The next morning.
We finished preparing to leave the Meteor Sect.
Last night, I paid for the Meteor Sect’s Night Pearls, and since the iron was hot, the Sect Master immediately summoned the creditors still attending the banquet and settled the sect’s debts on the spot.
Maybe that was why the Sect Master looked so refreshed as he came to see us off.
“Then we’ll be on our way now.”
“I’ve kept a busy man tied down long enough. Off you go. Hahaha.”
“Father. Mother, Grandmother… I’m leaving now.”
“All right. Go safely.”
“Take care of yourself, and be good to your husband’s family as well.”
“Yes.”
Once the newlyweds finished saying goodbye to their family, the Sect Master turned to me.
“I truly don’t know how I’m supposed to repay all this kindness. I’m deeply grateful.”
“It’s nothing worth calling a favor.”
“Haha, that’s too modest. You saved my niece, and now you’ve saved our sect as well.”
“All of it only happened because the heavens were looking kindly on the Meteor Sect.”
“I will repay this debt of gratitude someday. That, I promise.”
And with that, we left the Meteor Sect and returned to the Gwangjun Merchant Group.
I parted ways with the newlyweds, went back to my quarters, and dropped onto the bed.
I’m exhausted.
Still, now that even the wedding ceremony is over, I should be able to leave for Beijing soon.
At least, that was what I thought back then.
.
.
.
The next morning.
While I was eating breakfast, Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun’s attendant came to find me and asked that I visit his quarters after the meal.
I readily agreed.
He was probably calling me over to thank me before I left.
Thinking that, I finished eating and headed for Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun’s quarters.
“Welcome.”
“Good morning.”
He offered me a seat, and I sat down at the tea table.
“Would you like some tea…”
“Ah, I already had some.”
But something about the way Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun was looking at me felt strange.
He looked… apologetic.
And in my experience, whenever someone looked at me like that, it always meant something exhausting was about to happen.
What now?
“I first want to thank you for everything you did as my close friend during my wedding.”
“It was nothing. I’m honored to have stood as your close friend.”
“The Moyong Clan also came to congratulate us on the wedding.”
“They did.”
Given the Gwangjun Merchant Group’s status, it made sense that even the Moyong Clan had sent their Young Clan Lord.
“So now I need to pay them a return visit.”
Ah, so that’s what this is about.
Usually, when a major figure from a merchant group held a wedding, the leading sect in the area would come offer congratulations, and afterward a return visit would be made to show thanks.
It was a gesture that meant, Let’s continue to get along well.
The law might be far away, but fists were close. Staying on good terms with powerful sects meant you could count on their help when something went wrong.
And if everyone knew you were close, fewer people would dare to provoke you for no reason.
“I already sent word that I would be visiting the Moyong Clan, and they replied. So we’re planning to leave the day after tomorrow.”
Here comes the real point.
“The Moyong Clan said they wished to speak to the Handsome Young Hero, and they asked that you come along.”
Don’t tell me the Young Clan Lord who came to the wedding realized I was the one he met at the Phantom Market and asked for me to come because of that?
No way.
I hadn’t exchanged a single word with Young Clan Lord Moyong Tae-geol that day.
He was probably just asking to see me because of my title, Handsome Young Hero.
Letting out a sigh, I said,
“I was actually planning to leave for Beijing tomorrow, but if that’s the case, I suppose I’ll have to visit the Moyong Clan first.”
“Thank you for understanding. Then I’ll make the preparations.”
I returned to my room and let Palgap and the escort guards know that I’d be making a visit to the Moyong Clan.
That left me with two extra days in my schedule.
I thought for a moment about what to do with them, but there was really only one answer.
I needed to focus on the martial training I’d been neglecting.
Once I returned to Hubei, Master would definitely notice I’d let my training slide, and that absolutely couldn’t happen.
And I should go check on the River–Crossing Horses I left at the ranch too.
I’m their owner, at least in name. I ought to go let them get familiar with my face.
.
.
.
The day came for us to depart for the Moyong Clan.
Once I was ready, I headed to the carriage yard and greeted Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun, who had already arrived.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Not at all. You’re earlier than expected. I just came ahead of time because there were a few things I needed to take care of.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“You can relax. If I need anything, I’ll let you know.”
“All right.”
But there was nothing for me to do before departure. The Gwangjun Merchant Group was one of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven, so everything was already run with proper structure. There was nothing for me to step in and handle.
And so we set out for the Moyong Clan with our gifts.
Like the Meteor Sect, the Moyong Clan was about four hours away.
But it was in the opposite direction.
“What brings you here?”
One of the gatekeepers hurried over and asked, and Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun answered.
“I’m Bok Yun, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Gwangjun Merchant Group. I came for the visit arranged for today.”
At those words, the gatekeeper immediately brightened and bowed.
“Ah! We’ve been expecting you. But I also heard that one of the people coming with you would be Great Hero Eun Seo-ho.”
At that, I stepped forward and said,
“I’m Eun Seo-ho.”
“Ah!”
The gatekeeper immediately cupped his fist in salute.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Great Hero.”
“Great Hero is far too grand a title for me.”
“How could I not address the Handsome Young Hero, the hero of the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering, as Great Hero?”
Ah… this is a lot.
This is really a lot.
A martial family really was a martial family. Even though the Deputy Merchant Lord of one of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven had come in person to offer thanks, they seemed even happier to see me.
“You flatter me. May we go inside?”
“Of course. Please, everyone who came with them may enter as well.”
We were soon guided inside, and I quietly said to Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun,
“Sorry for drawing so much attention.”
At that, he shook his head.
“Not at all. It’s only natural. And honestly, I’m just glad I can breathe a little because everyone’s focused on you instead.”
“Hm?”
“When people pay attention to you, you don’t get a moment’s rest, do you?”
“Ah…”
“And thanks to you coming with us, we’re being treated this well. The treatment for a hero really is something else.”
“Ah, I see.”
Well, then I guess I didn’t need to feel bad after all.
We were taken straight to our lodgings.
“The Clan Lord currently has another guest. My apologies, but if you rest here for a while, we’ll come escort you later.”
“Yes.”
The person who led us to the guest quarters assigned two maids to each of us.
You could usually tell how much respect a host was showing by how many attendants they assigned their guests.
And if they were assigning two to each person, that meant they intended to treat us quite generously.
Creak.
An entire detached residence had been given over for our stay.
It had been decorated very tastefully.
Not with gaudy luxuries piled on top of each other, but with a refined, orderly elegance.
Hm?
As I stood at the doorway, I felt something odd.
There were no blind spots in the room from the moment you stood at the entrance.
A martial family really was a martial family.
It was probably laid out that way so they could respond quickly if anything happened.
And the number of obstacles inside had been kept to a minimum too, probably because the Moyong Clan’s swordsmanship pursued the fast sword.
I knew that well, since I’d used the fast sword myself. When you fought with speed, obstacles mattered more than anything.
When you moved that quickly, even a small obstruction could get you hurt.
While I was resting there for a bit, a maid approached and said,
“The Clan Lord is calling for you.”
I stepped out of the room and ran into Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun and his wife, who had just come out as well.
“Shall we?”
“Yes.”
A little later, we arrived at the guest reception hall and were served refreshments.
Mm, these pastries are good.
With the famine making grain scarce, pastries had become far rarer than before.
Still, the Moyong Clan had the power and status to be generous even with something like this.
“The Clan Lord and the Young Clan Lord are entering.”
At those words, we hurriedly rose from our seats. Wait, did they just say the Young Clan Lord was coming too?
The door opened, and a middle-aged man entered alongside the same Young Clan Lord I had seen before.
The middle-aged man’s internal Qi felt so fierce and overwhelming it seemed like it could crush everything in the room.
It felt only a little above my own, so he was probably at the Profound Realm.
There weren’t many martial artists in this world who had reached the Transcendent Realm.
I looked at the Young Clan Lord and quietly smirked to myself.
It’s been a while.
Since we’d crossed paths in my previous life, I couldn’t help feeling a little glad to see him again.
But that wasn’t the only thing I felt.
Because we’d met before at the Phantom Market, I was also uneasy that he might recognize me.
What happened back then was something I wanted hidden if at all possible.
“I am Bok Yun, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Gwangjun Merchant Group. It is an honor to meet you. And beside me is the eldest daughter of the Meteor Sect’s Sect Master, who is now my wife.”
“I am In Jeong-yeon. It is an honor to meet the Clan Lord and the Young Clan Lord.”
“Welcome to the Moyong Clan.”
The Moyong Clan’s Clan Lord accepted the greeting, then turned his head toward me.
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Greetings, Clan Lord.”
“Oh! So you’re the Handsome Young Hero!”
“It’s far more praise than I deserve.”
“Hahaha! It’s good to meet you!”
The Clan Lord introduced himself with an even brighter smile.
“I am Moyong Jin, Clan Lord of the Moyong Clan.”
The Young Clan Lord followed after him.
“I am Moyong Tae-geol, Young Clan Lord of the Moyong Clan.”
After exchanging greetings like that, we all took our seats.
Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun opened the conversation first.
“The reason we came today is to express our thanks for attending our wedding and offering your congratulations.”
“The Gwangjun Merchant Group is one of the pillars of Liaoning. Of course we had to attend. I only regret that I couldn’t come personally and sent only the Young Clan Lord.”
“Not at all! It was more than enough that the Young Clan Lord came in person to celebrate with us.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun continued,
“And we also brought a small gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yes.”
He held out the box he had brought and said,
“It’s a tea set made by a craftsman from Beijing named Gong Jeon.”
“Oh! Isn’t that the tea set everyone wants but can hardly get their hands on? I’ll gladly accept it.”
Looking quite pleased, he moved the box containing the tea set to one side and smiled.
“Once again, congratulations on your marriage. And from this point on, my family will deal with the Gwangjun Merchant Group in good faith.”
“Thank you. The Gwangjun Merchant Group will also deal with the Moyong Clan in good faith.”
To deal with one another in good faith.
In other words, it meant they would remain on friendly terms so long as neither side stabbed the other in the back.
And honestly, this was the ideal kind of relationship.
It was a problem if you grew distant, but getting too close wasn’t all that great either.
You never knew what might happen, so it was best to stay in a relationship where either side could step back if necessary.
The Clan Lord wrapped up that part of the conversation, then looked at me and said,
“I heard you were staying with the Gwangjun Merchant Group, so I sent the invitation. I wanted to have a relaxed conversation with you. It may have been sudden, but I hope you won’t hold it against me.”
“How could I possibly hold it against you, Clan Lord? I’m only grateful that you sought me out, a mere merchant.”
“No! You may be a merchant, but you are also the hero known as the Handsome Young Hero.”
“You’re too kind.”
And so I ended up talking with the Clan Lord about this and that, though most of it centered on martial arts.
“To have reached the Peak Realm at that age! It’s truly remarkable.”
Feeling awkward, I quietly laughed to myself.
No, it isn’t.
I’m actually at the Profound Realm.
Maybe because of the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art, the Moyong Clan’s Clan Lord didn’t seem to realize what realm I had truly reached.
I had every intention of hiding the fact that I’d reached the Profound Realm, so I calmly continued,
“That only speaks to how extraordinary Great Hero Geuk Cheon-geom’s Heavenly Flow Ice Sword is.”
“Haha. The Heavenly Flow Ice Sword is certainly an exceptional art, but the talent of the person learning it matters even more.”
As he said that, he stared at me intently.
Don’t tell me he noticed something about my constitution?
“Then your internal art must be of Yin Qi. The Heavenly Flow Ice Sword is a Yin-based art, after all.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then it seems your constitution is especially well suited to that art, which must be part of why you’ve grown so quickly.”
The conversation went on and on without pause, and the Clan Lord’s interest stayed completely fixed on me.
Hah, so that’s what Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun meant earlier.
What he said about never getting a break when people focused on you.
Clan Lord, couldn’t I maybe go rest now? It’s already been two full hours since this conversation started.
I summoned superhuman patience and somehow endured three full hours of conversation.
Then I finally returned to my quarters.
Thump.
I dropped onto the bed and let out a long sigh.
“Ah, that was seriously exhausting.”
“You only just finished talking now, sir?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you even have that much to talk about, sir?”
“It’s not that I had that much to say. He was the one with a lot to say.”
The way Palgap was looking at me somehow made it seem like he pitied me.
That was when—
“My lord.”
From outside came Escort Guard Seo Wu’s voice.
“The Young Clan Lord wishes to see you.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
After hearing my voice for three straight hours, it looked like he’d finally realized I was the one he met at the Phantom Market.
Well, fine, whatever…
But I’m so tired I could die. Did he really have to call for me right now?
–TL Notes–
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