I’ll have the 75th drink.
I crossed the final boundary of Naewon with Jo Chun-bae.
We went through the identity verification and body search that we had done twice before, and we checked again the various food items that Jo Chun-bae had brought.
Jo Chun-bae was frozen solid. The further he went into the inner chamber, the stronger and more fearsome the guards became, so he couldn’t even breathe properly.
Only after he crossed the line like that did Jo Chun-bae relax.
“Whew, I’ve never been this nervous in my life.”
“Don’t be so nervous. I’m here.”
“Yes, sir, if it weren’t for you, would I have been able to come here? This is my first time here.”
The place we were headed to was the residence of the leader of the Pungcheon sect.
“What is your first impression of my hospital?”
“I was so scared I couldn’t even see properly.”
“Don’t be afraid. There are few people who work as hard as the owner in this vast place.”
“Oh, don’t say that.”
Jo Chun-bae waved his hand, saying it was nonsense, but the corners of his mouth went up in a pleasant mood every time he waved his hand.
“I never imagined that I would be so lucky that His Majesty would visit my tavern, and that thanks to that, I would be able to cook for people I would never meet in my dreams, and that I would be able to come all the way to my hospital.”
The reason I brought Jo Chun-bae today was to ask him to cook something for me while I was drinking with the leader of the Pungcheon cult, but in reality, I wanted to show him around the temple.
One day, I said that I wanted to visit the inner temple of Cheonmasingyo through a story that went by, and today, I am going to make that wish come true.
These days, my personal master, Master Im, is providing meals to the Pungcheon Church members waiting outside the temple with other masters, so there was ample reason to bring Jo Chun-bae.
“I guess I accumulated a lot of virtue in my past life.”
“It seems like our master saved the martial arts world in his past life.”
“Even if I couldn’t save the martial arts world, I’m sure I would have beaten at least one of the martial arts alliance elders who invaded our school with an iron ladle.”
I laughed pleasantly at his joke. At that moment, the guards passing by greeted me politely. It was Jo Chun-bae who couldn’t even make eye contact with those scary guards.
“It feels good to be here, but it’s also scary.”
“That is why I established a small business in Magachon. It is a place that is not easy for everyone to come to. So, please take a good look at the people of Magachon and the small business, and if you have anything to say to me, please be sure to tell me.”
“Yes, I will do that.”
So we arrived at the residence where the leader of the Pungcheon sect resided.
“Are you here?”
The leader of the Fengchun clan welcomed me warmly. I had promised to treat him to a drink once the final decision was made. The leader of the Fengchun clan was in a good mood because he was in a good mood after becoming a Qingxian and I had even refused the new water.
“This is the owner of the Pungryu Inn that you saw last time. Rather than serving cold food, I came here because I wanted to eat a warm meal prepared by the owner. Please, owner.”
“I will cook this dish with my whole heart.”
“The owner doesn’t really want to eat it, so please make it as you usually do.”
“yes!”
While Jo Chun-bae was preparing the food, the leader of the Poongcheon Church and I went into the room.
“I congratulate you for taking Amazon as your disciple.”
“This is something I would never have been able to accomplish if I hadn’t been a scientist. Thank you.”
“It’s because the leader taught his disciples well.”
“Let’s call it our victory.”
We enjoyed our victory like this, congratulating each other. I knew Cheongseon would win. Since a master as great as the leader of Pungcheon had a hand in it, he would have won no matter what method he used. The opponent was too big for Iljeja Yangdo to create a variable.
After a while, the food and drinks prepared by Jo Chun-bae arrived.
The leader of Pungcheon Church was satisfied after tasting the food.
“Your cooking skills are pretty good.”
“I will pass it on to the owner. He will like it.”
We enjoyed the drinks and food. Cho Chun-bae’s cooking was excellent today, as if he had planned it.
“Have you met your father?”
“We agreed to meet up daily.”
“When you meet him, emphasize that. I will take Cheongseon as my disciple and raise him to be a stronger Sub-Hon Ma-Jon than the previous Sub-Hon Ma-Jon. That is the most important thing to my father.”
“I see what you mean. Thanks for telling me.”
“you’re welcome.”
When the drinking party was in full swing, I said to the leader of the Pungcheon sect nonchalantly.
“Can I offer a drink to the man in chains over there?”
For a moment, the leader of the Pungcheon sect was startled.
“Why are you giving that guy a drink?”
“It doesn’t mean anything special. I’ve seen you many times when I’ve come to see the leader, so I just wanted to treat you to a drink on this pleasant day.”
The leader of the Pungcheon Church said with a smile.
“That guy can’t even touch alcohol.”
“Is that so?”
It was then that the man in chains opened his mouth.
“I’d like a drink.”
I was surprised, but the leader of the Fengchun Church was even more surprised. The leader of the Fengchun Church’s expression gradually hardened. I could guess from the change in his expression that he could not hide.
The chained man has never once accepted alcohol from the leader of the Fengchun sect.
“Then let me buy you a drink.”
I got up from my seat, pretending not to see the leader of the Pungcheon cult who looked like he was going to explode at any moment.
Then he took a glass and a bottle of wine and went to the man in chains.
I sat down in front of him and offered him a glass.
Then the man in shackles, who had been bowing his head, raised his head and accepted my glass.
I slowly filled his glass.
He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t even give a sound. He just poured me a drink.
The chained man bowed his head and accepted the drink, then drank it.
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He then handed me back the glass and this time he poured me a drink.
I also received a drink and drank it down.
We, who had only exchanged glances, finally shared a drink. We only drank without saying a word, but that was enough for me.
The leader of the Pungcheon Church, who was watching this scene, seemed really angry. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said such things.
“Do you know what that guy’s specialty is? He has a great sense of smell, like a dog. He can smell someone who comes to steal the treasure incredibly well. What do you think? Don’t those chains look like dog leashes? Hahahaha.”
The leader of the Pungcheon sect laughed loudly after saying something that sounded more like contempt than a joke.
The only sound in the room was his laughter.
And then the silence followed.
The remark just now was a clear slip of the tongue, ignoring the man in chains. I took it tactfully and did not give him a chance to make up for his slip of the tongue. This was a kind of gift given to me by his recklessness.
I went back to my original seat and poured some more alcohol into his now empty glass.
“Here, have a drink.”
The leader of the Pungcheon sect drank his alcohol in silence.
The chained man was frozen like a fossil, his head bowed as usual.
The leader of the Fengchun sect, who was looking at the sight, bit his lips tightly. At least in relation to the man in chains, the leader of the Fengchun sect was unable to hide or control his emotions. Just like the Bloody Heavenly Sword Master did in relation to the Ilhwa Sword.
I said goodbye and left the place earlier than originally planned.
I gave the chained man a drink, and I drank his drink, so I achieved the purpose of my visit today.
* * *
After the sword dance ended, the atmosphere became gloomy.
The leader of the Pungcheon Church admitted that he had done something wrong, but he felt strangely bad. He didn’t want to apologize, but he forced himself to apologize.
“I’m sorry about earlier.”
Even after the leader of the Pungcheon sect apologized, the man in chains did not say anything.
“I said I’m sorry.”
When there was no response even after apologizing again, the leader of the Pungcheon cult finally exploded.
“What the hell! What are you trying to do? I’m your master. You’re my subordinate. Can’t I say that? I’ve been telling you to come, come, come, and now you’re getting cocky? Do you want to die? Is that it?”
The leader of the Fengchun sect shouted. But the voice in his heart was chastising himself.
‘What are you doing? Why are you yelling at me for doing such a good job?’
The more he reproached himself, the louder his voice became.
“How much have I tolerated you? Five times speaking informally to me? What kind of crazy person would give a subordinate a chance like that? Because it was me! Didn’t you do it because it was me? You don’t even know gratitude. You said you can’t drink? You said you hated it no matter what? And you accepted a drink from Lee Gong-ja? And that’s when I said I can’t drink?”
No matter how angry I was, I should have stopped here.
However, the leader of the Pungcheon sect could not hold back his rising anger and crossed the line that should not be crossed.
The next moment, the space they were in changed.
It wasn’t a place with the always open blue sky and fields.
It was in the middle of a battlefield where blood flowed and corpses were strewn about. The smell of blood filled my nostrils, making it difficult to stay there even for a moment.
“This is the perfect place for you. It will be the only place you will ever see!”
The reason why the leader of the Pungcheon Church could not stop his anger was because he was the only one beating the drum and janggu from the beginning to the end. He made mistakes, and he got angry.
The chained man didn’t say a word. He just accepted the drink.
‘No, he was the one who made the mistake first. He shouldn’t have accepted that drink. Didn’t he call me that? That I’m petty and greedy? Why did he do this when he knew that?’
Then, as if he had read her inner thoughts, the man in shackles opened his mouth politely.
“I was short-sighted. Sorry.”
He was so polite that it made the leader of the Pungcheon Church’s heart sink.
The heart of the leader of the Fengchun sect began to pound with anxiety that he might never hear the man in chains speak frankly again.
‘This is not it. Apologize quickly. Hurry up!’
I screamed in my mind.
But he didn’t say sorry. He had a lot going on too.
‘Why should I apologize? I’m that guy’s owner. I’m the leader of the Pungcheon cult!’
I’ve had fights with him many times, but I’ve never had a conflict this big before. So I was at a loss as to what to do.
If I had dealt with someone else, I would have dealt with it much more calmly. If it had been Mabul, I would have screamed on the outside while calculating on the inside.
But that wasn’t the case for the Chained Man.
The bloody sea that was unfolding before his eyes was the mind of the leader of the Fengchun sect. He thought about it over and over again, but in the end, the leader of the Fengchun sect was unable to apologize.
All I could hear was the howling of wolves that smelled blood without even knowing my feelings.
* * *
I watched Seodaeryong’s training from a corner of the yard of the Blood Heavenly Demon’s residence.
After completing basic training, I was now practicing my first technique, but my skill in wielding the sword was different from before.
I told Seo Dae-ryong at the past Pungryu Inn. It was late, but I would learn more diligently. So it was okay. My words became reality.
He didn’t neglect a single movement. Furthermore, as they say, a smart person learns martial arts well, Seo Dae-ryong was making rapid progress.
At that moment, Hyeolcheon Doma came and stood next to me.
“Did you come to watch your subordinates suffer?”
“Because I have a friend who works hard even during the day, I don’t have such a bad hobby.”
“Then what are you doing at this hour?”
“I came to see you because I have something to discuss.”
“Come in.”
Leaving the training Seodaeryong behind, I entered the Blood Heavenly Demon’s residence.
I was amazed at the books that filled the closet.
“You really have a lot of books.”
“Add what you want to say.”
“It doesn’t match.”
“It’s not a book to be read, it’s a book for decoration.”
“Even the decorations don’t match.”
“You idiot! If you read all the books you read as a child, you’ll end up killing as many people as the cult leader.”
“Then you would have become a university professor.”
After joking around like that, we got to the main point.
“What do you want to discuss?”
“There is someone I want to free from his chains.”
Hyeolcheondoma, who was surprised by the unexpected words, misunderstood like this.
“Is there anyone you want to release from the underground prison?”
“No. There is one around me.”
This time, I took it in a symbolic sense.
“Yeah, everyone lives with a chain on.”
“What are the old man’s chains?”
“it’s me…….”
The blood clot in the hole asked as if something was going to come out and then disappear.
“Who is that person?”
“I am the subordinate of the leader of the Pungcheon sect.”
“Oh, like that.”
The expression on his face already shows that he is in trouble.
“He must be a good person since he is the person you want to get. That means there is a high possibility that the leader of the Fengchun sect also cares about him.”
“That is correct.”
“Does the leader of the Fengchun sect know that you want that person?”
“I do not know.”
“Did you talk to that subordinate?”
“No, we haven’t said a word yet. But I believe we have a connection.”
“Heart? You believe in it? This is truly a difficult situation.”
When I thought about who I should consult about the Shackled Man, the first person that came to mind was Hyulcheon Doma. Even if he couldn’t give me the answer, I thought I could find the answer myself by talking to him. Hyulcheon Doma is that kind of person to me.
“That’s why I came to see you, old man. Please tell me the way.”
“Have you left the method to me?”
I smiled brightly and said confidently.
“Yes! Please give me what I left for you. Please tell me the way out of this mountainous region.”
