“What kind of absurd misunderstanding is this?”
“It seems that the story surrounding my relationship with Gi-mun Hyang-ju is far too intertwined with scandals about the Sichuan Tang family—the illegitimate child of the Tang family head—and that has spiraled into ridiculous misunderstandings.”
“It might also be because Hyang-ju looks like she’s in her mid to late twenties. But still, she’s basically my grandmother in terms of relation.”
“Hyang-ju was stunned, but I wonder if she knew that denying it would only make her fodder for rumors. Still, she politely saw me off.”
“Well, it looks like a problem has surfaced.”
As I returned to the mansion, I muttered with a deep sigh.
“Of course, the rumors about Gi-ru aren’t the problem. I’ve done everything Hyang-ju asked. Hyang-ju, it’ll be a headache for you, but please figure it out on your own.”
The issue I was facing was something entirely different.
And a very significant problem at that.
“Why is your room like this?”
Jeon Gil-san asked with a look of disbelief as he faced my room, which was completely caved in on one wall.
“A log crashed down on it.”
A log that had sent an assassin flying into the sky.
No matter how sturdily the house was built, it had no chance against the aggregate shooting formation crafted by the youngest lady of the Zhuge family.
“What? You’re telling me those lunatics buried you under a log?”
“No, the log was fired at me.”
“What are you talking about?”
Don’t ask me for clarification; it’s unbelievable to me too.
Where on earth was that log even stored in my room?
I couldn’t help but wonder if, given enough budget and time, Zhuge So-je could even make something like a lion robot spring out of the mansion as it split apart. I glanced sideways at Zhuge So-je.
“Ah… ah….”
Zhuge So-je was at a loss for words as she gazed at the last wall, which had just collapsed.
“Well, such things exist.”
Now that I’ve saved my life, there’s no need to feel too sorry about it. Knowing that camping is all the rage nowadays, I can think of it as camping at home.
“It’s completely empty! How am I supposed to sleep?”
“I’ll be sleeping in the annex for the time being.”
Having had to camp out many times while wandering the Central Plains, I figured a warm indoor space would be better than camping.
There were only my room and Zhuge So-je’s in the main building, so I had no choice but to stay in the annex where Im Ha-yeon had been staying.
“Is that really okay?”
“I can’t enjoy autumn nights, let alone sleep, can I? Besides, the inner guards will be the same usual guys, so I’ll have to trust them this time.”
It might be a little cramped, but it shouldn’t be a problem.
“Ugh! S-s-sorry…”
“There’s no need to worry too much. It’s just a house—it can be fixed later. The important things are all safe.”
I smiled gently at Zhuge So-je, who was trying to apologize, and walked over to my desk to open the drawer.
“What are you taking out?”
“I’ll be working on something during my ten-day break.”
I pulled out a thick stack of paper.
“Huh? Master Kang, could it be…”
As expected, Zhuge So-je caught on in an instant. She looked at me with wide eyes.
“Yes. It’s the rough draft of Volume 4 of ‘The Rise of the Tang Family’.”
“Wow! Are you making a comeback as Ho Pil?”
“Because of the transfer of the Yichang Tea Bookstore to Man Geum Battlefield, I had to postpone ‘The Rise of the Tang Family.’ I need to prepare right after the heir tests are completed.”
The heir tests at Man Geum Battlefield are a test to see who can write novels. It’s time to get to work.
“Sigh… really?”
Gil-san glanced at my manuscript, sighed in disbelief.
“What? Are you still surprised that I’m Ho Pil?”
“No, it’s just that it’s been so long since Volume 3 of ‘The Rise of the Tang Family’ came out. Why haven’t you written Volume 4 yet?”
It’s frustrating.
Gil-san’s pitiful gaze pierced through me.
“……”
“Oh?”
“Come on… I wasn’t just idly sitting around. I’ve been writing ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes,’ running a business, taking exams, fighting for my life…”
I’ve been busy with love and business too.
Of course, it’s my fault for not doing it since I released Volume 3 at the beginning of the year. But looking at this year, I’ve written three volumes!
There are web novel authors who write one a day, but in the past, if a book came out every three or four months, the author was considered diligent.
It’s so unfair.
“The Tea and Book Club is going to have to wait around forever.”
“Ugh!”
The readers are waiting.
My flimsy excuse crumbled to dust.
“Actually, I want to see Volume 4 as soon as possible too.”
Even Zhuge So-je!
As an avid fan, she couldn’t miss her chance to say something.
“I’ll do my best to ensure that I can release the next volume right after I become the heir.”
As a writer who casually uses hiatus and threatens readers, there’s no way I can back down now.
——
It was the first free day I had in a while.
After continuing my novel writing, undergoing martial arts training with Older Brother Cheol, and finishing dinner, an unexpected obstacle suddenly arrived.
“Uh, must you really do this?”
As I stepped into the annex to sleep, before I could even adjust to the unfamiliar bed, a few of my guards were already settled in.
“Just pretend we’re not here and act as you usually would!”
My guards were going to wait in the bedroom. Even though there had been a breach of security while I slept, isn’t it a bit much to have three guards in such a small room?
“How can I not care when there are three people in a room meant for sleeping alone?”
“If you’re worried, you can add a fourth guard!”
If one more person were to squeeze in this tiny room, they might have to sing lullabies!
“I won’t let it happen again!”
“Even if it’s uncomfortable, just bear with it for a fortnight!”
“We will guard the annex inside and out with iron-clad security! Please tie down your worries!”
This is not a situation where you can just sleep and let others throw a drunken party! Their intentions are fiery; it’s good that they don’t want to make more mistakes. But refusing them feels difficult now.
What choice do I have?
“Please take good care of me.”
It’s better than getting killed in my sleep, right?
—————
“Master Kang, are you unwell?”
“Hey, why does your face look like that?”
I felt absolutely fine.
“Last night, one of the guards watching my room said he would take ten more years and go home. Another one is here to make some money, leaving his wife in Hunan, and the last guard seems to be the youngest, and it looks like he has a new spark with a medical woman recently. ”
I believe they’re mistaken. The medical ladies are friendly by nature. Just because she smiles at them doesn’t mean it’s a green light.
“Eh?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Given the hot gaze of the men, it’s not easy for someone to sleep.”
It’s already been days since I’ve had bad sleep.
“Why don’t you send them away?”
“The danger hasn’t actually disappeared yet. The head of the guard is also pleading for a chance to make amends, and it feels too harsh to refuse.”
The head of the guards has two wives and an elderly mother to take care of, with more than twenty family members depending on him. If he gets dismissed, they’d all end up on the streets.
“Still…”
“I thought it would be fine if I didn’t care much, but it seems the shock of someone breaking in while I was sleeping has kept me tense. Every time something stirs in the bedroom, I wake up.”
On top of that, the guards’ conversations while working are hilariously entertaining.
It feels like listening to a soap opera on the morning commute. No matter how much I try to sleep, their lines stick in my ear.
“What now?”
“Eventually, I’ll get used to it and fall asleep.”
Just like how my friends would rally at my small apartment every day to play board games or party, eventually, they’d get tired and sleep.
It shouldn’t be a big deal.
——
“Master Kang, I’ve finished organizing the documents for you. Here you go.”
I had to finish the documents by the morning. What was it? What was I supposed to receive?
“Master Kang!”
I had to write a novel for lunch. I was waiting for Older Brother Cheol to arrive.
“Uh! Master Kang! Please wake up!”
I need to get to work. What was it again?
“Hey! Kang Yoon-ho!!!”
Gil-san’s shout jolted me awake.
“Ah! I just dozed off for a second, sorry! What were you saying?”
It’s been a week since the assassin incident, and I still hadn’t gotten used to it.
Turning my head, I saw the grave face of Jeon Gil-san and the worried gaze of Zhuge So-je.
“They called your name. Your name.”
“K-Kang, Master Kang.”
“Don’t worry. It’s just that while training with Older Brother Cheol and writing, I’ve had more things to worry about. I haven’t lost sleep or anything.”
That was a lie. I had been losing sleep for a week.
“Is it because of the time while wandering the Central Plains?”
During that first year, being a barbarian, I was treated scornfully, and I was grateful just to sleep in a shed with a roof.
Wild beasts, thugs, martial artists, unfriendly local residents. I had to be wary of so many people that I always went to sleep on edge.
In those days, being cautious while sleeping worked out quite well. Thanks to my heightened senses developed from the Tonae Technique, I was able to react before any thieves or robbers could get close.
The question now is the current situation.
It seems that because of the assassination incident, I’ve unconsciously been sleeping tightly like I did in my first year.
“Lying isn’t going to work. Hyang, what’s the deal? You deal in special skills, right?”
Gil-san asked, unable to stand by any longer.
“If it’s a proper formation, it’ll take time to set up. I can set up a simple formation, but I don’t think that’ll help.”
Zhuge So-je replied with a grim expression, seemingly at a loss.
“The formation we used to deal with the intruders last time needed considerable preparation.”
Domain expansion. Spell. Sweet sleep formation. It would be nice if I could just shout and make it end.
If the formations in martial arts could be quick, they’d probably change from sword fights to supernatural battles.
“Since the room is too small, it would be safer to set up a device, but that will take too much time.”
There’s no need for Zhuge to feel sorry; it’s just that I’m being overly sensitive and unable to sleep.
“If Hyang is saying that, I guess so. Then, do we just have to wait until the room is repaired or the perpetrator is caught?”
“Honestly, it’s fine. Just because I sleep a bit less doesn’t mean I’m going to die.”
Seeing me smiling, the two of them looked even more worried. I guess I have to get up then.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s time for Older Brother Cheol to arrive. I need to prepare for training. …Huh?!”
As I passed by Zhuge So-je, I unintentionally tripped over my feet.
“Master Kang!”
Zhuge So-je hurriedly caught me.
“My feet got a little tangled. I’m sorry. Oh dear.”
In an instant, I lost my balance and inadvertently embraced Zhuge So-je.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Really, I’m fine. Uh, wait, I’ll stay like this for a moment.”
It smells nice. The fragrance of hydrangeas I felt from somewhere made my body slowly relax.
“Ahh! Uh! N-no, Mr. Master Kang.”
“Are you going to sleep standing up? You don’t look fine at all. Hyang, really, is there no way?”
“I’m fine!”
Look at my state! I shook my head and finally managed to stand up.
“There is a way to sleep comfortably, not that it’s impossible.”
Zhuge So-je muttered as she combed through my hair, where my chin had just rested.
“Really, you have a way?”
“Well, it, um, kind of. It’s still a bad idea.”
Zhuge So-je turned her head with a strangely flushed face.
“Hyang! If you have a way, tell me quickly. Your fiancé is struggling here.”
“No, it’s just… um! No, but it’s my fault. I shouldn’t… no, I can’t.”
What is it?
Is it an embarrassing method? Zhuge So-je squatted and grabbed her head in distress.
“If it’s a troubling method, you don’t have to say it. No need for that!”
I managed to lean against the desk, trying not to lose my balance.
“That girl could faint at this rate.”
“Not fainting.”
Zhuge So-je looked at me keenly before nodding her head as if she had made up her mind.
“Um… Kang Master!”
Zhuge So-je approached me with a flushed face and bowed her head.
“Yes.”
What method could it possibly be?
Zhuge So-je’s nape trembled. Her ears turned bright red. As I waited for her to respond, she finally looked up at me.
Why do her eyes seem so lost and shaky?
Zhuge So-je finally revealed her method.
“W-would you… like to sleep in my room together?”
“…Huh?”
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