Return

Of course, the Tang Clan was in an uproar when I arrived at the inn.

I, who they thought had fully recovered, couldn't even walk on my own and had to be carried on Tang So-wol's back. And I'd brought along a face they'd never seen before.

Squeezing out the little internal energy I had left, I gave a brief explanation and left the rest to Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang before collapsing into sleep. Then, the next morning.

"Tsk. Still sleeping, are we? A man who's to become the Tang Clan's son-in-law being this frail."

"…No one would call a man frail for taking on the entire Haomun of Yanzhou alone and even bringing down their branch head, brother."

I woke to a gruff voice that was clear even in my sleep.

A soft bed. Warm sunlight streaming through the window. The chirping of birds in the distance.

And the gazes of the rough-looking men surrounding my bedside. Truly, there could be no more refreshing way to start the day.

Only after circulating my internal energy to shake off the lingering drowsiness did I open my mouth.

"What brings you all here at this hour of the morning?"

"We came because we have things to discuss, and things to give you."

"You should be resting more, and we're sorry for that. Still, this will be of help to you, young hero, so don't think of us old men as being meddlesome and bother yourself over it."

Tang Jincheon grumbled, while beside him, Tang Yujin waved a friendly hand.

Despite their appearances, they were truly good people. Truly good, but…

Seeing them first thing in the morning was a bit of a burden, to say the least.

"How could I ever think such a thing? I'm merely taken aback. Just how urgent is this matter?"

"I've already arranged for a carriage. I plan to return to Chengdu in about a sijin, so I came to tell you to prepare."

"What? Right now?"

"Who knows what else might happen if we linger here any longer. So I've decided that returning to Chengdu takes priority. I know your body isn't fully recovered yet, but I'd like you to rest in the carriage rather than on a bed."

"That's no problem for me. But aren't you rushing things a bit?"

"No. We must hurry. There's much to be done. We need to explain the situation to Haomun, lodge a complaint, and depending on how things go, apply pressure as well."

As he said this, Tang Jincheon's mouth was set in a hard line. Like a man barely holding back his anger.

Wondering what was going on, I turned my gaze toward Tang Yujin beside him. Our eyes met, and he added an explanation with a troubled expression.

"Although young hero Cheon hasn't yet held the ceremony with So-wol, he's been diligently showing that he's a member of the Tang Clan. There's no way Haomun wouldn't know, yet their branch head here drove him out as if hunting him down."

"Well. Isn't that because I kidnapped Seol Ri-hyang?"

"You mean the girl the young hero brought along? I understand why you did it, since she's the daughter of your benefactor, but it was a rash decision. Still, there's an order to things in this world, and a proper way of doing them."

Tang Yujin continued with a bleak smile.

"What the Mistress of Honghua Pavilion should have done first was come here, explain the situation, and seek an agreement."

But the Mistress of Honghua Pavilion did no such thing.

She controlled the area around the inn where the Tang Clan was staying, making sure as little commotion as possible reached their ears, and in the meantime dispatched Haomun's men to capture me.

In her own way, she must have planned to secure Seol Ri-hyang first, then negotiate with the Tang Clan from a position of advantage.

That alone showed how desperate her situation was, and she must have also believed that the Tang Clan would not hand over Seol Ri-hyang once they heard her circumstances.

But.

"That doesn't change the fact that it was an insult to the Tang Clan. And if things had gone even slightly wrong, the young hero could have been seriously hurt."

"That is true…"

After I defeated the Mistress of Honghua Pavilion, if the gathered Haomun men had continued the fight, escaping unscathed would have been difficult.

"Of course, that's not to say the young hero did well either. When something like that happens, you should have consulted your elders first."

"I apologize. I was already scolded by Tang So-wol over that matter."

Perhaps it was because Tang So-wol came up in the conversation. Tang Jincheon's tone softened slightly as he spoke.

"Still, let me say this one more time. That you are skilled is something you know, I know, and everyone knows, but not everything in this world needs to be solved with a sword. If you ever face a difficult problem, bring it to me. That is what an elder is for."

"…"

Objectively speaking, it was true that I was still young, but as a regressor with all my memories intact, being treated like a child was not exactly pleasant.

And yet, now—whether when I heard it from Tang So-wol or now—the feeling was strange, but not at all unpleasant.

"I will keep that in mind."

"Good. Then let us leave this matter here and move on to the next."

"The next?"

"You said you had something to say, but also something to give, did you not?"

With that, Tang Jincheon rummaged around and began pulling out various items, handing them over.

"These are for recovering your energy. This is a hundred-herb decoction, and I also brought a few Body Strengthening Pills. If we were at the Tang Clan, I could have gotten better medicine, but unfortunately we're out in the world, so this is all I could find on short notice."

"…"

I tilted my head, looking at the armful of medicine he had shoved into my embrace.

"What is all this?"

"What do you mean, what is it? It's medicine I bought in a hurry from the nearby pharmacy. They're not Spiritual Medicines, but every one of them is good for restoring vitality, and I only picked ones that won't conflict with each other, so don't leave any—eat them all."

He grumbled that the man who would become the Tang Clan's son-in-law couldn't be this frail, and I wondered—had he really gathered this much medicine in just a single night?

Feeling dazed, I accepted the bundle and spoke.

"Th-thank you?"

"Enough with the thanks, just eat."

"Yes."

After I swallowed the pill and downed the herbal decoction in one gulp, the smell of medicine filled my mouth.

It was a scent that made me frown involuntarily, but I did my best not to show it and bowed my head.

Only then did Tang Jincheon, wearing a satisfied expression, brush off his seat and stand up.

"Then I'll be going now. I'll send someone soon, so have your preparations to leave this place finished by then."

"Understood."

With those words, Tang Jincheon and Tang Yujin left the room.

In truth, even if I tried to prepare, there was nothing to pack. All I had brought was my body and a single sword.

Tang Jincheon surely knew this as well. He meant for me to use Qi Circulation Cultivation to recover whatever strength I could while the medicine's effects ran their course.

"Hoo."

I forced my aching, muscle-sore body into a cross-legged sitting position. Then came the deep breaths.

Before long, my consciousness sank into the depths of my inner self.

***

Though my body still ached here and there, I had recovered enough to move about well enough by the time I came to.

Following the Dark Soul Squad member who had come to find me, I stepped out of the inn, and there stood a carriage far larger and more splendid than I had imagined.

And in front of the carriage, Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang were chatting away.

Judging by the atmosphere, Tang So-wol was looking after Seol Ri-hyang, who seemed cowed among the Tang Clan's martial artists.

As I approached slowly, Tang So-wol finally noticed me and came scurrying over. After a moment's hesitation, Seol Ri-hyang followed behind her.

"Young hero Cheon. Are you feeling better now?"

"My father-in-law went out of his way to procure medicine this morning. Thanks to him, I can move well enough."

"Father? Heheh. I knew it—no matter what anyone says, he really does approve of you!"

Tang So-wol giggled, covering her mouth. Seol Ri-hyang, on the other hand, simply looked at me with curiosity, examining my body here and there.

"You were exhausted to the point of collapse, and you're fine after just one day? Are all martial artists like that?"

"It's because I was simply tired."

"Isn't that the problem…?"

"There are no major injuries, external or internal, and I wasn't exhausted to the point of damaging my True Qi. It's possible because I ate a full dose of medicine that helps replenish vitality—though they say it's not a Spiritual Medicine—and then did Qi Circulation."

"Explain it so someone who doesn't know martial arts can understand."

"…Any martial artist at my level would recover quickly after taking good medicine and resting well."

"Martial artists are amazing!"

Only then did Seol Ri-hyang express her admiration. As I let out a hollow laugh at her pure reaction, Tang So-wol gently tugged at my arm and led me toward the carriage.

"Young hero Cheon says that, but being able to move is one thing—he's hardly in perfect shape. So you'll have to stay lying down in the carriage for a while."

"Huh! Is that so, Sister Dang?"

"Yes. I heard it from my uncle after grumbling about how stuffy I felt—men around young hero Cheon's age often put on a brave front. They're too ashamed to admit they're not fine, so they say they are."

At Tang So-wol's calm and composed slander, I shook my head.

"That's not it."

"It is. Then how do you explain the fact that every time you say you're fine, you either collapse or come back with some serious injury somewhere?"

"When have I ever done that?"

"With the Hundred-Kill Blade Master, you were drenched in blood and passed out. When facing Agwibu and Gwimongmanyeo, you suffered considerable internal injuries from the Demonic Qi. And isn't this time the same? If you'd pushed yourself just a little harder, your True Qi would surely have been damaged. And if that had happened, you'd have had to focus on recuperation for a while."

"…It's because I'm truly fine that I said I was fine. It wasn't to the point of death."

"Not dying doesn't mean being safe."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"This is also something I heard from Uncle. Among the last words of young male martial artists who lose their lives, the three most common are: 'I'm fine, I won't die,' 'Surely I won't die,' and 'It's nothing, don't worry.' Don't you think you've heard something like that before?"

"…"

I understood what she meant. In fact, it was quite common for martial artists around my age to get into accidents from showing off their bravado.

I hadn't realized I was being seen that way.

I glared at Tang Yujin, who was coordinating the schedule with the Dark Soul Corps Master in the distance. But after thinking it over, it was Tang Yujin who had given me the Hundred Poisons Clear Blood Pill, so I let the force drain from my eyes.

As Tang So-wol, who had been dragging me along, reached the front of the carriage, Seol Ri-hyang opened the door as if she had been waiting for us.

Thanks to their seamless coordination, I was inside the carriage in the blink of an eye.

Tang So-wol sat beside me, and Seol Ri-hyang sat across from me. Meticulously, soft leather had already been laid out on the seats.

Tang So-wol spoke with her usual beautiful smile, but one tinged with a strange determination that was hard to refuse.

"Please lie down here, young hero."

Then she slowly pulled my head toward her.

Once I was lying with my head resting on Tang So-wol's thigh, she nodded in satisfaction.

"You must have been disappointed when we left Chengdu and you had to ride on horseback with my father. Isn't it fortunate that on the way back, you get to ride in the same carriage as me?"

It was a statement laced with the confidence that there was no way I wouldn't be pleased when she went this far for me.

On any other day, I would have happily gone along with Tang So-wol's proactive mood today, but…

Was it because of Seol Ri-hyang, who was staring at us with wide eyes and a complicated expression? For no good reason, I felt embarrassed and, without meaning to, I steered the conversation to a completely different topic.

"Come to think of it, about Seol Ri-hyang's future plans."

"Huh? Me? The clan head said he'd help me settle down in Chengdu?"

"That would be nice too. You'd be able to live comfortably and safely under the protection of the Tang Clan. However, I'd be a little disappointed."

"Disappointed? Why?"

Seol Ri-hyang asked back, a hint of expectation creeping into her voice.

"Since you have a talent for martial arts, letting it go to waste would be a shame."

"Ah, martial arts… martial arts?!"

Seol Ri-hyang looked disappointed for a moment, then her eyes began to sparkle. As if she had received an unexpected gift, she suddenly became talkative.

"What kind of martial arts talent? A sword like yours? Or hidden weapons like sister Tang? Well, I have to admit I was pretty good at throwing rocks."

Seol Ri-hyang nodded with a pleased smile on her face. I answered her in a calm voice.

"The talent for Erotic Arts."

"…"

"…"

A cold silence fell over the carriage.