Building Strength for the Duel
One thing that had changed after becoming a vampire.
Every sense in his body had grown strangely acute.
Hearing, for instance.
Thud, thud, thud……
Gwak Yeon left the main palace and crossed the estate. In truth, even earlier when he had been heading toward the main palace, he had caught faint snatches of it.
“Born from the same womb……”
“And yet…… kneeling again to beg……”
From far off, the murmuring of the martial artists who had watched him around one of the pavilions. Of course, given the distance, he had needed to focus just to catch fleeting fragments—exactly as he did now.
He stopped short. After coming to a halt and glancing back to concentrate, the conversations of distant retainers came through in scraps.
“The Second Young Master…… lost his…… memory……”
“Otherwise he wouldn’t say such……”
“A reward for winning the…… duel……”
Everyone was talking about what had happened at the main palace. Certainly, to the people of this family, the words he had spoken earlier in this body seemed thoroughly out of character.
They took it as crazy talk.
But for Gwak Yeon it had been a viable choice. After all, losing the duel against that Third Young Master fellow was now something he absolutely had to avoid.
A lifetime ban on leaving the house. For someone who had planned to roam the jianghu in this body eradicating its great evils, that was not a punishment he could easily accept.
Whoosh━━
When he strained his ears, unnatural sounds rose from several thickets planted on the far side of the estate.
They’ve already put people on me.
They had said they would watch him until the day of the duel. Of course, if Gwak Yeon set his mind to it, escaping this family forever would not be all that difficult even with more watchers attached……
……But why bother?
It was still a situation in which he could choose. Flee at this point and, through various troublesome processes, sever ties with the family—or stay here for the time being, seize every opportunity available, then leave for the jianghu naturally in a stronger form.
Gwak Yeon chose the latter. That was why, if he won the duel against the Third Young Master, he had asked for a spiritual medicine as the reward. The reason was obvious.
Gwak Ho-shin
There was no reason why he, who had ranked among the foremost experts of his previous life, could not defeat this young martial artist the family called a genius.
His inner force…… at least he has the minimum.
If his inner force was lacking, there were ways to fight suited to that lack. Moreover, he had the body of a vampire. If he simply trained a little more to sense qi on top of his already heightened senses, the difficulty would drop further still.
Clack.
Entering his chambers, the one thing Gwak Yeon wanted to change at once was this: the body reflected in the mirror. Leaving the muscles aside, the severely emaciated look of someone who had not been eating properly was quite striking.
……I’m too skinny.
The one variable that could introduce unexpected risk into the match was this scrawny frame, and it was a variable he could reduce as much as he wished.
“Ahem!”
Clearing his throat to call the maid outside the room, Gwak Yeon considered the remaining period: two weeks.
“Is no one there! I’m hungry—bring me food!”
From now on, it was time to build at least a minimal body.
Already a week, was it?
Standing before the door, Cheon Gang’s lips wore a broad smile again today.
“Entering, Young Master!”
“……Come in!”
Taking the eye contact with the maid standing beside him as a signal—
Bang!
Today as well they filed into Gwak Yeon’s room with a table laden with food.
“Today the chicken baked in clay is especially delicious!”
“The mushrooms and lotus leaves added throughout for a rich texture are a true delicacy!”
“This is a tofu dish we paid special attention to!”
“If you mix the finely chopped green onions with the tofu, it’s even better!”
“Meat is good, but as a special dish……”
“Mmm mmm mmm!”
Gwak Yeon’s chopsticks were already moving busily before the explanations finished.
“Oomph oomph oomph!”
His mouth was stuffed full. Seeing the oil-glistening corners of his mouth working, Cheon Gang and the maid exchanged emotional smiles.
In all my life, something like this……!
Because the Young Master had changed. The Second Young Master, whom the family’s head chef had most dreaded for making even those nearby lose their appetite, was now devouring the food more appetizingly than anyone.
And no picky eating……!
Vegetables good for the body went down smoothly; broths simmered with medicinal herbs went down smoothly. Unfamiliar, yet…… the sight they had always hoped for. Cheon Gang and the maid even clapped from left and right to cheer Gwak Yeon on so the flow would not break.
“Hahahahaha! Your dining looks truly like that of a hero and gallant man!”
“Ahh! The demeanor of a great man!”
“That’s right! Start by finishing off that bok choy!”
“Truly bold chopstick work!”
“My! Eating chicken skin with green onions together! How did you know those two pair well! Can you even see the properties of all things, Young Master!”
“This is…… the dignity of a meal……”
“Such a sight should be left as a song by calling musicians to preserve it forever!”
Amid the fuss, Gwak Yeon finished his meal. Gulp gulp. Watching him down the last remaining broth heartily, Cheon Gang nodded.
………He’s improving.
He did not know when the lost memories would all return. But even if he pretended otherwise, he was certain that the incident a week ago had moved the fundamental parts of the Young Master he served.
If only there was…… more time.
In that regard he felt regret. The duel with the Third Young Master. Because the family’s major event, now only a week away, still seemed too much for Gwak Yeon—who had only just begun to change—to handle.
……Will he really issue a lifetime ban on going out?
Honestly, he was not sure. Cheon Gang was one of those who thought that this punishment, at least this time, was a motivational whip. In the first place, how many in the family did not already know whose victory the duel between those two would end in?
Coldly speaking, lasting even three exchanges would be a miracle.
Cheon Gang roughly knew Gwak Ho-shin’s skill. At the family’s training grounds he had occasionally visited for practice, he had seen Gwak Ho-shin turn the martial artists of the pavilion he led into bloody messes. It was a cruelly gorgeous sword—a sword so famous that warriors enamored with that skill gathered from all over Hangzhou.
That sword…… can’t be caught up to with a mere week or two of training.
But even though that fact was clear, Cheon Gang was feeling a strange emotion right now.
Clack!
After cleanly finishing even the dessert and setting his chopsticks on the table, Gwak Yeon looked up. Confidence shone in those eyes.
“……I ate well again today.”
“We’re glad to hear you ate well, Young Master.”
The body that had been stick-thin also looked strangely fuller compared to a week ago. That was not all.
“……Cheon Gang.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll need your help again today.”
“Of course.”
Meaning that, at Gwak Yeon’s serious voice wanting him to join training again today, Cheon Gang had begun to harbor a bit of expectation. The eccentric behavior that had been consistent for a week—holding horse stance until his legs trembled, swinging a wooden sword until he drooled and his hands shook, rising early at dawn for qi circulation and breathing exercises, running madly around the family’s training grounds━━
From that appearance of approaching this duel more seriously than ever, one could even feel a kind of murderous determination. Perhaps. Just maybe.
Even if he says he lost his memories……
Wasn’t it his own effort to leave behind his shameful past and move forward? Wasn’t he trying in his own way to become a better person? Thus, looking at Gwak Yeon who had begun to change starting from a week ago, Cheon Gang had begun to harbor expectations. Of course, not the expectation that he would immediately defeat the Third Young Master.
Just the expectation that he might grow further, taking this as a turning point. Holding such expectations—
“Bring the wooden sword.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Cheon Gang intended to work up a pleasant sweat again today.
Samho-gak
On the topmost floor of the pavilion led by the family’s Third Young Master, a large man bowed in greeting.
“Young Master.”
The one he was greeting was clear. Gwak Ho-shin. The family’s genius who looked down on the world with an expression overflowing with confidence to the point of arrogance. Currently he was also the leader of Samho-gak, competing for achievements toward the next family headship.
“Leader Yeon has sent fox pelts as a gift of thanks for the previous commission.”
“……”
“And if you could spare the time, he says he would very much like to treat you to a meal at Hwihyangru—what should we do?”
“……”
No answer came from the pavilion leader. But as if even such silence was familiar, the large man nodded toward the unresponsive Gwak Ho-shin.
“Understood. I’ll inform them that you’re busy for the time being.”
“……”
“And two more substantial commissions have come in for Samho-gak. One is related to stall fees on the Hangzhou streets, and the other is a manor escort commission like last time—what should we do?”
Again, no response. Gwak Ho-shin’s gaze was directed out the distant window. A glance. Following his indifferent gaze, the training grounds came into view. More precisely, the two men running along the edge far away with wooden swords in hand.
The Second Young Master…… and his escort warrior.
They had been at it since a week ago. But the large man knew. That the humiliating act Second Young Master Gwak Yeon had committed a week ago was not something that could be washed away with mere efforts of that level. At the same time, he was curious about the feelings of Gwak Ho-shin as he looked at his half-wit older brother who had fled before their duel and been caught and brought back.
Does he see him as a rival for the Young Family Head competition?
Of course not. Just as the large man was thinking something along the lines of it would be easier to have a neighborhood mutt catch a tiger—
“……The duel will proceed, I take it.”
“……Ah, a-yes!”
At Gwak Ho-shin’s sudden reply, the large man recalled what he himself had said earlier and continued the conversation.
“Still, you need not worry about the commission dates. We’ve decided to accept commissions on schedules that overlap with the duel day as little as possible.”
“……”
“Ah, of course, if Young Master wishes, you can take on a commission the very next day after the duel.”
“……”
“You can think of it lightly. Honestly, even this duel with the Second Young Master, setting aside that it’s a family schedule, I don’t think it’s something to pay that much mind to.”
That was when Gwak Ho-shin’s mouth, still looking outside, slowly opened once more.
“In family affairs…… is there such a thing as a trivial matter.”
“……I-I misspoke!”
The large man dropped to his knees right there. Thud! He saw the light flickering in the eyes of Gwak Ho-shin, who had slowly turned his head. Gulp. The large man swallowed, his expression tense.
Damn it, this was why he was scary. Normally he responded with silence, but occasionally he would cause incidents with fire in his eyes like this—that was the man known as Gwak Ho-shin.
“Y-Young Master. I’ve committed a capital offense! T-there is no family affair that one need not mind!”
“……”
The large man bowed his head several times. When Gwak Ho-shin, who had been staring at him, turned his head back to the window, the large man secretly let out a sigh of relief.
………I was lucky.
He had no choice. In this Samho-gak, there was no small number of martial artists who had been turned into bloody messes by that Gwak Ho-shin under the pretext of wooden sword sparring. Gwak Ho-shin, who was fine usually but occasionally ran wild as if seized by unexplained mania. Seeing that expression slowly changing as he stared out the window, the large man shook his head slightly.
This…… looks like trouble’s brewing.
Toward the direction where Gwak Yeon was visible—the one who had even fled outside the family out of fear of him.
Heeheeheehee━━
Because the Third Young Master, treated as a mad dog in Hangzhou, had begun to wear a sinister smile.