The Long-Awaited Reunion
As dawn broke, Cheonhwa made his way to the Haedong Merchant Group.
“Is anyone there?”
He called out loudly in front of the main house. A moment later, an elderly man emerged. He appeared quite advanced in years.
The old man scanned Cheonhwa from head to toe with wary eyes before asking bluntly.
“Who are you?”
His gruff tone hardly seemed welcoming, but Cheonhwa figured that would change once the man learned his identity.
“I’ve come to see my maternal grandfather and grandmother.”
The old man stared at him with an expression that screamed What kind of nonsense is this?
“Mother told me that if I ever needed help, I should come to my mother’s family. Now that I’m here, though, it looks like I’ll be the one offering assistance instead. Haha!”
Cheonhwa laughed awkwardly.
“What? This fellow…”
When the old man grew angry and began scolding him, Cheonhwa simply smiled and replied.
“Whether my words are true or false, wouldn’t you know for certain if you simply took me to see my grandfather and grandmother?”
The old man studied Cheonhwa’s relaxed demeanor, staring intently at his face.
“Hmm…”
There was a familiar resemblance in those features.
The old man covered Cheonhwa’s nose and mouth with his palm, then narrowed his eyes as he examined the boy’s eyes and forehead.
“Now that I look closer, it does seem familiar.”
Having lived as a servant in the Haedong Merchant Group for decades, the old man was practically family himself. The same could be said for everyone still working there; all of them shared long-standing ties with the household.
“How long do you intend to keep me standing out here?”
At Cheonhwa’s words, the old man finally led him inside.
The situation proved even more dire than it had appeared from outside the mansion.
“I heard the merchant group was still operating, but it seems things have grown quite difficult.”
“Ever since the great princess passed away… Huh?”
The old man, who had been about to respond, suddenly spun around in shock to stare at Cheonhwa’s face again.
“The great… princess…”
Only now did he understand why the face looked so familiar. His expression shifted to pure astonishment.
Cheonhwa offered a small smile and nodded. The old man suddenly burst out in a loud voice.
“Aigoo! Are you truly the great princess’s son? Aigoo, Amitabha… Thank you, Buddha of Infinite Life…!”
Tears welled up in the old man’s eyes from sheer joy.
His commotion in the courtyard at such an early hour brought an old woman storming out from the kitchen. She immediately began yelling at him.
“Has that old fool finally lost his mind? Why are you crying and carrying on like this from the crack of dawn?”
Her husky voice would have normally cowed him, but his joy outweighed everything else. He turned to her excitedly.
“You old hag, look who’s here!”
“That old geezer must be dying…”
She trailed off as her eyes finally landed on Cheonhwa standing beside him.
“If we have a guest, you should have said so.”
Her voice and expression transformed in an instant.
“No, you old woman. Stop gawking at our young master’s handsome face and look more carefully.”
The old woman wore an expression that suggested her husband had one foot in the grave, but she still stepped closer and examined Cheonhwa’s face.
“Huh?”
She tilted her head, then—like the old man before her—covered Cheonhwa’s mouth with one hand and studied him closely. Her eyes suddenly flew wide open.
“Old man, could this young master be…?”
“See? It’s the same. Those long eyebrows, the large eyes, the eyelashes and double eyelids, and those slightly upturned corners.”
The old man spoke as if exasperated, while the old woman could only stare at Cheonhwa with disbelief.
Then suddenly—
“Madam! Old master!”
The old woman shouted for the owners of the house and dashed into the inner courtyard.
Are these two the retainers of my grandfather and grandmother?
Cheonhwa could tell at a glance that both possessed considerable martial prowess.
The old woman soon returned from the inner residence, this time leading an elderly couple. Cheonhwa immediately recognized them as his maternal grandparents.
“Our Hwarin’s son…”
Years of worry and anxiety had clearly taken a heavy toll on them.
Cheonhwa straightened his clothes and offered them a deep, respectful bow.
“My name is Cheonhwa.”
The elderly couple gazed at him with trembling eyes.
“Are you truly our Hwarin’s child?”
“Yes, maternal grandfather. Mother gave me this and told me to come seek your help if I needed it.”
Cheonhwa removed the necklace and handed it to them.
The moment they saw it, they recognized the piece their daughter Hwarin had always worn.
“And Hwarin…?”
“She wished to remain a little longer with father, so she sent me ahead to the Central Plains.”
At the news that their daughter still lived, his grandfather’s face brightened considerably.
“Father?”
“That is correct.”
Yi Sang-woo—the former supreme leader of the Haedong Merchant Group, now retired from its daily operations—nodded at Cheonhwa’s answer and guided him inside.
“Jeok-sang, prepare some tea.”
“Understood.”
“Come inside, my boy. Let us talk properly.”
Cheonhwa followed Yi Sang-woo.
The inner residence was modest and frugal. The furniture that occupied portions of the walls bore the deep patina of long years and countless hands.
“Where is Hwarin?”
“Mother is living with father on Mungnyeong Island.”
“Mungnyeong Island?”
Yi Sang-woo had once prided himself on having traveled to every corner of the Central Plains in his merchant days, yet this name was entirely new to him.
“It is a small uninhabited island in the South Sea.”
“I see. But why did Hwarin not come with you?”
“She said it was better to remain on Mungnyeong Island with father for now. If she returned to the Central Plains, she would surely be branded a traitor. She plans to emerge with father once more time has passed.”
Ja-yeong, who had been listening quietly, asked.
“What sort of man is our Hwarin’s husband?”
“He currently lives as a fisherman alongside mother, but I only learned yesterday from an inn waiter that before meeting her, he was the great prince of the Demonic Cult. He always avoided speaking of himself, so…”
At the words great prince of the Demonic Cult, both Yi Sang-woo and Ja-yeong looked stunned.
“You mean the Demonic Prince Cheonwoo is our Hwarin’s husband?”
“That is what I was told. Father and mother developed feelings for each other when they first met. I heard that father abandoned the fight and took a sword strike from mother.”
Cheonhwa couldn’t quite bring himself to reveal the full truth—that after wounding each other in battle, they had tended their injuries on the island and fallen in love.
He recounted the entire story of his parents’ life in hiding.
“But there is something I wish to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Mother told me you were once called a great merchant.”
“Are you asking why we have fallen into this state?”
Cheonhwa said nothing, but his eyes gave the answer clearly enough.
“A merchant’s life is one of constant rise and fall. We face difficulties now, but time will slowly mend things.”
“If the merchant group struggles, would it not be wiser to sell this house, raise capital, and continue operations…”
“Child, this house is the place where our Hwarin must return to rest in comfort. We could sell everything else, but never this home.”
The warmth in Ja-yeong’s voice revealed just how deeply the couple had worried for their daughter.
“I’m sorry, grandmother.”
“There, there. Come here and let this grandmother embrace you.”
Ja-yeong pulled Cheonhwa into her arms.
He could feel everything—her breathing, the beating of her heart, the faint trembling of her skin.
It seems my parents were not the only ones who endured such hardship.
Perhaps his grandparents had suffered even more.
“Grandfather, grandmother. Until my parents leave Mungnyeong Island, I will look after you both.”
“Good. How lonely you must have been on that deserted island at such a young age.”
Cheonhwa waved his hands and insisted he had enjoyed his time there.
“This grandmother knows well from living with your grandfather. You’ve come to the right place. No matter how difficult, it is better to live among people than in isolation.”
Cheonhwa drew a small pouch from his robes and offered it to his grandfather.
“What is this?”
“Travel funds my parents gave me. Having lived only on the island, I don’t fully understand their value. They would be far more useful in your hands when the need arises.”
Yi Sang-woo opened the leather pouch. It was filled with unprocessed gemstones.
“These are…”
“Father drilled into a small mountain on the island while building our home and discovered a large quantity of gems. The pearls came from giant clams father caught in the sea.”
Yi Sang-woo’s eyes widened in shock as he examined the contents. Among them was a night-luminescent pearl the size of an adult fist.
“Jeok-sang, show Cheonhwa to the room Hwarin once used.”
Ja-yeong nodded, rose from her seat, and led Cheonhwa away.
Once everyone had left, Yi Sang-woo gazed into empty space and murmured softly.
“Thank you for remaining alive.”
After locating the Haedong Merchant Group, Cheonhwa settled in and learned the full details of the group’s decline from the old servant Yong-deok.
“So the problem is that there is no concrete evidence—only suspicion.”
“Exactly. If it were up to me, I’d rush over and beat those bastards senseless right now. But when I think about what comes after, I can’t bring myself to do it…”
“By the way, Grandpa Yong-deok, what level would your martial arts place you at in the Murim?”
Yong-deok looked at Cheonhwa. Seeing the young man’s easy smile, he gave a nod.
With a father who had been the great prince of the Demonic Cult and a mother who had served as the Wulin Alliance’s chief patroller and great princess, it stood to reason their son would have learned martial arts.
Yong-deok drew a triangle on the ground and marked a line across the very top.
“The greatest experts stand here. It includes the One Demon, Two Emperors, and Three Kings.”
“You mean the Heavenly Demon, Sword Emperor, Demonic Emperor, Poison King, Fist King, and Blade King?”
“Correct. Everyone acknowledges those names as the supreme experts of the Murim.”
“I heard about them from father.”
“Below them are the Hundred Great Experts of Murim—absolute-level martial artists capable of wielding real influence.”
“By absolute-level, do you mean those martial artists whom people throughout the Central Plains would immediately recognize?”
“Yes. Twenty-five years ago, the great princess was counted among them. In my opinion she could have defeated any of the Three Kings, but out of courtesy she never challenged them.”
“And my father?”
“The Demonic Prince was strong enough to stand beside the Two Emperors. It was said he had already inherited everything from the Heavenly Demon as the next leader of the Demonic Cult.”
Cheonhwa felt a surge of pride knowing his parents had earned such recognition throughout the Murim.
“However, experts from two organizations are excluded from the Hundred Great Experts.”
“Which two?”
“The Imperial Palace and the Demonic Cult.”
“I see…”
“They remain too shrouded in secrecy.”
Yong-deok drew another line further down.
“From here it becomes somewhat vague, but for convenience we call this the city-level experts.”
“Martial artists who made their names known across an entire province?”
“Precisely. There are usually no more than thirty per province. Most of them are leaders of the Nine Great Schools, the Ten Great Clans, or major Demonic Path factions.”
Cheonhwa nodded.
Yong-deok drew yet another line.
“Here are those who earned their reputations within individual cities. This is where I and old woman Jeok-sang belong. The leaders of first-rate sects are also counted in this group.”
Cheonhwa thought that two people capable of dominating an entire city should be more than enough to protect his grandparents.
“You needn’t concern yourself with the rest. It won’t hinder daily life in the Murim.”
“I understand. But are only you, grandfather, grandmother, and the two of you left in the family?”
“No. The head of the merchant group left on a trading journey with the eldest young master and most of the household staff. The second young master and young lady are currently at the Wulin Alliance Headquarters.”
“At the Wulin Alliance? Are they staying there because of the harsh words they hear on account of mother?”
“It was the decision of the head of the merchant group, who values loyalty above all. He said that if one cannot endure even this much hardship, they have no hope of surviving in either the Murim or the merchant world.”
“Our grandfather is stricter than he appears.”
“He may seem stern on the outside, but he has a tender heart. When he heard the great princess had perished in mutual destruction, he refused all food and drink for ten days and nights, simply staring at the sky in silence.”
“Ah, is there anything I can do while I’m here?”
“You mean work?”
“Yes. To atone even slightly for mother’s unfilial conduct, shouldn’t I work harder than anyone?”
“That’s true, but there isn’t anything specific…”
“Though I may be young, I know more than most and possess considerable strength.”
“Even so, there isn’t anything particular for you to…”
“Then I’ll simply look around and see for myself.”