"Hey! Do it one more time!"
"I told you—no excuses about letting your guard down."
Lee Jihyeon shouted as she ruffled her hair.
"I'll say you passed the test. Just one more time. This time I'll catch you. You're dead. Seriously."
She had a pretty strong competitive streak.
If she wanted it, I didn't mind indulging her.
"That's enough, Jihyeon. This is getting ugly."
"Leader! If it ends like this, my pride won't let me sleep tonight."
"I'm not ending it here."
Oh Junbeom crossed his arms and continued.
"There's one more thing a patrol needs. Mental toughness. A spirit that doesn't panic or crumble no matter what happens."
One of the members sitting nearby muttered,
"…Leader. This is ugly."
"Shut it."
Opinions were starting to split even within the group.
At a glance, it was clear Lee Jihyeon was the second-in-command of Junbeom's squad.
The atmosphere was shifting toward acknowledging my skill, since I had subdued her so easily.
But Oh Junbeom stubbornly went on.
"If you pass this mental test, I'll personally take responsibility and put you in my squad."
"What does the mental test involve?"
"It's simple. Hey, bring the alcohol."
Alcohol?
Such a primitive method.
"He's a kid, you know?"
"You can drink from fifteen, can't you?"
Legally, you could drink from fifteen, but testing someone who had just barely crossed the age limit with alcohol…
That bastard…
He's actually a great guy.
Alcohol was my friend.
When all my comrades died and I was left alone, alcohol was what eased my loneliness.
After everyone died, I holed up in the mountains and lived drinking nothing but alcohol.
Getting alcohol was easy.
Even Rakshasa drank, so I just stole a bit of theirs.
Oh Junbeom brought out three mal of liquor.
My mouth watered.
But keep calm.
I was a fifteen-year-old who had supposedly never tasted alcohol.
"…Uh, alcohol? I've never really had anything like that."
First, play weak.
But my body moved toward the jar as if possessed.
The smell was incredible.
So this was the famed Flower Liquor of Hwagang.
"Heh heh. Here, then. Have a drink."
The liquor was poured into a suitable bowl.
Looking at the clear liquid, I carefully managed my expression and said,
"Just one cup is enough, right?"
"As if. Until I tell you to stop."
"Ah, then that's a problem…"
Let's just taste it first.
A rich floral aroma spread, with sweetness and bitterness blending into a perfect harmony.
As expected of Hwagang's Flower Liquor.
'This is just a beverage.'
It was on a completely different level from the Rakshasa Fire Liquor, which was nothing but harsh bitterness.
"You drink well. Here comes another."
"Yes, Leader."
"I'm not your leader yet."
I still had to train with Arin later this evening…
Forget it.
I'll think about it after I drink.
As evening approached, Jeong Doyun went to call Seoha.
Even if he was an uninvited guest, he was Arin's friend, so he had been invited to dinner.
'Did he get his initiation done properly?'
He had told his subordinates to give the young master a proper initiation.
If some ill-bred punk was trying to make moves on the young lady, whether he was a Cheongsin or a prince, he planned to beat him half to death.
'He might leave tomorrow.'
Among rough patrol members, noble young masters usually shrank back.
And since he had sent Squad One—the strongest—Seoha should be completely crushed by now, probably crying in some corner.
Thinking that, he arrived at the lodging.
Loud noise could be heard even from outside.
"Hahahahaha! Is that all you can drink?"
An unfamiliar voice.
Jeong Doyun tilted his head and stepped into the training ground.
What unfolded there was a scene beyond imagination.
Squad One was sprawled out after daytime drinking, and Lee Seoha alone was guzzling down Flower Liquor.
"…What is going on here?"
"Oh! Captain, you're here?"
Lee Seoha jumped to his feet, bowed, and continued,
"My name is Lee Seoha. I'll be joining Squad One starting today. I look forward to working with you."
"…."
Jeong Doyun could only stare at the perfectly sober-looking fifteen-year-old drinking alcohol.
Alcohol calls for more alcohol.
You tell yourself you'll just have one cup, then two seems fine, then you want to fill three—and before you know it, you've drunk an entire mal.
Why jump from three cups to a mal?
Don't ask.
That's just how alcohol works.
"Here, Leader. Have another drink."
"Damn it! I told you I'm not the leader yet…!"
The leader's upper body started swaying.
That was proof he was drunk.
Lee Jihyeon was asleep nearby, scratching her belly, and the rest of Squad One was already out cold.
"We haven't even finished what we brought."
Collapsing over just Flower Liquor.
I had always been good with alcohol.
On top of that, thanks to eating the Ten-Thousand-Year He Shou Wu, weak toxins were immediately detoxified, so Flower Liquor was basically water to me.
Still, I felt just right.
"But this stuff's addictive. Leader, have another drink. Isn't there any food?"
"Damn it. You win, you bastard."
Thud!
With that, Oh Junbeom collapsed as well, and I finished the cup I had handed him.
"…What is going on here?"
It was Jeong Doyun.
From now on, he was my captain too, so I should treat him properly.
"Oh! Captain, you're here? My name is Lee Seoha. I'll be joining Squad One starting today. I look forward to working with you."
"…."
Jeong Doyun stared at me as if he couldn't comprehend it, then let out a sigh.
"These idiots…"
"I agree."
"What?"
Jeong Doyun glared at me.
Why? You said it first.
And they were idiots.
They got subdued by a fifteen-year-old and even lost at drinking.
"Hahaha, but what brings you here?"
"The head of the family invited you to dinner. Come along."
"Are we just leaving them here? They'll get eaten alive by mosquitoes."
"I hope they get bitten to death."
Judging by his sharp tone, it seemed he had secretly hoped I'd get beaten.
Thanks to that, I had settled into the patrol, so I should treat him like a captain for a while.
"Let's go together, Captain!"
At times like this, being a kid was convenient.
It didn't matter if I seemed clueless.
Dinner was simple.
Arin tried to find a chance to speak to me while watching her father's mood, then opened her mouth.
"Where is the lodging—"
"You smell of alcohol."
Yu Hyeonseong cut her off, and Arin drooped, closing her mouth.
The smell couldn't be helped.
Twenty people drank three mal—how could there be no smell?
Of course, I drank half of it.
"The patrol members gave me a welcome drink. I'm fine. After eating Ten-Thousand-Year He Shou Wu, I don't even get drunk."
"So you were the one who ate it. I see. That explains your strength."
"You knew?"
"I heard there was Ten-Thousand-Year He Shou Wu inside the celadon sold at the auction. And that the one who bought it was the former captain of the royal guards. Now I understand why your background is so formidable."
His eyes looked like he had something he wanted to say.
Otherwise, why would he invite me to dinner?
Sure enough, Yu Hyeonseong continued.
"I checked Arin's condition. She's improved a lot. Especially her skill in handling qi—it's incomparable to before."
"That's a relief."
"Arin told me that every night you draw out her yin qi and teach her a new cultivation method. May I see that tonight?"
"Of course."
There was no reason not to.
As her father, it made sense for him to know exactly what his daughter was learning.
"Shall I observe tonight, then?"
"You're drunk. Will that be alright?"
"The Ten-Thousand-Year He Shou Wu detoxified everything. I'm not drunk at all now."
"Very well. Let's see it tonight."
After dinner, I received Arin's yin qi in the backyard of the inner residence, just as I always did.
After that, I used Cheonro on Arin's body.
Three months ago.
After Arin's rampage, I illuminated her body with my qi every single day.
Now, even if her consciousness were to disappear, I could forcibly draw out her qi—but since it would close again if I stopped, it had to be done continuously.
It took about one gak.
When I finished Cheonro, Yu Hyeonseong, who had been silently watching, asked,
"What was that just now?"
"I used my qi to examine Arin's meridians."
"Why?"
"So that even if she loses consciousness during a rampage, I can draw out her yin qi."
"Then how do you survive? If you take in yin qi, you'll rampage."
"I know how to convert yin qi into yang qi."
"Such a martial art exists?"
"Let's just say it's my own."
"I see… so that's the principle."
Yu Hyeonseong stroked his chin.
He didn't look pleased.
A thought crept in that I might be missing something.
"Is there a problem? You don't need to worry that I'll do something bad. This is purely in case—"
"That's not what I'm worried about. You don't look like that kind of person. If you had ill intentions, Yakseon-nim wouldn't have written that letter."
Unexpectedly, Yu Hyeonseong seemed to view me favorably.
"Then what worries you?"
"Come with me for a moment. Arin, continue training on your own."
Arin looked at me anxiously.
"I'll talk it out properly with your father."
Leaving Arin behind, we headed to Yu Hyeonseong's study.
A study piled high with bamboo scrolls.
He offered me a seat and said,
"What I'm about to say is also for your sake. I hope you won't take offense."
"Yes. I understand."
"From now on, stop associating with Arin."
"…."
Suddenly?
Arin's rampage hadn't happened yet.
At the very least, until this vacation ended safely, I had to stay glued to her.
I couldn't back down now.
"May I ask the reason?"
"I can't tell you everything. I don't know if you can keep a secret."
"Even if I say I can, you wouldn't believe me."
I needed to show resolve stronger than a simple promise.
"Then I won't leave Arin."
"Why?"
"Do you remember when the Baekdu Sword Demon attacked?"
"Yes."
"He was targeting Arin."
Mix in a lie.
Only Arin and I knew that the Baekdu Sword Demon had actually targeted me.
Arin found it hard to talk with her father—there was no way she'd told him something like that.
As I expected, Yu Hyeonseong reacted.
"What?"
"He ignored me completely and only went after Arin. It seemed like he knew about her constitution. His goal appeared to be forcing her into a rampage."
Yu Hyeonseong fell into thought at my words.
Keep pressing.
"That's why I came here despite the discourtesy—to protect Arin. I have no intention of leaving quietly."
"I see. Thank you for the warning."
Yu Hyeonseong nodded.
"But what help can you really be?"
"I killed the Baekdu Sword Demon—"
"No, Arin did. She rampaged."
No, I killed him.
But I couldn't say that outright.
In any case, Arin bought time, and I won by absorbing her yin qi.
Still, I had no intention of retreating.
"I absorbed Arin's yin qi during her rampage and killed the Baekdu Sword Demon. And if Arin ramps up again, won't someone be needed to calm her down?"
In this life, I couldn't fail even once.
No—at least not this.
Hearing my words, Yu Hyeonseong sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Fine. If you insist that much, I'll tell you about Arin's constitution. Don't be shocked."
He deliberated again and again.
No matter how serious the illness or how unusual the constitution, I was confident I wouldn't be surprised.
In 180 years of roaming the world, how many strange things had I seen?
There was nothing that could be new to me.
At last, Yu Hyeonseong spoke.
"Arin is a Rakshasa."
"…What?"
Damn, that startled me.