Chapter 673: A Brother's Kindness is Invincible

TL: FoodieMonster007

The painting was truly magnificent.

It was the work of a famous painter who, for some reason, now made his living drawing portraits in the marketplace. His skill was so exceptional that he could have easily been the protagonist of this tale.

Anyone could tell that the two individuals in the portrait were Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang.

Geom Mugeuk examined the painting, first looking at it straight on and then from the side.

"No matter how I look at it, they made you more handsome," Geom Mugeuk said, spinning a conspiracy theory as he stared at the finished work.

"You threatened the painter with telepathy, didn't you? 'If you don't draw my brother better, I'll make sure you never hold a brush again!'"

The old painter simply smiled. Having drawn portraits here for a long time, he had seen countless people.

Perhaps because he had studied so many faces, he could now sense a person's life just by looking at them. Today, he had a particularly special experience.

It happened when he was drawing the younger brother's face. The man spouted words so light they seemed almost frivolous.

Strangely, while drawing him, he felt as if he were painting a landscape rather than a portrait. When he drew the man's hair, it was like painting a reed forest swaying in the wind, and when he drew his eyes, it felt like capturing a vast ocean. He also painted a snowy mountain in a blizzard and a barren wasteland without a single blade of grass. He sensed the four seasons and the very flow of time.

He had painted faces his entire life, but this was the first time he had ever felt this way while drawing someone.

Geom Muyang silently looked down at the finished work.

Unlike his own expressionless face, his younger brother in the painting was smiling brightly. It appeared he had kept smiling even while chattering away. He liked this painting.

"Here, here's the money."

Geom Muyang offered payment enough for ten portraits, but the old painter returned the money.

"It's been a long time since I've enjoyed painting this much. I'd like to give you this painting as a gift."

He did not want to put a price on today's painting. If he were to accept money, he felt he would need to receive hundreds, or even thousands, of times that amount.

When the painter bowed his head once more as if making a sincere request, Geom Muyang nodded.

"Do you know a place that makes hanging scrolls?"

The painter told him the location of a frame merchant in the marketplace.

After bidding the painter farewell, the two brothers headed straight for the frame merchant.

The owner, who claimed to have been mounting scrolls his entire life, had a face full of pride. Geom Muyang presented the painting to him.

"Please make this so it can be hung on a wall. No matter the cost, make it the best."

"The best, you say. Then it will take some time. Please come back in seven days," the owner replied.

Geom Muyang glanced at Geom Mugeuk.

"We'll be in Wuhan until then."

At Geom Mugeuk's answer, Geom Muyang spoke briefly to the owner and turned away.

"We will come in seven days."

Having left the frame merchant, the two started walking toward their lodging.

"When did you learn to play the bamboo flute?"

"A long time ago."

"Does Father know?"

Geom Muyang shook his head, but Geom Mugeuk thought differently.

"He probably knows."

Geom Muyang looked at Geom Mugeuk with an expression that asked what he meant.

"I'm saying he probably knows you can play an instrument."

His brother did not seem to believe him, but he was sure their father knew. When he first regressed, his father had even known that he had been afflicted with the Qi Dispersing Poison.

Geom Mugeuk knew that his father only pretended not to know things, but in reality, he knew a great deal about his children.

In any case, neither of them had the personality to say, 'Play it for me,' or 'I will play it for you.'

He thought he would have to set the stage for it someday. He truly wanted their father to hear his brother's performance at least once.

As they were walking together like that.

PITTER-PATTER.

Just as thick raindrops began to fall, WHOOSH.

A sudden shower started to pour down.

The two stood for a moment under the eaves of a shop, waiting for the rain to let up.

With their martial arts skills, they could have walked through the downpour without getting wet, but they simply waited for the rain to stop.

While watching the rain, Geom Muyang glanced at his younger brother.

The falling rain had silenced his talkative brother. Geom Muyang knew that this was his brother's true self.

That deep gaze, watching the rain in silence, was his brother's real gaze.

Geom Muyang asked quietly.

"What do you like?"

Startled by the unexpected question, Geom Mugeuk looked at his brother. Geom Muyang turned his head toward the falling rain and asked again.

"I asked what you like."

It was the first time his brother had ever asked him something personal, and unprompted at that.

"Me? I like lots of things. I like drinking and having fun with people."

"Too…"

Geom Muyang was about to warn him that being led too much by affection could get him killed. Then he realized that it was precisely that affection that was getting all their enemies killed.

His brother's affection was invincible.

"But you prefer being alone, don't you?"

His brother kept surprising him.

It was surprising that he knew that about him, and even more surprising that he would express it.

"My brother, you're like a ghost, a ghost. What's with you today?"

"What do you really like? Stop talking about people and booze."

Knowing his brother was asking seriously, he answered honestly.

"I like lying down comfortably and watching the sea, and I like soaking in a hot spring surrounded by a snowy landscape."

It might sound like a lie, with the sea and hot springs coming out of nowhere, but those were things he truly liked.

"I like this, too. Standing under the eaves like this, watching the rain."

Watching the world alone.

In his life before regressing, he had experienced that moment so many times.

In a blizzard, on a drifting raft, hanging from a cliff…

Even in those dreadfully lonely moments, just looking at the world like this made him feel better. Even just watching people pass by made him feel better.

That is probably why. Why I still like moments like this.

Geom Muyang, who had been quietly watching his brother, looked back at the rain.

"You said watching the scenery is for old people."

"At least I'm watching from the outside."

Finding his own words childish, Geom Mugeuk laughed out loud. A faint smile touched Geom Muyang's lips.

SHHHHHHH.

"Brother, when Father finishes his seclusion training, let's the three of us go hunting."

Geom Muyang, who had been silently watching the falling rain, nodded.

"Alright."

Then he added another word.

"…Always take care of yourself first."

Geom Mugeuk looked at his brother with trembling eyes.

Today, for the first time, his brother had asked what he liked, and for the first time, he had shown concern for him.

"I knew it! You're not my brother! I should have known when you suggested we get a portrait done. Give me back my brother! When did you switch places!"

"……"

When the joke was over, Geom Mugeuk said seriously.

"Brother, I'm more selfish and cold-hearted than I look. You don't have to worry so much. If you think I'm doing something wrong, don't hesitate to curse me out."

Geom Muyang also replied seriously.

"I held back several times today."

SHHHHHHH.

Until the scroll was finished, the two decided to wait at their lodging and practice their martial arts.

Geom Muyang focused on honing the Heavenly Demon's self-defense arts. The power of the three drops of Blue Sky Stone Essence had a great effect on this training as well.

Perhaps thanks to his purified inner arts, his martial arts training was smoother than before, and his achievements came faster.

So that his brother could focus on training, Geom Mugeuk took charge of the meals.

For every meal, he went to an inn to buy food and set the table. He knew his brother did not like eating out, so he would go out on the pretext of wanting some fresh air and buy the food.

He used his movement arts to zip back and forth, making it seem like no big deal, but he served different dishes for every meal. When asked what he wanted to eat, Geom Muyang would reply 'anything,' but it could not be 'anything' every time.

Thanks to this, Geom Mugeuk also learned about his brother's tastes. Which dishes he liked, and which he disliked.

Even while eating, he tried to make even a little more conversation.

When would he ever get another chance to stay with his brother in the same house for seven days?

Geom Mugeuk, more than anyone, knew that if you miss the moment, you might not even get the chance to try.

And on the final, seventh day, Geom Muyang went out and bought the food himself.

Surprisingly, even though he had not asked, Geom Muyang had bought only the dishes that Geom Mugeuk liked.

"How on earth did you know I like these dishes?"

"A picky eater's preferences are obvious."

He answered bluntly, but for the past seven days, Geom Muyang had been carefully watching which dishes his brother's chopsticks went to more often during meals.

And so, seven days passed.

Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang appeared in the marketplace to pick up the scroll.

The streets of Wuhan were buzzing with one piece of news.

A grand banquet was being held by the Murim Alliance today to celebrate Jin Hagun becoming the successor. Not only the leaders within the alliance, but also various renowned masters of the Central Plains murim were all in attendance.

The marketplace also had a festive atmosphere. Martial artists flocked from various regions, and the streets were literally packed with people.

"You bastards, if you get too excited and so much as bump my brother's shoulder, all hell will break loose! It'll be a massacre!"

He only said that, as both Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang took care to avoid the crowds.

"Did you say Young Alliance Chairman Bi is arriving tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

Bi Sayin had sent word of it through the All-Knowing Hall.

"Ah, I'm so curious. I want to meet him quickly and ask what happened with Young Lady Han of the Ice Palace."

Previously, when they had all gathered and were about to part ways, Bi Sayin had abruptly suggested to Han Seol that she stop by the Evil Alliance before returning.

He had thought, oops, right after saying it, but surprisingly, Han Seol had agreed.

At that time, he had not teased Bi Sayin with telepathy to enjoy his happiness and just let him go.

"When I see him this time, I'm going to shake him down for every detail of what happened. Do you think that bear-like friend of mine could have said anything properly? This time, I'll have to properly teach him the art of seducing a woman."

Making their way through the crowd, the two arrived at the frame merchant.

The scroll was as magnificently finished as the owner's confidence had suggested.

"It's magnificent!"

Geom Mugeuk exclaimed in admiration. The painting had been made into a very high-quality and splendid scroll. It had a different feel from when it was just a drawing on paper.

Geom Muyang also smiled with satisfaction. It was good enough to be given to their father as a gift.

Geom Muyang carefully rolled up the scroll and tucked it securely inside his robes. To an onlooker, it would have seemed as if he were storing a treasured sword.

"Thank you for your hard work."

After paying for the scroll, the two left the frame merchant.

They were about to return to their lodging when.

"Get down!"

At Geom Mugeuk's shout, the two of them threw themselves into an alley.

Geom Muyang asked quietly, his face tense.

"Is it them?"

At Geom Muyang's question, Geom Mugeuk peeked his head out of the alley. His sharp gaze pierced through the crowd.

"Yeah, a really fierce and scary-looking guy. And that scary guy is doing something adorable."

"Adorable?"

Wondering what he meant, Geom Muyang also peeked his head out to look where his brother was looking.

He was definitely there.

Far away, at the end of the marketplace, was a fierce and scary-looking man. Passersby who met his gaze immediately made way for him.

Surprisingly, it was none other than Bi Sayin. They had been told he would arrive tomorrow.

"Looks like his schedule changed. But why are we hiding?"

At Geom Muyang's words, Geom Mugeuk's eyes narrowed.

"No way! Look next to that liar."

Next to Bi Sayin, a woman in a pure white martial arts uniform was looking around at the sights.

She was none other than Han Seol of the Ice Palace. Surprisingly, she was with him.

"Why are they together?"

"Look behind her."

Behind Han Seol, the figures of the Cold Ice Dual Swords, acting as her bodyguards, could also be seen.

"The Cold Ice Dual Swords are sightseeing without even paying attention to their bodyguard duties. That means they trust Sayin. In other words, it means the four of them are used to traveling like this. Which means Young Lady Han, who went to the Evil Alliance, has been sightseeing there instead of returning to the North Sea."

Geom Mugeuk could tell. Bi Sayin had probably been showing her around various places. Then, after receiving his message, they had come here together.

"He deceived me!"

"They probably just happened to arrive a day early."

However, nothing could escape Geom Mugeuk's sharp eyes.

"Look at his clothes."

Now that he looked, Bi Sayin was wearing white robes.

"He matched with her. He deliberately chose clothes with a pattern so it wouldn't look like they were perfectly matching."

Hearing that, it did seem that way.

Was Geom Muyang the type of person to enjoy spying like this?

However, being with Geom Mugeuk made even this kind of thing fun.

Geom Mugeuk's deductions continued.

"Do you know why he's not wearing a bamboo hat?"

"So he doesn't mess up his hair."

"……"

"No way."

Of all people, Bi Sayin? He had a face that looked like it could conquer the murim at any moment.

Geom Muyang could not believe it, but Geom Mugeuk was certain.

"Otherwise, there's no reason for him to be walking around showing his face right in the Murim Alliance's front yard."

Just then, Bi Sayin, who was far away, whipped his head around to look in their direction.

But the two had already ducked their heads back into the alley.

"Is something wrong?"

At Han Seol's question, Bi Sayin turned back to her. His fierce and sharp expression had softened.

"It's nothing."

Bi Sayin looked at a nearby vendor's cart and asked her.

"Would you like some sweets?"