Chapter 67
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Trust Me
Yeon Baek-jin still looked utterly exhausted.
His face, which had lit up with joy at seeing Ha Mu-baek, flickered for a moment before returning to normal.
It was because he sensed a familiar presence near Ha Mu-baek.
A presence so faint that it was undetectable from Ha Mu-baek himself, making it all the easier to pick up.
Yeon Baek-jin himself was a master who had surpassed the peak and was gazing toward the superhuman realm, so he could sense it.
'My mistake.'
Ha Mu-baek inwardly berated himself for his carelessness. It was a fatal error that couldn't end with mere self-reproach. After all, he'd only just heard her circumstances from her not long ago.
But that presence vanished in an instant.
No, more precisely, it was concealed.
Because Ha Mu-baek had asserted his own overwhelming presence.
"What brings you all the way out here?"
At Ha Mu-baek's question, Yeon Baek-jin smiled warmly.
"When we ran into each other by chance the other day, I was thrilled, but I couldn't even greet you properly. All because of that damned Ki Yu-chan."
It had only been a day.
He'd arrived yesterday afternoon, and now it was nearly lunchtime.
Almost lunchtime, in fact.
He'd taken his time getting up, and he'd spent no small amount of that with Yeon Ha-min.
"Then how about joining me for a meal?"
Yeon Baek-jin brightened at Ha Mu-baek's suggestion.
"Come to think of it, it's about lunchtime."
In the midst of it, Yeon Baek-jin glanced behind Ha Mu-baek.
That presence masked by Ha Mu-baek's powerful aura—it was definitely something from his memory.
But now, he sensed nothing at all.
There seemed to be someone behind those few trees in Ha Mu-baek's shadow, but he didn't pry into what Ha Mu-baek was trying to hide.
He knew the man well enough not to disturb his mood.
Or rather, there was no need to investigate.
The moment he'd sensed that fleeting presence, he'd realized its source.
It had changed a bit, but it was one he couldn't mistake.
"Shall we go, then? Where to?"
Yeon Baek-jin asked as he started walking.
"No need to go far. Devouring Dragon Pavilion sounds good."
With that, Ha Mu-baek's steps turned northward. To head to the East Devouring Dragon Pavilion—no, North Devouring Dragon Pavilion—they'd have to pass right by where Yeon Ha-min was hiding.
Yeon Baek-jin glanced once more at Ha Mu-baek's back and flashed a knowing smile.
"Understood. Come to think of it, I hear they often serve the dishes Instructor Ha likes there?"
He'd already grasped Ha Mu-baek's preferences in just one day.
Ha Mu-baek looked at him with surprise.
"Ah, it's nothing. Thanks to that accursed Ki Yu-chan."
Just how far did that man's paperwork obsession extend? Even details on Ha Mu-baek's tastes?
No wonder Yeon Baek-jin looked so worn out after just a day.
'More importantly... he noticed.'
That smile at the end from Yeon Baek-jin.
Ha Mu-baek could tell from it that he'd realized Yeon Ha-min was there.
Today's menu at North Devouring Dragon Pavilion was ordinary. Not at all Ha Mu-baek's favorites.
Even so, the two enjoyed their meal.
They mostly traded small talk, with Yeon Baek-jin asking questions and Ha Mu-baek answering.
People glanced their way curiously, but no one could overhear.
Thanks to the aura Yeon Baek-jin had subtly deployed.
"My second brother told me a lot about that last war."
How much time had passed in conversation when Yeon Baek-jin suddenly broached the subject?
"He was an excellent warrior."
Ha Mu-baek replied curtly. Yeon Baek-jin smiled faintly at the response.
His second brother, quite a bit older than the youngest like himself.
Even more reliable than their eldest brother, and thus his idol.
The tales he'd heard during the second brother's occasional visits to the clan after heading to war, or through letters, had ignited Yeon Baek-jin's ambitions.
Among them, stories of a certain warrior—who, at a younger age than himself, had racked up absurd feats on the front lines—took up the majority.
He was younger than Yeon Baek-jin himself, but he was his hero.
That was why he still treated him with such respect.
He had every qualification for it.
The righteous martial world had hidden that hero away, when he deserved far greater treatment.
It was lamentable that the current righteous martial world wasn't like that.
And that hero was watching over the child.
Truly a fortunate thing.
Knowing how much his late brother cherished that child, and how heartbroken he'd been that there was nothing he himself could do from within the clan...
"My second brother was my idol. And that idol told me stories of a certain hero."
The smile on Yeon Baek-jin's face deepened.
A smile steeped in nostalgia.
"That's why he became a hero to me as well. Even if the world turns a blind eye to him."
Ha Mu-baek's expression grew peculiar.
He could guess who that hero was.
"That..."
As he opened his mouth to speak...
"It's a relief that the child is under that hero's protection. My brother cherished him so dearly."
Had they already finished eating?
Yeon Baek-jin set down his chopsticks as he spoke.
"Still, I hope the child stays out of my sight. If I confirm it with my own eyes, I'll have no choice but to report it to the clan."
As he said it, Yeon Baek-jin's smile turned bitter.
A self-mocking smile at his own position, bound to the clan as a member of it.
"Hm."
Ha Mu-baek swallowed the words he'd been about to say and cleared his throat.
"The reason I respect that hero is because he does what I can't, without hesitation."
Still a bitter smile.
"I suppose it's time for me to go."
Ha Mu-baek nodded at Yeon Baek-jin's words.
Ha Mu-baek had sensed it long ago.
Ki Yu-chan was entering North Devouring Dragon Pavilion.
"Then, I'll leave him in your hands."
With those final words, as Yeon Baek-jin rose from his chair...
"Vice Pavilion Lord!!!"
Ki Yu-chan's shout pierced their ears.
"Yes, yes. Let's go."
Yeon Baek-jin looked at Ki Yu-chan with utter exasperation.
After a day of torment, he was already dropping the formalities.
Ha Mu-baek watched Yeon Baek-jin's retreating figure pensively.
'What an odd fellow...'
He truly was.
***
"Phew. We survived."
Dang Jin-san let out a deep sigh.
Dan Mok Un-roe nodded.
The new vice pavilion lord himself.
And he'd been watching them for nearly the time it took to burn a stick of incense.
"Why on earth was he watching us?"
"Maybe he had business with Instructor Ha?"
Baek Ri-pyeong answered Dang Jin-san's mutter.
"Anyway, I have no idea about our instructor."
Everyone nodded at Dang Jin-san's words.
About then, Yeon Ha-min appeared.
"Hey!"
Dang Jin-san waved cheerfully, but her expression was stiff as could be.
Worse than when she'd left the training ground with Ha Mu-baek.
"What's up? Why the long face?"
Yeon Ha-min didn't respond to Dang Jin-san's question.
She just bit her lip anxiously.
'He probably didn't see me... But if he's a master on par with my youngest uncle...'
She hadn't realized it back at the clan.
But training as a martial artist here at the Dragon Training Pavilion had taught her.
Those who had reached a certain realm could sense others' presences.
And if Yeon Baek-jin's level was what she knew it to be, had he sensed hers?
That anxiety gnawed at her heart.
Worry clouded the other four's faces at her demeanor.
"I'll be right back..."
Leaving those words, Yeon Ha-min left. She couldn't stay in the training ground any longer.
She headed straight to her room in Graceful Dragon Dormitory.
She sat cross-legged, trying to meditate to quell her unrelenting anxiety, but she couldn't focus.
It was only natural.
How much time passed like that?
[Just listen for a moment. Don't respond.]
The sudden mental transmission startled her.
The voice was familiar.
Instructor Ha.
But how did he know she was here?
And from where was he sending this transmission?
The more she learned about him, the more enigmatic he became.
[It seems Vice Pavilion Lord Yeon noticed your presence.]
Yeon Ha-min's eyes trembled violently.
[But since he didn't see you, he played it off as if he didn't know.]
Her expression shifted oddly at those words. What did that mean?
[It should be fine for the time being. He doesn't look like he'll have the leisure to wander outside for a while.]
Hadn't he just been dragged off by Ki Yu-chan moments ago? He wouldn't leave his office easily until he'd cleared the backlog.
Today had been unusually special.
The reassurance eased her anxiety a bit. Was it because it came from Instructor Ha?
[Still, since you're in the same Dragon Training Pavilion, it'll probably get out eventually.]
Her heart pounded again.
[Even if it does. Trust me. Don't be so anxious.]
That was the end.
Just trust him.
Groundless words, yet somehow her anxiety melted away once more.
Finally, she could focus on her meditation.
It was deep into the night.
Just past the hour of the rat, around 1 a.m.
At last, free from Ki Yu-chan's clutches, he lay on his bed.
"Hah. That damned Ki Yu-chan."
The phrase rolled off his tongue effortlessly now.
"Coming alone was the right call."
Yeon Baek-jin murmured calmly.
If he'd forcibly brought his nephew along, the eyes watching him would have followed.
And the child would have been exposed immediately.
Coming alone had bought them time.
Who would've thought she'd be here?
"Even the darkest shadows are under the lamp."
He hadn't even imagined it himself—what about others?
In the Fierce Dragon Corps, no less.
The Righteous Heaven Alliance's meat shield, the Fierce Dragon Corps.
He frowned at the thought, then smoothed his expression.
Remembering who her instructor was.
"That incorrigible rascal."
The words slipped out as he thought of his nephew, Yeon Gong-hu.
She truly was exceptional. Fooling the entire clan.
Using himself as bait to give the child her freedom.
Now it all made sense.
He'd floated the idea to him when he'd heard about going to the Dragon Training Pavilion as vice pavilion lord.
Suggested he leave the stifling clan and help his uncle.
The boy had indifferently refused.
"It wasn't the clan that felt stifling, but that no matter where he went in the world, his situation was suffocating, so he'd stay put..."
The response had been so nonchalant he'd never dreamed it was to avoid the Dragon Training Pavilion.
He'd been completely fooled.
If he had been, so had everyone else.
What a brilliant kid.
Probably the most outstanding in the entire clan. At least, that's how Yeon Baek-jin rated him.
"What now..."
As his worries deepened...
[If ever.]
A sudden transmission rang in his ears.
[You need to send word to the Yeon Clan.]
Even as a transmission, the voice carried a chill.
[Tell them to come to the Dragon Training Pavilion prepared to end up like the Pang Clan.]
Arrogant and rude words.
But Yeon Baek-jin didn't see it that way.
He knew who the sender was.
His face hardened.
Now was the time for serious deliberation.
When he saw the child, what was truly best for the Yeon Clan.
"Sigh. Gong-hu, you damned fool. Why'd you dump this headache on me..."
Even Yeon Gong-hu hadn't anticipated that Yeon Baek-jin would end up as vice pavilion lord of the Dragon Training Pavilion.
And yet, his resentment was directed at his nephew.