Were you startled by an unexpected sound?
It feels like the voice of a friend who came over to my place, claiming they were on a diet and wouldn’t eat any snacks, but then got caught sneaking ingredients out of the fridge at night to make bibimbap.
“I woke up thinking an intruder might be washing up.”
“Ah, so you woke up because of the sound of water?”
The young warrior Cheongun was about to tackle my absurd statement with a squeaky voice but calmed down and replied as if it made sense.
Fortunately, I confirmed that the intruder wasn’t wasting water, so I figured I could just go back to sleep. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I glanced towards the washroom and noticed something white glimmering in the moonlight.
A bandage?
“Cheongun, have you been injured?”
I asked in a worried tone.
“No, why do you ask?”
“There’s a bandage in front of the washroom.”
“Ah! It’s just a minor scratch I got during a fight.”
It seems like minor scratches aren’t considered injuries in the Martial Arts World. If I got a paper cut, I would be screaming, “Medic! Where’s the medic?!”
Come to think of it, Cheongun had wrapped a bandage around their arm after saving us. To slice through so many black-clad men and only end up with minor scratches is quite miraculous.
Thanks to the Jade Face Protective Technique, I dodged the threat of death by a blind blade, but I couldn’t even think about trying any cool moves like blade-catching.
“Master Kang, are you asleep?”
Creek. While I was lost in thought, the washroom door opened a crack, and Cheongun cautiously spoke in a voice that seemed anxious about waking me.
“I’m not asleep.”
“Ah!”
Bang! The washroom door slammed shut in a hurry.
“Do you need a towel?”
I glanced at the towel carelessly tossed on the nightstand. I had forgotten to put a fresh towel since I was too busy eating the dumplings Cheongun gave me.
“I-I have a towel!”
Then what else do you need?
In the dark and quiet guest room, I could no longer hear the sound of water, but I did hear the sound of bare feet pattering on the wet floor.
“Cheongun?”
I called him to ask if he needed anything other than a towel.
“Ah! Uhm… Could you please go to the left end room outside and ask the innkeeper’s daughter to run some warm water for me?”
What? Is that all? I guess the water isn’t warm enough for him.
“Haha. Warm water is definitely better than a cold shower. But it’s late. Will she be awake?”
“She said to come anytime, so she should still be awake.”
“Ah.”
That’s not what he meant, right? Is it alright for me to go?
“It’s colder than I expected. I’m sorry.”
Cheongun’s voice carried a sense of embarrassment and urgency.
“What’s there to be sorry about? I’ll go.”
I’d definitely face an awkward situation, but how could I refuse since he saved my life?
I mentally noted that even a Taoist Master struggles with cold water showers on a chilly night and left the guest room.
———————–
“Oh my! You’re not a Taoist Master…”
When I opened the door, I saw a woman dressed as if preparing for the most critical battle of her life.
I quickly admired her curves hidden behind an ordinary appearance, storing that image in my brain, then turned to look at her face, pretending I hadn’t seen anything.
The innkeeper’s daughter showed clear disappointment when she realized I wasn’t Cheongun, but since I couldn’t become Cheongun, I simply told her the message I had.
“Well, it’s not difficult, but since you’re here, would you like to come in and see something amazing?”
The innkeeper’s daughter scrutinized me up and down and pointed to some device inside the room.
“I have to leave early tomorrow, so I’m sorry for bothering you so late, but please help me.”
What’s so fascinating about adjusting a boiler? I reluctantly nodded, leaving the innkeeper’s daughter behind.
I had quite the late-night show. Crazy!
To think that kind of woman would tempt someone to spend the night. If it were Cheongun, being a Taoist Master who should be keeping his distance from women, he wouldn’t notice it at all. If he had gone at night, he would have been eaten alive.
With someone like Cheongun around, it would be common to encounter such situations in the future. As a pro in romantic relations, I should definitely give him tips when the opportunity arises.
———————–
“Master Kang?”
As I was leaving, I was met by one of the guard unit members coming out of the guest room with a water kettle in hand.
“Were you awake?”
I wondered what his errand was.
“We have a few people standing guard to protect Lady Hwa-rin.”
So they were on watch. Wondering when enemies might ambush, they couldn’t relax even in the inn.
“If you were going somewhere, you should have asked me to help.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m not fine.”
I seized the kettle from the guard unit member’s hands.
“Then, could you go fetch the herbal water from the carriage?”
I wanted to offer the struggling guards some small assistance. Nodding, I gathered the herbal water from the carriage and headed back to the guest room.
———————–
“How is Hwa-rin doing?”
I asked as I placed the kettle in the room where Hwa-rin was lying, addressing one of the guards looking after her.
“She’s unconscious, but fortunately, the poison hasn’t spread in her body.”
“Thank goodness. I wish she would at least open her eyes.”
I gazed at Hwa-rin, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully. It felt strange seeing her eyes closed while I was wide awake.
When we wrote novels at night, she would stay up until I fell asleep, and in the mornings, she would always wake up earlier than me, so I rarely got to see her defenseless sleeping face.
“Hwa-rin, you should wake up.”
I missed her voice calling for me to hurry up so we wouldn’t be late opening the bookstore. I missed her playful insults when I joked around. I wanted to hear her laughter that came out like a cute snicker.
Hwa-rin, you aren’t planning on staying like this forever, right? Unpleasant thoughts weighing upon my heart made me uneasy.
“Lady Hwa-rin seems to be falling into a deep hibernation.”
While I was worried about Hwa-rin, the guard unit member spoke up.
“Hibernation?”
“Yes. Animals go into hibernation to endure the winter cold without wasting energy on unnecessary activities. It seems that Lady Hwa-rin is also refraining from any extraneous activity to overcome the poison within her.”
“Does that mean there won’t be any problems for a while?”
If Hwa-rin can suppress the poison as animals do during hibernation while remaining unconscious, there surely won’t be any major issues.
“Yes. The problem is…”
“What’s the problem?”
“If the winter chill lasts too long, there are animals that don’t wake from hibernation.”
“Then we must hurry to the Tang Family.”
I gently took Hwa-rin’s hand.
“If we get her treated at the Sichuan Tang Family, she’ll surely regain consciousness. First, we need to wake her up and absorb the poisonous substance from the Wretched Man’s toxin to deal with the thousand-year-old poison.”
Is there a way for her to regain consciousness at the Tang Family? Then we really have to rush.
“I feel like I’ve bothered you when you shouldn’t have been worried. I’ll take my leave now.”
The night was deep, and I couldn’t afford to stress the fatigued guards any longer.
“Is it unnecessary to worry about a friend? Master Kang, try not to worry too much and get some rest yourself.”
I nodded my head, engraving Hwa-rin’s unconscious face in my heart, and returned to my room.
———————
As I entered the guest room, I realized Cheongun lying down was trembling slightly.
Looks like he had finished washing up quickly. Given the steam lingering around the washroom, it seems he took a warm bath.
“Cheongun, are you awake?”
I called out to him in a quiet voice.
“Yes, I am awake.”
“It’s about the bandage.”
“B-bandage? Why the bandage?”
Cheongun responded with a mix of confusion and wariness.
“I got some new bandages from the guards. If you’re wearing a used one, I can help you rewrap it.”
I raised the new bandage in my hand, showing it to Cheongun, whose face only had his eyes peeking out from under the covers.
“It’s fine!”
“It would be better to use a new one.”
“It’s just for pressure—uh, I mean, I’m only using it to stop the bleeding. It’s fine now.”
For hygiene reasons, using a new bandage would be better. As I hesitated to insist again, I thought it might annoy him since it was late.
Recovering with my boundless energy should suffice.
“Then I’ll set the new bandage next to you. Keep it for next time.”
“Thank you.”
———–
Having reconciled with Cheongun and with no attacks for now, the journey progressed smoothly.
“Have you read any novels other than ‘Tales of Great Heroes’?”
Of course, I had to be Cheongun’s conversation partner during the journey continuously, but with such an excellent escort, I had no complaints.
“We’ll handle reserving guest rooms and buying herbs.”
After several days of travel, we arrived at the next town.
“I’ll go buy some food.”
“I’ll give you the list.”
“I’ll go with you.”
I went out with Cheongun to buy some food now that dawn had broken.
———————–
“Help us!”
While I was browsing about for food, three anxious boys, about to reach their teenage years, ran toward us in a panic.
“What’s going on?”
Cheongun, ever the hero, gripped his sword hilt, ready to spring into action, as the boys opened their mouths, clearly nervous.
“Our older brother was taken away by some people wearing black masks!”
Black masks? Black-clad men? In an instant, Cheongun and I exchanged glances. Could they have been lying in wait here?
“Where? Let’s go!”
“Down that alley! Over there!”
When Cheongun asked, one of the boys pointed toward a nearby alley.
Isn’t it too dangerous? If it’s really those black-clad men, we shouldn’t be following them but rather alerting the Tang Family people.
As I was about to stop Cheongun, something amusing caught my eye.
What the heck? Is that all it was?
“Cheongun, no need to go.”
I quickly grabbed one boy’s wrist and lifted him, trying to deter Cheongun.
“Ack! Let go!”
The boy kicked his legs in a frenzy as he hung in the air.
“Master Kang, what are you doing?!”
Cheongun looked at me in shock, clearly not grasping the situation yet.
Is it his first time navigating the martial world, so he hasn’t experienced this kind of trick before? Then I need to inform him directly before he encounters it.
I gave a bewildered expression, gazing at the boy I was holding and then addressing Cheongun.
“It’s a trap.”
The boy I grabbed was holding Cheongun’s money pouch in his hand.
