A True Benefactor

At dusk, on the second floor of the Taeil Inn in Nanchang, Ouyang Qiangang sat by the window, gazing absently at the winter scene spread out below. Behind his human-skin mask, he looked like any ordinary young man of twenty or so, the kind one could find on any street corner. Beyond the glass, the midwinter sun was sinking, staining the western sky a deep red. Patches of snow clung to the bare branches, and every passerby on the street exhaled little clouds of white breath.

Ouyang Qiangang had arrived in Nanchang barely two hours ago. He had left the Ouyang Clan Manor and come straight here on account of a single conclusion—the one he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had finally reached after days and nights of deliberation. Before departing the clan, he had racked his brain for a way to uncover the whereabouts of Ju-pyo the One Hand of Heaven and Earth.

'Akasha, compile the data on Ju-pyo the One Hand of Heaven and Earth once more.'

Just as Akasha's analysis indicated, tracking down a Peak master who had deliberately vanished into hiding decades ago was all but impossible through ordinary means.

'Which means, in the end, the fastest route is to commission someone who specializes in handling information...'

The information networks of the kangho surfaced one by one in his mind.

'Hmm...'

As he pondered, the mysterious figure of a certain woman rose in his mind. It was the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy. She kept herself hidden from the world, yet commanded a formidable information network—and above all, she was well disposed toward him. She was a woman who moved in her own way, unbound by the structures of the great sects and clans.

'Yes. For now, the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy is the best choice.'

Having settled on that conclusion, he had come straight to Nanchang the moment he left the Ouyang Clan Manor. He had not stopped by the Bamboo Forest Manor. It was common knowledge how close Heo Il-bi was to Ouyang Baek, and a visit there risked catching the eyes of Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor.

His gaze, which had been drifting over the view outside, returned to the room. 'The sun will be fully down soon. Time to start moving.' He stroked the silver-furred Geum Wang on his shoulder and rose from his seat.

In front of the main gate of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, a burly gatekeeper stepped into Ouyang Qiangang's path as he moved to enter. The man's duty was to filter out in advance anyone too lowly for the establishment's standing—and by his judgment, this plainly dressed, unremarkable young man was exactly the sort of 'nobody' who had to be turned away.

The gatekeeper looked him up and down and asked in a bored tone.

"What business do you have here?"

His manner was rude, but Ouyang Qiangang answered calmly, with a faint smile.

"I have come to see the Pavilion Mistress."

The gatekeeper gave a light snort.

"The Mistress does not meet with just anyone. Run along home now." He waved his hand as though shooing away an irritating fly.

But Ouyang Qiangang did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not budge.

"Then kindly pass along a message for me." He went on with an easy grin. "Tell her that the one who cured her junior martial sister has come."

"What? How dare you spout such nonsense!"

Scowling at the absurd claim, the gatekeeper stepped forward to shove him out bodily.

Ouyang Qiangang spoke with a perfectly placid expression. "If you do not deliver those words exactly as I said them, you will find yourself in a great deal of trouble."

His voice was as gentle as ever, but the force carried within it was another matter entirely. The gatekeeper's senses snapped awake. A chill killing intent pressed against his throat like a bare blade, and a terror that made every hair on his body stand on end washed over him. He was no First-rate master, but he had trained in the martial arts all the same—and that was enough for him to realize that the ordinary-looking young man before him was a true expert.

"Ugh...!" With a low groan, he swallowed drily and forced the words out. "Pl... please wait just a moment." Without even realizing it, his coarse speech had shifted into something halfway respectful.

The gatekeeper backed away, spun around, and scurried inside.

A short while later, the tightly sealed main gate of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion swung wide, and a female head manager in her forties came rushing out in a fluster. She bowed low before Ouyang Qiangang, her face flushed crimson.

"Our gatekeeper failed to recognize your eminence and committed a grave discourtesy, Young Master. Please forgive us. This ignorant fool shall be dealt with at once—" The head manager shot the man a furious glare.

Ouyang Qiangang waved a hand lightly. "He was only doing his job. That's quite enough—just see me to the Mistress."

At his words, the head manager bowed deeper still. "Yes, yes. This way, please, Young Master."

Leaving behind the gatekeeper, cowed and unable to meet his eyes, Ouyang Qiangang followed her courteous guidance into the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.

Ouyang Qiangang sat across from the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy in the Fragrance Chamber, the Mistress's private sanctum. On his shoulder, Geum Wang—his fur turned silver—rolled his ruby eyes this way and that, surveying the room with boundless curiosity. Veiled in silk below the eyes and robed in palace silks as before, the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy remained dazzlingly beautiful.

Her gaze traveled from his ordinary face to the mysterious silver monkey on his shoulder, and then she spoke.

"You truly are an amusing man, Young Master."

"...?"

"You hide that handsome face behind an utterly unremarkable human-skin mask, yet carry on your shoulder—casual as you please—a precious spirit beast that may well be one of a kind in all the world."

Her eyes lingered on Geum Wang a moment before returning to him. "But why wear the mask at all? You have deprived my eyes of a rare feast, you know."

Ouyang Qiangang answered with a wry smile. "I don't much care for being the center of attention. Wearing this keeps my mind at ease."

Then he came straight to the point. "I have come to ask a favor of you, Mistress. Among the warriors of my family who left the Ouyang Clan more than thirty years ago, there is an elder known as Ju-pyo the One Hand of Heaven and Earth. Would you be able to find his whereabouts for me?"

The Heavenly Fragrance Fairy did not ask why. For those who dealt in information, that was an iron rule. Her eyes gleamed with interest.

"Ju-pyo the One Hand of Heaven and Earth... Locating someone who has buried his traces for decades ranks among the most expensive of commissions. What did you have in mind as payment, Young Master?"

Ouyang Qiangang answered without hesitation. "I will pay whatever price befits the commission, however you wish."

She nodded. "The fame of the Yang Dragon Pills you create is shaking Nanchang to its foundations, so I hardly need question your ability to pay." She toyed with her teacup for a moment, then spoke again. "Young Master, money means little to me. Silver is what this Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion is built on, after all."

"Is there something else you desire, then?"

"There is. In place of money, I would take your abilities as my payment. A rather troublesome matter has come to me—one I find exceedingly difficult to resolve. Grant me that favor, and I will set my people actively hunting for Elder Ju-pyo's whereabouts."

Ouyang Qiangang considered for a moment. "If this favor of yours is nothing that violates honor and duty, I will gladly accept."

"You need have no such worries." A soft smile touched the corners of her eyes. "That said, the situation surrounding the matter continues to shift even as we speak. Might I call on you again tomorrow morning, once things have settled?"

"Of course. Then I will return tomorrow."

Just as Ouyang Qiangang moved to rise, the Heavenly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fragrance Fairy broke into a radiant smile.

"You truly are a benefactor to me, Young Master."

"Why do you say that?"

With a smile that was playful, yet somehow more than playful, she went on. "Every time a difficult matter befalls me, you appear—as if heaven itself had sent you. A man like that is a true benefactor, is he not?"

The Heavenly Fragrance Fairy placed a detached pavilion in the rear garden of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion at his disposal. Ouyang Qiangang, who had his own need to stay out of the public eye, had no reason to refuse her consideration.

He had barely settled into the annex when a clear, luminous woman's voice sounded outside his door.

"Young Master, may I come in?"

Tilting his head at the unfamiliar voice, he answered. "Come in."

The woman who opened the door and stepped inside was a beauty in the full bloom of youth, one he had never met before. Peach-blossom cheeks brimming with life, sparkling eyes full of quick wit, and a healthy, cheerful energy radiating from her whole being—she fairly overflowed with vitality.

Ouyang Qiangang asked, "Forgive me, but who might you be...?"

The woman's face lit up. "Young Master, it is I—Nok-ju."

"Nok-ju... Miss?"

His eyes went wide. The girl who lived in his memory had been pale as paper, so frail he had worried her breath might fail at any moment. He could scarcely believe the woman standing before him was that same girl. And as it dawned on him that he was the one who had treated her, a deep pride and satisfaction welled up from the bottom of his chest. The sight before him was Nok-ju restored—her true self, before the Submerged Soul Silk's poison had consumed her.

While he stood there in a daze, Nok-ju bounded into the room and dropped into a deep formal bow, so buoyant she seemed about to take flight. Evidently the Heavenly Fragrance Fairy had already told her everything, for she showed not a flicker of surprise at the face the human-skin mask had given him.

"Young Master, though it is late, I wished to offer my formal greetings at last. The grace of you saving my life—I will never forget it as long as I live."

At the sincerity in her words, Ouyang Qiangang managed an awkward smile. Deliberately lightening his tone to ease the moment, he said, "Don't speak so gravely. I had the skill to cure your illness, and so I simply did what needed doing. Please, get up."

As Nok-ju rose, her gaze caught on the creature perched on his shoulder, staring down at her with wide round eyes.

"Oh my...!" The exclamation escaped her before she knew it, and her eyes sparkled with curiosity. When she held out her hand, astonishingly, far from turning shy, Geum Wang leapt straight into her arms as though he had been waiting for exactly this, and settled himself comfortably.

"The biggest philanderer under heaven..." Ouyang Qiangang clicked his tongue. "Brother Gold there hasn't a speck of loyalty in him, Miss. You'd best not get too close."

Nok-ju burst out laughing. "Hohoho, Young Master, I'm afraid I cannot follow that advice. This little one seems to have taken a fancy to me—just as I have to him. But what is his name?"

"He is called Geum Wang. He is older than he looks, so don't let his appearance fool you."

"Older?"

"Yes."

"How old?"

"Likely older than your grandmother, Miss."

Her eyes went perfectly round with disbelief. "You're joking, surely?"

"Who can say."

"Hmm... well, it hardly matters. For a creature this adorable, what does a little age matter?" She hugged Geum Wang tight and nuzzled her cheek against his.

As if in full agreement, Geum Wang burrowed deeper into her arms and, quite deliberately, flicked his tongue at Ouyang Qiangang.

Ouyang Qiangang shook his head slowly. And so the first night at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion deepened.