Chapter 30
I hurriedly looked around.
But perhaps because it was an awkward time to be eating, there weren’t many people inside the inn, and even those who were there were all watching the young master nervously.
He seemed to be the son of a wealthy family, after all. If someone intervened and got involved, they could very well face retaliation.
Yet even at that very moment, the woman was pleading with tears streaming down her face.
“I beg you, please don’t do this. This humble girl isn’t a woman worth getting drunk over. What’s more, I already have a betrothed with whom I’ve promised my future. Please…”
“What does having a betrothed matter? I am the great young master of the number-one sect in Guangzhou, the Thunder Blade Sect! I am a remarkable man your betrothed cannot even compare to, so wouldn’t you be pleased to be held by a man like me?”
“No, I cannot betray my betrothed. Please, please show mercy just this once…”
“And who knows? If you satisfy this young master, perhaps you might even be able to become my concubine. Now, don’t be like that and lift your head. I want to taste those cherry-like lips of yours.”
“No, I don’t want to… Sob, sob…!”
‘That fucking horny bastard!’
Since no one seemed willing to step forward, I hurriedly grabbed the edge of the table. After apologizing to the innkeeper in my heart, I simply flipped the table over.
Crash, clatter!
In an instant, everyone’s eyes turned toward me.
“Argh, my stomach! My stomach-aaah!”
“What? What’s going on?”
“Master! Masteeer! What did you put in the noodles? I heard the noodles here were delicious, so I ran ten li just to eat them, and now my stomach hurts like crazy! Oh, I’m dying. Oh, I’m dying!”
As I clutched my stomach and rolled around on the floor, the inn became instantly noisy, unlike before. Even the innkeeper and the cook came rushing out to check on me.
“Guest, are you all right? Exactly where does it hurt…?”
“Are you a physician? If I tell you where it hurts, will you know right away? It feels like the inside of my stomach is burning as though it’s being scorched with fire, and like someone is squeezing my guts like they’re wringing out a rag! Do you understand? Do you?!”
“Uh… I’m not sure, but perhaps I should call a physician right now…”
“What if I die while you’re calling the physician, huh?! What if something really happens? Are you going to take responsibility? Will you?! Do you know who I am?!”
‘You probably don’t. Sorry.’
I screamed at the top of my lungs while stealthily glancing toward where the young master was.
Perhaps because the place had descended into chaos, the young master could no longer molest the woman, and in the meantime, she had escaped from his arms.
Good. This should be enough for the woman to get away too. Just as I was about to stop acting…
“Hm, my stomach suddenly hurts less. Could it not have been the noodles after all? Oh dear, I have a chronic illness that occasionally causes this kind of trouble. Master, I misunderstood, so I apo–”
“Huh? Could that guy be…?”
I immediately turned my head. By then, a huge figure had approached within arm’s reach.
“You, aren’t you that servant from the Xiao Family?”
“Pardon?”
“Wow, it is him. It’s definitely him! Young Master, that’s the guy, him!”
It was that servant. The very servant who had been beaten ten times across the face by our young lady and passed out.
I hurriedly spoke politely.
“No, sir. You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“Mistaken? Mistaken? With that broad, flat face, upturned nose, and ugly goby-like appearance, there’s no doubt you’re the same bastard. You think I mistook you?”
‘You bastard. You look like a flounder.’
“And you’re even wearing the Xiao Family’s servant uniform while pretending otherwise? Do you think I’m an idiot?”
‘Oops.’
I reflexively looked down at my clothes and flinched. Come to think of it, I was still wearing my servant uniform.
Damn it. I’d gone to all the trouble of flipping over a table to hide myself because I thought I’d been clever……
Well, I’d just have to survive somehow. I quickly clasped my hands together and spoke obsequiously.
“Ahhh~ Well, well! Aren’t you the mighty and imposing gentleman who was standing beside the young master~!”
“What?”
“Oh my, what brings you here today? I merely stopped by to grab a bite to eat, and to think I’d encounter the two of you in a place like this. What an incredible coincidence! Please don’t mind this lowly servant and continue enjoying your meal…”
“Hah, look at this bastard.”
The servant gave a hollow laugh.
“Do you know how much trouble I’ve suffered because of you? My whole face was beaten to a pulp, and I even lost teeth, becoming the laughingstock of everyone! I couldn’t even chew my food properly for days. Do you know how much I suffered…”
“How is that my fau–”
“Shut up! Today, I will repay this humiliation. First, I’m going to break every single one of your teeth. I’ll make sure you can’t flap that mouth of yours again!”
“No, wait a–”
I hurriedly looked around for someone I could ask for help. Then my eyes met those of the young master sitting in the distance.
The young master raised one corner of his mouth and said,
“Just don’t kill him.”
“Yes!”
I’m screwed.
A foot immediately flew toward me. I hurriedly blocked it with both arms–
“Aaagh!”
What? I haven’t even screamed yet.
I opened my eyes in confusion. Then I saw the foot stopped right in front of me.
More precisely, the instep of the foot with a pair of chopsticks embedded in it…
“My, my foot! My fooooot!”
This time, the servant began rolling around on the floor just like I had. The chopsticks had apparently been driven in quite deeply, because blood was flowing enough to soak his shoe.
I recoiled in shock, scrambling backward on my butt.
Then, a monotonous voice rang out.
“The sound of a pig being slaughtered can be heard all the way over here.”
I turned toward the voice. A shabby-looking man was sitting there.
The man was eating the ordinary noodles sold by the inn, but his face was hidden beneath a deeply pulled-down bamboo hat. Still, judging by the fact that one of his chopsticks was missing, it seemed obvious that he had thrown it.
Veins bulged on the servant’s forehead.
“T-this bastard dares…!”
“Oh? You can still move?”
In an instant, the servant pulled a sword from inside his robes and charged.
I was horrified. But the man merely laughed heartily and turned sideways, avoiding the servant’s blade.
Crash, clang!
The noodles spilled onto the floor, and the people inside the inn screamed and fled.
Regardless, the man kept his hands behind his back and moved his feet lightly. He shifted his body slightly, advanced diagonally, or stepped half a pace backward, narrowly evading the servant’s sword each time.
For an instant, it seemed as though the man’s body disappeared, only for him to suddenly appear in front of the servant. Then he extended his foot and forcefully pressed down on the chopsticks embedded in the man’s instep.
“Aaagh!”
The startled servant dropped his sword.
The man didn’t miss the opportunity. He reversed his grip and hooked the servant’s arm. Then he twisted the arm behind the man’s back and struck him, throwing him face-first onto a table. At some point, the man was holding the remaining chopstick in one hand.
He pinned the servant’s hand to the table with it, then drove the chopstick straight into the back of his hand……
“Aaaaaagh!”
A long scream echoed through the inn.
The servant eventually foamed at the mouth and passed out.
I wanted to pass out too. As I watched the man laughing while shaking out his hand, I instinctively realized.
He’s a master.
This is what a true martial arts master is like.
Perhaps he noticed me trembling. The man’s gaze turned toward me. As I swallowed nervously, the man opened his mouth.
“You’re a servant of the Xiao Family?”
***
Contrary to what I’d feared, the man was surprisingly polite.
“Master of the house, I apologize for causing trouble unintentionally. I don’t know if this will be sufficient compensation, but please accept it.”
After the commotion had passed.
The man slung the unconscious servant over his shoulder and tossed him outside. Then he righted the tables and chairs that had been knocked over and went to the innkeeper to offer a courteous apology.
I also helped clean up beside him, taking the opportunity to add another apology.
“I’m really sorry too. If my commotion causes any trouble for your business in the future, I’ll repay you somehow.”
The innkeeper looked dazed. Understandably so. If I were him, I’d probably be wondering, ‘What kind of lunatics are these people?’
But the lump of silver the man handed over worked wonders. The innkeeper’s dull eyes suddenly lit up with vitality, and he even saw us off as though nothing had happened.
Before long, the man and I left the inn together.
The young master had already fled, and I’d still been watching the man’s every move when his gaze turned toward me. I hurriedly bowed my head.
“Thank you for saving me, benefactor! If it weren’t for you, this humble servant might have already been a dead man. I don’t know how I could ever repay such a great kindness. If there’s anything you wish me to do…”
“So, who do you belong to?”
“Pardon?”
When I tilted my head, the man clicked his tongue and said,
“You said you work for the Xiao Family, didn’t you? Where do you work? The kitchen? The guest quarters?”
“Uh, no…”
I hesitated before finally asking,
“Who are you, benefactor, that you’re asking me such things?”
“Me?”
The man suddenly spoke as though he couldn’t believe what he’d heard.
“You don’t know me? Me?”
“Pardon? Yes, yes. This humble servant is ignorant and does not know, so if you would be so kind as to give me your honorable name…”
“Hah, seriously! Have you not been at the Xiao Family for long? Or are you simply ignorant of worldly affairs? Tsk, tsk. I ought to tell Chief Steward Jeok to educate the servants again!”
“Pardon?”
“This body is…”
The man grinned broadly and proudly declared,
“The young master of the great Namgung Family, Namgung Jeong!”
Comments (0)