Chapter 8: Nine Dragon Society (2)

Nine Dragon Society (2)

With the Nine Dragon Gathering about to begin, I found myself grabbed by a fellow who looked like a bear.

The man spoke to me.

“You didn’t run away this time.”

If people were to be called Mount Tai, this would be the image, wouldn’t it?

His height, easily looking like eight feet, and the immense pressure coming from his wide-spread shoulders were top-notch.

His snow-white hair and the wrinkles visible across his face spoke of the years he had experienced, but he was someone who still fit the description of a warrior rather than being dared to be called an old man.

He was Gu Ryun, the Second Elder of the Gu family.

“You slippery rascal, whenever you saw this old man, you’d just slip away. Why grace us with your presence here?”

“You said you’d fold me in half if I didn’t show up… And how could I possibly skip the Nine Dragon Gathering?”

“Oh? Now you’re even talking back.”

Saying this fiercely, the Second Elder ruffled my hair roughly with his massive hand.

Ever since the past, the Second Elder had a peculiar, almost obsessive attachment to me. Being the sole son of the family head was probably the biggest reason.

He didn’t seem to control his strength, as every time he ruffled my hair, I moved along with his hand.

‘I, I think I’m gonna puke….’

Just as I was about to pass out, Gu Yeonseo appeared. He was a ray of light for me.

Gu Yeonseo winced upon seeing me being tossed around, but quickly composed himself and paid his respects to the Second Elder.

“Greetings, Second Elder.”

“Oh! Our Yeonseo is here too!”

Seeing Gu Yeonseo, he let go of me, who he’d been shaking, and suddenly pulled out a yakgwa from his robe.

This scene looks familiar…?

“This troublemaker never has a cute day, does he? Yeonseo, you must have had a hard time coming from afar. Your grandpa didn’t bring anything because he came in a hurry… Would you like to have some yakgwa?”

Gu Yeonseo stiffened slightly upon seeing the yakgwa handed from his robe. Then, with a slight smile, he refused the yakgwa.

“I apologize. I’m not feeling quite right in the stomach right now…”

“Oh dear…! We must call a physician!”

“No, Second Elder-nim, it’s probably because I’m nervous about the Nine Dragon Gathering. I will gratefully accept the yakgwa another time.”

After giving a slight bow, Gu Yeonseo left to change his clothes.

“Unlike someone, you are very refined and polite.”

“As for me, I feel like I’m going to faint from all the shaking. May I perhaps find a physician?”

“That sort of thing gets better with a needle prick. Be quiet.”

…What is this ridiculous discrimination?

I felt slightly wronged, but since he was such an eccentric person, I just accepted it.

“Second Elder-nim, if you’re not going to eat that yakgwa, could you give it to me?”

“I’ve told you since way back, you need to eat a bit less. What kind of nonsense is it for the child of a martial family to be craving yakgwa?”

“No, what are you talking about? Weren’t you just about to give a yakgwa to another child of a martial family? And what does yakgwa have to do with martial arts…?”

“Yeonseo eats it and trains diligently, doesn’t he? What about you, who just eats, shits, and sleeps?”

“It’s not like I’m the one eating it, so it’s fine.”

Saying that, I took the yakgwa from the Second Elder. Naturally, it was meant for Wi Seol-ah.

Somehow, whenever I saw yakgwa, Wi Seol-ah came to mind. Was it because I saw her eat it deliciously?

As I pocketed the yakgwa, I saw Wi Seol-ah approaching in the distance with another attendant.

The attendants paid their respects upon seeing the Second Elder and me, and Wi Seol-ah followed suit. The Second Elder waved his hand slightly, signaling it was alright, and everyone relaxed their posture.

Wi Seol-ah then hurried over to me.

“Young Master! There are so many people outside!”

“Of course, it’s a festival, after all.”

“They’re selling dumplings! Skewers! And noodles!”

“…Didn’t you just say there were many people? Why are you only talking about food?”

“But the dumplings…!”

Wi Seol-ah, excitedly talking, suddenly got startled and hid behind me.

Curious, I turned around and saw the Second Elder looking down at Wi Seol-ah with a strange expression. Being looked down upon by his massive frame, exceeding eight feet, was quite intimidating. Moreover, the Gu family bloodline had fierce eyes generation after generation, so they weren’t known for having pleasant impressions.

“…Elder-nim, if you stand there like that, people will get scared.”

“Hmm…”

“Why are you looking like that?”

“Is that child your concubine?”

“…What are you talking about? Look at her clothes, Elder-nim. She’s an attendant.”

Among the household members, the attendants serving the bloodline members wore yellow clothes. Wi Seol-ah was the same.

“Really? If you say so, then that must be it.”

Hearing my denial, the Second Elder seemed to lose interest and left. The sun was about to set, so I really needed to get ready.

I handed the yakgwa to Wi Seol-ah.

“Eat this and stay put.”

“Huh? I already ate some earlier…”

“Why? You said it was delicious, are you tired of yakgwa?”

“No… My grandfather told me not to eat more than five a day.”

“…When on earth did you eat five?”

I thought I only gave her one in the carriage? I glanced towards the other attendants, and they all seemed to be avoiding my gaze.

“So it was them…”

It’s not like they touched my snacks, so they must have fed her with their own money. For now, I told her to keep the yakgwa and eat it later or tomorrow, and I quickly changed my clothes as well.

There wasn’t much preparation needed. I simply donned the red robe, the symbol of the Gu family.

As the sun set and dusk approached, lanterns were lit throughout the venue. In the center of the venue, with the Second Elder in the middle, Gu Yeonseo and I stood on either side.

As it was the Nine Dragon Gathering, the bloodline members had to participate, but since the youngest wasn’t in the family and the eldest was occupied with the Sword Brigade’s affairs, it was just Gu Yeonseo and me.

In principle, the family head should attend the Nine Dragon Gathering personally, but due to his recent trip to Jinma Gyeongmun, he couldn’t easily leave the family estate. The First Sword Brigade, directly under the family head, was in the same situation. Therefore, the Sword Brigades currently participating were only the Second, Third, and Fourth Brigades, excluding the Fifth Sword Brigade which was on a long-term mission and the First Sword Brigade directly under the family head.

This year’s Nine Dragon Gathering was attended by a relatively small number of people.

‘Thanks to Cheonsil Sangga, the scale is the largest, though.’

The venue’s scale was truly immense, even more so than the number of attendees. This allowed many spectators to enter, but it was so crowded that anything could happen. Of course, there wouldn’t be any crazy bastards causing trouble when the Gu family’s Sword Brigades were gathered, but still.

Excluding the Second Elder, Gu Yeonseo, and myself, the hundred or so people gathered in front were the Gu family’s Sword Brigades. Despite their light armament, the sharp aura they exuded proved that each of them was an outstanding warrior.

“Captains of each Sword Brigade, step forward.”

The Second Elder, shedding his earlier playful demeanor, now displayed the dignity of a family elder. His short utterance contained his accumulated internal energy, resonating throughout the entire venue.

Following the Second Elder’s words, several individuals from the numerous Sword Brigades lined up stepped forward before him.

“Second Sword Brigade Captain-in-charge, Woo Anseon! Greetings to the Gu family Elder.”

“Third Sword Brigade Captain, Ma Cheolhyeon. Greetings to the Second Elder.”

“Fourth Sword Brigade Captain-in-charge, Hyuk Juyeom. Greetings to the Second Elder.”

One Captain per Brigade, with two Captains-in-charge. This was a measure put in place to prevent unforeseen incidents should multiple Captains be absent simultaneously. Of course, this was an arrangement agreed upon among the Brigades.

The Second Elder nodded once at the sight of the Brigade members and continued speaking.

“For the Gu family and the common folk…”

The subsequent words were too long, so I deleted them from my mind midway. To put it bluntly, it was basically: ‘You’ve worked hard. You’ll work hard in the future. And because you’ve worked hard, you’ll receive rewards.’

The rewards given to each Brigade included a considerable amount of spirit herbs and twice the monthly salary support. For the Brigade members, the Second Elder’s words seemed more moving than those material goods. It was something I couldn’t quite understand…

Gu Yeonseo’s and my role was simply to stand there. It was a formal gesture, signifying that as bloodline members, we were witnessing their hardships. This must have been necessary for the morale of the Brigades.

“…I express my gratitude for your hard work.”

Just as I came to my senses, the Second Elder’s speech was concluding. As the Second Elder expressed his thanks, not only the Brigade members but also the spectators started clapping.

I glanced at the sky for a moment; the sun had already set. The first day of the Nine Dragon Gathering, scheduled to last two days, was coming to an end.

‘Fortunately, there weren’t any particularly troublesome incidents.’

While it’s unlikely someone would cause trouble at a gathering of the Gu family’s elites, it was something I always paid attention to. This inadequate brain couldn’t remember everything. I remembered major events that shook the Central Plains martial arts world, but the memories from this particular era were hazy. It could be that I didn’t remember well because I was young. Or perhaps I deliberately tried to forget things, wanting to leave only happy memories behind.

‘At least, it seems like nothing major happened during this Nine Dragon Gathering.’

I remembered the ‘incident’ that would happen in winter, but I had no particular memories of the Nine Dragon Gathering in spring. As the applause began to die down, I moved to a different location following the guidance of the Cheonsil Sangga members.

---

As night fell, the remaining time was a small festival for the Gu family’s Sword Brigades. Calling it a festival might be an exaggeration; it was simply filled with numerous foods and alcoholic beverages prepared by Cheonsil Sangga. The Captains and Captains-in-charge asked for the alcohol to be removed, fearing they might be tempted, but the Second Elder said they could drink today. In response, the Brigade members cheered even louder than when they received their salaries or spirit herbs, which was just the icing on the cake.

“It’s chaos.”

Being human, they must have craved alcohol and rich food. But they endured it as warriors. Since the Second Elder unleashed that restraint, the atmosphere became lively, or to be precise, it turned into a complete mess.

As I stepped outside the commercial building for some fresh air, Mu Yeon followed me as if he had been waiting.

“What? Why are you following me instead of drinking with them?”

“Would a bodyguard drink alcohol? That’s for the Brigade members, not for me, so it’s fine.”

“Aren’t you part of the Sword Brigades anyway?”

Mu Yeon paused at my words. The warriors who guard the Gu family are also part of the Sword Brigades. That meant Mu Yeon was also a warrior belonging to a Brigade.

“I… uh…”

“Well, whatever. Shall we take a look around the street?”

Since he seemed troubled and hesitant to speak, I changed the subject. I wasn’t curious enough to pry, nor was it something I needed to ask further.

“It’s Sinwolhyeon, so it must be large, but the scope is indeed different.”

As the top commercial area of Shanxi was located here, the streets were more bustling than those in the Gu family’s area. Especially now that it was night, the pubs that were quiet during the day were lit up. Couldn’t it rival Anhwei, where the Martial Arts Alliance is located, or Sichuan, home to the Central Plains’ top commercial district, with this level of street activity?

I felt sorry for Mu Yeon, who was nervously watching my back for any potential trouble, but I enjoyed coming out to the marketplace. Seeing people wandering around comfortably meant that the past bloodbaths hadn’t happened yet. And the fact that I could wander around without a care made me realize that the future I experienced had been erased.

“Should I buy some dumplings?”

I suddenly remembered Wi Seol-ah mentioning dumplings.

“It’s because of Attendant Wi, isn’t it?”

When I brought up dumplings, Mu Yeon mentioned Wi Seol-ah.

“Well, it’s not exactly for that reason, but everyone will like it if I buy it.”

It would be nice to buy for others while I’m at it. Upon hearing my words, Mu Yeon had a somewhat proud look on his face.

“…As expected, Young Master, you are completely different from the rumors. They say you shouldn’t believe rumors about people. I guess I’m someone who still has much to learn.”

“What are you talking about just for buying dumplings? Wait a second, haven’t you been guarding me for only a short while…?”

“It hasn’t even been a fortnight yet.”

…It seems you were assigned shortly before my regression. That must be why you’re saying things like that. Should I consider this Mu Yeon’s good luck? Or should I say it’s my good luck?

Thinking about Mu Yeon, since I don’t recall him much, it seemed like he changed not long after, just like the guards who changed almost daily.

“Young Master, it looks like they’re selling dumplings over there?”

As I was lost in thought, Mu Yeon spoke, and I looked towards a building emitting steam. Even I, who didn’t have much appetite, felt hungry upon smelling it.

“That place looks good. Let’s go there.”

My deliberation was short.

As I rummaged through my pouch heading towards the dumpling shop.

“Young Lady, you shouldn’t wander around so dangerously.”

“Yeobi worries too much. I heard the Nine Dragon Gathering is being held. With so many people from the Gu family present, surely nothing will happen to me?”

I saw a familiar face.

“That’s why I’m more anxious… What if you happen to meet Young Master Gu, for instance.”

“Surely that won’t happen? There are so many people here.”

Ah, that’s something she shouldn’t have said. As soon as the girl spoke, our eyes met.

Upon meeting my gaze, the girl froze like a stone. The woman behind her, the girl’s bodyguard, also looked astonished. Her shoulder-length bob and jet-black, go-stop-piece-like eyes were striking. Then, my eyes caught the black ring she wore on her finger. It was a pattern unrecognizable unless looked at closely, but for me, who already knew her, it was easy to understand what that ring signified.

The Peng Family of Hebei (河北彭家).

The girl was a member of a renowned family from Hebei, who practiced swordsmanship among the Four Great Families of the Central Plains.

She was my former fiancée.