That evening.
Namgung Yeon’s mother arrived.
It was something she had told Namgung Yeon before he left.
She would visit once every seven days and nights.
It was to deliver daily necessities, and to make sure her son was not uncomfortable while staying there.
When she visited, a barrage of nagging poured out.
“Son! Look how dirty this is. What state is this house in!?”
“......”
“Goodness, keep your clothes a little neater. You should fold the ones you aren’t wearing and stack them properly.”
“I’m going to wear them as training clothes anyway, so it’s fine.”
“What do you mean, fine? No matter how much of a young master of the Namgung Clan you are, how can you not even look after yourself?”
In any case, the future he would live in was a reality amid war.
He had spent decades wearing rags, so it had been a long time since he had forgotten the concept of cleaning and organizing.
Even if things were scattered everywhere, he could find them all and use them anyway.
However, Namgung Yeon did not dislike his mother’s nagging.
That was because her final moments came to mind.
The mistress of the household, who had always looked after him and the members of the Namgung Clan.
The lady who had managed Namgung, which was like a vast kingdom.
She had stepped forward first, and until the very end, she had looked after the household.
<Our son...... Even if Mother is gone, you must live well. Bravely.>
<Son...... At least you must live! Hurry!>
The words she had spoken to him in her final moments came to mind.
Even when she had not met her end before his eyes, she had always looked after her sons and daughters and said those words.
Mother.
How precious the weight that word carried was.
‘As expected, I can’t put it off.’
It was something he had needed to do anyway, but now that he had thought of it, he decided to settle it in one stroke.
Namgung Yeon calculated the money he had left.
It seemed a little short, so he would have to supplement it with a bit more.
Soyeon began bustling around the martial hall, tidying things up.
Hoho and Manho followed her around anxiously.
The two of them seemed quite unused to seeing the madam personally clean and organize things here and there.
Namgung Soyeon.
They simply did not know that she had been an extremely competent person since the days when she had been called the Poison Phoenix.
“Mother.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Could you give me a little more pocket money?”
“Pocket money?”
She knew he had taken one gold ingot, and yet he wanted more?
Soyeon’s beautiful face wrinkled.
At that moment, Namgung Yeon gave her a very legitimate reason and persuaded her.
“I intend to personally carry out relief work in the slums.”
“Oh my-.”
Such a commendable thought?
At Namgung Yeon’s words, her expression brightened once more.
No matter how enormous the Namgung Clan’s authority was, slums still existed in Hefei.
And there were beggars from the Beggars’ Sect there as well, so relief work was essential in order to exchange information.
However, the issue was that none of the Namgung Clan’s people tried to take the lead in this work.
That was why they took turns doing it as if forced into it, and some even wore expressions as though they were crawling into a sewer.
Most of them thought, why must they go to such a filthy place when even training time was insufficient?
‘And the result of that came back in a horrifying way.’
Only the kind and benevolent mistress of the Namgung Clan had gone with a smile to the lowest place in Hefei.
And all of her endings had taken place in that very slum.
“This time, I’ll try cleansing it properly.”
“You have thought well. Things like that are all experience too.”
If you truly dream of becoming Namgung’s Young Clan Head, you must experience it.
Soyeon held Yeon’s hands tightly as she spoke.
Come to think of it, had he not grown taller while she had not seen him? And did his frame not seem sturdier too......?
“Shall this mother help you?”
“No. Impure gazes from inside the clan will follow. Please let me do it alone.”
“......Very well.”
You resemble your father exactly in this regard.
Soyeon said so and respected his will.
After she left, Manho asked,
“Young Master, why did you not tell her about what happened during the day?”
“Because there is no need.”
“......”
Just what was he thinking?
Park Manho still found it difficult to grasp the intent of the lord he was trying to serve.
Namgung Yeon smiled faintly as he looked at Manho, who was asking questions and thinking for himself.
“Sleep early today. We will be very busy starting tomorrow morning.”
“Understood.”
“Hoho, you prepare a cart.”
“Understood!”
Hoho, who had now lost quite a bit of weight, answered boldly.
Namgung Yeon looked at the Demonic Spirit Sword standing to one side.
The sword seemed to be drooping, as though hungry.
‘I’ll feed you plenty soon.’
Jingle-.
As though it had understood his words, the bell rang once.
***
The next day.
Namgung Yeon stopped by the market and the government office to handle business.
Naturally, he placed Park Manho at the front as his representative, and decided to use the Namgung Clan token Soyeon had brought just in case.
The chief steward might be a little shocked, but that was a matter for later.
“All of this relief rice......?”
“Yes. It is going to the Namgung Clan anyway, is it not?”
“Hmm, that is true, but......”
“Here, this is a small token.”
He smoothly held out a pouch of coins.
The official in charge of managing the relief rice jumped in surprise.
“Now, now! You must not do this!”
“It is a gesture of sincerity for all the hardship you have endured. Think of it as a kind of sponsorship, so there is absolutely nothing that could be a problem.”
“Ahem...... I-Is that so?”
“Of course. It is cash, so there will be no issue.”
If that was the case-.
The official glanced around, then quickly slipped the pouch into his robes.
Yes.
In any case, this was grain that would pass through him and go to the Namgung Clan’s main estate.
From there, it would simply go back to the slums, so there would ultimately be no difference.
Still, he was curious.
Why were they taking the relief rice separately?
“May I ask why you are taking it separately?”
“I heard they are making high-quality meals separately, but I do not know the details. However, no harm will come of it.”
“It is being done under the name of Namgung, so I shall trust you.”
The name Namgung was greater than one might think.
At least here in Hefei and Anhui, the name of Namgung stood higher than even the name of the imperial family.
Naturally, the people of the government office had no choice but to accept things before their authority.
Because underlying it all was the belief that under the name Namgung, they would not do anything foolish.
That was the kind of place Namgung was.
Namgung Yeon, too, was someone who bore that name.
“It will not be used for any improper purpose. Do not worry.”
“I shall say it again. I trust the name of Namgung.”
Thus, Park Manho pulled the cart, now loaded full with relief rice.
The next place they visited was the marketplace.
More precisely, the place that sold meat.
Namgung Yeon called all the merchants together.
“You called for us, my lord?”
“What business do you have with us?”
“Sell me all the meat you have today, except for what you need to feed your customers, acquaintances, and families.”
“......Pardon?”
Namgung Yeon spoke simply to the merchants whose eyes had widened.
Jingle, jingle-.
While shaking a money pouch.
“I am saying I will let you end business early today.”
“P-P-P-Please wait just a moment! I will bring it out right away!”
“I will bring fresh meat! Please wait just a moment!”
Goodness, my lord!
We will bring it to you at once!
The merchants began moving in perfect order.
All of them lived through such hardship for the sake of money.
Mr. Park, Mr. Lee, and merchants whose names he did not know.
They too had rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward for the murim.
In the great war, their strength had truly been a great help.
These merchants were the ones who devoted themselves so that the martial artists could focus entirely on fighting.
“Here it is, my lord!”
“The butchering is finished. Where should we load it?”
“Load it onto that cart.”
“Yes! Just leave it to us!”
They were butchers who had endured for a long time on the streets of Hefei.
There were some bastards who looked down on them as butchers, but at least Namgung Yeon did not.
If not for them, the martial artists would not have been able to eat their fill.
The meat wrapped in paper was stacked neatly.
Namgung Yeon held out silver and bank drafts to them.
He had likely put in more than the market price.
He did not have enough time to calculate each and every thing like this.
“This should not be lacking.”
“Huuuh! T-This much is......!”
“Shh. Just receive it quietly. And absolutely do not go around telling anyone.”
“......”
The merchants closed their mouths.
They must know as well.
Just how ugly human beings became before money.
Especially money gained for nothing, which often became an even easier target.
“The preparations are done, so let us return.”
“Yes. Where shall we go?”
“To the martial hall. Today, we have something else to do instead of training.”
Namgung Yeon had Hoho and Manho pull the cart.
Now, only the final preparation for catching the hidden demonic cultivators remained.
***
[Infinite Storehouse]
[Realgar]
[Stock : 999,999,999]
[Quantity currently retrievable : 200]
Information rose within his inner image.
Information that did not exist before his eyes, but which appeared clearly to Namgung Yeon.
Two hundred, was it?
He did not even need that much.
If he ground up and added only about fifty, the effect would be sufficient.
Realgar.
It had been gathered from a dormant volcano in a land far away, in a region full of heat.
Its effect was simple.
Even an extremely small amount mixed into food would change the complexions of demonic cultivators.
‘The fact that it’s a metal that acts on demonic blood was something I discovered because I tested it one by one.’
He had done many things too unspeakable to put into words.
It had been impossible to save this murim through ordinary methods, so he had used even such methods.
After taking out the realgar, Namgung Yeon began grinding it down.
Meanwhile, Hoho began cooking the rice and meat, and Manho helped him.
From evening until dawn, they made rice and meat.
Their work ended only after packaging it all so it would be easy to eat.
“It is all done.”
“Whew...... Making food is no ordinary task either.”
“From now on, be grateful to the cooks who provide your meals.”
“......”
There was no one in the murim who was unimportant.
One thing he had learned through countless lives.
In the end, to protect the world, those in the lowest positions were necessary.
Namgung Yeon loaded the things they had prepared onto a large wagon and said, “No matter what happens after we go there, do not step forward.”
“You seem certain something will happen.”
“You will know when you see it.”
Namgung Yeon smiled faintly and took the Demonic Spirit Sword.
It was time for the hunt.