Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Triumphant Return
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After adding up all the time away, it had been nearly two months since his return to the clan.
Despite having traveled a long, grueling road sleeping rough every night, Baek Yang-hui was immediately dragged straight to the clan elders' meeting.
'Ugh, my body's all itchy. I was planning to wash up first and check how much my little siblings have grown.'
But there was no helping it. The moment Chief Steward Han heard "twenty thousand nyang," his eyes turned into gold coin shapes, and he hoisted Yang-hui up like he weighed nothing, sprinting off to the clan leader's office.
"Clan Leader! Young Master Hui has brought back money again!"
"Hui, you're back."
Yang-hui looked at his father with slightly widened eyes.
He'd thought he was still in secluded training. Already out?
Come to think of it, his aura felt extraordinary. The quantity of his stored inner energy hadn't exploded or anything, but there was a clear qualitative change.
'He's reached the first-rate realm.'
That was right. Baek Mu-ryang, who had broken through the limits of their third-rate family martial arts to reach the second-rate realm but stagnated there for long years, had finally become a true first-rate master.
"Congratulations on your achievement, Father!"
"Haha, you recognized it at a glance, as expected."
Baek Mu-ryang beamed with pride and continued.
"Hui, it's all thanks to you. Because you mastered the Harmonious Heaven Principle Origin Art and Heaven-Covering 108 Swords first and added your annotations, I was able to make my breakthrough."
"No way, Father. It's all because of your talent."
"No. With my own insight into martial arts, I couldn't even comprehend half of those two divine arts. Regardless of realm, I was genuinely awed by your discernment and the way you view martial techniques."
"I'm just grateful you think so highly of me."
Baek Mu-ryang smiled warmly and posed a question.
"So, how was your excursion? Did you achieve everything you set out to do?"
"Of course, Father. Brother Gu! Bring Chui-dal in here!"
Gu-ak and Chui-dal entered the clan leader's office together.
"Baek Ik Pavilion Leader Gu pays his respects to the clan leader. Chui-dal... no, I-hu. You greet him too."
"Hello! I'm Chui-dal... no, I-hu!"
Baek Mu-ryang looked puzzled as he regarded Chui-dal.
"So, is your name Chui-dal, or I-hu?"
Before Chui-dal could answer, Yang-hui jumped in.
"His name is I-hu, but I call him Chui-dal."
"Why?"
"Because his face looks like an ugly otter."
"Hm?"
Objectively speaking, Chui-dal was far too cute to be likened to an ugly otter.
'He acts quirky sometimes, and it looks like that side of him kicked in this time.'
Yang-hui felt a twinge of unease seeing Baek Mu-ryang accept it without further questions, but he pressed on to explain the results of his trip.
"On the way back, I stopped by Nanchang to check on the Baek Book Old Books Store. They couldn't sell novels because other merchant groups were interfering, so I took care of it. As for the payment, it should start coming in about a month from now."
Chief Steward Han raised his hand to speak.
"Young Master Hui. Does that mean the twenty thousand nyang you mentioned won't arrive for two months?"
Desperation and anxiety were plain on Chief Steward Han's face.
The Baek Clan Manor's finances were in truly dire straits, with urgent debts exceeding five thousand nyang.
"No way, Chief Steward."
Yang-hui grinned at him and personally unpacked his bundle.
Suddenly, the office filled with a golden glow.
"Oh my! As expected of Young Master Hui, a god of wealth! Uh-heh-heh-heh-heh!"
"Heavens. How much is it?"
"We won't know the exact value until it's appraised, but it looks like at least two hundred nyang in gold coins."
Two hundred nyang in gold was four times the five thousand nyang in silver they desperately needed right away.
It was enough not just to plug their financial holes but to start another business on top.
'Even after spreading half of it around near the Namgeum Merchant Group, it's still this much. How much usury did they have going?'
Unable to contain his excitement, Chief Steward Han forgot they were in a meeting and leaped to his feet, dancing joyfully.
"Two hundred nyang! And not in silver, but gold! That's twenty thousand nyang in silver! Twen-ty thou-sand nyang~"
Instead of stopping him, Baek Mu-ryang waited patiently until Chief Steward Han calmed himself down, understanding the hardships he'd endured patching their leaky finances.
"This can't be from the Baek Book Old Books Store. Where on earth did you get this much money?"
Yang-hui panicked for a moment. He'd planned to gloss over the source, but of all things, they asked about that.
Yang-hui and Gu-ak's eyes met as they flicked toward each other.
'Don't tell the truth! Find an excuse, Brother Gu!'
'Just trust me, little brother.'
Gu-ak spoke up confidently.
"Truth is, we wiped out an assassin sect and took their wealth, Clan Leader."
Yang-hui smacked his forehead.
Of all the excuses, he picks that one.
Well, it wasn't wrong if you skipped the messy middle parts—just the wiping out an assassin sect and taking their wealth.
The problem was his father's reaction.
"What?! You took Yang-hui on such a reckless, dangerous mission?!"
In that instant, Gu-ak realized the Yang-hui he knew was very different from the one the rest of the Baek Clan Manor knew.
"How could you do something so foolhardy, Baek Ik Pavilion Leader?!"
"Taking Young Master Hui and—what if you'd lost our precious god of wealth... I mean, our young master?!"
"......"
It wasn't me. The kid took the lead and slaughtered them all.
Gu-ak felt wronged.
In fact, during the fight with the Nameless Death Valley, he hadn't killed a single assassin himself.
Yang-hui had butchered the valley leader's assassins, and even killed the valley leader personally.
"What happened was, Clan Leader. Actually—"
"Father!"
Yang-hui raised his voice to cut Gu-ak off.
"Actually, I have a confession regarding that......"
"What is it?"
Yang-hui first explained Chui-dal's circumstances.
"Born to an assassin, lost his father to assassins, kidnapped by assassins and raised as one. That's Chui-dal."
The room's atmosphere sank in an instant.
Chui-dal's backstory was that heavy and harrowing.
"So I absolutely had to save him. Father. Though they were assassins, I committed murder. I felt I should tell you about it."
Baek Mu-ryang's eyes went wide—beyond that, he stood and hurried to Yang-hui's side.
"Are you alright, Hui? No mental shock?"
"I'm fine. But I've accumulated karmic sin from killing...... I have nothing to say about that."
Yang-hui bowed his head deeply. At the same time, he thought:
'With this much drama, he'll let the money thing slide, right?'
The father he knew wouldn't blame him for killing assassins.
That was the righteousness the Baek Clan pursued.
"Karmic sin? Sending those who killed for money—and piled up their own sins—to enlightenment? How could that be called sin? Hui, you bear no guilt, and you've accumulated no karma. If it must be karma, then this father will shoulder it for you."
"Father......!"
"It's alright. Everything's alright."
As Yang-hui intended, the mood shifted to gloss over the money's origins.
To drive the nail in, he tossed out the next bait.
"Actually. There's more I need to tell you."
"More? Speak."
He pulled a wrapped bundle from his pack.
"This."
"What's with wrapping it up so tightly?"
As he slowly unwrapped it, a mystical fragrance filled the office.
Baek Mu-ryang and everyone else stared in shock.
"This scent!"
"No way, a spirit herb?!"
"Seven branches and three fruits! It has to be the legendary Seven Branches Three Fruits Ginseng, Clan Leader!"
Yang-hui nodded, pleased with himself.
"I dug it up from a mountain on the way back. They say each root grants twenty to thirty years of cultivation. I brought it to offer to you, Father."
Baek Mu-ryang was moved beyond words.
A blessing. Pure blessing.
How did he always pick the things that brought such fortune to the family?
"Hui. As your father and clan leader, how could I covet what belongs to my son? At least take one root for yourself."
"No. I've already consumed one spirit herb."
An even greater shock swept the office.
"You ate a spirit herb? Where'd you get it?"
"Good grief, Young Master Hui is miraculous. What all did you gain on this trip that's not even two months long?"
When Yang-hui explained what happened at the marketplace, everyone marveled once more.
"Heavens. What fortune. True fortune."
"On top of being a god of wealth, heaven's favor must be upon Young Master Hui."
"I was wondering why you and Baek Ik Pavilion Leader wiped out an assassin sect, but now it makes sense."
Baek Mu-ryang looked warmly at Yang-hui, picked up one root of the Seven Branches Three Fruits Ginseng, and turned to Gu-ak.
"Baek Ik Pavilion Leader. Thank you for protecting my son. It might look odd handing over something you helped procure yourself, but this is your reward."
"Wha—Clan Leader! Thank you... huh?"
Before Gu-ak could react, Yang-hui snatched the ginseng root.
"Father. How about we hold off on giving the Baek Ik Pavilion Leader his ginseng?"
"You have something in mind?"
"Yes. The Seven Branches Three Fruits Ginseng is a famous spirit plant used as an ingredient in many elixirs. What if we refine it through pill-making to maximize its potency and spirituality?"
Trouble clouded Baek Mu-ryang and Chief Steward Han's faces.
"But we don't have a physician skilled in pill refinement at the main house. We can't entrust something this precious to outsiders."
"Famous divine physicians or great sects might be trustworthy, but we'd have to give up half as a fee."
Yang-hui nodded. Their points were valid.
But.
"I think I'll have a way soon. Please trust me and wait a little."
He turned to Gu-ak.
"Brother Gu. I'll get you an even better elixir than just eating the raw ginseng. Can you wait?"
"Hm. If my little brother insists that much, sure."
With the spirit herb matter settled, it was time for the next item.
Yang-hui looked at Yeo Un-hyeok.
"Elder... I mean, Senior. I have a request."
Yeo Un-hyeok chuckled softly.
"Speak it. I'll hear out anything that's not too difficult."
"Aren't you bored these days?"
Yeo Un-hyeok was staying at the Baek Clan Manor as a guest with his daughter Yeo A-rang.
But while Yeo A-rang handled major and minor affairs at Lake Shadow Tower with Gu-ak, Yeo Un-hyeok did nothing but read books and pass the time.
"Hm. I'm enjoying a leisurely rest, but it does get lonely."
"As I thought."
People need some pastime in their old age.
Like raising a disciple, for example.
Yang-hui grinned and shoved Chui-dal forward.
"How about taking a disciple for once?"
Chui-dal was the kid who'd earned the moniker Baek-ri Chui-dal despite his tumultuous previous life full of twists.
Meaning he had extraordinary innate talent.
On top of that, Chui-dal had incredible gifts in lightness skills and tracking techniques.
If he inherited the lineage of the Divine Throw Hidden Gate...
He'd surpass the old man in no time, guaranteed.
'Chui-dal, my boy. Let's go all the way this life.'
With that thought, he awaited Yeo Un-hyeok's reply.
Yeo Un-hyeok stroked his beard, scrutinizing Chui-dal from every angle, then smiled gently.
"Is that the extent of what you'd ask this old man, young master?"