Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel Chapter 122

Chapter 122

 

When the members of the group were having their drinking party, Liyeon was quietly watching one person from behind them.

‘Flower-Glutton.’

After following Jade Snow Wanderer to the Great Snow Mountain, Liyeon had been coming out to the Central Plains once a year, as agreed.

Whenever he did, Liyeon searched for Seo Dan.

In BakrahLiyeon, where they had lived. At Mount Nabu, where traces of Seo Dan had last been discovered. Or even in the surrounding areas.

Liyeon diligently went around asking about anyone who resembled Seo Dan. But every time, he came up empty-handed and had no choice but to leave with another year to look forward to.

To make matters worse, Liyeon’s body changed more and more as the days passed.

He had lived his entire life as a woman and had never felt anything unusual, but apparently he really was a man after all, because his body gradually grew larger and his features became more masculine.

It seemed that after learning the Snow Mountain Sect’s internal cultivation method, the Taiyin Divine Technique, and becoming free from the influence of yin energy, the body that had been suppressed all this time had begun growing explosively. Even Jade Snow Wanderer was surprised by how dramatically Liyeon changed from one day to the next.

Liyeon himself found his growth fascinating, but…

‘If I change too much, he won’t recognize me.’

Seo Dan knew him as a woman. Even without that, it would already be difficult for them to recognize each other once they became adults. If he could at least maintain something resembling his former appearance, perhaps Seo Dan would recognize him at a glance when they met again.

So Liyeon continued cross-dressing for quite a long time. If his appearance had been even slightly unattractive, it would have looked rather unsightly. But Liyeon’s appearance only blossomed more beautifully with each passing day, and no matter what clothes he wore, they never looked strange on him.

However, perhaps the physical differences between men and women could not be ignored forever. Eventually, there were no women’s clothes that fit him anymore, and Liyeon stopped cross-dressing.

Instead, Liyeon devoted himself even more intensely to cultivation.

If he couldn’t find Seo Dan by going out once a year, then he had no choice but to stay in the Central Plains and search for him there.

However, Jade Snow Wanderer had said that she would only allow Liyeon to venture into the martial world once he had grown strong enough not to bring shame upon the sect’s name, so Liyeon simply worked himself to the bone.

One year, two years passed, and time continued to flow until Liyeon had fully become an adult.

Then Jade Snow Wanderer finally gave him permission. And so Liyeon returned to the Central Plains once again. He had certainly come here once every year, but strangely enough, only now did he feel as though he had truly returned to his hometown.

From then on, he began searching for Seo Dan in earnest.

The martial world was far from easy. Liyeon was particularly striking in appearance, so trouble found him whenever there was an opportunity. And a large man walking around with a veil covering his face was conspicuous as well, so instead, he began covering his eyes with cloth like he had when he was young.

Liyeon wandered the martial world for some time. Along the way, he heard about various incidents and accidents. At the center of many of those incidents was the Demonic Cult.

‘The Demonic Cult.’

The main culprit behind the destruction of the Xiao Family. 

After the Xiao Family had been annihilated, he heard that other families and sects had suffered the same fate. Even now, whenever Liyeon heard the two words ‘Demonic Cult’, his heart grew cold. The sight of the Xiao Family estate burning that night remained vivid in his mind.

If he had not met Jade Snow Wanderer and learned the martial arts of the Snow Mountain Sect, if he had not learned to suppress his Seven Emotions and Six Desires and control his feelings, he would have gone mad long ago.

His hatred toward the Demonic Cult had faded somewhat compared to before, but Liyeon still could not bring himself to abandon his desire for revenge.

‘I want to pay them back.’

Those who had taken everything away from him… In exactly the same way.

But that wasn’t easy.

He couldn’t even find Seo Dan, so how was he supposed to find the Demonic Cult and make them pay?

It was around then that Liyeon heard about the Inspection Team and the Execution Hall.

They were organizations established by the Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance, groups whose role was to seek out and eliminate Demonic Cult members operating secretly throughout the Central Plains.

Liyeon naturally took an interest.

The Execution Hall might have been difficult to enter since it consisted only of masters possessing both fame and skill, but he might be able to join the Inspection Team, which was said to consist of young talents from various sects. And if he worked within the Martial Alliance, perhaps it would also be easier to search for people…

Liyeon applied to the Inspection Team without hesitation.

The Martial Alliance Leader saw Liyeon’s abilities and highly valued his potential, but in the end, Liyeon was assigned to the lowest position. Compared to the other great clans, Yeon’s background was not particularly impressive.

But Liyeon didn’t care. What mattered to him was dealing with the Demonic Cult and gathering information, not power or fame. He was perfectly willing to leave everything else to others.

However, in order to move as he pleased, he needed to obtain the position of squad leader. Thus, he challenged Wudang’s Unhak and traveled throughout the Central Plains investigating the Demonic Cult.

At the same time, he used the connections he had gained through his work with the Inspection Team to commission the Beggars’ Sect for information.

It was all to find Seo Dan.

But he still couldn’t find Seo Dan. He didn’t even know how long it would take. Just as he was beginning to feel a little lost…

“Master Dan hasn’t come back.”

Liyeon finally escaped his thoughts.

Looking ahead, he saw Woonhak staring toward a certain place with a worried expression. It was the place where Flower-Glutton had hurriedly left.

Until a little while ago, Flower-Glutton had been happily drinking with the members of the group. But at some point, his behavior became strange, and under the pretext of taking a walk, he hurriedly left for somewhere.

One might have suspected something from such behavior, but Woonhak merely seemed worried about him. It was baffling, yet somehow Liyeon understood it.

‘Flower-Glutton, Dan Yeonjeong.’

Liyeon had already heard of Flower-Glutton before. Even if he didn’t want to know, it was impossible not to. He was a famous figure in the martial world at present.

He was said to be a lecher who was excessively fond of women. If there was a beautiful woman, he would meet her by any means necessary. An eccentric among eccentrics.

So Liyeon’s first impression of him had not been good.

There wasn’t a single normal man among lechers, after all. Rather than liking women, they enjoyed bullying the weak, and many were perverts who tormented women to satisfy their own ugly desires.

Naturally, Liyeon assumed Flower-Glutton was one of them. But Liyeon soon realized that this was merely his own prejudice.

His first impression of Flower-Glutton had been utterly ordinary. Because he was wearing bandit clothes, Liyeon had initially thought he was just an ordinary bandit. And when he subdued the woman who was attempting to take her own life in an instant, Liyeon realized he was no ordinary person.

Liyeon was surprised later when he learned that he was Flower-Glutton, but his impression of him did not improve. He merely remained wary, thinking that perhaps Flower-Glutton had come to flirt with the young lady after seeing her beautiful appearance.

But Flower-Glutton didn’t seem particularly interested in the young lady at all. Rather, he was concerned about the fallen woman’s reputation, leaving her in Unhak’s care, and even when the woman begged to be punished for her own crime, he ultimately forgave her.

In the end, Liyeon had no choice but to admit it.

‘Perhaps he’s not such a bad person.’

If anything, Flower-Glutton’s eyes looked warm. There was something strangely familiar about the way he looked at the young lady embracing her younger brother and crying…

Even afterward, Liyeon occasionally found himself thinking about Flower-Glutton.

It was bewildering for Liyeon, who normally had little interest in other people. He would find himself remembering Flower-Glutton’s retreating figure, or unconsciously prick up his ears whenever someone mentioned him.

But he never expected to meet him again at an inn.

Flower-Glutton was dressed completely differently from how he had been at Yongcheok Stockade. If he had looked somewhat ordinary back then, now he truly looked like the Flower-Glutton described in the rumors. His disheveled hair was hanging loose; he had a scruffy beard, and his bumpy skin and ugly appearance stood out.

Normally, even Liyeon would not have recognized him. But from the moment that person entered the inn, Liyeon had found himself strangely conscious of him. Then, when he heard that small laugh, he wondered if it might be Flower-Glutton and called out to him.

“Huh…?”

Flower-Glutton was startled. Even he seemed not to have expected Liyeon to recognize him.

Nevertheless, he quickly regained his composure. He even suggested joining them first, then greeted each of the members in turn and acted quite friendly toward them. For a moment, he seemed interested in what they were doing, but when they refused, he cleanly backed off.

Afterward, they ate a meal together and went their separate ways.

His complete lack of lingering attachment actually made Liyeon feel a little disappointed. Then, once again surprised by himself for feeling that way, he kept looking back toward the place where Flower-Glutton had left.

‘I suppose we’ll meet again someday.’

He just hadn’t expected ‘someday’ to come so soon. For whatever reason, perhaps on a whim, Flower-Glutton declared that he would follow them around.

At that moment, Liyeon became suspicious of Flower-Glutton. The others seemed to accept his explanation that he had come because he remembered the beautiful women, but Liyeon couldn’t understand it at all.

From everything Liyeon had observed of Flower-Glutton up until then, he wasn’t actually all that interested in beautiful women. Even when they ate together, he didn’t seem particularly conscious of Ju Jae-hwa. And for someone who claimed he had chased after them because Ju Jae-hwa’s face had come to mind, he barely looked at her even once.

He had even brought up Liyeon’s name, yet he hardly paid any attention to Liyeon either…

‘…Why am I so annoyed?’

Was it because Flower-Glutton had lied to him, or because he had toyed with him?

For the first time, Liyeon found himself displeased with Flower-Glutton. But he didn’t stop him from following them.

For now, he intended to leave him alone and keep watching. And the more Liyeon traveled with him and observed him, the more Flower-Glutton reminded him of someone.

His dearly missed Seo Dan.