Dragon Gate Yi Clan (2)
“Huh…?”
“W-what the hell?!”
With the guards' startled cries echoing, chunks of severed iron scattered to the ground before their feet. The clear clinking of metal pieces colliding rang out, and as if she had slipped away unnoticed, Namgung Som-in appeared right in front of the guards.
“You pathetic hounds. How dare you swing your swords at the weak.”
“Who the hell are you?!”
Having lost their only weapon, they hurriedly backed away, but their hostility didn't waver. Namgung Som-in, blocking the men's path, fixed them with a cold glare.
First-rate level at best… And these guys just draw their swords in broad daylight like it's nothing. No wonder Teacher laments about this world.
This isn't chivalry or righteousness—it's just plain violence.
Namgung Som-in felt a surge of disgust.
The young man in splendid robes looked at her. “Who are you?”
Namgung Som-in didn't answer. The guards stepped forward instead.
“How insolent!”
“Do you even know who this is?!”
“This is the second young master of the Yongmun Yi Clan, honored as Jeonhwi! How dare some no-name wanderer from the jianghu!”
“Yongmun Yi Clan?”
Baek Su-gyeong rose to his feet. Not only had his meal spilled, but it felt deliberate—and now a familiar name cropped up.
“Owner?”
“Baek-sensei?”
Ignoring So Ssaang-a and Gal Ye-ryeong's voices, Baek Su-gyeong stood and turned his gaze. His eyes naturally drifted to the young man's face. It looked familiar somehow. As he scrutinized it slowly, the guards' rough voices filled his ears.
“And who the hell are you?!”
“Just a passing scholar. The food that boy spilled when you tripped him up? I ordered it.”
“What?”
“What nonsense is that?!”
Baek Su-gyeong eyed the protesting guards, then turned to the young man in splendid robes. “You think we wouldn't notice you sticking out your foot and playing dumb?”
“I didn't do that!”
“Yeah, figured you'd say that.”
Baek Su-gyeong chuckled. “You've been like that since you were a kid. Still can't shake that habit of denying everything first.”
“What?”
This time, the young man in splendid robes looked flustered in turn.
Baek Su-gyeong said, “Looks like you've forgotten me, young master. You once learned about appraisal from me, after all.”
“A-appraisal? What does learning about that as a kid have to—?”
“Teacher, do you know him?”
At Namgung Som-in's question, Baek Su-gyeong nodded. Hearing the Yongmun Yi Clan name and seeing the face brought it all back clearly.
Second young master Yi Jeon-hwi. The Yongmun Yi Clan's troublemaker. He'd been stirring up incidents since childhood, and apparently still was.
“Young master A-hwi. Forgot my face already?”
“Who are you to know my childhood name…?”
“Remember if I say Baek, the deputy manager of the Yongmun Escort Bureau?”
At Baek Su-gyeong's words, Yi Jeon-hwi's face drained of color.
“B-Baek deputy manager?”
“Who the hell are you to impersonate Deputy Manager Baek?!”
“My face hasn't changed that much. Can't even remember? That's hilarious.”
Baek Su-gyeong genuinely grinned, stroking his smooth, beardless chin. Then his expression sharpened. Anger flickered across his usually mild face.
“Still stuck in your kid habits, huh? Picking on anyone who rubs you wrong, dragging guards around to pull this crap?”
“T-Teacher?”
“Owner?!”
“Baek-sensei…?”
The three women gasped at Baek Su-gyeong's crude outburst. Ignoring them, he strode forward. Stopping before the errand boy—who was making a miserable face at his soup-soaked clothes—Baek Su-gyeong spoke.
“You even remembered my habit of ordering one dish at a time. Boy, your name was Jang Chil-rang, right?”
“Uh—D-deputy manager, sir?!”
“If you can't recognize me on sight, three years must feel long.”
It had been three years since Baek Su-gyeong left the Yongmun Escort Bureau and headed to Wuan. He clicked his tongue at the boy's clothes.
“Young master A-hwi. Should I go straight to the patriarch and rat you out for still pulling this shit, or…?”
“I-is this really Deputy Manager Baek… no, Teacher Baek?!”
“There's only one Baek Su-gyeong in the world.”
Gruffly answering, Baek Su-gyeong helped the boy up. “Tch. Good thing it didn't burn your skin. Go wash up and change. I'll handle the innkeeper.”
“B-but…”
“No need to pay for the food. Go on.”
“Th-thank you, sir!”
The errand boy, Jang Chil-rang, scurried off like a rabbit. Baek Su-gyeong stood amid the spilled and shattered dishes, fixing Yi Jeon-hwi with a cold stare. Despite it being years since they'd met, fear clouded the young man's still-youthful face.
Baek Su-gyeong marched up and grabbed Yi Jeon-hwi's ear, yanking hard.
“Come on, young master. Time to see the patriarch.”
“Ow! Teacher Baek, wait, this is—!”
Baek Su-gyeong cut him off coldly. “Shut it. I come back to Luoyang after ages, and you're still embarrassing yourself like this. I drilled it into you not to tarnish the Yongmun Yi Clan's name!”
“Agh! My ear's coming off, Teacher Baek!”
“An ear that lets advice go in one side and out the other might as well be ripped off! Hey, you there—call the innkeeper over.”
Gal Ye-ryeong, Namgung Som-in, and So Ssaang-a all stared in stunned silence at the stormy scene.
What the hell is going on?
“Heh heh, Teacher Baek's temper hasn't changed a bit.”
“That's all ancient history now. I'm no longer a deputy manager at the Yongmun Escort Bureau, nor young master A-hwi's teacher. Just a humble scholar these days.”
In the Yongmun Yi Clan's reception hall, Baek Su-gyeong sat facing a portly middle-aged man holding a cup of dragon well tea. The three women had followed him, but their faces showed they hadn't adjusted to the sudden shift.
The Yongmun Yi Clan was a renowned family even in Luoyang. They'd produced countless eminent officials, with ties to the imperial court, and no small influence in the jianghu too. The clan head was always called Lord Yi Gyeol, commanding deep respect. Spanning officialdom, commerce, and martial arts, their prestige in Luoyang was formidable—and for Baek Su-gyeong to be called "teacher" by its patriarch?
At Baek Su-gyeong's words, the Yongmun Yi Clan head, Lord Yi Gyeol—Yi Jeon-hyo—chuckled.
“They call you Teacher Su-gyeong these days, I hear?”
“It just sort of happened.”
“Ho, not denying it, eh? I'm enjoying Wudang Sword Hero immensely. Always waiting for the next volume.”
Baek Su-gyeong gave a wry smile at Yi Jeon-hyo's words.
“The second young master's still the same. Hasn't kicked that bad habit of denying first, asking questions later.”
“What can you do? No one's managed to teach him properly since you left.”
“Is that so.”
“I tried to hold you back when you said you were leaving.”
“I would've gone anyway.”
Yi Jeon-hyo gave a wry smile at Baek Su-gyeong's firm tone. Whether before or after retiring to the countryside, the man's temperament was unchanged. He never did anything he didn't want to.
“Probably. That's why it's such a shame. So, what brings you to Luoyang?”
“Passing through after visiting Shaolin. Thought I'd pay my respects to the bureau chief, but this happened by chance.”
“Tsk tsk. Jeon-hwi must've been jealous of his teacher. And those three ladies?”
When Yi Jeon-hyo gestured to the women behind Baek Su-gyeong, he replied, “Two heroines from the Namgung clan and Myeongwang Society, and the leader of a merchant group I met after heading to Wuan. Lady Namgung. Lady Gal. Leader So. Say hello. This is Yi Jeon-hyo, head of the Yongmun Yi Clan.”
At his introduction, the three women greeted in their own ways.
“Namgung Som-in of the Namgung clan.”
“I'm So Ssaang-a of the Gyeongun Merchant Group.”
“Gal Ye-ryeong of the Myeongwang Society.”
Yi Jeon-hyo laughed as if amused by their greetings, a warm smile lighting his eyes with keen interest.
“The Myeongwang Society at odds with Shaolin, a heroine from the prestigious Namgung clan of Anhui… and the Gyeongun Merchant Group, whose rise has been nothing short of meteoric lately. You've gathered fine company, Teacher.”
“Somehow our paths crossed.”
“All thanks to Wudang Sword Hero, no doubt. Even I'm living for those volumes these days.”
“Lord Yi, if you keep heaping on the pressure like that, it'll be hard to write the next one.”
“Heh heh, caught me?”
Grinning broadly, Yi Jeon-hyo said, “So, how long do you plan to stay in Luoyang, Teacher?”
“Soon as I see the bureau chief, back to Wuan. Got the next volume to write…”
“That bureau chief? He won't be back for a while. Took on a big escort to Liaodong.”
“Liaodong?”
“Some commission from the Moyong clan, apparently. Though who knows. Headed to Yanshan, they said.”
“Must've sailed from Shandong Peninsula up the Yalu.”
“Something like that. Point is, he's definitely not in Luoyang now.”
Baek Su-gyeong stroked his chin slightly at Yi Jeon-hyo's words. He'd hoped to see Ji Wi-sang while in town, but if he was away… it was disappointing.
“We just missed each other after all this time. Thanks for letting me know, my lord.”
“Straight back to Wuan then, Teacher Baek?”
“Yes, but…”
“Hmm. Hate to see you go like this.”
Yi Jeon-hyo looked genuinely regretful. “If I'd known you'd write Wudang Sword Hero, I'd have kept you in Luoyang just writing. How could a man of such talent waste it on escort work? What a pity.”
“I didn't expect this either. Call it heavenly luck.”
I really didn't see this coming, my lord.
Baek Su-gyeong swallowed his true thoughts and sipped his dragon well tea.
“Speaking of, I heard your next protagonist is from Shaolin… Planning to feature us too?”
“Haha, I'll consider it. No requests accepted though, so keep that in mind, my lord.”
“Heh heh, what a shame!”
As the two men chatted amiably, a faint crack appeared on Gal Ye-ryeong's forehead.
What the hell is this guy?