Chapter 123
123
“Ryeon. That must be her name. The courtesans who took care of me called my mother Ryeon.”
I was speechless. I stared blankly up at Yeon-ryang.
Could it be…? No. It can’t be. But there can’t be multiple courtesans with the same name in one gibang, right?
“If you remember your birth mother being young at that age, she must have been really young.”
“That’s right. When I was four, my mother was only twenty-one. She had me when she was about So-hye’s age. A child having a child, what would she know? My mother even had trouble holding me. Looking back, I don’t think she knew how to treat me.”
Yeon-ryang, who had been speaking calmly, smiled bitterly.
“My existence must have been a burden to my mother. It was better this way. Her life would have been a little easier without me.”
“Need some liquor?”
“No. I have to ride a boat, what liquor? I get seasick.”
“Tsk.”
Beopgong, clicking his tongue lightly, crossed his arms and rebuked.
“You and that kid are so sentimental. What does it matter how you were born? It’s how you live that matters.”
“Your nerves are just thick, you bald monk.”
“Anyway, a fly’s gonna go into your sister’s mouth. The kid looks pretty shocked? She’s eating her myeongri.”
“Huh? It wasn’t that shocking of a story, was it?”
Yeon-ryang, looking puzzled, took out the fabric that had gone into my mouth and smoothed it out.
“So-hye. What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? Your face is pale.”
“B-Brother.”
“Yeah. I’m listening.”
“D-Do you happen to know someone named Hwahong?”
Yeon-ryang blinked at my question.
“Hwahong…? I don’t know… Oh, I think I’ve heard of it. It sounds like my mother’s maid’s name.”
“No, why do you remember your maid’s name but not your own name?”
“Because no one called me by my name. My mother only looked for Hwahong every day.”
“Could it be that your birth mother drew wisteria vines…?”
“She drew them a lot. She liked wisteria vines. How did you know? So-hye, do you know my mother?”
At this point, it couldn’t just be a coincidence!
My throat felt parched. I didn’t know what to say.
Someone I know? She actually gave birth to me and passed away? It seems like we’re related by blood?
As I hesitated, at a loss for what to do, Yeon-ryang gently changed the subject.
“It’s okay. Enough time has passed that it wouldn’t be strange if she had passed away.”
“T-That’s…”
“You don’t have to say it if it’s uncomfortable. I wasn’t expecting anything.”
“So… um, my birth mother’s name is also Ryeon?”
“…Huh?”
“Choryeon of Moon Scent Pavilion. They said she was the greatest beauty in Chengdu.”
Yeon-ryang’s expression became strange. Beopgong, who had been listening to our conversation with a crooked posture, also frowned.
“Wait, wait a minute. Kid. Are you saying that your birth mother and Yeon-ryang’s birth mother are the same person?”
“I’d have to confirm, but… it seems like it.”
“I knew you two looked alike! My eyes weren’t wrong. What did I say? Yeon-ryang, I said I’d believe you if you said you gave birth to her yourself, right?”
Yeon-ryang’s eyes shook violently.
“T-That… What…”
“I know it’s a ridiculous story, but… doesn’t it seem like that’s the case, given the circumstances? There can’t be two Choryeons in one gibang, right?”
In that moment, the expression disappeared from Yeon-ryang’s face. He seemed bewildered, and also happy.
“Wow, that’s great! Yeon-ryang, you didn’t want to send the kid away, did you? Now you have an excuse not to send her away.”
“Beopgong. Shut your mouth.”
“Kid. The reason your brother wanted you to go to the Alliance was because…”
“Beopgong!”
Yeon-ryang, cutting off Beopgong’s words sharply, took a slow, deep breath. His eyes, looking at me, were bloodshot.
“…Then, then does that really mean you’re my sister?”
Yeon-ryang, mumbling, had tears welling up in his eyes.
“We’re actually blood-related. I’m… so… I’m…”
Seeing him in a state I had never seen before, I jumped up and hugged Yeon-ryang.
“Oh, Brother. Why are you crying? Don’t cry.”
“I’m not… crying… Something… got in my… eye… Ugh.”
“Oh my, Brother. Calm down. People will make fun of you if a big, strapping man cries. Stop. Stop.”
As Yeon-ryang shed tears like raindrops, Beopgong muttered with a disgusted face.
“I’m seeing all sorts of things. Are we writing a street novel?”
He made a face as if he were about to throw up and waved his hand towards the inside of the inn.
“Jeomsoi! Liquor here!”
\ \ \
Yeon-ryang, who had barely stopped crying, had eyes that were swollen and looked like he had been stung by a bee.
He had sobbed so much that every guest who entered the inn ran away, leaving only us in the spacious inn.
Yeon-ryang, slowly getting up, said in a voice that was half-hoarse.
“I’m going to wash up.”
“Get lost quickly, I don’t want to see your face.”
“Close your eyes if you don’t want to see it.”
Yeon-ryang, snapping, left the inn.
Washing up was just an excuse, it seemed like he was going to get some air and calm his emotions.
As I couldn’t take my eyes off Yeon-ryang’s back, Beopgong tapped me on the shoulder.
“You have to understand him.”
“What is there to not understand? He can cry. Yeon-ryang is a person too.”
“Not that. That guy is happy that he has a place to belong. He’s always wanted a family. Blood ties can’t be broken until someone dies.”
“…Ah.”
I, who didn’t exactly know the meaning of the tears, was flustered and lowered my gaze.
“He was going to send you back to the Tang Clan because he didn’t have a reason to keep you here, but he didn’t want to part with you.”
“Yeon-ryang was going to send me to the Tang Clan?”
“Because it’s advantageous for you. A life walking a smooth path as the Young Miss of a prestigious Orthodox Faction is better than a life wandering the Central Plains with an unknown Wanderer.”
“I have no intention of going back.”
There’s no Grandfather, and everyone’s trying to kill me, why would I go back to that den of beasts?
In the first place, it was my father who told me never to set foot in Sichuan again.
As Beopgong blinked as if I was talking nonsense, he grinned.
“Yeah. Tell your brother that. You say you don’t want to go either, and he’s your real brother, so he has the right to protect you. Anyway, congratulations. You have an avuncular family now.”
“Avuncular family?”
“If Yeon-ryang’s sister is my sister, it’s the same thing. Think of me as your avuncular family member. Sell my name if anyone bothers you. I’ll let you get away with that much.”
Avuncular family. That’s quite a touching word.
I couldn’t help but smile at the unexpected kindness.
“Really? Can I go to Shaolin and sell the monk’s name and get a Sohwandan?”
“Of course not. Look at this kid. How much is she planning to fleece me for?”
Beopgong widened his eyes as if he was dumbfounded.
“And Shaolin is a women-forbidden area. Where are you trying to enter?”
“What. In this day and age. That’s stingy.”
“It’s the same with Emei, men can’t set foot in the precinct either.”
Beopgong, replying, stretched. There was a faint smile on his lips.
Yeon-ryang, who returned after a long time, had a clean face as if he had never cried.
“All done crying? A grown man bawling.”
“Beopgong. Shut your mouth.”
Yeon-ryang, frowning, retorted brusquely. He seemed embarrassed, so I pretended not to notice and smiled, reaching out my hand to Yeon-ryang.
“Brother, let’s go ride the boat.”
“…Okay. Let’s go.”
Yeon-ryang took my hand with an awkward motion. The carefully overlapping hands trembled slightly.
As soon as I tightly grasped Yeon-ryang’s hand, the trembling gradually subsided.
“Shouldn’t we eat something before getting on the boat? Should we buy some snacks?”
“…It’s okay.”
His eyes, answering in a choked voice, were red again.
It was an expression that Beopgong would scold him for again if he saw it, so I shouted loudly before Beopgong noticed.
“Monk, pay for the meal and come!”
Then, I grabbed Yeon-ryang and started running.
“Huh? Hey! Your brother was going to pay for the liquor!”
“You have a lot of money, Monk!”
“Hahaha! That’s right! You pay this time, bald monk!”
Yeon-ryang, who had been following me with a dumbfounded face, burst into laughter and wiped his eyes. I also grinned and put strength into my legs.
Beopgong’s shout came from afar.
“Jeomsoi! The bill! You don’t need the change, keep it all. Hey, you can’t go to Mu Han without me, you know? Let’s go together!”
\ \ \
A flock of magpies flew up with a flutter.
Madam Jo, glancing at the gaunt winter trees, brought the teacup to her lips with an elegant motion. However, her pretty face was full of displeasure.
“How long will the Ghost Hand Divine Doctor be staying? Is there any improvement?”
Grand Elder Dang Gak shook his head at Madam Jo’s question.
“I don’t know. Madam, you should watch quietly as well. He’s a very stubborn old man, so trying to pry information out of him by force could ruin things.”
“I can’t stand it, it’s so frustrating. What kind of amazing treatment is he doing that he won’t even let a Maid come and go? Even when the Poison King asked him, he didn’t even take a step, so why now…!”
Madam Jo, glaring fiercely, put down the teacup. Unlike her, who was panting, Dang Gak was calm.
“Even the Great Arhat Immortal can’t save that child. No matter how great the Ghost Hand Divine Doctor is, he’ll only live a few more years at best. Think of it in a good way, Madam. If Woon shows even a little improvement, it will become a card to shake Young-ho’s position, won’t it?”
“That’s why it’s a waste. Isn’t it like pouring water into a bottomless pit? If our Hwa-yeop had eaten the Elixir that the child who’s going to die anyway took…”
“Madam. Watch your words.”
Dang Gak cut off Madam Jo’s words in a cold voice.
“You seem to have forgotten that you were able to enter the Tang Clan because that child is sick. Young-ho may be the Young Patriarch, but the Eldest Son is Woon. Show respect to the family’s Eldest Son.”
Madam Jo, flinching at the rebuke that was close to a scolding, bit her lip while looking around.
‘That old man who was almost kicked out for envying the Patriarch his whole life is full of smooth talk.’
That snake-like old man had a knack for turning her stomach upside down with his affable face.
“…I understand.”
As Madam Jo answered in a reluctant voice, Dang Gak spoke gently as if coaxing a child.
“They say that a cunning tiger shows its claws at the end. Let the two children bite and tear at each other. Then, a good opportunity will soon come for Hwa-yeop.”
“Yes. That’s what I’ll have to do.”
‘That’s what you’ll have to do. That’s your use.’
Madam Jo, clenching her teeth and raising the corners of her lips, met Dang Gak’s gaze. Dang Gak’s wrinkled eyes seemed more sinister today.
“What Madam should be concerned about is not Woon. It’s the Poison King’s bastard.”
As Dang Gak changed the subject, Madam Jo’s expression became fierce again.
“Ha, is that bitch still alive? She has a tenacious life. She’s quite something, surviving even though I sent people twice. I should have killed her before she left Chengdu…”
“A messenger hawk was sent saying that Shaolin’s Beopgong had taken custody of the bastard. They asked if the Tang Clan was planning to attend the Alliance’s interrogation.”
“From Shaolin? What did Master say? Is he sending someone to attend?”
“Since someone like Beopgong contacted us directly, we can’t refuse his kindness. The Patriarch isn’t someone who would move himself, so he’ll send one of the Elders.”
“Then, how about the Grand Elder going himself? How about taking this opportunity to directly…”
