Sword God Reborn

Chapter 17 : Well, It'll Pay for My Meals

'I have to get out of here.'

Yuseol had recently thought about leaving the Lotus Pavilion.

Although she was just at the fresh and innocent age of a young woman, Yuseol had spent a year at the Lotus Pavilion.

In fact, since last winter, she had harbored the thought of escaping the Lotus Pavilion.

Originally, the Lotus Pavilion was a blue lantern house with blue lanterns hanging. A blue lantern house was a place that sold talent and smiles, not bodies.

Among them, Yuseol was a gisaeng famous for her skill in playing the zither.

But since winter, the Lotus Pavilion had changed.

The original Master of the Lotus Pavilion had gone missing. And in his place, a new Master who looked like a Jiangshi had come in, and a large number of black-way thugs with obviously fierce faces had come in.

Was that all?

They had brought in a considerable number of prostitutes from somewhere and hung red lanterns in front of the Lotus Pavilion's door.

It had transformed into a red lantern house that engaged in prostitution.

Of course, Yuseol had sold her smiles, but she had never sold her body.

But as time went on, the pressure grew stronger.

'I have no idea what's going on.'

Yuseol shuddered as she saw the faint bloodstains that had not yet been erased while walking down the corridor.

Things had gotten strange since last night.

The Master who looked like a corpse had suddenly gone missing again, and this time, the famous black-way thug, General Manager Neung-heo, had become the Master.

'Too many people have disappeared.'

In particular, all the pimps who were inexplicably gloomy had disappeared. The remaining pimps were rough, but they were thugs without a gloomy feeling.

Yuseol instinctively realized.

'They're dead!'

What on earth was happening in this Lotus Pavilion?

Today, too, all the gisaengs were suddenly sent into their rooms, and only screams and cries were heard from outside.

All the gisaengs hugged each other and trembled in fear.

Not only Yuseol, but all those who were originally gisaengs harbored the same thought.

'I have to escape the Lotus Pavilion somehow!'

It wasn't easy to perform a miracle, but she had to find a way.

But before that, Neung-heo had called her to the top floor room.

She had heard that there was a guest on the top floor, so Yuseol felt a strange chill.

"Why are you so slow? Aren't you coming quickly?!"

When she went up to the top floor, Neung-heo glared at her with his one eye.

A tone full of all sorts of annoyance.

Yuseol cowered like a turtle. She had intended to say that she would quit her job with a good momentum, but seeing Neung-heo's murderous eyes, the words got stuck in her throat.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going in right away?"

"I... I, what's going on?"

She barely squeezed out the courage to ask. Neung-heo was about to get angry, but he sighed when he saw her frightened eyes and trembling voice.

"Sigh, I'm not going to eat you. I'm not going to eat you. There's a son of a bitch more vicious than a wolf inside, but..."

"I can hear everything, Neung-heo. When I look at your face reading again, you have the fate of being bitten by a dog and having your neck torn off and dying!"

"...Shit."

At the voice that suddenly came from inside the room, Neung-heo's face contorted. And then he muttered quietly, 'His hearing is damn good.'

Yuseol had never seen Neung-heo like that before.

Wasn't he a person who said what he had to say even in front of the previous Master who looked like a corpse? But at the voice coming from inside, he immediately tucked his tail.

'His voice sounds very young.'

Who on earth is inside?

A slight curiosity appeared on Yuseol's face.

"Well, anyway, he's a physician. A physician. He's here to treat all of you. Go in and get treated."

"Treatment? I'm not sick..."

"Ah, shit! Just go in and get it if I tell you to! It's annoying to say the same thing over and over again!"

Neung-heo glared at her again. A situation that had been repeated several times. His throat hurt.

Yuseol quietly opened the door and went in.

The room on the top floor was the largest in the Lotus Pavilion.

With only one person in the large room, it should have felt empty.

But it didn't.

Yuseol looked at Cheon Mubaeck sitting in front of the folding screen.

A face covered in a tired look. But the noticeable fatigue could not hide Cheon Mubaeck's appearance.

It was a look that seemed to be annoyed by everything in the world, but the atmosphere felt within it was the kind of atmosphere that was hard to even approach.

As Yuseol stood still as if rooted to the ground, Cheon Mubaeck said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"What are you doing? Come here."

"Yes? Yes."

Yuseol hesitantly sat down in front of Cheon Mubaeck. They were not sitting opposite each other with a table of alcohol, but just sitting facing each other. But there was a gourd bottle next to Cheon Mubaeck. It was alcohol, as a pungent smell of alcohol was coming up. And right next to it, wasn't there a silk brocade bedding laid out?

'I'm not a prostitute...!'

Yuseol's pupils shook.

"Lie down."

"Pardon?"

"Let's not make me say it twice. Huh?"

"Yes, yes."

Yuseol lay down in a straight posture and squeezed her eyes shut. Then she heard Cheon Mubaeck's sigh.

"Sigh. Lie down on your back. Lie down on your stomach."

"..."

Seureuk.

"...!"

When Yuseol turned over, Cheon Mubaeck immediately folded her clothes up to her waist.

Yuseol's body trembled as she showed her pure white waist to a strange man for the first time in her life.

"I-I'm a gisaeng, a gisaeng."

"What? Ha!"

When Yuseol whimpered, Cheon Mubaeck let out a sigh.

"I'll have to deal with this bastard Neung-heo. How on earth is he explaining things? I'm trying to treat you, little girl."

"Little girl?"

When Yuseol turned her head at that unfamiliar address, she saw a pure white silver needle sparkling in the light.

"Uh... are you really a physician?"

"A physician? Right, right. I'm a physician. It's a regular check-up, so let's just get it quietly and go, little girl. Huh?"

"Yes, yes."

Yuseol buried her head in the pillow with an embarrassed look.

The moment Cheon Mubaeck's hand touched her, Yuseol's body stiffened.

But then a warm energy spread throughout her body from her waist.

Only then did Yuseol's tension release and her body feel comfortable.

Cheon Mubaeck tapped her waist a few times and then let out a hollow laugh.

"A young girl has all sorts of illnesses. Your waist is also slightly twisted, and your intestines are not good. You have a hard time going to the bathroom in the morning, don't you?"

"Pardon?"

"You're constipated."

"...!"

Yuseol buried her bright red face in the pillow. She couldn't continue her words due to her embarrassment.

Cheon Mubaeck did not wait for an answer and immediately placed the needles.

It was in an instant.

Cheon Mubaeck, who had finished the acupuncture without hesitation, said.

"It's all done. Get up."

"Already?"

"Yes. And have a drink of this."

"Alcohol?"

"It's medicinal wine. The acupuncture has gathered the poison in one place, and if you drink that, it will all be discharged as urine later."

"Yes."

"And it will be a pleasure to go to the bathroom in the morning. Go on."

Yuseol bowed her head with a flushed face and quickly left the room as if she were running away.

When she came out of the room, there was Neung-heo with a face that seemed to contain all the annoyance in the world.

"He's a physician, right? Is he good?"

"Pardon? Uh... come to think of it, my body feels a little lighter."

"Your complexion has also improved a lot. Ha. That guy has a surprisingly kind side."

"My complexion?"

"It's hard to describe, but it's become much brighter. Anyway, go in and tell the next Sohyang to come up."

"Yes."

For some reason, Yuseol, with a fluttering heart, stopped on her way down.

"I... by any chance, who is the physician inside? He looked too young to be a physician."

"He's the son of a bitch of the Azure Star Escort Agency... no, he's the youngest son of the Azure Star Escort Agency."

"Ah!"

She had heard of him.

There were rumors that he was a natural handsome man, but he never came out, so she had only heard the rumors and had not seen his face.

So there were useless stories circulating among the gisaengs that the rumor of him being a handsome man was all a lie, and that he was actually a cripple with a pockmarked face.

But...

'The rumor was true.'

Yuseol hurriedly went down with her head bowed, her face turning red for some reason.

* * *

"While I'm away, Leader Heo will help the Young Master with his training."

"I understand, Chief Instructor Jang."

Old Man Jang smiled kindly.

"Actually, there are many stories, but at least the Young Master is the most overwhelming among the trainees I have seen. His talent, and his fierce effort. So please continue to strive. Then you never know. You might become a greater martial artist than the Azure Sky Sword God who defeated that Heavenly Demon."

"...I hope so."

Cheon Mubaeck paused for a moment and then grinned.

Old Man Jang, leaving that smile behind, looked at the escort warriors on horseback.

It was an urgent matter, so even the Chief, Cheon Mungyeong, was riding a horse instead of a carriage.

"Chief, Chief Instructor Jang Cheong and 38 escort warriors of the Soaring Dragon Faction are ready. Shall we depart?"

"Hmm. Please wait a moment, Chief Instructor Jang."

Cheon Mungyeong got off his horse and approached the main gate of the escort agency again.

Cheon Yuhwa, who was at the main gate, smiled with a worried look.

"Father, no, Chief."

"Yuhwa."

"Yes."

"Let Dad give you a hug."

"..."

Although they were a close father and daughter, Cheon Mungyeong was someone who kept public and private matters separate in front of the people of the escort agency. Even such a Cheon Mungyeong had a nervous expression ahead of this matter. Cheon Yuhwa smirked and hugged him.

"Please take good care of the escort agency's operations while I'm away."

"Don't worry. There's no work these days anyway."

"Haha. Right. And... my youngest son!"

"Hmm."

Cheon Mungyeong was surprised when he hugged Cheon Mubaeck.

His complexion had improved lately and he had a somewhat dignified feeling, but when he hugged him, hadn't he become very reliable, unlike before?

That young child.

"Protect your sister well while your father is away, my son."

Cheon Mubaeck, with a slightly awkward expression, nodded his head.

"Father. Take this with you."

"Huh?"

What Cheon Mubaeck handed him was a pouch containing pills.

"I discussed it with Physician Jin and made these pills by mixing medicinal herbs that are good for the body. They have the effect of warding off any illness, so if you get sick during your long journey, please take this medicine."

"Mubaeck...!"

Cheon Mungyeong hugged Cheon Mubaeck again with a face full of emotion.

At that intense expression of affection, Cheon Mubaeck, while feeling awkward, sighed inwardly.

'Sigh. I was taciturn at that age.'

Well, it's not a bad feeling though.

Cheon Mungyeong held Cheon Mubaeck for a long time and rambled on about this and that. Most of it was worry. In the end, as time was delayed, Cheon Yuhwa stepped forward.

"Chief, you should be leaving now."

"Oh? Ahem, ahem. I understand. I'll be back."

"Be careful on your way."

"Right. Chief Instructor Jang, let's depart!"

With this, half of the escort agency's personnel left.

There were more than one or two strange things about the failed escort mission, so Cheon Mungyeong was going to investigate himself.

Cheon Mubaeck wanted to check it himself if possible, but since the urgent matter was the Blood Demon Sect in Henan, he trusted Cheon Mungyeong.

No, to be precise.

'It's Old Man Jang.'

Old Man Jang's hidden martial prowess was at the peak level.

Especially if he revealed all his hidden demonic arts, even Gu Jin-hae of the Blood Demon Sect, whom he had clashed with before, would be no match.

"Escort Warrior Heo, let's go train."

"Pardon? Ah, I understand."

Heo Seong, who had been lost in deep thought, hurriedly ran over.

But his flustered appearance meant that his mind was elsewhere.

Cheon Mubaeck's brow narrowed.

Well, it didn't really matter.

Although Heo Seong was his teacher on the outside, in reality, Cheon Mubaeck was training on his own.

"Come to think of it, go to the Lotus Pavilion this evening and deliver a few messages to Neung-heo."

"I will listen."

"The Lotus Pavilion was originally a blue lantern house, right? Then let's change it back to a blue lantern house. It might be a bit of a shame for Escort Warrior Heo and the escort warriors, though."

"Hmm, is there a reason why you're changing it? In fact, for a gisaeng house as large as the Lotus Pavilion, it's not strange for prostitutes and gisaengs to be together."

"It would be a disgrace to my name if a gisaeng house run by the Azure Star Escort Agency was a red lantern house."

"Pardon? Run by?"

"It's obvious that it will eventually become known that I am the owner of the Lotus Pavilion. It would be better for the escort agency to run it. The escort agency's finances are in trouble these days anyway."

Cheon Mubaeck looked at Cheon Yuhwa, who was entering the office with a slightly tired look.

Due to the previous failed escort mission, almost all escort missions were canceled one after another, and with the plague spreading and even a blockade order being issued, the Azure Star Escort Agency was unable to go on escort missions.

An escort agency not going on escort missions?

Then it was bound to be financially fatal.

"If it's the Lotus Pavilion, well, it'll pay for my meals."

Cheon Mubaeck smirked.

There were a few things he had felt while living through countless past lives.

One of them was that he had to do his best in everything that was given to him.

If he only clung to martial arts and ignored all the surrounding environment.

"I couldn't reach the end of martial arts, the end of the sword. Isn't it a funny thing? That protecting and leading a normal daily life, not a life-or-death battle, is the most important condition for going to the end of the sword. It's really because of this that the sword is still difficult."

Heo Seong couldn't say anything.

Although it was a word he didn't understand, the size of the loneliness felt within it was too great.

(End of Chapter)