Bottoms Up
"Uh... well, I don't have much to say. Let's not get too drunk and just drink in moderation. Bottoms up!"
"Bottoms uuuup!"
My toast was met with the same enthusiastic shout from the three women as they drained their cups. Apparently, the person proposing the toast had to shout "Bottoms up!" and the others had to echo it for the drinking session to truly begin, or so they said. I drained my cup as well, the fragrant baijiu burning a path down my esophagus. At the same time, a wave of intense heat seemed to rush through me. Whew, that's strong.
"Whew. You brought some pretty strong stuff."
At my words, Wijiak shrugged, popping a few pine nuts into her mouth. The snacks weren't anything grand—mostly dry snacks like nuts and beef jerky. Honestly, they were closer to preserved rations.
"It's a famous Sichuan liquor I received as a gift, but I don't really know the name," Wijiak added.
"It certainly tastes expensive. The aroma really packs a punch."
"Hehe, once you reach the level of an instructor, getting gifts like this is standard."
She added that she often received such gifts, but since she spent most of her time alone, it was awkward to drink them by herself. Indeed, drinking alone in the Murim had its limitations. While I didn't mind hosting them in my room, the mix of people gathered here was fascinating. After all, we had representatives from the Orthodox factions, the Demonic Cult, and a neutral party all in one place.
"How did the three of you end up gathering like this?"
"Oh, that?" Seonwoo Seol explained, chewing on a piece of beef jerky.
"I was just killing time at the dormitory when I ran into Miss Woo outside. She said she was bored, so we were taking a stroll around Hayeonjeong when we happened to run into Instructor Wiji."
"I thought you never left your room, but you actually made it all the way to Hayeonjeong."
At my words, Wijiak cleared her throat and replied proudly.
"Well, it gets quite cool outside after sunset. I just easily get hot, so I prefer staying inside my cool room."
Wijiak, a textbook homebody, tried to make excuses, but they didn't work on Seonwoo Seol, who had been at the academy for seven years.
"For someone who just hates the heat, we didn't see you in the spring either."
"There's too much pollen in the spring."
"And you don't go out in the winter because it's cold?"
"...How did you know?"
"You're hilarious, seriously."
What a comedy duo. Anyway, Wijiak was so thrilled to meet two women around her age that she suggested they all grab a drink. They readily agreed, but there was one problem.
"We initially gathered in my room, but Nan-gae absolutely forbade drinking in there. So we came to Chef Yoon's room instead."
Nan-gae was Seonwoo Seol's personal maid who had been with her since her time in the Sacred Cult. Despite her warm appearance, she was incredibly strict and would never allow drinking in the room.
"What if my room was a mess?"
"I dropped by briefly last time and saw it was quite neat."
Setting aside the question of when she had snuck into my room, Woo Ji-yang squealed like a high school girl and asked Seonwoo Seol.
"Miss Seonwoo, you must visit Chef Yoon's room quite often!"
"Um, a few times?"
"Oh my, Instructor Socheonma, I didn't realize you were like that..."
As Wijiak narrowed her eyes and wiggled her eyebrows, Seonwoo Seol protested in a tiny, crawling voice.
"Ayyy... it's not like that...!"
Even without me chiming in, they got along great. Since they were of similar age, they seemed to have a lot in common. As the drinks flowed, the lighthearted mood shifted to more intimate gossip.
"You know that fifth-year student from the Southern Hall, Gu Baek? I heard he's actually the son of the Minister of Personnel. Is that true?"
At Seonwoo Seol's question, Wijiak shook her head.
"No, not the Minister of Personnel. I think it's the Minister of Revenue."
"Still, that's amazing. How did he end up choosing the Beggars' Sect?"
"I heard his father kept him on an incredibly tight leash. That's why he wanted to train in the Beggars' Sect, where there are no restrictions. Of course, being the son of a high-ranking official, he was practically dragged to the academy."
"That's awful. They basically locked him up in the academy."
"Similar things happen in Emei too. If a Grand Scholar's daughter gets a bad reputation, they just pack her off to become a lay disciple of the Emei Sect."
"We have cases like that in our Sacred Cult too..."
The three of them whispered, worried someone might overhear. With alcohol in their systems, they spilled secrets that definitely shouldn't leave the room. Among those, the topic that caught my interest was:
"I heard from Director Dan that another summit is going to be held soon."
This topic was also brought up by Wijiak. Seonwoo Seol, her face flushed red, rested her chin on her hand and replied.
"They hold meetings all the time, don't they? It's nothing special."
"This time is different. I heard only four people will be attending."
"Four people?"
"The Wulin Alliance Leader, His Majesty the Emperor, the Cult Leader, and the Leader of the Four Blood Alliance."
Seonwoo Seol was startled by Wijiak's words. It was only natural, given that her father's position was suddenly mentioned.
"I-Is that true?"
"Even if they can't go in person, wouldn't they send a proxy? For example..."
You. As Wijiak stared at Seonwoo Seol, the latter waved her hands frantically.
"No way, how could I go as the representative of the Sacred Cult? I haven't heard a single thing about this."
"Hmm, seeing you like this makes me wonder if you're really the Young Cult Leader...?"
"It could just be a groundless rumor."
"That's true, but you really haven't heard anything?"
"If I had, I wouldn't be this surprised!"
The other two were too drunk to think straight, but I didn't think it was a completely groundless rumor. Cult Mother Jin Ranyeong's sudden arrival in Hebei had been weighing on my mind. As the representative of the Demonic Cult and a living deterrent of the Orthodox-Demonic war, the Heavenly Demon Seonwoo Dan could not easily move outside Xinjiang. Seonwoo Seol? She had just become an adult; how could she speak among old monsters like the Alliance Leader, the Emperor, and the Leader of the Four Blood Alliance? That was probably why Jin Ranyeong, who was originally from Hebei, had made her move. Remembering Jin Ranyeong's demeanor from before, she would definitely hold her ground and speak her mind without shrinking back before those three.
While I was contemplating the future of the Jianghu:
"Look at this!"
Chomp, chomp, chomp! Wijiak tossed the pine nuts into the air and caught them with her mouth, showing off her trick.
"Whoa!"
"Instructor Wiji is so cool!"
Woo Ji-yang and Seonwoo Seol, thoroughly flushed and drunk, applauded the performance. I couldn't let this slide.
"Instructor Wiji."
"Yes?"
"Toss a pine nut into the air."
"Like this?"
Whoosh! The moment the pine nut Wijiak tossed soared into the air, I immediately threw a needle from my sleeve toward it.
Thwack! The needle pierced the exact center of the tiny pine nut, pinning it to the wall where it dangled. The three women stared in silence for a moment before leaping to their feet like a spreading wildfire, clapping enthusiastically.
"You were so quiet this whole time!"
"As expected, Chef Yoon had a hidden trick up his sleeve!"
"That was amazing!"
Mwahaha. Sleight of hand is always the best at a drinking party. On one hand, I felt a bit apologetic to my master, Yakseon, because the technique I used to pin the pine nut was actually the essence of the Sacred Hand Flower Needle, a martial art of the Medicine Sage. I'm sorry for using it as a party trick, but hey, it looked cool. The drinking session continued late into the night.
Boom! Crimson fist qi flashed like lightning from Seonwoo Seol's fist, plunging toward my chest. Or rather, it almost did.
"Whoops!"
Roll, Yoon Gomyung! As I flipped backward to evade the attack, Seonwoo Seol furrowed her brow.
"That was practically a Lazy Donkey Roll!"
"As long as I dodged it, who cares how it looked?"
Thud! Landing back on my feet, I used the Second Stage to close the distance, stomping the ground as orange fist qi flared.
Thump! Seonwoo Seol's lips twitched at my heavy strike, and she immediately countered with the Demonic Thunder Divine Fist.
"……!"
Rumble! A thunderous impact echoed after the clash. Feeling the dull ache in my shoulder, I could tell she had put a significant amount of power into that strike.
Alright, so you want to go all out. I, Yoon Gomyung, always give my best when sparring, no matter who the opponent is. Even if that opponent happens to be the Little Heavenly Demon, Seonwoo Seol.
Evading her strikes with the Second Stage, I closed the distance and immediately unleashed the Third Stage, thrusting my arm forward.
Crack! Blocking the strike with her forearm, Seonwoo Seol pouted, lowered her stance, and swept her leg across the ground.
"Using that trick again."
That low sweep was executed with enough force to kick up a massive cloud of dust. Thinking that Man Hanseok had taught her bad habits, I executed a technique I had been practicing lately.
Hundred Medicine Fist SecretsFourth Stage: Cooing Crying Ospreys.
Leaping high off the ground, I twisted in mid-air and dove back down toward her.
Startled, Seonwoo Seol rotated her arms in a Taiji pattern to deflect my attack, but I snatched her wrist like an osprey's talon.
"Kya!"
Cooing Crying Ospreys was a capturing technique, not a striking one. The follow-up moves were the real deal. Normally, I would have followed up with a rapid succession of strikes to the head, chest, and abdomen, but I couldn't do that to Seonwoo Seol. Instead:
Holding her wrist, I brought my face close and gently blew into her ear. Whoosh!
"Y-You pervert!"
Seonwoo Seol covered her ear with both hands and shouted in embarrassment, to which I simply shrugged.
"We already agreed to hold hands, so how am I a pervert?"
"Ugh... I'm practically ruined for marriage now."
"Are you planning on marrying someone else? How cruel."
"You know that's not what I meant!"
"Anyway, Miss Seonwoo loses this spar too."
"...Fine. I'll pay for the meal this time."
The reason this spar was important was because Gongson Yeongji's birthday was coming up. We planned to eat out, and decided to make a game of it—the loser of the spar pays for the entire meal. I intended to chip in anyway, but it was a fun bet.
At any rate, sparring after a long time warmed up my body and let me practice the Fourth Stage of the Hundred Medicine Fist Secrets.
"But wasn't my posture a bit unstable when I was airborne earlier?"
"It looked normal to me..."
"Really?"
"A bit uncool, though."
"Ugh."
If Seonwoo Seol called it "uncool," it meant it looked absolutely ridiculous. It seemed mastering the Fourth Stage of the Hundred Medicine Fist Secrets was still difficult. I needed to keep practicing my leaps.
As we were about to spar again, someone approached with quick, short steps.
"Hm?"
"A student from the Sichuan Tang Clan?"
"Ah, from the Tang Clan?"
The one approaching us was indeed a young student from the Sichuan Tang Clan, wearing red martial robes.
"Sister Gohye told me to deliver this."
He pulled out a red envelope from his robe, and I immediately asked him:
"Miss Dang?"
"Yes. And she said if Senior Man Hanseok looks at another woman, I should beat him up on her behalf."
"Is... is Miss Dang always like that?"
"She's the kind of sister who must possess whatever she takes a liking to, so we can't help it."
A leaking pot leaks both inside and outside. Seeing the young student accept this as completely normal, I nodded.
"Right... thanks. Come by the kitchen later, and I'll give you a snack."
"Make mine spicy, please."
"Sure. I'll prepare something burning hot for you."
As the young student left, Seonwoo Seol wiped her sweat with a handkerchief and asked:
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure... but at least it's not a letter telling me to keep a close eye on Man Hanseok."
"Open it quickly."
We moved to the cool shade of a tree and began reading the letter. At first, it was filled with trivial chatter about how the weather was getting cooler and how she wanted to see Man Hanseok before returning to Sichuan.
"What is this? Just bragging?"
"Read a bit further."
As Seonwoo Seol suggested, I skipped to the next section, where the tone turned serious.
I can't help but talk about those ■■■ bastards from the Twin Bats of the Whip. To get straight to the point, we failed to find their mastermind.
The blacked-out part wasn't my doing; Dang Go-hye had literally crossed it out with ink. I suppose even she thought writing curses in a letter was a bit much.
We visited the place where Baek-rim—the name my uncle gave to the poison boy—escaped from, but everything had already been burned to ashes. The only thing we could determine was that it was a massive facility, large enough to house at least dozens of people.
"Aren't they incredibly meticulous?"
"...Indeed. That suspicious place must belong to an unorthodox sect. There's no way they could burn all the evidence in an instant otherwise."
I wanted to ask if there was any chance it was the Demonic Cult, but remembering how Seonwoo Seol evaluated her father, the Heavenly Demon Seonwoo Dan, he didn't seem like the type to do such things. Besides, he would never do something so dangerous while his daughter was at the academy.
However, the character for 'Blood' was found written in various places, just like before. We plan to report this to the Wulin Alliance, but we suspect it might be a group related to the Blood Cult or the Four Blood Alliance.
Even if the Blood Cult was a place I didn't know much about, could the Four Blood Alliance really be involved? The Four Blood Alliance couldn't even stop their own member sects from defecting one after another, yet they could easily manipulate the Twin Bats of the Whip, who were notorious villains of the previous generation? I still couldn't be sure.