His Identity Is Discovered (3)

“So-yeon!”

“Ah, come in, senior brother!”

Jo Ja-myeong had been brought to So-yeon’s tent and laid down.

Neung Je-gang entered the tent. When Princess Jang-ok was seen following behind him, Je So-yeon’s smiling face stiffened, and she sprang to her feet.

“Your Highness!”

“Don’t feel uncomfortable. I only came because I heard the Deputy Commissioner’s disciple was here. Continue the treatment. And if you need anything, tell me. There are quite a lot of medicinal ingredients in the military camp, so you may take and use them.”

“Thank you. But I think the medicinal ingredients in the Martial Alliance alone will be enough.”

“Is that so? Still, I did not know Lady Je had such deep knowledge of medicine. When did you learn all of that? It must have been hard enough just to learn martial arts.”

The princess looked at Je So-yeon with admiration. The princess herself knew how much hardship she had endured to learn martial arts. But Je So-yeon had learned not only martial arts, but medicine as well, so she could imagine how hard it must have been. Properly learning even one thing was not easy.

But before Je So-yeon’s answer, Neung Je-gang’s surprised voice was heard first.

“Martial arts? Wait, now that I think about it, I really can feel inner energy from you, So-yeon. What happened? Were you not only receiving treatment?”

Neung Je-gang was dull. Even after seeing Je So-yeon use lightness skill to run over when she came to greet him, he had not had the time to think that she had learned martial arts.

“I used the Ice Essence Crystal you brought to receive treatment and repair my dantian. And then I trained in martial arts anew, so I became like this.”

“Ah, I’m glad. That you became so healthy.”

“I’m the grateful one. I heard everything about what hardship you went through to obtain the Ice Essence Crystal, senior brother.”

Princess Jang-ok’s eyes, as she listened to the two of them converse, gleamed sharply. She had thought of Je So-yeon merely as Neung Je-gang’s junior martial sister, but looking at the atmosphere, it did not seem to be that. Had the atmosphere not somehow changed into that of lovers?

“So, what is his condition?”

The princess turned the two people’s gazes toward the child on the bed. There was the child and Jo Su-won, whose face had turned pale. Jo Su-won had been pale ever since the moment Je So-yeon called Princess Jang-ok “Your Highness.”

“Ah! Let’s talk about that later.”

“Yes.”

“So, what is Ja-myeong’s condition?”

“There is nothing to worry about greatly right now. Aside from his vital energy being a little damaged because he has not eaten properly all this time, I have already finished treating the other minor symptoms. But strangely, his blood flow…….”

“I know his blood flow was not blocked. That is why he did not die. In any case, it is fortunate that you are here.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Je So-yeon’s face brightened.

The princess thought the mood would flow that way again, so she deliberately nudged Neung Je-gang’s side. Neung Je-gang was startled and looked back at her.

“Who is this person?”

The person she pointed to was Jo Su-won. Jo Su-won had been watching from right beside the child while he was being treated.

“He is my disciple’s father. This is Princess Jang-ok.”

“Y-Your Highness!”

Jo Su-won trembled and performed a full prostration. This was originally the normal way to treat a member of the imperial family. It was only that those things called martial artists did not know well and therefore did not perform such courtesy.

“Please rise. If you are the father of the Deputy Commissioner’s disciple, you cannot be called unrelated to me either.”

The princess’s words carried her true feelings.

This time, Je So-yeon’s complexion darkened. Since the other party was a princess, she could not say anything, and it would be something she would later snap at Neung Je-gang about for quite some time.

“Ahem!”

Only Neung Je-gang, who was needlessly awkward, cleared his throat, and in order to avoid that atmosphere, he approached Jo Ja-myeong and checked his pulse.

The pulse was beating strongly. Je So-yeon’s medical skill definitely had aspects superior to Neung Je-gang’s. From Neung Je-gang’s view, not even a few double-hours had passed since he entrusted the child to her, yet he had become this healthy.

“This is really good. It seems he has completely recovered.”

At Neung Je-gang’s words, Jo Su-won’s complexion brightened even more. It was a complexion that had not brightened no matter how much Je So-yeon told him the child was fine, but at Neung Je-gang’s words, it brightened on its own.

“Ah, right. I heard the Investigation Unit Chief is holding a banquet tonight to celebrate the Deputy Commissioner’s return. Lady Je, do not forget to attend as well. Ah, it would be good if that person attended too. It would be a good chance for him to learn what kind of person his child’s future master is.”

The princess stepped forward on her own and tried to act as hostess of the banquet, as if she were something to Neung Je-gang. To Je So-yeon, it was no different from foxlike behavior, but because her status was what it was, she could not say anything and could only burn inside.

Darkness came. A considerable number of the Martial Alliance warriors gathered near the Investigation Unit Chief’s tent. They also knew from rumors. A banquet welcoming Secret Shadow was being held.

At such banquets, food was plentiful. In particular, alcohol could not be missing. Since they were in the middle of a war, everything else was provided, but alcohol was not. Would it not be a big problem if they got drunk and staggered about, only for the enemy to attack? But today was a perfect opportunity to soothe those stomachs thirsty for alcohol.

Raucous noise.

The clamor of people talking was loud. A large bonfire had been lit in the clearing in front of the tent, and large jars of alcohol were placed around it. Beside one side of the fire, two whole pigs with their hair removed were turning round and round with iron skewers thrust through their bodies. The smell of the dark-red seasoning spread over the pigs’ bodies made the hungry stomachs of the Martial Alliance warriors even hungrier.

Most of those participating in the banquet were members of the Investigation Unit. Even though it was a banquet, it was impossible to feed all the Martial Alliance warriors like this. And were arms not meant to bend inward? Go Won-gi had no choice but to take care of his own direct subordinates.

Of course, he had already conveyed invitations to the other elders and sect leaders. Except for those who did not particularly want to become close to a being called Secret Shadow, they would all gather.

And finally, the banquet began. Princess Jang-ok had never imagined that a banquet would be something like this. The banquet she knew was an event with a large, well-prepared table, dancing courtesans, and beautiful music. But the banquet now was quite different from that.

There were no dancing courtesans, no beautiful music at all, and no splendid banquet table neatly laid out. What was here was simply two pigs and alcohol.

“Um…… Is this a banquet?”

She asked Neung Je-gang, who sat beside her and leisurely drank. Neung Je-gang had accepted one cup of alcohol and was merely wetting his lips with it, as if he intended to spend the entire night with that single cup.

“Why do you ask? Does it not seem like a banquet?”

“No. It just seems somehow different from the banquets I knew.”

“Ah, is that so? It is certainly different from banquets in the imperial palace. But this place is a brutal battlefield. Even preparing a gathering like this is a major thing.”

“Then are you saying other banquets are certainly not like this?”

“If it were somewhere other than a battlefield, it probably would not be greatly different from banquets in the imperial palace. And in truth, even if one calls it a banquet, is drinking alcohol not practically all of it anyway? To those people, there is not much difference whether they drink this way or that.”

The people Neung Je-gang pointed at were low-ranking warriors of the Investigation Unit, laughing, talking, and drinking happily. They deliberately drank even more heartily while feeling the envious gazes of the other warriors. The banquet had only just begun, yet some people already seemed excessively drunk.

“Hoho! Some are already drunk?”

“There are not many chances to drink alcohol here. So when such a chance comes, people drink even what they would not be able to drink later.”

“That somehow seems like an ignorant method.”

“The lives of wandering warriors are poor. There are even cases where they eat when there is food and starve when there is none as easily as eating a meal. So when there is an opportunity like this, they eat to their hearts’ content.”

“Hmph!”

Je So-yeon, who had been watching the two of them converse affectionately, snorted. It was a sound too small for others to hear, but Ma-jil and Cheong Yeon, who were sitting beside her, could hear it. And Neung Je-gang, who was some distance away, also heard it. Indeed, having high inner energy was useful.

“Did a side dish get stuck in your nose or something?”

Ma-jil was also in the middle of drinking to his heart’s content for the first time in a while. Greedy as he was, he had taken two jars filled with alcohol as chairs and sat on them while drinking. It was simply an exciting and pleasant night.

The chief had returned alive, and they had said his crime of escaping the Forbidden Demon Prison would be treated as nonexistent, so now he could go anywhere. Moreover, the alcohol he had not been able to freely drink when he was with the chief was now plentiful around him.

“What did you say?”

Je So-yeon’s tone became sharp.

“Huh? Hehe! So it’s because of that, huh?”

Ma-jil turned his head toward Je So-yeon and noticed the scene of Neung Je-gang and the princess talking.

“What?”

“Hehe! I don’t think jealousy is very good…….”

“It’s not jealousy.”

Je So-yeon glared at the innocent Ma-jil for no reason. Ma-jil inwardly flinched. Whatever might happen to the princess later, Je So-yeon was the daughter-in-law candidate recognized by Neung Je-gang’s master. If he made himself look bad to Je So-yeon for no reason, life at Antang Mountain in the future could become quite difficult.

“If you’re that jealous, why are you sitting here?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking what you’re afraid of that made you come sit here, when you could just take one seat beside the chief.”

“Wh-who is afraid?”

“Hehe! I know that heart of women well. Back when I was doing well, there were more than one or two women who fought over me.”

“What? Really?”

Je So-yeon showed interest in Ma-jil’s story. She was still young, and it was an age full of curiosity.

“Of course! Those women were amazing back then. They went and attacked each other’s places, smashing things and all that. It was utter chaos.”

“Wow! And then? What happened?”

“In the end, I had no choice but to choose one side. If I had not, it seemed like someone would die. In the end, I chose one side and stopped the fight.”

“Then it turned out well?”

“But that wasn’t the case. That was when I learned women are scary.”

“Why? What happened?”

“The woman I didn’t choose reported the place where I was hiding to the authorities.”

“Reported you to the authorities?”

“Ah, hehehe! I was wanted at the time, you see. Anyway, that was why I was chased and fled to Beijing. Beijing was complicated, so it was good for hiding. But there I met the chief and this man and got caught. In any case, what I’m saying is that a woman’s jealousy can ruin a man, so it is better to think carefully.”

“I said I’m not jealous!”

“Fine, fine! I’ll acknowledge that it’s not jealousy. But will Her Highness think the same? Have you thought about what might happen if you try to stop Her Highness and the chief from getting along, and Her Highness becomes jealous?”

“……!”

Je So-yeon could not say anything. She was still too young to have had the leeway to think that far.

“Kkik!”

Ma-jil swept his thumb across his own throat and said,

“Everyone dies. The chief dies, the chief’s master dies, and the family at Antang Mountain too……. Well, Cheong Yeon and I probably wouldn’t be safe either.”

Je So-yeon’s face turned white. Ma-jil looked at her face and glanced at Neung Je-gang.

Neung Je-gang was glaring sharply at Ma-jil. He had heard everything Ma-jil had said.

Ma-jil stuck his tongue out and quickly turned his head away, drinking alcohol.

“So what I mean is, acknowledge what should be acknowledged and get along with each other. Then everything will be peaceful.”

“But…….”

“You probably can’t expect Her Highness to approach first. There is a difference in status. So wouldn’t it be good for our Lady So-yeon to approach first? If you visit often, become close, and call each other elder sister and younger sister, maybe you won’t end up fighting over the chief.”

“Me first?”

Ma-jil drank another cup of alcohol. Then, perhaps finding drinking by cup unsatisfying, he pulled over a half-drunk jar of alcohol and lifted it with both hands.

“I don’t know anything beyond that. If you want to hear something else, ask that man.”

Ma-jil pointed at Cheong Yeon and brought the entire jar to his mouth, gulping it down. The alcohol endlessly flowed down his throat. The alcohol that could not go down in time flowed down his chest.

“Kaaah!”

Only after the jar revealed its bottom did Ma-jil let out a strange cry and pull his mouth away. At that instant, the scent of alcohol wafted thickly from his breath. Je So-yeon, who was beside him, had put aside her worries, wherever they had gone, and was watching that sight with terrified eyes.

Princess Jang-ok, a little distance away, was also watching Ma-jil drink from the jar with appalled eyes.

“Tsk, tsk. What an ignorant fellow!”

Cheong Yeon, who was on Je So-yeon’s other side, clicked his tongue. Like Neung Je-gang, he had one cup of alcohol placed in front of him and was eating only side dishes as if he were conducting a ritual before it.

Hearing the sound of him clicking his tongue, Je So-yeon turned her head toward him.

“You heard everything, right? Could it really turn out that way?”

“It is a fully possible story. If neither side can give up, then serving him together is not bad either.”

Cheong Yeon also thought it would not be bad for Neung Je-gang to keep both women. After all, Je So-yeon was already Neung Je-gang’s woman. Since Nam Yeong had decided so, it was not something Neung Je-gang could simply deny.

The problem was that the other woman was a princess, but if Je So-yeon could understand and endure, it was a problem that could be resolved without much noise. Of course, it was unfortunate for Je So-yeon. She would have to yield the position of lawful wife to the princess.

But the problem did not end there. Cheong Yeon also knew well the stories of Princess Jang-ok, who monopolized the emperor’s favor. Stories about people connected to her who had disappeared without a mouse or bird knowing.

If Neung Je-gang wanted to take in the princess, he had to receive the emperor’s recognition. And that was something he had to risk his life for.

“But the real problem is the chief’s feelings…….”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, no matter how much the people around him say this and that, it is useless. If the chief says he dislikes it, that is the end. You are like that, and Her Highness is like that too. It seems neither of you are in the chief’s heart yet.”

Cheong Yeon certainly understood Neung Je-gang’s heart best. Once all the grudges and debts of jianghu were resolved, Neung Je-gang was highly likely to live in seclusion somewhere no one knew. When that time came, whom he would take with him was something neither heaven nor earth knew.

“…….”

Had he spoken too clearly? Je So-yeon was shocked after hearing Cheong Yeon’s words. How could she not be shocked after hearing that she was not in Neung Je-gang’s heart?

Only now did Je So-yeon realize that rather than thinking about who would claim Neung Je-gang, she needed to think about how to enter Neung Je-gang’s heart.

“Then how sho…….”

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.

Just as Je So-yeon was about to ask Cheong Yeon how she could enter Neung Je-gang’s heart, the sharp sound of an alarm bell rang out, cutting through the darkness.