Chapter 100

Yeon Mujin and Seo Nak-il left Suzhou for Taiyuan.

They’d rushed to Suzhou on horseback, but on the return they walked, leaving the horses behind.

It was Yeon Mujin’s decision.

“We were away from the manor a long time; shouldn’t we hurry back?”

“There is still one thing left to do.”

“Something to do?”

With the Brahmacharya Clan matter finished, Seo Nak-il couldn’t imagine what else remained.

Yeon Mujin walked at an easy pace, as if sightseeing through the murim.

Not far from Suzhou, they were about to pass Sangju in Jiangsu Province.

“Let’s just eat over there today.”

Yeon Mujin pointed at another inn—a luxurious three-story place ordinary townsfolk could only dream of.

“You still have a lot of money left, don’t you?”

“Ye-yes, that’s true, but…”

Between the old coins Bukgung Yoon had given and the silver taken from the Brahmacharya Clan before they left, they had enough travel money.

“Good. Let’s grease the belly after a long time.”

“It’s been less than an hour since breakfast.”

“When one does something big, appetite fades early. No more words—follow me.”

The inn bustled like a marketplace, packed from the first floor upward.

Since it was sizable, there seemed to be five or six servers on the first floor.

“Welcome! Where would you like to sit?”

“Is there room upstairs?” Yeon Mujin asked, pointing upward.

The young server sized them up and answered cautiously. “Sir, if you go upstairs in our inn, the dishes you can order change, you see?”

Instead of answering, Yeon Mujin flicked a silver coin at him.

Delighted, the server cried out. “Take them to the second floor!”

“Third floor.” “They’re going up to the third floor!”

The innkeeper rushed out, scolded the server in private, and snatched the coin. His expression changed completely as he led them upstairs.

“You came at just the right time! Our inn is famous in the area for the best cooking! If you need women, shall I call some?”

“We don’t need women; just answer one question, innkeeper.”

“Yes?”

“How many servers do you have here?”

“Seven, sir?”

Yeon Mujin took out six silver coins and handed them to the innkeeper. “Give one to each person. If I ask and anyone didn’t receive one… you know what will happen?”

He pointed at the large spear slung across Seo Nak-il’s back.

“Oh my! Of course there will be!”

“I don’t want to see your face, so have the servers bring the food.”

“Understood!”

Watching this, Seo Nak-il felt puzzled. Yeon Mujin often acted like a madman, but he wasn’t one for pointless extravagance.

“Bring pork meatballs, braised pork, duck blood soup, and Yangha wine.”

Even the dishes he ordered were high-end—famous, expensive fare only Jiangsu folk truly knew.

“Captain, is something the matter?”

“No.”

“Then why this sudden extravagance…”

Yeon Mujin suddenly snapped and shouted, “Nak-il, you bastard!”

“Ye-yes…? Yes? Yes!”

“As a retainer of the Bukgung Family, why are you so narrow-minded? If we eat some expensive dishes, will the Bukgung Family be ruined?”

“No, well, Captain, could you lower your voice a bit!”

Fortunately, there were no other guests on the third floor. That didn’t stop Yeon Mujin’s tirade.

“You bastard! You despicable wretch! How dare you tell the Captain of the Bukgung Family to eat cheap noodles and dumplings like a pauper! You crazy fool! You rotten scoundrel! A man lacking even martial skill!”

“No, I understand. Please calm down…”

“A man abandoned even at home! The one who lost the gambling duel with Gwan-wol! A man whose monthly stipend is a pittance!”

“Please stop, Captain, your words hurt.”

“Don’t ever say that in front of me again!”

“Yes, yes, I understand…”

For some reason, Seo Nak-il felt emotionally wounded. What had he done so wrong?

After a short wait, the ordered dishes began to arrive one by one.

Each server bowed and thanked Yeon Mujin before leaving—apparently the innkeeper had indeed handed out the money.

Each time a server arrived, Yeon Mujin ordered another dish. When a dish came, he added one more; then another, and another…

“Captain, we can’t eat all of this.”

“Nak-il, you fool…!”

“No! No! That’s not it! Even if my stomach bursts, I will eat it all!”

Yet Yeon Mujin barely touched the food and sat staring out the window. He even opened the expensive wine but did not drink. Because Yeon Mujin did not drink, Seo Nak-il found himself unable to lift his cup either.

Just as he forced food down his throat, a server approached with the carp dish.

“Here’s the carp dish, Great Hero.”

The server looked like any youth found at an inn across the Central Plains. But upon seeing him, Yeon Mujin showed his first reaction.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Great Hero.”

“Aren’t you going to thank me?”

Seo Nak-il watched, wondering what fit of madness this was. If he’d given money, that should be enough—why insist on a thank-you?

The server, flustered, forced a bow. “Th-thank you…”

“For what?”

“Yes?”

“What are you thanking me for?”

Not understanding, the server rolled his eyes and looked between them. “You don’t know what you’re thanking for?”

“For ordering a lot of food for us…”

At that moment Yeon Mujin suddenly grabbed the server’s wrist.

“Found you again?”

Seo Nak-il couldn’t understand what was happening. What had he found?

Then the server’s voice changed—the shrill tone of an old woman issuing from a young face.

“How did you know?”

Yeon Mujin laughed and let go of the wrist. “Hahaha.”

The server’s face twisted grotesquely. “How did you know!”

“How could I not know, you old hag. You’re using such a cheap disguise—it’s strange you weren’t noticed.”

“What?”

“The number of servers in this inn is seven. I remembered the faces of the seven servers—from the one we met on the first floor to those who brought the food. When I came in, I gave each server one silver coin. They all bowed and thanked me.”

Yeon Mujin pointed at the server. “You were the only exception. You were a face I didn’t recognize, and you were the only one who didn’t thank me.”

Seo Nak-il’s whole body broke out in goosebumps. So stopping by the inn, checking the number of servers, and continually ordering food had all been to draw that person out?

Who on earth was “that person”?

“Disguise isn’t just about changing face and mannerisms; you must perfectly play the part. Your defeat was that you were so focused on hiding your old face you failed to watch your surroundings.”

The server trembled, then stomped angrily. He grabbed the expensive Yangha wine from the table, gulped it down, and spun around.

“Where are you going? Didn’t you come because you had something to say? Sit and let’s talk.”

“I won’t talk with unlucky fools like you!”

“Who was that person from earlier?”

Seo Nak-il asked as they left the inn. He had no idea what had just happened. The server turned out to be someone skilled in disguise? And Yeon Mujin had noticed? Moreover, they spoke as if they already knew each other.

Yeon Mujin answered casually. “The one who made the Brahmacharya Clan look like that.”

“Yes?”

“He’s the one who took money from the garden lords to spread rumors about the Brahmacharya Clan. He makes a living from disguise, enjoys living other people’s lives and changing identities.”

“That person from earlier?”

“Yes. Despite appearances, that old crone is over sixty years old.”

Seo Nak-il glanced back at the inn. “Does she have a name?”

“She probably has a name. But I don’t know it. She might have forgotten it herself—she’s likely spent so long living others’ lives she lost her own name.”

“Then what do you call her?”

“In Suzhou, they call her Reverse Demon.”

“Reverse Demon…”

If the young server was really a woman over sixty in disguise, her skill was uncanny. But Seo Nak-il still had questions.

“Why on earth is someone like that following us?”

“Her pride was wounded.”

“What?”

“Just as a warrior’s sword is his pride, for a Master of Disguise maintaining one’s hidden identity is theirs. She probably rarely experiences having her identity exposed. I saw through her twice—once in Suzhou, and just now. Her pride must be quite hurt.”

“She’s following us because her pride was hurt?”

“Yes. She intends to display her celebrated disguise skills to fool me once more. Then she’ll laugh to herself: ‘See? You didn’t notice, did you? Isn’t my disguise perfect?’”

“If she succeeds in deceiving us, won’t we be unaware we’ve been deceived?”

“Yes, probably.”

“Then what’s the point? Isn’t it meaningful only if we know we’ve been deceived?”

“Nak-il, don’t try to comprehend the entire mental world of a madman.”

That remark was strange, but substituting Yeon Mujin for “madman” made it clearer. Seo Nak-il had long given up trying to understand some of his captain’s actions.

“Then why are you poking at the Reverse Demon’s pride?”

“I intend to recruit her.”

“…By pricking her pride?”

“Yes. Flying Swallow Manor needs her.”

“What?”

Again, another inscrutable statement.

“Nak-il. How do you think our Manor Lord could become the Family Lord?”

This time it was an easier question.

“Well, by expanding Flying Swallow Manor’s power and steadily building strength…”

“In what lifetime?”

Yeon Mujin cut him off.

“Steadily over what time? Flying Swallow Manor is already years behind other manors. It’s not just a few years—the whole game is already settled. There’s a limit even to preying on self-destructed forces like Solitary Cloud Manor. Other lords aren’t fools like the Sixth Young Master. Are you stupid enough to add a new stone to someone else’s already-played Go board?”

“Uh…”

“There’s no answer in a frontal fight. This war isn’t one you win by gradually cultivating internal power like training martial arts. Flying Swallow Manor growing its strength and winning? It would take decades. So what’s the method?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Change the direction of the fight.”

There was clarity in Yeon Mujin’s words. Seo Nak-il listened intently.

“Make everyone ignore and underestimate Flying Swallow Manor. While the great whales clash, we won’t be checked by anyone. If we clumsily bulge our size, we’ll only attract the whales’ attention. Shrimp have shrimp’s ways. What must we do?”

“What should we do?”

“We must gather the nameless. Not to build great martial heroes, massive forces, or great wealth, but to be so insignificant that we’re weaker than the Second Young Master, poorer than the Fourth Young Master, and smaller than the Great Young Master—so trivial that no one pays attention. No one guards against the blade of the insignificant.”

The more Seo Nak-il listened, the more astonished he became. How far did Yeon Mujin’s vision reach?

“The men in Flying Swallow Manor now are all chaff. The Manor Lord is chaff, the External Protection Troops are chaff, and even I, who serve as Captain, am chaff born a wanderer. Everyone believes they could trample and kill us, but no one carries it out. If someone rolls up their sleeves to crush Flying Swallow Manor, it would give other manors a pretext for ambush. The trivial strength of Flying Swallow Manor becomes decisive at the moment the scales balance. We must wait for that moment.”

Seo Nak-il nodded.

“To do that, there is nothing grand—gather the fools others look down on. Who would bother with an old woman who gets by on nothing but disguise?”