Seon-woo's eyes snapped open.
“I'm late!”
He had to draw water and clean. There was so much he had to.......
“Ah. I do not have to do that anymore.”
Seon-woo's hurried movements slowed.
Many things had changed for Seon-woo since the man claiming to be his father arrived.
This was one of them.
Another part of that change was piled inside his shabby room.
New clothes and shoes.
Even books he had wanted to read lay there in an enormous heap.
Of course, Seon-woo had not chosen them. The self-proclaimed father had forced them upon him.
“Too much. Everything about that man is too much.”
Seon-woo frowned.
Then he reached for his old, worn clothes and stopped.
His gaze moved back and forth between the old clothes and the new ones he had been given.
The residence within Huaming Escort Bureau where the Escort Bureau Master's family lived was bustling from early morning.
“The Escort Bureau Master and his wife are attending the competition at the young masters' martial academy today.”
“That is right. All of Taiyuan's prominent figures will be there. If our preparations are lacking, we will be beaten half to death.”
From arranging the Escort Bureau Master and his wife's attire to selecting the Escort Captains who would accompany them, everything had already been decided, so those men also had to be equipped well enough not to fall behind the other factions.......
“What about the two young masters?”
“They have already gone to the martial academy.”
“Already?”
“They said they had much to do and even skipped breakfast to ride there by carriage.”
“Come to think of it, besides the trainees' sparring matches, the competition also has a martial arts demonstration. Everyone performs the same forms together, so even the slightest failure to match the others stands out immediately. I heard they had to gather and practice.”
“So that is what they have been staying at the martial academy to practice until late at night these past few days!”
A servant nodding along spotted a boy approaching from the other side.
“Is that not Young Master Seon-woo?”
The words had once been spoken in mockery, but now they flowed naturally.
“Wow, he looks like a different person.”
Seon-woo already had refined features, and the new clothes and fine shoes alone made him seem radiant.
“Are you out?”
At that moment, the uninvited guest who had suddenly barged into the escort bureau appeared and approached Young Master Seon-woo.
“Yes.”
Seon-woo spoke indifferently and turned his head away as if he was not pleased to see the man.
But the man paid no mind, looked at the reddened tips of Seon-woo's ears, and chuckled.
“As expected, you take after your father. Anything looks good on you.”
Seon-woo looked slightly dumbfounded at the remark, then quickly erased the expression.
After hesitating, he spoke.
“Thank you.”
It seemed he was embarrassed to have worn the clothes after repeatedly refusing them and insisting he did not need them.
“Let us show A-ri what you are wearing as well. She has set her heart on wearing clothes the same color as yours.”
“A-ri has?”
The mention of his younger sister immediately caught his attention.
The dazzling father and son leaning their heads together as they spoke made a picturesque sight.
Even after the two moved away toward A-ri a short while later, the people who had been stealing glances around them could not look away.
Then someone suddenly cried, “Ah!”
“What is it?”
“Wait, did Young Master Seon-woo not attend the martial academy too?”
“He did. Is that not why he paid so much attention to his appearance today?”
“But Young Master Seon-myeong and Young Master Seon-jong left for the martial academy quite some time ago to practice their group martial arts demonstration with their friends. Is Young Master Seon-woo allowed not to go?”
At those words, everyone firmly closed their mouths.
“Now, now, we have plenty to do, do we not? Everyone, spread out and get to work.”
When someone stepped forward and broke apart the frozen atmosphere, everyone pretended not to know and moved off in search of work.
The servant who had first brought up the subject belatedly grasped the situation and clicked his tongue only inwardly.
Even so, it was unavoidable, nothing more than one of the incidents that happened all the time.
“I will see you later.”
“...Will you truly come?”
“A-ri is looking forward to it very much.”
“...Yes.”
Seon-woo answered.
Wi So-baek spoke to him.
“I expect nothing. There is no reason for me to. It is already an obvious fact that you will take first place.”
Seon-woo had been uncomfortable with the man's attention, yet for some reason felt hurt when he said he expected nothing. The words that followed left him unable to hide his bewilderment.
Until now, that man had never offered any assessment of him.
“At times like this, are you not normally supposed to tell me to do my best even if I cannot take first place?”
So Seon-woo had not known whether the man wanted him to take first place.
But once again, the man went in a direction Seon-woo had never imagined.
“People say that as consolation when there is no hope. Seon-woo, if you do not take first place, you are deceiving everyone else. Why bother?”
Seon-woo moved his lips several times as though he did not know how to answer, then gave up.
Wi So-baek covered the crown of the boy's head with his hand.
“Now, if you want to take first place, you may. If you have been pretending you cannot because you had to watch how others reacted, there is no longer any need.”
He lightly tousled the boy's hair with only his fingertips, then withdrew his hand.
“There is a small problem with my identity, so I invited someone to congratulate you before everyone in my stead. Whether or not you take first place, he will respect your choice exactly as it is and celebrate it. And no one will dare object to him.”
That was why Wi So-baek, who detested bothersome things, had traveled all the way to Yangquan in Shanxi, where the Yun Clan was based.
“Then be on your way. I will see you at the academy later.”
He had stopped Seon-woo in the middle of his journey to the academy, so Wi So-baek did not want to delay him any longer.
He breathed gentle energy into Seon-woo's rigid back and lightly pushed him forward.
Seon-woo took several steps as he was nudged along, then began walking under his own power.
***
By midday, Ilho Martial Academy was packed with visitors.
Then the Estate Master of Pyeon Estate, the most powerful man in Taiyuan, arrived.
People crowded around Estate Master Pyeon and spoke to him.
He held his chin arrogantly aloft and acknowledged their greetings with no more than glances. Only when he reached the master of the Dorim Merchant Guild did Estate Master Pyeon stop and open his mouth.
“You have not changed.”
When the Dorim Merchant Guild Master laughed, Estate Master Pyeon shrugged.
“Sit here. I am told the guests' seats were arranged according to the talent and performance of the academy's children. The best seat must belong to our Estate Master Pyeon, and the next to my son, who will become a merchant guild master with fairly useful martial arts. Then who could be third?”
“You must not forget us.”
Ban Ga-jin, who had been standing a short distance back, hurried forward.
“It has been too long, both of you.”
Lee Chu-pung, Escort Bureau Master of Huaming Escort Bureau, also stepped forward after his wife.
“It cannot be helped, with your father-in-law ill and the escort bureau keeping you busy.”
Lee Chu-pung forced himself to suppress his frown at the overly familiar manner and sat in the third seat.
Not long afterward, boys entered the center of Ilho Martial Academy's large training ground, its pride and joy.
Applause erupted from the guest seats encircling half the training ground.
Dressed in expensive martial arts uniforms, the boys moved from the opening stance taught to the Tiger Shadow Fist's outer disciples into its first form.
BANG—! BAAANG—!
The boys' hands struck the air.
Their planted feet carried so much force that clouds of dust repeatedly billowed up and settled again.
“Oh, remarkable.”
“As expected, we did well to send them to Ilho Martial Academy. Their martial power seems outstanding, especially given how loudly the sound rings out.”
Praise passed among the guests.
“Moreover, not one of them makes a mistake, and their hands and feet move in perfect unison. They must have practiced together a great deal.”
It sounded as though they were praising everyone, but in truth, the people themselves knew.
They knew where most of their gazes were directed.
The reason was that even when the boy in an isolated place at the rear of the formation took the same stance, his looked neater and more proper.
“Hap! Haaap!”
As the boys continued their demonstration with spirited shouts, more and more of them seemed to sense the atmosphere. Their faces twisted, and in the end, the number making mistakes increased.
Unlike its beginning, the demonstration ended in complete disorder.
When it was over, Jo Gang-jin repeatedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and demonstrated his martial arts before the guests.
He meant to clear away the heavy atmosphere among them and give his disciples time to settle themselves so they could focus on the afternoon sparring tournament.
The disciples made full use of their master's consideration.
THUD—! THUMP—!
Pyeon Su-yeop kicked Lee Seon-woo in the abdomen.
The brothers Seon-myeong and Seon-jong held Seon-woo's arms on either side so the impact would not send him flying.
Pyeon Su-yeop brought his face close to Lee Seon-woo's and growled.
“Know when to stop showing off. Who do you think you are, holding your head high and ruining our event? Do you know how much money my father donated this time? He paid all that to see me looking impressive. Was it because of you?”
“What Su-yeop means is that during the sparring matches this afternoon, you should not cause trouble. Just take a few hits quietly and fall. Unlike you, whom no one wants to see take first place, we carry heavy expectations on our backs. Understand?”
Ji Hye-won added his voice from the side and patted Lee Seon-woo's cheek with one hand.
“Why are you not answering?”
When Pyeon Su-yeop struck Lee Seon-woo again, Ji Hye-won stopped him.
“Do not leave any obvious marks. It might start rumors for no reason.”
Saying it was a pity when Seon-woo had worn clean clothes for once, Ji Hye-won even brushed away the footprints and dust on them with his fingertips.
“You had better be careful. I will be watching you!”
Pyeon Su-yeop warned him again and left with the other boys. Lee Seon-woo, left alone, spat out bloody saliva and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Around the time the martial arts demonstration Jo Gang-jin had personally stepped forward to perform ended.
“It seems the sparring tournament is about to begin.”
When Yun Seol-hyeong spoke amiably, Wi So-baek looked at him coldly.
“How long have we been standing here?”
Yun Seol-hyeong swallowed dryly at Wi So-baek's question and lowered his gaze.
“Well... ever since the event began.......”
That was right.
The two men and one child had not been assigned seats at the front or even managed to claim chairs, so they had stood at the very back of the guest area the entire time.
“And in all that time, how many people recognized you?”
“.......”
Not one.
“Who was it that confidently insisted you would be enough even if the Estate Master did not come and asked me to watch, after I said the Estate Master himself had to be here?”
“.......”
Yun Seol-hyeong could not bring himself to speak, but he felt so wronged he could die.
He had diligently explained why the Estate Master could not come and persuaded Wi So-baek that discussing anything with him in the Estate Master's stead would be enough to produce a favorable outcome, if only for a moment.
When the man asked whether Yun Seol-hyeong was famous enough for everyone to recognize him, he had rubbed an index finger under his nose and shrugged.
Calling it self-praise did not change that the name of Yun Seol-hyeong, the Cloud Dragon of the Yun Clan, carried considerable weight even beyond Shanxi and as far as Beijing.
Thus, whatever the other man's intentions, Yun Seol-hyeong had been able to answer confidently that it did.
But from the moment he passed through the martial academy's main gate, he had realized something was wrong.