“So-ah! This matter can be quite burdensome. The North Sea Ice Palace and the Great Desert, the Mad Wind Sand, are unpredictable martial arts sects outside the pass, which means that the common sense of the Central Plains may not apply.”
“But Uncle. This is a matter for the Moyong Family. Not only is there no justification to ask the Martial Alliance for help, but if we do, the people of the world might laugh at us. In the first place, what was the reason I entered the academy as an instructor? It was to raise the prestige of the Moyong Family.”
“That’s true…”
“Although it is a difficult matter, we must solve it. Please leave it to me.”
“So-ah…”
“You know my martial arts, don’t you? There will be no danger.”
Moyong Baek pondered for a moment and then chewed on So-ah’s words.
Certainly, So-ah’s martial arts were at a peerless level that needed no explanation.
In addition, considering his status as the chief instructor, which corresponded to a first-class official of the Martial Alliance, and the prestige of the Moyong Family, he thought that even the North Sea or the Great Desert would not dare to treat So-ah carelessly.
“So-ah, are you really confident?”
“Of course, Uncle.”
“Then promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“If a dangerous situation arises, you must not overdo it.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
***
So-ah, who had made up his mind, moved to another place and had a private meeting with Chief Jang, where he heard the details of the matter.
“A few months ago, a request came from the North Sea Ice Palace. It was a request to transport the divine object, the ‘Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade,’ to Manju-jang in Qinghai. Since it was such a precious treasure, we received a considerable advance payment. Because of that, most of the high-ranking warriors of the escort agency were dispatched. But on the way through the Great Desert, the Mad Wind Sand bastards stole the escorted item. We informed the North Sea side of the truth and offered a settlement. But they said that if we didn’t find the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade, they would kill everyone in the escort agency.”
“Hmm… what about the time?”
“It’s until the hour of the Pig today.”
“What ruthless people. How many of them were there to make such an arrogant threat?”
“There were only seven, but each of them was a master of martial arts, and since the North Sea Ice Palace is a place that can replenish its forces at any time if it has the will and destroy our escort agency…”
“Chief.”
“Yes?”
“I will speak frankly.”
“What is it?”
“You were originally going to solve the matter with a huge settlement, right?”
“That’s right. If we can calm them down even through compensation, we must endure it.”
“Can you give me that money?”
“Yes?”
“I will solve the matter. But to do so, a considerable amount of progress fee is necessary.”
“Ah! If Young Master Jin can solve it, I am willing to pay any amount.”
“Then give me that money.”
“Aha…”
Chief Jang felt a sense of wonder.
Whenever a dispute arose in the Jianghu, he had received help from the Moyong family, but they had never openly demanded money like this before.
But wealth comes and goes.
If he could prevent the fallen trust of the escort agency and the resulting bloodbath, it was by no means a losing business for Chief Jang, so he readily nodded his head.
“I will give you any amount. If you can solve this matter cleanly!”
“Don’t worry, Chief. Then, let’s go!”
“Yes?”
“You said they would come at the hour of the Pig today, right? We have to go to the escort agency.”
“Aha, yes.”
“Let’s see how cold the sword of the North Sea is.”
For a moment, a strange light appeared in Chief Jang’s eyes.
‘Hah… Young Master Jin is a completely different type of person from the former Grand Family Head, Moyong Cheon, or the current Family Head, Moyong Baek!’
Chief Jang had that thought.
The Jang family, which had operated various businesses for three generations, had been sponsoring the Moyong family since his grandfather’s time.
But the Moyong Family was dark in finance and had no greed, so from a businessman’s point of view, there was a rather frustrating aspect.
For example, hadn’t a place like the Jeong family, which sponsored the Namgung Family, become a top merchant family that played with a thousand gold pieces through collaboration with the Namgung Family, which was bright in finance?
‘Perhaps Young Master Jin will change the old-fashioned Moyong Family. This person is different. Unlike the upright and scholar-like people of the Moyong family, he is intelligent and practical. Moreover, seeing that his driving force is also not ordinary… sponsoring the Moyong family might be a divine move!’
Chief Jang’s heart pounded with an unknown sense of anticipation.
***
“I have something to do, so I won’t be back for a while. But you must train in the Great Whale Heart Law at sunrise and sunset after finishing your stamina training every day. Also, repeat the moves of the Heaven-Shattering Consecutive Cannon at least 100 times. 50 times at the fastest speed you can perform! 50 times with the slowest movements. Got it?”
“No, then the whole day will be gone, so what’s with the ‘at least’? Even if I just perform it 100 times, I won’t have time to sleep!”
“Cut down on your eating time and your bathroom time.”
“Senior Brother! To say such a thing so casually… ugh! Bathroom time. How dirty!”
“When I come back, if you show a disappointing appearance, you’ll be in for it. I’m going!”
So-ah, after giving a stern warning to his junior sister and junior brother, said goodbye to Moyong Baek and Yeon So-so, packed his things simply, and set off.
Although he didn’t have a clear plan on how to solve the matter yet, it was clear that a turbulent great journey would unfold.
‘I can gain experience and earn a lot of money! I can’t miss this kind of opportunity.’
So-ah had set his own purpose.
Recently, the financial situation of the Moyong Family was not good.
After the death of the God of War, many sponsorships were cut off, and since the Moyong Family did not operate a separate business, there was no source of income.
Therefore, when he heard Chief Jang’s words about a huge settlement, So-ah was inwardly overjoyed.
Also, So-ah desperately needed various Jianghu experiences.
A matter involving the martial arts sects outside the pass would be a great experience for So-ah, who had little experience.
So-ah, on the contrary, considered this matter an opportunity.
***
—Liaoning Escort Agency, Hour of the Pig.
“Will it really be okay?”
“Not only are we heavily armed, but since Young Master Jin is here, there shouldn’t be a problem for now.”
“Is that young man really that strong? I heard that he even subdued Young Master Namgung Mun, who was said to be the once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the Namgung Family, in one blow. I can’t believe it!”
“Ahem! You, be careful with your words. What do you mean, a young man! Young Master Jin is the chief instructor of the White Martial Academy, with the qualification of a first-class official of the Martial Alliance. Moreover, he is the great disciple of the Moyong Family. If you speak carelessly, you’ll be in trouble!”
The escorts of the Liaoning Escort Agency murmured.
Just then.
Chief Jang and So-ah appeared before the armed escorts gathered in the garden.
“The time has come. Everyone, be prepared!”
Chief Jang also drew his sword and shouted.
He was also a man of the Jianghu.
As he was about to face a clash, his fighting spirit boiled.
In that moment.
“The head of the Liaoning Escort Agency, receive my sword!”
A single figure jumped over the wall of the escort agency.
The figure was dressed in white from head to toe and was wearing a mask. Judging from the clear voice and the swift figure, it seemed to be a woman.
“Are you a person from the North Sea Ice Palace?”
Chief Jang asked.
But the figure in white, without answering, drew her sword and flew in like a flash.
‘What an amazing lightness skill.’
For a moment, So-ah couldn’t hide his surprise.
The lightness skill of the figure in white was like a flash of lightning, to the point where no one in the room except So-ah could see it properly.
“Oops!”
As expected, Chief Jang could not defend against the sword release of the figure in white.
In the blink of an eye, a sharp blade was aimed at Chief Jang’s neck.
“Excuse me. I acknowledge our escort agency’s mistake and deeply apologize. I will not avoid responsibility in any way. I mean that I will definitely resolve the matter… so… let’s not do this, let’s be rational…”
Although Chief Jang pleaded with the figure in white, he could not finish his words.
“Shut up! I told you it was such an important escorted item! How can you lose the escorted item to a mere band of horse-riding robbers and shamelessly call yourself an escort agency? This is why you Central Plains people shouldn’t be trusted in the first place.”
The figure in white trailed off.
At a glance, it sounded like she was sobbing, and So-ah, watching her, had a hunch that a complicated situation was entangled.
“Excuse me. Miss of the North Sea?”
So-ah opened his mouth to the figure in white.
“What are you?!”
“I am Jin So-ah of the Moyong Family.”
“Jin… So-ah?”
“Let’s put down the sword first and talk.”
“Shut up! Do you dare to act up in front of me, believing in the name of the Moyong Family?”
“You’re going too far. It’s not like that, so please put down that sword.”
“What if I don’t?”
“You’ll faint.”
“What?!”
For a moment,
—Thwack!
A single hitting sound erupted.
“Uh… huh?”
The figure in white fell into a delusion.
The delusion that the stars in the sky were approaching before her eyes.
At the same time, the dull impact on her neck made her fall.
—Thud.
“Phew…”
Only then did Chief Jang stroke his neck and wipe away his cold sweat.
“Young Master Jin. You are truly amazing. To make such a master faint in one blow!”
“It’s nothing. Well, this is my specialty.”
“A specialty… you say?”
“Ah! Haha, well… I’m used to beating people up and making them faint. By the way, is it just one person? You said seven people came last night, right?”
“That’s right…”
“Hmm. Anyway, let’s move her to a guest room first. I’ll try to negotiate when she wakes up.”
“Let’s do that.”
***
A little later…
When the mask of the figure in white was removed, as expected, a woman’s face was revealed.
For a moment, So-ah’s mouth fell open and he couldn’t speak.
It was because the woman’s face was so beautiful that it was hard to describe.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been impressed by someone’s face…’
So-ah had realized that he could be impressed just by looking at someone’s face when he first saw Wi-ji Chan and when he saw Namgung Mun.
But after that, no matter how handsome or pretty a person he saw, he was not surprised.
His junior sister, Moyong Hwa, and his friend, Tang Hwa-rin, had a unique primness and cold yet soft eyes that could be called a peerless beauty, and in the case of Myo-seon, she was so beautiful that even the word ‘nation-toppling beauty’ was not enough, so he didn’t feel any particular stir even when he saw a handsome man or a beautiful woman.
But this woman’s face was so outstanding that it surpassed all of them.
Just then.
“Hmm…”
The woman, who had just regained consciousness, let out a low moan.
“Are you awake? Miss of the North Sea?”
“Yes… you bastard!”
The woman, as soon as she opened her eyes, glared at So-ah with blazing eyes, but since So-ah had already pressed her acupoints, she could not move her body.
“I know it’s rude to a first-time acquaintance. But you were rushing in with the momentum to kill someone, so I pressed your acupoints. So, please understand. Now, let’s get to the point. I’ve heard the story roughly. The North Sea Ice Palace entrusted the Liaoning Escort Agency with the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade to be sent to Manju-jang, but the Mad Wind Sand bastards of the Great Desert stole the escorted item. So, you’re going to massacre the Liaoning Escort Agency. Well, it seems to be a scene like this, right?”
At that, surprisingly, the woman began to speak while sobbing.
“Sob… sob… you don’t know! This is a matter of the existence of the North Sea Ice Palace!”
“Miss. I’ve heard that the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade is a divine object. But is it a matter to be discussed as the existence of the North Sea?”
“Don’t say what you don’t know! It’s not such a trivial matter as simply losing a divine object!”
“Ah-yes. Well, if the client says so, then it must be so. By the way, Miss of the North Sea?”
“…”
“But why do you keep speaking informally?”
“What?”
“Well, I see that we’re about the same age, but your words are a bit short.”
“Do you dare to insult me?”
So-ah, seeing the woman use the rather arrogant expression ‘me,’ realized that she was not of ordinary status.
‘Is she perhaps the only daughter of the North Sea Ice Palace Lord or something?’
But to So-ah, the opponent’s status and position were not important at all.
“Alright, what the hell. Well, fine! Then let’s speak comfortably.”
“You brat… are you trying to be on equal terms with me?”
“Phew… excuse me, Miss of the North Sea.”
“…”
“I beat them because their stamina was weak, I beat them because their ki sense was dull, and some guys were a bit arrogant. So I beat them. Do you know how many rising stars of the Jianghu I’ve beaten up like that?”
“You… you…”
“Young friend! A request is a request, but you have to have basic manners. Distinguish between public and private matters properly. You’ll shit blood if you keep that up.”
(End of Chapter)