Chapter 267
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 267
Chapter 267. The Dragon and Phoenix Duel (5)
Fortunately, I stopped my sister from attacking those who called themselves the Sword and Blade Association.
“Why did you stop her? How dare you call a martial artist a sword! Don't you know that it's a shameful reputation?”
I nodded in agreement with my sister's words.
“I understand. But I don't think that title is a disgraceful reputation. It contains the love of the people.”
“Love? What love could there be in the title ‘Sword-Wielding Female Warrior’?”
“It means that people think highly of you. The word ‘female warrior’ is added to your name, isn't it? If that name was meant to mock you, they would have called you a witch or a madwoman instead.”
“Hmm...”
“To be honest, I felt so relieved when I heard what you said on the duel stage earlier.”
The other Emei Sect disciples agreed with me.
“That's right.”
“I felt relieved too!”
“It was really cool!”
Then Hyang-ok cleared her throat to calm her anger.
“Humph, is that so?”
“The sword of a vice-leader is used for consultation, which is why they are called vice-leaders. In other words, I think you were given the title of Seolgeomyeo because you acted as a vice-leader.”
My sister nodded at my words.
“Now that you mention it, you're right. If it weren't for you, I would have made a mistake. Thank you.”
“You're too kind.”
I quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Now my sister won't cause any trouble.
“By the way, did you just call me a witch or a madwoman?”
“I did...”
“Why did you say that? Do you usually think of me that way?”
“!”
I quickly shook my head.
“No, no! That's not what I meant!”
“Hehe, I was just joking.”
Then she walked away briskly. I calmed myself down again.
I can't let my guard down for a moment.
Then someone quietly approached me from behind.
“Not bad.”
“...!”
When I turned around, Haecheong-shin-ni, who had left late due to some business, was smiling at me.
I felt embarrassed and scratched the back of my neck.
“You're quite the talker to have convinced him so easily.”
“I didn't do anything. He just listened to what I said.”
Haecheongshinni just smiled as if he knew what was going on.
“Let's go.”
“Ah... Yes.”
Soon we arrived at the inn, and the food my mother had ordered in advance began to arrive.
I ate quickly.
I had to hurry up so that the Emei Sect disciples could eat without worrying.
.
.
.
Several days passed.
The preliminary rounds went smoothly, and yesterday, Dangjo-ung competed in the preliminary round.
And he won.
His opponent, who had looked down on him because of his age, was unable to block Dangjo-ung's fierce sword and allowed him to attack.
In fact, such official duels were extremely disadvantageous to those who relied on poison and hidden weapons like the Sichuan Tang Clan.
This is because the use of poison and hidden weapons is prohibited in duels.
The only thing they could use was wind magic.
The Sichuan Tang Clan is famous for its poison and hidden weapons, but they cannot use poison or hidden weapons!
It was as if their hands and feet were tied.
Even so, Tang Su-bin, who advanced to the finals in the last Dragon and Phoenix Duel, and Tang Cho-woong, who passed the first preliminary round this time, are truly amazing.
And now, I was heading to the Sichuan Tang Clan's guest house at the invitation of Captain Dae-jung.
I glanced at Lee Pil, who was following behind me, and asked.
“Are you sure you're okay?”
I asked because he didn't look very happy.
Lee Pil nodded in response to my question.
“I'm fine. Don't worry about me.”
With him saying that, there was nothing else I could do.
The reason I was worried about Lee Pil-mu was because his father, Tang Doo-jeong, was currently staying at the Sichuan Tang Clan's branch house.
Lee Pil-mu had abandoned his family name and run away from home. But no matter what, his father was still his father.
I was invited to celebrate Tang Jo-ung's passing of the first round of the competition.
It is a long-standing tradition to hold a banquet to celebrate the first victory in the Dragon and Phoenix Duel.
That is why my mother held a banquet for Hyang-ok and her friends before.
Lee Pil-mu will definitely meet his father...
Sigh... I don't know what to do.
Soon, we arrived at the Sichuan Tang Clan's guest house.
We followed the Captain's attendant and headed for the reception room.
As we were enjoying some tea, Young Mistress Dangsu-bin came to see us.
“Thank you for inviting us to such a delightful gathering.”
“We are the ones who should be thanking you for accepting our invitation.”
“This is a celebration of Jo-woong's victory, so of course we had to come.”
“The Captain is busy welcoming other guests, so I came on his behalf. Please follow me. I will show you to the banquet hall. Oh, wait a moment.”
Young Mistress Dang Su-bin looked at my face, and I tilted my head.
Why, all of a sudden?
“I was regaining my energy by looking at your handsome face.”
“...”
As expected, she still has a tendency to brighten up when she sees a handsome face.
“Ah! You're so handsome...”
“Ahem.”
When I cleared my throat in embarrassment, Miss Dang Su-bin laughed and said.
“Then I'll show you to the banquet hall.”
The banquet hall wasn't far away.
Since it was a separate building, it wasn't very spacious.
Of course, it wasn't that small either.
As we were walking to the banquet hall, Young Mistress Dang Su-bin pointed ahead and said.
“Ah, Uncle!”
Young Mistress Dang Su-bin said to me.
“That's your uncle, Dang Doo-jung. He's currently a training instructor at the Martial Alliance.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho from Eunhaesang Trading Company.”
“Dang Doo-jeong. It's nice to meet you.”
After saying that to me, training instructor Dang Doo-jeong turned his head and looked at Lee Pil, the warrior standing next to me.
Miss Dang Soo-bin also made a surprised expression.
But before she could say anything, training instructor Dang Doo-jeong spoke first.
“I would like to have a word with your bodyguard. Would you mind?”
Instead of answering right away, I looked at Lee Pil, who sighed and nodded.
“Go ahead.”
Then we followed Dang Su-bin to the banquet hall.
She said in a low voice, "I'm sorry.
“I'm sorry. If I had known this would happen, I would have asked my uncle to leave today.”
“It's all right. It seems that Lee Pil also came here today prepared to meet my father.”
That must be why he followed me here even though I asked him to stay at the inn several times.
* * *
Seeing Eun Seo-ho glancing behind him as if worried, Instructor Dang Doo-jeong said.
“He is a good liege.”
Lee Pil nodded.
“Yes. He is a really good person.”
“It is a great blessing to meet a good liege. Have you been well?”
“Yes.”
“I received a letter from the Clan Head. It was about what happened at the Sichuan Tang Clan...”
Lee Pil bit his lip.
“I'm sorry.”
“....
”I know very well that nothing I say can heal your wounds.“
Upon hearing those words, Lee Pil closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
”Father.“
”...!"
Dang Doo-jeong's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected Lee Pil to suddenly call him father.
“To be honest, when I was young, I resented my father. No... I resented everything in the world. It was the only way I could endure it.”
Dang Doo-jeong looked at his son with calm eyes, and his heart felt like it was being torn apart.
“But now, I don't resent you anymore. I know that you did your best for me.”
“....”
Lee Pil looked into Dang Doo-jeong's eyes.
“I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“Did you love my mother?”
Dao Du-jeong nodded without hesitation.
“Your mother, Oh Hwa... She was the only woman I truly loved and cherished.”
“Then that's enough. At least I was born out of your love for each other.”
Lee Pil bowed his head to him.
“Father. Please take care of yourself.”
“Yes...”
With that, Lee Pil left and followed Eun Seo-ho.
Seeing this, Dang Doo-jeong raised his head and muttered.
“Oh Hwa... My son has grown up well. He even worries about his poor father's health...”
* * *
As we entered the banquet hall and took our seats, Lee Pil approached us.
Fortunately, he looked much brighter than before. He even seemed refreshed.
I guess the conversation wasn't too bad.
“Hahaha! I am grateful that you think highly of Jo-ung.”
At that moment, there was a loud noise from outside, and soon the door opened and a group of people entered.
They were Captain Dae-jeong, Jang Cho-ung, and some other familiar faces.
Jang Cho-ung saw me, smiled, and rushed over.
“Master! Thank you for coming.”
Seeing Jang Cho-ung's reaction, the other guests seemed curious about who I was.
“Who is that young man?”
Captain Dae-jeong answered the question.
“Ah, he is Eun Seo-ho, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Eunhae Trading Company... Ah! That's right! They supply silk to the imperial family...”
“The martial artist?”
“Is that where they make the style dolls?”
It seems that our Eunhae Trading Company is more famous among martial artists than I thought.
I greeted them politely with a clasped hands greeting.
“That's right. I am Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
However, looking at their faces, they didn't seem interested in me. They looked disappointed to learn that I was from the upper class.
On the contrary, I couldn't understand why Dao Zong-woong was overreacting.
“Um, does the Sichuan Tang Clan sponsor the Eunhae Trading Company?”
Honestly, the only connection between martial artists and merchants is sponsorship, so his question was natural.
And if a place is influential in the martial arts world, merchants will line up to sponsor it.
I could understand their arrogance.
“No, that's not it.”
Captain Dae-jung continued.
“Our Sichuan Tang Clan has been indebted to Master Han. I can't go into details, but if you treat Master Han poorly, the Sichuan Tang Clan will not stand idly by.”
They gave him strange looks at his threat, and I could only scratch my ear.
Not only did he paint my face gold, he sprinkled gold powder on it.
I sat down and started eating.
By the way, even if it was a banquet to celebrate the first victory, they could have invited me privately, but they invited me like this, as if to show me off...
There must be a reason for this.
Whatever the case, I made up my mind. I would eat quickly and leave.
.
.
.
Time passed quickly, and the preliminary round with hundreds of participants came to an end.
Including the finalists from the previous Dragon and Phoenix Duel, 108 people were selected, for a total of 91 people advancing from the preliminary round.
Since it was a competition between two people, with the winner advancing to the next round, it would have been nice if the number was even, but that was not the case.
Therefore, in order to resolve this issue, the final round was held in a special manner.
It was a kind of point system and winning streak.
Those who advanced to the final qualifying round had their names drawn by the emcee and stood on the stage.
They then competed against a randomly selected warrior, and if they won three times in a row, they advanced to the final round.
It was not as easy as it sounds to win three times in a row, so it was easy to make a list of finalists.
As a result, Miss Zhegalu, Miss Hyangok, and Cho Woong all advanced to the finals after passing through four preliminary rounds and the final preliminary round.
To be honest, I expected Miss Zhegalu and Miss Hyangok to advance to the finals, but Cho Woong's performance was unexpected.
He was much more talented than I thought.
And finally, today
the finals of the Dragon and Phoenix Duel Tournament begins.
I headed to the duel venue with my mother again today. I sat in my designated seat and looked straight ahead.
The seats, which had been almost empty during the preliminary rounds, were now filled to capacity.
Seeing the true heavyweights appear, I realized once again that this was the final round.
Actually, my father was supposed to come today, but he couldn't make it due to unexpected circumstances.
“Thank you all for coming to the duel! The day of the finals you've all been waiting for has finally arrived!”
“Wahhh!”
“Before we begin the finals, let's hear a few words from the Alliance Leader who supports the Martial Alliance.”
Of course.
It is customary for the host of any event to appear and show their face.
The Martial Alliance was no different.
An old man stood up from under a red tent over there.
Then he stepped onto the duel stage.
"I am pleased to meet you all. I am Namgung Jin, the leader of the Martial Alliance, who was just introduced.
Namgung Jin, the leader of the Martial Alliance.
He was one of the heroes who played a major role in the battle against the remnants of the Blood Cult in the past.
His exploits at that time earned him the title of “Flat Mountain Sword Emperor.” It means that he flattened a mountain with a single swing of his sword.
“To make this Dragon and Phoenix Duel a success...”
Frankly, it was a story that didn't really register, so I heard it with one ear and let it out the other.
But then...
I felt an uneasy sensation, as if I had seen something that shouldn't be there.
What on earth is this feeling?