Chapter 8
“Do you know how I feel?”
“……”
I wonder why.
The Young Master in White blushed and spoke in a questioning tone.
Could this be the case of ‘saving someone from drowning only to be asked for their belongings,’ which I’ve only heard of?
“I thought you’d say thank you. That’s unexpected.”
“Yes, thank you. If it weren’t for Big Brother, I would have been helplessly attacked by their joint attack. ……But still!”
“……”
“Why did you hide your martial arts? You acted like you were sick when you were selling the elixir during the day?”
“When did I act like I was sick? I just didn’t reveal that I had learned martial arts.”
“Forget it. Where did you learn martial arts? Are you perhaps part of the Martial Alliance?”
“Ah……”
Things are getting strange.
I cut off the Young Master in White’s useless imagination with a single stroke.
“The Martial Alliance? What are you talking about? I’m not even a martial artist in the first place. Just consider it as me helping you out since I made money thanks to you buying the elixir.”
The Young Master in White looked me up and down with curious eyes.
He probably wants to dig into my background, but I didn’t think much of it since a mere disciple of a martial arts family would never recognize the Ten Invincible Hand Techniques.
“Alright. In any case, thanks to Big Brother, I was able to escape danger, so thank you. However, Big Brother made one mistake.”
“Mistake?”
“Yes. Those guys are part of the Black Society, a Black Path faction that has recently been establishing itself in Chang’an. Not only in Chang’an, but they are also in the process of taking over the entire Shaanxi region, so you shouldn’t have let them go easily. At the very least, you should have arrested them and handed them over to the Martial Alliance.”
What is this guy saying?
I scoffed in disbelief.
What?
The Black Society is trying to take over Shaanxi?
Even a passing dog would laugh at that.
Shaanxi is a ‘Righteous Path dominant region’ where the Mount Zhongnan Sect and Mount Hua Sect are located among the Nine Great Sects.
But does it make sense that some unheard-of guys like the Black Society are trying to take over Shaanxi?
“The Mount Hua Sect and Mount Zhongnan Sect aren’t fools. They wouldn’t hand over Shaanxi to those guys.”
Then, the Young Master in White sighed and continued speaking.
“Sigh…… Big Brother really doesn’t seem to be an active martial artist. It seems like you don’t know anything about the happenings in the Jianghu.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mount Zhongnan and Mount Hua don’t have the time to focus on regional security right now.”
“What do those idle Taoists do if they don’t even do that?”
“The balance between the Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult that has been prevalent for the past 20 years has been broken. Because of this, the Mount Hua Sect and Mount Zhongnan Sect are going in and out of the Martial Alliance, gathering strength, and our Seokga Estate, being a Secular Family of Mount Hua, is running around trying to maintain security in Shaanxi. I also came all the way from Dongcheon to Chang’an to investigate the Black Society.”
Demonic Cult.
I became interested when an unexpected word came out of the Young Master in White’s mouth.
“What do you mean the balance between the Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult has been broken?”
“It happened less than a year ago. The sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect was assassinated. And it happened at Yeonhwabong, the sacred ground of the Mount Hua Sect, no less.”
“Ah……”
I almost reacted in surprise for a moment, but I managed to hold back.
That’s because I was the one who assassinated the Mount Hua Sect leader.
“What kind of force could assassinate the Mount Hua Sect leader at Yeonhwabong?”
“It could only be the Demonic Cult.”
“That’s right. With that incident as the starting point, the Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult clashed. The 20-year unspoken rule of not encroaching on each other’s territory was broken. However, the problem is the power the Demonic Cult possesses. They are just a single organization, but…… the power they have surpasses the entire Martial Alliance. Because of that, the current Jianghu is like the calm before the storm, and the major sects naturally have no choice but to neglect regional security, resulting in a situation where small-time Black Path members are running rampant.”
After listening to the Young Master in White’s long explanation, I finally understood the current state of the Jianghu.
In short, it’s a situation where the fox is playing boss while the tiger is away from the mountain.
In any case, I felt a strange sense of solemnity because the trigger for all this was my assassination.
“Anyway, I understand. I’m not a martial artist, and I didn’t help out of a sense of justice. I stepped in out of consideration for my customer. I’ll be going now.”
“Ah! Big Brother. How can you leave like this?”
“……???”
“You should at least tell me your name. You’re my benefactor.”
“It’s Jin So-cheon.”
“Big Brother So-cheon. No! I’ll just call you Older Brother.”
Really.
This handsome fellow, whether he’s thick-skinned or just sociable, kept calling me Older Brother.
But he looked at least five or six years younger than me, so I just nodded.
“Do as you please.”
“Then I’ll call you Older Brother So-cheon. Older Brother, you can speak comfortably too.”
Oh, my……
“Alright.”
“Older Brother So-cheon. Since things have turned out like this, how about we have a drink……”
“No, thanks. I came out after putting So-yun to sleep, so I need to go back. She’ll be scared if I’m not there when she wakes up.”
“Huh? So-yun is alone? What about your wife?”
Wife……
At that moment, I remembered So-yun’s mother, who had died from illness.
“She’s dead.”
“……?”
◈ ◈ ◈
The next day.
“Hee? Guest, guest!”
“Hahaha. So-yun, did you sleep well?”
The Young Master in White ended up renting a room at the inn where I was staying and spent the night. Early in the morning, he came to my room, saying he would treat us to a meal, and pulled So-yun’s hand.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
“Older Brother, why are you so eager to send me away?”
Young Master in White.
He said his name was Seok Yeon-u.
Seok Yeon-u was truly a handsome man.
I thought the Cult Leader was the most handsome man in my past life, but I guess the world is wide and there are many handsome men and beautiful women.
“So-yun, is it delicious?”
“Yeah! Guest, it’s so yummy!”
“What’s the most delicious?”
“Dumplings?”
“Eat a lot, our So-yun.”
“Hehehe. The guest is so pretty.”
“Hahah! Jin So-yun, you’re not pretty, you’re handsome!”
Seok Yeon-u got along well with So-yun.
“Yeon-u.”
“Yes, Older Brother?”
“How long are you planning to follow me around?”
“Ah, Older Brother, I’ll just stay until you find a house.”
“Really?”
“That’s the only way I can plan for the future, right? You said you have nowhere to go right now. I need to know where your new house is so I can find it when I visit next time.”
Seeing Seok Yeon-u trying so hard to build a relationship with me, I couldn’t just push him away.
‘Hmm……’
But Seok Yeon-u’s kindness was burdensome.
It’s because I’m not ready to consider anyone as a friend yet.
In my past life, I had two friends.
One was No. 3, who was in the Assassin’s Guild with me, but I killed him with my own hands.
The other was the Cult Leader, but to be precise, he didn’t even consider me a friend, so I was the only one who thought of him as a friend.
It’s not even unrequited love……
“Yeon-u.”
“Yes?”
“Were you surprised by my fighting skills?”
“Huh?”
“Tell me.”
“Yes…… Honestly, I couldn’t help but be amazed by Older Brother’s unarmed combat skills. If you had used your internal energy, those masked men would have died instantly the moment they were hit.”
“So, what I’m saying is, if you’re thinking of dragging me into the Jianghu’s power struggles or making me a guest warrior of the Seokga Estate, give it up now. I have no intention of getting involved in the Jianghu, and even if I do, I won’t be under anyone.”
“……That’s not it. My goodwill is simply admiration.”
“Then that’s good.”
Seok Yeon-u seemed disappointed by my cold words.
But what can I do?
My nature is cold, so this is my way of making an effort.
“So-yun.”
“Yes, Daddy?”
“Shall we leave now that you’re done eating?”
“Huh? Where are we going?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“To buy a house.”
“Wow!”
What does it mean to buy a house?
Would So-yun understand properly?
Whether she understands or not, So-yun clearly seemed happy.
Of course, what wouldn’t make her happy?
◈ ◈ ◈
So-yun, Seok Yeon-u, and I finished breakfast and visited a nearby real estate agency.
Even after spending money lavishly yesterday, I still had 400 silver taels left, so I thought I could at least get a comfortable house, even if it wasn’t a fancy tiled-roof house.
“How is it? Is it alright?”
“……It seems a bit cramped.”
But that was a misconception.
The real estate agent took us around for about half an hour, but every time we went somewhere, it was either spacious but old, or the exterior was decent but the interior was cramped, or the layout wasn’t to my liking.
“Young man, you said you’re going to live with your daughter, right? Why are you being so picky?”
“I’m planning to raise chickens and a dog in the yard. So it can’t be cramped, and since I have a young child, it can’t have mold or leaks when it rains.”
“If you want to meet all those conditions, 400 silver taels won’t be enough. Do you know how much house prices have gone up in Shaanxi recently? This is still cheap because it’s Chang’an. In places like Dongcheon, you’d have to pay at least one gold ingot to get a decent house.”
At that moment.
“Older Brother, how about I lend you the money, and you choose a house you like first and pay me back later?”
Seok Yeon-u made a sweet offer.
I was momentarily tempted.
Wouldn’t it be a huge advantage if I could just be shameless and buy a good house?
‘……But this is not right.’
However, I resisted the temptation.
I’ve already been indebted to others since I was reborn.
Not only do I owe Master Yi Si-jin my life, but I also stayed at his place for five months and received an elixir.
I couldn’t accept being indebted to anyone any further.
“Old man, let’s just look around a few more places.”
In the end, Seok Yeon-u responded with a disgusting expression, his eyes narrowed and his mouth pouting, but I ignored him and followed the real estate agent again.
After looking at three or four more houses……
Our group arrived at a village called Sodam Village, which had an impressive atmosphere with willow branches swaying over a calmly flowing lake.
“This is the house. As you requested, it’s not old, and it’s a large estate with a separate building, so it’s like a mansion. If you want to meet all those conditions for 400 silver taels, this is the only house in all of Chang’an, so make up your mind now.”
‘……It would be usable if I roughly repaired and cleaned it.’
This house we saw was quite decent.
As the real estate agent said, it had a wide area, the outer walls, main beams, and pillars were in good condition, and above all, there was a beautiful lake in front of the house, which I thought would be good for So-yun’s emotional development.
“So-yun, how do you like this house?”
“Daddy! I really like this house!”
Fortunately, So-yun seemed to like it too.
At that moment, the real estate agent asked So-yun.
“Huh. You’re a cute little lady. How old are you?”
“I’m four years old.”
“Four years old? But you speak so well?”
“Daddy said it’s because So-yun is a genius.”
“Hahaha.”
For a moment, the old real estate agent looked at me with a strange expression and burst out laughing, which made me feel embarrassed for being a doting father.
But since it’s true that So-yun is a genius, I quickly asked in a calm tone.
“But why is this house cheaper than others? It’s this big, has a lake, and…… it looks expensive.”
Then, the real estate agent frowned.
“Hmm…… Well, the truth is, the owner of this house left Sodam Village after selling it for a cheap price.”
“Why?”
“To be honest, I showed you this place because you had such picky conditions, but…… this house isn’t…… that great for living with this cute little daughter.”
What is he talking about now?
“Why is that?”
“Actually…… it’s because the security in Sodam Village isn’t good.”
“Security……”
“That’s right. You wouldn’t know because you’re an outsider, but there are some very violent ruffians living in Sodam Village.”
Was that the only reason?
Ruffians.
That’s nothing.