Chapter 89: The Day I Got Married

On a day when I was idly wasting time without any visitors.

I once looked up at the sky and made a wish.

That someone would kick open that door and throw me a request.

“What? What are you asking me to do…?”

But, you see, this wasn’t the kind of troublesome request I had in mind.

Who would have thought there existed a woman bold enough to casually propose the most important duty of one’s life.

I stared blankly at the Tang Clan woman before me.

“Boss? Since when did you two get that close…?”

“It’s not like that. Stop misunderstanding.”

I stretched out my palm, the same way a teacher halts school violence.

After shutting Ilhong up before she could start babbling nonsense, I asked again.

“Noona, you’re joking, right?”

“…No? I’m serious. You, become my husband. That’s the request.”

Her voice was firm, but I caught the unconscious twitch of her hands, gripping and releasing the edge of her robe.

“H-h-hu-husband?”

Beside me, Ilhong spewed out the tea she had been drinking.

Her mind, which had just returned, immediately went blank again.

But I managed to hold on to my sanity with years of troubleshooter experience.

It wasn’t the first time I faced a request out of nowhere.

“I don’t understand, but… why not just ask the Wanderers’ Guild…?”

When a client looked like trouble, the wise choice was to toss them toward another office.

I casually pointed in the direction of the Wanderers’ Guild’s building.

“Damn it, the Wanderers’ Guild would never take this kind of request…! Besides, last time you said your office takes on anything as long as you get paid!”

That was Tang Yeo-hye from Sichuan Tang Clan, glaring as she reminded me of what I’d said.

Sure, I’d boasted that we did everything, but still—being suddenly asked for marriage was a little much.

“And I came to you because it has to be you, Mujin. No one else will do.”

Oh-ho, and now what was this supposed to mean?

Tang Yeo-hye of the Sichuan Tang Clan was spouting words that could easily be misunderstood, her face showing nervous tension.

“What is this, a love confession? Noona, do you like me?”

Though it was unlikely considering her nickname Wild Dog, I calmly asked to gauge her intent.

“…”

But contrary to expectation, she didn’t answer right away. I thought she’d explode like usual, throwing curses at me.

“Huh? For real?”

I muttered with a dumbfounded face.

“N-no!! You bastard! Don’t misunderstand! I told you it’s a request! Damn it, you…!”

Finally regaining her senses, she clenched her fists and barked at me so loudly it seemed she’d hit me any second.

Yes, that was more like it—the mad dog of the Righteous Faction.

Jingle jingle.

And then, as if drawn by her barking, a man opened the office door and stepped inside.

“…Just as I expected, chaos.”

Taking in Ilhong dripping tea from her mouth, Wild Dog flailing in a frenzy, and me looking bewildered, Neungsam let out a deep sigh.

“I’ll explain everything, Young Master Mujin.”

At last, the communication officer for Wild Dog had arrived.

“…A political marriage?”

Neungsam, who had arrived late because he was packing baggage, nodded at my words.

A strategic union between clans. In ancient times, it was said to be even more common than marrying for love.

“Yes. More precisely, it’s a political marriage being one-sidedly pushed by Young Master Tang Ak. Young Master Mujin.”

Why was a mere young master, not the clan head, allowed to decide such things?

It turned out the Tang Clan’s head, Tang Yangcheon, was bedridden, having lost consciousness due to excessive training of poison arts.

He had overreached in trying to ascend to the realm of the Poisoned One.

Seizing the chance, Tang Yeo-hye’s older brother—Tang Ak—was tightening his grip on power and trying to drive her out.

“But why go that far?”

“Because, unlike most clans where succession prioritizes the eldest son, the Tang Clan’s inheritance works like a jar of Gudok, Young Master.”

A jar of Gudok. That was the ruthless method of throwing venomous insects and poisons together, keeping only the one that survived.

Ilhong had once told me the Yin Parasite and Yang Parasite used by Il Soyong of the Mysterious Pavilion were created that way.

“Only the most venomous one inherits the clan. Since our lady showed exceptional talent early, Young Master Tang Ak sees her as a thorn in his eye.”

So, before she could further threaten his position, he meant to turn her into an outsider by marrying her off.

That explained why Tang Yeo-hye had been wandering, practically running away all this time.

“And recently, after the lady consumed the Blood Boar’s inner core and distinguished herself in Shaanxi, he grew anxious. He can’t afford to delay anymore.”

Tang Ak was rushing to force through this political marriage, even without her consent.

Apparently, the other clan was very eager too, perhaps offered some kind of benefit, despite never even seeing her face.

“Tsk. How dare they trample on someone’s life like that.”

Such was the era. Under the banner of a clan’s survival, it was natural to crush an individual’s will.

Even in my own Murong Clan, people obeyed the clan head’s orders like puppets.

At least Murong Cheonghye had recently joined the Murim Alliance and shown a sliver of defiance.

“In any case, that is why we need a fake engagement with you, Young Master Mujin. To stop their scheming.”

So that’s why she had suddenly come to my office.

Indeed, for a request like this, where else could she go but our Troubleshooter Agency?

“But since it’s a fake engagement, does it really have to be me? I could arrange another man…”

“No. It has to be you.”

Finally, Tang Yeo-hye, who had kept her mouth shut until now, spoke up.

Her gleaming dark-green eyes locked firmly onto mine.

“At fifteen, a genius who reached Peak Martial Artist level. Granted the alias Dog-Beating Dragon by the Alliance Leader himself. Poison resistance as though you were a Poisoned One. And above all, our deep connection. Someone who could convince the Tang Clan elders? Only you, Dan Mujin.”

It had to be someone the clan could never deny.

And among the righteous prodigies close to her, I was the only one with such talent.

“You should’ve made more friends back then…”

“…I do have friends, you bastard!”

She launched a punch filled with fury.

I quickly tilted my head and flicked away her small fist.

“My, my! Striking your husband already?”

I couldn’t start married life as a battered husband.

When I shouted indignantly about her lack of manners, Tang Yeo-hye looked at me dumbfounded.

“Y-you crazy bastard! We’re not even in that kind of relationship yet!”

Yet, huh.

I glanced toward Ilhong, our agency’s pillar and successor of the Hao Sect.

Sensing my thoughts, she spoke up without being asked.

“I oppose this request.”

“Why?”

“No reason. I just oppose it.”

It was a purely emotional response, unlike her usual logic.

So, in the end, the choice fell to me, the agency’s owner.

“For the record, that coin pouch I showed earlier was just the down payment. If things go well, I can pay more once I return home.”

Indeed, while she was broke from running away, the Sichuan Tang Clan itself was wealthy and powerful.

And we still had taxes to pay quarterly for operating in the Imperial Capital, plus debts owed to Eun Hwaran.

Who knew when the next request would come—or whether it would even pay?

There was no need for further calculations.

Ssshhk.

I extended my right hand toward Tang Yeo-hye.

Puzzled, she slowly clasped it.

“Let’s do well, my wife.”

“…You crazy man. Don’t say corny things like that.”

Flustered, Tang Yeo-hye pulled her hand away in a hurry, muttering under her breath.

Thanks to her spectacular exploits in Shaanxi, Jo Harang had earned the alias Divine Wind Sword.

She had just descended from Mount Song, where her sect was located, and arrived in Beijing.

She had wanted to consolidate her Peak Martial Artist enlightenment together with her master, but there were two reasons she came down for a short while.

To collect the payment from Lord Jo of the Manor’s request, and to visit the establishment of a close friend who she’d heard was opening one in Beijing.

‘I wonder if he’s doing well, that Mujin fellow.’

At first, she had dismissed him as nothing more than an arrogant low-ranked wanderer, but through their long journey and repeated hardships, the two had grown rapidly close.

Because of that, her initial inexplicable aversion toward him had vanished, replaced by a strange sense of kinship.

Not only had he helped her break through the wall to Peak Martial Artist, but he had also risked his life to guard her back in battle.

Thinking of Dan Mujin’s figure brought a smile to Jo Harang’s lips.

“Jo Harang, are you perhaps planning to visit that troubleshooter’s place?”

Gam Un, who had just handed her the reward for the Lord Jo of the Manor escort request, asked as he stared at her.

He added that he hadn’t been able to attend the opening ceremony due to being busy, so if she was going, she should also take along a gift for him.

“That fellow’s strange, though. He could just stay a wanderer, so why dive into the jobs of low-ranking unorthodox types? Tsk.”

Sure, it always ended with blood, but in terms of the quality of requests and profit, wandering would have been much better.

Gam Un shook his head, saying he couldn’t understand it.

“Mujin doesn’t just want money. He always felt satisfaction when people needed him and thanked him.”

And also, a strange sense of relief.

She had once seen him mutter that as long as that mysterious qi surging near his dantian remained, he could stay sane for a while longer.

“That’s what’s strange. If he likes that so much, he should just play the chivalrous hero.”

“But as a wanderer or troubleshooter, he can make money too, right?”

Jo Harang shrugged, as if agreeing that he was gaining both honor and profit.

“Come to think of it, you were a strange one at first too.”

That mysterious girl who appeared under the starlight one night, asking to be allowed to earn money.

Yet now she had become a dignified Peak Martial Artist, a pillar of the Beijing Wanderers’ Guild.

“So, what do you say to another request? Lord Jo asked if you could teach martial arts to his children.”

At Gam Un’s suggestion, Jo Harang recalled the two brothers who had fought a bizarre spar.

Surely it wasn’t because he thought they had talent. More likely, he just wanted to show off that his family had ties to a Peak Martial Artist.

“He said he’d pay well. What do you think?”

“I’ll decline. I don’t think I can take other requests for a while anyway.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“After greeting Mujin, I plan to return to Mount Song to sort out my enlightenment.”

That was why she had only briefly greeted her master before descending. Once she resumed training, she wouldn’t leave the mountain for some time.

“Mount Song? Ah, the place where your sect is?”

“That’s right.”

It had some name like Zi Xia something, but Gam Un had already forgotten.

“Haha… So, you came all the way down here just to see that fellow’s face?”

He laughed with a knowing expression.

“Yes. Since my close friend risked a fortune to start a business, I should at least visit once, don’t you think?”

“Hmm, a close friend, a close friend…”

He rubbed the cross-shaped scar on his face, muttering.

“Jo Harang, do you know? Between a man and a woman, there’s no such thing as ‘close friend.’”

He spoke with certainty, but Jo Harang furrowed her brows, insisting otherwise.

“Don’t say that. Don’t belittle the friendship forged by risking life and death together.”

Though she had met many fellow wanderers, Dan Mujin was the first she could call a true friend.

Someone her age, with talent to rival her own, who punished evil and promoted good, carrying immense righteous karma within.

Truly, the ideal friend she had always dreamed of.

“Hahaha… Well, it often takes a great event for people to realize their true feelings.”

Gam Un chuckled, watching Jo Harang, who was younger than him.

Even martial experts couldn’t easily grasp their own hearts.

He pulled something from the table and tossed it to her.

“Jo Harang, give this to that fellow.”

One was a Grade-B Wanderer Token he had promised to give, and the other was a rolled-up painting.

“Why is a four-legged beast… standing on two? Chairman, what kind of painting is this?”

“If you hold onto it, it’ll be worth money someday. Tell him it’s my gift for his opening.”

Saying that, Chairman Gam Un left, claiming he had business to attend to.

“Hmm…”

Inside the painting was a beast in a lewd pose.

Jo Harang left the guild building with a disgusted look.

“I really can’t understand the tastes of the high and mighty.”

To think this would be worth money… She shook her head, shivering at the world of painters and painting.

Stepping onto her bouncing footwork, she reached the edge of the commercial district in no time.

There, she saw the two-story building she had been told about.

“Hmm? Where are they going?”

But she also spotted Dan Mujin and his group, hauling a wagon piled high with luggage, heading off in a rush.

It looked like a long journey.

“Mujin? Where are you going?”

The young man flinched and turned when he heard her familiar voice.

“Wha—Jo Harang? When did you come to Beijing?”

He greeted her with a surprised face.

“I came to congratulate you on your opening, though late. But now… are you going somewhere?”

“Uh, well… I have business in Sichuan. The timing’s bad.”

He quickened his steps, oddly evasive.

Just what kind of business was this?

Then, Ilhong suddenly opened her mouth, tattling.

“Miss Jo Harang, can you believe it? This man just got married.”

“…What?”

Jo Harang’s mouth fell open, as if struck on the head.

He did what?

“See that proud woman with the sharp nose and crimson eyes up ahead? He’s going to Sichuan to marry her.”

It was Tang Yeo-hye, shouting for Mujin to hurry up.

“Hurry up! Slowpoke husband bastard! That man’s definitely plotting something again!”

She called Dan Mujin with strange titles.

Jo Harang’s head jerked toward her one and only close friend.

“It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!”

When their eyes met, Dan Mujin frantically waved both hands.

“What misunderstanding…?”

Jo Harang asked.

“Exactly. What misunderstanding? He really is going to marry that woman.”

“Hey! Do you have to say that?”

Dan Mujin glared at Ilhong, who was hindering him instead of helping.

“It’s not a real marriage, it’s because of a request.”

What kind of request required forming a marriage contract?

Jo Harang looked dumbfounded.

“I’ll explain later…!”

As Tang Yeo-hye got farther ahead, Dan Mujin shouted that he would explain later and ran off with the wagon.

Watching him disappear, a storm of emotions swirled in her chest.

She unconsciously dropped the gifts she had brought.

“What is this…”

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