Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Strange.

That was the only feeling Horyeung could have as he watched Youngho.

Just what kind of person was he? From the very first time they had met, it had been so. Far from timid or fearful, he had been bold and overflowing with confidence.

Had he been deceiving people all this time?

‘I suppose I’ll only know if I see it for myself.’

Youngho said this as he entered the house.

“Sopyung, I’m home.”

“Young Master, you’re back?”

“Yeah.”

Sopyung trotted over to where Youngho was, then noticed Horyeung and greeted him politely.

“Hello. My name is Sopyung.”

“Horyeung.”

There was no need to say much to a maidservant. Knowing this, Sopyung stayed quiet, and Horyeung, as if it were only natural, spoke casually to her.

“Just get along well with each other. And Horyeung—there’s no need to be so stiff. Just think of it as retirement.”

“For now, I have come as an escort. I cannot conduct myself that way.”

“Other than dawn, it’ll be peaceful daily life. Just think of Sopyung as your granddaughter too.”

At those words, a flustered Sopyung waved her hands frantically.

“Young Master, I’m really fine!”

“No. From what I see, someday Horyeung will end up thinking of you as his granddaughter.”

Youngho lightly tapped Horyeung on the shoulder.

“Relax. Take it easy.”

After saying that, Youngho began his training.

Horyeung, struck by a peculiar sensation he had never felt in his life, found himself at a loss for words.

Mysterious. He had only felt sensations like this a handful of times throughout his entire life. Youngho’s overly relaxed and natural words and actions were something even Horyeung, who had lived several decades longer, could not easily gauge.

It felt like watching an eccentric old man whose next move was utterly unpredictable.

‘It feels like I’m meeting the Hall Master.’

It was as though he were directly conversing with the Hall Master of the Gold-Blood Hall.

But that couldn’t be. No— it must not be. Still, Horyeung could now somewhat understand why the Branch Hall Master had ordered him to keep watch over Youngho.

And so, a week passed.

“Young Master, a letter has arrived.”

“From whom?”

“Just a moment…… It seems to be from someone named Yeo Jeonghye… What?”

Thinking she must have read it wrong, Sopyung checked the name again.

Yeo Jeonghye. The sender was none other than that Yeo Jeonghye.

‘A letter from the Branch Hall Master of the Gold-Blood Hall?’

It made no sense. Why would such an enormous figure send a letter to the Young Master?

‘Poison…?’

She had heard of assassination methods where poison would be released the moment a letter was opened.

Seeing Sopyung hesitate over whether to hand it to her, Youngho read her thoughts as if by instinct and let out a small chuckle.

“It’s nothing. Just give it here.”

“Yes?”

“Really. Hurry and give it to me.”

At that, Sopyung let out a troubled groan, still hesitating. In the end, Youngho directly snatched the letter from her hand and immediately unfolded it to read.

—Have you lost your mind?

Seeing the opening words asking if he had gone mad, Youngho smiled warmly and continued reading.

—There is far too much gold in the gold mine. I will provide as many conveniences as possible, so keep your boundaries yourself. And I would like our transaction to continue.

There was not a shred of courtesy in the letter. Yet precisely because of that, Youngho liked the situation even more. It meant Yeo Jeonghye had removed at least one of her masks in front of him.

Very good. At the very least, Yeo Jeonghye did not consider him an enemy.

‘Still, she’ll try to find out where I got information about the gold mine.’

But she would never succeed. After all, the location Youngho had given was a gold mine Yeo Jeonghye herself would discover decades later.

Youngho had merely moved that date forward a little. Chuckling to himself, Youngho sent a reply of his own.

—Fine.

The expression Yeo Jeonghye would make upon receiving this letter would be quite the sight. Laughing like a demon, Youngho sent it off.

“Sopyung, here’s the reply. Send it.”

“Yes.”

Knowing one of Yeo Jeonghye’s masks known as the Blood Hand, Sopyung handled the letter with extreme care, making sure it did not crease even slightly as she went to send the reply.

Seeing Horyeung, Youngho thought of Yeo Jeonghye again and burst into laughter once more.

“What is it that you find so amusing?”

“No, the Branch Hall Master asked me if I was crazy.”

At that, Horyeung could not hide his bewildered expression, clearly asking why. Seeing it, Youngho laughed again.

After laughing for quite a while, Youngho wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and spoke.

“So, how does it feel after staying here for a week?”

“It’s wonderful.”

There was not the slightest hint of falsehood in Horyeung’s words. Rather, his satisfied expression lent them even more sincerity.

“More comfortable than you expected, right?”

“Beyond imagination.”

“Dawn might be a bit rough, but it’s bearable, isn’t it?”

“This is incomparably more comfortable than when I was with the Blood Wolf Unit.”

“Then that’s good enough. When Sopyung comes back, let’s eat together.”

“Understood.”

The more Horyeung watched Youngho, the more he found himself impressed. Youngho did not look down on anyone.

Though his way of speaking was a bit impudent, his attitude was the same whether the other person was of low or high status.

As if all humans were more or less the same. Yet Youngho was neither difficult nor overly familiar. He was simply comfortable.

That perfectly balanced comfort made it feel, when speaking with Youngho, as though he were talking with a friend he had known for decades.

And so, six months flew by in the blink of an eye.

Youngho continued to endure days of brutal training. He trained to the point that even Horyeung, who watched him, grew weary.

‘This is even worse than the Blood Wolf Unit.’

Horyeung had never once thought the training he had undergone until now was easy. Yet the training Youngho displayed always surpassed that.

He was constantly pushing beyond the limits of his body, so Horyeung had once offered him advice.

That such training would only consume the body rather than make one stronger.

The strange thing was that Youngho deeply agreed with Horyeung’s words.

Which only made it more puzzling. If he knew that, why did he continue such training?

But after a few days, Horyeung could not hide his shock.

Despite enduring that mindless amount of training, Youngho was growing stronger. Setting aside the question of how one could even withstand such brutal training, Horyeung was deeply impressed by Youngho’s mental fortitude.

Youngho did not take even a single day off from training. And every single day, the amount of training changed.

He endured more training today than yesterday, and tomorrow he would endure even more than today.

For a martial artist, consistent training was essential. Even so, to maintain that level of training steadily for six months straight was something that even the Alliance Lord would not hesitate to praise as remarkable.

At that moment, Sopyung approached Horyeung and spoke.

“Grandfather, would you like to have some refreshments?”

At Sopyung’s gentle tone, Horyeung answered just as comfortably.

“You’ve been putting a lot of care into making refreshments lately, haven’t you?”

As Horyeung looked at her with clear approval, Sopyung giggled and replied.

“It seemed like the Young Master likes sweet things.”

“He certainly does like sweets.”

Perhaps he liked being called grandfather far more than he realized, because Horyeung’s lips twitched unconsciously.

Six months was enough time for people to learn what the other liked and disliked.

After learning that Horyeung preferred a calm and pleasant peace, Sopyung treated him comfortably, like her own grandfather, unlike how she treated other martial artists.

Because of Sopyung’s behavior, Horyeung truly felt as though he had retired, and even when she called him grandfather, he said nothing in protest.

It was an almost perfect retirement life. A peaceful life spent with a lovely granddaughter……

It was peace beyond comparison to when he had been a Unit Leader.

If only assassins did not come at dawn, it would have been truly perfect, but he had not come here to relax in the first place, so that could not be helped.

And the moment Sopyung learned that Youngho liked sweet things, she began practicing making sweets and taffy.

As she started trying her hand at various other dishes as well, not only did her refreshments improve, but her overall cooking skill advanced by leaps and bounds.

“It might be better to eat the refreshments later since we’ll be having a meal soon.”

“Oh! That’s right.”

At that moment, Youngho came over to drink water, stopping right in front of Horyeung.

“Sopyung, doesn’t it feel like it’s about time for lunch?”

“I already prepared everything in advance.”

“Oh? Then what’s on the menu today?”

“I prepared Dongpo Pork so soft you won’t even need to chew it, so please look forward to it!”

“Oh! That’s what you’ve been preparing since yesterday, right?”

“Of course! It just needs to finish simmering now.”

“Then let’s get ready quickly.”

At those words, Horyeung moved at once. The way he placed the tableware on the table like a flash of lightning made it obvious to anyone that he was eagerly anticipating Sopyung’s cooking.

The movements were so refined they resembled a perfectly choreographed opera, making it clear Horyeung had done this sort of thing more than once.

As Sopyung went to fetch the Dongpo Pork, Youngho sat down and spoke.

“Horyeung, think of it as the good days being over.”

“Yes? What do you mean by that?”

“My senior brother or senior sister will probably start moving soon.”

At that, Horyeung’s expression rapidly stiffened.

“Well, I trust the Gold-Blood Hall, so I know you, as someone from there, won’t betray me. Still, I think a lot of troublesome things are about to start happening.”

“Do you have grounds for that?”

“Feel carefully. The ones hiding all around.”

With a startled expression, Horyeung hastily raised his senses to their limit.

Within the pitch-black emptiness where there had been nothing, something began to reveal itself. As he sensed human presences, Horyeung looked at Youngho with an incredulous expression.

“Since when did you notice this?”

“A little over a week ago.”

A chill ran through Horyeung’s entire body. It was true that his discipline had loosened somewhat recently.

But for someone to twist through the senses of a former Blood Wolf Unit Leader like this?

“They’re not ordinary.”

“They’re nothing but small fry. If you’d paid just a bit more attention.”

Youngho’s words stabbed painfully into Horyeung’s heart.

At that moment, when Horyeung saw the demonic light in Youngho’s eyes, he nearly drew his sword against his own master without realizing it.

They were that overwhelming, those eyes—more chilling than anything else.

Barely stopping himself from drawing his sword, Horyeung swallowed hard.

“Horyeung, don’t forget. Once you step into the Jianghu, it wouldn’t be strange for you to die at any moment. Your grudges are not at a manageable level.”

“……I won’t forget.”

“Then use your time well from now on. As long as you’re a martial artist, training must never stop.”

“I will take the Young Master’s words to heart.”

“Good.”

“Young Master! I brought the Dongpo Pork!”

Already having sensed Sopyung’s presence, Youngho instantly changed his expression.

“Give me a lot of rice.”

“Of course!”

Watching Youngho change expressions so casually, Horyeung felt admiration—but at the same time, anger at how lax he himself had been until now.

Anger directed at himself.

Catching a glimpse of that expression, Youngho smiled inwardly.

‘A martial artist must never stop. Even if it’s slow, one must always keep moving forward.’

No matter how much one retired, as long as one was a martial artist, one had to keep advancing. Resting this much was enough.

Now, Horyeung would understand as well.

That there was no peace in the retirement of an Unorthodox member.