The Hungry Sea Dragon
Several days had passed since we started traveling toward a place called Xingmen County.
Picking up the pace wasn't an issue.
I was surprisingly fast, even on land.
“H-pant... how are you so fast? Seriously. You aren't even using martial arts.”
“Right? As long as I keep drinking water, I can maintain this speed.”
However, there was one minor flaw.
Just as Rin had said, I was basically a semi-aquatic creature. If I ran blindly and sweated too much, I got exhausted faster than others, and my skin and mouth would dry up to a crisp.
I constantly had to pour water from my canteen over my head like a shower. If there wasn't a stream in sight to refill, I even had to snatch Rin's canteen and use hers.
“Haa... I'm exhausted. And we're out of water...”
I was keeping up with Rin's lightfoot technique using nothing but raw physical strength, yet I was shamelessly stealing her water on top of that.
As a result, Rin—who was already dealing with broken ribs—was the only one groaning in agony. She tried her best to hide it and push through, but eventually, she ground to a halt.
“L-let's... let's rest for just a moment. I'm going to go pick some flowers.”
“Flowers?”
“I mean I need to go relieve myself.”
“Ah, go ahead.”
Anyway, this was the problem with Murim.
The vocabulary was subtly different from modern times, leading to these awkward miscommunications.
Should I memorize euphemisms like "picking flowers" or "relieving oneself" too?
If I said I was going to the restroom, no one would understand. But saying I'm going to the outhouse sounded a bit crude.
“Sigh, whatever.”
Since we still had about a day of running left to reach Xingmen County, I sat down comfortably on the ground and opened Murim Gallery.
There was a notification waiting for me, which hadn't buzzed in a while since I hadn't posted anything recently.
Murim Alliance Guard.
Aside from exchanging a few comments, we had no connection, yet they were surprisingly friendly.
I didn't expect anyone to look out for me like this.
We exchanged a few more comments after that.
The overall tone was reassuring.
They told me that Murim Alliance members were trustworthy, and if I had doubts, I could search the gallery for information about the Alliance.
They shared quite a few useful tips, making me feel a bit more secure about trusting Rin, but...
“I'm back.”
“What took you so long...”
“Ah, sorry. I suddenly saw a centipede and ended up walking as far away as possible.”
“...Huh?”
“What's wrong?”
No way, right...?
Wait, could it actually be?
“We're finally in Xingmen County. Let's find a blacksmith first. I need to properly salt my senior's arm here too.”
“Y-yeah, let's go. Gotta do what we gotta do.”
Another day passed.
We arrived in Xingmen County right on schedule. Rin and I headed straight for a blacksmith.
However, as we walked, a nagging question weighed heavily on my mind.
Is Rin actually Murim Alliance Guard?
Setting aside the fact that both Rin and the Murim Alliance Guard were highly likely to be affiliated with the Murim Alliance, I had tested a theory last night. After Rin fell asleep, I sent a comment containing nothing but a single period.
There was no reply...!
Maybe they just thought it was a typo and ignored it, or maybe I had just unmasked the Murim Alliance Guard's real identity.
But what was more important right now was...
Why did Rin tell me to trust her?
What was her motive?
Did she genuinely want me to trust her?
Or did she want me to dance to her tune?
“This is tough...”
“What is?”
“Just... this whole situation.”
It was too hard to judge.
And relying on intuition wasn't going to cut it either.
In times like this, there was only one way.
“Hold on, I'm going to go somewhere else for a bit.”
“Huh? Where...”
“I'm going to pick some flowers.”
“Ah, go ahead.”
Using the expression I learned from Rin yesterday, I naturally distanced myself, slipped into a back alley, and opened Murim Gallery.
Then, I put the forum trick I learned from the Murim Alliance Guard yesterday into practice.
I went to a post SixTails had written a year ago and left a comment.
“Okay, if this bastard says so, I can trust it.”
SixTails.
She was probably the one who posted the most proof of kills in the gallery.
At the same time, she was surprisingly... nice? When commenting on my posts.
Saying things like she wanted to live with me, or that she'd protect me if I came over to be her personal water purifier.
Besides, since she was always killing people, she'd be incredibly good at sniffing out fake Murim Alliance members sent to capture her. If even someone like her thought Rin was the real deal for risking her life against a Blood Cultist, then it had to be true.
Rin seemed worth trusting.
All the circumstantial evidence pointed to her being from the Murim Alliance, and it didn't seem like the Alliance was actively hostile toward divine beasts.
This was enough to put my mind at ease.
At the word "secret," comments flooded in, unleashing a torrent of curses.
I closed the gallery as if fleeing. When I returned to the blacksmith, Rin was already standing at the entrance, having chosen a sword.
“I'm back.”
“You were quick.”
“Of course. So, where should we go now?”
“We'll have to look around from here. There might be trouble on the road. Shall we head to an inn first? You must be hungry, so we should get some food.”
“Food...!”
“How about dumplings or beef noodle soup? I prefer noodles, but...”
Dumplings and beef noodle soup! Flour, meat, various vegetables, spices, and piping hot meat broth!
“C-can we just go there and choose?”
For someone who had been surviving on unseasoned fish grilled over an open fire and wild raspberries, this was an overwhelming sensory overload.
First, I had to get to this "inn" immediately.
Every second wasted here was a tragedy.
“W-what's usually good at an inn?”
“I usually get the beef noodle soup. There's an inn in front of the Murim Alliance headquarters that's really good at getting rid of the gamey smell of the meat.”
“Really? Then we're definitely ordering beef noodle soup...”
“Dumplings are great too. Pork dumplings, vegetable dumplings—they all have their merits. The pork ones overflow with savory broth, and the vegetable ones have some kind of crunchy greens in them.”
“Savory broth... crunchy...”
I was going to order every single type of dumpling.
“Ah, and when we have gatherings at the Murim Alliance, we always order Dongpo pork. The bok choy goes so well with the soy glaze...”
“Dongpo pork! Bok choy!”
Oh, I couldn't take it anymore.
“Rin.”
“Uh, yes...?”
I grabbed Rin's shoulders and spoke with a dead-serious expression.
Since my consultation with SixTails concluded that Rin was trustworthy, I had no reason to hold back anymore.
“The money you owe me—let's deduct my food expenses from that. I want to eat a lot today.”
“Ah, it's fine. It's my treat. I feel like I haven't done anything for you since you saved me. Order as much as you want.”
“As much as I want?”
“Yes.”
“Can I order pork dumplings, vegetable dumplings, beef noodle soup, and Dongpo pork? All of it?”
“...Just order as much as you can actually eat.”
“I can eat anything right now. I'm absolutely starving.”
“...Sure, order it all. I won't do something as petty as deducting it from the money I promised you.”
“Hell yeah!”
There was no way a person who bought me food could be bad.
Anyone who buys me food is a god.
A literal god.
The moment Hae Sua stepped into the Xingmen Inn.
The martial artists inside turned to look at her in unison.
Some stared in pure awe at encountering a divine beast.
Others felt their hearts flutter at the sight of a beautiful woman.
Some harbored lustful thoughts, struck by the sheer impact of her unconventional attire.
And yet others seemed interested in her body itself—specifically, her horns and tail.
“...”
But when Rin deliberately released a wave of killing intent, they quickly tucked their tails and looked away.
Xingmen County was not a particularly large county.
It wasn't a place frequented by many martial artists, unlike Xiangyang, where the Zhuge Clan resided, or Wuchang, which served as the heart of the Yangtze River.
When Rin, a seasoned second-class martial artist, unleashed her killing intent like this, the local bumpkins of Xingmen County had no choice but to cower.
After all, they were merely third-class thugs who had learned basic martial arts at some nameless local academy.
“Hehehe... I want this, and this, and that...”
Rin had intended to maintain this tense standoff through sheer intimidation, feed Hae Sua until she was full, and then set off, but...
“How dare you unleash killing intent in the Xingmen Inn, which is under the protection of us, the Xingmen Three Heroes! You must have a death wish!”
Indeed, such things were bound to happen.
There were always those whose martial prowess wasn't far off from Rin's—or at least, those who thought it wasn't.
For people like that, challenging Rin in this manner was a very real possibility...
“Hey.”
“...!”
“...!”
“Get lost before I make you.”
“M-my apologies! Sister, we had no intention of offending you...”
“Who's your sister? Beat it.”
“P-please, enjoy your stay.”
...but they were instantly suppressed by the roar of the hungry Sea Dragon.
“H-huh...”
“Rin, I'm done choosing.”
“Y-you can just call the waiter and order. You can order more if you want.”
“Really?”
“Eat as much as you want. Really... I'll, I'll pay for everything.”
Once again, Rin felt profoundly grateful that Hae Sua hadn't teamed up with the Blood Cultist to attack her.
If she had been an evil Sea Dragon, that timeline could have easily become a reality.
And she definitely wasn't telling her to order more out of fear.
She just felt like treating her to a hearty, satisfying meal today. That was all.