The Face Beneath the Mask
Money was held out toward me.
"Let's keep it thick and short. It's not like you're just anyone—you're the administrator, aren't you?"
The money was withdrawn.
A third of a gold bar dropped into my hand.
"What happened today is a secret between you and me. Not that anyone would believe it anyway."
"Y-Yullyeong-nim is... then?"
Gwak Yong muttered in a trembling voice.
I personally combed his hair for him. I roughly wiped the blood-soaked back of his head with a cloth.
"I promise. No more remarks that would make things worse. That should be enough, I think."
"Ah, th-that is..."
"Right now the Family Lord's mood is such that a little fanning would send his head flying. Is that truly what you want? You, the administrator?"
Gwak Yong became as silent as a mute who had swallowed honey.
I straightened his clothes and patted his shoulders.
"Mm, that looks presentable enough. You can go out now. The smell of liquor and food seasoning on your clothes is the sort of drunken mishap any real man might have. Isn't that right? That's the manliness you taught me yourself, Administrator."
"Aaaah..."
And so Gwak Yong staggered out without even recovering his principal.
I picked up the broom that had been left in the corner.
"B-Biryu-gongja is truly nothing like the martial artists these days."
The expression on Chief Maid Yema's face when she entered a shichen later was a colorful one. First she was shocked by the wreckage smashed every which way, then even more so by the sight of me sweating, limping, sweeping and mopping as I cleaned up the aftermath.
"W-what are you doing!"
Chief Maid Yema flew over like the wind and snatched the broom away.
"This is our work! A martial artist mopping floors?!"
I was the one more startled by that fierce intensity.
"No, this situation is, well, it seems Lord Gwak Yong got a bit carried away while drinking..."
Chief Maid Yema clicked her tongue and swept with practiced skill. Her hands moved twice as fast and far more familiarly than mine had.
"It's nothing. Compared to saving the young miss, a few broken plates are nothing. This is my job. From now on, Gongja-nim, don't even think of picking up things like this. People will look down on you if they see. Look down. This is the sort of work lowly folk like me do."
"..."
I opened my mouth a few times, then hesitated. Finally I mustered the courage to speak.
"It's not lowly at all."
"Pardon?"
"I said it's not lowly. I'm always grateful. I don't take what's natural for granted either."
Chief Maid Yema stared at me quietly. The wrinkles carved into her forehead and the hands gripping the broom were full of eczema from a lifetime of household labor.
"Even if it's empty words, thank you. But why did that man come earlier?"
She pretended it was nothing, yet her voice had grown a shade softer.
If this has eased the resentment from before...
I too said no more on the subject and pulled a chair over to sit beside her.
"He just said he wanted a drink and to hear about this whole affair. But his alcohol tolerance was so poor and his drunken behavior so severe that I had a hard time keeping him from throwing up."
"Oh dear, no wonder he left bent over at the waist."
Chief Maid Yema chuckled.
"And Young Miss Sogyo?"
"She was crying."
"Why?"
"Well..."
Chief Maid Yema knew nearly everything about Sogyo. That was why she had immediately grasped the intent behind the absurd request I had made and helped me.
"If you open your eyes and the first thing you see is such an ugly red-bean fish bun, wouldn't you cry from shock?"
"..."
"If you're going to make something, make it properly. Biryu-nim, never go around claiming you can cook. Understood?"
I snorted a laugh.
"Yes. I have no talent with my hands."
Yes. That was enough.
I rose from my seat.
Outside the window it was growing dark. Mist was rising. Mist against a waning moon on a winter night. Not bad, I thought.
"You're ready, yes?"
"Yes."
I opened the door and stepped out. The long corridor was empty of even a single mouse. Beside it, the luggage I would take was neatly piled together. I hoisted it onto my back. I was still limping a little, but it was fine. In a few days on the road the cycle for body restoration would return anyway.
I walked with a limp, luggage on my back. Chief Maid Yema followed quietly behind.
She carefully opened her mouth.
"But..."
"Yes."
"Is it really all right not to see her even once?"
I had already decided the answer to that.
"Yes."
"Why? That child will be waiting so much."
"I kept the promise I made. Besides, I've been a fraud from the start... so I don't have the face for it either."
At my words Chief Maid Yema wore an expression that said she could not understand.
"What do you mean by that..."
"There's just that sort of thing."
We came out into the courtyard. Chief Maid Yema took the lead with a lantern. We walked quietly out into the mist.
The mission was finished. The deadline was over. Leaving was the proper thing to do. I had come under a false identity from the very beginning—an unprincipled man—so the more I stood out, the greater the risk of my tail being caught. That was my judgment.
"I don't know what circumstances you have, but must you really hurry off like a thief?"
"Family Lord."
In the winter mist, beneath the moonlight, the Patriarch of the Namgung Family, Namgung Hwiyul, stood with the Baekjao holding lanterns.
"Given my origins, leaving quickly would be better for Namgung as well, would it not?"
Whether he had given up on further persuasion, Namgung Hwiyul shook his head.
"Travel funds?"
"Travel funds."
I raised my left hand. On it was fitted a black gauntlet woven of slender iron chains like thread. The state of my left hand had worsened while I smashed the stiffened bandages and beat Gwak Yong. The black iron armor tightly encircled and protected that left wrist as if guarding it.
"This was originally what was promised between the Sect Leader and the Family Lord, so I'll take only this."
"...You really are an inscrutable young man. You refuse my recruitment offer flat-out. Even when I offer money you turn it down."
"Haha."
"Or perhaps... is it because of that? I meant that as well when I spoke."
My laughter cut off cold.
I looked at Namgung Hwiyul.
"Pardon? What did you just say..."
"That you belong to the Moyong, not the Blood Death Sect."
It felt as if my heart had dropped.
At the sudden shift in my presence, the Baekjao reacted faster than anyone. But their movements vanished as if washed away by a single raised hand from Namgung Hwiyul.
"Surprised?"
"...Yes, a little."
I swallowed and cleared my throat.
"Quite a lot, actually."
"When you've rolled around the jianghu enough to climb to the seat of a great family patriarch, you can spot a human-skin mask after talking face-to-face two or three times. Don't you know the famous saying? Even the head of a peddler caravan is the head for a reason."
I had no idea what expression to make. I had no idea what to do next. Standing there completely defenseless and blank like this was a first in my entire life.
"Ah... I, that is, I wasn't trying to deceive you..."
"There must have been circumstances beyond your control."
I stared at him, startled by the completely unconcerned tone of the Namgung Family Lord. I had deceived the Family Lord. Depending on the other party's nature, this was a matter that could never be overlooked and would be made into an issue. Yet Patriarch Namgung Hwiyul did not care in the slightest. Even his words were deliberately vague. He said I belonged to the Moyong, but did not specify my position within the Moyong Family. I could not begin to guess how much he knew. If I opened my mouth alone and jumped to conclusions here, I might only sink deeper into the mire. High-level play. It was the weight of experience itself, utterly unrelated to martial prowess.
Kuk, as expected! I shouldn't have approached so closely from the start. Where did it go wrong?
As if he could see straight through my confused heart, Namgung Hwiyul stroked his beard with endless composure.
"In exchange for overlooking your attempt to deceive me, this old man has one request. Will you grant it?"
"What request might that be?"
I spoke in a tightly strained voice.
Namgung Hwiyul answered calmly.
"I wish to see the face of my daughter's benefactor. I swear on the Family Lord's seal that there is no political intent, no thought of any backing behind it."
"..."
There was no hole to escape through. No room for choice. After hesitating, I brought my hand to the back of my head. I removed the human-skin mask.
Namgung Hwiyul's deep-set eyes flashed as he looked upon my face revealed under the moonlight.
"Your true name is."
"...Moyong Bi. Moyong Bi."
A startled light crossed Namgung Hwiyul's face.
"Good heavens. You are that rumored...! But why, when you should be traveling for the Cheonsubaekryeonsa trials, would you be with the Blood Death Sect... no, never mind."
Namgung Hwiyul shook his head and composed his voice.
"That is not what matters. And the fact that you are our family's benefactor remains unchanged. Rather... now I understand. Why you staked your life fighting for a child you had never seen before—your motive is completely clear."
"Is that so."
Namgung Hwiyul kept letting out hollow laughs and muttering to himself.
"Heh, whether this is a curse or a blessing—men who could raise a family if even one appeared, and a full three of them have gathered in one house..."
He lifted his head and spoke to me.
"You don't seem particularly ambitious for the Family Lord's seat?"
"Why do you think so?"
Pffh, Namgung Hwiyul laughed with a sound like air escaping.
"To put it simply, it shows. Moyong Bi, if you ever grow sick of the family infighting, come anytime. I will gladly accept you as Biryu even if you arrive without the human-skin mask."
"...Thank you."
"And I will call you Biryu as well. Frankly, as the master of a great family myself, the Moyong name is a bit awkward. Haha. You know it well enough—the Five Great Families don't get along."
At that malice-free laughter I finally let the tension ease from my shoulders. Fortunately it seemed to have passed amicably.
"I understand completely. Honestly, for me right now the sense of belonging is still outweighed by the hardship."
"Is that so!? Then come over to our Namgung Family...!"
"I am sorry."
Patriarch Namgung Hwiyul coughed awkwardly in embarrassment.
Now it was truly time to part. As I made to leave, Namgung Hwiyul gestured. He forced something into my hand.
"It is the Namgung Family's Myeong-ok-hopae. You must take this with you. My pride will not allow me to send you off empty-handed."
"This is..."
It was a jade plaque the size of an index finger, coiled with a blue dragon.
"Wherever you show this at a trading post under our Namgung jurisdiction, they will treat you as a guest I personally brought, no matter where it is. And of course,"
Namgung Hwiyul said with a bright smile,
"you'll also get to eat as much of that meat my daughter likes as you want."
"...Family Lord."
"I won't bother with formal farewells. We'll meet again, after all."
I clenched the Myeong-ok-hopae tightly. Toward yet another bond formed in the jianghu, I spoke.
"Of course."
With those words I left the Namgung Family without looking back.
I had a task that took absolute priority. It was time to focus once more on my original goal after this long digression.
Kakakak...
The Seven Sects Black Pearl Gauntlet fitted on my left hand growled, sparks flying between the fingers whenever it moved. I clenched and unclenched my fist. Everything I could prepare was done.
So Yeomgyo had said: no matter who the forces within Cheonsubaekryeonsa that continuously obstructed and watched me were, if they targeted me once more, she would give her all in the next and final punitive trial. On the strength of those words alone I had not returned immediately after finishing the second punitive trial, but had stopped by Emei and even completed this private commission at the Namgung Family.
"...Good."
I did not know what schemes might await. But in this moment I had done everything I could. From here on, only Heaven knew what the road ahead would hold.
I walked the road with a limp. When the sun set I camped again. When the sun rose I walked again. As the cycle returned I carried out body restoration. I could run swiftly.
I did not enter Cheonsubaekryeonsa the moment it stood before me. I took a room at an inn and decided to rest for a night. The instant I stepped inside, who knew what endless incidents would start again. I would shake off the travel fatigue.
Click.
I entered the room and locked the door. The narrow rectangular chamber held only a bed and a few pieces of furniture. I laid out my martial robes and gear to one side. After a light wash I lay down on the bed. I snuffed the candle. Darkness filled the room. I needed rest. I closed my stiff eyes.
"..."
I sighed. I threw off the covers and sat up. The door was still locked. No one should have been able to enter.
Kiiing...
Both my eyes dyed red, and the world turned crimson. In the corner of the room where only I should have been, someone stood.
"Oh, were you waiting for me?"
He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. A pair of yellow, cat-like eyes floated roundly in the darkness.
"I thought it was about time you'd come."
A man with short black hair and black martial robes, yellow eyes.
Thud. Thud.
The man walked forward.
"Yes, I've come looking for you. Moyong Bi. We have a contract between us, don't we?"
Mara Jin grinned.