Guan Hu must not have been that famous. It wasn"t a name that Lee Sungmin was familiar with, as he searched through his memories. Lee Sungmin approached the pavilion as Guan Hu raised his bowed head and offered Lee Sungmin to take a seat.
“Ghost Gun, if I may ask, why did you protect the Minor Heavenly Demon?”
“Do I have to answer?”
“Well, I have a lot of questions. You"re not quite famous in this world yet, are you? After killing the Solitary Blade Dokgo, you got the nickname "Ghost Gun". But, is that really all there is? Only half a year ago, you overpowered the Crazy Heavenly Demon in northern Travia. After that, you killed Baek Museon who became a vampire.”
Those things were being rumored? Lee Sungmin slightly clicked his tongue. It was true that he clashed with the Crazy Heavenly Demon outside the gates of Travia and knocked him down. The fight was loud, so there must have been someone who witnessed it.
When he first went to Travia, Lee Sungmin rode a carriage, and he thought the horseman was a member of the Haomun Sect.
(T/N The Haomun sect is a sect like the beggars/wanderers sect in regards to dealing with information. The Beggars Sect is with the Orthodox Factions and the Haomun is with the Heretical/Unorthodox Factions)
“I don"t know why the Crazy Heavenly Demon is traveling with you, but your track record is more like a political faction"s consultative branch. The Ghost Blade and the Crazy Heavenly Demon, they were all huge merits. Perhaps, if you went to the Orthodox Factions, you could have been treated well in recognition of your contributions.”
“What are you trying to imply?”
“I"m asking because I don"t understand your actions at all. Why did you protect the Minor Heavenly Demon from Ironclad? Following your track record it doesn"t make any sense. What is the relations.h.i.+p between you and the Minor Heavenly Demon?”
“Friend.”, Lee Sungmin answered while carefully putting down Wijihoyeon.
Guan Hu opened his eyes wide in shock. He had been taking turns watching Lee Sungmin and Wijihoyeon for a while and he bursted into laughter.
“I see. Your friend…There are a lot of followers of the Minor Heavenly Demon, but I"ve never heard of her friend.”
“We met 10 years ago in Genavis. Then the next thing I knew… We became friends.”
“So you stopped Ironclad for her?”
“We originally promised to meet in this city today. I didn"t even think this event was going to happen with Ironclad.”
“What are your plans for the future?”, Guan Hu asked with a smile, “Whatever the reason may be, it"s no doubt that you"ve saved the Minor Heavenly Demon by overpowering the Ironclad. It was witnessed by many, and the rumors will spread quickly. It is said that the Othodox Factions have departed from Crohn, so they"ll probably arrive here as early as today or tomorrow at the latest.”
“That"s why I"m here.”
“What do you want from the Samaryunju?”
“It"s a ha.s.sle to be chased, I think anybody would agree to that. If it is a group that is well organized and as powerful as the Orthodox, then it might be dangerous. They"re outstanding individuals and I could somehow deal with them. But there"s too many of them.”
“Only poor people want the protection of the Samaryunju. Do you know what that means?”
“Get to the point.”
“Haha… don"t be too angry. To be protected by Samaryunju means to be trusted by the Sama Order. In the case of Minor Heavenly Demon Wijihoyeon, who has been wandering without power, looks like she wants to become a comrade of the Samaryunju.”
“If you want to know, ask Wijihoyeon, not me.”
“Then what about you?”
The eyes of Guan Hu narrowed.
“You"re a great master. Yoo Ho-jeong is one of the most talented people who use spears and lances. And you didn"t just overpower him. You completely overwhelmed him.”
“The Ironclad didn"t attack me with the intent to kill. What might have happened if we fought to kill each other?”
“I don"t think everyone understands that. If you want to use Samaryunju as a s.h.i.+eld against the Orthodox, shouldn"t Samaryunju get something for that? The Minor Heavenly Demon is asleep now and can"t hear the answer, but you"re not.”
“Then I"ll just leave.”
Lee Sungmin reached for the shoulder of still sleeping Wijihoyeon.
Samaryunju was not the only place to ask for protection. It"s not like he would be stranded in Rubes without the protection of Samaryunju, they likely didn"t know his relations with the Gold and Red Towers.
Even though Lee Sungmin had a relations.h.i.+p with Lloyd, the owner of the Gold Tower, he wasn"t sure Lloyd would protect him only for a favor, but if that was the case, he would just have to "please" Lloyd.
“Just kidding.”, Guan Hu chuckled lightly as he see Lee Sungmin lifting Wijihoyeon.
“Are you going to the Gold Tower? I guess it was because you didn"t want to bother the Tower Master, given that you were just there.”, he continued.
“What kind of joke is that?”, asked Lee Sungmin, without answering the previous question.
Guan Hu shrugged at the remark.
“As long as you"re here, I will protect you in the name of Samaryunju. Even if you don"t want to.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“Do you, the branch manager, have that authority?”
“This is not my will, but the Lords.”, replied Guan Hu, “If it gets serious, Samaryunju will have to fall into war. But if not, the head ordered for your protection.”
“…why?”
“That"s because of how much reputation the Minor Heavenly Demon has, and you"re quite formidable yourself. In this world, regardless of age, how many of the "humans" are as good as you?”
Guan Hu stood up from his seat.
“The servants will be back soon with our meals. Let"s have a meal first. I"ll also call in a maid if necessary.”
“…please do so.”
“And this is my house. It"s not easy for someone to cause disturbances for my guests.”
Guan Hu gestured to Lee Sungmin to sit down.
“I don"t think you"re from Murim. Is that right?”
“No cla.s.s.”
“No-cla.s.s, with a high rank at that age…That"s great! If you"re that good, you won"t be ignored anywhere in the world. Still it might vary in certain places, but you can live rather leisurely. But that doesn"t mean you"re "free". As long as you"re gray, you"ll be neither black nor white, but you"ll also be ostracized.”
(T/N He"s speaking in regards to the factions in support of humans and non-humans when talking about being gray)
“It"s none of your concern.”
“Haha… you are quite stubborn. Or are you simply afraid to make a choice?”
Guan Hu turned around and left the octagonal pavilion, leaving the words behind.
"Are you afraid to make a choice?"
Lee Sungmin looked down at the Wijihoyeon"s face. He just didn"t feel the need to choose between the Political factions and Religious sects. He saw them as individuals fighting for their own merits. In that sense the Political Factions were the same as the Religious Sects.
[It"s not just the Political and the Religious sects.]
Heoju murmured in a mirthful voice.
[You"re gray. Gray that may turn white or black.]
“I know what you mean.”
He already heard this from Heo-ju. When he almost died in the fight against the b.l.o.o.d.y Heavenly Demon, his body was already starting to regenerate without drinking the Elixir. No matter how good his body was at learning martial arts, regenerative power like that wasn"t something easily attainable. He may have the ability because of the black heart. But, because of that, Lee Sungmin"s regenerative power had already surpa.s.sed a human"s regenerative limits.
It was as Guan Hu said. Not long after, the servants brought their food. Luxurious foods were placed on the table in the center of the octagonal pavilion. However, Lee Sungmin didn"t pay any attention to the food. Without saying anything, he lowered Wijihoyeon"s body to rest.
“…yes…”
Wi Jihoyeon made a small moan.
[It must be painful.]
Heoju murmured. The curse engraved on Wijihoyeon was vicious and placed her in a poor state. As Wijihoyeon"s breathing became rough, her eyebrows wrinkled. A cold sweat began to trickle down her forehead. Lee Sungmin sighed and reached out his hand. He wiped the cold sweat off her forehead lightly with his hands.
“…Don"t you have a handkerchief?”
Wijihoyeon opened her eyes. She stared at Lee Sungmin with blurry eyes. Lee Sungmin got startled and held up his hands in guilty.
“…none.”
“Dumb guy. Carry a handkerchief or something …”
“Do you have one?”
“It"s in my chest pocket. Will you get it out?”, Wijihoyeon said with a mischievous smile.
A joke with a pale face and a quivering voice didn"t feel like a joke, so Lee Sungmin reached out his hand, nodding his head silently. Then she chuckled and eventually burst into laughter.
“I"m kidding. You… Did you seriously try to put your hand on my chest? You pervert.”
“You asked me to do that.”
“I said it was just a joke.”
Wijihoyeon slowly raised her upper body.
"Not good" she thought to herself.
Wijihoyeon bit her lower lip slightly.
Even when she first came to Rubes, the curse wasn"t this strong. The curse seemed to have gotten worse as she fought with Ironclad. She took a deep breath and suppressed the writhing pain in her body, then took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off.
“…it"s hot…”
Wijihoyeon mumbled and frowned her eyebrows in a small voice.
“And it"s cold. I feel like s.h.i.+t.”
“…Did you drink some water?”
“No. I tried drinking water on my way here, but it didn"t do anything. I"ve tried some painkillers, but… it"s pretty much non-effective though. I guess because it"s a curse.”
“Who the h.e.l.l put a curse on you?”
Lee Sungmin took the handkerchief from Wijihoyeon. Then, he wiped her face for her. While breathing out roughly, Wijihoyeon closed her eyes as she felt the touch of Lee Sungmin.
“…what will you do if I tell you?”
“I"ll do something about it.”
“You…? Whoo-hoo. That"s impossible. 10 years ago… no, even compared to you a year ago, he"s really, really strong. Even if it"s you now, you"re not his match.”
“How would we know without trying?”
“Are you stronger than me?”, asked Wijihoyeon.
Lee Sungmin couldn"t answer that.
“The guy who cursed me… he"s part of the group Beyond the Heavens. He is one of them, Qian Zun.”
Wijihoyeon coughed up a dry cough. Lee Sungmin reached out to her in surprise. However, she raised her hand and blocked Lee Sungmin"s hand.
“In his own words… He"s one of the Six Divinities. I fought with Qian Zun for three days and nights, but I couldn"t kill him. He stopped fighting me suddenly and left… As he was leaving, he placed a curse on me with the words that one day I would come back to him.”
“…Beyond the Heavens, Six Divinities… hmmmm…”
He had already heard about the group from the Crazy Heavenly Demon in Travia. Ten years ago, the Crazy Heavenly Demon had suffered a defeat by the same Qian Zun of the Six Divinites. And now, through Wijihoyeon, he heard about them once more.
“This curse won"t go away unless I kill Qian Zun… Are you saying you can kill Qian Zun? Even after I told you about how long and difficult our fight was?”
“I have to.”
“Why? Is it because we"re friends?”, Wijihoyeon asked with a playful smile despite her condition.
Lee Sungmin hesitated and nodded his head. Wijihoyeon chuckled at his answer.
“I would appreciate that, but… It"s okay. It"s my problem, so I"ll figure it out.”, she said as she shook her head.
“With that kind of body?”
“Whoa… I never thought I"d hear that from you. Let"s stop talking about this. We made a promise 10 years ago… and it"s been a year since we met, but we couldn"t really talk to each other in the dungeon at that time.”, Wijihoyeon smiled as she said.
“I"ve really been looking forward to this day. So… let"s share our stories with each other from the time we"ve been apart. Also, I"m hungry, so you better feed me.”
Wijihoyeon kept laughing playfully. It was a completely different laugh compared to what he heard 10 years ago.
“Fine, what do you want to eat?”, Lee Sungmin asked with a sigh.
When he reached out to grab the chopsticks, Wijihoyeon replied as if she had been waiting for it.
“Meat.”
“Meat?”
“Yes.”
Wijihoyeon opened her mouth.
“Put that in here.”
(T/N she said Lee Sungmins a pervert… This woman *facepalm)
“I can"t really stop you.”
Lee Sungmin grumbled and picked up some meat with his chopsticks. Yet, he had a faint smile on his face.