Chapter 87

The boy started walking toward us as if in a trance.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going, brat!”

The waiter hurriedly stepped in front of him, but the boy twisted his body like an eel and slipped right past.

It was clearly the movement of someone trained in martial arts.

Unable to stop him any further, the waiter clamped his mouth shut.

Even if he was a child, someone trained in martial arts couldn’t be treated carelessly.

On top of that, the boy had already darted out to set his basket down outside the inn, so the waiter no longer even had an excuse to scold him.

The boy stopped in front of our table and formed a neat fist-and-palm salute with his tiny hand.

“To think I can meet the Evil-Slaying Twin Heroes in person, it is an honor for my entire family! I have long admired you both, ever since I heard of your illustrious deeds punishing the villains of the Heretical Alliance!”

His speech was precocious for his age, but he couldn’t hide his expression.

His face was overflowing with excitement, like someone who had just met the heroes from a chivalry tale.

I studied the kid carefully.

‘A solution, huh.’

The Heavenly Demon had clearly said this boy was my solution.

Why?

What was I supposed to do with a kid like this?

“You’ve got the wrong people. We’re not such impressive people.”

First, I denied it.

All the stares around us were getting heavy, so I also signaled with my eyes for him to lower his voice.

At that, the other patrons began muttering in disappointment.

“They say they’re not the Evil-Slaying Twin Heroes?”

But the boy didn’t care at all and looked back and forth between us with eyes full of certainty.

“I heard the Great Heavenly Dragon has a towering build like a mountain and features like a peerless jade, while the Little Heavenly Dragon is bright and lively, fitting his youth. Also, it was said you both fight barehanded without weapons, and as you can see, you both match those traits exactly.”

“Oh, so they really are the Evil-Slaying Twin Heroes?”

The patrons started buzzing again.

Ignoring them, I snuck a glance at the Heavenly Demon.

He had returned to his usual cold, impassive expression.

“Master, what do we do with this kid?”

“Do as you like.”

“Got it. First, have a seat.”

“Thank you. This humble one’s name is Kang Cheong-woo!”

The boy gave another polite fist-and-palm salute, then sat down on an empty chair.

“How old are you?”

“I turned ten this year.”

This kid is ten?

I could hardly believe it.

He was the same age as Wi So-rang, but how was he this sharp and mature?

“Anyway, why is a ten-year-old brat wandering around on his own?”

“Right now I am traveling around the Central Plains with my aunt. She had some business to attend to briefly, so I came ahead to order food. Ah, she’s coming in right now.”

Kang Cheong-woo raised his hand high toward the inn’s entrance.

“Aunt! Over here!”

A dark-skinned woman was standing there.

Curiously, like Kang Cheong-woo, she had several folded yellow rods hanging from her waist.

‘She’s pretty strong.’

As I wondered who she was, her expression was already stiff as a board.

From the moment she’d stepped into the inn, the aura she gave off had been unusual.

“Kang Cheong-woo, who are you sitting with?”

Kang Cheong-woo answered like he didn’t understand what the problem was.

“Aunt, these are the Evil-Slaying Twin Heroes we’ve been hearing so much about. They gave me permission to sit with them.”

“Forget sitting with them, get over here. Now!”

Her shout was sharp enough to split the air.

One of the inn’s patrons muttered under his breath.

“Why’s the Yangtze Monster Flood Dragon suddenly acting like that?”

In that instant, I realized who she was.

Right below the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven were the Eight Starry Absolutes, and below them were the Sixteen Eccentrics of North and South.

Among those sixteen eccentrics, each with their own unique arts, one was the Yangtze Monster Flood Dragon, Kang Myeong.

‘So this is what he meant.’

The solution the Heavenly Demon mentioned wasn’t Kang Cheong-woo himself, but his aunt, Kang Myeong.

There was no one more suited than the Yangtze Monster Flood Dragon to find something sunk on a riverbed.

There was a reason “Yangtze” was in her nickname.

It meant she spent that much of her life in the water.

‘Just when did Master notice Kang Myeong’s aura?’

Inwardly, I was a little spooked by the Heavenly Demon.

The level he’d reached felt newly towering again, like a great mountain.

“Aunt…”

Reluctantly, Kang Cheong-woo walked over to her.

Kang Myeong pulled him behind her back and spoke toward the Heavenly Demon.

“You, w-w-who are—”

Sweat was pouring off Kang Myeong like rain, and she couldn’t even string her words together.

The reason was obvious. The Heavenly Demon.

After leaving the Demon Cult, the Heavenly Demon had been suppressing his presence as much as possible.

So ordinary people didn’t feel fear toward him, but Kang Myeong had caught a glimpse of the true nature behind that suppressed presence.

I thought to myself that she hadn’t been counted among the Sixteen Eccentrics for nothing.

“…”

Just then, the Heavenly Demon stood up from his seat.

In that moment, every sound in the inn vanished.

Even the faintest breaths felt as though they were being sucked into him.

Only I remained as I usually was.

“Where are you going?”

“I will rest.”

“You haven’t eaten yet though.”

“Send it to the annex.”

“Ah, okay.”

Once the Heavenly Demon left, Kang Myeong collapsed into her seat on the spot.

Only then did the inn’s patrons finally manage to let out a loud ’Puh-ha” and breathe again.

“Wh-what just happened?”

“I don’t know. My chest just suddenly seized up.”

I asked the waiter to take the Heavenly Demon’s meal to him, then walked over to Kang Myeong.

The Heavenly Demon hadn’t gone off to the annex for no reason.

Sure, he didn’t like being the center of attention, but he’d also cleared the stage for me.

It was his way of saying, “I’ll step aside, do as you wish.”

So there was no way I could let this chance slip by.

“Are you alright?”

Still trying to catch her breath, Kang Myeong glared at me.

“You, who are you?”

“I am Baek… So-gyeong. I play the role of the Little Heavenly Dragon of the Evil-Slaying Twin Heroes.”

Since Kang Cheong-woo had already exposed who we were, I just tweaked my name a little.

Kang Myeong repeated what I’d said.

“The Evil-Slaying Twin Heroes?”

“I happened to see them by chance and went to pay my respects.”

Kang Myeong frowned at Kang Cheong-woo as he chimed in from the side.

“Why are you going around greeting people at random like that!”

“Because… they’re the Evil-Slaying Twin Heroes…?”

“How many times have I told you to always be cautious no matter who you’re dealing with!”

“I’m sorryyy.”

Kang Cheong-woo slumped his shoulders.

I deliberately put on a smile and spoke.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding about us. How about we clear it up over a meal?”

“With you?”

“Yes.”

Kang Myeong glanced toward the annex entrance for a moment, then slowly nodded.

In the end, we sat facing each other at the same table.

When the waiter approached, watching for her reaction, Kang Myeong ordered a simple meal for herself and her nephew.

Then she asked.

“About your master… what is he, really?”

“Just an ordinary reclusive eccentric.”

“Don’t you think ‘ordinary’ and ‘reclusive eccentric’ don’t really go together? That kind of pressure… I haven’t even felt that from the Murim Alliance Leader.”

Kang Myeong’s spirit was still badly shaken.

She had faced the Heavenly Demon without knowing who he was, so it was no wonder.

“So who is he under?”

“I’m under the Great Heavenly Dragon.”

“No, not you. I mean who is that man’s master.”¹

“Then who is your master, Hero Kang?”

I shot the question right back at her.

Asking about someone’s sect on a first meeting was a serious discourtesy in the Kangho.

Kang Myeong was briefly at a loss for words, then quickly admitted her mistake.

“Sorry. That was rude of me. In that case, why are you smashing Heretical Alliance branches?”

She immediately threw out another question.

Such rapid-fire questions were a sign she was wary of us.

Before bringing up the Bronze Seated Statue, I decided to lower that wariness first.

To do that, I needed common ground and something easy to talk about.

‘Let me first build some common ground.’

“Those guys who muddy the spirit of Murim are strutting around with their heads held high. So we thought we’d teach them a lesson.”

Kang Myeong nodded.

“That’s true. They’re just rabble, but they act like they’re something special. Good job.”

That was exactly the reaction I’d expected.

Now it was time for some comfortable talk.

“My master and I only came down from the mountains recently. Since then, we’ve been traveling around Murim. How did you two end up traveling together? I heard Cheong-woo calling you ‘aunt.’”

“After my father passed away last year, my aunt took me in. Thanks to her, I’m studying martial arts and attending to her.”

“Hey, what do you mean ‘attending’? People will think I’m working you to the bone if they hear that.”

“Aren’t you?”

“…I mean, yes, but you don’t have to say it like that.”

We chatted like that for a while.

Once the tense atmosphere had clearly loosened, I asked Kang Myeong,

“What brings you to Xi’an, Hero Kang? The Yangtze River doesn’t even flow through here.”

“I’m expanding my range of exploration from the Yangtze River all the way to the Yellow River.”

“Exploration?”

Kang Cheong-woo puffed out his chest and answered in her place.

He was clearly very proud of his aunt.

“My aunt is going to write an unprecedented book on the rivers and waterways of the world! It’s called the Treatise on the Waterways of the World. It will record the flow of the currents, dangerous spots, water depth, even the distribution of fish species.”

“That’s an amazing ambition. Very impressive.”

I meant it.

Whatever the goal, someone who devoted themselves wholly to it deserved respect.

“It’s nothing impressive.”

“Not at all. It would be hard to find someone as impressive as you, Aunt.”

“Reeeally?”

At Kang Cheong-woo’s words, Kang Myeong’s mouth hung open in a goofy grin.

The aunt and nephew were really in sync.

One loved to praise, and the other loved being praised.

“To write a book like the Treatise on the Waterways of the World, you must be a great swimmer, right?”

“Of course. To me, the water is no different from land. I can catch fish with my eyes closed.”

“Do you go down to the riverbed too?”

I gently steered the conversation toward my real topic.

“There’s no real need to go down to the riverbed. Even from above the water, there are ways to figure out the depth and the soil.”

Kang Myeong tapped the folded wooden rods hanging from her waist.

“With this alone, I can do anything I need. I attach a lead weight to the end and coat it in animal fat before lowering it. When I pull it back up, mud and gravel come up with it.”

“Hm, that’s a pity. We only met by chance, but there was something I wanted to ask of you.”

“And what is that?”

“I want to retrieve a small statue from the bottom of the Ba River.”

Kang Myeong’s eyes lit up.

She seemed interested.

“Tell me in detail. I was thinking of appending an outer volume to the Treatise on the Waterways of the World. It would include interesting stories from my explorations.”

I gave a brief explanation.

The statue buried in the Ba River was one of the rare art pieces the owner of the Myriad Gold Money House was desperately searching for, and that delivering it to him would net at least five hundred taels of silver.

“F-five hundred taels?”

“If we succeed, I’ll split the reward and give you half.”

“…!”

I said it generously, as if I were being magnanimous.

Kang Myeong’s jaw dropped.

At a loss for words and just opening and closing her mouth, she was covered by Kang Cheong-woo, who spoke up instead.

“We appreciate the offer, but my aunt is not someone who chases money. She focuses solely on the grand task of completing the Treatise on the Waterways of the Wo— Mmph!”

“Wh-what nonsense are you spouting! Do you have any idea how much travel money we need? We need a lot of funds to finish writing that book.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Kang Cheong-woo scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

After a few fake coughs, Kang Myeong put on a sharp look again and asked me,

“Still, isn’t that a bit too generous? Usually the one with the information tries to take seventy or eighty percent. You don’t have some other motive, do you?”

“What kind of motive could there be?”

“Like luring me into a trap.”

“Why would I do that to you, Hero Kang?”

“Because that’s what the Kangho is like. I don’t trust newly risen masters who appear out of nowhere.”

Kang Myeong clearly found me suspicious.

I answered sincerely.

“It’s nothing like that. Honestly, Hero Kang, this is dangerous enough that you’d be risking your life too. That’s why I’m offering fair compensation.”

There was a secret to the place where the bronze statue lay buried.

It held a natural trap.

I had chased money plenty of times before, but that had always been for the sake of achieving my goals.

I had no intention of coveting the share of someone who would be risking their life for the job.

“Young hero, your way of thinking is very upright. You’ve got your head on straight.”

Laughing, Kang Myeong slapped my shoulder a few times.

“Um, that kind of hurts, you know?”

“The Little Heavenly Dragon is such a baby. Hahaha!”

“Please don’t fuss so much. Hahaha.”

Kang Cheong-woo joined in, thumping my other shoulder while laughing.

What was with this kid?

It was so absurd I let out a small laugh.

It was the first time a ten-year-old brat had ever slapped my shoulder like that.

“Alright then, let me explain the plan in detail.”

“Great!”

“Sounds good!”

I began explaining to the two of them as their eyes shone brightly.

The next morning came.

Someone knocked gently on the annex door.

“Young hero, pardon the intrusion.”

It was the waiter’s voice.

Wondering what it could be about, I told him to come in.

The waiter came in holding a silver tray.

On the tray sat an elegant flask and two porcelain wine cups.

“What’s this?”

“It is Moon-Glow Dew Wine, sold for three taels of silver.”

“Why’d you bring such expensive wine that costs three taels? I didn’t order it.”

“It’s a token of gratitude from our innkeeper to you, the two heroes. In the past, he suffered greatly at the hands of the Heretical Alliance.”

“Ah.”

A wry laugh almost slipped out.

This all started because I needed something, but somehow I’d ended up being treated like a hero.

If they knew I was the Demon Cult’s Little Demon, they’d be hurling curses instead.

The waiter bowed deeply at the waist, then left the annex.

I picked up the tray and went to the Heavenly Demon’s room.

“Master, can I come in?”

“Come.”

The Heavenly Demon was sitting cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed.

I’d seen this from time to time. Supposedly, he was visualizing martial arts in his mind to find the flaws in them.

I had no idea how something like that was even possible, but there was no way the Heavenly Demon was lying.

“You heard everything, right, Master?”

I set the tray down on the table inside.

“They say it’s really expensive wine. Since you like to drink, I’ll graciously yield it to you.”

In truth, I wasn’t drinking it because I had to go dig up the bronze statue.

I couldn’t afford to dull my senses before something that big.

“I’ll be back.”

I was just about to close the door and leave when the Heavenly Demon casually spoke.

“What kind of place is it?”

“Huh?”

“I mean the place where what you seek is buried.”

I was puzzled for a moment.

Why was the Heavenly Demon asking about this?

“Did you get interested, by any chance?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Well, of course not.

I gave him a simple explanation.

That it was an incredibly dangerous place where anything could happen beneath the water’s surface.

The Heavenly Demon listened silently, then said this.

“She habitually uses an echo-positioning technique.”

“What’s that?”

“Tell her not to place blind faith in her senses underwater.”

Instead of answering my question, the Heavenly Demon said something that seemed unrelated.

But I could guess who those words were meant for.

‘Could that be advice for Kang Myeong?’

I was about to ask, but the Heavenly Demon closed his eyes as if he had no interest in talking.

As I closed the door and stepped out, I saw the wine flask fly into the Heavenly Demon’s hand.

Clicking my tongue in regret, I left the annex.