Chapter 637
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 637
Chapter Title: Get Out of the Way!
“Then have a pleasant time.”
The chief steward Kang bowed to Ha Mu-baek before quietly slipping out of the room.
Only then did the four sets of curious eyes turn to Ha Mu-baek.
“What on earth is going on here, big brother?”
Ha Seol-ran asked, her voice brimming with excitement.
It was only natural.
The line downstairs was still packed.
Even getting to the fifth floor—the supposed top level—meant waiting at least half a shichen.
And yet they had ascended not just to the fifth floor, but to the sixth above it, as if it were nothing.
A house upon a house.
The term usually mocked needless additions to something already there.
But not here.
This place made you wonder if they could stack yet another floor on top.
A layer beyond the topmost fifth floor.
That was the true meaning of a house upon a house.
Yeon Ha-min kept drinking in the breathtaking view before her.
“Wow!”
“Whoa!”
The Gong siblings, Hae-jun and Hae-bin, kept letting out gasps of awe.
“Eh, the pavilion lord and the chief steward here go way back.”
Ha Mu-baek brushed it off casually.
Just an old connection? Hardly.
It had to be something far more extraordinary.
That only piqued Ha Seol-ran's interest further.
Another hidden chapter in her brother's life she knew nothing about.
“What kind of connection?”
She pressed again.
By now, the other three were staring at him too.
“Just an old connection, that's all.”
Ha Mu-baek tried to wave it away.
But Ha Seol-ran grabbed the hem of his robe and tugged.
“Tell us the details.”
Yeon Ha-min watched with open curiosity, while Gong Hae-bin and Gong Hae-jun's eyes sparkled like stars.
Right then, the food arrived.
They hadn't even ordered, but Chief Steward Kang had taken care of it.
The table overflowed with Dengwang Pavilion's most renowned and rare delicacies.
The kids' attention instantly shifted to the spread.
“Let's eat first.”
At Ha Mu-baek's words, they took their seats and dug in.
The Gong siblings eagerly sampled this dish and that, but soon their chopsticks slowed.
Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran kept savoring theirs, tilting their heads at the kids' change.
Ha Mu-baek just grinned.
He could guess why.
'The food here's exquisite... but it still can't quite match Gong the chef's handiwork.'
A razor-thin difference, yet Gong the chef's cooking edged it out.
The kids had picked up on it.
Such a subtle gap, and they noticed—thanks to their palates, honed razor-sharp by their father's meals.
They hadn't stopped entirely; their chopsticks just moved slower now, but they still ate with relish.
After all, it was only a slight shortfall compared to Gong the chef's masterpieces. These were undeniably delicious dishes.
And despite their sensitive tongues, the Gong siblings never fussed over food—they devoured anything put before them.
A habit instilled by their father: every meal was precious.
“So, big brother. What kind of connection?”
Once the meal was well underway, Ha Seol-ran asked again.
Yeon Ha-min, Gong Hae-bin, and Gong Hae-jun's gazes swung back to Ha Mu-baek.
“Nothing special.”
Clink.
He poured himself a cup of the accompanying liquor.
He was the only one drinking at the table.
He took a sip.
“It was during the Great Murim War.”
Ha Mu-baek began his tale.
The four leaned in, ears perked.
To him, it wasn't anything remarkable.
Just another day in the grind of the war.
Smashing Blood Cult and Demonic Cult scum—that was the goal, the routine.
Nanchang had been a key strategic point back then.
A hub linking to the Yangtze via Poyang Lake, and a gateway for infiltrating Jiangxi's heartland in reverse.
The Gan River waterfront was prime real estate for that.
And hugging the riverbank stood Dengwang Pavilion, the tallest building around.
Naturally, it drew Blood Cult and Demonic Cult attacks. A mere tavern couldn't hold them off.
It would have fallen.
If not for Ha Mu-baek.
Though he'd only intervened on Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong's orders.
More precisely, Gong Son Dan-gyeong had suggested it to Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong, who then commanded Ha Mu-baek.
The outcome was predictable.
About ten days.
They held the line, wiping out every Blood Cult and Demonic Cult raider gunning for the pavilion.
With battles raging across the jianghu, Ha Mu-baek had just twenty men under him.
Twenty souls defended Dengwang Pavilion.
Against hundreds of foes.
So how grateful must the pavilion lord and chief steward have been?
Ha Mu-baek was their lifesaver.
His twenty Hocheon Corps warriors had fought valiantly under his command, but it was Ha Mu-baek who turned twenty into an army that repelled—and beat—hundreds.
The lord and steward thanked him profusely, begging him to visit once the war ended.
This was his first time back.
No wonder Chief Steward Kang was so thrilled and attentive.
“Whoa...”
Gong Hae-jun's jaw dropped wider than when he'd first beheld the view.
And stayed that way longer.
Ha Mu-baek chuckled at the adorable sight.
“Wars like that should never happen again.”
He directed the words at Gong Hae-bin and Gong Hae-jun.
Ha Seol-ran stared at her brother in astonishment now that she'd heard the full story.
Ha Mu-baek hadn't specified the enemy numbers.
Just that twenty had held off hundreds.
A tale jaw-dropping in its impossibility, yet worrisome too.
He'd shared just enough to sate her curiosity, nothing to fret over.
So the four simply gazed at him in admiration.
On the fifth floor of Dengwang Pavilion—the absolute top.
In the spot with the finest view, an old man sat.
Two warriors stood sentinel behind him as he gazed out, chopsticks dancing nonstop.
He monopolized a table big enough for six.
“Fine, just fine.”
A slight lisp colored his mutterings.
He kept sighing in delight, savoring the vista.
Claiming this seat took arriving at dawn, but the old man didn't care.
Just notify them the day before.
Others couldn't, but he could.
He dropped by every three days, claiming this spot. A headache for Dengwang Pavilion, but untouchable.
The passing attendants wore sour expressions.
They couldn't openly scowl, though.
He had a nose like a bloodhound—even glares behind his back required caution.
“Heh. Talk about a blessing in disguise. But I could've sworn I saw another floor up top...”
The old man glanced upward and murmured.
The highest point along the Gan River waterfront.
He wondered what the view was like.
He'd tried ascending to the sixth floor a few times.
Denied each time.
Space up there, sure—but it was the pavilion lord's office, not for guests.
Reason enough to back off, so he dropped it.
Yet...
Once, boating on the Gan with fireworks ablaze, he'd glimpsed guests dining up there.
Too far to confirm.
By the time the boat neared, the window was shut.
The lingering curiosity gnawed at him.
“Hm?”
A faint presence pinged his senses.
Directly overhead.
Close enough to detect.
'Four people? Two of them kids?'
That's what he sensed.
Kids visiting the pavilion lord's office? Two of them?
Incomprehensible.
Then children's voices reached his ears.
Inner power focused on his ears, hearing amplified to the limit.
The Heavenly Ear technique, as it was called.
Amid the fifth floor's din, eavesdropping on the outside required it.
He frowned at the kids' voices but kept listening.
Then a savory aroma wafted to his nose.
He checked the table—nope, not his order.
How did he know the scent?
He'd savored it before.
Pricey enough he only ordered occasionally.
Rare ingredients made it a luxury in landlocked Nanchang.
The old man shifted his inner power from ears to nose.
Heightening his sense of smell to the extreme.
Then he rose and approached the railing.
“Sniff sniff.”
A crude display, face thrust out, sniffing upward like a dog.
Afterward.
He whipped his head around, face twisted in fury.
And bellowed in irritation.
“Get the chief steward!”
Utterly oblivious to the other patrons.
A nearby attendant jumped and scurried off.
Moments later, a middle-aged man approached the old man.
“You summoned me?”
“Why you, Second Steward? Where's the chief or first steward?”
Dengwang Pavilion had four stewards total.
Chief Steward Kang oversaw First, Second, and Third.
Second Steward had come.
“The chief is handling urgent business on the pavilion lord's orders, and first steward has the day off.”
The old man scowled, displeased.
Someone of his stature deserved the pavilion lord or chief steward personally.
The lord was elderly, not just retired but recuperating.
Chief should have come.
Especially with more pressing matters during his visit.
Infuriating.
“You said the floor above is the pavilion lord's office?”
Second Steward bowed his head.
Hiding his tension.
“Yes, that's correct.”
“Then why do I sense kids up there?”
“Pardon?”
Second Steward echoed, as if hearing it for the first time.
The old man's irritation deepened.
“And why the aroma of fine dishes wafting down? Even the signature abalone feast!”
The signature abalone feast.
Dengwang Pavilion's crown jewel.
Every hole-in-the-wall sold a version, but not like this.
A pinnacle among luxuries.
Abalone, conch, sea cucumber—rare delights aplenty.
Far from the sea, Nanchang seafood cost a fortune—even dried, the finest fetched absurd sums.
Master chefs poured heart and soul into it, sparing no expense.
Astounding prices meant the old man ordered sparingly.
That aroma drifted not from below, but above.
Other rare dishes too.
“The pavilion lord's office? Has the recuperating lord suddenly recovered enough for a banquet up there?”
The old man pressed Second Steward with savage intensity.
“Even I, the Righteous Heaven Alliance's Nanchang branch chief, get shut out of that sacred space—what the hell's going on up there?!”
Righteous Heaven Alliance Nanchang branch chief.
His title. In Nanchang, no one outranked him.
He commanded the strongest murim force in the city at will.
“Th-that is...”
Overwhelmed by the old man's ferocious aura, Second Steward stammered.
A mere civilian couldn't withstand a murim master's pressure.
The surroundings hushed.
Patrons knew his type—occasional bully.
They knew who he was, so none intervened.
They just held their breath and watched.
“Out of my way! I'll check myself. See if you lot dare mock me!”
The old man shot to his feet.
Second Steward stood frozen, powerless.
This exceeded his authority.