Chapter 29
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 11.2
Chapter Title: Marriage
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"Enough."
-Thud! Crash!-
No sooner had An Hoe spoken than Black Sword and White Blade collapsed at the same time.
Song Hwa's face filled with worry as she watched them topple over like felled trees.
"What do we do! They're not hurt, are they?"
"They're fine. They're just tired and closed their eyes for a bit."
"Eh?... That's fainting!"
She jumped in alarm and called over the men still nearby, busy settling their bets, to carry the pair inside.
An Hoe shrugged as he watched the two limp forms being hauled away.
They'd wake up soon enough and get back to training, so he wondered if all the fuss was necessary.
For a brief moment, silence fell over the noisy backyard now that Black Sword and White Blade were gone. Then one man approached An Hoe.
"Young master, did you sleep well?"
"Me? Sure. But it looks like Escort Jeong didn't get much shut-eye."
"Ahaha..."
The man called Escort Jeong let out an awkward laugh at the words.
He had no idea how to respond now that the very person who'd kept him up all night was saying this.
Escort Jeong—Jeong Chil in the original history, who had served as An Hoe's bodyguard—was assigned to the same role again this time.
Wang Sam had taken a liking to him and offered generous terms, which Jeong Chil accepted without a second thought.
Wang Sam was a bit surprised at how readily he agreed and gave him a curious look.
Jeong Chil scratched his cheek and explained his situation.
"Truth is, my background is pretty humble, so I don't have much standing here."
But after the Red Bear Stronghold campaign ended in massive success, his position grew even more precarious.
While those he'd once treated like subordinates got promotions from the raid, he had nothing to show for it but a small performance bonus.
Wang Sam stared at him in disbelief, and Jeong Chil continued with a bitter expression.
"That's just how it is when you're in charge of rear supply transport."
It was the most critical role, but also the least visible one.
For all the attention and work it demanded, it rarely earned much recognition.
He'd at least gotten that bonus because he'd repelled a bandit ambush once.
As he began to doubt if this path was truly his calling, Wang Sam came to him.
"I didn't have the guts to turn him down."
Wang Sam burst into laughter at Jeong Chil's cautious words.
"Hahaha! Then you won't feel bad leaving the military behind. Looks like fate brought us together."
"Pardon?"
"Come on, let's seal the deal and make you family."
"..."
Wang Sam knew that with types like Jeong Chil, you had to push hard and relentlessly.
They excelled in their field but were often naive outside it.
Fail to treat them right, though, and they'd jump ship like this.
"You're offering this much?"
He'd earned one nyang of silver a month in the military, so three nyang left him stunned.
But that wasn't all.
"That's just base pay. You'll get performance bonuses on top based on your contributions. Plenty of work ahead, so look forward to it."
As a local veteran with years in the military, he had no shortage of tasks here.
He was already reeling, but the real shock came next.
"You'll hold two positions. One as captain of security here at the Juyang City branch, and the other as the young master's bodyguard."
"Uh... pardon?"
He thought he'd misheard.
From what he'd seen, the young master's martial prowess was far beyond anything he could aspire to.
At the very least, An Hoe was a peak expert, while he wasn't even first-rate.
A bodyguard didn't need to outshine their charge, of course, but some gap was inevitable.
This wide a disparity made him more liability than asset.
"The young master insisted. He thinks highly of you."
"Even so... this is a bit..."
"Hmm. Plus, concurrent roles come with extra pay."
"Ah!"
Two more nyang for bodyguard duty, and he accepted without hesitation.
'Five nyang a month in salary.'
After a lifetime in the military, he'd barely scraped together less than ten nyang.
Considering he'd earned the miser label for pinching every coin, five nyang was impossible to refuse.
Yet within days, he regretted taking the bodyguard job.
"More deficiencies than I expected. Your foundation's decent enough, but that's it. Overall, disappointing."
-Gulp-
"Still, your bones and aptitude aren't bad, and you're young. Should be salvageable."
"..."
He swallowed hard under the young master's detached scrutiny, like meat being appraised at market.
Having witnessed him slay a sword-qi wielder with a single strike and sever the head—all from point-blank range—he couldn't help but tense up.
"True Clarity Heart Method. Learn it."
"Pardon? Yes, sir. Understood."
An Hoe handed it over casually, but the True Clarity Heart Method was no ordinary technique.
Just cultivating it helped control stray thoughts and unify the mind.
Master it fully, and it could unlock hidden potential in one's aptitude, rivaling supreme arts.
But the real marvel was that it was merely the foundation.
His ultimate cultivation target was the Azure Sky Heart Scripture.
As the name implied, it was originally a Daoist art, but An Hoe recommended it because Jeong Chil's nature suited it perfectly.
True Clarity Heart Method was meant to refine his innate disposition.
Jeong Chil was thrilled at first to receive such a treasure, but the trouble started after.
"At least you handle a blade decently in real combat... Let's start with Sword-Mind Unification."
The issue was achieving Sword-Mind Unification in short order required brushing death repeatedly.
From then on, whenever time allowed, he endured brutal "spars" under that guise.
-Swoosh!-
Each swing from the young master sent killing intent like a blade across his throat, making his heart plummet.
Some might call it weak nerves, but he was stout-hearted.
His battlefield record of calmly repelling ambushes proved it.
Even he felt his heart stop at the casual slashes from the young master.
Despite knowing they wouldn't actually cut.
"As expected of Escort Jeong. Holding up well."
"Pardon??"
Jeong Chil wanted to shout, What do you mean by that?! but the next downward stroke silenced him.
The spars lasted three or four times a day, barely ten breaths each, so the lessons ended quickly.
-Thud-
"Th-thank you for the instruction."
"Yawn. Yeah."
An Hoe, yawning with his usual languid expression as if sleep beckoned, settled into his designated chair and sipped the remaining honey water.
By then,
Black Sword and White Blade emerged from the room, apparently recovered, and approached Jeong Chil with admiring looks.
"I see it every time, but what a guy."
"Yeah. I wondered at first why the lord bothered with a greenhorn like this, but he's insane in a whole other way."
-Gulp-
With the famed Black Sword and White Blade appraising him like this, Jeong Chil could only swallow again.
His mental energy was drained unlike his body, making it hard to even move.
"If this guy's working that hard, we can't slack off."
"Hmph! You hustle. I've always given my all."
"Hahaha. If that's your all, it won't be long before this body of mine calls you 'senior brother.'"
"Idiot. Looks like you mangled the line where you call me senior brother again."
Jeong Chil groaned as he rose and slipped away, watching the pair bicker mere moments after waking.
His retreat looked pathetic, like a routed soldier's, but Black Sword and White Blade nodded in admiration.
They held Jeong Chil in such high regard for a specific reason.
"What a madman. Facing that demon, that blade, head-on like that."
"Ugh. Where'd a monster like him even come from? Hard to believe he was just some military officer..."
It was because the blade An Hoe had swung at Jeong Chil was none other than the demon blade.
An ordinary man would've lost his mind after a few passes.
Jeong Chil struggled but endured, earning their awe.
The lord had dialed back the malice, sure, but demonic intent was on another level from human malice.
Sparring multiple times a day wasn't normal.
Jeong Chil's iron nerves helped, but the True Clarity Heart Method made it possible.
"Better synergy between Escort Jeong and True Clarity Heart Method than expected."
An Hoe had guessed pre-regression that Jeong Chil leaned Daoist.
He was right, but unexpectedly, Jeong Chil was a rare Daoist talent.
"That changes things."
From then on, An Hoe pushed him just as hard.
Jeong Chil grew by leaps and bounds daily.
It was instinctive clinging to True Clarity Heart Method amid the intense stimulus of the demon blade—tempering himself like metal in fire.
The issue was his role wasn't just bodyguard.
"Ugh. So much to do today."
As security captain, refining the branch's defenses and negotiating military supply contracts ate up his time.
Yet he still trained under the young master—superhuman effort.
Still, he wasn't exhausted thanks to True Clarity Heart Method's remarkable effects.
About a month after the subjugation ended, a visitor sought An Hoe.
"Didn't expect you."
An Hoe's face showed rare surprise at the guest.
The man was one of the protectors who had come with Blade Lord before.
"My apologies for that time."
"No need. It was understandable."
An Hoe waved it off lightly as the protector bowed again, perhaps after hearing something from Blade Lord, and produced letters from his robes.
These were what An Hoe had requested from Blade Lord back then.
He'd thought the delay meant a change of heart, but sending a protector quashed that.
The protector presented a small wooden box and explained.
"He sent this as atonement for the delay."
He described its contents too.
It was a Restoration Pill; swallowing it could save one's life even from severe internal injuries.
Not as potent as a Mid-Heaven Pill, but precious in another way.
"Quite the gift. Tell Blade Lord my thanks."
"Understood."
An Hoe began reading the letters with the protector waiting.
First was the one from Blade Lord himself.