Turning Misfortune into Fortune
At the end of that spar, the moment Danmok Hyeon-seong's daughter staggered, it felt like that day's nightmare pierced straight through Geum Jeokgeol's crown with a skewer.
The duty and righteousness of jianghu that one of the Baekdo martial world's great families must uphold—was it really right to push even a sickly child onto the sparring platform? He couldn't help but cry out.
Geum Jeokgeol gazed silently at Danmok Hyeon-seong's spirit tablet before closing his eyes. The tablet said nothing. No lightning struck, no earth quaked, no wailing spirits rose to condemn him. It was simply quiet, quiet enough to hear the faint crackle of incense burning in the ancestral hall.
Geum Jeokgeol swallowed the torrent of words surging up his throat. He swallowed even the question of whether there were no regrets. How could there be no regrets, after burning every precious inch of family time to prove oneself?
"...Do you harbor no resentment?"
Geum Jeokgeol asked. Wijicheong took a step forward at the question—omitting whom the resentment was directed toward—lit incense, and quietly watched the smoke rise.
"How could life be free of resentment? But it's alright."
Wijicheong didn't say toward whom her resentment was aimed. The incense burned for a long time.
"This must be what they mean by turning misfortune into fortune."
Gyeon Eonjo said, clapping his hands. Throughout his observation of the spar, he'd strained not to show tension, but after Ryeon won with such ease, he'd had to struggle just as hard not to grin from ear to ear.
And once the Geum Family people had left, he'd earnestly watched Ryeon chatting in the corner of the inner courtyard with the boy who was her servant and the young Kunlun Sect Daoist boy.
"Could it really not be that an immortal brought her down from the heavens?"
"What nonsense is this?"
Danmok Cheon-gi spoke as if it were absurd, but even with his eyes lowered and lips pressed shut, he couldn't fully hide the pride swelling within.
"Do you know how Geum Jeokgeol raised his only son? All the spirit elixirs fit for boys that age have probably been sucked dry by the Geum Family by now."
"Is that so?"
"He's not awakened his heart method yet, but if you judge purely by what's inside him, he's like a little dragon."
And against such a boy, Ryeon had won effortlessly and simply, as if an instructor teaching a child.
Danmok Cheon-gi cleared his throat, composing the pride filling his chest.
"Is that why you're talking about immortals? More importantly, tell me about your third son. Isn't he off taking the provincial exam? Do you have time to loiter here?"
"He's the one taking the exam, not me. All I have to do is hand over the money."
Even as he spoke, Gyeon Eonjo's cheeks rose high. Just passing the provincial exam would be glory for generations, but topping it? What father wouldn't rejoice at such praise a thousand times over?
"And if he actually passes the provincial exam on the first try, what then? If the boy leaves Hangzhou for Beijing to serve as an official, it'd be like throwing money away—and I'm not even sure he'd think of such a thing."
Danmok Cheon-gi burst into booming laughter at the exaggerated parental boasting.
"It's good news that Ryeon will have an uncle in Beijing too. Whatever that boy does, just let him be!"
"Isn't it just good for you, Elder?"
Gyeon Eonjo savored the boasting before slowly straightening his back. Talking about sworn brothers and sons was delightful, but that wasn't his purpose.
"Anyway, Qinglian Water sales have skyrocketed. Have you heard?"
He had. He knew his granddaughter had been bustling for a week straight, excitedly producing and delivering the stuff. But Danmok Cheon-gi cleared his throat and feigned ignorance.
"Would the family manor quake over some small merchant goods selling well?"
"It's not some small merchant good—it's something this family clan's young miss made herself. And it's selling in massive quantities. Hangzhou's rich list is about to change."
"That much?"
"This is why you martial folk can't talk money with... tsk."
Gyeon Eonjo playfully clicked his tongue before turning serious.
"If word spreads that drinking Qinglian Water increased one's inner power by a jia, wouldn't every martial artist in the world come running? Among exam scholars, it's that level of spirit elixir. Of course it sells like mad."
"But it doesn't really have that effect, does it?"
"Doesn't it? My son topped the provincial exam using it. What other medicine clears the mind, banishes stray thoughts, lets you sleep deeply when you should, and wake sharply? None."
"That doesn't mean everyone will top the exam."
"That's on the user. And before that, Qinglian Water was already famed as a cure-all. Our merchant group's clerks and accountants have already bought it by the crate."
Gyeon Eonjo spoke fluidly like a mountain stream. Danmok Cheon-gi shook his head and changed the subject.
"...Even so, as prices rise and it becomes rarer, people give up and sales should drop—yet they haven't?"
"That's why even the diluted Qinglian Water on the market is surging in price. The pure stuff? Noble houses are snapping it up like their eyes are on fire. Ryeon was right."
—If they hear 'I topped the exam thanks to Qinglian Water,' there'll be people bringing a tael of gold for a single bottle, won't there?
Gyeon Eonjo recalled how just yesterday, the Ihwa Pharmacy manager—who'd initially offered five nyang of silver per jar—had sent someone to raise it to one tael of gold.
All thanks to Ryeon's judgment in entrusting Qinglian Water to Wihak, not his first or second son, but the third who wouldn't handle merchant affairs.
Now that girl had bested the Geum Family heir. Gyeon Eonjo realized his sharp instincts as a successful merchant had spotted her potential.
The girl's innocent face mirrored her mother's exactly, but her laughter sometimes evoked the young Danmok Hyeon-seong he'd known.
Did heaven take one away only to give one back...?
"Hm. The Qinglian Water success is your third son's achievement—he came back after topping the exam—and lately your second son's been running around diligently, so why are you taking credit?"
"My sons' business is my business."
Gyeon Eonjo answered, but thought of his second. Always clear-headed and efficient in handling tasks, so he'd trusted him without worry—but lately, seeing him look after his first and third brothers had impressed him somewhat.
Thinking of his first son again made his chest tighten. His second was even mobilizing Black Heaven Union contacts to make a man of his eldest brother, but the boy was still out of it...
As Gyeon Eonjo mulled over his second son, Danmok Cheon-gi spoke.
"Don't go filling Ryeon's head with nonsense, though."
Gyeon Eonjo's eyebrows shot up.
"What nonsense? Just because Qinglian Water's selling well, do you think Ryeon will turn arrogant? Brother, you tend to raise your child too strictly."
Danmok Cheon-gi started to retort but waved it off. Right now, Ryeon had bested Geum Jongha, but she couldn't build inner power. He worried she'd prematurely abandon family affairs for merchant work alone—a concern he couldn't voice.
He knew earning money and sustaining the household was vital, and even if it was luck or chance, his granddaughter had talent—but still...
"Ah."
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Danmok Cheon-gi waved it off as nothing. He'd just realized where his heart truly lay.
On a night when the moon rose and crickets chirped, Ryeon set down the ledger she'd been reviewing upon hearing Grandpa had suddenly summoned her, and headed to his chambers.
"Don't overdo it, I said."
Ryeon just beamed, but Danmok Cheon-gi knew exactly what she'd been staring at without sleep.
"Sustaining the household is noble, but it's not urgent. The most important thing is you."
"I'll keep Grandpa's words in mind."
Ryeon nodded in agreement.
"Ugh. After spending a week straight just making Qinglian Water, what do you mean 'keep in mind'?"
"Hehehe..."
Ryeon laughed innocently, but Danmok Cheon-gi couldn't join her. He'd already received a report from Rejing Pavilion Master Seol Gwan-hui.
Perfectly outlined: what Ryeon planned to do with the money she'd earned from Qinglian Water this time.
"...How about Yeopun Daoist?"
"Yeopun Daoist? He's really smart."
Though Yeopun came up suddenly, Ryeon answered easily.
"I think I understand why Taeheo Jin-in wants to place Yeopun Daoist under the sect leader."
With such talent and diligence combined, it made sense for the sect leader to nurture him wholeheartedly as Kunlun Sect's top disciple and future successor.