Chapter 24. Shedding the Skin
A willow-branch–slender waist, hands as white as jade and fluttering like willow leaves, and the tautly drawn curve of the collarbones connecting neck, chest, and shoulders.
She was a beauty who seemed capable of making countless men weep with her figure alone.
Even the voice with which she called him "grandfather" was as gentle and soft as her appearance. If the man looking at her had been someone other than Dong Bong-su, anyone would have felt intoxicated and fallen into a daze.
At her call, Tang Wu turned his head toward her. His gaze had already grown far gentler than when he had been looking at Danri Ganghae earlier.
"Just let it go. He's from a rural town, so he doesn't know any better."
Rural town.
To them, Bongyang was nothing more than the countryside, Danri Family was merely a minor rural clan, and Danri Ganghae was no more than a yapping puppy.
A tiger does not react to the barking of a puppy. Tang Wu nodded at the masked woman's words.
"Very well. Hua. This should be enough to teach this fellow how wide the world really is. Tsk. To think that someone who claims to be a descendant of the orthodox path has so little to do that he's been drinking and making a drunken scene since morning."
Tang Wu clicked his tongue as he looked at Danri Ganghae, who lay unconscious with foam at his mouth.
The reason he had dealt a bit harshly with Danri Ganghae and the Black Five Group was meant as a warning.
It was like showing a puppy how vast the world truly was. Of course, whether the unconscious Danri Ganghae would understand it that way was another matter entirely.
"If it were up to my temper, I'd like to snap this fellow's wrist right here, but I can't bring myself to be that cruel to a child of the orthodox path. When he wakes up, tell him clearly that if he goes around harassing just any woman, he won't die a natural death. Understood?"
Tang Wu released another wave of chill as he spoke to Gi Dae-hyo.
Only then did Gi Dae-hyo grasp what had happened. It was certain that Danri Ganghae had treated Tang Wu's granddaughter, who had stopped by the inn, the same way he usually treated a courtesan.
Most likely, having been bewitched by the masked woman's alluring appearance, Danri Ganghae had tried to remove her veil or had openly behaved indecently.
They were truly lucky. Even among orthodox sects, an incident like this could easily have ended in bloodshed. And given the difference between the Sichuan Tang Family and the Danri Family, it hardly needed saying—this would have ended with bloodshed on the Danri Family's side alone.
"...Y-yes, yes!"
Fearing Tang Wu's heart might change, Gi Dae-hyo answered in a hurry.
After hearing his reply, Tang Wu, together with the masked woman Tang Hua, passed between the fallen members of the Black Five Group.
Srrrk.
For some reason, every time Tang Wu took a step, the members of the Black Five Group began to regain consciousness one by one.
As he walked, he was retrieving all the needles he had deployed earlier using remote object manipulation.
Dong Bong-su watched the scene with shining eyes, carefully taking in every detail. It was so astonishing that it would have been hard to believe without seeing it in person.
A sight that directly violated the physical laws he had believed to be absolute truth.
Deep within him, a profound desire stirred.
A path lay open before his eyes—one that could grant strength beyond limits, something impossible in his previous life.
In his heart, his resolve to learn even more martial arts grew firmer.
Then, by chance, Dong Bong-su's eyes met Tang Wu's.
"Hm…!"
What was this? Tang Wu's gaze turned strange.
Thud.
He even stopped walking and stared at Dong Bong-su.
"Grandfather?"
"Hua. Stay here for a moment."
Without offering any special explanation to the puzzled Tang Hua, Tang Wu approached Dong Bong-su.
What is this?
Another unpredictable situation unfolded. Dong Bong-su hurriedly lowered his head. He had no idea why Tang Wu was approaching him.
Tap, tap.
The sound of Tang Wu's footsteps grew louder and louder.
"Grandfather? What's wrong?"
Sensing something amiss, Tang Hua followed and called out to him again. Tang Wu raised a hand to stop her and said,
"It's nothing. I just have something to ask this child."
Something to ask—meaning he had business with him directly.
Dong Bong-su's mind raced, but he still couldn't grasp anything.
Then Tang Wu, now standing right in front of him, spoke.
"What is your name?"
"..."
Dong Bong-su was still Ma-a-sam. A Horse Stable Hireling and a mute Sosam—someone who must not speak.
"I asked what your name is."
Tang Wu's voice rose slightly. Still, Dong Bong-su remained silent, and the answer came from behind instead—Gi Dae-hyo.
"That one is a Horse Stable Hireling called Sosam. He cannot speak."
"A mute?"
A flicker of disappointment crossed Tang Wu's face upon hearing this. Even so, the interest in his eyes toward Dong Bong-su did not fade. His gaze continued to scan him from head to toe.
Though Dong Bong-su's eyes appeared dull and lifeless, having lost their original light, he missed none of it and observed everything. And at last, he could guess what Tang Wu wanted.
Tang Wu's gaze was like that of a pirate appraising a treasure he had just seized.
Treasure—a word not usually suited to a person, but one that nevertheless meant something precious. And if, especially among martial artists, a supreme master like Tang Wu looked at a young man as though he were treasure? And showed brief disappointment upon learning he was mute?
Though it had come suddenly in an unexpected situation, Dong Bong-su instinctively realized that he had finally grasped a chance to shed the shell of being a Horse Stable Hireling. And he was not someone who would ever let such an opportunity slip away.
Tang Wu stared deeply into Dong Bong-su's dull eyes. In response, Dong Bong-su revealed—if only for a fleeting instant—not the gaze of Sosam, but his true gaze.
A flash of brilliance flickered in Tang Wu's eyes, and he grasped a measure of Dong Bong-su's excellence. But he did not know that all of this was an act carefully staged by Dong Bong-su.
Suddenly, Tang Wu reached out, seized Dong Bong-su's wrist, and felt his pulse point. Shock spread rapidly across his usually cold face.
Dong Bong-su still did not know exactly what had startled him. One thing was certain—it was not because of the JP accumulated in his body.
The internal energy spoken of here and JP were fundamentally different. If they had been the same kind of energy, Danri Cheon-u or Gi Dae-hyo would not have failed to notice.
Those who possessed internal energy carried a subtly different aura, and Dong Bong-su could sense that difference. There had been no such change in him.
The reason Tang Wu was surprised clearly lay "elsewhere." He didn't yet know what it was, but it was certainly not something bad—it was something positive that had granted him this very opportunity.
No longer examining Dong Bong-su, Tang Wu turned and approached Gi Dae-hyo.
"Are you headed to the Namgung Family?"
Gi Dae-hyo was completely out of sorts. Because of Danri Ganghae, the Danri Family had nearly faced a great crisis and had barely escaped it. Now Tang Wu was acting strangely again—reason enough for confusion. And since the cause of that strange behavior was Sosam, it was all the more bewildering.
As Gi Dae-hyo was lifting the unconscious Danri Ganghae, Tang Wu approached and asked. He hastily straightened himself and answered,
"Yes? …Ah, yes. Because of a marriage matter with the Namgung Family…"
"What does this child do?"
"H-he's a Horse Stable Hireling…"
"Then it should be fine if this old man takes him, shouldn't it?"
Tang Wu fired the words off without giving Gi Dae-hyo time to respond, cutting him off the moment he heard what he wanted.
"…What? Ah, no, you can't. Without him, there's no one who can handle that Blood-Sweating Horse."
"Then it's enough if this child transports the Blood-Sweating Horse as far as the Namgung Family, is it not?"
"If the Namgung Family has a Horse Stable Hireling who can handle a Blood-Sweating Horse…"
"The Namgung Family has plenty of skilled horse handlers who can easily manage a Blood-Sweating Horse. There's no reason this child would be necessary there. Then, once we arrive, you'll have no complaint if I take this child with me, correct?"
"..."
"Ah, I'll speak to that fellow Namgung Byeok myself. And I'll pay this child's worth properly. If needed, I'll even write a letter directly to your family head. How about it? Wouldn't that be sufficient?"
Gi Dae-hyo was utterly dazed. Why would a master as great as Tang Wu suddenly act like this? It felt like a dream.
"…Yes. We were planning to present that fellow and the horses to the Namgung family head as a marriage gift anyway."
"Then that settles it. Do you have any other requests?"
In an unusually good mood, Tang Wu was even prepared to offer favors he normally wouldn't.
"What!? I-if you'd go that far, then of course!"
For Gi Dae-hyo, an unexpected stroke of luck had arrived. He had thought Danri Ganghae's trouble had pushed them into a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, only for a complete reversal to occur instead.
If Tang Wu, who was close enough with Namgung Byeok to call him "that fellow," made a request, Danri Ganghae could be taken in not merely as Namgung Hu's disciple, but as an external disciple of the family head himself.
Still, one question remained.
Why on earth would Tang Wu go so far as to take on such trouble just to bring Sosam with him?
Yet Gi Dae-hyo could not bring himself to ask. That was the difference between him and Tang Wu. He swallowed the question deep in his heart.
All he needed to do was safely complete the task Danri Cheon-u had entrusted to him. Handing over Sosam and gaining even more in return—wasn't that pure profit?
"Very well, what is the request? If it's something I can do, I'll grant it."
"I wish for the Young Master of the Danri Family to be taken in as an external disciple of the Namgung family head."
"That's all?"
"…Yes? Ah, yes. That will be enough."
"It's nothing, then. That means I may take this child with me now."
"Ah… yes."
"Hahaha. Good, very good. Then let us depart."
Tang Wu never once lost the smile on his face, so pleased was he. The cold aura he had shown at first was now nowhere to be seen.
He walked ahead together with Tang Hua. When the group did not immediately follow, he infused his voice with internal energy and spoke,
"What are you doing? Hurry and follow."
"…!"
Startled by Tang Wu's urging, Gi Dae-hyo finally snapped back to his senses, loaded Danri Ganghae onto the baggage cart, and set off at once.
Dong Bong-su followed as well, leading Yeoro forward. He could hear the conversation between Tang Hua and Tang Wu.
"Grandfather. Please tell me—why did you suddenly do this? What is that Horse Stable Hireling called Sosam, that you would go this far?"
Tang Hua asked him to explain what was going on, but Tang Wu only smiled and said nothing more. His sole reply was,
"Later. I'll tell you everything later. Haha."
That was all.
Tang Wu's hearty laughter.
Among everyone here, Dong Bong-su alone understood the meaning behind it. Though he did not yet know the exact root cause, time would resolve that.