Chapter 28

Come to think of it, it would have been more strange for such a grand mansion not to have a formation for security. Having no choice, Cheong-ra stopped walking and looked around. The scenery looked ordinary, but if he had the misfortune of stepping into a death trap, he might lose his life. As he was pacing back and forth anxiously, he heard footsteps from somewhere. Quickly turning his head, he saw Silver Lotus Twin Claws Hwan-hong.

"You're awake."

Hwan-hong, who had been staring at Cheong-ra expressionlessly, soon smiled brightly.

"Come this way. The Lord is waiting for you."

Hesitating, Cheong-ra had no choice but to follow Hwan-hong. There was no other way to escape the formation. As he followed Hwan-hong, the air suddenly felt different, as if they had escaped the formation. At the same time, a delicious smell wafted from somewhere. Having been starving since yesterday's lunch and having gone through various hardships, his body suddenly cried out in hunger.

Hwan-hong guided Cheong-ra to an inner room. He had wondered where the food smell was coming from, and there was a lavish table set up right there. Dang Ran-yeong, despite the morning sun having risen, was still in disheveled sleepwear, lazily leaning on a chair, lost in deep thought.

There were two more men beside Dang Ran-yeong. One of them was sitting on a chair like Dang Ran-yeong, with a handsome and refined appearance, while the other had narrow eyes and was standing with his arms crossed.

As Cheong-ra entered, the two men's gazes turned towards him. They glanced at him with cold and indifferent eyes, then turned their heads away. Hwan-hong had said the Lord was waiting for him, but Dang Ran-yeong didn't even look in his direction.

Being completely ignored was unfamiliar and somewhat unpleasant, but considering where he was, it wasn't something to get angry about. He just wanted to leave this mansion as soon as possible and reassure Geum-hye and Mu-gwang.

"Then I'll keep that in mind for now."

Dang Ran-yeong, sitting arrogantly as if he were a feudal lord or a king, replied in an annoyed tone.

"Do as you please."

"Don't say anything different later, Ran-yeong."

The man earnestly advised, but Dang Ran-yeong pretended not to hear. Cheong-ra, who had been listening to their conversation without much thought, frowned. He hadn't noticed due to the backlight, but now he saw that one of the other men had very short, cropped hair. Seeing that hair reminded him of someone.

There was a rumor that Dang Ran-yeong had made a monk from Shaolin break his vows. Could it be that expelled monk...?

Before Cheong-ra's thought could continue, Dang Ran-yeong gestured with his hand, calling him in a tone devoid of any sincerity. Cheong-ra stood firmly at the entrance of the inner room, not budging an inch, and only sent a wary gaze. Seeing that, a smile appeared on Dang Ran-yeong's bored face. It was as if he was looking down on him with interest, saying, "Look at this."

"Come here and have a meal."

"No need. If you're not keeping me captive to kill me and destroy the evidence, I'd like to leave now."

Cheong-ra judged that Dang Ran-yeong had no intention of killing him. Although he had suffered because he had dumped the assassins on him, Dang Ran-yeong didn't seem to be very angry. Even if he was, it must have been resolved last night when he beat him up. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had such a joyful look in his eyes while beating him.

Cheong-ra had also pounced on Dang Ran-yeong and clawed at him, unable to resist his desire, but he didn't want to be swayed by his desires anymore. The guilt he felt towards Geum-hye and Mu-gwang had grown stronger than the desire to satisfy his cravings.

The only thing that bothered him was the suspicion that the expelled disciples from the sect might be connected to Dang Ran-yeong. No matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem like Dang Ran-yeong was following him around because he liked his appearance.

'I'm sorry to Martial Sister and Mu-gwang, but should I endure a little longer here and try to gather information...?'

Anyway, for now, it seemed like neither he nor Dang Ran-yeong had any particular grudges against each other, so he thought it would be okay to stay a little longer. Even as he thought that, Cheong-ra hesitated, not being able to guarantee that his own self-interest wasn't mixed into this judgment.

"The noble Moonlight Beauty Sword isn't broken even after being beaten to the point of losing consciousness, is he?"

Dang Ran-yeong chuckled, seeing Cheong-ra's upright attitude. At those words, the expelled monk looked surprised for the first time and glanced back. Dang Ran-yeong, who had been laughing absurdly, suddenly turned serious and commanded.

"Sit down and eat if you don't want your legs broken. As I said before, I don't warn twice."

Cheong-ra thought it was just in time, but he didn't show it outwardly. Biting his lips, he reluctantly approached the table full of food, pretending to be unwilling. Above all, that man was the type to do what he said, so he couldn't return to Geum-hye and Mu-gwang with broken legs.

Even in this situation, Dang Ran-yeong was still attractive, so Cheong-ra glared at him, feeling annoyed and angry, wanting to overturn the table. Then he blinked his eyes. Now that he looked closely, each dish was beautifully arranged, with vibrant colors and a very pleasant aroma.

Being hungry, he had the urge to put something in his mouth quickly. However, not wanting to eat in a sloppy manner, Cheong-ra suppressed his appetite and took a sip of tea first.

His eyes widened as he swallowed a mouthful of tea without much thought. It was a high-quality Dragon Well tea (Longjing tea) that would only be served in the imperial palace, with a subtle fragrance that was too precious to simply drink during a meal.

Cheong-ra, whose expression had softened without him realizing, tightened it again and glanced at Dang Ran-yeong and the others with only his eyes. They were chatting and eating among themselves, not paying any attention to Cheong-ra as if he didn't exist. After confirming their complete lack of interest in him, Cheong-ra quietly picked up the chopsticks.

First, he took a small spoonful of the white noodles made with chicken broth and chewed them thoroughly. The noodles were savory and sweet, without any stale smell, naturally whetting his appetite. He picked up a small portion of the nearest stir-fried vegetables and put it in his mouth. The dish was well-balanced, with fresh vegetables lightly coated in oil.

Next, he enjoyed the taste of the braised chicken with a reddish seasoning, the glossy stir-fried pork with cherries, and the three treasures from earth (a Chinese dish made of stir-fried potatoes, eggplants, and sweet peppers) filled with seafood and vegetables, his sharp eyes that had been on guard completely softening. Even though he had grown up eating well in Moon Lake Sect, it was difficult to encounter such luxurious food since the sect's nature was closer to that of a Zen sect.

Trying his best not to eat hastily, Cheong-ra focused on his meal when he suddenly felt a piercing gaze and looked up. However, as if it had been his imagination, Dang Ran-yeong was eating his food half-heartedly, yawning and drinking tea, while the other two were silently eating their meals. Cheong-ra felt relieved and continued his meal.

It was a quite, no, a very satisfying meal. Cheong-ra, who was inwardly pleased, finally took a sip of Longjing tea to cleanse his palate and opened his mouth. His expression, which had been softly relaxed throughout the meal, was once again stiff and guarded.

"Now that I've finished eating, I can leave, right?"

Separate from the satisfying meal, Cheong-ra was inwardly disappointed. He had hoped to gather information, but no one had said much. Dang Ran-yeong's attitude of being completely indifferent to Cheong-ra throughout was equally disappointing. He sighed inwardly at that moment.

"Young Master Baek Ri, shall I solve your troublesome problem?"

"What?"

Cheong-ra, who was about to get up from his seat, paused at the sudden proposal. There were only two troublesome issues for him right now. Capturing the expelled criminals and the matter of the woman named Mi-a. And what Dang Ran-yeong mentioned was the latter.

"I'll cleanly resolve the nonsense that woman is spouting, so in return, go and participate in the World's Greatest Beauty Contest."

The expelled monk, who had been sitting upright and drinking tea, coughed loudly in surprise. The man who seemed to be a big eater and was still eating also asked with a doubtful face.

"The World's Greatest what contest?"

Cheong-ra also doubted his own ears. He must be talking about the World's Greatest 'Martial Artist' Contest, right? And for those who doubted their ears, Dang Ran-yeong said it again.

"The World's Greatest. Beauty. Contest."

Cheong-ra, who confirmed that he hadn't misheard, was stunned for a moment. Participate in the World's Greatest Beauty Contest? Even though he was called the Moonlight Beauty Sword or the Beautiful Sword Young Master, for him, a man, to participate in a beauty contest... He looked at Dang Ran-yeong to see if he was mocking or teasing him, but his face remained indifferent.

So indifferent that he was using his chopsticks to put a piece of meat into his sleeve. When Cheong-ra looked at him, wondering what he was doing, something inside the sleeve swiftly caught and ate the piece of meat. At a glance, it seemed to be a snake. As expected of the Sichuan Tang Clan, not only did he have a Venomous Horned Serpent, but he also seemed to be keeping a venomous snake inside his clothes.

An ordinary man would have taken it as an insult to be told to participate in a beauty contest. So Cheong-ra pondered for a moment whether to get angry, asking if Dang Ran-yeong was mocking him, but soon calmly asked.

"Why do I have to participate in that contest?"

"Because I want the prize for winning that contest."

"Do you think I, a man, can win that contest?"

Dang Ran-yeong put down his chopsticks and blatantly looked Cheong-ra up and down, then said.

"Why? Looking at Young Master's face, it doesn't seem impossible. That's why I didn't touch your face."

It was a situation where he should have been rightfully angry, so Cheong-ra hardened his face, but in fact, he wasn't very angry. He felt a sense of satisfaction and stability whenever his beauty was acknowledged in any way. Anyway, separate from not being angry, it was a proposal he couldn't accept, so Cheong-ra abruptly stood up from his seat. And in a cold tone, he refused with a single sentence.

"I decline that proposal."