Gifts and a New Companion
We decided to head to Anhui. Why? Because that was the plan. What the hell am I on about? Let's go over our original objective one more time. Sure, we ran into a boss monster called the Water King that had no business showing up in a low-level zone, but our goal from the start had always been Anhui. Why? To get that damn sword manual, obviously.
Getting close to Mister Geum had been a nice bonus—I managed to pick up some useful martial arts along the way. The Silence of Moving he taught me proved incredibly handy. It operated on a completely different system from anything in my old world, worked great in combat, and actually satisfied my curiosity for once. Still, I couldn't let that blur my original purpose.
"Hey, slave."
"Yes."
"For real, isn't there any way you can teach me the Taiji Hui Sword?"
"No."
"You could sneak it in, teach it indirectly. I'll give you that Budongmyeongwanggyeong thing in exchange."
"I don't need it. It was certainly a tempting external art and footwork manual, but what I already possess is more than enough."
Where did that sword manual go, and now it's all about legs? Next it'll be body reinforcement, then head-strengthening arts. Why not just admit you're trying to turn me into a combining robot?
Anyway, we set our course for Anhui. We grabbed everything useful from the water pirates' cave, dumped the bodies in the Yangtze, and completely erased every trace of the classroom where Mister Geum and I had conducted our joint research. Leaving any clues behind would have been asking for trouble, and those records belonged to us alone. I had no interest in letting outsiders poke through them.
As for the ominous artificial limb known as Jisuseong, I poured a massive amount of energy into it along with Mister Geum's corpse, crushing it thoroughly before burning the remains. We scattered the powder and fragments into the river as a modest funeral. If either of them revived after all that, I'd acknowledge it. Survive that kind of treatment and you damn well deserve to live. Good luck out there.
We set the ship adrift on the river without a navigator. After who knows how long...
"Look! Smoke! Signs of people!"
I heard someone—probably Moyong Dan—shout. Sure enough, when I turned my head there were traces of civilization along the riverbank and ships swaying beyond them. In other words, we'd made it out. Calling the act of killing all our kidnappers, seizing their boat, and sailing off an "escape" felt like a stretch, but I didn't have a better word for it.
I clapped loudly to draw everyone's attention.
"You all know the drill, right? Watch your mouths."
Eyes began sliding away from me. My eyebrow twitched. My fingers twitched harder. But the slave was shaking his head desperately in front of me, and the twins must have sensed the killing intent because they grabbed both my sleeves and hung on tight. I let out a long sigh and leaned back against the ship's railing.
"Ugh. Fine. Do whatever you want."
"Thank you, young lady."
Moyong Dan, who at least had a shred of conscience, offered a proper fist salute. A few of the other young ladies and young masters bowed briefly and sent me grateful looks.
"If you're grateful, remember it. I'll cash in that favor later when I need something."
"Yes!"
"Let's behave ourselves."
"..."
"Answer me."
"Yes!"
The atmosphere felt a little strange. The same bunch who'd been throwing around "young lady this" and "young lady that" until recently had gone all awkward. Once they got home they'd probably cry to mommy and daddy and spill everything they knew. Oh well. Fame's useful. I'll take it.
As I watched the port draw closer, someone approached my side. It was our stray cat, Namgung Ryeon, looking slightly less venomous than usual.
"What is it, Namgung?"
"Ahem. So I heard. You're heading to Anhui?"
"Yep."
"Then I could help you."
I wondered what she was thinking. The slave kindly translated while I observed.
"She means the debt of gratitude she owes is so great that she wishes to accompany us to her family home in order to repay it properly."
"Is she always like this?"
"Yes."
"Figures."
Our Namgung was the type who converted embarrassment into rudeness. Worst habit a person could have. Still, she had a pretty face, so I could write it off as cute. If she'd been a guy, I would've slapped her the moment we met.
"You want to repay the favor?"
"...Hmph. Don't misunderstand. As one who carries the Namgung name, I always settle my debts clearly."
"How can our Namgung be so bad with words?"
"What does that have to do with you, you bit—hic!"
Namgung Ryeon let out a very uncharacteristic squeak. Probably because I'd closed the distance in an instant, slung an arm around her shoulders, and brought my lips right next to her ear.
"You want to repay the favor?"
"Ugh, g-get off me."
"Hehehe. A life debt is always heavy. I won't demand you repay a life with a life, but still... it's a pretty big burden, isn't it?"
She squirmed in my arms. I wrapped both arms around her waist from behind, clasped my hands, and lifted her slightly. Thanks to our height difference she rose onto her tiptoes, legs kicking uselessly.
"L-let go of me!"
"Shouldn't you repay it with your body?"
"W-with my body...!"
Namgung Ryeon's face flushed crimson. Even from behind I could see the back of her neck and her earlobes burning red. I could only imagine how bad the front was. The hands gripping my wrists to make me release her had gone slack. If I pushed just a little further, something very entertaining might happen.
But.
"Alright. Joke's over."
"...Eh?"
"Hehehe. You were nice and soft, Namgung."
Jokes should stay jokes. I flashed a sly grin and waved my hand playfully. With my naturally beautiful face, the expression probably looked more seductive than wicked. Namgung Ryeon's face turned even redder as she clearly misunderstood.
"Oh. We can't dock the boat here. Everyone jump across however you can."
"What do you mean by jump, sir?"
"Read the room and figure it out."
"Yes."
"Our little ones get carried by your husband. One on each arm. There we go."
Leaving behind a completely flustered Namgung Ryeon, I leaped lightly from the boat and vanished. Yong Cheong and the other hesitant juniors followed, jumping toward the riverbank.
Namgung Ryeon, now alone on the deck, finally snapped out of it as she watched the port recede. She bit her lip and shouted.
"Aaaargh! So annoying!"
She looked exactly like a girl cursing the man—no, woman—who had set her body on fire and then disappeared, all while still thinking about her constantly. If Yong Cheong had seen it, he would have shaken his head and sighed that the spoiled lady had gotten herself thoroughly hooked.
With that, even Namgung Ryeon—who had nearly been left behind—set foot on solid ground.
I waved at a distant sailboat disappearing over the horizon. Because I felt like it.
"Shall we get something to eat?"
The port city we arrived at was naturally shedding people. After being missing for a full fourteen days, they needed to let their families and friends know they were alive and hurry home.
"I will definitely repay this favor."
"Thank you so much, young lady."
After sending off the juniors who bowed to me, hardly anyone remained in the center of the port city. Just me, our little twin sisters, and the slave. Same old group, right? Except now we had one extra guest. Or pet. Something like that.
"Aren't you going home?"
"You said you're going to Anhui. Our destinations match, so I'm accompanying you."
Namgung spoke in the most sullen tone possible. What was she so unhappy about now? Was the fact that she had to repay me that unpleasant? But the answer came from an unexpected source. Oh-ryeong, who had been staring at Namgung from near my feet, gestured for me to lean down so only I could hear.
"It means she wants to come with us too but it's too embarrassing to say directly, so she's hoping we'll just understand, husband."
"Really? Our Oh-ryeong is somehow more mature than her."
"Hehe."
It was true. I wasn't sure if Oh-ryeong had grown up too fast or if Namgung was just immature. If that's how it was, swapping bodies with Oh-ryeong didn't seem like a bad idea.
"Don't openly criticize people right in front of them!"
"If you don't do anything worth criticizing, then there's no problem... is what I almost said?"
"Ughhh!"
Namgung Ryeon trembled violently. For a second I thought the reaction was excessive, but then I understood why. A woman born with both exceptional family background and talent—how often could her pride have been wounded? She had the skills and backing to match her age, along with the pride that came with them. Normal social interaction had probably been nonexistent. If she'd had an older brother, sister, or someone to act as her handler it might have been different. But everyone simply doted on the pretty, talented youngest child, saying she was still young so it was fine. They'd ruined her, calling her rude speech and attitude "boldness befitting a martial artist."
In short, she was 'a rude noble lady.' Namgung Ryeon was a tsundere aristocrat with a very appealing background. I nodded vigorously to myself.
Yeah. It's about time my party got a rude noble lady added to the roster.
After all, if you're forming a party to travel with, you need at least one girl for the token female spot. And in any hero's party, a tsundere beautiful girl is practically mandatory. It's a universal law, as natural as water flowing downhill.
"Take good care of me."
I smiled slyly and shook Namgung Ryeon's hand. She wore a strange expression that made it impossible to tell whether she liked it or not. But she didn't hate it, so it was fine.
The twin sisters, seeing Namgung Ryeon hang her head like she was having complicated thoughts, whispered to each other.
"Sister Oh-ryeong. Do you think Sister Namgung will become husband's concubine?"
"No, Yuk-ryeong. That's not a concubine. That's called a plaything."
For children, it was a rather brutal conversation. So brutal that Yong Cheong, who accidentally overheard, flinched visibly.
"What cup size is our Namgung?"
"E-eh?"
"It's okay. Namgung doesn't need to understand. Understanding would make it a vulgar joke."
It was right when I was flirting with Namgung Ryeon like some lowlife thug from the evil sects.
"Young lady! Over here! We've found the young lady!"
"Young lady! Over here! We've found the young lady!"
It really is a cruel world. How cruel? Cruel enough that a wild Hwagyeong master might turn to robbery on the roadside. The fact that corner-dwelling monsters are walking around pretending to be people is just a bonus. In a world like this, one or two people dying was simply daily life. Whether in Murim or my old world, some things never change. As I muttered that it was a hard world for people no matter where you went, the door opened and Oh-ryeong and Yuk-ryeong came in. Seeing me rolling around in the corner, they puffed out their chests proudly.
"Husband. Oh-ryeong is rich now."
"Husband. From now on Yuk-ryeong will take care of you. Husband can just be a kept man."
Had these two little sisters completely lost their minds? Was this the moment for child psychological counseling? The answer was no. You could tell just by looking at the ornaments around their necks and on their fingers. Shiny gold necklaces, hairpins carved from solid jade, silver rings studded with jewels, and fine silk clothing. With zero aesthetic sense, they had adorned themselves with only expensive items. The perfect nouveau riche look.
Where had these two gotten such wealth? As expected, the answer was once again tied to favors and grudges.
It had all started with that single cry of "Young lady!" back in the port city.
The youngest daughter of a noble house had suddenly gone missing. The family turning upside down was only natural. Losing a pretty, adorable daughter was an emotional blow, but the secret sword techniques and martial arts stored in that child's head were a practical crisis.
The Namgung Clan was a family whose accumulated fame rested on countless grudges and corpses—a clan built atop a foundation of blood and glory. Historically, there had been endless retaliation, schemes, and secret struggles to research counters to martial arts. The easiest method was always to steal the manuals that served as the source of power. With the blueprints, one could dissect the weaknesses in detail. That was why clans only passed their secret, core techniques to thoroughly vetted high-level experts.
Anyway, with Namgung Ryeon's sudden disappearance and the other juniors vanishing alongside her, the Namgung Clan and every affected faction sent out search parties. Murim was vast, so a week might be within the margin of error, but anything longer was clearly a problem. After a search that could be considered either short or long, they learned the missing juniors had safely reappeared in a certain port city. The Namgung Clan members who found her naturally pampered her like a precious treasure and essentially escorted her home under what amounted to arrest-level procedures. And of course I tagged along on that tearful journey home. If I had to go there anyway, I might as well receive a proper welcome and good treatment.
'Ah, Father. Mother.'
'Ryeon-ah. Let me hug you once.'
And upon arrival, there was naturally a tearful family reunion. As a bonus, I made sure to reveal that I was Namgung's benefactor. I ate, slept, and relaxed in the best guest room the clan had to offer, properly nourishing my exhausted body.
After spending one night in the guest room, the clan gave me all sorts of ornaments as compensation. From my perspective these kinds of trinkets were hard to convert into cash, so I would've preferred straight money, but...
"What should I do, what should I do? If I go out like this, won't handsome young masters confess to me?"
"No. No way. Yuk-ryeong and I belong to husband..."
Seeing them so happy, I couldn't bring myself to suggest exchanging the gifts for cash. I'd just let them keep them as toys. If the Namgung Clan had any common sense, they wouldn't repay the life-saving favor done for their youngest daughter with mere toys for the twins.
From what the slave told me, the Emperor's Sword Form and the Blue Sky Love Sword Technique were supposed to be incredible. That was something to look forward to.
"Ooooh."
While I was lying face-down like a dog, trying to relieve the strangely accumulated physical and mental fatigue by burying my face in a soft pillow and rubbing against it, there came a knock.
"Excuse me, honored guest. The clan head wishes to see you."
Aha. I was really looking forward to this. Should I close my eyes? When I open them, there'll be a martial arts book waiting, right? No more, no less—just give me the Emperor's Sword Form and I'll be satisfied.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Namgung Jeong, head of the Namgung Clan."
"So you're the clan head."
"Hmm...?"
"Nice to meet you. My name is Seol Ha-yeon. Let's get along well from now on."