Half of a Treasure
Disappointment was plain on Heo Il-bi's face.
“Leaving already? Why depart so soon, without staying to let your body settle fully into its new strength?”
Ouyang Qiangang answered with a calm expression.
“Half of the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade we obtained on Dayangsan Island went into building the Heavenly Qi Refinement Furnace here. I need the remaining half to build the same device at my main family's estate.”
He paused for a moment, then looked at Heo Il-bi with even graver eyes.
“And there is one more thing I must tell you, Uncle.”
“Speak.”
“I intend to return to my family and refine a supreme-grade Dragon-Nourishing Pill from the Supreme Blood Jade and the Dragon-Brain Jade Fungus we found on Dayangsan Island. I will bring every scrap of knowledge and technique I possess to bear on it.”
At his words, Heo Il-bi's eyes went wide.
He had known of the legendary herbs since the first day, when Ouyang Qiangang had brought back the ones growing wild in the underground cavern. But he had never imagined the young man would use them to craft an elixir.
Ouyang Qiangang continued.
“By my estimate, a single pill will increase one's internal energy by ten years' worth. It can only be taken once in a lifetime — taking more will not compound the effect — but that makes it no less precious.”
Ten years of internal energy.
Heo Il-bi swallowed hard at the weight of those words. Even for a Peak master, it was a staggering force — enough to push one's realm a full stage higher.
“When it is complete, I will invite you to my family estate, Uncle.”
Ouyang Qiangang went on with a gentle smile.
“Half of that elixir will be yours.”
“……!”
For a moment, Heo Il-bi was left speechless, staring into his nephew's clear eyes. There was no calculation in them, no hidden intent — only pure trust and respect for someone who had believed in him and helped him.
Heo Il-bi felt a hot emotion welling up from somewhere deep inside. The spirit herbs of Dayangsan Island had been won entirely through Ouyang Qiangang's fortune. However they were disposed of, he had no right to claim a share.
He was only human, and hearing of the herbs had stirred a flicker of greed in him too. But that moment had been brief, and he had forgotten it since.
And now Ouyang Qiangang was saying he would gladly split a treasure the whole world coveted with him.
“Gang-ah… you put me to shame.”
Understanding the depth of his nephew's intent, Heo Il-bi could no longer ask him to stay. But one practical matter still nagged at him.
“I understand your thinking, but there is a problem. Your main family is crawling with Dong Hyeon-do's spies. Supplying you with medicinal ingredients, and delivering the enormous profits to come — both will inevitably catch their eyes. What do you intend to do about that?”
To his concern, Ouyang Qiangang replied calmly.
“I have already thought of a way around that. All transactions must take place secretly, somewhere other than the Ouyang Clan Manor.”
“Somewhere else?”
“The moment I return to the estate, I will have Hwang Nodae arrange a manor in a secluded spot a dozen li or so away from the family grounds.”
“Hah……”
“All the ingredients and funds you send me, Uncle, can be delivered through that place. I intend to entrust the task to Hwang Nodae.”
Heo Il-bi realized his worry had been needless. Clicking his tongue at the young man's meticulousness, he burst into a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha, you'd already thought of even that. Truly, not a single gap in you. Very well — so it shall be.”
He rose from his seat and gripped the shoulders of his nephew, who now stood nearly eye to eye with him. His eyes brimmed with pride and satisfaction.
“The frail boy who first arrived here is gone without a trace. Now you carry yourself like a true man ready to bear an entire family on his shoulders. That you return to us in such robust health is joy enough for this uncle. How could I stand in the way of your plan to restore your family?”
Then Heo Il-bi added, his expression turning worried.
“Tell Yeonhwa yourself. She won't be prepared for this, and the shock will not be small. I'd like you to spare some thought for that child's heart.”
That night, Ouyang Qiangang went to Heo Cho-ryeong's quarters.
She was holding Geum Wang in her arms, gazing at the moon, and when she spotted him she smiled — a smile laced with gladness and a faint, unnameable sorrow.
The season had already turned to early winter, and the night wind was biting. Cold air seeped between the collars of the two of them.
“Gang-e, what is it? At this hour of the night?”
“I leave for my family's estate tomorrow morning. I wanted to say goodbye to you in advance, my lady.”
At his words, Heo Cho-ryeong's eyes trembled violently, but she forced her expression to stay composed. Ouyang Qiangang simply watched her in silence.
Bathed in moonlight, her face was impossibly beautiful.
Pull yourself together… Heo Cho-ryeong is nineteen…
Lee Jin-woo, thirty-eight years of mind, recognized her as an underage girl he ought to protect and guide. But the heart of seventeen-year-old Ouyang Qiangang kept straining helplessly toward her strength and beauty, and he could hardly bear it.
Suppressing the tangled, awkward feeling, he spoke.
“I owe you a great deal for everything these past months, my lady.”
Heo Cho-ryeong answered with a soft smile.
“I knew a moment like this would come sooner or later. You were never meant to stay in this small estate, Gang-e. Honestly? I want to go with you.”
At her frank words — nothing short of a confession — Ouyang Qiangang's heart dropped with a thud. Before the startled man could say anything, her eyes brightened and she went on.
“But I will stay here.”
Her clear voice was firm.
“I will guard and grow the opportunity you've given our family. Father alone will find it too much to bear. So you walk your own path. I will do my best to be your unshakable strength from here.”
It was a maturity of decision one would never believe from a nineteen-year-old.
Ouyang Qiangang's mind grew complicated.
If this were Earth, she'd be at the age of someone just stepping out into the world. And yet this girl is ready to shoulder the fate of an entire family.
She was suppressing the desire to follow him, seeking out her own role and shouldering her responsibility — and to him, that radiance was blinding. His reason called her a girl, but his heart already saw her as a beautiful, mature woman.
“I trust you, my lady. I, too, will do my utmost in my own place.”
He offered her a formal cupped-fist salute.
“Until the day we meet again, please stay well.”
No more words passed between them.
Just then, Geum Wang, nestled in Heo Cho-ryeong's arms, cut in.
Kkiik…
The little creature let out a low sound, his face torn with conflict, glancing back and forth between Ouyang Qiangang and Heo Cho-ryeong. He buried his face in her warm embrace, then lifted his head to look at Ouyang Qiangang again — over and over. How great a struggle must have churned through that small head.
He clung wistfully to the hem of her robe one last time, then, as if making up his mind, clenched his tiny fist tight. With gloomy eyes and a look of helpless resignation, Geum Wang pulled himself free of her arms. Then, as though this displeased him but was simply his path, he crossed the table and leapt up onto Ouyang Qiangang's shoulder.
Both of them understood the meaning of the gesture at once.
“It seems Geum-hyeong has finally made his decision,” Ouyang Qiangang said, his voice tinged with regret.
“Yes,” Heo Cho-ryeong answered quietly. “Geum-ah knows that if he stays here with me, he'll never find his old master again.”
She reached out and gently stroked the little monkey's head, whispering,
“Go on, then. You must find your master.”
Her voice carried her own reluctance, along with a warm respect for Geum Wang's choice. The little monkey nuzzled his cheek once against the back of her hand.
The chill night wind brushed past the ear of Heo Cho-ryeong, who would now be left alone, and then past the collar of Ouyang Qiangang, who had gained a new companion.
The next morning.
The cool air of early dawn hung before the gates of Bamboo Forest Manor. Two sturdy-looking horses, led out by the servants, stood waiting, breath steaming. On Ouyang Qiangang's shoulder, his new companion Geum Wang had already settled naturally into place. Hwang Nodae stood at his side, holding the horses' reins, while Heo Il-bi and Heo Cho-ryeong had come out to the gates to see them off.
Before he mounted, Ouyang Qiangang's gaze met Heo Cho-ryeong's across the empty air. That was enough. He gave a silent nod, then swung himself onto the horse with a lightness and grace beyond anything he'd once been capable of. As he took the reins, Hwang Nodae mounted his own horse as well.
“Until we meet again — may everyone stay well.”
With that final farewell, the two horses kicked powerfully off the ground and set out on the road back to the Ouyang Clan Manor.
Dagadak — dagadak —
Long after the rhythmic hoofbeats had faded, the Heo father and daughter stood in place, watching their receding figures. Heo Il-bi looked back and forth between his departing nephew and his daughter, who could not hide her wistful expression, and sighed deeply within.
Gang-ah will without doubt become a great hero who shakes the world. But… were the lives of the women who stood beside heroes ever smooth? History is full of women who wept all their lives in the shadow of a brilliantly shining hero, or who withered and perished early because of that very light.
Knowing that the human heart cannot be governed by force, he simply wrapped his arms around his daughter's shoulders in silence — resolving to stake everything he had on protecting her.
The distance from Bamboo Forest Manor to the Ouyang Clan Manor was not great — half a day's ride. Only one quiet mountain, Maiho Mountain, lay between the two estates. It was famous for its beautiful scenery, but its tallest peak did not exceed three hundred jang, hardly treacherous. The roads were well kept enough to ride over, and it was a peaceful place with not a single den of beasts or common bandits.
It was just past noon when Ouyang Qiangang's party entered Maiho Mountain.
The mountain path was quiet. The late afternoon sun broke and scattered through the dense pine needles, and whenever the soft wind brushed the leaves, a soft rustling rose. Only the occasional song of nameless birds — the forest lay sunk in deep stillness.
It was a peaceful scene.
The disturbance that shattered that stillness came when the party was halfway up the mountain.