So those guys took U-reung and disappeared.
I set down my dumplings and sighed inwardly. Of all people, it had to be the Dark Dragon Sect.
“Innkeeper.”
“Yes, yes!!”
The innkeeper, who had been hiding in the kitchen, came rushing out. Who was the scariest person for an innkeeper at this moment? The local sects that collected protection fees? Or those guys who just rented out the entire inn and caused a ruckus?
No.
It was the armed guy still remaining in this inn.
But what if that guy was a Peak Expert who had just turned someone into a pancake and caused property damage?
“I apologize for the disturbance.”
“Oh my! No, no!! That’s a completely absurd remark! I’ve been sickened by those guys’ usual behavior! It’s really refreshing!”
Even if I shed tears of blood internally, I had no choice but to present this demeanor outwardly.
If I just left the inn right now, I could bet my Martial World save data that Jeomsoi and the Heroic Innkeeper would badmouth me for more than three days.
Clang.
I silently placed a handful of silver coins on the table. Even Jeomsoi and the innkeeper’s eyes widened in shock.
“It’s not much, but I hope you’ll use it for repairing the inn.”
“Ohhhhh!!! Great Hero!!”
With a voice that sounded like it was boiling, the innkeeper moved with the energy to bow down and… started sweeping the money into his sleeves.
Wow, even a Peak Expert like me got tricked for a moment.
“Thank you so much!!!”
The innkeeper, who might have become a legendary expert if they had trained with a sword, kept bowing deeply while rambling about having a sick mother at home and a bear-like wife along with fox-like kids.
Seriously, this guy has no clue. I turned my gaze to Jeomsoi, who was looking at the lucky innkeeper with envy.
“Well, you should use this to heal up.”
“Hehe! Thank you! Great Hero!”
After accepting a silver coin, Jeomsoi bowed deeply and said,
“If you have any questions, I will answer them with all my heart!”
Now that’s the spirit. That’s the law of the inn! People don’t give away money for no reason, do they? They’re giving money because they want to ask something.
Only then did the innkeeper have an “Oh no!” expression on his face, as if realizing how he had been lucky at a bad time.
“Great Hero! It’s best to take shelter for now!”
“Hmm. Even if they come back, I’m not afraid.”
“Oh dear, even if those misfits come in droves, you could handle them, but behind those rascals is the Dark Dragon Sect!”
“I’m not well-versed in the Martial World’s current affairs, but I know the Dark Dragon Sect is led by the Peak Expert, Black Cloak Dokgo Yeongcheon. Can such ruffians truly be disciples of the Dark Dragon Sect?”
Honestly, I found it hard to believe those guys were from the Dark Dragon Sect. If they were real disciples, they wouldn’t be causing trouble at this shabby inn. They could easily flaunt their status at the most popular inn in Gonmyeong, playing the role of the chivalrous guests without anyone daring to say a thing.
“That’s a reasonable point! But it’s true they are members of the Dark Dragon Sect. They were celebrating their acceptance into the sect recently…”
“I’ve heard rumors that the Dark Dragon Sect is accepting a large number of disciples lately, and it seems those authors got a chance.”
What? I was worried for no reason.
So the rascals whose names matched their martial skills were indeed disciples of the Dark Dragon Sect.
It made sense—they were causing trouble at this average inn only because they wanted to feel something, yet they weren’t established disciples, so they likely compromised to avoid causing a big scene on the main streets.
“Well then. Innkeeper, give me a room.”
“Oh dear, Great Hero, this is truly a crisis!”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Even as the innkeeper and Jeomsoi kept worrying, I maintained my indifferent chivalrous persona and booked a room.
I needed to take a good rest now to stay awake at night.
My companions could come looking for me in the dead of night.
This response to today’s events should be good enough.
“Oh dear, what will you do if Dark Dragon Sect disciples invade…”
“If that happens, there might be a dead body… Ugh!”
“Shh!”
I sensed the innkeeper and Jeomsoi were overreacting, as if they wanted to drive me out of the inn in fear of seeing blood.
Acting as though I hadn’t heard their conversation, I shook my head.
In a faction as powerful as the Dark Dragon Sect, top-tier experts are just consumables. A formally accepted disciple would seek revenge just to maintain the sect’s honor, but let’s face it—those top-tier guys would hardly care if a few rookies got riled up.
What, would they really retaliate over a bar spat? Sure, they could, but it would just look bad for a sect led by a Peak Expert.
Revenge at a sect level is totally absurd, but a few personal connections might help with revenge.
But U-reung hasn’t even been accepted into the sect yet, so what connections could he have?
There wouldn’t be any revenge from the Dark Dragon Sect.
Confident of that, I entered my room.
“Are you the Yongji Maeng?”
The next day, the Dark Dragon Sect disciples came looking for me.
* *
Dokgo I-seol sighed, looking down from the second floor of the inn at the nineteen martial artists lined up below.
“That person is…”
“Dokgo Yeongcheon’s daughter, the Best Beauty in Yunnan, Dokgo I-seol!”
“Truly, celestial beauty!”
Seeing the self-absorbed comments and the lustful gazes of those gathered before her, Dokgo I-seol felt a migraine coming on.
“How dare you disrespect the honorable one!”
I-seol’s subordinate unleashed a murderous aura, stirring the crowd into silence as they hastily bowed their heads and tried to appear composed.
‘Since when did the Dark Dragon Sect become a gathering of misfits.’
Dokgo I-seol was aware that the current political situation in Yunnan was far from stable. Yet to take in even these substandard ruffians?
Or perhaps these were just the ruffians assigned to I-seol.
Was it yet another tedious factional power struggle? With her three siblings who were eager to claw at her, I-seol frowned at the thought. It had been almost a year since she had left the sect, using the excuse of managing Julu to show her disinterest in faction politics.
I-seol looked at the Dark Dragon disciple leading the newcomers and said,
“I heard there were twenty of you. Why are there only nineteen?”
“T-that’s…”
Stammering, the disciple replied in a small voice.
“One of those who was to join fell ill…”
“Well, how well is your sect doing?”
“I-I’m so sorry!”
No matter how much they were picked for a throwaway purpose, to elect someone who’s bedridden as a disciple? I-seol found it laughable.
Then someone shouted,
“It’s not an illness!”
“…What did you say?”
I-seol turned to see where the shout had come from, and it was one of U-reung’s friends who was injured by Ho Cheon-an.
The Dark Dragon disciple, who had been applying pressure on U-reung’s friend from an angle where I-seol couldn’t see, was still oblivious to the fact that U-reung’s friend had mentioned the Dark Dragon Sect during their spat with Ho Cheon-an.
“Yesterday, he was only injured by a Peak Expert!”
“Hah.”
Dokgo I-seol let out a cold sigh. As she sighed, her subordinates, who had been drinking or gambling while mocking the newcomers, abruptly halted and set their momentum and murderous intent ablaze.
With U-reung’s clueless friend finally realizing that things had just gotten serious, he quickly averted his gaze.
Dokgo I-seol looked down at the trembling newbies and the Dark Dragon disciple who was watching her.
These guys were speaking over each other, and even interjecting into conversations between higher-ups, showing a lack of basic discipline.
The look in I-seol’s eyes grew colder as she assessed the newcomers’ faces. Each one of them turned terrified at just meeting her gaze and darted their eyes all around.
Having been in the heart of the Outcast Faction since birth, Dokgo I-seol knew how to handle these losers.
‘They wouldn’t understand through dialogue. Only by directly showing the Dark Dragon Sect’s strength and authority would they grasp it.’
However.
Even if they were ruffians, they were still candidates to become Dark Dragon disciples. It would be a disgraceful act to lay hands on them directly, an act suited only for third-rate factions. Thus, even though she was furious at the newcomers’ behavior, she held back her rage…
‘A Peak Expert clashing with a candidate for entry to the sect.’
Under normal circumstances, such news would not even reach I-seol’s ears. But as they say, even a droplet of cow dung can be useful.
This trivial piece of news was now quite valuable in this circumstance.
If the newbies observed how to deal with an outsider Peak Expert, they might grasp a bit of the Dark Dragon Sect’s power.
With that thought, I-seol opened her mouth.
“I’ve heard someone had the audacity to harm a candidate to join the Dark Dragon Sect.”
At I-seol’s words, her subordinates immediately bowed and answered,
“We’ll capture them right away!”
“You! Lead us to where that person is!”
“Yes? Yes!”
Dokgo I-seol watched as her subordinates rushed out of the inn with U-reung’s companion and issued commands to the remaining subordinates.
“Prepare for the guest’s arrival.”
“Yes, honorable one!”
The loud answer from her subordinates made the intimidated newcomers tremble.
Dokgo I-seol stared at the newcomers with a cold gaze, waiting for the guest.
* *
Having read the Secret Manual overnight, preparing for an ambush, I didn’t notice anything amiss until dawn. So when I finally took a nap and was having a late breakfast, this happened.
“That jerk, that jerk!”
The friend from yesterday who had been with U-reung suddenly appeared, pointing a finger at me.
“Are you the Yongji Maeng?”
“That’s right.”
“A revered one from the Dark Dragon Sect wants to see you.”
Wow, this is just ridiculous.
I looked at the guys trying to create an atmosphere in front of me. They were indeed wearing dark fabric embroidered with gold thread in the shape of a dragon and emanating an arrogantly dismissive vibe, looking like true members of the Dark Dragon Sect.
Did real Dark Dragon Sect members actually show up?
These guys must be something else. Sending someone to fetch me just because one disciple got beaten up?
Noticing the disdainful look on my face, the dark-cloaked disciple grew grim. They clearly understood I’d find this embarrassing.
“Get up quickly!”
With the disciple’s threat, I calmly assessed the situation.
There were five Dark Dragon disciples total, including U-reung’s friend. Two were Peak Experts, and the other three were top-tier. The levels of the two Peak Experts weren’t high, so if a fight broke out, I could probably escape…
The problem was that if I fled now, my infiltration into the Dark Dragon Sect would be over.
Hmm.
But if I followed them, it would be like climbing onto a tiger’s back. If I went with them and things got complicated, who knows what would happen.
I gradually shut out the violent glares from the Dark Dragon disciples as I pondered. If I ran away, what would happen?
My companions were likely waiting not far away, so if I could just get out of here, escaping shouldn’t be difficult at all.
They’d be more than happy to see me too.
[Hey, senior, I knew you’d be in this situation.]
Black Cat would likely scold me while raising her eyebrows.
[Thanks for all your hard work, Honorable Person.]
Miss Yeo Il-ye would smile softly at me.
[Look who’s back in just a day, my little rookie!]
Tang So-yeol would mock me while curling her lips.
And then…
[I’d better shake them off! Ahahahaha! Wahahaha!!!]
Tang Do-yeon would gleefully enjoy her freedom.
“Aah…”
I palm my forehead with a groan.
I, Ho Cheon-an.
It wasn’t until I met that U-reung fellow yesterday that I realized I was in a tight spot.
“It’s too late to regret now!”
Just as the Dark Dragon disciple said. It was my mistake to overlook the repercussions of using Tang Do-yeon as a means of comfort, knowing her true nature.
My response was set.
“Let’s go.”
The back of a tiger is safer than a deadly chariot.
