The painting was magnificent.
A famous painter, for one reason or another, had found his way to the marketplace, making a living by drawing portraits.
The painter’s skill was so great that he could have been the protagonist of this story.
Anyone could see that the two people in the portrait were Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang.
Geom Mugeuk looked at the painting straight on, then from the side.
“No matter how I look at it, he drew you more handsomely.”
Looking at the finished painting, Geom Mugeuk put forth a conspiracy theory.
“You threatened the painter with a telepathic message, didn’t you? ‘If you don’t draw me better, you’ll never hold a brush again!’”
The old painter simply smiled.
Having drawn portraits here for a long time, he had seen countless people.
Perhaps from looking at so many faces, he could now sense a person’s life just by looking at them.
And today, he had a special experience.
It was when he was drawing the younger brother’s face.
The man spoke frivolously, almost to the point of being flippant.
But strangely, as he drew him, he felt not as if he were painting a portrait, but a landscape.
As he drew the hair, he felt like he was painting a field of reeds swaying in the wind.
When he drew the eyes, he felt as if he were painting the vast sea.
He also painted a snow-covered mountain in a blizzard, and a barren wasteland without a single blade of grass.
He felt the four seasons, and he felt the passage of time.
He had painted people’s faces his entire life, but he had never felt this way while drawing someone before.
Geom Muyang silently looked down at the result.
Unlike his own expressionless face, the brother in the painting was smiling brightly.
It seemed that even while chattering away, his expression had remained a constant smile.
I like this painting.
“Here, this is for you.”
Geom Muyang offered to pay for ten portraits, but the old painter returned the money.
“It has been a long time since I enjoyed painting so much. I would like to give you this painting as a gift.”
He did not want to put a price on today’s work.
If he had to accept money, he felt he would have to receive hundreds, even thousands of times this amount.
When the painter bowed his head once more, as if making a sincere request, Geom Muyang nodded.
“Do you know a place that can mount this on a scroll?”
The painter told them the location of a scroll maker in the marketplace.
After bidding the painter farewell, the two headed straight for the scroll maker.
The shop owner, who claimed to have been mounting scrolls his entire life, had a face full of pride.
Geom Muyang handed him the painting.
“Please make it so it can be hung on a wall. Money is no object, so please make it the best you can.”
“The best, you say. Then it will take some time. Please come back in seven days.”
Geom Muyang glanced at Geom Mugeuk.
“I’ll be in Wuhan until then.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s answer, Geom Muyang spoke briefly to the shop owner and turned away.
“I will return in seven days.”
Having left the shop, the two began walking toward their lodgings.
“When did you learn to play the flute?”
“A long time ago.”
“Does Father know?”
Geom Muyang shook his head, but Geom Mugeuk thought otherwise.
“He probably does.”
Geom Muyang looked at Geom Mugeuk with a questioning expression.
“I’m sure he knows that you can play an instrument.”
His brother didn't seem to believe it, but he thought their father knew.
When he first regressed, his father had known he had been afflicted with the energy-dispersing poison.
Geom Mugeuk knew that his father only pretended not to know, but he knew many things about his children.
In any case, their father wasn’t the type to say, ‘Go on, play something,’ and his brother wasn't the type to say, ‘I shall play something for you.’
He figured he would have to set the stage someday.
He truly wanted his father to hear his brother’s performance at least once.
As they were walking together.
Pitter-patter.
What seemed like a few fat raindrops falling,
Swoooosh.
Suddenly turned into a downpour.
The two stood for a moment under the eaves of a shop, waiting for the rain to stop.
With their level of martial arts, they could have walked through the rain without getting wet, but they simply waited for it to stop.
While watching the rain, Geom Muyang glanced at his brother.
The falling rain had silenced his talkative brother.
Geom Muyang knew that this was his brother’s true self.
That deep gaze, silently watching the rain, was his brother’s true gaze.
Geom Muyang asked quietly.
“What do you like?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Geom Mugeuk looked at his brother in surprise.
Geom Muyang turned his head toward the falling rain and asked again.
“I asked what you like.”
Brother, did you know? This is the first time you’ve asked me something personal.
And you asked first.
“Well, I like a lot of things. I like drinking and having fun with people.”
“Too…”
“Too…”
Geom Muyang was about to warn him that getting too attached to people could get him killed.
But on second thought, it occurred to him that it was precisely those attachments that were causing all their enemies to die.
His brother’s affection was invincible.
“Don’t you prefer being alone?”
His brother continued to surprise him.
It was surprising that he knew about him, and even more surprising that he expressed it.
“My brother, you’re a ghost, a true ghost. What’s gotten into you today?”
“What do you really like? Stop talking about people and drinks.”
Knowing that his brother was asking seriously, he answered honestly.
“I like lying down comfortably and watching the sea, and soaking in a hot spring amidst a snowy landscape.”
It might sound like a lie with the sudden mention of the sea and hot springs, but these were things he truly loved.
“I like this, too. Standing under the eaves like this and watching the rain.”
Watching the world alone.
In his life before regression, he had experienced that moment so many times.
In a blizzard, on a drifting raft, hanging from a cliff…
Even in those dreadfully lonely moments, just looking at the world like this made him feel better.
Even just watching people pass by made him feel better.
That’s probably why.
Why he still liked moments like these.
After gazing at his brother for a moment, Geom Muyang looked back at the rain.
“You said watching the outside world is for old people.”
“At least I watch from the outside.”
Perhaps finding his own remark childish, Geom Mugeuk laughed out loud.
A faint smile appeared on Geom Muyang’s lips.
Swoooooosh.
“Brother, once Father finishes his seclusion training, let’s the three of us go hunting.”
After silently watching the rain for a moment, Geom Muyang nodded.
“Alright.”
And then he added one more thing.
“Always take care of yourself first.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at his brother with trembling eyes.
Today, for the first time, his brother had asked what he liked, and for the first time, he had shown concern for him.
“I knew it! You’re not my brother! I should’ve known when you suggested we get a portrait done. Give me back my brother! When did you switch places with him?”
“…”
“…”
When the joke was over, Geom Mugeuk said seriously.
“Brother, I’m more selfish and cold-hearted than I look. You don’t have to worry too much. If you think I’m doing something wrong, don’t hesitate to curse me out.”
Geom Muyang also replied seriously.
“I held back several times today.”
Swoooooooosh.
*
The two decided to wait at their lodging, practicing their martial arts until the scroll was complete.
Geom Muyang focused on mastering the Heavenly Demon Body-Protecting Art.
The power of the three drops of Clearstone Essence Oil had a great impact on this training as well.
Perhaps because his inner energy had become purer, his martial arts training was smoother than before, and his achievements came faster.
Geom Mugeuk took charge of the meals so his brother could concentrate on his training.
At every mealtime, he would buy food from an inn and set the table.
Knowing that his brother did not like eating out, he would go out under the pretext of getting some fresh air and buy the food.
It seemed like a simple task, dashing back and forth with his lightness arts, but he served different dishes for every meal.
When asked what he wanted to eat, Geom Muyang would reply with ‘anything,’ but it couldn’t be ‘anything’ every time.
Thanks to this, Geom Mugeuk also learned about his brother’s tastes—which dishes he liked and which he disliked.
Even while eating, he tried to make more conversation.
When would he ever get another chance to spend seven days with his brother in the same house?
Geom Mugeuk, who knew better than anyone that if you miss the moment, you might not even get a chance to try, treasured this time.
And on the final day, the seventh day, Geom Muyang went out himself and bought food.
Surprisingly, without even asking, Geom Muyang had bought only the dishes that Geom Mugeuk liked.
“How on earth did you know I like these dishes?”
“A picky eater’s tastes are obvious.”
He answered gruffly, but Geom Muyang had been carefully watching where his brother’s chopsticks went more often during meals over the past seven days.
And so, seven days passed.
Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang reappeared in the marketplace to pick up the scroll.
The streets of Wuhan were buzzing with one piece of news.
Today, a grand banquet was being held by the Martial Alliance to celebrate Jin Ha-gun becoming the successor.
Not only the leaders within the Alliance, but also many renowned martial arts masters from the Central Plains were in attendance.
The marketplace was also in a festive mood.
Martial artists from various regions had flocked in, and the streets were literally packed with people.
“Hey you lot, if you’re feeling good and happen to bump my brother’s shoulder, all hell will break loose! It’ll be a massacre!”
Despite his words, it was Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang who took the initiative to avoid the crowds.
“Did he say Young Alliance Leader Bi is arriving tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
Bi Sa-in had sent word through the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.
“Ah, I’m so curious. I want to meet him as soon as possible and ask what happened with Miss Han of the Ice Palace.”
Before, when they all gathered and then parted ways, Bi Sa-in had impulsively suggested that Han Seol stop by the Unorthodox Alliance before returning.
He seemed to regret it right after saying it, but surprisingly, Han Seol had agreed.
At that time, he didn’t tease Bi Sa-in with a telepathic message, telling him to enjoy his happiness, and just let him be.
“When I see him this time, I’m going to get every single detail of what happened. Do you think that bear-like friend of mine could have said anything properly? This time, I’ll have to properly teach him how to woo a woman.”
Making their way through the crowd, the two arrived at the scroll maker’s shop.
The scroll was as wonderfully finished as the owner’s confidence had suggested.
“Amazing!”
Geom Mugeuk exclaimed in admiration.
The painting had been transformed into a very luxurious and splendid scroll.
The feeling was different from when it was just a drawing on paper compared to when it was a magnificent scroll.
Geom Muyang also wore a satisfied smile.
It was good enough to be presented as a gift to their father.
Geom Muyang carefully rolled up the scroll and held it close.
To an onlooker, he might have seemed to be guarding a treasured sword.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
After paying for the scroll, the two left the shop.
They were about to head back to their lodging when.
“Get down!”
At Geom Mugeuk’s shout, the two of them leaped into an alley.
With a tense face, Geom Muyang asked quietly.
“Is it them?”
At Geom Muyang’s question, Geom Mugeuk peeked out from the alley.
His sharp gaze pierced through the crowd.
“Yeah, it’s a really fierce and scary-looking guy. And that scary guy is doing something cute.”
Cute?
Wondering what he meant, Geom Muyang also peeked out to look where his brother was looking.
He was there.
At the far end of the marketplace, a man with a fierce and frightening face.
People who met his eyes cleared a path for him.
Surprisingly, it was Bi Sa-in.
They had been told he would arrive tomorrow.
“Looks like his schedule moved up. But why are we hiding?”
At Geom Muyang’s words, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes narrowed.
“No way! Look next to that liar.”
Next to Bi Sa-in, a woman in a pure white martial robe was looking around at the sights.
She was Han Seol of the Ice Palace.
Surprisingly, she was with him.
“Why are those two together?”
“Look behind her.”
Behind Han Seol, the figures of the Ice Cold Twin Blades, who were escorting her, could also be seen.
“The Ice Cold Twin Blades are looking around the marketplace without a care for their escort duties. That means they trust Sa-in. In other words, the four of them traveling like this is a familiar sight. Which means that Miss Han, who went to the Unorthodox Alliance, has been sightseeing around there instead of returning to the Northern Sea.”
Geom Mugeuk could tell.
Bi Sa-in had probably shown her various places here and there.
Then, after receiving his message, they had come together.
“He deceived me!”
“Maybe they just happened to arrive a day early.”
But nothing could escape Geom Mugeuk’s sharp eyes.
“Look at his clothes.”
Now that he mentioned it, Bi Sa-in was wearing white robes.
“He matched his clothes with hers. He intentionally chose a patterned robe so it wouldn’t look like they were perfectly matching.”
Hearing that, it did seem plausible.
Was Geom Muyang the type of person to enjoy spying like this?
But being with Geom Mugeuk made even this sort of thing fun.
Geom Mugeuk’s deductions continued.
“Do you know why he’s not wearing a bamboo hat?”
“Why?”
“He’s afraid of messing up his hair.”
“Surely not?”
Of all people, Bi Sa-in? From his appearance alone, he looked like he could conquer the martial world at a moment's notice.
Geom Muyang couldn't believe it, but Geom Mugeuk was certain.
“Otherwise, there’s no reason for him to show his face in the Martial Alliance’s front yard like this.”
Just then, Bi Sa-in, who was far away, whipped his head around to look in their direction.
But the two had already ducked back into the alley.
“Is something wrong?”
At Han Seol’s question, Bi Sa-in turned back to her.
His fearsome and sharp expression had softened.
“It’s nothing.”
Bi Sa-in looked at a nearby vendor’s cart and asked her.
“Would you like some sweets?”