Chapter 107

“Could you please be a little quiet?”

As they bickered, the food arrived.

What Yeon Mujin had ordered was a sweet-and-sour stir-fried pork dish.

He’d chosen something with a strong smell on purpose—the stench had nearly numbed his nose.

Just as he lifted his chopsticks to pick up some food,

“May I join you?”

A man in a martial uniform approached their table and asked Yeon Mujin.

“……”

There wasn’t a single other guest in the inn where Yeon Mujin was staying.

Not just here—there were no customers to be found in any inn throughout Hwa-um county.

There were plenty of empty seats, yet he came all the way here to ask to sit with them?

“Of course.”

Yeon Mujin readily agreed.

Shapeshifter was disguised as a young boy; to any stranger they would look unmistakably like a martialist and his attendant sword disciple.

In fact, the moment the man spoke, Shapeshifter fell into the role of a sword attendant.

“Thank you. The smell of that pork has been bothering me for a while.”

“Do you like sweet-and-sour pork?”

“Of course I do. It’s my favorite—pork dishes.”

Yeon Mujin called to the kitchen and ordered extra ginger pork and meatball dishes.

Sensing the man’s gaze, Yeon Mujin said, “I thought it might not be enough for three men.”

“Ha ha ha! Little brother, you have quite a generous appetite!”

They hadn’t even exchanged names, yet they suddenly became like brothers.

The man cheerfully reached out his hand and said, “I am Mok Gyeong-hae.”

“Yeon Mujin.”

Yeon Mujin took Mok Gyeong-hae’s hand.

Mok Gyeong-hae smiled with satisfaction and said, “So you’re the junior disciple Yeon.”

“Why am I the junior disciple?”

“You look younger than me, after all.”

“Maybe you look prematurely aged. Or I’m just youthful.”

“Yeon, you be the younger. This one has too much face to be anyone’s junior.”

Mok Gyeong-hae’s status was that of the head disciple of Mount Hua.

By age he was around second senior disciple level, but as the only disciple favored by Mount Hua’s head, he’d been elevated to first disciple—an unprecedented privilege in Mount Hua’s long history.

“Mok, you be the senior. I also have followers under me.”

Mok Gyeong-hae’s eyebrows twitched at Yeon Mujin’s remark. “Don’t say that—save me some face.”

“Mok, you save some face yourself.”

“How many followers do you have?”

“About ten?”

He counted nine External Protection Troops members plus Bukgung Yoon.

Mok Gyeong-hae laughed as if to say, “See?” and added, “I have dozens. If I went around being called junior, dozens of my retainers would be saddened.”

Mok pushed the point miserly by numbers.

If he insisted on that, Yeon Mujin had a counter.

“Mok, you be the senior. If not, there will be no food.”

| Episode 108. Mount Hua Has Many Faults

Mok Gyeong-hae looked at Yeon Mujin in disbelief. “What do you mean by that?”

“If you’re the elder, you should pay for the meal. Where in the world does the younger pay? If I buy the food, then I’m the elder. Or don’t sponge off others at all.”

“Are you a cheapskate?”

“The real cheapskate is someone who eats for free and still expects to be called elder.”

Mok Gyeong-hae thought as he looked at Yeon Mujin: ‘He’s proud.’ He never yielded a single word gracefully.

Before the extra dishes arrived, the innkeeper’s assistant brought the liquor first.

Mok snatched the bottle as soon as it was set down and drained it in one gulp, then said, “You said the food couldn’t be had, but you never said anything about the liquor, did you?”

This time Yeon Mujin replied in disbelief, “Are you stingy?”

“An eye for an eye, a sword for a sword, stingy for stingy—I just responded in kind.”

“Weren’t you insisting on face earlier?”

“My retainers would be sadder if I couldn’t get a meal anywhere.”

“Your sect must be really short on food.”

“And you—unable to generously buy a single meal—sure live miserly.”

“……”

“……”

Only Shapeshifter, sandwiched between them, watched the two men alternately with pity.

Eventually Mok Gyeong-hae revealed his identity first. “I am Mok Gyeong-hae of Mount Hua.”

“Yeon Mujin of the Bukgung Family.”

“What? The Bukgung Family? That house that’s supposed to be the richest in the world, and he makes such a fuss over one plate of ginger pork?”

“You can insult my clan, but don’t insult me personally. I won’t stand for that.”

Mok Gyeong-hae, about to retort, suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

…Isn’t it usually the other way around?

“If the Bukgung Family bought meals wherever they went, they’d already be rumored to be a family of alms-givers.”

He wasn’t wrong, but invoking that as an excuse for not buying a single meal was galling.

“What brings the Bukgung Family all the way out to Hwa-um county?”

Yeon Mujin stared at him and answered Mok Gyeong-hae’s question. “You came knowing full well.”

Mok flinched inwardly and asked again, “What do you mean?”

“A Mount Hua adept wouldn’t come all the way to Hwa-um county and pick me out from among countless inns and such abundant seats by chance. You chased after me on purpose, didn’t you?”

Mok gave an embarrassed laugh. “For a cheapskate, you’re sharp.”

“You’re stingy yet sloppy. The timid tend to care about others’ eyes more.”

“I’m not stingy.”

“Then pay for the alcohol.”

“…I’ll be stingy just for today.”

Reducing everything to money was unbeatable.

Yeon Mujin asked in an even colder tone, “Mok, what has Mount Hua’s junior associate come to see me about?”

“Ouch, sharp. Calm down. I came to offer apologies on behalf of Mount Hua. It’s embarrassing to be seen driving away a guest who came from afar. As you can see, the atmosphere at Mount Hua right now is… not good…”

“Hmph. You were throwing us out just on the name of the Bukgung Family?”

“Mount Hua holds some resentment toward the Bukgung Family. You, being from a clan, should know.”

“Are you referring to the Ten Thousand Gold faction?”

Mok Gyeong-hae nodded slightly.

“But what is your affiliation?”

“…I’m from the Bukgung Family’s Flying Swallow Manor.”

Yeon Mujin tilted his head and answered in a low voice.

Mok studied Yeon Mujin carefully and asked, “I’ve never heard the name Flying Swallow Manor before.”

“That makes sense. The head of Flying Swallow Manor is the family’s youngest daughter. Compared to other manors, it’s not particularly famous.”

His tone subtly belittled Flying Swallow Manor.

At that moment Mok had a hunch. ‘This one must be acting on the Ten Thousand Gold Manor’s orders!’ It seemed he had made some deal with Ten Thousand Gold out of dissatisfaction with his position.

Mok Gyeong-hae looked at Yeon Mujin with a predatory smile.

Yeon Mujin wasn’t looking at him, so Mok couldn’t read his expression.

He didn’t notice that the sword attendant sitting with them was watching him closely.

“Why is the food taking so long here?” Mok asked Yeon Mujin, who was shifting the conversation out of embarrassment. “What brings Flying Swallow Manor to seek out Mount Hua?”

Yeon Mujin looked at Mok, snorted, and kept silent.

“Nothing. It’s not something to discuss with you.”

“Despite appearances, I’m treated with some respect in Mount Hua. And right now you aren’t even allowed a foot within Mount Hua, are you?”

Yeon Mujin pondered Mok’s words.

Mok didn’t press further and quietly waited for his reaction.

“My, you’re uncharacteristically curious for an adept.”

“Speak freely. Unlike those rigid elders, I’m a fairly open-minded person.”

“Then I’ll be brief. Flying Swallow Manor wishes to join hands with Mount Hua.”

“Flying Swallow Manor? With Mount Hua?”

“Yes. Didn’t Mount Hua become isolated when it fell out with the Bukgung Family? Mount Hua’s situation is similar to Flying Swallow Manor’s—both have nowhere to turn. There’s an old saying: ‘distant alliances, close strikes.’ The enemy of my enemy is my friend—so the downtrodden should join hands.”

Someone who came to win over Mount Hua while openly insulting the sect in front of a Mount Hua adept was not a decent person. But to Mok, the man seemed impatient to achieve results quickly.

Mok nodded. A beginner reveals his hand too easily—an amateur, perfect to take advantage of.

“I understand your young disciple’s intent. I’ll float the idea to the sect leader.”

Mok felt a bit vindicated seeing Yeon Mujin look at him as if he were a benefactor.

“Hey! Cook, what are you doing? Serve Brother Mok his food quickly!”

After Mok left, Shapeshifter finally drank heartily.

“Ah, that’s good.”

“The drunk had a hard time holding back the liquor.”

Yeon Mujin said to Shapeshifter, “What was that fellow just now?”

“Didn’t you hear his introduction? He said he’s an adept of Mount Hua.”

“What a sign of the times. Everyone and their dog calls themselves an adept…”

It seemed Shapeshifter could see Mok Gyeong-hae’s true nature. Because of her trade, Shapeshifter had a keen eye for people.

“Did you see that glint of killing intent in his eyes? I’ve never seen an adept with such a heavy aura of malice in my life.”

“A monster wearing an adept’s skin.”

Yeon Mujin chewed the now-cold ginger pork and thought, He likes pork dishes? Good grief—he must be pretty desperate.

He knew that Mok Gyeong-hae hated the smell of pork more than anything. If he was forcing himself to swallow the pork he loathed, the man must be pushed to his limits.

‘It seems he noticed that the Ten Thousand Gold Manor brokered some other deal.’

Mok Gyeong-hae was greedy. He wasn’t the sort of benefactor who would patiently endure being replaced. Having invested so long in Mount Hua only to see it handed to someone else clearly made him anxious.

So this became a test of endurance between Mok Gyeong-hae and Yeon Mujin.

But Mok didn’t know this—Yeon Mujin did.

“Anyway, there’s something fishy. A bad scent. I don’t want to run into that guy again.”

“That won’t do.”

“What?”

“That fellow will bring us to Mount Hua.”

Shapeshifter stared at Yeon Mujin for a long moment. “Have you known him before? He looked like he was meeting you for the first time…”

“I met him for the first time.”

“Then what do you trust about him?”

“My eye for judging people is usually accurate.”

“…You.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t mistake my staying by your side for affection. If you’re going to drag me into danger, I’ll bolt without looking back. I can take care of myself.”

Yeon Mujin nodded. “Then before you run, I have one more favor to ask.”

“A second favor?”

Yeon Mujin took the bottle from her hand and said, “From now on, no more drinking. Old woman, give up alcohol as well.”

The Morning Sun Peak of Mount Hua.

Also called the East Peak, this place was where Mount Hua greeted the sun first.

From Morning Sun Peak one could see Mount Hua’s scenery and the overviews of the sect; thus, the sect leader’s chamber had long been located there.

Mount Hua’s current sect leader was Hong Yujin-in.

He was nearing sixty—an age at which, in other sects, one might step down and take the position of grand elder.

But Hong Yujin-in had not done so.

Because Mount Hua was falling apart.

“Sect Leader, the Hyun Geom has sent word.”

“Have him come up.”