Chapter 99 – Heavenly Demon’s Disciple (21)
[Chapter 5 – Section 8] How Rude!
“…That’s weird.”
When the water bandits attacked in an organized manner during the boat ride, I was sure the Blood Demon would show up soon after.
But what the hell?
Even after we annihilated the bandits and the half-wrecked pleasure boat limped back to the nearest dock, everything stayed quiet.
“Young Master, what’s wrong?”
Mi-bong, whose favorability had shot up again after I mowed down the bandits, asked.
“The Blood Demon isn’t coming.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Normally, yes… but I don’t understand why a guy who’s crazy about beautiful women would completely ignore Miss Mi-bong.”
“Uh… does that mean Mi-bong should feel insulted right now?”
“You could say that.”
From a normal person’s perspective, it’s obviously better not to run into a sex offender and kidnapper, but this situation was a little different.
Plenty of inner energy, stamina overflowing!
If the enemies were aiming for Mi-bong’s life, I would never use her as bait, but I was 100% confident they couldn’t even scratch her, so I’d boldly set the trap.
‘And yet he’s not taking the bait?’
I could feel eyes watching me from across the river.
But this was Henan Province, known as the heart of the Central Plains. As befits the most prosperous area in the Central Plains, there were simply too many onlookers for me to pinpoint the exact location.
“Hmmm~”
“Young Master Kang! We can’t just give up like this! Mi-bong’s pride is on the line!”
“…You’re right.”
“We already enjoyed the boat ride, so how about fireworks next? We were originally going to watch them from the pleasure boat, but watching from a tall pavilion is romantic too.”
“Sounds good.”
To my modern eyes, used to high-rise buildings, it looked short, but considering they built it that high using only wood and no reinforced concrete, maybe that’s impressive enough?
With those useless thoughts in mind, we moved toward the bustling district.
***
People tend to think alike.
For example, the aquarium and the Parnaru restaurant where Song Sun-young and I had our first date were packed with couples.
Great view, atmosphere, food…
Places get chosen as date spots based on a comprehensive evaluation.
What about here?
“Young Hero Kang! That wine house has a superstition.”
“A superstition?”
That’s the kind of thing a shaman would say.
“Yes! They say if you drink while watching the fireworks from the sixth floor—the one with the best view—your love will come true!”
“Obvious marketing ploy.”
Athletes treat their bodies like weapons, so alcohol is strictly regulated. I’ve never drunk a drop, but I know the effects well.
Relaxed tension, impaired judgment, heightened emotions, loss of balance, memory loss, reduced self-control, loss of direction…
And all of those effects are helpful when trying to seduce someone with reason.
A drunk woman.
There’s a reason they appear in every drama without fail.
‘Sure… if you get swept up in the romantic atmosphere of a place with a great view and drink until you’re stuffed, the chances of “love coming true” do skyrocket.’
Definitely a marketing scam.
“Young Master Kang! Over here!”
“…There sure are a lot of people who look loaded.”
“Hehe! Don’t worry. I made a decent amount from the martial arts tournament.”
Jingle!
The beautiful sound coming from Mi-bong’s wallet was incredibly reassuring.
“I’ll leave it to you, Miss Mi-bong.”
Even though I had a terrifying girlfriend, this materialistic part of me couldn’t stop Mi-bong’s favorability from rising.
“Don’t ignore me either!”
Jingle!
The little Fist King, who I’d brought along as insurance to protect Mi-bong in an emergency, proudly showed off her own fat wallet.
“…I’m counting on you both.”
They say the bear does the tricks while the trainer takes the money, right?
That bear was exactly me right now.
“I’m very sorry, dear customers. The fifth and sixth floors are fully booked today, so we can only offer the fourth floor.”
The tavern owner suggested the fourth floor in an extremely apologetic tone.
At that moment—
“Do you have any idea who this girl is?”
Mi-bong, face twisted in displeasure, started throwing her weight around.
“Uh… My apologies. It’s my first time seeing such a lovely young lady…”
“It’s Mi-bong.”
“Yes…?”
“Mi-bong, I said. Every single tavern I’ve ever visited has struck it rich afterward. Still not good enough?”
“…I’m truly sorry. Trust is everything in this business.”
“It’s Mi-bong. You’d better think carefully.”
“B-but even so…”
The tavern owner looked so pitiful that I quietly stepped in.
“Miss Mi-bong, let’s just go somewhere else.”
“But—!”
“If we waste time here, the other places might fill up too.”
“Ugh… fine.”
When I gently took her hand and pulled, she followed without resistance.
“We can come back here tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow there won’t be any fireworks, so we’d have to wait forever.”
“Hmm. Then there’s nothing we can do.”
“Just you wait! This place is going to be known as the worst tavern that ever kicked Mi-bong out and go bankrupt in no time!”
“Haha…”
“I’m serious!”
“Yes, yes.”
Normally I’d laugh it off, but when the second-most beautiful woman in the Central Plains holds a grudge, it doesn’t sound like mere whining.
We were about to head to the neighboring tavern when—
“W-wait! Miss Mi-bong! This lowly one was wrong!”
“Huh?”
The tavern owner—one eye swollen purple—came running and shouted.
“The sixth floor is impossible, but there’s a VIP room on the fifth that’s currently under repair! If that’s acceptable, please allow me to serve you there!”
“It’s the fifth floor.”
“But I’ll provide all the liquor and food for free! Please have mercy on me just this once! If you leave now, the real owner will beat me to death!”
“No way. Love won’t come true on the fifth floor.”
Mi-bong was ruthless—heartless as stone!
She was completely obsessed with what was obviously a marketing superstition.
I had no choice but to intervene again.
“Miss Mi-bong.”
“No.”
“It is the fifth floor, but they said the drinks and food are free.”
“No.”
“I understand how you feel. Ignoring Mi-bong like this? This tavern is as rude as the Blood Demon.”
“Exactly!”
“So let’s go.”
“No!”
Yet even as she kept saying no, her body followed obediently the moment I tugged her hand.
“Th-thank you so much!”
The man I’d thought was the owner bowed so deeply he was practically in tears.
“Please lead the way.”
“Yes! Right this way!”
Thanks to Mi-bong’s tyranny, we failed to get the sixth floor, but we were escorted to a recently destroyed fifth-floor VIP room—wrecked by some drunken martial artist.
As expected of a VIP room, the exterior was gorgeous.
They seemed to have hastily boarded up the holes in the floor and covered them with carpets.
“They’re basically telling us the soundproofing isn’t perfect, so be careful.”
“Why soundproofing?”
“Because you never know what a drunk man and woman might get up to.”
“Oh my!”
We ordered mountains of liquor and side dishes and waited for the fireworks.
“The view is still amazing.”
“I wanted the sixth floor…”
The little Fist King looked at us sitting face-to-face by the window as if we were ridiculous, but we cleanly ignored her.
Clack, clack, clack…
Dish after dish came out until the large table was completely full.
“My apologies. The reserved guests have arrived, so from now on even if you order, it will take a very long time.”
The man with the bruised eye kept bowing, begging for understanding.
“It’s fine.”
“No helping it.”
With a bit of alcohol in her system, Mi-bong’s mood finally softened and she forgave him.
“Thank you! Miss Mi-bong, and both young masters! Please have a wonderful time!”
Whoosh~
Not long after the man left the VIP room—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM~!
Compared to modern fireworks, they were pathetic, but the city was so dark overall that they looked even more dazzling.
“Wooow!”
At some point, Mi-bong had wrapped her arms around mine and was resting her head on my shoulder.
Her eyes, watching the fireworks, were dreamy and hazy, as if she were lost in a beautiful dream.
“……”
When I wake up from this dream, should I ask Song Sun-young to go watch fireworks together?
Even while thinking that Mi-bong would be upset if she knew, I kept watching the show.
“That’s why the young ones always…”
“Gorgeous.”
“So pretty.”
“In the martial world, the ones who go on about love are always the first to die.”
I let the little Fist King’s curses slide in one ear and out the other as he vacuumed up the liquor and food like a starving ghost, and just enjoyed the fireworks.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ceiling shook as if someone was trying to ruin the romantic mood.
“Talk about inconsiderate.”
“…What on earth are they doing up there?”
Unlike me, who was frowning, Mi-bong’s eyes sparkled with pure, intense curiosity.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
CREAK! CREAK! CREAK!
The noise grew louder and louder, as if the ceiling might collapse any second.
“I guess I’ll go up and say something.”
This is definitely not because I’m curious about the sixth floor.
“Young Master! I’m coming too!”
“Me too!”
Mi-bong and the Fist King both jumped to their feet.
“It would be rude for all of us to barge up there at once, so I’ll go alone.”
“That’s not fair!”
“You jerk!”
I brushed off their complaints and headed for the sixth floor.
“Stop right there.”
A man guarding the stairs blocked my path.
“I have a message to deliver.”
“Say it here.”
“Tell them the ceiling is shaking—could they please keep it down a little?”
“Is that an order?”
“It’s a request.”
“Get lost while I’m still asking nicely. Unless you want to die.”
The guard jerked his chin toward the surroundings.
‘Whoa.’
The entire fifth floor was packed with men wearing identical outfits.
Right at that moment—
“Gasp!”
A guy who’d been drinking with his buddies locked eyes with me and jolted so hard he dropped his cup.
Crash!
Every head in the room turned toward the sound of shattering porcelain.
“Wha—guh?!”
I used the opening to grab the guard by the throat and sprint up the stairs.
“…Success.”
The sixth floor felt completely different from the moment I stepped in.
Dreamlike? Enchanting?
Translucent crimson silk curtains hung everywhere like veils, fragrant smoke curled from censers that stung the nose, and there were blatantly erotic artworks on display.
“Intrud—!”
Thock.
I knocked him out with a flick to the forehead and let him drop.
“…Now I understand why Mi-bong was so obsessed with the sixth floor.”
Compared to the merely upscale fifth floor, this place was on another level entirely.
Swish~ swish~
I pushed aside the crimson silk that blocked my view and stepped forward.
“Pardon the interruption.”
Ahead of me, still oblivious to my presence, were the silhouettes of a man and woman locked in a passionate embrace.
‘Holy—!’
They were tangled together so tightly, writhing with such fervor, that they hadn’t noticed me at all!
I suddenly felt a little bad for interrupting.
“Excuse me.”
At the sound of my voice, the couple froze mid-motion.
“Who the hell are you?!”
The man’s silhouette detached from the woman and snatched up the sword that had been lying nearby, his tone threatening.
Definitely a martial artist.
We were speaking through two layers of translucent crimson silk.
“I’m a guest from the fifth floor. The ceiling’s shaking too much.”
“…And?”
“This is a shared space. Could you keep it down a little?”
“And if I don’t feel like it?”
His mocking tone made me frown on reflex.
Then, just to provoke me further—
BOOM! BOOM!
—he started stomping on the floor even harder.
“Well, damn…”
What an incredibly rude guy. The woman beside him, on the other hand, at least knew some manners.
“A kid is telling you it’s too loud! Have you lived all those years for nothing? Learn some shame!”
“Hmph! Says the hag who’s aging right along with me.”
“This lady is twenty years old.”
“Ha! A shameless wench like you wants to become a bodhisattva? The whole world would laugh!”
“Laugh all you want. I’ll cut that ugly head off right now.”
“Hahaha! Try it if you can.”
They instantly forgot I existed and started bickering with each other. Talking was clearly hopeless.
‘Guess there’s no helping it.’
They had rented out the entire fifth and sixth floors. We were the ones who had forced our way into the fifth floor like uninvited guests.
“My apologies for the intrusion.”
There were plenty of other decent taverns around. I didn’t want to cause a scene over something this trivial. Just as I turned to leave—
“Hey! You’re ruining the fireworks because of all the noise!”
Mi-bong, furious at the man’s provocation, stormed up to the sixth floor.
“And who the hell are you…?”
“I’m Mi-bong!”
“Mi-bong?!”
The man visibly panicked.
Emboldened, Mi-bong raised her voice even louder.
“Now that you understand, vacate the sixth floor for us immediately and get lost!”
—completely revealing her true colors!
At that moment—
“Mi-bong! Run, right now…!”
The woman who had been arguing with the man suddenly shouted in desperation.
“Shut your mouth!”
“Kyaa?!”
The startled man viciously kicked the frail woman’s body.
CRASH.
“What are you doing…?”
Mi-bong, utterly shocked, covered her mouth with both hands and widened her eyes in horror.
And I said,
“Blood Demon?”
“…You’ve got the wrong guy.”
“Oh?”
I leaped toward the man as he slowly backed away toward the window.
CRACK—!
The wooden floor of the sixth story screamed, but I ignored it—I could pay for the damages later.
Flutter~
I swept aside the two layers of crimson silk that had separated us.
“Damn it!”
“Finally found you.”
I gave the flustered Blood Demon the biggest, brightest smile I could muster.
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