Day broke.
The people of the Black Wind Gang had to welcome their new master without having slept a wink.
[Wolyeong], the madam who worked here.
Through his conversation with the woman who would later become the master of the underworld, there were things he had sorted out.
He would install her as the master of the Black Wind Gang and have her offer information to him.
Wolyeong’s value was high.
She possessed such remarkable skill that people would one day say all information in murim passed through her.
A woman he had met at times as an ally, and at other times as an enemy.
She was a truly frightening person, and also a truly sincere one.
“I did not know you would be here.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“I hope you keep your promise to become my eyes and ears.”
“Of course.”
Wolyeong, who had newly become the master of the Black Wind Gang, bowed her head.
The fourth child of the Namgung Clan, and its fourth son.
The one known to be confined to a sickbed had appeared.
And suddenly, at that.
Such aftermath from a move made without any warning whatsoever.
‘A frightening person.’
That was Wolyeong’s evaluation.
He spoke little, and moved only for what was necessary.
Yet he seemed to be watching everything and remembering everything.
And what about the level of his martial arts?
‘What I feel from him is around the level of a second-rate martial artist, but his movements have already surpassed first-rate.’
Wolyeong had seen the movements of first-rate warriors many times.
Even compared to them, she did not think he fell behind at all.
No, if anything, his movements seemed smoother, more tyrannical, and even more precise.
Besides, there was something else that moved her heart.
Wealth.
Was it because of the authority of the Namgung Clan, whose might was said to rival even the imperial family?
Though he had given only a few small pouches, he had provided enough wealth for the Black Wind Gang to live off for several generations.
“Are you truly certain you may entrust such a position to someone as lowly as me......?”
So she asked.
Why had he entrusted such an important role specifically to her, someone who managed the pleasure trade?
Namgung Yeon spoke calmly.
“The person who knows this place well is not me, but you. That is why I am entrusting it to you.”
“If, by any chance, I fail to operate it properly......”
“Would you be able to do such a thing before the authority of the Namgung Clan?”
“......”
It was a simple statement, but also a terrifying threat.
On this martial land of Anhui, no one who had offended the Namgung Clan had survived.
Even if they left for another region, they would be living on borrowed time.
The Namgung Clan was that kind of place.
“I ask that you do well. Use the operating funds at your discretion.”
“Yes, Great Hero.”
“Send contact through messengers, or use carrier pigeons.”
Wolyeong lowered her head.
Namgung Yeon looked at her and recalled a scene.
<If I had also had a foundation where I could display this talent, I would not have lived by throwing my body around like this, my lord!>
The sight of her screaming, filled with venom.
She had also been an example of what end awaited those whose environment failed to support them, even when they possessed talent.
She, too, had been forced to do anything in order to survive, and in that process, she had often ended up at odds with Namgung Yeon.
<Do powerful nobles like you know anything about the lives of us lowborn people?! Do you have any idea what choices we had to make just to survive?!>
Wolyeong, who had screamed those words, had died with her head cut off.
That was why, the moment he saw her, he thought about it.
What ability would Wolyeong show if the entire board were laid out for her?
If he gave her the support she had cried out for so desperately, what choice would she make?
“I trust you have learned what you must do.”
“Yes. I will do my utmost.”
Now it was time to escort the sinners.
They had to descend Dashu Mountain and return to the martial hall.
Hoho would be waiting.
***
The sinners who had attacked Namgung Yeon and Park Manho were all tied together with rope and being moved.
If they collapsed, they moved while collapsed; if they were dying, they moved while dying.
It was a distance that could be traveled in a day anyway.
Any bastard who died because he could not endure even this much was already beyond hope.
At that point, however, Manho grew curious.
Was there really any need to go through such a troublesome process?
Would it not have been faster to bring Nam Hoho here in the first place?
So he asked Namgung Yeon.
“Um, Young Master. There is something I would like to ask.”
“Speak.”
“Is there a need to drag them all the way from such a dangerous place?”
Namgung Yeon grasped his intent at once.
Then he answered simply.
“Are there not commoners along the route these men will travel?”
“There are.”
“When they see sinners being escorted, what sort of rumors do you think they will spread?”
“Ah......”
Only then did Park Manho realize it and nod.
To think he had even designed this.
As expected, he was no ordinary person.
There was a reason Namgung Yeon had not brought Hoho with him.
At times, showing something was necessary.
Right now, all eyes in Anhui and Hefei were gathered because of the Namgung Clan’s Young Clan Head Competition.
In such a situation, what would happen if he eradicated criminals near Hefei?
“You were paying attention to reputation as well?”
“In any case, what is seen is also important. Especially for people like us.”
“I have learned one more thing, Young Master.”
That was how one grew.
On the road from Dashu Mountain to the martial hall, there was also an official road where people came and went.
If the people passing along that road spread rumors one by one, his reputation within the clan would naturally rise as well.
Or there would be those who became jealous.
The greater their hostility grew, the better.
The easiest way to distinguish friend from foe lay in their ability to act under extreme circumstances.
At the moment they were driven furthest into a corner, their true nature would burst out.
‘Those who tempt them will also certainly appear.’
Just as they always had.
When they descended to the lower parts of Dashu Mountain, people appeared here and there.
At the sight that looked like prisoners being escorted, they could not take their eyes off Namgung Yeon and the others.
Someone who could not bear it any longer asked those at the rear, the people who had been kidnapped and were now returning to their homes, what had happened.
What in the world had happened for those men to be dragged along in such a wretched state?
“Hey there. What in the world happened?”
“A highborn lord of the Namgung Clan saved us.”
“Is that true!?”
“It is. Those men are slave traders, and they tried to capture us and sell us off. But then—”
A short conversation was exchanged.
Naturally, the people who heard the story were amazed, and they quickly passed the words on to their companions.
“So, who is that person?”
“W-well?”
“They said he was a highborn lord of the Namgung Clan......”
“Wouldn’t there be someone in the marketplace who knows?”
Everyone nodded.
Then they began hurrying on their way.
Namgung Yeon watched them intently and hoped they would spread the rumors far and wide.
Would the elders and his brothers and sisters not become all the more impatient once the rumors reached their ears?
Also, his father, the clan head, would pay at least a little attention.
Inwardly, Namgung Yeon also expected him to play the role of stopping those who intended to do utterly absurd things.
If it worked, good. If not, so be it.
‘And one more thing.’
With his strength alone, he could not stop all those disasters.
Therefore...... he had to foster the clan, and the murim.
Enough that they could protect this land and its people even without him.
Fortunately, he had more than enough items and wealth.
‘Are you watching?’
This time, things would not go according to your will.
Namgung Yeon’s steps quickened.
***
“Wh-what is all this......?”
“Your training materials.”
“......”
Hoho’s jaw dropped.
Ragged figures kneeling on the ground.
People whose blood had clotted until they no longer looked human were lined up one after another.
Hoho revealed the fear welling up from the depths of his heart.
“Come on, Young Master. You can’t mean it, right? Surely...... not, right?”
“Cut them down with your own hands. There is no value in keeping them alive anyway.”
“......”
Namgung Yeon casually held out a sword.
A sword taken from the storehouse.
It looked ordinary, but in terms of hardness and cutting power, it was a sword of the highest quality.
Hoho took the sword in his hesitant hand.
Namgung Yeon looked at Hoho and spoke.
He knew.
He knew it well.
How much Hoho was trembling in fear, and how terribly he hated killing.
“Hoho.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“If you truly wish to become my hands and feet, then cast off your fear.”
“......”
He spoke as if soothing him, but there was bone beneath his words.
Words cold enough to make him shiver and sharp enough to ache in the bone.
To Hoho, they sounded like this.
If he carried fear with him, he would no longer be able to stand beside him.
Why had Young Master chosen someone as insignificant as him?
When Hoho was alone, he had thought about it many times.
Why?
Why had Young Master decided to keep him by his side?
‘It can’t simply be because I cook well, and he wouldn’t take care of me like this just because I clean diligently.’
As he wore the heavy Dragon-Suppressing Shackles, that thought grew even stronger.
If so, he wanted to ask.
Why him, when he was weak and full of fear?
“Young Master.”
“Mm.”
“Why are you doing all this for me? There must be many other talented people......”
“Because in my eyes, your talent is the greatest.”
“......”
The words came out without even a second of hesitation.
His talent was the greatest?
How could he say something so absurd—.
“Talent is not only what can be seen right now. Talent may bloom late. There are those who seem to be at a high realm right now, yet whose limits are clear, and there are also those who seem insignificant, but whose vessel is vast.”
“You mean, like a great vessel matures late , something like that?”
“What matters more than that is character . Hoho, do not forget that your character is the greatest talent of all.”
Namgung Yeon spoke calmly.
Nam Hoho had always kept faith.
The human being named Nam Hoho had never given up on justice.
Even in a world rushing toward ruin, who had stood tall and endured, wholly and until the very end?
It was none other than Nam Hoho.
A martial artist who belittled his own talent, yet always reached the highest place.
A true champion of justice who moved according to righteousness and chivalry .
Namgung Yeon was someone who had watched his talent from farther away than anyone, and also from closer than anyone.
“Not running away when you face hardship. And while doing so, not losing righteousness and chivalry. That is the greatest talent you possess.”
“Young Master......”
“So overcome your fear. If you have chosen to live as a martial artist, become ruthless. We’ll have to live in a world far harsher and crueler than this.”
At Namgung Yeon’s words, Hoho’s trembling stopped.