novelraw Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20 - The Path the Heart Walks (3)
The fifth floor of the pavilion, which overlooked the lake perfectly, was different even in its structure.
Only five tables were placed by the window deep in the large space, and the remaining space was filled with paintings and valuables that were not easily seen.
Mad Beggar’s shoulders, which had been passing through the expensive ornaments hesitantly with a blank face, gradually sank with the burden.
“Heo-cham……. Did Manchu Inn have a place like this?”
The waiter guided Mad Beggar, who was looking around uncomfortably, and the party following him to a table at one end.
“It is here.”
As the party took their seats, the waiter carefully took out a piece of silk from his chest and put it down.
On the piece of silk, the food prices of the inn were embroidered in gold thread; Mad Beggar, who glanced at the prices, opened his eyes wide and looked at the waiter.
“Dongpo Pork is one silver tael? If it’s one silver tael, that’s half a month’s living expenses for a family……. Are you trying to play a prank on us right now!”
Ignoring Mad Beggar who shouted in anger, the waiter pushed the silk piece in front of Eun-wol.
Eun-wol, looking down at the silk piece, opened her mouth without being flustered.
“The Dongpo Pork is already ordered, right? Please bring one each of Eight-Flavor Cold Dish, Kung Pao Chicken, Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork, Spicy Stir-fried Prawns, and Dezhou Braised Chicken. For alcohol, three bottles of Drunken Immortal Red, please. Ah, by any chance, can we not order Steamed Soft-Shelled Turtle?”
“Soft-Shelled Turtle is difficult to order unless you make a separate reservation.”
“I understand. Then please give us just those.”
The waiter, who bowed deeply, quickly confirmed the food Eun-wol ordered once again, his eyes sparkling.
‘As expected, she was the God of Wealth!’
With an order of this magnitude on the fifth floor, it would be more than enough to fill several months’ worth of performance.
Mad Beggar, watching the back of the waiter who bowed deeply once again and quickly went down the stairs, smacked his lips.
“Heo-eo. What price for mere food……. As someone who only begged for food, having to pay expensive money to eat doesn't make it appetizing at all.”
“We are using the banquet fee allocated to you all from the Moyong Family, so please don't feel too burdened. And coming here, we haven't had a proper meal once, have we? Personally, you are all people I am truly grateful to, so please let me treat you once at a time like this, Great Hero.”
At Eun-wol’s charming words, Mad Beggar, whose expression softened a little, pondered for a moment and then nodded.
“Since Miss Eun-wol thinks so, I will accept it gratefully but……. Geez. It’s a world so different from my common sense.”
Mad Beggar, who was scratching his head and looking around, thought of something for a moment, then suddenly slapped his palm and opened his mouth.
“Wait. I don't know when I’ll have an opportunity like this again in my life, so I can't just wait like this. I will talk to the chef fellow and have him prepare the freshest ingredients, so rest for a while.”
Mad Beggar sprang up from his seat, left the party behind, and hurriedly ran down the stairs.
As Mad Beggar went down, a momentary silence flowed between the three people sitting at the table.
Eun-wol quietly observed Jaun’s mood and then opened her mouth.
“Un-a. I wonder if I made you uncomfortable…….”
“It is a good place, so we should pay the corresponding price. The scenery is very nice and the seat is comfortable too. Thanks to you, I'll be enjoying luxury, won't I?”
At Jaun’s positive answer, Eun-wol’s expression brightened.
In front of Jaun who was looking down out the window, Eun-wol took out a front plate and arranged it neatly.
There was no need to go that far, but Eun-wol was doing the best she could.
Ice Rakshasa saw that scene and snorted with a ‘hmph’.
However, such tension was brief.
Looking down at the gently shining lake, the three people began to chat amicably.
“When Young Hero Jaun said, ‘I will go out,’ you don't know how surprised I was.”
Eun-wol, whose tension had eased a little, led the conversation, and as they reminisced about the small events that had happened, smiles spread across the three people’s lips.
Suddenly, a noisy clamor reached the ears of the party who were chatting with the picturesque lake in the background.
“Kuhuhu. You should have seen Gongson’s expression.”
The young men who came up to the fifth floor chatting loudly lowered their voices a little upon checking the party sitting on one side.
The young men, who naturally took seats at the central table, discovered Eun-wol and Ice Rakshasa and looked this way for quite a while.
One of the young men, who stopped talking and stared intently this way, opened his mouth.
“The scenery of Ak-yang Inn is always exquisite, but it seems to shine even more today.”
“Two flowers have bloomed fully, so what can compare to that fragrance?”
Hearing the voice, Jaun glanced back at the young men.
There was one young man wearing modest martial attire but possessing a sharp spirit, and two young men wearing fancy clothes.
The two young men in fancy clothes continued their conversation loudly again as if wanting them to hear.
“Flowers ought to have bees to bear fruit, but it is just regrettable that they bloom alone.”
“They would bloom more fully if they were in a place with warm sunlight. Don't you think we could offer some help?”
Just listening to the conversation back and forth, one could tell their level.
They seemed to be idlers born into wealthy families who lived with enjoying the arts and pleasure as their joy.
Although it was annoying, there seemed to be no need to interfere in the conversation they were having among themselves.
At the moment Jaun was about to speak to Ice Rakshasa again, the two young men exchanged glances, rose from their seats, and began to walk this way.
— Clip-clop
When Jaun checked the approaching young men and stopped talking, Ice Rakshasa’s brow furrowed instantly.
“Heom-heom. It seems like the first time seeing you in Wuhan. We are Ju Ha-ryong and Ju Ha-min of the Golden Flower Manor. Fellow martial artists call us the Golden Flower Twin Fists.”
Ice Rakshasa, who was about to shout abruptly, caught her breath for a moment.
If it was Golden Flower Manor, it was one of the merchant guilds counted among the best in the Central Plains.
Since it was a place with close relations to the Murim Alliance and the Imperial Court, treating them recklessly could become a bit troublesome.
Especially if they were the Golden Flower Twin Fists, they were distant maternal relatives of the Imperial Family, and broadly speaking, they were people connected to the Emperor’s bloodline.
“We have matters to discuss urgently among ourselves. May we do the greetings next time?”
Ice Rakshasa, forcing a smile, turned her head to look at the Golden Flower Twin Fists.
Upon properly checking the beauty of Ice Rakshasa who had been sitting turned away, the Golden Flower Twin Fists’ eyes sparkled.
“Heo-heo. I don't know what matter it is, but if it is the two of us, I think we could be of great help to the beautiful young lady. May we listen to the story together?”
“……We do not want help, so we will decline. Then, have a pleasant meal.”
As Ice Rakshasa cut them off and turned her head away sharply, the expressions of the two people stiffened a little.
“Keo-heum. Still, at least exchanging names…….”
To the two people speaking again, Ice Rakshasa opened her mouth without even turning her head.
“I clearly declined politely. If you continue like this, I have no choice but to think you are trying to harass us.”
Hearing Ice Rakshasa’s cold voice, the Golden Flower Twin Fists let out a hollow laugh.
“Heo-heo. It seems the young lady doesn't know well who we are yet…… treating us like this won't do you any good. How about we take some time to get to know each other first…….”
Watching the young man stepping one step closer to Ice Rakshasa with a sly tone, Eun-wol stood up from her seat and bowed her head slightly.
“I am Eun-wol of the Moyong Family. Today is a really important time for us, so I would appreciate it if you stepped back now.”
“Ah! You were a child of the Moyong Family. I heard the name of the flower leading the recently started Moyong Merchant Guild is Eun-wol……. I didn't know she was such a beautiful person.”
As if he had absolutely no intention of backing down even at Eun-wol’s words, this time he turned his gaze toward Eun-wol and his eyes shone.
“Phew. Shouldn't you stop about there?”
Jaun, whose quiet rest was disturbed, found the two people a bit annoying.
At Jaun’s words thrown while turning his head, the young men who introduced themselves as Golden Flower Twin Fists turned their heads toward Jaun.
Ju Ha-ryong, who glanced once at Jaun wearing shabby martial attire, answered with a sneer on his lips.
“It is not a place for a mere bodyguard to intervene, so stay still. No, wait. Come to think of it, you look too young to be a bodyguard? What is your sect, Young Hero?”
When the two people asked Jaun, Ice Rakshasa let out a deep sigh as if frustrated and opened her mouth.
“Anyway, soaked in formalities. Who from which sect. Who from which family. If background and who your father is are so important, why don't you just carve your names on your necks and hang them there.”
Hearing Ice Rakshasa’s muttering words, the expressions of the two people stiffened instantly.
“Ha. If we call you pretty, call you pretty, you should bow your head and accept it on your own. You bitch, your words are excessive. Even if the Young Patriarch of the Moyong Family were in front of us, he wouldn't be able to speak in that way. What do you believe in to act like this, you bitch?”
“Tsk. This is why I hate the Orthodox Faction kids.”
Ice Rakshasa, looking at the two people with narrowed eyes, slowly stood up from her seat.
“Since they don't seem like guys who would understand words anyway…….”
Tilting her head left and right, Ice Rakshasa stood in front of the two people and continued.
“If you are a man, you must walk the Gangho solely with your own strength. Can you take responsibility for today’s rudeness with only your own strength, not your family’s?”
Ice Rakshasa, standing in front of the two people, raised her energy with sharp eyes.
Feeling something rising around her body, the Golden Flower Twin Fists flinched.
Before they knew it, a bone-chilling coldness spread around.
Clearly, she was not an opponent they could match.
Even if they had consumed all sorts of spiritual elixirs and built up internal energy since childhood, they were people who could not compare to Ice Rakshasa in the understanding of martial arts.
‘Th, This is…….’
As the cold and pure momentum poured down on them, the Golden Flower Twin Fists stepped back one or two steps and looked at the central table with eyes pleading for help.
The young man who was sitting alone received the gazes of the two people, let out a deep sigh, slowly rose from his seat, and approached this way.
“Ha-ryong and Ha-min. Stop it. You two have crossed the line.”
“Blade Dragon! How can you speak like that! We just wanted to build a good relationship with these young ladies…….”
At the word ‘Blade Dragon’ popping out of the two people’s mouths, Ice Rakshasa glanced back and looked at the approaching young man.
A dark golden saber twinkled at the waist of the young man walking slowly.
Appearance that seemed not even twenty yet.
Sharp spirit.
The title Blade Dragon and the Dark Gold Saber hanging at his waist.
If he was the person she thought he was, she felt she could create an interesting event.
“Blade Dragon, Peng Mu-geuk. You are that guy who is said to be the best among the Rising Stars of the Orthodox Faction along with Sword Phoenix?”
Ice Rakshasa scanned Blade Dragon with curious eyes.
Blade Dragon, meeting Ice Rakshasa’s eyes for the first time, hesitated momentarily and froze, then made a serious expression and bowed deeply with clasped hands to Ice Rakshasa.
“I am called Peng Mu-geuk. May I ask what the beautiful young lady’s name is?”
Ice Rakshasa, looking at Blade Dragon who greeted her, shook her head side to side and opened her mouth.
“Name, name, that damn name! Do you Orthodox Faction guys break out in hives if you don't ask for names?”
Ice Rakshasa, tilting her head crookedly, looked at Blade Dragon and continued.
“Forget the name, try receiving this once.”
At Ice Rakshasa’s abrupt words, Blade Dragon tilted his head.
Ice Rakshasa, smiling broadly while looking at Blade Dragon with a puzzled expression, instantly raised her energy significantly from her spot.
— Whoosh
Due to the rapidly dropping temperature, a white mist spread around.
‘It worked out well.’
It was Ice Rakshasa’s calculated move.
The moment she heard the name Blade Dragon, Ice Rakshasa thought it was a good opportunity to show the level of martial arts of the Rising Stars to Jaun, who had practically zero knowledge about the Gangho.
Moreover, since the Golden Flower Twin Fists had even created a justification, there was even less reason to hesitate.
Ice Rakshasa, raising her energy while looking at Blade Dragon with a smile, slowly pushed her palm toward Blade Dragon.
— Crack-crack-crack
Instantly, tremendous coldness poured into Blade Dragon.
Ice Rakshasa’s burst of energy stretched out in a straight line toward Blade Dragon, freezing the surrounding objects as they were.
“Heok……!”
The complexions of the Golden Flower Twin Fists, who were watching the scene right next to them, turned pale.
The two people hurriedly threw their bodies and hid behind Blade Dragon.
At the same time, Blade Dragon, stepping one step forward, brought his hand toward the saber at his waist.
— Clang
With a crisp sound, Blade Dragon’s saber cut through the front.
The pouring Rakshasa’s energy was instantly neutralized and scattered slowly into the air.
“Oho. Not bad?”
Ice Rakshasa, wearing a smile, raised her energy a little more and recited in a low voice.
[Ice Snow Flower Chaos ]
— Crack
As Ice Rakshasa’s both hands drew beautiful semicircles repeatedly in the air, the cold chill rotated and created small ice flowers in all directions.
Following that, as Ice Rakshasa stretched out her hands, the cold chill hovering around her hands stretched out quickly and wrapped around Blade Dragon’s body from left and right like two whips.
— Crunch
Due to the cold chill winding around his body, small ice flowers began to bloom around Blade Dragon’s body.
Blade Dragon’s face, which was looking at the blooming ice flowers around him with surprised eyes, quickly stiffened hard.
This cold chill filling up around him was not an energy he could neutralize easily like before.
‘……Where did such a master come from?’
Blade Dragon realized that the woman standing in front of him was by no means lower than him and corrected his stance.
— Kwa-a-ang!
Instantly, Blade Dragon’s saber was swung fiercely toward the ice flowers.
Blade Dragon’s saber was swung silently, but the watching party felt as if a beast had roared in front of them.
The consecutive saber forms vomited rough cries and began to cut down Ice Rakshasa’s ice flowers one by one.
Five Tigers Gate Severing Saber .
The family heirloom technique of the Hebei Peng Family, and the saber art representing the Peng Family, filled the inn.