The Qi Arts Master - Chapter 44
Tian Ailang offered Dam Haung a polite bow after Chanho and Song Sogeol's casual exchange of greetings. The Dam family had provided immense aid in his rescue and treatment, and as the father of the Dam siblings with whom he shared such deep bonds, Tian Ailang's posture was all the more deferential.
"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Tian Ailang. I owe you a great debt—truly, thank you."
Dam Haung, momentarily taken aback by Tian Ailang's striking features, nodded with a creak of his neck.
"Oh? Ah, yes, of course. Welcome. I'm Dam Haung. Glad you've woken up safe and sound. Many were worried about you."
"Yes, thanks to you all, I'm alive."
"But are you sure you should be moving around already?"
"I'm fine. I can manage if I take it slow."
Tian Ailang said, gently flexing his arm. Dam Haung nodded, narrowing his eyes.
"Good, that's a relief. Soyeon was crying so much over you, I wondered what kind of guy could make her that way. Thought you'd have to watch out for her leg-breaker temper..."
"Dad!"
"...but you look perfectly fine. Relieved to see you walking so well."
Tian Ailang chuckled softly. The family bonds were strong not just between siblings but between father and daughter as well.
"I'm always grateful for the deep connection we've formed."
"Of course. Anyway..."
Dam Haung glanced around at the group standing in the snowy courtyard and continued.
"It's cold out here—don't stand around looking glum. Come inside. Soyeon, go fetch some Dragon Well tea from your uncle. I suspect he's hiding it to sip in secret. He's stingy with his own brother but always generous with you."
"You fought with Uncle again?"
Dam Soyeon asked with a sigh. Dam Haung shook his head emphatically.
"Ah, no. What kind of fight between grown men? Definitely not because I lost at go."
"Sigh... Got it. I'll head to Uncle's. You all go inside."
Dam Soyeon replied, shaking her head as if she couldn't win.
"Lady Soyeon, can I help with anything?"
Tian Ailang asked politely from the side. At his words, Dam Haung's eyes sharpened.
"Lady?"
Dam Soyeon quickly wedged herself between them.
"Haha, I asked him to call me that."
Dam Haung shot her a piercing glare. She promptly bowed her head, shoulders slumping, fingers fidgeting.
"Dad, don't look at me like that... it's scary..."
Seeing his daughter's pitiful expression, Dam Haung's sharp aura melted away in an instant. His face shifted to the goofy grin of a neighborhood fool invited to play.
"Nooo~ I wasn't looking scary at all~"
He waved his hands dismissively. Dam Soyeon snapped her head up and threw her arms around him.
"You're the best dad in the world~ I'll be right back from Uncle's."
"Heh~"
Dam Haung beamed as if he'd conquered the world, lips slick with saliva. Ni Daehyeok turned away in secondhand embarrassment.
Watching the scene, Song Sogeol whispered to Chanho.
-"Brother Chanho, you'll suffer if you end up with a woman like that. A good woman is early-maturing, wise, and a great cook."
Chanho whispered back quietly.
-"Why? She's cute. And a real woman is all about face, breasts, and voice."
Song Sogeol stared at him like he'd offered a dog bone.
Then he whispered again.
-"What nonsense is that? What good are those? A mature, wise woman brings peace of mind, and one who cooks well makes your mouth happy. That's the best kind."
Chanho shook his head.
-"You're too young to get it. How do you judge a woman you've just met? You see her face! Check her chest! Hear her voice! Boom, decision made. The stuff you mentioned can be learned over time, complemented between partners."
Song Sogeol's eyebrows rippled like waves.
-"This guy's acting high and mighty just 'cause he's two years older. You might eat more, but I've read more books. Pretty face lasts three years, good cooking thirty, wisdom a lifetime—or so I've never heard."
Chanho smirked.
-"Heh. Then I'll live short and intense. Find a pretty-faced girl who cooks decently."
Song Sogeol thumped his chest.
-"You're trouble waiting to happen. Pretty face means full of vanity—won't work. She'll blow through your money in no time."
Chanho lifted his chin with a smug grin.
-"No problem. I've got plenty left now, and I can earn more."
He meant the money from selling the night-luminescent pearl. Song Sogeol sneered.
-"Broke as a joke when we became sworn brothers, yet you squeezed escort fees out of me. Who was that again?"
Chanho was unfazed by the jab, growing more serious.
-"Even brothers keep accounts straight—that's the rule. I just followed it."
Song Sogeol pouted.
-"You know you're bad luck, brother?"
-"Yeah, like you."
Song Sogeol made a face like he'd bitten a bug.
-"Can't say one nice thing to your little brother! Not one!"
-"And you're always nickel-and-diming your big brother. Jealous? Wanna spar?"
Song Sogeol waved him off.
-"Nah, pass. No thanks."
Ni Daehyeok, having turned from his father and sister's antics, sighed at the escorts bickering over nothing. It seemed he was the only one here with a sound body and mind.
"Sigh..."
"Daehyeok, what's a big man like you sighing for? Come on, inside with us."
As Dam Haung headed indoors, Ni Daehyeok thought to himself.
'You're the biggest worry, Dad...'
* * *
"Un~cle~"
"Oh~ my Soyeon's come to find her uncle. What brings you?"
Dam Seonung, reviewing a go game, welcomed his pretty niece warmly.
"Hehe, playing go all by your lonesome again?"
"Haha, not moping, dear—it's called game review."
"Game review? Waiting for an opponent to return?"
Dam Seonung chuckled indulgently at her cuteness.
"No, it's replaying a game with your brother to reflect, find improvements."
"You won, right Uncle?"
Dam Seonung puffed out his chest.
"Of course. I may lose to him in mustache shape, but never at go."
Dam Soyeon scrunched her nose adorably.
"What's that? Why compare mustaches?"
Dam Seonung grew profoundly serious.
"Soyeon, men live and die by their mustaches."
"..."
"Especially for middle-aged men, a fine mustache and a vanity-packed poem line are all you need to... ahem, woo women well."
Dam Soyeon sighed inwardly.
'Foolish dad, foolish uncle, troublemaker big brother—this house's only sane one is me.'
"So, what's up? Honored guest arrived or something?"
"Huh?"
Dam Soyeon startled.
"Don't tell me Brother sent you for Dragon Well tea?"
She wanted to ask about her marriage prospects right then.
"Genius fool of an uncle..."
"Pardon?"
Dam Seonung tilted his head. She flashed a bright smile.
"Nothing. Hehe. Remember the man who saved my life long ago?"
He smiled.
"Of course. No one in the family matches my memory. That Qi Arts youth?"
Thrilled he remembered her old story, Dam Soyeon felt they could communicate well.
"Yes. You know he's the same one Brother Dam treated in his study?"
Dam Seonung's eyes widened.
"Oh~ was he? Shame such a benefactor of our Soyeon suffered."
She nodded.
"He's awake and with Dad now. Came for some Dragon Well tea."
Dam Seonung smiled generously.
"No need for long explanations—if you want it, it's yours. Anything."
Dam Soyeon hugged him tightly, beaming.
"Uncle Dam's the best~"
"Heh, what nonsense from a grown lady?"
His words belied a face mirroring Dam Haung's earlier grin. Suddenly realizing something, she pulled back.
"Ah! Why send me to you for Dragon Well? Doesn't the family or Dad have any?"
Dam Seonung smirked, recalling his brother.
"Brother's a bit sloppy. He bragged once about buying a ton cheap from someone. Drank it and spent days glued to the toilet. Fake stuff. Dumped it all. Long story short, I'm the only one with real Dragon Well now."
Dam Soyeon sighed, nodding.
"Sigh... Head of a scholarly house scammed..."
Dam Seonung smiled warmly at her.
"Brother's careless in daily life, but unmatched in scholarship and caring for the household. Throw him off, and emperors mean nothing. I couldn't do that—that's why he's the patriarch. Everyone follows him willingly. And he's so human, right? Haha."
Dam Soyeon chuckled. Despite their constant bickering, seeing father and uncle understand and respect each other warmed her heart. Uncle was renowned as the family's memory whiz, though he often misused it for trouble. He'd also played village detective, solving incidents to acclaim—folks sought him first.
Her fond smile faded abruptly, another doubt surfacing.
"...But Uncle."
"Yes?"
"The Dragon Well I got as a gift from the Moyong family in Shenyang and gave Dad—where'd that go? It was plenty."
"Oh, that? Brother took it to chat up village ladies and used it all u—oops!"
Dam Seonung clamped his mouth shut. Dam Soyeon grinned wickedly.
"A~ so Dad did it~. Wonder what Mom'll say when she returns from her parents' soon~."
Dam Seonung silently mourned his brother in his heart.