Ch. 32 Murim Psychopath Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Outing

Do Heo-ok examined Dong Bong-su once again. Yet he still couldn't make sense of it. Dong Bong-su looked like nothing more or less than a servant. If he had at least looked like a beggar, Do Heo-ok might have suspected he belonged to the Beggars' Gang, but that wasn't the case either.

"Yes…."

Dong Bong-su answered weakly.

Do Heo-ok glanced at him briefly, then smiled and lightly patted his shoulder.

"Haha. It's fine. Why worry about something like that? If you don't have a family name, you can always make one."

To an outside observer, it looked as though a young hero was comforting an insignificant man.

In reality, he was examining Dong Bong-su's physique.

A light pat on the shoulder wasn't enough to grasp everything, but it was sufficient to tell whether someone's body had been trained or whether it possessed the potential to be trained with ease.

From what Do Heo-ok had just felt at his fingertips….

Dong Bong-su's body was utterly ordinary.

'No… no. It's far below ordinary.'

His body was gaunt, as though he had never eaten a proper meal, and his bones and muscles were thin.

Paradoxically, that was precisely what aroused Do Heo-ok's suspicion.

A fleeting question flashed through his eyes before vanishing.

So quickly that not even Tang Hwa or Namgung Hye, standing right beside him, noticed it.

Do Heo-ok had obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

He couldn't tolerate even the slightest imperfection in anything he handled. The perfect bilateral symmetry of his own body was itself the result of that disposition.

One of the biggest reasons he had been chosen as a Shadow was precisely because of his pursuit of perfection.

To him, people like Sosam were no more than tiny specks of dust.

But they were specks of dust he did not fully understand.

That alone made them unlikely to become a problem.

However,

'That doesn't mean there's absolutely no chance they could become one.'

Just as Dong Bong-su had been watching Do Heo-ok, Do Heo-ok also began paying close attention to Dong Bong-su disguised as Sosam.

"I thought you belonged to the Tang Family since you've been sticking close to Miss Tang this whole time. But I suppose that's not the case?"

The moment he heard those words, Dong Bong-su realized it.

Do Heo-ok had started watching him.

'This is dangerous.'

Although he had regained his voice, he still wasn't in a position where he could speak freely. He was nothing more than a docile sheep following wherever Tang Hwa led him.

Dong Bong-su turned his head to look at Tang Hwa.

She responded with a light smile.

"Brother-in-law. That's enough questions. He just has some circumstances, so he's traveling with us."

"Is that so?"

"Ah, we've been walking all day. I'm really tired now. I'd like to get some rest."

Tang Hwa had intended to steer the conversation away from an awkward situation.

Instead, it only deepened Do Heo-ok's suspicions.

"Ah, of course. My apologies. I've kept a tired person talking for far too long. Then, please follow me."

For the moment, Dong Bong-su had escaped Do Heo-ok's scrutiny.

But he knew Do Heo-ok would be keeping an eye on him for quite some time.

After all, he would have done the same.

● ● ●

Dong Bong-su and Tang Hwa followed Do Heo-ok and Namgung Hye to the Heavenly Guest Hall.

The Namgung Family maintained three guest halls.

Named after the Three Talents, Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, they were divided into the Heavenly Guest Hall, Earth Guest Hall, and Human Guest Hall.

The Heavenly Guest Hall accommodated guests from major martial sects or renowned martial artists.

The Earth Guest Hall was reserved for sect leaders and elders from medium and smaller sects.

The Human Guest Hall housed everyone left over, the true "Poor Guest Hall."

The Heavenly Guest Hall.

Its scale alone was magnificent, but its location was even more impressive.

The Namgung Family estate had been built along the shores of Lake Chaohu, and the Heavenly Guest Hall stood directly beside the southern Water Gate.

Strictly speaking, neither the Heavenly Guest Hall nor the Water Gate had been built on land.

They had been constructed above the waters of Lake Chaohu.

The Heavenly Guest Hall had been built upon two small islands flanking a little bay known as So-man, while pleasure boats were moored inside the bay, and the Water Gate had been erected across its entrance.

Naturally, it also served as protection against enemy invasions.

Guests staying at the Heavenly Guest Hall would usually board one of the Namgung Family's large pleasure boats to admire Lake Chaohu's night scenery.

Lake Chaohu was one of the Five Great Lakes of the Central Plains, famed for possessing the most breathtaking scenery among them.

Its night views, in particular, were so beautiful that poets and scholars had used them as inspiration since ancient times.

By the time Dong Bong-su and the others reached the Heavenly Guest Hall, the sun had long since set, and the moon hung at an angle across the night sky.

Moonlight reflected across the waters of So-man, creating an almost mystical landscape.

"How beautiful…."

Tang Hwa let out an involuntary sigh of admiration.

She had visited the Namgung Family once or twice before, but this was her first time seeing this part of Lake Chaohu at night.

The Heavenly Guest Hall, resembling a floating garden, together with So-man, was more than enough to stir the heart of Tang Hwa, who had now grown into a young lady.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? We're planning to go out onto Lake Chaohu tonight. Would you like to come with us?"

Seeing Tang Hwa's amazement, Namgung Hye extended the invitation.

From the way she spoke, it was obvious the two of them had already planned to admire the night scenery together.

"Oh, come on, Sister. I'm not that oblivious anymore."

Perhaps because there was something unusual in Tang Hwa's tone, Namgung Hye blushed once again and lowered her head.

Fortunately, unlike earlier, the darkness of night concealed part of her flushed face.

At that moment, Do Heo-ok, who had been listening to them, joined in.

"It's perfectly fine. In any case, we'll be spending the rest of our lives together in just a few days. Surely I can give up a single day to my sister-in-law. If you aren't too tired, let's all go together. Around this time, when the moon is nearly full, Lake Chaohu is at its most beautiful. Even more so than on the night of the full moon."

As he spoke, Do Heo-ok cast a subtle glance toward Dong Bong-su.

The moment Dong Bong-su saw it, he understood Do Heo-ok's intentions.

He wanted to learn more about him.

The reason was obvious.

Dong Bong-su's feigned gaze and Do Heo-ok's equally artificial one briefly met in the air between them.

Dong Bong-su deliberately looked away, not so obviously as to attract attention, but just enough.

Even so, he knew that wouldn't erase the suspicions that had already taken root.

Of course, there was still a vast difference between the two.

Dong Bong-su possessed certainty regarding Do Heo-ok.

Do Heo-ok merely suspected Dong Bong-su.

It seemed like a small distinction, but it was an enormous one.

It was like the difference between a student answering a multiple-choice question and another holding a test paper containing only a single vague sentence, unsure whether it was even a question.

As Dong Bong-su intentionally avoided Do Heo-ok's eyes and looked up at the moon, Tang Hwa spoke in an excited voice.

"Would that really be alright, Brother-in-law?"

"Of course."

At Do Heo-ok's ready answer, Namgung Hye smiled sweetly.

Seeing that expression, it was clear she had already fallen completely for Do Heo-ok's deception.

"Then shall we all go together? I don't know when I'll be able to admire the moon with Sister again, so I'd love to see it together on Lake Chaohu."

"Alright. Let's do that."

Namgung Hye smiled beautifully as she took Tang Hwa's hand.

Tang Hwa returned the gesture before turning to Dong Bong-su.

"You're okay with it, right?"

It was a forceful notification that left him no room for choice.

From her perspective, that was only natural.

Because of Tang Wu's repeated instructions, the two of them had to stay together. Even after receiving separate rooms at the Heavenly Guest Hall, she still had to remain with Dong Bong-su until Tang Wu arrived.

In that case, she thought it would be far better to admire the heavenly scenery of Lake Chaohu at night while sharing one last heartfelt farewell with Namgung Hye.

But from Dong Bong-su's perspective, this nighttime excursion was extremely troublesome.

An unknown beast named Do Heo-ok was watching him.

This was the Murim, a world where anything could happen.

The possibility was slim, but what if Do Heo-ok somehow discovered that he possessed the Body of No Acupoints?

It was dangerous.

However, Dong Bong-su couldn't refuse.

Tang Hwa's gaze was merciless.

The choice had never belonged to him in the first place.

Although he had escaped being a Horse Stable Hireling, he still possessed no free will.

'It can't be helped.'

Now that it had come to this, the only option was to head out onto Lake Chaohu and learn more about Do Heo-ok, just as Do Heo-ok intended to observe him.

"Yes."

With that short reply, the four of them decided upon a late-night outing on Lake Chaohu.

● ● ●

A short while later.

A Scarlet Trigram Sailing Ship with magnificent crimson silk sails passed through the opened Water Gate and departed onto Lake Chaohu.

Carried by the refreshing night breeze, the vessel cut across the water toward the place where the moonlight shone brightest.

‘As the flock of birds soared high and vanished,’

‘A solitary cloud drifted away in quiet leisure.’

‘There were two that never tired of gazing upon each other—’

‘None other than the scenery of Lake Chaohu.’

The Namgung Family's boatmen rowed while singing.

It was a modified version of Li Bai's Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain, adapted to fit Lake Chaohu.

Perhaps because of the song, a lone cloud truly drifted across the full, round moon.

The sight possessed an indescribable elegance.

Before long, the boat reached the middle of the lake.

The boatmen leisurely lowered the sails and dropped the anchors hanging from both sides into the water.

Soon, the vessel came to a complete stop at the very center of Lake Chaohu.

"The moon reflected on the lake is so beautiful."

Tang Hwa sighed in admiration.

Just as she said, the moon, accompanied by a solitary cloud and seeming to have plunged into Lake Chaohu itself, was too beautiful to describe.

That marked the beginning of Tang Hwa and Namgung Hye's lively conversation.

At the same time, Do Heo-ok began seriously probing Dong Bong-su.

"Let's leave the ladies to chat among themselves. We men should share a drink instead."

Do Heo-ok led Dong Bong-su toward the bow of the ship.