Chapter 22 The Qing Family’s Branch House

Chapter 22: The Qing Family’s Branch House

Not long after Danun appeared, Ha Jin-hyeong came running.

He had been lurking near the main gate, ready to alert me the moment Danun showed up.

“I ran first…?”

Seeing him startled by the sight of Danun standing before me, I thought.

‘My mistake.’

I hadn’t anticipated Dan-un would use lightness skills to rush over.

Even if Ha Jin-hyeong’s specialty is lightness skills, compared to Dan-un’s Shadow Arrow, he’s as slow as a turtle.

But the deed was done, and regret wouldn’t change anything.

‘Can’t be helped.’

I slowly rose from my spot and approached Dan-un, looking up at him.

Then, people began to notice me and him.

“Looks like the Twin Dragons and the Azure Dragon Sword are about to duel!”

“So the rumors were true?!”

“Over there!”

“Right there!”

Murmurs and whispers.

In an instant, a crowd surged in, surrounding us with a wide gap.

A sharp aura, like a well-honed blade, descended upon me.

That momentum alone made Dan-un’s intentions abundantly clear.

And then.

I lunged forward like a bolt of lightning, driving my sword down with a fierce strike.

Kwoong!

The ground shook as Dan-un’s sword shot up like a flash of light.

A preemptive strike?

No way.

In a situation where fleeing would be barely enough, what kind of preemptive strike is that?

Summoning all sixty years of my inner strength, I unleashed the Zhen Wang Bo, propelling myself forward.

Swoosh!

Surrounding objects blurred as they rushed past.

The Zhen Wang Bo isn’t a lightness technique for traveling far; it’s a burst technique that propels the body through explosive acceleration.

Naturally, it consumes vast amounts of inner strength and isn’t ideal for escape.

But it has one advantage.

‘The zero-to-hundred acceleration is incredible.’

Since I wasn’t fleeing far, just needing to shake them off momentarily, there was no better method.

Thus, I used everything I had to escape Dan Yun’s grasp.

“The Twin Dragons and the Azure Dragon Sword have begun competing in the Jingxin Gong!”

Leaving behind the cries of unsuspecting passersby.

One hour later.

“Huff! Huff!”

Having completely drained every last bit of internal energy from my body, I reached the mid-slope of a wild mountain outside the Nine Dragons Fortress.

‘I can’t relax yet.’

Danun is an opponent I might barely stand a chance against even at peak condition.

Facing him now, after exhausting all my energy, would be disastrous.

Having scraped my energy to the bottom, I began digging into the ground.

It was the Earth-Piercing Technique, a basic skill I learned during my time at the Ascension Pavilion.

I had studied it intending to use it when escaping Nine Dragon Fortress someday, but who knew it would prove so useful today?

Recalling the old saying that one must always keep learning, I dodged the pursuit and crawled into the tunnel with the mindset of a man in his twilight years.

Three hours later.

“Phew!”

I emerged just as the sky darkened and dampness rose from the ground.

My hiding spot happened to be a damp, shady spot where water pooled, leaving me caked in mud from head to toe.

“That bastard Vegeta.”

If someone won’t engage, you should know when to give up.

This is all because of the Dengtian Pavilion’s curriculum, which prioritizes martial arts over character education.

‘If only there had been group assignments, I might have learned some teamwork…’

Of course, I would have bailed on the group anyway.

Crossing the outer walls in this wretched state, the entrance to the Black Plague District came into view.

Just as you’d expect from a high-crime area, a menacing-looking black-clad thug sat in the corner right at the entrance.

“Hey! I told you not to create a sense of unease in the neighborhood. It’ll drive down property values.”

In a world without collateral, once prices fall, they never recover.

I tossed out a casual remark like usual, but the guy glared at me.

“You beggar want to die, huh!”

“What the hell, you bastard. Why the sudden attitude?”

Swoosh!

Caught off guard by the unexpected defiance, I casually swung my palm, lightly touching his cheek.

“Guh!”

Plop, plop,

Corn kernels flew out of his mouth and hit the floor.

The fallen guy rolled his eyes back and collapsed with a thud.

“Did you eat something bad?”

A little while later.

Back home, I finally understood why he’d acted that way.

“Why does your face look like that?”

“Huh? What?”

“You’re covered in mud! You look like a beggar.”

“……”

Damn it, that Dan-un guy ruins everything.

***

That stubborn bastard’s persistence didn’t end there.

The next day, when I went to the well to wash as usual, there he was, sitting at the table with Yongmasan, eating the meal Myaohyang had prepared.

“Damn it!”

I tried to run away immediately, but this time, Danun spoke faster.

“ I’m setting out on a mission this way. I won’t be back for at least half a year. So I came to make a proposal.“

”…Go on.“

”Next spring, a tournament is scheduled where young martial artists gather to compete in martial arts.“

Like the Nine Dragons Fort martial arts tournament?

Pushing my curiosity aside, I asked Danun again.

”So?”

“My proposal is to settle it there. With all of Nine Dragons Fortress watching, what better stage could there be?”

Hearing his proposal, the calculation came immediately.

‘Anyway, with my home address already exposed, I can’t keep running and hiding.’

Unless I left Nine Dragons Fortress altogether.

Also.

As the old saying goes, a debt is a debt, even if it means slaughtering an ox.

Being given a year strangely reassured him.

There was no reason to refuse the deal.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“Good thinking.”

Danun, hearing my reply, lifted the corners of his mouth ever so slightly.

As a fellow student at the Ascension Pavilion, I knew that reaction meant he was immensely satisfied.

Then, he bowed to Myohyang and offered his regards.

“I enjoyed the meal.”

“I fear my humble skills may have spoiled Young Master Dan’s appetite.”

“Not at all. It was the most delicious meal I’ve had in recent days.”

After exchanging greetings, Danun left. I finished washing up and sat down at the table.

I spoke to Yongmasan, who was staring blankly.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Ahem, I intend to drink the tea offered by Lady Myohyang before leaving. Having drunk it daily, even skipping a single day leaves me feeling empty…”

Even for a black-clad assassin, it was surprising that the leader of a sect with two hundred disciples would try to get free tea.

The old saying that those who love freebies go bald certainly holds true.

As Yongmasan picked at his rice and side dishes under the light shining on his head, the fellow spoke up.

“So, what’s your plan?”

“Mumble mumble… What?”

“You really intend to face off against the Blue Dragon Sword? Not long ago, didn’t I nearly knock your teeth out for spreading rumors recklessly?”

“Ah, that?”

Gulp.

“I’ve got it figured out.”

“Are you mastering some divine martial art? Or training intensely?”

“I’ll just do okay and get eliminated in the preliminaries. If they say I lack skill, what can I do? Right?”

“……”

Indeed, one must live by using their head.

***

Half a month passed after Danun’s matter was settled.

During that time, as an industrial worker of Guryongseong, I repeated the daily grind of commuting to and from work.

But then, an unavoidable incident occurred.

“…Aren’t you going home?”

“I can’t return until I make more Seol-eum Su-yak.”

“Wouldn’t you understand, since it was used to save your daughter?”

“It’s not because I’m afraid of you.”

“Then what is it?”

“How can I tell them that because of me, the family suffered so much and even used up the Seol-eum Elixir?”

“…Well, that’s another matter.”

“So when can you go to Cheonsan?”

“As you know, I’m the main body in Guryongseong, so it can’t be done immediately.”

“I know. Instead, I’ll come visit every day until you go to Cheonsan.”

Cheongso-so began visiting daily, insisting he keep his promise.

Thanks to that, Myohyang had no choice but to prepare meals for Cheongso-so as well.

“Hey, why don’t you go out and eat? You’re the daughter of a wealthy family…”

“I have no choice. I lost all my money trying to escape. Until my family sends more, I have to live like a beggar.” “

”You’re a guest from Cheongga-jang, yet the castle won’t even feed you?“

”That’s fine once or twice, but begging for food every day makes me feel awkward.“

I thought just providing meals would suffice.

”Looks like you have plenty of spare rooms. Just give me one.”

“What do you mean, suddenly?”

“If I just lie around doing nothing, the maids will gossip behind my back. So I’ll stay here for now.”

She even demanded a room.

The maids of Guryongseong Castle wouldn’t do such a thing.

They were the castle’s maids, after all, who had to read the Four Books and Five Classics, not to mention quite a bit of poetry and prose.

Moreover, the rigorous character training they undergo afterward transforms them into top-tier hotel staff.

Just look at Myohyang—didn’t she become the idol of Geumhwaru with such talent and grace?

But I didn’t dwell on those circumstances.

“You may refuse. However, my father might demand payment for the healing elixir.”

I was afraid the father of the cleaning service might demand payment.

I could insist it was used to save his daughter, but is the martial world really a place that bends to my will?

The martial world is precisely a place where even the slightest loss of face leads to a dagger in the gut.

No one can predict what pretext they might seize upon.

“Ahem, take the innermost room over there. ”

“Thank you.”

And so, he brought the man named Chosungso into his household.

***

The next day, while preparing for work as usual, he witnessed a strange sight.

“Ugh···.”

Wasn’t that the guy who’d been slapped by me not long ago and hadn’t been seen for a while, now receiving treatment in our yard?

“What is this? That guy?”

“He got hurt after getting beaten up by some beggar.”

Should I hit him again?

With superhuman patience, I barely held back as the janitor explained.

“His jawbone is broken, so he can’t chew at all. He went to several clinics in the outer city, but none of them could set the broken bone, you see?”

“What does that have to do with this guy being here?”

“He somehow found out I’m from the Cheongjang family and came asking for help.”

“You know how to fix that?”

“I’ve never done it, but I’ve been trained. I am the youngest daughter of the Cheongjang family, after all.”

Well, if it’s the Cheongjang family, a specialist hospital for martial artists, it might be worth hoping for.

If I broke a limb, I’d seek out the Cheong Family first.

Think of it as a comprehensive surgical hospital, I suppose?

Sure enough. Cheong Soso began tapping my jaw with skilled hands, setting the bone.

Then she brought a palm-sized piece of wood, applied it to my face, and wrapped it tightly with cotton cloth.

“All done. I’ve applied acupuncture to numb the nerves, so you won’t feel pain for a while. Take the medicine I prescribed, and you’ll be fully healed in a couple of months. Oh! And don’t forget to stick to liquid food for now.”

“Thank you.”

The man greeted him with an imprecise pronunciation, then pulled a silver coin from his pocket.

The temporary beggar, who had carefully stowed the coin, muttered.

“Just sitting here and I hit the jackpot.”

Seeing this, I thought.

After all, whether in the modern world or the martial arts realm, being a professional is the best.

But.

An even more astonishing spectacle began the very next day.

Buzz, buzz.

Sickly black-clad men from all over the neighborhood started lining up in front of our house.

They were all kinds of people, from those limping from injuries to those with pale complexions.

“…This is huge.”

“Yeah.”

When I asked how they found out, it turned out the guy whose jawbone was reset the day before had spread the word all over town.

‘They say there’s a world-renowned healer from the Qing Family Clinic at Jin Jo-jang’s house!’

That’s how it went.

Thanks to that, the cleaning service and I quickly entered negotiations.

“Ten dollars.”

“Four dollars.”

“That’s too expensive just for renting the space. Ten dollars.”

“With the Black Plague, you won’t find a safer place than this anywhere. Three-tenths.”

“I’m doing all the work, and Master Jin isn’t taking nearly half, right? One-tenth.”

“Without me, how would you control those bastards standing over there? Three-tenths.”

“Anyway, half of them seem to be under the Dragon Guard’s command. What could possibly go wrong? One-tenth seven-tenths.”

“Don’t forget the Dragon Mountain bastards are also Black Path scum. Two-tenths five-tenths.”

“Let’s settle for ten percent.”

“Agreed.”

“But we need someone to assist. Exclude that person’s monthly salary from the calculation.”

“Of course.”

It was the moment the Qingzhang Muwan faction’s branch office appeared in one corner of our house’s courtyard.