Chapter 334
334fury. You should know
The background of the portrait was summer..
In the middle of a forest path, a woman was looking straight ahead with a bright smile. The bright smile was unfamiliar yet amazing..
‘I'm sure it's Master Eunsabu..’
She looked younger than the Eun Ye-rin that Baek Soo-ryong knew. Maybe it was painted before she got the nickname Ice Moon Goddess..
‘Was he a person who could smile like this?.’
Baek Soo-ryong stood blankly and looked at the portrait..
Most of the Ice Moon Goddess in his memories looked expressionless or somewhat dazed. Those eyes were always looking into the distance.
‘It was probably here.’
If we had been able to escape the blood religion together that day, I would have been able to see that smile in person..
All of the masters would have attended and celebrated Master Eun's wedding, and they would have met often and had drinks afterward..
Baeksu- ryong recalled the last sight of the Ice Moon Goddess bleeding to death. I lost focus, looked into the distance with blurred eyes, and muttered..
-……Don't wait any longer. Now I'll go first and wait, so please come slowly..
What he wanted to say to Jeongin, who was waiting endlessly for him at an old bookstore in Seoan..
‘If it's not too late, I'll pass it on for you..’
With a sad heart, Baek Soo-ryong took a step towards the portrait without realizing it..
at that moment,
“step back.”
Baek Soo-ryong came to his senses at the sharp voice..
The owner of the old bookstore was glaring at him with cold eyes..
Only then did Baek Soo-ryong realize that he had made a mistake..
‘If this old man is Master Eun’s lover,.’
Isn't it as if some bastard suddenly appeared and was staring at Jeongin's portrait?.
Baek Soo-ryong wanted to clear up the misunderstanding first..
“sorry. When I looked at the picture, I thought of an old friend for a moment.…….”
“Go back. It's already past time to close the bookstore..”
The old man interrupted Baek Soo-ryong's conversation and gave a congratulatory order. His eyes looked full of displeasure.
Baek Soo-ryong said with an embarrassed expression..
“Elderly. There is a misunderstanding. If you listen to me for a moment…….”
“I didn't tell you to go back. Do you look down on an old man because he is alone??”
The old man approached, clutching the broom that was lying on one side with both hands..
“I won't be able to go out!”
Well, he was an ordinary old man who had not learned any martial arts..
I could subdue it whenever I wanted to..
However, Baeksu-ryong only retreated to avoid the broom wielded by the old man..
“Just a moment, old man. That's not it…….”
I thought it would be easier to fight with a blood religion elder. It was impossible to carelessly take care of an old man who might be Master Eunsa's lover..
“this guy! Even if it's really bad!”
The old man swung the broom, but the white water dragon lamely dodged it. It was a time when two people were arguing inside an old bookstore..
Kwaang!
The door opened roughly, and men with scary faces entered the old bookstore..
Among them, a sly-looking man with slitted eyes spoke..
“I saw that the light was on by this time, so I came in and looked. what. There was a guest?”
The old man, who was out of breath swinging the broom, shouted with a bright face as soon as he saw the man..
“You guys! Now I see it was a gang.!”
“……pack?”
“Did the old man have dementia? What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden??”
The man with torn eyes made a bewildered expression and looked Baeksu-ryong up and down. Then I turned my head and looked at the portrait hanging on the wall..
“By any chance, did you come to buy that painting too??”
The man showed a subtle way of life. At best, it was at the level of a neighborhood brawl, but he grinned, probably thinking that Baek Soo-ryong, who was standing silently, was scared..
“hey. I own that picture, so wake up from your dream..”
“……Are you buying that painting? who?”
“You bastard. I didn't hear you tell me not to pay attention?”
A man who judged Baek Soo-ryong to be an ordinary student approached him and tapped Baek Soo-ryong's shoulder with his finger..
There was a sword hanging from his waist, but he didn't seem to pay any attention to it, as students often wore it for style..
“If you don't want to see a bad situation, get out of my way when I say nice things. Did you understand??”
“…….”
Baek Soo-ryong stayed calm for now. Understanding the situation was a priority.
The man turned and approached the old man. Baek Soo-ryong didn't seem to care anymore..
“Aren’t you in the same league as that student??”
“A student who can read a line would be suitable for us.?”
The way he spoke and spoke in a irritating manner was completely disastrous. The man standing in front of the old man scratched his neck and said.
“inspiration. So why don't you listen to me when I tell you to sell it a long time ago? If you keep wasting time, those flies will get caught. It's not that we won't give money..”
“Get out of here!”
The old man swung the broom with all his might, but it was easily caught by the man's hand..
“Is this inspiration crazy?.”
The man who broke the broom lightly pushed the old man with his hand. Then the old man fell backwards, hitting his butt..
He was an ordinary old man who had not learned martial arts. It was impossible to withstand the strength of a strong man in the first place..
“Are you stubborn about how long it takes to open the coffin? If we keep doing this, we'll just look like the bad guys..”
“Those who will be punished……!”
The man squatted down in front of the fallen old man and sighed, then turned his head and looked lustfully at the portrait of the Ice Moon Goddess..
“That looks really pretty. Even though it's just a painting, I get anxious looking at it. inspiration. Why don't you stop harassing our owner and sell it to us??”
At the man's words, the men who came with him laughed..
At that time, a cold voice came from behind them..
“How dare you look at someone like that?.”
“what?”
The man turned his head, but could not clearly see the white water dragon's movements. It seemed like it was getting blurry, but before I knew it, a sharp pain hit me. The jaw is turned.
Wow!
“This bastard!”
“older brother!”
Baek Soo-ryong mercilessly beat up the thugs who entered the old bookstore. I didn't use internal energy on purpose. I stepped on it step by step using only the external attack..
However, not a single drop of blood was splashed. I didn't want to pollute the place where Eunsabu's memories were young with the blood of these guys..
“Please save me! Daehyup!”
“I did not know the deceased.!”
The men who were mocking the old man spontaneously asked for his life to come out of their mouths. He must have realized that his opponent was a master he could not handle, so he fell flat on the floor and begged for mercy..
bang! bang! bang!
Baek Su-ryong stepped on the back of the guys' heads and hit their faces on the floor. A crushed scream came from the floor..
The White Water Dragon's eyes looking down at them were infinitely cold..
“Part of me wants to kill you all, but I'll hold back because I don't want to pollute this place with your dirty blood..”
The terrifying killing power tightened the hearts of the men. I was lucky that I didn't faint. My whole body was shaking with fear..
“Go, thank you…….”
“go away.”
The men, who were in complete disrepair, helped each other and crawled out..
“……I think he was a martial artist..”
The old man who watched the whole thing sighed and said,.
‘He might be afraid, but he's an old man with a pulpit..’
I didn't want to use martial arts if possible, but I had no choice just now..
Baek Su-ryong asked politely so that the old man would not misunderstand..
“Are you an elderly person??”
Baek Soo-ryong didn't miss the moment the old man's eyes widened..
However, the answer that followed was not what Baek Soo-ryong expected..
“……How does Confucius know Brother Munyul??”
‘older brother?’
The old man was not Master Eunsabu’s true servant. But it was someone who knew him..
Baek Soo-ryong thought for a moment and then answered..
“He is a close friend of my teacher. I heard a long time ago that you worked at an old bookstore in Xi'an, so I came to say hello..”
“Huh... … . There was that kind of relationship. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding earlier..”
“Please speak comfortably.”
The misunderstanding was finally resolved. The old man told Baek Su-ryong about the person he was looking for..
“It is true that Brother Moonyul used to work here. But you're not there now.”
At that moment, an assumption came into Baek Soo-ryong’s mind. he asked with a stern expression.
“if… … . Did you pass away??”
The old man shook his head. The eyes looking at the portrait were tracing old times..
“One day he brought me that portrait and asked if he could hang it here. If you say that, aren't you asking me not to sell it later? I said I would understand. My brother left after saying thank you. I haven't seen it again since then.”
“…….”
In the end, it was said that there was no way to know where it went..
Baek Soo-ryong looked at Master Eun’s portrait with a somewhat lost feeling..
Suddenly, I wondered who drew that picture..
“Did Mr. Munyul draw that picture himself??”
“I heard that you asked an acquaintance to draw it. My brother was good at drawing too, but he wasn't as talented as me..”
Because I'm an acquaintance…….
Baek Soo-ryong thought he should look for the person who painted that portrait..
“Do you know who that acquaintance is??”
“I don't know. I only heard that he was an excellent painter..”
That was all the old man knew..
Although there was no more business to see here, Baek Soo-ryong was still concerned about what happened earlier and asked..
“Who are those guys earlier??”
The guys who forced me to sell my portrait.
Looking at what he was doing, it seemed like he wasn't just visiting for a day or two and behaving badly..
“They are gangsters who were ordered by Cheongsu-mun..”
“Cheongsumun? Just by looking at the name, it seems like a political faction..”
“Just the name is Jeongpaji. What I'm doing is no different from Safa..”
The old man said with an unpleasant expression.
“Munju's hobby there is collecting beautiful women. He came to me several times and forced me to sell that painting. If I hold on and don't sell, they send out thugs like that and harass me every day..”
He said that because of that, there has been no business at all recently..
The reason the store was open until late at night was to receive unexpected customers..
Baek Soo-ryong asked with an expression of not understanding..
“Why didn't you dig it? You could have just sold it..”
“…… How long do I have left to live? I didn't want to break my promise and do that. After seeing it every day for decades, I became attached to it..”
The old man was so embarrassed that he cleared his throat and avoided Baek Soo-ryong's gaze..
Baek Su-ryong chuckled. It seemed like there was another guy here who fell in love with Master Eun..
“You said earlier that Cheongsumunju’s hobby is collecting paintings. Then, wouldn’t you know who painted that portrait??”
“Maybe so. But wouldn't it be dangerous??”
He was saying that it would be difficult to just have a quiet conversation if he went to visit Cheongsumun, since they had completely destroyed the assaulters sent by the lord of Cheongsumun..
Then Baek Soo-ryong shrugged his shoulders and laughed..
“Because I'm more advanced than I thought. Please just tell me the location of Cheongsumun Gate..”
“Hehehe…….”
The old man, who hesitated, eventually told them the location of Cheongsumun Gate..
“Elderly.”
Before leaving the old bookstore, Baek Soo-ryong thought that if this old man knew Moon Yool, Master Eun might also know it..
Unless you just sold it because you were in love with the painting..
“The woman in that picture. Have you actually seen it?”
Then the old man smiled and said.
“One of the things I regret throughout my life is not having the courage like Brother Moonyul..”
A person who has kept his promise for over decades.
Although our hearts did not touch each other, this old man was also a precious connection to Master Eun..
“I'll come back later.”
“Take a look.”
Baek Soo-ryong hoped that this old bookstore, where the memories of Master Eun and Jeong-in remain, would continue to exist, and that the old man would stay healthy for a long time..
Baek Soo-ryong left the old bookstore and headed straight to Cheongsumun..
* * *
The cold voice of a middle-aged man rang out in the main hall..
“I ran away after being hit by a student.?”
“Wow, I wasn't an ordinary student. He was a tremendous expert.”
In front of him, the men who had run away from the old bookstore were kneeling..
The sight of blood and bruises all over their bodies was miserable, but the middle-aged man looking down at them was not interested in their wounds..
“I'm sure he didn't take the picture.?”
“Well, that probably isn't it. If they had tried to take it away by force, they would have taken it long ago.…….”
Powwow!
The tension blew the man away. It was a powerful move that made one lose consciousness in one blow..
“Useless thing. throw it away.”
“yes!”
While the warriors at Cheongsumun chased away the rioters, the owner of Cheongsumun returned to his room..
In the spacious room, more than a dozen paintings of beautiful women were hung along the walls. Each painting was painted by a painter of outstanding skill..
Among them, only one seat was empty. The only painting that Cheongsumunju wanted so much but could not get..
Portrait of Bingwol Goddess painted by Pungwol Painter.
“I gave him several chances, but the stubborn old man insisted on his order..”
To those who did not know its value, it was just a beautiful painting, but to collectors like Cheongsumunju, it was a treasure worth a thousand gold..
“Do you really have to kill me and bring it back?…….”
That self-talk decided Cheongsumunju’s fate..
“thank god. I can beat up without any remorse.”
“Who are you?!”
What Cheongsumunju turned around and saw was a hand raised in front of his eyes..
“dare!”
Cheongsumunju burst out in anger and swung his sword like a thunderbolt. He was a master swordsman. I had the confidence to cut down something like a spray with a single sword..
However, the opponent was a master who was far superior to Cheongsu Munju..
Kyaang!
The hand that struck down Cheongsumunju’s sword in a single move immediately grabbed Cheongsumunju’s neck. The master of the Ilmun family could not even offer proper resistance..
“Big, big, big.!”
Baeksu- ryong pushed Cheongsu-munju, whose eyes were wide in disbelief, against the wall. No one heard the commotion because the attack was carried out simultaneously with the attack..
“A painting that hung in an old bookstore. You know who drew it?”
“da, you, who, who…….”
“You should know. That's the only reason I can keep you alive.”
A terrifying murderous spirit exploded from his eyes..
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