The night before we left Hangzhou.
Geumryeong came back.
This time, it had visited three places in one go.
First, it had gone to the North Sea Ice Palace and to Master to inform them about Yangyang Martial Hall’s relocation, and it had delivered a letter to Father saying we’d successfully taken over the businesses and that I would be going to Beijing and Liaoning.
“Kui! Kui!”
Yeah, yeah, good work.
Sitting on the desk, Geumryeong tapped it with its front paws.
It was demanding its payment after working so hard as a courier.
I took out three silver taels and held them out to Geumryeong.
“Here, your errand fee.”
“Kuii!”
The moment it saw the silver, it rolled left, then rolled right… it really must love this stuff.
I couldn’t help but chuckle as Geumryeong scampered over and gobbled the silver up.
The next morning.
We hit the road at the crack of dawn.
The employees of the businesses we’d taken over were very reluctant to see us go.
But we couldn’t stay here forever.
Just like that, we left Hangzhou behind and set out.
.
.
.
“It’s not hot here at all, sir.”
I nodded at Palgap’s words.
Before we knew it, we’d reached the edge of Liaoning, and we could clearly feel how different the weather was.
It was now the Seventh Month.
Back in Hubei or Hangzhou, this would be the time of year when you’d be drenched in sweat, but here in Liaoning the air was pleasantly cool.
“No wonder they’re holding the wedding this time of year.”
Chatting like that, we kept our horses running.
Of our party, only Lady Seohyang stayed behind at the Beijing branch.
This trip was more of a personal matter for me, so there was no need to trouble Lady Seohyang over it.
Besides, the journey to Liaoning was fairly grueling, and there was a mountain of work waiting at the Beijing branch.
Like sorting through the paperwork for the businesses we’d acquired in Hangzhou.
Riding on like that, we eventually reached an inn.
“We’ll rest here for tonight.”
Everyone nodded at my words.
As we approached the inn’s entrance, the server came running out.
“Welcome! Um, by any chance… are you planning to stay the night?”
I nodded at his question.
“Yeah. We were planning to stay for one night.”
At that, the server lowered his head with an awkward look.
“I’m very sorry, but we don’t have any rooms left today.”
“No rooms… at all?”
“Yes. The Deputy Merchant Lord of quite a large merchant group here in Liaoning is getting married. So we have far more guests than usual.”
Even so, for such a big inn with eight entire floors to have no rooms left…
Once again, I could really feel how overwhelming the Gwangjun Merchant Group’s prestige was here in Liaoning.
In that case, it couldn’t be helped.
“Then can we at least get a meal?”
“Yes, meals are available.”
It seemed there was space because lunchtime had long since passed.
“Then we’ll just eat and be on our way.”
We went inside the inn and ordered food.
“Looks like we’re stuck camping out tonight.”
At my words, Escort Guard Seo Wu nodded.
“Seems that way.”
“Still, it really is the Gwangjun Merchant Group, huh.”
“It’s one of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven. It’s also one of the top merchant groups here in Liaoning.”
And this was only how it was because bad harvests and uprisings had made things difficult; otherwise, there might have been even more guests.
After finishing our meal, we left the inn. We had to hurry if we wanted to find a decent place to camp.
That was when it happened.
I suddenly felt something dropping from above.
Startled, I quickly tilted my head up and met eyes with a child.
Huh? A kid?
Why is a kid…
I had no time to finish the thought. I immediately threw myself forward and caught the child.
Thump!
“Phew…”
I patted my chest in relief, and the child in my arms, scared out of their wits, suddenly burst into tears.
“Waaah!”
Seeing the kid cry was actually a relief.
When a child gets really shocked and doesn’t even cry, with their face turning blue, that’s when you’re in real trouble.
“Alright, that’s enough crying. If you cry too much, your throat’s going to hurt.”
The child, who’d been bawling their eyes out, stopped crying the moment they saw my face.
Then they stared straight at me.
With a somewhat surprised look.
And then… they suddenly gave me a big, goofy smile.
Beside me, Palgap muttered.
“What a filthy world, where even babies care about looks.”
“Hm? What was that?”
“Nothing at all, sir.”
Come to think of it, Geon-hyeok and Bo-yeon were like this too, weren’t they?
Just then, someone ran toward us.
“You people! Who do you think you are, holding my nephew like that?”
“Huh?”
“Speak honestly! Where are you planning to take my nephew?”
What the hell is he talking about all of a sudden?
“Are you trying to kidnap my nephew?”
To top it off, he even drew his sword and pointed it at us.
While I was still dumbfounded, a man standing nearby raised his hand and stepped in.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I think you’re badly mistaken. That gentleman is the benefactor who just saved your nephew.”
The others around us nodded in agreement.
“I saw it too. The child fell from up there, and this great hero caught them.”
“If not for this great hero, that child most likely wouldn’t still be in this world.”
“You should be thanking him, not… tch tch.”
At their reactions, the young man awkwardly sheathed his sword and asked,
“Is what they’re saying true?”
“Yes, it’s true.”
I went on.
“We were just leaving the inn when this child fell. It seems they were playing in a room and tumbled out the window.”
“Ah…”
At my explanation, the man looked stunned, unable to string his words together.
Just then, a woman came running toward us, her face completely drained of color.
“Gyeong!”
The child reacted to that voice, turned their head that way, and reached out with both hands.
“Ma! Ma!”
I handed the child over to her.
“Here, take them.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much.”
Hugging the child tightly to her chest, she kept bowing her head to me in gratitude.
“I’m just glad the child is safe.”
“I don’t know how I can ever repay this favor…”
“Just think of it as fate crossing our paths. Please don’t feel too burdened about it.”
“But…”
“If, when the child grows up, they can help someone the way I did today, that’ll be enough repayment for me.”
Saying that, I turned away. In the meantime, Palgap had already prepared the horses.
We mounted up and rode away from the inn.
Still, from the look of the child’s mother’s clothes, they seemed to be from a fairly wealthy family…
Well, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
Finding a place to camp for the night came first.
“Should we go to that spot we camped at before?”
He meant the place we’d stayed when bringing provisions to the North Sea Ice Palace.
I readily nodded.
“That sounds best.”
Thankfully, the place was empty.
We quickly made preparations to camp out and laid our tired bodies down.
It had been a pretty exhausting day again.
.
.
.
Morning came.
After a deep sleep, I stretched and got to my feet.
After traveling through so many places, I’d reached the point where a hard floor barely bothered me anymore.
“You’re awake, my lord?”
When I turned my head, Escort Guard Myeong Jong was walking over to me.
“Yeah. You took the last watch, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Escort Guard Yeo went to scout the surroundings.”
“I see. Then I’ll circulate my Qi and regulate my breathing, so please stand guard.”
“Yes, my lord.”
I sat down right there and began circulating my Qi and adjusting my breathing.
Cold yet pure Qi filled my body. Once I finished, I rose to my feet.
Then I started training.
Beginning with some light push-ups…
As I continued my training, I noticed that the way Escort Guard Myeong Jong was looking at me felt a bit different from before.
It wasn’t the look of someone simply guarding me… it was closer to respect, even awe.
Hm, that’s a little distracting.
I paused my training for a moment and asked Escort Guard Myeong Jong,
“Do you have something you want to say?”
“Ah, no. I’m sorry for distracting you.”
He hastily shook his head in denial.
But I didn’t let it slide and quietly stared at him.
Unable to withstand the pressure of my gaze, he scratched under his ear and spoke.
“Honestly, I just thought you were amazing.”
“Me?”
“Yes, my lord.”
He nodded.
“Once someone reaches that realm, it’s easy to slack off on training, but you still train harder than anyone, my lord.”
“I can’t say for others, but if I don’t train at least this much, I just don’t feel right.”
Saying that, I wiped my sweat away with a towel.
Whether it was because of my constitution or my martial arts, I usually didn’t sweat easily.
The fact that I was sweating now had to be because of how intense my training was.
And I only really felt refreshed when I trained hard enough to break a sweat.
That was because of my Master.
And the reason I trained so hard was that my goal was so absurdly high and difficult.
To take revenge on the Murim Alliance and protect my family, I had to reach a realm far beyond where I was now.
At my words, Escort Guard Myeong Jong let out a sigh of admiration.
“As expected, it doesn’t seem like you reached that realm by chance or just good luck. Maybe it was inevitable.”
“Ha ha. You think so? I don’t know for sure, but I believe luck can turn into good fortune or misfortune depending on how the person receiving it handles it. So I just work hard to make any luck that comes my way turn into good fortune.”
At that, Escort Guard Myeong Jong bowed his head and said,
“Listening to you, I realized that at some point I became arrogant. I was always in the spotlight even in the Mount Hua Sect…”
I understood what he meant.
In the Mount Hua Sect or any other martial sect, the thing they value most is martial skill.
Naturally, if your skills are good, you’re treated that much better and enjoy that much more.
Escort Guard Myeong Jong had been a talent on whom the Mount Hua Sect pinned all their hopes. Escort Guard Chang Un had probably been much the same.
“If I hadn’t been so arrogant, if I’d trained just a little more…”
Deep regret seeped from his voice.
He still hadn’t shaken off what happened.
Well, if it were me, I probably wouldn’t get over it easily either.
But if that turned into a heart demon, that would be a problem.
“There’s a saying. If the me in the past had known about the regrets I have now, the me I am today wouldn’t exist. What do you think that means?”
He thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“It means that whatever mistakes I made in the past and whatever regrets I have now are all part of what made me who I am today.”
Escort Guard Myeong Jong nodded, and I continued.
“I’m still young myself, so I can’t say I’m absolutely right. But I hope you don’t torment yourself too much over the past, Escort Guard Myeong Jong. What’s already happened won’t change just because you regret it.”
Unless you happen to encounter a once-in-a-lifetime chance like I did.
I might have met such a chance, but it’s something incredibly difficult.
And even if you do get that chance, undoing your regrets is really… unbelievably hard.
To undo my greatest regret, that day I died…
I let out a bitter smile and went on.
“Sometimes a tree is just standing there, and the wind comes and shakes its branches violently. But it’s not like the tree can do anything about the wind, right?”
“That’s true.”
“So I hope you don’t dwell on that incident too much. There are plenty of things in this world you just can’t do anything about. You have to try to see the bright side. For example, that you didn’t end up crippling your Dantian because of it.”
At my words, Escort Guard Myeong Jong stroked the area where his Dantian was and nodded.
“That’s… true. If I had done that, I would have…”
Because of the memories from my previous life, I couldn’t help but give another bitter smile.
“Honestly, I don’t intend to keep you and Escort Guard Chang Un as my escorts forever. One day, you’ll return to your sect.”
“Is… that really possible?”
“Hearing you ask that, it seems I still haven’t earned your full trust.”
“N–no! That’s not what I meant…”
He looked flustered.
I gave a small laugh and continued.
“Ah, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am is coming back. When your mind starts to wander, the best cure is some intense training. So, care to join me?”
Was it just my imagination, or did Escort Guard Myeong Jong’s eyes waver at my question?
.
.
.
After wrapping up our morning training and eating the breakfast Palgap had prepared, we packed up and hit the road again.
Thanks to pushing our horses hard, we reached the Gwangjun Merchant Group’s compound just as the sun was setting.
Visitors were already lined up in front of the merchant group’s main gate.
We stood in line and waited as well, when suddenly someone came running over.
“Wait, aren’t you Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho?”
“Uh…”
It was a face I hadn’t seen in a long time.
It was Young Master Bok Yeong, the younger brother of Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun, who was studying at Apricot Blossom Academy.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has been a while. But why are you standing in line here?”
“Well, we’re guests too.”
At my answer, Young Master Bok Yeong made an “ah, right” face.
“Ah, I see. It seems my brother didn’t explain things properly. I only found out while studying in Beijing that this custom is unique to our family.”
“What do you mean?”
“You received a wedding invitation from my brother personally, didn’t you?”
“Ah, yes. I did.”
“And the invitation was very elaborate, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
When I nodded, he smiled and explained.
“That means my brother wants you to attend his wedding as his best man.”
Best man?
–TL Notes–
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