“Ah, I must have embarrassed you. You’re a friend of the Red Tower Master, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
The left arm was cut off, but Chigweol appeared to be quite cheerful. Years had passed since his arm was cut off, so he must have adapted already.
Chigweol held out his right hand and asked Lee Sungmin for a handshake.
“I look forward to your kind cooperation. We haven’t set out for the subjugation yet, so I hope we can get closer by then.”
“I look forward to your kind cooperation, too.”
Lee Sungmin smiled and shook hands with Chigweol because he didn’t show an upright attitude.
After the handshake, Chigweol passed Lee Sungmin and went down the stairs.
Lee Sungmin glanced at the back of Chigweol going down the stairs, and went up to his room.
The room was not that spacious but clean. Since there was nowhere to sit other than the bed, Lee Sungmin stood by the window and looked down.
The spacious courtyard of the inn was clearly visible. In the courtyard, men with the uniforms belonging to the Murong Family were wielding their swords in the same pattern of movements.
‘They’re quite strong as a group.’
Come to think of it, Lee Sungmin had never properly bothered to prove his innocence.
But even if he tried, no matter how strong he was as a martial artist in the Realm of Transcendence, he could not face the entire group if things turned south.
Lee Sungmin who was watching the warriors practicing their swordsmanship, sat down and laid on the bed.
If he was found out during the subjugation, Lee Sungmin had no intention of skirmishing or trying to explain himself to the Murim Alliance warriors and the Murong Family.
The most ideal situation for him, was to not be identified in the first place.
Even if he got caught, he would not try to harm any of the warriors here, even if they attacked him with malice.
Of course, he couldn’t be truly confident of things working out like that if it did go down.
Thanks to the strong snowstorm, the window pane turned white and silent with all the white noise. In the midst of such noise, Lee Sungmin sat upright and spent his time meditating.
By sunset, someone knocked on the door. Lee Sungmin opened his closed eyes and raised himself.
“Yes, who is it?”
Beyond the open door stood a young-looking boy.
Lee Sung-min thought the boy’s face seemed somehow familiar.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Murong Chae.”
Murong Chae was the youngest son of the Patriarch. Lee Sungmin felt slightly distressed inside, but gave the boy a slight nod.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s time for dinner, so I’m here to ask if you’ve had dinner yet.”
“I haven’t had it yet, but……?”
“The Lord asked me to ask you if you would like to eat together.”
Lee Sungmin tilted his head at the words. Eating together was a sign of goodwill.
He had never met them before, but they were inviting him to a meal… Did this mean that they wanted to get closer to him in the future? How should he treat this situation?
Lee Sungmin stared at Murong Chae with a blank face.
Murong Dae had sent his youngest son, Murong Chae, the one he favored most now that his daughter had died, directly to ask Lee Sungmin for a meal.
Lee Sungmin, who had been thinking for a while, nodded his head. It would be rude to refuse such a request of goodwill.
“Yes, sir.”
Since there was nothing else to prepare, Lee Sungmin closed the door. Although Murong Chae had not yet reached the Peak Realm, he seemed to have entered the threshold between First Rate and Peak Realm, which was remarkable progress for someone his age.
“Murong Seojin’s younger brother.”
Lee Sungmin didn’t have any particular views on Murong Seojin. However, Namgung Heewon had clearly been in love with her. And there was no point in thinking about the matter further since Lee Sungmin was already falsely accused of her death.
Murong Chae looked a lot like Murong Seojin from Lee Sungmin’s memory.
For Murong Dae, the Patriarch of the Murong Family, all he had were two children. Murong Seojin and Murong Chae. However, Murong Seojin was now dead.
The fact that he had brought Murong Chae all the way on this dangerous subjugation felt a little unnerving to Lee Sungmin.
It was not far from the inn to the place that Murong Chae took Lee Sungmin to. Murong Chae went inside the restaurant and led Lee Sungming up the stairs.
“Ah, I hope you didn’t take my request as rude.”
Murong Dae, who was sitting over the table, raised himself and spoke to Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin shook his head politely.
“I didn’t think it was at all.”
“Then I’m glad. Ah… Edor. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to this city, but I always eat at this restaurant every time I come to this city.”
Murong Dae said, with a genuine smile.
“The food tastes pretty good. My daughter used to love the food here, too.”
“……it was unfortunate.”
“That’s fine. It’s already been a few years since it happened.”
That’s what Murong Dae had said as he shook his head. But, Lee Sungmin didn’t think that was true, as Murong Dae was still wearing black mourning clothes.
Murong Chae sat next to his father, while Lee Sungmin sat opposite him as Murong Dae had recommended.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“Ah, please don’t think of it too formally like that.”
Murong Dae smiled at Lee Sungmin’s words.
“I’m just calling you because I needed a companion to eat with.”
If anything, Lee Sungmin thought he should be the last person Murong Dae would want to eat with if he knew his true identity.
Lee Sungmin looked around. The soldiers of the Murong Family were also eating nearby, along with the Murim Alliance warriors and even Chigweol.
The food started to come out on platters from the waitresses. They were not fancy, but definitely hearty-looking food. The meal had begun. Lee Sungmin was called his companion for the meal, yet, Murong Dae did not speak further until they started to eat.
“This is the Murong Family’s finest warriors that are with us on this trip.”
During the meal, Murong Dae smiled in vain.“I’m sorry for my forgetfulness, but I didn’t get to ask you for your name.”
“My name is Lee Min-chul.”
Lee Sungmin gave the pseudonym he had thought of in advance. The words silenced Murong Dae for a moment. He seemed to recall the surname of Lee.
“I’ve never heard of that name before.”
“I didn’t do anything that would be rumored or famous.”
“If you were such a master of such skill, I can’t help but think you would have by now.”
“I don’t have much talent, so I’ve spent most of my time training while adventuring and exploring. I happened to meet Scarlett and make a connection with her in the past.”
“Your talent is not great……? I honestly can’t believe that. How old are you?”
“Now, I’m twenty-seven.”
“If you can become a Peak Realm martial Artist at the threshold between Transcendence at that age, you can never lack talent. There are too many people who can’t even reach the Peak Realm even if they train themselves all their lives in arduous places and put themselves through life or death situations.
Lee Sungmin took a step back and accepted Murong Dae’s words because it was unlikely that Murong Dae would give up on his stance of Lee Sungmin having talent, if this continued.
Then, Murong Dae smiled happily.
After finishing the meal, Lee Sungmin left the restaurant with Murong Chae
Lee Sungmin said to Murong Dae that his son didn’t have to escort him back to the inn because it was straight across from the restaurant , but Murong Dae insisted he allow his son to take him back.
They must be trying to express their kindness and friendship openly in their own way, Lee Sungmin thought.
“You don’t have to think deeply about what my father said earlier.”
When they left the quarters of the restaurant, Murong Chae spoke to Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin smiled bitterly and nodded his head.
“I’m assuming he must just be joking.”
“I don’t think he quite meant it as a joke, but…… My father has changed a lot since my sister’s death. He is always dressed in black and is always forcing himself to smile.”
Since Murong Dae truly treated his children as his children before he treated them as the heirs of the Murong Family, it was very apparent he loved both Murong Chae and Murong Seojin dearly. Murong Chae as a result, had a sad and bitter expression on his face.
He was only fifteen, yet he appeared much more mature than any other fifteen year-old that Lee Sungmin had seen.
“I’m curious about something…. I understand your father coming, but why did you come here?”
“What? Oh.”
When asked the sudden question, Murong Chae’s eyes widened as he looked at Lee Sungmin.
“I’ve heard that this subjugation could be quite dangerous. Only… it just seems that you’re a lit-“, Lee Sungmin spoke before getting cut off firmly.
“I have the skill to protect myself.”
Murong Chae answered Lee Sungmin with a straight face. It seemed that Lee Sungmin misunderstood what he said.
Even though he appeared mature beyond his age, he still seemed to hold his self-esteem in high regard like any other fifteen year-old would.
“It’s not that you lack the skills. However, it may be dangerous for your family. Especially when it was about your sister, Murong Seojin and her husband, Zhuge Taeryong.”
“……but that doesn’t mean he’s here, does it? If I see the Ghost Spear in front of me, I’ll kill him myself.”
[That’s a funny thought.]
Heoju cackled.
“And this subjugation will not be too dangerous. There’s plenty of people here, so it’s quite easy to kill merely one Dark Wizard.”
“……is that so?”
When Murong Chae resolved himself in his delusions, Lee Sungmin nodded slightly, not bothering to correct him. It seemed everyone here was looking down on Kim Jonghyun far too much.
Well, it would seem ridiculous to not be able to catch him. The number of groups gathered here were a total of five large groups, belonging to several large guilds, prestigious families, and the Murim Alliance.
There were hundreds of talented individuals here to catch Kim Jonghyun.
The distance from the restaurant to the inn was short. Lee Sungmin stopped walking briefly before reaching the inn
Murong Chae looked at Lee Sungmin, who suddenly stopped moving, with a suspicious look on his face. Lee Sungmin stared into the dark alley without saying anything.
“What’s the matter?”
Murong Chae asked, his head tilted. Lee Sungmin spoke as he stared directly into the alley.
“It’s not like we’re talking about much. Why are you eavesdropping?”
Murong Chae heard a gasp from across the alley. It was a woman’s voice.
Stepping out of the darkness was Tang Ah-hui, dressed in a clingy black dress, exposing her curvature.
The daughter of the Tang family, one of the 5 Great Families. Murong Chae surprisingly looked at Tang Ah-hui and then at Lee Sungmin as he was astonished that the man in front of him so easily discovered someone that even he couldn’t discover.
“Just came out for a walk at night.”
“You take a strange route for a late night stroll. Why don’t you just come clean about your business here?”
“Well I was just listening to what Murong Chae might be saying to the young mister over here.”
Tang Ah-hui spoke with a brazen smile at Lee Sungmin’s question. Murong Chae took a step forward with a straight face.
“Why did you want to listen to what I had to say to him?”
“It wasn’t like you bragging about your strength just now, was it? What a funny conversation don’t you think? Of course, it was worth listening to.”
“That….”
“You’re done with that mister over there aren’t you?”
Tang Ah-hui faced away from Murong Chae and looked over to Lee Sungmin. She gave a seductive smile and curved her eyes into half crescents.
“I think you’ve already had your meal, and I’ve actually already finished mine as well. The night air is good…so….”
Snowflakes were mixed in the chilly north wind as they fell down in the surroundings of the three individuals.
“What do you say? Would you like to share a drink with me? I happen to have a fine bottle of liquor to share with you if you’d like.”
“Ah.”
A good drink called Hani, came to mind for Lee Sungmin. In the past, when he picked up the remains of the vestige left behind by Heoju, Heoju had given Lee Sungmin a bottle of liqueur that contained Hani, an endless liquor that one could drink as much as one would like, seeing that it had no limit of alcohol inside the bottle.
[Right, Hani! You bastard, why haven’t you ever used it?!]
‘I didn’t have time to drink.’
[Drinking itself is taking the time to drink to enjoy one’s self, you bastard! It’s perfectly good to drink when you’re stressed, you idiot!]
‘Should I really be cursed at for not drinking?’
[Shut up and try the drink she’s offering you tonight. I want to taste her booze!]
Lee Sungmin shook his head, turning away from Heoju’s voice that was going wild in his head.
“I don’t feel like drinking.”
“Oh, my… you don’t really enjoy drinking, do you?””
“That’s correct.”
Tang Ah-hui frowned at the wall Lee Sungmin was putting up in order to avoid her.
“But why don’t you have a drink? It’s the first time we’ve met, so why don’t we?
“I don’t really like being close with someone over alcohol.”
“Then why don’t you just hang out with me?”
“I’m sorry.”
Lee Sungmin shook his head and refused. The words shook Tang Ah-hui’s shoulders.
“……then let’s have a cup of tea.”
“I’m not thirsty…….”
“You don’t know what I want to say, do you?”
“I do. You want to establish a connection with me.”
“What’s wrong with that?!”
“I’m not sure why I would want to make any sort of connection with you.”
“Because I’m interested.”
“In me as a martial artist, or myself as a man?”
When Lee Sungmin asked with a mocking grin, Tang Ah-hui fell speechless.