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Chapter 16
“Argh!”
The world spun round and round.
How many times had he rolled?
After tumbling across the ground, the metallic smell of blood filled his mouth.
Eun Hyeon-gyeom laughed.
As if he had expected this to happen.
But Dan Seo-yeon was startled.
She wiped the blood streaming from Eun Hyeon-gyeom’s lips with her sleeve.
That sight stopped Dan Hyeon-woo’s fist.
The boiling emotions inside him mixed with a sigh as they escaped his lips.
“How did this happen? Explain.”
“What do you mean how? After you ran away from home, the real Seo-yeon cried every day. I tried to keep my promise, so I came every day to comfort her. And… I didn’t tell you this, but I liked Seo-yeon.”
“So I left home after entrusting a cat with a fish.”
“No! I liked Seo-yeon, but I never intended to confess! I mean… Seo-yeon is pretty and smart… to me, she was like a flower on a cliff. So I never even dared to dream of reaching for her.”
“Stop going in circles and explain properly. How did that flower on a cliff end up choosing you?”
Supported by Dan Seo-yeon, Eun Hyeon-gyeom got to his feet.
Since the punch had been thrown without internal energy, only his cheek was slightly swollen as he scratched his head awkwardly.
But why was his face turning red?
Instead of him, Dan Seo-yeon spoke.
“After you left, he comforted me for over ten years. Whenever something happened at the Dan family estate, he was the first to come running to help. All because of a single request you made.”
It seemed his gentle nature hadn’t changed.
Dan Seo-yeon continued.
“That sincerity moved me. I wondered if there could be another person like him in the world. I thought I shouldn’t miss someone so consistent and unchanging.”
“So it wasn’t him—it was you who chose him?”
“If you keep looking at him, even that face starts to seem kind of cute.”
Dan Seo-yeon remained calm, as if she had expected her older brother to strike her husband once.
Her older brother, who had cherished her dearly.
Even if she had married the most outstanding man in the world, he probably wouldn’t have approved.
That was just the kind of brother he was.
And because of that, he was a good brother.
In the end, Dan Hyeon-woo withdrew his fist.
“I can accept everything else, but I absolutely cannot accept that his face is cute.”
“He’s a good person.”
“I know.”
Dan Hyeon-woo placed a hand on Eun Hyeon-gyeom’s shoulder.
“Sorry for hitting you.”
“It’s stranger that you stopped at just one hit. I thought I’d get hit three or four times at least.”
“If I hit you three or four times, Seo-yeon would stop thinking your face is cute.”
“Hahaha. Anyway, welcome back.”
Eun Hyeon-gyeom rubbed his cheek and laughed cheerfully.
It came back to him—
This guy had always been someone who could laugh like that.
Strangely, when he smiled, his ugly face would look handsome.
While Dan Seo-yeon went to fetch cold water to cool his cheek, Eun Hyeon-gyeom picked up the steaming teacup prepared for him.
Just as he took a sip—
‘W-why is that person here?!’
Jeon Ak-gwan, the leader of the Nine Dragons Sect, was striding toward them.
Still large in stature, with a deeply furrowed brow and eyes filled with killing intent.
Usually, he would send his subordinates, so the fact that he had come personally to the Dan estate meant this was no ordinary matter.
Eun Hyeon-gyeom immediately performed a deep bow as naturally as flowing water.
“Sir! Please just wait a little longer. My monthly pay will come in soon, so once I receive it… please endure a little longer… please spare me… Sir!”
“Uh… no, that’s not…”
Jeon Ak-gwan looked extremely troubled.
He had only come to ask what they would be having for dinner, but to be greeted with such a naturally flowing prostration!
Dan Hyeon-woo had the same thought.
‘A bow as smooth as flowing water.’
Too natural.
All this time, this guy must have protected the Dan estate in this way.
Just then, Yoo Su-cheon came out of the kitchen.
“Hurry up and ask and come back! What are you doing over there?!”
“Well…”
Eun Hyeon-gyeom turned his gaze toward Yoo Su-cheon.
The top expert of Hangzhou had appeared here.
This was bigger trouble than expected.
Eun Hyeon-gyeom rushed over and again performed a deep bow as naturally as flowing water.
“What brings the Blood-Killing Ghost Sword here? Please just wait a little longer… I will definitely prepare the money, so please endure just a bit longer…”
“Eek!”
“If you would withdraw for today, I would be truly grateful—”
“Gasp! What are you doing?! Please get up at once!”
Yoo Su-cheon froze stiff like ice.
Dan Hyeon-woo walked over to Eun Hyeon-gyeom.
“Hyeon-gyeom, get up.”
“Get up? Hey, you should bow too! Hurry!”
“You’re telling me to bow to servants?”
“Servants?! Do you know how dangerous those words are?! Don’t say nonsense and bow quickly!”
Eun Hyeon-gyeom trembled, breaking out in a cold sweat.
He kept shooting Dan Hyeon-woo looks that screamed, ‘You clueless idiot!’
But Jeon Ak-gwan and Yoo Su-cheon were trembling twice as much as him.
Things had only just calmed down—why was this guy bowing again?
Did he want to see another bloodbath today?
Was he an assassin?
Even an assassin wouldn’t dare say something so cruel in front of Dan Hyeon-woo.
Gulp.
They swallowed dry saliva.
Yoo Su-cheon glanced at Jeon Ak-gwan as if asking, ‘What did you do to this guy before?’
Jeon Ak-gwan responded with his eyes, ‘J-just a little?’
Dan Hyeon-woo spoke to the stiffened Jeon Ak-gwan, who looked like he might wet himself.
“Lunch is Beggar’s Chicken and Mapo Tofu.”
“I will prepare it immediately!”
Jeon Ak-gwan hurriedly fled to the kitchen to escape the terrifying situation.
Yoo Su-cheon quickly followed behind him.
Just then, Dan Seo-yeon returned with a cloth soaked in cold water.
Seeing Eun Hyeon-gyeom prostrating on the floor, she was startled.
“Brother, no matter how angry you are, making my husband kneel like that is too much.”
“It wasn’t me. He saw Jeon Ak-gwan and Yoo Su-cheon, who came to ask about dinner, and immediately bowed like that.”
“Dinner? You should have let my husband choose what he wanted to eat after all his hard work.”
“I told them to make Beggar’s Chicken and Mapo Tofu. Those used to be his favorites.”
“Now it’s Yuxiang shredded pork. I’ll go tell them, so please help my husband up.”
Dan Seo-yeon headed toward the kitchen.
With no choice, Dan Hyeon-woo helped Eun Hyeon-gyeom to his feet.
Still dazed, Eun Hyeon-gyeom brushed off the dirt and widened his eyes.
If only Dan Hyeon-woo treated them like servants, he would seem insane—but if even Dan Seo-yeon did the same…
“The top expert of Hangzhou and the leader of the Nine Dragons Sect are really servants? And they can even cook Yuxiang shredded pork?”
“Does it suit your taste?”
At Jeon Ak-gwan’s question, Eun Hyeon-gyeom flinched.
It was delicious.
The Yuxiang shredded pork, made on the third attempt after his mother-in-law had flipped the table twice, was as good as anything served in a decent inn.
It would have tasted even better if Jeon Ak-gwan hadn’t been the one who made it.
“Please have some water as well.”
The moment Yoo Su-cheon set down the cup, Eun Hyeon-gyeom flinched again.
Cold sweat poured down his back.
For someone like him, merely a second-rate martial artist, even meeting Yoo Su-cheon’s gaze was difficult.
And yet Yoo Su-cheon was staring straight at him.
Please stop looking at me.
“Why are you sweating so much?”
Yoo Su-cheon placed a cloth beside him.
Were you always this kind?
Now the cold sweat poured even more.
Please spare me.
He had heard everything from Dan Hyeon-woo.
How the debt was cleared and how the Dan estate was reclaimed.
Even so, he wanted to stop his mother-in-law from flipping the table right in front of them.
Every time the table hit the ground, it felt like his lifespan was shortened by ten years.
Mother-in-law, you weren’t like this before.
“We’ll take our leave.”
After saying that, Jeon Ak-gwan withdrew with Yoo Su-cheon.
Only then did Eun Hyeon-gyeom’s pale face return to normal.
The home he had returned to after so long had changed far too much.
‘I get that Hyeon-woo’s martial arts are incredible. But the top expert of Hangzhou acting as a servant making Yuxiang shredded pork… I just can’t get used to it. Please, let no one else show up to shorten my lifespan… this alone is already too much.’
The secret organization of the Forbidden City, the Nameless Unit.
They numbered only a few dozen.
But their martial strength was the greatest in the Central Plains.
The intelligence unit that supported them was also the best in the land.
There was no place their reach did not extend.
They had even discovered the residence of the Blood Night Heavenly Demon, Ma Heuk-pung, who had died at Dan Hyeon-woo’s hands.
Jeong Je-ho, a martial artist of the intelligence unit.
After the Heavenly Demon’s death, he had been tasked with monitoring the movements of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Having completed his mission, he returned to the imperial palace after a long time.
A senior, Jin Moon-su, spoke to him.
“Good work.”
“After the Blood Night Heavenly Demon died, the Heavenly Demon Cult stayed quiet, so the mission ended early. But… things feel strange in the intelligence unit compared to before I left. Did something happen?”
“Ah… that? The captain of the Nameless Unit retired recently.”
“I heard through a letter… but it was a huge shock. He saved my life several times.”
“Yeah… it shocked me too. But after the captain left, even the Fairy retired. That’s why things are unsettled.”
Jeong Je-ho’s eyes widened.
The Fairy was the greatest physician of the Nameless Unit.
No—among everyone he knew, he could confidently say she was the greatest physician in the martial world.
Some even compared her medical skills to the imperial physicians of the palace.
And now even she had left.
Even though missions had become less dangerous than before, her absence would inevitably increase casualties.
A sigh escaped Jeong Je-ho’s lips.
“Haa… no wonder things are unsettled. First the captain, and now even the Fairy… at this rate, won’t the Nameless Unit be disbanded?”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m joking.”
That couldn’t happen.
The Nameless Unit was the Emperor’s direct force.
Unless the Emperor himself disbanded it.
There were still many places in the Central Plains that needed them.
Even though Captain Dan Hyeon-woo had resolved the greatest crises, there were still places where screams echoed like hell on earth.
So it was only a joke.
“Well, it’s true that missions aren’t as difficult as before. Even though the captain left, the vice-captain remains, and though the Fairy is gone, her disciples are still here…”
The Nameless Unit would continue to operate.
Because Dan Hyeon-woo had not built something so fragile.
His influence remained everywhere.
And he had not raised weak subordinates.
It would endure at least until the current Emperor passed away.
“Fortunately, the disciples didn’t inherit the Fairy’s temperament. They’re all normal people…”
Jin Moon-su nodded in agreement.
“That’s why… in a way, some people are even relieved.”
“Relieved? Ah… she was called the Fairy, but also had the dual nature of a Madwoman… once you see her, it’s unforgettable.”
“Shh! Don’t call her that.”
Jin Moon-su shot him a warning look.
Of course, he understood.
Better than anyone.
What she was like when she became the Madwoman.
Jeong Je-ho spoke.
“My apologies. I just can’t forget that side of her… By the way, where is the Fairy going after retiring? The royal family must be keeping close tabs on her. She’s no ordinary person—both in medicine and martial arts.”
“It seems the captain called her. Hard to believe, though.”
“The captain? That’s really hard to believe.”
Jin Moon-su nodded.
But there was a reason for it.
“The way she looked after receiving the letter was different. After the captain left, she had been gloomy every day. But after reading that letter, she smiled all day. The only time she ever smiles… is when the captain sends her a letter.”
