Baek Yoonjun sat down, glancing at the old man who seemed a little mentally ill with an uneasy feeling.
-Are you sure he's okay?
-He probably is. Maybe. I'll order for now.
Namgung Cheon also carefully sat down across from Baek Yoonjun and raised his hand to order.
"Old sir, we'd like to order..."
"Ah!"
The old man was startled when they sat down.
"T-treat! I must treat you!"
He went straight to the kitchen without even taking their order.
Thanks to that, Namgung Cheon, who had raised his hand, couldn't say anything and awkwardly lowered his hand.
Of course, Baek Yoonjun, the homebody introvert, couldn't say anything at all.
He was just sitting there awkwardly.
And so, while Namgung Cheon and Baek Yoonjun were sitting there without a word.
"It's not much, but please enjoy it."
An enormous amount of food, contrary to the words "it's not much," filled the table.
There were also plenty of wine bottles.
"Jiannanchun?"
It was a wine Baek Yoonjun had never seen before.
The only wine he knew in this neighborhood was the measly bamboo leaf green wine.
"Jiannanchun! It's a famous wine in the Sichuan region!"
On the other hand, Namgung Cheon, as befitting a child of a prestigious family, recognized the identity of the wine.
Baek Yoonjun, seeing the fuss Namgung Cheon was making, just recognized it as an expensive wine.
"This is a famous wine that is hard to be treated to even if you go to a well-known tavern in Sichuan. It's a wine that has become even more precious in these difficult times in the Central Plains."
"It's precious, then?"
"It is precious. Especially in times like these, the value of a famous wine is more precious than gold ingots. It means you can't drink it even if you have money."
As Namgung Cheon continued his explanation, only then was Baek Yoonjun also surprised.
Then he looked at the old man, who was still bringing food from the kitchen, with a puzzled look.
"No, why would you give us something so precious...?"
The old man's expression filled with sorrow upon hearing Baek Yoonjun's muttering.
"Benefactor, no, Great Hero Baek, please don't worry and just eat."
At the old man's sorrowful voice, Baek Yoonjun, who thought the old man was mentally ill, naturally flinched a little.
"Thank you."
For Baek Yoonjun, barely managing to say thank you was the best he could do.
Baek Yoonjun took his eyes off the old man and turned to the food and wine.
It looked excellent at a glance.
Baek Yoonjun, who didn't want to worry about this and that, just put the food he could grab into his mouth.
'Delicious!'
As soon as he put it in his mouth, an exclamation of admiration flowed out from within.
He had thought the previous tavern was also excellent, but the food now was incomparably more excellent.
"It's even more excellent than before."
Namgung Cheon, who was in front of him, also admired the food as he ate.
"Great Hero Baek, please have a drink."
"Thank you."
After eating a moderate amount of food, Namgung Cheon and Baek Yoonjun exchanged cups.
The wine was also excellent.
With the greasy food and the hot, famous wine going down his throat, there was nothing more to wish for in the world.
The two of them exchanged cups for a while and enjoyed the food.
As the atmosphere ripened, Baek Yoonjun, whose homebody introvert nature had subsided a little thanks to the food and wine, spoke first.
"Would you tell me about the reason you asked me to accompany you?"
"There are two reasons for that."
Namgung Cheon spoke and carefully looked around.
The old man was in the kitchen, and there was no one else.
Namgung Cheon hadn't noticed that the old man was a martial artist, but since it wasn't something to be known by others, he was careful and spoke to Baek Yoonjun in a quiet whisper.
"The first is about Sowol. I don't know if the Sowol you know and the Sowol I know are the same person, but since she has the surname Baek, I thought it would be better to tell you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The Namgung family is trying to exterminate the Baek surname."
Namgung Cheon gritted his teeth as he spoke.
The incomprehensible actions of his family.
Destroying the Baek family to raise the authority of his own family could be dismissed as greed.
But the annihilation of the Baek surname, he couldn't understand the intention at all.
Even Namgung Cheon didn't know the intention, so for Baek Yoonjun, who had no connection to the Namgung family at all, it was just a ridiculous story.
"What on earth is the reason?"
"I don't know either. I'm so frustrated because I can't figure it out at all."
Since even Namgung Cheon didn't know, Baek Yoonjun had nothing more to say.
Moreover.
'If it's the annihilation of the Baek surname, am I included too?'
Baek Yoonjun trembled with anxiety inwardly.
"Haa, there's nothing I can do, so I hope Great Hero Baek will take good care of the Sowol on your side."
"As for that part..."
Baek Yoonjun thought of Zhuge Hyun.
Although he was at a level that wasn't even third-rate, he was one of the highest-level martial artists he had seen so far, and he had many other skills.
"It will probably be fine."
"I'm relieved that you say so, Great Hero Baek."
Baek Yoonjun wasn't very relieved, but it seemed Namgung Cheon was sufficiently relieved.
"Then let's move on to the next."
Baek Yoonjun was still very bothered by the previous statement, but he didn't have the guts to voice his opinion, so he kept his mouth shut.
"I've found a place where quite a few human traffickers gather."
"Human trafficking, you say?"
Baek Yoonjun recalled information at Namgung Cheon's words.
In this era, although the history was very different from ancient China, if you thought about it in a roughly similar period, human trafficking was a common occurrence.
Poor farming families and the like would even voluntarily sell their children.
If you were lucky, you would enter a good family as a concubine and live in luxury, but if you were unlucky, you would literally live a life like a slave.
Of course, this was not Baek Yoonjun's knowledge, but knowledge that had been forcibly instilled in him by a friend who loved martial arts.
Leaving knowledge aside, human trafficking was a very bothersome matter for Baek Yoonjun as well.
He wouldn't have gone looking for it himself, but now that he had obtained the information, he couldn't just stand by.
Originally, homebody introverts don't do anything themselves, but many of them can't refuse when asked for a favor.
Baek Yoonjun was also like that.
Of course, Namgung Cheon didn't know anything about Baek Yoonjun's inner self and was judging him by his cold face.
'As expected, Great Hero Baek had already figured it out before I even spoke.'
Normally, there was no way to know what someone was just thinking, but Baek Yoonjun's dizzying exterior was the problem.
"As you may already know, the place where those human traffickers gather doesn't seem to be an ordinary place."
"If it's not an ordinary place."
"Yes, it is presumed to be an assassin's den."
Baek Yoonjun hadn't particularly expected it, but Namgung Cheon naturally said it as if Baek Yoonjun had expected it.
"I've gathered some information, but I judged that it would be impossible for me alone and was gathering people.
In the process, I stopped by a tavern and came to see you, Great Hero Baek."
Namgung Cheon recalled the events so far with sorrowful eyes.
But Baek Yoonjun didn't hear any of that.
'An assassin's den? Then assassins? They're guys whose job is to kill people, so aren't they very strong?'
Baek Yoonjun trembled with anxiety inwardly again.
The Namgung family was already after the Baek surname, and now he was about to jump into an assassin's den.
If it were the usual Baek Yoonjun, he would have somehow twisted his body and gotten out of it by now.
'Human trafficking. Damn it, I can't just say I won't do it.'
A very small sense of justice, anger towards evil people, and the lack of guts to back out after hearing the story held him back.
And so, Baek Yoonjun, who was having numerous conflicts inwardly, mustered up great courage and opened his mouth.
"Wouldn't it be a little insufficient with just the two of us?"
"I think it will be fine if we just have you, Great Hero Baek."
Baek Yoonjun looked at Namgung Cheon's eyes, which were looking at him without a shred of doubt.
'Persuasion is out of the question.'
And he gave up.
'No, since you're so weak, I might look a little strong, but I'm still just third-rate!'
All sorts of complaints erupted from within, but of course, he couldn't spit them out.
It was then that Baek Yoonjun felt the old man from the kitchen approaching them.
"I happened to overhear your conversation. If it's not too much of an imposition, may this old man also lend a hand?"
The old man performed a polite fist-and-palm salute between Baek Yoonjun and Namgung Cheon.
"Huh? Old sir owner?"
Namgung Cheon, who didn't seem to know that the old man had approached, looked at the old man with wide eyes.
Then he came to his senses and looked at the old man politely.
"Old sir, it is a dangerous matter."
"I have the skill to protect my own body, so you don't have to worry, companion."
Baek Yoonjun listened to the conversation between Namgung Cheon and the old man with a dumbfounded look.
No matter how you looked at it, the much weaker Namgung Cheon was worrying about the much stronger old man.
'Does he not know?'
Baek Yoonjun watched their conversation quietly, and then, so that Namgung Cheon, who had bought him a meal, wouldn't do anything more embarrassing, he mustered up his courage and opened his mouth.
"Brother Cheon. This old sir is stronger than you."
"What? What do you mean? I didn't feel anything?"
Namgung Cheon just blinked his eyes with a face of disbelief, and the old man looked at Baek Yoonjun again with sorrowful eyes.
'As expected, you had already figured out this old man.'
Of course, Baek Yoonjun, whose gaze was burdensome, stealthily avoided his eyes.
'What? Why is his gaze so burdensome?'
Namgung Cheon stared at that sight foolishly, and then, as if he had come to his senses, he immediately stood up from his seat and performed a polite fist-and-palm salute towards the old man.
"I'm sorry, senior."
"Companion of Great Hero Baek, please withdraw your courtesy."
As Namgung Cheon carefully released his fist-and-palm salute, the old man performed a polite fist-and-palm salute towards Baek Yoonjun again.
"Great Hero Baek, this old man is a worthless old man who has inherited the true teachings of Diancang, by the name of Hyunjun Hyun."
"Diancang!"
At the old man, Hyunjun Hyun's words, Namgung Cheon was surprised and jumped up from his seat.
"Then you mean, senior, that you are a descendant of the Diancang Sect?"
"Companion, please withdraw the word descendant. Now I am just a tavern owner who has been cooped up in the mountains, unable to shake off the doubts in my heart."
Baek Yoonjun, who knew nothing about the name Diancang, just kept his mouth shut.
Then Namgung Cheon began to explain about Diancang to Baek Yoonjun on his own.
"In the Diancang Mountains, there was a group that had been independently passing down the true teachings of martial arts for a long time.
Their swords had no hesitation in destroying evil, so they left quite a few anecdotes. Although it is said that they were annihilated by the Three Heavens..."
Namgung Cheon trailed off and stealthily glanced at Hyunjun Hyun.
"Companion, you don't have to be so cautious. Although this old man has left, the spirit of Diancang is still being passed down in the Diancang Mountains."
"That's a relief."
Namgung Cheon swept his chest as if he were truly relieved.
At the sight of Namgung Cheon, Hyunjun Hyun smiled and stealthily looked at Baek Yoonjun.
"The White-Robed Sword Immortal had saved Diancang."
"The White-Robed Sword Immortal? You mean Diancang was also at the scene of the decisive battle between the Three Heavens and the White-Robed Sword Immortal?"
"That's right. That's why we were saved."
The two of them were quite excited about the common topic and had a conversation.
Baek Yoonjun frowned at the word 'White-Robed Sword Immortal' that came up again.
'Again? What on earth is that person that he's involved in everything?'
The more he heard, the more he felt like he was being compared to a person who had performed great feats in a similar situation to his own, and he felt shabby.
In fact, before feeling shabby, he was so annoyed and bothered by being involved in such a grand story.
Baek Yoonjun muttered to himself that he wished the Three Heavens and the White-Robed Sword Immortal would all just disappear.
Hyunjun Hyun asked Baek Yoonjun.
"May I ask what your relationship is with the White-Robed Sword Immortal, Great Hero Baek?"
"I have no relationship whatsoever."
"I understand."
Baek Yoonjun answered so because he truly believed he had no relationship, but Hyunjun Hyun nodded his head calmly at Baek Yoonjun's words with a meaningful face, no matter how he interpreted them.
'Whether he is his descendant or the person himself, it means he will not be bound by the past. As expected of him.'
Whatever Hyunjun Hyun was thinking, Baek Yoonjun was just filled with the desire to just throw everything away and go home.
Of course, Baek Yoonjun, the homebody introvert, couldn't express such thoughts and was just diligently drinking his wine.
"It's more than reassuring to have a senior who has inherited the true teachings of Diancang join us."
"It's nothing compared to Great Hero Baek. I'm just lending a small amount of strength."
"Just your words are reassuring. We can leave right away."
"They say you should strike while the iron is hot, so let's do that."
While Baek Yoonjun was drinking his wine, the story was proceeding on its own, and a short while later, Baek Yoonjun's party, who had taken a short rest, set out on the road under the guidance of Namgung Cheon.
And so they arrived at a secluded place on the border of Sichuan and Chongqing.
"This is the place."
From the place where Namgung Cheon and his party were hiding, the place they were looking at was clearly a place where there would be few people, but carriages were constantly coming and going.
It was a suspicious place at a glance.
(End of Chapter)
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