***
Thump, thump.
Only the sound of one man’s footsteps rang out over the training ground where silence had settled. Wang Geum-san stood with his shoulders straight even in front of Gye Yeon-seok, whom the people of the Tae-eul Sect were so uncomfortable with.
“Since you ruined the Great Event of the Gye-ryong Merchant Group, do you have to pay the price?”
At Wang Geum-san’s words, Gye Yeon-seok trembled his teeth.
“Th, that is.......”
But before Gye Yeon-seok’s words could finish, Wang Geum-san blocked his words.
“By the way, since when could the Gye-ryong Merchant Group ignore the Wang Manor like this?”
“Ah, no! Ig, ignore, you say!”
Gye Yeon-seok was startled and bowed his waist.
“I came here to see my benefactors today, but my mood is not very good seeing you making a scene.”
“Yes? Be, benefactor, you say.......”
Wang Geum-san looked around at the warriors led by the Gye-ryong Merchant Group instead of answering and said.
“Go back now. Before my mood gets worse.”
“.......”
Gye Yeon-seok, who had lost his soul at Wang Geum-san’s sudden appearance, shouted ‘Eobeobeobeo’ and returned with the warriors of the merchant group.
Gye-cheol-yeong, who had been triumphant, couldn't do this or that and returned to the Gye-ryong Merchant Group following his father after reading the atmosphere.
Hong Mun-gi, who had welcomed Wang Geum-san by chance, was bewildered.
“......So-un saved Young Master Wang’s daughter......?”
Hong Mun-gi, who could not believe it, asked twice, and Wang Geum-san nodded with a benevolent smile.
Hong Mun-gi also knew about the Wang So-so incident.
Wang Geum-san, the Golden King who practically held the commercial rights of Anhui Province, no, the entire Jiangdong.
The rumor that his only daughter, his golden branch and jade leaf, had gone missing was heard so much that even Hong Mun-gi, who was a little away from the work of the secular world, had his ears sore.
But it was So-un who saved that daughter.
“Come to think of it.......”
He remembered the time when he came into the Dae-hyeon-jeon and asked for tea abruptly a few days ago.
Was that the child he saved then.......
“It seems it is my child.”
“.......”
His mouth could not be closed.
Kidnapping incidents happen a lot among slash-and-burn farmers or nomads who haven't settled in the village.
I thought he had saved such a child.......
“In fact, I was a little surprised at that point. There was no one in the Anhui Province area who didn't know about this incident. But he just left the child at the Wang Manor.”
“Did you say he just left her at the Wang Manor?”
Hong Mun-gi, who was listening to the story, snapped to his senses.
Then, Jin So-un talking about Wang So-so’s story as if it were nothing, and the story of just leaving Wang So-so at the Wang Manor began to interlock and be understood.
“......That was it.”
“Do you know something?”
“No. I just understood that child's state of mind a little.”
At Hong Mun-gi’s words, Wang Geum-san had a face of being slightly surprised.
“So-un probably didn't attach much meaning to the actions he took.”
“You say he didn't attach meaning?”
“If you place meaning on saving your daughter, wouldn't you be able to place meaning on the kidnapping incident of a child from a poor house.”
If you receive a reward for the act of saving your daughter, you will also hope for a reward for the act of saving a child from a house without.
“The Tae-eul Sect’s teachings are not like that.”
Wang Geum-san also nodded as if he was slightly impressed.
“May I meet that child?”
The Tae-eul Sect was having a feast with the gifts Wang Geum-san brought.
Various precious clothes and ornaments were fully inside, and on one side was a cart full of rice, and another cart loaded with a box of unknown identity.
‘The scale is bigger than I thought.’
Just looking at the corners of Father’s mouth, who had been unable to smooth his brow due to worries about funds within the sect, twitching, I could see how much wealth Wang Geum-san had brought.
“The Sect Leader asked if he could see you for a moment.”
A person who seemed to have quite a rank within the merchant group politely led me, and I was able to meet Wang Geum-san in that detached house where Nam-gung-san had stayed.
“Glad to see you.”
As I entered the detached house, unlike before, I felt a faint presence here and there.
‘Stealth?’
Perhaps because my internal energy had reached one Gap-ja, my senses had improved, or perhaps Wang Geum-san’s wealth could not buy good guards, I could clearly feel the presence.
When I looked at the corner of the ceiling because of the faint presence I felt for the first time in my life, Wang Geum-san’s expression changed strangely.
“Can you feel it?”
“Yes? What.......”
“Didn't you just feel that someone was there?”
“Ah...... Yes.”
“Hehe!”
With Wang Geum-san’s loud laugh, the presence was felt more clearly. Their breathing was being disturbed.
“Actually, it is like this. The kidnappers kidnapped So-so while avoiding them. ......No, to be precise, it would be correct to say they ignored them.”
Martial arts replace skills.
Sometimes, it was also a maxim of the Jianghu that a path dug deeply in one way accommodates side branches.
It seemed that the elites of the Nam-gung-se-ga ignoring those who had only trained for protection was no work at all.
“A young man who has not even reached the age of twenty who saved his daughter from the hands of masters who could ignore them. In fact, it is hard to believe.”
Wang Geum-san was still staring at me as if observing me.
There was no fighting spirit or killing intent, but the accumulated experience of life was covering me just as burdensomely.
“Moreover, he saved her by chance and left. I should be able to believe that fact.”
Somehow, my actions that could not be understood by his head seemed to be providing him with misunderstandings instead.
“I am sorry if I made you misunderstand.”
“No. It is not. I felt a very proud emotion for the first time in a while. ......Of course, if that was a misunderstanding to the end, it would be so.”
His tone now carried a complete chill.
Somehow, it seemed like he had been completely broken while going through this situation.
In fact, it was inevitable to have misunderstandings, because if it weren't for me, Wang So-so would not have been seen again.
However, since it was not a very good feeling, my tone was also gradually becoming colder.
“What kind of story do you want to talk about?”
“I investigated you thoroughly. But in the end, I couldn't find anything out.”
That would be so. Because in my previous life, I was just a human whose inside was too clearly visible.
“So, if you are hiding something from me, I would like you to tell me. I will definitely pay the price for this rudeness I am committing.”
“I don't know what on earth will treat the heart of a wounded person. What are you most curious about?”
Wang Geum-san’s face was already shaking.
“First of all, I want to know why you didn't come to the Wang Manor together.”
For Wang Geum-san, the reason why I did not receive the huge reward immediately seemed to be completely incomprehensible.
“First of all, it is, because it was difficult to tell you about the full story of the work.”
Wang Geum-san’s suspicion deepened.
“When I saved your daughter, it was the third day since I chased the kidnappers. At that time, your daughter’s condition was very bad, and it was the moment to kill to silence them, so...... I couldn't even think of letting you know and had no choice but to step out.”
“......Keu-heum.”
No matter how great a person’s guts are, the fact that their child was in a crisis where they could have died is a difficult fact to hear.
“Secondly, it is because of the huge reward that was expected.”
“Because of the reward, you didn't let me know it was your work?”
The huge reward Wang Geum-san gives might look good visibly.
However, if you don't have the strength to protect it immediately, it is no different from a disaster.
“Thirdly, it is because saving Wang So-so to me was nothing more than a personal resolution.”
“What is a personal resolution?”
“Never pass by injustice.”
Although to be precise, I never pass by people who do injustice to me.
Anyway, since what I needed was a sponsor who could cut off the Gye-ryong Merchant Group, it didn't matter who it was.
In such a process, choosing Wang So-so was only related to a personal grudge against Nam-gung-sang-won.
Moreover, now I even have the Chil-chae-bo-ju obtained from Nam-gung-san.
Now it didn't matter if it wasn't the Wang Manor.
“You don't have to come to find me anymore, as you have already paid more than what I wanted just with the gift you brought today.”
“Were you offended?”
“If an act of goodwill returns as suspicion, wouldn't anyone be unable to do the next act of goodwill? Since I don't want to do that, I have no intention of continuing the relationship with the Master.”
Since he is a person who has fought for profit his whole life and reached the pinnacle of it, I know very well how much lack of trust in humans he will have.
However, that is his position until the end. Isn't the fact that I felt offended because of that my position anyway?
I rose from my seat and took a polite Po-gwon-ji-rye.
And the moment I was about to turn around.
Thump.
My mouth opened wide at his action.
“Wh, what are you doing now?”
Soon after, even those who were using stealth on the ceiling appeared before my eyes.
Because they could not continue to use stealth while their employer was kneeling and bowing.
“Please forgive my sin of not recognizing the benefactor sent by heaven and having suspicion first. In addition, the grace of saving my precious daughter. I will engrave it in my bones for the rest of my life and offer a heart of gratitude every morning.”
“““Please forgive us.”””
Because even the guards were all bowing down at once, I could not help but be flustered.
Who is the opponent? Isn't he a big shot who can pile up mountains with gold and is responsible for the prosperity of the people of the world?
At the sight of him kneeling and even doing a big bow, which even the big-shot nobles of Beijing cannot easily do, I hurriedly approached him to raise him up.
“Don't do this. How can you bow to a mere warrior?”
“First, you saved my daughter, and second, you saved me because of that. Thanks to that, my family members were saved, and even the families of my family members were saved. So how can I not bow?”
Since I couldn't force him to get up who wouldn't budge, I had no choice but to nod.
“I understand, so get up quickly. I am afraid that people might see.”
“Are you forgiving me?”
“I understand, so get up quickly.”
A bright smile bloomed on Wang Geum-san’s face who got up and sat in his seat.
The title of commercial giant was not just attached.
This human is playing with people.
“Thank you.”
“Please stop using such polite language now. If you really keep doing this, I will leave.”
“Ahem, I am sorry. However, no matter how much I think, I had to be able to believe it. Because of the part that was not understood even at the end of my perception, I committed rudeness like this. I apologize once again.”
“I understand. Please stop now.”
Even the strange momentum that seemed unapproachable disappeared, and only an expression that created a sense of gap with fatigue and comfort mixed on his face remained.
He told the guards.
“Withdraw from your seats for a moment.”
“Yes.”
The guards disappeared like ghosts before his eyes, and no presence was felt even on the ceiling or inside the building.
“May I ask one thing?”
“You are asking because of the medicine, right?”
The reason he tried to find out my inside while even doing a play like this had to be related to that medicine.
If that medicine didn't exist, there would have been no need to find out my inside. Even if I was a member of the kidnapping drama, if he watched over time, his inside would have been exposed someday.
“Hoho, it was true that you had a brilliant brain.”
“I just have a uselessly good memory.”
“That...... What on earth happened to the medicine? The attending physicians also don't know the identity of the medicine. They only worry because of the poisonous plants in the medicine. They say there is room for poisoning. But So-so said she would eat that medicine even if she died.”
Before parting with So-so, I wrote down the recipe for the Dan-hwan that she had to eat every day and handed it over.
Since she would not have to suffer because of the Tae-yang-ji-che if she just ate one pill a day for the rest of her life, Wang So-so would not have wanted to give it up at all.
“It is true that poisonous plants are included. I also have to think about the room for poisoning.”
“......Then isn't it dangerous!”
“I taught her the Tae-eul Heart Technique to neutralize it. It would have been better if it were a heart technique with higher Gong-neung, but the situation was so urgent that there was nothing else at that time.”
“Then...... does that mean she only has to eat that medicine for the rest of her life and learn the heart technique?”
“Of course, since she has already learned the Tae-eul Heart Technique, she will not be able to learn other heart techniques. I apologize once again even though I obtained permission from your daughter regarding that point.”
“No, no, that is not what I mean. If she only eats that medicine, how much longer can she live?”
Since the medicine is not even a spiritual medicine, how can I know the lifespan of a human?
“I am not a fortune teller, so ......how can I know the natural lifespan of a human?”
Wang Geum-san’s eyes widened like balls.
“Then, can she enjoy her natural lifespan?”
“If there is no major illness or accident, she would do so, right?”
“How on earth do you know such a recipe?”
A small adaptation was needed here.
Because I could not reveal that it was a confidential document of the Murim-maeng’s Man-tong-bu.
“I almost died after being bitten by a poisonous snake in the mountains a long time ago, but an old man saved me using poisonous plants. Since that herbal medicine skill was so miraculous, I persistently followed him and learned various medicine manufacturing methods.”
“You caught the snake’s poison with poisonous plants?”
As I told a story along with one of the I-dok-je-dok (using poison to control poison) methods contained in the Man-cho-bo-rok, Wang Geum-san thought for a long time and opened his mouth.
“You have obtained a Gi-yeon (predestined encounter).”
“Gi-yeon?”
“Yes, there was only the late teacher Life-and-Death Divine Physician in the world who controlled poison with poison. I thought his progress was cut off because his death was not known, but you had such a relationship.”
Because his daughter had a disease, Wang Geum-san was also equipped with vast knowledge about medicine.
Thanks to that, the story went smoothly.
Then Wang Geum-san grabbed my hand.
Wang Geum-san bowing his head.
“Thank you.”
“I will get calluses in my ears if I hear that just one more time.”
Hot water droplets dripped onto my hand.
“I will offer a prayer for you every morning when I wake up. And I will not forget this grace until the day I die.”
With his tears falling onto my hand, the grudge I had against him was soon resolved.
Eventually, it was decided that Wang So-so would enter the Tae-eul Sect.
Thinking about the big incident that happened to Wang So-so, I would be cautious, but Wang So-so’s argument was too strong, and somehow Wang Geum-san also didn't seem to have much to say.
Instead, he carefully delivered the word of whether it would be okay to accompany a guard warrior, and thinking about the Gye-ryong Merchant Group putting a Hall Leader as an instructor in Bu-saeng-dang, all the Hall Leaders agreed with the feeling that it was nothing.
The person who guided me to Wang Geum-san called me separately.
The person who introduced himself as the Chief Steward of the Wang Manor, after Wang Geum-san returned, had moved all the mysterious boxes loaded in one cart to the detached house.
“What is all this?”
“It is a gift given to the Young Master by the Master.”
“......?”
The gifts already brought to the Tae-eul Sect were huge, and they promised sponsorship money in the future, so could there be more things to give gifts?
The Chief Steward first showcased a long box that flowed with antique beauty.
“It is one of the most precious things in the Master’s treasure house. The name is the Black Dragon Sword.”
Inside the box, a black sword was placed from the sword body to the sword handle.
“Heo.......”
The flawless sword body and the sword handle where two dragons were entwined as if ascending were closer to an art piece than a weapon.
“The sword handle and the sword guard are smelted with Hyun-cheol (Dark Iron), and the sword body is smelted with Geum-gang-mu-goe-cheol (Indestructible Iron), so even if it collides with any divine weapon, the blade will not be damaged.”
Because no decorations were attached, it looked somewhat simple, but it contained a magical energy that sucked in the gaze by itself.
While I was distracted by the sword, the Chief Steward opened the next box.
“This is a special garment called the Cheon-jam-bo-ui (Heavenly Silkworm Treasure Garment) that has been passed down for generations within the Wang Manor.”
The tightly fitting treasure garment with a shape I saw for the first time looked like a garment perfect for martial artists who need freedom of movement to wear inside their clothes.
“It is made by twisting Cheon-jam-sa (Heavenly Silkworm Thread), Geum-gang-sa (Diamond Thread), and Eun-sa (Silver Thread) respectively, so it has elasticity and does not hinder movement, and at the same time, it has tremendous protective power. As an example, the Murim-maeng also wanted to purchase it several times, but it was an item that was not sold because there was not much quantity.”
The Chief Steward who was explaining seemed more excited and kept talking.
“If it is this precious, shouldn't the Master or Young Miss So-so use it?”
“Ah, of course, both of them are already using it. Because making it is so difficult, they make it whenever materials are secured within the Wang Manor. This time, all family members are wearing it, and one last piece is being gifted.”
If he is the Chief Steward, he must be related to the important duty of managing the property within the family. It was hard to adapt to seeing such a person explain as if he were happy.
Perhaps recognizing my suspicious appearance, the Chief Steward scratched his wrinkled cheek and said.
“Perhaps you don't know how grateful we are.”
“......No, I think I know enough.”
“Actually, the Master prepared for a real war after losing the Young Miss. The Master tried to hire hitmen to kill the three sects at the same time. And he was organizing his family property to do so. If that had happened, we probably would not have been able to remain in the Wang Manor anymore. You saved tens of thousands of people.”
The Chief Steward was looking at me with eyes full of gratitude.
“He said to tell him anytime if there is anything to help in the future, too. If it is difficult to tell the Master, please tell this Chief Steward.”
“Haha...... This is very good, but it is burdensome.”
“You don't have to be. Because we all think we received the grace of saving our lives.”
“I understand. If you do more than this, I will be too ashamed, so please stop. But what are these remaining things? Did you happen to empty the Master’s treasure house?”
There were still five boxes left.
“That is not it, I brought things that are no longer needed by the Young Miss.”
“Things that are no longer needed?”
The moment I opened the first box, I felt a cold energy as if I had entered an ice warehouse.
“They said that is the Inner Core of the Snow Carp.”
Tak.
I closed the box because I was too surprised.
“Then, is this?”
“They said it is the Snow Lotus Seed. I heard that the Do-ryong Courier Service suffered quite a bit in the North Sea to obtain that.”
Inside the box, the seeds of the lotus flower were emitting blue cold energy.
They said she had spent her whole life in a place like an ice warehouse, so it must have been a place made with things and spiritual medicines emitting such cold energy.
“Then are all of these?”
The Chief Steward smiled comfortably like Wang Geum-san’s smile.
“Yes.”
Long live the rich man.