Outer Guest Forest

Tang Yeo-eun forcibly suppressed her instinct to draw her sword and quietly examined him.

He was a man with a peculiar appearance.

He was clearly an old man, yet his taut red skin, small stature, and mischievous smile made him look almost like a child.

Tang Yeo-eun respectfully cupped her fist again and asked him,

“Please forgive this inexperienced young woman for failing to recognize your esteemed name, Senior. Unless it would be discourteous, may I ask for your honored name, Great Senior?”

The childlike old man with the red face answered with a playful grin.

“What esteemed name?! Just call me Orabeoni!”

“…Pardon?!”

When Tang Yeo-eun stared at him in bewilderment at his demand, the old man spoke again.

“I told you to call me Orabeoni! Then I’ll take you to Brother Yang!”

Tang Yeo-eun was momentarily at a loss as to how she should respond.

She could not even tell whether he was serious or joking.

No, even if he was serious, how could she possibly call such an old man Orabeoni?

It was something she simply could not bring herself to do.

In the end, Tang Yeo-eun could not comply with his demand and cupped her fist again.

“How could an inexperienced junior as young and inadequate as I dare say something so disrespectful to a great senior? Please withdraw your request.”

The playfulness vanished from the old man’s face.

Then, wearing an extremely sulky expression, he began threatening Tang Yeo-eun.

“I said I don’t mind, so how is it disrespectful?! Say it at once! Unless you call me Orabeoni, I’ll never guide you to Brother Yang! No, I’ll deliberately stop you from ever finding him!”

Tang Yeo-eun’s head began to ache from the awkward situation.

He was not a child, so how could an old man throw such an immature tantrum?

Yet she could not grant his demand either.

Tang Yeo-eun had absolutely no confidence that she could call an old man like him Orabeoni.

The old man shouted with an utterly sulky expression.

“So you really refuse?! Fine! Don’t do it! Let’s see whether you can find Brother Yang!”

He sprang upward at tremendous speed and vanished into the forest once more.

Pabak!

Tang Yeo-eun stared blankly at the place where he had disappeared.

The speed had been so astonishing that she felt he might even be comparable to Seonu Jin, the greatest master of movement arts she knew.

In any case, once he disappeared from her sight, Tang Yeo-eun was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Phewww.”

For someone as timid as her, dealing with such an eccentric was far too burdensome.

However, just as she absentmindedly took a step while thinking that—

She suddenly remembered when she and Seonu Jin had become the Azure-and-Crimson Twin Swords and pretended to be eccentrics together.

Those memories of acting however they pleased and startling people….

Her steps abruptly stopped.

‘Back then… I felt so free and excited.’

She also recalled what Seonu Jin had said.

‘Why does Lady Tang limit herself to the image of a wounded little girl?’

His words had been correct this time as well.

There were sides of herself that even she had never known existed.

And those were undeniably parts of who she was as well.

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

‘Perhaps I am still confining myself within the child I was back then. Is that why I keep deciding that there are things I could never possibly do?’

She thought about the old man from earlier.

He had seemed extremely willful and immature, but although he had sulked, he had not harmed her.

At the very least, that meant he was not an evil man.

‘Then is there truly any reason I cannot call him Orabeoni? Simply because it feels unfamiliar and embarrassing? Am I really going to give up the chance to meet Elder Yang quickly, when every moment counts, for nothing more than that?’

No matter how she considered it, that did not seem right.

Had it been Seonu Jin, he would never have hesitated.

Had he judged that there was little to lose even if he failed, he would never have faltered for the same reason she had.

Tang Yeo-eun bit her lip hard.

Only half a shichen ago, she had resolved to stand proudly before him.

It upset her greatly that she had only arrived at this realization after the old man disappeared.

However, Tang Yeo-eun believed it was not yet too late.

Her senses were telling her something.

He was still nearby.

Tang Yeo-eun swallowed dryly, summoned her courage, and called into the forest.

“O-Orabeo… ni?”

Although the voice had come from her own lips, it was as faint as an ant’s.

She clenched her teeth and raised her voice a little more.

“Orabeoni!”

It was then.

As though appearing like a ghost from nowhere, he dropped from the air once again.

Tadak!

The old man landed on the ground with a mischievous grin covering his face.

He asked Tang Yeo-eun in a suggestive tone,

“What did you just say?”

Tang Yeo-eun briefly looked startled by his elusive appearance, but then she smiled sweetly and called him again in a slightly coquettish voice.

“Orabeoni?”

He burst into wild laughter and sprang into the air with a bang.

“Kihahahahaha! Oh, how wonderful! How wonderful! To hear such a pretty child call me Orabeoni! I can’t even remember the last time I felt this delighted! Kyahahahaha!”

Shouting all the while, he flew circles around the forest.

Tang Yeo-eun’s head whipped frantically from side to side as she followed his figure.

After flying around in every direction for a while, he swooped down beside Tang Yeo-eun like a diving hawk.

Tadak!

Then he asked,

“So, whom does my little sister wish to meet?”

Seeing how delighted he looked, as though he had received a tremendous gift, Tang Yeo-eun let out a soft laugh and answered,

“I wish to meet Elder Yang Munheon.”

“Brother Yang, you mean?! Understood!”

The instant he answered, he snatched Tang Yeo-eun by the wrist and soared above the forest.

The sudden acceleration was so abrupt that she could not even sense the moment he began speeding up.

Terrified by the overwhelming sensation of speed, Tang Yeo-eun involuntarily screamed.

“Kyaaaak!”

However, the old man paid no attention to her reaction and merely shouted in excitement.

“Let’s go! To Brother Yang!”

He truly was an old man more energetic than any child.

A short while later, Tang Yeo-eun was set down beneath a massive tree in the middle of the forest.

Her head spun after the frantic rush, and she could not even remember how they had gotten there.

The small, red-faced old man put her down and shouted excitedly toward the large tree.

“Brother Yang! Brother Yang! You have a guest! She’s my little sister! Kyahahahaha!”

At those words, Tang Yeo-eun immediately regained her senses and looked toward the tree.

A moment later, two elderly men slowly walked out from behind it.

“Jeung-ga, what nonsense are you planning to spout to me today? Since when did a bastard like you have a little sister…?!”

The blue-robed old man following behind the other spoke with an irritated expression, but when he saw Tang Yeo-eun’s face, he abruptly stopped in surprise.

“Hmm?”

However, Tang Yeo-eun was not looking at him.

Her gaze was fixed upon the white-haired old man in white robes walking in front.

He was the very person she had been searching for.

Several years ago, he had left the Outer Guest Forest and guided Tang Yeo-eun into the Pinnacle Realm with nothing more than a few casual words of advice delivered in passing. He was also known to the world as one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World—the White-Crane Ancient Sword, Yang Munheon.

The blue-robed old man shouted again with an annoyed expression.

“You bastard, Jeung-ga! How could such a young lady possibly be your little sister?”

“Kehehehehe! Byeok-ga, I’ll show you proof. Little sister, hurry and call me again. Call me Orabeoni, quickly!”

The two old men bickered noisily nearby, but Tang Yeo-eun paid no attention to their voices.

She merely sank slowly to her knees and greeted Yang Munheon.

“I am Tang Yeo-eun, a daughter of the Tang Clan who once received your kindness. Only now have I finally come to pay my respects to Elder Yang.”

Yang Munheon, the white-haired old man, answered with a warm smile.

“It has been a long time, child. You have grown greatly since I last saw you. Both in martial arts and as a person. How admirable.”

Tang Yeo-eun suddenly felt her chest swell with emotion.

She had naturally assumed he would not remember her, but she had been wrong.

Not only did he remember a girl he had met only once, but he was also acknowledging her growth with the benevolent smile of a grandfather looking upon his own granddaughter.

It was a warmth Tang Yeo-eun had never once received from either her biological grandfather or her father.

Yang Munheon regarded Tang Yeo-eun warmly as her eyes grew moist with emotion, then slowly asked,

“So, what has brought you here?”

At his question, Tang Yeo-eun first calmed herself and took a deep breath.

She was grateful that he remembered her, but she had not yet achieved her purpose.

From this point onward, she had to handle things well.

Tang Yeo-eun cautiously said to him,

“Shameless as it may be, I came because I have a request to make of you, Elder.”

Yang Munheon smiled gently as though urging her to speak and patiently waited for her words.

Looking at him, Tang Yeo-eun could not bring herself to say what she had originally prepared and had to swallow dryly.

Tang Yeo-eun had originally intended to ask him to prevent her political marriage.

As one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, he was a true powerhouse residing within the Tang Clan whom even Clan Head Tang Jeonghu could not control.

‘Therefore, if he protects me, preventing the political marriage should not be particularly difficult.’

The problem was that, as a guest of the Tang Clan, it would not be easy for him to oppose Tang Jeonghu, the Clan Head, and protect her.

There was no reason for him to go out of his way to protect her when he stood to gain nothing.

Therefore, Tang Yeo-eun had planned, if necessary, to offer him at least the Flying Moon form of the Moonlit Phantom Sword Dance in exchange.

It was the secret technique of their master, the Radiant Sword, an absolute master of the previous generation.

Tang Yeo-eun believed that it might serve as a key allowing Yang Munheon, one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, to take another step toward the realm of absolute masters.

‘Master also said that whoever we choose to pass it down to from now on is our responsibility.’

Thus, Tang Yeo-eun had judged that teaching a single form to Yang Munheon, the White-Crane Ancient Sword renowned for his virtuous character, would be acceptable.

As a martial artist, Yang Munheon would surely be unable to ignore such an offer.

However, now that she stood before him, Tang Yeo-eun felt a different impulse.

She wanted to form a relationship with Yang Munheon that was not based upon a transaction….

Tang Yeo-eun suddenly spoke to him.

They were the honest feelings within her heart.

“I… no longer wish to live while being swept along by the hands of others. I want to shape my life through my own will. Elder, could you perhaps help me?”

It was a reckless request.

She promised no compensation and did not even explain what the matter involved, merely asking him to help her.

Yet, for some reason, Tang Yeo-eun wanted to say it that way.

She wanted to try trusting in another person’s heart rather than making a transaction.

An answer unexpectedly came from somewhere else first.

“What?! Who dares control my little sister’s life?! What bastard is it?! Don’t worry, little sister! This Orabeoni will help you!”

The one shouting with an enraged expression was the small, red-faced old man who had brought Tang Yeo-eun there.

He, rather than Yang Munheon, had been the first to respond to Tang Yeo-eun’s feelings.

However, when he said that, the blue-robed old man regarded him with disdain.

“You are offering to help without even knowing what the matter is? If a daughter of the Tang Clan is talking about controlling her own life, it is obvious that this will involve opposing the Tang Clan Head. Do you want to get thrown out of this place? You were hiding here after causing trouble outside, weren’t you?”

Tang Yeo-eun’s expression darkened upon hearing those words.

His observation was entirely correct.

Both the fact that the matter required opposing the Tang Clan Head and that it would cause harm to them were true.

The small, red-faced old man flew into a rage and began shouting.

“Hmph! What about the Tang Clan Head?! Do you think this Red Boy, Jeung Chil, would fear that mere youngster?! I don’t need this place! If they tell me to leave, I’ll leave! Trouble?! Hmph! How long ago was that?! Little sister, don’t worry! This Orabeoni will help you escape this damned Tang Clan!”

Red Boy, Jeung Chil.

A strange light appeared in Tang Yeo-eun’s eyes when she heard the name.

It was certainly a name she had heard before.

He was a Supreme Realm master who had once shaken the martial world with his tremendous movement arts, hidden-weapon techniques, and fist-and-kick arts.

He was also someone whose even more extraordinary love of mischief had caused trouble for countless people.

Tang Yeo-eun had heard that he had suddenly vanished from the martial world one day, but she had not known that he had come to the Outer Guest Forest.

The blue-robed old man sighed and said,

“You fool, do you not understand what will happen if a daughter of the Tang Clan runs away from the clan? She will have to spend the rest of her life hiding while the Tang Clan pursues her. Do you truly think that would be for her sake? You might personally protect her while you are alive, but what will you do after you die? Do you intend to let that child be killed by her own family?!”

Once again, his words were painfully accurate.

Confronted with such an exact assessment of reality, Tang Yeo-eun could only bite her lip hard.

Jeung Chil, the Red Boy, flinched slightly at his words before raising his voice again.

“Then I simply won’t die! I can stay alive and keep protecting her forever, can’t I?!”

The blue-robed old man was sighing in frustration at his stubbornness when—

Yang Munheon, the White-Crane Ancient Sword, suddenly spoke.

“Would it suffice if I became your adoptive grandfather?”

Startled by his words, Tang Yeo-eun abruptly raised her head and stared at him.

“Pardon? What did you just…?”

Yang Munheon smiled warmly and spoke again.

“I asked whether it would help you live your life according to your own will if I became your grandfather and you became my granddaughter.”

Tang Yeo-eun’s eyes shook violently, as though caught in a storm.

She could hardly believe it.

Even though she had promised him nothing in return, he had willingly extended his hand to her.

And with an overwhelmingly generous offer she had never even imagined….

Her eyes suddenly burning, Tang Yeo-eun nodded and answered,

“Yes. Yes, it would be more than enough. And thank you. Thank you so much, Elder.”

Jeung Chil, the Red Boy, who had been staring blankly at the scene, suddenly shouted.

“No! You can’t take Brother Yang as your grandfather! What does that make me?! Damn it! Brother Yang! Then take me as your grandson too! Grandpa Yang!”

As the other old man let out yet another deep sigh at the sight of Jeung Chil shouting at the top of his lungs, Tang Yeo-eun quietly bowed to Yang Munheon.

“Grandfather, your granddaughter Yeo-eun pays her respects.”

Yang Munheon merely watched her bow with a warm gaze.