Return Journey (2)
Using an escort agency was cheaper than maintaining one's own guard unit. Yet there was a reason to keep one anyway. The simpler merchants who couldn't field their own escorts tended to suffer disadvantages in dealings with the agencies. On top of that, you needed your own people to protect the caravan if a deal fell through. Dismantling the unit to cut costs could leave you at the mercy of rivals and agencies alike. They wouldn't sabotage you openly—that went against merchant etiquette—but even delays hurt business.
The eldest young master had racked up impressive merits, but the deputy manager remained responsible for the return trip home.
"Who could've imagined the way here and back would differ so much? It's all thanks to the young master."
"I lacked the eyes to see it. This journey has driven home how poor my judgment was."
"Still, you and your men play a vital role on the road. Don't take it too hard."
"No need to worry. I've instructed everyone to ensure we cause no trouble for the young master."
The deputy leader accepted his shortcomings and acknowledged the eldest young master's excellence. He felt only shame at having judged him by his own standards. But with the world's eyes converging, extra caution was essential. Martial artists' competitive spirits could spark unpredictable chaos at any moment. The deputy manager's order to keep the young master out of sight had been wise.
"I wonder if the caravan leader's alright, though."
"He must've been shocked."
"And he'll be shocked plenty more ahead."
"Seeing me like this would rattle anyone."
Amid the bustle, Jang Gye-gwang paddled furiously. While others rested, he kept moving. Whoosh, whoosh. Hooray! The return journey was busy and grueling for the third young master. Add the surrounding embarrassment, and it felt like a nightmare he'd never forget. With Ga-bok nagging like a mother-in-law at his side, it was pure hell. We watchers felt bad for him—what must he be going through?
But no one intervened. Reflecting on the third young master's past antics, this was self-inflicted. As he aged a year or two, he'd grown more deluded instead of wiser. This was a chance to correct his ways—for his own future.
"It's training endorsed by the eldest young master, so it'll benefit the third without harm."
"I agree, but I wouldn't recommend it."
Separate from the eldest young master's astonishing feats, the deputy leader and Jeokgeum escorts skipped the training. It built the body well enough, but offered nothing extraordinary beyond that. If such exercises made one strong, it was solely the young master's talent. It didn't suit everyone.
Still, the deputy leader refrained from dismissing it outright. The young master had shattered every norm so casually before. Who knew what hidden value lurked beyond his limited insight?
'Not something I'd want to learn.' Even if it forged masters that way, it was too embarrassing to teach. And far from easy. He'd tried it himself to test its effects—watching was nothing compared to the exhaustion and humiliation. Pure, utter trash of a regimen.
Drip, drip! The third young master, sweating like soup stock, embodied its terror.
Grind, grind! Teeth gnashed.
As expected, Gu Cheon-gi overflowed with regret. But he couldn't complain to anyone. He'd stepped on his own foot—who could he tell? Even his hopeful mother sided with his eldest brother.
—From now on, treat your big brother like the heavens. You know what happens if you don't, right, son?
Now even Mom was in on the threats. He shouldn't have come to the branch office at all. Rumors might exaggerate, but they stemmed from truth. When everyone agreed, he should've harbored doubts.
'I'll never give up like this!'
Gu Cheon-gi nursed his grudge like a gentleman. He'd reverse this hell, claim the world's pinnacle. Then he'd make them regret it—no mercy.
"Straighten your fingers during the hoorays."
"You punk, dropping formal speech whenever now!"
"We're master and disciple right now."
Ga-bok the brother, now brother-turned-master—a tangled mess of roles.
"Who made you master?"
"Wanna get beat like a dog?"
"……Master!!"
Even the Gu clan's clueless wastrel crumbled before fists. He tried defiance, but it bounced right off. Stripped of status, he held no edge over Ga-bok. The servant's unexpectedly handsome looks grated too. How had he ended up like this?
"Oh, break time already? Young master, I'm very strict about schedules. Heh heh heh!"
"……You dog bas—!"
"It's a feint."
"……Damn it!!"
Ga-bok had a heavenly knack for toying with people. How had such a poisonous mushroom lurked in the Gu household? Had he hidden it, or had they all been blind?
Realizing he couldn't handle it alone, Gu Cheon-gi appealed to bystanders.
"You all saw what he did to me! Deputy manager, deputy leader!! Didn't you?"
The deputy manager, deputy leader, escorts, and merchants all deliberately looked away. Their "What happened?" glances crushed him. They were all in cahoots. In the end, he became the whining victim.
"You all scheming... Gack!"
"My splendid disciple has troubled you all without regard for rank. Rest easy, everyone."
Ga-bok locked Gu Cheon-gi's neck in a hold, choking just enough to make his eyes bulge without rolling back. The young master slapped at the arms frantically.
"……Surrender... Master!!"
The pair put on a spectacular clown show.
Gu Cheon-woo rode in the carriage the deputy manager provided, with his mother. Unlike the outer clamor, inside was serene. Not a four-horse luxury model, but carriages themselves were costly. Few caravans used them outside full merchant trains. The deputy manager called it fitting recompense for the young master's profits. Gu Cheon-woo accepted without protest. Comforting his mother was filial piety under the Four Virtues anyway. No reason to refuse the courtesy.
In his Paewang days, he'd used carriages often. Low mobility, but excellent for confusing enemy trails.
'It worked through the entire 90th round.'
Multiple carriages muddled paths; foes attacking "abandoned" ones were eliminated. The Paewang's direct strike force, the Mireok Battle Group, consisted entirely of Hwagyeong elites. Fooled or not, enemies were crushed.
—Why deceive us if you'd wipe us out anyway?
The villains' dying gripe every time. Deception or no, they never stood a chance. They perished raging at the trickery. Fitting ends for evildoers.
'No intent to deceive.'
He'd tangled routes, but annihilation was always the goal. More flies swarming meant the bait worked perfectly. Supreme lure for drawing out evil.
'I wonder how they're faring now.'
After breaking seclusion, he'd first fetched Ji-hu and Mu-hu. Initial resistance and interference aside, they soon adapted.
'They excelled, truly.'
They shone as Paewang Castle's strategist and martial general, validating his choices. Born for Mireok Paedo, they'd served 400 years usefully. Without regression, it'd have been tens of thousands.
Silence stretched in the carriage. Finally, Jeok I-ryeong poked her son's reverie.
"Son, what're you thinking that makes you smile so? A girl, maybe?"
"Yes."
"……!"
Jeok I-ryeong choked on his blunt honesty. Normally, he'd blush and deflect. Watching her shy eldest squirm was a mother's joy. Yet here he was, unashamed, admitting it outright. When had her son become such a playboy? Before leaving? Impossible—she'd tidied his room often.
"Our eldest was sneaking girls behind Mom's back? Who's the lucky one?"
"Haven't met her yet. I'll arrange a meeting when time allows."
"Mom trusts you, but she's not imaginary, right?"
"She exists."
Never seen? Jeok I-ryeong eased a bit. Not those vixens from the merchant meet, she hoped. Her husband might be blind, but she knew. Post-meet, he'd holed up in his room. Hwajeong's cripple had been judged by her son—prime revenge. But true vengeance came from a mother.
'I'll make them pay for insulting my handsome boy!'
Now he wasn't just handsome; he was a rising martial master. Those who'd scolded him would rue it—sweet as crushed sesame seeds.
As a modern mother-in-law, her son's match needed beauty, brains, background. Lack one, and know your place. Modern or not, who knew if she aimed to crack skulls.
Jeok I-ryeong's first time as mother-in-law, but she deemed herself perfect wife and mom.
"Son, they say mothers must vet wives—it's the only sure way."
"I see."
"Looks fade in three years, but watch me. See how Dad treats me. Beauty lasts forever—crucial, so always remember. I tolerate much, but an ugly daughter-in-law? No. Can't brag about her."
"Understood."
Beauty didn't guarantee temperament, but odds favored it. Looks smoothed edges, fostered harmony. Inferiority bred rage.
Whoosh! Her fervor exceeded expectations—most specific.
'Does such a woman exist?'
Doubt flickered, but Gu Cheon-woo dismissed it. Fictional or not, if Mom approved, fine.
"Not sure I should teach Cheon-gi. Learning and teaching differ. Wish your great-uncle were here."
"I can fetch him if you wish."
"Fetch him? You know where?"
"Ask the Iron Cane Hero."
"Right, you blood-brothered with the rear guard."
Her brother mastered only three stars of Yeoui Seon-gyeol. Only her father and she reached nine. Talent-wise, she topped the maternal side, but teaching was separate. Her father embodied it perfectly.
Gu Cheon-woo could summon him now. But he hesitated at the critical juncture. Her father neared Hwagyeong's peak, secluded in mountain cave for ascension. Interrupting risked losing an Absolute Realm master.
Peak martialists grew hypersensitive. A tiny trigger could warp temperament. Yeoui Seon-gyeol varied; his path pure clarity.
Disruption would yield a tainted version.
'Heart demon.'
Past timing failed; heart demon corrupted his clarity to impurity. Tainted Absolute Realm rampaged; three days' beating restored sanity.
—You brat, I'm your great-uncle! Beating me like a dog...
Gurgle! Revealing himself, he'd fainted. Awakening, regret outweighed rage. Absolute Realm achieved, but not his dreamed Yeoui Seon-gyeol. Positively, Paedo crushed impurity into Yeoui Paedo-gyeol. Family panicked at the shift.
'Noisy, yes.'
For Mireok Paedo, her father was vital—especially teaching. Mireok Battle Group trained under him most.
—All your fault. Can't face ancestors dead!
His Yeoui pride immense; he'd achieved "impossible" ascension. Post-clan fall, cave found him seated in lotus, passed. Ascension unclear. Later rounds blocked it, installing him as guardian deity. Maternal kin lacked subtlety against saboteurs; he'd relocated them to Gu stronghold. Paewang's decree overrode objections.
"You're more wondrous daily, son. Your inner force surged since days ago?"
"Still sorely lacking."
"Lacking? I thought you'd fallen to qi deviation practicing demonic arts—scared me silly."
"No demonic arts sway me."
Jeok I-ryeong couldn't gauge his level. Inner force blatant, but even Hwagyeong facets eluded her.
'Impossible.'
She trusted because son; a stranger, demonic suspicion fair. Daily inner force leaps defied norms. Her Yeoui pride paled against his art. Unbelievably, she trailed him by a move—or two.
Regret absent; pride swelled.
"Son, hide three-tenths of your power, got it?"
"Troublesome."
"I get boasting at your age, but humility's key."
"Three-tenths is too much."
Post-Ultimate Paewang Realm, he used less. Few worthy foes; half sufficed for world dominance.
His arrogant Paegi startled her, yet suited perfectly. For a flash, he seemed heaven's sovereign.
"When ready, Mom'll test you."
"I look forward."
Gu Cheon-woo cheered her zeal. At this rate, Absolute Realm beckoned soon. Then the clan gains two Absolute masters.