037
037
After a rare meal out, just as we were about to head home to enjoy our after-dinner dessert...
An uninvited guest appeared right when I was about to get up, instantly grating on my nerves.
"Who are you?"
It was my attendant Sagong Hee who greeted the unwelcome visitor. The man who bowed to her, his face flushed, was none other than Namgung Pae—though she was disguised as a plain woman with a human skin mask.
"Ha ha, I am Namgung Pae, hailing from Anhui. This is my younger sister, Namgung Yurin."
"And?"
She was as irritated as I was. Sagong Hee, whose body had been just as heated as mine, had no reason to be pleasant to the pair delaying her return home.
'Good thing her clothes are dark.'
I discreetly swiped the seat where Sagong Hee had been sitting. Lucky she was wearing black—otherwise, the damp spot underneath would've been exposed in an instant.
"Ha ha, a pleasure. The reason we sought you out..."
"Are you, by any chance, participating in the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering?"
Namgung Yurin glared at Sagong Hee with a hostile expression. At the sudden question, Sagong Hee faltered and shot a quick glance at me. Whether she competed was up to me.
[They already came to size you up. They must've noticed your qi sense. Treat them like the strong opponents they are.]
Not only Namgung Pae, but the energy emanating from Namgung Yurin was far from trivial. Both were clearly past first-class expert, and with a little more polish they looked ready to leap to peak expert.
Two Namgung warriors, confident in their martial arts, spotting a peak expert around their age—it would be stranger if they weren't interested. Especially someone who might become their rival in the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
"I'm not interested."
But the timing was awful. Sagong Hee shook her head, her voice laced with frost. Namgung Yurin's expression brightened slightly.
"Ah... a shame. Then, miss, might I be so bold as to request a spar?"
"No. It's an imposition."
Sagong Hee flatly refused Namgung Pae's proposal. Apparently not expecting his request to be shut down so ruthlessly, his refined brows creased a fraction.
"Ha ha, quite decisive."
"What, scared?"
At Namgung Yurin's taunt, Sagong Hee's internal qi began to roil. That simple provocation almost got to her—proof that she was every bit the Murim novice. She might have plenty of martial skill and carnal experience, but she had never dealt with other murim warriors. A basic jab nearly pushed her over the edge.
[Calm down. Repeat exactly what I tell you.]
If I weren't here, that is. Sagong Hee slowly lowered her clenched fist.
"...My master told me not to engage in pointless fights."
Tit for tat. Snide tone met with snide tone. At Sagong Hee's counter-provocation, the pair smiled while their eyes narrowed. Their mouths curved up, but the gazes raking over her held clear hostility.
"Quite confident in your skills, it seems. We are the Namgung Clan, you know?"
"A clan's name is not the same as your own ability."
"May I know your name, miss?"
"I won't be giving my name to unfamiliar men."
"...Show some courtesy toward your counterparts."
[Courtesy my ass, for bastards who stop a couple on the way to get laid.]
"No courtesy is owed to people who forcibly detain someone right as they rise to leave."
Sagong Hee relayed my words precisely, not missing a single nuance. My own phrasing had been much rougher, but she managed to refine and polish it.
"Not even a brief word?"
"When you grab someone the moment they stand to attend to urgent business, even a brief word is too long."
"Hah... What sect are you from?"
"If I told you, would you lodge a protest? Move."
Sagong Hee flared her internal qi, a low warning. Behind the two blocking our path, a throng of Namgung Clan warriors stretched out, making it nearly impossible to push through.
'If I force my way through, she'll end up touching them.'
No choice, then. Time to use my wits.
'If you want to pick flowers, you have to step into the garden.'
Tap.
I gave a chopstick a light flick. A tiny sound, but enough to pull every eye in the room.
"Well, this is awkward."
I raised my voice just a touch, not my usual tone. Past my voice change, it carried authority. Rising, I offered a casual bow with hands clasped.
"I'm afraid we can't introduce ourselves. Too many eyes, and moreover, my identity must not be exposed."
"What do you mean...?"
"Even drawing this much attention is problematic for me—and would be a considerable nuisance to the Namgung Clan as well."
Both siblings flinched and began exchanging uneasy glances. Sagong Hee, having received my telepathic message in advance, stayed still, and I played the card that would screw them over.
"Well... with attention already on us, hiding my identity seems pointless. I'd wanted one more day of rest before heading up the mountain, but so be it. Miss Gyeon, we'll pack the moment we return."
"Understood."
I deliberately avoided addressing her by any title. Even a nickname could leak information. I merely gave them a slight smile.
"Will you let us pass? Or shall I formally lodge a complaint with the Namgung—no, the Murim Alliance itself?"
"Just who are you...?"
"Who I am is irrelevant. I said I can't say. But if this commotion continues, it will be awkward for everyone...."
"What the hell are you playing at?!"
Namgung Yurin was the one to explode first.
"Identify yourself! I've never heard of a young man escorting a female master who's clearly above first-rate!"
"Obviously you haven't. She's my personal guard, sent because of this gathering."
"Why you—!"
"Yurin."
At least Namgung Pae sensed something was off and restrained his sister. By now, every gaze in the inn was fixed on us, and people were murmuring as they studied my face.
—Never seen him before....
"Ahem, our apologies for the rudeness."
Ultimately, Namgung Pae stepped aside. Suspicion would now run wild—were we some important orthodox figures? Beyond comparison with mere rising stars of the Namgung Clan?
For example, the disciple of the Divine Doctor—
"Big brother! These people are clearly from the Demonic Cult! Let's report them to the Alliance and throw them in prison!"
"You fucking bitch?"
"......"
Shit. That slipped out. I quickly schooled my expression into a pleasant smile at Namgung Yurin, who'd been rudely pointing and shouting, and tilted my head.
"Calling us the Demonic Cult—have you lost your mind? I'll be filing a formal protest with the Namgung Clan over this. How dare you brand me a demon?"
"Big brother! Did you hear what this bastard called me?! Heavens above, he called me a fucking bitch!!"
"Yurin, enough. Something is off."
Sweat began beading on Namgung Pae's forehead as he tried to quiet his sister, who was ranting like a monkey.
'He must be thinking they're fucked.'
The moment Namgung Yurin let her imagination run to the Demonic Cult and spat it out, she'd dealt us a massive insult. If we were orthodox figures, we could challenge her to a duel right then, and Namgung Pae would have no grounds to protest.
And just as the stalling paid off, the person I'd been waiting for finally appeared.
"What is all this commotion?!"
A voice boomed from the inn's entrance, and inwardly I cheered. Namgung Pae looked like he'd bitten into a sour persimmon; Namgung Yurin's face stiffened, though she still didn't hide her rage toward me.
"Elder Hyeonta! This man, he—!"
"......"
Taoist Hyeonta gently shut his eyes the moment he saw my face. I bowed my head toward him and sent a telepathic message, careful to remain unnoticed.
[Introduce me exactly as I tell you.]
[Isn't that fraud?]
[Fraud? I inherited that man's medical arts—it's no lie.]
With an expression of serene enlightenment, Taoist Hyeonta ascended to the second floor.
He was effectively Wudang's third-in-command, the elder overseeing the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, a figure so lofty that even the Namgung Clan head would have to approach with utmost deference. At his entrance, the siblings seemed to harbor only one hope.
'They're praying he declares us Demonic Cult remnants.'
That way, at least their rudeness could be spun as "disciplining arrogant demon scum." Fat chance.
"I intended to come escort you myself. My apologies."
Taoist Hyeonta ducked his head in apology. To me.
I let out a single soft scoff at the Namgung siblings, then rearranged my expression.
"Elder, there's no need for you to apologize. It was my own indecision, wanting a leisurely meal at the inn before climbing the mountain. Heh. Still, I'm relieved. Before meeting you, I was sick with worry that revealing my identity might get me abducted by those Demonic Cult scum."
"Indeed. We are fortunate, Doctor Mubung."
'Doctor.' That title, hinting at my status, twisted the siblings' faces into grotesque contortions. Was it normal for a Wudang elder to grovel before a mere doctor?
It was—if the doctor was the Divine Doctor's disciple. I offered them another bow with hands clasped.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am the one who, at the Wudang Sect's request, has come to assist with treating the wounded during the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. Please, call me Mubung."
"What, just some doctor...."
"This man is the disciple of the Divine Doctor. If you're beaten to the brink of death in the gathering, he's the one who can save you as long as you still draw breath."
"......"
Namgung Pae mouthed a silent curse. Namgung Yurin's jaw dropped as she realized the enormity of her mistake.
"I merely received a bit of his instruction. That said... 'Demonic Cult remnants,' was it?"
I wore the nastiest grin I could manage as I pressed Namgung Yurin.
"My master was abducted and disappeared at the hands of those Demonic Cult sons of bitches. Hmph. I will not forget this insult."
"Young hero! No—Doctor!!"
I turned and strode out of the inn. Behind me, I sensed Namgung Yurin's legs give out as she crumpled, but that didn't satisfy me in the least.
'Thanks to those two, getting home is even more delayed.'
I was supposed to head home and have a wild, messy round with Sagong Hee, but now I'd be climbing Wudang Mountain for a chat instead.
* * *
On the way up Wudang Mountain.
"Listen carefully. I, Mubung, the Divine Doctor's disciple, am a young man cripplingly shy around strangers. Due to childhood trauma, I categorically refuse to meet anyone I don't already know. Got it?"
"Grandmaster. Is it proper for someone on the cusp of immortality to deceive the heavens like this?"
"Would you prefer I simply announce right here that I'm Wudang's Grandmaster?"
"That would be even less permissible. Sigh... what am I supposed to tell the Acting Sect Leader...?"
Taoist Hyeonta's hostility toward Taoist Hyeoncheol, the current acting sect leader, had mellowed considerably. No doubt because his twisted ambitions regarding the sect leadership had been swiftly thwarted; watching Taoist Hyeoncheol develop the sect had made him compromise with reality—though he still didn't actively support the man.
"Just fudge it as an arrangement from the late Hyeongi. The Divine Doctor was always an elusive, wraithlike figure, anyway. No one will probe too deeply."
"Understood. But Grandmaster Mubung... since you're calling yourself a doctor, you really will have to practice medicine, won't you...?"
"Tsk, you cheeky brat. Think I can't manage at least that much? Nothing I do will disgrace Wudang's name, so rest easy."
"I'll follow your will. ...By the way, Grandmaster, this person is...?"
Taoist Hyeonta pointed at Sagong Hee beside me—she'd been drawing his attention from the moment he arrived. I gathered my thoughts for a beat, then looked at her and tapped my own cheek.
"Take it off."
"......"
Rrrrip. Tear. Sagong Hee peeled off the human skin mask. In an instant, the plain-faced woman transformed into Moon Palace Chang'e, and Taoist Hyeonta's eyes bulged as if he'd been struck breathless.
"Wha... wha..."
"She inherited the true transmission of the Taiji Wisdom Sword. Her seniority... ugh, it's a bother. Externally, you'll address her as martial uncle. I'm supposed to not exist in the first place. This stays between you and you alone. Understand?"
"Y-yes, I understand. Hoo..."
For a long moment, Taoist Hyeonta simply stared at Sagong Hee, then joined his fists together and bowed low from the waist. Though she was far younger and still lower in skill, the mere fact that she'd inherited the Taiji Wisdom Sword made her an elder-grade existence.
After Taoist Hyeonta hurried off to brief the acting sect leader, Sagong Hee, who had stayed silent, finally spoke.
"...My lord, about what you said regarding the Divine Doctor."
"Mm."
"You aren't planning to use 'treatment' as an excuse to touch women, are you?"
"......I'd better tell Hyeonta one more thing."
I walked over to Sagong Hee, pressed my lips to her cheek, and gave her a kiss as a reward.
"That I suffer from androphobia—fear of men. My private clinic will have to be a single-occupant room. With thorough soundproofing, of course."
"......What are you scheming?"
"Nothing much, really."
Flutter. I flipped open the Flower Directory to the page with Namgung Yurin's portrait and, with a spit-dampened thumb, began vigorously smudging her face.
"I'm simply going to tenderly nurse the wounded flowers. Heh heh heh."
Make absolutely sure you get hurt, Namgung Yurin.
And the same goes for the countless flowers attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.