Yanghwi looked over the notices plastered throughout the marketplace and smiled in satisfaction.
Damn, whoever wrote these must have a gift for prose. Beautiful stuff.
“Heh heh heh. Quite the masterpiece, wouldn’t you say? ‘Whoever wishes to restore the bond between parent and child, come to Baek Family Manor!’”
Gu Ak scowled at him.
“I spent more than a thousand silver pieces hiring people to make those notices and spread the word. Younger Brother, you had better make this work.”
“You made several thousand silver pieces thanks to me, and now you’re complaining about one thousand? Besides, this is for Sister Rang. Looks like I’ll have something new to talk about when I chat with her at her quarters today.”
“Ugh…… that damned tongue of yours……”
It had already been two days since Rangrang began staying at Baek Family Manor.
Gu Ak’s face had been flushed with irritation at Yanghwi’s incessant needling, but suddenly his expression turned uneasy.
“Younger Brother. I sent Rangrang to Baek Family Manor because I couldn’t find a flaw in your reasoning. But if you harbor any other intentions, you and I will become mortal enemies.”
Gu Ak was a direct descendant of the Red Bridge Gang, one of the three major Black Path factions dominating Agan County, while Baek Family Manor was firmly aligned with the righteous path.
And not merely in name. Its Clan Head was such an uncompromising righteous martial artist that he had earned the epithet Peerless in Chivalry.
Even though Gu Ak had agreed to the arrangement, there was no way he could feel entirely at ease with the woman he loved staying there.
“Don’t worry. Father has approved it as well.”
Naturally, on the very day Yanghwi brought Rangrang back, he had gone straight to Baek Muryang and told him everything he could safely reveal.
“He was uncomfortable with the idea of protecting the lover of a Black Path fighter like you, but Father isn’t the sort of man who can stand by while a powerless woman is in danger.”
Gu Ak nodded too.
He might distrust others, but Baek Muryang’s sense of chivalry was something he could believe in.
More than he trusted even some of the men who ate from the same pot as him.
“Peerless in Chivalry isn’t that kind of man.”
“Now, now. Referring so casually to the head of a family—and this younger brother’s father at that—is rather rude.”
Gu Ak looked as though he might burst a blood vessel.
“There are only six years between me and Peerless in Chivalry! You’re the strange one for calling someone old enough to be your uncle ‘Brother’ every damned time!”
Count my previous life and you’re younger than me, you brat.
Yanghwi snorted and changed the subject.
“Let’s not dwell on trivialities. Either way, we should have our answer tomorrow.”
“Come to think of it, you still haven’t told me who you expect to claim to be Rangrang’s father. Who exactly are you planning to bring in that you’ve gone this far?”
“Well…… let’s just say he’s someone capable of killing a Peak Realm expert.”
Gu Ak let out a derisive snort.
“I’m a hero of my generation and a prodigy of the Black Path, yet even after passing thirty I still haven’t crossed the wall into the Peak Realm. Why would someone capable of killing a Peak Realm expert bother pretending to be a courtesan’s father?”
“When a man is desperate enough, he’ll pretend to be someone’s father or mother if he has to. Besides, what’s so special about a Peak Realm expert?”
Gu Ak stared at him in disbelief.
“Peak Realm experts are nothing special? If that were true, the Red Bridge Gang would have conquered Agan County long ago.”
It was not an unreasonable statement.
Even the Red Bridge Gang, one of the strongest factions in Agan County, had only one Peak Realm expert: its Gang Leader.
In a county-level region, it was a realm high enough for someone to claim the title of strongest martial artist.
That was the Peak Realm.
But—
What’s so remarkable about the Peak Realm? In my previous life, I crossed that wall before I even turned twenty using nothing but the family’s ancestral martial arts.
“Anyway, this younger brother should be going. If I’m to break through that lofty wall of the Peak Realm someday, I can hardly afford to skip training.”
Yanghwi had been spending every day immersed in training lately.
If Gu Ak had not lost patience and barged in after a mere two days, Yanghwi would still be in the training yard, working on his physical conditioning.
“If you’re going to call yourself a hero, then wait with some dignity. I’ll send word soon.”
“……I’ll trust you. My father’s been looking at me strangely. My brothers think I’ve gone out of my way to make a fool of myself. Don’t give them reason to decide this was all pointless.”
“Yes, yes.”
Yanghwi returned directly to Baek Family Manor.
After finishing all the training assigned for the day, he shut himself in his room under the pretext of studying and writing.
This should be enough.
On the covers of two previously blank books, Yanghwi wrote their titles.
[Record of the Heaven-Covering Sword]
[Heaven-Harmonizing Origin Art]
He had compiled everything he had realized in his previous life, along with the full principles of the two divine arts he had created, into written form.
In other words, he had made martial manuals.
The books are brand new, and the ink isn’t even dry yet, so I can’t exactly hand these straight to Father like this……
That did not matter.
Soon enough, he would have a way around that.
With that thought, Yanghwi looked outside.
Quite some time had passed, and a round full moon hung brilliantly in the sky.
Given the timing, it would be nice if he came tonight.
Yanghwi immediately sat cross-legged.
As he had for the past two nights, he intended to spend the night cultivating the Heaven-Harmonizing Origin Art rather than sleeping, keeping his qi sense sharpened all the while.
Roughly four hours later, a faint, delicate vibration brushed against the qi sense heightened by the Heaven-Harmonizing Origin Art.
A sound born from the circulation of true qi.
Ah. So that’s how it works. He didn’t simply hand his daughter a jade plaque and walk away without thinking.
The jade plaque Rangrang had given him was trembling faintly atop a stool.
It was resonating in response to a vibration entering from outside.
Yanghwi picked up the plaque and stepped out.
The closer I get, the stronger the trembling becomes. I just need to trace it back to the source.
The source was coming from the top of the tallest building near Baek Family Manor.
At this hour, entering through the front door was out of the question.
That meant climbing the walls and crossing the rooftops in his child’s body.
Well, I’ve been training for a month. This much is nothing.
Yanghwi sprang upward.
With only three leaps, he reached the roof and turned toward an old man standing off to one side.
The old man was dressed in shabby clothes and carried a bundle on his back.
Deep wrinkles etched with regret marked his face, while his eyes held the worn, weathered determination of someone who had suffered much without ever surrendering his purpose.
“You seem fond of the full moon, old sir.”
“I am alone in this world, so the nights tend to grow lonely. And what brings such a young master here?”
“Someone seemed to be calling for a guest, so I thought I’d come keep you company.”
At the implication that Yanghwi had detected the signal, a peculiar light entered the old man’s eyes.
“You possess an exceptional qi sense for one so young. Still, guests come in two kinds: those who were invited…… and those who were not.”
“The person you invited won’t be coming. Why not pass the time speaking with an uninvited guest instead?”
Yanghwi pulled the jade plaque from his robe.
The old man’s expression instantly stiffened.
“Please don’t misunderstand. Sister Rang gave it to me because she said she no longer needed it.”
“……It seems I’ll require a fuller explanation.”
“If you want a conversation, shouldn’t we begin by exchanging names? Ah, I suppose I needn’t introduce myself. You already know who I am.”
Just as Yanghwi said, the old man already knew his identity.
Before he had sent out the signal—
No, more precisely, immediately after seeing the notices and shedding tears of overwhelming emotion—
he had investigated everything there was to know about Baek Family Manor.
“I heard the Clan Head of Baek Family Manor adopted a young beggar. It seems he must have spotted a prodigy and staked his claim early.”
“That phrasing is a little hurtful.”
“My apologies. I merely spoke the truth without thinking. I apologize for calling you a beggar, Young Master.”
“Please apologize for calling me a prodigy instead.”
“?”
“It’s true that I was a beggar. But it isn’t true that I’m merely a prodigy. I am a once-in-ages prodigy. Some might even call me a peerless prodigy.”
“…….”
The old man suddenly realized he had already been dragged into Yanghwi’s peculiar way of speaking.
“Young Master, I bear Baek Family Manor no grudge. If you would simply call out the young lady named Rangrang for a moment, I will leave quietly.”
“Old sir, I’m afraid I’m the son of an upright righteous martial family. I only converse with people who have properly introduced themselves.”
Did you ask every person’s name before begging from them when you were a street beggar too?
The old man nearly said it aloud, but swallowed the words and gave his name instead.
“I am Yeo Unhyeok.”
“Red clouds. What an elegant name.”
“Your name is no less impressive. Clan Head Baek appears to have quite a talent for naming.”
“He gave me a name far grander than I deserved. And what name did you give your daughter, old sir?”
“……Arang.”
“Yeo Arang. You must have wished for your daughter to grow up bright and cheerful.”
“Exactly so. Now then, I would like an answer to my request.”
The old man looked painfully earnest as he spoke.
So much so that, for a moment, Yanghwi almost felt like forgetting the whole scheme and simply letting him meet Rangrang.
Can’t do that. The two of them won’t be able to live happily together unless my plan succeeds first.
“Sister Rang is in love with Gu Ak, son of Gu Cheolhyo, the Red Bridge Gang Leader. They sincerely love each other.”
“I know.”
“Then do you know this as well? The Red Bridge Gang Leader sees Sister Rang as a tool for disciplining his talented but disobedient son.”
Yanghwi continued, reviewing his plan as he spoke.
“The Red Bridge Gang Leader is the sort of man who thoroughly exploits anyone whose weakness he can grasp. He is ruthless, and far more ambitious than his station warrants.”
“You mean I shouldn’t approach rashly and expose a weakness? Don’t worry. I have walked a path where a man incapable of calculating his next move does not survive.”
“What I mean is that even his own son is nothing more than another piece for the Red Bridge Gang Leader to use. And Gu Ak’s weakness…… well, I’m sure I needn’t spell that out.”
Only then did the old man’s expression change completely.
His calm vanished.
In its place came a thick, clinging rage.
“Has something happened to Arang?”
“Sister Rang has been poisoned.”
Yanghwi recalled the faint trace of poison he had sensed when Rangrang served him tea.
There was hardly any need to ask who had administered it.
“I’ll say it again. The Red Bridge Gang Leader is a man who would exploit even the father of his son’s beloved courtesan without the slightest hesitation. Especially if that father possessed a fatal weakness of his own.”
Yanghwi thought back to his previous life.
The old man had failed to find his daughter until after Rangrang’s death.
Only much later did he discover the jade plaque after it appeared for sale on the black market. From there, he investigated what had happened and came to burn with hatred for the Red Bridge Gang.
The old man then brought every resource at his disposal to bear and unleashed a bloody catastrophe upon the Red Bridge Gang.
The result was the gang’s complete destruction.
“The situation is rather complicated, isn’t it? A daughter found again after more than a decade. A daughter fated to die at the hands of the father of the man she loves. A Black Path faction commanding dozens of martial artists, including one Peak Realm expert. And, on top of all that, some brat appearing out of nowhere and spouting one thing after another.”
“Perhaps. But however complicated it is, I doubt it compares to my life. Thank you for telling me, Young Master. From here on, though, I would prefer that you stay out of this old man’s affairs.”
Hm.
That was not quite how Yanghwi had expected this to go.
The entire time he spoke, he had been making it painfully obvious that he had a plan.
I thought he’d at least ask what I intended to do.
No choice, then.
Time for drastic measures.
“Enemy of the martial world, Yeo Unjeok—known as ‘Turning a Deer into a Horse.’”
In that instant, the old man—
Yeo Unjeok, who had introduced himself under the false name Yeo Unhyeok—
shot toward Yanghwi like a beam of light.
But—
An arm extended.
A hand opened.
For the first time, the hand slipped fully from the old man’s sleeve.
It was covered in scars and calluses, gnarled until it resembled the claw of a crow.
As though time itself had slowed, every detail burned vividly into Yanghwi’s vision.
He drew upon the true qi resting in his dantian.
His inadequate power was supplemented by driving force through the ground with a stamping step.
His eyes never left the old man’s fingertips.
Not a single movement was wasted.
Yanghwi knocked the crowlike hand upward, then thrust his spear-hand toward the old man’s throat.
The single exchange ended in Yanghwi’s victory.
“……You are no ordinary child.”
“You ambushed a child, and that’s all you have to say?”
“I had no intention of harming you. I merely…… intended to subdue you and force you to promise silence.”
“I know. You didn’t put any internal energy into your hand.”
That was precisely why Yanghwi had been able to block the attack and counter.
Whether from carelessness or mercy, the old man had held back.
Of course, that wouldn’t have mattered if the gulf between our martial abilities had been overwhelming.
Fortunately, for an enemy of the martial world, Yeo Unjeok was not especially formidable in combat.
After all, he had not become an enemy of the martial world by committing evil deeds with martial arts.
Turning a Deer into a Horse.
To alter a deer and make it into a horse.
The old man’s true specialty lay elsewhere.
“Old sir. I have no intention of making an enemy of you. Sister Rang is genuinely a good person, and you are her father.”
“……What is it you wish to say?”
“Every problem here comes from one fact: the man Sister Rang loves has the Red Bridge Gang Leader for a father. His Peak Realm martial arts. The power of the Red Bridge Gang. The problem is that the man holding all that power is no decent man.”
A broad grin slowly spread across Yanghwi’s face.
“So why don’t we work together on something? For Sister Rang—for your daughter’s happy future.”
It might be a little early.
But if Baek Family Manor was going to grow, it needed room to expand.
And that meant it was about time to start clearing out the Black Path factions.