novelraw Chapter 39 : Chapter 39
Chapter 39 : Chapter 39
Chapter 39 - Pretty good
“A Gisaeng house……”
Right.
I had thought that since most of the guys I met weren't normal (?), the meeting place might not be ordinary either.
Places like a gambling den, a remote mountain, or a tavern.
But for the descendants of the Diancang Sect, rooted in Daoism, to hold a secret meeting in a gisaeng house.
Sect Leader.
Why are all the descendants of the Sect Leader like this?
They say the lower stream is clear only when the upper stream is clear.
What?
You say that by that logic, I am also the upper stream?
What are you talking about.
I am Biyoung, Biyoung!
I don't know anyone like the World's Fastest Sword!
“What are you muttering to yourself about.”
At Jinbae's words, Biyoung quickly came to his senses.
“I just didn’t expect to enter a gisaeng house…… It’s my first time entering a place like this.”
Jinbae smiled a good-natured smile, as if he had expected as much.
“It might be a bit of a difficult place for you. But this is not the kind of gisaeng house you are thinking of. Do you see that blue lantern hanging over there?”
“Yes.”
“A place where courtesans sell their bodies is called a Red Pavilion. A place where they simply showcase their arts is called a Blue Pavilion. This Peach Garden Pavilion is the largest and most expensive Blue Pavilion in Simao.”
“So the gisaengs here don't do that kind of thing?”
At Biyoung’s blunt question, Jinbae cleared his throat.
“Keuheum. That's right. The gisaengs in a Blue Pavilion adhere to the principle of ‘They sell their art, not their bodies,’ showing only their skills. The more outstanding a gisaeng's skills, the higher her value becomes, and she gets to have several servants. And she gets to work in a fine Blue Pavilion like this.”
“I see. But there’s something a little strange, elder.”
“Go ahead and say it.”
“From what you’ve said, it seems quite expensive just to set foot in a Blue Pavilion. Why did you choose this place for the meeting, of all places?”
If the goal was to avoid prying eyes, there was no need to use a high-class Blue Pavilion.
Frankly, they could just pretend to be bandits on some remote mountain.
“Your words had a point. There were several reasons, but the biggest one was probably because of Jeong-i.”
“Jeong-i?”
“Jeong-i was a top-class gisaeng who worked here at the Peach Garden Pavilion.”
“And?”
“And she was also a descendant of our Diancang Sect.”
“!”
Oh.
I didn't expect that.
“So… like Uma or Danseol, is Jeong-i also one of the children who took refuge from the Diancang Sect?”
“That’s right. By age, she would be three or four years older than you. Uma, Danseol, Solbo, and her. Along with Gajin, those five in total are all of your peers who remain.”
Five people.
That was the extent of Biyoung’s generation that remained.
No matter how the Diancang Sect was a small elite sect, considering it was once part of the Nine Sects One Union, it was a number small enough to draw a sigh.
“Did Jeong-i also learn swordsmanship?”
“Of course, she did.”
“What’s her level?”
“I haven't seen it myself. But according to what Danseol said before, she is the most outstanding among the five.”
“Wow.”
Admiration was thoroughly soaked in Biyoung's exclamation.
“She must be a talented friend. To work in a place like this means her artistic skills are outstanding. And she has mastered both the sword and the arts to a high level?”
“The two are not entirely different.”
“Pardon?”
“You will know when you see for yourself later. From now on, you should be quiet.”
Before long, the three of them arrived at the entrance of the Peach Garden Pavilion.
When Uma quietly said something to the person guarding the main gate, an employee soon came out and greeted them.
“Please come in. I will guide you to your room.”
As they followed the employee, Biyoung’s expression changed strangely.
"It seemed Jeong-i's position was more significant than I had thought."
Uma asked with an expressionless face.
“Why do you think so?”
“Otherwise, an employee wouldn’t come all the way to the main gate to guide us separately. The customer who came in just now went inside without any guidance?”
“You’re sharp for a young one. You are right. Jeong-i was said to be a talent ranked among the top three here. It was all thanks to Jeong-i that we could meet people in secret here.”
Following the employee’s guidance, the three of them moved to a small room.
And after about a quarter of an hour, they went down to the basement via the stairs.
‘This feels strange.’
Biyoung’s heart started to beat a little faster than usual.
The meeting with the survivors of the Diancang Sect, which he had so longed for, was just around the corner.
Was there anyone left who had a connection with the ‘World's Fastest Sword’?
Even if that person didn't know, he could recognize them.
After descending the stairs, they walked along a dark corridor for a while.
A rather spacious room for a basement appeared.
“!”
A large table that could seat twenty to thirty people was visible, and people were sitting in a circle on wooden chairs.
There were about thirty people.
Their ages seemed to vary.
Biyoung, with fire in his eyes, scanned the faces of the people.
“………….”
There was no one.
Not a single person.
The torch lit in his pupils died down, and in its place, only sorrow filled the void.
‘It seems all the elders have entered their eternal sleep.’
Not a single elderly person was in sight.
He had expected it to some extent, but the elders whom the ‘World's Fastest Sword’ had looked up to since he was young were no longer in this world.
The masters who were close to the ‘World's Fastest Sword’ had all died in the battle against the Heavenly Demon, and the sect's elders were nowhere to be seen.
Biyoung had to taste the bitter loneliness once again.
“Elder Jinbae. You have arrived.”
“Have you all been well.”
Jinbae, receiving greetings from several people, slowly sat down on a chair.
“This child is……?”
“He is my grandson.”
“Ah!”
Everyone’s gaze flew to one spot and stuck there.
Everyone gathered here knew that Jinbae was raising a grandson, and that the child was not his biological grandson.
“So you’re that Biyoung. I’ve heard a lot about you from Elder Jinbae.”
A man who looked to be around forty spoke to Biyoung.
One of the sleeves of the clothes he was wearing was fluttering limply.
‘Did he lose his arm since that day?’
Biyoung’s heart ached, but he greeted him without showing it.
“Hello. I’m Biyoung.”
“You are truly a handsome man, a rare sight these days. I’m already worried about how many young ladies’ tears you will steal in the future.”
Not only the one-armed man, but most of the people were admiring Biyoung’s jade face.
But Biyoung’s heart was not so bright.
Unlike the guys he had met before, the condition of the people gathered here was not very good.
The man who had spoken to him was missing an arm, there was a person who had a cane at a relatively young age, and there was also a man with a missing eye and ear.
The number of people who could actually be deployed in battle was at most ten?
The rest were women, children, or injured.
Just by looking at their condition, one could easily guess how much hardship they had gone through to settle down after being driven out of the Diancang Sect.
‘Those bastards I could chew up and spit out.’
Thinking of the heretics who had attacked the Diancang Sect, he naturally ground his teeth.
A hot flame surged up in Biyoung’s heart once again.
Dalkak.
At that moment.
The door of the room opened and three men and women entered.
At that, the people who were sitting all rose from their seats at once.
Even when the eldest, Jinbae, had entered, it hadn't been to this extent.
Biyoung instinctively realized that the leader of the group was among the three.
“You have arrived. Elder Jeokseo.”
People bowed their heads towards the person at the front.
“Ah!”
And Biyoung, without realizing it, let out an exclamation.
He had finally found him.
A person from the Diancang Sect who had met the World's Fastest Sword!
When he had reigned for an era under the name Yeongbi, Jeokseo was a Senior Uncle a generation above him.
A martial artist who was serious in everything and had a clean private life, earning him the nickname ‘scholar.’
That was Jeokseo.
“What is it?”
Jinbae asked in surprise at Biyoung’s sudden reaction.
But Biyoung could not hear anything right now.
With someone who had met the World's Fastest Sword appearing before his eyes, the agitation was beyond description.
‘But…….’
The man before him was indeed Jeokseo.
The two dots on his temples and his unusually long lips were definitely Jeokseo’s.
But.
‘He’s too old.’
As if he had faced all the storms of time alone, Jeokseo looked like an old man well over seventy.
His actual age was younger than Jinbae’s, yet he looked as if Jinbae should address him as a great senior brother.
And…….
“Holholhol. A very handsome, peach-like fellow has come.”
That bottle in his hand.
Judging from the smell of alcohol coming to his nose, it seemed to be a wine bottle.
The scholar who had lived a life full of restraint, as if stuffy in everything, had now returned as a drunkard.
“Originally…… didn’t you not drink?”
Biyoung, without realizing it, had returned to being the World's Fastest Sword and asked the question.
It was a mistake he would never have made normally, but it was proof that Biyoung’s emotions were swirling violently.
“Holholhol. That’s all in the past. But, how do you know me to say such a thing?”
Only then did Biyoung realize his mistake and answered in a nonchalant tone.
“Just… you looked that way.”
“Biyoung. Watch your words.”
Uma warned Biyoung with a murderous expression.
But regardless of what others around him said, Biyoung’s face was filled with agitation.
Jeokseo’s martial arts skills were mediocre.
So he could not participate in the war against the Demonic Cult with Biyoung.
Conversely, it meant that he had worked hard to protect the Diancang Sect after the attack by the heretics.
To the point where he had changed into a dissolute old man soaked in alcohol, belying his past nickname of ‘scholar.’
‘How harsh must the years have been for him to have aged so much.’
Looking at Jeokseo, Biyoung felt a part of his heart crumble.
“Biyoung. So you must be Senior Brother Jinbae’s grandson?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“You’re a smart one. So, have you learned some martial arts? Don’t even think of saying you learned from Senior Brother Jinbae.”
At Jeokseo’s words, people gave a bitter smile.
It seemed they knew that Jinbae had quit martial arts training in the past and opened an inn.
Besides, how well could a cripple teach martial arts?
The question of whether he had learned martial arts.
At that question, Biyoung grinned and answered.
“I'm pretty good.”
“Hoo!”
Jeokseo’s face lit up as if he was very pleased.
“That is very good news. Now, would you like to have a drink of this old man’s wine?”
“Jeokseo. He is still a child.”
“Holholhol. That is the problem with you, Senior Brother Jinbae. A hero is born, is he not? Both his martial arts and his tolerance for alcohol.”
But even as he said that, Jeokseo sat at the head of the table instead of offering the wine.
And on his left and right, a pair of man and woman took their seats.
“Most of the others have probably greeted each other. But you wouldn't know these two, right?”
“No.”
The woman sitting on the left was a beauty who literally suited the expression ‘a fairy in the moon palace’.
Her skin was white as snow, and her features were like a single flower and even with light makeup, her face shone brilliantly.
What was most impressive were her eyes, which shone calmly as if they held the moonlight.
He had never seen such a woman in his past life, so Biyoung looked at her with curious eyes.
Without having to ask anyone, I could tell that she was Jeong-i.
“This is Jeong-i. On the other side is Eung Gajin. She is four years older, and Gajin is ten years older than you. Make sure you get along from now on.”
The person called Eung Gajin also had nothing to fault in his appearance.
His good-natured, kind smile was reminiscent of Jinbae, and his calm smile exuded a strange sense of trust.
He was a person who exuded what people often called the ‘aura of a hero.’
But what Biyoung really paid attention to was something else.
A strangely familiar face.
And his surname.
Biyoung couldn't help but ask.
“The surname Eung…… could it be……”
At Biyoung’s question, Eung Gajin’s eyes sparkled as if in surprise.
“You have also heard about my grandfather?”
“!”
“I don’t know where you heard it, but I am indeed the grandson of the former sect leader. For that reason, I am leading the people here.”
Biyoung finally understood the source of the sense of dissonance he had felt.
Eung Gajin was the grandson of the Diancang Sect's leader, Eung Jinsan!
‘Indeed…… he resembles him…….’
“Holholhol. It seems the introductions are mostly done, so shall we talk about this time’s agenda?”
“Please proceed.”
Eung Gajin’s attitude was polite, but formally, it looked as if Jeokseo was asking for his consent.
It seemed to be a system where Jeong-i organized the meetings, and Eung Gajin and Jeokseo made the decisions.
The people who remained here seemed to regard Eung Gajin as something like an incarnation of the sect leader.
‘It’s not surprising.’
The more he looked, the more the face of the sect leader from his previous life came to mind.
Even Biyoung felt that way, so he could understand the people’s feelings.
“The most important agenda to decide today is about the restoration of the Diancang Sect.”
“Ooh.”
At Eung Gajin’s words, the room stirred.
And it was no different for Biyoung’s heart.
From his perspective, there were one or two shortcomings, but it was not a force that couldn't take down a single stronghold.
But at Eung Gajin’s next words, Biyoung’s face hardened.
“I would like to postpone the restoration of the Diancang Sect until one year from now.”