49 — Chapter 49

“Damn it.”

He couldn’t buy anything remarkable with the money he had, so he’d deliberately dropped the price and posted requests for odd medicines ordinary people wouldn’t bother with.

But such strange concoctions weren’t the sort of thing the neighborhood apothecary carried.

Yeon Mujin grumbled as he stepped out of the apothecary.

“Where are those two off to now?”

He watched two children from Flying Swallow Manor sprinting off in the distance. Their names were probably Do-ran and Hye-gun, right? They’d been following him since morning; he’d left them be and had no idea what they were up to.

“My head’s a mess.”

The surest course was to go out and find the medicine himself. Through countless regressions he’d roughly identified the ingredients for the strange pill he needed, but that required leaving his post as External Protection Troops captain. If he consolidated thirty years’ worth of internal qi and returned, even at best it would take at least five years.

If he vanished for five years, Flying Swallow Manor might be rubble and its people scattered.

“I can’t leave my post that long.”

What if he fetched the nearest match and came straight back? He wasn’t even sure which pill would be easiest to obtain here and now—he’d bought everything with money in his previous life and couldn’t remember clearly. Back then, a little flattery to the nobles got you extraordinary spiritual pills handed over; take the pills, perform a few sword dances, and everything was solved. Much easier than this.

“Ugh. Yoon, don’t you have any spiritual pills hidden somewhere?” he grumbled, though he knew she wouldn’t—how would a maid who’s never tasted luxury recognize the taste of a spiritual pill? He returned to the manor with a groan.

As soon as he arrived, someone greeted him.

“Captain Yeon!”

It was Jang Chun-sik, who’d been waiting anxiously. “Where have you been, coming back only now?!”

Yeon Mujin gave him a thorough once-over. He’d put on at least twice as much flesh since Yeon first saw him; his face gleamed with grease and the deep frown between his brows had smoothed out. To any eye, he looked completely adapted to life at Flying Swallow Manor.

Without thinking, Yeon Mujin flicked Jang Chun-sik’s nose.

“Aah! Why did you hit me?!”

“I hit you because I’m annoyed you’re living so well all by yourself.”

“What are you talking about! Do you know how tirelessly I’ve been working for the future of Flying Swallow Manor…?”

“Cut the crap, Chun-sik.”

Yeon Mujin waved off his protest. Jang Chun-sik pouted like he’d been hurt. “You shouldn’t treat a patron of Flying Swallow Manor like this.”

“There are other patrons for our manor besides you now. If you don’t want to be cast aside, you’d better work at something.”

Yeon Mujin pointed past the wall. “There are quite a few people out there looking for you, aren’t there?”

Jang Chun-sik and the Cocoon Silkworm Clan had been pursued by the Lonely Claw Troops and were paying sponsorships, entrusting their safety to Flying Swallow Manor.

“Don’t think I won’t kick you out the moment the money runs out.”

“You’re so heartless…”

Jang Chun-sik wasn’t all loafing and freeloading, though. “Actually, I did some work for the first time in a while.”

“What kind of work?”

“While Captain Yeon was dispatched to Namsa Lake, I didn’t just laze about. I spread the Cocoon Silkworm Clan’s eyes and ears everywhere.”

The Cocoon Silkworm Clan Jang Chun-sik led was an information outfit that scavenged and sold scraps of rumor about the Bukgung Family. Yeon Mujin had dragged the clan—formerly operating only outside the walls—into the Bukgung Family’s protection.

“So?”

“Apparently they’re planning something at Solitary Cloud Manor this time. They’re sending messengers everywhere and gathering people together.”

“What is it?”

“If you trace the dispatches’ origin, it’s mostly Qinzhou and Jinan in Shandong. It seems they’re inviting the Zhuge Family and the Hwangbo Family—forces backing Solitary Cloud Manor—to solidify their bond. But the method is probably…”

“Probably?”

Jang Chun-sik lowered his voice. Judging by how far they’re reaching, he must’ve worked hard to get the information. “A friendly murim contest.”

“They’re holding a murim contest?”

“That’s what I heard.”

Yeon Mujin couldn’t have cared less whether they held a martial contest or a pancake festival. He looked at Jang Chun-sik with an indifferent face. “So what do you want me to do about it?”

“I haven’t finished, so stop staring at me with that look. If it were just a contest I wouldn’t have brought it up. In a friendly contest the organizers usually put up prizes, right? Do you know what Solitary Cloud Manor has put up as the first-place prize?”

“Probably money or something.”

Jang Chun-sik shook his head and glanced around as if checking for ears—more show than caution. “It’s the Green Field and Sunny Breeze!”

He grinned as he watched Yeon Mujin’s expression. Yeon remained flat. “Ah, that.”

“…Why that reaction?”

“I was just wondering how impressive they could make it out to be.”

“No, Captain Yeon. Did you hear me properly? Sunny Breeze and Green Field, I said. Don’t you know the Green Field Fan? Don’t you know the legacy of the Tae-san Divine Sword?”

“I know.”

“Then why are you reacting like that?”

Snap! Jang Chun-sik’s nose bridge flushed again. “Ow!”

“This guy keeps slipping into casual speech. I know it too. The former great master of the White Sword Martial World, Tae-san Divine Sword, used two weapons: the Sunny Breeze Sword and the Green Field Fan.”

Tae-san Divine Sword was a legendary, mysterious figure whose sect and true name were never revealed. Rumor placed him in Shandong and said he wielded the Sunny Breeze Sword and the Green Field Fan. That duality sparked long-running debates between the Zhuge and Hwangbo Families: the Hwangbo claimed him because of the Sunny Breeze Sword, the Zhuge because of the Green Field Fan—an endless, inconclusive argument.

Thoroughly excited, Jang Chun-sik pressed on. “Don’t you understand what this means? I don’t know how Solitary Cloud Manor came to possess Sunny Breeze–Green Field, but the winner doesn’t just receive Tae-san Divine Sword’s relics—it gains the legitimacy to carry on his legacy!”

Yeon Mujin stared. “Chun-sik.”

“Yes!”

“I know that too, so there’s no need for such a long explanation.”

“As a warrior, Captain Yeon, don’t you get excited hearing the words Sunny Breeze–Green Field?”

“What does that crap have to do with me?”

He genuinely had no interest. Sunny Breeze Sword, Green Field Fan—those mattered to the Zhuge and Hwangbo clans, not him. Jang Chun-sik looked uneasy but seemed to accept Yeon’s dismissal. “I guess… even if Sunny Breeze–Green Field is the grand prize, it doesn’t really have much to do with Flying Swallow Manor…”

“Right. Don’t get worked up over such useless information.”

“They also put up things like the Yeon family medicine, the Dragon Face Pearl, and secret martial manuals as prizes, but that’s not particularly important either…”

Yeon Mujin froze. “What? Chun-sik, what did you just say?”

“That it’s not very important information…”

“No, not that—the thing before it.”

“The Dragon Face Pearl?”

“Not that bead—the thing before it.”

“…Yeon family’s medicine?”

Yeon Mujin’s body trembled. How had he not thought of that?

“That’s it! Hahahahaha!”

He exploded into manic laughter.

“What the—? What’s gotten into you?”

Jang Chun-sik eyed him nervously and trembled. “Well done, Chun-sik! Very well done!”

Yeon Mujin grabbed Jang Chun-sik’s hand and swung him up and down, then dashed toward the head’s chamber.

Left behind, Jang Chun-sik stared after him and blurted a dumb question. “Me? What did I do?”

“Manor Lord! Manor Lord! Manor Lord!!”

“It’s an emergency, it’s an emergency!”

Do-gun and Hye-ran burst into the manor lord’s chamber like chattering sparrows.

“What’s the matter?”

“The captain bought a bouquet!”

“He gave a bouquet and bought a swaddling cloth!”

“Then he bought this many dumplings!”

They jabbered so fast it was hard to follow. Bukgung Yoon put a finger to her lips; the children mimicked her and quieted.

“One at a time. Slowly.”

Do-gun took a breath and spoke calmly. “The captain bought a flower basket in Taiyuan town. He traded the flower basket for a swaddling cloth, traded the swaddling cloth for dumplings, and gave the dumplings to the children.”

“…What on earth does that mean?”

It was a baffling explanation. Hye-ran pushed past Do-gun and blurted the important part. “Captain Yeon stopped by the medicine hall to ask for a medicine. When the medicine hall’s old man said he didn’t have it, he said, ‘That medicine will save my life. Without it, I’ll die.’”

Bukgung Yoon’s face drained of color. Seo Nak-il, standing with her, couldn’t hide his shock either. Hye-ran’s eyes welled with tears. “What should we do, Manor Lord?”

There was no time to deliberate; the person in question had come straight to see her.

“Manor Lord, are you inside?”

A brief commotion, then Bukgung Yoon’s voice. “Come in.”

When Yeon Mujin entered, two kids dashed past him and ran out—Do-gun and Hye-ran. “Where are those two off to?”

They bolted away with their heads hung like thieves caught stealing food. “I sent them on an errand. Don’t worry about them and come in.”

Yeon Mujin entered the manor lord’s chamber and immediately sensed a strange atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be hiding something.

“Why is the atmosphere like this? Is something the matter?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing’s wrong, though?”

“I told you nothing’s wrong.”

Bukgung Yoon’s answers were sharper than usual; her gaze on Yeon Mujin held a hint of resentment.

“Well, if that’s so.”

But none of that mattered right now. “I’ve come with a request for the Manor Lord.”

“A request? From Captain Yeon?”

“What’s with that reaction?”

“It seems like it’s the first time Captain Yeon has asked for something…”

Come to think of it, there hadn’t been much worth asking for. “What kind of request is it?”

“The kind of request is…”

Flying Swallow Manor needed time to wrap up the Southern Four Alliance’s affairs, so his duties were light for the moment—mostly supervising the External Protection Troops’ training. If he didn’t act now, he might miss the chance to obtain the spiritual pill. More importantly:

‘Yeon family medicine.’

He had discovered an ingredient that perfectly matched the strange medicine he sought. But obtaining the Yeon family medicine while holding his current rank wouldn’t be easy. Therefore—

“Please grant me a leave of a few days.”

For a moment the air in the room hardened. “…Leave?”

Bukgung Yoon’s eyebrows trembled. “You said leave?”