The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

From the Kunlun Sect to Mount Wudang in Hubei, the distance was by no means short.

Such was the length of Yi-gang and his group’s journey that everyone was accumulating fatigue.

Despite being an expert nearing the Supreme Peak, Yi-gang felt more severe fatigue due to his constitution.

That might have been why his expression was colder.

Even if a young man still shedding his boyishness was breaking the arm of a drunkard, he paid it no heed.

So, he simply passed by.

Cheong Su slightly opened his mouth and turned his head to look at Yi-gang.

Yi-gang was a type of person Cheong Su had never seen before.

He was undoubtedly a martial artist, but his exact status was unclear.

There was a dizzying scent of blood coming from Yi-gang and his party.

It was enough to stimulate an instinctive sense of crisis.

At that moment, while Cheong Su was distracted, a friend of the drunkard launched a surprise attack.

“Let go of Jang-sam!”

Had Cheong Su been wearing the Wudang’s Taoist robes, the drunkard might not have dared to attack. However, using his body weight, the drunkard lunged at Cheong Su.

But, no matter how unexpected the situation, Cheong Su was not someone to be defeated by such a reckless attack.

Cheong Su instinctively tried to employ the technique of the Taiji Fist.

‘This won’t do…!’

He had decided to conceal his identity as a disciple of the Wudang Sect.

He changed his motion belatedly. He subtly concealed his body and pushed against the navel of the charging drunkard.

Despite this, the movement precisely disrupted the drunkard’s center of gravity, causing him to float momentarily in the air.

Then, the drunkard was pushed towards Yi-gang, who was behind Cheong Su.

“Ah, be careful…!”

Cheong Su realized his mistake and was startled, but Yi-gang did not flinch and moved his hand.

His smoothly moving hand caught the drunkard.

Catching a grown man who likely weighed around 150 jin with one hand was not an easy task.

But what surprised Cheong Su more than anything was the mysterious movement of Yi-gang’s hand.

Like ivy climbing effortlessly up the walls of a high castle, it was a flawless and natural grappling technique.

Even Cheong Su, who lacked experience in the Jianghu, recognized the subtlety of that grappling.

Of course, the softness was in Yi-gang’s hands, not related to the drunkard who fell to the ground.

Bang!

The drunkard was knocked out cold.

Just before Cheong Su could recall the name of that grappling technique as the Azure Forest’s Wisteria Hand, Yi-gang muttered, “A disciple of Wudang, I see.”

He spoke in a whisper, barely audible, heard only by his companions and Cheong Su.

Neung Ji-pyeong, who arrived late, was surprised and approached them.

“Oh! Is that true?”

“Y-yes.”

Cheong Su, not knowing what to do, shook his head. He was supposed to keep it a secret.

How Yi-gang had recognized it was beyond him.

“How did you know?”

“…Didn’t you use the martial arts of Wudang?”

“I didn’t,” Cheong Su denied it, but Yi-gang tilted his head slightly and stopped.

“Is that so? It felt like Wudang.”

“…”

Perhaps Yi-gang had sensed the scent of a Taoist temple ingrained in Cheong Su’s body. He realized that Yi-gang was no ordinary person.

Of course, Yi-gang did not have the keen sense of smell to detect the fragrance of Wudang Sect.

Instead, there was a spirit beside him capable of something similar.

「Ah, indeed you have come to Wudang! To meet a disciple.」

As soon as Cheong Su smoothly diverted the drunkard’s charge, Zhang Sanfeng saw through his identity.

Regardless, it was fortunate for Yi-gang and his party to have met a disciple of the Wudang Sect at the foot of the mountain.

Neung Ji-pyeong offered Cheong Su a seat.

“It just so happens we were visiting the Wudang Sect, a fortunate timing indeed. Won’t you join us, young priest?”

“Yes…”

The drunkards began to scurry away in utter panic the moment they heard the name Wudang.

Neung Ji-pyeong seemed pleased to meet a young Taoist from Wudang and approached him.

But soon he unwittingly covered his nose.

“Hmm, there’s a strange smell coming from somewhere.”

“I-is there!”

Startled, Cheong Su sniffed himself, wondering if he hadn’t washed off all the smells despite cleaning himself.

Luckily, just then, Cheong Hye hurried over and performed a formal greeting.

“I am Cheong Hye of Wudang. Due to certain circumstances, I could not reveal my identity.”

“Oh, we were unaware of that.”

Only then did Neung Ji-pyeong realize that Cheong Su and Cheong Hye had been concealing their identities.

“I am Neung Ji-pyeong. I came to Wudang on a mission from the Murim Alliance.”

“You are Sir Tranquil Sword!”

Unlike Cheong Su, Cheong Hye seemed well-informed about the affairs of the martial world.

Upon recognizing him, Neung Ji-pyeong smiled contentedly.

Furthermore, Cheong Hye also recognized the identities of the young successors present.

“Could it be… are you the Young Master Immortal Divine Dragon of the Azure Forest?”

As Yi-gang nodded, Cheong Hye’s expression brightened.

“I have greatly admired you, senior!”

Yi-gang was unusually flustered by the term ‘senior.’

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

He never imagined that someone in this distant place of Wudang, having been in Kunlun all this while, would recognize him immediately.

“Let’s all sit together. Hahaha.”

Pang Gu-in burst into a hearty laugh.

Although there were other guests in the inn, it soon seemed as if Yi-gang and his party had taken it over.

The drunkards who had been drinking since the afternoon left, and the innkeeper took their order with a tense expression.

“Hmm, I see. So you cannot speak of it,” Yi-gang said, looking at Cheong Hye.

It had not been long since the sect leader of Wudang changed to the Myung line.

In contrast, the Azure Forest’s Forest Lord was still Im Gi-hak of the elder generation. Therefore, if someone was a second-generation disciple of Wudang, their rank would be similar to that of a third-generation disciple of the Azure Forest.

Yi-gang, a second-generation disciple of the Azure Forest, held a lower status, but Cheong Hye still spoke respectfully.

“Yes, as a disciple, I shouldn’t speak carelessly about the matters of the sect. I would appreciate your understanding.”

Yi-gang had just asked about the reason why Wudang had closed its doors. Cheong Hye refused to answer.

Neung Ji-pyeong nodded thoughtfully.

“That’s understandable. Well, it’s fine; it’s the reason we came here after all.”

They were joining two tables together. Yi-gang’s party was larger than expected.

Cheong Hye was surprised to learn that the party included one of the Four Great Divine Physicians, Golden Needle Phantom from the Azure Forest, and Go Yo-ja, a master from Kunlun Sect.

Go Yo-ja laughed heartily upon seeing the Wudang disciples.

“Truly the vessel of the Tao. With such clear eyes, you will become a great Taoist in the future.”

Cheong Su and Cheong Hye were quite contrasting.

Cheong Su had a darker complexion and narrow eyes, giving him a rugged look, while Cheong Hye was a young man with fair skin and clear eyes. Cheong Hye, a fellow disciple, also spoke with more maturity.

“Um, there’s something I’m curious about.”

Cheong Su interjected cautiously. He had been curious ever since Yi-gang and his group first appeared.

“This smell of blood…”

It had become somewhat familiar now, but the smell of blood was still there. This was why he had been even more wary of Yi-gang’s group.

However, the answer he received was unexpected.

“On the way here, we caught a tiger.”

“A t-tiger?”

“It wasn’t a great tiger, but it was attacking a merchant convoy heading to Daojing County,” Yi-gang said with a strange expression, as if recalling a past memory.

But Cheong Su and Cheong Hye seemed a bit excited.

“How impressive!”

“To catch a tiger.”

A wandering hero saves a merchant convoy from a tiger attack.

To those who had never ventured into Jianghu, it sounded like an incredibly heroic tale.

They then exchanged various small talk.

A bit of time had passed after they finished eating when Cheong Su suddenly said with a realization.

“It seems we should be going now.”

“Ah, right. We need to go to the tea house to get some tea leaves.”

They didn’t mention it was under the command of the Great Senior Elder Sword Emperor, but Cheong Hye and Cheong Su had been discussing it for a while.

Yi-gang exchanged a few words with Neung Ji-pyeong and then nodded.

“If there’s a good tea house, I’ll join you.”

“The Immortal Divine Dragon himself?”

“I came to see Sage Myung Won and it seems I’ve arrived empty-handed.”

Sage Myung Won was the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect.

Cheong Hye and Cheong Su nodded without much thought. In fact, they looked pleased.

“Do you also know a lot about tea, Immortal Divine Dragon?” Cheong Hye asked.

“Just a bit. But could you just call me Young Master Baek?”

“What? Why? It sounds cool,” Cheong Su responded with a puzzled expression.

However, Yi-gang was quite uncomfortable with the nickname.

「Euhuhuhu, the young priest’s nickname is indeed spectacular.」

The Blue-Eyed Mad Demon used to say that, and it was a problem that Zhang Sanfeng also laughed every time he heard Yi-gang’s nickname.

“Just, please, I ask you.”

“Yes…”

The group decided to rest at the inn, and Yi-gang personally headed to the tea house with the disciples of Wudang.

“I’ll be back then.”

“Take care.”

As Cheong Su and Cheong Hye set out with Yi-gang and checked the inn’s stable, there indeed was a huge tiger carcass.

The way they looked at Yi-gang was filled with even more respect.

Yi-gang deliberately ignored their gazes and asked, “What kind of tea leaves were we supposed to get?”

“They wanted Huangshan Maofeng. I don’t know much about it though.”

Huangshan Maofeng. It was one of the famous teas Yi-gang knew as well.

However, the reaction came unexpectedly from somewhere else.

「Huangshan Maofeng!」

Zhang Sanfeng exclaimed with joy, much like when Grass Flower Hall Head Do Young found the spiritual herbs.

It seemed he had an interest in the way of tea.

「As a Taoist, indulging in luxury isn’t right, but I do enjoy my tea,」 he explained somewhat sheepishly.

Apparently, Huangshan Maofeng was one of his favorite famous teas.

Yi-gang also became curious about this famous tea.

“Alright, let’s go.”

They went together to Tea Fortune Garden, the best tea house in Daojing County.

But they received a disappointing response when they asked for Huangshan Maofeng.

“…You can’t give it to us?” Cheong Su asked, incredulous.

The manager smiled awkwardly and replied, “Yes.”

“No, not that there isn’t any. You mean you have it but can’t sell it?”

“I’m really sorry, but that’s correct.”

When Cheong Su asked the clerk for Huangshan Maofeng, the clerk soon called the manager.

Since precious tea leaves were so expensive that they required silver, not mere copper coins, it was understandable.

However, after glancing at Cheong Su and Cheong Hye, the manager showed an intention to refuse.

Cheong Su became indignant.

“Why can’t you sell it! We can pay the price!”

Perhaps they thought he didn’t have money because he was dressed plainly.

Cheong Su quickly pulled out a silver coin from his pocket to show them. It was enough money to buy the Huangshan Maofeng.

The manager, looking surprised, still shook his head while opening his mouth wide, “Still, we can’t do it.”

“Why not!”

“Our tea house has a principle that precious teas are only sold to distinguished individuals.”

“Then…”

“If we cannot confirm someone as distinguished, we cannot sell the tea leaves, even for a vast amount of money.”

Cheong Su’s mouth fell open.

It was his first time personally going out for a tea errand.

However, his martial brothers had purchased tea leaves from Tea Fortune Garden several times before. And there had never been a story about being stopped like this.

“I-I could be a distinguished person, too.”

“Haha…”

The manager merely let out an awkward laugh without any hint of insult.

Though it was infuriating, Cheong Su forcibly suppressed his anger.

Since he was dressed ordinarily, there was nothing he could do about it.

He could reveal that he was from Wudang, but that was not an option now.

“Keuh…”

“Wait a moment.”

At that time, Yi-gang, who had been watching from a distance, stepped forward and placed his hand on Cheong Su’s shoulder.

The manager’s gaze shifted towards Yi-gang.

“I would like to buy that Huangshan Maofeng.”

Cheong Su’s mouth dropped open.

Yi-gang was offering his help. The Immortal Divine Dragon was reputed to have good character as well.

“You, Young Master?”

“I’ve wanted to try it sometime. The Huangshan Maofeng.”

Furthermore, the Immortal Divine Dragon belonged to the great sect Azure Forest and was the eldest son of the Baek Clan.

The manager of Tea Fortune Garden would not be so composed once he knew his identity.

The manager scrutinized Yi-gang attentively.

“The Young Master is…”

Cheong Su anticipated a satisfying scene where Yi-gang would reveal his status soon.

However, things did not proceed as expected.

“Very well. Please, come in.”

“Why!”

Cheong Su exclaimed without thinking.

He hadn’t expected the manager to agree without Yi-gang even revealing his status and purpose.

As all eyes turned to Cheong Su, he added, embarrassed, “Why is it okay for him, and not for me…?”

The manager wore an awkward expression.

Then he carefully tapped the side of his eye.

“Having been in business for a long time, you develop a bit of an eye for these things… Haha.”

Cheong Su simply did not look wealthy.

The manager took Yi-gang up to the third floor of the tea house.

Cheong Su trembled with disbelief.

“You… what.”

“Senior Brother, are you okay?”

The pat on the shoulder from Cheong Hye felt even more painful.

He looked up the stairs with a bitter feeling.

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