Chapter 66
Chapter 66
Ch. 66🔒 .｡.:✧ Chowha Inn ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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I walked towards Mount Hua with a single bundle slung over my shoulder.
Chirp, chirp, chirp—
After the cicadas, which had been buried deep in the ground, had metamorphosed, the sound of them flying up to the trees and crying out echoed all around.
‘It’s finally summer.’
I thought as I walked along the deserted road.
My steps towards the sect were as light as could be.
It was as if I was finally being rewarded for all the hardships I had endured.
‘When I return to Mount Hua, I’ll have to devote myself to training for a while.’
To be honest, just training relentlessly was something that ordinary people couldn’t do.
But now, I was realizing that I was growing in real time.
Considering the incident with Na Hee-rin, whom I had encountered in the Valley of No Return a while ago, and the Silent Demon, Byeok Ri-seol, who had been causing trouble in the family, it was perhaps a matter of course.
‘Those two were masters of a similar level to the Shadowless Swordsman, whom Heavenly Slaughterer had killed in one move, but in the end, I won. I’m confident that I could easily seize victory if the Shadowless Swordsman appeared before me now.’
I slowly nodded my head.
Of course, there were some variables in each battle, but it was an undeniable fact that I had defeated Na Hee-rin and Byeok Ri-seol.
What I had gained from the life-and-death battles with the peak masters was confidence in myself.
‘…I can become much stronger than I am now.’
When I thought about it, it seemed that the end of a martial artist who had reached their limit would be truly miserable.
If the diligent will finally became lazy, and they could no longer burn their will—
It was obvious what kind of miserable end would be waiting for them.
‘Even if that happens, those who do not give up will finally bear fruit…’
It was still a distant matter for me, who had not even experienced a plateau, let alone a limit.
I soon shook my head.
‘Still, if it weren’t for the divine power of Falling Star, which could be called a divine weapon, I wouldn’t have been able to easily win against those two.’
I slowly turned my gaze and looked at Falling Star, which was quietly tied to my waist.
Now, Falling Star, which showed no reaction or tremor, would vibrate with an inexplicable sword cry when my emotions were heightened and my anger exploded to the point of reaching the sky.
For some reason, it seemed that the sword, Falling Star, had a kind of ego.
As I was roughly guessing that absurd fact, I thought about the reason why this had happened.
‘Hmm… still, since it contains the will of the Sword Immortal, who could be called a divine being, it’s not that absurd.’
Thinking so casually, I slowly nodded my head as I felt the numerous presences that were getting closer.
I had finally reached the place I had set as my destination before returning to Mount Hua.
‘According to the information I heard from Eun Hajin, there is a blacksmith’s shop where a skilled blacksmith resides in Soyang County…’
Soyang County.
It was a village where I had once stayed for a day with the elder of Mount Hua, Myeong Ryong-geom, at an inn.
As someone who still vividly remembered the various incidents that had occurred in Soyang County, I couldn’t help but be filled with a strange sense of sentimentality.
‘At the inn in Soyang County, my life was threatened by the Young Lord of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult… and it was a bonus that I happened to subdue the ruffians who were causing a ruckus in one move.’
As I was briefly recalling the old memories, I realized that I had already reached the entrance of Soyang County and a faint smile formed on my lips.
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“One bowl of noodles here!”
“Yes!”
“One order of dumplings and chicken here!”
“I’ll be right there!”
Dong-il, the waiter at the inn who was busily moving between the tables, felt his breath catch in his throat.
Perhaps because it was a busy time for business, he didn’t have enough hands.
‘Moreover, since it’s the day the market opens, there are especially many customers today.’
It had been four years since he started working as a waiter at the inn.
The first one or two years were a bit difficult, but now he was one of the more experienced waiters.
Chowha Inn, where Dong-il belonged, was one of the most popular inns in Soyang County.
“Here are your dumplings and chicken! Enjoy your meal!”
Dong-il, who had gone to the kitchen to get the food, served the customers with a smile.
Forced smiles were not an option but a necessity to survive as a waiter for a long time.
That was because.
‘There are many First-Rate masters in the martial arts world.’
If you were not careful with your service, you never knew when and where the blade of a martial arts master would fly.
It’s a bit hard to put into words, but martial artists were beings who were filled with pride.
Dong-il, who knew that fact, could only sigh as he rubbed his sore shoulders.
“Huu, this is hard.”
As the lunch time passed and people flowed out like a tide, Dong-il could finally catch his breath.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
He fanned himself with his hand to cool down.
At that moment, someone spoke to him.
“Hey, Dong-il!”
“…?”
It was a familiar voice.
A voice he heard dozens of times a day.
Dong-il turned his head and looked at the person.
“Ah, Chef.”
Dong-il corrected his posture of leaning against the wall and used honorifics.
The one who had called me out of the blue was Bang-yeon, one of the chefs at the inn.
Bang-yeon was quite close to him, perhaps because he had a similar personality to Dong-il and was quite easygoing.
Perhaps that’s why the voice that called Dong-il was filled with his unique cheerfulness.
Bang-yeon said.
“Can you run an errand for me?”
“An errand?”
Dong-il tilted his head.
It was not that special for a chef to ask a waiter to run an errand, but since it was past lunch time, there was nothing to do.
As Dong-il was making a strange expression, Bang-yeon said with a smile.
“No, it’s nothing much, but we’re out of cabbage, so you’ll have to go to the market for a bit.”
“Ah…”
Dong-il finally nodded his head.
Well, it was understandable since there were especially many customers today.
It was rare for ingredients to run out before the business was over, so if that was the case, it was a bit of an urgent matter.
“I understand. But should I go alone?”
“Hmm. Since the amount is a bit large, you’ll have to take one or two more people with you…”
After thinking for a moment, Bang-yeon soon said,
“Well, since it’s past lunch, it doesn’t matter. Let’s go together.”
“Yes. Then shall we leave now?”
“Let’s do that.”
Bang-yeon prepared to leave.
Dong-il also leaned the mop handle he was holding against the wall and roughly finished what he was doing.
‘My body aches today.’
As he finished his preparations and came out to the market, he heard a noisy sound.
Most of it was filled with the hawking of merchants and the haggling of customers.
Dong-il watched the street with interest, and then as Bang-yeon began to come out from the side, he moved his steps.
‘By the way, I need to go see my father at the blacksmith’s shop soon… should I go tonight.’
Dong-il thought as he looked into the distant memory.
Dong-il’s family had been running a blacksmith’s shop for generations, so in most cases, it was common to think of taking over the family business.
But after his mother passed away from a chronic illness and his father, the owner of the blacksmith’s shop, fell ill with a broken heart, Dong-il had no choice but to leave the family business and wander around to earn even a small amount of money.
So he chose to be a waiter at Chowha Inn.
“Ugh. It’s heavy.”
As Bang-yeon picked up the cabbage he had ordered, Dong-il noticed and picked up the cabbage.
It wasn’t that heavy.
He tied the luggage well and moved his steps.
Thump!
Thump!
It was on the way back to the inn after buying the cabbage.
Dong-il wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
At that moment when he was about halfway to the inn, he made eye contact with someone.
“…?”
“…Hmm?”
The opponent was a young man who was so young that it was questionable whether he had reached the age of twenty.
He was a man who was wearing a worn-out sword at his waist, as if he were a martial artist, but for some reason, his eyes were drawn to him.
It seemed that the opponent was also the same, as the opponent, who was staring at Dong-il while tilting his head, soon smiled and passed by Dong-il.
‘…What was that?’
Dong-il, who had stopped in his tracks for a moment, looked back.
He could see the young man’s back.
There was nothing special about it.
Judging by the worn-out sword he was wearing, he didn’t seem to be rich.
Then why was he drawn to him?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.
“Hey, Dong-il?!”
“…Huh, yes?”
As Bang-yeon turned his head and shouted, Dong-il finally came to his senses.
He quickly moved his steps, thinking it was a strange thing.
As time passed like that.
He arrived at the inn and sighed.
Kiiik~
He opened the door of the inn with the cabbage.
The atmosphere in the inn was quite lively, as if a few new customers had come.
Dong-il sensed that there would be more work and put the cabbage down on the table.
“Huu.”
“Good work.”
Bang-yeon patted Dong-il’s shoulder and then began to enter the kitchen.
It seemed that a food order had come in right away.
Dong-il swallowed his saliva and changed his clothes.
For hygiene reasons, he was distinguishing between his outdoor and indoor clothes.
‘I should go and greet the customers first.’
It seemed that a large customer had come, as there were no waiters in the open area.
That meant that a considerable number of them must have been called up to the second floor.
It was obvious that he would also have to go on an errand.
Dong-il, who had changed his clothes, moved his steps.
“Haha, so you see…”
“Give me another bottle of Sohongju here!”
He could hear the sound of boisterous chatter.
At that moment, a beautiful voice was heard from the second floor.
“Please come up.”
“…!”
It was a familiar voice.
A beautiful voice that was so beautiful that it was hard to believe it was the same person.
As far as I knew, there was only one person with such a voice.
“Young Lady Yeon?”
“Oh my.”
As he opened the door and entered, the first thing that came into his sight was a woman.
She was Hwa Seo-yeon, the daughter of the Hwa Clan, which was famous as a prestigious family in the Shaanxi region, and was the Summer Flower, one of the Four Flowers of Shaanxi, which referred to the most beautiful women in Shaanxi.
She was also the biggest customer of Chowha Inn.
That was because the Hwa Clan owned a significant portion of the shares of Chowha Inn.
“What brings the young lady here after such a long time…?”
Dong-il asked without knowing the reason.
It was unlikely that the daughter of a prestigious family would come to such an inn without a reason.
It was perhaps a natural question.
As he was making a strange face, Hwa Seo-yeon said with a slight smile.
“Because a precious guest has come to the family.”
“…?”
Dong-il finally looked around.
At that, there was a man who was staring at Dong-il with a displeased expression.
He was a handsome man, but he seemed to be quite concerned about Hwa Seo-yeon, as he was glancing at her every now and then.
He had an expression as if to say, why is a mere waiter interfering in such a place.
‘Oops.’
Dong-il finally realized that he had interfered in the wrong place.
No matter how close they were, it was rude to interrupt a conversation without any reason.
Even more so, for a being like a waiter to interfere would have seemed quite rude from the opponent’s perspective.
It couldn’t be helped even if it was unfair.
He was a waiter.
“T-Then, have a good time! I’ll be on my way!”
“U-Huh?”
It was none other than Young Lady Yeon who called out to Dong-il, who was looking around and then quickly preparing to leave.
“Why don’t you stay a little longer? You’re free anyway, aren’t you?”
“…Yes?”
“Huhu. Why? Are you uncomfortable with me?”
Hwa Seo-yeon smiled playfully.
Dong-il was silent for a moment.
‘No, rather than the young lady, the man on the other side…’
Dong-il glanced at the man with a sidelong glance.
Sure enough, he had an expression as if to say, get lost, with his eyes glaring.
Dong-il sighed deeply.
He felt that he had come in vain.
It was a foregone conclusion that the end would be unhappy if you incurred the resentment of a martial artist.
“It’s okay, right? Young Master Zhongli.”
“Uh… uh?”
‘Ugh, was it the Zhongli Clan.’
The Zhongli Clan.
This family, which had a prestige that could be called the hegemon of Chengdu, was a family whose prosperity was as great as that of the Five Great Families, though not as great.
‘Come to think of it, there was a rumor that the Zhongli Clan had proposed marriage to Young Lady Yeon.’
That meant that the man named Zhongli Wen was not just a simple guest.
The man called Zhongli Wen made a foolish expression for a moment and then laughed heartily.
“O-Of course! It doesn’t matter if it’s a waiter, as long as he’s close to our Yeon-ah.”
“I’m glad to hear you say so, Young Master.”
As the young lady laughed, Zhongli Wen smiled broadly.
It seemed that he was thinking that he had gained her favor.
It was at that moment.
From a corner of the second floor, a strange voice was suddenly heard.
“Hey, waiter.”
“……?”
“Bring another bottle of Sohongju here.”
At the strange voice coming from the corner, Dong-il, who had turned his gaze in that direction, couldn’t help but be surprised for a moment.
‘No, isn’t that the young martial artist I saw on the street earlier?’
Dong-il couldn’t help but tilt his head.
Was it a coincidence?
The young man, who was wearing a worn-out sword on the street and was probably not even twenty years old, was looking this way with an interested look in his eyes.
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‘…This is interesting.’
Since the whereabouts of the blacksmith were quite unknown, I had come to Chowha Inn to find his only son after making inquiries.
But I didn’t know that I would encounter an old nemesis in such a place.
‘By the way… that guy Zhongli Wen is a madman for women to the point that even I am impressed. To think of siding with the Hwa Clan after the engagement with Eun Ha-seol was broken off.’
I inwardly clicked my tongue.
Should I say it was fortunate, my current appearance was in a state of wearing a human skin mask.
The probability of Zhongli Wen recognizing me was close to zero.
‘I did well to have asked the Hao Clan to get it for me to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.’
I slowly nodded my head.
Indeed, in the world of martial arts, a means to hide one’s identity in case of an emergency was essential.
‘I just reflected the advice of Eun Hajin and Eun Ha-seol to be careful for the time being because my identity and face were quite well-known in Shaanxi due to the incident that had occurred in the family… but to think that such an interesting thing would unfold right in front of my eyes.’
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