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EP.8 Gathering of the Nine Dragons (2)

The time was drawing near for the Gathering of the Nine Dragons. I found myself caught by a bear-like man.

He spoke to me, “You didn’t run away this time, huh?”

If someone were to be called Mount Tai, this must be what it looks like. At least his towering height and broad shoulders emanated a significant presence.

His snowy white hair and the wrinkles etched into his face told tales of the years he had endured, yet he was still too much of a martial artist to be called an old man.

He was Elder Gu Ryoon from the Gu Clan.

“How come you decided to show up here instead of just avoiding this old man whenever you see him?”

“You said you’d fold it in half if I didn’t show up… and how could I possibly skip the Gathering of the Nine Dragons?”

“What? Now you’re even talking back?”

With a fierce tone, the elder ruffled my hair with his massive hand.

From the very beginning, Elder Gu had a peculiar obsession with me. Being the only son of the clan leader was probably the main reason.

He must not be controlling his strength because every time he messed with my hair, I would sway along with his movements.

‘I feel like I’m going to vomit…’

Just when I was on the verge of losing consciousness, Gu Yeonseo appeared—a ray of light for me.

She grimaced at the sight of me being tossed around but quickly composed herself and greeted the elder.

“I greet Elder Gu.”

“Oh! Our Yeonseo is here too!”

Upon seeing Gu Yeonseo, he let go of me and suddenly pulled something out from his robe—sweet rice cakes!

This looks familiar…

“This troublemaker never seems to have a peaceful day. Yeonseo, you must have had a rough time coming all this way. I didn’t bring anything since I rushed over… how about some sweet rice cakes?”

Seeing the sweet rice cakes he handed over, Gu Yeonseo stiffened slightly. She then smiled gently and declined the offering.

“I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well right now….”

“Oh my…! I need to call a physician right away!”

“No, it’s nothing, Elder. I’m just nervous about the Gathering. I would appreciate the rice cakes on another occasion.”

Bowing, Gu Yeonseo left to change her clothes.

“Unlike some, she’s quite well-mannered and polite.”

“I might faint from all this shaking, but can I go see a physician?”

“That can be fixed with some spittle, so be quiet.”

…What kind of nonsensical discrimination is this?

I felt slightly unjust, but considering his notoriously quirky personality, I just let it be.

“Elder, if you’re not going to eat those sweet rice cakes, could you please give them to me?”

“As I’ve said before, you really need to eat less. What nonsense is it for a child of a martial family to crave sweet rice cakes?”

“Isn’t it the same person who just offered sweet rice cakes to a child of a martial family? Besides, what do sweet rice cakes have to do with that…”

“Yeonseo eats and regularly trains, but you just eat and lounge around. What are you talking about?”

“I’m not the one eating, so it’s fine.”

Saying that, I collected the sweet rice cakes from the elder. Naturally, they were meant for Wi Seol-Ah.

Every time I see sweet rice cakes, Wi Seol-Ah comes to mind. Maybe it’s because I enjoy watching her eat them?

As I gathered the sweet rice cakes, I spotted Wi Seol-Ah approaching in the distance with another attendant.

The attendants bowed upon seeing me and Elder Gu, and Wi Seol-Ah mirrored their actions.

Once Elder Gu waved his hand dismissively, they all relaxed their posture.

Wi Seol-Ah hurried over to me, her eyes sparkling.

“Young Master! There are so many people outside!”

“Indeed, it’s a festival after all.”

“They’re selling dumplings! Skewers! And noodles!”

“…Didn’t you just say there are a lot of people? Why is everything food-related?”

“But the dumplings…!”

Wi Seol-Ah excitedly continued until she suddenly gasped and hid behind me.

Wondering what was going on, I turned around to find Elder Gu watching Wi Seol-Ah with his curious eyes.

Looking down at her from that towering frame was pretty terrifying.

Let’s not forget that the Gu Clan’s lineage has always had fierce-looking eyes, so they didn’t have the best reputation.

“…Elder, if you keep staring like that, you’ll scare the people away.”

“Hm….”

“Why do you ask?”

“Is that girl your concubine?”

“What on earth are you talking about? Look at her outfit, Elder. She’s an attendant.”

Among our servants, those of the bloodline wore yellow clothes. Wi Seol-Ah was no exception.

“Oh? If you say so, I suppose that’s fine then.”

Since I disagreed, he lost interest and got up to leave. We really needed to prepare since the sun was already setting.

I handed Wi Seol-Ah the sweet rice cakes.

“Here, eat this and behave.”

“Huh? I already had some before….”

“Why? Didn’t you say they were delicious? Are you tired of sweet rice cakes?”

“No… It’s just that Grandfather said not to eat more than five in a day.”

“…Just how did you eat five in a day?”

I’m pretty sure I only gave her one from the carriage? Casting a glance at the attendants, they all seemed to look away awkwardly.

“Ah, it must be from over there….”

It shouldn’t have been my snacks, so they probably chipped in their personal money to buy some.

In any case, I decided to keep the sweet rice cakes with me—whether I ate them now or later would be up to me—and hurriedly changed my clothes.

There wasn’t much to prepare. I simply draped on a red robe, the symbol of the Gu Clan.

As the sun set, lanterns were lit all around the gathering area.

In the center of the venue, Elder Gu stood while Gu Yeonseo and I lined up on either side of him.

As the Gathering of the Nine Dragons was upon us, it was mandatory for the bloodline members to attend, yet since the youngest wasn’t in the clan and the eldest was part of the Sword Team, only Gu Yeonseo and I were present.

Ideally, the clan leader should have personally attended the gathering, but due to being tied up with matters at the True Demonic Gate, he was unable to move easily.

The same applied to the First Sword Team directly under the clan leader.

Therefore, the Sword Teams currently participating were only the Second Sword Team and the Third and Fourth Sword Teams, excluding the great mission-departing Fifth Sword Team and the clan leader’s First Sword Team.

This year’s first Gathering of the Nine Dragons had a comparatively small number of participants.

‘Thanks to the Cheonil Merchant Group, the scale is maximized, though.’

Even with fewer people, the venue was really enormous.

This allowed many spectators to come in, but with so many people packed together, it was likely that some incident could occur.

Of course, no fool would dare to cause trouble in a gathering where the Gu Clan’s Sword Teams were assembled.

Aside from Elder Gu, Gu Yeonseo, and me, over a hundred individuals stood in front of us—the members of the Gu Clan’s Sword Teams.

Despite their light armor, the energy they exuded was a testament to each of their exceptional martial artist skills.

“The leaders of each sword team, step forward.”

The playful demeanor that Elder Gu had earlier vanished, replaced by the dignity of a clan elder.

His short words carried the power of his inner strength, resonating throughout the gathering area.

According to Elder Gu’s words, several members from the numerous sword teams standing before us stepped forward.

“The representative of the Second Sword Team, Wu Anseon, greets you, Elder of the Gu Clan.”

“Third Sword Team leader, Ma Cheolhyeon, greets you, Elder.”

“Representative of the Fourth Sword Team, Hyeok Juyum, greets you, Elder of the Gu Clan.”

For every leader of a sword team, there were deputies.

This was arranged in case multiple leaders were absent at once, to prevent any possible mishaps.

Of course, this was a mutually agreed-upon arrangement among the sword teams.

Elder Gu nodded at the sword team members and continued speaking.

“I express my gratitude for your service to the Gu Clan and the common people…”

The subsequent dialogue was too lengthy and got erased from my mind halfway through.

To summarize, it was essentially a “thank you for your hard work, and good luck moving forward. Since you’ve worked hard, here’s your reward.”

The rewards sent to each sword team included quite a sum of healing potions and an amount that would be doubled in their monthly salary.

It seemed that what moved the sword members more than these materials were Elder Gu’s words of gratitude.

I couldn’t quite fathom that part…

For Gu Yeonseo and me, our roles were merely to stand there. Our formal presence as bloodline members was a display of support, yet it was necessary for the morale of the sword teams.

“…I thank you for your efforts.”

By the time I regained my senses, Elder Gu was concluding his speech.

As he expressed his gratitude, not just the sword members but also the spectators all applauded.

Looking up at the sky, I noticed it had darkened quite a bit.

The first day of the two-day Gathering of the Nine Dragons was drawing to a close.

‘Thankfully, nothing particularly bothersome happened.’

In a place where the Gu Clan’s elite had gathered, I couldn’t foresee anything troublesome occurring, yet I always remained cautious.

This half-baked memory of mine couldn’t hold onto everything.

I remembered large events that rocked the Central Plains’ martial world, yet memories of this time seemed hazy.

It might just be that childhood memories are difficult to retain.

Or perhaps I intentionally forgot them to leave behind only the happy ones.

‘At least it seems like nothing unusual happened during this Gathering of the Nine Dragons.’

While I remembered the “accident” that would occur in winter, I had no notable memories from the spring Gathering of the Nine Dragons.

Just as the applause began to diminish, we were guided to a different area by the Cheonil Merchant Group’s personnel.

Night fell, and the remaining time was a small festival for the Gu Clan’s sword teams.

Or rather, it was just filled with abundant food and liquor prepared by the Cheonil Merchant Group.

The clan leaders and deputies were warned to resist the temptation of alcohol, but Elder Gu said to enjoy themselves for this occasion.

With that, the sword members cheered even more enthusiastically than when they received their wages or healing potions.

“It’s a riot!”

They, too, were human and surely craved alcohol and rich food.

Nevertheless, as martial artists, they had to endure it.

Now that Elder Gu unleashed this tension, putting it nicely, the atmosphere ignited, or more accurately, it turned into total chaos.

As a brief breather, I stepped outside the merchant area, and Muyeon followed as if he’d been waiting for me.

“What are you doing out here instead of drinking with the others?”

“Would the guard drink? That’s meant for the sword members, not me, so I’m fine.”

“But aren’t you technically part of the same sword team?”

At my words, Muyeon hesitated.

Martial artists serving the Gu Clan were also part of the sword teams. So Muyeon was technically a martial artist belonging to the sword teams.

“I… um….”

“Alright, let’s just stroll around a bit?”

Seeing him hesitate to speak, I changed the topic. I wasn’t that curious to pry further, and it was probably not necessary to ask more.

“Though Shinwol City may be grand, it truly is different on another level.”

Being the premier merchant area in Mount Shan, the streets were livelier than the Gu Clan’s side.

Especially at night, the previously quiet taverns were now ablaze with light.

With this level of street activity, could it compare with Anhui’s Martial Alliance or Sichuan’s premier merchant area?

Apologies to Muyeon, who seemed highly alert behind me, but I relished being in the market crowd.

Seeing people walking around comfortably felt reassuring, as it meant the past blood calamity hadn’t yet occurred.

And I realized all too well that my ability to wander freely stemmed from the absence of the future I had experienced.

“Shall we buy some dumplings?”

I suddenly recalled Wi Seol-Ah’s mention of dumplings.

“Is that because of the attendant?”

As I brought up dumplings, Muyeon followed with thoughts of Wi Seol-Ah.

“Well, not exactly, but everyone would be happy if we brought some.”

It would be nice to buy for everyone while I was at it. At my words, Muyeon’s face lit up with pride.

“…It seems, Young Master, you’re someone entirely different from the rumors. They do say not to judge by mere appearances. I think I need to learn more from you.”

“What on earth does buying dumplings have to do with that? Wait, have I only had you as my guard for a short while…?”

“It’s been just under half a month.”

…So I must have only received you as a guard right before I regressed. That explains why you would say such a thing.

Should I call it luck for Muyeon? Or should I say it’s my luck instead?

Thinking back on Muyeon, it seemed like he didn’t linger in my memory, which likely meant he switched out like all the other guards who changed every day.

“You seem to find a dumpling vendor over there?”

Lost in thought, I turned at Muyeon’s words to see a steaming building ahead. Even I, who had little appetite, felt my stomach rumble at the scent.

“That seems good, let’s go there.”

The hesitation was brief.

In the midst of rummaging for money, as we headed towards the dumpling shop—

“Miss, you shouldn’t walk around so dangerously.”

“You’re just being overly cautious. I heard the Gathering of the Nine Dragons is happening. With so many members of the Gu Clan around, could anything happen to me?”

A familiar face appeared.

“That’s exactly why I’m worried… What if you were to run into Gu Gongja?”

“Not a chance! With this many people around, how could that ever happen?”

Ah, I shouldn’t have said that.

No sooner had those words left my mouth did I lock eyes with the girl.

Upon making eye contact, the girl froze like a stone.

The woman serving as her guard behind also seemed astonished.

With short hair reaching her shoulders and ebony-black eyes that resembled beads, she looked striking.

What caught my attention further was the black ring she wore on her hand.

If one didn’t observe closely, they would miss the insignia, but for me, who already recognized her, it was clear what that ring signified.

Hebei Peng Clan.

She was a bloodline member of one of the prestigious houses in the Central Plains that trained in swordsmanship from Hebei—and my former fiancée.

 

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