Chapter 27 Return

Chapter 27: Return

It was a great victory.

By splitting the Nanman tribe and the Namcheongung scum, we gained numerical superiority.

Three days of surprise attacks had severely depleted their strength.

Killing the enemy commander instantly crushed their morale, sending it plummeting to the mantle.

However, our side wasn’t entirely unscathed either.

“So-hyun! Ugh…”

“You can’t sleep, you damn fool!”

“Open your eyes! Please, just open your eyes!”

“Ah, no!”

No matter how favorable the battle, it was impossible for no one to be struck by a blade.

Seventeen dead.

That was the toll our side suffered in this battle.

For now, it was just this many, but as time passed, the number would only grow.

In the martial world, where there were no antibiotics, let alone the concept of blood transfusions, injuries were that dangerous.

After a moment of silent mourning, the blood-soaked Wei Zhifeng approached.

“How’s your body holding up?”

“I’m dying.”

He answered nonchalantly, yet his eyes were filled with sorrow.

Because he had been at the very front, two disciples of the Silent Dragon Sect had died.

But we couldn’t afford to stay gloomy forever.

I forced myself to ignore the deep sorrow radiating from him and smiled.

“Your sword seems sharper.”

“I trained under the Grandmaster. It was hellishly hard, but thanks to that, I survived.”

As if sensing my intent, Wei Zhifeng gave a small smile and said.

“Are you formally taking over the Black Dragon Sect?”

“That’s how it turned out. There’s no one else who could do it.”

True enough, it had been twenty years since he became the sect master’s disciple. If not him, there was no successor.

“I’m sorry.”

An unexpected apology.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry for refusing your request for help with that mission last time.”

So that’s what he was talking about.

He was apologizing for not being able to assist with the rescue operation at the cleaning station last time.

“No need for apologies. I’m the one who should be sorry. I threw a fit without even knowing the Black Dragon Sect was sending reinforcements to the Pointed Blade Sect.”

The Black Dragon Sect was already suffering from a severe manpower shortage, with hardly anyone aspiring to become a Taoist master.

“I appreciate you thinking that way.”

“Let’s head back. Everyone looks exhausted; we need some rest.”

“Right.”

A short while later.

As soon as they returned to the secret base, the Green Dragon Sect warriors sprang into action.

True to the saying that poison and medicine are one, they possessed medical skills as basic training and were serving as medics.

“Huuu…”

Leaning against the wall, resting while watching them, the officers came to find me.

Then, out of the blue, they bowed deeply.

“Thanks to Squad Leader Jin’s courage and wisdom, we were able to save our lives.”

The one-eyed man from the Red Dragon Sect stepped forward as their representative to express their gratitude.

“I was just trying to save myself. There’s no need for such empty praise.”

“No. Thanks to you, we saved disciples from every faction. How could this be mere flattery? It’s our sincere gratitude.”

Well, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

***

The next day, battle unfolded again.

But it wasn’t the same kind of fight to the death as the day before.

It was merely dealing with enemy reconnaissance units attempting to infiltrate.

‘This is strange.’

At first glance, it seemed fortunate, but considering the circumstances, it made no sense.

They should be pouring all their strength into the fight, yet they only send out scouts in dribs and drabs.

‘Are they ignoring the enemy in the rear and planning to confront the Nine Dragons Fort vanguard head-on?’

No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t add up.

Even if they were confident in their numbers, the opponent was Nine Dragons Fort.

Even if they fought properly, it was doubtful they could win, so they wouldn’t leave themselves open to future trouble.

After a moment’s thought, I reached a conclusion.

‘They’re retreating.’

That was it.

For whatever reason, they had decided to pull back.

‘Why? Internal strife? Or did Mun Sang orchestrate a secret operation?’

Mobilizing ten thousand troops meant Namcheongung was betting their future on this decisive battle. Their easy retreat was incomprehensible.

After pondering briefly, I reached a conclusion.

‘They’ll figure it out themselves.’

My worries wouldn’t change anything.

And three days later.

My prediction proved correct.

Exactly one day before the vanguard reached Jianchang Mountain, Namcheongung began its retreat.

In a way, it was the right call.

Strategically, they couldn’t pour all their strength into confronting the vanguard while leaving their rear guard vulnerable.

Better to postpone the fight for another day.

“The enemy is retreating!”

The officers leapt to their feet at the news brought by the scouting party.

“Is that truly so?!”

“Yes! We saw it clearly with our own eyes!”

Wah!

The hall was filled with cheers.

The bloody war was finally over.

***

“Well done.”

Bukgungbaek’s praise.

“I’m truly grateful. Thanks to you, my disciples saved their lives.”

“As soon as I return to the capital, I’ll report to the party and arrange a reward. Think about what you’d like.”

“Was it Jinmujian? Our Baeryongdang owes you a great debt.”

The leaders of each faction offered their thanks and promised compensation.

But that wasn’t all.

Chin.

“Should the Green Dragon Sect need assistance in the future, bring it here.”

He even received a golden token of gratitude, glowing a bright yellow.

‘How much is this worth?’

His hardships had paid off.

He wanted to grin from ear to ear right then, but as a rising star of Guryongseong, he had to maintain his dignity. He composed his voice and bowed respectfully.

“With such praise from the seniors of [Ascension Pavilion], I’m truly at a loss for words.”

Graduating from Ascension Pavilion is a mandatory step to become a pillar of any faction.

In other words, everyone present here is bound by academic ties.

I merely hinted at those ties to polish my image.

‘Since I lack family connections or blood ties, I must leverage my academic connections.’

Why?

Because in the martial world, where connections rule, you need to boost your favorability to get bigger quest rewards.

And the reaction came instantly.

The Chief Commander of the Red Dragon Sect showed interest.

“Oh ho, you, are you from the Ascension Pavilion?”

“Yes, [Senior].”

“Heh heh, no outstanding talents have appeared since the Azure Dragon Sword… so you were hiding in the outer sect. Is that not so?”

“Indeed. Jin Mujeon, the Seventeenth Division Leader… I never dreamed Lord North Palace would have hidden such a claw.”

“I thought the same. They say a new master named Turyong appeared in the Outer Sect—truly a name that lives up to its reputation.”

“A friend with a promising future. Soon, we’ll catch up too.”

“Catch up to the many seniors who practically [manage] Guryongseong? That’s utterly preposterous.”

Dropping the pretense once in a while.

“Huh! Modest too? I thought you only had skill, but you’re a decent person too? Heh, heh heh heh.”

And so, the last night on Jianchang Mountain passed in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

The next day.

After stationing part of the vanguard’s forces at Jianchang Bunta, the rest began returning to the city.

The garrison, too, had endured far too much hardship, so their return was decided.

Perhaps because the enemy had fled before a fight even began, the mood on the return journey was good.

The only problem was that the journey home took far too long.

‘It takes twenty days to go to the next town over? This world is unnecessarily huge.’

Such precious time couldn’t be wasted.

I sought out the masters I’d gotten to know from each faction and listened to their various stories.

“If you deposit money with the Golden Dragon Guild, we pay two percent interest annually. What? You ask how to get higher interest? Simple. Just deposit a larger sum. Let me see… If you deposit five hundred taels in gold, we pay three percent interest. But why the sudden interest? Planning to deposit money?” Heh heh, you’re a diligent young fellow.“

”A planned development site… Hmm, our Baekryongdang is eyeing the area near Guryongho. We’ve actually invested quite a bit there already.“

”You want to get into the business of collecting overdue debts? I wouldn’t really recommend it. To outsiders, it might look like easy money, but it’s enough to drive a person mad. Malicious debtors come at you with knives, you know? Other businesses? Hmm… Ah! How about this?”

At first glance, it might seem like pointless chatter, but it’s not entirely so.

Since they’re all seasoned leaders who’ve cut their teeth in Guryongseong, every word carries weight.

For instance, the head of Geumryongdang’s Geumgeomdae introduced various financial products from Geumryongdang, promising special preferential rates.

The deputy head of Baekryongdang, famed for his vast land holdings, was shown areas likely to be developed.

And the chief steward of Jikryongdang, a veteran of the loan shark business, shared stories about various ventures.

“How to make money? What’s the need for that? Just go to the mines and swing a pickaxe—you can earn as much money as you want…”

Well, for the Hwaryongdang, boasting invincible labor power, it wasn’t particularly helpful.

‘Still, it was a great learning experience.’

Thanks to that, it was a huge help in planning how to invest the reward money from my previous mission.

And the highlight of the day came from Wei Zifeng’s mouth.

“We’ve got something in the works too.”

“With what money?”

“You idiot, we’re short on cash, but you think we’re completely broke?”

“Yeah, right. You can’t even buy candy for the kids, and you talk about…”

“Whoa? You bastard! Hey, are you ignoring Moolryongdang?“

”Brother Wiji, you should face reality. No money, yet you talk about a business? No, even if you had money, you need experience to run a business.“

”It’s not a business.“

”Then what is it?“

”It’s education.“

”Education…?“

”There’s an empty lot near the east gate.”

I’ve seen it a few times when guarding the east gate.

“But why that?”

“I want to build a martial arts hall there.”

“A martial arts hall? Will the landowner allow it?”

Weizifeng looked around and said in a low voice.

“Don’t be surprised. Not long ago, the landowner donated that land to us.”

“Why?”

“Why else? Because our Moolryongdang is the sacred site of the Sichuan Taoists, that’s why.”

“You’re crazy!”

Real estate prices in Guryongseong were skyrocketing by the day.

Land right next to the city gate was worth at least twenty taels of gold.

In modern terms, that’s over 20 billion won.

The thought of those ignorant Taoists getting such land for free made his stomach churn.

“Shh! Quiet. We don’t need others hearing this.”

Wei Zhifeng fidgeted nervously, raising his index finger to his lips.

If the Black Dragon Sect made money, many people would be inconvenienced.

Their undervaluation wasn’t due to lack of power, but lack of money.

But it was doomed from the start.

“Why not just open a business? On that prime land, a military academy seems…”

It was like opening a math academy on the first floor of a commercial building right in the heart of Hongdae in modern times.

Wee Jipung answered my question with a look of uncertainty.

“We have no talent for business, so there’s no other way.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

“Ahem, but here’s the thing.”

Wee Jipung cleared his throat and spoke. His face flushed, looking exactly like someone about to make a difficult request.

“I have the land, but I can’t just open a martial arts academy on an empty lot, can I?”

“……”

“So, I need some money to build the academy…”

“Oh! Goodness! It’s already this late. Brother Wei, let’s finish our conversation another time.”

Startled by the unexpected talk of money, I hurriedly rose from my seat.

Then he immediately unfolded the Jeonwangbo and slipped away from the seat.

But it seemed Wei Zhifeng had also prepared extensively.

Thud.

Warriors from the Moksryongdang appeared from somewhere and blocked my path.

Their faces were flushed red too, perhaps out of embarrassment.

“Even you brothers…?”

“My heart breaks seeing those young brats eating only grass every day.”

“You wouldn’t understand this heart that breaks a single sweet to share.”

“And what of the disciples? They spare even a single bottle of yellow wine, let alone white.”

I could have pushed through, but hearing their pleas, the faces of the young children of the Black Dragon Sect and those who had looked after me in my youth flashed before me, and I couldn’t bring myself to take a step.

‘Oh, damn it.’

The bonds forged through shared hunger are truly terrifying.

That day.

I half-forced 250 taels of my remaining reward money into the Black Dragon Hall.

‘The dream of a feast of meat and wine grows ever more distant!’