Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 84

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 84
His voice was gentle, but the meaning was clear: stop staring.
I blinked, uncertain how to respond to a Daoist, and found myself floundering for words.
While I fumbled for a reply, Yeon Ryang stepped in, rubbing his hands together apologetically.
“Ah, forgive us, Daoist masters. Our youngest here loses her head over any handsome man, and I’m afraid she’s caused offense. The Daoist seated there was so utterly captivated that I thought it best to—”
What is this man saying?
Alarmed, I drove my elbow into Yeon Ryang’s ribs.
“Brother!”
Of course, Yeon Ryang didn’t flinch. His side muscles were so solid that all I succeeded in doing was bruise my own elbow.
This hurts.
“It was merely a foolish child’s mistake, and I beg your forbearance. The fault lies with me for failing to discipline her properly. Gyeong A, apologize at once. How rude to stare so brazenly at someone’s face—it makes the Daoist uncomfortable. No matter how handsome a man is, you mustn’t gawk like that. Haven’t I taught you better?”
Yeon Ryang adopted the tone of a stern older brother, wagging a finger at me. The Daoist, caught off guard, chuckled good-naturedly and waved his hand.
“It’s quite all right. There’s no need to scold the child so harshly.”
“I shall ensure such behavior does not happen again. Daoist, please accept my sincere apology. Come here and apologize properly. At once.”
In the blink of an eye, I’d become the fool who brightened at the sight of a man’s face, gaping like a fish.
Yeon Ryang, you scoundrel.
But seeing how the Daoist’s demeanor had softened, I had to admit it wasn’t entirely a poor strategy.
I rolled my eyes and quickly played along.
“I beg your pardon, Daoist. I seem to have lost my wits for a moment. Now that I’m closer, you’re even more captivating.”
I lowered my lashes demurely and blinked. But Jin Seong’s response was cold.
“…….”
He simply stared at me without a word, his expression suggesting that even a stone could speak.
Hmm. This isn’t working.
I studied Jin Seong with an awkward smile tugging at my lips.
His handsome face hovered between boyhood and young manhood, with bold, clean lines.
His burnished skin was flawless and healthy, while his mysterious gray eyes seemed unmoved by any storm or hardship.
His hair was pinned up neatly without a single strand out of place—a testament to his meticulous nature.
The stubborn set of his mouth reminded me, oddly enough, of Deok Ju.
He had the look of someone taciturn, rigid, and overly scrupulous.
I found myself wondering why Jin Seong’s appearance had never been described in the novel.
He was beautiful enough to be nominated for the title of the most handsome man in the realm.
“The Daoist is growing uncomfortable. Come here,” Yeon Ryang said, hoisting me up as if to end my performance. I dangled from his hands as I asked,
“Um, Daoist. May I ask your Daoist name?”
“……Jin Seong.”
Jin Seong answered, his gaze shifting between Yeon Ryang and me with a peculiar expression. His voice was a pleasant, low tone.
I grinned and offered a proper greeting.
“Thank you for telling me. Daoist Jin Seong.”
Now that he’d given me his name directly, he couldn’t very well ask how I knew it.
Jin Seong glanced at me as I was carried away like a troublesome puppy, then turned his gaze back to the plate before him with a blank expression.
The Daoists watching our exchange stroked their beards and chuckled heartily.
“Ha! So it’s true that many young ladies admire our youngest disciple.”
“Our Jin Seong does cut quite a fine figure.”
“Youth does that, youth. When I was his age—”
“Senior brother, spare us the nonsense and eat. You were ugly even when you were Jin Seong’s age.”
“What did you say, you rascal?”
I pretended to handle my chopsticks while eavesdropping on the Daoists’ banter.
From the tone of their conversation, it was clear they cherished their youngest disciple like a much younger nephew.
“By the way, Jin Seong. Did Sa Suk Jo mention it to you? You’re to escort the Three Disciples when they’re dispatched to the Martial Alliance.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Not ‘yes, sir.’ Listen here. When you go to Wuhan, you’ll need to look after Song Ja’s children for at least three months. Do you think you can manage that? This old brother worries whether you can handle their antics.”
“I’ll manage. Though they’re close to my age, I am their Sa Suk Jo—their senior disciple. I won’t be unable to control my juniors.”
“Still. I worry just in case. If those rascals try to cause trouble or ignore the Precepts, thrash them soundly. I’ll take responsibility for whatever comes after.”
“My goodness, what fine teachings you offer the boy. Don’t go around saying you’re a Daoist after this.”
An old Daoist laughed dryly, eyeing his senior brother, and crunched on peanuts.
Jin Seong seemed accustomed to his elder senior brothers’ banter and quietly continued eating with his chopsticks.
I watched Jin Seong sidelong, lost in thought.
Jin Seong seemed to be about six years older than Namgoong Hui. If that’s the case, then he’s four years older than me, making him twenty?
“Ha, once this outing is over, our Jin Seong will earn a courtesy name too. The youngest disciple we raised from swaddling clothes is already coming of age—time truly flies, doesn’t it, brother?”
“Was it you who changed his diapers? I was the one.”

“Don’t pride yourself on changing a few diapers, elders. I’m the one who broke the ice in that frozen valley and washed the diapers Sabak had stacked up.”
Twenty years old, then—that would be the Yak Gwan age.
As I counted off Jin Seong’s years on my fingers, Yeon Ryang’s expression, which had been watching me, grew serious.
“Gyeong A.”
“Yes?”
“The Wudang Sect priests cannot marry. I understand the little master has caught your eye, but perhaps you should reconsider…….”
“What are you talking about, really!”
I pressed down hard on Yeon Ryang’s foot to signal him to be quiet, and he chuckled, resting his chin in his hand.
“You don’t even seem fond of him, and it’s as if you barely know each other—why are you so concerned?”
Because he’s the protagonist’s rival. He’s Namgoong Hui’s power meter.
Since I couldn’t give an honest answer, I deflected with something vague.
“He reminds me of someone I know.”
It wasn’t a lie. That rigidity—that utter lack of flexibility—was exactly like Deok Ju’s.
“A friend? Or family?”
“Not exactly a friend… more like family.”
“A family servant, then. That’s understandable.”
Yeon Ryang nodded and placed a tender cut of meat on my plate.
It was his way of saying he wouldn’t press further. I found myself smiling at such a small kindness.
He really was a thoughtful person in every way.
I put the meat he’d offered into my mouth and chewed contentedly.
Ju Ryeong, who had settled onto Yeon Ryang’s lap at some point, was also accepting pieces of meat he tore off for her.
Watching her rub her round belly while still chewing endlessly drew an involuntary laugh from me.
“Ju Ryeong. Stop eating. Are you a pig?”
“Squeak!”
Ju Ryeong cried out sorrowfully, as if reproaching me for criticizing her meal. Yeon Ryang stroked her fur with a chuckle and spoke.
“I think we should rest here for the night and take the carriage tomorrow. Sister.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
“We should stock up on provisions. Should I look around the shops today, or shall we do it all at once tomorrow?”
“You must be exhausted—let’s do it all tomorrow. Brother, you’ve been keeping watch without sleeping. You need time to catch your breath.”
I hadn’t seen Yeon Ryang sleep properly in days. Even if he’d caught brief moments of rest, fatigue would have accumulated.
Both Yeon Ryang and I needed proper rest before departing for Wuhan.
At my answer, Yeon Ryang’s lips curved upward in a smile.
“Ha, worried that your brother is exhausted? Sister, you’re kind.”
Coming from someone who scooped up a dying stranger from the mountains, nursed him back to health, and then volunteered to protect him, it was rich.
I laughed softly in return.
“Brother, if you’ve finished eating, let’s go upstairs and rest.”
Just as we were about to leave, the Wudang Sect priests, who had similarly finished their meal, began bustling about and rising to their feet.
“Ah, the Sect Leader will be waiting. Let’s head up before it gets any later.”
“Senior. Before we go up, just one bottle of rice wine…….”
“Shh, you fool. Jin Seong will hear. Bring some back in secret.”
An elderly priest nudged his junior disciple in the ribs and pressed coins into his hand.
I glanced at Jin Seong, and his eyebrows twitched with disapproval. Yet he seemed to have no intention of speaking harshly to his seniors, distant in rank though they were…….
“Senior Brother. Alcohol cannot be brought into Jasogung.”
“Ha, Jin Seong. You must have misheard. Alcohol?”
“It cannot be. A senior brother who must lead by example in observing the Precepts—alcohol is unthinkable.”
He’s a stickler for rules and principles, that one.
“You’re something else. Fine, fine. We won’t drink it inside Jasogung, so don’t worry.”
The elderly priest laughed good-naturedly, appeasing Jin Seong.
He showed no displeasure at the young disciple’s impertinent rebuke. Rather, he smiled warmly, as if amused.
There was a certain age where anything one said seemed endearing.
As Jin Seong tried to object further, the elderly priest pushed him along by the back and cut off his words.
“Come now, Jin Seong. Let’s go before it gets any later. The Sect Leader is waiting.”
In the meantime, another priest, having quickly slipped a wine bottle into his robe, cleared his throat as if nothing had happened.
“Ahem, the senior brother is right. Shouldn’t we head up before sunset? Let’s go.”
The priests, redirecting the conversation with exaggerated urgency, coaxed and cajoled their junior out of the inn, and Yeon Ryang shrugged in disbelief.
“So priests don’t live on dew alone, it seems.”
“Didn’t you see what they ordered? It was all meat.”
On the table they’d left behind lay piles of bones stripped clean of every scrap of flesh.
I watched Jin Seong’s receding back of the head for a moment, then slowly turned away.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————