24
Chapter 24: Molting
A waist as slender as a willow branch, fingertips as white as white jade and fluttering like willow leaves, the curve of taut collarbones connecting neck, chest, and shoulders.
She was a beauty whose figure alone seemed capable of making countless men weep.
Her voice calling him grandfather was as lovely and gentle as her figure. If the man looking at her had been someone other than Dong Bong-su, anyone would have felt enchantment and their mind would have become hazy.
At her call, Tang O turned his head toward her. His eyes had already become much softer than when he had been looking at Danri Jiang-hae and the others.
"Let's just go. They're from a county and city, so they don't know any better."
County and city.
To them, Bongyang was merely the countryside, the Danri Family was just a small to medium sect from the village, and Danri Jiang-hae was merely a puppy.
Tigers don't react to a puppy's barking. Tang O nodded at the veiled woman's words.
"Let's do that, Hwa-ah. This should be enough for this fellow to realize how wide the world is. Tsk. How idle must a person who calls himself a descendant of the righteous sects be to get drunk and cause a scene in the morning?"
Tang O shook his head while looking at Danri Jiang-hae, who had fainted foaming at the mouth.
The reason he had been somewhat excessive with Danri Jiang-hae and the Black Five Group was as a warning. Should we say he showed the puppy the vastness of the world? Of course, whether the fainted Danri Jiang-hae would take it that way was an unknown matter.
"My temper wants to snap this fellow's wrist, but I can't bear to be so cruel to a child of the righteous sects. When this fellow wakes up, tell him firmly that if he bothers any woman, he won't die of natural causes. Do you understand?"
Tang O spoke to Gi Dae-hyo while emanating coldness once more.
Only then could Gi Dae-hyo understand what had happened. It was certain that Danri Jiang-hae had done to Tang O's granddaughter what he usually did to courtesans. Probably Danri Jiang-hae, bewitched by the veiled woman's enchanting figure, had tried to remove her veil or had openly made a fool of himself.
They were truly lucky. Even though they were both righteous sects, in cases like this blood could be shed between them. Moreover, given the difference between the Sichuan Tang Family and the Danri Family, what more needed to be said? It was obvious as fire that blood would be shed not mutually, but unilaterally on the Danri Family's side.
"......Y-yes!"
Gi Dae-hyo answered urgently lest Tang O change his mind.
Hearing Gi Dae-hyo's answer, Tang O passed between the fallen Black Five Group members with the veiled woman Tang Hwa.
Swoosh.
Somehow, as Tang O took each step, the Black Five Group members began regaining consciousness one by one. Tang O was retrieving all the needles he had deployed earlier through Remote Object Manipulation as he walked.
Dong Bong-su watched that scene carefully with gleaming eyes, observing every detail. It was such an amazing sight that if he hadn't seen it directly, it would have been hard to believe.
A scene directly violating the laws of physics he had considered absolute truth.
The deep, deep desire hidden within him stirred.
A path to obtaining strength beyond limits, which had been impossible in the previous world, was unfolding before his eyes.
The thought that he must learn martial arts was becoming increasingly firm in his heart.
Then, by chance, Dong Bong-su and Tang O's eyes met.
"Mm......!"
What was this? Tang O's gaze became strange.
Thud.
He even stopped walking and looked at Dong Bong-su.
"Grandfather?"
"Hwa-ah. Wait a moment, stay here."
Without any particular explanation to the puzzled Tang Hwa, Tang O approached Dong Bong-su.
'What?'
Another unpredictable situation had occurred. Dong Bong-su hurriedly lowered his head. He had absolutely no idea why Tang O was approaching him.
Tap tap tap.
The sound of Tang O's footsteps grew louder.
"Grandfather? What's the matter?"
Tang Hwa called out to the suddenly strange Tang O once more and followed. Tang O raised his hand to stop her and said.
"It's nothing. I just have something to ask this child."
Something to ask. Meaning he had direct business.
Dong Bong-su's brain spun rapidly. But there was still nothing he could figure out.
Then Tang O, who had approached right in front of Dong Bong-su, spoke.
"What is your name?"
"……."
Dong Bong-su was still Mute Sam. A groom and mute Sosam. Someone who couldn't speak.
"I asked what your name is."
Tang O's voice grew slightly louder. But Dong Bong-su remained silent, and the answer came from behind instead. It was Gi Dae-hyo.
"That fellow is a groom called Sosam, but he cannot speak."
"A mute?"
A slightly disappointed look flashed across Tang O's face upon hearing Gi Dae-hyo's words. But even so, the interest in Dong Bong-su hadn't disappeared from Tang O's eyes. His eyes were still examining Dong Bong-su up and down.
Though Dong Bong-su's eyes were a hazy color that had lost their original light, they were watching and observing everything without missing a thing. And finally, he could guess what Tang O wanted.
Tang O's current gaze looked like a pirate who had acquired treasure after appraising it.
Treasure. Usually an unsuitable word for a person, but in any case it meant something precious. And if to martial artists, especially to an absolute master like Tang O, he looked at a young person as if looking at treasure? And if he showed a briefly disappointed look when he learned he was a mute?
Though it came suddenly in an unexpected situation, Dong Bong-su instinctively realized he had finally caught an opportunity to shed the shell of being a groom. And Dong Bong-su was not one to let such an opportunity slip away.
Tang O stared piercingly into Dong Bong-su's hazy eyes. Dong Bong-su matched his behavior by showing in his eyes, though very briefly, not Sosam's gaze but Dong Bong-su's original gaze.
A gleam flashed in Tang O's eyes, and he caught to some degree Dong Bong-su's excellence. However, he didn't realize that all of this was Dong Bong-su's orchestrated behavior.
Tang O suddenly reached out, grabbed Dong Bong-su's wrist, and felt his pulse. A look of intense surprise rapidly spread across his cold face.
Dong Bong-su still didn't quite know what Tang O was surprised about. One thing was certain: he wasn't surprised because of the JP accumulated in his body.
The internal energy spoken of in this place and JP were strictly different. If they were the same type of energy, there was no way Danri Cheon-u or Gi Dae-hyo wouldn't have known.
In fact, the atmosphere of those with internal energy was subtly different, and Dong Bong-su could feel that difference. He had no changes whatsoever due to the existence of internal energy.
The reason Tang O was surprised was definitely 'something else.' Though he didn't yet know what it was, it was definitely not something bad, and it was some positive thing that gave him an opportunity like now.
Tang O stopped examining Dong Bong-su's body further, turned around, and approached Gi Dae-hyo.
"Are you on your way to the Namgung Family?"
Gi Dae-hyo was completely out of his mind right now. The Danri Family had nearly faced a great crisis because of Danri Jiang-hae and had barely escaped, but Tang O was acting strangely again, so it was understandable. Moreover, since the cause of that strange behavior was Sosam, it was all the more absurd.
Gi Dae-hyo was lifting the unconscious Danri Jiang-hae when Tang O approached and asked, so he hurriedly stood up and answered.
"Yes?......Ah, yes. Because of the Namgung Family's wedding……."
"What does this child do?"
"A, a groom……."
"Then this old man can take him, right?"
Tang O fired back without giving Gi Dae-hyo time to answer properly. As soon as he heard the answer he needed, he immediately cut off Gi Dae-hyo's words in the middle.
"……What? N-no. If not for that fellow, there's no one who can manage that Ferghana Horse."
"Then the child just needs to transport the Ferghana Horse to the Namgung Family?"
"If the Namgung Family has a groom who can manage the Ferghana Horse……."
"The Namgung Family has many capable horse handlers who can easily manage a Ferghana Horse. I don't think this child will be needed at the Namgung Family. Then after arriving at the Namgung Family, this old man can take this child without complaint, right?"
"……."
"Ah, I'll speak directly to that fellow Byeok myself. Also, this old man will pay for this child's body price. If necessary, I'll even write a letter directly to your Family Head. How about it? Isn't that sufficient?"
Gi Dae-hyo was completely out of his mind. Why on earth was a great master like Tang O suddenly acting like this? He felt like he was dreaming.
"……Yes. We were planning to give that fellow and the horse to the Namgung Family Head as wedding gifts anyway."
"Then that's settled. Is there any other request?"
Whatever made him so pleased, Tang O was even willing to bestow favors he normally wouldn't.
"Yes!? If, if you would do that much, then we!"
For Gi Dae-hyo, unexpected fortune had arrived. He had thought they faced the crisis of a lifetime when Danri Jiang-hae caused an incident, but it was rather a great reversal.
If Tang O, who was close enough to the Namgung Family Head to call him 'that fellow Byeok,' asked this favor, they could place Danri Jiang-hae not just as Namgung Hu's disciple but as an Outside Surname Disciple of the Family Head Namgung Byeok himself.
However, one curiosity remained.
What exactly did Tang O see in Sosam that he would take on even such a troublesome task to take him away? However, he couldn't dare ask. The difference between Tang O and him was that great. Gi Dae-hyo quickly swallowed the question that arose deep in his heart.
He just needed to successfully complete the mission Danri Cheon-u had given him. If they gained more than expected by handing over someone like Sosam anyway, wasn't it a profitable deal?
"So, what's that request? If it's something I can do, I'll grant it all."
"I want to have Young Master Danri enter as an Outside Surname Disciple of the Namgung Family Head."
"Just that?"
"……What? Ah, yes. That's sufficient."
"That's nothing. Then I can take this child with me now."
"Ah……yes."
"Hehehe. Good, very good. Then let's depart."
Whatever made him so happy, Tang O never lost the smile from his face for even a moment. The cold aura from when they first saw him was now completely gone.
He walked ahead with Tang Hwa. Then, when the group didn't follow, he infused internal energy into his voice and said.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and follow."
"……!"
At Tang O's urging, Gi Dae-hyo finally came to his senses, loaded Danri Jiang-hae onto a cargo cart, and immediately departed.
Dong Bong-su also followed him, leading Yeoro forward. Observing, the conversation between Tang Hwa and Tang O reached his ears.
"Grandfather. Please tell me what's suddenly going on. What's so special about that groom called Sosam that you're doing all this? Hm?"
Tang Hwa asked Tang O to tell her what on earth had happened, but Tang O only smiled and said nothing much. All he said was.
"Later. I'll tell you everything later. Hehe."
That was all.
Tang O's hearty laughter. The only person here who knew the meaning of that laughter was Dong Bong-su. Though he didn't know precisely the fundamental reason, time would resolve that.