The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 55

[ … words ]

***

The cleanup after the battle proceeded swiftly.

Despite the sadness of losing colleagues, they did not show signs of wavering. I admired their appearance inwardly.

‘This is probably what distinguishes a prestigious clan from others.’

The procession headed back to the Namgung Clan, but the atmosphere among the three of us at the front was quite different from when we entered Gu-eom-san.

Namgung-san and Namgung Seon-hwa were crushed by a deep sense of weight, and since I knew exactly what that stemmed from, I complied with the atmosphere and kept my mouth shut.

“Huh? Why is my father here?”

Upon reaching the Namgung Clan, Namgung Jin-myeong was waiting in front of the clan’s warriors.

The people lined up to visit the Namgung Clan all had curious expressions about who the Namgung Clan’s So-ga-ju was waiting for.

“What is this? Who is it that the Clan Leader himself came out to greet?”

“It looks like Gongja Namgung-san and Miss Namgung Seon-hwa.”

“Look closely, the place the Clan Leader is heading toward is someone else.”

At that moment, Namgung Jin-myeong saw me and raised his hand.

“You’ve finally arrived! Welcome!”

Even though he clearly heard about the incident at Gu-eom-san, Namgung Jin-myeong didn’t show it, instead laughing heartily and patting my back.

“Do you know how anxiously I’ve been waiting since I heard you were departing?”

“I apologize for being late.”

“No! No! Rather, I should blame the bastards who couldn’t provide a comfortable travel path.”

Namgung Jin-myeong glared at Namgung-san.

“I heard the story. If it weren’t for Gongja Jin, you would have faced a major incident, right?”

“I apologize.”

“Tsk tsk!”

I had to try hard to hide my surprise at Namgung Jin-myeong’s attitude.

There were dozens of people waiting to visit the Namgung Clan right now at the entrance.

He was scolding his children openly in front of such people.

“Come, let’s go in. And I am truly sorry, but since there is a clan meeting shortly, could you wait in the detached building?”

Knowing we had to discuss the Gu-eom-san incident, I nodded.

“Please take your time. I also need to unpack.”

After parting ways with Namgung-san and his group, on the way to the detached building guided by a maid, there were five training grounds three times larger than the one at Tae-eul-mun.

And on those training grounds, numerous warriors stood densely and practiced martial arts.

“““Haaat!”””

As they extended their fists and shouted, the air burst, and it felt like the entire training ground was shaking.

It was only one day, but it was a scene showing the power of the Namgung Clan.

I strongly felt that it was indeed a great clan capable of influencing the world.

And such clans inevitably have fiercer battles with internal enemies than external ones.

‘If anyone could possess such a clan, they would inevitably be greedy.’

All martial sects were facing difficulties similar to the Namgung Clan. The Namgung Clan was just engaged in fierce internal strife a little earlier than other sects.

“This is it.”

The accommodation guided by the maid was a small pavilion with a tranquil atmosphere, complete with a small pond.

Just because it was small didn’t mean it felt shabby. Rather, the antique beauty flowing from the pavilion itself looked extraordinary.

Even if the scale wasn’t large, a detached pavilion is still a detached pavilion.

Among the warriors wandering the Jianghu, there were countless people who said they would have no wishes if they could visit the Namgung Clan and be assigned a detached pavilion.

Because if you were assigned a detached pavilion, it meant the Namgung Clan considered you a precious guest.

‘If it’s this much, I’m being treated well enough not to envy others.’

As I entered the pavilion, maids suddenly flocked in.

Then, they grabbed my hands and feet and tried to drag me to one side.

“W-what are you doing right now?!”

“Before meeting the Clan Leader this evening, the bath comes first.”

I lightly unfolded Yeon-hwa and smoothly freed their hands.

The maids looked slightly surprised to see their hands slipping off as if they had been oiled.

“If it’s a bath, I’ll do it alone!”

I had already received all the treatment I could get at the Cheongmyeong Escort Agency. One cannot repeat the same treatment twice.

“…”

The maids looked at each other and tried to approach again slowly.

“Uh-uh! Stop! If you come any closer, I won’t wash.”

“…Understood. I will guide you.”

Crossing the pond and opening the door to one side of the pavilion, there was a bathtub with hot steam rising.

When I looked at the maids who didn’t leave in front of the bathtub, they were standing blankly, looking at each other.

“We will help you with the bath.”

“I’m not a child, I can do it alone.”

“Even so…”

“I said it clearly. If you want me to stand before the Clan Leader looking dirty and smelly, then continue to stay.”

“Understood. Please call us if you need anything.”

The maids lined up the bath tools on one side and all left. I took off my clothes and shook my head.

“Do they have no hands and feet, or do they not know shame.”

I soaked my body in the large bathtub and washed off all the dust and blood I had been covered in during the battle.

When I came out after finishing the bath, clothes with patterns engraved in silver thread on black silk were prepared.

“Because of that damn nickname ‘Black Flame Dragon’, I’m going to end up wearing black every time.”

Still, it wasn’t bad.

If you wear black martial arts clothes, they don’t get dirty easily, and you don’t feel disgusted even if you’re covered in blood.

Especially since it even had silver patterns embedded so subtly like this, it looked like I had become quite an extraordinary figure.

The moment I looked at the clothes reflected in the mirror, the door rattled open, and the maids rushed in.

“I… I clearly…”

“We will help you with the next part.”

Then, they grabbed my hair, combed it, and even applied powder.

This time, resistance was useless.

“Please don’t lie down so that the powder and hair oil don’t get messed up.”

“…I will sit.”

“If you sit, wrinkles will form on the clothes.”

“…Surely you don’t mean I should stand?”

“…”

“…Surely you don’t mean I should stand?”

Even at my repeated question, the maid had no answer.

“…”

Who on earth said they would have no wishes if they were invited by the Five Great Clans!

<><><>

Having no choice but to stand, I was watching the pond outside the detached building.

Watching the carp swimming freely, I wondered how much those guys were worth. As I was agonizing over that, a maid approached and offered me tea.

Thinking she was just preparing it, I put my lips to the tea, but the taste was extraordinary.

“The taste… is excellent.”

“It is Gunsan-eunchim that the Clan Leader cherishes the most.”

“Pfft!”

Surprised, I spat out the tea that was in my mouth.

And the thought that immediately came to mind was the regret of spilling expensive Gunsan-eunchim. Perhaps the poor habits embedded in my body really don’t disappear easily even if I have tens of thousands of nyang in bills.

“G-Gunsan… Silver Needle?”

It is a precious tea whose name has been known since the Tang Dynasty and was monopolized by the imperial family during the Qing Dynasty. Although that monopoly has been lifted now, if you ask if it’s a tea anyone can drink, that’s not the case.

Because Gunsan-eunchim was a precious tea that could be called the peak of luxury, so much so that it couldn’t be bought even with the same weight in gold.

“…Does the Namgung Clan serve this kind of tea to guests?”

“That is not it. It is tea served only to guests staying in the Jewang-gak.”

“…Was this the Jewang-gak?”

The Jewang-gak of the Namgung Clan is where the founder first established the clan and resided.

Now that the clan itself has expanded, there is a separate pavilion used by the Clan Leader, but the Namgung Clan named the pavilion previously used by the Clan Leader as Jewang-gak and used to offer it only to the most precious guests.

Among the famous figures of the Jianghu, didn’t they often have psychological warfare over whether they received the Jewang-gak while staying at the Namgung Clan as one of the ways to evaluate their own worth?

Gulp.

Dry saliva swallowed without me knowing.

“It was a place that was empty until the Gongja stayed here. Ah, recently, the Chief Military Advisor of the Murim Alliance visited.”

“…”

The place that felt comfortable because of its small and tranquil feeling suddenly felt suffocating.

‘…But perhaps it’s fortunate.’

There are many things awkward regarding the Namgung Clan.

The Chilchae-boju including Namgung-san’s Daeyeon-shindan is like that, and I also have to ask for the cleanup regarding the Baekmo-hwatong used at Gu-eom-san.

If they are paying this much attention to the point of giving me the Jewang-gak, I thought I would be a little relieved.

“Is this not the scent of Gunsan-eunchim? Why on earth are you serving this to someone who doesn’t even know the taste?”

At that time, someone entered the Jewang-gak and grumbled.

“Who are you?”

A young man of medium height with eyes torn like a weasel, face full of pockmarks, and slightly dark skin perhaps because he saw a lot of sun, was glaring at the maid without answering my question.

“You are trying to ruin the livelihood of the Namgung Clan. Do you think it doesn’t matter because it’s not your money?”

“…It’s not that, the Clan Leader told us not to neglect the treatment…”

“Even so, how could you take out Gunsan-eunchim? If it were someone like him, he would have been grateful if you had only brought out Byeok-ra-chun.”

I was a little annoyed, but I tended to agree with the guy’s words to some extent.

‘By the way, even when he was young, he was arrogant beyond measure.’

It wasn’t a very welcome face, so I expressionlessly watched what the guy was doing.

“…S-sorry.”

When the maid finally lowered her head while on the verge of tears, the weasel nodded in satisfaction only then.

“Always think and act. Money is something we, the collateral branch, earned through sweat and blood.”

“…Yes.”

After saying that, the weasel put his buttocks on the table and held out the teacup to the maid.

The maid filled his cup with Gunsan-eunchim.

“So you’re Jin So-un?”

“That is correct.”

“…Hmph, is that so? You have no manners.”

I saw a certain intention in him.

The intention to pick a fight and cause an incident.

Otherwise, no matter how much of a collateral branch he was, he couldn’t do this in front of a guest assigned to the Jewang-gak.

‘It’s probably because of the Gu-eom-san incident.’

The Namgung Clan will dig deep into this incident right away.

A situation where they shouldn’t move first before they erase the traces.

Since a guest like me, whom the direct line considers important, came just in time, the purpose of turning their attention was clearly visible.

‘He thinks that anyway, Tae-eul-mun can be appeased at any time at the level of their collateral branch.’

It wasn’t one or two days that I was treated like a consumable item, but seeing that it’s newly unpleasant every time I suffer it, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this kind of treatment until I die.

“I wasn’t taught what kind of manners I should have for someone who doesn’t even introduce himself.”

“Are you saying you don’t know me?”

I know his future.

As of now, he is not at the level of making a name for himself like Namgung-san.

Although he himself would think he is making a name for himself as much as Namgung-san.

“Do I have to know you?”

“Heh! Geez.”

A person of the same age as Namgung Seon-hwa, born with talent not inferior to Namgung-san, but feels that he had his things taken away countless times by the direct line because he is a collateral branch.

“Then again, it would be far off for a disciple of a sect located at the end of the 108 peaks to know.”

As much as that, his desire for recognition was great, and considering the money he spent at the Murim Alliance in my previous life, it was comparable to the annual operating expenses of a decent martial arts sect.

“Well. It’s true that we are a shabby martial arts sect, but even my youngest disciple knows the name of Changryong-geom Namgung-san.”

And what he hates most is being compared to Namgung-san.

“What did you say just now?”

“You are speaking as if I am picking a fight. Is it that difficult to say your own name? Or is it a shameful name?”

He, who was trembling his lips, said as if chewing.

“Haven’t you heard of the nickname Muae-jigeom?”

“Ah…”

As I let out a small exclamation, the guy immediately becomes triumphant.

He was a truly easy guy to understand.

If I provoke him one more time here, an incident will happen as he wants.

‘Should I endure? Or not?’

It didn’t matter to me whether the direct line and the collateral branch fought within the Namgung Clan or not, but anyway, I was almost in danger of being swept away by the aftermath.

They have a debt to pay to me.

“I’m hearing it for the first time. Was there such a childish nickname?”

“This bastard!”

The weasel put down the teacup and clapped his hands together to gather internal energy.

And he poured out the Cheonpung-jangryeol that Namgung-san showed at Gu-eom-san.

“Kyaaaaa!”

The maid who was caught in the palm power fell, and the Gunsan-eunchim spilled onto the floor.

What a waste.

I unfolded Yeon-hwa to let the guy’s palm power flow into the air to avoid the situation where the Jewang-gak would be ruined.

Boom, boom.

Along with the sound of air bursting, the palm power was scattered.

I, who was watching the scene blankly, said,

“Looking at the fact that ‘sword’ is in the nickname, it seems you have nothing to see except for the sword.”

“This bastard!”

Finally, the weasel couldn’t endure it and drew his sword.

And the Changgung-muae-geom-beop that he unfolds straight away.

It wasn’t talent comparable to Namgung-san, but the level of the sword art he unfolded was considerable.

However, the Pashae-sik of the Changgung-muae-geom-beop was already completed in the future.

Unlike when dealing with Namgung-san, I drew the Black Dragon Sword and unfolded the Pashae-sik of the Changgung-muae-geom-beop in one move.

Unlike when my internal energy was weak, when I unfolded it with internal energy reaching two Gapja, the suction power increased indescribably, and the weasel tried to endure it, but in the end, the guy’s sword came into my hand.

“H-how!”

I tripped the guy who was opening his eyes wide and spun him around once on the floor.

Thud.

“Ugh.”

And I suppressed him by stepping on his neck.

“What is this?”

Hearing the noisy sound, Namgung Jin-myeong, Namgung-san, and Namgung Seon-hwa ran over. Soon after, they saw the scene unfolding before their eyes and were greatly surprised.

“What on earth?”

I said shamelessly.

“A person who did not reveal his identity came in and caused a disturbance, so I suppressed him.”

“What?”

“I asked for his identity several times, but he didn’t answer. I suspected that he might be a person related to Gu-eom-san, so I caught him.”

“…”

The weasel’s face turned beet red, perhaps because he was ashamed of the situation of being suppressed.

At that time, a middle-aged man with a long beard appeared behind Namgung Jin-myeong.

“That child is my son.”

The heads of Namgung Jin-myeong, San, and Seon-hwa turned back.

The man, who looked a little older than Namgung Jin-myeong, was a man with a large physique and stubbornness all over his face.

“How dare you persecute a child of the Namgung family, where is this place?”

Namgung Jin-myeong said, flustered.

“Brother, it seems there was a misunderstanding between us.”

“Misunderstanding? If a person entered the Namgung Clan, you should have naturally thought it was a person of the Namgung Clan and been careful. What on earth is that state right now!”

“…”

Only then did I quietly take my foot off and said,

“So you were a Gongja of the Namgung Clan. If you had told me earlier, I would have been careful.”

The weasel said aggressively as if resentful.

“Didn’t I tell you! That I am Muae-jigeom!”

“Why do you go around telling people nicknames that others don’t even know? If you had just said ‘Namgung’… only the surname, this wouldn’t have happened. And to be a person of the Namgung Clan, wasn’t your martial arts too lowly?”

“…”

The weasel, who couldn’t refute my words, trembled his body.

I quickly turned my body and raised my hands in a salute to Namgung Song-ju, the weasel’s father.

“I apologize. If I had thought you were a child of the Namgung Clan, there would have been no such thing. Please forgive me. Still, isn’t it my fault that your son attacked first and got suppressed?”

“Not ambushed… but attacked first?”

Namgung Song-ju, who trembles his body at the words that he attacked first and glares at his own child.

Soon, that burning gaze turns toward me.

I raised my hands in a salute with a smile of goodwill.

‘Your son being an idiot wasn’t in the plan, was it?’