too confident with that lie, Uncle, when there’s no way to verify your real age?”
I sighed at the blatant suspicion in her eyes as she looked up at me.
She really didn’t believe me?
“It’s the truth.”
“…You’re not lying just because you want to hear me call you ‘Brother,’ are you?”
“Brother, huh. Do I look old enough to be called ‘Uncle’?”
“Well… most people probably assume you’re at least thirty, right?”
Thirty…?
“I’ve only just passed twenty, yet I’m being treated like an old man.”
“You’re seriously only a year older than me? No joking?”
“That’s what I keep saying.”
Hye-ryeong blinked with wide, round eyes. She still looked thoroughly unconvinced.
“It’s hard to judge the age of foreigners.”
“Then call me whatever you like.”
“Then… Brother?”
This one hit differently.
If “Uncle” carried the cute, slightly clueless charm of a child’s address, “Brother” suddenly narrowed the distance between us. Even her tone felt changed—somehow sweeter, almost clinging.
“Just changing the title completely changes the feeling.”
“…Hehe.”
Apparently pleased by my reaction, Hye-ryeong smiled brightly and leaned her body against mine.
“Brother.”
“I can tell you’re enjoying this, but you really should go sleep. The schedule doesn’t stop.”
“That’s true.”
“And… I think this much is appropriate for now.”
“What?”
“With the Central Plains in their current state, it’s no time to live leisurely. So… for the moment, this is enough.”
Had I known nothing, I would have pushed forward without hesitation.
The Hainan Sword Gate’s intentions were obvious, and Hye-ryeong’s increasing closeness was impossible to miss. There was no pretending otherwise.
But now was not the time.
“You’re so mean, Uncle.”
What? The title had reverted.
She must have been hurt by my words. I looked down at her faintly disappointed face and scratched my head awkwardly.
Situations like this were far too uncomfortable for someone who had always been single.
“What can I do? The world is falling apart around us.”
Unless I severed the Heavenly Demon’s head and hung it in the public square, letting myself get distracted now would lead straight to a bad ending.
The Heavenly Demon was not an opponent I could afford to take my eyes off.
The realms I needed to reach in a short time loomed impossibly high, and the mountain of tasks before me only grew taller.
Hye-ryeong seemed to understand my meaning. She nodded, her expression heavy with regret.
“Why must such things happen at a time like this…? I resent the heavens.”
“If that incident hadn’t occurred, we wouldn’t be talking alone like this.”
“That’s true. Hehe…”
Her voice, thick with longing, tickled my ears. No matter how dense I might be, I could clearly imagine what she was thinking. Yet if I reached for that responsible pleasure now, I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull myself back.
I patted her back gently.
“Then go back and rest. Tomorrow will be busy as well.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Back to ‘Uncle’ in the end.”
“‘Uncle’ suits you best. Bleh~”
She really did look like a child when she did that.
Hye-ryeong stuck her tongue out playfully, then closed the door behind her. I listened to her fading footsteps before lying down once more.
“The road ahead is long… so very long…”
My eyelids grew heavy. I offered no resistance to my brain’s signal to sleep and closed my eyes.
At dawn, when the moon drowsily opened its eyes to survey the world, Dan Mok-gyeong sat lost in thought, staring blankly at the sky.
I never imagined I would learn news of Uncle from such an unexpected source…
After the Yunnan Dan Family’s destruction at the hands of mysterious assailants, he had entered the Wulin Alliance seeking both revenge and the family’s hidden secrets. Yet the information had come from the unlikeliest of people.
Mok-gyeong could not decide whether this development was something to rejoice over or lament.
But one fact was now painfully clear.
"...Uncle. I will definitely avenge you."
He had sworn he would not cry again.
Emotions left to stagnate without release only festered. Dan Mok-gyeong stared vacantly at the sky a while longer before speaking words meant for no one’s ears but the heavens.
Success or failure did not matter. He would simply locate the culprit from that day and exact revenge. The flame buried deep within his heart flared violently once more.
I may need to make contact with that man again.
He had planned to walk his own path if possible, but William was one of the few holding any information at all. Mok-gyeong felt the necessity of reaching out to him once more.
I need more information.
He lacked the connections to seek information from the Beggars’ Sect, and he had no money to buy it from the Hao Clan.
The number of viable choices available to him had always been painfully small.
Thus, he had no choice but to grasp this suddenly lowered lifeline.
I cannot come bursting in like tonight, so I will have to approach him during the day.
There was no longer any reason to meet in secret like a thief. For the time being, he would attempt contact during daylight hours. Having reached that conclusion, Mok-gyeong scratched his cheek and looked down at the ground.
Contacting a man is awkward, but…
He had deliberately kept his distance from others even within the patrol unit. Now he would have to initiate contact with a foreigner. With clear reluctance in his eyes, he gazed in the direction of Hainan Hall.
He didn’t seem like a bad person, so it should be all right.
The man had willingly delivered his uncle’s last words. At the very least, he could not be evil. Dan Mok-gyeong let out a deep sigh and walked toward the patrol unit’s quarters—his current home.
He needed even a little sleep if he was to endure the frantic duties that awaited him.
The vengeful spirit who had found a new purpose melted into the darkness.