Chapter 72

“……Greetings, Grand Duke.”
“Ah, uh. It’s been a while.”
To look at each other with admiration (to look at each other with admiration)……
No, that’s not enough.
I was expecting to see him six years after the end of the sword festival, so I was expecting to see a lot of growth, but…….
Refined dignity.
A proud confidence.
Elegance in a cheerful yet serious expression.
Hanya thought of all sorts of descriptions, but when she looked at the Grand Duke with his shaggy hair, she could only stifle her surprise.
His height, his sharp jawline, and his eyes that were still so confident.
Looking at the Grand Duke, dressed in a plain robe with the Southern Palace’s mark of fresh blue across the front, Hanya coughed uncontrollably.
He had become a completely different person.
She had come to the Shandong branch because of the Second Duke’s instructions, but she also wanted to see him. She wanted to know what he was doing with the rest of his time after destroying the Green Forest on the Shandong front before the seven years had even passed.
I can’t help but think that the bandits wouldn’t have dared to question him. Furthermore, the Grand Duke and the Sword King were said to have excelled in the conflict with Huang Bosei.
I’m holding my tongue,
“How is he?”
The Grand Duke spoke first.
He was probably referring to the Second Duke.
“……I’m doing well, thanks to your concern. Oh, no, he is.”
The Grand Duke smiled at the stammering Hanya and turned to the side. Another young man approached and held out a teacup.
Hanya looked at the young man and shook her head in disbelief at his familiarity.
“……mm.”
“Ah, from a distance, but I’m sure you two are the same. It’s the Wumen Gate of the Kangwu Mansion, right?”
It had been six years ago, but there was one scene in Hanya’s mind that was so memorable that it stuck in the back of her mind. It was a scene in which the child of Minister Kang Wu had performed well against the Grand Duke and had ended Eun Won’s life on the stage of the Sword Branch Conference. I remembered it, so when I recalled the memory, it was projected. A familiar face.
But more than that.
Hanya’s eyes were filled with disbelief. She had always recognized the talent of the Grand Duke, but not Kang Wu-moon. Hanya had been recognized early on for her martial prowess, and she had been handpicked by the Southern Palace Master himself to serve Namgung Hyuk. I’ve seen a lot of martial artists from the Southern Palace, some of them flying and long.
The Iron Sword Clan, the Heavenly Wind Sword Clan, the Thunder Sword Clan, and even the Emperor Clan.
How many of them must have been from the Southern Palace, a family considered to be the best in swords.
Among them, Han Ya was so skilled that he could even look at the vice captain of the Thunder Sword Squadron. When he looked at him, Kang Wumen said.
“……You must have gone through a lot of training.”
I couldn’t help but say this. This was the rate of growth that was expected given the Grand Duke’s talent, but Kang Woo-moon didn’t feel any different. It was even faintly chilly. A man’s body shouldn’t be able to feel such a cold chill.
Kang Woo-moon smiled with his dimples.
“You’re too kind, Grand Duke, I’ll leave now.”
“Uh, take the honeymoon rice to the branch manager.”
“I will.”
Kang Wu-moon bowed low and turned away, and Hanya, who had taken her gaze off of him, wore a puzzled expression.
What kind of time could he spend with her and make her grow so much in such a short time?
“Thankfully, you’ve managed to get two of them.”
“I was lucky, I found one by accident, and the other was a steal, but you insisted on buying it.”
“……Hoo-hoo. Were you so worried about me going to the main house?”
“That, that.”
“I understand. For them, it’s their lifelong desire to become a Gaju.”
The words made Hanya wonder if this was the young man she was dealing with.
“This tea is from the North Sea. Try it.”
“……The North Sea?”
Puzzled, Hanya stared at the warm tea in front of her.
“Ah, uh. I guess it hasn’t reached the Yangtze yet, huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been to the Beihai. If you need to get anything from the North Sea, you can probably get it through the Shandong branch here. Why, like the family’s favorite cold-ice tea and yin-mac herbs.”
A trip to the Beihai?
I stare at the Grand Duke, trying to understand his meaning, and he sighs heavily.
“Let’s just trust people from the same family. What’s so suspicious?”
“……Sin, I’m sorry.”
“Forget it, believe it or not, you’re free to go, and you’re the last to go.”
“What?”
“I already dropped off everything I needed at the Great Hall. Whatever.”
“…….”
Did I mention that Daemak also needed something? I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth, so I moved it to my teacup.
It’s a mess.
“……!”
“It’s okay.”
“……, yeah!”
“I’ve got a lot of it, so take some, and give him a taste. He’s been through some trouble.”
Not just a little, but a lot. I had traveled the Yangtze River for more than six months to get the Bai Nianhua rice. The Grand Duke nodded as if he understood the trouble, then handed the small bag to Hanya.
“Do you have any mooncakes left?”
“……Yes, I do.”
“It will be good to see you all soon.”
The Grand Duke’s words made Hanya feel no remorse.
Nor any of the bitter sibling rivalry.
There was not an ounce of anger or bitterness in his voice.
Hanya cleared her throat at the sight of the Archduke’s genuine pleasure and anticipation.
It had grown. He had grown.
And without realizing it.
The moment she met his starry eyes, for the first time, Hanya felt the thought flicker through her mind that the Second Duke Namgung-hyeok might not be able to make it to Gaju.
She caught herself angrily and regained her composure. She shouldn’t have done that, no matter what.
“It’s a long way back, be careful.”
“Yes……. By the way, Grand Duke, may I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“What’s that out there?”
“Outside? Ah……. It is what it is.”
* * *
Pfft!
A rock flew out and hit him in the back of the head. His head snapped back and he leaned forward. He glared at the place where the rock had come from, where a group of boys and girls were gathered, sticking their tongues out at him and taunting him.
“Mae, you monster, you’ve been bullying people and you’ve been caught!”
“Hmph! That’s good! Our father and mother told us, if you bully others, you’ll bully yourself!”
“That’s right, that’s right, Yeki!”
The boys and girls were so angry that they threw sand and stones at the caged man, not hesitating to do dangerous things, but no one stopped them.
“Is that how it’s done?”
“Of course. That’s what we brought him for.”
A foe captured from the North Sea.
A man of the Tao, treading paths that no man of the Tao should ever tread.
He taunted others and brought misfortune to countless people through his own greed.
It was none other than Ye Gong of the Qing Sheng Sect. Hearing my words, Hanya looked at Ye Gong with a trembling face. The countless scrolls around him recounted his evil deeds. Anyone could look and curse, anyone could throw stones at him and harm him.
“……Haven’t you already destroyed the electricity?”
“So what.”
“He’s been punished enough…….”
“Countless people have shed tears of blood over the ashes he sowed, and no amount of remorse, repentance, or even becoming a new man can change the past. He’ll have to spend the rest of his life atoning for it, though I doubt he’s willing to do so.”
Han Tae-moon is told that the North Sea is too dangerous. They need to find out how many more of his followers there are, and if they find out about Choi Shimjang’s martial arts, they may be rewarded by the Yin Han Jizi. This is because Choi Shimjang is not a martial artist, but a magician.
Furthermore, while his teacher Han of the Southern Palace of Yueyul had overcome Choi Shimjang, the Taoist of the Qing Sheng Sect, Yeo Gon, believed that he should be punished in the Zhongyuan. Of course, he brought him back with enough resentment from the North Sea people.
“But that could be a problem.”
I shook my head at Hanya’s words.
“I’ll take care of that.”
“……I see.”
“Take care. See you soon.”
Hanya bowed and gave me an example. Judging from the fact that she hesitantly bowed to me, even though I was about the same age as her uncle, she thought that Nam Gung-hyeok was indeed blessed with good character. Even when I had to compete with Nam Gung-hyeok, the second duke he was serving, Hanya always showed me favor.
On the other hand, I was curious. Why was Nam Gung-hyeok so thirsty for kazoo in his previous life when there was Hanya?
“…… Grand Duke!”
It was Kang Woo-moon who woke him up.
“Uh.”
“You should go.”
“Have you started?”
At my words, Kang Woo-moon bared his white teeth and said yes. I looked at his back as he hurriedly turned around.
A faint chill hangs in the air, the kind of chill you get from the North Sea.
It’s not an illusion. It was the energy of the rain gate, which was imbued with the energy of the white ginseng.
I tried to melt it slowly, without overdoing it, and make it into my own energy, but my uncle-in-law must have had a hard time. I didn’t expect it to work so well.
Hanya was not surprised. He was a different person than the Kang Wumun of six years ago.
From a very early age, he had fought against the Eight Elders, developed his mental strength, endured countless bandits and stabbings in the Green Forest, and gained practical experience, honing his tenacity and physical strength. With that, he had unleashed what he had accumulated in the North Sea, and he had put it all together to melt the energy of the White Ginseng.
At this rate of growth and accomplishment, he would become one of the top swordsmen in the Southern Palace, even if he didn’t know it.
Then,
Crackle!
The sound of something exploding, like a pane of glass shattering, assaulted my eardrums. I looked up to see a burst of colorful light coming from all directions.
I realized that this was not the time for this, and I took off running.
When I got there, I couldn’t help but lift the corners of my mouth.
The head of Namgung Han, who had been mixing all sorts of ingredients, had turned into that of a madman who had failed in his research.
Namgungseok and Eunuch Eunuch were squeezing their eyes shut in disbelief and then slowly opening them, while Donghui, Black Ho, and Kang Wumen were looking at the result of Namgung Han’s work in disbelief.
It was none other than.
The five-colored brilliant light had faded and settled into a clearer color.
It was three thunderclaps.
“Wow, I’ve completed it……!”