Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Homecoming
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jinzhong, Shanxi.
"Still no progress?!"
The roar that shook the lavish manor echoed without end.
"Still?!"
It had been well over a fortnight.
The awaited news never came, and every plan kept going awry.
Bam!
A middle-aged man on the cusp of old age slammed the table.
Including Jinzhong, he was one of Shanxi's key landowners.
With a seventh-rank official position, he lived a life free of envy, but the deep furrows between his brows held more than just the marks of time.
"...He's a cunning bastard."
"Who doesn't know that?!"
The messenger who brought the silence bowed his head.
"What the hell is Ghost Flash up to now?"
"He hasn't left Sichuan yet."
"That damned Millennium Snow Ginseng!"
"..."
"I told you to rip open his gut and bring it back if you have to! Do you not know what happens if we upset those higher-ups?!"
The landowner clenched his fist, grinding his teeth as he aimlessly kicked at the innocent floor.
In the end, he had failed to obtain the Millennium Snow Ginseng.
He had visited the Black Market personally, waiting solely for it, only for some notorious playboy from a prestigious clan to snatch it away out of nowhere.
'Damn it all.'
Refusing to give up, he immediately dispatched pursuit teams.
It had taken considerable time and effort, and the pressure from his backers was far from ordinary—he couldn't just let it slide quietly.
He had no choice but to shatter the Official-Military Non-Aggression Principle and take a gamble.
It would have been ideal to resolve it within Shanxi, where martial sects and factions held little sway, but tracking the rogue who stole the Millennium Snow Ginseng required no small effort.
When they finally found him, Ghost Flash had already entered Sichuan—a land teeming with the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, and the Six Great Clans—demanding even greater caution.
'What a humiliating mess!'
The result was failure. Failure upon failure.
Upon hearing his pursuit teams had been wiped out, the landowner clutched his neck and collapsed. Sichuan was beyond his jurisdiction. Merely exposing his status in the provincial capital created a slew of issues he had to handle personally, with zero gains in return.
Crunch.
What the landowner sought now was not just the Millennium Snow Ginseng, but the hidden master who had protected it from his pursuit teams.
Ghost Flash, a rising expert who had gained minor fame in Hebei, was still just a young whippersnapper not even in his thirties.
Ghost Flash's estimated martial prowess was at the First Realm.
'Even if he consumed the entire intact Millennium Snow Ginseng, he couldn't have surpassed the Third Realm.'
In other words, someone else was protecting him.
No matter how infamous he was as Shandong's delinquent, how much experience or skill could a brat like that really have?
Barring some freak insight from a Daoist or Buddhist sect, his age made true mastery impossible.
"Hoo."
Upon inspection, every warrior from the deceased pursuit teams bore identical wounds.
Clean sword slashes accompanied by burns, as if severed by a single blade.
An expert capable of annihilating his teams without a trace.
'If I can just uncover who...!'
Beyond personal grudge, the landowner needed justification for the failure. An explanation. And the whereabouts of the vanished Millennium Snow Ginseng.
Dragging Ghost Flash in by force would violate the Official-Military Non-Aggression Principle; sneaking him away was blocked by the hidden master.
And Ghost Flash's own skills were no longer negligible.
"Poison Bee King. Even that undying old coot is getting in the way."
"May this subordinate offer an opinion?"
"Speak."
"If we can't draw him out, make him come to us of his own accord."
"You fool. The bastard's the delinquent Shandong folk call him. What could possibly lure a guy even his own family despises?"
Having vented his rage, the landowner massaged his brow and regained some composure.
"The rumors' truth is unclear, but to catch him, we'd have to shake up the entire Seo Mun Clan."
"..."
"Put Ghost Flash and the Millennium Snow Ginseng on hold. Focus on dominating Shanxi's martial factions for now."
"Understood."
"Report any news from Fujian, Zhejiang, or that bastard himself."
"Yes, sir."
Alone once more, a shadow fell over the landowner's face.
'Five years until the Leader rises. Somehow, before then, I need to solidify my position...'
I welcomed the new year aboard a large junk ship.
"Shandong's right around the corner. Finally."
Yang Jeong's words had A-so, standing beside him, swelling with emotion.
"It's not over yet, though. You've been through a lot, Young Master!"
"Not done until it's done." Even with home in sight after overcoming countless hurdles, A-so refused to loosen his vigilance.
"Exactly. A-so's right, Young Master."
Yang Jeong nodded in agreement.
"That crazy woman might chase us all the way to Shandong, for all we know."
The two seemed to recall the wild glint in someone's eyes from before.
We hadn't encountered a single proper ambush on our waterway journey.
The only crisis was that woman who had charged at us like a bloodthirsty beast.
"Might be late to ask, but what's the deal with that woman?"
Yang Jeong shuddered at the memory of her terrifying presence.
She seemed vaguely familiar, yet the grudge in her eyes didn't quite match anyone who came to mind.
"You serious, Young Master?"
Having grown closer through the long journey from Hebei to Sichuan, the pair pressed me relentlessly.
"Nah, even thinking about it, nothing rings a bell."
Good thing the ship had already departed—back then, we nearly spilled blood.
"No gut feelings either."
Confined to the ship with nowhere to run, she hadn't boarded after all.
Water Stride and Water Walk weren't simple tricks; maybe she couldn't make the leap.
'Probably not high-status enough to turn the ship's prow. Or maybe a scion from a righteous sect who can't ignore face.'
With no clues, I could only assume it wasn't that deep a grudge.
"Must've been a case of mistaken identity."
"Ugh."
Yang Jeong shivered as he voiced his take.
"I thought she was a rakshasa from the underworld incarnate. Home truly is best, be it people or things!"
Yang Jeong, on the cusp of homecoming, forgot his age and whooped excitedly.
Having spent no small time in close quarters, the boy and young man were starting to resemble each other.
"Land roads beat waterways any day!"
A-so chimed in, shaking off memories of his seasickness like dust from his sleeves.
Clop. Clop.
The Flying Dragon carrying us trotted lightly, unfazed by the long march, living up to its name.
Neigh!
"Yeah, yeah. You too."
The quick-witted pony threw a brief tantrum, and the prized steed soon set foot on Shandong soil.
Whoosh─
The air felt different, indeed.
For better or worse, having achieved our goal, the emotions ran deep.
"Gu hyung should be coming to meet us any time now."
Still some distance to Jinan.
Just in case, Yang Jeong scanned the main road like a hawk, patrolling for eastern kin.
Even if the world hated him, Gu Chil was someone he could trust and rely on.
They'd exchanged messages via messenger birds, but like Yang Jeong anticipating reunion, A-so's round face brimmed with homesick nostalgia.
Changyi County, Yanzhou Prefecture, below Jinan.
Familiar terrain—I'd visited the Iron Wall once before.
'Sichuan wasn't bad.'
Not a sightseeing trip, so I hadn't seen it all, but my body knew: home was the Seo Mun Clan.
Eighteen this year.
About a year since entering Seo Mun-ha's body.
Your body is mine now—the initial dissonance had faded, leaving only faint traces of familiarity mixed with strangeness.
"What'll it be?"
Yang Jeong posed the choice.
"Stay the night in Changyi?"
"Sounds good. Got things to hear anyway."
"The Plum Sword Gang, right? Thought you'd forgotten, Young Master."
"Marinated long enough—the rice should be fully cooked by now."
A chuckle escaped me. Seeing him casually dismiss his old faction as outsiders.
"No special intel, but they're probably antsy. As I mentioned, their gang leader's awfully impatient."
"Yeah. Someone from their past vendettas vanished, after all."
"Exactly. Must've been on pins and needles every day."
Yang Jeong couldn't hide his glee, eyes gleaming.
He'd been anxious leaving Shandong, but now he was far more relaxed. A change from the long journey, perhaps.
"Been meaning to ask: was all this planned?"
"Roughly."
Nothing grandiose.
Playboy or not, the Plum Sword Gang was too small to hold the Seo Mun Clan accountable directly.
'Even if they tried.'
Without me, the culprit, it'd go nowhere. Curiosity stirred—what might've bitten the bait I'd scattered?
"Ideally, a big fish."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
"Ah... yes."
Bouncing with the Flying Dragon's gait, Yang Jeong didn't pry deeper, focusing on what lay ahead.
Once appointed a formal clan warrior, he'd have no days off.
I'd taught him a martial art in name only here and there, but even with foundations laid, mastering Flowing Cloud Sword demanded years of effort.
Unaware of the trials ahead, A-so dozed against him, while Yang Jeong's faint smile held ambition.
Clatter clatter clatter!
Entering Changyi, a massive dust cloud greeted us first.
"Young Master─!"
It was Gu Chil.
Driving the carriage, he stood and waved his arms wildly.
"Was he always like that?"
"Always has been."
Handling the reins while standing, his skill outshone Yang Jeong's.
The seventh son of the Yangju Gu family gradually slowed the carriage.
"I-I'm overjoyed beyond words to see you safe again, Young Master!"
Spinning the halted carriage, he poured out his pent-up words.
"They call you Ghost Flash now! Word of your unparalleled valor has spread across Shandong..."
Yang Jeong smoothly cut in before the flattery embarrassed everyone.
"Long time no see, Gu hyung."
And pointed out his noticeable weight gain.
Compared to his thug days at the Plum Sword Gang, he looked far more at ease—no contest against a mid-tier faction's grunt.
I'd been absent from Shandong, but someone had lent a hand.
"I'll escort you from here, Young Master. Got an inn reserved."
Gu Chil offered the carriage first, his goodwill seemingly selfless, skipping tedious formalities.
"Young-ryeong?"
"She was at the inn until yesterday—probably back at the main house now."
We followed Gu Chil's lead to the inn.
Young-ryeong, who aided from within the clan.
"Ah, not Young-ryeong miss—it's Lady Wi."
Though merely granted occasional access, Gu Chil rattled off his feats, recounting busy days bonding with the girl.
"Lady Wi─?"
Yang Jeong, freshly caught up, interjected. Wi was the former street vendor's granddaughter the clan had sheltered.
"Ahem! Anyway, please head in, Young Master. I'll stable the carriage. The mounts you rode in on..."
Gu Chil changed the subject; Yang Jeong replied.
"Horses bought in Sichuan—treat 'em well, hyung. We'll help out since you're short-handed."
I nodded at their expectant glances.
And entered the inn with A-so.