Time of Rewards (2)
On the second day since Haecul arrived at his wife's family home.
'Sigh, what a miserable life.'
He let out a deep sigh, lamenting his fate.
He had imagined he'd be treated like royalty at his in-laws' house.
But it didn't take long to realize how wrong he was.
When he first arrived, his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brothers-in-law had welcomed him warmly.
"Um, Father. Mother."
Haecul's wife cautiously spoke up.
"It looks like we'll have to live here together."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"The truth is, our Ii..."
Tears streamed down her face as she explained the situation.
"He invested in a business and lost everything. We lost the house and the land too. Sob... So I couldn't even bring a single piece of decent jewelry."
"All your fortune gone?"
"Yes."
"Oh dear, oh dear, what are we to do!"
"Father, Mother! What am I supposed to do now?"
Amid her wailing, Haecul's in-laws comforted her and allowed them to stay.
But the treatment toward Haecul changed the very next day.
He headed to the dining room after hearing breakfast was ready.
It was a bit sparse compared to his usual morning spread, but still fairly abundant.
Yet he failed to grasp his place.
"Mother-in-law, with a son-in-law here, is this all the breakfast? Shouldn't there be at least three meat dishes?"
"What nonsense."
"Pardon...?"
He'd never heard such coarse words from his mother-in-law before.
"A son-in-law who blew his fortune and comes crawling to his in-laws—what makes you think you deserve three meat dishes? Eat what you're given and be grateful!"
His father-in-law chimed in with a displeased frown from the side.
"In our family, anyone who complains about food eats in the servants' quarters out back. Want to join them?"
Wondering what the back quarters were, his wife spoke up beside him.
"Where the servants and maids eat. And you think this is your house? Eat quietly!"
"......"
Reduced to a turtle with his head tucked in, he had no choice but to shut up and eat.
But even that was uncomfortable.
"Eat up, my dear. You've suffered so much with such a worthless husband all this time."
"Mother... I'm so sorry..."
"No, no."
"Ahem! Ahem!"
His eldest brother-in-law addressed him with a fake cough.
"Brother-in-law, if you're done, you can get up now."
He hadn't even taken five bites with his chopsticks. But the mood had shifted oddly.
"Done already? That quick? Eat more."
"Then I'll go sweep the courtyard."
"Pardon? That's the servants' job..."
His second brother-in-law cut in.
"Don't you need to earn your keep somehow to have the shame to stay here?"
At that snub, he bristled without thinking.
"Ha! So that's how it's gonna be? After living high on the money I gave you all this time!"
"Don't delude yourself."
His wife snapped sharply from beside him.
"We were well-off long before you."
Haecul was speechless.
She was right—their family had always been comfortable.
But Haecul had wooed her pretending to be a rich heir, and they'd ended up with a child.
They got married, of course, and that's when his true colors came out.
His in-laws were appalled but supported them financially for their precious daughter's sake—wedding costs and living expenses afterward.
When his sister moved in with her son, they pitied her and covered her family's expenses too.
But once Haecul's sister became the concubine of Merchant Lord Song and struck it rich, he forgot all their help and treated his in-laws like dirt.
"You don't even remember what we did for you when you were broke? After you got rich, how arrogant you became—I felt sorry watching it. And how much did you even give? Less than what our parents gave you."
Haecul had no retort.
"Wh-when did I ever act arrogant...?"
"See? You don't even remember!"
She said coldly to him.
"Don't ruin the meal. Go sweep the courtyard."
"Son... your father is being treated like this..."
At that, his son glanced at his mother and said.
"Grandfather, Grandmother, from today, I'll study hard and revive the family."
"What a fine grandson we have..."
In this house, Haecul had no allies.
Recalling the morning's humiliation, Haecul sighed again and stepped out into the courtyard.
It had been ages since Haecul last swept with a broom.
About a decade, and the feeling was...
'New my ass!'
His stomach growled from the meager breakfast, and he felt utterly wronged.
But he had no time to wallow.
"Haecul, once the courtyard's done, clean the stables."
"......"
"Or leave if you don't want to."
"N-no, I'll do it."
Haecul trudged to the stables.
True to their affluent status, his in-laws owned two horses.
Upon arrival, the stable hand thrust a pitchfork at him.
"Load the horse dung onto the cart with this, then pile it in the compost shed."
"......"
"Don't want to? I'll tell the master..."
"Wh-when did I say I didn't want to?"
He snatched the pitchfork and entered the stable.
"Ugh..."
A gag escaped him unwittingly.
But he had no choice.
Gritting his teeth inwardly, he shoveled the dung onto the cart using the pitchfork and other tools.
'The elixir I ate will take effect in a month! Yeah! Once I gain inner energy, just you wait! I'll make every one of you beg before me!'
After clearing the dung, he followed the hand to the compost pile.
There, he tilted his head.
Something familiar was heaped like a mountain.
He picked some up, sniffed it.
'Th-this is the elixir? This smell, this texture! It's definitely the one I ate!'
The hand eyed him strangely.
"Are you mad? Why sniff horse dung all of a sudden? Gross."
"Huh? Horse dung? This is an eli—"
"Elixir? It's just dried horse shit."
"Huh?"
The hand explained to the still-clueless man.
"Wet horse dung dries up like that."
"But it doesn't stink?"
"Dried dung doesn't smell."
"......"
Only then did doubt creep in.
'That bastard Jisang clearly gave it to me as an errand reward...'
After agonizing, he shoved some into his mouth.
Crunch crunch...
The hand stared like he'd lost his mind, but Haecul was dead serious.
"Uh..."
The taste matched too.
'N-no! This can't be!'
He bolted from the spot and stormed into a martial arts school in the village.
Its master was said to have eaten an elixir and reached peak realm.
He could resolve his doubts.
"Where are you from?"
"I-I have a question! I ate an elixir that grants inner energy even to non-martial artists. Can you check if it was real?"
"Hm, one moment."
The disciple fetched the master, who heard the full story.
"Hm... That wasn't an elixir."
"N-not? Th-that can't be!"
"First off, elixirs aren't to be eaten lightly. Especially ones that give inner energy to commoners—they're extremely dangerous. Even martial artists call in experts to guide their qi circulation. For a commoner, without a transcendent master guiding you, your meridians explode on the spot and you die."
"But didn't you eat one on a mountain and become a master?"
"I was incredibly lucky. I endured unimaginable agony to absorb it. If I'd passed out, I'd be dead."
He continued.
"The pain was so bad, it's better not to eat one at all. How much did it hurt?"
"M-my stomach hurt a bit."
"Sounds like food poisoning from eating something bad. No way an elixir causes just that."
"Th-then what I ate was...?"
"Fake. You got scammed."
He collapsed on the spot.
Everything clicked.
What he'd eaten was just horse dung.
"Arrrgh!"
He screamed in rage.
'Jisang, you bastard! I'll kill you!'
Storming off in fury, he suddenly halted.
Something felt off.
'Uh...'
Why would Jisang—or anyone—give him that?
The pouch was made of monk's robe cloth.
Then...
'Shaolin already knows! That I ordered Jisang to do it!'
It was a warning.
Shaolin avoids killing lightly, so they stopped there. Any other sect, and he'd be dead.
'Come to think of it...'
He recalled the tracking incense he'd been fed. Trackable anywhere.
That was surveillance too.
It was a misunderstanding, but the result exceeded Eun Seo-ho's expectations.
Haecul resolved never to go near Shaolin.
His only refuge was his in-laws'.
As he trudged through the woods back, a burly man approached.
"Haecul Merchant Lord?"
"That's me."
No sooner said, the man stabbed his gut with a dagger.
Stab!
"...!"
The brute whispered in his ear.
"Remember the servant you beat to death because he displeased you?"
He'd killed several, so it didn't ring a bell at first.
But soon, a face like the brute's came to mind.
"Ky-Kyung?"
"Right, I'm Kyung's brother. Finally, revenge."
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
He stabbed repeatedly, venting his grudge.
"Guh... guh..."
"Farewell."
Thud.
Haecul's body crumpled.
The brute doused it in oil and tossed a fire starter.
I'm currently in the village below Shaolin Temple.
I'd received my reward from Abbot Master and was about to leave when an unexpected task arose.
I headed to the Geumsan Battlefield office.
To buy the estate and land Haecul owned.
They didn't desperately need it, so for thirty thousand nyang, I acquired the estate and land.
The reason? Its proximity to Luoyang.
I've forged a friendly tie with Shaolin.
If I need to visit Luoyang, having a base here makes sense.
Everything wrapped up perfectly—the size and location were ideal.
After the deal, I told Palgap.
"Hire people to clean it up."
"Got it."
Palgap quickly gathered hands.
The estate's former employees.
The owner was the problem, not the staff.
I addressed them sternly.
"I've bought this estate, but I'll rarely stay here. Your salaries won't be late. In return, keep faith with me."
I said coldly.
"I don't forgive oath-breakers."
"......"
Tension rippled through them.
Time to ease up.
"Keep that, and I'll treat you with trust and respect."
As I finished, Palgap clapped.
"Clap clap! Back to work, everyone!"
They hurried to posts, bustling efficiently.
As expected from the estate's veterans—no hitches.
Palgap approached me.
"While gathering them, I heard Merchant Lord Ha treated the staff brutally."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Beat servants and maids to death as examples—several, they say."
"Damn... truly vile."
No wonder his end was grim.
Then.
An elderly servant shuffled over hesitantly.
"Um... I have something to say."
"Ah, yes. What is it? Feeling ill? Shall I call a physician?"
"No, not that! ...Are you the great hero called Seonhyeopmirang?"
"Cough!"
Why that title now?
But his face was deadly serious, so I matched it.
"I don't see myself that way, but people call me that undeservedly."
He pulled something from his sleeve and offered it.
"Could you deliver this to Monk Jisang at Shaolin?"
It was a faded, soiled envelope.
A letter left by the deceased mother of Monk Jisang.
"What is this...?"
"This is... a letter left by Monk Jisang's late mother."
"Pardon?"