Late in the evening, Pyo Wol returned to the inn.
Inside the inn, members of the Heavenly Flower Troupe had already gathered.
Their faces were filled with pleasant weariness from performing brief performances all day, stirring up the people who couldn't close their mouths from astonishment.
"Can you believe it, the people were so surprised they couldn't even speak?"
“Isn’t this enough to spread the word about our performance?”
"Course! We made enough noise."
"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's performance."
The actors chattered while tilting their glasses.
Pyo Wol looked around at them for a moment, but he couldn't see any sign of So Geoksan.
At that moment, Lee-Ok-ran spotted Pyo Wol and approached him.
"Have you arrived?"
"What about So Geoksan?"
"He had some personal matters to attend to, and said he'll be back tomorrow evening at the latest."
"I see. So the performance will go on without him?"
"The leader of our theater troupe rarely performs on stage himself. And we've been doing everything ourselves since the beginning of our performances, so it shouldn't be a problem even without him."
Pyo Wol nodded his head at Lee-Ok-ran's explanation.
"If you haven't had dinner yet, would you like to join me? I feel bad that I haven't properly hosted someone who knows our leader."
"It's okay."
"But please allow me this one opportunity. I really want to treat someone who knows our leader's past, as it's my first time meeting someone like that."
"Didn't he tell you about his own past?"
"No!"
"Then I can't tell you either."
"But...."
"If you're curious, ask directly. Don't make things awkward for others."
"I made it awkward. I'm sorry."
Lee-Ok-ran admitted her mistake and apologized obediently. However, that did not mean she would give up her dinner with Pyo Wol.
"Then I'll just treat you to dinner. That's okay, right?"
Pyo Wol thought she was quite persistent. But there was no reason or excuse to refuse anymore.
"Great!"
"Thank you."
Finally, Lee-Ok-ran smiled with joy.
"Hey! Clear off one table and bring out some new dishes."
As Lee-Ok-ran gave orders to the members, those who had been laughing and talking began to move energetically.
As the male members of the troupe cleared the table, the female members went to the kitchen and brought out the food themselves. In no time, the table was filled with food.
"Please sit down," said Lee-Ok-ran, and Pyo Wol took a seat. As if waiting for him, one of the female members sat down next to him.
When Pyo Wol raised an eyebrow, Lee-Ok-ran laughed and said, "Don't feel burdened. It's what the child wants."
"That's right! Since the moment I first saw you, I wanted to sit next to you," the female member said, giggling.
Lee Ok-ran offered an explanation. "Being a member of a traveling theater troupe is not an easy life, as you may know. Many people look down on us as lower-class. Girls as pretty as the one sitting next to you often become targets of higher-class men."
"I've never heard such a thing."
"It's not well-known, but it's actually quite common."
People have a tendency to enjoy the performances of a theater troupe while at the same time viewing them as very lowly beings. This tendency was especially true for those of high social status.
They did not leave the theater troupe alone when there were beautiful women among them.
Sometimes with threats, sometimes with riches, they would lure the troupe's troupe leader, who would then throw the female troupe members to high-ranking people for a night.
Such things happened frequently in the world to which they belonged.
"But our leader was different. No matter how much money he was offered, he would never give up a member if they didn't want to go. And he never yielded to any threats, protecting his members. We are able to perform with such bright expressions all thanks to our leader."
"You have a good leader, it seems."
"Yes. He is incomparable to anyone else."
"To be honest, there is no one like our leader. We had to endure a living hell before he came."
The female member sitting next to Pyo Wol placed the food in front of him on a plate and spoke. Her name was Gahyang.
Gahyang had a cute appearance and a beautiful voice, which caused many people to set their sights on her. In reality, there were times when she had to sell her body out of necessity, However, the money she earned did not come into her pocket.
All the money she was supposed to receive went to the brothel owner. With that money, the brothel owner treated the girls with false kindness and entertainment.
She couldn't escape even if she wanted to because the brothel owner dominated them with violence.
If it weren't for So Geoksan appearing, their hellish life would have continued until now.
To Pyo Wol, their words sounded surprisingly strange.
It was because there was a gap between the So Geoksan he knew and what they were saying.
In the underground cave, So Geoksan was more gloomy than anyone else, and didn't show his true feelings as much as Pyo Wol did.
He worked with Soyeowol, Song Cheonwoo, and others as needed, but was always ready to betray them.
Because of this, he was engraved in Pyo Wol's mind as someone who couldn't be trusted. But it seemed that he was a pretty reliable protector for these women.
Gahyang leaned her body against Pyo Wol and said,
"Our leader doesn't mind if we don't make any profit from our performances. Honestly, our performances aren't always successful, more often than not, we lose money, but he brings in riches from somewhere and fills in the gaps. Honestly, we know that he can't do that in a normal way, which is why I'm curious about the troupe leader’s past."
"I've already told you, if you're curious, ask him directly."
"Oh my! How heartless."
Gahyang smiled with her eyes as she looked at Pyo Wol. Though she had said she was heartless, there was plenty of affection in her eyes that were curved like a crescent moon.
Lee-Ok-ran spoke while watching Gahyang.
"It seems like the feminine troubles won't stop. Gahyang isn't the type to easily give her heart to someone else."
"Which woman wouldn't like a handsome man? Just looking at him is so enjoyable... "
"Hey, looks aren't everything. What's truly important is..."
"I know. It's the heart, right? I've heard it so many times that my ears are bleeding."
"You..."
"I don't know. Maybe it's important for you, but for me, it's the looks."
Gahyang stuck out her tongue at Lee-Ok-ran. Lee-Ok-ran looked surprised for a moment but then chuckled.
Gahyang was not always such a cheerful person.
As a child, she was only introverted. But now that she had strong opinions, it made Lee-Ok-ran happy to see that her personality had become brighter. However, Pyo Wol seemed to have no interest in Gahyang.
'Well, how many women would be interested in him anyway?'
Gahyang probably knew that too. She had been through a lot herself. But still, seeing her eyes twinkle as she was smitten with Pyo Wol made Lee-Ok-ran's heart ache even more.
Pyo Wol silently ate his meal, and Gahyang continued to gaze at him endlessly. The night grew deeper and deeper.
***
The inn was noisy from early morning.
The members of the Heavenly Flower Troupe have been preparing for the performance since dawn. They were busy checking their makeup and preparing props.
Today was the day of their performance in Jin Manor, and the compensation they received would depend on the outcome of the performance.
That's why all members of the Cheonhwa troupe were in a sensitive state.
Furthermore, So Geoksan did not return to the inn last night. Although it was familiar to perform without him, everyone couldn't help but be worried.
Fortunately, with Lee-Ok-ran taking charge and directing everyone, they were able to focus on their performance preparations without losing their composure.
When all preparations were completed, Lee-Ok-ran said loudly, "Let's go! To Jin Manor..."
"Yes!" all the members replied in unison.
They packed up all their belongings and headed towards Jin Manor.
After the Heavenly Flower Troupe left, Pyo Wol came down the stairs.
The empty inn was so quiet that it felt eerie. Having spent the past two days in the same inn as the Heavenly Flower Troupe, the quiet atmosphere felt unfamiliar.
Pyo Wol headed straight for Masa.
The horse inside the stable whined happily at the sight of Pyo Wol. Pyo Wol stroked the horse's neck in response, and the horse closed its eyes, enjoying the touch.
"Let's go!"
After some time, Pyo Wol rode the horse towards Jin Manor.
The road to Jin Manor was bustling with people.
People had been heading towards Jin Manor since morning upon hearing that the Heavenly Flower Troupe was performing.
Excitement could be seen on the faces of people who were eager to see a theater troupe's performance after a long time. Seeing their expressions, Pyo Wol thought that Jin Manor's calculation had worked.
Jin Manor had achieved nothing short of a victory, with the atmosphere in Yeonnam reviving after the stagnation caused by the fight with Snow Sword Manor.
There was a long line of people waiting to enter Jin Manor's entrance. They were all waiting for the entrance to open so they could finally go inside.
As soon as Pyo Wol appeared, one of the warriors among the soldiers recognized him and approached him.
After surrounding him, the man spoke, "There was an order from Jin Si-Woo to just let master Pyo come in. Please follow me."
"Okay," Pyo Wol nodded and followed behind the man.
The soldiers guarding the entrance surrounded Pyo Wol and then opened the way for him.
Pyo Wol entered Jin Manor on horseback. Jin Manor, which had become like ruins, was gradually recovering its old appearance thanks to the huge amount of funds and numerous workers invested in it after signing contracts with merchants.
Although there were still some unfinished houses, the atmosphere was somewhat messy, but it was still well rebuilt.
In the center of the manor, there was a large platform and the members of the Heavenly Flower Troupe were preparing for a performance on it.
Then someone approached Pyo Wol.
"Older Brother!" It was Jin Si-Woo who greeted Pyo Wol with a smile.
But he looked much brighter than when Pyo Wol saw him a few days ago.
Pyo Wol got off his horse and spoke.
"You've been through a lot."
"There's no need to say that. Other people have taken care of the practical tasks."
"What about Golden Heavenly Hall?"
"They haven't arrived yet. They should be coming soon."
Jin Si-Woo's expression turned bitter.
Pyo Wol tried to maintain a cheerful expression, but his heart was extremely complicated.
The reason why Jang Mugak had come to Jin Manor today was to secure legitimacy.
By visiting the home of the previous Grandmaster, Jin Geom-Woo, he wanted to be officially recognized as the new Grandmaster.
Despite knowing their true intentions, Jin Si-Woo had no reason to stop them.
Pyo Wol silently patted his shoulder.
That's when it happened.
"We're opening the entrance."
The voice of the soldier who guarded the entrance could be heard.
Jin Si-Woo said to Pyo Wol, "I have to go see it."
"Okay!" Pyo Wol nodded as Jin Si-Woo hurried towards the platform.
Although today's event was not very promising, he had a responsibility to carry out the event well.
The entrance opened, and the waiting people poured in.
Jin Si-Woo directed the soldiers of Jin Manor to the platform where the giant stage was set up.
The huge performance area in front of the stage quickly filled up with people.
As people gathered, music began to flow from the stage.
The musicians started to play.
"Wow!"
The people cheered together.
After a moment, the singers started singing along with the musicians.
The atmosphere in the room heated up in an instant.
The Heavenly Flower Troupe knew how to get the crowd going.
Once they had captured the audience's attention with their songs, they began their performance.
In particular, the trick of changing faces called "chageom" was enough to captivate the crowd's attention.
Chageom is a technique in which a person's face is drawn on silk, then layered and placed over the face before being ripped away, instantly transforming the appearance of the person.
For those who did not know the principle behind it, chageom seemed like a trick of the devil.
As the audience was engrossed in the performance of the theater group, a group of martial artists appeared in Jin Manor.
They were members of the Golden Heavenly Hall, led by Jang Mugak and Dokgo Hwang.
Dokgo Hwang smiled wryly as he looked at the packed performance hall.
"It seems they prepared this performance for us. It's nice to see all the commotion," said Dokgo Hwang.
Everyone in the Golden Heavenly Hall knew that wasn't true, but no one dared to contradict Dogo Hwang.
At that moment, a man standing alone caught Dokgo Hwang's eye.
Even though the Golden Heavenly Hall had arrived, the man, Pyo Wol, did not give him a second glance.
In an instant, the smirk disappeared from Dogo Hwang's face.
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