Chapter 356

The master made her disciple mute?

Jin Ja-gang felt strange. Had Son Bi done something wrong to receive such punishment?

An Ryeong said.

“Son Bi’s problem was being too pretty. She even had a lot of charm, you know? So how popular she must have been. Countless men always hovered around Son Bi, and Son Bi was disturbed in her martial arts training accordingly.”

“So…”

“She made her unable to smile, unable to answer even when men spoke to her – made her mute. So she could focus only on martial arts.”

That’s why Im Yi-eon had been very displeased when Yuk Ha-seon wrote the character for ‘affection.’

“Even within Southern Sea Sword Sect there were voices saying it was too much, but when you think about it, it’s the same as Shaolin Temple’s Yang cultivation or boy cultivation. If you become too biased toward relationships between men and women, you eventually stagnate. The Sword Empress is extremely wary of that. It’s quite difficult for women to succeed as martial artists in the martial world.”

One sage, two buddhas, three swords, four phoenixes, five kings.

The eight masters of orthodox martial arts. But the Sword Empress wasn’t included there. There’s only one woman – Divine Nun In of Emei Sect.

Had that stimulated the Sword Empress?

Jin Ja-gang, who was listening, unconsciously blurted out.

“Which is happier depends on the person themselves, doesn’t it? I don’t think you must achieve great success in martial arts to be happy.”

An Ryeong stared at Jin Ja-gang.

“What could be greater for a martial artist than succeeding in martial arts? No, more than that, I’m extremely surprised right now. The word happiness coming from your mouth.”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t answer.

The happiness Jin Ja-gang wanted was so small and humble it was embarrassing to mention. But for Jin Ja-gang, it was also more difficult to achieve than anything else.

He didn’t even know if he could survive that long, and even if he survived and completed his revenge, he might get entangled in other revenge. That’s why he was going through this hardship to completely uproot the source and plan for future stability.

“Well, anyway. Son Bi didn’t want to tell you about becoming mute. It’s not really a secret anyway – everyone who should know knows.”

“You said she didn’t want to tell me herself, but now you’re telling me everything.”

“This is something I have to intervene in from the sidelines. Because it seems Son Bi has become interested in you as a person.”

“…”

“This is really amazing, you know? Son Bi has never been interested in any man since losing her voice.”

Jin Ja-gang said nothing.

“I wonder why? You seem to have truly strange charm. To the extent that age difference doesn’t even matter.”

“Don’t you think it’s useless to ask me that?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

“It would be better if you reduced your drinking.”

“Tsk. Some people can only say such things with the help of alcohol.”

She talks about others but doesn’t talk about herself.

Jin Ja-gang, if no one else, knows well what it means to not reveal one’s inner thoughts.

Either hiding them because you’re ashamed of your inner thoughts, or not wanting to say them because you don’t want to depend on the other person.

It’s one of the two.

Thud.

An Ryeong looked up at the sound from the inn’s roof.

“Huh?”

Drip drip drip.

The sound of water drops came from outside the window too.

“It’s raining.”

An Ryeong went to the window and looked outside.

“It’s not the rainy season yet. Is it a shower?”

Soon the raindrops became thick and began pouring down.

Whoooosh…

An Ryeong looked outside the window for a long time before finally returning to her room in the late dawn.

* * *

From early morning, Jin Ja-gang began boiling broth again.

Whoooosh. Amid the falling rain, sweet and salty smells spread through the inn.

Jin Ja-gang really seemed to have become an innkeeper.

Most martial artists normally practiced breathing exercises from early dawn as routine, so most were already awake then. Smelling the aroma, they began coming down to the first floor one by one.

The first to come down among them were Im Yi-eon and Son Bi.

But Son Bi’s expression was different from yesterday again. Instead of a cold impression, her face was somehow flushed and she was restless.

Im Yi-eon glared at Jin Ja-gang, who had briefly come out of the kitchen, as soon as she came down.

Then she asked.

“Do you want money, or something else?”

“I have enough money.”

Im Yi-eon extended her palm, then closed it while beckoning.

“Then come.”

Jin Ja-gang dusted off his hands and approached Im Yi-eon holding a ladle, as if it had been arranged beforehand. When Im Yi-eon reached out her hand, one chopstick from a nearby table was sucked into her palm.

Jin Ja-gang immediately swung the ladle. Like using a sickle, he drew short, large circles aiming at Im Yi-eon’s temples and neck. Im Yi-eon received the ladle with chopsticks and used continuous point attacks as if unfolding brocade techniques. The chopsticks stuck to the ladle as if attached, shaking it this way and that without letting go.

Jin Ja-gang’s body swayed left and right following the ladle.

Im Yi-eon suddenly vibrated the chopsticks rapidly once.

Clang!

The ladle bounced away as if she had released energy with the side of the chopsticks. Jin Ja-gang’s arms spread apart, leaving his chest exposed.

“Hmph. That should be worth a meal.”

Im Yi-eon threw the chopsticks into the chopstick holder and went to sit where she had sat yesterday.

Son Bi gave Jin Ja-gang a light bow and sat in the same place as Im Yi-eon.

Yuk Ha-seon came down, glanced at Son Bi and smiled.

Namgung Geol also came down and briefly cleared his throat.

“The Sword Empress seems to have taken a liking to Poison Dragon.”

Even without seeing it, he had sensed through qi that Im Yi-eon had taught Jin Ja-gang a technique.

Im Yi-eon answered coldly.

“I paid for yesterday’s meal.”

Yuk Ha-seon interjected.

“Though Poison Dragon is publicly known as a murderer in the martial world, he seems to receive surprisingly much favor from many people.”

At the mention of favor, Son Bi’s cheeks became even redder. The red flush on her cold expression revealed a maiden’s heart that could no longer be hidden.

“Stop the useless talk from morning and show some restraint!”

Im Yi-eon shouted sharply, glaring at Namgung Geol and Yuk Ha-seon with fierce eyes.

“Yaaaawn, slept well.”

Soon An Ryeong came down leisurely, stretching disheveled.

Then she was startled by the sharp gazes from Im Yi-eon and Son Bi.

“Heh… hehe.”

An Ryeong, sensing the atmosphere, didn’t join the two but shrank her shoulders and went to sit at another place.

Everyone in the inn were famous masters. Moreover, they wouldn’t have slept comfortably with their feet stretched out in the middle of enemy territory. Most had spent the night sitting in meditation with their nerves on edge.

Thanks to that, they had all heard what An Ryeong had babbled while drunk last night. It was no wonder Son Bi was glaring at An Ryeong.

An Ryeong awkwardly smiled while mouthing “sorry” to Son Bi, but Son Bi’s eyes only became sharper.

Jin Ja-gang confirmed the number of people who had come down and returned to the kitchen.

Whoooosh. The rain that had started at night continued until morning.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang reviewed in the kitchen the technique Im Yi-eon had shown him.

Originally there are separate methods for crossing weapons. But what Im Yi-eon had shown was completely different in trajectory.

It wasn’t weapon technique but complete continuous point attacks. Moreover, the second bouncing method didn’t feel much different from inch force.

To be precise, she had shown how to hold a weapon but not use it as a weapon, but use it like an extension of the hand.

‘So this was possible.’

Jin Ja-gang gauged the amount of noodles, then put five bundles of noodles into the pot where broth was boiling vigorously.

While stirring the noodles with the ladle, he concentrated on the sensation where the noodles and ladle touched. Noodles boiling in broth are like flowing water. If you stir the ladle too hard, they break, and if you scoop them up, they flow down as they please.

Jin Ja-gang wrapped the noodles up with the ladle and attached the ladle to the noodles flowing down in the air with continuous point technique.

A few strands of noodles flew out of the pot along with broth.

Not giving up, he dipped the noodles in broth to loosen them, then scooped them with the ladle and wrapped them up in mid-air several times.

At first he followed the noodles’ movement with the ladle, then soon tried to restrict the noodles’ movement with the ladle. Making the noodles subordinate to the ladle’s movement. He moved thinking of the ladle not as a ladle but as a hand.

Gradually the number of noodle strands flowing down decreased. Now the initiative in movement belonged to the ladle, not the noodles.

Whirrrr.

As he stirred the air with the ladle, the noodles moved following the ladle with almost no scattering. There were almost no noodle strands falling out of the pot. Even the broth didn’t splash out.

He could wind all the noodles onto the ladle without leaving a single strand, then put them in the pot and release them all at once.

For Jin Ja-gang, it was an unexpected enlightenment.

* * *

When Jin Ja-gang served bowls with noodles, the martial artists frowned and looked at him.

The amount of noodles in the bowls had decreased considerably compared to yesterday.

Martial artists generally eat small portions, but the noticeably reduced quantity was bound to be disappointing.

However, the moment they picked up noodles with chopsticks, they were surprised by the chewiness. Yuk Ha-seon picked up just one strand of noodles. The noodle strand rippled like a willow branch that had been pulled and released.

The texture was also very chewy.

Yuk Ha-seon muttered.

“Poison Dragon being an inn’s cook, and moreover this delicious… who would believe this?”

Namgung Geol laughed heartily.

“It’s not who would believe it, but who could eat it.”

“If you don’t have confidence to eat Poison Dragon’s cooking, you shouldn’t face Poison Dragon in the first place. You should have turned back the moment you saw the name Funeral Inn.”

“I agree with that.”

Im Yi-eon also picked up noodles with chopsticks, examined them closely, then snorted.

“Hmph. Not bad.”

It was unclear whether it was praise for the noodles or martial arts, but it was definitely praise.

Slurp, slurp.

The inn was filled only with the loud sound of slurping noodles without any more words.

Namgung Geol, who finished a bowl first, was regretful.

“Is there more?”

Jin Ja-gang shook his head.

“A guest is coming.”

The sound of light movement technique footsteps amid the rain sound.

When it rains, sound doesn’t travel far. Hearing such sound meant they were already very nearby.

Namgung Geol clicked his tongue.

“Why do they always come exactly when we’re eating? Tsk.”

Rain suddenly poured in through the open door. Someone had rushed in.

Splash!

The inside of the door was soaked. And there stood two martial artists who had come running with light movement technique.

They were the people Jin Ja-gang had been waiting for.

A Mount Hua Sect master in his fifties.

But the other one was someone Jin Ja-gang hadn’t expected.

It was So-min. The one he had met before while doing Marvelous Youth Squad missions with Yeong-woon and Pyo Sang-guk…

Jin Ja-gang looked at So-min briefly, then said to the Mount Hua Sect master and So-min.

“Please sit first. I’ll serve you warm food.”

But the moment So-min saw Jin Ja-gang, her eyes reddened. Unable to control her emotions, So-min shouted.

“Why!”

So-min cried and shouted.

“Why did you kill Brother Sang-guk! Why! There was no need to go that far!”

The Mount Hua Sect master scolded So-min in a low voice, but with a growling sound like a beast.

“Shut up.”

“Ugh. Kuk.”

So-min bit her lips tightly and cried.