We had left the Zhuge Clan with Young Lord Zhuge Cheon-du in tow, which meant we couldn’t afford to pick up the pace.
Because of that, the distance we had covered in a single day on the way there took us almost three days on the way back.
“We’ll likely have to camp here for the night.”
At Escort Guard Seo Wu’s words, I nodded.
“Understood.”
Our group soon began preparing for the night.
While they did, I went to inform Young Lord Zhuge Cheon-du and his people that dinner was ready.
The group that had been riding in the carriage came over to where we had lit the campfire.
Young Lord Zhuge Cheon-du’s party was rather modest.
His attendant, his maid, and two escort guards – five people in all, including him.
If he had been a direct descendant, he would have had a few more people attached to him, but he was from a branch family.
No matter how anyone dressed it up, the treatment given to direct descendants and branch descendants could never be the same.
That was why people fought tooth and nail to become part of the direct line.
“Tonight’s dinner is noodles.”
Palgap had set a pot over the campfire and was boiling the broth with all kinds of ingredients inside.
Before long, the noodles were ready, and Palgap called out to everyone.
“Just bring your bowls over, one at a time!”
At that, I was the first to bring my bowl over, and Palgap ladled noodles into it for me.
We sat around the campfire and ate.
“This is good!”
“Hehehe, is it to your taste, Young Master?”
“Yeah.”
As expected, Palgap’s cooking was the best.
“Oh!”
“This is truly delicious!”
Even the people from the Zhuge Clan were all satisfied with Palgap’s noodles.
After dinner, we decided on the night watch.
My escort guards and Young Lord Zhuge Cheon-du’s two escort guards discussed it together and set the order.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
After saying that, I lay down.
But for some reason, sleep wouldn’t come. Probably because I had too much on my mind.
When sleep refused to come, tossing and turning never helped.
I should move a little.
I got up.
“Hm? Young Master? Why are you getting up?”
The moment I moved, Palgap, who had been lying beside me, snapped his eyes open.
Then again, Palgap had always been an extremely light sleeper.
He had been like that before, but lately, his senses seemed even sharper.
“Mm, I can’t sleep. Just stay there and rest. I’m only going to take a short walk nearby.”
After saying that, I began strolling around the area.
That was when I saw someone up ahead. It was Young Lord Zhuge Cheon-du.
“Can you not sleep either, Young Lord?”
“Ah, yes. Perhaps it’s because I’m excited about a new place and new work, but sleep won’t come.”
He looked at me as if curious and asked,
“But why are you still awake, Deputy Merchant Lord?”
“I suppose I’m excited that I was able to recruit such an outstanding talent as an instructor for the Martial Arts Academy.”
“Hahaha.”
At my words, he laughed softly.
“There is something I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“During the Hidden Dragon Journey, after you shook off everyone watching you, what did you do for those twenty years?”
“…”
“I know you didn’t associate with any evil groups.”
At my words, he raised his head and looked at me.
“But since I am hiring you as a key figure, I believe I have the right to know what you were doing during those twenty years.”
“…”
Instead of answering, he silently looked up at the sky for a while. Then he finally spoke.
“I investigated my father’s death.”
“Pardon?”
“My father passed away one year before I left on the Hidden Dragon Journey. The Murim Alliance gave an explanation for the incident, but I couldn’t accept it. So I pleaded with the Clan Lord and the Grand Clan Lord, but they only told me it had been nothing more than an accident.”
So that was it.
They had probably said that to keep Young Lord Zhuge Cheon-du, who had yet to reach adulthood, from acting recklessly.
Especially the Grand Clan Lord, since he was certain that his younger brother’s death had been the Murim Alliance’s doing.
“That was why I saw the Hidden Dragon Journey as an opportunity. I secretly slipped away from surveillance, took a position as an employee of the Murim Alliance, and investigated my father’s death.”
“The fact that you returned to the clan means your investigation is over?”
At my question, he nodded.
That must have been why he had told me his father had been killed by the Murim Alliance.
“I see. Thank you for telling me.”
Now I felt like I understood how the Yugang Merchant Group had been able to attack the Murim Alliance so relentlessly and so precisely in my previous life.
Since Young Lord Zhuge Cheon-du had worked as an employee of the Murim Alliance, he would have known their weaknesses and internal problems in detail.
The reason he had been able to work there without drawing any suspicion was probably because his existence had not been recorded in the Zhuge Clan’s household registry at the time.
On top of that, since he was from a branch family rather than the direct line, he likely hadn’t drawn much attention in the first place.
Still, what an impressive person.
I liked that perseverance and patience of his, the sheer grit it must have taken to remain in the Murim Alliance for all those years without his identity being discovered.
As an enemy, he would be terrifying. As an ally, there could hardly be anyone more reliable.
“Do the others know?”
“Only the Clan Lord and the Grand Clan Lord know.”
“I imagine they scolded you quite a bit.”
“They did. But they also apologized to me.”
“I see.”
“Aren’t you curious how my father died?”
“Not yet. It doesn’t seem like you’re ready to tell me.”
“…”
“Later. Tell me later.”
Leaving only those words behind, I quietly walked on ahead.
That night was terribly long.
The next day.
After eating the porridge Palgap cooked, we set out.
And around sunset, we arrived at the Yeochun Inn’s Mount Song branch.
“Ah! Welcome!”
Perhaps the waiter remembered my face, because he came hurrying over in a fluster.
“To think the Handsome Young Hero would visit our inn again! It is an honor.”
Uh… This is embarrassing. Truly.
I smiled and said,
“Thank you for the warm welcome. Do you happen to have rooms available?”
“I believe we still have vacant rooms, but you’ll need to ask the room attendant for the details.”
“Understood.”
I went inside. The room attendant immediately gave me a fist salute.
“It is an honor to meet the Handsome Young Hero.”
At that, everyone nearby turned their attention toward me.
“Ahem, ahem. We plan to stay for one night.”
“Yes, how many rooms will you need?”
We reserved as many rooms as we needed and received the keys.
That was when someone called me from behind.
“Handsome Young Hero.”
When I turned around, I saw Red-Robed Hua Tuo.
“Ah, Divine Physician.”
“Are you on your way back after stopping by the Zhuge Clan?”
“Yes, that’s right. Are you still staying here?”
At my question, he nodded.
“There were still people who had yet to leave, so I remained here as well.”
“I see.”
“It seems you contacted them rather quickly. The various sects and families visited this place sooner than expected. These past few days have been a sea of tears.”
“That’s a relief. Then how many people are still here?”
“About five remain.”
He told me about the people who were still here.
The Taoist from Mount Hua Sect, Young Lord Yun of the Jinso Yun Clan, and Woo Gyeok, who used to be the Life-Seizing Wanderer, as well as his master, had already left this place.
“Wait here a moment. If the remaining people hear you’ve arrived, they’ll be very happy to see you.”
Before I could stop him, he quickly went upstairs, and soon a voice rang out from above.
“You old coot! This is no time to be sleeping!”
“Huh? Why are you suddenly picking a fight with me?”
“Handsome Young Hero is here!”
“What? What did you say?”
They must have grown quite close in the meantime.
Soon, a loud clattering came from upstairs, and the people I had saved came rushing down.
“Handsome Young Hero!”
“It’s good to see you again!”
At their intense welcome, I laughed and said,
“You all look much healthier than before.”
“Of course we do. It’s all thanks to you.”
“I’m glad. I’ll go upstairs, wash up, and come back down shortly.”
A short while later.
After coming down to the first floor, I ate dinner with the others.
And I did not forget to check on the people I had saved.
“Have you had any inconveniences during your stay?”
“Inconveniences? You took such careful care of us, so what could possibly have been inconvenient?”
“Indeed, he’s right.”
As I looked at them, I found myself wondering why on earth those people had locked them in the Underground Prison.
They must have had some objective. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have poured so much time, manpower, and money into doing something like that.
Had they done it because, as Young Lord Yun said, these people stood in their way, but were too valuable to kill?
It didn’t feel quite right, but for now, there was no way to know.
Still, if I lived as best I could, I would eventually find out.
Just as I had found out about the culprit who destroyed Snow Wind Palace.
That was when it happened.
The sound of a horse stopping came from outside, and a man rushed into the inn, shouting,
“Father!”
At that voice, the elderly man who had been eating in front of me shot to his feet.
“Huh? Chang?”
“Ah, ah, Father!”
The man ran to the elderly man, threw his arms around him, and sobbed.
“Khuh! Father! Where on earth have you been? We searched for you so… so desperately.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Tears were streaming from the elderly man’s eyes as he apologized again and again.
He had acted calm on the outside, but I couldn’t even begin to imagine how long he had been waiting for this moment, this moment when he could see his family again.
He must have forced himself to hide his tears while watching the others reunite with their families.
Just like everyone else around me was doing now.
The elderly man said,
“The reason I’m alive right now is because of this man here, the Great Hero, Handsome Young Hero. He saved me.” (TL: Man is his Epithet annoying)
“Elder, calling me Great Hero is too much. Please just call me Young Hero.”
After saying that, I continued,
“I’m truly glad you were able to reunite with your family.”
.
.
.
It was night.
I had come down to the first floor and was reading a book.
If I kept a lamp lit in the room, it would probably make it hard for Palgap to sleep.
Besides, it was better to read books in the brightest place possible.
Someone sat down in front of me.
When I raised my head, I saw Young Lord Zhuge Cheon-du.
“What book are you reading?”
“It’s a collection of poetry and prose called Reflections on the Four Seasons by a man named Jeong Yeok. I heard it’s popular these days, so I’m reading it.”
“I’ve read it as well. But do you read anything as long as it’s popular?”
“Yes.”
I closed the book as I answered.
“I’m a merchant. Merchants have to be sensitive to trends if they want to survive.”
“Trends… From what I’ve seen, quite a few people open stores just because they’re following a trend, only to go bankrupt.”
I smiled.
“We call that biting a lizard’s tail. It means they entered the industry just as the trend was ending. In truth, if you want to make money from a trend, speed is everything.”
“Speed?”
“You enter quickly, and you leave quickly. What matters is timing your exit well. If you drag your feet until the trend dies, all you’ll be left holding is the loss.”
“But isn’t that too difficult a task for people who live from day to day? They wouldn’t have the leeway to think about the future when they need every coin they can scrape together right now.”
“That is why, if you want to make money from a trend, you need at least one of two things.”
“What are they?”
At that question, I grinned.
“Decisiveness, or persistence.”
“Not money?”
“Money is nice to have, but money is also the thing that most easily fills people’s heads with useless fantasies.”
“That sounds difficult.”
“What I mean is this. You either need the decisiveness to know when to quickly pull out of a business and actually do it, or the persistence to push through until the end.”
“I understand decisiveness. But persistence in pushing a business forward… I’m not sure I understand that.”
“It’s simple. Trends always come around again.”
“Ah…”
“If you keep digging one well, water will eventually spring up, won’t it? Of course, enduring all that time while waiting for a day that might come who knows when is hard enough to make a man cough blood.”
“Then doesn’t that make money even more necessary?”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? Having money only fills your head with useless fantasies.”
I smiled bitterly.
“If you had money, wouldn’t you quit and do something else instead of painfully holding on?”
“Ah…”
“And then, when you see something else becoming popular, your eyes would roll back and you’d jump into that, and the vicious cycle would repeat.”
I continued,
“This is where a great merchant must use trends to understand what people desire.”
“So the reason you’re reading that book is to understand people’s desires.”
“That’s right.”
After answering him, I changed the subject.
“So, why did you come looking for me at this hour? I doubt you came just to chat.”
At my words, the smile disappeared from his face.
“I heard that you saved the people who had been imprisoned in the Black Cat Sect’s Underground Prison.”
“Yes. I did.”
“By any chance… are the people behind it them?”
I realized that by them, he meant the Murim Alliance.
“They are. However, I still don’t know what their purpose was.”
“I see.”
After our conversation ended, I returned to my room.
And when I sat on the bed, Geumryeong came out from inside my sleeve.
Geumryeong was holding something in its mouth.
“Kui!”
It was the letter that the Black Cat Sect Leader had handed me as evidence when he was dying.
Ah… Things had been so hectic that I had forgotten about it.
Of course, there hadn’t been any suitable place to check it either.
“Thanks for reminding me.”
At my words, Geumryeong went kui and smacked the bed several times with its right forepaw.
I let out a small laugh and gave it one Silver Tael.
It had earned that much.
After swallowing it, Geumryeong seemed pleased and climbed onto my head.
I unfolded the letter and read it. Then I let out a sigh and folded it again.
I understood why he had kept this as evidence.
But it was still not time to show this to the world.
.
.
.
The next day.
Before leaving for Beijing, I tried to leave more money behind for the people still staying at the inn, but I was turned down because a great deal of the money I had entrusted to them remained.
And instead of giving Red-Robed Hua Tuo the Thousand-Year Spirit Blood Flower, I asked that he treat someone with his medical skills someday if I requested it.
The Divine Physician readily agreed.
“Then we’ll be going ahead.”
“Travel safely.”
“Yes. If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”
And so our group set out for Beijing.
Whew. Now that I think about it, this trip to the Zhuge Clan really was full of one thing after another.
Brother Jeong-ho told me not to cause trouble.
As long as I get back in one piece, that’s good enough.
–TL Notes–
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