“Whoa, whoa!”
We arrived at the front gate of the Tang Clan.
As I helped the child down from the horse, a gatekeeper caught sight of us and rushed over in surprise.
“Young Master!”
“Young Master Jo-ung!”
Hearing the name Tang Jo-ung (唐助雄), I could confirm without doubt that the child I’d rescued was the very target of that kidnapping incident.
I said to the gatekeeper,
“Call someone to take the child inside quickly. He must’ve been terribly frightened.”
The child continued,
“I was almost kidnapped, but this young hero saved me.”
“What?”
“Gasp!”
Both gatekeepers were stunned, and immediately rang the bell to alert those inside of the emergency.
“There are criminals in the carriage behind us.”
The ones who tried to kidnap the child—I’d brought them along to the Tang Clan.
I figured that would make handling things easier.
I could imagine the suffering that awaited them, but that wasn’t my concern.
The bruises and wounds they got from being tossed around in that shabby carriage stripped of any padding—those weren’t my concern either.
“And also…”
I looked at Palgap, and he brought down a body wrapped in cloth from the carriage.
When the gatekeeper gave a questioning look, Tang Jo-ung stepped forward and said,
“She was my nanny.”
“…”
“They kidnapped her child and ordered her to bring me to them. She died at their hands.”
He spoke calmly, explaining the situation with a composure beyond his years.
That overly rational, unchildlike expression bothered me.
Right now, Tang Jo-ung was forcibly suppressing his emotions.
And that’s not good.
Emotions can’t be buried forever.
Eventually, they’ll impact the body or mind in one way or another.
I haven’t lived long, but looking back, I’ve seen people like that.
And one of them was this very Tang Jo-ung in front of me.
So this is how it happened.
In the previous life, Tang Jo-ung became a truly cruel man.
He used only the most brutal poisons to kill and burned kidnappers alive.
He did everything he could for the Murim Alliance, who had once saved him, and even when they later abandoned him, he died smiling, saying, “Thank you for giving me a chance to repay the debt.”
This time, since it wasn’t the Murim Alliance that saved him, perhaps things wouldn’t turn out that way—but at the very least, I didn’t want him to become cruel.
It was easy to imagine that in the last life, being kidnapped and imprisoned for five years by the Luminous Sect led him to bottle up terror and fear so deeply that it twisted his heart.
How scared must an eight-year-old have been?
That’s why he needed to release those emotions now, all at once.
Better that than having them explode in the wrong way later.
For martial artists, the greatest threat is inner demons.
If left like this, this experience would surely become a demon in Tang Jo-ung’s heart that would drag him down.
Just like his previous life, where he was filled with promise but ultimately died without ever crossing the wall to Transcendence.
I couldn’t bear to see him meet that same fate.
I placed my hand on Tang Jo-ung’s shoulder, then crouched to meet his eyes.
“You’re home now.”
“Yes. Thank you for saving me and bringing me here.”
“You’ve returned. And you’re alive.”
“…”
“You’ll see your parents and family soon.”
At my words, his eyes turned red.
“You’re not dead. You get to see your family.”
“…”
“You’re alive right now.”
“…”
“Say it with me. I’m alive.”
“I’m… alive.”
“Let’s say it again.”
Tang Jo-ung repeated it several times, and slowly, tears began to gather in his eyes.
At last, he broke into sobs.
“Uuuwaaah!”
“That’s right, it was so scary, wasn’t it?”
“I was scared. I thought I’d die. I was afraid I’d never see my family again. I was so scared.”
He clung to me and cried his heart out.
Now I could rest easy.
Yes, this much should be enough to help shake off the worst of the trauma from this ordeal.
I felt someone approaching from a distance.
Tang Jo-ung, completely drained from crying, eventually fell asleep.
The door opened, and a woman in ornate court robes came running out.
“Jo-ung!”
As I looked at her, the gatekeeper spoke.
“That is Lady Hongri (紅莉), the Clan Lord’s third wife.”
I lifted Tang Jo-ung and placed him into her arms.
“Here is your son.”
“Ah…”
“He cried himself to sleep. I think coming home gave him the sense of safety he needed.”
“I-I see…”
“I’m just a passerby. Actually…”
I cupped my fists and bowed, then explained everything to her.
“That’s how it happened.”
“I truly thank you. How could we ever repay such a debt?”
“I didn’t do this expecting a reward. It was just chance that I happened upon him on my journey. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”
“No, please. Come inside. How could we possibly let our child’s savior just leave?”
“Unfortunately, we have our own urgent matters to attend to. I hope you’ll forgive us for leaving so abruptly.”
Why else were we traveling through the jungle?
We were headed for the provincial capital of Sichuan—fast and in secret.
If word got out that we were the ones who rescued the Tang Clan’s beloved heir, it could complicate things.
And besides, I really didn’t do it for a reward, so it felt right to leave it at that.
“Then we’ll be on our way.”
By that time, Palgap had already unhitched the horses and mounted up.
I climbed onto my own horse and set off for our destination—the Sichuan branch of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
At that moment, I caught sight of Lee Pil’s expression.
He looked visibly relieved.
Come to think of it, his face had stiffened a bit when he found out Tang Jo-ung was from the Tang Clan…
Something felt off about that, but I decided to let it go for now.
An hour later, Tang Jo-ung opened his eyes.
“Ah…”
The ceiling was familiar.
“Jo-ung!”
He turned his head.
His father and mother were sitting by his bedside.
“Father? Mother?”
“Yes!”
“You’re awake?”
It was real.
He had really reunited with his family.
He threw himself into their arms and wept all over again.
“I had a terrible dream. I was in the market with my nanny, and…”
As he spoke, Tang Jo-ung slowly began to realize.
What he experienced hadn’t been a dream.
“Father! Where is the young hero who saved me? I didn’t get to thank him properly.”
“Hm?”
“Well, you see…”
Tang Jo-ung’s parents, Tang Gyu-jeong and Lady Hongri, trailed off.
“He handed you over to me, then left just like that.”
At Lady Hongri’s words, Tang Jo-ung lowered his head in disappointment.
“If not for him, I would’ve died. And Father, you always told me that those of the Tang Clan must repay favors twofold and grudges tenfold.”
“I did.”
“Then I want to do the same.”
“But he didn’t leave his name or affiliation and vanished like the wind.”
Then Tang Gyu-jeong, the Clan Lord and Jo-ung’s father, spoke cautiously.
“That being said, is there a chance that he was… one of them?”
“Absolutely not!”
Tang Jo-ung cut in firmly, sensing his father’s suspicion that the man might’ve been in league with the kidnappers.
But Gyu-jeong’s concern wasn’t without merit.
There had been cases where people pretended to be benefactors just to extort a reward.
“He told me that if I really wanted to repay him, then when I grow up and see someone in danger, I should help if I have the power. That would be enough of a repayment.”
“He truly said that? He didn’t ask for anything else?”
“Not at all.”
“Hm…”
Tang Gyu-jeong nodded.
That meant the man really had saved his youngest son out of pure goodwill.
‘Come to think of it, if he were really an accomplice, he wouldn’t have disappeared like the wind. He would’ve stayed here trying to get something out of us.’
Tang Gyu-jeong said,
“But we don’t know anything about him. He left without giving even a hint.”
Lady Hongri nodded in agreement.
The criminals who kidnapped the child hadn’t known either.
“If only we had a name, we could find him.”
It might sound boastful, but the Tang Clan held the greatest influence in the region.
With a name, they could find anyone.
Then Tang Jo-ung cried out.
“Ah! I remember now. It was Young Hero Eun Seo-ho!”
“Young Hero Eun Seo-ho?”
“Yes. Maybe he wanted to put me at ease, but he told me his name when he rescued me. He said he was Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
At those words, Tang Gyu-jeong stood up and spoke.
“Leave it to me.”
“I’m counting on you, Father.”
They had to find and repay the man who’d saved his youngest, beloved son.
Not just for the honor of the clan, but also from the heartfelt gratitude of a father.
He immediately turned to his servant.
“Find someone named Eun Seo-ho from the Eunhae Merchant Group. But it seems he may have reasons for acting discreetly, so conduct the search as quietly as possible.”
“Understood.”
I looked toward the distant building.
Located north of the provincial capital in Sichuan, this was the Sichuan Branch of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Though situated in a major grain-producing region, grain wasn’t the group’s focus here.
Sichuan silk, long known as Shujin (蜀錦), was one of the four great silks of the Central Plains.
Naturally, since the Eunhae Merchant Group also dealt in silk, they distributed Shujin from here.
The region also produced an abundance of sugar and citrus, and was a major source of rock salt.
It truly was a land of gold for any merchant group.
But the road to Sichuan was treacherous.
You couldn’t visit frequently.
As a result, it was hard to respond to the region’s ever-changing conditions in real time.
That’s why this Sichuan Branch was established.
And the one who served as its branch leader…
Was my uncle.
“Aren’t you going to meet the Branch Leader?”
At Palgap’s question, I nodded.
“Right. That was the plan.”
I knew my uncle wasn’t a spy for the Dan Clan Merchant Group.
He played a crucial role in helping the Eunhae Merchant Group rise to fame with silk.
But the reason I wouldn’t meet him now was because we didn’t yet know who the Dan Clan’s spy was.
If I visited him, everyone at the branch would quickly know I’d arrived.
Then the Dan Clan would surely initiate another round of sabotage, and everything would spiral into a mud-slinging mess.
I felt sorry, but I had to postpone our joyful reunion.
I stood at a distance, looking at the branch building, then turned away.
Time to begin the operation.
.
.
.
A little later, I found the perfect targets.
Children playing in the neighborhood.
I bought a pile of snacks and sat under a tree. Then I placed the treats on a rock beside me and called out to the kids.
“Hey, you guys.”
“…?”
I held out the treats to them and said,
“Wanna try some?”
“W-Wow, sweets!”
What I offered were tanghwa—balls of dough fried in oil, coated with honey, and dusted with sugar.
Skewered on sticks, these simple treats had the kids drooling on the spot.
“But… my mom said not to take food from strangers…”
“Yeah, we’re not supposed to.”
“She’s right. You shouldn’t take food from strangers. But I bought way too much, and it’d be a shame to let it go to waste.”
“Hmm… we’re not supposed to waste food.”
“They said you’d be punished for throwing food away.”
“So I just need a little help finishing it.”
Finally, the kids cautiously reached for the skewers, each grabbing one.
After filling their bellies, they finally seemed curious about me and asked,
“Who are you?”
“I’m a traveler. Came here with my attendant over there.”
I pointed to Palgap, and the kids tilted their heads.
“That guy looks like a bear.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“Hahaha. Really? Then what do I look like?”
“You… hmm, a Self-Dancing Doll.”
“Huh?”
I blinked in surprise at the unexpected answer. I looked like a Self-Dancing Doll?
“Because you’re pretty.”
“Yeah! You’re pretty!”
“But you’re not supposed to say Self-Dancing Doll. They said those dolls are haunted.”
“Right! I heard the grown-ups talking about it.”
It used to be “possessed by souls,” and now it’s “haunted,” huh?
Sigh…
Well, ghost or soul, there’s not much difference.
I smiled again and said,
“Still, thanks for saying I’m as pretty as a Self-Dancing Doll.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Nope, it’s fine. Actually, I like it. Because I know the secret song about the Self-Dancing Dolls.”
–TL Notes–
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