“Yelling was a good call. I almost missed it.”
“Brother Cheol!”
Cho Cheol turned to me with a sly smile before shifting his gaze toward the assassin.
“Just stay still. I’ll handle the rest.”
Brother Cheol stood before me as if to say that unless I could leap over the wall of the Three-Eyed Sword, I would never get what I wanted.
Is this what it feels like to see a hometown friend in a foreign land? Truly, reliable people are only those from your hometown.
“Because he’s my little brother. Are you going to keep this up?”
Despite the provocative question from the Three-Eyed Sword, the assassin gripped his knife tighter, remaining silent.
Will he give up? Or will he charge in again? How will I judge? My curiosity was answered immediately when the assassin’s shadow suddenly blurred.
Fast. The assassin’s footwork is fast.
“Did you think it was easy?”
But the sword of the Three-Eyed Sword was even faster.
The assassin’s finishing strike was effortlessly blocked.
“Tsk!”
For the first time, a flustered voice escaped the assassin. The sword of the Three-Eyed Sword swung fiercely. Is he targeting the neck? The assassin abandoned direct confrontation and leaped back.
Is he really outmatched?
Huh?!
A jewel sprang from the assassin’s pocket.
“Be careful!”
Is it a talisman?! The response of the Three-Eyed Sword was quick. In an instant, a talisman split in half. Something white burst forth from the jewel.
“Smoke bomb?!”
“Don’t breathe it in, step back!”
Please tell me it’s not poisonous mist. The moment I activated my Qi, it was instantaneous with Brother Cheol by my side, escaping the mist’s effects.
“It wasn’t poison; it was a means of escape. Quick judgment indeed.”
Did he think the Three-Eyed Sword was reckless? As the fog cleared, the assassin was seen fleeing into the distance.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m uninjured. Should we let him escape like this?”
“It’s a shallow trick. While baiting the bodyguard, others would eliminate the target.”
So that’s why he looked like he was escaping more slowly than when he followed.
“Brother Cheol, thank you so much. I owe my life to you.”
As the assassin vanished from sight, an immense relief washed over me, and I immediately bowed my head to the Three-Eyed Sword.
“Offer your thanks to the one above.”
“Huh?”
Something suddenly landed on my shoulder.
“Gugu! Guguuu!”
It was Gugu, who had pecked me and then flown off somewhere.
“Gugu? You little rascal! Weren’t you supposed to run away?”
“That spirit saved your life.”
Brother Cheol nodded at Gugu with a proud look.
“Gugu did that?”
“He suddenly flew to where I was staying, pecked at me, and insisted we go somewhere. I’ve never seen a critter so eager before.”
“Gugu, you little….”
Could it be that the chaos earlier was because he sensed the assassin?
“Gugu!”
Gugu puffed up his chest, as if to say, “Look at me now!”
Right. Well done. Very well done. Now that you’ve bulked up a bit, you should be able to find more food! Wait, scratch that thought.
I immediately hugged Gugu.
“Tonight, you’ll stay at my inn.”
As I petted Gugu, Brother Cheol relaxed.
“Wouldn’t it be safer to return to the mansion?”
Isn’t it better to head to the mansion with more guards if the assassin hasn’t been killed?
“I’m here, aren’t I? It’s best to minimize exposure to danger at night. As soon as we reach the inn, have someone sent to the mansion.”
Cho Cheol, the Three-Eyed Sword, was a ronin who had become skilled while living off martial arts. If the opponent was an assassin who had killed countless people, then the man before me was a legendary bodyguard who had protected many.
Nothing could be more correct than his advice.
“Understood. Let’s go right away.”
I quickly agreed and headed toward the crossroads inn.
—–
Fortunately, there were no other assassination attempts throughout the night.
When we returned to the mansion, it was in chaos due to the news of my assassination attempt overnight, but there was nothing for me to do.
I had spent the night at the inn, explaining everything that had happened to the bodyguards.
The first thing I had to do upon returning to the mansion was separate.
“Oooooh! Lord Gugu!”
“Gugu!”
“Ah, I see. Looks like you’re hungry. Here’s the finest food brought for you.”
“Gugugugugu! Gugu!”
“Not dry food but wet food? And with mealworms added? Truly, you are a lord, Gugu! I’ll serve it right away.”
I couldn’t treat the one who saved my life casually.
I was continuing to worship Gugu, who sat on the finest cushion.
“Um… Are you Master Kang?”
“Yeah… are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine.”
You really don’t need to worry so much.
Zhuge Xiaozhe and Jeon Gil-san, who had received such incredible news overnight, looked confused, as if they didn’t know what to say, standing behind me restlessly.
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“I’ve heard that when someone experiences severe emotional shock, they can act strangely.”
“Should we call a physician?”
“I’m just praising Gugu for saving my life.”
I wiped my playful expression and briefly explained the events of last night.
“I thought it was nothing.”
“It was dangerous. If it weren’t for Brother Cheol and Gugu, I could have been in serious trouble.”
I suppose I should give Brother Cheol a waiver for a while.
“Who could’ve done such a thing to Master Kang?”
“Who could it be? No, I don’t know who did it. But they must be the kind of people who could.”
I nodded at Jeon Gil-san’s words.
“In the end, they probably thought there was no other option.”
The one who hired the assassin was likely one of the candidates for successor.
The method of winning the test? Attack the top student. I welcome cute girls’ confession, but assassins? That’s just absurd.
“Are you really uninjured?”
“Haha. I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry for sending you.”
Is it because she heard that I almost died? Thinking that, Zhuge Xiaozhe’s eyes were on the verge of tears as she looked up at me.
I held Zhuge Xiaozhe’s hand to reassure her, feeling a strong tremor emanating from her palm.
“You need not worry about that. Thanks to your advice, we successfully resolved the gambling situation with Jeon.”
“Master Kang…”
Zhuge Xiaozhe supported my plan. Did she push me to my death? Don’t feel any strange guilt. I’m fine!
“Gugu! Guguuuu!”
When Zhuge Xiaozhe’s trembling calmed down, Gugu called out to me, as if asking me to pay attention.
“Ooooh! Lord Gugu! Tiny me lost focus while serving. Should I prepare bathwater now?”
“Should I heat the water in a pot?”
That sounds like preparing to be plucked! I waved my hands dismissively.
“Gugu! Gugugugu!”
What? No way? Gugu flapped its wings, flying toward the window.
“Are you telling me to follow?”
“Gugu!”
What’s going on?
Following Gugu, I saw something hidden under a tree behind my office, covered by leaves.
“A stone statue? Or a pottery fragment? This looks familiar.”
I lifted the leaves to find a broken ceramic vessel.
“Wait, isn’t this the incense burner I gifted?”
“Oh! Right! It’s the incense burner Zhuge Xiaozhe bought for me with the money I gave her! It disappeared some days back, but why is it here?”
“Gugugugu! Gugu! Gugu!”
Gugu began to express with swagger why the broken incense burner was here.
“You knocked it over because you were too thirsty, and it shattered, right? And to commit the perfect crime, you hid it here and pretended it wasn’t you, huh?”
“Gugu! Guguuuu!”
Correct! You’re forgiven, right? There was no need for interpretation.
“…Well, I suppose I can forgive you.”
Even though it’s an incredibly expensive incense burner, I’m fine. But, well.
“That was all the money I received from Master Kang.”
That incense burner was carefully selected with money Zhuge Xiaozhe received from me. Zhuge Xiaozhe’s fists were trembling fiercely.
“What? Should I raise water?”
“Gugu? Guguuu!”
Gugu seemed flustered, performing antics on Zhuge Xiaozhe’s shoulder, but her trembling hand couldn’t seem to settle down.
“Gugu, you bad guy!”
“Gugu?!!!!”
Yeah, you should have considered the person who received the gift, not just the one who gave it.
—–
As the mansion’s guards were strengthened and people busied themselves with who the culprit was, I sat in the garden of the inner courtyard, gathering my thoughts on the events from last night.
“I thought I had some confidence.”
I aimed for the heart but hadn’t properly responded at all. Despite not slacking in my training.
Professionals really are different. If Brother Cheol hadn’t appeared, I would have definitely been seriously injured.
I used the Shadowless Body Technique to create distance and fired a talisman at the wooden doll.
If I had a talisman, would things have been different? I couldn’t go to a drinking party with a gun in hand, so I hadn’t prepared a talisman.
The fact that I could no longer speak with those I had conversed with until last night weighed heavily on my heart.
Forehead, neck, chest. The talisman embeds perfectly. The results of daily training weren’t absent.
“Just as I had suspected, there are indeed skills in martial arts.”
Someone approached from the entrance of the inner courtyard, clapping.
“Brother Cheol?!”
“I came to see how you were doing.”
“Thanks to you, I’m just fine!”
I let go of the talisman and warmly approached Brother Cheol with a smile.
“You seem to be troubled, despite that.”
“Haha…”
A master can tell whether someone’s talisman has fallen just by looking at it, right?
It was hard to deny the despairing feelings I had.
“Do you want to continue what you were doing?”
Cho Cheol quietly watched me before gesturing toward the wooden doll.
“Huh?”
“If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to.”
“No, it’s nothing extraordinary.”
While martial artists are wary of showing off their training, I’m basically just running and shooting. Since I’m not revealing any of my significant skills, it shouldn’t matter.
“Hmm… Was that all?”
The Three-Eyed Sword observed as I darted around and sent talismans flying, but after a moment, he asked, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
“It’s nothing so great. But it’s not my main style.”
I’m more of a ranged dealer.
“Is that so…? Little brother.”
“What do you want to say?”
Is he concerned as a master of martial arts? Or is he trying to suggest I need to travel with more guards instead of training? Or perhaps,
Cho Cheol pondered for a moment with a serious expression before finally speaking carefully.
“Would you like to learn martial arts from me?”
