Chapter 73

Thunderbolts.
Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of the three thunderbolts in front of them. Even Nangong Han himself.
“…… This is the Thunderclap.”
“That’s right. This is the result of Mr. Yan’s work. He was succeeded by the branch chief.”
“Ah…….”
Namgung Han’s eyes were filled with tears as he looked at the result of the Thunderclap.
All of his grandfather’s hard work and labor seemed to flash through his mind like a beacon. At the same time, he was filled with regret and all sorts of complex emotions. Looking at him, I couldn’t say anything.
I could only say.
“It happened in the North Sea. The medicine he left behind is saving and healing many people in the North Sea.”
“……You mean the North, the North Sea, is keeping my grandfather alive?”
“Yes. I remembered it from the markings in the Southern Palace. In exchange for the white ginseng, he left the North Sea the medicine it lacked.”
This was only a glimpse into the life of the Southern Palace, a slice of life. The Thunderclan, and the rigors of Namgung’s life in the North Sea, were etched across his heart.
Of course.
“……, what kind of person did they say he was?”
I couldn’t say that he was a geek who demanded to be served ginseng by the dozen. I didn’t have the courage to tell him that I was a geek who was trying to get a bunch of people to serve him cheap white ginseng.
So I said.
“Well. What else can I say but that he is a great man?”
“Ah…… Joe, grandfather.”
Clutching his head tightly, Nam Gung-han thought of his unrecognizable grandfather and burst into hot tears. He had to bear the gaze of four people who were staring at him.
Hmph.
I puffed out my chest at the sight of the four people looking at me like I was lying.
Lying is sometimes necessary. Even if it’s not a good lie.
Nevertheless, the stares I received made me turn and look at the four of you.
I express myself to you with my mouth.
Uh-oh.
Direct. Say it. Look. at. me.
Go.
The four people turned their heads to look at my mouth shapes.
* * *
“It’s …… done. One pill is enough.”
I put a single Thunderbolt in the box.
In my mind,
I could have given all three pills to Nam Gung Han and the Shandong Branch for their hard work over seven weeks and nights, but Nam Gung Han refused.
“I’m not the Grand Duke who traveled all the way to the North Sea. I traveled for half a year, so it’s only fair that I take two pills.”
“Give one to the branch chief and one to the white sword Namgungseok.”
“……I’m sure it’s okay.”
“That will ease my mind.”
One Thunderbolt was enough for me. I only needed to cure my master’s illness.
Seeing my determination, Nan Gong Han did not ask for more. He only left me with these words
“……Remember. The Grand Duke. The Grand Duke’s home is not only in Anhui, but also in Shandong, right here.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the words. As if he wasn’t finished, Nan Gonghan continued.
“When we return to Anhui and start competing for Jiazhou in earnest, we will need a force. I’ll need a base, and this will be it, for I’ll run at the Grand Duke’s call.”
His heart was filled.
Huang Tianhou, my teacher in my previous life, was now my brother in this life.
My uncle, whom I had no relationship with in my previous life, was my guardian in this life.
The Shandong branch, which I had no contact with in my previous life, was in the background in this life.
And even the Beihai connection.
There was something that made him feel indescribably proud.
“……Hmmm. How much longer are you two going to do this?”
I heard my hostess cough, and I straightened up at the sound.
……That must have taken a long time. Hmmmmmm.
I straightened up, as if impressed, and opened my mouth, still holding only a single Thunderbolt.
“I will open trade routes in each region and facilitate trade. We’ll have to continue to build on the legacy left behind by the Yaxian.”
“……Don’t worry.”
We slowly walked away from the Shandong branch.
What was so far away on the way?
What had I come here to see? I had hoped to make up for the Black Lake’s sins and recall my experiences at the front.
But the road back felt different.
It wasn’t about the Black Lake, or my experiences at the front, it was about the many connections that filled me. The walls of the Southern Palace, and the half of the Southern Palace in this life, slowly filled me up.
I have something to protect, someone to believe in, and I am no longer a lonely fighter. I was no longer a lonely fighter alone.
“……haha.”
I smiled and left Shandong in a good mood. With a different step than the heavy step I took on the way out.
* * *
“Is it really true!”
“It’s true, it’s true, I heard it clearly!”
At those words, the Lady Daoist of Qingcheng narrowed her eyes. The name of the person she had been looking for burst out. The name she had been looking for for so long.
“Haha, I’ll go speak to Zhang Wenyin. Let’s get moving.”
“But before we do, there’s one thing you should know…….”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“……that.”
“I just told you, I have to go talk to Zhang Wenyin. I have to go before I give him the ball.”
Qing Shui left. As such, it is an entity that has a duty to T’ai-sang-no-kun and as a member of the Tao family. Hearing that implication, the archery master who had been reporting to the female daoist bowed his head.
“…… is said to be in Shandong.”
“Shandong? What’s the matter with that?”
“……said he was captured.”
The female master frowned at that. Captured?
What an embarrassment. She slowly raised her head and pressed her temples as if she had a headache.
“……If it’s Shandong, it must be Huang Bose, I’ll tell Zhang Wenyin and go.”
I was glad it was Huang Bose. He and Qing Shui didn’t get along too badly. If it was Huang Bose, he could finish the job on his own terms.
“I am the Southern Palace!”
Seeing the woman standing up, Takgung blurted out in surprise.
“……Namgung?”
Suddenly, he didn’t know what to say. Why would the Nan Gong family of Anhui’s Nan Gong Clan be heard in Shandong?
“Yes, there is a Nan Gong Family in the Shandong branch.”
“Branch? What do you mean?”
Ye Xiang opened his mouth in frustration, and Takgung stomped his foot and continued.
“……Namgungban, Namgungban, the Grand Duke of the Namgung Clan personally captured the Ye Gongxing who was hiding in the North Sea.”
Even the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace Clan personally came to capture Ye Gong, who was hiding in the North Sea.
The Qing Sheng Sect’s leader made an annoyed face. It was embarrassing enough to be captured by one’s own sect, but to be captured by a member of the Southern Palace Family in the same place where the incident occurred?
Shouldn’t they be forced to bow down to a member of the Six Great Families’ Southern Palace, a rival to their own?
If he told Zhang Wenyin about this, he would be scolded.
“You said Shandong.”
“I will prepare …….”
“Just in case, prepare a chu pozo.”
“What do you mean, Chu Pozo?”
“Don’t you want to be seen by Zhang Wenyin?”
“What’s the harm in a chupo bird leaving the city of Qingcheng, but make sure it doesn’t reach the ears of Zhang Wen.”
Takgong bowed his head. The current head of the Qing Sheng Sect was like fire.
* * *
The corners of my mouth curled up as I looked at the countless Daoists standing before me. Someone in front of me stepped forward.
“I am Lady Qingxing.”
“I am the South Palace’s South Palace Class.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to take someone from behind her.”
At those words, I turned my head to look back, and there was Ye Gong, hunched over. He was no longer a man or a woman, but a criminal with his arms tied behind his back.
“What’s the matter,” he said, ”as you can see, the name of the crime is written in full on the board attached to this cage, and I am escorting the criminal to pay for this crime.”
“……The Grand Duke of the Southern Palace.”
“I already knew that.”
The one who said she was a Lady of the Qingsheng Sect slowly placed her hand on the scabbard at her waist to check for a sword.
“If you continue to come out here, I may have to ask your pardon.”
“I think I’m already here to be rude.”
As he said that, I could see a large group of people standing behind Yeo Sang.
“As if you’re here for a show of force.”
“……If the unthinkable happens.”
Yeosang’s expression, Yeosang’s reaction, Yeosang’s gesture.
None of them seemed to be in their favor, and I was left with a dumbfounded look on my face.
“So this is the Qing Sheng Sect, then, since you have no intention of resolving this situation amicably.”
“Of course not, you just have to understand. We’re running out of time.”
“……Hoo-hoo-hoo.”
I laughed. I laughed at the top of my lungs. I stopped laughing and wiped the sting out of my eyes. Dew, which I hadn’t seen in a while, trickled down the back of my hand.
Yeosang smiled at the sight of her, but then her expression slowly hardened.
“What’s so funny?”
“After sending out the Chu Po Cao, we still didn’t catch Ye Gong. There are about fifty of them, and we haven’t caught them in over two years, so you shouldn’t be embarrassed.”
“…….”
“That’s all that’s left of Ye Gong’s evil deeds in the Zhongyuan so far, and that’s only because he stabbed a swordsman from the Southern Palace in the back, so if you can take over as soon as possible, you can finish the job on your own terms.”
Ye Xiang cringes at that.
“That’s what he’s thinking. No doubt.”
There was no longer any respect in my words, and my breathing gradually turned harsh as if I had offended him.
“I want you to come to the South Palace and apologize for what you’ve done, in person, from the head of the Qing Sheng Sect.”
“Yinoom!”
“If you don’t, I won’t hand him over to you personally, ever.”
“I heard that the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace is a bastard, and you’re still saying I can’t be spoiled!”
“When do you talk about enemies.”
Oh well.
While apologizing, reading someone’s mind, understanding them, and considering the relationships and politics of it all takes time.
If you can use force, it’s a quick fix.
They drew their swords at my flirtatious demeanor. One by one, they became impatient and drew their swords, and I bared my teeth.
“I don’t see why you’re going around in circles when it comes down to a fight.”
I spat out one word after another.
“Come on.”