I Told You Not to Act Impulsively
"No need for that. I'll treat you, so come along."
"Yes."
Dan Yeop had no reason to refuse since he needed to eat dinner anyway.
Na Bu-gang led the group to Hwageumdang, the largest and most lavish restaurant in Posibang.
A waiter who recognized the Na siblings guided them to a window seat on the second floor.
Once everyone was seated, the waiter spoke cautiously.
"Young Master, what would you like? Our signature dishes that can only be tasted here at Hwageumdang are Hu Feng Lamb Roast, Phoenix Cry Drunken Chicken, Jade Mountain Delicacies, Dragon Whisker Gold Thread Noodles, Flower Carving Steamed Abalone, and Yellow Wine Drunken Beef."
"Bring everything I just mentioned."
Na Bu-gang spent money lavishly, befitting the heir of Jinbosangbang.
"Yes, yes."
The waiter vanished downstairs as lightly as if he were flying.
Dan Yeop was surprised by his sworn brother's spending but didn't show it.
When the atmosphere grew awkward, the quick-witted Na Geum-ryeong spoke first.
"My brother's hands are quite generous, aren't they? That's why many people approach him hoping to take advantage."
"Elder Sister, you may speak casually."
Na Geum-ryeong was twenty, two years older than Dan Yeop.
Dan Yeop had asked her to drop the formalities first.
Na Geum-ryeong accepted without further hesitation.
"Alright, well said. Since you've become our sibling, isn't it time you told us about your sect?"
Dan Yeop scratched his head, glanced around, then spoke in a low voice.
"I am a disciple of the Jeommun branch within Haomun."
"……."
At the unexpected answer, Na Bu-gang and Na Geum-ryeong blinked blankly for a moment.
Both came from Hyeonmugwan and held strong prejudices against Haomun.
Dan Yeop belonged to Haomun, the most despised group in the martial world!
After hearing the name Haomun, Na Geum-ryeong began to see the handsome youth's face as that of a courtesan's brother.
Na Bu-gang felt the same.
The thought that he was "strangely honest" now turned into suspicion of cunning.
Dan Yeop felt bitter inside at their lukewarm reactions.
Being poor was one thing, but Haomun seemed to be something they wanted to avoid.
'I couldn't have told them I was from Haomun from the start. Sorry about that.'
Time passed, and the ordered dishes were placed on the table one by one.
Though it was a feast of delicacies, Dan Yeop didn't feel as happy as when he had eaten at Hyangmanru.
Na Bu-gang, who had been leading the conversation, grew quieter.
Na Geum-ryeong, who had been cleverly stepping in to read the mood, also fell silent.
She glanced at her brother's complexion.
The person her brother, who usually avoided making friends, had actively approached turned out to be from Haomun.
Especially since Na Bu-gang was a promising talent of Hyeonmugwan, his pride in his sect ran deep.
'Tsk! I thought he was from the unorthodox side because he hesitated so much…….'
If that had been the case, her brother would have laughed it off.
Even to her, Haomun felt somewhat off.
To the orthodox and unorthodox sects of Murim, Haomun was nothing more than petty thieves, swindlers, and fraudsters.
Leaving half the food on the table, the three stood up.
Na Bu-gang's siblings and Dan Yeop parted ways in front of Hwageumdang.
Dan Yeop trudged toward Boseonbang, where his lodging was.
Boseonbang.
The old man's house.
When Dan Yeop entered the courtyard, Ma Deung, who was eating dinner, smiled and waved.
"Dan Yeop! You're late? What about dinner?"
"Yes, someone treated me."
"Lucky you. But why do you look so down? Is the fabric shop work tough?"
"No, it's just that human relationships aren't easy."
"Woman trouble? With that face, you shouldn't be worrying about women."
"It's man trouble."
"Huk! That's even more of a problem. Don't tell me you swing that way?"
"I like women."
"Is that so? Relationships are hard. That's why I work alone even when it's tough."
Dan Yeop quickly changed the subject, worried Ma Deung might misunderstand.
"What about the old man?"
"Haven't seen him today either. Maybe he died away from home."
"Surely not."
"If you don't see him for a few days, you should start suspecting. The guy who used to stay in your room died this spring too."
"Really?"
Dan Yeop's eyes widened in surprise.
The flint he received from the old man must have belonged to that person.
Soon after, Dan Yeop bid farewell to Ma Deung and entered his room.
Sitting still, his head grew heavy with all sorts of stray thoughts.
'With Brother Ma Deung in the courtyard, it's hard to train in martial arts. What should I do?'
After thinking it over, he decided to find a suitable training spot.
With his mind made up, he hurried outside.
Since the old man's house was in a remote area, a short walk led to open fields.
After wandering for a while, his eyes caught sight of an abandoned house.
Though the atmosphere was gloomy, Dan Yeop entered without hesitation.
Using the remaining walls and collapsed buildings, it seemed possible for one person to hide and train.
"This is good!"
Compared to the backyard of the old man's house, this place was a hundred times better.
Before long, Dan Yeop began slowly demonstrating the six martial arts he had improved.
Heavenly Collapse Fist, Crane-Falcon Twin Form Fist, Heaven-Turning Hand, Lightning Flash Kick…….
His heart, shaken by the matter with Na Bu-gang's siblings, gradually calmed.
'As expected, you have to move your body.'
Then he picked up a tree branch and executed the White Flow Blade Technique.
As time passed, Dan Yeop fell into a state of selflessness.
Potential force swirled around him like a dragon's whirlwind.
Whoooooo―.
Episode 32. I Told You Not to Act Impulsively
Chang'an Castle.
Dongsi, Daeanbang.
Jinbosangbang's annex.
Na Bu-gang and Na Geum-ryeong sat facing each other, their expressions grim.
Na Geum-ryeong, who had been watching her brother's face, asked cautiously.
"So what are you going to do now?"
"About what?"
"Dan Yeop. You went to the trouble of making him your sworn brother, but it turns out he's from Haomun."
"What can I do? It is what it is."
"Well, as long as we don't meet him again, it'll be fine. But what if Dan Yeop clings to you? Like how he suddenly approached you on the street, he might stick around even if you try to keep your distance. If he was targeting you from the start, he might do that."
"If I don't respond, it'll be fine."
"What if he goes around bragging that he's your sworn brother? That would tarnish not only your reputation but also our sect's. Are you really okay with that?"
"Who can I blame when it's my own poor judgment that led to this?"
"Haah! That's why I told you not to act impulsively."
"Was it only me? You accepted Dan Yeop as your younger brother too."
"Since he's your sworn brother, he has to be my brother as well."
"For someone who says that, you were pretty proactive about it, weren't you?"
"You must have seen wrong. I only accepted him because I had no choice."
Na Bu-gang was about to say that she had been even more proactive but held back.
What use was any of that now?
Seeing his dejected look, Na Geum-ryeong spoke again.
"If it's bothering you that much, set a date and drink the severance wine."
"You want me to cut ties with Dan Yeop?"
"Then are you going to keep associating with someone from Haomun as the rising star of Hyeonmugwan? If the Hall Master finds out, he'll be furious."
"Are you telling me to become as light as a feather? It's only been a short while since I forced someone who refused into a sworn brotherhood, and now you want me to drink severance wine?"
"Better than worrying about getting a bad reputation."
"I've never worried about that."
"Still, it bothers you. The thought of getting tangled up with Dan Yeop in some unsavory way."
"Let's wait and see. It might just be our unnecessary worry."
"Tsk! You should have thought like that before making a sworn brother out of a man you'd just met."
"Haah! Just go. You're giving me a headache."
Na Geum-ryeong pouted and quietly left.
Dang. Dang. Dang. Dang. Dang―.
When the bell signaling the curfew rang, Dan Yeop returned to the old man's house.
Ma Deung's snoring could be faintly heard from the veranda.
After training with the Boundless Sword in the backyard, Dan Yeop entered his small room.
Lighting the oil lamp finally made him feel that the day was over.
"Aah! I lived a fulfilling day."
Muttering to himself, he sat cross-legged on the off chance it might work.
What if he practiced Tae-eul-bon-won-yeon-seong-gyeol without wearing the golden robe?
Would that hand still appear to strangle him?
With half-closed eyes, Dan Yeop quietly recited the mantra of Tae-eul-bon-won-yeon-seong-gyeol.
—Quietly illuminate the dantian, and within it, the starry sky reflects.
In the void, a flame arises and transforms into a divine lotus.
The stars in his dantian turned into flames and soon budded like a lotus.
His heart raced, but Dan Yeop calmly observed the divine lotus slowly blooming.
As expected.
When the divine lotus scattered, a white hand appeared without fail.
Dan Yeop focused his consciousness on the white hand.
Having been attacked several times already, the fear wasn't as intense as before.
When the white hand then strangled his neck, he gritted his teeth.
'Kugh!'
His head rang with the sound of his heart pounding.
Even in the suffocating pain, he tried to see beyond the white hand.
'Krrrr…… Who are you!'
In that fleeting moment, a demonic face flashed by.
"Kuhak! Cough! Cough!"
Dan Yeop gasped for breath amid violent coughing.
His internal energy training was already out of reach.
"That's right, a young woman. A maidservant? Or a nursemaid?"
He didn't know who she was, but her assassination attempt had failed.
"Maybe our family is even more prominent than Brother Bu-gang's (Jinbosangbang). That's why they'd try to assassinate me. If I go find my parents, would they be happy that their dead son has returned? If I find my parents, could I live in a good house too? Maybe I could even enter the National Academy or the Imperial Academy?"
While letting his imagination run wild, Dan Yeop shook his head vigorously.
"Find them, my ass. I've been strangled for so many years that my neck is covered in scars like this."
He wasn't sure if he even had a family, but even if he did, it was clear they weren't interested in him.
One scar on the neck might be one thing.
But thinking of the layers of scars around his neck, it was obvious without needing to see.
Wearing a bitter smile, he spread paper on the table.
Then he began writing down everything that had happened so far like a diary.
After finishing his diary entry, Dan Yeop lay sprawled out on the floor.
Early dawn.
Dan Yeop, who had opened his eyes, slowly raised his upper body.
Confirming that he was in the small room, he felt relieved inside.
If his inner demon had caused an incident and he had been arrested, he might have woken up in a prison cell.
The small room was bright with morning sunlight coming through the tiny window.
When he got up, his eyes fell on the paper on the table.
'Tch! Even an inner demon…….'
Dan Yeop felt annoyed at the inner demon's consideration.
He picked up the paper and slowly checked its contents.
Written on it were the events of obtaining the flint from the old man, two recipes, winning the bet with the Yang family head, and the process of becoming sworn brothers with Na Bu-gang, the heir of Jinbosangbang.
"Crazy……."
As expected, the inner demon couldn't be trusted.
Even a moment of carelessness led to such a major incident.
Soon after, Dan Yeop went outside carrying the flint, lard, and flour.
He intended to make hobyeong for breakfast.
However, he encountered an obstacle from the very beginning.
No matter how many times he struck the flint, it only sparked without catching fire.
After struggling for nearly one sikgyeong (about thirty minutes), Ma Deung poked his head into the kitchen and asked.
"Preparing breakfast?"
"Huh? Yes……."
"Having trouble lighting the fire?"
"Yes……."
"It's because you're striking the flint against a tree branch. You need to lay down tree bark or grass powder first so it catches easily."
"Ah……."
Dan Yeop scraped together tree bark powder from around the stove.
Then he struck the flint again.
Sure enough!