Chapter 120: Not Cheonsamun, but the Heavenly Soil Sect

TL: FoodieMonster007

Lee Ahn sent me a telepathic message.

[What should I do?]

[He offered to buy you a drink, so you handle it.]

I replied, intending to watch how Lee Ahn handled the situation.

[This is the first time something like this has ever happened to me.]

[It's the first time for me watching from the side, too.]

[Should I really do whatever I want?]

[Go ahead.]

[I'm really doing it.]

The Soaring Sky Sword Art and opening the Conception and Governing Vessels were good, but experience was the most important weapon to protect Lee Ahn.

The man introduced himself. "I'm Gok Sa, the Young Lord of the Heavenly Soil Sect."

He wore expensive silk clothes. Pricey jewels adorned his wrists and fingers, and even his fan glittered with brilliant gems.

Gok Sa asked, "Have you perhaps heard of my sect?"

"No," Lee Ahn replied. "My knowledge is limited, so I haven't had the chance. I'm sorry."

"Not at all, it's understandable."

In truth, the Heavenly Soil Sect was a fairly well-known sect in the area.

Gok Sa was clearly the type to flaunt his family's name. By not recognizing it, Lee Ahn had disarmed him of his greatest weapon.

"Young Lady, may I ask which school you belong to?"

"It's a nameless sect from the distant countryside, so you wouldn't know it."

"Then please, at least tell me your name, Young Lady."

"It's Baekmyeon."

Lee Ahn had thought of her white mask and given that name. Gok Sa seemed slightly taken aback by the strange name but quickly smiled.

"Well then, Young Lady Baekmyeon. Shall we move to another spot to talk?"

"That's a bit difficult. We're in the middle of a conversation right now."

Only then did Gok Sa finally look at me. He truly had not given me a single glance since sitting down.

"Who is this master?" he asked.

Lee Ahn hesitated, unsure how to introduce me, so I answered first. "I'm Young Lady Baekmyeon's bodyguard."

Gok Sa's expression soured for a moment. His look clearly asked, why is a bodyguard sharing a table? That single reaction revealed his entire character.

I sent Lee Ahn a telepathic message.

[For today, I'll be your bodyguard. You've lived your whole life as my bodyguard, so one day should be fine, right? Enjoy it. An opportunity like this doesn't come often.]

[I'm really enjoying it.]

Gok Sa spoke to Lee Ahn. "You seem to be close with your bodyguard."

Lee Ahn looked at me with mischievous eyes. "No matter how many times I tell him to live his own life, he just won't leave my side."

Gok Sa glared at me. His gaze said it all. Your master is beautiful, so you're just sticking to her trying to make a move, aren't you?

"I'm curious what you could have to talk about with a bodyguard," Gok Sa said.

"We talk about all sorts of things."

"If I may offer a piece of advice, it's best to keep your distance from bodyguards."

Lee Ahn replied to Gok Sa's words. "Building affection with a bodyguard is like scoring points to ask them to die in my place, right?"

I laughed inwardly. Lee Ahn was now throwing my own words back at me.

Gok Sa gave her a look that screamed, what kind of nonsense is that? "That's not why," he said.

"Then why?"

"Subordinates are bound to get ideas if you give them an opening. It's not good for them either."

He wore a serious expression, but what life experience could a man draped in jewels possibly have? I could tell he was just bluffing to look cool in front of a woman.

"How cute," Lee Ahn said.

"Pardon? Ah, yes. There are times when subordinates who harbor other intentions can seem cute."

"No, I'm saying you're cute, Master Gok."

Gok Sa was flustered for a moment. He clearly had not expected Lee Ahn to call him cute so openly.

"Alright, buy me a drink," she declared, standing up. "Take me to the most expensive tavern in this town and buy me the most expensive liquor."

"Why? Did you change your mind because I asked for expensive liquor?"

"How could that be? Let's go."

We left the tavern. Lee Ahn was acting differently than I expected. I never thought she would agree to a drinking session so readily.

A short while later, we sat in a private room at the town's most expensive tavern.

"Master Gok," Lee Ahn said. "Since we're having fun, call all your friends. Men, women, call them all and let's hang out together. Why? Don't you have any friends?"

Gok Sa's face reddened slightly. "In the murim, the only one you can trust is yourself."

It seemed he had been taught to trust no one since he was young.

"Looks like you don't have any friends," Lee Ahn observed. "Then I guess I'll have to be a friend to our lonely Master Gok."

Lee Ahn led the potentially gloomy gathering with her unique cheerfulness. The atmosphere brightened immensely as she genuinely tried to enjoy the occasion. It felt something like this.

You want to drink? Great, what's stopping us? Since we're at it, let's have some real fun!

Meanwhile, a magnificent feast was served. His attire made it clear that 'having nothing but money' was Gok Sa's unique martial art.

"This liquor costs over fifty taels a bottle," Gok Sa boasted.

Lee Ahn made a fuss. "This is my first time having such expensive liquor! Well, I'll drink it gratefully. Ah, I'll give a glass to my bodyguard, too."

She did not wait for a reply and poured the liquor. "Here, bodyguard, have a glass. It's very expensive liquor, so drink it all."

"Before that, I'll perform a quick inspection." I took out a silver needle and checked the liquor and dishes one by one.

Gok Sa scowled through the whole process, but Lee Ahn just smiled at him. "Master Gok, you wouldn't play tricks with the food, would you? You'll get in trouble if you do! Really, you will."

"What do you take me for! I don't need to do such things to have women lining up for me."

Lee Ahn gave a bashful smile. It was a captivating expression that could soothe an enemy's heart.

"I knew it. Come on, let's drink."

The three of us toasted. After emptying her cup, Lee Ahn expressed her regret. "It's a shame to drink such fine liquor just by ourselves. The bodyguards outside!"

She called for Gok Sa's bodyguards. Four men entered the room.

"Master Gok, let's drink with them too, shall we?" Lee Ahn suggested.

Gok Sa immediately looked displeased.

One of the four bodyguards stepped forward. "We're fine. We must protect the Young Master."

Lee Ahn asked him, "Is the Young Master really being protected out there?"

The bodyguard could not reply to her meaningful words. After all, they had only been guarding the drinking parties of a scoundrel who used money to pick up women.

Soon, Lee Ahn gently persuaded Gok Sa. "Master Gok, don't attach any great meaning to this. It's just having a drink together. Come on, sit down."

The bodyguards glanced at Gok Sa, gauging his mood.

When Lee Ahn showed a slightly disappointed expression, Gok Sa could not hold out any longer. He nodded, and the four men sat down.

"Come on, please accept a drink from me." She poured them liquor.

Perhaps Lee Ahn felt a fondness for them, since she had been a bodyguard herself.

"Alright, let's all have a drink!" Lee Ahn raised her cup high, and we toasted.

"KYAH, this liquor tastes great. Master Gok, please order more! Ah, is it too expensive?"

"Nonsense! Order as much as you like."

Beauty overwhelmed everything. When combined with Lee Ahn's unique cheerfulness and vitality, nothing could stop her.

I truly never imagined such an atmosphere could be created with these people.

Lee Ahn was uninhibited. She held no prejudice against others, so no one felt emotionally uncomfortable.

I could tell it was not just because I was by her side. It was her confidence in her skills. Opening the Conception and Governing Vessels must have given that confidence an even greater boost.

We drank and talked about all sorts of things. The initially reserved bodyguards began to answer questions, revealing things even Gok Sa did not know.

"You had a son ten days ago? Oh, congratulations!" Lee Ahn exclaimed.

She did not press Gok Sa, who naturally would not have known. Instead, she created an atmosphere for everyone.

"Alright, a present from our Young Lord is coming up! A present! A present!"

I was amazed by her. She made him give a congratulatory gift without offending Gok Sa's mood.

Honestly, in that moment, I thought she's better than me.

Gok Sa had never given a gift to his bodyguards before, so he did not know what to do.

Lee Ahn calmly said to him, "There are people I know who like to draw lines."

She picked up her chopsticks, dipped them in liquor, and drew a long line on the table.

"This is the point of employment, and this is the end," she explained. "If you come all the way to this end, you can even die for your employer. Going all the way? It's a really difficult thing to do, but bodyguards hope for it."

"They hope for the relationship between themselves and the person they protect to reach this end. Even though reaching this point means their own death. That's who these bodyguards here are."

The four bodyguards grew slightly emotional at her calm words. Her words were also meant for me, to show that she was like that.

"You seem to know a lot about bodyguards," one of the bodyguards commented.

"I experienced it when I was young," Lee Ahn replied.

Just then, Gok Sa glared at the bodyguard. His look clearly said, who do you think you are, speaking up? The man flinched and lowered his head.

Lee Ahn spoke gently to Gok Sa. "If you look at people with those eyes, the line goes in the opposite direction."

"I don't believe it," Gok Sa said. "That someone can purely sacrifice their life for another. Do you believe it, Young Lady?"

Lee Ahn nodded and held out her cup. "You should try believing it too, Master Gok."

"Trust someone, and you'll get stabbed in the back."

"Do you think you won't get stabbed if you don't trust them?"

"!"

"We often associate betrayal with trust, but that's entirely from the perspective of the one being betrayed. 'I trusted you this much, and you betrayed me!' But the one doing the betraying isn't doing it because the other person didn't trust them, right?"

"It's usually for other reasons, isn't it? Money, power, or their own personal affairs. I've never once seen a case where someone said, 'I betrayed my master because he didn't trust me.' That's just an excuse they make later."

"So what I'm saying is, it's okay to trust! Betrayal is a separate matter anyway!"

"That's sophistry!"

"Let's have a drink for today's sophistry!"

Gok Sa could not refuse the cup Lee Ahn offered.

He was drunk, but Lee Ahn was only pretending.

I saw her secretly expel the alcohol qi from her fingertips. She seemed to be playing around without a care, but she was being cautious.

Perfect, Lee Ahn!

[When did you learn that? How to expel alcohol qi?]

[I learned it when I was young. I just couldn't do it until now because my skills weren't good enough. Ah, what a waste. This expensive liquor!]

As if just remembering, Lee Ahn shouted, "Ah, right. The baby's present! Present! Give him a present!"

Caught up in the excitement, she kept shouting as Gok Sa took a wallet from his robes.

"A lot! A lot! A lot!"

In the end, a rather large sum of money came out of the wallet.

"It's alright," the bodyguard said.

"Take it," Gok Sa insisted. "At least buy some clothes for the baby."

"Thank you."

Lee Ahn looked at Gok Sa and gave him a thumbs-up. "Master Gok! You're so cool!"

"It's nothing." Gok Sa's face turned red for no reason.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere improved even more, and we drank all night. Though we had just met, we shared all kinds of stories. It was the first time Gok Sa and his bodyguards had ever had a drinking session together.

As Lee Ahn drove the mood, everyone became absorbed in the fun of the gathering, like being soaked by a gentle drizzle. We stayed up all night drinking, sharing all sorts of trivial stories. We talked about martial arts, about making money, and about our families. Because Lee Ahn, who led the gathering, treated everyone with sincerity, they all revealed their true feelings without realizing it. We drank so joyfully that we were genuinely sad to part ways.

"Master Gok, next time I come to this town, I'll visit Cheonsamun first."

"Not Cheonsamun, it's the Heavenly Soil Sect."

"Aah, our Master Gok of the Heavenly Soil Sect. You have to remember me. Master Gok, from today on, we're drinking buddies."

Gok Sa could not hide his joy at the words 'drinking buddies'. He might have first approached Lee Ahn with the intention of sleeping with her, but now he was moved by her friendship.

"And until we meet again, you can't go around seducing just any woman! Train your martial arts, too. Let's meet again when you're looking cool. Got it?"

"I understand."

Surprisingly, Gok Sa nodded. I could not be sure, but it felt like he would change starting today. He even gave me some spending money.

"Take good care of the Young Lady," he said.

"Yes, thank you."

Ah, Gok Sa would never know how amazed I was in that moment. I was not amazed by Gok Sa, but by Lee Ahn. In a single night, she had made five men fall completely for her charms. To be honest, it was six, because I was truly amazed by her too.

And so, we left. Far in the distance, Gok Sa and his bodyguards watched us go, sad to see us leave.

"Actually, I was worried about you at first," I admitted.

"About me? Why?"

"I was worried you'd be deceived and swayed by men. Worried you'd get excited and cause trouble. Worried you'd be disappointed and hurt by men."

When they first appeared, I thought it would end with Gok Sa getting beaten up or even killed. I thought that was how it would go.

However, it ended in a way I had never expected. Would Gok Sa have changed if I had dragged him to the Sanzu River Hall to intimidate and beat him? It felt like the sun had removed the overcoat that the wind could not.

"And now?" Lee Ahn asked.

"Now I have the opposite worry."

"What kind of worry?"

"Worrying about the men. If I let you out, all the men in the murim will be ruined. They'll squander their fortunes, go crazy with training to look strong, and get lovesick."

Lee Ahn burst out laughing. "You know how many tails I have, don't you?"

Seeing her today made me certain that I had to help her master the Soaring Sky Sword Art. The stronger Lee Ahn becomes, the more charming she will be.

"Where are we going now?" she asked.

"If we meet another guy like Gok Sa, we'll hang out again, eat delicious food, and see beautiful scenery, and we'll go see a wedding."

"Whose wedding?"

"There is one. A wedding I'm debating whether to stop or not."

"Why would you stop someone else's wedding?"

"Right?"

"That sounds fun! I've never properly seen a wedding before!"

Excited, Lee Ahn ran ahead.

Watching her run toward the distant rising sun, I thought she looked like a painting. I slowly blended into that painting myself.