Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Grueling Spring Labor
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A harsh winter had passed, and spring had arrived.
The spring in Anhui Province came earlier than in other regions, and the surroundings were already lush with greenery.
It was the season when all things stirred to life.
Vitality brimmed everywhere, overflowing across the lands of Hefei.
Among it all, the Nangong household's mornings flowed with even more vigor than anywhere else.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
Before the rooster even crowed, the people of the Nangong household rose and bustled about their tasks.
The main gate swung wide open for the shift change, receiving visitors and goods arriving at the Nangong household.
"Fly! Get moving!"
"Take it to the warehouse!"
"That's not for the warehouse—it's headed to the escort agency, so set it aside separately! Hurry up, hurry! No time to waste!"
Chief Steward Geum Gwang-mo personally inspected every item entering through the main gate.
Even as he meticulously checked the countless goods one by one, a smile never left his lips.
*How long has it been since things felt this alive!*
The volume of goods flowing into the Nangong household had more than tripled compared to winter.
The number of visitors had at least doubled as well, so it was no exaggeration to say vitality was surging through the household.
On top of that, exchanges had begun with places that previously had no ties to the Nangong household.
For him, who managed the household's finances and affairs both great and small, things couldn't be better.
*It really happens in the blink of an eye.*
Amid this unexpected boon for the Nangong household, Geum Gwang-mo's grin refused to fade.
"The Silver Phantom Stables have sent a hundred fine horses!"
"Move 'em quick! Quick quick!"
"Whew, why do escort shipments keep coming every other day?"
"Tell me about it. Man! It never ends!"
The Nangong household's warriors and servants moved without a moment's rest.
With incoming goods outpacing what they could haul away, Geum Gwang-mo's mouth was on the verge of splitting into a permanent grin.
A group kicked up clouds of dust as they crossed Hefei's bustling streets and entered the Nangong household's main gate.
A band of warriors with their faces veiled by dusters.
A burly man with a massive blade strapped to his back lifted his duster.
The bold-faced man, Paeng Junghyeok, flipped back his duster and exhaled the breath he'd been holding.
"Pha!"
Without even brushing the dust from his clothes, Paeng Junghyeok dashed toward Geum Gwang-mo.
"Chief Steward! We just escorted the shipment all the way to Mount Heng in Hunan and returned..."
"Ah, in that case, go help move some cargo."
"Yes? But I just got back..."
"We're short-handed. Hurry, hurry."
"Uh... wait, I..."
Paeng Junghyeok, who had been reporting with a proud expression, froze and stared at Geum Gwang-mo.
"Chief Steward?"
"Ah, I'm in a rush here. Is this the manifest? Got it. Now head over and move those horses from the Silver Phantom Stables first. I'm swamped—gotta go!"
Geum Gwang-mo let out a hearty laugh and vanished in an instant.
Paeng Junghyeok's face went blank.
"I just got back from an escort run..."
What about rest?
No... what the hell is this Nangong household? Why is it so nonstop busy?
Look at this.
Is this an escort agency?
*...I'm dying.*
Before Paeng Junghyeok could voice his complaints, Geum Cheom-sang came scurrying up and grabbed his hand.
"Geum-mo!"
"Ah, seriously! What are you doing lounging around here?"
"No, I just finished an esc—"
"Come on. The young master is griping about the lack of hands! Where are the workers? When are you earning your keep?"
...Fuck, I earn my keep every damn day.
Paeng Junghyeok felt a pang of sorrow at how his efforts went unrecognized.
* * *
Thud!
"Phew!"
Paeng Junghyeok hauled a pile of fodder twice his own size and collapsed onto the ground.
Before his eyes towered a mountain of fodder piles.
These were what he had moved over the past half day.
With the last straw bundle in place, he had nothing left to give.
Sweat poured from his body in rivers.
"...Damn it, why is it so hot here?"
Having lived his whole life in the north, he couldn't adjust to Anhui's weather.
Winter had just ended and spring barely begun, yet it was already humid and stiflingly hot.
The heat sapped his energy, leaving him limp and drained.
To top it off, he had just returned from an escort run spanning well over a thousand li to Hunan.
Even an iron-clad warrior couldn't avoid exhaustion after that.
"Ah... I'm dying."
As Paeng Junghyeok lay sprawled in the shade, he spotted Paeng Yeonhwa off to the side, pounding stakes into the ground.
Thud thud thud!
She had returned after setting up a temporary horse pen by driving in stakes with mighty swings, then flopped down beside him.
The sight of Paeng Yeonhwa, the North's Peerless Beauty, was indescribable.
Her hair was festooned with straw and dirt, her eyes hollowed from days without proper rest, her skin dry and lackluster.
"..."
"..."
The siblings stared at each other in silence, then sighed deeply in unison as if by prior agreement.
What was there to say?
Paeng Junghyeok gazed blankly up at the sky.
"...What the hell are we doing in someone else's house?"
"..."
"Huuuugh!"
It was a sigh laced with a tangle of emotions.
As they stared vacantly at the sky, So Hye-yeon approached from afar, her face veiled in thin silk.
Her disheveled hair and sweat-soaked clothes spoke volumes of her ordeals.
"Argh, damn it!"
So Hye-yeon ripped off her veil and scowled.
Whoa, the Little Sword Princess has some fire.
She really chucked that veil.
So Hye-yeon bit her lower lip hard, then locked eyes with Paeng Junghyeok.
"What are you staring at?"
"...Just looking."
"..."
So Hye-yeon quietly came and sat in the shade.
Her fatigue-ridden face perfectly captured her grueling life.
A brief silence fell.
Paeng Junghyeok gazed blankly at the sky, then glanced sidelong at So Hye-yeon.
"Where've you been, Little Sword Princess?"
"Henan."
"Nice, somewhere cool."
"Cool?"
"...I went to Hunan. Came back from Hunan and jumped straight into shoveling horse shit and fodder."
"I went to Henan, then swung through Hubei on the way back."
"At least Hubei is cool. Do you know how hot Hunan gets?"
"It was a seven-day round trip."
"Hmm! Mine was ten days..."
Paeng Yeonhwa, watching their exchange, sighed.
"Are you kids? Why bicker over that? You both just got spun around, that's all."
"...Why do you choose your words like that? Where'd you even learn 'spun around'?"
"The Thunder Dragon Squad guys say it all the time? Thanks to the young master, they got spun around."
"..."
Ah... Father.
This doesn't seem like a place for proper education.
Yeonhwa says she got spun around.
Paeng Junghyeok let out a heavy sigh.
How long has it even been, and she's already picking up their speech?
"Fuck."
...Ah.
Did I pick it up too?
Well, even the lofty So Hye-yeon is tossing around curses now.
Paeng Junghyeok heaved another deep sigh.
*What happens when you hang around together.*
Paeng Cheon-wi had sent him here to Nangong Hyeok to observe and learn—sort of like studying abroad—but most of what he did was escort runs and hauling cargo.
In that short time, he'd been worked so hard he knew the escort agency inside out.
No wonder the escort folks thought of him as a newly hired escort chief.
"...Fuck."
Paeng Junghyeok grimaced slightly and stared ahead.
Seeing Paeng Yeonhwa looking more ragged than a beggar, and So Hye-yeon too, deepened his gloom.
"But seriously, Little Sword Princess, why are you still hanging around here? Weren't you supposed to leave right after the martial tournament?"
"..."
So Hye-yeon's expression turned bizarre.
Paeng Junghyeok and Paeng Yeonhwa looked at her quizzically.
"Sparring."
"Hm?"
"I need sparring."
"Huh?!"
Sparring?
What?
You're staying for sparring?
*...For real? Sword Pavilion lives up to the legends.*
Sticking around just to spar, forced into hard labor?
Sure, he was here semi-forced by Paeng Cheon-u's orders, and Paeng Yeonhwa for similar reasons, but this was different.
*She's lost it. Totally lost it. No wonder her eyes look half-glazed.*
Paeng Junghyeok recoiled in shock, stepping back.
"Huu!"
"Haa."
"Uuu."
The three sighed in unison.
Misery loves company, as they say.
The three formed a strange bond of mutual understanding without a word.
Then, Paeng Junghyeok muttered with furrowed brows.
"But at this rate, we'll really end up just hauling cargo forever, won't we?"
So Hye-yeon's brows furrowed.
"No... Nangong young hero said he'd spar with me..."
"You believe that guy?"
"But he keeps his word..."
"Him?"
"..."
"Ha!"
Paeng Junghyeok snorted, then glared wide-eyed.
"Let's go! We march right up and demand our due!"
"Ah! Yes, let's!"
"Brother! Me too! Take me too!"
Hearts aligned, the three sprang up in unison.
The looming crisis of becoming permanent laborers spurred them into action.
Paeng Junghyeok tossed aside the straw in his hand and stomped toward Nangong Hyeok's quarters.
So Hye-yeon and Paeng Yeonhwa followed with resolute expressions.
Passersby startled at the sight of the trio and halted in their tracks.
"Young hero Nangong Hyeok! Are you in?!"
Paeng Junghyeok bellowed and flung open the door to Nangong Hyeok's quarters.
Bang!
"Young hero Nangong Hye...ok?"
Through the wide-open door, Nangong Hyeok came into view.
A lavish spread of food covered the table, and Nangong Hyeok lounged against it at a slant.
Nom nom!
Nangong Hyeok popped a cherry into his mouth and chewed it with relish.
"Oh, you're here?"
You're here?
He'd trekked a thousand li round trip and returned, only to bust his ass hauling fodder until now—yet this guy was munching cherries?
Cherries?
Well, look, he's got a wine bottle too.
And the floor was littered with empty bottles like a graveyard.
"Got something to say?"
Nangong Hyeok asked while obnoxiously chewing cherries, as if he knew exactly what was up—smirking all the while.
Paeng Junghyeok trembled with rage.
"Didn't you say you'd teach me one line from the latter half of the Blade King Chronicles if I returned within a fortnight?"
"Oh, was it a fortnight?"
"Yes. I came back in just ten days."
"Why'd you come back so fast? I didn't expect you this quick."
What the hell? You little...
Paeng Junghyeok forced himself to stay calm.
"Then how about now..."
"Ah, hold on. Hold on. If I try to recite it right away, I won't remember."
"I'll wait, so now..."
"Hey, don't rush me. I'm the elder here."
You think you're my elder, you punk!
Paeng Junghyeok clenched his teeth and held back.
Nangong Hyeok rubbed his temple in circles with a finger, then spoke.
"Okay, latter half."
"Hurry!"
"Write this down."
"Yes!"
Paeng Junghyeok hurriedly fetched brush, ink, and paper.
"The Hegemonic Blade is..."
"The Hegemonic Blade is!"
"The Hegemonic Blade..."
"Hegemonic Blade!"
"Hegem..."
"Heg..."
"Why just 'Heg' over and over?"
Paeng Junghyeok stared at Nangong Hyeok, looking at the words he'd written: "The Hegemonic Blade is Hegemonic Blade, Heg."
Nangong Hyeok pondered blankly, then said.
"...Forgot it."
"Yes?"
"I forgot. That's why I said don't rush me."
"No! The incantation..."
What kind of guy is this?
Can't even memorize one line?
This from the man who remembers every boast he made back at the Paeng family in Hebei?
*This punk's just using me, confirmed.*
Paeng Junghyeok was speechless.
As he trembled in fury, Paeng Yeonhwa shouted from behind.
"Young master! You said you'd guide my martial arts if I helped with the work! When are you doing that?!"
So Hye-yeon shouted right back.
"You said you'd spar with me after my escort run!"
"I'm first! You promised to guide my martial arts!"
"Mine was promised back from the Hebei Paeng family! You've only sparred with me once before!"
"Martial guidance!"
"Sparring!"
"Martial guidance!"
"Sparring!"
"Martial..."
"Aaah! Enough!"
Nangong Hyeok scowled at the two bickering women.
"Fine, I'll do it! God, you're so damn loud. I was just trying to enjoy some wine after ages."
"..."
"Come on. Sparring, right?"
"Ah!"
While So Hye-yeon lit up, Paeng Yeonhwa shouted.
"What about my martial guidance?!"
"You come too!"
"Yes?"
"I'll teach you during sparring!"
"Ah! Yes!"
As Nangong Hyeok dragged the two women out, he grabbed the nape of Paeng Junghyeok, who stood there dazedly staring at the paper scrawled with "The Hegemonic Blade is Hegemonic Blade, Heg."
"You too."
"Yes? But the Blade King Chronicles..."
"Too annoying—let's do it all at once."
"No, you fuck..."
"Fuck?"
"Ten exchanges! Ten exchanges! Ten!"
Startled by Nangong Hyeok's glaring eyes, Paeng Junghyeok fumbled to cover.
*Damn it all!*
Nangong Hyeok spoke in an irritated tone.
"Yeah, ten exchanges. Good! I'll specially transmit my ultimate technique to you all today. That satisfy you?"
While So Hye-yeon and Paeng Yeonhwa's eyes sparkled, Paeng Junghyeok's face rotted in dread.
He calls it "special transmission," but to me it sounds like "I'll show you hell."
Just then, Nangong Hyeok's lips twisted in a perfect smirk.
And Paeng Junghyeok was certain.
His premonition was spot on.
Damn, ten exchanges.
Paeng Junghyeok made a miserable face as he was dragged along by the nape, following Nangong Hyeok.