I immediately headed to the detached quarters where I was staying.
Warrior Jin Yeong was staying in the building right next to mine.
It seemed they had given him that place because he was my guest.
I had only just returned home, but I couldn’t leave Warrior Jin Yeong waiting.
I called Escort Guard Lee Pil and had him escort Warrior Jin Yeong to the Reception Room, then, with Palgap’s help, I quickly straightened my clothes and made my way there.
“Warrior Jin Yeong. It is an honor to see you.”
“It’s been a while. Sit.”
“Yes.”
I sat down across from him.
“You must be curious why I came.”
No. Not really.
I kept my true feelings to myself and simply smiled. Warrior Jin Yeong looked at me and said,
“We plan to hold the Poetry and Prose Competition again.”
“I see.”
“The timing will be pushed back a little, so it should be held in spring. Naturally, the Sebin Merchant Group and the Eunhae Merchant Group will be leading it again this time.”
The Imperial Palace must have made a pretty tidy profit from the last Poetry and Prose Competition.
Well, the Emperor also managed to secure the talent he wanted.
Still, that did not answer all my questions.
For something like this, His Majesty could have simply sent an Imperial Decree through a courier.
It was not important enough for Warrior Jin Yeong to come all the way here himself.
Then why had he come?
Feeling tense, I focused on what Warrior Jin Yeong would say next.
Warrior Jin Yeong took something from his sleeve and held it out to me. It was a very small, narrow box.
“It is yours. Open it.”
I respectfully accepted the box and opened it.
And then I could not help being startled.
“Is this… a hidden weapon?”
“That’s right. It is a hidden weapon called the Master-Returning Flower (歸主華).”
A flower that returns to its master…
True to its name, the hidden weapon was shaped like a flower. Looking at it reminded me of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s hidden weapons.
The Tang Clan had a hidden weapon shaped like a butterfly.
“No matter how this hidden weapon is thrown, it will return to its master before you finish counting to five.”
“Then how does the hidden weapon recognize its master?”
“Coat it with your blood, then keep it on your person for five days without letting it leave your body.”
“I see. But why give this to me?”
Warrior Jin Yeong answered.
“His Majesty has not forgotten how you put those who returned from the trade journey into a deep sleep to prevent information from leaking. Nor has he forgotten how you resolved the matter when the grain being moved to Beijing was nearly stolen.”
Ah… so this was my reward for that.
To be honest, I had felt a tiny bit disappointed that His Majesty had not rewarded me for those incidents.
But now that I had received the Master-Returning Flower, something worthy of being called an Artifact, that disappointment melted away like snow.
“It is quite a precious item, so I came personally to deliver it.”
“I see. I can only thank you for going to such trouble for my sake.”
“It was nothing. I merely stopped by on my way elsewhere.”
“Pardon? Are you going somewhere?”
Warrior Jin Yeong spoke as though asking if I had forgotten.
“Isn’t it about time to break the ice upstream?”
“Ah! That’s right.”
Still, that will not be necessary much longer.
If we can just endure until next year, winter temperatures should return to normal.
And then the years of bumper harvests will begin.
That will also be when we should start bringing back goods other than food through trade.
Only then did I finally feel at ease.
Come to think of it, when I had been debating whether to run away, Geumryeong had stopped me.
Had it reacted that way because it knew I would receive this weapon?
It was a creature that could even sniff out future money, so it was entirely possible.
Whew. Good thing I did not run away.
Warrior Jin Yeong rolled his shoulders and said,
“I have delivered what I came to deliver, so how about a round?”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s have a bout using the Imperial Palace Martial Art.”
“…”
Should I take back what I said about being glad I did not run away?
.
.
.
A short while later.
We stood facing each other with swords in hand, out in the courtyard of my detached quarters.
We had already been sparring for an hour.
Honestly, this was not a difficult spar for me. Warrior Jin Yeong, however, was panting as he searched for an opening.
Warrior Jin Yeong’s current realm was First-rate.
Thanks to the Imperial Palace Martial Art, a superior martial art, he could display skill close to the Peak realm, but he was not truly at that level.
“You are stronger than I expected.”
“You flatter me.”
I answered modestly.
I had not hidden my realm from Warrior Jin Yeong. The Emperor most likely knew my realm anyway.
At the banquet held for those who had performed well in the previous Poetry and Prose Competition, Zhuga Clan’s Grand Clan Lord had told me something.
Among His Majesty’s personal guards, there was someone who had reached the Transcendent realm.
Given that, His Majesty likely already knew my realm. Of course, because the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art was so unusual, there was still a chance he did not know for certain, but the Emperor was the Emperor.
He would find out someday, and being questioned then about why I had hidden it sounded terrifying in every possible way.
Besides, considering that His Majesty had gifted me Heavenly Silkworm Thread, he clearly knew at least something about my Internal Power.
“Haat!”
Warrior Jin Yeong rushed toward me, and I raised my sword to block his attack.
Clang!
When I had first learned the Imperial Palace Martial Art, I had been clumsy enough to lose sometimes, but not anymore.
I lightly twisted my sword and pushed Warrior Jin Yeong’s blade aside.
Tap!
I could not use deadly moves against Warrior Jin Yeong, but at this rate, the spar would never end.
He was stubborn, tenacious, and frighteningly persistent.
I watched for an opening, then rushed toward him.
“Gah!”
Startled by my attack, Warrior Jin Yeong drew in a sharp breath and quickly raised his sword, thrusting it toward me.
Shhk!
Warrior Jin Yeong’s sword grazed my arm.
“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s fine.”
Drip, drip.
Blood fell to the ground, and seeing it made Warrior Jin Yeong look even guiltier.
It really was fine. I had gotten injured on purpose.
“In sparring, isn’t injury always a possibility? Please do not worry about it.”
As I said that, I lightly pressed an acupoint and stopped the bleeding.
“I am truly sorry.”
Warrior Jin Yeong cupped his fist toward me and bowed his head.
“I also apologize for forcing a spar on you when I knew you had only just arrived today and must be tired.”
Ah, so you knew I was tired.
Then why did you ask!
For a moment, irritation surged up inside me, but I soon calmed myself. I thought I understood why Warrior Jin Yeong was acting this way.
“Are you perhaps growing impatient because your realm has not been improving?”
“…!”
So I was right.
I smiled and said,
“From my limited perspective, I do not believe you need to rush.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“When I went to Lanzhou last time, I nearly died. I also cannot be of greater help to His Majesty. I believe both of those things happened because my skill is lacking.”
The First-rate realm was not lacking by any means.
It only seemed weak compared to Peak or Profound experts. Even in the martial world, First-rate warriors were not exactly common.
Why else would people call them “first-rate”?
But saying that would probably not be much comfort to him.
So I decided to give him a simple piece of advice.
I thought I knew what the problem was.
“When you use your sword, you seem to think quite a lot.”
In simpler terms, he fought intelligently.
I had a similar tendency myself.
“That is true. I do.”
“You said you were going to break the ice, yes? Then this is perfect.”
“Hm? What is perfect?”
“When you go to break the ice, try swinging your sword at it without thinking about anything.”
“Without thinking about anything?”
“It is not as though you would use your head and strategize while swinging your sword at ice, would you?”
“That is true.”
“Exactly. So for once, enjoy yourself. Don’t think about anything. Just swing your sword as much as you want.”
Warrior Jin Yeong looked puzzled by my words for a moment, then nodded.
“Very well. I will try that. Thank you for the advice.”
“It was nothing.”
“I would like to continue sparring, but with this injury, I think it will be difficult.”
“I truly am sorry.”
Warrior Jin Yeong returned to his quarters, and I also went back to mine.
And then…
“Aaaagh! It stings… Palgap. It hurts.”
“Sigh… Was this truly the only way, sir?”
At Palgap’s question, I sheepishly smiled.
He had already realized why I had deliberately gotten hurt. Beside him, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am let out a sigh.
“Do you have any idea how badly you scared us?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Next time, at least give us some warning.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Palgap opened a small medicine bottle, poured the clear liquid inside onto a cloth, and applied it to my arm.
The wound closed in an instant.
Wait, could this be…
“What is that medicine?”
“It is the leftover Elixir you used before, Young Master.”
We still had that?
Wait, then wasn’t that more than a year old?
“Is something wrong, sir?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”
Apparently, Geumryeong’s saliva had no expiration date, and its effectiveness made me want to cry.
– Kui?
.
.
.
The next morning.
Warrior Jin Yeong set out early.
The night before, I had told Father about the meeting with the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group, and because of that, Father had begun moving busily.
Brother Jeong-ho, who had fainted once the tension left him, soon regained consciousness and was surrounded by his wife and two children.
They probably would not leave his side for a while, but Brother Jeong-ho had quite a lot he needed to do…
“Father. You must take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
“Father, if you make me sad again, I’m going to hate you!”
“Gah! We can’t have that.”
I was drinking tea with my sister-in-law in Georyang Hall while watching Brother Jeong-ho get scolded by his two children.
A new hairpin was pinned in my sister-in-law’s hair.
It was the same hairpin my brother had shown me before – the one that had saved his life.
“The hairpin suits you.”
“Oh? Does it?”
“Yes. It seems Brother Jeong-ho put quite a lot of thought into choosing it.”
“He told me this saved his life.”
“Yes, I heard.”
I nodded and said,
“It is a hairpin to be grateful for.”
“That is what makes it even more special.”
It was then.
As I lifted my teacup, I flinched at the presence approaching Georyang Hall.
Huh? This presence is…
“Huff! Huff! Brother! What happened? Are you all right?”
The one who rushed inside in a panic was Brother Jin-ho.
“Oh? You’re here?”
“Brother, you’re back?”
I had heard Brother Jin-ho was supposed to return from his trade journey today. It seemed he had heard what happened from my second sister-in-law.
He had already changed clothes, after all.
“Are you sure you’re really okay?”
At Brother Jin-ho’s question, Brother Jeong-ho nodded.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Then why are you lying in bed?”
“The Medical Hall Lord told me to rest for a while. I’m perfectly fine aside from being a little tired, so stop looking at me like that.”
“But still… do you know how scared I was?”
Tears welled in Brother Jin-ho’s eyes, and seeing that, Brother Jeong-ho turned his head awkwardly.
“You brat… you’ve always cried too easily.”
To be fair, Brother Jin-ho looked manly and spirited on the outside, but deep down, he was very softhearted.
Just then, a drum sounded.
“I should get going.”
I smiled and continued.
“It’s time for my Great Yue Language lesson.”
At my words, Brother Jeong-ho asked, puzzled,
“Great Yue Language?”
“Ah, about that…”
I explained the situation to him. After listening, Brother Jeong-ho said to me,
“I want to learn with you.”
“You too, Brother?”
“Yes. You know the Eunhae Merchant Group rose to twentieth place this time, don’t you?”
“Of course I know.”
“For our merchant group to climb even higher, we need to focus on trade with other nations, just as you said. But as the Deputy Merchant Lord, how can I not know the language of the Great Yue Kingdom, one of our most important trade partners?”
“That is true.”
I looked back at Brother Jin-ho and asked,
“Brother Jin-ho, do you want to learn with us?”
At my question, Brother Jin-ho laughed loudly.
“Hahaha! Come to think of it, there’s something I forgot to do! I’ll be going first. Hahaha.”
I knew it.
A short while later.
Brother Jeong-ho and my party entered one of the Eunhae Merchant Group’s meeting rooms.
It was one of the many meeting rooms in the merchant group, a place anyone could use.
A little while later, Captain Yong Eung-wan’s mother entered.
“Hello.”
“We look forward to learning from you.”
She had come with Captain Yong Eung-wan, likely because her Imperial language skills were still lacking and he was there to help.
“My name is Ho Su-eon.”
Captain Yong Eung-wan added an explanation.
“My mother’s family name is Ho, and her given name is Su-eon.”
“Then what about you, Captain Yong Eung-wan?”
“In truth, Yong Eung-wan is my family name, but here, it ended up becoming my name.”
“Then what is your real name?”
“It is Yong Eung-wan Gong Heung. But the name is too long, so please just call me Yong Eung-wan.”
“Understood.”
I cupped my fist toward her.
“Then I look forward to learning from you, Instructor Ho Su-eon.”
A few days passed, and the number of people learning Great Yue Language from her began to grow.
Some employees had found out that we were learning Great Yue Language and asked if they could learn as well.
So I told them,
“Learning that costs nothing is bound to be taken lightly. Therefore, I will set two conditions. First, pay tuition. Second, anyone who drops out midway will have that reflected in their personnel evaluation.”
As a result, only about thirty remained from the hundred or so applicants.
As expected, the personnel evaluation part had been decisive.
Time passed like that, and winter ended.
Spring was coming.
Master’s trade journey is taking a long time this time. There is something I want to ask him, too.
Now that the weather had warmed, I had to go to Beijing. It was also time to put my plan into action.
The problem was that I had not finished learning Great Yue Language yet.
But if I brought Instructor Ho with me, the people here would not be able to continue their lessons…
I agonized over it for several days, but in the end, there was only one solution.
I would bring Captain Yong Eung-wan’s older brother to Beijing.
It was not as though I could take his younger sister with me.
Having decided that, I immediately headed to the training ground.
“Oh, looks like an official spar is underway.”
“Looks that way.”
I stepped in among the people sparring.
–TL Notes–
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