Chapter 85 : Sichuan Tang Family. -03

Chapter 85: Sichuan Tang Family. -03

“It's been a long time, Supreme Family Head.”

“Abbot, it seems your complexion has improved even more?”

“Hehehe.”

While the rising juniors were gathered in the banquet hall, the true host of this celebration, Dang Bi, was instead in his own quarters.

He had been quietly meeting guests separately.

“I heard there were good things happening at Shaolin. As expected, it really shows on your face?”

“It is not solely for that reason.”

“How could it not be? It’s all written on your expression. Shaolin really is Shaolin. Talents emerge like an inexhaustible spring.”

Though he had already stepped back from the front lines as the former family head, that did not mean he was ignorant of news from the Jianghu.

In fact, he was more attuned to the state of the Jianghu than when he had been the family head.

No longer buried in duties, his ears naturally opened, and as a result, he heard many things.

“I have heard that the Young Lord’s skills are remarkable.”

“No matter how impressive, he cannot be compared to the Divine Dragon. Seo Gon is talented as well, but he is not yet at the level of taking down the Green Forest Great Lord.”

Damhyeon restrained his words.

If nothing he said would be helpful, it was better to hold back.

Thud.

Instead, Damhyeon placed a bundle he had prepared in advance onto the table.

It was a gift brought from Shaolin.

“Congratulations on your seventieth birthday.”

“Heh heh! I recall writing in the letter that there was no need to bring such things.”

“Even so, I could not come empty-handed. That said, it is not anything expensive.”

“It’s the thought that matters. How could there be money in a temple? Especially when there was that unfortunate incident not long ago.”

“You are well informed.”

A faint crack appeared on Damhyeon’s usually calm face.

He had not expected Dang Bi to know Shaolin’s affairs in such detail.

“Well, it concerns Shaolin, doesn’t it? It was somewhat unexpected, and I’ve been paying attention lately.”

“Are you referring to the main temple?”

A question surfaced in Damhyeon’s eyes.

Although he had not gone so far as to completely wash his hands in a golden basin, Dang Bi was still living a life that was nearly half-retired.

So hearing that he was taking interest in Shaolin left Damhyeon unable to hide his puzzlement.

“You know it too, don’t you, Abbot? That my prospective grandson-in-law is at Shaolin.”

“I believe I have already sent a reply regarding that matter.”

Damhyeon showed a faintly uncomfortable expression.

In terms of age and seniority, Dang Bi was above him, but Damhyeon was unmistakably the head of a sect.

And not just any sect or faction, but the abbot of Shaolin, regarded as the Great North Star of the Jianghu.

Because of that, Damhyeon looked at Dang Bi with an openly displeased expression.

“I know. Do you think I would speak without knowing that? I was simply curious, and as my interest grew, I came to learn about Shaolin’s affairs as well. There is no other intent.”

“……”

Though Dang Bi vehemently denied it, Damhyeon’s expression did not relax.

He merely drank his tea in silence.

“You seem to cherish your youngest disciple greatly.”

“It is not because he is my disciple. To me, all disciples of the main temple are the same. What I wish to say is that Hojin’s marriage is a matter for Hojin and his parents to decide.”

“That’s rather sharp of you, not quite like an abbot.”

“It is Hojin’s issue. Though I am his master, I have no right to dictate matters of secular life.”

“Hmm.”

Dang Bi let out a low hum.

He had expected this outcome to some extent, yet he still harbored a sliver of hope.

He thought that if he stepped in, there might be some variable.

However, Damhyeon was even more unyielding than he had anticipated.

“Hojin’s life belongs entirely to Hojin. There is nothing I can say, nor do I wish to. He is already a fully grown disciple.”

“I understand. I will not ask further, so stop looking so stern.”

“I was not being stern.”

“How could you not be? If I weren’t your senior, you would have scolded me with that expression.”

Dang Bi said with a sly smile.

He was making an effort, in his own way, to ease the atmosphere.

“It was not to that extent.”

“But if the two of them like each other, you won’t oppose it, right?”

“In that case, I would have nothing to say.”

“Good.”

At Damhyeon’s answer—that he would neither help nor interfere—Dang Bi nodded.

At least it did not seem like the worst possible situation.

Moreover, he now understood how Damhyeon viewed Ban Hojin.

“If you make things troublesome for him, he will leave immediately.”

“That I know. That boy’s personality is straight as bamboo. He’s decisive in the strangest places. A real man having three wives and four concubines is hardly a flaw. Unless he lacks the ability, which he doesn’t.”

“He is not from a prestigious family.”

Damhyeon replied while looking at Dang Bi, who clicked his tongue in frustration.

Yet the one who truly could not understand was Damhyeon himself.

Dang Bi had grown up seeing such a life and was accustomed to it, but Ban Hojin was not.

He was born into an ordinary family and had spent most of his life in a temple, so the idea of three wives and four concubines was something he had only ever heard of.

‘Still, there is no need to spell that out.’

If fate aligned, bonds would naturally form.

If it was not meant to be, no matter what those around did, it would not work, and if it was meant to be, it would come to pass even if everyone tried to stop it.

So it was best to leave it to the natural course.

Moreover, Damhyeon trusted Ban Hojin’s character and discernment.

“Isn’t Shaolin a prestigious great sect?”

“It is also a temple.”

“……That is true as well.”

Dang Bi blinked his eyes.

On second thought, it was indeed correct.

“I have heard that the situation in Miaojiang is not ordinary.”

“The Beggars’ Sect must have told you.”

“Yes. I am told that the Iron-Blood Castle of the Great Desert is also spying on the Central Plains.”

“Isn’t that nothing new? Be vigilant, but there is no need to take it too seriously.”

Dang Bi replied in a dismissive tone.

He had long since grasped the situation regarding the Nine Heavens Gate of Miaojiang.

“I heard that they are not sending disciples toward Sichuan Province.”

“It’s not that they choose not to send them, but that they cannot. Because the main house is there.”

Dang Bi corrected Damhyeon’s words.

There was a clear difference between choosing not to and being unable to.

“ I believe we should make preparations to some extent against an invasion. Being attacked without knowing and fighting after preparing are different, are they not?”

“That’s true. The Family Head knows that as well. I have also heard news about Iron-Blood Castle. I understand the Abbot’s concern, but I don’t think there’s a need to worry too much.”

“I understand.”

Although he was the abbot of Shaolin, that did not give him the right to lecture the Sichuan Tang Family about this and that.

If he had been completely unaware of the Nine Heavens Gate, it would have been one thing, but since he knew, Damhyeon wrapped it up at this point.

“That aside, I’d like to see him at least once. Just how impressive he really is.”

“You mean Hojin?”

“Haven’t you seen the head disciple? Of course I mean the Divine Dragon. I’m also curious about the skill that executed the Green Forest Great Lord. He might even become my grandson-in-law.”

Damhyeon let out a dry laugh.

After going around in circles, it all came back to Ban Hojin in the end.

Yet at the same time, he felt a sense of pride.

It meant that Ban Hojin was being acknowledged to that extent.

“There are still two days left in the banquet. Isn’t that plenty of time?”

“That’s true, but isn’t he the type to leave at any moment, even today?”

“That is correct.”

Damhyeon readily agreed.

Though he was his disciple, at times he could be cold to the point of seeming heartless.

Because of that, there was a strong possibility things would turn out exactly as Dang Bi said.

“That’s why I’m saying this. At least keep him here while the banquet is going on.”

“I will try. However, please do not hold overly high expectations.”

“Eish!”

At Damhyeon’s attitude, which did not leave even the slightest opening, Dang Bi frowned in displeasure.

However, Damhyeon paid no mind to whether Dang Bi liked it or not.

To him, Ban Hojin’s happiness was far more important than Dang Bi.

‘He’ll handle things on his own anyway.’

Ban Hojin was no longer merely leaving the nest—he was someone who was about to stand tall under heaven.

The matter regarding the Monster King was not yet widely known, but there was a saying about an awl in a sack.

He believed it would soon come to light.

“So in the end, do I have to go myself?”

“They say the thirsty one digs the well.”

“I heard the Pang Family is also eyeing him.”

“It is not only the Peng Family of Hebei.”

“Good grief.”

At Damhyeon’s attitude, which seemed to block any request for help at the source, Dang Bi shook his head.

Yet that only made him even more curious.

Still, due to pride, it felt awkward to be the one to move first.

Though he had become an old man relegated to the back rooms, in the Jianghu he was still a great senior.

‘Still, I am curious. An empty cart may rattle, but if the Abbot is that confident…’

Because she was his only granddaughter, Dang Bi had no intention of pairing her off with just anyone.

That precious granddaughter was Tang Seorin.

That was why verification was absolutely necessary.

‘I hope you don’t disappoint me.’

Dang Bi picked up his teacup for the first time.

Then he quietly drank his tea.

‘How strange.’

Tang Seorin felt an unfamiliar emotion for the first time in her life.

Clearly, this was the banquet hall within the Sichuan Tang Family, yet it did not feel like her home at all.

No, beyond that, the uncomfortable atmosphere felt fresh rather than bewildering.

It was the first time she had met a man who treated her with such indifference.

It was not that he was acting contrary on purpose to draw her attention—Ban Hojin truly had no interest in her.

Having dealt with countless men, Tang Seorin could tell that with certainty.

Slurp.

Even though another of the Three Phoenixes, Murong Heesu, was also present here, Ban Hojin showed no interest at all, merely sipping his tea.

He simply listened quietly to the conversations of others.

‘Interesting.’

Ever since she turned fifteen and began to be called the Poison Phoenix among the Three Phoenixes, this was the first time she had been treated so coldly, and rather than feeling angry, she found it intriguing.

She had never dreamed there would be a man who treated her this way.

Moreover, since she had wanted to meet him at least once ever since he was at Shaolin, Tang Seorin stared intently at Ban Hojin.

She thought that since he was a master, if she stared so openly, he would look back.

Tap.

However, Tang Seorin’s expectations were neatly betrayed.

Even though he must have clearly felt her gaze, Ban Hojin did not so much as glance sideways.

Paying her no attention whatsoever, he set down his teacup.

At that sight, Tang Seorin let out a silent scoff.

‘Rather than dull senses, it must be confidence.’

All the gazes in the banquet hall were focused on Ban Hojin.

From the start, people had been stealing glances at him, but with the Namgung Family, the Zhuge Family, and Murong Heesu joining in, attention was bound to gather.

Moreover, with herself and the Young Lord of the Sichuan Tang Family present as well, it would have been stranger if interest did not concentrate.

Yet Ban Hojin remained utterly indifferent, as if other people’s gazes meant nothing to him.

‘I’m getting more and more interested.’

Tang Seorin’s eyes sparkled.

She had always lived a life where, if there was something she wanted, she took it.

Perhaps that was why she had never been interested in men.

Men always yearned for her, so she could have them whenever she reached out.

But Ban Hojin was different.

Having already been turned down at Shaolin, Tang Seorin licked her lips with her tongue.

“I’m disappointed. You didn’t even send a single letter.”

“I thought you would be focusing on your training.”

“That doesn’t mean I went into closed-door training.”

Unlike the others, who hesitated to open their mouths as they checked each other and watched Ban Hojin’s reaction, Pang Hwayeong spoke up, deliberately sounding disappointed.

After all, the time they had spent together had not been short, yet he seemed far too indifferent.

“There’s also a saying that no news is good news, isn’t there?”