Chapter 102

“One more drink.”

This time the shapeshifter offered the ewer.

That made the fifth ewer.

From now on even the shapeshifter couldn’t gulp down a whole ewer at once.

Yeon Mujin was the same. He asked the shapeshifter, “Grandma, why do you like alcohol so much?”

“Hmph. It’s natural for an old fool who’s only waiting to die to drown in drink.”

“Most of the elderly I know aren’t like that.”

Clink.

The shapeshifter took another sip and said, “Alcohol is a refuge for those who’ve nothing left to hope for in life. Seems like the elders around you aren’t such people.”

“Do you have nothing left to hope for in life, Grandma?”

Without answering, the shapeshifter emptied the rest of her drink.

“Enough talk—finish your drink.”

Yeon Mujin drained his ewer and let out a long belch.

The shapeshifter looked at Yeon Mujin with a baffled expression. “Didn’t you learn manners in front of elders?”

“I didn’t.”

“Do they teach manners like that at the Bukgung Family?”

“I belong to the Bukgung Family, but originally I’m from a wanderer background.”

“What? A wanderer? Well, your manners do look the part.”

The sixth round.

Yeon Mujin bravely lifted the ewer to his lips. As alcohol dribbled at his mouth he stared at the shapeshifter; she didn’t yield and emptied her ewer too.

“I can’t even taste it in my liver.”

“Hah! All show. Bring one more ewer!”

The seventh round.

Both of their faces flushed red.

The liquor they were drinking was potent; even skilled drinkers would eventually collapse. Yet both carried a constitution said to withstand drinking without falling.

“I was like that too.”

“…?”

“There was a time I too was swallowed by the bottle.”

“What? That story? You said earlier you hadn’t drunk in this life.”

Yeon Mujin had last drunk in front of the shapeshifter’s grave.

In his past life she had been his only drinking companion. He had drunk with her a great deal.

—Drink plenty of the liquor you like.

Yeon Mujin poured liquor over her grave and said that.

—At least try to give up drink in Hell.

He had said that too.

Some memories only surface when one is drunk.

Yeon Mujin wanted to ask.

Grandma, oh Grandma.

Is a world with alcohol Hell, or is a world without alcohol Hell?

“Ask me when I was swallowed by the bottle.”

Yeon Mujin said it in a dirty, pathetic way.

The shapeshifter, looking pitiable, refused.

Instead, Seo Nak-il asked, “When was that?”

The shapeshifter might not have cared, but Seo Nak-il was curious about Yeon Mujin’s past. Yeon Mujin had never revealed his past in front of the External Protection Troops.

“There is only one case where a person cannot live without being drunk.”

“What’s that?”

“When they’ve lost someone.”

“….”

The hand that held the ewer twitched.

Yeon Mujin said, “Losing a parent, losing a lover, losing a comrade… among them, the deepest sorrow is losing a child.”

The shapeshifter stared at Yeon Mujin in silence.

Her look told him to shut up, so Yeon Mujin poured more drink instead and pushed the empty ewer to Seo Nak-il to refill.

That made the eighth round.

The shapeshifter emptied her drink too.

“I lost my dearest drinking companion.”

Was the only thing Yeon Mujin lost really a drinking buddy?

He had lost treasured subordinates, the innkeeper he frequented, the lord he served…

Each time regression repeated, everything Yeon Mujin had connections with was lost—down to every rotten dog in the village.

And when he returned, everyone forgot Yeon Mujin.

Each time he wanted to ask: ‘Is a world where people lose someone Hell, or is a world that forgets me Hell?’

It’s a question without an answer.

Yeon Mujin asked the drinking companion who had forgotten him, “What have you lost?”

The shapeshifter glared at Yeon Mujin without speaking and emptied the eighth ewer in one go. Then she snapped and tossed the ewer at Yeon Mujin.

Clang!

Yeon Mujin didn’t dodge. The ewer struck his head and fell outside the pavilion.

“You’re killing the taste of the drink!”

Ugh—an irritable belch burst from her mouth this time.

“Just drink quietly—why keep saying things that ruin the taste? There’s stuff a kid can ask an elder and stuff he can’t. Kids these days…”

Without warning her upper body slowly pitched forward.

“Unlucky bastard, sounds unlucky, unlucky—”

And she collapsed.

Thud! Then snoring was heard.

“Kerrrrr…”

Seo Nak-il widened his eyes and shook the shapeshifter’s shoulder a few times. Then he looked at Yeon Mujin and shouted, “Captain, you won!”

But Yeon Mujin sat like a stone Buddha, showing no joy.

“Captain, I said you won!”

When Seo Nak-il approached, Yeon Mujin’s mouth opened slightly. He spoke so softly it was hard to hear. Seo Nak-il leaned in.

“Eh? What did you say?”

“You bastard—don’t be pleased. Hurry and bring a chamber pot; if she moves she’ll…”

Startled, Seo Nak-il ran off to fetch a chamber pot.

Yeon Mujin looked down at the shapeshifter’s snoring back and quietly said to himself, “That old woman’s tolerance was really fierce.”

…Thud!

After that, Yeon Mujin lay incapacitated by drinking for two more days.

Yeon Mujin solemnly bowed and reported his return to Bukgung Yoon.

“External Protection Troops’ Captain Yeon Mujin, I have completed Lord’s orders and returned.”

Bukgung Yoon nodded and corrected him, “It wasn’t my order—you went because Captain Yeon wanted to go.”

“I volunteered for Flying Swallow Manor’s sake, so it’s effectively in line with Lord’s will. Though I acted on my own, in spirit I followed Lord’s command.”

“If only you could speak properly.”

“I sent letters regularly so Lord wouldn’t worry.”

“Those roughly scribbled letters?”

“I recorded them as thoroughly as I could.”

“…They were two lines long, though?”

“What more do you expect of me?”

“….”

It was brazen to an unmatched degree—perhaps the greatest of all time.

“I’m glad things were resolved well.”

“Drunken Flower Manor won’t have the leisure to watch Flying Swallow Manor for some time.”

“Good. We’re satisfied that Deputy Captain Seo returned safely.”

“You didn’t worry about me?”

“I didn’t.”

It was a lie.

The External Protection Troops who stood by Bukgung Yoon had seen her open the letters Yeon Mujin had sent several times a day.

Yeon Mujin shrugged and said, “It’s fine. More importantly, there’s one more matter to report to Lord.”

“What is it?”

He reported briefly about the shapeshifter, focusing on her abilities—there was no one in all the Central Plains who could match her skill at changing forms.

“I propose we take her into Flying Swallow Manor as a retainer, like Jang Chun-sik.”

“Do so.”

“Her skill is considerable… yes?”

“That’s what I’m telling you to do.”

Yeon Mujin scratched the back of his head. “Aren’t you going to ask why?”

“Didn’t you think her ability would be useful to us?”

“That’s right.”

“Then fine. Do it.”

Getting approval so easily left him bewildered. Normally Bukgung Yoon would have grilled him from A to Z.

After hearing about the shapeshifter, Bukgung Yoon fell into thought. She tapped the table with her fingers and murmured, “A blade without an edge…”

“What’s that? A blade without an edge?”

“She’s a blade without an edge.”

“What does that mean?”

“I learned it while Yeon Master was away on solo duty. What’s the best weapon a weak manor can wield?”

“And?”

“It’s a blade without an edge.”

Bukgung Yoon calmly elaborated. “The brothers will belittle Flying Swallow Manor. Our manor is weaker than Heavenly Martial Manor, poorer than Mangum Manor, and less influential than Drunken Flower Manor. Lacking any standout strength, no one will keep their eyes on us. The attention on Flying Swallow Manor now is mere curiosity. Inversely, couldn’t that be our blade? In other words, a blade without an edge.”

Listening to Bukgung Yoon, Yeon Mujin felt a shiver run down his neck. A blade without an edge—wasn’t that exactly what he had explained to Seo Nak-il? She’d realized it on her own?

“Flying Swallow Manor can’t grow to fight other manors. That’s nearly impossible. To face giants you don’t become a giant—you go for their ankles. In that sense, I approve of taking the shapeshifter as a retainer.”

Yeon Mujin was genuinely impressed.

The nobles of the other Bukgung branches he had served in his past life didn’t think that way. They always wanted the straightest path and, if obstacles appeared, to fight and defeat them. They never thought to lower themselves or avoid an enemy when needed. They regarded that as the pride of those who inherited the Bukgung name.

But Bukgung Yoon was different.

Her thinking was different.

She knew how to retreat when disadvantaged, to protect herself when weak, and wouldn’t hesitate to endure humiliation if necessary.

It was the attitude Yeon Mujin deemed most fitting for a Family Lord.

“…Lord, do you know something?”

“What is it?”

“If the other nobles resembled you even half as much, the next Family Lord of the Bukgung Family would already be decided.”

Bukgung Yoon stared at Yeon Mujin with drowsy eyes. “What sudden flattery is this? What did you do wrong now?”

“It’s not flattery.”

If even one such person had existed, Yeon Mujin would have made him Family Lord in a past regression.

“Even if you give me such honeyed praise, your monthly stipend will be frozen. You don’t even know what the other brothers are like, Captain Yeon, do you?”

How could he not know? He would know a hundred times more than she did.

“Anyway. There are a few more reports that came in while Captain Yeon was away on solo duty.”

“What are they?”

“Some gifts arrived from Shandong.”

One was contact from the Southern Four Alliance.

“The Southern Four Alliance sent a letter along with public tribute. It’s a considerable sum. It seems the cleanup around Namsa Lake is finally complete.”

“The lackeys finally paid their tribute.”

“It’s public tribute, not bribe.”

“Same difference.”

“We should be able to recoup the funds we invested in the Southern Alliance within half a year.”

“Of course, money is the most important thing.”

Bukgung Yoon nodded. She agreed that money was important.

“Next is a gift from the Zhuge Family.”

“From the Zhuge Family?”

“Yes.”

Bukgung Yoon produced a letter from the Jegal Family written in an elegant hand. The letter was long-winded, but in short it offered a token of thanks for returning Green Field and Sunny Breeze. It also stated they’d be watching Drunken Flower Manor’s stance for the time being.

They weren’t perfect allies, but this was a great stride forward.

“But why only from the Zhuge Family? What about the Hwangbo Family?”

“The Zhuge Family took Green Field and Sunny Breeze.”

“Looks like the crane boiled the tiger.”

“Perhaps Lord Zhuge is more calculating than Lord Hwangbo.”

“So what’s the return gift?”

“This.”

Bukgung Yoon took out a wooden box.

From the moment she opened it, Yeon Mujin knew. If a martial family sent a wooden box, there was only one thing it could contain.

“One Great Heaven Pill and three Small Heaven Pills.”

Yeon Mujin’s eyes lit up at the sight of the spiritual pills.

“Oho…”