We soon arrived at a mountain.
This was where I’d found the Icy Blue Snow Plum Fruit that had remade my body right after I regressed, and it was also the mountain behind the main compound of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
There was a spiritual herb here that helped the body recover.
It was called the Blessed Restoring Flower.
If you let someone breathe in its fragrance, their recovery speed increased dramatically.
I’d learned about it thanks to an Unorthodox Sect gang that had drifted into Sunyang County in my previous life.
While they were brawling among themselves, one badly injured Unorthodox leader had stumbled on it and used it to recover.
The problem was that, because of that, their fighting had gotten even fiercer and innocent civilians ended up getting hurt.
Even though I knew all this, I hadn’t come to find it ahead of time because it still wasn’t anywhere near blooming season.
If my memory was right, it should have bloomed not long ago. It was most effective right after it first blossomed.
It hadn’t seemed that important, so I’d shoved the memory into a corner of my mind… until Deputy Jo Yeong-yeong’s injury brought it back up.
“Is it here?”
At Escort Guard Seo Wu’s question, I nodded.
“It is.”
I moved while recalling the information I’d gotten earlier through the Hao Clan.
From that cluster of three pines over there, about five hundred steps toward the bent pine.
And then…
How far had we gone like that?
Since we were using lightness skills, it didn’t actually take long. Maybe about fifteen minutes.
Before long, I smiled.
I could see a red flower blooming on a cliff.
That was the Blessed Restoring Flower.
It was growing halfway down the cliff, but we were all Peak-level experts.
And the cliff wasn’t all that sheer, so getting our hands on it was easy.
Come to think of it, in my previous life, the Unorthodox Sect warrior who’d experienced the Blessed Restoring Flower’s effect had only gotten it because it was uprooted by chance and fell down to where they were.
Anyway, now it was mine.
Strictly speaking, it belonged to Deputy Jo.
Yu So-ak remained at the Medical Pavilion even after the sun went down.
When he’d just arrived at the main compound earlier and heard that Jo Yeong-yeong had been gravely injured, his vision had suddenly gone dark.
He couldn’t think of anything.
And when he came to his senses, he was already standing in front of the Medical Pavilion.
But he couldn’t bring himself to actually go inside.
‘Why did I do that?’
The reason was simple.
He was afraid to see Jo Yeong-yeong.
He sighed and looked at Jo lying on the sickbed, struggling for each breath.
Seeing her like that made his chest ache as if it were being torn apart. Honestly, he’d never felt like this before.
Up until now, even when someone was hurt, he’d never really empathized.
‘The last time I felt anything like this… was when Mother passed away.’
He hated this.
He wanted to see her chattering at him like before. He wanted to see her cheeks flush red at his words again…
He hesitated to reach out his hand.
He wasn’t sure someone who hadn’t even answered her feelings had any right to hold her hand.
She felt so precious that he was scared to even touch her.
After pulling back and reaching out over and over, he finally carefully took Jo Yeong-yeong’s hand.
It was burning hot.
The injury was giving her a high fever.
“Please… wake up.”
He murmured like he was praying.
Her face was deathly pale, proof that she’d lost a lot of blood.
Even so, he couldn’t help thinking, could a person really be this hot?
It was then.
Jo Yeong-yeong’s eyelids trembled, then slowly opened. But her eyes couldn’t quite find their focus.
“Uh… Internal Chief Administrator?”
She spoke with a loose, silly smile.
“I practice martial arts and I’m really strong, you know. I’m not someone who’d just die that easily…”
“…”
“I don’t see any men besides you, Internal Chief Administrator…”
The moment he heard that, Yu So-ak bit his lip.
Jo Yeong-yeong knew about his past.
That was why she was saying things like this.
“When did you find out?”
“When I went to Beijing.”
Before he knew it, he asked,
“Did you pity me?”
“You’re strong, Internal Chief Administrator. Why would I pity you?”
“…”
Strong? She was calling him strong?
“No. I’m not strong. I’m just a coward who keeps running away.”
“That’s not true. Anyone else would’ve gone mad long ago… But you’re still living your life. That means you’re a strong person. So… I like you very, very much. Hehehe.”
She was definitely half out of her mind right now. Otherwise, there’s no way she’d be saying all this so freely.
“What in the world do you like about me so much?”
“I just do. Hehe.”
“…”
“You’re not supposed to ask embarrassing things like that.”
Without realizing it, Yu So-ak tightened his grip on her hand.
“Do you know how beautiful the spring flowers are on the back mountain?”
“I know.”
“The plum trees the Third Deputy Merchant Lord had planted there are incredibly beautiful. This spring, let’s go see the blossoms together.”
“Really? Yay. Hehehe. Can you promise?”
“Of course. I promise. So… you have to get better and stand up.”
Like that, Yu So-ak kept talking to Jo Yeong-yeong about this and that.
He told her they’d walk by the pond in the summer rain together, and go see the autumn foliage together in the fall.
He kept talking, again and again.
A vague fear had taken hold of him that if she closed her eyes like this, she might never open them again.
It was then.
Ssssshhh—
Smoke began to drift in from somewhere.
The smoke quickly filled the room where Jo Yeong-yeong and Yu So-ak were.
A moment later, they fell asleep.
I opened the door.
I saw Deputy Jo and Internal Chief Administrator Yu fast asleep.
As expected from something made by the Ragged Sage Physician, the sleep incense worked really well.
I walked over to them and smiled when I saw their tightly clasped hands.
I opened the box Escort Guard Jin Yu handed me and took out the Blessed Restoring Flower inside.
Then I held it under Deputy Jo’s nose.
Deputy Jo’s breathing began to steady, and her complexion improved.
Thankfully, we weren’t too late.
“If we’d been even a little later, it might have been too late forever.”
Escort Guard Jin Yu said that after checking Deputy Jo’s pulse. Maybe because of that line of work, Jin Yu had some knowledge of medicine as well.
After all, to kill someone quickly and cleanly, you had to understand the human body that well.
“It was probably thanks to Internal Chief Administrator Yu constantly talking to her, wasn’t it?”
“I think so too.”
We looked at each other, smiled, and slipped out as if nothing had happened.
.
.
.
I headed for the annex.
More precisely, for the rear garden in the alley leading to the annex.
Because the Eunhae Merchant Group was so large, there were gardens scattered all over.
When I reached the garden, I pulled the Blessed Restoring Flower out of my sleeve.
The Blessed Restoring Flower that had helped Deputy Jo recover had already long since withered.
You could only use a Blessed Restoring Flower once, but I didn’t regret spending it on Deputy Jo.
If Deputy Jo had passed away like this, Internal Chief Administrator Yu would have been utterly heartbroken.
And Father, along with everyone else who cherished Deputy Jo, would have been deeply wounded as well.
Above all, Deputy Jo’s father, Squad Leader Jo…
Anyway, something like that could have opened a crack in the Eunhae Merchant Group. Even a tiny fissure can affect whether the Eunhae Merchant Group becomes the greatest merchant group under Heaven in the future.
As long as I’m here, I can’t allow even the slightest crack to form in the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Staring at the Blessed Restoring Flower in my hand, I muttered,
“Still… how am I supposed to dispose of this?”
Even if it was withered, if someone saw this Blessed Restoring Flower, it would be a big problem.
I’d gone so far as to put both Deputy Jo and Internal Chief Administrator Yu to sleep just so no one would know it had been used.
Just then.
— Kui? Kui! Kui!
Geumryeong’s chirping Kui-cry echoed inside my head.
“What, you want this?”
At my question, Geumryeong popped out of my sleeve and nodded.
Its eyes sparkled, and drool was practically dripping from its mouth.
I crouched down to look at Geumryeong.
“You’re going to eat this?”
“Kui!”
Geumryeong nodded enthusiastically.
“Weren’t you only supposed to eat silver and gold taels?”
At that, Geumryeong tilted its head, then shook it.
“Kui? Kui. Kuii! Kui!”
“So… you eat spiritual herbs like this too? Ah, you just eat anything expensive. But this one’s already spent all its effectiveness, you know?”
“Kuuuui! Kui!”
“You’re saying you can squeeze out every last drop even from an herb that’s already used up?”
In other words, this little thing pursued extreme efficiency.
Anyway, if it could take care of it, I had no reason not to hand it over.
“Alright, eat.”
I held it out to Geumryeong, and it immediately clamped it in its mouth and chewed away, munching happily.
Then it slipped back into my sleeve.
I couldn’t help a small laugh at the sight and turned around.
Then I cupped my fists to Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“Thank you for not asking anything.”
Honestly, I’d been a bit worried about what to say if they started asking about what happened today.
But the two Escort Guards didn’t ask a single question, and I was very grateful for that.
“This is our lord’s business. We simply follow.”
“We’ll keep protecting you from here on out as well, my lord. So please don’t worry.”
I nodded at their words.
In particular, in Escort Guard Seo Wu’s eyes—who’d regained life thanks to the Fruit of Renewal—I could feel a deep trust.
“Then let’s go.”
“Shall we escort you to the annex?”
“No. We’re going to the Virtuous Wind Department. A lot of work has piled up.”
As he watched my back, Escort Guard Jin Yu spoke.
“Please don’t be sad.”
I must’ve sounded a lot sadder than I’d thought.
“Who was in charge of this escort mission?”
“Escort Guard Chang Un and I.”
“Let’s work hard together.”
Yu So-ak jolted awake.
“W-what!”
He was flustered.
He’d decided to guard Jo Yeong-yeong all night, only to fall asleep like this.
‘What a useless fool!’
Cursing himself, he quickly checked on Jo, afraid she might have breathed her last during the night.
But…
She was sleeping with a face far healthier than yesterday.
Her steady breathing told him she was in much better shape.
He let out a sigh of relief.
Now that she was alright, he should get up and…
But he couldn’t get up.
Jo Yeong-yeong was gripping his hand tightly and wouldn’t let go.
The physicians and nurses would soon arrive to make their rounds.
Staying like this was embarrassing, but if he pulled his hand away, it felt like Deputy Jo might wake up. He was stuck.
“Did you sleep well?”
Just then, the door opened and the Hall Master of the Medical Pavilion entered, accompanied by a nurse.
“A-hem, ahem… You’ve seen me make a fool of myself.”
“Not at all.”
The Hall Master chuckled as he spoke.
“You two looked wonderful last night. Hahaha.”
In other words, the Hall Master had already seen them sleeping hand in hand last night.
At that, Yu So-ak slowly turned his head away.
“In any case, you can relax now. She’s passed the critical point. It’s all thanks to your wholehearted care, Internal Chief Administrator.”
“…”
.
.
.
Yu So-ak left the treatment to the Medical Pavilion’s Hall Master and stepped out.
He had a mountain of backlogged work, but he didn’t regret holding Jo Yeong-yeong’s hand all night.
He looked down at his own hand.
It still felt like her warmth lingered there.
‘But still…’
No matter how he thought about it, suddenly falling asleep like that last night seemed suspicious.
Staying up all night was supposed to be his specialty.
‘And… I could’ve sworn I heard the Third Deputy Merchant Lord’s voice too.’
Three days had passed since I used the Blessed Restoring Flower to heal Deputy Jo.
And right now, the Eunhae Merchant Group was buzzing with rumors that a miracle had happened.
They said it was a miracle born from Internal Chief Administrator Yu and Deputy Jo’s hearts.
Honestly, that version was much less of a burden on me.
And the more stories like that piled up, the closer everyone in the Eunhae Merchant Group became.
I picked up the documents and headed toward the Internal Chief Administrator’s office.
But for once, he wasn’t at his desk.
Seok Il-song explained the situation to me.
“He’s at the Medical Pavilion right now.”
“Ah…”
Since it was urgent paperwork, I immediately headed for the Medical Pavilion. It was obvious where he’d be.
“I definitely heard you. You said we’d go see the flowers together in spring… and walk by the pond in summer.”
“A-hem, yes, well.”
“You promised. You’re not going to take it back, are you?”
“N-no, I’m not.”
“If you said yes, I would’ve been really sad.”
“…”
They were practically dripping sweetness.
Listening quietly to their conversation, I couldn’t help but grin.
In my previous life, Deputy Jo’s unwavering devotion had never been rewarded, but in this life, it finally was.
Anyway…
What should we do with the band of rebels who’d nearly gotten Deputy Jo killed?
Right now, we and the Changin Escort Bureau were discussing it from every angle.
This afternoon as well, the Chief of the Changin Escort Bureau was supposed to come to the Merchant Group for further discussion.
Honestly, I did understand them.
They’d done it just to survive.
But still, doesn’t that mean they shouldn’t be hurting other people?
–TL Notes–
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