Chapter 118

Chapter 118
Chapter 118

After parting ways with Yeo Gu-wi, I made my way back to my temporary quarters, situated within the main manor of the Baek Book Merchant Group.

Adu, who had been sitting cross-legged in the garden near the entrance, suddenly snapped his eyes wide open.

“Yang-hui. What took you so long?”

I glanced up at the sky. The sun hadn’t even dipped below the horizon yet—what on earth did he mean by late?

“I was out earning our keep, so cut me some slack.”

“This little monk has been waiting a very long time. Hand over the treats.”

I tossed him a parcel of sweets and rice cakes I had picked up along the way, and Adu’s face lit up instantly.

“Thank you, benefactor. Thank you, benefactor. Amitabha.”

“If I hadn’t brought any and you started shouting ‘benefactor’ in a fit, the other monks would think you’d lost your mind.”

With that light jab, I headed straight toward Chu Yong-wol’s office.

Although she was still under fifteen, she was already shouldering the responsibilities of deputy leader, which meant Chu Yong-wol had her own private workspace.

“Deputy Chu. It’s me.”

“Ah. Young Master Baek.”

Buried beneath towering stacks of paperwork, Chu Yong-wol raised her head at the sound of my voice.

Though exhaustion was etched across her face, the heavy worry and anxiety that had plagued her earlier had completely vanished.

This was because the Changwol Escort Bureau had officially transitioned into the Nanchang branch of the Heaven-Covering Escort Agency, instantly lifting the stifling pressure off the merchant group.

“Did everything go smoothly with Escort Leader Yeo and Leader Yeo-go?”

“It did. Though the Lord of the White-Clothed Gate decided to crash the meeting halfway through.”

I gave her a concise summary of my exchange with the White-Clothed Gate Lord.

Listening with rapt attention, Chu Yong-wol gave a slow nod.

“He’s not wrong about the difficulty. Making Everbliss Road overshadow Radiance Road is no small feat. Realistically speaking, we’d have to bulldoze through a century of entrenched history.”

I was well aware of that hurdle.

Yet, I possessed the ultimate trump card to turn that grueling uphill battle into an effortless stroll.

*Little Miss So’s descendant, So Wol-hyang. With her by our side, Radiance Road won’t stand a chance.*

Chu Yong-wol, however, seemed to be dwelling on entirely different concerns.

A shadow of deep apology crossed her features.

“Young Master Baek. To spend such an astronomical sum—five thousand gold taels, no less—solely for the sake of our merchant group… I am truly moved.”

From her perspective, her initial plea for help against the joint pressure of the White-Clothed Gate and the Changwol Escort Bureau had directly culminated in the heavy investment into Everbliss Road. It was only natural for her to feel a mix of guilt and profound gratitude.

“Put away that look. There’s no need to apologize—I haven’t taken any losses here.”

“I understand your confidence, but… pulling a profit out of this might prove immensely difficult.”

To break even, the venture would need to recoup those five thousand gold taels, so her cautious reasoning made complete sense.

However.

“Profit isn’t measured solely in raw coin. For our main family, shifting our stance from passive defense to active offense is already a massive victory.”

“Ah! Of course, this whole thing began because they tried to choke our merchant group to rein in the Baek family.”

I nodded, continuing my thought.

“They handed us the perfect justification on a silver platter, so we are going to turn Nanchang into our family’s permanent stronghold. I’m counting on your full cooperation through the Baek Book Merchant Group.”

“You can count on me! If things roll out according to plan, we’ll rake in rewards beyond imagination!”

Watching Chu Yong-wol clench her fist in determination, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

True to her nature as a talented merchant, the mere prospect of future profits instantly revitalized her.

“Anyway. I’ll be visiting the main household for about a month before heading straight to Hangzhou. Please make sure the carriage and boat transport schedules line up accordingly.”

Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province sat northeast of Jiangxi, meaning a detour through the main estate would effectively double the travel distance.

Even so, it was an unavoidable step if I wanted to personally inspect the training regimen of the Baek A Unit and release their Pursuit Blood Points.

*Well, completing the construction of Everbliss Road will take at least half a year anyway.*

Come to think of it, I needed to figure out a way to accelerate the construction timeline.

Leaving that half-year gap open could easily turn into a fatal vulnerability.

*Factor in the logistics, and… yes, that’s the only way.*

Deep in the southern reaches of Anhui Province, near Huangshan, there existed a specialized faction known as the Myriad Woods Gang.

They weren’t your typical martial artists, but rather an elite guild of master carpenters whose members all practiced internal energy, yielding a level of craftsmanship that was second to none under heaven.

“Word has it that all those legendary temples scattered across Huangshan, famous for their breathtaking architecture, were built by the Myriad Woods Gang.”

True to their moniker, rumors dictated they could shape ten thousand distinct forms out of ordinary timber.

If we hired them, they would undoubtedly fast-track the construction of Everbliss Road beyond measure.

“The real problem is… having to travel directly into Anhui.”

I had given the Namgung clan a severe beating back at the Sword King Tomb.

Having even shown my face directly to Namgung Cheon-hu, they were undoubtedly grinding their teeth in absolute fury right now.

…Nothing catastrophic should happen, right?

*I wonder what that bastard Namgung Cheon-hu is up to these days.*

A fundamental dividing line separating third-rate to first-rate martial artists from true peak masters lay entirely within the dantian.

In the martial world, those rare individuals who successfully unified their mind, energy, and body to shatter the natural limits of humanity were revered as peak masters.

Consequently, martial artists who reached the peak realm wielded capabilities utterly forbidden to ordinary mortals.

For instance, the ability to unlock dantians far beyond the lower one.

“Huff! Huff! Damn it. Damn… it…!”

Qi resided in the lower dantian, essence in the middle dantian, and spirit in the upper dantian.

Combined, they formed the triad of essence, qi, and spirit. The essence housed within the middle dantian was none other than innate qi—the true origin of primal energy.

What martial artists commonly referred to as human potential was, at its core, this vital force that sustained life itself.

“That cursed demonic sword! If it weren’t for that wretched demonic sword!”

Furious, jagged mutters escaped his lips. Namgung Cheon-hu’s face was painfully gaunt, making him look over a decade older.

And for good reason.

A little over a month ago, trapped deep within the confines of the Sword King Tomb, Namgung Cheon-hu had laid hands on an unidentified demonic blade, only for its malevolent essence to hijack his consciousness and plunge him into a murderous frenzy.

Up to that moment, perhaps it could have been managed.

No, that was a lie.

He had suffered devastating setbacks that made his blood boil and his teeth grind in sheer humiliation.

Even still, he might have written it off as an unavoidable disaster.

The real crisis was that his wild rampage had inadvertently forced an eruption of his deeply buried potential.

Without burning that vital reserve, he never could have slaughtered dozens of his own elite Cheoncheon Sword Brigade members with his own hands.

*Recovering this severely depleted vital energy will require at least a full year of undisturbed recuperation.*

In this context, recuperation meant wasting an entire year entirely devoid of proper martial training.

Normally, draining one’s innate qi inflicted permanent physical trauma—and in severe cases, led to premature death. It was by no means a minor setback.

Yet, survival was only possible thanks to his formidable peak realm foundation and superior cultivation arts.

Naturally, overcoming it demanded relentless, agonizingly painful effort.

*I will pay them back. Every single one of them.*

That damnable sorceress who dared manipulate someone carrying the prestigious Namgung name.

Along with those insolent Tang and Baek pests who dared to overstep their bounds.

He vowed to return this profound humiliation a hundredfold.

“Truly pathetic.”

Namgung Cheon-hu’s entire body went rigid.

“Ah, Father.”

“Do not address me by that title anymore. I can scarcely believe you are my flesh and blood, let alone the young clan leader.”

A suffocating, heavy pressure characteristic of the Namgung lineage permeated the entire training ground.

The undisputed master of the Five Great Clans of the World: Soaring Heaven Namgung.

The reigning clan head, Namgung One Sword.

He had arrived.

“…Clan Head.”

“Is this how you spend your time, wallowing in the dirt like a beaten dog? After losing your subordinates, dragging the family honor through the mud, and shattering your own true origin qi?”

Namgung Cheon-hu offered no response.

It wasn’t out of a lack of words.

Any retort he offered would simply be dismissed by his father and clan head, Namgung One Sword, as pathetic excuses.

*…Father. Why must you be so relentlessly merciless only to me?*

Namgung One Sword clicked his tongue, his eyes brimming with undisguised disapproval.

Plain disappointment would have been infinitely preferable.

Instead, eyes completely devoid of expectation cut into him far deeper than any blade.

“Take a lesson from your younger brother. You hold the esteemed title of young clan leader, yet you display nothing but miserable shortcomings.”

Namgung One Sword hadn’t always treated him this way.

There was a time when Namgung Cheon-hu basked in the warmth of the family’s high expectations, his father included.

That was until the day his fourteen-year-old younger brother first gripped a sword—and everything changed overnight.

“Never forget this, Cheon-hu. What you currently hold is nothing more than a fragile illusion that can vanish at any moment.”

*It will not vanish. I will crush all obstacles, seize it completely, and hand it to my brother.*

Unspeakable, dark thoughts churned within him as he stared piercingly at Namgung One Sword’s retreating back.

*Father. No, Clan Head. I will become the true master of the main family. By any means necessary.*

A heavy darkness clouded Namgung Cheon-hu’s vision.

A blackness far deeper and more absolute than ordinary night settled deep within his soul.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Baek Yang-hui could no longer suppress his frustration and finally snapped, shouting aloud.

“Kid! Stop stuffing your face already! There won’t be any dinner left for later!”

Adu mumbled indistinctly, his cheeks bulging heavily with food.

“But carriage rides are so dreadfully boring.”

“Boredom is all in your head—why are you trying to cure it by filling your stomach?!”

“With my mouth.”

I really should have known better than to bring this idiot along.

We weren’t heading to Hangzhou to pick a fight—having a hulking, bottomless glutton tagging along was completely useless anyway.

*What on earth possessed me to drag him along as a traveling companion?*

Ah. Right—this kid had thrown a persistent fit about not wanting to separate.

“That’s precisely why I told you to stay behind and play at the main estate.”

“The great monk always told me to follow good people.”

“You got yourself lost last time. If you stick with someone you recognize, you won’t wander off into trouble.”

“But it’s such a long trip. Anyway, can I have a few more rice cakes?”

A long, exhausted sigh slipped past my lips.

“Good grief. Isn’t it absurd enough that I’m dragging a young monk along to retrieve a famous courtesan—now I have to supply his field rations too?”

“Courtesan? Is she a pretty lady?”

“……How on earth do you even know about things like that? You’re supposed to be a monk.”

“The great monk told me all about it.”

Whoever this ‘great monk’ was, he had to hold at least a senior elder rank within the temple hierarchy.

And yet, he was filling a young monk’s head with talk of courtesans?

To Adu, of all people?

I fell into a grave, contemplative silence.

*…Is Shaolin experiencing a severe moral decline? There were never any omens of this in my past life.*

“Riding all the way in a carriage just to meet a woman. You really like girls, huh?”

“You’ve got it wrong, kid. This whole journey is strictly for earning rice cake money.”

A crystal-clear truth, delivered with absolute sincerity.

Nobody other than her in Hangzhou could properly elevate Everbliss Road to its true potential.

Conversely, simply securing So Wol-hyang… placing Little Miss So at the heart of Everbliss Road.

*Could single-handedly transform Everbliss Road into Jiangnan’s premier pleasure hub, rivaling even Suzhou and Hangzhou.*

Centuries ago, a legendary courtesan was born in Hangzhou.

Her ethereal beauty transcended the mortal realm: peerless under heaven.

She stood supreme in poetry, books, painting, song, and dance: the eightfold embodiment of perfection.

Later generations honored her with a singular title.

The foremost courtesan of antiquity and eternity: Su Xiaoxiao.

“Mounting the azure stallion, riding the jade-balcony carriage, I met you. Where shall our hearts entwine? Beneath Xiling’s pines and cypresses, your answer lies.”

Gently modifying Su Xiaoxiao’s classic verse, Baek Yang-hui reminisced about a cherished moment from his past life.

So Wol-hyang. The direct descendant of Su Xiaoxiao, who spent her entire life striving to surpass her legendary ancestor—thinking back to the exact day he had forged a deep bond with her.

“This humble girl, even in death, will sing solely for the young hero. So please… won’t you spare a tiny corner of your memory for me?”

*Little Miss So. In this lifetime, sing while you are still alive. Do it for our Baek family, not just for me. And do it to fulfill your own ultimate dream.*