Seo I-ryeong vacantly emptied the bowl. She scraped the remaining food as if she was peeling the wooden bowl, and only when she finally finished the last bite did she notice Ho Cheon-an’s gaze.
“Ha ha, it looks like you’ve had quite the hard journey to meet me. Seems like you’re enjoying a proper meal after a long time?”
Seo I-ryeong’s face instantly turned crimson.
“W-well…”
Before Seo I-ryeong could respond, Ho Cheon-an lifted the ladle and served the remaining dish from the pot. Reflexively, she held out her bowl.
“Eat as much as you want.”
In the end, Seo I-ryeong cleaned three bowls. Still feeling empty, she eyed the remaining food, but Ho Cheon-an chuckled lightly.
“Let’s save the rest for breakfast tomorrow. If we pour some water and add new seasoning, letting it simmer overnight will make a rich broth to start the morning with vigor.”
Gulp.
“Is that so… I will follow your wishes.”
Cooking gets tastier the longer it simmers. Imagining the dish reborn in the morning, Seo I-ryeong reluctantly suppressed her lingering desire.
After Ho Cheon-an poured water into the pot and sprinkled in the seasoning, covering it with a lid, Seo I-ryeong finally regained her composure.
What an absurd scene this is.
Not only had she indulged in someone else’s food, but she was also eyeing the breakfast portion for the next day!
Seo I-ryeong covered her face in shame.
Hadn’t she chosen to accompany Ho Cheon-an with the determination to sacrifice her life for the peace of the Martial World?
She tried to steady her mind but found her thoughts in complete disarray.
Tap. Tap.
Ridiculously enough, it was because of the lid-covered pot.
To be more precise, it was the dish inside.
Siiii…
The aroma of the food slowly wafting through the pot’s vent continuously ignited her imagination.
What would the taste of the broth be like, infused with the ingredients and seasonings from just a while ago?
They said knowing the flavor was fearful.
If she hadn’t tasted it at all, she wouldn’t even have imagined it, but having sampled the basic dish, she now felt she might understand that taste.
But then there was the new seasoning and broth; who knew what new flavors they would yield? The anticipation of familiar and new flavors kept pushing her imagination.
“Iryeong! Get a grip…! You’re traveling for the peace of the Martial World, not just to eat!”
While Seo I-ryeong wrestled to control her rising appetite, Ho Cheon-an stood up.
“I’m thinking of getting some sleep; what do you intend to do?”
Seo I-ryeong snapped back to reality at Ho Cheon-an’s question and replied.
“I too will try to sleep.”
“Hmm. Do you happen to have bedding?”
“Martial Artists usually sleep on the ground, do they not?”
“Ha ha, it doesn’t sit well with me leaving a woman like this. If you don’t mind, why not sleep with these guys?”
“…Pardon?”
Ho Cheon-an stepped closer to Seo Gong and leaned against him, demonstrating instead of explaining. Seo Gong readily shifted to make space for Ho Cheon-an.
“How is it?”
“Hmm…”
Leaning against the plush fur certainly looked warm, but… Seo I-ryeong shook her head. No matter what, the thought of sleeping tangled with an entity was too much for her to accept.
If people heard she was sleeping in the same enclosure as a beast, even seasoned martial artists would tremble.
But sleeping in the embrace of an entity?
“Alright. I won’t force you.”
Gruuun.
Seok Woong whined and snuggled up to Ho Cheon-an and Seo Gong. The Deer Entity watched the scene for a moment before lowering its head and drifting off to sleep.
Seo I-ryeong stared intently at Ho Cheon-an, who was now asleep.
‘What type of person could he be…’
Could he really trust this entity down to its bones? Seo I-ryeong, well aware that this entity had only just come under Ho Cheon-an’s care, couldn’t fathom his actions.
‘I don’t get it.’
Recalling that she had sought his companionship without knowing anything about him, Seo I-ryeong gave a bitter smile.
How can one understand a person in a single day?
‘He doesn’t seem like a villain, but… I should keep an eye on him.’
With that thought, Seo I-ryeong closed her eyes. Having continuously used her agile skills to stay alert ever since joining Ho Cheon-an, fatigue overwhelmed her.
The journey with Ho Cheon-an was bound to be challenging, so she should take a break while she could.
Seo I-ryeong breathed in the faint aroma of cooking, thinking, above all, she must not oversleep if she wanted to catch the broth dish in the morning.
* *
Did I overeat?
Seo I-ryeong regretted it as she felt queasy. Even though she knew she would have to display her agility all day, she came to her senses after inhaling an entire pot’s worth of soup.
Pat pat pat.
Thinking back to what she ate that morning, she glanced at Ho Cheon-an’s back as he rode atop Seo Gong, who was busily moving his legs.
He wouldn’t chase her away for consuming too much food, would he?
Just then, Ho Cheon-an spoke up.
“I have something I’d like to ask.”
“Yes? I’m sorry. I will be more careful in the future.”
“Hmm? I’m not sure why you feel the need to apologize, but there’s no need for that. Anyway, do you have any talent for naming things?”
“Naming, you say?”
“Indeed.”
Ho Cheon-an’s gaze turned to the Deer Entity running alongside them.
“The Remnants of the Blood Sect named all the entities they encountered something with ‘Blood,’ didn’t they? I’d like to give them proper names, but I don’t have a knack for it.”
“Is that so.”
Seo I-ryeong looked at Ho Cheon-an and observed how he regarded the Deer Entity.
She sensed something unique about him.
Rather than perceiving the entity’s worth and power, he only treated it as a large beast.
“Would it be possible to know the names of other entities?”
“This one is Seo Gong. That over there is Seok Woong.”
Tap?
Seo Gong raised its head, having understood its own name. Ho Cheon-an patted Seo Gong’s head.
“I didn’t name Seo Gong. I named Seok Woong, but it doesn’t seem like a very refined name.”
“Is that so.”
Seo I-ryeong observed the Deer Entity. The elongated antlers reminded her of tree branches, and paired with its elegant form, it had a certain dignity. Unlike the noisy Seo Gong and Seok Woong, its silent demeanor contributed to that noble aspect, and a suitable name quickly popped into Seo I-ryeong’s mind.
“…Muk-geum. How about Muk-geum?”
“Muk-geum, eh? Good name.”
Ho Cheon-an nodded and addressed the Deer Entity.
“Alright. From now on, your name shall be Muk-geum.”
The Deer Entity, or Muk-geum, merely stared at Ho Cheon-an with round eyes, as if it understood or didn’t understand at all.
Watching that, Seo I-ryeong turned to Ho Cheon-an and asked.
“Elder, why do you gather the entities of the Blood Sect?”
“Why, you ask?”
Ho Cheon-an fell into thought for a moment. While Seo Gong seemed to have ties to Hyeok Gi-rin from elsewhere in the Martial World, there wasn’t a need to gather other entities.
“Because these beings need me.”
“Is that so?”
That was not a response Seo I-ryeong had anticipated at all.
Ho Cheon-an didn’t need the entities; instead, the entities needed Ho Cheon-an?
“Ha ha. Indeed. What have I done for them to greet me so affectionately? Why would they choose to journey with me, even through a hard journey?”
Was he speaking sincerely?
Or was it a lie so he wouldn’t be obstructed in his collection of entities?
If he utilized the three entities gathered here properly, he could place the world beneath his feet.
All the common sense Seo I-ryeong had accumulated thus far shouted that Ho Cheon-an’s words were a lie, yet her mind echoed with the image of him tossing Spirit Herbs to the entities yesterday.
Surely someone with ambition wouldn’t squander such precious Spirit Herbs.
Thus, Seo I-ryeong couldn’t grasp Ho Cheon-an’s intentions.
Whether Ho Cheon-an was aware of Seo I-ryeong’s worry or not, he simply leaned against Seo Gong, looking ahead with complete calmness.
* *
“Hm.”
Amid chaotic times, Jo Yong-sang, who ascended to the position of Hall Master of the Martial Forest Alliance following Yeon Cheon-baek, stroked his beard while reading a letter from the Sword Master Seo I-ryeong.
“I cannot fathom your intentions.”
Jo Yong-sang thought of Seo I-ryeong, who was now known as the top female among the martial artists and revered as an idol by the women of the entire Martial World. To Jo Yong-sang, however, she felt less like a great figure and more like a comrade who had weathered the storm together.
Jo Yong-sang trusted Seo I-ryeong greatly.
‘If I can’t trust my second-in-command, I can at least trust you, I-ryeong.’
The issue was that even this steadfastly trusting Seo I-ryeong couldn’t seem to get a grip on things.
‘Ho Cheon-an…’
Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang.
Having wandered through all the southern regions of the world, Ho Cheon-an had acquired a staggering seven entities. Even without the letter from Seo I-ryeong, the accounts from travelers who witnessed the throngs of entities were nonstop.
Rumor had spread widely in the common folk, so much so that they were practically referring to Ho Cheon-an as the Beast King.
“This is troublesome…”
In reality, Ho Cheon-an’s behavior was akin to that of a righteous hero.
The influence that the Remnants of the Blood Sect had over the Central Plains was immense.
While the Blood Ancestor was alive, they aimed to conquer the world cleanly with just the entities, but after their focal point crumbled, the actions of the remnant factions made it painfully clear why the Blood Sect was deemed a public enemy of the Martial World.
Their typical behavior involved capturing those with strong martial abilities to turn them into Blood Monsters or draining others’ blood to elevate their levels.
Those who aspired to be the true heirs of the Blood Sect had literally squeezed the lifeblood of countless individuals in the name of studying blood techniques, and the harm to the society was too insidious to even begin to describe.
Thus far, Ho Cheon-an had been thoroughly purging the remnants of the Blood Sect as he traveled through various regions.
Not all remnants of the Blood Sect possessed entities.
Many remnants were rather ostentatious, boasting some Blood Monsters; however, Ho Cheon-an didn’t miss those without entities either, and based solely on his actions, he could aptly be called a righteous hero.
The problem was that in the letters from Seo I-ryeong, there were no opinions on how the Martial Forest Alliance should take action.
Having traveled together for quite a long time, he could have drawn conclusions about whether he was a hero or a hypocrite.
Yet the regularly arriving letters were filled with irrelevant content.
It would’ve been better to hear news that he had grown close to the entities, as information about their features would have some usefulness.
But how come all he wrote about was food?
“How vague, how vague…”
Jo Yong-sang fully understood that his actions must be cautious, given the multitude of entities around him, but without a single clue, there was nothing he could do.
He gazed at the end of the letter sent by Seo I-ryeong.
It mentioned they would be making their way north through Anhui.
Originally, the Martial Forest Alliance had been established in Henan, but with the Huang Nation’s suppression of the martial factions beginning, the righteous alliance had no choice but to flee from Henan.
Hence, they had resettled in Anhui.
But now, Ho Cheon-an and Seo I-ryeong were passing through Anhui?
“I must see him with my own eyes.”
Jo Yong-sang resolved to meet with Ho Cheon-an in person.
