Episode 165
“Do you know me?”
“How could you not know? “He is one of the most famous people in Wulin.”
Baek Woo-seon embroidered on the sleeve of the blue dean’s gown caught the eye.
It meant that the young man was a person of the Zhuge Dynasty.
The level of warriors lined up behind was also unusual.
Each and every one of them was an expert who had reached the pinnacle of excellence.
“What did you come to see me for?”
“The introduction is late. “He is said to be Zhuge Hyukjin of the Zhuge family.”
Jegal Hyukjin.
It was a name I had heard of before.
The earth dragon of the time.
It was he who was appointed as the head of the small household of the Zhuge family.
I stood up and lightly hugged him and said.
“This is Yeon So-un.”
“If it’s okay, can we sit together?”
“That’s right.”
Zhuge Hyuk-jin, who was sitting across the table with a relaxed smile, ordered Jeom So-yi a drink.
Perhaps because the scary-looking guards were lined up like a folding screen behind him, Jeomsoi ran into the kitchen with a very intimidated expression.
“Are you eating alone?”
“yes. “The rest of the group is resting to relieve their travel fatigue.”
We exchanged light conversations and observed each other.
Pale face and thin body.
His skin was so white that it reminded him of a snowy field, and not a single callus was visible on his long, slender fingers.
Looking at his appearance alone, he seemed far from a warrior who had learned the martial arts of rising.
‘On the other hand, the inner strength of the Danjeon is incredible. I heard you were lying in a hospital bed for a long time, and it looks like you took a lot of elixirs that are good for your body.’
The status of being the successor to the giant Sega was good.
He overcame his weak constitution with the power of elixirs and medicine, and filled the gap in his career by using his twin sister as his double.
However, that did not mean that I would disparage the young man in front of me as an incompetent late Jisoo who only had an outstanding background.
I knew because I had memories of my past life.
How did the earth dragon perform on the battlefield?
The nickname ‘Earth Dragon’ was given to Jegal Hye, not Zhuge Hyuk Jin. However, Zhuge Hyukjin himself also possesses enough talent to be called a dragon.’
I had no intention of debating which of the siblings was better.
There was no point in me worrying about such things as I had no special knowledge of battle tactics or military tactics.
What was clear was that Zhuge Hyukjin was a talent that could never be taken lightly.
If you were fooled by his sickly appearance and looked down on him, you could end up attacking him.
As I said before, as a demonic cultist in my past life, there are people with exceptional talent in fields other than martial arts, such as poison dragons or earth dragons, than people like sword dragons or spear dragons. I was scared.
“Have you been invited to the banquet held at Namgung House by any chance?”
“······How did you know that?”
“You don’t have to be so guarded. It’s not like the background investigation was conducted for some purpose. I recently heard a rumor about the branch manager. “He was attacked by assassins sent by the Demonic Cult.”
“yes.”
“I thought about it when I heard the rumor. “What is the reason why the branch leader left Sacheon and headed to another country during this period?”
“······.”
“Based on the travel route, I thought the destination was likely to be Hubei or Anhui. It reminded me of the invitation that the Namgung family recently sent. “If there are this many clues, you can’t not know without knowing.”
I nodded, picking up the chopsticks I had put down again.
I thought I knew why Zhuge Hyukjin came to see me.
“I’m just asking, just in case, is Xiaohyeop the representative of the envoy dispatched from the Zhuge family to the Nangong family?”
“How did you know?”
“I just had a feeling it would happen. Otherwise, there is no reason for the Sohyeop to come to see me.”
“I think you’ve already noticed, so I’ll tell you straight. “Would you like to accompany me to Namgung House?”
“It’s not a particularly difficult request to grant, but…”
I trailed off and quietly looked into Zhuge Hyukjin’s eyes.
Zhuge Hyukjin met my gaze without turning his head.
“I have doubts. Why do you want to move with me? “It will be our first meeting today.”
“I heard a story about the branch manager from my sister before.”
“······Zhuge Hye Soje said something about me?”
“yes. I thought about it then. “When I get better, I want to meet you sometime.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
The fact that he wanted to meet me once he got better means that he heard about me before the Yongbong branch meeting was held.
Suddenly, a conversation I had with Zhuge Hye in the past flashed through my mind.
[Small cooperative. I didn’t come here to say anything that would be particularly harmful to the small cooperatives. I have no intention of informing others about the identity of the small cooperative, nor do I have any intention of requesting anything from the cooperative. I just want to confirm.]
[······.]
[I will ask again. Is the true identity of the Homyeonhyup the Yeon Sohyeop?]
‘He said he had no intention of revealing my identity to anyone else.’
She was a quieter woman than I thought.
When I think about it, this wasn’t the first time that a person from the Zhuge family showed favor to me.
Zhuge Huan, the general of the Murim League, also showed kindness to me, whom I met for the first time.
‘I was wondering why you were being so kind to me.’
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It seemed that Zhuge Hye had cheated on Zhuge Huan.
If he had known that I had been active as a member of the Homyeonhyup, I could understand the favor shown by Zhuge Huan at the time.
‘I don’t like it.’
In the end, her actions did benefit me.
When the black swordsmen, instigated by Changin Dojang, attacked, if Zhuge Hwan had not helped me, I might have been disqualified.
In addition, it became easier to receive payment for bets from the Changin Dojang.
[If what I think is correct, the Sohyeop has something big planned.]
I guess she knew that I would soon reveal my true identity.
But even so, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
The second issue was whether there was profit or loss or whether there was malice.
Isn’t it natural that we cannot trust those who break their promises?
‘Well, strictly speaking, we didn’t exchange any promises?’
From then on, I felt like I had to be careful when I met Zhuge Hye.
There was no need to be hostile, but it seemed necessary to maintain an appropriate distance.
[We…are friends, right?]
‘It didn’t look like he was acting. ‘I can’t figure it out.’
Are you really bad at interpersonal relationships, or are you just pretending to be clumsy?
I shook my head to shake off my thoughts and opened my mouth.
“We will discuss your request to accompany you with your party and then decide whether to accept it or not. “I can’t give you a definite answer because I don’t know how the other party members will react.”
“All right.”
Zhuge Hyukjin nodded with a satisfied expression.
Aside from being wary, there would be no harm in building a close relationship with the head of the Zhuge family.
If you walk around together, you might be able to get some idea of what kind of person Earth Dragon is.
“It’s fate that we met like this, so let me offer you a drink.”
“I will accept it gratefully.”
Zhuge Hyeok-jin, who accepted the drink that Jeom So-yi had brought out, offered me a glass.
Two glasses clashed in the air.
So, a new person joined the group and headed to the Namgung family together.
* * *
A small village located on the border between Hubei and Anhui.
“Huh! omg!”
I scratched my cheek, looking down at Zhuge Hyukjin, who was lying on the floor in a large shape and breathing heavily.
Before Ban Si-jin, Zhuge Hyuk-jin asked me to secretly dance.
I, who wanted to find out about the Earth Dragon’s skills, gladly accepted the request.
The results were disastrous.
The earth dragon could not withstand five rounds and admitted defeat.
‘It’s a waste of energy I have in my stomach.’
If you use your incredible strength, you can overcome most second-rate experts, but that’s it.
Usage, proficiency, and experience of herbivory.
There was nothing outstanding about it.
‘······In a way, is this a natural thing?’
It wasn’t long before he got out of his hospital bed, so it wasn’t surprising that his martial arts achievements were low.
I couldn’t understand why he had the confidence to ask me for a favor.
After finishing the martial arts, Zhuge Hyukjin asked me in a polite tone if I could teach him martial arts.
I gladly accepted his request.
Because I knew he was trying to become friends with me under the pretext of martial arts training.
He was already watching and giving training to several people, including Yeo So-ok.
There was no need to feel burdened by the addition of one more person.
“Get up. “It’s not over yet.”
“Could you please let me rest a little longer?”
“It’s not possible.”
The problem was that Zhuge Hyukjin was much weaker than expected.
He neglected exercise so much that he was unable to keep up with basic training and collapsed at times.
Even though the use of internal energy was prohibited, I had no idea that he would show such a pitiful appearance.
It was like looking at Dokgo Castle from the past.
‘No matter how much the Zhuge family is famous for its writings, even so, the Murim family is the best.’
A question suddenly occurred to me.
What was the thought of the head of the Zhuge family in appointing Zhuge Hyeok-jin, rather than Zhuge Hye, as the next head of the family?
Is it simply because Zhuge Hye is a woman?
Or is it because she herself didn’t pay attention to Gajuwi?
I tilted my head and grabbed Zhuge Hyukjin’s arm and helped him up.
Zhuge Hyuk-jin, who struggled to get up, took the horse-on-horse stance and said.
“I think you’re pushing yourself too harshly.”
“It’s not that harsh.”
“At this rate, I think I’ll be sick before I get to the Namgung family.”
“The small cooperative has a lot of potential, so it will be okay. Even if you overdo it a bit, you will be able to recover quickly.”
How much time has passed like that?
Doo doo doo doo!
When Zhuge Hyukjin could no longer hold on and fell to the ground, a group of cavalry appeared in the distance.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at their appearance.
The large flag that the leading horseman was carrying on his back caught my eye.
‘The Namgung family?’
The flag had a pattern symbolizing the Namgung family.
It seemed like the Namgung family had sent someone to welcome me and my group.
‘Do you really need to send someone to meet you?’
Zhuge Hyukjin was also surprised.
He looked back and forth between the cavalry and me with an expression of incomprehension.
Soon the horsemen stopped in front of the guesthouse.
A young man who got off his horse approached me and hugged me.
“long time no see. “Yeon Sohyeop.”
“Long time no see.”
It was a familiar face.
Namgung Seonghun, the head of the Namgung family and the sword dragon.
I looked around at the horsemen with burdened eyes and muttered to myself.
‘There’s no need to do this.’
martial arts,
