Chapter 194
Chapter 194
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Guest
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The Black Dragon Gate's opening ceremony was a joyous affair.
Musicians and dancers, gathered from all over, enlivened the atmosphere, while all sorts of delicious food and fragrant wine delighted the guests' palates.
“Aren't you overdoing it a bit?”
“Yo, Your High—!”
“Say one more word about my royal status and I'm gone.”
Bukgung Baek let out a dry cough and slowly explained.
“Ahem, it cost a bit of money, but we've spread the name of the Black… no, the Black Dragon Gate throughout Hanzhong, so it can be seen as a net gain.”
“…True.”
I swallowed my admiration and nodded.
The more I see of him, the more I like him.
He's strong in martial arts, smart, and even has charisma.
He's a classic all-rounder, like Gullit in a soccer game.
“Welcome! Sect Leader Bukgung.”
Bukgung Baek, a sect leader himself, stood up looking for Sect Leader Bukgung.
Following his gaze, I saw Bukgung Jang-hwan, who looked like he should be rolling rather than walking, panting as he approached.
“Ahem, congratulations on the opening. Sect Leader Bukgung.”
Watching the two exchange greetings, I couldn't help but shake my head.
*This is confusing. So confusing.*
It seemed like the sound of people calling for ‘Sect Leader Bukgung’ would soon echo all over Hanzhong.
“Hehehe, what are you looking at? Here, have a drink.”
As I was sighing, Myo Hyang filled my cup to the brim with wine.
“Thanks, sis.”
“Now that we've taken care of a big worry, let's drink to our hearts' content.”
*Gulp.*
“Hah. That's good.”
Having successfully concluded the consortium with the Hanzhong branch of the Hao Gate to acquire the merchant guild, she looked completely at ease.
I couldn't help but nod at the sight of a career woman enjoying herself after perfectly completing her tasks.
“Soso, you come here too and…”
*Chomp, chomp.*
*Crick, crunch. Munch. Crunch.*
…so much so that I couldn't help but compare her to Cheong So-so, who was stuffing a chicken leg into her mouth in the corner of the table.
By the way, what's Cheonga eating?
“Cheonga? What are you eating?”
*Crunch. Chirp?*
“Oh, an eggplant. Eat up.”
*Chrr. Chrr.*
Cheonga chirped, sounding pleased.
It's a good thing the eggplant is fresh.
“Oh? Were you planning to drink without me?”
Jeok Hwa-ran held out her cup.
“Of course not. Hehehe.”
Myo Hyang filled her cup to the very brim, so much so that the surface tension was visible.
“…”
Despite usually getting along well, the atmosphere between the two was unusually sharp today.
But, not to worry.
For in this very spot sits the true negotiator of this era, Jin Mujeon.
“Now, now, the drinks are poured, let's all share some old stories and…”
However, the two women sitting before me, seemingly with no intention of negotiating, ignored me and began their war of nerves.
“Your recent achievements have been quite remarkable, haven't they?”
“Not at all. It's all thanks to ‘our’ Sect Leader Jin's help.”
“Is it enough to just receive help? A true partner should be the one helping the man.”
“By receiving help and succeeding in my work, I've become a great help to the Sect Leader. Isn't this the true principle of the harmony of yin and yang?”
“Wh-Harmony of yin and yang?! You really—?!”
“Why are you getting so angry over something like that?”
“You…!”
It felt like watching a showdown between the youngest daughter of a conglomerate and the highly capable female lead in a soap opera.
Seeing this, I could tell.
*This is why real-world experience is so important.*
Jeok Hwa-ran was no match for Myo Hyang.
*No. This isn't the time for that.*
[Soso.]
I sent a telepathic message to Cheong So-so, who had just finished a chicken leg and was about to start on a wing.
With grease glistening around her mouth, she looked at me with a ‘What?’ expression.
[Come over here and lighten the mood a bit.]
*Shake, shake.*
[Why?]
*Point.*
She pointed to the food laid out in front of her.
[I'll give you all of mine.]
*Nod.*
Carrying her cup, Cheong So-so squeezed in between Myo Hyang and Jeok Hwa-ran.
“What's everyone doing? On such a fine day, we should be drinking.”
And so, the drinking battle from hell began.
* * *
“Ugh… Phoo… Just one bowl of spicy soup…”
“Ugh… My head…”
“Hehehe, I won.”
The final victor, surprisingly, was Cheong So-so.
She, who didn't usually enjoy drinking, had outdrunk both Jeok Hwa-ran, who had mastered martial arts to a considerable level, and Myo Hyang, who was seasoned by a life full of ups and downs.
She even drank me, who had joined them, under the table until I was dizzy.
“Were you always such a good drinker?”
“A person should always be well-prepared. Hehe.”
She took out and showed me a hangover pill.
As I stared in disbelief, I felt a cool sensation on my lips.
“Eat it. Don't force the alcohol toxins out with your internal energy. It's bad for your liver.”
“Thanks.”
As I chewed the hangover pill, I felt the intoxication clear up instantly.
If I took this recipe back to the modern world, I'd probably become richer than the inventor of the ultimate hangover cure.
“Anyway, what should we do about this?”
Cheong So-so muttered, looking at the two collapsed women.
“What do you mean? You have to carry them.”
“…How can a delicate person like me carry them?”
“Then who will?”
“You, Sect Leader.”
“Are you trying to ruin someone's marriage prospects? If you don't want to carry them, stop talking nonsense and go get Sect Leader Bukgung.”
For the record, the person whose marriage prospects would be ruined here is me.
“Why the Black Dragon Gate's leader?”
“We need to get them a palanquin, don't we?”
“Then get one for me, too.”
“You can just walk. You're perfectly fine, why waste money hiring people?”
“Hmph. If you keep this up, I won't perform the great technique on Whitey.”
“N-No way?!”
“That's right. I, the successor to the Cheong family's secret arts, have finally succeeded in modifying the Heaven-Revolving Dao-Guiding Golden Needle Technique to be usable on horses.”
“…!”
To think she succeeded in developing a horse version of the Heaven-Revolving Dao-Guiding Golden Needle Technique, following the cricket version.
It was truly a heaven-sent talent.
“I'll be performing the great technique soon, so please make some preparations beforehand.”
“Hehe, what should this humble one prepare for you?”
“A palanquin. If my legs are sore, it will negatively affect the great technique.”
“My goodness, I'll have one prepared for you right away.”
* * *
Late at night, when we arrived at the War King Gate with the three women in palanquins, all the lights in the pavilions were out.
As I was watching the waiting maids put the two drunk women into their rooms, Yu So-pyeong approached me.
“What are you doing up?”
“A guest has arrived, sir.”
“At this hour?”
“Yes.”
“It's late. Tell them to come back tomorrow.”
“Well…”
Yu So-pyeong hesitated, then lowered his voice.
“Adept Hyeon-yang has come to see you.”
“What?!”
“Shh. You must lower your voice. The Adept requested that his visit be kept secret from everyone.”
“R-Right.”
Adept Hyeon-yang was the highest elder of the Wudang Sect; even I knew of him.
To be precise, there was no one in the world who didn't know him.
Not only were his martial arts profound, but his Daoist power was so supreme that he was considered a living immortal.
Thanks to this, he had immense support from the common people and was treated as untouchable by both the Lion's Alliance and the Ten Demon Alliance.
In a way, he was a figure with more influence than the sect leader of Wudang.
Naturally, I rushed over.
If a rumor spread that I had treated him poorly, I might have to spend the rest of my life dodging stones thrown at me.
*Creeak.*
I ran with all my might and opened the door to the guest room.
A Daoist priest with pure white hair and a beard was sitting in a perfectly straight posture, pouring tea.
“Hoho, there was no need to rush so… I have poured some tea, so please, have a seat.”
“…”
He began pouring the tea the very moment I opened the door.
I wondered if this was truly a coincidence.
Of course, the important thing right now was Adept Hyeon-yang's reason for visiting.
*Slurp.*
I sat down, drank the tea, and met his gaze.
“You seem curious about the reason for my visit.”
“Ah… yes.”
Actually, I had a pretty good idea.
Gongson Jeok-san.
He was, after all, a secular disciple of Wudang.
“I did not come here to reprimand you, Sect Leader, so do not worry.”
“I-Is that so?”
To my surprise, Adept Hyeon-yang said something that exceeded my expectations.
“I simply came to ask for your help in recovering his remains.”
“His remains…?”
“Gongson Jeok-san. He was my personal disciple.”
“…”
*Gongson Jeok-san was Adept Hyeon-yang's disciple?*
I never expected it. No, I couldn't have.
Secular disciples don't normally have the concept of a master; they follow a curriculum of group classes.
*Come to think of it, his martial arts were exceptional for a secular disciple.*
I just thought he was a genius, but now I think I know the reason.
It's like he was getting private tutoring from a star instructor while everyone else was just attending school.
While I was lost in thought, Adept Hyeon-yang chuckled and spoke.
“Will you help me?”
“Of course, I'll help.”
“Then let us go.”
“Pardon?”
“Did you not just say you would help?”
“It's late today. How about we go first thing tomorrow morning?”
He shook his head firmly, a departure from his demeanor so far.
“No. It must be now.”
“But—”
“I must insist.”
No matter how high I'd climbed in the martial world's upper echelons, at my core, I was still Korean.
A wholesome young man who lived by the basic principle of respecting one's elders.
I couldn't bring myself to refuse the words of one of the martial world's great elders.
“L-Let's go, then. I happen to know where he's buried.”
However, his eccentric behavior didn't end there.
“Then I'll call some people to help.”
“You must come alone.”
“Excuse me?”
He was insisting that just the two of us go to retrieve the body.
“But, then the recovery of the body…”
“You will have to do it, Sect Leader Jin.”
*Squeeze.*
It was a dizzying response.
It had been half a month since Gongson Jeok-san took his own life.
Plenty of time for the flesh to have rotted and the smell to have set in.
To think I had to touch such a corpse with my own hands.
As someone with experience as a modern person, I had a weak stomach, making this a fatally difficult task for me.
I quickly tried to voice my opposition, but…
“There's no need to—”
“There is.”
Adept Hyeon-yang dismissed my opinion with a benevolent expression and a firm attitude.
In the end.
“It's here.”
Torch in hand, I headed with him to the place where Gongson Jeok-san was buried.
*Whooosh.*
Perhaps because it was the ancestral mountain of a family that had incurred grudges, the place was unbelievably dreary.
*Thud, thud, thud.*
I infused my hands with internal energy and swung them, and before long, the coffin came into view.
“Please open it.”
“Ugh.”
I just couldn't muster the courage to open the lid and face a rotten corpse.
“If we just take it as it is…”
“No.”
“Damn it.”
*Creeeeak.*
Having no choice, I leaned back as far as I could and flipped the lid.
And then.
“Gasp!”
I witnessed an unthinkable sight.
“H-How is it perfectly preserved?!”
The corpse's condition was exactly as it was on the day he died.
Even up close, there was no smell of decay.
The most surprising thing was.
“E-Energy!”
The fact that I could feel energy coming from the corpse.
“…As I thought.”
Adept Hyeon-yang nodded as if he had expected this.
“What is happening?”
“It is because his resentment lingers in this world. He will likely become a vengeful spirit soon.”
“A-A vengeful spirit?”
“What the common folk call a ghost.”
“Gasp!”
Good heavens, to think that ghosts actually exist!
And a ghost that, nine times out of ten, would surely be after me.
*Shiver.*
I hadn't felt this much fear since watching the nine-tailed fox episode of *Hometown of Legends*.
Adept Hyeon-yang stood before Gongson Jeok-san's corpse and shouted.
“You scoundrel! How dare you linger in this world after ruining yourself with greed!”
*Flicker.*
“Aargh! The corpse opened its eyes!”
I almost fainted.