Brother Jin-ho's Spring (2)
I finished dinner and took a moment to inspect the merchant group.
Having been away for so long, I needed to check if anything had changed or if there were any issues.
That's when Jin-ho hyung came trudging over from the opposite direction. He spotted me and jumped in surprise.
"Uh... when did you get back?"
"What do you mean? I sent a letter ahead saying I'd arrive today."
"Oh... right? Anyway, glad you made it back safe. I heard you won the imperial silk delivery contract competition. Congratulations."
"Thanks. But you've been so busy lately—what's keeping you occupied? You couldn't even come greet your one and only little brother?"
"Just... this and that..."
He trailed off, avoiding my eyes, which only made him look all the more suspicious.
"Well, I'll head out first then."
"Yeah."
Jin-ho hyung hurried off, and I frowned at his retreating back.
It was nothing like his usual self.
What could it be?
He's definitely hiding something.
Come to think of it, even in my previous life, there had been a time when Jin-ho hyung acted strangely.
What was that about again?
"Palgap. Doesn't Jin-ho hyung seem suspicious to you too?"
"Definitely suspicious, young master."
"Aren't you curious?"
Palgap grinned and bowed his head.
"I'll look into it."
Palgap was undoubtedly exceptional at gathering information. It wasn't even dark yet, and he'd already dug some up.
Should I have put him in the intelligence unit instead?
No.
He needs to stay by my side.
In my previous life, he'd suffered endlessly supporting me until his death. This time, I'd make sure he enjoyed wealth and glory at my side.
"Young Master Jin-ho has been utterly smitten with a certain young lady lately."
"What? Jin-ho hyung has a girl?"
"Yes. She's the daughter of Ha Cheol, the escort head of Changin Escort Agency."
Wait—Ha Cheol... could it be Ha Su-min?
Palgap confirmed my suspicion.
"Her name is Ha Su-min. She turns nineteen at the end of this tenth month."
"..."
Damn, why had I forgotten about that?
I remembered his wife, the eldest sister-in-law, but Ha Su-min had slipped my mind.
In my previous life, Jin-ho hyung never married. His first love had ended in such heartbreak that it scarred him forever.
The blazing flames of his affection had lost their way, eventually burning his heart to cinders.
I only learned the full story much later.
And that odd phase Jin-ho hyung went through? It was right around then.
But back then, I was too buried in Eunhae Fabric Shop business to pay him any mind.
Even after finding out, I was swamped, and since it was all in the past, I didn't dwell on it.
Now what do I do...?
"What's wrong, young master?"
I sighed and shook my head.
"Nothing."
"Do you disapprove of Miss Ha?"
"No. I support Jin-ho hyung all the way."
I really did.
The problem was... Ha Su-min was about to die soon.
She wouldn't die in an accident or get caught in a fight.
A year from now, she'd suddenly fall ill.
An illness no ordinary treatment could cure: severed meridians syndrome.
Tri-Yin Severed Meridians.
Severed meridians syndrome occurred when yin energy was overwhelmingly strong, blocking the meridians and preventing proper qi and blood circulation, leading to a shortened lifespan. It was an intractable disease.
In my previous life, I'd wondered why Ha Su-min had tri-yin severed meridians.
Now, I thought I knew.
Changin Escort Agency had been founded by my master to rebuild Set풍 Palace.
Meaning most of its escort heads were disciples of Set풍 Palace.
And Set풍 Palace specialized in ice arts, which were yin-based martial techniques.
The ways of the world were mysterious: having a father who practiced yin martial arts didn't guarantee a child with strong yin energy.
Usually, children were born with a balanced mix, half and half, developing differently based on their growth path.
But exceptions existed.
Some were born with one energy abnormally dominant from the start.
That manifested as severed meridians.
One cause among many was inheriting too much from a parent's influence—and even that was down to luck.
Ha Su-min had simply been unlucky.
Anyway, if Ha Su-min died, Jin-ho hyung would likely stay single for life again.
And then he'd pester me endlessly out of boredom.
I have to do something.
Severed meridians wasn't incurable—just extremely difficult to treat.
There was a way, but it required an expert.
I'd have to bring in Elder Black Medicine Divine Hand.
He was the specialist for constitution-based illnesses.
As I headed to my pavilion with that in mind, a sudden doubt flashed through my head.
Elder Black Medicine Divine Hand was Master's father-in-law, the lord of Set풍 Palace.
If a disciple's daughter had such an intractable disease, Master would have surely asked him for help.
No matter how much the elder wandered, Master would know his whereabouts...
Does he not know she's sick?
.
.
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The next morning.
After morning meditation, Master arrived in my pavilion's courtyard.
How does he time it so perfectly every time?
"Your disciple has returned safely from Beijing."
"I heard you achieved great results. Congratulations."
"Thank you, Master."
"Escort Head Song said you made quite the splash this time..."
"Ah..."
He meant how I'd dealt with Jin Family Merchant Group and Daeung Merchant Group's interference.
I scratched under my ear and replied.
"They were annoying, so I just gave them a light payback."
"He said it was the first time he'd laughed so hard his stomach hurt."
I chuckled.
Seeing them all tumbling down the cliff below like that had been truly satisfying.
Ah, this was a perfect chance to naturally ask about Miss Ha.
"Um, Master. Is there someone named Ha Cheol at the escort agency?"
"Yes, a colleague of mine."
"He's an escort head too, I suppose."
"If we go by years of service, he's a couple years ahead of me—a senior."
Master smiled faintly.
"Officially, yes. In truth, he's a disciple of Set풍 Palace."
As I'd suspected.
"I heard he has a daughter named Ha Su-min?"
"Yes. She's incredibly clever and talented. Sharp as a tack, with a gift for martial arts too."
Master asked me.
"Are you interested, by any chance?"
"No, not at all!"
"Good."
"Pardon?"
"The agency lord's older brother visits her every three days or so."
"..."
Jin-ho hyung, you're really going for it.
"Actually, I knew Jin-ho hyung had feelings for her. I was just curious as his little brother."
"I see. No need to worry then."
Master smiled.
"Among the women I've seen, she's one of the top five—truly exceptional."
Confirmed.
Master didn't know about Ha Su-min's tri-yin severed meridians either.
In my previous life, I'd heard she'd passed suddenly from illness...
Of course, if he knew, he wouldn't call it sudden.
His ignorance meant no symptoms had shown yet.
She died about a year from now, so they should have appeared by now.
Why no symptoms yet?
"So, who's number one then?"
"My wife."
"..."
Of course. What a dumb question.
"Anything else on your mind?"
"No."
"As I mentioned before, you no longer need to learn True Snow Twelve Style Swordsmanship from me. You've already mastered the true version from Grandmaster."
Right. I could execute True Snow Twelve Style Swordsmanship more fluidly than Master now.
Though if we dueled with just that, I'd still lose.
The gap in inner energy and experience was too vast.
Was he telling me to leave the mountain now?
In my previous life, after I mastered True Snow Twelve Style Swordsmanship, he said there was nothing left to teach and stopped receiving me the next day.
Well, he did visit once more.
To entrust his son, Gwak Jun-ha, to Eunhae Merchant Group.
But Master's words were utterly unexpected.
"Now it's time to learn a different swordsmanship."
"Another sword style?"
I feigned surprise outwardly, but inwardly I was thrilled.
Unlike my previous life, our master-disciple bond would continue.
"The one I'll teach you is Snow Soul Swordsmanship. Truth be told, it wasn't perfected, so I couldn't pass it on before. But thanks to the manual with Grandmaster's insights you brought, I've made great progress."
Come to think of it, Master had once said...
"I was learning another sword style midway when... anyway, I can't teach an imperfect art."
It must be that manual I'd fetched from the Luoyang bookshop.
It started with "The origin of Supreme Yin is...," and Master had been astonished.
Soon after, his aura changed—I knew he'd achieved great attainment in it then.
That was Snow Soul Swordsmanship.
"Thus, now I can pass Snow Soul Swordsmanship to you, my disciple."
From that day, I began learning Snow Soul Swordsmanship from Master.
It wasn't one I'd learned in my previous life—meaning this was brand new.
But from day one, I could tell intuitively.
This surpasses True Snow Twelve Style Swordsmanship.
Come to think of it, Master was the palace lord of Set풍 Palace, and something had happened there while he was learning this...
So this must be a sword style from his vice-palace lord days.
Martial families often had exclusive arts for the lord and heir.
Is Snow Soul Swordsmanship one only the palace lord and vice-palace lord learn?
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.
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I headed to the dining hall for breakfast.
The family soon arrived, and the maids brought the food.
As we sipped tea after eating, Grandfather spoke to me.
"So, Hye-a took care of your twentieth birthday?"
"Yes, Grandfather."
I set down my teacup and answered.
"Auntie hosted a party for me."
"My daughter, but so thoughtful. I should send her a thank-you letter."
Grandfather smiled warmly, and Father and Mother wore subtle smiles of satisfaction too.
"Still, it's your twentieth birthday. I can't let it pass like this."
Mother chimed in with Father's words.
"I agree. In our merchant group, we consider twenty the true age of adulthood. So, though it's late, we're holding a birthday banquet for you."
"Hahaha."
I laughed awkwardly.
There had been a planned party on my actual birthday, but Jeong-ho hyung collapsed from overwork, forcing me to compete in the imperial silk contract instead.
I'd assumed my party was canceled.
We'd already had a grand one for my official subunit leader announcement, so I wasn't disappointed.
But my parents felt differently.
Holding one this late showed their hearts.
"Understood. But let's keep the scale small."
"If that's your wish. Still, shouldn't we invite the Jegal family and Sacheon Tang family?"
"Ah..."
Right, them.
A twentieth birthday was significant; snubbing them would offend.
A merchant had to manage connections meticulously.
"You're right."
That's when I spotted Jin-ho hyung looking dazed somewhere.
For his sake too, I had to cure Ha Su-min's illness. But first, diagnosis.
Revealing it might hurt him more, but treatment required knowing the disease.
No one knew now—not even others.
Only meridian or medical experts could detect it via pulse, but no one had checked.
You couldn't just grab a grown lady's wrist without reason.
And missing it so far meant ordinary skill couldn't spot it.
So, as I'd first thought, Elder Black Medicine Divine Hand needed to diagnose her personally.
As I pondered how to summon him, a good idea struck.
"Father, then I'll deliver invitations personally to a few places."