Chapter 588

Chapter 588 - Side Story 22

Great killer and evil person are not contradictory terms.

Just as generals who killed thousands and tens of thousands on the battlefield are cheered, and kings who suppressed bandits are recognized as sage rulers.

"In reality, he was a very straightforward person. He didn't try to hide his inner thoughts, nor did he try to conceal his shame with lies."

Tang Yu-jeong glanced at Jin Heon. Jin Heon appeared deeply lost in thought at Yeon Gi-sang's words, while Tang Gyeong's eyes were sparkling brightly.

"Now. That's all I have to say. You must be tired, I've talked too much."

Having finished speaking, Yeon Gi-sang nodded to the three and was about to leave. Tang Yu-jeong hastily called him.

"Um...!"

"Do you have more to say?"

"That person doesn't really concern us... but thank you for comforting us."

"Comfort..."

Yeon Gi-sang smiled slightly.

"I'm just returning what I received. Seeing you reminded me of the person who was beside him back then."

Yeon Gi-sang left the room with a smile.

Tang Yu-jeong immediately realized who the person beside him that Yeon Gi-sang mentioned was. Tang Ha-ran. After Yeon Gi-sang left, Tang Yu-jeong plopped down in a chair as if her legs had given out.

"Haa... I didn't think of it. That there would be someone who saw Dad and Mom together. Of course. Heon resembles Dad, and I resemble Mom more, so if you see us together... Haa."

Jin Heon remained silent, and Tang Gyeong asked back.

"What about me?"

"You're in between. You just resemble both Mom and Dad."

After a brief silence, Tang Yu-jeong asked.

"Hey. He definitely recognized us, right?"

Tang Gyeong answered without thinking.

"It would be strange not to. Everyone we meet asks if we resemble them."

Then Jin Heon also said something.

"Isn't it impossible for us to hide in the first place?"

The three looked at each other's faces. It was definitely as he said. Somehow it felt meaningless to try to hide.

***

Since the meeting ended late, Tang Yu-jeong and the others decided to stay overnight at Yeon Family Sect as guests.

Tang Yu-jeong couldn't sleep and came outside. There was a garden with a small pond. She slowly walked through the garden where hydrangeas bloomed brightly, sorting out her complicated thoughts.

She had gotten the bandits handed over to the magistrate's office and received a promise to investigate Song Il Sect, but she didn't feel like she had accomplished anything.

"I didn't do it."

It was no different from at Tang Family Manor. Here or there, ultimately because she was the Poison Dragon's daughter, she couldn't freely reveal herself. She had left the cleanup of the bandits and Song Il Sect to others' hands. Rather than receiving help, it felt like she had postponed what she should have done.

"This isn't what I wanted."

She understood Jin Heon's heart. Though the situations were different, the label of Poison Dragon held their legs down just the same.

As Tang Yu-jeong walked around the pond with her hands behind her back, Yeon Woong appeared.

"Ah, my. Did I disturb you, Miss Hwa-ran?"

"No. It's fine."

Yeon Woong tried to slightly hide the gourd bottle in his hand.

"What is it?"

Yeon Woong's face turned red.

"It's cheap liquor. I thought Chu-mong would be out."

"Liquor?"

Tang Yu-jeong seemed to ponder for a moment, then reached out her hand.

"Give it to me."

"What? But this isn't liquor suitable for you to drink..."

"They say if you drink liquor, you can forget your worries. It's even in the Sage Poet's verses."

The mountain path in the front village is steep

Perilous mountain road before the village.

Yeon Woong recited the matching verse.

"Returning drunk, I have no worries."

Yeon Woong held out the bottle as if she was qualified. Tang Yu-jeong held it and hesitated before taking a sip.

"Kek kek! Bitter!"

Yeon Woong laughed.

"Hahaha. You must not have many worries."

"Kek kek kek. Why?"

"The more worries you have, the sweeter liquor becomes."

"Cough cough, really?"

Tang Yu-jeong glared at the bottle again, then put it to her lips and drank very slowly. In the moonlight, a drop of liquor sparkled and flowed down her delicate chin. Yeon Woong looked at Tang Yu-jeong as if dazed for a moment, then quickly shook his head.

"Kahaa..."

Tang Yu-jeong let out a big breath like old men. But her face was still scrunched up.

"Bitter!"

"Hahaha. I'm sorry. It's too rough for someone drinking for the first time."

"How did you know it's my first time?"

"Because it's exactly like when I first met Chu-mong. That friend couldn't drink at all either. Just like Miss Hwa-ran."

"Why do you drink such liquor?"

Yeon Woong, receiving the bottle from Tang Yu-jeong, drank lightly.

"Phew! It's not good liquor, but isn't that why it's better? We're still too young to drink good liquor."

"But... what if you make mistakes while drunk?"

"Of course you'll make mistakes. Hahaha."

"Hmm. Then isn't that bad..."

This time Yeon Woong asked back.

"Why?"

Tang Yu-jeong stuck out her lips and tilted her head left and right.

"You might do things that damage the family's honor... and if you act drunk, it might trouble other people..."

"Who doesn't make mistakes? Because we're human, we make mistakes and might not even recognize our parents."

"What?"

Yeon Woong shook his head as if disgusted.

"I got beaten a lot because of liquor. For not recognizing my parents and attacking them. Despite learning martial arts, I nearly froze to death sleeping outside. Thanks to that, now no matter how drunk I am, I always sleep in my room."

"Still... is that okay?"

Yeon Woong smiled slightly like his father Yeon Gi-sang.

"My father told me. People learn through mistakes. Especially ordinary martial artists like me who aren't naturally talented. So Miss, don't worry too much about making mistakes."

"But then someone has to clean up what I did. For example, friends or parents or the sect..."

"Everyone lives that way. Receiving help, sometimes causing trouble. Friends and parents were all the same. Humans can't live without someone helping them."

Tang Yu-jeong's eyes widened.

"Ah..."

Come to think of it, her father Jin Ja-gang was like that too. He always said that if there had been no one to help him when he was powerless and young, Jin Ja-gang wouldn't be alive now. Jin Ja-gang still habitually said that whenever he met descendants of Yunnan Medicine Sect, he should pass on martial arts and express gratitude to them.

"And you too, Miss, will eventually bestow the same on someone else as time passes. So it's okay."

Tang Yu-jeong stared up at Yeon Woong.

"I didn't know there would be someone... telling me it's okay to make mistakes."

It wasn't a lie, it was true. At Tang Family Manor, she had to be careful about everything in case she made mistakes, and be careful not to tarnish her parents' honor. The little slacking off during missions was Tang Yu-jeong's maximum rebellion within her limits.

But Yeon Woong confidently says it's okay to make mistakes. Confidently says to leave the aftermath to them.

Not telling her to succeed, but saying it's okay to make mistakes, why is that such great comfort? Tang Yu-jeong's nose tingled.

Yeon Woong said in surprise.

"Ahh, don't cry. If someone sees, they'll think I made you cry."

"You did make me cry."

"Then I'll get beaten. For making a lady cry at this age."

"Pfft."

Tang Yu-jeong also laughed at Yeon Woong's jest.

"Seeing how much you're struggling, it seems there are only remarkable people around you, Miss."

"That's right. That's why it's more stifling."

"It's okay. Though they hide it, when they were young, they all made mistakes and got scolded."

Tang Yu-jeong's cheeks turned red, perhaps from the slight alcohol.

"Thank you..."

"Do you feel a bit better?"

"Yes. Thanks to you. Though I still think I shouldn't make mistakes."

"That's because you don't have enough liquor. But unfortunately, this is all I have today."

Tang Yu-jeong smiled at Yeon Woong's thick skin. It wasn't the liquor, but the person who was easing Tang Yu-jeong's heart.

And behind the decorative door entering the annex, Jin Heon was listening to their conversation.

Jin Heon just listened quietly with his arms crossed.

'Mistakes...'

He had never thought about mistakes. Throughout his life, most people around him were lenient with Jin Heon's actions. Perhaps it was because he quickly mastered handling poison energy, removing the biggest worry.

Thanks to that, Jin Heon could live quite freely as long as he didn't reveal he was the Poison Dragon's illegitimate son. That was his biggest burden.

But if he had lived in the same house as big figures like the Poison Dragon or the Tang family head, Jin Heon would probably have lived under as much pressure as Tang Yu-jeong. He couldn't be certain otherwise.

'Though the burdens we carry are different, are the weights the same?'

Jin Heon felt he could understand Tang Yu-jeong's heart a little.

Tang Yu-jeong and Yeon Woong were now much more relaxed and chatting about this and that. Though he called him a friend, Yeon Woong was two years older than Jin Heon and the same age as Tang Yu-jeong, so they could get along well. Jin Heon smiled bitterly and was about to leave.

But then, Yeon Woong said.

"It's much better talking with Miss Hwa-ran. Chu-mong is taciturn and just drinks without talking."

"Oh right, but."

Tang Yu-jeong asked as if remembering.

"Then when did Chu-mong even start drinking?"

"It's been a few years. Ah, this is a secret between us... right? Huh, Miss Hwa-ran's expression seems a bit strange. Are you smiling... or?"

At those words, Jin Heon's face heated up.

Caught a weakness.

***

Tang Gyeong couldn't fall asleep easily either. It was his first night at another sect's estate outside Tang Family Manor.

Thump thump. Tang Gyeong was excited in a different way from Tang Yu-jeong.

He gained an older brother and friendship with Yeon Family Sect. The jianghu journey he had only dreamed of in his room became reality.

"This is just the beginning."

Tang Gyeong took out a letter from his bosom.

He had recently received another reply from the Dragon Captor Great Hero, and there were such good words that he kept it instead of discarding it.

The content of the letter Tang Gyeong had sent earlier was as follows:

To my respected friend, Dragon Captor Great Hero.

This seat performed a joyful chivalrous deed today. By punishing dozens of evildoers, I showed that justice lives in the world, and found hidden secrets to reveal the concealed past. Due to long seclusion training, the jianghu is still awkward, but I feel I'm getting used to it little by little.

However, this seat is still troubled.

Is it right to reveal myself to the world like this? How should I deal with things that might go wrong?

What I fear most is that the world cannot handle me.

The stars are twinkling, and I cannot sleep again today.

Thank you for your previous help.

Someday, this seat will surely repay the Dragon Captor Great Hero's kindness.

The Dragon Captor Great Hero sent this reply:

To my dear friend, Supreme Asura.

I am endlessly pleased that my small help was beneficial to you. Your chivalrous deed was also very welcome news.

However, hearing that you cannot sleep from worries about the martial world since embarking on your jianghu journey, I cannot help but be solemn again at your chivalrous spirit.

I dare to advise you, do not retreat.

One step not taken today makes you retreat ten steps tomorrow, and one step taken today becomes twenty steps tomorrow.

Even if the jianghu cannot handle you, that too is karma the jianghu must pay. At that time, I will resolutely help you bear that karma!

My friend, Supreme Asura. The choice is yours, but I believe you will overcome any difficulty that comes.

Walk and walk again to make yourself known in the jianghu. And when that time comes, Supreme Asura, I dare ask my friend.

I want to extend my hand to pursue the most magnificent great enterprise in the world together.