Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: I've Become a Good Person
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Byeok Taesan expected a period of quiet life to follow.
For now, the only potential disruption was the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion seeking his help due to noise surrounding the power shift in the Underworld Sect. There was nothing else that could cause a stir.
The fiend behind the Thousand Gold Association wouldn't make a move right away either.
They too would need time to prepare for whatever they were planning.
Of course, it was still unclear what they were truly plotting in Wuhan.
The Heavenly Medicine Hall was a slight possibility, but its physicians were currently being worked like dogs to create the Divine Pill of the Ages, so they would remain quiet for a while.
But then, an unexpected guest suddenly arrived.
No, she was closer to an extra mouth to feed than a guest.
"I've decided to live here from now on."
That's what she said.
"You should think it over again. One shouldn't handle their affairs so lightly."
"This wasn't a light decision, you know. I thought about it a lot and discussed it thoroughly. That's why I decided."
Byeok Taesan frowned, looking at Yeon Harin, who met his gaze head-on without wavering.
Yeon Harin smiled brightly.
"I'm so glad I refused the annulment and held on. Can you imagine how much I'd be regretting it now if I'd given in to my father?"
When Byeok Taesan didn't respond, Yeon Harin clenched her fists with a determined expression and said.
"I have no intention of just freeloading off you, Young Master. I'm going to work, too."
"Is that so? What kind of work do you have in mind?"
Yeon Harin gave a coy smile.
"Well, you'll have to tell me that. I can do anything you ask."
As she said she could do anything, she looked at Byeok Taesan with the most alluring expression she could muster.
At the same time, she subtly twisted her body to appear as captivating as possible, just as she had diligently practiced.
Seeing this, Byeok Taesan said.
"Your posture is crooked. If you don't maintain proper posture, it will hinder your martial arts training later on."
"I know that much, okay?"
Yeon Harin straightened up and pouted.
Byeok Taesan watched her and waved his hand dismissively.
"Alright, I understand. Find Danyeong or Soso, and they'll give you a suitable room."
As soon as Byeok Taesan gave his permission, Yeon Harin beamed.
"I'll do my very best from now on."
"I don't know what you plan on doing your best at, but do as you please. Just don't bother me."
"Of course. Um, but..."
When Yeon Harin lingered instead of leaving, Byeok Taesan looked at her with curiosity.
"What is it?"
Yeon Harin hesitated for a moment, then her eyes lit up with resolve as she looked at Byeok Taesan.
"I want to do that training, too."
"Hm? What training?"
"The training that Warrior Cheon and Warrior Yu are doing."
"Ah, the Limitless Steps?"
"Just from the name, it sounds like an incredible movement technique."
"It is incredible."
It was indeed an incredible technique, perhaps unrivaled in its ability to inflict pain on a person simply through walking.
"You want to train in the Limitless Steps?"
Yeon Harin nodded with a determined expression.
"Yes. Please. I'm going to become much stronger than I am now. So that I... can protect you, Young Master."
Byeok Taesan didn't scoff at her words about protecting him. One didn't necessarily have to be stronger in martial arts to protect someone.
In fact, the Heavenly Guard of the past had not been stronger than him, the Heavenly Demon.
Even if the entire Heavenly Guard attacked him at once, they could not defeat the Heavenly Demon.
But still, they had faithfully protected him. And he, the Heavenly Demon, had considered them to be fulfilling their roles sufficiently.
Setting all that aside, who could dare to laugh at the desire to protect someone?
Byeok Taesan readily nodded.
"Let's do that."
He realized once again that he had a weakness for this sort of thing.
"Thank you!"
Yeon Harin, her face filled with joy, rushed forward to embrace Byeok Taesan.
But Byeok Taesan simply took a light step to the side, easily dodging her charge.
After flailing in the air, Yeon Harin barely regained her balance to avoid falling and turned to look at Byeok Taesan with a dumbfounded expression.
Byeok Taesan was already leaving the pavilion.
"Young Master! How could you!"
Yeon Harin frantically chased after Byeok Taesan.
She tried to run up from behind and hug him.
Of course, that attempt failed just the same.
***
Yeon Harin stared blankly at the training ground.
On the training ground were two swaying bridges made of connected planks.
Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon were walking across them with strained expressions.
When Byeok Taesan glanced at the two, their expressions suddenly eased.
"Haaaah."
A long breath escaped from both of them simultaneously.
"Young Master, you've arrived."
Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon bowed respectfully to Byeok Taesan.
Yu Seoyeon's eyes sparkled when she spotted Yeon Harin.
"Young Lady, you're here too? When did you arrive?"
"Uh... just now?"
Yu Seoyeon gave Yeon Harin a meaningful look.
Sensing she was about to say something strange, Yeon Harin quickly interjected.
"I'm going to be living at the Golden Jade Manor from now on."
"Pardon?"
Yu Seoyeon's eyes widened.
Looking at her, Yeon Harin smiled gently.
"I've already gotten permission and moved all my things in."
At those words, Byeok Taesan frowned.
"You moved your things? When?"
Yeon Harin looked at Byeok Taesan and smiled prettily.
"I packed everything from the start, intending to live alone if I had to. I only moved my things in after getting the Manor Lord's permission."
That meant she had met with Byeok Taesu before meeting Byeok Taesan.
'Well, Byeok Taesu is the master of this manor, after all.'
While Byeok Taesan was thinking this, Yeon Harin approached Yu Seoyeon with a pleased look.
"So, is the training hard? I'm thinking of doing this too."
"Pardon? What are you thinking of doing?"
Yu Seoyeon was greatly flustered. So was Cheon Gyeongwan, who stood beside her.
"Young Lady! No! You should back out now!"
"Why? I want to get stronger too. I'm a martial artist, you know."
At Yeon Harin's words, Yu Seoyeon could only shut her mouth. What could she say to someone who wanted to train to become stronger?
She herself was doing this because she wanted to become stronger.
"I will never regret it. No matter how hard it is, I can endure it."
"You'll probably find it's not easy to keep those two resolutions."
Yeon Harin grinned.
"What are you talking about? I'm Yeon Harin."
In the end, Yu Seoyeon couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
A short while later, the three of them began their training.
Yeon Harin decided to start on the training ground floor, not on the swaying bridge.
She couldn't get on the swaying bridge from the very beginning. It was more important to properly ingrain the Limitless Steps into her body first, so she had to start on the ground.
Within a quarter of an hour of starting the Limitless Steps, Yeon Harin keenly understood why Yu Seoyeon had said what she did.
This was a heinous training method that pushed the limits of human endurance.
But Yeon Harin, with venomous determination in her eyes, suppressed her groans and took one step after another.
Seeing this, Yu Seoyeon and Cheon Gyeongwan were astounded.
And Byeok Taesan watched, his eyes narrowing slightly.
'Now I know why I had that feeling of familiarity back then.'
Yeon Harin truly resembled someone.
Someone he could no longer meet.
***
Byeok Taesan left the Golden Jade Manor alone.
Come to think of it, he didn't think he had ever gone out by himself before. Perhaps this was the first time?
He had actually considered taking Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon with him as usual.
But when he went to the training ground to do so, the atmosphere felt like he shouldn't.
The only ones training in the Limitless Steps at the training ground were no longer just Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon.
After Yeon Harin joined, Danyeong and the other maids had begun to earnestly plead with Byeok Taesan.
So, without much thought, he taught the maids the Limitless Steps as well.
And he made arrangements for them to be able to train.
The Limitless Steps wasn't something you could just do. When starting the training, specific acupoints had to be stimulated in a special way.
The maids, of course, had many duties in the main building. But there was no need for all ten of them to be tied up with that work.
By dividing their numbers appropriately, they could split the day into three shifts.
The maids who were not working on their shift all trained in the Limitless Steps.
It must have been painful, but they all trained without letting out a single groan.
Seeing this, Black One, Black Two, and Black Three subtly joined in.
They too decided to alternate between their duties and training.
As the number of competitors grew, the attitudes of Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon changed drastically.
They were martial artists who had trained in combat.
They didn't mind Yeon Harin, but they didn't want to fall behind people who had only begun their martial arts journey a few months ago.
Of course, they were superior in skill. But that wasn't the issue.
They hated looking like they lacked determination or passion for martial arts.
This was a matter of basic pride.
In any case, because of this situation, an unexpected training fever was sweeping through the training ground.
Byeok Taesan didn't want to disturb them.
If they had reached a certain level, it wouldn't have mattered, but in Byeok Taesan's eyes, they were all still subpar.
"Ha, I've really become a good person. So considerate."
Byeok Taesan muttered to himself, nodding with an inwardly pleased expression.
The place Byeok Taesan was heading to was the inn where he had met Ma Chungsam before.
That inn had been acquired and was being run by the East Lake Escort Agency.
Of course, it only looked like an inn on the outside; in reality, it was a den for a group of underworld figures.
Byeok Taesan headed there without any prior notice.
The Head of the East Lake Escort Agency was currently on an escort mission, but upon hearing that Byeok Taesan had summoned him, he had reportedly left the mission midway to return.
It would probably be a few more days before they could meet.
Originally, his plan was to have a firm talk with him upon his return. To tell him never to pull such a stunt again.
But his thoughts had changed a bit over the past few days.
This was all because of those fiends. It was because they kept buzzing around like mosquitoes that things had come to this.
So, there was no choice but to crush them all.
Lost in these thoughts, he soon arrived at the inn.
The inn was located in a very secluded place, with few people around. It was a wonder why anyone would build an inn in such a location.
Well, that was probably why it failed and fell into the hands of an underworld faction.
Byeok Taesan entered the inn.
Unlike last time, the inside of the inn was empty. There were no customers, no underworld thugs, no one.
There wasn't even a waiter to serve guests.
But Byeok Taesan knew that there were quite a few people inside this inn.
An unrefined killing intent had been leaking out since before he even entered.
"Ha, they've been trained well in such a short time."
The ones emitting that killing intent were likely the same thugs who had been crushed by Cheon Gyeongwan last time.
Judging by the intensity of their aura, they must have been pushed through some unusually harsh training.
As he entered the inn and scanned his surroundings, Ma Chungsam came rushing down from the second floor and prostrated himself on the floor.
"Young Master, you've arrived!"
The men who had been hiding on the second floor, peeking out with only their eyes, were shocked to the point of horror at Ma Chungsam's behavior.
The Ma Chungsam they knew was not someone who would ever act like this. Who on earth was this Young Master to make him behave this way?
It was as if a slave was greeting his master.
"The men we investigated before, I need to pay them a visit today."
At Byeok Taesan's words, Ma Chungsam's eyes filled with elation.
"As you command! I will escort you immediately!"
Ma Chungsam respectfully led Byeok Taesan out of the inn.
Unlike usual, he gave no instructions to the remaining men about what training to do or by when.
They all looked at each other, wondering what was going on.
A subtle anxiety was reflected in their gazes as they looked at their comrades.
They had an ominous premonition, as if someone was pushing them into a turbulent maelstrom.
***
Ma Chungsam, who had initially been guiding Byeok Taesan with great vigor, now had dark circles under his eyes.
His entire body was drenched in a cold sweat.
His shoulders slumped, and he couldn't even hold his head up straight.
They had already checked three locations.
But each time, Byeok Taesan had shaken his head.
It meant they were wrong.
Not only the East Lake Escort Agency but also the disciples of the Divine Doctor of the Ages had been mobilized for the investigation, yet he never imagined they could have been so off the mark.
He had secretly believed that at least two of the three places they just visited had to be the Secret Heaven Group, but hearing they were not, his strength and confidence drained away.
There were now three places left.
Ma Chungsam walked on, desperately hoping that at least one of the remaining three would be the Secret Heaven Group.
The place they were heading to now was the Mercenary Market on the outskirts of Wuhan.
The Mercenary Market was a place where mercenaries gathered to exchange requests. Although they were called mercenaries, there were more people who did simple manual labor than those who wielded swords.
If one needed laborers to build a pavilion or a manor, most of the time, the problem could be solved by going to the Mercenary Market.
The Mercenary Market was divided into several sectors, each with a different person in charge.
Although it was collectively called the Mercenary Market, in reality, several sector bosses each secured their own mercenaries and ran their own businesses.
Ma Chungsam headed towards one of these sectors.
And the gaze of Byeok Taesan, who was following him, changed slightly.
He had finally found one.
End of