Blue-Robed Scholar (5)
Moon Spirit Sword Lady Im So-gun. Bringing her along had truly been worth it.
Seok Geum-ryong had asked her for help without saying a word about the details, just in case, and sure enough, it had worked exactly as intended.
"P-please spare us! Please!"
"If you let us live, I’ll tell you the next contact point too."
"No, I’ll serve under Young Master Seok Geum-ryong! I’ll switch sides!"
When Im So-gun, a superb martial artist they could not even begin to compare themselves to, drew her sword and advanced, Ju Baek-ryun and the others trembled violently, their limbs shaking as they babbled in terror.
Even Ju Baek-ryun, the wandering expert who had been getting offers from all directions thanks to his wealth of information and genuinely competent martial skill, blurted out that he would defect to Seok Geum-ryong's side.
"I'm sorry, but I don't work with rats."
Seok Geum-ryong cut him off at once, rejecting him with brutal delight and plunging Ju Baek-ryun into despair.
"Don't worry. You'll lose your breath before you even feel the pain."
On top of that, Im So-gun offered those terrifying words with a beautiful smile, and Ju Baek-ryun and the martial artists around him looked as though their minds were about to shatter.
"Aaaah! Aaaah!"
In the end, with their nerves completely broken, they rushed at Im So-gun in a desperate frenzy.
-Moon Spirit Tranquil Wave!
Their move only hastened death.
Fluttering!
The Moon Spirit Sword Lady, a genius of the Great Yin Severance Meridians who had reached the Super Peak realm at such a young age, was truly fearsome with the sword.
Her blade carried no dazzling sword gang, no overwhelming sword wind.
It simply moved toward her enemies like faint moonlight rippling across still water.
Thuk, thuuuk!
And like a lie, it beheaded martial experts who had reached the first-class level.
Just how unreal was that scene? Even Seok Geum-ryong and Shin Dan-woo were stunned.
As expected of a Super Peak master!
Her skill is even sharper than it was in my previous life.
In his former life, Im So-gun had been a level or two below the Gold-Selling Swordsman Woo Do-min, but now she had grown stronger than even that.
Of course, the reason she had become stronger was the treatment she had received from Seok Geum-ryong and the Golden Needle Venerable Yeo Gwang-rae.
That treatment had allowed Seok Geum-ryong to draw upon both extreme yang and extreme yin energy, deepening his internal power to a towering degree; likewise, Im So-gun had gained insight and internal force, ascending to an even higher rank.
In the end, the result had been mutually beneficial in the truest sense, and because of it Im So-gun had made her resolve.
-No matter what happens, I’ll stay with Young Master Seok Geum-ryong.
She had already been fated to die before reaching thirty because of her Great Yin Severance Meridians, yet that fate had opened into something brighter here, and so she had decided to give both her strength and her youth to Seok Geum-ryong.
Besides, if her internal energy had risen thanks to him, then where in the world could she find a benefactor more precious than this?
"H-hurk! H-huuurk..."
Ju Baek-ryun, the wandering expert who had once spoken down to Seok Geum-ryong and treated him like a walking corpse the first time they met, was now the one turned into a corpse-in-waiting, writhing in despair.
"Right, where was the contact point again? Who are you meeting?"
That was when Seok Geum-ryong asked.
"The meeting place is the vacant lot by the west side gate in Namyeong-won! T-there! Young Master Seok Ju-woo, no, Seok Ju-woo that bastard will be waiting there himself!"
Ju Baek-ryun shouted in a panic.
He was certain this was the best chance he had to survive, the one and only lifeline before him.
"Thank you. Go in peace."
Of course, it was nothing more than Seok Geum-ryong toying with him.
He wanted the information, and nothing more. He had no intention whatsoever of sparing Ju Baek-ryun.
"Y-you! Damn you! Aaaah!"
Only after the fact did Ju Baek-ryun realize that he had not merely been deceived but completely played for a fool. He screamed in despair, but even that cry was swallowed by Im So-gun's immense internal force, reduced to a hollow shriek.
Swish!
In the end, Ju Baek-ryun, like the rest of his men, met a miserable end and became one more soul lost from the world with a sound that made one's bones turn cold.
"I'll take care of the aftermath."
Shin Dan-woo, the Shadowless One, continued to marvel at Im So-gun's terrifying skill, one that was far beyond what her age should have allowed. Then he collected himself and began clearing away the bodies as quickly as possible.
"You've worked hard."
After offering a formal fist salute toward Shin Dan-woo and Im So-gun as they handled the cleanup, Seok Geum-ryong finally paid a direct visit to the Gong couple's home.
Seok Ju-woo is a vicious, persistent sort.
In other words, even if Ju Baek-ryun died, he might still capture the Gong couple or kill them out of spite.
These were the only family members of Gong Sang-pil, the Blue-Robed Scholar whom Seok Geum-ryong cherished and considered family.
He could not sacrifice such precious people for nothing.
"Are you there?"
After the horrible corpses had been perfectly dealt with, Seok Geum-ryong took out the valuables and money he had prepared in advance and straightened his somewhat disordered clothes.
"Who is it?"
Once Im So-gun's internal-energy barrier, which had muffled all sound and noise, was withdrawn and Seok Geum-ryong's call finally reached the old couple's thatched house, the Gong couple cautiously opened the door a crack.
Through that narrow gap appeared a young master so handsome and refined that he seemed almost impossibly aristocratic.
"Greetings. I am Seok Geum-ryong, living and working alongside Butler Gong Sang-pil."
The moment Seok Geum-ryong introduced himself, the old couple nearly caused an uproar.
"Good heavens!"
"Young Master Seok Geum-ryong? Then you're the young master of Seokga Manor whom our Sang-pil serves, aren't you?"
"Oh dear! How could you come to a place as humble as this!"
With Seok Geum-ryong appearing so unexpectedly at such a late hour, the Gong couple, who had lived their lives in modesty and raised Gong Sang-pil properly, sprang to their feet at once and treated him with utmost courtesy.
"Our Sang-pil has been causing you many troubles, hasn't he?"
"That boy never stops praising Young Master Seok Geum-ryong. Even folks like us from the countryside have heard plenty."
The Gong couple had spent their lives in obscurity, but they knew manners, possessed literary grace, and had a refined bearing.
They also understood very well that the reason they were able to eat three square meals and not go hungry, even in their later years, was because Gong Sang-pil served Seok Geum-ryong with such devoted sincerity.
So great was their gratitude that it was almost impossible to measure.
"Not at all. I'm the one who ought to be ashamed. Butler Gong Sang-pil takes care of me far too well."
Looking at the Gong couple, who kept bowing repeatedly to him, Seok Geum-ryong came to understand why Gong Sang-pil in his former life had had to choose poison and take his own life.
Ju Baek-ryun, Seok Ju-woo! You actually tried to kill such good people?
The Gong couple were ordinary parents in the truest sense: they lost sleep out of gratitude and worry for their son, nothing more.
Thinking of the people who had threatened such kind souls for their own gain, Seok Geum-ryong's anger naturally flared.
But only for a moment.
"Butler Gong is so capable, so skilled... my own pitiful, disgraceful circumstances improved dozens of times over. That is why I brought gifts as well."
Seok Geum-ryong was the sort of man who knew how to uphold his subordinates' dignity properly.
He had deliberately brought generous praise and several valuable gifts before the Gong couple, who were always fretting over their son.
"Oh, these are far too precious."
"We can't possibly accept them!"
As expected of people who had lived their entire lives in integrity, they refused again and again, leading to a little back-and-forth, but Seok Geum-ryong's resolve could not be shaken.
And there was one more thing.
"Butler Gong and I are no different from blood brothers. If he is like family to me, then your parents are my parents as well. So I would like to move the two of you personally to the manor in Bukcheon-won, where Butler Gong resides."
He also made sure to move the Gong couple to the safe estate in Bukcheon-won, so that Seok Ju-woo and his vile faction could never target them again.
They tried to refuse this as well, saying they did not want to burden their son, but when Seok Geum-ryong told them they could watch their son working hard with their own eyes, they finally agreed.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
"To think our Sang-pil serves such a good master. It is a source of pride for the Gong family."
After Gong Sang-pil, the Blue-Robed Scholar, had died by poison in his previous life, his foster parents had been dealt with in the most gruesome fashion, without a trace.
Now, hearing the words they had most longed to hear all their lives, praise and admiration for their son, they became the happiest parents in the world, at least for this one day.
* * *
As Seok Geum-ryong returned to Bukcheon-won and arranged a proper residence for the Gong couple, he even remembered to have the legendary physician Yeo Gwang-rae personally treat them with acupuncture and decoctions to keep their health in order.
"Young Master!"
The very next day, Gong Sang-pil approached Seok Geum-ryong with red-rimmed eyes.
When asked what had happened, it turned out to be this:
"Thank you. Thanks to you, Young Master... a worthless man like me finally got to do something that feels like filial piety."
It was the first time Gong Sang-pil had shown tears since meeting Seok Geum-ryong, and he was overwhelmed with emotion, his throat tight.
It mattered that the master he served treated him well, of course, but to be kind to his parents and acquaintances as well, and even restore his honor in front of them, could there be anything better than that?
"No. Once we secured Bukcheon-won, I should have brought them here long ago. I should have taken care of it earlier. I'm sorry."
"Not at all."
"And I hear your parents' birthdays are close to mine?"
There was one more thing Seok Geum-ryong had not known.
It turned out that the Gong couple's birthdays were similar to his own, but because Gong Sang-pil served him, they had never once held a birthday feast for them.
"Then this is perfect. Why don't we celebrate my birthday together and host them both at the same time?"
"Y-young Master!"
Was there another lord in this world who took care of people this well?
The Blue-Robed Scholar Gong Sang-pil was moved to tears once again, his heart full.
There is no one else who understands his subordinates this well. I am ready to lay down my life for Young Master Seok Geum-ryong!
Even without this, Gong Sang-pil had already been devoted to Seok Geum-ryong more than anyone else.
Now, because of this affair, he resolved to give him everything he had and serve him with his whole being.
With this, I have succeeded in saving Butler Gong.
Seok Geum-ryong looked at Gong Sang-pil, who was returning home in splendor thanks to him, repaying his parents with great filial piety and overflowing with happiness.
Just as Gong Sang-pil felt happiness, so too did Seok Geum-ryong feel immense satisfaction and joy.
In his previous life, Gong Sang-pil had been forced into a horrific choice between his beloved foster parents and the young master he cherished as though he were his own life, with only one of them able to be saved.
Had he not even taken poison and killed himself out of guilt for saving Seok Geum-ryong but failing to save his parents?
"Butler Gong."
"Yes?"
"You must stay healthy and remain by my side for a thousand years, ten thousand years."
Seok Geum-ryong smiled brighter than ever and wrapped his small arms around the smiling Gong Sang-pil, patting him gently.
"Of course. I intend to live exactly one day longer than you, Young Master."
"Hm? Why?"
"Because as your subordinate, shouldn't I be there to handle your funeral before I leave without regrets?"
"Pfft! Your flattery's gotten better!"
Seok Geum-ryong had completely rescued Gong Sang-pil from the threat of poison.
He was pleased enough, but he was not yet satisfied.
Now that I know who was relentlessly targeting me... I suppose it's time to exact that revenge properly.
Seok Geum-ryong was not the sort of man who would simply sit there and take it.