Chapter 271 : Testing the Boundary of the Upper World (1)

Chapter 271: Testing the Boundary of the Upper World (1)

It would have been an insulting remark to the young man, yet he never lost his smile the entire time.

However, at the woman’s words, the people dining in the inn all turned their heads toward the young man in unison.

If he really was the Chaihua Sound Degenerate with a bounty on his head, they were tempted to capture him and claim the reward.

Then, a martial artist suddenly stood up.

“Wait! Aren’t you Young Master Yong?”

The martial artist, who recognized the young man, clasped his hands in a martial greeting toward him.

“I once met Young Master Yong at Ssanghwa Pavilion. That young lady there! He is no such Chaihua Sound Degenerate. He is not someone you can speak to so carelessly!”

The martial artist shouted loudly.

“Is he someone impressive or something?”

At Hong Ahyul’s words, the martial artist spoke with a proud face.

“Have you never heard of the title Heavenly Sword Hero? Judging by the sword you wear, you seem to be a martial artist, but if you don’t recognize the Heavenly Sword Hero, then you must clearly be a novice to the Central Plains.”

At those words, Hong Ahyul glanced at Yong Hwarin and muttered unintentionally.

“Heavenly Sword Hero? That’s a nickname I’ve heard somewhere. Ah! Right! That bastard!”

Hong Ahyul was about to say that he was the scoundrel who tormented her senior brothers, but she sensed Dong Oh’s presence and clamped her mouth shut.

Hong Ahyul was dumbfounded.

The man she had shown interest in out of curiosity turned out to be the very person identified as an enemy by her sect.

“Seeing how you called me a bastard, are you a member of the Demonic Path?”

Yong Hwarin could faintly sense the aura of the Demonic Path from the woman.

Hong Ahyul didn’t want to hide her identity.

“That’s right. I’m a member of the Demonic Path.”

“I see.”

“That’s all?”

Yong Hwarin smiled as he saw the innkeeper bringing out the food.

Originally, Yong Hwarin was a gourmet. Even in his past life, because of this trait, he had never been able to lose weight.

“What is it that you want, young lady?”

“I said I’m from the Demonic Path.”

“So what? Do you want to fight?”

“Orthodox martial artists always try to kill us as soon as they see a demonic practitioner. Look! The moment I said I was from the Demonic Path, the swordsmen in the inn started glaring at me like they want to kill me.”

And indeed, the martial artists in the inn began emanating killing intent the moment they heard that Hong Ahyul was from the Demonic Path.

Yong Hwarin let out a soft chuckle.

“Whether from the Demonic Path or the Orthodox Faction, we’re all martial artists just the same. If we’re not enemies, there’s no reason to draw blades.”

“Hehehe, right?”

Hong Ahyul naturally responded and reached for Yong Hwarin’s food.

“Mind if I have a bit?”

Since Jeong Suji, this was the first time Yong Hwarin had met a woman this unrestrained.

And he knew from experience that women like her couldn’t be stopped by mere words.

“Help yourself.”

Yong Hwarin didn’t mind at all that Hong Ahyul was eating his food.

“Grandpa Dong, you should come eat too. It’s delicious.”

Although Dong Oh was unsettled by Hong Ahyul’s absurd behavior, he figured there must be a reason and sat down on a chair.

“Let me take advantage of your hospitality as well.”

Yong Hwarin silently watched the middle-aged man and the woman eating the food he had ordered.

After satisfying his hunger, Yong Hwarin stood up and said,

“Well then, enjoy your meal.”

“Huh? You’re leaving already?”

“I’ve eaten, so I should be going. Take your time.”

Watching Yong Hwarin head toward the counter, Hong Ahyul murmured,

“When I heard what the senior brothers said, I thought Yong Hwarin was a truly bad guy, but now that I’ve met him, he seems like a good person. He knew we were from the Demonic Path and still ate with us. He didn’t look at us like we were insects either.”

Dong Oh, eating braised carp, spoke.

“Would he have stayed calm even if he knew we were from the Heavenly Demon Sect?”

“Oh, right. Maybe not. We should’ve tested that while he was still here.”

Seeing Hong Ahyul’s continued interest in Yong Hwarin, Dong Oh said,

“He’s a very dangerous person. He’s the one who fought against the Three Grand Elders and survived. You know how powerful the Three Grand Elders are.”

“I do. They’re strong… and ruthless.”

“Even so, he fought them and they fled. In all my life, I’ve never heard of the Three Grand Elders running away from a fight.”

“Is he really that strong? What do you think, Grandpa Dong?”

Dong Oh smiled gently.

“Don’t smile—answer me.”

“For the past ten years, I haven’t felt like fighting anyone. But today, seeing that young man made me want to test myself.”

“That means his level must be about the same as yours. You only feel that competitive urge when someone is close to your level. Still, he’s not stronger than you, right?”

“I don’t know. What I felt was that I’d only know for sure if I actually fought him.”

“No way.”

Hong Ahyul gave Dong Oh a sideways look, as if to say, “What kind of joke is that?”

But soon after, her expression turned serious.

Among the Three Loyal Guards of Hua, Yong Hwarin realized that aside from Jo Heon, the one who enjoyed making jokes under the nickname Wind Moon Roaming the Heavens, the other two elders weren’t ones to indulge in humor.

And he started to understand how significant those words truly were.

“No wonder our senior brothers, who rampage around like headless chickens, kept getting beaten by him.”

“Isn’t the headless chicken you?”

Hong Ahyul grumbled at Dong Oh, who was happily eating braised carp.

“Tch! Just when I thought he might be a decent man and wanted to try seducing him, turns out he’s our mortal enemy.”

Midway through her sentence, Hong Ahyul shook her head.

“No, wait. He’s not my enemy. I’ve never fought him, have I?”

“Why? Did he catch your eye?”

“Not exactly. I was just curious about him. It’s not like he’s even that handsome.”

Even as she said that, she couldn’t take her eyes off the door Yong Hwarin had disappeared through.

She didn’t realize that the attraction she felt was caused by Yong Hwarin’s Protective Energy.

When Yong Hwarin had clashed with the gangster thugs, he had released his Protective Energy.

And by coincidence, Hong Ahyul had been within the range of that Protective Energy, resulting in a brief resonance with Yong Hwarin’s true qi.

Because of that, she developed a sense of favor toward him, and even knowing he was their enemy, she didn’t feel any revulsion.

“I wonder what the senior brothers would say if I told them I saw Yong Hwarin today.”

“I think it’s better not to tell them.”

“Why not?”

“How do you think they’ll see us, having even eaten food from him?”

“Hmm, I guess you’re right.”

A moment later, as the two stood up to leave, the waiter approached them.

“Excuse me, customers. You haven’t paid for your meal yet.”

“Meal? Didn’t the person who was with us earlier pay?”

“Young Master Yong said he barely ate anything, and told us to collect from you two instead.”

“What?!”

“Wahahahaha!”

Dong Oh burst into hearty laughter at Yong Hwarin’s prank.

He had ordered food and dumped the bill on them.

“I take back what I said earlier. Now that I think about it, he really is a bad guy. He was a bad guy all along!”

Hong Ahyul stomped and fumed.

Dong Oh took some money from his wallet and paid, laughing once more.

“Wahahahaha, what an amusing fellow.”

After traveling roughly one da-kyung, Yong Hwarin arrived at the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

Upon arrival, the Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect, Seok Unjeong, and the Demonic Master warmly greeted him.

Thanks to their presence, he was able to fill the gap left by Jeong Minji with their affection.

When it was mentioned that the Three Chivalrous Sisters had departed for Shaolin Temple with the people of Jeong Family Manor, some even applauded.

The Ten Prodigies of the Heavenly Central Sect had, in truth, been troubled by Jeong Suji in various ways.

Whenever she found something disagreeable, she’d start an argument, so they had been avoiding her.

While it was somewhat disappointing not to see the virtuous Jeong Minji, it was even more relieving for the Ten Prodigies not to see Jeong Suji.

Moreover, with Seok Unjeong kindly watching over them, they didn’t really feel Jeong Minji’s absence.

After returning to the Sky Ocean Merchant Union, Yong Hwarin spent several days busy and overwhelmed.

Most of all, due to matters concerning the Sky Ocean Escort Agency, he worked day and night with no rest for days.

Naturally, this raised curiosity among many.

From handling the entrusted items, to preparing for departures, to processing administrative tasks—he faced no difficulties.

“Has Young Master Yong ever worked as an escort before?”

That’s what people were saying as they observed him.

After just a few days on escort affairs, matters that had been dragging were resolved without delay.

These escort-related duties were things Yong Hwarin had done constantly in his past life, to the point he could handle them with his eyes closed.

Even when pretending to be a bit clumsy so as not to raise suspicion, he still received such reactions.

While busy, he finally took a short break and was enjoying some tea when something dark suddenly dropped from the ceiling.

Startled, Yong Hwarin looked up and saw a large rat staring at him, clicking its two big front teeth.

Its body had a faint bluish hue and it was about the size of a cat, yet unmistakably a rat.

“Blue Royal Courier Rat?”

Though it was his first time seeing one, Yong Hwarin instantly recognized it as the Blue Royal Courier Rat used by Eum Sajeok to deliver secret letters.

‘Looks like the Demonic Master has something to tell me.’

Yong Hwarin took out some black powder from his robe and sprinkled a little on the table.

The Blue Royal Courier Rat immediately climbed up and licked the powder.

‘Aha, so this powder is its favorite treat.’

While thinking that, he looked to see if a letter was attached somewhere, but found no paper item on the rat’s body.

‘What the? Why’d it come without a letter?’

Just then, after finishing the powder, the Blue Royal Courier Rat suddenly shuddered and vomited.

“Ugh!”

Yong Hwarin recoiled at the sight of what the rat had regurgitated.

It included undigested small rats, snakes, frogs, and other things.

“Disgusting little thing… Did it really have to deliver a letter like this?”

As it turned out, the powder was something it liked to eat, but also a medicine that induced it to vomit out the previously ingested message.

It was, in a way, a very Eum Sajeok method.

In the mess of vomit, Yong Hwarin discovered a small scroll sealed with wax.

As he retrieved the scroll, the Blue Royal Courier Rat began eating the vomit it had just expelled.

Watching that made his dinner want to rise up.

“Absolutely disgusting creature.”

It was Yong Hwarin’s first time encountering a Blue Royal Courier Rat, and it only deepened his aversion toward Eum Sajeok.

After finishing the vomit, the rat quietly settled into a corner.

It seemed to be waiting for a reply.

For now, Yong Hwarin peeled off the wax and read the letter.

It was palm-sized, densely packed with tiny writing.

[Come to Woohak Bookstore tonight.]

Just from reading it, Yong Hwarin could tell it was sent by the Demonic Master. No one else would dare speak so informally in a letter to him.

‘What’s this about?’

He hesitated briefly at the command to go to Woohak Bookstore.

But soon, he disguised himself as the scholar who had once sought out Myeong Gujeong and slipped out of the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.