Sworn Brothers
When I opened my eyes and looked to my side, someone was slumped over asleep. For some reason, the figure seemed vaguely familiar.
Clutching my throbbing head, I slowly lifted my chin, and only then did recognition click.
"Ugh... aren't you that luggage porter from before...?"
"You're finally awake."
The kid righted the fallen stool and sat down, but the gaze directed at me felt strangely off. It was almost as if they were mistaking me for someone else. After studying me closely for a good while, the porter shook their head and muttered softly.
"I guess you really have returned to normal."
I had no idea what had "returned," but that wasn't the pressing issue right now.
"More importantly... where is this?"
"An inn."
For an establishment located in Hubei, the room was remarkably decrepit.
"Was there an inn this dilapidated in Hubei...?"
"Ah, I suppose you wouldn't know."
"Know what?"
"We're not in Hubei. This is Jiangxi Province. You've been bedridden for quite some time, so it's understandable that you're disoriented."
Bedridden? What on earth did that mean? At most, it should have only been a few days—
"Ugh..."
A sudden wave of vertigo struck, spinning the world around me. I immediately circulated internal energy through my meridians. As the kid had said, I really must have been out cold for ages, given the catastrophic state of my body. With internal injuries of this caliber, I'd be suffering for at least another two months. Still, considering I was in far worse shape ten years ago, I supposed I should count my blessings...
Even so, one lingering problem remained.
...Once again, I don't remember a single thing.
This was the exact reason I couldn't throw this power around lightly. Uncontrolled power invites calamity, threatening not just my own skin, but putting everyone around me in grave danger.
Calming my breath, I asked again.
"Phew. How long have I been lying here?"
"Probably... about three months."
Three months?! I had assumed seven days and nights at the absolute most!
Come to think of it, for someone who had been unconscious for a full three months, my body was surprisingly clean.
"Did you nurse me this entire time? Even just wiping me down with a towel must have been a struggle for you."
A single glance showed how frail and petite the kid was. Wiping down an unconscious grown man would have been grueling labor. Swelling with genuine gratitude, I opened my mouth to thank him, but for some bizarre reason, his face flushed in panic as he waved his hands wildly in defense.
"I-I kept my eyes tightly shut the whole time, so you don't need to worry...!! A-And... down there..."
Glancing toward my lower body, his face flushed crimson, and he dropped his head low.
"I-It was thanks to your help last time that I survived at all... and you gave me plenty of money, so..."
When I first saw him, he seemed aloof and impassive, but contrary to appearances, he was ridiculously bashful. How was a boy this timid ever going to find a bride?
What's that? If I'm such an expert, why haven't I gotten married at my age?
Let me make this crystal clear for the hundredth time: it's not that I couldn't get married; I just never saw any point in getting married, so I chose not to!
Isn't that the exact excuse pathetic bachelors always make?
...Ouch. Did you really have to shatter my bones with the blunt truth like that?
Anyway, if he meant I'd helped him, was he referring to that dagger I gave him back then? Surviving an ambush where even veteran escort guards got slaughtered meant he must've had devil's luck. Normally, even if someone miraculously lived through that, they'd have a limb or two brok—Wait. Hold on. What did my ears just catch?
"Y-You... what did you just say?! Say that again...!!"
I grabbed his arm and shook him frantically. Startled, he stammered out an answer.
"T-That I survived thanks to your help before..."
"No, after that! What did you say after that?!"
"After that...? Ah, that you gave me plenty of money, so it was fine...?"
At those words, I desperately pawed at the inside of my robes. Nothing. Not a single coin met my clutching fingers.
H-Huh? There should be a heavy pouch of money in here...
Despair hit me like a runaway carriage. My golden future, painstakingly secured, had vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye! What made it maddening enough to drive a man insane was that I didn't remember handing over that money at all.
Clinging to the faintest sliver of hope that some of it was left over, I asked with forced, trembling calm.
"Don't tell me... you went and spent all of it? Haha."
"Of course I couldn't spend it all."
The terrifying thoughts receded, and I let out a profound sigh of relief.
"Phew. What a relief—"
"There should be about three silver taels left."
"..."
There were several gold ingots in that pouch! How could it have shrunk to that in a mere three months?! Even I was too stingy to touch that money recklessly...!
Perhaps my stare was glaringly transparent, because noticing my expression, he quickly explained where the fortune had gone.
"...When you collapsed, your condition was beyond horrific. So I used that money to buy medicinal herbs for three months."
Hearing that, I thought it over. The kid didn't seem like the type to squander money frivolously. He could have easily pocketed the cash and fled, or at least spared himself the trouble of nursing me back to health so devotedly. Above all, the fact that he was putting me up in such a rundown inn just to pinch pennies proved that every coin had been spent solely on keeping me alive.
As a look of touched sincerity softened my face, he gave an awkward, sheepish laugh.
"Haha..."
Mother always used to say: Kindness must always be repaid twofold.
What's that? I never had a mother, so how could I have heard her say that?
...It's a figure of speech, you jerk!
"Ahem. Seon-yu, was it? How old are you this year?"
"Twenty-two."
Wait, older than I thought? His voice hadn't broken yet, so I assumed he was younger than So-yeong.
"I'm thirty, so from now on, call me hyung-nim."
"Pardon? What do you..."
"Come on, give it a try. Call me hyung-nim."
Hesitating for a moment, he tentatively parted his lips.
"H-Hyung-nim...? Eep!"
I patted his head warmly.
"Good. Take good care of me for the time being, Seon-yu."
"...Yes, Hyung-nim."
They say orphans starved for affection crave connection, and it seemed to ring true. Seeing a faint smile blossom over something so minor, he clearly liked it.
"Setting that aside, did anything happen during these past three months? Must have been quite an uproar."
"Apparently, the assassins Hyung-nim struck down belonged to an assassin guild called the Black Killing Gate. Once it was revealed that the Black Heaven Escort Bureau was pulling their strings, pandemonium broke out for quite a while."
That wasn't what I cared about. What I was truly dying to know was...
"Did you hear anything from the Zhuge Clan about Gal-san—er, Elder Wu? Like whether he died or was tortured under interrogation?"
"Word is that Elder Wu was exposed as an elder of the Black Killing Gate. I don't know the exact details, but he's most likely dead."
Serves him right! Who told him to trust me? Did he seriously think that no matter how desperate I was, I'd let him off the hook to enjoy life alone? May you never rest easy, even in the afterlife! Pfft.
What? I sound like the bigger villain here? That's because you know nothing. Where else could you find a man as pure and virtuous as me? Didn't you hear the Clan Head personally thank me with his own mouth?
"Hmm. Though I don't know why, the Zhuge Clan has been searching for Hyung-nim relentlessly."
"Me? Why all of a sudden...?"
A dreadful thought flashed through my mind.
There was no way the surroundings remained unscathed when I unleashed that power. Collateral damage was an absolute certainty. In other words, they were searching for me to demand compensation for the property damages!
I promptly decided to pretend I never heard that. If not for me, the damage would've been catastrophic anyway, so surely they'd show some understanding.
"...M-Maybe they just want to say thank you in person? Hahaha."
"Oh... that could be it."
Gurgle—
My stomach rumbled loudly. A golden opportunity to change the subject!
"Aiyo, lying in bed for so long has left me famished. Let's grab a bowl of noodles or something."
"Right away."
He helped me up and supported my weight all the way to the stairs. Resting my hand on his shoulder, I noticed the texture felt surprisingly soft and delicate for a boy.
Knead, knead.
"Hyah?!"
He looked at me with trembling eyes, his entire face flushing a violent scarlet. Thank goodness there was nobody else around, or anyone witnessing this would've pegged me as a filthy predator.
"Ah, did I startle you? What kind of grown man gets all flustered over a little squeeze? How are you ever going to take a wife at this rate?"
"Y-You're right!! Hahaha..."
I'm used to mingling with all sorts of people, but he clearly still felt awkward around me. I ought to drag him to a bathhouse together sometime to break the ice.
"By the way, how is there not a single customer at this hour? I don't even see an errand boy around."
"..."
"No matter how cheap the place is, running a business like this is a bit—"
"This is my inn, Hyung-nim."
Caught completely off guard, I choked on my words.
"Y-You mean... this whole inn belongs to you...?"
"It's terribly shabby, isn't it? I'm confident in my cooking, but I don't have a knack for business at all..."
Being a baggage porter hadn't suited him, but running an inn seemed even less fitting.
"What else is an older brother good for? I'll teach you the ropes of running a business, so go whip up some food first."
"...Yes!"
I pulled up a chair and sat down, eliciting an ominous, piercing creak. The wood had likely rotted from sheer age. To top it off, the lack of proper dusting left a thick coat of grime over the tabletop.
"Cough, cough."
Still, I could understand. Handling all the chores of an inn by oneself at that age was no small feat.
After wiping down the table with a sleeve, food was set before me before I knew it.
"I prepared a simple bowl of plain noodles and Dongpo pork. I hope it suits your palate."
Oh. The aroma passed inspection with flying colors.
However, taste is what truly counts. After wandering as a rogue martial artist for ten years and frequenting countless taverns and inns across the Central Plains, I took pride in having rather discerning culinary standards.
"Well, let's dig in."
Lifting a slice of Dongpo pork alongside a mouthful of noodles, I placed it in my mouth—and promptly dropped the chopsticks from my frozen hand.
Clatter—
"I-Is it bad?"
"This is..."