Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Promise
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Seo Mun-ha returned to his assigned quarters.
There was something both welcoming and awkward about a connection forged in a past life.
Shaking off his troubled mood, he left behind Biju Castle, where cries of silver justice had once echoed.
The room assigned to him was luxurious even by the standards of the Seo Mun Clan.
They'd gone on about life debts, and from the start, every consideration, comfort, and courtesy had been extended, complete with an attendant who treated him with utmost deference.
'Not a maidservant, then.'
The entrance bore intricate, colorful patterns. Before he could even make out the shadow blocking the room, a fragrance wafted toward him.
"Baek Ri-seol?"
"Sorry to disappoint."
The gruff voice belonged to neither a typical maid nor Baek Ri-seol.
"No need to apologize... What brings you here?"
Tang So-so crossed her arms, fidgeting with her fingers in evident impatience.
"If it's not a quick errand, would you like to come in first?"
It was bound to happen eventually. Despite her earlier threats, she had taken the initiative to grace his door first.
"It's not my house, but still."
Seo Mun-ha, who had thrown up his hands against the Tang Clan's tenacity, guided her into the unfamiliar chamber.
Tang So-so nodded slightly, her face faintly flushed.
Considering the late hour, this was the sort of thing that could easily spark needless rumors.
Just look at what happened with Ha Eun-ye before.
He hadn't particularly expected Baek Ri-seol, but given their relatively rumor-free rapport, Tang So-so's boldness came as something of a surprise.
No matter how much of a martial artist one was...
"Please, come in. I don't have any proper tea to offer... but there is liquor."
On the small table in the chamber sat prettily wrapped mooncakes and a bottle of Jiannan Spring wine.
Tang So-so slipped inside quickly, as if wary of prying eyes, and knelt down on both knees before it.
She was all falcon-like ferocity in battle, yet here she looked every bit the celestial beauty.
"How's your body holding up?"
Her narrowed eyes fixed on him as she asked.
"It's nothing. Just some depleted energy. Thanks to your concern, I'm fine now."
Her tone felt less like worry and more like interrogation.
How could a late-stage expert comparable to Zhongjing's demon head possibly falter like that?
"And you, Tang Young Lady? Is the bed not too unfamiliar?"
He showed no sign of hiding his flawless condition, inner injuries and all.
Or perhaps he trusted her implicitly to keep his secrets.
"At this point?"
Anyone else, maybe, but surely not with her. He couldn't possibly have that much faith in Tang So-so. Her confidence piqued his curiosity.
"Better than starving on dry rations and raisins, exposed to the cold night air with no shelter."
She alluded to his prior recklessness, now that the worst had been averted.
"Glad to hear it."
Seo Mun-ha, inscrutable as ever, poured Jiannan Spring into a tiny cup and downed it.
Tang So-so stared at him intently.
She had more than a few burning questions.
"I'll be direct."
"You can beat around the bush if you like."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I was feeling lonely anyway."
Nothing soothed a restless mind quite like liquor and conversation.
In his previous life, Yi Mok-yeom had always shown others his back.
His weary life weighed heavy on his shoulders, and before his eyes loomed only vultures stained with greed.
Friend or foe, it made no difference.
Thus, having someone to drink with like this wasn't so bad.
Tang So-so wasn't the easiest person to relax around, but there had been those occasional pangs of bitterness.
People, circumstances, even time itself—all had changed.
Being left utterly alone in a world devoid of familiar faces had greatly fueled his unease.
Welcoming yet awkward—that was the crux of it.
Even in this golden opportunity, his dual nature hinted at his ordinary humanity amid the quirks.
"Anyway, go on."
Tang So-so snatched the Jiannan Spring bottle from his hand.
Without pause, she uncorked it and downed a cup in one go before continuing.
Thud!
"What's your deal, really?"
"...?"
"I deserve to know too, don't I?"
Forget his wishes—this was about an unofficial betrothal floated by the clans.
No word had reached the Seo Mun Clan yet, but the words of Six Great Clans' patriarchs and elders carried the weight of gold.
"Hmm..."
Unlike him, who had no clue and rejected it outright, she knew the match and was naturally digging for details.
"Nothing all that grand about my identity."
"But?"
"I'm Seo Mun-ha."
"And?"
"Third Young Master of the Seo Mun Clan."
"...Next?"
"Lately, the jianghu's notables have been calling me Ghost Flash."
"Argh! Who doesn't know that?!"
Tang So-so slammed the table and leaned forward, shoving her face close.
"What's your problem?"
What answer would earn him acclaim against someone demanding his origins so bluntly?
He'd tried patiently laying it out step by step to satisfy her, but her flushed, fuming face betrayed no hint of her true intent.
"What are you hiding? Spit it all out!"
She was a woman of vigorous spirit.
"Calm down."
p>
No matter what, he couldn't recite his past life's resume.
"Like I said, there's no grand identity to reveal. Besides, isn't prying into another's martial arts a breach of etiquette in the jianghu?"
It went beyond mere rudeness—a deep-seated taboo, and even this was a softened phrasing.
"I'm not asking about your arts! And are we strangers?"
"That's exactly it."
"..."
"We are strangers."
"..."
"...?"
Tang So-so's shoulders slumped as if all energy had drained from her.
Puzzled by her reaction, he emptied his cup and added an excuse.
"Martial artists are said to conceal three-tenths of their skill by habit. Keeping secrets before was much the same."
One reason was the hassle of matching every pretense; the other, preparing for contingencies.
"That feels like more than three-tenths..."
The latter stemmed from all traces of the Iron Cavalry vanishing without a hint. It implied unsavory figures from his past, so no need to flaunt imperial arts carelessly.
...Caution be damned.
"I'm not asking empty-handed. I have some shame, you know."
"...You don't look it."
Seo Mun-ha promptly held out a fist-sized orb to her.
"Seven Serpent Sword?"
"It's yours."
Is this how he planned to settle the debt?
She swallowed words poised to demand whatever-anything-in-exchange, her predetermined retort caught in her throat.
"Not my style. I realized it after trying it. That demonic nature too."
It was an item valuable enough to reverse their positions entirely.
"You're giving this to me? Why?"
"Seems like you'd put it to better use. Suits you too."
Though called a sword due to its former owner, the Seven Serpent Sword transcended mere blades.
"...You have to deliver the demon head to the Murim Alliance, so claiming ownership's tricky. Better if I hold it, right? To align our stories?"
"Spot on. Also, it doesn't mesh with my clan's arts."
"Frankly, as someone who's received help, I shouldn't say this, but you're getting shadier. What are you hiding so desperately?"
Strictly speaking, Seo Mun-ha was the one who'd been helped between them.
Poison experts might have reason to tangle with the demon, but Tang So-so had none, and escaping that scene would've been easy for her.
"In the jianghu, people hide their identities for two reasons usually. Too many enemies, or a shady past?"
It all boiled down to the same thing.
"To guard against mishaps."
Seo Mun-ha smiled faintly, summarizing.
Winning her over would've been the easiest path.
"In a jianghu that prizes karmic ties, alienating someone leads to endless trouble. I'm a pacifist at heart."
"Pacifist my foot... I thought you were just a brute, but you're full of sly foxes inside."
As cups passed amid the liquor, her words grew coarser with the buzz.
"A compliment?"
"It is."
And with it, she relaxed more.
As night deepened, the two continued their long-overdue conversation.
The buzz could be expelled anytime, but that would've violated drinking etiquette.
"I'll do as you wish, Seo Mun Young Master. But I should talk it over with Elder Sister Ha first."
"A daughter of the Six Great Clans..."
"It's not about the clans. Demon cultists are public enemies. For the Six Great Clans especially, we can't skip procedure. Too many eyes watching."
"You don't seem thrilled about it."
"Of course. But once something's in my grasp, I don't let go easy."
"Greedier than you look."
"I've always been a greedy girl. Tang Clan folk love their money too."
With their clan's signature weapons being consumable poisons and daggers, wealth was unavoidable.
"Speaking of which, you and Eun-ye seem close?"
"...Something like that. We're lumped together as the Seven Phoenixes. Know 'em all by face. Sister Ha's one I've met quite a bit."
She grinned broadly, gulping down more liquor; her unguarded demeanor revealed yet another facet.
"I see."
Seo Mun-ha was no different, though his changes were subtler.
"Oh, almost forgot— what's your deal with Sister Ha?"
"Nothing."
"Rumors say otherwise."
"Rumors?"
"That the scoundrel scoundreled like a scoundrel."
"No idea what scoundrels do, but rumors are all like that, aren't they?"
"Better watch out! If you block Sister Ha's marriage prospects, you're taking responsibility?"
"Talk to her about that."
"You're so casual with me."
"I don't fancy stiff formalities."
"What about me, then?"
"You're because of that old geezer trying to pierce my nose... er, that elder."
"See? You knew and played dumb!"
She shot him a deliberate glare after her subtle probe.
Played dumb?
"The betrothal."
"...Ahh."
He smacked his fist into his palm as if struck by enlightenment.
"Must be some misunderstanding. Words got twisted or something."
"Huh?"
"I politely declined that matter."
Based solely on the Sichuan poison master's nagging, she'd peg him as overly fixated.
"It's all settled. No need for you to worry, Tang Young Lady."
Seo Mun-ha resolved her concern in one stroke.
"...What? So you don't like me?"
Against expectations, she pressed on with a stiff expression and icy tone.
"As you know, I'm betrothed."
Her reactions clashed with his hopes.
"Or do you want me to like you?"
"Not that, but... it irks me. Mind if I smack you once?"
"I'll pass. Politely."
"I'll go easy. You're way stronger anyway."
A thick smile crept across her lips, somehow chilling.
"Poison's fine too. Got plenty of justification. And you're not lumping that in with the Seven Serpent Sword, right?"
"That?"
"The name! How do you name someone like that? Unless you're deliberately insulting them!"
Seo Mun-ha recalled the poison master leisurely feasting at the Zhu En Merchant Group.
On this, he had no defense, even with ten mouths.
"Just... thought it was pretty."
He scratched his head sheepishly.
"No intent to insult you, Tang Young Lady. Since I rejected the proposal, I figured we'd never cross paths like this."
His unexpected candor left Tang So-so blinking.
One: He named it because it was pretty.
Two: The name So-so was pretty.
Three: He thought her name was pretty.
...A miraculous syllogism fit for some flower-brained nobleman's daughter.
"Ahem!"
But who was she?
The genius among geniuses dubbed Queen of a Thousand Poisons, securing a seat among the Seven Phoenixes.
'If that's the case...'
She brushed it off easily, no doubt thanks to the alcohol.
"No, to think you'd get off with just that...!"
"If I've offended you, allow me to apologize here and now."
From one to ten, there were no other reasons.
...Probably.
"Forget it."
Sensing a sudden heat, Tang So-so fanned herself with her hand.
"Why the stare? I said it's fine. I forgive you. Water under the bridge anyway."
Watching her fluster like boiling dumplings, he couldn't help thinking the two So-sos were aptly named after all.
"Ah, if I must add a condition... drop the formalities from now on. For Sister Ha's sake too—your politeness feels like teasing."
No ulterior motive.
Not son-in-law material for the Tangs, but fine as a friend; even that sly face felt human and likable.
"You didn't take the antidote I gave you, did you?"
"Huh?"
"Look at this cheek. Mix it with booze, and even a weak dose reacts."
Somehow, the drinking stretched till dawn.
"One more for you."
"How are the two elders faring?"
"Grandpa Ga knows them too?"
"He forged my spear."
"He's always hale and hearty."
The two, minds aligned for once, bantered freely on any topic.
"I get how you won over those two elders now."
"Sincerity and genuineness."
"Yeah, right."
She scoffed, deeming it absurd.
"Whether Sister Ha or Seol-a figures out you're a liar."
She didn't seem all that displeased.
"Do you know why Sister Ha's after the demon head?"
"No, never asked."
"Really?"
Prying into others' affairs without cause was poor form, separate from their own interests...
"Then why are you chasing the demon head, Seo Mun Young Master? You don't strike me as fame-hungry."
"I..."
The night wore on, empty bottles piling up.
Shedding pretenses, they shared candid talk over drinks until the sun rose on the day of the assembly.