Changing an Unfortunate Future (1)
At this point, Seok Geum-ryong was the only one besides the Heaven-Earth Scholar, Na Cheon-lip, who knew how to take the Heaven's Promise Pill.
And his method had struck true without a single miss.
He had succeeded in fully melting the pill’s immense efficacy into his entire body.
The result!
‘Unbelievable! I’ve only just stepped into martial arts, and yet... my inner energy is on the level of a Zenith Realm master!’
At the very least, when it came to inner energy alone, there was nothing lacking compared to a master of the Zenith Realm.
For a martial artist who had only recently entered the path to possess such inner energy was absurd.
It was like starting out with conditions far superior to everyone else who was just taking their first steps.
“Ho ho ho.”
Seok Geum-ryong had expected this much, but now that a novice martial artist truly possessed the inner energy of the Zenith Realm, he felt dazed.
It was probably the first time in the world that such a badly unbalanced novice had ever existed.
‘After all, martial arts and a martial artist are not things that can be determined by inner energy alone.’
Even though he now possessed the inner energy of a Zenith Realm master, Seok Geum-ryong still had not reached even First-class level. A martial artist’s realm could rise to a higher stage only when inner energy, understanding of forms, accomplishment, and enlightenment all moved in harmony.
‘Still, there’s nothing to worry about.’
His understanding and mastery of martial arts and forms had already been achieved in his previous life, settled firmly in his mind. What remained was simply correcting the lopsided balance.
“Now that my inner energy has risen dramatically and I’ve grown accustomed to the Northern Dipper Cultivation Technique... it’s time to learn the first form of the Heaven-Shattering Seven Stars Sword Technique.”
If inner energy was an arrow, then forms were the bow.
Now that he had arrows to spare, Seok Geum-ryong had to learn how to draw a proper bow and shoot straight before anything else.
‘When I first learned the Northern Dipper arts in my previous life, I had nothing and had achieved nothing. I was helpless. But now things are different.’
He was starting with the inner energy of a Zenith Realm master before he had properly begun, and more importantly, with the enlightenment of the Northern Dipper Swordsman from his previous life.
‘About three weeks remain until that damned assassin arrives and cripples Seok Geum-ryong’s legs.’
What Seok Geum-ryong had to do was learn the first form of the Heaven-Shattering Seven Stars Sword Technique by any means necessary and blast that bastard assassin to pieces.
＊ ＊ ＊
Three weeks passed, short and long at once.
During that time, Seok Geum-ryong trained quietly and relentlessly, waiting for the arrival of the first assassin in his life as Seok Geum-ryong.
Some might have thought it would be easier to strengthen security in advance or report to his superiors that an assassin might strike soon, but that was out of the question.
‘My support is still pitifully weak, and the number of men I can mobilize for security is limited.’
Above all, the identity of the first assassin meant that even if he warned people in advance, it would be pointless.
Even after that first attempt, threats and crises would keep coming, no matter how thick the guard was.
‘So the fundamental solution is to make myself strong enough to protect myself.’
That was the only way.
Seok Geum-ryong kept a short dagger, secretly hidden for self-defense, deep within his body as he waited for the right moment.
“Young Master! Young Master Geum-ryong!”
At that moment, someone came rushing in, flustered and breathless.
It was one of the few outstanding talents in the small estate where Seok Geum-ryong stayed, the Scholar in Blue, Gong Sang-pil.
“Butler Gong. What is it?”
“Have you heard? Miss Seok Myo-hee, the eldest daughter of Lord Seokga and Young Master Geum-ryong’s elder sister, has been attacked by assassins of unknown origin!”
Gong Sang-pil spoke in a panic, so shocked that he could not even steady his breathing.
‘So it’s begun.’
Hearing that, Seok Geum-ryong sensed that the first crisis of his life had arrived.
It was a story he had heard dozens of times from the owner of his former life.
And the source of that crisis began with none other than the attack on Seok Myo-hee, the eldest daughter of the Lord of Seokga Manor.
Besides, Seok Myo-hee was one of the few blood relatives he could communicate with at all.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So from the main residence, an order has come down to strengthen the escort around the five young masters and the three young ladies, the lord’s heirs.”
As he said that, Gong Sang-pil raised a hand and pointed outside.
As expected, additional troops from the main residence were entering the small estate where Seok Geum-ryong stayed.
“Hmm.”
Seok Geum-ryong looked at them with an unreadable expression.
Sharp-eyed and intelligent, Gong Sang-pil was quietly surprised by the sight.
How strange. The Young Master, who is usually so interested in martial arts and martial artists, is keeping himself in check.
If he had been the usual Seok Geum-ryong, he would have rushed forward in delight at the sight of warriors from the main residence.
But something felt off.
Even when he had heard about the attack on Seok Myo-hee, he had not seemed all that shocked.
“Please, come in.”
However, Gong Sang-pil’s thoughts did not get to continue.
There was simply too much to do in Seok Geum-ryong’s estate.
He greeted the five warriors newly arrived from the main residence.
“Young Master. These are the men assigned to guard you thoroughly until the lord’s order is lifted.”
“I’m pleased to meet you.”
Only then, with some reluctance, did Seok Geum-ryong exchange greetings in response to Gong Sang-pil’s words.
There was a separate reason his expression had soured.
‘One of those five men is the assassin... the one who tried to kill Young Master Seok Geum-ryong and ended up leaving him crippled for life!’
To his surprise, one of the extra warriors sent from the main residence to protect Seok Geum-ryong was hiding as a treacherous assassin.
‘In my previous life, Young Master Seok Geum-ryong said the man who suddenly turned on him while on escort duty was a broad-faced man from the south with a long beard, and that his main weapon was a spear-wielding martial artist.’
Since he had only heard of the event secondhand rather than witnessing it directly, he could not identify the culprit at a glance.
He also vaguely remembered hearing the name and alias of that culprit long ago, but it had been so many years that he could not recall them properly.
At the time, he had not pried deeply, and the Gold-Selling Swordsman himself had not bothered to ask for the detailed name and alias of some petty assassin.
So all he truly remembered was this: a broad-faced martial artist with a long beard who used a spear.
Coincidentally, there were two men with beards longer than necessary.
“Greetings, Young Master Seok Geum-ryong. I’m Gwan Po, known as the Beautiful Beard.”
“I am Woo Jun-rae, the Flying Horse Spear.”
Because both of them were spear users with full beards.
What made matters even worse was that Gwan Po and Woo Jun-rae looked so similar that even now, after hearing and memorizing that story dozens of times, he still couldn’t be certain.
‘Which of the two is it?’
So rather than being certain, Seok Geum-ryong first decided to keep his distance from both of them.
If he prepared in advance, the culprit would eventually have to show his claws.
“I’ll be relying on you all.”
Seok Geum-ryong welcomed the five new warriors into the estate with a smile far too mature for a child.
With that, cohabitation began with the vicious assassin hiding his claws among the five warriors.
“Young Master, forgive me for saying so, but when you go to the bath, we must accompany you.”
As promised, the five warriors’ escort was airtight.
It was so thorough that they always accompanied Seok Geum-ryong even when he went to wash or relieve himself.
“Very well.”
The five warriors took turns guarding him, and on the days when Gwan Po or Woo Jun-rae was assigned as his one-on-one escort, Seok Geum-ryong was inwardly tense and on guard.
While accompanying Gwan Po to the bath, Seok Geum-ryong watched him warily in case he made a move, but as expected...
“If you’re done, you may return.”
Neither Gwan Po nor Woo Jun-rae revealed any claws.
Even after several days passed with the situation remaining unchanged, he could not help but wonder.
‘Could it be that the Young Master was so severely shocked back then that... he mistook the assassin’s appearance or weapon?’
No matter how sharp and intelligent the Seok Geum-ryong of the previous life had been, once his life had been threatened and he had suffered a crippling injury that left him limping for the rest of his life, his memories could easily have been distorted.
In truth, human memory was far less accurate than people liked to think, and it often changed under shock.
As he entertained that thought, Seok Geum-ryong shook his head.
‘No. Even in a panic, Young Master Seok Geum-ryong would not make such a mistake.’
He had confidence that he knew Seok Geum-ryong better than anyone except Seok Geum-ryong himself.
More than even his own father, Seok Ji-sung.
Seok Geum-ryong had been an exceptionally clever and intelligent child since he was young, so there was no way he could have been mistaken.
The warrior who had turned from his protector into an assassin had to be either Gwan Po or Woo Jun-rae, one of the two.
“......!!”
Then suddenly, something came back to him.
“Ah, right! That assassin had a strangely strong smell of musk.”
It was very distinctive.
Musk was a fragrance women, especially women from pleasure quarters, often used, and it was entirely out of place on a martial artist.
Especially for Gwan Po and Woo Jun-rae, who looked like heroes straight out of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it was absurd to imagine such a scent on them.
“Yes. That’s definitely him.”
After thinking it through, Seok Geum-ryong smiled brightly.
He had identified the culprit perfectly.
Now all that remained was to subdue him before the assassin struck first.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Young Master. Please retire to your chambers.”
Tonight’s guard and all-night watchman was Woo Jun-rae, the Flying Horse Spear.
“Yaaawn...”
The five warriors had been keeping a steel-tight watch for more than seven days and nights already.
Had fatigue piled up from that?
Woo Jun-rae let out a long yawn, then met Seok Geum-ryong’s unwavering gaze boring into the back of his head and gave an awkward laugh.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. You must be worn out.”
As if he understood everything, Seok Geum-ryong moved with Woo Jun-rae toward the bed.
The two, who had become much closer now, found themselves making all sorts of casual conversation.
“The night is long again today.”
“Is it? Then may I tell you something interesting?”
“You, Young Master? Yes, of course.”
Woo Jun-rae had grown bored from a long and uneventful watch, so he needed someone to talk to.
As he said, nights spent on all-night duty were very long.
“There was once a certain martial artist.”
“Ah, I see. A story about a martial artist. Those are always interesting.”
“He was a bodyguard assigned to protect a wealthy family.”
“That’s pretty close to my situation.”
“Listen to the end. That bodyguard was skilled and well liked by everyone around him, but then... he fell hopelessly in love with a courtesan from a red pleasure house and ended up running out of money.”
“......”
Woo Jun-rae, who had been showing interest in Seok Geum-ryong’s story, sensed something deeply off and fell silent at once.
After all, it was only natural to lose your voice when a child not even fully grown was talking about a pleasure house, and specifically a red pleasure house where men and women bought and sold deep intimacy.
“That bodyguard became completely desperate. If he couldn’t see her smile even for a day, he felt like he’d go mad. Then one day, someone approached him and made an offer.”
“...Please stop.”
“If he killed the young master of the wealthy family he protected and brought back his head, they would pay him a great deal of money, and even help him get together with the courtesan from the red house.”
“It’s late. Please sleep.”
Contrary to his words telling him it was late and to get some rest, the killing intent in Woo Jun-rae’s eyes had soaked through to the bone.
That was right.
That story was his story in every detail, and thanks to spending time with that courtesan so often that it was practically every other day, musk had been reeking off his whole body, and he had yawned every day while complaining of being tired.