Chapter 50
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Dragon-Phoenix Gathering
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The assembly was marked by a sign reading Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
One of the central figures among them.
"Oh my!"
The maid who had retraced Dang So-so's whereabouts last night covered her mouth and let out a small gasp.
Her face flushed red as she spun tales of imagination— a common topic among women in their prime.
A common man and a common woman.
"She was pacing outside the door in the middle of the night. I thought it was strange."
"She just came out of Young Master Seo Mun's room."
Even with warnings to keep it secret, rumors inevitably leaked through the grapevine.
On the morning of the assembly.
The grounds of the Cheongju Bi Clan were abuzz.
"What are you all doing?!"
A warrior sounded the alert, scolding the servants who had misjudged the gravity of the moment and snapping the lax atmosphere back into shape.
A resolute determination filled the air with tension, and the entire clan bustled inside and out.
"My head hurts..."
Dang So-so was no different.
As the source of the rumor alongside Yeom Moon, she was one of the main players in the grand scheme of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
"Miss!"
A woman singled her out with a shrill cry.
"What in the world have you been up to until now?! Look at all this!"
She strode across the hectic grounds with purposeful steps, trailed by the servants Dang So-so had abandoned.
"Please, no yelling. My head's ringing."
Dang So-so waved her off weakly, her face pallid.
"I drank too much."
"Do you know what kind of rumors I heard on my way here?!"
The worries had spread beyond control.
Sandong was White Path territory through and through, so there were no crude black path obscenities flying around, but the gist of the gossip was the same everywhere.
"That's just how idle chatter goes. Ignore it, Division Leader Sa Hong."
But she seemed utterly unconcerned.
"Don't get worked up this fine morning. Reacting just gives fodder to those who love to sink their teeth in."
"And you know that, yet..."
Division Leader Sa Hong sighed in frustration.
She had vanished after leaving just a single letter, and now she'd gone and caused a real mess.
"Haa."
It was so very Dang So-so.
"Here, take this first."
Division Leader Sa Hong, her steadfast supporter, handed over a pill the size of a fingernail.
With the hangover already coursing through her body, inner energy alone couldn't dispel it all—this was a Tang Clan secret remedy to mitigate the effects of intoxication.
"And you need to head out right away. There's no end to the preparations!"
"I can't skip today, can I?"
"Not unless you're unafraid of the fallout. The clan head impressed it upon you."
"...Fine, I'll go."
Dang So-so currently represented the Sichuan Tang Clan.
From donning armor to adorning herself, applying makeup—every detail mattered, no embellishment too much, not even the smallest fold in her attire.
Division Leader Sa Hong, who assisted her, was of the Tang Clan but not her person.
Perhaps feeling a twinge of guilt for that, she composed herself and followed obediently.
"Anything else?"
Despite the dismissive tone, Division Leader Sa Hong hesitated, lips twitching.
"This is Sandong."
"I know."
"The Seo Mun Clan is Sandong's second powerhouse."
"I know that too."
"We're building a mutual alliance with the main house..."
"Stop beating around the bush. What do you really want to say to me, Division Leader?"
"Did you really have to tangle with the Seo Mun Clan's Third Young Master?"
"...Pardon?"
Division Leader Sa Hong well understood the purpose of Dang So-so's participation in the gathering.
With Yeom Moon's life hanging in the balance and his safety in peril, she had long soothed her—hoping above all that he survived.
"No, I got devoured."
Division Leader Sa Hong's expression shifted wildly at Dang So-so's mischievous words and actions.
"Miss?"
Uncannily so.
"I'm kidding. Truth be told, my memory's spotty. Haven't let the alcohol linger that long in ages."
"You didn't make any mistakes... in any sense?"
"I think I might've mentioned the main house's new elixir..."
Division Leader Sa Hong halted, staring blankly at her back.
The new elixir, manufactured in utmost secrecy by the Tang Clan.
Not even the Six Great Clans could escape unscathed from the aftermath of the last Demonic Cult war; they were pouring efforts into spirit pills for the next generation and their warriors.
"It'll be fine. Don't worry."
Its effects rivaled the Shaolin Revival Pill, nearing the Great Reversion Pill in potency—word getting out was more than a headache for Division Leader Sa Hong.
"Sigh, we'll talk about this later."
Including the two women, processions came and went from the Bi residence without cease, all converging on the same destination with their own thoughts in tow.
"Did you sleep well last night, brother?"
Bi Ju-seong had come dutifully to pay his respects.
"Well enough..."
"Your complexion looks poor."
His attentiveness was a touch burdensome, but having pulled an all-nighter, I had no energy to nitpick.
"If you're unwell, shall I fetch a physician...?"
"No need. Just tired."
A yawn escaped me involuntarily. While others prepared feverishly for the gathering, I had to focus on my heart realm.
"If anything's amiss, please tell me later, no matter what."
"Will do."
I had little else to prepare anyway.
"Ah, I won't be able to visit personally for a while. Just go through Nan-cheong here."
Leaving the maid behind, Bi Ju-seong offered a neat clasped-hands salute and returned to his post.
I hadn't planned to use the Bi residence as lodging.
Confirming our old ties once was enough.
"This way, benefactor. Or should I say young master."
I followed Nan-cheong and asked,
"Heard nothing about other martial sects' lodgings?"
Setting aside the Murim Alliance's ulterior motives behind the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, the venue couldn't house thousands of warriors.
The Cheongju Bi Clan was no exception, so most latecomers brought only a handful of attendants.
"Those lodging with us are all mid-to-small sects."
They'd set up temporary bases and networks of their own as a bonus.
"Larger sects likely rented inns or manors nearby. Pinpointing them would be tricky. The clan head might know, but... sorry."
"No need to apologize."
"You've only helped us, young master. The other two as well—thanks to you, our clan's prestige rose and we saved face."
She looked every bit the bright young maid, keenly aware that crisis bred opportunity.
"I prepared fabric matching yours. Breakfast and bath are..."
As she explained the details, visions of So-dong sweating back home flickered before my eyes.
"Oh right, I forgot someone I was supposed to guide you to."
"A-so?"
And there he was, like a lie come true—So-dong, whom I'd not seen in nearly half a month, standing right before me.
"Young master!"
I lightly pushed away his charging forehead and glanced alternately at Yang Jeong and Gu Chil behind him.
"We greet the young master!"
The two excluding Gu Chil were unexpected.
"Have you been well, young master?!"
"As you see. Still making a fuss, I see."
Their sheepish glances revealed the cause of this untimely commotion.
"The clan head ordered us to attend you. We joined Gu hyung two days ago."
"...Father did?"
"In short, he didn't want the clan heir wandering alone."
Yang Jeong nodded along, and A-so bobbed his head in agreement.
"You look even more dependable. Grown taller again?"
"It's only been half a month."
"You're in your growth spurt."
"You've shot up yourself—'So-dong' doesn't fit anymore; you're getting creepy."
"Aw, I've got ages left!"
"Do you now."
I ruffled A-so's hair casually and turned to Nan-cheong.
"That's enough here. Go see that friend Ju-seong."
"But..."
"I prefer being alone anyway."
The maid, handed a convenient excuse, rolled her eyes before bowing deeply and departing.
Even invoking benefactor status, with hands short-staffed, she couldn't easily refuse.
"Young master, don't tell me it's that old habit again?!"
"Whatever it was, you're wrong."
I gave A-so's head a light chop after tousling it and proceeded modestly to the venue.
"Aigoo, great hero! Fancy meeting you here again!"
The first to greet me, entourage of three in tow, was U Hak-bong in his beggar's rags.
"Sorry if you waited, but no alms today."
"That's a pity... Wait, treating me like some street beggar?!"
"Weren't you?"
"I am."
"..."
"Ahem, anyway, let's head in together. The stiff lot discriminate something fierce against us elders."
Not because of age, surely...
His even more disheveled appearance and wild hair made him hard to recognize, with no identity knot in sight.
"Sold your knot?"
"Haha, not sold. Some noisy fellow in the Beggar Clan, that's all. Let me freeload quietly for scraps. You helped before, right?"
"Before?"
"Cheonggwang Martial Hall."
"Ah."
"How stingy can you be? No heads-up for a shipmate? El gee?"
"We never sailed together, but suit yourself."
Four or five made little difference.
"Hold up. Where are you from?"
The manor hosting the gathering.
"Sandong, Seo Mun Clan."
The guard at the grand entrance flipped through the name ledger.
"Seo Mun Clan?"
"Yes."
"I thought the Seo Mun Clan already entered the inner grounds..."
His colleague suddenly raised his voice as the first trailed off.
"No way—Ghost Flash?!"
"W-what?"
Before needless panic spread, I hurried him.
"Can I go in? Talk to him if you need to verify the token."
"P-please enter! My apologies!"
Yang Jeong and Gu Chil stayed in the outer grounds.
Entering the inner grounds involved a similar process, but quicker than before. Inside sprawled a vast manor, dominated by one strikingly prominent hall.
"Wow! Look at that, young master!"
"Kekekeke, first time the kid's seen Heavenly Dragon Hall, eh?"
"First for me too."
A majestic, imposing structure.
Not comparable to the Forbidden City in Beijing, but its height ranked among the top three in the Central Plains.
"Nine stories, they say. Imagine the young bloods scrapping up there—quite the spectacle, no?"
"Sounds like you're hoping for it."
"What do you take me for? I'm a beggar. Fewer alms-givers? Perish the thought. Just amusing that the riffraff won't even land a hand."
True enough.
Even with maids, they couldn't leap from windows like in some roadside inn.
Fewer brawls, then.
Whoever chose the venue had done well, providing a stage for thought before action.
"Welcome. Young Master Seo Mun-ha."
As I admired the towering hall, a servant guide approached.
"I'll show you to your lodgings first."
The inner lodgings were provisions for each sect's key members.
Had Bi Ju-seong arranged it beforehand?
Late as we were, usually one requested the hall or was asked first.
Come to think of it, fewer people than expected.
Not that late, was it? The thought lingered.
"Killing intent?"
A band of warriors radiating blatant hostility lined the path ahead.
They flaunted their presence in ornate uniforms, exuding fury alongside unfamiliar emblems.
"Er, uh..."
U Hak-bong eyed their emblem knowingly.
"Friends of yours?"
"Peng Clan. Hebei Peng Clan. Looks like things won't stay quiet from the start. Watch out—that's their Second Young Master."
"Y-young master?"
A-so's anxious gaze followed old memories surging up—an old acquaintance flashing through my mind.
"Peng Clan?"
None other than Peng Somebody.