The Standard-Bearer of Delivery — 5
The Delivery Vanguard.
In the delivery business, the single most critical factor was ensuring food arrived hot, fresh, and neither cold nor soggy. To achieve that, speed was everything.
In the modern world, one would simply rely on motorbikes. But this was the martial realm. Lacking motorbikes, I needed a way to cultivate legs faster than engines.
If our couriers mastered light-body arts, they could deliver across far greater distances in a fraction of the time. The operational radius of the enterprise would expand exponentially, and couriers trained in martial arts could even quell petty brawls inside tavern dining rooms.
It was a concept well worth pursuing, but one critical bottleneck stood in the way.
“I understand your reasoning, Association Leader. But to utilize light-body arts, one must possess at least second-rate internal energy. That cannot be achieved in a day or two.”
Internal energy. In the end, internal cultivation was always the rub. Five years’ worth of qi, painstakingly accumulated through daily morning meditation without missing a single sunrise—that was the minimum threshold required to perform light-body arts.
Naturally, I had a few answers prepared.
“I plan to have them learn a light-body art tailored specifically for delivery.”
“A delivery-specific light-body art? What manner of technique is that?”
“It requires far less internal energy than conventional techniques, though it burns through qi at a faster rate,” Lim Hayeon chimed in from beside me. “Master it properly, and even someone scraping the outer edge of the third rate can utilize it, without needing to reach the entry level of the second rate.”
I tended to forget at times, but she too was an undisputed martial prodigy—the Shadowless Divine Thief. Modifying a generic, mass-market light-body art circulating in the streets was child’s play for her.
“Ho-oh. A technique altered to cover long distances with low reserves, you say? Even so, even the peak of the third rate demands three to four years of dedicated cultivation.”
I had a solution for that as well.
“I intend to provide elixirs to youths who demonstrate talent.”
After all, I possessed my very own instant-max-level pass—or rather, an experience booster.
“Elixirs?! How could we possibly procure such precious treasures?!”
There happened to be an elixir known as Red Ginseng Candy, remarkably effective for boosting internal cultivation in third-rate martial artists. Naturally, I planned to deduct the cost from their franchise affiliation fees.
“Furthermore, for couriers who train diligently, make remarkable progress, and work hard, I plan to recommend them for honorable positions at major escort agencies in the future.”
I had even prepared a motivational incentive for them to master martial arts. Yet upon hearing that, Escort Choi’s expression clouded over with gloom.
“Leader. Those Zhongyuan escort agencies have no desire to hire Joseon men whose lineage they cannot verify.”
“Is that so?”
“Trust is the lifeblood of that profession. Of course, some manage to find employment in second-rate, run-of-the-mill outfits like I did. But do you know what fate awaits them?”
“What happens to them?”
“They are treated as disposable pawns. When I first started out as an escort guard, I had two other Joseon companions with me. The first died in our first year. The second fell in our tenth. And by my twentieth year, the price I paid for surviving an impossible mission was this crippled leg.”
“……”
“Association Leader. So long as our hair remains black, we will forever be outsiders in this Central Plains soil. Learning martial arts does not magically open doors to honorable livelihoods for black-haired folk.”
Deep regret and bitter grief dripped from every word Escort Choi uttered.
However, I had already factored that into the equation.
“What about the Western Sichuan Escort Agency?”
If trust was the issue, introducing them to an unassailable agency where no one could mess with them would settle it.
“The Western Sichuan Escort Agency? Do you mean the bureau run by the Sichuan Tang Clan?”
“I am treated as an honored guest by the Tang Clan, and I have already secured their consent. Moreover, my future enterprises will continually partner with the Western Sichuan Escort Agency, so they will be the ones walking on eggshells around me. You have nothing to fear.”
“Ha-ha-ha…”
“The word ‘vanguard’ refers to the standard-bearer who carries the flag at the very front of the battlefield. If our runners can live lives where they look toward the future rather than scraping by day to day, it will undoubtedly breathe fresh vitality into our Joseon Hometown Association.”
A society where everyone prospers together. I spoke with the solemn, benevolent expression of a noble magnate painting a grand canvas.
Though in truth, the goal was for me to prosper just a little bit more.
“Heavens… In the past several decades, the greatest blessing the Wuhan Joseon Hometown Association has ever received is surely you, Leader Kang Yunho. I shall do everything in my power.”
And so, I successfully recruited Escort Choi to serve as the martial arts instructor for our couriers.
By the time I finished our discussion and stepped outside, the sun was already dipping below the western horizon.
What should I treat Lim Hayeon to for dinner? I had been running around all day, so I hadn’t given much thought to the dinner proposal I had floated earlier just to soften her mood.
“The hour has grown late. Is there anything in particular you wish to eat?”
“I already have a place in mind. Follow me.”
Lim Hayeon took the lead without hesitation.
Where was she taking me? An upscale pavilion? It didn’t matter either way. She had been taking on endless hardships on my behalf lately, so I was more than willing to treat her to a feast.
Yet the destination she guided me to was the exact opposite of what I had anticipated.
“There’s an eatery in a place like this?”
Tucked away from the bustling thoroughfares, deep in a secluded back alley, white steam billowed from a modest little shopfront.
“Welcome! Ah—Association Leader! Welcome, sir!”
The moment we stepped inside, a young black-haired waiter with faint stubble sprouting around his philtrum greeted us with wide eyes.
“Could this place be…?”
“It’s an eatery run by a Joseon compatriot, just like you. Shall we sit here?”
Who told her about this? Lim Hayeon pointed toward an empty table.
“Please, have a seat, Leader! My mother is in the kitchen right now—should I call her out?”
“No need. Just bring out the food.”
“Understood! What would you like to order?”
What did they even sell here? When I looked at Lim Hayeon with mild bewilderment, she smiled brightly and held up two fingers.
“Two bowls of pork and rice soup, please.”
“Right away!”
“And please give us plenty of chives.”
“Whoa! The pretty lady really knows how to eat! I’ll bring it right over!”
A pork soup shop? A faint memory resurfaced of hometown association members mentioning a local eatery where a single piping-hot bowl of pork soup could wash down an entire bottle of liquor.
So this was the place.
“Add an order of boiled pork slices too,” I called out quickly to the boy.
“Yes, sir, Leader!”
“Are you truly content with this?” I asked Lim Hayeon, scanning the rustic, humble interior of the tavern.
We could have gone to a far nicer establishment.
“With our current financial situation, you expect us to order delicacies at a luxury pavilion?”
“Ha-ha-ha…”
Between the Lord of Mangeum Bank and the Attendant Division's trials, we were in a tight spot where we had to squeeze every copper to fund our business expansion.
“So then. Was it delicious?”
Out of nowhere came a piercing question, sharp as a thrusting spear. Did she really have to lunge so abruptly?
She had stripped away both the subject and the object, but I wasn't so dense that I couldn't tell what she was getting at.
“Just because a meal is high-end doesn't necessarily mean it tastes good,” I answered smoothly.
Though it was pretty delicious.
“A meal in the company of a beauty is always delicious, isn't it?”
I won't deny that.
However, if I let those thoughts pass my lips unfiltered, I might find myself taking a shower in boiling pork broth.
I rested my chin on one hand, curving my lips into an easy, roguish smile as I spoke.
“Which is why I am looking forward to such a delectable meal right now.”
“……”
Inside this humble soup shop, the cheek of a woman whose beauty ranked among the top two in all of Wuhan twitched ever so slightly.
“A meal shared in comfort with someone dear to me tastes infinitely better.”
Fortunately, that seemed to strike the right chord.
Wearing that sly grin once more, I gently coaxed the softening expression on Lim Hayeon’s face.
“Haah. Honestly, if you were half as good at anything else as you are with words…”
She let out a soft sigh, and the lingering frost on her face melted into a gentle smile.
Phew, safe passage. If I had slipped up, I wouldn't have known whether the soup was going into my mouth or up my nose.
“Two bowls of pork soup are served!”
“Let us eat.”
It was an authentic soup house, all right. This was the first time in this world I had seen the rice pre-steeped in hot broth through proper ladling technique.
Just as I sprinkled salt and pepper over my soup and prepared to dig in, Lim Hayeon shot me a pointed look. What now?
“You can't just eat pork soup with salt! Here, you have to mix in plenty of chives.”
Using her chopsticks, Lim Hayeon picked up a generous clump of seasoned chives and set it right atop the spoonful of rice I had lifted.
“Where did you even learn such a thing…?”
How on earth did a Zhongyuan woman know authentic Joseon dining customs?
“Thanks to your employees teaching me with such enthusiasm.”
“They taught you this?”
“They kept calling me Hyeongsu-nim, Hyeongsu-nim, insisting that I needed to understand Joseon customs. The other day, they even got into a heated brawl among themselves over whether blood sausage should be dipped in ssamjang, sweet chili sauce, or salt.”
Lim Hayeon wore an exasperated look, clearly recalling the chaotic debate.
“Ha-ha-ha. It is only because they view you as one of the family, Young Lady.”
Originally, an expatriate community of countrymen gathered in a foreign land was bound to become insular and tightly knit.
Especially in the Central Plains, where they were looked down upon as barbarians. Banding together to protect and comfort one another only reinforced that clannishness.
Yet whether owing to her bond with me or her natural charisma, everyone in the association seemed to treat Lim Hayeon as family.
“Mmm… Well, I suppose it’s not so bad,” she murmured, humming softly as she stirred her soup with a faint smile.
At first, she used to flare up in indignation every time someone called her sister-in-law. Perhaps she had grown too weary to deny it every single time. Regardless, it was tremendous progress.
“Our work is piling up by the day. I wonder if this new task will only make you busier, Lady Hayeon,” I remarked after devouring half my bowl in ravenous bites.
“Teaching light-body arts to the couriers?”
“Indeed.”
“Designing the technique was the annoying part. Learning it will be quick for anyone, since it’s hardly a profound martial movement—just an entry-level convenience art. The real trouble will be vetting the children who actually possess talent.”
“You needn’t worry about that in the slightest.”
“Pardon?”
“The mutual-aid credit society will screen and select youths with solid backgrounds, upright character, and promising talent on their own.”
“Because they’ll be employing them as their own workers?”
“Precisely. Lady Hayeon, you only need to choose from the candidates they have already filtered.”
I had no intention of burdening her.
Once you ascend to a position of leadership, tedious groundwork is something you delegate downward.
“Well, that’s a relief to hear.”
Noticing that I had emptied my bowl, Lim Hayeon wiped the beads of sweat from her brow and quickly finished the rest of her meal.
Sitting across from a woman who looked like she belonged exclusively in three-star luxury pavilions while sharing steaming pork soup gave me an oddly novel sensation.
“I am always grateful to you,” I said in a quiet, earnest tone, pulling a clean handkerchief from my robes and handing it to her.
“It’s nothing, really… Oh. Was the soup good?”
Caught off guard by the sincere gesture, Lim Hayeon turned her head slightly, her cheeks dusting pink as she asked.
“It tasted like the harbor of Dongnae back in Joseon.”
A taste that warmed the heart.
“Hmph. Is that so? Then I’m paying today.”
“What nonsense is that? Naturally, I should—”
As I moved to stand and pay the bill, Lim Hayeon grabbed hold of my sleeve.
She didn't even have any money of her own—how was she going to pay? Start collecting a proper wage before making such claims, I wanted to tease, but her expression was disarmingly serious.
Did she have something she wanted to say?
Once I sat back down, she kept her hand lightly clasped over my sleeve and spoke with gentle warmth.
“We don’t need to spend massive fortunes to be happy and content like this. So… let’s endure this hardship together just a little longer.”
Her voice carried a delicate blend of sympathy and affection.
It seemed that just as I occasionally expressed my gratitude to her, she wanted to convey her own appreciation and quiet apology to me today.
In that case, there was only one thing left to say.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Likewise.”
A few days passed after announcing the initial rotation for the mutual-aid credit society and outlining the Delivery Vanguard initiative.
Teaching third-rate martial artists enough to utilize light-body arts would take considerable time. Consequently, the screening process was being conducted with meticulous care.
“Hey, you!”
Suddenly, Lim Hayeon kicked the office door open and barged inside.
“What is the matter?”
“Huh? What were you doing?”
“Tidying up.”
I had been straightening the messy stacks of paperwork on my desk.
“That’s why I keep telling you to stay organized! Every single time, I have to nag you and clean up after you myself. Wait… what’s that box? I haven’t seen it before.”
Lim Hayeon eyed the luxurious wooden box I was hurriedly stowing into my desk drawer.
Inside rested something vastly more expensive than the ornate chest itself, but there was no need to bring that up just yet.
“It is nothing of concern. More importantly, what happened that made you burst in so abruptly?”
“Come outside. I think this is something only you can handle.”
Just what had happened?
“What are you all standing around for! The Association Leader is here!”
“Greetings, Leader!”
“What in the world…?”
When I descended to the inn’s common area, the Samgu brothers and several burly Joseon youths were waiting for me.
“Association Leader! Is it true that if we learn martial arts and work as delivery couriers, you will recommend us as escorts to the Western Sichuan Escort Agency?!”
“The rumors are spreading like wildfire across the entire association right now!”
The moment they offered their bows, the young men surged forward, their voices trembling with earnest desperation.
“Insolent fools! How dare you behave so rudely before the Leader! Who gave you permission to speak out of turn before he even opened his mouth?!”
“Forgive us!”
At Choi Ilgu’s bellowing rebuke, the youths dropped to the floor in unison.
So that was it. They had come running because of the rumor that delivery couriers would be taught martial arts and placed in escort bureaus.
“It is true that I plan to select a few talented individuals and recommend them as escorts. But Choi Ilgu, what is the meaning of this?”
I fixed a stern glare on Choi Ilgu, who was sweating profusely and wringing his hands in embarrassment.
“Well, Leader… these lads are men from our Wuhan association who have already studied martial arts. At the very least, every one of them has crossed into the entry level of the second rate.”
“Second-rate martial artists?”
Why on earth were trained martial artists coming here?
The entire premise of the Delivery Vanguard was to nurture third-rate novices, teach them light-body techniques, and ultimately develop them into second-rate escorts.
There was zero reason for men who had already cultivated internal energy and could already perform light-body arts to flock to a delivery gig.
As I stared at them in utter bewilderment, the young men, who had been anxiously watching my face, pressed their foreheads to the floorboards once more and shouted with all their might:
“Association Leader! Please, take us on as the Delivery Vanguard!”