Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Road to the Academy (1)
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Silver Radiance Merchant Group's escort drill hall.
"Sing while marching. The song praises the splendid merchants."
"Splendid... merchants."
"Louder! Should I add lead weights one by one to your packs to make your voices boom?!"
"Splendid!!! Merchants!!!!"
"Begin the song. One. Two. Three. Four. Splendid!"
"Splendid! Merchants! Plenty and plenty!!"
It had been a full fortnight since Eon Yong-un, wearing his red hat, led two fierce escorts and the rest of the new recruits in sweating blood and tears as they climbed and descended Lianhua Peak over and over.
A fortnight.
The world is vast, but in a fortnight, even footless horses could traverse a thousand li with time to spare.
Countless pieces of news crossed the Yangtze, forded the Yellow River, scaled the Great Bashan Mountains, and spread to every corner of the land.
Among them, naturally, were tidings of Eon Yong-un's exploits.
However, the people of the world paid little heed to the wastrel of the Pearl Eon Family, now ousted from one of the Five Great Families.
Of course, when the initial news broke that the eldest son of the Eon Family had been expelled from his clan, tongues wagged everywhere.
But most reactions were lighthearted: "Even a family like that produced such a hopeless scoundrel?!" or "It must not have been easy to disown one's own flesh and blood—the family head is a heartless man after all."
In a world where not a single day passed without turmoil, bigger events soon overshadowed it, and the matter faded quickly.
Thus, by now, scarcely anyone cared about Eon Yong-un's whereabouts.
Yet, there were rare exceptions, and chief among them was the Pearl Eon Family in Jinju, northern Hebei.
"Alas, the days grow ever chillier. Where in the world is our eldest young master, and what might he be doing? I wonder if he's eating properly."
"Even you, the seasoned steward, worrying like that? I'm thrilled, myself! Back when Young Master Yong-un was at Yun Pavilion, didn't everything—food, dishes, people—end up broken or spilled the moment it went in?!"
"I understand you servants' feelings, but from my perspective, having watched him grow up, it's not so simple. People often change when cornered. Tsk tsk. He was so clever as a child... How did he ever touch that vile stuff...?"
Of course, most such concerns ended with a fleeting thought.
But there was one who rarely, very rarely, sought to learn what Eon Yong-un was up to.
"Mother! I've brought the news you've been waiting for!"
"Y-Yong-myeong?"
None other than Eon Yong-un's younger brother, Eon Yong-myeong, and his mother, the Plum Blossom Madam.
"Yes! Mother! It's me! May I come in?"
"I'll send word separately, so return to your quarters for now, Yong-myeong."
"But it's news of my brother, and it feels urgent..."
Creak—
"News of whom?!"
"Ah, Father is here too?"
At that moment, Eon Yong-myeong realized his mistake.
In his haste to deliver the hard-won news of his brother to his mother, he hadn't closely monitored their father Eon Jeong-ung's movements.
"Yes. But what bizarre claim comes from your mouth? Whose news do you bring?"
"......"
In a great family, the family head's word is absolute.
Thus, from the day Eon Yong-un was banished, talk of him became an unspoken taboo in the Pearl Eon Family.
To probe that taboo was to defy the family head's will outright.
"...It's news of my brother."
"...You've done something foolish."
Of course, any backlash would hardly scorch the Plum Blossom Madam or Eon Yong-myeong himself, but the underlings were the issue.
Those who had merely followed orders from above could suffer for it.
Eon Yong-myeong swallowed hard.
"I-I'm sorry."
"...But you've already paid a considerable sum to obtain that news, haven't you?"
"......?"
"And expended effort as well?"
"...Y-Yes. That's right."
As the conversation unfolded, Eon Yong-myeong sensed a trace of lingering fondness and worry for Eon Yong-un in his father's heart.
He set aside his earlier anxiety and cautiously spoke.
"...Then, Father, would you like to hear your son's news as well?"
"...Ahem. This isn't a matter for open air. Come inside first."
"So, what is your older brother up to, and where?"
"It seems he's taken shelter with a merchant group."
With that opening, Eon Yong-myeong began laying out the intelligence in his hands, piece by piece.
"He started in Jinneung. It appears he forged ties there as a guest escort for the merchant group."
Eon Yong-myeong had provided Eon Yong-un with a map and knew he had initially headed south to Jiangnan.
Moreover, Yin Xia Lian, grateful to Eon Yong-un and hoping for even a sliver of his honor's restoration, had supplemented it with what she knew and sent him north to Hebei.
Thanks to that, while Eon Yong-myeong lacked the fine details, he grasped the major events.
"Next was Taihu. There, he distributed herbs and silver taels to the beggars in the slums."
"Where did a banished wretch get that much silver so quickly?!"
"......"
"...It must have come from the madam."
"...I'm sorry, Lord Husband."
"I'm not blaming you. No parent hurts equally over all ten fingers. It was natural for you to worry. It was my failing that stirred such feelings in you first—don't make that face."
"...Lord Husband."
"I simply can't fathom why this absurd boy did such things. A man who borrowed every coin he could in Hebei for gambling, now crossing the Yangtze to play the gentleman..."
As Eon Jeong-ung puzzled over Eon Yong-un's incomprehensible actions, stroking his chin,
Eon Yong-myeong spoke up.
"That's exactly it, Father."
"What is?"
"You know there are many suspicious aspects to the incidents that led to our brother's expulsion from the family, don't you?"
"......"
"The one who took the money and manuals turned up dead, but the cash and goods vanished like smoke. There might be more our brother hasn't confessed. Or perhaps he's already shouldering those unspoken truths, wandering the world alone! That could mean the Eon Family has wronged him!"
"......"
"We must summon him back and hear the full story. If there's misunderstanding, we should consider restoring his status..."
But Eon Yong-myeong's words could not continue.
Eon Jeong-ung held up his palm, signaling to stop.
"But Father!"
"The answer lies in what you've said. Even if there's more as you claim, that day as family head, I asked if I had nothing more to say to Yong-un. What was your brother's reply?"
"...You have nothing more to say, he replied."
"Was a question in the family head's name a light matter?"
"...No, it wasn't."
"He's lived by the Eon Family's discipline for years—he knows that well. Yet he answered thus. That leaves only the fact that he gambled away the family's secrets. Am I wrong?"
"...No, you're not."
"So enough worrying about your brother. Focus on your own path. The new year is months away, but the Righteous Martial Academy entrance exam is nearly upon you, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Thanks to the Nine Great Gates and other families' consideration, you skip the first hurdle. But their scrutiny will be sharper for it. You must shine in the remaining trials without shame. Do you understand?"
"...Yes, Father."
"Then return to your quarters."
"Yes."
Once Eon Yong-myeong had departed, Eon Jeong-ung's gaze naturally drifted to the open window facing south.
"...Unspoken truths, you say. Yong-un, you fool—what are you thinking, wandering about like this?"
Days gathered into weeks, weeks into months, and with two months passed, the year filled up and the new year arrived.
In this new year,
the Silver Radiance Merchant Group held a graduation ceremony for its new escorts.
"At ease!"
Snap—snap—snap snap snap—
"Attention!"
Snap—snap—snap snap snap—
"Salute the Merchant Lord!"
"Loyal!"
Under Yin Xia Lian's crisp commands as representative, the owls moved in perfect unison, as if of one body.
Even Southern Jiang Merchant King Eun Se-pyeong let out a gasp of admiration.
"I entrusted them to you, but this is impressive. No exaggeration—they'd put the imperial guards to shame. These are really just two months' work?"
"Unless the meaning of 'month' changed in the interim?"
"Today confirms once more that your boldness has foundation. If you stayed under this Eun Se-pyeong, I'd gladly pay ten thousand gold on the spot. What say you? Still heading to Hobuk for the Righteous Martial Academy exam as planned?"
"Yes. My resolve is firm."
"Ha. Regrettable, but unavoidable. You may not know, but Hayeon and Haseong are taking the exam too. Yours is a sure pass. If my lacking children make it, look after your new classmates now and then."
"Just words?"
"Would the man called Southern Jiang's Merchant King do that? Here, something substantial for travel expenses."
"Feels heavy enough not to disappoint."
It was then.
As he gauged the weight of the pouch from Eun Se-pyeong,
his master's voice echoed in his mind from his waist pouch.
—Hmmm.
Master?
Why the displeased hum all of a sudden?
I've fully digested the remaining power of the Manbak Heart-Protecting Pill thanks to the Damcheon Spirit Spring.
I've trained day and night as you commanded, perfecting the footwork foundational to the Heaven-Splitting Ten Swords.
And now I've got plenty of travel money?
—Hmph. I can't fathom why a disciple of mine wants to enter some Righteous Martial Academy or whatever—that's why.
'Why not?'
—Think! An academy is where master-disciple bonds form. You're already of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect—why enter one? It's baffling.
'Haven't I consistently mentioned the Righteous Martial Academy entrance during our visits to borrow secluded chambers or negotiations with the Merchant King? You said nothing then—why now?'
—Back then, I figured it was a convenient excuse with no real intent. I didn't know you meant it. What are you thinking?!
What else?
'To suck the honey, obviously.'
—Honey?
Most major events in the original story revolve around the Righteous Martial Academy.
To confirm if the plot follows the original flow and reap the benefits from the gaps, I have to go there.
Of course, I can't tell Master about the "original story."
But even without that, I could sway him.
'In your era, didn't those long-nosed Taoists hoard elixirs, treasured swords, and manuals, devouring them among themselves?'
—They did.
'Not anymore, since the Righteous Martial Academy was founded.'
—Those tiger-nosed fools wouldn't share such things.
'Nominally, they do. They established the academy, distributing them based on scores from exams and assignments they oversee. That's why vast talents flock like stars, birthing the saying 'Horses to the plains, warriors to the Righteous Martial Academy.'
—Hmph. Hypocrisy. In the end, only their approved disciples or those who crawl under them rise—it's rigged that way!
'Usually, yes. But is your disciple ordinary?'
—...No, he's not. Practically a con artist.
'...?'
—...And Heaven-Splitting martial arts are far from ordinary... Wait, I can picture those long-nosed fools tearfully coughing up elixirs and treasures meant for their own!
Exactly. Exactly.
That's why I have to go.
Plus, there's one reason I haven't told Master.
'Why did Sword Demon Wi Cheol-jin become a public enemy in his time?'
The answer: he was a powerhouse outside the righteous factions' fence, and he slapped away their outstretched hands because he didn't like them.
The path of Master, who tensed the world with a single sword.
'Impressive.'
But I had no intention of treading the exact same road.
'No need.'
If there's someone I dislike, enter the fence and beat them.
Then it's not enmity—it's just proper instruction or sparring.
Just as I've always done.
I'll walk my own path.