I said to him.
“Should I congratulate you?”
“I’m not sure about that myself.”
He pushed himself up as he spoke.
“I heard my parents are still living in that house.”
“Yes.”
“Are they in good health?”
For a brief moment, I hesitated. His eyes darkened at once.
“Now that I think about it, you only spoke about my father from the start.”
“…”
“My mother… has passed away, hasn’t she?”
In the end, tears spilled from his eyes. I patted him gently and said,
“Still, your father is alive. Go to him before it’s any later, and hold him in your arms.”
“Yes. I will.”
After finishing that sickbed visit, I left the room.
Supervisor Mae would need time to gather himself.
“What a relief.”
Supervisor Cho, who had come out with me, spoke with an expression of deep relief.
“Indeed.”
While we exchanged a few words, the Physician entered Supervisor Mae’s room.
Watching him go in, I asked Supervisor Cho,
“By the way, is the Physician from the medical hall trustworthy?”
At my question, he nodded.
“Of course. He owes the Merchant Lord a great debt, which is why he serves as our merchant group’s Physician.”
“I see.”
In that case, I could entrust this to him.
After exchanging farewells with Supervisor Cho, I waited until the Physician finished examining Supervisor Mae and came back out.
“Great Hero Handsome Young Hero. What brings you here?”
“To tell you the truth, I brought the Merchant Lord’s medicine.”
“Pardon?”
I took the Heavenly Spirit Root from my robes and held it out.
“Please examine it.”
He unwrapped the cloth around it, but seemed not to recognize it. His head tilted in confusion.
Well, that was the normal reaction.
“It’s a Heavenly Spirit Root.”
“Ah, I see. Heavenly Spir… Heaven… Huh! Pardon?”
He flinched in shock and asked, stammering,
“T-T-This is that a Heavenly Spirit Root?”
“That’s right. It’s an Elixir that can’t be obtained easily. With that, the Merchant Lord’s illness can be cured.”
“H-How could you give us something this precious…”
Soon, tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his face.
Why are so many people crying today?
“Because the Merchant Lord saved and cared for Supervisor Mae, the matter our merchant group is pursuing can now proceed smoothly.”
I continued,
“Please use it to prepare medicine at once and give it to the Merchant Lord.”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
“Just in case, ask the Escort Guards to guard you while the medicine is being brewed.”
“Yes.”
Even if this was inside the merchant group, there was no room for carelessness.
I sent him off, then quietly ordered Escort Guard Jin Yu to keep an eye on the matter.
The next day, Escort Guard Jin Yu came to report.
“There were no problems during the brewing process. The Merchant Lord also took the medicine safely.”
“I see. Good work.”
I said to Palgap,
“Get ready to leave.”
“Understood, Young Master.”
So Man, Merchant Lord of the Yeocheong Merchant Group, opened his eyes.
“Mm…”
His body was usually so heavy it felt like he was carrying a thousand pounds, but for some reason, today he felt light, as though he had returned to his youth.
‘How strange.’
He rose from his bed.
Even taking a single step had once been difficult, yet now he could walk as much as he liked without feeling tired.
He even felt as if he could run.
‘What in the world happened?’
Just then, a guard’s voice came from outside the door.
“Merchant Lord, the Physician has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
The door soon opened, and the instant the Physician saw him standing there, he was visibly startled.
“M-Merchant Lord…”
“My body feels terribly light today. Haha! How fascinating!”
“It truly was a Heavenly Spirit Root…”
“Mm? What do you mean? Heavenly Spirit Root?”
The Physician lowered his head and answered,
“To tell you the truth, yesterday, Great Hero Handsome Young Hero gave us a Heavenly Spirit Root. The medicine you took yesterday was brewed from it.”
“What? Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Ha! Just how enormous a price does he intend to demand in return…”
At that sigh, the Physician spoke carefully.
“I also asked why he would hand over something so precious. Then Handsome Young Hero said it was repayment for saving and caring for Supervisor Mae Jeong.”
At that, So Man shook his head.
“Even so, this is far too much. As payment for that matter, the reward I received is far too great.”
He called toward the outside.
“Bring Great Hero Handsome Young Hero to… no. I should go myself.”
He set his clothing in order and headed for Eun Seo-ho’s quarters.
I finished my Breathing Meditation and rose from my seat.
Then I said to Palgap,
“We have a guest coming.”
“I was already preparing to brew tea, Young Master.”
Lately, his ability to sense presences had been steadily improving.
Soon, Escort Guard Chang Un’s voice came from outside.
“The Merchant Lord has arrived.”
I opened the door myself.
“Welcome.”
“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting your morning routine.”
“Not at all. Please come in.”
The Merchant Lord’s complexion was clearly different from before.
As expected of the Heavenly Spirit Root.
I greeted him with a faint smile and offered him a seat.
“You look well.”
“It’s thanks to the Heavenly Spirit Root you gave me. I don’t know how I can ever repay this debt.”
“Please don’t say that.”
I continued in a gentle voice,
“Thanks to you, Merchant Lord, I was able to find Elder Mae’s son. The matter of establishing a Martial Arts Academy together with the Imperial Family can now proceed without issue as well. This is merely repayment for that.”
“No. It’s true that I saved Supervisor Mae, but thanks to that, our merchant group was able to grow even further. I believe I was already paid more than enough.”
I had expected him to react this way, so I brought out the answer I had prepared.
“To tell you the truth, that Heavenly Spirit Root was found in the sugarcane fields here.”
“Something that precious was here?”
“Yes. While escaping after rescuing Supervisor Mae and the child, I found a pit that some wild animal had dug up. It was inside.”
– Kui?
Inside my sleeve, Geumryeong made a dissatisfied sound.
Yes, yes. Of course you’re not a wild animal.
I’m just using that as an excuse, so stay still.
I patted Geumryeong through my sleeve and continued,
“It seems to me that this was Heaven’s protection. Perhaps Heaven did not wish for you to leave this world so early, Merchant Lord, and granted such an opportunity.”
“Of course I am grateful to Heaven. But I’ve received favor after favor from you. If I don’t repay this, I feel as though I’ll fall ill again.”
He continued,
“There isn’t much I can give you. So for the next ten years, I will give you twenty percent of the profits from the sugarcane fields.”
“Pardon?”
I was genuinely startled.
“That’s too much.”
“If you refuse to accept it, I feel as though I may become sick again. Ah, my chest…”
If you put it that way, how am I supposed to refuse?
I sighed and gave him a cupped-fist salute.
“Understood. I will accept your offer.”
“Thank you.”
I’m the one who should be thanking you.
Somehow, I ended up gaining something again.
“By the way, when are you thinking of leaving?”
“I plan to leave as soon as Supervisor Mae has finished preparing.”
Supervisor Mae gathered himself more quickly than expected, and we decided to depart the next day.
So he moved busily, appointing someone to handle his work in his absence and handing over his duties.
.
.
.
Morning came, and we gathered at the merchant group’s entrance to depart.
“Thank you for everything.”
“What thanks? We’re the ones who should be grateful.”
After that, Supervisor Mae bowed to the Merchant Lord.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yes. Go and return safely.”
And so we departed for Beijing. The problem was that Supervisor Mae, who was not a martial artist, could not possibly endure the speed of a River-Crossing Horse while fully conscious.
But we didn’t have enough time to slow down for his sake.
So I decided to press Supervisor Mae’s sleep acupoint, put him to sleep, and ride at full speed.
Then, once we arrived near Beijing, I woke him.
From this point on, we would be traveling slowly.
And besides, it had been a long time since I last returned to Beijing. He should see it with a clear mind.
Supervisor Mae looked deeply moved.
“Ah… that’s still there.”
“Yes.”
“A new building has gone up over there.”
Supervisor Mae slowly took in the streets of Beijing, which had changed over the fifteen years he had been away.
We passed through Beijing’s bustling district and entered the outskirts.
“To tell you the truth, when I was young, a huge fire broke out for reasons no one understood in the mountain behind our village. At the time, I was playing on the mountain with the other children. We had no idea what to do, but then my father and the village adults came to rescue us.”
He continued,
“That memory came back to me in the sugarcane fields. It became the clue that allowed me to recover all my memories.”
“I see.”
Soon, a house came into view.
The moment Supervisor Mae saw it, his face stiffened.
“Why do you look like that?”
“Because I’m an unfilial son who’s returning after fifteen years.”
“It wasn’t as though you meant for that to happen, was it?”
“That’s true, but…”
It still wouldn’t put his heart at ease.
Joy and relief, mixed with guilt.
Since I had never experienced such emotions myself, I couldn’t offer him any deeper comfort.
But we couldn’t stand around drowning in sentiment forever.
“Elder!”
I loudly called for Elder Mae.
“Elder! Are you there? Elder!”
After I called several times, Elder Mae came out from inside, grumbling as though annoyed.
“You show up after so long, and now you’re making such a fuss…”
In that instant, his words cut off.
He had seen Supervisor Mae standing beside me.
“Don’t tell me… Jeong? Is that you, Jeong?”
“Father…”
“Jeong!”
“Father!”
The two ran toward each other and embraced tightly.
“Oh, you wretched boy! Why did you only come back now?”
“I’m sorry, Father. I’m truly sorry.”
“That’s enough! It’s enough that you’ve returned now. It’s enough that you came back safe like this.”
Watching father and son reunite after fifteen years, even my eyes grew hot.
“This is truly moving, Young Master. Sniff.”
Palgap was already wiping away tears.
Despite how he looked, he was quite a delicate fellow.
Hah. Now I’m starting to miss Father and Mother too.
Then should I head to the Beijing Branch now?
I should reduce some of Brother Jeong-ho’s workload since he’s been suffering in my place.
.
.
.
Several days passed.
During that time, I spent my days busily handling the backlog of work.
Brother Jeong-ho had taken care of things, but there were also matters that were difficult to settle based on his judgment alone.
After working in a frenzy for about three days, I finally had a little room to breathe.
“Whew…”
As I sighed and briefly closed my eyes, Brother Jeong-ho said,
“How exactly do you handle all this work?”
“I just work hard?”
“It’s clear the Virtuous Wind Department is short on people. When I return to Headquarters, I’ll suggest to Father that we add more personnel to the Virtuous Wind Department.”
“That would be good for me.”
“You’re actually grateful, right? Why does your voice sound like it has no sincerity in it at all?”
At those words, I sprang to my feet and gave him a cupped-fist salute.
“How could that possibly be? This younger brother is deeply moved by his elder brother’s concern.”
“That’s enough, you brat.”
Brother continued,
“So, did the matter you went to Guangxi for get resolved properly?”
Just then, Palgap’s voice came from outside the door.
“Young Master! Elder Mae has sent word!”
I grinned.
“I think it’s going to work out.”
A short while later.
I headed to Elder Mae’s house. Elder Mae was sitting on the wooden bench with his son.
“You’ve come?”
“Yes, Elder. You look very well.”
“This is all thanks to you. I heard everything from Jeong. You found my son, and you even saved his life! Truly… I don’t know how I can ever repay this debt.”
“You can repay it by living happily with your son for the rest of your life.”
“I knew you would say that.”
Elder Mae nodded as he spoke.
“This time, I’ve decided to go to Guangxi with my son.”
“So that’s the decision you made.”
Truthfully, I had already guessed as much.
The Merchant Lord of the Yeocheong Merchant Group had tried to entrust Supervisor Mae to me, but now the Merchant Lord’s illness had been cured.
And thanks to how Supervisor Mae had stepped forward to save Supervisor Cho’s child, the other Supervisors seemed to have accepted and recognized him as well.
“When I said I would accept you if you wished to transfer to the Eunhae Merchant Group, I meant it.”
“I’m grateful for those words, but that place is no different from a second home to me. I want to care for my father comfortably there.”
“In that case, I have no choice but to yield.”
I continued,
“If you’re planning to use an escort bureau on your way back, I can introduce you to a good one.”
“I would be grateful if you did.”
I turned my head to look at Elder Mae.
“Then we can proceed with the contract for this land now. As I mentioned before, I will give you five hundred Silver Taels.”
“That’s too much.”
“No, it isn’t. I gave the others the same amount, so if I give you less, it wouldn’t be fair.”
“But you even found my son…”
“I only did that for my own benefit.”
After thinking for a moment, the old man said,
“In that case, out of the five hundred Silver Taels for the land, I will invest three hundred in the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“Understood.”
As expected, old ginger is the spiciest. He made a very wise choice.
Elder Mae’s move proceeded quickly, and he used the Changin Escort Bureau I had introduced to head for Guangxi.
I and the neighbors saw him off.
The Changin Escort Bureau is highly skilled, so they should be able to travel safely.
With this, the matter of securing the land to establish the Martial Arts Academy was finished.
Hah. Establishing a Martial Arts Academy really isn’t easy.
I’ve only just managed to secure the land.
There are still buildings to construct and Instructors to recruit.
The buildings won’t be difficult, but recruiting Instructors is the problem… though I do have the Imperial Decree His Majesty gave me.
The glittering Imperial Decree sprinkled with silver powder.
Now then, where should I go first?
–TL Notes–
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