Kunlun Jade and Overflowing Rewards
Taeheo Jin-in seemed to have seen through that fact as well, letting out a small, awkward cough.
"W-well then... I gratefully accept."
While Danmok Ryeon and Yeopun exchanged lingering, reluctant glances, Danmok Cheon-gi, who had been staring fixedly at the item, finally tore his gaze away with visible effort.
'Applying that and then circulating my energy would be helpful?'
Did that mean his neigong would increase?
Suddenly, Heo Yeonjo's words from earlier flashed through his mind.
— If word got out that drinking Qinglian Water increased one's neigong by a full jia, wouldn't every martial artist in the world come running?
His mind snapped alert.
He desperately wanted to rush off right then and try applying the Qinglian Water to himself first and circulating his energy, but he straightened his posture with effort and continued his farewell with Taeheo Jin-in.
"So, you're heading all the way to Namjikrye? Planning to stop by the Namgung family estate too?"
"Yes. Yangju in Namjikrye is right up ahead, so if I don't visit while I'm there, Gyeong-hae might send a flock of pigeons all the way to Kunlun Mountain."
Taeheo Jin-in said this with a slight shudder.
Namgung Gyeong-hae, the young lord of the Namgung family estate, was calm and cold-blooded—earning him the moniker Iron-Blood Sword—but he often unleashed his deeply suppressed fiery temperament on his close kin. Like sending dozens of messenger birds across thousands of ri to Kunlun if he witnessed something that displeased him.
"If he hears that Ryeon here carried the Geum Gajang kid on her back at the Namgung estate, he might say, 'Perfect, let's have a spar'..."
Taeheo Jin-in trailed off.
The young lord Namgung Gyeong-hae had two sons of his own. They too had inherited their parents' exceptional talent and the concentrated might of their clan, flaunting their genius from a young age. Taeheo Jin-in knew this well.
A match between those boys and Ryeon. Judging purely by appearances, Ryeon's defeat would be a given.
Taeheo Jin-in flashed a knowing smile as if gauging her reaction, then patted Ryeon's head.
"Listen, Ryeon. Don't go too hard on them, okay?"
"Huh?"
"No nonsense— if you're going, leave before the sun's fully up. I've prepared a carriage; just take it."
"No, why would a Taoist like you prepare a carriage for me?"
"Right, are you some immortal riding a cloud? Take the horse when I say so."
"Mocking me just because I can't do wall-walking yet."
Taeheo Jin-in grumbled like that, then thrust his hand into his sleeve and pulled something out.
Ryeon's eyes went wide.
"What's that jade? And so huge."
Even Danmok Cheon-gi was a bit startled.
In Taeheo Jin-in's hand was a chunk of jade even larger than an adult's fist.
He said with a smug expression,
"Picked it up on the way down from Kunlun Sect. Pure white, with hints of green here and there—like moss peeking through piled snow, giving it such a fresh, pure vibe, right? The Kunlun hill folk are all rough; they don't know how to polish it beautifully, just round it off crudely."
With that, Taeheo Jin-in grinned and plopped the jade firmly into Ryeon's hand.
"Hangzhou has famous artisans aplenty—have them make you a pretty bracelet and wear it."
But Ryeon's ears weren't hearing those words.
◈ You can store Yeong-gi in it now.
Not 1, not 5, not even 10—but a whopping 21!
"You're not giving away the Qinglian Water just to get this in return, are you? We don't need it if that's the case."
"I intended to give it to you from the start, Ryeon."
"Still, how can you give away something this big..."
"I'm the sect leader's senior brother, after all—surely I can give away a single piece of jade as I please?"
Taeheo Jin-in said this and patted Ryeon's head once more.
"Got it, Ryeon? Have it polished pretty and wear it. Next time we meet, come with the jade bracelet on."
"C... can't I just use it like this?"
Taeheo Jin-in blinked blankly at her words, then burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha! Of course not. Don't be stingy—have it carved nicely."
"No, really..."
Ryeon's sincerity didn't reach Taeheo Jin-in.
Yeopun, standing beside him, approached Ryeon with a shy smile.
"I've learned so much during my stay, little lady Ryeon."
Ryeon shook her head vigorously.
She had learned much from Yeopun too, but how grateful was she that both he and Taeheo Jin-in had gained their own insights and piled up Haengun points on their own?
Taeheo Jin-in roared with laughter and ruffled Yeopun's hair vigorously.
"If fate brings us together again someday, we'll meet once more."
The two bid formal farewells to the family members one by one, then glanced at Hwaryun standing quietly behind Ryeon—frowning slightly and tilting their heads a few times—before clasping hands toward Danmok Cheon-gi and departing the estate.
"First, pay out the additional bonuses."
"Really... you're going to do it?"
Rejing Pavilion Master Seol Gwan-hui asked again, his expression one of disbelief.
Even though it was already the second confirmation.
"Yeah. You saw the settlement from Mansong Merchant Group today, right? I'm rich now. Filthy rich."
The way she said it still sounded childish, yet her decisions felt anything but.
"That's just... all that money is yours, miss."
"It's money earned by the Danmok family estate."
"No, it's not. Qinglian Water was all made by you, miss."
Seol Gwan-hui had never imagined he'd be the one saying such words in his life.
Yet the little girl swung her feet that didn't even reach the floor beneath her chair, her brush never pausing as she wrote.
They were reviewing the expenditure plan they had already drafted once.
Seol Gwan-hui's gaze toward Ryeon brimmed with utmost respect.
For someone managing the family's finances, anyone bringing in money—even a dog—deserved prostration. But the eldest grandchild of the clan? Unthinkable.
"I'm the eldest of the Danmok family estate, so I had a direct line to the Mansong Merchant Group's main ledger. And I borrowed Uncle Wihak, who topped the imperial exams this year, to sell this much. If I weren't Danmok family, we wouldn't have made this much so soon."
"It was only a matter of time."
"Exactly. Whatever we earn later, I'll hog it all. No complaints then."
"No..."
"We endured the hard times together, and now sunlight's finally breaking through. If I say I'm fixing up our house first with what I've earned alone, I'd feel awfully hurt."
"Th-that..."
Words stuck in his throat as if his tongue might snap.
It wasn't wrong, but he'd never seen a superior care if their underling felt hurt—it left him all the more flustered.
"Hard work deserves reward. If heaven and earth won't give it, I will."
With that, Ryeon opened the lid of a chest piled behind her.
Sunlight pierced through parting clouds, reflecting off the ingots filling it.
Seol Gwan-hui held his breath.
Ryeon bathed in the light looked like a heavenly deity manifesting through a child's form.
He murmured prayers inwardly.
'Primordial Heavenly Lord, Jade Emperor, Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden...'
"One chest of this should cover it all—don't worry too much."
"Ah... Yes, yes! Understood... I'll serve your will."
"Next, repair the trainees' dorms and training grounds. And expand the pharmacy—we need that sooner."
"Truth be told, that's what I wanted to do first."
The pharmacy was now the estate's biggest earner; if it were up to him, he'd plate it in gold.
"Maybe increase the pharmacy staff too."
"Indeed. It must be hard handling it all alone."
"Then fix up the servants' quarters... If you have preferences for the construction, gather opinions so we can reflect them. Got it?"
"Even that far?"
'Supreme Old Lord, Dongbang Sak, Queen Mother of the West...'
"Those folks have lived here four or five times longer than I have—some even ten times. It's basically their home."
That reminder made Seol Gwan-hui realize Ryeon's age once more.
A little child not even ten.
"Some stay because they lack the courage to go anywhere else."
Ryeon smiled faintly.
"That's why it's a good thing."
It was when Ryeon finished talking with Pavilion Master Seol and stepped out of Rejing Pavilion.
Wijicheong came running from afar.
She had news to share with Ryeon.
"Ryeon, Ryeon! Did you hear? Your aunt is coming back to Hangzhou!"
Ryeon blanked for a moment, racking her brain for who "aunt" meant.
It took a while because the thought hadn't crossed her mind at all.
'Danmok Hyeon-yo!'
Danmok Hyeon-seong's younger sister and Danmok Hyeon-u's older sister. She didn't have her brother's overwhelming martial talent, but her drive was overflowing—that much she vaguely recalled.
So when Danmok Hyeon-seong died and Geum Gajang pressed in, shaking the family's position, she immediately took on the role of acting patriarch and rushed to Henan Province, home of the Murim Alliance, desperately trying to revive the clan.
'I thought it might've been better if she'd just stayed with the family...'
In her past life, Danmok Hyeon-yo had remained in Henan, trying to leave family matters mostly to Danmok Hyeon-u.
But nothing went right.
Danmok Hyeon-u was swallowed by grief and his heart demon, and all her efforts in Henan to connect with Murim's power players had fizzled out.