Little Demon Reversion to Youth

Chapter 5

As Yang Jongu entered the study, he saw a pile of wood leaning against the wall but passed by it indifferently.

Yang Soryeong was waiting, standing in front of the door.

"Let's go in."

Yang Jongu went inside.

Baekji was already sitting at the dining table where the food was laid out.

"...?"

Yang Jongu looked back at Yang Soryeong, who was following him.

His eyes asked who the boy was.

"He is the child I taught to read."

Yang Soryeong said to Yang Baekji, "Baekji, get up and greet him!"

Baekji just stared blankly.

'So this is the slow-witted servant boy.'

His appearance was decent, and his eyes were bright, so he didn't look like a fool, but his actions seemed a bit lacking.

When Yang Jongu sat down, Yang Soryeong sat opposite him.

It was unheard of for a servant to share a table.

But Yang Jongu let it pass.

Although Yang Soryeong was his illegitimate daughter, he was not at ease with forcing her to marry the son of the White Mountain Sect Master.

For today, he wanted to let Yang Soryeong do as she pleased.

"Soryeong."

Yang Jongu called his daughter, but he had nothing to say.

"Yes, Father."

"The White Mountain Sect is a martial sect that is considered one of the Four Hegemons of Sichuan. The atmosphere is quite different from a merchant guild, so you must conduct yourself well."

"Yes, I know. Don't worry."

Yang Soryeong answered cheerfully.

She had decided to accept her fate and not hold any lingering attachments.

"Let's eat."

Having driven himself hard to build the Yang Merchant Guild from nothing, he was strict with others as well.

If Soryeong had whined about not wanting to get married, he would not have forgiven her.

But when his daughter accepted her fate, he felt a sense of pride. Yet, warm words still wouldn't come out.

It was a silent meal.

Baekji was busy eating, and Yang Jongu was naturally taciturn.

'If only I hadn't made that mistake back then.'

Yang Jongu thought that if he hadn't given birth to Yang Soryeong, he wouldn't have had to go through this uncomfortable situation.

Yang Soryeong was his sore spot.

When Mei Yancheng went to her family's Meixian Fang to give birth to Yang Joryeong, she did not return for over three years.

During that time, Yang Jongu gave his affection to a new maid, Zheng Qing.

When Mei Yancheng heard this news, she rushed back and caused a scene, but Zheng Qing was already pregnant.

Yang Jongu arranged a separate house for Zheng Qing and Yang Soryeong to live in.

He had lived his life thinking that as long as he didn't visit, there would be no trouble.

In fact, under the pretext of being busy, he had almost forgotten about them.

But to think something like this would happen.

His daughter, Yang Soryeong, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, had grown up to be pretty and kind. That made his heart ache even more.

After the silent meal, Bangbang brought tea.

Baekji had no interest in tea.

He left without a word of coming or going.

Yang Jongu took a sip of tea, put down the cup, and said, "I will get you a proper servant. Send that child away."

"What?"

"Isn't he a slow-witted child? If the daughter of the Yang Merchant Guild marries with a slow-witted servant, she will be pointed at."

For a family of the Yang Merchant Guild's stature, when a daughter marries, she is sent with several maids and servants.

Although Mei Yancheng would complain, Yang Jongu planned to prepare a wedding procession that would be second to none.

"No! Baekji is not a fool. He's so smart."

"..."

"I don't need anyone else. Please let me take him with me."

At Yang Soryeong's earnest plea, Yang Jongu's heart softened again.

"Do as you wish. If you change your mind, tell me anytime."

It was rare for Yang Jongu to back down so easily.

Yang Jongu had gone through countless hardships to build the Yang Merchant Guild from scratch.

Although he had not learned martial arts, he was a man of strong character, and no one in the Shaanxi merchant community could ignore him.

"You're all grown up too. Even if he's young, isn't he a man? Bangbang will attend to you, so have him stay outside."

"Yes."

"I will tell General Manager Wu to find a place for that child to stay."

"I understand."

* * *

The quarters where the servants of the Yang Merchant Guild stayed.

On both sides were long beds where several people could lie down, and in the middle of one, Baekji was lying spread-eagled, asleep.

"Mmm-nya..."

He was sleeping soundly, even smacking his lips.

As darkness fell, the servants returned from their work.

"Huh? Who's that brat?"

A giant, a head taller than anyone else, frowned upon seeing Baekji.

"Looks like a new guy."

A skinny, weasel-like fellow scurried over and looked down at Baekji.

"Wake him up. How dare he roll around like it's his own house without even a hazing?"

When the giant spoke, the weasel nudged Baekji with his foot.

"A-hmm."

Baekji turned over on his side.

"Look at that brat."

The giant strode over.

"Hey, wake up."

The weasel stuck out his foot and pushed a little harder.

"Ughhh."

Baekji didn't budge.

"Is he going to wake up like that?"

The giant grabbed Baekji by the collar, pulled him up, and slapped his cheek.

Slap!

Only then did Baekji open his eyes. Even after being slapped, his eyes were still sleepy.

"Who are you?"

"Huh? Me? Baekji."

"Baekji?"

"What are you doing sleeping here?"

"Wu Ping told me to sleep here."

"General Manager Wu?"

At the mention of Wu Ping's name, the giant slowly let go of Baekji's collar.

"So, General Manager Wu told you to sleep here?"

"Yeah. But why did you wake me up?"

Baekji sat down on the bed, yawning, and said.

"Why did General Manager Wu tell you to sleep here?"

"I don't know either. If you're curious, go and ask him."

The giant was not in a position to dare go and ask Wu Ping.

The weasel whispered, "He must know General Manager Wu."

In the meantime, more servants came in. Most of them looked to be around twenty, and a man who seemed to be three or four years older came in, saw Baekji, and asked, "Jang Sam, who is he?"

The giant's name was Jang Sam.

"Senior Oh, this kid says General Manager Wu told him to sleep here."

"General Manager Wu?"

Senior Oh approached.

"Is he a new servant?"

"He says he doesn't know either."

"Think about it. Where is this place? To be told to stay here means he's a servant."

"Ah, is that so?"

Jang Sam had a somewhat dull side to him.

Senior Oh said to Baekji, "I'm the head of this room. Where do you work?"

"Me? Work? I don't."

In the meantime, the servants had gathered. At Baekji's answer, everyone tilted their heads.

"Then why are you here?"

"General Manager Wu told me to sleep here."

Baekji repeated the same words like a parrot.

Senior Oh was frustrated.

"So why did he tell you to stay here?"

"I already said I don't know. I also said if you're curious, go and ask. Didn't you understand my words?"

"Haa..."

Senior Oh looked up at the ceiling and let out a sigh, then said to the weasel, "Ajok, you go to the general manager's office and ask what's going on. If they've brought in a new person, they should have told us."

The weasel, Ajok, quickly darted out.

The servants stood in a circle around Baekji.

"This kid, he seems a bit slow, doesn't he?"

"He looks fine."

Their curiosity was short-lived. Someone's stomach rumbled.

It was dinnertime.

"Whose turn is it today? Aren't you bringing the food?"

"It's Ajok's, but he went to the general manager's office. You go get it instead."

"Aish."

One of the servants grumbled and went out.

At the word "food," Baekji's ears perked up, and he shot up.

"Where are you going?"

"To eat."

"We eat here."

"No, we don't."

Baekji went out.

"What's with that brat?"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Baekji went to the study and had dinner with Yang Soryeong.

"Is it livable?"

"Yes!"

"That's a relief."

"Yes."

"We have to fix the wall. Let's fix it tomorrow."

"Yes."

Baekji's answers were consistently concise. Perhaps it was because his mouth was full of food.

"But how did you do it?"

"What?"

"The wall. How did you make a hole in it?"

"That? It's easy. Just make a fist like this and..."

"Ah, don't!"

As Baekji was about to throw a punch, Yang Soryeong quickly stopped him.

"Don't you know martial arts?"

"Martial arts?"

"You were able to follow the Six Harmonies Fist and the Seven Stars Saber Technique right away. You've learned them before, haven't you?"

"No."

"Tell me the truth."

Baekji stopped chewing and rolled his eyes.

"The truth is, I don't remember. What I learned before."

Yang Soryeong sighed. He didn't even know his own name, how could he know if he had learned martial arts?

Yang Soryeong said what she was thinking.

"I think you have amnesia."

"Amnesia?"

"They say that when a person injures their head or suffers a mental shock, they can lose their past memories."

"Oho!"

Baekji's eyes sparkled.

"Then where do you go to find it?"

"Memory isn't an object. It's not something you go and find somewhere, a physician has to fix it."

"Physician? I'm not sick anywhere."

"Your head is sick."

"It doesn't hurt."

Yang Soryeong's eyes widened.

"If your master says you're sick, then you're sick."

"Alright. Let's say I'm sick."

Yang Soryeong put her hand to her forehead.

"Ugh..."

"Are you sick somewhere?"

"It's not me who's sick, it's you."

Yang Soryeong explained patiently.

"Your head is sick, so you've forgotten everything you learned before. But your body remembers. That's why you learned to read so quickly and can do martial arts."

"Ah. I see."

He nodded, but it didn't seem like he understood.

Yang Soryeong had a sudden thought.

"You've read 'The Tale of Yunxiang,' right? In it, Yunxiang falls off a cliff and loses her memory."

"That's right. It was very sad."

"Yes, it's like that. You might have fallen off a cliff too. That's why you forgot your name and what you learned."

"..."

"Don't be too sad. I'll definitely help you find your memory."

"..."

"I'll ask Father to find a skilled physician."

"..."

"Are you surprised? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Seeing Baekji silently chewing his food, Yang Soryeong thought he was shocked by her words.

Baekji swallowed what was in his mouth and said, "You told me not to talk when eating fish. You said I might choke on a bone."

"Ha... yes, I did say that."

Yang Soryeong hung her head.

* * *

"Don't worry about it. He'll just be sleeping for a few days."

The answer Ajok got from the general manager's office was simple. Of course, he hadn't heard it directly from Wu Ping either.

Yang Soryeong's existence was a disgrace to the mistress of the Yang estate, Mei Yancheng. Wu Ping, who came from Mei Yancheng's family, thought so too.

So, he didn't give any detailed information. Besides, there was no reason to answer every single question the servants had.

The servants came to a simple conclusion.

"He must be a servant who followed a guest."

When Baekji returned after having dinner with Yang Soryeong, the servants gave him a spot in the corner.

Baekji plopped down on the spot and patted his full stomach.

"Hey, who's your master?"

Ajok sat on the edge of the bed and asked in a subtle voice. His curiosity had not yet been satisfied.

"Master? I don't have one."

"You mean you don't serve anyone?"

"No."

Ajok was dying of curiosity.

Baekji had already fallen asleep.

'Why am I so sleepy?'

Come to think of it, his body had been strange ever since he performed the Six Harmonies Fist and the Seven Stars Saber Technique.

His lower abdomen would stir on its own, and then his whole body would suddenly become languid. And then he would become overwhelmingly sleepy.

'Ah...'

Baekji fell asleep, sinking into a pleasant languor.

Ajok was dumbfounded.

"He's a strange one."

Ajok also gave up and went to sleep.

The next day, Baekji's identity was revealed.

Ajok had finally found out after poking around here and there.

"They say he's the servant brought by the Guild Master's younger daughter."

"What? The Guild Master had a younger daughter?"

"Yes, that's what they say. She grew up in the Meixian Fang since she was young and came home before her marriage."

A servant's status follows their master's.

Most of the people in Baekji's quarters were manual laborers who did odd jobs.

Once it was known that Baekji was the servant of the guild master's daughter, no one dared to treat him carelessly.

(End of Chapter)