Chapter 38
Episode 38
Adapting to the suddenly changed environment was not easy.
Of course, that was just in my mind. My body was very comfortably enjoying the pleasure of rising in status.
A life of washing with water brought by others, eating food prepared by others, and lying in bedding laid out by others!
Buried in the cozy bedding and rolling around, I felt as if all the past grievances were melting away.
However, there were also things that did not change.
"Young Miss. Wake up."
"Ugh. No."
"Get up quickly. The Grand Elder told me to wake you up early."
Songji slapped my back as I rolled around on the bed.
Ouch. Songji. I'm still your Young Miss, can you really do this?
As I sat on the bed with a pout, Songji brought a brass basin of water for me to wash my face.
"Wash your face first, and then quickly change your clothes."
Her voice was cheerful.
On the first day she came to the detached palace, she was awkward and didn't know what to do, but now she seemed to be used to my status.
'Young Miss. D, did you cough...?'
'Songji. Please, just be like before.'
'But how dare I...'
'Please. Please! I'm getting goosebumps right now. We're not like that.'
'...Really? Is that okay?'
There were many twists and turns, but I'm glad she adapted quickly.
Kyung-ah also hesitantly offered something from the side.
"Ah, Young Miss... After washing... You have to... Wear this..."
"What is this?"
"Martial arts uniform. The Grand Elder told me to make you wear the martial arts uniform as soon as you open your eyes and send you to his residence."
"Huh? As soon as I open my eyes? Without even eating breakfast?"
"Yes. Please go quickly. The Bodyguard is also waiting outside."
Songji's answer made me feel uneasy.
Why did he tell me to wear a martial arts uniform? Is he going to make me roll around in the training ground from the crack of dawn?
I quickly got ready and went outside, and saw Deokju waiting for me with a stiff posture.
He looked like a new recruit with a tight military spirit.
"Deokju. You can be more comfortable."
"I'm fine."
"I'm going to Grandfather's residence. Do you want to go together?"
"You don't need to tell me where you're going. I will follow wherever Young Miss goes."
"...Oh, I see. Then let's go."
I mumbled and awkwardly moved my feet.
Grand Elder. This friend is too much of a burden.
* * *
The edges of the dim sky were turning red. The cool morning air filled my lungs.
It was my first time visiting Dang Jung's residence at such an early hour.
He must be awake by now, right?
I hesitated in front of the main gate of the building and gently knocked on the door.
"Grandfather. May I come in?"
"Yes."
At the cheerful reply, I opened the door and saw Dang Jung feeding the carp in the pond.
He glanced at me and chuckled.
"You can just come in, what wind is blowing that you're being so polite?"
If you say that, it sounds like I usually barge in without any manners.
...Didn't I make a sound? I did. I did.
As I rolled my eyes, trying to recall, Dang Jung poured the remaining feed into the pond and approached me.
"How is the pond that Geun-myeong dug? It's seamless, isn't it?"
"Yes. It's seamless. It looks like it was originally there."
"I knew it. That guy has quite the knack for it."
Isn't it because the Grand Elder makes him do all sorts of things? You use people like a Swiss Army knife.
Recalling Dang Geunmyeong, who flawlessly completed every task he was given, I wondered how much his monthly salary was.
If he's a talent who handles escorting, attending, managing the palace, and even civil engineering, his monthly salary must be enormous, right?
"You're thinking strange things again."
Dang Jung clicked his tongue and picked me up. I hung on his shoulder like stretched-out dough.
"I have something to show you today."
"You have something to show me?"
"Yes. It's the place that is the root of the Tang Clan."
He said proudly.
The place Dang Jung took me was a small shrine where the ancestral tablets of the Tang Clan were enshrined.
The building, which had a sign that read "Ancestral Shrine," emitted a strange fragrance mixed with the smell of old wood and incense.
I was curious about the solemn atmosphere and looked around, and Dang Jung warned me.
"Be quiet. This is where the ancestors are resting."
He respectfully put his hands together and went to the center of the shrine to light a new incense stick.
Thin smoke rose into the air.
Dang Jung, after placing the incense in the incense burner, looked up at the old portrait hanging in the center with a serious face.
In the faded portrait, a middle-aged man with sharp eyes was depicted.
Is that man the founder of the Tang Clan?
Blood is thicker than water, so the sharp and pointed impressions of the Tang Clan people must all be due to the influence of that man.
"Offer three kowtows to the clan's founder."
"Three kowtows?"
"It means to bow deeply three times."
Hello, ancestors.
As I bowed deeply three times towards the old portrait as instructed, Dang Jung pointed to an old tablet in the corner again.
"Pay your respects to your martial arts founder in the same way. He is my teacher."
Surprised, I asked back.
"Huh? Grandfather, you had a teacher too?"
"Of course. Who doesn't have a teacher?"
I had the impression that you started throwing Hidden Weapons as soon as you were born.
I couldn't imagine that Dang Jung had an immature childhood.
He stroked the old tablet with a wistful face.
"He was half-crazy with Poison. I'll remember the day he beat me up for saying I wouldn't eat Poison and put me in a Poison jar overnight until the day I go to my coffin."
...He's not half-crazy, he's just crazy. Someone could die.
Pretending not to hear, I bowed and stood up, and Dang Jung asked with a smile.
"Do you know why you are bowing?"
"I don't really know."
"You are performing the ceremony of apprenticeship. You are paying respects to me in order to serve this grandfather as your teacher."
Come to think of it, I think I've seen scenes in martial arts novels where they bow when forming a master-disciple relationship.
"If you bow to this grandfather three times for the last time, you will become my disciple in name and reality. Everyone will consider you the successor of this Poison King."
At the serious voice, I swallowed hard.
Dang Jung had taken me as his disciple, but so far, no one properly knew the relationship between me and Dang Jung.
However, if the fact that I performed the ceremony of apprenticeship became known, and I began to receive Dang Jung's teachings in earnest, there was no doubt that checks and balances would begin.
"Grandfather. I'm not the only disciple, am I?"
"The other guys are all dead, so you're the only one, right?"
"...Ah."
I asked a tactless question again.
As I scratched my head awkwardly, Dang Jung flicked my forehead.
"Do you think this grandfather would accept just anyone as a disciple? This grandfather hasn't taken in a disciple since that Cheon-gi bastard, I mean, the Grand Patriarch, died."
"Huh? The Grand Patriarch?"
"Yes. That guy was good at throwing Feather Needles when he was young, so I taught him. Was it about seventy years ago...?"
So that's why he treats the Patriarch so casually. He was a disciple son before he was a descendant.
I was amazed by the unexpected history for a moment, but then I suddenly became scared.
To be the disciple of an absolute master who raised the Patriarch was a position that was more than burdensome, it was terrifying.
Dang Jung chuckled as my face darkened.
"You can't take it back whether you want to or not. Didn't I already go to the Council of Elders and declare that I would take you as my disciple? Don't be afraid and just finish bowing."
"Ehhh."
"What do you mean ehhh? You've become more spoiled."
He smiled blandly and nodded his chin as if to tell me to bow quickly.
As Dang Jung said, it was too far to turn back. Isn't there a saying that if you can't avoid it, enjoy it?
Now that it's come to this, it was better to close my eyes and suck up all the privileges I could enjoy as his disciple.
I took a deep breath and lowered my body until my forehead touched the floor.
Even though I knew it was a formal procedure, my heart was beating fast for some reason.
One bow.
Two bows.
Three bows.
As I slowly raised my head, Dang Jung held out his hand to me with a satisfied face. I took Dang Jung's hand and stood up.
"Child. Do you remember what grandfather said?"
"You told me to stand out?"
"That's right. What else did I say?"
"You said that the more attention people pay to me, the safer I become."
"Yes. So go ahead and make a fuss. You are the only disciple of the Poison King, after all."
Dang Jung smiled confidently, revealing his teeth.
As I smiled and nodded, Dang Jung added.
"But a Martial Artist speaks with martial prowess. To be called the disciple of the Poison King, you must have the skills to match. I can't stand to see someone I taught getting beaten up outside."
"Does that mean..."
"Let's go train."
"...Yes."
Dang Jung, who had declared, picked me up. I obediently entrusted my body to his hands.
* * *
At the same time, Dang Gak, the Grand Elder of the Tang Clan, was not in a good mood.
It hadn't been long since he had been humiliated at the Council of Elders and had sleepless nights, but he was annoyed to have to listen to the lamentations of a mere commoner.
"Hwayeop is already of marriageable age, and Juyeop has also had his coming-of-age ceremony. But you still won't give them a Deputy Leader position. What makes our children worse than Youngho that you discriminate against them?"
The shrill voice of Madam Jo brought on fatigue.
There's a limit to greed, does she even know what a Deputy Leader position is to dare discuss it?
Dang Gak wanted to twist the neck of the woman who was talking without knowing her place.
But he had to endure it. That's why he kept her by his side, because she didn't know her place.
Isn't it called using a borrowed knife to kill?
The woman was a tool to clean up the surroundings without dirtying his hands.
If he used the foolish mother's greed to cut down the Patriarch's seeds one by one, his grandson would easily take over the family.
So he had no choice but to be patient now.
Controlling his mind, Dang Gak put on a kind smile.
"Haha, the Patriarch must have his reasons. Everyone knows that Youngho is lacking. He will give Hwayeop a chance soon."
"Is he just lacking? He's a disgrace to the family. Why does my husband cherish such a fool?"
"He's being special because he's his first son. He'll soon admit that Hwayeop is better, so don't be so angry."
Dang Gak soothed her with pleasant words, and Madam Jo's agitation, which had been snorting, subsided.
"Yes. My husband will soon realize that Hwayeop is the only one who is fit to lead the Tang Clan."
A sneer that it would never happen leaked out, but Dang Gak tried his best to maintain his composure.
"The important thing is not that. I heard that the Illegitimate Son who was recently registered has Immunity to all poisons?"
"That's right. The Poison King himself said he would personally teach him."
"That's ridiculous. Why would the old man, who has never taught any of the Patriarch's children, come forward to teach an Illegitimate Son now?"
Madam Jo bit her lip viciously.
"That child. We must deal with him before he becomes a problem."
"I agree. If the Poison King tries to make him his successor, things will get complicated. Let's look for a suitable opportunity."
Dang Gak nodded and gave a bitter smile.
