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“Young Master!”

As if it was a reunion after decades, Gwang-du charged towards me like a bull.

I stepped aside slightly and walked towards Gong Su-chan, who was following behind.

“You must be tired from your journey.”

“Have you been well, sir?”

When I attended to Gong Su-chan first, Gwang-du made an incredulous expression.

“Huh. You’re taking care of the money first, I see.”

“Oh, so you consider our Chief Gong as money?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

Gong Su-chan smiled at the flustered Gwang-du.

“It’s alright.”

“No, it’s not!”

“I’m a person who manages money. As someone who interprets the world through money, such words don’t offend me at all.”

“Why are you being like this when I said that’s not what I meant? We had such a good atmosphere coming here together, didn’t we?”

Indeed, the atmosphere brightens when Gwang-du arrives. He brings a unique energy.

Gwang-du came to my side and whispered discreetly.

“I understand why you attended to Chief Gong first. You prefer to save the best for last, right?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m someone who believes that if you save things, they turn to shit.”

Ignoring Gwang-du’s pouting, I entered the inn first.

“You must be tired from your long journey. Let’s eat first, you must be hungry.”

Gwang-du’s eyes widened at the dishes unique to Hubei. I had ordered a feast.

“Wow! This is really delicious. Wuhan is truly Wuhan. It’s incomparable to that backwater Qufu!”

“Eat as much as you want! If it’s not enough, I’ll order more.”

“As expected! There’s no one like our Young Master!”

After filling their stomachs heartily, we finally got down to serious talk.

“Are my parents well?”

“They’re doing fine.”

“Do they miss me?”

“They didn’t say anything like that.”

“Hmm. How could that be?”

“Young Master, you’re still young so you might not understand, but when parents get older, they sometimes want their children to leave the nest. How long can a child remain just cute? Young Master, you should look into the mirror sometimes.”

“Hahaha.”

Since I was attacked, I had to retaliate. There was still one sure-fire way to get to him.

“Is Do Soon doing well?”

“Ah, just when I’m about to forget, you mercilessly dig it up again.”

“How can one forget their first love?”

“How many times do I have to tell you it’s not my first love?”

Gong Su-chan, who was sitting next to us, smiled faintly. He probably had an expression that suggested he’d bet money on it being first love if there was a wager.

“By the way, Young Master, don’t you miss Miss Song?”

“Is she doing well?”

“She’s become even more beautiful.”

“How do you know?”

“I visited again recently to pay respects to the Madam.”

I felt grateful to her again. It was even more appreciated because it was when I was away from home.

I know. Her actions are not to impress me.

She too is experiencing changes in her life. Parts that she used to be indifferent to now seem important to her. Taking care of my mother is probably one of those things.

That’s what change is like.

When one thing changes properly, everything changes.

After hearing all the news from Shandong, I brought up the reason I had called them here.

“Let’s create a merchant group.”

As if he had expected it, Gong Su-chan nodded calmly.

“When you called me all the way here, I had a feeling you would say this.”

“What do you think?”

“As you know, creating a merchant group is not an easy task. First, it requires a huge amount of money.”

“I know. That’s why let’s start with a small-scale merchant group, not a large one from the beginning. Instead, please keep expandability in mind.”

“When you say expandability…”

“This merchant group will spread to various parts of the Central Plains in the future. We’re starting small, but I want this beginning to become the root of a great tree. What I mean is, let’s not create it haphazardly, but with the expectation of growing it significantly in the future. This way, we can quickly expand the organization whenever we want.”

It’s easy to say, but by no means an easy task. After pondering for a moment, Gong Su-chan nodded.

“I understand what you mean.”

There was an expectant light in Gong Su-chan’s eyes. I thought that this might have been something he had been dreaming of for a long time.

“Also, please establish a communication post connecting Wuhan and Shandong.”

“Understood. Leave it to me.”

“How much money will you need?”

“Even for a small-scale merchant group, we’ll need at least 50,000 taels to start. For now, I’ll try to save from the funds I’m managing…”

I handed him a promissory note. It was money I had already withdrawn from the account.

“Here’s 100,000 taels. Please start properly with this money.”

Gong Su-chan was shocked. Gwang-du, who was next to him, also widened his eyes.

“Let me just touch it once.”

Gwang-du stroked the promissory note, trembling.

Using money taken from villains to start a business – this would have been unthinkable for me in my previous life. I would have thought it went against chivalry.

But now it doesn’t matter. I won’t repeat the same life. I regret the past life I lived bound by face and reputation.

It doesn’t matter if I’m not called a chivalrous hero. I’ll pay more attention to reality than to my reputation.

Although it flowed from evil, the starting point of this money was likely not an evil place. It was just the result of exploitation.

I hope this money will flow back to good places through my hands. If that happens, I don’t care how I’m called in the martial world.

“This money is enough. We should be able to create the merchant group you mentioned.”

“If you need more money, just say so, and if you need more people, feel free to hire them. I’m entrusting this task entirely to you, Chief Gong.”

“Leave it to me.”

I turned to Gwang-du and said,

“You’ll be in charge of Chief Gong’s protection while the work is in progress.”

“Yes, understood.”

Gwang-du answered with a happy expression. He seemed pleased to be able to help with such a big task.

Gong Su-chan stood up as if ready to start immediately.

“Rest today and start tomorrow.”

“No, I can’t rest easy when there’s work postponed.”

Gong Su-chan looked at Gwang-du and said,

“Is that alright with you?”

“Of course. We’ll be going then.”

The two left the inn.

Watching them move energetically, I felt the fatigue that had built up in Wuhan dissipate.

The next evening, I went to the Wind Tavern with Gwang-du.

On the way, I saw a group of people walking in the distance.

The man standing in the middle of the group was Ma Cheol-gun.

I knew a little about him because I had seen him during my time as the Alliance Leader. I remember thinking, “Did Ma Bonggi have such a son?” After exchanging a few words with him, he seemed intelligent and had a decent personality.

But that’s just a guess. That was the first and last time I saw him. How many times in life have we been deceived by first impressions?

Anyway, I know he’s currently serving as the interim sect leader of the Heavenly Blade Sect, which became vacant when Ma Bonggi became the Alliance Leader. I wonder what brings him here?

Next to him was an old man with a calm demeanor, and behind them followed seven men. They were clearly experts with extraordinary skills, and I knew who they were.

They were the Seven Dragon Swords[1], the seven experts who guard the Heavenly Blade Sect Leader. They used to guard Ma Bonggi, but now they were guarding Ma Cheol-gun, the interim sect leader.

What caught my attention was a man standing slightly apart from them.

Cold eyes devoid of emotion. Looking at the man, I immediately thought of Chilho.

It’s them.

He must have been trained by the same organization.

They had assigned one to Ma Jeongsu, so they must have assigned them to other successors too. But I was surprised to see that they had even assigned someone to Ma Cheol-gun.

Something was happening.

Anyway, it wasn’t something I could intervene in right now. Do whatever you want, fight amongst yourselves. I’ll become stronger on my own.

“What’s wrong?”

Gwang-du asked cautiously. It seems my expression had been serious for a brief moment.

“It’s nothing.”

“Young Master. If something’s wrong, you should tell me first.”

How could I not understand his concern for me?

“Alright, if any dangerous situation arises, I’ll think of you first.”

I strode forward, leaving the flustered Gwang-du behind.

“No, you don’t have to do that, there are plenty of moderately dangerous situations too…”

***

I introduced Gwang-du to Baek Pyo like this:

“This is my subordinate, Gwang-du. He’s the person I trust the most.”

It was a moment of introducing the person I trust the most in this life to the person I trusted the most in my previous life.

While their personalities were completely different, they had one thing in common.

They both had an unexpectedly sentimental side.

Gwang-du, elated at being called the most trusted, said playfully,

“Thank you for taking care of our inadequate Young Master all this time.”

I had only introduced Baek Pyo to Gwang-du as the tavern owner I had newly befriended here. It was just a light introduction on the first day.

Unable to join in the joke, Baek Pyo waved his hands.

“Inadequate? Thanks to Young Master Byeok, I’ve been having a lot of fun lately. My sales have increased a lot too.”

I sat down with Gwang-du at my usual spot and ordered drinks and food.

“Wow! The taste of this liquor is really amazing!”

At Gwang-du’s exclamation, I smiled and said,

“Don’t you taste the wind in the liquor?”

Gwang-du made a surprised expression.

“That’s a bit… Did you borrow money from the owner?”

Baek Pyo, who was listening, burst into laughter.

One thing I noticed about Baek Pyo during this visit to Wuhan was that he laughed a lot. I don’t think I ever saw him laugh during his time as the White Tiger Regiment Commander.

That night, after returning to the inn, I had another drink with Gwang-du. We brought up drinks and snacks and sat by the window of the second-floor guest room, drinking.

We spent a long time looking outside while drinking.

People returning home after work, the sad singing of a staggering drunk, martial artists walking briskly somewhere with their swords, various people were moving along their own paths. Just watching this scene gave me a strange feeling.

Gwang-du broke the fairly long silence.

“I think I understand why you like the owner of the Wind Tavern.”

“Did it seem like I like him?”

I was secretly surprised. Today, I had just introduced the two of them and had a quick drink before returning. I thought I hadn’t shown much emotion.

“Isn’t that the case?”

“Why do you think so?”

“He didn’t seem like an ordinary tavern owner. I can’t express it exactly in words. Anyway, just being with him felt comfortable. He was very different from the tavern owners I’ve seen.”

I hadn’t noticed it because I had known him for so long. But Gwang-du, seeing him for the first time, felt the sense of stability that Baek Pyo gave off.

I told Gwang-du about Baek Pyo.

That he was the former White Tiger Regiment Commander of the Martial Righteous Alliance, and that he had recently faced some difficulties which I had secretly helped with.

I didn’t want to deceive Gwang-du, and there was also a reason why I hadn’t made up my mind about Baek Pyo yet.

Honestly, I wanted to take Baek Pyo with me. I wanted to persuade and impress him somehow and take him in as my subordinate.

But not knowing how difficult my future path would be, I was unsure if it was the right choice to drag him into it.

Of course, regardless of my determination, making him my person was almost impossibly difficult. He wouldn’t easily serve another person.

The perceptive Gwang-du seemed to have glimpsed my thoughts.

“You should tell him. That you helped him. That you saved his family.”

“Why?”

“Why? He should thank you.”

“Am I a debt collector? If you give, must you receive?”

“If you don’t say anything, he won’t know. How can he know what he hasn’t seen? How can he know someone’s heart? I know you don’t like to show off, but the world doesn’t work that way. If you don’t say anything, people really don’t know.”

This must be something he had experienced directly in his life.

“It would be cooler if you tell him later instead of me saying it myself.”

“Well, of course. There was a purpose in calling me here.”

“Hahaha.”

I held out my cup, and Gwang-du clinked his against it.

“Young Master.”

“What?”

“Be honest and tell him everything. That you want to be together. I saw how you looked at him earlier. It was the first time I’ve seen you look at someone else with such a good feeling.”

“More than when I look at you?”

“I wouldn’t know that. I can’t judge objectively.”

This wasn’t an easy thing for Gwang-du to say.

He must have known that if Baek Pyo joined, his own position might become narrower. That he would have to share the attention and affection he should receive.

Despite this, Gwang-du was telling me this. For my sake.

“Alright, I’ll think about it.”

Like Gwang-du’s emptied heart of jealousy, his wine cup was also empty.

“Do it. Please.”

The cold night wind coming through the window was announcing that winter had arrived.

After finishing our drinking session, I lay down but couldn’t easily fall asleep.

Gwang-du on the opposite bed was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He seemed to have a lot on his mind too.

Suddenly, it felt much harder to make these decisions than to fight dozens of powerful enemies.

And so, a night full of thoughts was passing.