Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: An Unlikely Companion
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Staring at Wang Jeong, who had died with a wretched expression, Bu Eun-seol was equally bewildered.
A master of Wang Jeong’s caliber, killed in a single blow by a lightly thrown Gwon-ma-chil-sik?
‘Was it because I struck his Gate of Life?’
The Gate of Life acupoint.
As its name suggested, it was the very gate to life.
It was the most crucial point on the Governing Vessel, which oversaw all Yang Meridians, regulating the body’s qi and blood and even governing the state of the kidneys and the spirit.
In reality, the power of the Gwon-ma-chil-sik was so immense that its force had simply traveled straight to his Governing Vessel.
But Bu Eun-seol mistakenly attributed it to an unlucky strike on the Gate of Life.
“Is… is he dead?”
Bu Eun-seol nodded at Heuk-pyo’s words.
“The matter is settled. Let’s go back.”
“Mmph!”
Just then, the masked man whose pressure points had been sealed, Namgung Un, cried out loudly.
“Mmmph!”
Bu Eun-seol stared blankly at the man's muffled shouts, then flicked his fingers.
*Flick!*
As his pressure points were released in an instant, the fallen Namgung Un wiped away his cold sweat and stood up.
“Thank you. Thanks to you…”
He clasped his hands together, but Bu Eun-seol was already leaving the gorge.
“W-Wait!”
Namgung Un said, breathlessly running towards Bu Eun-seol.
“Sir. Let's talk for a moment.”
When Bu Eun-seol didn't answer, he spoke again.
“Sir, where are you from?”
“…”
When Bu Eun-seol didn't reply, he sidled up to Heuk-pyo and spoke amiably.
“Ah, the young hero is here too! I am Namgung Un of the Namgung family. If you don't mind, I'd like to exchange names.”
Heuk-pyo scratched his head.
He was, after all, a scion of the Namgung family. For someone like him to follow them around like a touting innkeeper, Heuk-pyo spoke with due respect.
“I-I am merely the Young Master's attendant.”
“Aha, I see. Then where is that gentleman from?”
“My Young Master is… a rover from Jeok-cheon-mak-ji.”
“A rover?”
“Yes. Though he only registered as of yesterday.”
Namgung Un blinked.
Such a young and exceptional master had become a rover, selling his skills?
“If you're a rover from Jeok-cheon-mak-ji… are you heading back there now?”
Annoyed by Namgung Un’s persistence, Bu Eun-seol suddenly executed a movement technique.
“Y-Young Master!”
As Bu Eun-seol sped away, Heuk-pyo also ran quickly to follow.
Heuk-pyo heard some noise from behind, but he ignored it and ran after Bu Eun-seol.
The third floor of Su-gyeong Hall, the office of the Hall Master.
When Bu Eun-seol returned, Dam Yu-yeon couldn't hide her slight surprise.
Wang Jeong, who had defeated so many rovers and masters until now. To think he was dealt with in a single trip?
“I thought you were new to the Jianghu… It seems you have quite a bit of experience.”
Dam Yu-yeon knew.
The reason Wang Jeong was hard to catch was that he was not only quick-witted and cunning but also a master with extensive experience in the Jianghu.
She had thought of Bu Eun-seol as a rover strong only in martial arts and had sent him to fight Wang Jeong, a man who used all sorts of schemes and traps.
But when he dealt with him in one go, contrary to her expectations, her face stiffened in surprise.
“It was nothing.”
“You are remarkable.”
Swallowing a bitter smile, she picked up a purple tassel from the table—one that could be worn on the waist—and held it out.
“What is this?”
“It's a tassel that proves you are a high-ranked rover of this hall, Young Warrior Seol. If you go to the counter downstairs, you'll receive the reward for dealing with Wang Jeong.”
“I understand.”
Bu Eun-seol attached the tassel to his waist and nodded.
“Then give me the next job.”
“You want to take on the next job right away?”
“Yes.”
“You're quite impatient.”
Dam Yu-yeon wore a strange smile.
But soon, as if she had been waiting, she pointed to one of the envelopes stacked on the table.
“In that case, please handle this.”
Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened as he looked at the envelope she handed him.
“The Bo-won-sin-ju?”
Having been part of the Gu-sal-dae, Bu Eun-seol was well-versed not only in the affairs of the Jianghu but also in the information of various sects.
But he had never heard of a treasure called the Bo-won-sin-ju in his life.
“The Bo-won-sin-ju is not a well-known treasure in the Murim.”
Dam Yu-yeon smiled faintly.
“That's because it's kept in the Shin-nyeo-gung, one of the Seven Great Hidden Palaces of the Murim.”
The Shin-nyeo-gung.
One of the Seven Great Hidden Palaces of the Murim, it was a mysterious sect comprised entirely of women.
However, the Shin-nyeo-gung absolutely forbade outsiders, making it a place Bu Eun-seol couldn't even approach.
“Surely you're not asking me to steal a treasure from the Shin-nyeo-gung.”
The Shin-nyeo-gung didn't belong to the Seven Great Hidden Palaces for nothing.
Though it was a sect of women, their martial arts were exceptional, and the Palace Mistress was a tremendous master who had reached the Transcendent Realm.
No matter how strong Bu Eun-seol was, he couldn't breach the Shin-nyeo-gung alone.
“Of course not.”
Dam Yu-yeon said with a smile.
“The way to obtain the Bo-won-sin-ju is simple. You just have to pass a test provided by the Shin-nyeo-gung.”
Bu Eun-seol furrowed his brow.
“They'll give it to me just for passing a test?”
“Of course. However, the test is quite difficult, and the opportunity is hard to come by. That's why no one has obtained the Bo-won-sin-ju until now.”
“No matter how difficult, it's just a matter of obtaining a bead. That qualifies as a difficult job?”
She spoke with an expression that suggested it was obvious.
“The reward alone is three hundred thousand nyang. You can tell how difficult it is just from the amount, can't you?”
“I don't understand. With three hundred thousand nyang, you should be able to buy any bead, no matter how precious.”
“Just holding the Bo-won-sin-ju for a short time clears the skin and smooths out fine wrinkles. It has a significant rejuvenating effect.”
‘Spending three hundred thousand nyang just to smooth a few wrinkles?’
As if reading Bu Eun-seol's thoughts, Dam Yu-yeon gave a sweet smile.
“Those with high status and honor don't care about the cost. If they believe something is worth it, they spend without hesitation.”
Seeing her melting smile, Bu Eun-seol could intuit one thing.
Dam Yu-yeon did not want him to succeed.
‘Her intentions are as clear as day.’
But Bu Eun-seol didn't show it, tucking the envelope into his robes and speaking calmly.
“Understood. I'll handle it immediately.”
The Daeso Inn, near Jeok-cheon-mak-ji.
Sitting by a window on the second floor, Bu Eun-seol was having lunch with Heuk-pyo.
Heuk-pyo, eating noodles with his chopsticks, kept glancing at Bu Eun-seol.
It was because Bu Eun-seol's expression had been grim ever since he received the envelope.
“Young Master.”
Heuk-pyo cautiously asked Bu Eun-seol, who was tilting his wine cup with a stern face.
“Is the food not to your liking?”
“It's fine.”
“I see. That's a relief.”
Still, Heuk-pyo glanced at Bu Eun-seol again and said.
“Your expression is not good, Young Master. I was wondering if something was wrong.”
“Was it?”
For a change, Bu Eun-seol was turning his focus inward, away from the outside world.
I want to become limitlessly strong.
To do that, he needed a match against an exceptional master—one not too much stronger, nor weaker, than himself—to help him transcend his limits.
And then, as if by fate, he met Jeong-cheon at the rover market. Bu Eun-seol suspected the man possessed skills superior to his own.
If he were to fight him in an ultimate showdown, he was certain he could reach a higher realm.
‘Doing work for the rover market… just to fight that man.’
In truth, this was not in line with Bu Eun-seol's character.
Whether by using a scheme or brute force, he would have normally sought a confrontation with Jeong-cheon in the shortest time possible.
But this time, Bu Eun-seol was silently carrying out the jobs to become a special-grade rover, just as the man had requested.
The problem was that he himself couldn't understand why he was acting this way.
“I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Jeong-cheon. Should I provoke him into a forced match? Or should I continue with these jobs?”
“I see.”
Heuk-pyo nodded as if he finally understood everything.
“So you're wondering whether you should continue with this work, Young Master?”
“Yes.”
“Why not just continue with the jobs?”
Heuk-pyo said in a calm voice.
“With your skills and intellect, Young Master, you could force a showdown with Jeong-cheon right now. But you didn't.”
“…”
“I believe that's because you instinctively know that you can grow stronger through various methods, not just direct confrontation.”
“Grow stronger through various experiences?”
“Yes.”
Heuk-pyo explained fluently.
“I've also been a rover since I was young. And what made me strong wasn't just combat, but a variety of experiences.”
—Couldn't you advance your martial arts through the enlightenment gained from various experiences?
This is what Heuk-pyo wanted to say to Bu Eun-seol.
“That could be.”
Hearing Heuk-pyo's words, Bu Eun-seol's complicated thoughts cleared up.
He didn't have to insist only on combat. He could improve his martial arts through the insights gained from experiencing and resolving various matters.
“Hehehe.”
Bu Eun-seol chuckled lowly and said.
“Sometimes, you speak like an old man who has mastered all the affairs of the world.”
“Do I? I was often called a little old man back at Dong-pyo-seo-rang, too. Hehe.”
Heuk-pyo, after his cheerful boast, suddenly furrowed his brow as if remembering something.
“By the way, I think my intuition was right.”
“About what?”
“The Master of Su-gyeong Hall. Her expression showed she didn't want you to succeed, Young Master.”
Heuk-pyo had already noticed.
Dam Yu-yeon, the Master of Su-gyeong Hall. Knowing Bu Eun-seol's martial arts were formidable, she was deliberately giving him jobs that couldn't be solved by martial skill alone.
“All this talk of tests and whatnot makes me uneasy. How about we carefully sneak into the Shin-nyeo-gung and become 'gentlemen on the rafters'?”
“Impossible.”
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
“The Shin-nyeo-gung is not only home to exceptional martial artists but also masters of mechanisms and traps. If we blindly search for a treasure whose location we don't even know, we'll be discovered or trapped.”
“Is that so?”
Heuk-pyo's shoulders slumped limply.
“There's another problem. Even if we wanted to take the test, the Shin-nyeo-gung doesn't accept outsiders at all, do they?”
Just then, a clear voice came from somewhere.
“Oh? It's you, sir!”
Turning his head, he saw a man dressed in white, his face also covered with a white cloth, pointing at Bu Eun-seol.
It was Namgung Un, whom he had seen just a short while ago.
“To meet again here? What a coincidence!”
“A coincidence you manufactured, I'm sure.”
Bu Eun-seol had sensed that the man had been persistently following him all the way from Mount Buljeong.
However, since he kept a certain distance and didn't seem to have any ill intent, Bu Eun-seol had simply left him be.
“You knew.”
At Bu Eun-seol's cold reply, Namgung Un cleared his throat and said.
“You helped me back then, but I couldn't even thank you properly. So…”
“I wasn't trying to help you, so there's no need to worry about it.”
As Bu Eun-seol started to get up, Namgung Un held out his hand to stop him.
“Wait.”
Then he pointed to his own waist and said.
“As of yesterday, I also became a rover of Jeok-cheon-mak-ji.”
A purple tassel was hanging from his waist.
It was a mark signifying a high-ranked rover of Jeok-cheon-mak-ji, just like Bu Eun-seol's.
“I passed a few tests, and they just gave me this tassel.”
The good-for-nothing of the Namgung family was truly different.
To think he'd just go and register as a rover, something even the servants of the Eight Great Families wouldn't do?
But Bu Eun-seol stood up, looking uninterested.
“Wait, sir. I still have something to say…”
“If you have something to say, say it directly. And stop covering your face.”
Meeting Bu Eun-seol's cold gaze, Namgung Un lowered his head.
“Understood.”
With a sigh, he untied the cloth covering his face.
Had he just passed his coming-of-age? The handsome features of a young man, who had barely shed his boyishness, were revealed.
“Ahem, due to various circumstances, I came out into the Jianghu alone, but…”
Namgung Un said with an embarrassed expression.
“This incident has taught me something. Matters in the Jianghu can't be solved with martial arts alone. More than anything, I need to gain experience.”
Namgung Un looked at Bu Eun-seol with utmost seriousness and said.
“I wish to travel with you, sir.”