Chapter 49
Chapter 49: Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven
Roughly two months had slipped by before he finally set foot back inside the family estate.
Despite having traversed leagues of dusty roads and spent night after night roughing it under the stars, Yanghwi was given no respite—he was hauled directly into the senior council chamber.
Good grief, my skin is crawling with grime. I only wanted to wash up and check on how much the little rascals had grown.
Yet there was no dodging it. The instant the words “twenty thousand nyang” grazed Steward Han’s ears, the man’s pupils had practically reshaped into gleaming ingots. Before Yanghwi could protest, he was scooped up and carried at full tilt straight toward the patriarch’s quarters.
“Lord of the House! Master Hwi has returned with another fortune!”
“Hwi, you have come home.”
Yanghwi blinked in mild astonishment as his gaze settled on his father.
He had presumed the patriarch would still be locked away in secluded cultivation, yet here he stood.
More importantly, the aura radiating from him was utterly distinct. The sheer volume of his accumulated internal energy had not swelled to excess, but its purity and substance had undergone a profound metamorphosis.
He has truly crossed into the first-rate realm.
It was unmistakable. Baek Muryang, having previously broken past the limits of their modest clan techniques to reach the second-rate realm only to languish in stagnation for years on end, had finally grasped the mantle of a first-rate master.
“Father, congratulations on your breakthrough!“
“Haha! I knew you would perceive it immediately.”
Beaming with immense satisfaction, Baek Muryang went on.
“Hwi, this accomplishment belongs entirely to you. Had you not mastered the Harmonious Heaven Primordial Art and the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords first, meticulously leaving your insights behind for me to study, I never could have achieved this.”
“You flatter me, Father. It is your own persistent talent and diligence that bore this fruit.”
“Do not sell yourself short. With my ordinary aptitude, grasping even half the essence of those two divine arts would have been impossible on my own. Regardless of the disparity between our cultivation stages, your innate perception and understanding of martial truths never cease to astound me.”
“Your praise honors me more than words can say.”
A warm smile graced Baek Muryang’s face as he asked, “How fared your journey? Did you manage to see everything through?”
“Without a hitch, Father. Brother Gu! Escort Chudal inside!”
Gu Ak strode across the threshold alongside Chudal.
“Gu, Master of Baekik Pavilion, offers greetings to the Lord of the House. Chudal… ahem, I mean Ihu. Offer your respects as well.”
“Greetings, esteemed sir! My name is Chudal… no, it’s Ihu!”
Baek Muryang arched an eyebrow in bemusement at the boy’s flustered introduction. “So tell me, is your name Chudal, or is it Ihu?”
Before the child could fumble through an explanation, Yanghwi intervened.
“His given name is Ihu, Father, but I prefer to call him Chudal.”
“And the reason for that?”
“Because he bears an uncanny resemblance to an unsightly otter.”
“Is that so?”
In truth, Chudal was far too endearing a child to be compared to an ugly river beast.
The boy has always possessed a peculiar quirk or two; it seems his eccentric nature is simply surfacing again.
Though Baek Muryang simply nodded in quiet indulgence, Yanghwi felt a brief pang of awkwardness before steering the conversation toward the outcomes of his travels.
“During our return, I made a detour through Nanchang to inspect the Baekseo antiquarian bookshop. A rival syndicate was attempting to disrupt our distribution and block sales of the novels, but I took care of the obstruction before departing. As for the profits, the funds should begin rolling in starting next month.”
Steward Han promptly raised a hand, eagerness etched across his face.
“Master Hwi, pardon the interruption. Does that mean the twenty thousand nyang you referenced will only reach our hands after two months’ time?”
Anxiety and nervous desperation dripped from every crease of Steward Han’s brow.
The household’s financial crisis had deepened to the point where the immediate shortage far surpassed five thousand nyang.
“Would I ever leave you stranded like that, Steward?”
Smirking slightly at the steward’s fretful expression, Yanghwi loosened the knot on his cloth pack himself.
The moment it fell open, a dazzling golden brilliance illuminated every corner of the study.
“Merciful heavens! Master Hwi truly is the living incarnation of the god of wealth! Ohohoho!”
“Good heavens… just what sum are we looking at here?”
“We must weigh it accurately to confirm, but it appears to be roughly two hundred nyang in solid gold.”
Two hundred gold nyang equated to an astonishing quadruple of the five thousand silver nyang urgently needed to stave off ruin.
Rather than merely patching the holes in their coffers, an amount of this scale was vast enough to finance and launch an entirely new merchant enterprise.
Even after dispersing half of it among the common folk wronged by the Namgeum Merchant Guild, this substantial sum still remains. Just how ruthlessly were they bleeding people dry through their usury?
Overcome with sheer ecstasy, Steward Han completely cast aside the solemnity of the council, sprang straight to his feet, and began dancing an impromptu jig.
“Two hundred nyang! Gold, not silver! That equates to twenty thousand nyang in silver! Twenty~ thousand~ nyang~!”
Rather than reprimanding the outburst, Baek Muryang let the steward revel in his relief for a brief spell.
He knew all too well the crushing weight and sleepless nights Steward Han had endured while struggling to mend their unraveling balance sheets.
“This could not have originated from the Baekseo shop,” the clan head observed, his gaze turning penetrating. “Where did you come across such a staggering fortune?”
Yanghwi paused, caught off guard. He had fully intended to gloss over the origin with vague pleasantries, yet his father had honed in on that precise detail.
Catching each other’s eyes, Yanghwi and Gu Ak exchanged frantic glances.
You must not utter the truth! Invent a pretext, Brother Gu!
Leave it to me, Little Brother.
Gu Ak stepped forward, projecting absolute assurance.
“To be entirely forthright, Lord of the House, we eradicated an assassin sect along the road and confiscated their hoard.”
Yanghwi brought a palm straight against his forehead.
Of all the tales to spin, he had blurted out that.
Granted, he had omitted mountains of critical context, yet strictly speaking, the claim of crushing a den of killers and taking their wealth was not technically a lie.
The trouble lay in the patriarch’s immediate fury.
“What?! You dragged Yanghwi into such mortal danger?!”
In that fleeting instant, Gu Ak realized with crystal clarity that the terrifying monster he had witnessed bore zero resemblance to the sheltered heir the rest of the Baek Estate believed him to be.
“How could you commit such reckless folly, Master of Baekik Pavilion!”
“What on earth were you thinking, leading Master Hwi into the jaws of death! If some tragedy had befallen our precious harbinger of wealth… no, our eldest young master, how could you ever atone!”
“……”
I wasn’t the one swinging the blade! That terrifying brat took the vanguard and butchered every last one of them himself!
Gu Ak felt a profound wave of injustice wash over him.
In truth, throughout the entire engagement within the Nameless Killing Valley, he had not claimed a single life.
The one who had eradicated the valley lord’s killers was Yanghwi, and it was Yanghwi’s hand alone that had felled the master of the valley.
“The matter is, Lord of the House, the reality is—”
“Father!”
Yanghwi cut Gu Ak off with a sharp exclamation.
“There is something regarding this matter that I must personally confess…”
“What is it?”
Yanghwi began by outlining Chudal’s plight.
“A boy born into the shadows of killers, whose father was slaughtered by his own kind, abducted by assassins, and reared solely to be shaped into a tool of murder. That was Chudal’s reality.”
A profound silence immediately smothered the room.
The child’s history was simply too grim and harrowing to bear lightly.
“Because of that… I could not turn away; I had to save him at all costs. Father… though they were cold-blooded killers, I took human lives. I felt it only right that I lay this truth before you.”
Baek Muryang’s eyes widened in profound concern. Surging from his seat, he crossed the room and pulled Yanghwi close.
“Are you unharmed, Hwi? Has the memory of the blood shed burdened your heart with lingering shadows?”
“I am well. Yet the karmic weight of slaying others now rests on my shoulders… I have no excuses to offer.”
Yanghwi lowered his head in apparent remorse, though inwardly he was calculating:
With a performance this earnest, he will surely overlook the question of where the coin came from.
The father he knew lived by a code of honor that would never fault him for exterminating ruthless assassins.
The righteous chivalry upheld by the Baek family ran entirely on that very conviction.
“Karmic weight, you say? How could severing the breath of those who butchered the innocent for coin ever be deemed a sin? Hwi, you carry neither blame nor dark karma. If heaven decrees that any retribution must fall for those deaths, your father will shoulder the burden on your behalf.”
“Father…!”
“Rest easy. All is well.”
Precisely as Yanghwi had orchestrated, the room completely forgot to inquire further into the origins of the gold.
To seal the matter beyond any lingering suspicion, Yanghwi produced his next offering.
“Actually… there remains one more matter I must present to you.”
“Another? Let me hear it.”
He drew a tightly bound cloth parcel from his travel pack.
“It is this.”
“What could possibly require such meticulous wrapping?”
As the folds of fabric were carefully drawn back, an ethereal, wondrous fragrance flooded every inch of the council room.
Baek Muryang and every elder present froze, their eyes widening in profound shock.
“This aroma…!”
“Could it truly be a spiritual herb?!”
“Seven offshoots and three vermilion fruits! Lord of the House, that is unmistakably the legendary Seven-Branch Three-Berry Ginseng!”
A subtle, contented smile surfaced on Yanghwi’s lips as he nodded.
“It is indeed Seven-Branch Three-Berry Ginseng, which I managed to harvest deep in the mountain ranges during our journey home. It is said that each individual root bestows roughly twenty to thirty years of pure internal cultivation. I offer them to you, Father.”
Baek Muryang was overcome with an emotion too profound for simple gratitude.
A bringer of fortune. The youth was truly heaven’s greatest blessing upon their lineage.
How did the boy manage to consistently perform deeds that brought endless glory and prosperity to the family?
“Hwi. As the head of this clan and as your father, how could I claim what belongs by right to one of my own household? You must ingest at least one root yourself.”
“There is no need, Father. I already partook of a miraculous elixir during my travels.”
An even heavier wave of astonishment rippled across the chamber.
“You consumed a spirit elixir? Where in the world did you encounter such a miracle?”
“Heavens above… Master Hwi’s fortune is truly boundless. How could a journey spanning barely two months yield such unfathomable rewards?”
When Yanghwi recounted the events that had unfolded within the Yu Estate, the room erupted into yet another chorus of marvel and admiration.
“Ah… a miraculous destined affinity. A blessing ordained by fate itself.”
“Beyond being the living god of wealth, Heaven’s very favor rests upon our young master.”
“I wondered how you and the Master of Baekik Pavilion could have dismantled an entire assassin sect on your own, but to think such extraordinary circumstances paved the way.”
Looking down upon his son with pride and affection, Baek Muryang lifted a single root of the Seven-Branch Three-Berry Ginseng and extended it toward Gu Ak.
“Master of Baekik Pavilion. You have my deepest gratitude for safeguarding this clan master’s heir. Though it may seem slightly unconventional to grant you a treasure he procured himself, accept this as your reward.”
“Ah, Lord of the House! My gratitude is… wait?”
Before Gu Ak’s fingers could close around the prize, Yanghwi reached out and intercepted the Seven-Branch Three-Berry Ginseng.
“Father, would it not be wiser to defer bestowing the ginseng upon the Master of Baekik Pavilion for the time being?”
“Do you have another design in mind?”
“Indeed. The Seven-Branch Three-Berry Ginseng is a revered spiritual herb renowned as a prime core for refining transcendent elixirs. I believe we would reap far greater rewards by amplifying its medicinal purity and potency through alchemy first.”
A shadow of conflict passed over the brows of both Baek Muryang and Steward Han.
“Be that as it may, our clan does not maintain an alchemist skilled in refining spiritual medicine. Nor can we simply place something of such profound value into the hands of an outside master.”
“Even if we approached a physician of legendary renown or a venerable righteous sect, leaning on their integrity would still require forfeiting half of the refined yield as compensation.”
Yanghwi offered an understanding nod. Their concerns were entirely grounded in reality.
Even so.
“I am confident I can secure a suitable path forward before long. Please place your trust in me and wait a brief period.”
He turned his focus toward Gu Ak.
“Brother Gu, rather than choking down the raw root, I will ensure you receive a far superior spirit pill. You can endure a short wait for that, can you not?”
“Hmm. If my younger brother insists with such conviction, so be it.”
With the question of the spiritual medicine temporarily resolved, Yanghwi prepared to address his next agenda.
He shifted his gaze across the chamber to Yeo Hyeok.
“Elder… Venerable Sir. There is a favor I wish to ask of you.”
Yeo Hyeok let out a low, amused chuckle before responding, “Go ahead and speak, young master. Provided it does not ask too much of these old bones, I shall gladly grant it.”
“Have the days not felt somewhat tedious of late?”
Yeo Hyeok was currently residing within the Baek Estate as an honored guest alongside his daughter, Yeo Arang.
While Yeo Arang actively assisted Gu Ak in managing the operations of Hoyeong Pavilion, Yeo Hyeok spent his hours in quiet solitude, doing little more than perusing dusty volumes to let the time drift past.
“Hmm. While enjoying a tranquil, unburdened retirement has its merits, I cannot deny that the quiet hours can feel a bit solitary.”
“Just as I suspected.”
When one reached the autumn of life, a meaningful purpose was essential to keep the spirit sharp.
For example, grooming a successor.
A knowing grin played at the edges of Yanghwi’s lips as he nudged Chudal a step forward.
“Would you perhaps have any inclination toward taking on a personal disciple?”
In his former life, despite navigating a path fraught with endless hardship and suffering, Chudal had managed to carve out a name that echoed across the lands: Baekri Chudal.
Such a title proved beyond doubt that the child’s natural gifts were extraordinary.
Furthermore, the boy had been born with an innate affinity for lightfoot techniques and wilderness tracking.
If he were granted the proper mantle of the Divine Thief sect…
Yanghwi was utterly convinced the boy would outstrip the old master before long.
You little devil. In this lifetime, let us see you cover ten thousand li instead of merely a hundred.
Holding that quiet conviction, Yanghwi waited patiently for Yeo Hyeok’s verdict.
Caressing his long beard while his eyes critically appraised every detail of the boy’s frame and posture, Yeo Hyeok offered a faint, approving smile.
“Is this truly the only request you have for this old man, young master?”
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