Eom Sam-taek blinked in surprise at the unexpected words.
“What?”
“Honestly, I’m already busy handling the Virtuous Wind Department. Why would I meddle in your caravan?”
Eun Seo-ho said it with a smile, but Eom Sam-taek immediately caught the meaning behind it.
‘So he’s saying it’s annoying, huh?’
Eun Seo-ho continued,
“Since we’ll be traveling together, I came by to greet you and make that clear.”
“I see. I fully understand your intention, Department Chief.”
“Then I’ll be counting on you. See you on the day of departure.”
“Yes, of course.”
And from then on, Eun Seo-ho truly didn’t say another word about the caravan itself.
He only asked for cooperation regarding matters directly related to him.
The day of departure to Shaanxi arrived.
The wagon was ready at the dock.
Since it had to be loaded onto the ship, it was narrower than the ones normally used.
Inside, the goods for Shaanxi were neatly stacked.
At that moment, the Escort Chief, the escort guards, and the laborers who would be traveling with the caravan approached.
They were from the Changin Escort Bureau, contracted with the Eunhae Merchant Group.
“Welcome. I’m Eom Sam-taek, the Clerk in charge of this caravan.”
“I’m Gwak Myeong-hyeon, Escort Chief of Changin Escort Bureau.”
“I’m Yun Ji-sim, Squad Leader from the Eunpoong Division, assigned to accompany this caravan.”
Just then, a group of people appeared.
It was Eun Seo-ho’s party.
“Ah, looks like I’m a bit late.”
As soon as everyone saw him, they quickly bowed.
“Greetings, Chief of the Virtuous Wind Department.”
Even though Eun Seo-ho held the title of Deputy Merchant Lord, since he was currently in charge of the Virtuous Wind Department, it was appropriate to greet him by his position.
Eom Sam-taek quickly followed with his own greeting.
“Not at all. You’re right on time.”
“That’s a relief.”
At that moment, Eun Seo-ho’s and Gwak Myeong-hyeon’s eyes met. Eun Seo-ho smiled lightly and offered a cupped fist salute.
“I’ll be traveling with you today. I look forward to working together.”
“The same goes for me.”
I looked ahead.
The waters of the Yangtze River rippled steadily.
I was aboard a ship.
Since we were traveling upstream along the Han River, one of the Yangtze’s tributaries, the rowers were working hard against the current.
But coming back would be easier—just letting the current carry us down while controlling the speed so it wouldn’t go too fast.
There were plenty of other ships on the river besides the ones from the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Just like the Yellow River in the north, the Yangtze was absolutely vital.
Countless goods were transported along this river. Grain from Jiangnan made its way north via the waterways.
Even government couriers often used river routes.
Stabilizing the Yangtze’s waterways was essential for maintaining order across the Central Plains.
In other words, this river was something even the Imperial Court kept a close eye on.
But two years ago, the river pirates on the Yangtze made the worst mistake of their lives.
They completely raided a shipment of salt bound for Guizhou.
Because of that, salt couldn’t be supplied to Guizhou on time, and a major salt shortage broke out.
For the Emperor, it was absolutely infuriating.
It interfered with one of his flagship policies, and the resulting public backlash started turning against the salt distribution laws.
Which meant… the massive revenue flowing into the Imperial Treasury could be cut off.
There was no way the Emperor was going to let that slide.
He had every justification. He immediately ordered a military campaign.
Of course, river pirates trained in Water Techniques (水功) were an incredibly tricky opponent.
But the military strength of an empire that ruled the Central Plains was anything but weak.
The Imperial Navy mobilized massive fleets from both Sichuan and Anhui, launching a full-scale assault on the pirate strongholds along the river.
On top of that, the Emperor personally dispatched martial masters to the campaign. Against that, the Qi-based resistance of the pirates was utterly meaningless.
In the end, the Yangtze was completely cleared within half a year.
To make sure the pirates couldn’t rise again, the Emperor stationed Water Commissioners (水官) all along the river to maintain order.
The Yangtze was now completely under the Emperor’s control.
Thanks to that, merchants like us could now travel the river in peace. Long live His Majesty.
There was just one problem.
“Blegh!”
Yeon Chang’s deputy was dealing with seasickness worse than I ever imagined.
“You alright?”
“Ugh…”
“Yeah, not alright.”
Honestly, if it weren’t for the seasickness, the view from the ship would’ve been amazing.
But no matter how much seasickness medicine he took, it wasn’t getting any better.
Just then, Master walked over and pressed gently behind the deputy’s ear.
The moment he did, Yeon Chang’s deputy quietly drifted off to sleep.
“Sleep’s the best cure for seasickness.”
“Thank you so much.”
“I heard you have some personal business on this trip, Department Chief.”
“That’s right.”
I nodded.
“Once we arrive in Xi’an, I plan to head to the Wu Merchant Group. There are a few things I need to check out.”
“I see.”
Master spoke calmly,
“Then we’ve got some time. And since we’re traveling by ship, this is the perfect opportunity to learn Water Techniques (水功).”
“Huh? Water Techniques?”
“Of course, now that the pirates have been wiped out, it might seem like there’s no need to learn it. But Water Techniques are incredibly useful. Besides, not all the pirates were wiped out.”
Master explained why learning Water Techniques was important, but that wasn’t the reason I asked.
I was surprised because I never expected Master to teach me Water Techniques in the first place.
In my past life, I never learned them.
And there wasn’t just one or two times I regretted it.
There were plenty of things that would’ve been a lot easier if I had.
“I’ll learn! Please teach me.”
Hearing my enthusiastic answer, Master chuckled.
“Guess that long explanation was pointless. We’ll start tonight.”
“But… I’ve got two questions.”
“Ask away.”
“First… if we learn Water Techniques, won’t people mistake us for river pirates?”
“No need to worry about that. No one’s going to see us practicing.”
“Alright. Second… you can use Water Techniques, Master?”
“When snow melts, it becomes water. When water freezes, it becomes ice.”
I get it.
“That was a dumb question.”
“No. Curiosity should be addressed. Leave it unchecked, and it can lead to a Qi deviation.”
Just then, one of the escort guards on the boat across from us called out to Master.
“Looks like they’re calling me.”
“You should hurry.”
“Then, I’ll see you tonight at the beginning of Hai Hour (亥時, 9–11 PM).”
With a light tap of his foot, Master’s body floated up into the air.
Tap.
He landed lightly on the other ship.
And yet, the ship didn’t rock even a little. Everyone watching let out gasps of admiration.
“Wow! As expected of Escort Chief Gwak!”
“Getting to travel with Escort Chief Gwak this time—what luck!”
It wasn’t just the laborers; even the guards from the Eunpoong Division couldn’t hide their amazement.
I chuckled as I watched them.
Truthfully, Master wasn’t the type to show off his martial arts.
Even so, there were two reasons why he displayed his skills like that.
One was to boost the morale of those traveling in the caravan.
The other was as a warning to any enemies who might be watching.
I kept my eyes on two of the Eunpoong Division guards who were busy admiring him.
Bae Cheol and Go Ju-sang.
The two who betrayed me in my previous life.
Back then, they were bottom-rank guards at Im-rank (壬級). Now, after two years, they’d climbed to Gyeong-rank (庚級).
That alone proved they had some skill.
On top of that, their reputation among the guards was solid.
Well, that must’ve been why the External Chief Administrator recommended them as my personal guards in my previous life.
I’d intentionally brought the squad they were assigned to this time.
The longer they stayed embedded in the merchant group, the more insider information they’d pick up—and that increased the risk of leaks.
And now, it was about time to stab the back of the merchant group that hired them.
Honestly, even if they delivered information that should’ve been impossible for bottom-rank guards to obtain, the group employing them would only grow more suspicious.
That’s why I waited until the two were promoted to a level where it made sense for them to have that kind of access.
Bringing them along this time was to keep them close and build their trust.
So that the fake intel I fed them would seem absolutely real.
You could argue it was unfair to the rest of the squad, but… well, this was their job.
Besides, this was a river journey—not exactly physically demanding work.
When I moved separately from the caravan, I planned to specifically choose them to accompany me.
.
.
.
That night.
Master began teaching me Water Techniques (水功).
The most fundamental step in Water Techniques was enduring underwater for long periods.
“If all you needed was to stay underwater, you could use the Breath Suppression Method. But the downside is, it doesn’t work once you start moving. That’s why you need a breathing technique designed for underwater.”
“Got it.”
“Other Water Techniques have similar methods, but I can say with confidence—my family’s method is the best.”
I could feel Master’s pride in his family’s martial art.
“This technique is called the Ice Sea Assimilation Method (氷海同化心法).”
So it means… assimilation with an ice sea?
“I’m teaching you this because you’re currently practicing the seventh form of the True Snow Twelve Form Sword.”
I was indeed learning the seventh form of the True Snow Twelve Form Sword.
It wasn’t because I was slow.
It’s just that as my internal Qi grew, mastering the sword art that managed that Qi naturally took longer.
According to Master, it normally took a decade to master the entire True Snow Twelve Form Sword.
For me to be at this stage already—I was actually incredibly fast.
“Once you’ve mastered six of the twelve forms, learning the Ice Sea Assimilation Method won’t harm your body.”
“Meaning… it would’ve harmed me before?”
“Exactly. The Ice Sea Assimilation Method harmonizes your body’s temperature with freezing water. Before mastering the six forms, it triggers the extreme yin Qi within your body and could easily kill the practitioner.”
Master continued.
“In the worst-case scenario—you’d freeze to death.”
“…”
Yeah, I can see why this stayed within his family.
“The more proficient you become with the True Snow Twelve Form Sword, the longer you can sustain this technique. But in your current state… the maximum is about fifteen minutes.”
“That’s not very long.”
“Once you fully master the sword art, you’ll be able to sustain it for up to four hours.”
“Understood.”
“Once you’re comfortable with the Ice Sea Assimilation Method, we’ll begin proper Water Techniques. Typically, it takes about two weeks to learn. Are you up for it?”
“I am. Let’s do it.”
Bring it on.
While traveling by ship, I practiced the True Snow Twelve Form Sword at dawn and Water Techniques at night.
Master’s family Water Techniques were called Ice Sea Water Severance Technique (氷海水絶功).
It was instantly clear why Master said no one would ever see us practicing.
It was based on the No-Trace Step.
Even while walking on water, the surface didn’t ripple in the slightest. Not a sound was made.
Like a massive glacier—its presence hidden beneath the water.
Every martial art Master taught me had the characters for either snow or ice in its name. The deeper I learned, the more I understood exactly why.
And yet, Master still hadn’t officially acknowledged himself as my master.
Why…?
.
.
.
Before I knew it, the ship was nearing its destination.
“Traveling by ship sure is comfortable… but I’m bored to death.”
I chuckled at Palgap’s complaint.
“Won’t be long before you look back at this and realize how happy you were.”
At my words, my personal guards, Yeo Eung-am and Lee Pil, both nodded.
“The young master speaks the truth.”
“This is happiness, hahaha. In the past, we had to stay on edge all day because of those river pirates. Thanks to His Majesty’s grace, those bastards are gone. It’s a blessing.”
“Absolutely.”
I nodded.
This was truly the most peaceful, comfortable journey I’d ever had.
.
.
.
The next day.
We finally disembarked.
We went through the tedious process of unloading the cargo and wagons, then got on the road.
Soon after, we arrived in Xi’an and finished unloading.
We were scheduled to trade with one of the local tea merchants who regularly dealt with the Eunhae Merchant Group.
I planned to stay here for a day and then head to the Wu Merchant Group.
.
.
.
Morning came.
As always, I began my day practicing swordsmanship under Master’s guidance.
“Well done.”
“Thank you for teaching me.”
“You’ve already mastered the Ice Sea Water Severance Technique. You really do learn fast.”
“It’s all thanks to your teaching, Master.”
“No. It’s because you’re extremely talented and worked hard. That’s why you mastered it in less than ten days.”
“Well… I am pretty great, huh?”
Master chuckled at my remark.
“Yes.”
Uh…
That was… a joke, but hearing Master answer seriously kinda threw me off.
“It looks like it’s time to part ways. Stay safe.”
“Yes.”
Just then—chaos suddenly broke out outside.
–TL Notes–
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