After a little while, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Supervisor Bok Deok’s group arrived together with Palgap.
“You made it.”
“What in the world… what’s going on here?”
Well, of course he’d say that. The horses they’d lost were all gathered together, and a bunch of Unorthodox Sect thugs were bound and forced to kneel beside them.
“These are the ones who pulled this stunt.”
“Yes?”
“They’re the ones who deliberately tampered with the tracks so we couldn’t chase the runaway horses.”
“You mean…”
Supervisor Bok Deok instantly understood what I was implying.
“You’re saying they made the horses run away on purpose?”
When I nodded, he exploded in anger and barked at me,
“What were they after? What goal could they have, pulling something like this?!”
“They say they were hired.”
I’d already finished interrogating them before Supervisor Bok Deok got here.
So their leader, a Peak Realm warrior, was groaning on the ground with the sword wounds I’d given him.
“Hired… you say? By who?”
“They said it was the Sambu Merchant Group.”
“But that place… they definitely went under, didn’t they?”
I cleared that up for him too.
“It’s true they went bust, but since it was a merchant group founded by former Unorthodox Sect rats, they were really persistent. Looks like they scraped together money any way they could and put in a request.”
“Damn it!”
“Those filthy bastards!”
“I was actually glad we wouldn’t have to see those scum’s dirty tricks anymore! And then they pull this…!”
Naturally, Supervisor Bok Deok and his men were furious.
“Still, it’s a relief we got the horses back. For now, let’s escort these people back.”
“Understood.”
“And it’d be best to send a messenger ahead with this news.”
Supervisor Bok Deok nodded and dispatched someone.
In the meantime, we prepared to transport the Unorthodox Sect group.
Then Supervisor Bok Deok tilted his head.
“By the way, what are those horses in the back?”
“Ah, those horses are…”
“Gasp!”
Before I could even answer, Supervisor Bok Deok nearly fell over in shock.
He must have recognized them.
“So you recognize them.”
“Of course I do! I’ve been working with horses here in Liaoning for how many years now – how could I not recognize River–Crossing Horses?”
He clasped his hands together and spoke almost reverently.
“Among us horse handlers in Liaoning, there’s a saying that if you ever see a River–Crossing Horse, one of your wishes will come true. And now I’m seeing them like this… and there are ten of them…”
River–Crossing Horses are so sensitive that the moment they sense a person nearby, they shoot away like arrows.
They’re so hard to even catch a glimpse of that legends like that naturally spring up.
“Then why are the River–Crossing Horses here?”
“Thanks to these River–Crossing Horses, those guys weren’t able to get away with the horses. The River–Crossing Horses kept getting in their way.”
“So we owe them a huge debt.”
He bowed his head deeply in front of the River–Crossing Horses, and seeing that, the horses lifted their heads proudly.
— Snort!
Just then, a small sound came from the side.
“Kui?”
At that sound, the River–Crossing Horses hurriedly lowered their heads again. Watching that, I laughed inwardly and added,
“And the River–Crossing Horses say they want to follow me.”
“Whaaat?”
“Anyway, let’s get going.”
“Ah. Yes.”
Like that, we safely retrieved forty horses and headed back toward the Gwangjun Merchant Group.
Because we had to escort the Unorthodox Sect thugs, our pace was inevitably slower than on the way here.
And we had to carefully lead the forty horses as well.
Normally, leading horses on foot instead of riding them isn’t easy at all.
But this time was different.
“Wow… the horses are really this docile?”
“It’s incredible.”
That was all thanks to the ten River–Crossing Horses.
Horses are herd animals, so they easily submit to a clear leader.
And we had River–Crossing Horses that were now following me.
With the lead River–Crossing Horse holding everything together at the center, the other horses didn’t even think about acting up or bolting.
Thanks to that, even if our speed was a bit slower, the return trip was incredibly easy.
By the time we got back to the Gwangjun Merchant Group’s horse ranch, Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun was already waiting for us, probably because he’d received word ahead of time.
Escort Guard Seo Wu was standing just a bit behind him, guarding him well.
I quickly dismounted and walked up to Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun.
“Why is the groom–to–be out here instead of getting ready for his wedding?”
He shook his head and his eyes shone.
“Once I heard you’d gotten the horses back, how could I stay inside? And you actually caught the culprits on top of that. Really, I’m truly grateful.”
“Aren’t I the Deputy Merchant Lord’s sworn brother? I just did what I obviously should.”
“Even so, it’s something I’m deeply grateful for.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun kept thanking me over and over.
While he was looking at the horses behind me, he cocked his head.
“Hmm? Those horses are…”
And his reaction was no different from Supervisor Bok Deok’s.
“Gasp! Those are River–Crossing Horses, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are.”
“G–good heavens! Seeing River–Crossing Horses with my own eyes! I guess my wish really is going to come true.”
I laughed and asked,
“And what wish is that, Deputy Merchant Lord?”
“For our merchant group to rank among the fifty greatest merchant groups under heaven.”
“That wish is going to come true.”
Saying that, I led one of the ten horses forward.
“Do you like this one?”
He blinked rapidly, clearly flustered by my question.
I offered him the horse and spoke.
“This is my wedding present to you.”
“What?”
“To be honest, I did bring tea as a wedding gift… but with tea being overused and overpriced these days, it didn’t feel like the right kind of present. I guess the heavens heard my worries.”
At my words, Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun was so shocked he started stuttering.
“I, really, this, you mean…”
“Yes. It’s my gift.”
Giving peaches as a present to a man who grows peaches is a bit lame, but if those peaches are special nectarines, that changes things.
To Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun, a River–Crossing Horse is basically a nectarine.
“This River–Crossing Horse agreed as well. Just feed it well and give it a comfortable place to sleep, and it’ll be happy.”
“Ah, understood. I’ll make sure of it.”
His eyes welled up with tears again.
“To get back the horses I lost, and then receive such a precious horse as a gift on top of that… this really is the best day of my life.”
“You’re not really going to cry, are you? If you cry right before the wedding, you’ll walk into the ceremony with swollen fish eyes, and as your sworn brother, I can’t allow that.”
“Hahaha. Alright, I won’t.”
We left the horses at the ranch and returned to the main compound of the Gwangjun Merchant Group, then went to see the Merchant Lord.
After hearing the full report, the Merchant Lord’s eyes gleamed.
“If they still haven’t come to their senses, then we’ll just have to make sure they do.”
And he issued an order to drive them out.
We left the office, and Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun swallowed hard.
“Why do you look like that?”
“I’ve never seen my father that scary before.”
“Ah…”
Yeah, the Sambu Merchant Group was finished.
Well, not my problem.
They brought it on themselves.
Thinking that, I headed back to my quarters – only to find a servant bound and tied up there.
“What happened?”
At my question, Escort Guard Jin Yu explained the situation.
“He was secretly sending word outside about what was happening inside the compound.”
So, basically, a rat.
I walked up to him and asked,
“So, who were you reporting to?”
“T–that, I…”
“The Sambu Merchant Group?”
At my question, the servant’s eyes went wide. So I hit the mark.
I turned to Palgap.
“Go to the Deputy Merchant Lord right now and tell him we’ve caught a rat.”
Good thing I sent those two Escort Guards back to the Gwangjun Merchant Group ahead of time.
.
.
.
The next morning.
Palgap told me that late last night, the Gwangjun Merchant Group’s armed corps had moved in secret.
Hopefully, this time they uprooted the problem completely.
A few more days passed like that, and finally, Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun’s wedding day arrived.
“You’ll be wearing this.”
The maid assigned to me brought out ceremonial clothes, and the robe was the same red color as the groom’s.
The bride and groom both wear red ceremonial clothes.
So guests never, ever wear red when they attend the banquet.
But this robe was such a bright, flashy red!
Isn’t this basically like shouting to everyone that I’m the groom’s sworn brother?
“How is it? Isn’t it really handsome? Once you put this on, every guest will immediately know that Young Lord Eun is our Young Lord’s sworn brother.”
Ah…
So they really do want to announce it to the whole world.
“Do we really have to make sure everyone knows?”
“What do you mean…?”
“Well, say Person A has a sworn brother, Person B. If the enemy is scared that the sworn brother will come after them for revenge, wouldn’t they just kill B as well, so A’s wife and children have no one to rely on? If you think about things like that, it seems safer to keep my identity hidden.”
The maid replied to my question,
“Ah, I suppose you could see it that way. But a sworn brother isn’t obligated to take revenge, so there’s nothing to worry about on that front.”
“I see.”
“And being sworn brothers isn’t primarily about revenge or anything like that. This ceremonial robe is meant to raise the status of the sworn brother.”
So it’s like treating the sworn brother as the family’s benefactor.
And it also signals that he shouldn’t be treated lightly.
“It’s also to clearly show our Young Lord’s bride and her family who his sworn brother is.”
I nodded.
So there were solid reasons for it.
“Then, I’ll help you put the robe on.”
With the maid and Palgap’s help, I put on the ceremonial clothes.
“Whoa?”
“What? Why are you making weird noises?”
At my question, Palgap nodded with a deeply satisfied look.
“As expected, Young Master, you look amazing.”
“Well, I am a bit amazing.”
I left my room and headed toward the carriage yard.
It was time to go pick up the bride.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
I rode my horse side by side with the groom. Behind us, a splendid carriage rolled along.
Strictly speaking, the groom should also ride in the carriage, but Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun gets terrible carriage sickness.
It didn’t take that long to get to the bride’s home.
Maybe an hour or two?
We rode like that and soon arrived at the bride’s house.
“Oh my, they’re here! They’re here!”
“Look at how tall and handsome he is!”
“Oh my goodness!”
Amid the murmurs and whispers, we dismounted.
Then, welcomed warmly by the household, we headed inside.
Just then, my eyes caught the plaque hanging above the gate.
[Meteor Sect]
Seeing that made my chest feel oddly restless.
Because I knew about this Meteor Sect, and I knew about the woman who was about to become Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun’s wife.
The Meteor Sect is a place whose signature ultimate technique is the Meteor Sword, created by modeling swordsmanship after the falling stars in the sky.
Since this place is located where the stars can be seen incredibly clearly, maybe it was only natural they developed martial arts inspired by them.
The Meteor Sword is a surprisingly fierce and explosively fast sword art.
At the upcoming Dragon–Phoenix Martial Gathering, people would all turn their attention to the Meteor Sword.
All because of the Meteor Sect Master’s eldest daughter, who was to become today’s bride.
But that event would only be the beginning of the tragedy that befell her and the Meteor Sect.
From that time on, she would start to make a name for herself and would even marry into the Moyong Clan, in a union arranged by the Murim Alliance Leader.
Yet in just five short years, she took her own life.
Two years after that, the Meteor Sect was annihilated under the charge that they had colluded with the Unorthodox Sect to abduct villagers from nearby towns and sell them as slaves.
And the truly ridiculous thing happened after that.
In the Moyong Clan, which she had married into, a sword art strikingly similar to the Meteor Sword began to be taught.
But now, that tragedy wouldn’t happen.
The eldest daughter who would have made the Meteor Sect’s name famous was now marrying Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun, whom I’d saved, and she wouldn’t be joining the Dragon–Phoenix Martial Gathering.
And the Moyong Clan’s young master hadn’t changed either.
These were futures I’d altered.
I did good, right?
We first went to meet the bride’s parents.
“Your son–in–law, Bok Yun, pays his respects to Father–in–law and Mother–in–law.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun bowed deeply to the elders in front of him.
“Welcome.”
“Please take good care of our daughter from now on…”
“Don’t worry. I swear on my name and my money that I absolutely will.”
Her father looked a bit taken aback at that.
“Ahem.”
I quickly added an explanation.
“For a merchant, money is like martial arts are to a warrior.”
“Ah, I see.”
The Meteor Sect Master calmed his awkwardness, then turned his gaze to me.
“So you’re my son–in–law’s sworn brother. But… you look a bit familiar.”
“It is an honor to meet you. I’m Eun Seo–ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“Eun Seo–ho… oh! The Handsome Young Hero!”
Uh… so he does know.
“I personally witnessed your exploits at the last Dragon–Phoenix Martial Gathering.”
He even watched me in person, huh!
“I’m embarrassed.”
When my title was mentioned, the way people looked at me changed.
Well, it made sense. Most of the people gathered here were warriors.
To warriors, heroes are objects of admiration.
“To think my son–in–law’s sworn brother is you, this is truly reassuring. Let me introduce the rest of the family.”
The Meteor Sect Master personally stood up and began introducing people one by one.
“This is my mother.”
We greeted his mother, then he introduced the man next to her.
“And this is my second younger brother.”
We exchanged bows with him as well.
“But it looks like your wife and child aren’t here yet, Second Brother.”
“They’ll be here soon, Brother. Gyeong took longer than usual finishing his meal today.”
“Haha, I see. Please forgive them for being late.”
“Children are like that. It’s perfectly understandable.”
“Thank you.”
After saying that, the Sect Master glanced around.
“Huh? Where did that rascal Yu Seok run off to this time?”
Just then, we heard someone running in.
“I–I’m sorry! I’m terribly sorry for being late!”
Watching the young man rushing toward us, I blinked a few times.
He looked oddly familiar…
Oh!
He was the same young man at the inn when we first entered Liaoning, the one who thought I was a kidnapper.
And it seemed he’d recognized me too, because he froze on the spot.
Seriously, what kind of coincidence is this?
–TL Notes–
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