I finished dinner and took a brief look around the merchant group.
I’d been away for quite a while, so I needed to check whether anything had changed or seemed off.
Just then, brother Jin-ho came trudging in from the other side. When he saw me, he looked surprised.
“Uh… when did you get back?”
“What are you talking about? I sent a letter ahead saying I’d arrive today.”
“Ah… did you? Anyway, I’m glad you returned safely. I heard you won the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition this time. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. But what have you been doing to be so busy? You didn’t even come to greet your one and only younger brother?”
“Just, you know, this and that…”
He trailed off and avoided my eyes.
Suspicious.
“Then I’ll get going first.”
“Yeah.”
Brother Jin-ho hurried off, and I frowned as I watched his retreating back.
This wasn’t like him at all.
What is it?
He’s clearly hiding something.
Come to think of it, there was a time in my previous life when brother Jin-ho acted oddly too.
What was the reason then?
“Palgap. Doesn’t brother Jin-ho seem suspicious to you too?”
“He certainly does.”
“Aren’t you curious?”
Palgap grinned and bowed his head.
“I’ll find out.”
Palgap was definitely capable when it came to digging up information. He brought something back before the sky even went fully dark.
Maybe I should have assigned him to the intelligence unit.
No.
Palgap needed to stay by my side.
In my previous life, he endured countless hardships for me and died because of it. This time, I had to let him enjoy wealth and honor by my side.
“I hear Deputy Merchant Lord Jin-ho has fallen head over heels for a young lady recently.”
“Hm? Brother Jin-ho has a woman?”
“Yes. They say she’s the daughter of Escort Chief Ha Cheol of the Changin Escort Bureau.”
Wait, Ha Cheol… could it be Lady Ha Su-min?
Palgap confirmed it.
“Her name is Ha Su-min. She turns nineteen at the end of the tenth month this year.”
.
.
.
Damn it, how did I forget?
I remembered my eldest sister-in-law, but Lady Ha Su-min completely slipped my mind.
In my previous life, brother Jin-ho never married. His first love left a scar too deep.
A fire that once burned bright lost its path, and in the end, it consumed brother Jin-ho from within.
I only learned the full story much later.
And the time he seemed off—this was exactly when it happened.
But back then I was too focused on Eunhae Textiles to pay him any attention.
And even when I found out, I was still overwhelmed with work. By then it had passed, and I didn’t think much of it.
Now, what do I do…
“Why, Young Master?”
I sighed and shook my head.
“Nothing.”
“Do you perhaps not approve of Lady Ha?”
“No. I’m cheering for brother Jin-ho.”
That much was true.
The problem is… Lady Ha Su-min is going to die soon.
She doesn’t die from an accident or battle.
In a year, she suddenly dies from illness.
Not an ordinary disease, but Meridian Severance Syndrome.
The Three Yin Meridian Severance (三陰絶脈).
Meridian Severance is a difficult, often fatal condition where excess Yin blocks the blood channels, preventing proper circulation of Qi and blood, leading to a shortened life.
In my previous life, I’d wondered why Lady Ha Su-min had such a condition.
Now I understand.
The Changin Escort Bureau was originally founded by my Master to rebuild Snow Wind Palace.
Which means many of the Escort Chiefs there are disciples of Snow Wind Palace.
And Snow Wind Palace cultivates cold arts—Yin-based techniques.
The ways of the world are strange. Just because a father cultivates Yin doesn’t mean the child will be born with excess Yin.
Most are born with balance, then grow slightly differently depending on development.
But there are rare exceptions.
Sometimes one side’s force is abnormally strong from birth.
That becomes Meridian Severance.
Among the many causes of Meridian Severance, one is inheriting too much Yin from a parent.
But even that is ultimately a matter of fate.
Lady Ha Su-min was simply unlucky.
In any case, if Lady Ha Su-min dies again this time, then brother Jin-ho will remain alone.
And then he’ll definitely come cling to me daily, whining that he’s bored.
I have to do something.
Meridian Severance isn’t incurable—just difficult.
There is a way to treat it.
We need to invite the Ragged Sage Physician.
He specializes in illnesses that arise from innate constitution.
As I thought about this and turned to head back to my annex, a question struck me.
The Ragged Sage Physician is my Master’s father-in-law.
If a disciple’s daughter had such a critical illness, wouldn’t Master have asked him?
Even if he wanders, Master would know how to find him.
Unless… they don’t know she’s sick?
.
.
.
The next morning.
Just as I finished my morning cultivation, Master appeared in the courtyard of the annex.
He always shows up at the perfect time.
“Master, I returned from Beijing safely.”
“I hear you achieved fine results. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“I heard from Escort Chief Song that you performed quite admirably…”
“Ah…”
He was referring to how I got back at the Jin Family and Daewoong Merchant Groups for interfering.
I scratched my chin.
“I just gave them a light lesson for being a nuisance.”
“Escort Chief Song said he hadn’t laughed so hard in years.”
I snorted.
Watching them tumble like trash down the cliffside really was satisfying.
Ah. In this situation, it would be natural to bring up Lady Ha.
“Um, Master. Is there someone named Ha Cheol at the bureau?”
“Yes, he’s my colleague.”
“Then he’s an Escort Chief too?”
“Counting his years as an Escort Chief, he has one or two more than I do. So you could say he’s my senior.”
Master smiled faintly.
“Outwardly, that is. In truth, he’s a disciple of Snow Wind Palace.”
As I thought.
“I heard he has a daughter named Ha Su-min.”
“Yes, that’s right. She’s bright, talented, and quite lively. Gifted in martial arts too.”
Master gave me a look.
“Do you perhaps have an interest?”
“N-no, sir!”
“That’s a relief.”
“Sir?”
“Your brother drops by every three days to see if she’s warmed to him.”
…
Brother Jin-ho is really going all in.
“In truth, I know he’s set his heart on her. So as his younger brother, I was just curious.”
“I see. Then you need not worry too much.”
Master smiled.
“Among the women I’ve met, she’s one of the top five.”
That confirms it.
Even Master doesn’t know she has Three Yin Severance.
From what I remember, her death came very suddenly.
If he’d known, he wouldn’t have called it sudden.
That Master doesn’t know must mean there are no symptoms yet.
If she’s going to die within a year, symptoms should be appearing already.
Why haven’t they?
“Then who’s first?”
“My wife.”
…
I asked something obvious.
“Anything else you’re curious about?”
“No.”
“As I said before, you no longer need to learn the True Snow Twelve Form Sword from me. You’ve already grasped the Patriarch’s true method.”
Right. I can now execute the True Snow Twelve Form Sword more fluidly than Master.
Of course, if I were to duel Master using only that art, I’d lose.
The difference in inner strength and experience is too great.
So is he telling me to descend the mountain now?
In my past life, once I finished the True Snow Twelve Form Sword, Master said he had no more to teach and stopped coming.
He did visit once again—when he entrusted his son, Gwak Jun-ha, to the Eunhae Merchant Group.
But what he said now was completely unexpected.
“Now it’s time for you to learn another sword art.”
“Another sword art?”
Outwardly, I feigned surprise. Inwardly, I was thrilled.
It meant our master-disciple bond would continue, unlike my previous life.
“The sword art I’ll teach you is the Snow Soul Sword. I hadn’t mastered it properly before, so I didn’t pass it down to the Department Chief. But thanks to the secret manual you brought, which holds the Patriarch’s insights, I’ve finally reached understanding.”
Now that I thought of it, Master once said:
“I was learning another sword art once, but in the middle of training… anyway, I can’t pass down a martial art I haven’t fully mastered.”
That manual I found in the Luoyang bookshop—Master had been stunned when he saw it.
It began with the line, “The beginning of Taiyin…” and after reading it, Master’s Qi had clearly changed.
So that was the Snow Soul Sword.
“Thanks to that, I can now pass the Snow Soul Sword to you, my disciple.”
From that day, I began learning the Snow Soul Sword.
It was not something I had learned in my previous life. This was my first time.
But from the first day, I could tell.
It was superior to the True Snow Twelve Form Sword.
Come to think of it, Master is Chief of Snow Wind Palace. And it seems something happened back when he was learning this art.
That must’ve been when he was Vice Chief.
In most martial clans, there are arts that only the Lord and the heir may learn.
Could it be… the Snow Soul Sword is one of those?
.
.
.
I headed to the dining hall for breakfast.
Soon, the rest of the family arrived, and the maids brought the dishes.
After the meal, as we drank tea, Grandfather spoke.
“So I hear Eun Hui took care of your twentieth birthday.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
I set down my teacup and answered calmly.
“Aunt hosted a banquet.”
“She is my daughter, but she’s quite thoughtful. I should send her a letter of thanks.”
Grandfather smiled contentedly, and from the gentle expressions on Father and Mother’s faces, they were pleased as well.
“But even so, it was your twentieth. We can’t just let it pass like that.”
Mother chimed in.
“I agree. In our merchant group, we consider twenty the true age of adulthood. It’s late, but we’ll hold a birthday banquet for you.”
“Hahaha.”
I gave a slightly awkward laugh.
Originally, a banquet had been planned, but when eldest brother Jeong-ho collapsed from overwork, I had to enter the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition in his place.
So the banquet was canceled.
Honestly, we had a grand celebration when I was named Deputy Merchant Lord, so I didn’t regret it much.
But it seemed my parents felt differently.
They still wanted to give me a proper coming-of-age banquet.
“Understood. But let’s keep it modest.”
“If that’s your wish. But we should at least notify the Zhuge Martial Family and the Tang Clan of Sichuan.”
“Ah…”
Right. There were those families.
A twentieth birthday banquet carries weight, and if we don’t invite them, they might feel slighted.
As a merchant, one must maintain relationships through such gestures.
“True.”
Then I noticed brother Jin-ho, looking somewhat dazed.
For his sake too, I had to cure Lady Ha Su-min’s illness. But to cure it, we had to diagnose it first.
If we reveal it, he may suffer emotionally, but unless it’s uncovered, there can be no treatment.
Right now, no one seems aware. And no one else has noticed either.
If someone with sharp skill in reading meridians had taken her pulse, they might have known, but that likely hasn’t happened.
You can’t just touch a marriageable young lady’s wrist without cause.
And the fact no one’s noticed yet means ordinary physicians wouldn’t be able to.
Just as I thought, only the Ragged Sage Physician can uncover it.
Now then, how do I summon him and get him to examine her?
As I pondered that, a good idea came to me.
“Father, then I’ll personally deliver the invitations to a few places.”
–TL Notes–
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