Chapter 7 (2)

We arrived at the most famous inn in this town and immediately sat down at an empty table.

"This place is pretty expensive, will you be alright?"

"How expensive could it possibly be?"

I snorted at his concern.

I mean, I only looted the expensive stuff from the bandits' treasure, right?

How much more expensive could it be than gold bullion?

"You must be new here. The owner of this Chwihwaru is a chef well-known even in Beijing. If he hadn't missed his hometown and returned here, he'd still be in Beijing."

"Then it's worth looking forward to the taste."

Perhaps because it's expensive, everyone coming here is dressed quite luxuriously.

"Hmm... Honestly, I didn't help you to get a reward like this."

The slyness he showed when he helped me was gone, and his expression turned slightly stiff.

Is this what the righteous faction is like?

Besides, if they're significant enough to take a step back from the Zhuge Clan, the Taecheon Sect must be a pretty famous righteous sect.

"It's only natural to repay a favor. I don't want to be such a piece of trash that I can't even do something this obvious."

After saying that, I looked around to see where the waiter was.

Yeon I-gang, who had spotted the waiter taking orders from customers a little distance away, raised his hand to call him.

"There he is. Hey, waiter..."

"Hey, country bumpkin. Wait. I'll call him."

Before he could, I stopped his hand and flicked my finger with a bit of internal energy.

Ttak!

At that sound, the waiter who was taking orders turned his gaze toward me, so I crooked my finger to signal him to come over.

"What can I get for you!"

Receiving the signal, the waiter headed toward me and spat out a line typical of a waiter.

"Give me a reason to lighten my heavy pockets."

As expected of a waiter at a popular inn, he immediately caught on to what I was trying to say.

"Yes! The food this inn boasts is our Mago Carp Stew, made by boiling fresh carp and various seasonings with Mago Wine brewed directly in the nearby Mago Village! It's a delicacy!"

Oh, as expected, this is the real Murim world.

Yes, this is what I wanted, not roast duck, noodles, or Bamboo Leaf Green liquor.

"And our Chicken Noodle Soup, made with a spicy chicken broth boiled with spices from Sichuan, finely chopped crunchy cabbage, and noodles, also goes well!"

I found the waiter's effort to explain various other dishes and make them sound delicious commendable, so,

"Bring me one of everything you just mentioned."

"Yes, sir! Understood!"

I contributed greatly to this inn's revenue.

"..."

Watching the smooth flow of my order and the waiter's acceptance, Yeon I-gang looked bewildered.

"Are you perhaps from a wealthy family?"

"No, I'm an orphan. Why?"

"But that just now..."

"I raided a place called Heuksan Fortress on my way here from Shaanxi. To be precise, I killed the Heuksan Fortress leader who was attacking the Soun Escort Agency and joined forces to attack the fortress itself. When you have money overflowing, you naturally get some breathing room."

I only told the truth, but it seems he started agonizing over whether I might be a descendant of a high-ranking family because of the behavior I showed earlier.

"Anyway, let me introduce myself. My name is Jin Cheon. Orphan, no sect, Murim novice. Need more explanation?"

"Your way of speaking is really funny. You're the first person I've met who talks like you."

Of course I am.

Would I go around using the formal style like a modern person?

Just be grateful I'm not using slang.

"That aside, it's strange. Your aura surpasses that of the Zhuge Clan warriors, yet you have no sect..."

The Fire Artisan didn't create a sect, so I didn't lie.

"Ah, let me introduce myself properly too. I am Yeon I-gang, the great disciple of the Taecheon Sect. I hold the 'grand' title of Taecheon Shinryong."

I don't know about anything else, but I know this much.

That he has a personality that keeps subtly annoying words deep in his heart.

And he's not arrogant.

He didn't brag a single word about why he received the title Taecheon Shinryong.

I kept him around partly to repay the favor, but also to naturally get the information I need while chatting.

So, while chatting with him, I naturally guided the flow of conversation.

"But why is a great disciple like you alone?"

"I came under my master's orders to celebrate the 91st birthday of the former head of the Zhuge Clan, Jegal Mun-gyeong. Our Taecheon Sect isn't a very large sect, so I, the great disciple, had to come myself."

I can guess the flow of what happened next without even seeing it.

"And the Demonic Cultists attacked there?"

"I did lend a hand there, but the Demonic Cultists' goal was elsewhere. I found out too late that they had attacked the Zhuge Clan's secret vault while taking advantage of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the chaos. Their goal was probably the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword."

"Heavenly Demon Divine Sword?"

A familiar word.

No, it had to be familiar.

Ha-yeon complained a lot about getting a side injury because of a broken sword fragment.

But why is that word coming up here?

"It was discovered by chance in Shaanxi a year ago. And they used it to lure in and ambush Demonic Cult experts."

He must have interpreted my reaction as hearing it for the first time, so he added further explanation.

Thanks to that, Ha-yeon and I met.

Furthermore, it allowed her to feel a woman's happiness.

"After that, the Jeongmumae hid it somewhere, and even fellow righteous faction members don't know where it is. The reason the Demonic Cultists attacked the Zhuge Clan was surely to confirm if the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword was there."

"Hmm, quite a lot of things happened while I was training."

"Your meal is here!"

"Oh, it's starting to come out."

At that moment, the food arrived right on time.

The steaming carp stew appeared first, followed by the Chicken Noodle Soup, a noodle dish made with spicy chicken broth.

Besides that, a large amount of food filled the table.

So this is when you use the expression "the table legs are about to break."

"It's a reward for helping me, so eat as much as you want."

"Haha, I'm receiving excessive hospitality."

But he didn't seem to dislike it, as he picked up his chopsticks and started putting this and that into his mouth.

Well, I should try it too.

Starting with the Mago Carp Stew.

Nom. Mmm. Mmmm~

On this day, for the first time, I regretted putting 100 into Cooking when I created my character.

It tastes good.

It's definitely tasty.

It tastes different from the fish stew I've eaten so far.

But...

'This carp stew, if I added this here, the flavor profile would feel a bit stronger, wouldn't it?'

'Chicken Noodle Soup, huh. The spiciness is good, but if I added more spices, the hot flavor would be more appealing.'

'This chicken dish uses too much seasoning. Similar types of seasoning flavors are overlapping, blurring the appeal of the taste.'

As I ate the food, thoughts about what was lacking and what I should add to fill those gaps naturally popped into my head.

Yeon I-gang is... eating ravenously as if it's incredibly delicious.

Well, it tastes good, so let's fill our stomachs first.

Thus, Yeon I-gang and I focused on our meal.

"Phew~ I'm full. It's been a while since I've enjoyed such luxury."

What on earth does this guy eat at his sect?

More than that, despite having a grand title like Taecheon Shinryong, his attire isn't very flashy either.

"I've shown you an embarrassing side of me. As I said earlier, our Taecheon Sect has deep traditions and history, but it's not large in scale, so we can only have such luxurious meals occasionally."

"Even if I don't know much about Murim, I know that it's impossible to have 'Dragon' in your title unless you have extraordinary skills. You seem highly skilled, so why not take a position in the Jeongmumae?"

"If my master heard you, he would scold you. He says that 'wealth' should not be a reason for a martial artist to show off their skills."

I can see why they're small in scale.

Then why do the giant sects try to make money?

The existence of martial artists requires maintenance costs just for eating, sleeping, and shitting.

He wouldn't tell them to be crazy about money openly, but he's definitely an old fart who doesn't know how to grow a sect.

"More than that, what do you plan to do now? You said you're a Murim novice, so you probably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't have any connections anywhere."

I'm traveling to find fortuitous encounters right now.

If I say that, he'll look at me like I'm a crazy person.

That aside, this is a pretty important question.

I also spent quite a bit of time on this when I was about to descend the mountain.

It's obvious that I should find and obtain all the fortuitous encounters before crushing the Demonic Cult.

But the process is the problem.

If I just barge into the Demonic Cult and cause a ruckus demanding they return my woman, I'll obviously get overwhelmed by numbers and die.

To fight the Demonic Cult, I need to have a force of my own or belong to one.

If I use all my talents, I could create something like a sect or a mercenary group.

But if I do that, it'll be fucking annoying.

Do you know how annoying it is to run an organization?

Even with the game system assisting, it's enough to make me hesitate about whether to do it or not.

Then the answer is to join a suitable force.

The problem is that I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hate taking orders from others.

Who would want to keep a subordinate who hates taking orders, no matter how skilled they are?

With my skills, I wouldn't have a problem joining anywhere.

The real problem is my personality: I'm too lazy to build an organization, and I hate taking orders when I'm under someone else.

So I came up with an answer.

The answer is to become a ronin.

A ronin that anyone would want to hire.

The reason I became a ronin at first was to gain real combat experience.

However, if I become a ronin with skills that no one can ignore, the client will treat me well ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on their own.

Well, in the end, that's also taking orders under the name of a request, but at least I get paid according to the difficulty.

It's much better than receiving a measly salary compared to my skills and getting trivial orders like "do this," "do that," "go there," "come here."

If it's fucking shitty, I can just not take the request and relieve my stress.

This is the most important thing!

Even if I reach a position in an organization where people can't easily order me around, if a problem arises in the organization when I want to rest, I can't rest.

If I show an atmosphere and gesture of hating the Demonic Cult, they will hire me when fighting the Demonic Cult, and I can just fight alongside the guys who hired me.

Isn't that at least better than fighting alone?

It would be nice if there were a better situation than that, but for now, with my brain and the information I know so far, this was the best.

"An orphan with no connections or strings, a Murim novice doesn't have many choices. Out of those few options, I chose to be a ronin."

"A ronin. I haven't seen your skills, but a martial artist with your aura would be welcomed anywhere, not just as a ronin."

"I also value my personal life. Even if it's hard, being a ronin is perfect. If you're done eating, let's get up."

Having eaten all the food, I paid the bill.

It's definitely an expensive inn, so the price is a bit steep.

To think it's 2 silver taels.

The amount of money a normal commoner could live on for a year while living a little luxuriously was blown on one meal.

But they say you have to be someone who has spent money to know how to spend it, and I don't want to be someone who desperately earns money but doesn't know how to spend it.

Above all, I want to enjoy this Murim world.

But he doesn't seem to be.

"Hmm... Two silver taels for one meal..."

I smashed my palm against the back of the guy who looked shocked.

Pang!

"Argh!? What are you doing!"

"I don't like seeing a man whining over mere money, that's why."

Yeon I-gang, who was hit on the back by surprise, looked flustered at my words.

"But as a martial artist, coveting wealth is..."

"Who told you to be extravagant? I'm telling you to gain composure. When you spend money, you should always be relaxed. Even when you have no problems eating and living, if you think like 'how many sacks of rice could I buy with this,' you'll never move a step forward from that level in your whole life."

"..."

He seemed to feel something from my words, so he shut his mouth for a moment and started thinking about something.

"That is certainly a new perspective... Huh!?"

"Hmm?"

At that moment, I felt a familiar energy from inside the village.

"Damn it!"

Yeon I-gang rushed out in the direction where the energy was felt.

This energy... it's similar to what I felt from Ha-yeon.

In other words, a Demonic Cultist has revealed themselves.

The Zhuge Clan warriors have done it.

"Good. I was wanting to watch how other martial artists fight anyway."

It's a good opportunity to see how strong Yeon I-gang, who holds the title of Taecheon Shinryong, is and what the level of martial artists is.

I can't leave such a good opportunity behind.

I used lightfoot technique and headed in the direction where the Demonic Cultist's energy was felt.