“Oh dear, oh dear… Young Master, are you alright? How many fingers does this servant’s hand look like?”
Seo-gyeom, who was dragging his feet soullessly, answered that it was two and planted his bottom on the bed. The servant, who had been following him around anxiously, finally served him with a relieved look on his face.
“It is fortunate that you don’t seem to be injured anywhere. Truly… truly a relief.”
“It’s strange, I tell you…”
“He certainly was a strange bastard! How could he treat our Young Master, who is more delicate than a willow branch, so recklessly! Kidnapping, he says! Truly a lawless bastard!”
Busy stoking the brazier and laying out the bedding, the servant puffed hot air from his nose in rage. Perhaps because he was a character inside a wuxia game, even the servant was distorting the situation as he pleased. Folding away descriptions he couldn’t even bear to speak aloud, Seo-gyeom corrected the wrong part first.
“What do you mean, kidnapping? It’s just that I was in a dog… troublesome situation, so he merely helped me out.”
Having almost accidentally blurted out the dog hole’s location because he had lost his mind for a moment, he barely managed to change his words.
“A dog… troublesome situation?”
However, it seemed the servant’s ears couldn’t be fooled. Rolling a blanket around him and even going so far as to knead his hands and shoulders, the servant tilted his head. Spooked, Seo-gyeom feigned innocence while pulling out his held hand.
“It’s nothing much, I just lost my footing a bit.”
“Then why did you go outside with a body that hasn’t even recovered? How many times did this servant tell you that once your ankle heals, I will personally escort you out?”
The corners of the servant’s eyes, which had been rising steadily, drooped downward at some point. It was because the topic he turned to happened to be related to Seo-gyeom’s body.
“I told you I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all.”
Seo-gyeom, whose heart grew soft, shrugged his shoulders as if to show off. It wasn’t a lie. Even though he was burdened with a whopping three status ailments, Seo-gyeom was perfectly fine. Except for the spot where he fell while running around, it was about the same level as his original body.
He wondered if the shameless system had missed something, but he didn’t voice it aloud. Calling it picking at a scab, he didn’t want to suffer the plight of a bedridden patient for no reason after speaking out of turn.
“How could someone who is perfectly fine faint so easily left and right…?”
The servant’s voice remained drooped. Watching a man older than himself sniffling, Seo-gyeom’s heart didn’t feel comfortable either. Forgetting that he was slowly pulling his bottom back, Seo-gyeom covered and held the back of the servant’s hand.
“Earlier it was just because I was so surprised. I’m fine now.”
When he even flashed a wide smile, the servant pulled up the corners of his mouth in return. Seeing how it quickly went back down, he didn’t seem to believe it, but this, too, was not something Seo-gyeom needed to get involved in.
‘It’s just inside a game anyway. Let’s not care for no reason.’
Ever since the window stating that he was incorporated into the Main Scenario appeared, the restrictions placed on Seo-gyeom had loosened up. Take the conversation he just shared with the servant right now, for instance. Unlike usual, where his actions would have been limited to glaring or throwing props, he could move and speak as he pleased.
‘That’s why I must catch Namgung Yoon no matter what.’
Seo-gyeom secretly steeled his resolve and opened his mouth.
“Where is Daehyeop? You escorted him properly, right?”
Though he couldn’t watch until the end because he lost consciousness, he had conveyed his intentions properly even to the uninvited guest who appeared late. Since the uninvited guest was also one of the Dang Clan members, he wouldn’t have dismissed Namgung Yoon’s favor carelessly.
“If you mean that rogue, the Second Young Master took him away.”
However, the answer that came from the servant was completely different from his expectations. Seo-gyeom’s slightly flushed face cracked. From calling him a rogue to the expression that he took him away. Not a shred of goodwill could be felt.
Even so, hoping just in case, Seo-gyeom asked back.
“You… escorted him properly, right? That person is my savior.”
“This old thing (nomul) does not know well. When my master collapsed, where would I have the leeway to look around in all directions?”
An old thing? Seo-gyeom glared at the servant in disbelief. A man who had passed his mid-thirties at most was blatantly avoiding his gaze. For a moment, he felt displeased, but because he had committed a sin himself, he couldn’t grumble back to his face either.
‘Leaving without a word was my fault.’
If he had succeeded in running away just like that, wouldn’t the servant have suffered a great ordeal? Leaving aside receiving punishment from the Dang Clan, he might have tormented himself. Tsk, clicking his tongue, Seo-gyeom decided to bestow a generous tolerance.
“I told you fainting had nothing to do with that person. If not for Daehyeop, I might have passed out right on the spot.”
Seo-gyeom, who defended Namgung Yoon, subtly tilted his head to match his gaze. In the eyes he barely met, a dissatisfied look was still seeping through.
However, the servant was someone who had served Dang Seo-gyeom from close by. Just as Seo-gyeom said, he knew himself that he was taking out his frustration for no reason. Keeping his mouth firmly shut, the servant finally pulled out an answer like a sigh.
“Since we have lodged him at the Foreign Guest Hall, I will guide you once day breaks. Please lay down your body for today. It has already passed the hour of the Ox (Chuk-si).”
“Chuk-si?”
Seo-gyeom’s eyes opened wide. It seemed the dawn had deepened while he was briefly unconscious. Given Namgung Yoon’s temperament, there was no way he would welcome a visit at this hour.
To think he had to wait again while every minute and second was urgent. Seo-gyeom clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth toward the uninvited guest.
‘Seriously, why did he butt in?’
Namgung Yoon, unfolding his martial arts under the moonlight, was truly identical to his appearance in the game. Just as he had seen in the capsule, he blew away a gatekeeper larger than himself with a single gesture of his hand.
‘Wait, blew away?’
Seo-gyeom’s eyes, which had been standing far away for fear of sparks flying toward him, widened drastically. Depending on who the creator was, it varied, but fundamentally, the Namgung Sect was a family renowned for swordsmanship.
The Namgung Sect in was no different, so in the early regression counts, Namgung Yoon insisted on using a sword. Yet the Namgung Yoon before his eyes was using his hands instead of a sword.
‘Which regression count is he on that he’s using fist technique?’
Seo-gyeom crept closer toward where the battle was taking place. However, even if he watched with eyes ablaze, he couldn’t verify Namgung Yoon’s achievements.
The regression count was the same.
While Seo-gyeom was biting his nails without any particular harvest, Namgung Yoon blew away the gatekeepers one after another. Finally striking the captain’s nape with his elbow, he turned back to look at Seo-gyeom without looking the least bit exhausted.
“It seems I dragged out the time for too long. Your complexion has gotten even worse.”
Since he couldn’t bring himself to say it was because of him, Seo-gyeom drew a clumsy curve on his lips.
“There are no bothersome people around anymore, so please speak comfortably.”
Dusting off his fists, Namgung Yoon approached and said. His tied-up hair was swaying under the moonlight. Receiving a visual buff, he was the very embodiment of a righteous hero, but the face of Seo-gyeom, who actually faced him, hardened uncomfortably.
It seemed he hadn’t heard Seo-gyeom’s words that he had merely come out for a walk. Or he had heard it but accepted it as he pleased. Since there was no way a master of the martial realm had lousy hearing, it was naturally the latter.
“I told you. I said I didn’t run away… What are you going to do now? What about the quest… Hup.”
After entering an NPC’s body, Seo-gyeom hadn’t been able to say a single word as he pleased. Yet somehow, things he had only thought about poured out helplessly right now. Seo-gyeom, who hadn’t grasped the situation for a moment, belatedly covered his own mouth.
Subtly rolling his eyes, his gaze met head-on with Namgung Yoon, who was looking around at the gatekeepers he had knocked down.
“…I thought you were acting that way because there were many watching eyes. It seems I have not only meddled, but even caused you trouble.”
As if he knew he was in the wrong, embarrassment was etched into his expression. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to question the word ‘quest’ either.
“Well… it was understandable… for you to misunderstand.”
Seo-gyeom nodded his head first. It was awkward to press him further when he admitted his fault, and frankly, the side that drew their swords first was the Dang Clan.
In the context of the wuxia worldview, wasn’t it a situation where they wouldn’t have any right to complain even if their lives were taken? Fighting them with fist techniques instead of a sword was something to be thankful for in itself.
Swish.
Just then, something flew between the two who were standing awkwardly. To be precise, it landed right in front of Namgung Yoon’s feet; it was a distance that would have pierced the top of his foot had it been just a bit closer.
Namgung Yoon recognized instantly that it was a hidden weapon. The fact that it did not glint despite being sharply honed meant that it had been soaked in liquid medicine in advance.
“It seems the misunderstanding on this side has deepened even further.”
What kind of nonsense is this again? Seo-gyeom, who was thinking at most that the wind was a bit strong, belatedly discovered the hidden weapon embedded in the ground.
Because it was a color darker than darkness, he was uncertain at first, but its shape tapering toward the tip was identical to the weapons mainly used by the Dang Clan. Crucially, smoke was rising from the point where the needle was embedded. Looking at the trajectory of the poison spreading, it was undoubtedly targeting Namgung Yoon.
“I believe I said we do not accept guests.”
Sure enough, a cold voice entered Seo-gyeom’s ears. It was so chilly that just hearing the voice gave him goosebumps. Seo-gyeom shivered slightly and looked around his surroundings.
“Even more so if it’s a rogue.”
Before long, the uninvited guest revealed himself. The person who emerged cutting through the darkness was dressed in a green robe just like Seo-gyeom, possessing a slender body line despite a tall build. If Seo-gyeom evoked a tragic feel due to illness, the uninvited guest looked sensitive beyond sharp.
In the Dang Clan, there was only one person with such an appearance.
‘Dang Yu…?’
As if proving Seo-gyeom’s deduction was correct, a semi-transparent scroll unfolded before Namgung Yoon. It was the character window that appeared whenever the protagonist met a major character for the first time.
[Dang Yu (唐宥)] [The Second Young Master of the Sichuan Dang Clan, skilled in both poison and medicine. Contrary to his name, he possesses an eccentric temperament. Able to save or kill a person with a single needle, he earned the title ‘Flying Needle Poison’ (Nalsuchimdok).]
[- Player: None]
Standing glued right next to Namgung Yoon so as not to miss even a single character, Seo-gyeom’s eyes shook chaotically.
‘I can even tell whether there’s a player or not?’
