Chapter 211
Translator: penny
Chapter: 214
Chapter Title: War Clouds (4)
“...No fucking way, what the hell are you doing?”
Namgung Yeon blinked at the sudden curse that popped out.
She scanned my face for a moment before letting out a laugh, as if she found it utterly ridiculous.
“Can’t you tell? I’m working as a waiter.”
But I was the one who found it ridiculous.
I couldn’t help but snort in disbelief, my nose flaring.
They say when something’s so absurd it drives you mad, all you can do is laugh—and this was my first time experiencing it firsthand.
My mouth itched like crazy.
Hey, you bitch.
I busted my ass, shitting blood to earn that money and handed it all over, so why the hell are you slinging plates here?
How much do you even make doing this? Enough to save a single silver tael after a whole year?
I sent you gold by the fucking chest—chest after chest! Where the hell did you stash it all, and why are you doing this menial crap?
I swallowed the words boiling up inside me, my mouth turning bitter.
I bit down hard on my lower lip, then let out a long breath and chugged straight from the bottle.
“...Whew.”
The premium Dugang liquor burned its way down my throat. It finally calmed my seething gut, if only for a moment.
But Namgung Yeon still seemed displeased with my attitude, narrowing her eyes as she spoke.
“What’s your problem? You act like you’ve never seen someone working before.”
-Thud!
I slammed the Dugang bottle down roughly, and Namgung Yeon flinched.
I’d never seen a clan leader of the Namgung Family working as a waiter—why would I?
Is this okay for a clan leader? Don’t you have any pride?
And you’ve got real money. I went through hell to make sure you wouldn’t have to do shit like this, so why are you sitting here like an idiot?
Why are we both so damn miserable? I’m propping you up so at least you can take the easier path!
I asked, holding onto my burning patience.
“...Is this some kind of training?”
“Training?”
“You said it last time we met—you’re a martial artist. You even joined the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly. So why is someone like that working as a waiter?”
I can’t always understand the eccentricities of martial artists.
Maybe it’s a form of mental discipline?
But Namgung Yeon shot back proudly.
“...You think all martial artists live lives of luxury? We have to work proper jobs to fill our bellies too. What’s so strange about working to survive?”
“You don’t have any money at all? Enough that you have to work in a place like this?”
“What do you mean ‘a place like this’? Why do you keep belittling someone else’s job? What lofty work do you do, then?”
“That’s not it. Martial artists usually... have other paths, don’t they? Most experts in the jianghu rescue people and get paid for it.”
“Doing it for pay isn’t righteousness. Besides, my skills aren’t refined enough to save lives, so I work. Sorry to disappoint you as a lowly jianghu wanderer.”
“If your skills suck, you should train more—why work...? No, really, you don’t have a single coin to your name?”
Did someone steal it? Did you lose it all?
Namgung Yeon looked at me for a moment before whispering quietly.
“...It’s not that, but you wouldn’t understand. There’s such a thing as money that can’t be used.”
You’ve got money!
“What the hell kind of money is that? Money is money. You’re just hiding that you’re a beggar, aren’t you?”
My voice grew louder without me realizing it. I was even provoking her like Dang Soran.
Namgung Yeon just scowled.
“So what if I’m a beggar? So what if I’m rich? I still don’t get why you’re suddenly pissed off. Or what, you thought you were buying a meal for a martial artist, but it turned out to be for a pathetic waiter, and now you regret it? I’ll return your money, then.”
I wanted to scream in her face to cough up every gold chest I gave her.
But I couldn’t.
Namgung Yeon slammed her soup ladle onto the table roughly.
-Tang!
As a bonus, she rummaged through her shabby apron and pulled out two mung coins for the noodles.
I couldn’t tell why those emotional gestures looked so pathetic.
She placed the money on the table.
-Thud!
“There. If that’s all it takes to make a man sulk like this, I don’t know who’s less manly now.”
“Haha... hahaha!”
She took my laughter as mockery and pulled her face veil up with a swipe.
“Eat well and be on your way! It was nice seeing you again. Take your time so you don’t choke!”
She turned and scurried to another table.
When customers called, she ran over, brought out food, and took more orders.
I stared blankly at her retreating figure.
How do I even describe this feeling?
Like becoming a goose dad, sending every penny you earn abroad to your kid, only to find them skipping studies in that great country to mess around?
I took a long deep breath.
Yeah, calm down. She doesn’t know I’m her sponsor.
Since she doesn’t know, she naturally thinks I’m just picking a fight for no reason.
If I don’t like that, I could reveal who I am, but I don’t want to, so no choice.
But still, seeing her like this made it hard to just leave her be.
At the very least, I needed to know why she was doing this.
I steeled myself, stood up, and approached Namgung Yeon.
Grabbing her shoulder, I said.
“Sorry. I went too far.”
“...Whatever.”
“I was just worried.”
“...Worried?”
“You were on the verge of collapsing last time we met. Seeing you like that now, looking half-dead again, of course I’m pissed! Especially after I looked out for you!”
Namgung Yeon furrowed her brow.
“That worry feels kinda creepy. How much have you seen of me to worry like that? You some kind of pervert?”
“...Cut the sarcasm. As an apology, let me buy you a drink. Come join me—as a drinking buddy.”
“Can’t you see I’m working?”
“When do you get off?”
“Still a while.”
“How much do you make a day?”
“...None of your business.”
I grabbed that waiter I’d tipped before and asked.
“Sorry, but what’s your daily wage?”
“...Four mung coins.”
Fuck, you’re doing this for that, Namgung Yeon, you idiot?
I rummaged in my pocket, pulled out five mung coins, and handed them to the waiter.
“Five earlier, five more now. I want to drink with this friend, but can you cover his shifts?”
“N-No...! What’s so hard about that? Yeon-gung, go have a drink.”
Yeon-gung, huh. Using a fake name and everything.
Namgung Yeon brushed my hand off.
“You didn’t even ask my opinion? I don’t want to.”
In the end, I had to pull out my ultimate weapon.
“Are you mad?”
“What!”
“Obviously you’re mad. You won’t even accept my apology.”
Properly scratched by that, Namgung Yeon roughly untied her apron and came over to my seat.
“Fine. Then I’ll sit.”
I watched her sit and steeled myself again.
I grabbed chopsticks and a cup from the kitchen and returned to my seat.
Namgung Yeon sat with her arms crossed, looking at me as I approached.
I placed my hands on my knees and stared at her quietly, and she uncrossed her ladylike arms to place her hands on her own knees.
I smirked awkwardly before forcing out.
“Do you drink?”
“A real man wouldn’t shy from liquor. Bet I can outdrink you.”
“...Then have a cup.”
“What’s your name again?”
“...Han Seojin.”
Namgung Yeon took the drink. She said.
“I’m Yeon-gung.”
Yeon-gung my ass. I let out a snort, and Namgung Yeon furrowed her brow again.
“Mocking someone’s name isn’t cool.”
“No, it’s not that. Just... reminded me of someone.”
I clinked glasses with Namgung Yeon and downed mine. The burning Dugang flowed down my throat.
“Gulp!”
Then, a weird noise came from across.
“Cough! Cough! Haa...!”
Namgung Yeon scowled deeply, glaring at her cup like it was the enemy.
Her face screamed, why is this so bitter?
“...You said you could drink.”
Namgung Yeon defended herself in surprise.
“I-I can! I just drank too fast... S-some side dish...”
“...Eat.”
She hurriedly grabbed some food. I just watched her.
Up close, it was even more obvious.
How is this a guy in disguise? She’s just a girl.
She hid it damn well all this time. Don’t people around notice?
Her hands are small, her personality’s delicate, then she flares up like fire, won’t go out like water...
“...”
But like Columbus’s egg, some things only seem obvious once you see the end.
Namgung Yeon’s gender was probably like that—obvious once you know, invisible if you don’t.
Then, Namgung Yeon poured me a drink.
I said.
“...Don’t push yourself—”
“—Push myself? Don’t worry. I’m good at this.”
“...”
-Pour...
Namgung Yeon drank like she was proving something.
After that, with no big topics left, we drank in silence.
Eat side dish, drink. Eat side dish, drink.
She looked uncomfortable the whole time, and my gut actually felt queasy.
She couldn’t hold her liquor—soon her face was blotchy red.
I fished for something to say and asked idly.
“Is the job okay?”
“...It’s fine. Everyone does it.”
“Not too tough?”
“...Nah. But you’ve been weirdly worried since earlier. Treating me like a kid—what’s your deal? How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“Same age as me, yet acting like an elder. Let me tell you, I’ve lived a tougher life than you.”
“Figures.”
“...So stop with the burdensome worrying. It’s really awkward.”
I scratched my head.
“By the way, I thought jianghu folk cut back on eating, sleeping, even shitting to train their swords—do you have time for that if you’re working?”
Namgung Yeon snickered.
“Those who squeeze in training time all have talent.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Would you work at an inn that doesn’t pay daily wages while squeezing in time?”
“Why work if they don’t pay?”
“Exactly. Obsessed martial artists improve leaps and bounds with little training. They get big pay for small work. But the untalented get peanuts no matter how much they grind. I’ve got no talent. Squeezing in training’s just wasting time. Sometimes you don’t even get paid.”
“...So you gave up?”
“That’s not it. Just... better to do something else than waste time.”
...Working as a waiter isn’t a waste?
Reading the doubt on my face, Namgung Yeon smiled, her blotchy face shining.
“Working at an inn has its perks.”
“Why?”
“...Not telling. We’re not that close.”
Namgung Yeon raised her cup. I quickly clinked with her.
Knowing her situation was tough, I was going along with her a bit.
“Is it that weird?”
Namgung Yeon muttered to herself.
“Is it that weird for a martial artist to work at an inn...?”
I didn’t answer. Pushing her would just make her rebel more.
Instead, I changed the subject.
“What’s your sect?”
“Sorry, can’t say.”
“You have a master?”
I was asking about Black Dragon. With his disciple in this state, where the hell was he?
“Of course. I’m no genius who invented her own arts.”
“Your master okayed you working at an inn?”
“Why? Weird?”
“Yeah, weird.”
She snickered.
“Master doesn’t know I’m doing this.”
“What the hell’s your master doing, not worrying about his disciple?”
“Don’t insult my master. It’s just the situation—he has no choice.”
“No choice how?”
“You know the Demonic Cult’s rampaging?”
“Of course.”
“My master joined the Murim Alliance’s sword vanguard to wipe them out. No time to look after me.”
“What?”
...Black Dragon in the sword vanguard?
I snorted again. My blood ran cold.
...Black Dragon’s gonna die too.
This is the changed future.
My influence showing up like this again. The Alliance’s sword vanguard gets massacred by the Demonic Cult.
That’s when the Demonic Cult’s threat really spreads across the Central Plains, and the great righteous-evil war truly begins.
Black Dragon’s face from back then flashed in my mind. Knowing someone alive might die because of me felt seriously gross. As I spaced out, Namgung Yeon smiled.
“What, surprised my master’s a big shot?”
“...”
I downed my cup. Namgung Yeon followed suit.
I glanced at her.
The insane guilt blooming in my chest was hard to bear.
Felt like my meddling was stripping away everything Namgung Yeon had, bit by bit.
First the Namgung Family. Then her mental health. Now her master.
I couldn’t be sure about Black Dragon’s safety yet... but anticipating it made my sense of responsibility toward her grow stronger.
Gotta give back what I took.
“...Sigh.”
...Still, don’t blame myself too much.
Is it my fault? It’s the Demonic Cult’s. Those damn bastards...
Namgung Yeon spoke up.
“Don’t look at me so pitifully.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, with my master off to battle and me working as a waiter—pretty pathetic, right? I know... Especially since our age gap isn’t that big.”
“...”
“But I’m not just wasting time like it looks. I’m staying in this city to meet someone.”
“Meet who?”
“...Can’t say.”
“...”
She hadn’t given much info, but my growing anxiety eased a bit.
At least she had a purpose for staying in the city.
I’d feared she’d abandoned the sword and gone into hiding.
If she had her own plans, no need to poke around.
“You’ve been talking nonstop—my jaw hurts. So what do you do for a living?”
“I’m... a retainer of the Tang Clan of Sichuan.”
“What?”
Namgung Yeon looked shocked, staring at me. Was being a Tang Clan retainer that surprising?
“...Why?”
“...You first saw me at Song Mountain, right?”
...Ah.
I finally got her worry.
First off, I’m pretending not to know she’s the Namgung Clan Leader.
She’s embarrassed about getting crushed in one exchange by Cheongwol at Song Mountain, so I acted like I didn’t see the spar. Naturally, I shouldn’t know her identity.
But if I’m a Tang Clan retainer, she might’ve seen me when she visited as Dang Soran’s betrothal candidate.
I threw out a smokescreen.
“Song Mountain was the first. Why? You know our young miss?”
Desperately pretending not to know her, she gave an awkward laugh.
“H-Haha. A guy who doesn’t know Dang Soran? Just surprised you’re a Tang Clan retainer. Anyway... so you first saw me at Song Mountain?”
“Makes me curious if you’re some big martial artist? You know our young miss? I’ve only been working there two months, so I don’t know much.”
“Oh, uh... They were hiring retainers recently—you must’ve joined then. But how’d you get so much money?”
“Stolen.”
Namgung Yeon froze briefly but realized it was a joke.
“...Don’t joke like that.”
“Young miss gave it. Said new guy should go grab a drink.”
“Dang Soran must be loaded.”
...You are too, you crazy bitch. How much did I pour into you?
“Anyway, it all has to go back to young miss eventually, so let’s eat it all up here.”
At my words, Namgung Yeon burst out laughing.
She nodded, showing the biggest smile of the day.
“Yeah, I’ll help with that.”
****
Namgung Yeon kept gulping down the bitter liquor she’d never tried before, but it got easier each time.
Was it the side dish?
...Or the person in front of her.
Someone who didn’t know she was the ugly, worthless failure of the Namgung Family.
This was the first time Namgung Yeon had met someone like this.
She felt there were perks to hiding her identity.
Is this what having a friend feels like?
“One more!”
“M-Maybe we should stop—”
“A man can’t handle this much!”
Who knew chatting openly with someone could feel this good?
She was getting into it. Forgot her tough daily grind for a bit.
There was a subtle guilt for betraying her sponsor’s expectations by slacking off, but the buzz drowned it out.
She was even more excited thinking he was her rival.
Yeah, a real man should be like that.
Big build, sometimes reckless personality. Blunt speech.
That was the kind of man Namgung Yeon dreamed of.
There was fun in competing with him over manliness.
“One more!”
“...No, I said stop—”
“—W-What, scaredy-cat. Quit being a wuss and have one!”
Beating him made her forget her fragile femininity.
Felt like becoming the man her father always emphasized.
I’m manlier than that guy—doesn’t that make me a man?
Namgung Yeon downed her drink and set the cup down.
The world spun a little. Her body swayed.
Her emotions ran higher than usual too.
“How about we drop the formalities?”
Namgung Yeon asked. Words she’d normally hold back, but now she wanted to say them.
“Huh?”
“We’re fated like this—let’s be friends.”
“...Friends?”
“...You didn’t approach me. I did. Plus, as a Tang Clan retainer, we’ll see each other often. Let’s be friends.”
He wouldn’t know.
If he accepted, he’d be the first friend in Namgung Yeon’s life.
She wasn’t close with the Hidden Dragon Society members yet.
Even if friendly, it wasn’t deep. There was subtle disdain for the failure.
Above all, now clan leader of Namgung, everyone treated her with formality.
Her closest was Black Dragon, but he was master, not friend.
“...You’re drunk. Let’s stop and head back.”
“Be friends and I’ll go.”
“I said you’re drunk.”
“Friends! Be my friend!”
Han Seojin let out a long sigh.
“...Fine, got it. Friends, let’s be friends.”
Namgung Yeon grinned happily.
As Han Seojin stood, she jumped up too.
“Wh-Whoa...”
Her body wobbled.
-Thud!
Han Seojin caught her swaying form with his arm.
“...”
Namgung Yeon stared blankly, then scowled at the weird feeling.
“...What the hell, gross—guys don’t do this.”
“You said friends!”
“...Said friends, not grab me like this.”
-Thud!
She shook off his hand.
Then slowly headed outside.
The ground shook weirdly, walls kept closing in.
“...Damn it.”
She snapped at the taunting walls and floor.
“...You too? I’m having a hard enough time...”
Then, Han Seojin grabbed the back of her clothes.
Namgung Yeon turned, puzzled.
“Grabbed so you don’t fall. Walk—to your lodging.”
“...Friends gotta help.”
The irritation from walls and floor eased at Han Seojin’s consideration.
Pondering where her lodging was, she started walking.
How long had they walked? She noticed the moon high in the sky.
Must’ve drunk for hours.
Namgung Yeon gazed at the moon and muttered quietly.
“...You asked why I’m waitering, right?”
No idea why she suddenly wanted to say it.
Maybe wanted to confide in someone.
Han Seojin seemed drunk too—less pressure.
Of course, her reason for coming to the city was different.
But beyond saving sponsor’s money, killing time, wanting to blend in—there was one more reason for waitering.
Smiling, with a touch of misery, she revealed it to her brand-new first friend.
“Working... makes me feel like, even a bit, I’ve got some use in this jianghu... That kind of illusion.”
Namgung Yeon smiled briefly. She missed her parents today.
Embarrassed by the sudden silence, she walked briskly again, raising her voice.
“Come on, let’s head to bed!”