Chapter 24
It took fifteen days for Baek Mu-Gun to completely pass the Celestial Moonlight Sword Art to the squad leaders. If he included the last three techniques, it would have taken five more days.
As Mu-Gun taught the sword art to the five squad leaders, he also handed down the Heavenly Sea Waves Saber Art to Baek Cheon-Sang. Mu-Gun could feel its power as he studied it for the purpose of handing it down to Cheon-Sang.
It was a far superior saber art than he had expected when he saw the scriptures. Hence, Mu-Gun decided to master the Heavenly Sea Waves Saber Art in his spare moments. He didn’t really have a reason to. He just thought that if he could understand the martial essence within it, it would be of help to the martial arts of the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sect. In addition, he also studied the Flying Golden Shield Scripture, which used the Flying Golden Shield as a medium, from time to time. Although it was powerful by itself, it showed much greater power when the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art’s thunder qi was imbued in it.
However, increasing his internal energy was far more important than learning new martial arts.
After reforming the Baek Sword Corps and teaching martial arts to the squad leaders and the patriarch, Mu-Gun decided to pay the Medicine King Family a visit.
To do that, he first had to obtain Cheon-Sang’s permission. However, he couldn’t just mention the Medicine King Family. All he could say was that he wanted to travel outside to gain experience. Unfortunately, Cheon-Sang likely wouldn’t allow Mu-Gun to travel outside for such a vague reason. Nevertheless, he had to persuade Cheon-Sang.
Mu-Gun headed to the White Sword Pavilion and immediately went up to Cheon-Sang’s office.
“Greetings, Young Patriarch.”
The personal assistant guarding Cheon-Sang’s office quickly greeted Mu-Gun upon seeing him.
“I’d like to see my father.”
“I’m sorry, but you have to wait for a moment. The patriarch currently has guests.”
“Guests?”
“They came from the Eun Merchant Group.”
“The Eun Merchant Group? For what reason did they come here?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Mu-Gun tried to infer the purpose of the Eun Merchant Group’s visit. Was it marriage? Were they trying to push ahead the arranged marriage with him again?
Given that they were merchants who would not nit-pick over the ways and methods if it was for the sake of their own gains, they were surely capable of pursuing the marriage again, even though they had already broken it off. With the Eun Merchant Group’s network, they likely already caught wind of the news that Mu-Gun defeated the Sea Dragon Gang Leader. In addition, they would have also confirmed that Mu-Gun had been appointed as the young patriarch.
If they got into an arranged marriage with Mu-Gun, they would be able to carry the strength of the Baek Sword Sect on their back. That alone was enough motivation for them to pursue the marriage again. However, Mu-Gun shook his head. Even if they wanted to, the Baek Sword Sect wouldn’t accept it.
The Eun Merchant Group was the one that unilaterally broke off the marriage when he was suffering from qi deviation. Hence, from the position of the Baek Sword Sect, it was very repugnant of the Eun Merchant Group to propose going through with the marriage after all that happened. Furthermore, if the Baek Sword Sect accepted the marriage proposal, they would be laughed at by the people of the world.
The Baek Sword Sect was likely to refuse the marriage proposal, and the Eun Merchant Group would’ve been able to speculate that outcome. They wouldn’t propose the marriage given that they already knew what would happen. From their point of view, it would be a great embarrassment if the Baek Sword Sect refused their marriage proposal.
‘Then what are they here for?’
They were merchants. If it wasn’t for marriage, it was highly likely that it was related to a mercantile journey.
‘Are they perhaps here to request an escort?’
Mu-Gun deliberated over the Eun Merchant Group’s purpose for coming here and waited for Cheon-Sang to have spare time. An hour had passed before the people from the Eun Merchant Group came out of Cheon-Sang’s office.
It was a middle-aged man and another man who appeared to be in his twenties, but Mu-Gun could easily tell that the young man was actually a woman crossdressing as a man.
‘Is she Eun Ye-Sang?’
Considering they were allowed to partake in the meeting with the Baek Sword Sect’s patriarch, they couldn’t just be someone of ordinary status. The Eun Merchant Group only had one woman around that age and had a high enough status to be in such an important event. That would be Ye-Sang, the young mistress of the Eun Merchant Group. Certain that the person before him was Ye-Sang, he attentively looked at her appearance.
Despite dressing up as a man, her beauty was unconcealable. The rumor that there was no one in Wenzhou who could match Ye-Sang’s beauty wasn’t an exaggeration at all. Mu-Gun wondered how pretty Ye-Sang would look if she dressed properly.
Mu-Gun was a young man full of vigor. It was not strange at all for him to have indecent desires before a beautiful woman like Ye-Sang. That didn’t change despite having gone through eight reincarnations. However, he also had the self-control to keep a lid on his desires. He liked beautiful women, but he was not enticed by her beauty.
Sensing Mu-Gun’s gaze, Ye-Sang turned her head, catching sight of him. Mu-Gun had recovered his martial arts and had gained muscles, making his appearance quite dazzling. He was also pretty good-looking. Above all, he had a unique air around him.
It had been naturally ingrained in Mu-Gun through his eight reincarnations, but the unique air contained a strange charm that shook the hearts of women. Even Ye-Sang found herself attracted to it and was inadvertently staring at him. For a moment, their eyes were fixed on each other. Mu-Gun thought about striking up a conversation, but he relinquished it and bowed lightly instead. Ye-Sang also bowed in response. There was nothing more after that.
Mu-Gun averted his gaze from her and went up to the office to meet Cheon-Sang. On the other hand, Ye-Sang stared at Mu-Gun’s back with a strange gaze.
“Young Mistress!” The middle-aged man called out to the dazed Ye-Sang.
“Is he who I think he is?”
“If you are referring to the young patriarch of the Baek Sword Sect, you’re right.”
“Seeing him in person, the decision we made at that time is regretful.”
“At that time, it was the best choice we had.”
“That's true.”
“Not to worry. We still have plenty of chances.”
“It’s not to that extent in my opinion. Let’s go.”
Ye-Sang found Mu-Gun more handsome than she expected. And he had an air around him that attracted her heart. However, she had no intention to swallow her pride and push ahead with the marriage with him again.
She was also well aware of how Mu-Gun had lived for the past three years. Regardless of how he looked now, Mu-Gun gave up on himself and indulged in debauchery for the past three years. As a result, his image as a pathetic man had been deeply embedded in her mind. She erased the favorable impression she had felt for Mu-Gun a while ago and left the White Sword Pavilion with the middle-aged man.
In the meantime, Mu-Gun entered Cheon-Sang’s office.
“Come on in. I was just about to call for you.”
“Is it because of the people of the Eun Merchant Group who just left?”
“Did you see them?”
“Yes.”
“Was that all?”
“Was there something else?”
“You recognized Eun Ye-Sang, didn’t you?”
“She’s pretty just like the rumor says.”
“Then it’s still not too late. Should I discuss the marriage proposal with them again?” Cheon-Sang asked.
“We of the Baek Sword Sect value our pride. How can we open discussions for marriage again when they were the ones who broke off it off before?”
“If it’s what you want, then what’s the big deal?”
“I don’t want it.”
“You said she was pretty a while ago, but it seems like you don’t like her very much.”
“If a woman’s beauty was enough to distract me and make me disregard the honor and pride of the sect, then I am not qualified to be the young patriarch.”
“You’re treating this too seriously.” Cheon-Sang chuckled. His laugh was filled with a sense of satisfaction.
“By the way, what brought them here?” Mu-Gun asked.
“They asked to form a business partnership.”
“Did you just say a business partnership?”
“Are you aware of the Eun Merchant Group’s activities?”
“I know they act as a broker between Guangdong and Fujian through the sea. They also deal heavily with foreign goods.”
“Yes. The Eun Merchant Group plans to expand their commercial supremacy to cover not just Guangdong and Fujian, but Jiangsu and Shandong as well.”
“Then the issue is their safety at sea.”
“Exactly. The Four Seas Gang dominates the sea route leading to Jiangsu and Shandong. It would be difficult to overcome their threat with the Eun Merchant Group’s strength alone.”
The Four Seas Gang was a far more powerful force than the Sea Dragon Gang. The Sea Dragon Gang was actually more of a pirate group than a murim force. However, the Four Seas Gang was a murim force filled with masters. Dealing with them was beyond the Eun Merchant Group’s capabilities. After all, they were just merchants.
“That’s why they want to borrow our power.”
“That’s correct. They reached out to us upon learning that we eradicated the Sea Dragon Gang.”
“What are the conditions they offered?”
“They offered thirty percent of the profits they’ll earn from Jiangsu and Shandong.”
“That’s a pretty high offer.”
“That’s how big the risk is.”
“If we accept the escort request, when do we start?”
“They said that they are already done with other preparations. If we accept it, we can depart tomorrow.”
“What do you think, Father?”
“It depends on whether we choose to live in peace or to continue moving forward.”
The Baek Sword Sect’s current finances were already sufficient if they were already satisfied with the area around Wenzhou. However, if they wished to reach a higher place, they would have to grow their forces. To do so, they needed more funds than they had now. This business partnership with the Eun Merchant Group would be a good opportunity to secure more finances.
“Which do you want more, Father?”
“Well, I can’t give a definite answer yet. If it were up to you, what would you do?”
“I’d give it a try even if I had to take the risk.”
“The Four Seas Gang is far different from the Sea Dragon Gang.”
“I know. However, we have to go beyond the Four Seas Gang for the sake of the Baek Sword Sect’s growth.”
“Do you think that’s possible with the Baek Sword Sect’s current strength?”
“If I and the five squad leaders come forward, we would be able to repel the Four Seas Gang’s threat for now.”
“Isn’t it impossible for you and the five squad leaders to accompany the Eun Merchant Group on their mercantile journey every time?”
“Of course. It’s only a temporary solution. However, if the five squad leaders and the Baek Sword Corps manage to grow stronger, we should be able to provide them with a stable escort service.”
“The problem is that it’s not as easy as it sounds.”
The growth of a martial artist was not something that happened overnight. It would take at least one year for the five squad leaders and the Baek Sword Corps to possess skills good enough to stand up against the threat of the Four Seas Gang.
“Deploying the Baek Sword Corps’ masters to escort the Eun Merchant Group could also threaten the Baek Sword Sect’s safety.”
“With all due respect, you can easily resolve that, Father. If you advance into the Absolute Realm, no one would be able to recklessly threaten the Baek Sword Sect.”
“You say that as if the Absolute Realm isn’t that big of a big deal.”
“I’m not treating it like it isn’t a big deal. I simply believe that you’re more than capable enough to advance into that realm without difficulty.”
“You’re giving me too much pressure.”
“I’m not putting pressure on you. All I’m saying is that I believe in you, Father.”
“That’s basically pressuring me. As your father, I can’t disappoint my son who believes in me.”
“Don’t worry. I doubt you’ll let me down.”
“That’s just...” Cheon-Sang shook his head as he had nothing to say.
“I have an idea, why don't we do this?”
“What is it?”
“Let’s borrow the power of the Justice Martial Sect.”
“You want to escort the Eun Merchant Group along with them?”
“Yes. If we join forces with them, we’ll be able to hold our own against the Four Seas Gang.”
“I don’t know if the Justice Martial Sect would be willing to cooperate.”
“If you tell them that we will give them half of the promised profit from the Eun Merchant Group, they definitely will. Although our profits will be reduced, I still don’t think it’s a bad idea since it’ll allow us to reduce the combat forces we’ll be sending out.”
Cheon-Sang thought that what Mu-Gun said made sense. As Mu-Gun said, if they took on the escort request together with the Justice Martial Sect, there would be no need to deploy all of their squad leaders. If the Baek Sword Sect and the Justice Martial Sect assigned an equal number of masters, deploying one or two squad leaders at a time would be enough.
The Justice Martial Sect would be able to benefit considerably from this financially. And the relationship between the two sects was quite amicable. Hence, there was a high chance that they would accept the Baek Sword Sect’s proposal.
“That’s a good idea. However, since it’s too huge of a matter for me to make an arbitrary decision, I think it would be best to obtain the squad leaders’ agreement on this before proceeding to bring the Justice Martial Sect on board.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, why were you looking for me? Did you have something else to say?”
“I do, but let’s discuss it after we’ve decided on what to do with the Eun Merchant Group’s offer.”
If they accepted the Eun Merchant Group’s offer, he would have to move to Shandong Province anyway. If that was the case, Mu-Gun thought it would be better to travel with the Eun Merchant Group. Traveling via a ship would greatly shorten his journey.
“Alright then.”
Cheon-Sang didn’t pry any further. After wrapping up the conversation, Mu-Gun left the White Sword Pavilion and returned to his residence. That same afternoon, Cheon-Sang summoned the squad leaders and discussed the Eun Merchant Group’s proposition. Mu-Gun also participated in the meeting as the young patriarch.
The squad leaders initially expressed concerns about the Eun Merchant Group’s offer. However, after hearing about the plan to partner with the Justice Martial Sect, they agreed to accept it.
Cheon-Sang immediately sent Baek Cheon-Ung, the White Wolf Squad Leader, to the Justice Martial Sect to suggest working together on the Eun Merchant Group’s business proposal. After much consideration, the Justice Martial Sect accepted the Baek Sword Sect’s proposal.
The Baek Sword Sect then immediately conveyed their intention to accept the proposed business to the Eun Merchant Group after obtaining the Justice Martial Sect’s agreement. Afterwhich, the Baek Sword Sect and the Eun Merchant Group signed a business partnership contract.
They decided to leave for the first mercantile journey in fifteen days. They also choose Nanjing, Jiangsu Province as their destination.
For the first mercantile journey, the Baek Sword Sect decided to appoint the White Tiger Squad and White Wolf Squad. They’re accompanied by three experts: White Tiger Squad Leader Baek Cheon-Ho, White Wolf Squad Leader Baek Cheon-Ung, and White Leopard Squad Leader Baek Soo-Kwang.
Upon finding out he was excluded from the excursion, Mu-Gun immediately visited Cheon-Sang.
“What’s the matter?”
“Please let me join the escort mission for this time’s mercantile journey too.”
“You can’t.”
“If you’re doing this because you’re worried about my safety, then you’re gravely mistaken.”
“Gravely mistaken?”
“I don’t want to grow up being protected like flowers in a greenhouse. If that happens, I will only become a half-baked martial artist. In order to grow into a true martial artist, I have to be in constant struggle with the strong masters of murim and experience the gap between life and death, from which I’ll gain enlightenment. I wish to become a true martial artist, and I’m prepared to take as much risk as needed to achieve that. So, if you decided against letting me join this mission for the sake of my safety, please alter your decision.”
Cheon-Sang realized at that moment that no words could break the firm determination in Mu-Gun’s eyes.
“Fine. We’ll do as you say.”
“Once we arrive in Nanjing, I would like to experience living in murim alone for a month or two.”
“No.”
Cheon-Sang flatly refused. Participating in the escort of the mercantile journey and living in murim by himself were two completely different matters. He absolutely couldn’t allow Mu-Gun, who was still inexperienced, to wander around the world of murim alone.
“Please allow it. This is absolutely necessary for mine and the Baek Sword Sect’s sake.”
Mu-Gun did not yield. Cheon-Sang sighed when he saw the look in Mu-Gun’s eyes.
“Haaah, your gaze tells me you’re determined enough to do it even if it means defying my order.”
“Please allow it.”
Since early times, it was said that parents had a soft spot for their children. Cheon-Sang was no exception. Eventually, he allowed Mu-Gun to experience murim.
“However, you have to promise to come back safely.”
“I promise. Thank you for giving me your permission on this.”
Mu-Gun had solidified his journey to murim. Ten days later, he left the Baek Sword Sect and boarded a ship bound for Nanjing.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢