Chapter 40
Seven days and nights had passed since the Great Huangfu Family had stopped their pursuit. Baek Mu-Gun’s group was able to arrive in Nanjing safely, and Mu-Gun headed to the Eun Merchant Group’s Nanjing branch first.
“Young Patriarch!”
When he entered the Eun Merchant Group’s Nanjing branch, Baek Yong-Hwan, who was just outside, immediately ran over to him. He was clearly surprised to see Mu-Gun.
“Long time no see.”
“You suddenly went out on a trip, so I was very worried. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine, so don’t worry. Putting that aside, is First Uncle in charge of escorting the mercantile journey this time?”
Given that Yong-Hwan came, it was highly likely that Baek Cheon-Gi was in charge of the escort for the mercantile journey this time around.
“Yes. On another note, who are these people you came here with?” Yong-Hwan answered and asked Mu-Gun after seeing the people standing behind him.
“They’re my guests. Speaking of which, please take good care of them so that they can get some rest.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll leave them to your good hands, then. I’m going to go meet First Uncle.”
Mu-Gun left Seonwoo Pyo, Seonwoo Kang, and Shangguan Bihe with Yong-Hwan and entered the inner building to look for Cheon-Gi. Cheon-Gi was surprised to see Mu-Gun.
“I heard you went on a trip. Have you just returned?”
“I’m not here to stay. I just stopped by because I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Are you going to go on a journey again?”
“There’s a matter I haven’t settled yet.”
Mu-Gun intended to remain in Nanjing until he revealed the Great Sima Family’s true nature and crushed their schemes.
“What on earth are you planning to do alone?” Cheon-Gi asked.
“It’s something I have to do. That’s all you have to know for now.”
“I really don’t know what’s on your mind, Young Patriarch. Anyway, what do you need us to do for you?”
“Some people came here with me. Please take them all the way to Wenzhou.”
“I’m guessing you can’t tell me who they are, right?”
“They will be of great help to the Baek Sword Sect in the future. Yong-Hwan is taking care of them right now, so please don’t forget to take them with you.”
“Fine. By the way, you seem to look different. Did you obtain some sort of enlightenment?”
Cheon-Gi sensed an unknown gap with Mu-Gun since the moment he came in a while ago. As a result of carefully observing him while they were having a conversation, he could feel Mu-Gun’s energy becoming a level stronger.
“Yes. I received enlightenment and was able to enhance my internal energy,” Mu-Gun told Cheon-Gi without hiding anything.
The stronger Mu-Gun became, the lesser the chance of Cheon-Gi harboring ill intentions.
“Hoo, considering you were able to obtain enlightenment in succession when others have difficulty even catching a glimpse of it, it seems like the heavens favors you, Young Patriarch,” Cheon-Gi sighed without realizing it, envious and feeling that it was unfair.
Without paying any heed to Cheon-Gi’s attitude, Mu-Gun said, “The heavens favor the Baek Sword Sect, not me. By the way, is Father doing well?”
“He’s currently in closed-door training.”
After absorbing the Golden Sea Turtle’s beast core, Mu-Gun expected his father to enter into closed-door training to train in the Heavenly Sea God Sect’s martial arts. Mu-Gun was looking forward to what his father could accomplish upon completing his closed-door training.
“I see. You probably have a great deal of work to handle. Thank you for your hard work, Uncle.”
“I’m just doing my job, so there’s nothing to thank me for.”
“Because you and the other uncles are there, Father was able to enter closed-door training without worries. If possible, I hope you continue being a reliable supporter next to Father in the future too.”
Cheon-Gi smiled bitterly at Mu-Gun’s words, which contained another meaning. Mu-Gun was letting him know that he should be satisfied with his current position without harboring other intentions.
“Don’t worry, Young Patriarch. This uncle of yours has decided to live out the rest of my life for the sake of the Baek Sword Sect.”
“I see. Well, I’ll get going now.”
“Are you planning to leave right away?”
“No, I’m going to stay here and take my leave after seeing the Baek Sword Corps depart.”
The Eun Merchant Group’s merchant ship was scheduled to depart from Nanjing in three days. Mu-Gun was planning to stay at the Eun Merchant Group’s Nanjing branch until then to give the Great Huangfu Family some time to take action.
“Alright.”
After talking to Cheon-Gi, Mu-Gun went looking for Seonwoo Pyo.
“You can stay here for a few days, then go with the merchant ship when it goes back to Wenzhou.”
“Are you not coming with us?” Seonwoo Pyo asked.
“I still have something I have to do here.”
“Is it perhaps related to the important matter you informed the Great Huangfu Family about?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. We’ll go to Wenzhou first and wait for you there, then. Also, take this.”
Seonwoo Pyo took out a small wooden box from his pocket and handed it to Mu-Gun.
“What is this?”
“It’s the Yin Yang Poison Horn Serpent’s beast core, which I mentioned the other day. I’m giving this to you because I think the internal energy from the Divine Thunder Essence Pill alone might not be enough.”
“Thank you. I’ll put it to good use.”
“As I previously said, the Yin Yang Poison Horn Serpent’s beast core contains a deadly poison aura. If you’re not completely certain, it’s best not to rush ingesting it.”
“I understand. Please rest up.”
“Okay. You should rest too.”
Mu-Gun took the Yin Yang Poison Horn Serpent’s beast core and left Seonwoo Pyo’s room. He then went to the room next door, which Yong-Hwan had assigned to him, and proceeded to take a comfortable rest for the first time in a long while.
Mu-Gun didn’t neglect his martial arts training during his stay at the Eun Merchant Group’s Nanjing branch. Although he had improved his internal energy with the Divine Thunder Essence Pill, martial arts weren’t all about internal energy. Training martial arts techniques were just as important as internal energy.
Mu-Gun was still able to execute ascension realm martial art techniques without much difficulty through the enlightenment he obtained in his previous lives. However, it had yet to be perfected. Physically, Mu-Gun still hadn’t fully embodied the enlightenment he had obtained in his previous lives. While he had improved his body’s ability, his physical body still had to complete the accumulation process of the techniques he had learned.
Of course, even with his current condition, he could sufficiently display powerful martial prowess. However, Mu-Gun’s goal was far greater. He wasn’t satisfied with his current abilities and was constantly training in order to develop further.
***
Eun Ye-Sang, the Eun Merchant Group’s young princess, ran a final inspection on the items to be taken back to Wenzhou, then returned to the lodging in the Nanjing branch. On her way, she ran into Mu-Gun, who was also on his way to the lodging after completing his martial art training.
As soon as Mu-Gun saw her, he bowed lightly. She also bowed in return and greeted him. Mu-Gun briefly greeted her and tried to pass by her to go to the lodging.
“Wait a minute.”
Ye-Sang stopped him.
“Is there something you want to say?”
Mu-Gun looked at her suspiciously, which left Ye-Sang speechless for a moment. She didn’t call him because she had something to say. When Mu-Gun showed no interest and tried to pass by her, she felt the urge to lash back at him, so she called out to him without realizing it.
“That’s... Are you going to go with us on our way back to Wenzhou tomorrow, Young Master Baek?” Ye-Sang came up with a question, which she presented as if she had originally planned to ask him.
“No. I’ll be moving separately.”
“You must be very busy.”
“It’s not to that extent. I just have some matters left to attend to. If you don’t have anything else to say, can I go in first? I would like to wash up as soon as possible.”
“It seems like I grabbed hold of you for no reason. Please go in.”
Ye-Sang’s pride was hurt by Mu-Gun’s indifference toward having a conversation with her. However, she couldn’t show it on the outside, so she responded with a forced smile.
“Okay then.”
Mu-Gun turned around with no hesitation and walked toward his lodging. Ye-Sang’s fist trembled as she watched Mu-Gun leave. It was the first time in her life that a man had been so indifferent to her. Ye-Sang was the one who broke off the marriage, yet it somehow felt like Mu-Gun was the one who did. That feeling was fouler than expected.
She wanted to defy it and make Mu-Gun interested in her. However, she had no idea what to do to attract his attention. She had never tried to win anyone’s attention before since men usually showed interest on their own even if she just stayed still. She suddenly became competitive with this matter, which she had never thought about nor tried before.
“Fine. I will definitely win over your heart.”
Ye-Sang soon entered the lodging and made up her mind while thinking about Mu-Gun, who was nowhere in sight.
The next day, she threw away the man’s attire that she had been sticking to so far and dressed up in a way she didn’t normally do. She thought that Mu-Gun would change his mind if she saw her dressed up. However, no matter how beautifully she did, it was useless if Mu-Gun didn’t see it.
Sadly, Mu-Gun had left the Nanjing branch after finishing his breakfast that morning, preventing him from seeing her dressed up. Ye-Sang realized that her efforts were in vain after finding out that Mu-Gun had left. With embarrassment filling her, she immediately undressed and went back to cross-dressing as a man again.
“How dare he embarrass me like this? I will never forgive him.”
She blamed Mu-Gun for nothing after running a one-man show. Unaware of it, Mu-Gun had left the Eun Merchant Group’s Nanjing branch and was looking for an old manor on North Gate Road. It was another safe house of the Heavenly Secret Hall and one of their members was waiting inside.
“Welcome.”
“You’ve probably been feeling suffocated all this while. You did well enduring.”
“It’s fine. Please take this credit note.”
The Heavenly Secret Hall member handed an envelope to Mu-Gun. Mu-Gun checked its contents upon receiving it, finding a credit note worth 100,000 nyang issued by the Nanjing Vault inside. It was the profit from selling the Thousand Aroma House. It could be converted into 100,000 nyang at the Nanjing Vault, but the Heavenly Secret Hall member kept the credit note instead of changing it into money to avoid the Great Sima Family’s pursuit.
The Great Sima Family would show up the moment he visited the Nanjing Vault to change the credit note into money. With the Great Sima Family’s information power, they’d immediately find out that the Heavenly Secret Hall had sold the Thousand Aroma House and received a credit note issued by the Nanjing Vault.
Mu-Gun decided to use it to his advantage. If he visited the Nanjing Vault with the credit note, the Great Sima Family would assume that he revealed himself to them on his own accord.
“Also, this is the pigskin mask you asked for the other day.”
The Heavenly Secret Hall member then handed over a piece of thin leather in the shape of a human face. The pigskin mask was made using pig skin and a special processing method developed by the Heavenly Secret Hall. Pigskin masks of the highest quality were basically no different from actual human faces. They could even form detailed changes in facial expressions.
Under normal circumstances, they would use human-skin masks, which were made by peeling off the skin of a person’s face. However, in order to make a human-skin mask of the highest quality, the skin had to come from the face of a living person, not a deceased one.
Rejecting such inhumane methods, the Heavenly Secret Hall instead developed the pigskin mask. Before leaving Shandong Province, Mu-Gun had asked the Heavenly Secret Hall member to produce a pigskin mask, which could be used to hide his identity during his fight with the Great Sima Family.
The pigskin mask Mu-Gun received was made by a pigskin mask expert in accordance with Mu-Gun’s facial structure. It was so sophisticated that it was unnoticeable even when looked at from the front. Mu-Gun took the pigskin mask and put it directly on his face. As expected, it fitted perfectly.
“Are you going to wear it now?”
The pigskin mask didn’t work just by wearing it. An expert would have to dress Mu-Gun up so that it wouldn’t be obvious.
“I’ll leave it in your good hands.”
The Heavenly Secret Hall member placed the pigskin mask on Mu-Gun’s face and dressed him up with skilled workmanship. The make-up took an hour.
Afterward, Mu-Gun looked in the mirror and was amazed to see himself looking like a completely different person.
“I really look like someone else.”
“Even most masters won’t be able to notice it.”
“Thank you.”
Having changed his face with the pigskin mask, Mu-Gun left the Heavenly Secret Hall’s safe house and headed straight to the Nanjing Vault.
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