When Sa Do-gwang regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was Namgung Geom sitting before him.
At first, he could not grasp the situation.
Then he recalled being knocked out by Namgung Geom's attack.
Seeing that Namgung Geom was unharmed and he himself was restrained, the first ship's crew must have been defeated by the Namgung Family martial artists.
"What happened to my men?"
"So you do worry about your men, at least."
Namgung Geom spoke as if mildly surprised.
"You didn't kill all of them, did you?"
"Some are dead, but most are alive. However, depending on how you cooperate, that could change."
Sa Do-gwang furrowed his brow.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Something about this doesn't sit right with me."
"What's so suspicious?"
Sa Do-gwang asked as if he had no idea what Namgung Geom was talking about.
"The Yangtze Waterway Alliance wouldn't attack the main family unless they were out of their minds. So I'm wondering whether the Black Water Stronghold was acting on someone else's orders."
"We didn't even know there were Namgung Family martial artists on the Yi Family Manor's ship to begin with."
"But it's a fact that you intended to attack a ship from the Yi Family Manor, which is under the main family's protection."
The Black Water Stronghold could not have been ignorant of the Yi Family Manor's connection to the Namgung Family.
And they would have known full well that attacking the Yi Family Manor's ship would invite the Namgung Family's retaliation.
Yet the Black Water Stronghold had still attempted the attack.
It was not because they looked down on the Namgung Family.
There was most likely a reason compelling enough to risk the Namgung Family's retribution.
Simple greed for money could not explain it.
The danger of retaliation was far too great.
Namgung Geom suspected that someone with a specific purpose had set the Black Water Stronghold in motion.
"What I want to know is who ordered the attack on the Yi Family Manor's ship. Tell me the truth, and I'll spare you and your men."
Sa Do-gwang's eyes wavered at the promise to spare him and his men.
But he could not reveal that the Black Water Stronghold Chief had given the order.
"Nobody told me to attack the Yi Family Manor's ship. In fact, I never intended to attack it in the first place."
"Never intended to attack, you say?"
Namgung Geom looked at him as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"We simply asked for a slightly higher toll than usual."
"And I suppose you've conveniently forgotten the part where you said you'd seize the cargo if the toll wasn't paid."
Namgung Geom scoffed.
"That was just a bluff. Even if the toll wasn't paid, we had no intention of attacking."
Sa Do-gwang shamelessly denied everything.
"You don't actually think that excuse holds water, do you?"
"Bluffing is an everyday matter for us pirates. If you hadn't attacked first, we would have negotiated to a reasonable figure and backed off."
"So you're saying this is my fault?"
Namgung Geom asked incredulously.
"Exactly. So release me and my men. We'll consider it a misunderstanding and let it go."
"I see my courtesy is making me look like a pushover."
Namgung Geom rose to his feet.
A cold so piercing it seemed to freeze the very air poured from his body.
Sa Do-gwang felt his entire body turning to ice under the bone-chilling force.
"Ngh."
Sa Do-gwang groaned, staring at Namgung Geom with wide, frightened eyes.
Namgung Geom's aura was far more powerful than he had imagined.
"What are you going to do?"
Sa Do-gwang shouted in a trembling voice.
"Relax. I won't kill you."
Namgung Geom gripped Sa Do-gwang's wrist and channeled the energy of the Azure Sky Ice Fire Divine Art.
An extreme cold seeped into Sa Do-gwang's blood vessels.
"ARGH!"
Sa Do-gwang screamed as agony ripped through him, as if blades of ice were raking through his insides.
"If you can endure this to the very end, I'll take your word for it."
Sa Do-gwang's eyes shook at Namgung Geom's words.
Even that brief taste had felt like death.
He wanted nothing more than to escape this unbearable agony.
"I'll talk. I'll tell you everything."
Namgung Geom withdrew the extreme cold and looked at him.
"It was on the chief's orders."
"Why did the Black Water Stronghold Chief order an attack on the Yi Family Manor's ship?"
Sa Do-gwang shook his head.
"I don't know the reason. But it didn't seem like he was simply after the tea on board."
"There was another reason?"
"The chief must have known that touching the Yi Family Manor's ship would invite retaliation from the Namgung Family. He wouldn't have ordered the attack over mere money. But what his true reason was, I honestly don't know."
"You still haven't come to your senses, have you?"
Namgung Geom reached for Sa Do-gwang's wrist, and the man recoiled in terror.
"I'm telling the truth! I only guessed that the chief had another purpose—I don't know what it was!"
Namgung Geom could tell Sa Do-gwang was not lying.
"Then I'll have to confirm it with the Black Water Stronghold Chief directly."
Sa Do-gwang's expression hardened at those words.
"You're planning to attack the stronghold?"
"I'm quite sure I told you. Touch the main family, and the Black Water Stronghold will be annihilated."
"If the Namgung Family attacks the Black Water Stronghold, the Alliance won't stand by."
When Sa Do-gwang invoked the Yangtze Waterway Alliance, Namgung Geom laughed with contempt.
"You think the Yangtze Waterway Alliance would pick a fight with the main family just to save a single stronghold?"
As Namgung Geom said, the Yangtze Waterway Alliance would sooner abandon the Black Water Stronghold than stand against the Namgung Family.
Sa Do-gwang's expression darkened for a moment.
But soon he recalled a certain fact and relaxed.
"I wonder if the Namgung Family can even find the stronghold."
The Yangtze was a labyrinth of countless tributaries.
The water strongholds of the Yangtze Waterway Alliance concealed their bases within those tributaries.
And if their location was at risk of exposure, they swiftly relocated.
Finding and destroying a Yangtze Waterway Alliance stronghold was no simple task.
That would be no different for the Namgung Family.
So there was nothing to worry about.
Namgung Geom wore a meaningful expression.
"If we can't attack the Black Water Stronghold's base, we just need to make the chief come to us."
"How do you plan to draw the chief out?"
Sa Do-gwang asked with an uneasy look.
Namgung Geom gave no answer—only a smile.
That smile made Sa Do-gwang's unease grow even deeper.
It truly felt as if Namgung Geom had a way to lure the stronghold chief out.
But that was Sa Do-gwang's misconception.
Namgung Geom did not have an immediate solution either.
He had deliberately acted as though he had a plan in front of Sa Do-gwang.
'I don't have one now, but something will come to me if I think on it.'
The Black Water Stronghold matter was not urgent at the moment.
What mattered now was getting the Yi Family Manor's tea to Namgyeong on time.
'On the bright side, I just got two warships for free.'
Namgung Geom smiled as he looked at the Black Water Stronghold's warships.
They were mid-sized vessels, and perfectly serviceable.
Building a single warship cost a great deal of money.
Gaining two mid-sized warships was nothing short of a windfall.
Namgung Geom decided to hand the two warships over to the Yangtze Battle Corps.
For the Battle Corps, which was short on ships, they would make a fine gift.
***
Half a day after defeating the Black Water Stronghold's warships.
Namgung Seok-yeong, the corps leader of the Yangtze Battle Corps, personally arrived leading the First Sword Company.
"Namgung Seok-yeong, Corps Leader of the Yangtze Battle Corps, pays his respects to the First Young Master."
Namgung Geom studied Namgung Seok-yeong as the man saluted him.
He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with a realm in the late Pinnacle range.
"I have heard much about the Corps Leader. It is a pleasure to meet you in person."
This was Namgung Geom's first time seeing Namgung Seok-yeong.
But he had heard talk of the man before.
Namgung Seok-yeong hailed from a branch family and had risen from a common member to his current position as corps leader.
Without any backing, he had achieved the rank of Yangtze Battle Corps Leader through his skill and merit alone.
Even within the main family, the assessment of Namgung Seok-yeong was highly favorable.
All three of Namgung Geom's uncles had put considerable effort into winning Namgung Seok-yeong to their side.
But Namgung Seok-yeong aligned himself with no one and maintained strict neutrality.
His stance was that regardless of who became Young Lord, he would remain loyal to the current Family Head, Namgung Pae.
Namgung Geom liked that about him.
Namgung Seok-yeong, meanwhile, was inwardly astonished by Namgung Geom's aura.
'The Pinnacle realm?'
If his eyes were not deceiving him, Namgung Geom's aura was on par with his own.
No—it seemed to surpass his.
"I had heard that the First Young Master cured his Nine Yang Severed Meridians and began training in martial arts, but seeing you in person, your realm is astonishing."
Namgung Geom shook his head at Namgung Seok-yeong's admiration.
"I still have a long way to go."
"If the First Young Master is lacking, what is someone as ordinary as me supposed to do?"
"The idea of the Corps Leader being ordinary is absurd."
"I only say so because the First Young Master claims to be lacking."
"I meant it in the sense that, as the Namgung Family's eldest grandson, I must set my sights higher."
"Seeing the First Young Master look beyond his current realm rather than be content with it gives me great confidence in the future of the Namgung Family."
Namgung Geom shook his head.
"If the Namgung Family has a bright future, it will not be because of me, but because of the many martial artists like the Corps Leader who toil on the front lines."
Namgung Seok-yeong was inwardly moved by Namgung Geom's recognition of the martial artists who labored far from home.
"On another note, the Battle Corps' late arrival led to the Black Water Stronghold's attack on you. I must apologize."
Namgung Seok-yeong bowed his head.
"Not at all. If anything, I am sorry for summoning you on such short notice."
"What could be more urgent than the First Young Master's safety?"
Namgung Geom smiled at Namgung Seok-yeong's words.
"I appreciate that. And I will be handing over the two warships we captured to the Yangtze Battle Corps."
Namgung Seok-yeong's eyes widened.
"Are you certain?"
"I heard the Battle Corps is short on warships. Two vessels may not be much, but I hope they will be of some help."
"They will be an immense help. Thank you."
Namgung Seok-yeong bowed his head with a deeply grateful expression.
"And please deal with the captured Black Water Stronghold pirates at your discretion."
"Understood."
Captured pirates were typically handed over to the government authorities.
The authorities would then send them to the frontier for hard labor or conscript them into the military.
Namgung Geom did not ask a single question about how the pirates would be handled.
There was no need—Namgung Seok-yeong would manage it well on his own.
"Then I trust you to see us safely to Namgyeong."
"Rest easy. I will ensure your safe arrival."
The Yi Family Manor's vessel set course for Namgyeong under the Yangtze Battle Corps' escort.
They passed through the Yangtze Waterway Alliance's territory on the way, but no one appeared.
No water stronghold dared challenge the Namgung Family's Yangtze Battle Corps.
Three days later.
The Yi Family Manor's ship arrived safely in Namgyeong, and the convoy was able to deliver the tea to the Taeho Tea House on time.
Yi Hong-baek, the convoy leader of the Yi Family Manor, thanked Namgung Geom again and again.
"The Yi Family Manor will never forget the First Young Master's kindness."
"Protecting forces that follow the main family is a natural duty. There is no need to speak of kindness."
Namgung Geom said as though it were nothing.
"Even so, a kindness received is a kindness received. Should the First Young Master ever need the Yi Family Manor's help, please do not hesitate to ask. The Yi Family Manor will assist with all its heart."
Namgung Geom could feel the sincerity in Yi Hong-baek's words.
"Very well. If I ever need the Yi Family Manor's help, I will be sure to ask."
"Will you be returning to the Namgung Family estate straightaway?"
"That was my intention unless something comes up. Why do you ask?"
Namgung Geom looked at Yi Hong-baek.
"Well, the proprietor of the Taeho Tea House says he wishes to meet the First Young Master and make an urgent request."
After a moment of hesitation, Yi Hong-baek broached the subject carefully.
"The proprietor of the Taeho Tea House?"
Namgung Geom tilted his head.
The Taeho Tea House was a specialized enterprise that operated dozens of tea parlors across Namgyeong, Taeho, Souju, and beyond.
He could not imagine what the proprietor of a tea parlor business would need from him.
"I hear the Seol Family Manor has been demanding excessive protection fees from the Taeho Tea House and interfering with their business."
Namgung Geom's eyes flashed the instant he heard Yi Hong-baek's explanation.
"Did you just say the Seol Family Manor?"