Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: White Sprouts' Three Threes
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"Sam-bro, you feeling okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me, Sam-bro."
"No big deal. We're the Baek A Three Threes, after all!"
"You're right. Thanks to you coming to the main house, Sam, the Baek A Three Threes are finally complete!"
"......Am I included in that nickname too?"
"Of course. You need three Sams for Baek A Three Threes."
Common folk with nothing to their name and no learning often named their kids after numbers.
Like Wang Sam, Wang Chil, that sort of thing.
The Baek A Group had a lot of orphans and those with rough backgrounds, so names overlapped now and then. And wouldn't you know it, there were three boys named Sam.
"Wang Sam! Jang Sam! And Jin Sam! Together, the Baek A Three Threes!"
"It's finally complete!"
Jin Geum-bo's son, Jin Sam, mumbled hesitantly.
"But my name's Sam (參), not Sam (三)......"
"What's the difference? It's still Sam."
"Sam-bro, why don't you ask your dad to change it to Sam (三) while you're at it?"
"Eh, that might be pushing it."
Yang-hui, who had been eavesdropping on the three Sams' conversation, chuckled softly.
"Cute little punks, playing around like that."
Well, it was a good sign. It meant their familiarity was turning into real camaraderie.
Of course, after getting beaten together for over a month, a sense of brotherhood was bound to sprout.
No, shared suffering was probably the more accurate term.
'Anyway, with this, I can take a break from Probing Pressure Points for a while.'
For a whole month, he'd practically massaged every inch of the Baek A Group's bodies almost every day.
It consumed a massive amount of qi, making it exhausting even for Yang-hui.
If he hadn't swallowed eight more Spirit Pills at Sword King Hall and pushed his inner power past two jia, it would've been impossible.
Body tempering methods fell into two categories.
External and internal.
There was still room to advance externally, but it was time to start internal training in parallel.
Strengthening the acupoints, maximizing the efficiency and speed of qi circulation.
And above all, he needed to open the unblocked acupoints.
Connecting all acupoints by opening the Ren and Du meridians was one of the conditions for reaching Super Peak.
'Thanks to relentlessly doing Probing Pressure Points without a break, my qi circulation has improved a ton.'
Thanks to memories from his past life, Yang-hui could manipulate qi better than anyone.
But skillfully handling qi and having superior qi circulation were slightly different things.
The former was a matter of technique, while the latter was about the body's foundation.
Simply put, it was like this.
A road gets firmer and smoother the more people tread it.
In that sense, acupoints were roads too.
'Pushing qi through them to the point of overload made the acupoints tougher and wider.'
That was why he'd used a method bordering on violence for Probing Pressure Points.
To train himself too, by emitting Harmonious Heaven Qi through his hands and feet.
"Big brother!"
A bright, lively voice rang in his ears.
Yang-hui turned with a beaming smile.
"Yeon-ya!"
Baek Yeon-yeon was bouncing toward him like a deer, full of energy.
"Big brother! Eek! It's been forever!"
Baek Yeon-yeon was as affectionate and adorable as ever.
His precious little sister, growing up beautifully just like in his past life.
"Yeah, it has. You back from the academy?"
"Yep! Staying at the main house for a month."
"Got it. Welcome home."
Unlike Baek Heon-so, who devoted himself to martial arts, Baek Yeon-yeon had been attending the academy for about two years now.
To make the clan a hegemon and respected power in the region, they needed not just martial might but literary influence too.
And the Baek Clan had one advantage there.
Their stepmother, Jeong In-hwa, was the daughter of a renowned scholar nearby.
That was why Baek Yeon-yeon could study at Yangsu Academy, the most prestigious in Gangseo Province.
'The problem is that in my past life, the reason Yeon-ya died was tied to Yangsu Academy.'
Yangsu Academy was named after Ouyang Xiu, one of the Eight Masters of the Tang and Song, from Jiangxi's capital.
The students there were all from powerful clans and influential families.
'But this time, her position is worlds apart from my past life, where she barely got in on a recommendation. It won't end like before.'
Still, just in case, he'd make arrangements when the opportunity arose.
As he was catching up with Baek Yeon-yeon and strengthening their sibling bond...
"Little brother."
Gu-ak, who had approached unnoticed, called out to Yang-hui.
Baek Yeon-yeon's eyes sparkled at the sight of Gu Hwa-hwa perched on Gu-ak's shoulder.
"Hwa-hwa!"
"Ah! Sis!"
Baek Yeon-yeon caught the leaping Gu Hwa-hwa and spun her around.
"Eeeek! I've missed you so much, Hwa-hwa!"
"Me too! Missed sis!"
"Aww, really? Here! Pat-pat! You're so cute, I'll pet you!"
"Kyarruk! Kyarruk!"
Yang-hui and Gu-ak fell silent for a moment, watching the scene with warm smiles.
With the Baek Clan Fort's two cutie pies together, the adorableness was off the charts.
"By the way, Brother Gu. What brings you here?"
"I must be losing it. We've got a guest."
"A guest?"
"Chu Yong-wol from the Baek Merchant Group. The Chief Steward's entertaining her, but she's asking for you."
Hm. No doubt here for the next novel.
Come to think of it, it had been about three years since the last one.
He'd been swamped with other stuff.
And he hadn't needed a huge sum of money lately anyway.
"Understood."
He headed to the Chief Steward's office and opened the door.
"Chief Steward Han. I'm here."
Han Seok-eon and Chu Yong-wol, who had been talking with grave expressions, turned their heads.
"Young Master Baek! Long time no see!"
"Indeed, Miss Chu."
Chu Yong-wol, who had towered over him when they first met, now required him to look way down to meet her eyes—about a head and a half shorter.
"Miss Chu, I'll have the next novel ready soon. One Stroke Writer's fame is spreading beyond Gangseo Province, so let's boost our influence even more with this one."
"Ah, Young Master. That's not why I came today."
"Then?"
Chu Yong-wol, her face somber, continued.
"I'm here to ask for the Baek Clan's help."
Help?
The Baek Merchant Group, started from the Baek Bookstore, was expanding rapidly with book and paper trade.
No obvious reason they'd need a martial clan's aid right now.
"Escort services?"
"No. For defense."
Defense. He had a pretty good idea what was up.
"Don't tell me Namchang's merchant guilds are targeting the Baek Merchant Group?"
"Young Master Baek is as sharp as ever."
Chu Yong-wol sighed and began explaining.
"One Stroke Writer's identity is a secret, but everyone knows our group walks hand-in-hand with the Baek Clan."
"True. Whenever we needed supplies or merchant help, we always went through you."
"That's why Namchang's guilds—specifically the escort agencies—are pressuring us. That's what I came to discuss."
The Baek Merchant Group was based in Namchang but entrusted all transport escorts to the Baek Clan's Heaven-Covering Escort Agency.
The Namchang escort industry was calling them out on it.
'The reason they're picking a fight is......'
Namchang, Gangseo Province's capital and largest city.
There was one sect there feeling threatened by the Baek Clan's rise.
"Namchang Supreme Sect. The White Clothes Sect is making a move."
"Exactly. Through Changil Escort Agency, to be precise."
The name said it all.
"They took their name from Namchang Supreme."
"Yes. Changil is the biggest escort agency in Namchang. And..."
"They're tight with the White Clothes Sect."
"Spot on."
The picture was clear.
"They can't pick a fight directly without tarnishing their upright reputation, so they're using Changil to target the Baek Merchant Group, which looks like our ally."
"That's our read on the situation too."
If it was just some podunk escort agency, they could ignore it.
But with the White Clothes Sect backing them, it was different.
Better to nip it in the bud before it needed a full swing of the hoe.
'White Clothes Sect...... A pretty aggressive bunch. They wiped out Jeongwol Sect in my past life.'
To declare the main house hegemon of Gangseo, he needed to seize the capital, Namchang.
And here they were, handing him an excuse on a silver platter.
"Young Master Hui. What do you think we should do? I say we convene the elders' council first."
That would just drag Baek Mu-ryang out of his training trance again.
"No need for that. It's nothing major."
"Nothing major? Do you have some clever plan?"
Yang-hui grinned at Han Seok-eon and Chu Yong-wol's expectant, shining eyes.
"Perfect timing, actually. I've been thinking it's time to expand into Namchang."
He was planning to pause the Baek A kids' Probing Pressure Points for the next month anyway, so why not take a quick trip?
"I'll go to Namchang myself and handle it."
"Oooooh!"
Joy lit up Han Seok-eon's face.
"The living god steps up again! Go on! Bring back piles of silver!"
'Well, this time it's more like spending a pile.'
Still, he'd wring even greater gains from it, so in a way, it was earning.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ That very day, he packed light and left Baek Clan Fort with Chu Yong-wol.
Unlike before, when the Dang siblings, Gu-ak, and Chui-dal had come along, this time it was just Yang-hui.
'I don't miss anyone else, but without Chui-dal, it feels kinda empty.'
Without the guy who'd bickered with him from past life to present, things felt boring.
Especially on a carriage ride with nothing to do.
"Yang-hui. Little monk hungry."
'......Oh right, this guy's here.'
The guy taking up half the carriage.
A-du.
"Hang on a bit. We'll be in Namchang soon."
"Buy rice cakes? Donate rice cakes to little monk."
A-du stuck out his pot-lid hand like he was showing off.
To fill that with rice cakes, it'd take silver, not coppers.
"Sure, I'll donate. But you gotta work for it today too. Remember what I said? Those who don't work..."
"...shouldn't eat! Little monk is diligent worker. Amitabha."
Clop-clop, the carriage rattled on.
About an hour after Namchang came into view.
It stopped in front of Changil Escort Agency's main gate.
Yang-hui cupped his fists toward the gatekeeper.
"Could you pass word inside? A distinguished guest has arrived."
"Pardon me, young hero, but who might you be?"
"Yang-hui of the Baek Clan. They'll know when you tell them."
Sure enough, Yang-hui's group was ushered right in.
After a short wait in the guest hall, the Changil Escort Leader appeared.
"Hm. Didn't expect an uninvited guest like you. I'm Yeo Gu-wi, Lord of Changil Escort Agency."
"Pleased to meet you, Agency Lord."
"What brings the famed Soaring Heaven Sword Dragon to our humble agency?"
A mix of wariness and indifference showed on the Agency Lord's face.
'He probably figures I'll try sweet-talking or begging.'
Times like this called for shattering expectations.
Spectacularly.
"Straight to the point: I want to buy Changil Escort Agency."
The Agency Lord's face twisted in an instant.
"Sell the family business? Are you insulting me? Got a bit of fame and now you're arrogant, young hero!"
The Agency Lord's shout. But Yang-hui just smiled faintly.
"Three thousand nyang of gold."
"No matter how much you off— What did you say?"
Shock spread across the Agency Lord's face.
It was too much money to reject without hearing him out.
'Time to show you what real money play looks like, White Clothes Sect.'