The next morning.
I got permission from my master, Tang Hochang, to take a day off from my training schedule. After all, today is Namgoong Ruby’s day to return to her hometown, and I thought I should give her a proper send-off.
“Good morning!”
Namgoong Ruby greeted me with her usual bright smile. Even though it was her last day in the capital, her face was as cheerful as ever.
“Yeah. Did you sleep well?”
“Of course! I slept so well that my body feels as light as a feather.”
I glanced at Namgoong Ruby’s face as she made a silly joke and replied, “You don’t seem too sad about leaving today.”
“Well, it’s not like we won’t see each other again; we’ll just meet again at the academy in two months. And you can come visit again next time.”
“I guess.”
As she said, it’s not like we’d never meet again, and I realized I might have been too sentimental.
“Anyway, let’s not talk about being gloomy already; let’s have a more solid conversation instead.”
“A solid conversation?”
“I feel like your martial arts skills have improved a lot recently, all thanks to the advice from your sister Yujin, right?”
It was a pretty ordinary question, but I was a bit sensitive to the way she referred to her.
“…Do you call her ‘sister Yujin’?”
Knowing that Baek Yujin was actually hundreds of years old, the title felt quite out of place.
“Yep. She’s older than me, isn’t she? Is there something weird about that?”
But seeing Namgoong Ruby blink in confusion, I just brushed it off, saying it was nothing.
“Well, she did give you some advice, but it’s also because you’ve been sparring with me consistently.”
As both Tang Hochang and Baek Yujin had mentioned before, my level was weak compared to the achievements I’ve reached due to my lack of real combat experience.
Of course, since entering the Cheonmu Academy, I had more opportunities to spar than before, but generally, you improve your martial arts by fighting against someone of similar or greater strength.
In that sense, sparring with Namgoong Ruby for a week straight without skipping a day had greatly helped me improve.
“Hehe, thanks for the compliment.”
Namgoong Ruby smiled shyly at my words. I hadn’t meant it as a compliment per se; however, it felt a bit wrong to deny a person who seemed so happy about it, so I let it slide.
Just then, Tang Sosu and Dokgorin showed up a bit late.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“We just came out.”
As I responded to Tang Sosu’s question, she said, “Then let’s hurry up,” and began walking ahead confidently.
“So, where exactly are we going right now?”
“I promised Ruby I’d take her to my favorite restaurant in the capital. I made a reservation two days ago, so all you need to do is show up.”
Seeing Tang Sosu confidently leading the way, it seemed she had a good idea of what she was doing. If there was no need for me to worry, then it was even better, so I decided to follow her closely.
*
As it turned out, the place Tang Sosu took us to was an ordinary eatery, different from what I had expected.
“Why do you have that expression?”
“Well, I just thought you’d take us somewhere a bit more impressive.”
Tang Sosu seemed to understand what I meant and chuckled, saying, “It’s not like I only go to expensive places. Plus, the Chomamyeon here is really delicious.”
“Chomamyeon?”
Namgoong Ruby tilted her head as if she had never heard of it before. Tang Sosu nodded and briefly explained.
“It’s a dish where seafood and vegetables are stir-fried with noodles, and a rich broth is poured over it. It’s one of my favorite dishes since I was a kid.”
As we entered the establishment following her, contrary to Tang Sosu’s claim that it was delicious, there was not a single customer inside.
Just as I was starting to question this fact, Tang Sosu said, “Oh, by the way, I rented out the place, so we can eat comfortably.”
With that, she smiled proudly. As expected, she really was the daughter of a wealthy family; it was quite an unexpected revelation.
“Ah, welcome! Miss Sosu.”
At that moment, a man who seemed to be the owner greeted us with a bow.
“Sir, please prepare food according to the number of people we have.”
“Yes. Please sit back and wait.”
Guided by the owner, we settled at a table in one corner of the restaurant.
“So, Ruby, what do you plan to do when you return home?”
Namgoong Ruby, sipping tea with a relaxed expression, meowed like a cat while looking at Tang Sosu.
“As for me, I’ll probably greet the elders of my family and rest comfortably at home. If I get bored, I might practice my swordsmanship a bit.”
“Aren’t you going to travel anywhere?”
“I like staying at home, so not really?”
It seemed like the two had been inseparable best friends since their time at the academy, as their conversation flowed naturally.
On the other hand, Dokgorin, being more of a quiet listener, silently listened to their conversation.
“Your food is here.”
While the two were engrossed in their chatter, the owner brought out a tray filled with food from the kitchen.
“Let’s eat first and talk later.”
Saying that, Tang Sosu picked up her chopsticks with a hungry expression. We were just as eager for the food, so we stared at the diverse dishes being placed on the table with anticipation.
‘Huh?’
Wait, something seems off.
To be precise, all the food on the table was red.
I looked briefly at Tang Sosu’s face to confirm if the dishes were proper, but she was smiling brightly, so it seemed we hadn’t made a mistake in our order.
‘I’ve heard that people from Sichuan love spicy food, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.’
Though I lived in a place that was part of Sichuan, we didn’t enjoy spicy food to the level of coating the entire table in red.
Namgoong Ruby, who hailed from Anhui, wore a similar shocked expression.
“There’s a lot of spicy food, huh?”
With a stiff smile, Namgoong Ruby asked. Tang Sosu picked up some Chomamyeon and nodded.
“Yep! I love spicy food!”
“I see….”
Namgoong Ruby lowered her gaze with a rather awkward expression. It seemed she hadn’t anticipated this situation.
After glancing at her, I picked up my chopsticks to follow Tang Sosu’s lead.
‘How spicy could it be?’
Even though I looked like this, I was a Korean who had trained my stomach with all sorts of spicy food in my past life.
Since becoming Ichilbok, I occasionally craved spicy food and had it often, so I should have some tolerance for it.
Thinking that, I boldly took a bite of the Chomamyeon, which Tang Sosu had highly recommended.
Slurp!
“Yum!”
It was delicious. It felt like my eyes were wide open.
At first, I was worried, but the spiciness of the Chomamyeon was just at the right level to make my tongue tingle.
‘The seafood and vegetables are fresh.’
In inland regions, it’s generally tough to eat fresh seafood.
It’s because transportation isn’t well-developed like in modern times, especially in a huge place like China, where the cities far from the sea tend to have expensive seafood.
And seafood is usually tastier the fresher it is.
‘I get why picky-eater Tang Sosu calls this her favorite dish.’
I had just intended to take a small taste, but before I knew it, I was devouring the Chomamyeon. I realized my companions were watching my face curiously and responded with a “Huh?”
“Puhuh—”
“Choke—”
As Namgoong Ruby and Tang Sosu burst into laughter, Dokgorin, with a wry smile, remarked, “You’ve got sauce smeared all over your mouth.”
“Oh.”
Only then did I figure out why they were laughing, and I hurried to wipe my mouth with the handkerchief I pulled from my pocket.
*
“Phew! That was great!”
After finishing the meal, I rubbed my round belly as I said that.
I understood why Tang Sosu had been so confident when she brought us to this place. It was a perfect example of a local hidden gem!
Despite its shabby exterior, every dish served here was exquisite.
“I’ll bring you tea after the meal.”
As the owner collected the empty dishes and utensils, Tang Sosu puffed her chest and said confidently, “So, how was it? Wasn’t it super delicious?”
Even Namgoong Ruby, who had initially been horrified by the red-soaked table, readily conceded.
“Yeah, it was super delicious.”
“Hehe, I knew you’d say that.”
While the two chatted cheerfully, I looked over at Dokgorin, who was sitting beside me wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, and asked, “Rin, what did you think?”
Dokgorin stopped briefly, then nodded as she replied, “It was delicious.”
Fortunately, it seemed to suit her picky palate as well.
Relieved by that fact, I casually glanced around the restaurant when suddenly—
Clatter—
Someone walked in through the front entrance, pulling aside the curtain with a crisp sound.
“Excuse me~”
A man with a relaxed voice scanned the restaurant as he walked in. Dressed in a blue Taoist robe, which was rare in this area, he locked eyes with us and asked in a playful tone, “Ladies, what is the tasty food in this place?”
Tang Sosu responded, “I’m sorry, but I rented out this place for today.”
The man, still smiling, said, “That’s fine. I wasn’t really asking seriously anyway.”
What?
Just as I was about to express my confusion over his words, suddenly—
“Everyone, don’t move.”
Men in black clothes appeared from behind and pressed knives against our necks.
“What the—!”
Dokgorin exclaimed in shock. The man shushed her by raising a finger to his lips, saying, “Nice to meet you for the first time, Dokgo Sojeo. I am a humble Taoist named Yangbang. I came today with a little matter for you.”
