Chapter 32. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (7)
As the one who guarded the entrance to the Guild, the gatekeeper also naturally dabbled in martial arts.
Therefore, even forgetting the fact that Woo-Moon was the grandson of the Palm Martial Emperor, the way he had fought against the enemy mercenaries the other day had left a deep impression in everyone's mind.
So, the title ‘Young Hero’ came naturally to the gatekeeper.
Naturally, Woo-Moon was also more than happy to be called ‘Young Hero Song,’ a complete change from the ‘village idiot’ that had been his only nickname for a while now.
The gatekeeper before him was just one of the people who now referred to him as Young Hero Song. Thus, happy to hear the title again, Woo-Moon nodded with a smile and entered the gate.
However, that good mood instantly faded.
That was because the first people he saw inside were the children of the major figures of the Merchant Guild.
‘Childish trash that only knows how to stomp on others,’ Woo-Moon thought as he walked past them.
“Huh? Hey hey...”
Although they would have typically just ignored him haughtily, as if they were looking down on him, their reaction was completely different this time.
After a moment of bewilderment, they timidly bowed to Woo-Moon.
“He... hello.”
However, Woo-Moon didn’t smile at them in turn. Instead, he tried to pass them by, barely even acknowledging their greeting. He simply didn’t like their personalities.
They were the type that, rather than looking at the person before them for who they were, would instead first look at their ability and position before deciding to support them or look down on them accordingly.
Chae Young-Ryong, whose face had visibly withered overnight, rushed over to Woo-Moon after catching sight of him and grabbed his hand.
“Young Hero Song, you've arrived! Welcome, welcome! How splendid, I had something I wanted to speak with you about. How do you feel about at least a cup of tea...”
It was the same title of ‘Young Hero Song,’ but the feelings it elicited were worlds apart.
"Let go,” Woo-Moon said, shaking off Young-Ryong's hand.
A vicious glint flickered across Young-Ryong’s eyes for a moment, but soon, he smiled servilely again and spoke once more.
“Haha, they say that if you so much as brush against a passer-by, it's because there's fate between the two of you. Why are you being so cold? So... I wanted to talk to you about something regarding your grandfather, the Palm Martial Emper...aghk!!”
Woo-Moon pulled Young-Ryong over roughly by the collar and whispered into his ear in a terrifying tone, “I am fairly sure that my grandfather was crystal clear: do not let even a hint of the words 'Palm Martial Emperor' escape your mouth. Even so, it seems you bastards still flap your lips with no worries. Do you want to die?”
It seemed that whatever fate there was between the two of them, it had led Young-Ryong to death in a previous life. Clearly, their relationship was ill-fated.
Young-Ryong was unable to answer properly as he choked under Woo-Moon’s grasp.
“Watch your mouth. Do you understand?"
Young-Ryong nodded hurriedly, and only then did Woo-Moon release his collar. After staring at him coldly for a moment, Woo-Moon headed toward Si-Hyeon's office.
“Cough, cough.”
Red-faced and coughing, Young-Ryong glared in the direction Woo-Moon disappeared with fire in his eyes.
‘How dare that bastard do that to me?! He dares insult me even after I lowered myself this far? Fine, let’s see what happens later. I’ll make you regret this!’
This was the limit to Young-Ryong. Instead of thinking about what he had done to others or the wrongs he had committed, he was the type of person to fester grudges from any perceived slight. That was all Chae Young-Ryong amounted to as a human
He hadn’t realized it yet—why the Palm Martial Emperor, who had a great breadth of experience in gangho, hadn’t deigned himself to completely stomp him out and prevent him from baring his fangs ever again. Completely overlooking that key fact, Young-Ryong had already begun to hatch a vicious plot in his mind.
“Interim guild master, it’s Woo-Moon.”
"Ah, yes. Come in, Young Hero Song."
At the invitation of Si-Hyeon, who now also called him Young Hero Song, Woo-Moon entered the office jovially.
“Here is the compensation for this business trip.”
She took out a silver tael and handed it to Woo-Moon as she spoke. He hadn’t worked for an entire month yet, so this was a bonus for the business trip rather than his monthly salary.
“Thank you.”
Woo-Moon felt proud as he received the silver tael. It was the first tael he had ever earned from working. Yes—this was not the result of his parents' labor; instead, it was something he had earned purely on his own.
“Also, there’s this as well... for convenience’s sake, let’s call it a thank-you gift. Please, take it.”
“Pardon?”
While he didn’t understand what Si-Hyeon was saying, Woo-Moon still took the pouch he was offered. It felt pretty hefty, and as he looked inside, he saw more than thirty silver taels.
“Why are you giving me such a large sum of money...?”
Si-Hyeon smiled brightly at Woo-Moon's confused expression.
“As I said, it’s a thank-you gift. Because you had joined us, Young Hero Song, our guild received a great deal of help. A merchant guild with ties to the Palm Martial Emperor, a guild where the Palm Martial Emperor’s grandson works as a porter. The thirty silver taels I’ve just given you are worth nothing compared to that status.”
That was something that even Woo-Moon could have guessed. Still...
“Aren’t there some people who lost their lives because of us? To be honest, I feel guilty toward them, so how could I accept this money...”
Si-Hyeon knew she couldn’t tell him about the Luminous Night Pearl, as Baek Sang-Woon had asked her to keep it a secret.
“That matter has already been handled. I apologize for being unable to tell you the details, but things have been sorted out. Please don’t worry and just take the money.”
“I see. Alright then!”
Woo-Moon put the money pouch in his bosom, satisfied by the heavy feeling it gave him.
Growl?
Suddenly, as the money pouch entered his breast pocket and the space became cramped, Eun-Ah growled low in irritation.
“Oh my! Is that Eun-Ah?”
Si-Hyeon's eyes sparkled.
"Ah, yes. Hey, come out."
Thump!
Eun-Ah, awakened by the money pouch, jumped out from within Woo-Moon’s bosom. She spun a few times in the air before landing on the ground, making no noise as the soft pads and fur on her paws absorbed all sound. Having landed on the ground, she looked puzzled for a moment. The place was entirely new to her, so she carefully walked around and sniffed about.
Si-Hyeon squealed from how cute she found Eun-Ah, and called out to the cub.
“Eun-Ah, come over here.”
Grrr?
Eun-Ah, who was so clueless about her surroundings that she had only just realized Si-Hyeon was there, leaped toward the girl. Easily climbing to a height many times her own, she settled down within Si-Hyeon’s arms.
"Oh, how cute you are."
Si-Hyeon, entirely in love with Eun-Ah, was busy playing with the cub and stroking her. Woo-Moon just smiled quietly and watched the pleasant sight without interrupting.
Si-Hyeon then started to shell the peanuts on the office table and feed them to Eun-Ah as she looked over at Woo-Moon.
“There’s something I’ve been wondering about.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“Why did you hide it? I mean, that you know martial arts...or that you’re the Palm Martial Emperor’s grandson.”
Although she had heard him speak to the others the other day and knew more or less what had happened, she still wanted to hear it from Woo-Moon himself, for some reason. Thus, Si-Hyeon feigned ignorance and even acted a little upset as she asked him about it.
"Oh, that's...”
Woo-Moon slowly began to unravel his story. Everything from how he hadn’t originally been a fool when he was young and had just become one in the process of acquiring the martial arts of the landscape painting, to how he had met the Palm Martial Emperor on the business trip and had only found out about their relationship.
At first, he hadn’t intended to explain it all in such detail, but it all flowed out naturally as he spoke. Thus, even though Si-Hyeon was actually hearing all this for the second time, she still listened with great interest.
“The reason why I didn’t tell anyone that I learned martial arts is that no one asked me, and I was never given any chances to display them. It’s not that I had wanted to hide it, but it’s not like I could have gone around bragging to random people like ‘Look at me! I’ve mastered martial arts!’”
“Pfft! Well, that’s true. Yeah... I guess you really did have your reasons.”
In truth, she had already assumed that was the case, given Woo-Moon's personality. As for the Palm Martial Emperor being his grandfather, considering that Woo-Moon’s family had been living as normal people in Unhan for such a long time, it was not implausible that he didn't know that.
“Then, what was the reason for not telling anyone that your younger brother is a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect?” she asked.
“That was because my mother didn’t like us getting involved with the murim or martial arts. She also said that nothing good would come out of people knowing that anyway, and that as a member of Mount Hua, my younger brother would eventually have a great many friends, but just as many enemies, so it could instead become more dangerous for their relatives outside the murim if they got involved.”
"I suppose that makes sense."
The Mount Hua Sect was a member of the Nine Sects and One Gang—a pillar that upheld the Righteous Path[1] and pursued heroism. As such, the disciples of the Nine Sects and One Gang would travel throughout the gangho as they punished the wicked.
In the process, it was natural to form grudges against various criminals or even organizations from the Evil Faction. Thus, there would have been nothing good to come if Woo-Gang’s family, who didn’t know any martial arts, learned about what he did in the murim or let others know about their connection.
Purrrr~
Eun-Ah, who had eaten peanuts until her stomach was about to explode, lay on the table and rolled belly-up.
Si-Hyeon hesitated for a moment before asking, “Then, what does your family plan to do from this point, Young Hero Song?”
“My family?”
“After your mother’s treatment is finished. Do you plan on going to the Iron Sword Baek Family?”
"Oh, I'm not sure about that yet. Depends on what my parents decide...”
"I see."
There was an awkward silence for a moment before Woo-Moon spoke again.
“Because of my mother’s treatment, my brother and I have to take turns standing watch for the time being. So...I don’t think I can work as a porter for the Leebi Merchant Guild anymore.”
Suddenly, Si-Hyeon was struck by the thought that she wanted to hold onto him, but in the end, she held herself back. She was afraid that it would look like she only cared about him because he was the Palm Martial Emperor’s grandson. That was a misunderstanding she wasn’t willing to face.
“Well, then, it can’t be helped. It’s all right, Young Hero Song.”
Si-Hyeon smiled brightly. In the process of taking charge of the Leebi Merchant Guild on behalf of her ill father as the interim guild master, she had become rather confident in her skills at hiding her heart and smiling through anything.
Woo-Moon's only concern at the moment was whether his family was doing well. Thus, he hurriedly said goodbye to Si-Hyeon.
“I'm worried about my mother, so I'll have to return now. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to have kept you for so long! I didn't even notice how time passed. Don't worry, just go!”
"Let's go, Eun-ah."
Growl!
With half-lidded eyes, Eun-Ah waddled for a moment as she struggled to control the weight of her bulging stomach and ran into Woo-Moon’s arms.
“Then till next time, Interim Guild Master.”
"Yes, take care."
Woo-Moon exited the office.
Looking over for a moment at the door closing behind him, Si-Hyeon let out a deep sigh from her dainty lips.
“Whew...”
At that moment, as he turned around and left, Woo-Moon’s back had looked just as wide and reliable as when he had leaped in front of her to protect her and shield her from harm.
* * *
Later that night, Young-Ryong visited his father, the deputy guild master of the Leebi Guild.
“Are we just going to let this slide, Father?”
“What do you mean?”
“If things continue like this, eventually, that bitch Yeon Si-Hyeon will eventually jump over you and become the guild master. Are you just going to watch that happen?”
The appearance of the Palm Martial Emperor had upended all of their plans. Just because he had become somewhat acquainted with Si-Hyeon, Young-Ryong and his father’s plan to devour the entire guild at once had turned into a dream. To make matters worse, Woo-Moon, who he had assumed was just a lowly porter, had turned out to be the Palm Martial Emperor’s grandson!
“Then, what am I supposed to do? Even if we were to proceed with the plan, we’ll just be in a dangerous position the moment the Palm Martial Emperor finds out.”
Young-Ryong’s father, Chae Noh-Cheol, had gathered information about the Palm Martial Emperor as soon as he had heard the rumors.
As for the result?
He had immediately concluded that the Palm Martial Emperor was a walking natural disaster and the best way to approach him was not to approach him at all. He was technically a member of the Righteous Faction, but if anyone crossed his bottom line, the viciousness of his retaliation made people question his allegiance. In fact, the deeds he committed in such circumstances were downright atrocious, which was why he was known as someone who tread the line between righteous and evil.
Such a person definitely wouldn’t just watch from the side if someone related to him was harmed.
“What, it's just the Palm Martial Emperor, Song Woo-Moon, Song Woo-Gang. Wouldn’t we solve our problems if we just take care of them?” Young-Ryong spat.
“Well, if we take care of them, of course. But just who the hell can just ‘take care’ of someone like the Palm Martial Emperor? What, you expect us to do something no one else has been able to do?”
“Hmph! In the end, that bastard is nothing more than a human. Even he wouldn’t be fine if he gets poisoned.”
This was the problem. No murim person who knew what the Absolute realm entailed would have considered a move like this for even a second. However, as merchants of a non-gangho guild, Young-Ryong and his father knew nothing about why the Absolute realm was called Absolute.
1. Not the same as the Righteous Faction. The Righteous Path is the philosophy of the Righteous Faction. ☜