More Precious Than a Thousand Gold (1)
The sky was clear, and the breeze was gentle.
Spring air rolled over the hills, lightly tickling the willow leaves.
The scene looked as though it marked the beginning of a leisurely journey, yet…….
“Haa!!”
Seomun Hwan’s sigh was deep and heavy.
His robes were neatly arranged, and an ornate jade belt hung at his waist.
Behind him fluttered the banner of the Seomun Clan’s merchant caravan, while porters, guards, and coachmen lined up in a grand procession on either side.
At the very head of that procession, seated in the lead carriage, was none other than…….
“Me?”
Seomun Hwan half-lowered his eyelids and reclined inside the carriage, gazing at the ceiling.
The canopy was draped in fine silk, and the floor was scented with incense.
His mother must have paid special attention because it was his first time on the road.
[Our Hwan has…… grown this much already.]
His mother’s trembling voice still echoed in his ears.
And his father.
A faint smile had crept across lips that were usually tightly sealed.
The man who would normally have given him a stern look and muttered, “Slacking off again,” had instead regarded him that day with unmistakable pride.
“……Well, how could I refuse?”
Seomun Hwan muttered to himself and turned his head.
The scenery outside the window was gradually moving away from the estate, leading onto unfamiliar roads.
“This is why being too visible is such a pain.”
He had lived his entire life as a slacker.
He had never bothered to learn martial arts, his scholarship barely extended to reading a few characters, and as for etiquette, he had never even mastered the habit of waking up early.
No one had expected anything from him.
Not his father, not his brothers, not even his mother.
Without realizing it, he had grown accustomed to those indifferent gazes.
But now things were different.
His father’s heavy hand, his mother’s tearful smile—both kept surfacing in his mind.
“Well, I suppose it’s time I moved around a little.”
No matter how much he loved comfort, he couldn’t bear to leave scars on the hearts of the people he cared about.
There had been plenty of ways to run away, but this was why he had accepted the task without complaint.
Honestly, seeing his parents so happy and excited had been pleasant.
“I can’t drive a nail into their hearts by remaining a useless son.”
Even so, his lazy nature hadn’t gone anywhere.
Seomun Hwan forced a yawn, lay back inside the carriage, and pulled a blanket over himself.
Just then, Deokheum’s sharp voice came from outside.
“Young Master. You are currently in charge of this caravan. How long do you intend to stay shut inside the carriage? At the very least, please come outside.”
“Deokheum.”
“……Yes, Young Master.”
“A true leader doesn’t need to stand at the front. He simply makes everyone else move.”
“……Pardon?”
“I’m putting that into practice right now. Even while lying here doing nothing, everyone else is working, aren’t they? This is the dignity of a leader.”
Seomun Hwan chuckled with his eyes half-closed.
Deokheum, however, lifted the carriage cover with a dumbfounded expression.
“Young Master, that is simply laziness……”
“Shh. Save your words. A true martial artist doesn’t waste energy on unnecessary talk.”
“W-We are merchants, not martial artists……!”
“Then you should conserve your strength even more. In business, quick thinking is everything. If you waste your energy for no reason, you won’t have any good ideas when it really matters.”
Deokheum thought it was the most absurd sophistry he had ever heard, but after serving at Hwan’s side for several years, he had grown used to it.
Seomun Hwan possessed a strange talent for making people accept even the most nonsensical statements.
“I really can’t deal with you……”
With a sigh, Deokheum quietly lowered the carriage cover.
Seomun Hwan watched him with satisfaction before turning his gaze back to the window.
They had just crested a hill, and slanted sunlight was falling across the distant mountains.
Seomun Hwan pulled the blanket up to his chin and murmured,
“All things considered…… it’s turning out to be a pretty decent day.”
The merchant journey was proving less troublesome than expected.
The ones carrying the heavy loads were the horses and porters; what hardship could there possibly be for someone simply riding in a carriage?
If he just lay around as usual, they would eventually reach their destination.
Of course, there were risks.
Bandits, river pirates, and thieves who coveted rare goods could appear at any moment.
However, the distance to Sichuan was short, and the clan, concerned about his first caravan trip, had assigned far more guards than necessary.
Since they weren’t transporting anything particularly valuable, thieves wouldn’t bother risking an attack.
“Maybe I should have done this sooner.”
If he had known it would be this comfortable, there would have been no reason to hole up in his room and worry his parents.
He would have to join more caravans from now on.
After all, whether he slept in his room or lounged in a carriage, it was basically the same, wasn’t it?
……Or so he thought, but the world, as usual, refused to go according to plan.
As the sun began to sink behind the western mountains, Jo Gang-je, the captain of the guards, hurried over.
“Caravan Leader! You should come out and see this.”
“Mmmnya! Hmm? What’s going on?”
When Seomun Hwan opened the carriage door to check, he saw someone covered in blood running toward them at full speed.
The figure was battered from head to toe.
Surely they weren’t planning to attack the caravan in that condition.
That appearance…….
“They’re being chased?”
A strong premonition that something troublesome was about to happen washed over him.
As expected, moments later, a group of people wearing black masks appeared in pursuit.
He wanted to ignore them, but…….
“Judging by the patterns on their clothes, they belong to the Baekri Clan!”
Without waiting for further discussion, Jo Gang-je declared,
“All guards, follow me!”
He led a dozen guards and dashed off at once.
“You’re just going like that?”
Seomun Hwan frowned in disbelief.
The Baekri Clan was another merchant family that operated alongside the Seomun Clan.
From the looks of it, they had also been ambushed during their own caravan journey.
The injured man must have fled here seeking help.
“Having a strong sense of justice is fine, but you should assess the situation first.”
He didn’t know how things had been in the past, but currently the Baekri Clan was considered the stronger of the two.
If someone had attacked them, they couldn’t be ordinary foes.
Although only five pursuers were visible, their skill level was clearly not ordinary.
“Haa…… Guess there’s no helping it.”
Seomun Hwan scratched his rear, then climbed onto the roof of the carriage.
Deokheum, watching him, asked in a tense voice,
“Y-Young Master. What should we do now?”
“What do you mean, what? They’ve already gone.”
“Exactly! You’re the one in charge right now, yet you’re not going to do anything?”
“I already told you. A true leader doesn’t move personally. Besides, I’m not just going to sit still.”
Seomun Hwan reached into his sleeve and pulled out a heavy pouch.
It was the bundle of coins his mother had given him.
He picked one out, swung his arm lightly, and flicked it away.
“……What did you just do?”
“What do you think? I took care of one of the attackers.”
At those words, Deokheum turned to look at the approaching assailants with a dumbfounded expression.
They were so far away that the figures looked like mere dots.
Even if a young master who had never properly trained in martial arts threw something, it wouldn’t reach that distance.
“Young Master. This is no time for games. You need to do something.”
Deokheum spoke urgently, but Seomun Hwan flicked another coin.
“Don’t distract me. I almost let another one get hurt just now. Honestly, how do they train the guards in this clan…… Tsk!”
He would have to revise the clan’s martial arts training while he was at it.
What was the point if they struggled this much against such weaklings?
‘If they’re going to be my reliable source of income, they need to be stronger than this.’
A short while later, the guards who had left returned, bringing the bloodied man with them.
“Good work, Chief Jo.”
“No, it’s just that……”
Jo Gang-je wore an uncertain expression.
He had rushed out upon seeing someone in danger, but as he drew closer, he had felt the opponent’s strength firsthand.
Instinctively realizing it would be a difficult fight, he had gritted his teeth and engaged—yet the enemies had collapsed far too easily.
He had clearly thought their blades would reach him first, only for them to be deflected by something.
But there had been no one nearby to help.
‘Was it just my imagination?’
Before Jo Gang-je could sort through his thoughts, the rescued man from the Baekri Clan spoke hurriedly.
“Are you from the Seomun Clan? Please help us! We were attacked.”
It was exactly as expected.
The fact that they wore masks meant they weren’t ordinary bandits—they had come with a clear target.
“Lady Seonhwa is in danger!”
At the mention of the name Seonhwa, everyone turned to look at Seomun Hwan in surprise.
Seonhwa?
Who was Seonhwa again?
The name sounded familiar…….
Then Deokheum spoke urgently.
“Young Master! Your fiancée is in danger! We must hurry!”
“Ah!”
Come to think of it, he did have a fiancée.
After regaining the memories of the Phantom Demon, his past life remained vivid, but his memories of this life sometimes grew hazy.
They were bound by a betrothal arranged while still in the womb because they were of similar age.
No wonder the guards had moved so proactively.
“Young Master!”
“Ah, I got it. I’ll move.”
If he hadn’t heard, that would be one thing, but he couldn’t just stand by when his fiancée was in danger.
The masked men were clearly determined, but there was no helping it.
“Guide us there.”
As Seomun Hwan mounted a horse, Deokheum cried out in shock.
“Y-Young Master?!”
“What now?”
“A-Are you going personally?”
“Of course. My fiancée is in danger, so I have to go. I’m the one in charge, after all.”
“But still……”
“Earlier you complained that I wasn’t doing anything…… I don’t have time to listen to your nagging right now.”
Seomun Hwan turned his horse and rode off, followed by Jo Gang-je and the guards.
Deokheum stared blankly at his retreating figure before tilting his head in confusion.
“Since when could he ride a horse that skillfully?”
* * *
Meanwhile, the Baekri merchant caravan was locked in fierce combat.
The masked men had struck like shadows, tearing through the carriage curtains and overturning the wagons.
“Who are you people? What grudge do you bear to do this?!”
The guards fought desperately, but their opponents were far too strong.
One of them—the apparent leader—cut down two guards in a single exchange and spoke in a cold voice.
“Kill them all and recover the goods!”
“Kugh!”
The one in charge of this caravan was Baekri Mudan, the younger brother of the clan head.
By the clan head’s orders, he had been transporting a special item toward Sichuan.
Baekri Mudan frowned, his face streaked with blood, and gritted his teeth.
“So they’re after the goods after all?”
These weren’t simple plunderers or passing bandits.
They were targeting the very item the caravan was carrying.
“Hyeon-jung! Take Seonhwa and run! I’ll hold them here!”
“But, Caravan Leader!”
“That’s an order!”
The guards gritted their teeth and faced the masked men.
Yet the enemies’ movements were sharp and precise.
It wasn’t just their martial prowess.
The attackers seemed to have inside information, perfectly predicting the guards’ movements and formations.
More than half the guards had already fallen, while the enemies remained largely unscathed.
If this continued, annihilation was inevitable.
In the end, Baekri Mudan entrusted his niece, Baekri Seonhwa, to his most trusted subordinate in an attempt to save at least her.
Just then—
Thudududud!
The sound of galloping hooves echoed as roughly ten riders approached.
At first, they feared it might be more enemies, but among the riders they spotted the subordinate who had left to seek help.
Reinforcements had arrived when they least expected them.
However, Baekri Mudan’s expression remained grim.
“No! We can’t win against these people! We’ll only suffer more casualties!”
The masked men were strong.
Especially their leader, who was overwhelmingly powerful.
With a single swing of his sword, three or four elite guards of the Baekri Clan were cut down at once.
“Peak Realm? Here?”
A master who had reached at least the Peak Realm.
Moreover, the other enemies also appeared to have reached First-Class level.
No matter how many charged in, only more victims would fall.
“Run! If you come here……”
As Baekri Mudan had feared, the enemy leader began to move.
Seeing the approaching riders, he merely smirked and raised his sword to block their path.
“How arrogant!”
As he lifted his blade high, a blue light surged along the edge.
Wuuuung!
Manifested qi.
It was sword qi capable of slicing through steel like tofu.
A single strike would easily cut a rider and horse in half.
Just as that devastating force was about to descend upon the approaching group…….
Ping!
A sharp whistling sound tore through the air, and a small hole appeared in the masked man’s temple.
It was a strike so fast and precise that it was nearly invisible.
The man who hadn’t even realized he was dead stared blankly into the air.
The last word he uttered was unexpected…….
“A c-coin?”
Before his question could be answered, the mounted unit from the Seomun caravan charged in.
Thudududud!
Hooves thundered around him like a storm.
The masked man’s body flipped once in midair before crashing to the ground.
A Peak Realm master had been reduced to a mangled corpse, trampled by horses.
“……Huh?”
Faced with the unexpected outcome, Baekri Mudan could only let out a dazed sound.