While I was eating...

The innkeeper, the cook, and the jomsoi of Spring Dream Inn all came to say goodbye.

Sorry, but it couldn’t be helped.

Still, maybe it wasn’t too shocking for them. The innkeeper said they’d take a short trip using the money I gave them. Maybe that’s why the name of this inn expresses the fleeting nature of life—Spring Dream.

The innkeeper's attitude toward life suited the name Spring Dream quite well.

Anyway, after forcibly putting the workers on vacation, I ended up working here alone and ate the proper meal the cook had prepared.

Once I finished eating and slowly sipped some liquor, I couldn’t even tell anymore if this was Spring Dream Inn or Zaha Inn.

No pursuers showed up.

No customers, either.

And with nothing in particular to do, I brought the dishes into the kitchen and started doing the washing.

Though I’m no cook, I’m decent at cleaning. I tidied up the kitchen neatly, grabbed a towel, and went outside to wipe down the tables for the first time in a while.

Sometimes, when you clean up thoroughly, it gives you a strange sense of satisfaction. This was one of those moments.

Staring at the towel in my hand, I suddenly thought:

‘Is this some kind of occupational disease? What the hell am I doing?’

I put the towel down and regained my composure.

A day at Spring Dream Inn with nothing to do.

A jug of strong liquor and some dry snacks.

Not bad.

If Moyong Baek and Pavilion Lord Hwang could return safely thanks to the time I bought them, then a little cleaning and mopping wasn’t meaningless.

While chewing on dry snacks, I took in the position of the tables, the floor material, the pillars, the broom, the distance to the kitchen, the size of the utensils, the placement of knives, the texture of the soil, the height of the roof—memorizing everything I could see.

Then promptly forgot it all.

I sat in the jomsoi’s seat, perfect for watching both directions of the road, threw my legs up on a chair, and closed my eyes for a moment.

If nothing happened by sunset, I’d shut down the place and head to the Black Cat Pavilion. Drowsiness crept in, and I couldn’t tell whether I napped for half a gakh or half a shichen, but the steady sound of approaching footsteps woke me from my sleep.

I opened my eyes on the fourth step and looked straight ahead.

A martial artist wearing a bamboo hat raised his head slightly and looked at me, then sat at the outer table and spoke.

“Can I place an order?”

I looked at the glint in his eye under the brim of the hat, his posture, the sword on the table, and answered.

“We’ve only got liquor.”

“That’s fine.”

“Payment first.”

The man pulled out a silver nyang from his sleeve and flicked it at the pillar next to me. It flew through the air and embedded itself into the wood.

Thud!

I looked at the silver nyang stuck in the pillar, then spoke to the hat-wearing man.

“Throw softer, you son of a bitch.”

“……”

“What are you doing, making it a pain to pull out? Dumbass. Tsk.”

I went into the kitchen, brought out my jug of strong liquor and a cheap bottle for the hat man. I placed my drink on my table, then delivered the cheap one to his.

“You want me to throw this too? Huh?”

I nearly hurled it in his face, but just clicked my tongue and set it down.

As I walked back, I could feel his eyes boring into my back.

“Bad omen.”

Watching that cursed customer made my throat dry, so I poured a glass and drank. While I drank, the hat-wearing man pulled out a silver needle and dipped it into the liquor.

I couldn’t help but scoff.

“What the hell. If you don’t trust it, don’t drink, idiot.”

He took a sip and stared at me in silence.

His gaze was so sharp, it felt like there was a blade behind it. I couldn’t tell if he was just glaring or actually slicing the air with his eyes.

I made a chopping ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) motion in the air with my hand as if to block his cursed glare.

He asked me,

“Got any dry snacks?”

I shoved my pinky into my nose and answered.

“Well... maybe this?”

The man who’d just taken a sip of liquor spat it out.

“Ptoo!”

While chewing on the jerky I had on my table, I glared back. I waved the strips of meat in his direction, then popped them into my mouth.

Suddenly, both of us looked toward the road.

A woman dressed in garments of pink and red, styled like a court dancer, approached with a white fly-whisk in hand.

I didn’t know who the hat man was.

But I knew the woman with the fly-whisk.

The Enchantress.

She didn’t even glance at the hat-wearing man. She sat far away and looked straight at me.

Chewing on jerky, I spoke to her.

“What are you staring at, psycho? Don’t glare—order something.”

A fly-whisk is a Buddhist tool, originally meant to brush away worldly attachments.

So seeing someone who looks like she kills for fun carrying one? She looked like a crazy bitch to me.

The Enchantress sighed and started swishing the fly-whisk around like she was swatting flies.

“Mangy bugs…”

I kept munching my jerky, looking between her and the hat man. Then I belched loudly.

Neither of them looked at each other. They were both just watching me.

I pointed at my own face and asked the two of them,

“Am I that good-looking? Falling for me already?”

The Enchantress responded by pretending to gag.

Suddenly she pinched her nose with a disgusted look. She kept waving her hand in front of her face while a beggar came dragging his feet across the dirt path.

Looking at this guy, I thought:

Sure, beggars belong to the Beggars' Union, but not every beggar in the world is part of it.

This one didn’t seem affiliated.

He also sat far from the Enchantress and looked straight at me.

I told him,

“Hey, beggar, who told you to sit down when you’ve got no money?”

He grinned, showing his yellow teeth.

“Hey tavern boy, if you’ve got the balls, try kicking me out.”

I pointed at him.

“Fine, stay.”

He cackled.

I sighed lightly.

“A lot of customers today, huh.”

As I took another sip of liquor, Yeop Yahong arrived, gliding in with light footwork, laughing.

“Ha ha… oh, hello everyone.”

No one acknowledged him, so I did.

“Young Hero Yeop, we meet again.”

He laughed.

“Oh? So we do.”

“Why are you here? Come to die?”

He looked me dead in the eyes and replied.

“Of course not. I came because I don’t want to die.”

I pointed at the seat in front of me.

“Come have a drink. We’ve met before.”

He raised a hand.

“I’ll pass.”

Still, it was nice to see someone familiar, so I asked:

“More guests coming?”

Looking tense, he pulled out a Mangucho leaf and bit down on it.

“Who knows? Wait and see.”

As he lit it and blew out smoke, the Enchantress, seated far off, waved her fly-whisk again.

The hat man, all the while, hadn’t taken his eyes off me.

Startled, I shouted.

“Shit, you scared me. Blink or something, asshole. Damn, that freaked me out. Can’t even see your eyes properly with that hat.”

I clicked my tongue and looked around at the guests.

A crazy guy glaring under a hat, a crazy woman flailing a fly-whisk, a ragged beggar, and Yeop Yahong grinning like a fool... What a lineup.

I pointed at the sky and rambled.

“If I’m guilty of anything...”

“……”

“It’s only that I’ve lived like a chivalrous warrior. Who knew this life would be so damn hard.”

No one responded, but I kept talking.

“It’s all because I read the wrong book.”

Yeop Yahong chuckled and asked,

“What book was that?”

“You’re the only one who talks to me, Young Hero Yeop.”

He nodded with a smile.

“Go on, I’ll listen.”

“I killed a man called the Gambling King. Found a book in his place. It said...”

I munched on jerky and continued.

“It said the strongest in the world are the warriors of justice.”

“Oh, really?”

“It was filled with lines about how righteous warriors are the strongest. Written by some legendary master.”

Yeop Yahong smirked.

“Why would he write such nonsense?”

“Exactly.”

“So you believed that bullshit? You’re more naive than you look.”

I answered in a dead serious tone.

“Hell no, dumbass. Of course I didn’t believe it.”

After I insulted him, Yeop Yahong sighed, annoyed, and bit down on his Mangucho again.

I went on.

“Yeah, I’d never heard such crap before. But here’s the thing—no one else had either. That makes it valuable. So it needed testing. What do you know? Have you ever tested it? Whether what’s written in a book is true or not?”

Yeop Yahong looked surprised.

“Oh, so that’s why you went on a hero’s journey. Killing bandits and all. Impressive. Still sounds like a terrible read. First guy I’ve met who acts on something that dumb.”

I nodded, then laughed.

“I may have read the wrong book, but you lot got the wrong person.”

Yeop Yahong laughed.

“Bullshit.”

Suddenly I jumped up with a loud crash—

Yeop Yahong, the Enchantress, and the beggar all leapt up in surprise. But the hat-wearing man stayed seated, his hand hovering over the hilt of his sword before stopping.

I calmly sat back down.

“You idiots. Jumping like that. Hahaha…”

I slapped my thigh and burst out laughing. The three of them sat back down with sour faces.

I complimented the hat man’s composure.

“That calmness of yours—not bad.”

Suddenly I yawned and covered my mouth so no throwing darts would fly in. That’s proper manners.

I poured some strong liquor into an empty glass, filled it halfway, then dipped my finger in to infuse ice energy. Instantly, the liquor froze.

Yeop Yahong asked,

“What are you doing?”

I poured more fresh liquor on top of the frozen one and swirled it around. Now it was refreshingly cold.

I raised the glass to the fools around me.

“This is Ice Liquor.”

I downed the drink and wiped my mouth.

“Ah… that’s the stuff.”

I considered throwing the frozen glass at someone, then decided against it. A man in his mid-thirties was walking toward the inn, pretending to be very busy.

He had a dull expression and dark, heavy eyes.

He stopped in front of the inn, pointed at me, and looked at Yeop Yahong.

Yeop Yahong answered,

“Yes, that’s him.”

The busy-looking man nodded, walked straight in, and sat across from me.

He rubbed his hands together and bluntly asked:

“Young man, why are you interfering with our business? You've caused serious losses—both lives and property. How are you going to pay for that? Your head alone won’t be enough. Who is this guy?”

Yeop Yahong answered.

“He’s the leader of a rising sect in the Namhwa region. It’s called Haomun. His forces include the Black Cat Pavilion, Heukseonbo, and Namyeonghui. He’s also known for killing high-level Black Path masters like the Sword-Breaking Society leader, the Great Rakshasa, Master Su, and Iryong Nogun.”

“Any notable traits?”

“He rarely uses subordinates. He acts personally.”

The man nodded slightly at the explanation, then looked at me.

“You some kind of hero? What’s with your behavior?”

Because he was putting on such an act, I replied politely.

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

“……”

“You should at least introduce yourself before going off on me. What the hell is this?”

I decided to sow a bit of discord.

“And I’m not the leader of Haomun. How could a kid like me be the head of a sect? The real leader left already, and I’m just here to...”

I looked at him and Yeop Yahong with my most innocent face.

‘...Did it work?’

The man glared at me and asked Yeop Yahong.

“What’s he saying? Says he’s not the one.”

Yeop Yahong calmly replied.

“He is. The leader of Haomun. Just being a lunatic. Please consider that.”

I sighed and swept my hair back with my left hand.

“Busted. You guys aren’t ordinary.”

The man furrowed his brows and glared. I had no choice—I dropped a name.

“I know the Martial Alliance Leader. So take it easy.”

Like a true tavern boy, I started bouncing my leg while glaring at him. This guy seemed like a mid-tier officer.

He tilted his head and replied.

“We don’t get along with Leader Im either. You two are friends?”

I crossed my arms and changed my story.

“I also know the Cult Leader. So don’t mess with me.”

No joke.

Their faces—Yeop Yahong, the Enchantress, the hat man, and even the beggar—froze.

‘Got ‘em.’

Then I spoke with solemn authority.

“That’s who I am.”