At Jin Muryang’s voice transmission, the other two nodded in agreement.
They had only been talking for a moment when—
PA-PA-PA-PAT—
A series of impacts rang out.
They knew exactly what the sound meant, so none of them paid it much attention.
Cheon Hyanghwa, however, suddenly shot to her feet and peered out the window again. A moment later, she let out a relieved breath.
The three men already knew how things outside must have ended. They were far more interested in watching her reaction.
—She looks completely smitten.
—Could that be why Baek Ryeongso opened his textile shop there?
—Come on. Surely that’s just a coincidence.
—Maybe not. What if he keeps looking around because of that woman, not because of Elder Brother?
—No, no. If it were because of her, he wouldn’t look around so tensely. You’ve seen how nervous he gets every time he checks his surroundings. He’s definitely checking whether Elder Brother is around. Didn’t you do the same? I did.
—So did I.
Jeok Wigang gave them an incredulous look.
—Did you really want to avoid me that badly?
—Yes.
The answer came without hesitation.
—Even now?
—No.
—Then that’s fine.
Jeok Wigang did not dwell on the past.
What was over was over.
He was the sort of man who cared far more about the present.
And right now, the present was becoming rather entertaining.
—Baek Ryeongso might not even know that woman exists.
—Probably not. If she’s that deeply infatuated, she must have had him make clothes for her.
—You think so?
Jeok Wigang poked his head up to see what Baek Ryeongso was doing, only to find that everything outside had already been cleaned up and Baek Ryeongso had gone back inside.
Judging by how restless Cheon Hyanghwa looked, something had clearly happened.
“What are you so nervous about?”
“What? I-I mean... You didn’t see?”
“No. We were ducking down.”
“Why?”
“Hm?”
“Why are you watching that textile shop?”
“Because we have a reason. What about you? Why are you watching it?”
“I have a reason too!”
“Does that place make good clothes?”
“Yes!”
“And that outfit you’re wearing came from there?”
“Yes!”
So she really had ordered clothes from him.
“Looks nice.”
“Right? I’ve worn all kinds of clothes, but I’ve never had anything this comfortable before.”
“Is that so? Is that why you fell head over heels for the shopkeeper?”
“Yes!”
Got her.
The instant Cheon Hyanghwa realized what she had just said, she clapped both hands over her mouth.
“So what happened just now that had you looking so serious?”
“The textile shop owner... He subdued those martial artists in an instant and dragged them inside. What should I do?”
“Why is that a problem?”
“What if someone reports him and gets him in trouble?”
Ah.
So that was what she was worried about.
“You’re not worried he might get hurt?”
“The textile shop owner is strong! There’s no way a bunch of small fry like that could hurt him.”
Ye Yahyeon sent another voice transmission.
—Oh? So she knows Baek Ryeongso is strong.
—Given how skilled she is with sound arts, she should be capable of recognizing at least that much.
—Then what exactly is she worried about?
Apparently unaware of their silent conversation, Cheon Hyanghwa sighed.
“What if the authorities get involved? What if the textile shop ends up closing because of this...?”
Ah.
So that was what she was worried about.
“What do you want to do?”
“I think we’ve watched long enough. Let’s go meet him.”
The moment Jeok Wigang rose, Cheon Hyanghwa stepped in front of him.
“What are you doing? Are you saying you’re going to meet the textile shop owner now?”
“Yeah.”
“Who exactly are you?”
“People who know him.”
“Do I look like an idiot?”
“What?”
“People who know him don’t hide and spy on him like this.”
“We lost touch for a long time. We wanted to see how he’d been living before approaching him.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe whatever you want. Could you move?”
“No!”
“If you move, I’ll tell him about you too.”
“What? T-Tell him what?”
“That you like him.”
Cheon Hyanghwa’s face instantly turned scarlet, and she buried it in her hands.
“W-What are you talking about?!”
She practically shrieked the words.
But no answer came.
Cheon Hyanghwa lowered her hands and looked ahead.
All three men were gone.
When had they...?
They were experts.
No wonder her sound art had done nothing to them.
Wait.
They hadn’t come here because they meant the textile shop owner harm, had they?
Countless worries flooded her mind.
But the one that frightened her most was—
I’ll tell him you like him.
“No! Don’t!”
What if he really told him?
Face burning bright red, Cheon Hyanghwa hurried downstairs.
Inside the textile shop, one man sat deep in thought.
Just as Jeok Wigang had suspected, he was one of the Four Divine Demons: Baek Ryeongso, the Formation-Annihilating Divine Demon.
What troubled him now was what to do with the martial artists he had captured.
Should he kill them?
Or dump them somewhere deserted?
Killing them would make disposal troublesome.
In the old days, he could have simply tossed the bodies wherever he pleased.
He could no longer do that.
“Haah... Flies keep gathering around me. I can’t let word about me spread any further....”
Things were already troublesome enough with his reputation improving.
He had deliberately acted unreasonable, lost his temper, cursed at customers, and treated them badly in hopes of driving business away.
Instead, people called it distinctive and loved him for it.
“Lunatics....”
He could not understand them.
There was, of course, one foolproof way to reduce his customers.
He could make bad clothes.
“That’s out of the question.”
The clothes had done nothing wrong.
He could not bring himself to commit such a sin against innocent garments.
“Should I move somewhere else and start over?”
There was one thing holding him back.
Baek Ryeongso looked through the small shop window toward the Drunken Blossom House.
For a moment, his gaze turned wistful.
Then he sighed.
“Haah... I’m getting ridiculous too....”
At first, he had intended to leave.
But his heart would not let him.
He could neither bring himself to make shoddy clothing nor leave this place, so he had resorted to treating customers badly.
And somehow even that had become part of his appeal and made him more famous.
While he was agonizing over the problem, his expression abruptly hardened.
He rose from his seat and muttered,
“Quite a lot of visitors today.”
The door opened.
Someone stepped inside.
This one was no pushover.
In fact, he was the strongest person Baek Ryeongso had encountered since settling here.
“Are you here to buy clothes?”
“No. I came to see an old friend.”
“Then you came to the wrong place. I have no friends.”
“That can’t be true. We were once called a calamity upon the Central Plains, remember?”
At those words, Baek Ryeongso stared at the man in the doorway in shock.
“This presence... Ye Yahyeon?”
“Been well?”
“H-How did you find me here?”
“You’ve become rather famous.”
“Damn it! I knew it was because of those rumors!”
“If you’re going to alter your bone structure, you should change it properly. Why make yourself look barely different from before?”
“I changed it a lot!”
“Good grief. You can make incredible clothes, but you’re hopeless when it comes to your own body.”
“You think a body and a piece of clothing are the same thing? Did you come alone?”
“No.”
“Who else came?”
The door opened again.
“Long time no see.”
“You’re... Jin Muryang?”
“Heh heh. Good to see you.”
“Wow. The two of you actually came looking for me? I’m touched. So? What have you been doing all this time?”
“I was the leader of an assassin organization.”
“I’m a commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”
“Hm? W-Wait. You were the leader of an assassin organization? As in, you aren’t {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} anymore?”
“Right. I established a new sect called the Escort Sect. I’m its Gate Master now.”
“I see. The Escort Sect? That doesn’t suit you in the slightest. Which makes it the perfect hiding place. And you... a commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard? You?”
Baek Ryeongso looked utterly unconvinced.
“Where could I hide more perfectly than the imperial palace?”
“Fair point. No one would ever imagine that. I certainly didn’t.”
“Just like no one would imagine you making clothes.”
“True.”
“But you got caught.”
“Hm?”
“So did I.”
“Uh...?”
Caught by whom?
Baek Ryeongso’s face tightened, anxiety creeping into his eyes.
“No.”
“What?”
“When you said you got caught.... You don’t mean... by Elder Brother, do you? You didn’t come here to capture me because of him, right?”
“That’s exactly it.”
“What? You did? You damned traitors!”
Baek Ryeongso immediately moved to bolt from the shop.
CREEEAK—
The door opened yet again.
Baek Ryeongso’s pupils shook violently.
Before him stood a face he could never have forgotten, not even in his dreams.
“Long time no see.”
Jeok Wigang stood there with a faint grin.
“URK!”
Baek Ryeongso nearly swallowed his breath in shock.
He instantly grabbed a cord behind him and yanked.
KRRRRIK—
Something began to move.
“Elder Brother. I’m terribly sorry, but perhaps we should meet again another time.”
“Where are you going?”
“I apologize. There’s somewhere I need to be.”
“I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere.”
“I created this formation specifically for this day. Even you should have to put in some effort to escape it, Elder Brother.”
“Really? But doesn’t the formation need this?”
“Huh?”
A black gemstone rested in Jeok Wigang’s hand.
“Doesn’t the formation run on the energy of the Heavenly Convergence Meteorite?”
“W-When did you...?”
“Why do you think I sent these two in first?”
There really was no beating him.
In that case, there was only one thing Baek Ryeongso could do.
“Hehe! Elder Brother! I-It was a joke! You know me. I’ve always loved joking around.”
“A joke? You startled me. I would’ve been genuinely disappointed if you were trying to run away from me again.”
“What a hurtful thing to say! Where would I possibly go and leave you behind, Elder Brother?”
“You already ran away from me once.”
“T-That was... f-for my dream. Look! This is why I left. I wanted to make clothes. I swear.”
He sounded desperate.
“All right. I’ll let it go this time.”
“Th-Thank you.”
What?
He was forgiving him that easily?
Getting away without a beating somehow made Baek Ryeongso feel uneasy.
Ye Yahyeon and Jin Muryang immediately picked up on it. Both grinned at Jeok Wigang.
“Looks like he’s disappointed he didn’t get another taste of Elder Brother’s fists.”
“Hm? Is that so?”
Baek Ryeongso recoiled and frantically waved both hands.
“N-No! Not at all! I’m not disappointed in the slightest!”
“I’m stronger than I used to be. Want a taste?”
What?
He had already been absurdly powerful back then.
And he had become even stronger?
Baek Ryeongso stared blankly at Jeok Wigang in shock while Ye Yahyeon and Jin Muryang patted him consolingly.
“Why are you so surprised? You knew this would happen.”
“He could actually get stronger than that?”
“Apparently. Oh! I use sorcery now too.”
“What?”
“It’s called the Five-Elements Mantra Art. I modified the magic of the Pasa Kingdom to suit me.”
He had gone and created something entirely new.
“Elder Brother can do just about anything with sorcery now. He does everything.”
Everything?
Baek Ryeongso turned a questioning look toward Ye Yahyeon.
“What else would I mean? There’s basically nothing he can’t do anymore. He can use voice transmission, channel energy into formations....”
“Did you develop a dantian?”
“No. I engraved a formation into my heart.”
“What?”
“Well, we can talk about the details later. I hear you’ve become famous for making good clothes?”
Baek Ryeongso’s face twisted.
So it really was his fame that had given him away.
He should have left this place sooner.
“I want to sell some of your clothes.”
“What?”
What was that supposed to mean?
“Sign a contract with me.”
“What?”
“I’m a Merchant Master now.”
“Whaaat?”
Baek Ryeongso could do nothing but stare.
“I heard other merchant companies tried to sign you and you rejected every one of them.”
He even knew about that.
“Good job. Thanks to that, you’re still available for me.”
Baek Ryeongso had not actually agreed to anything yet.
“Why? You don’t want to?”
Jeok Wigang’s expression hardened.
Baek Ryeongso flinched and immediately answered.
“What? N-No! Of course I do! I-I’m just so happy I don’t know what to say.”
“Thought so.”
He wanted to cry.
At least there was one consolation.
He would still be able to keep making the clothes he loved.
Yes.
That alone was something.
“But you....”
Baek Ryeongso tensed.
What now?
“Did you open your shop in front of the Drunken Blossom House because of... Cheon Hyanghwa?”
“What? N-No.”

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