'To think they would rob a poor merchant caravan whose most precious item is this. Those bandits were truly terrible people.'

Whatever Baek Yoonjun was thinking, the caravan leader misunderstood his gaze as a sense of burden for the excessive gift and worry for them.

"This is by no means an excessive reward! Please don't mind it and take it!"

'Of course it isn't. It's like a weed from my backyard.'

"I wanted to repay you with something more precious, but this is the only thing in our caravan that can be called precious."

'It's truly hard to make a living anywhere.'

Although they were on different wavelengths, the conversation somehow worked out, and Baek Yoonjun and the caravan, having finished their business, parted ways on the spot.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"May your journey be peaceful."

As he left, Baek Yoonjun gave a slight nod to the merchants who were repeatedly bowing their heads.

After the caravan left, he turned his gaze to Baek Sowol.

Receiving his gaze, Baek Sowol flinched and immediately tried to kneel on the floor.

"Don't do that."

But she was blocked by an invisible force and couldn't kneel.

"Unless you have committed a sin that you truly need to repent for, you should not kneel carelessly."

"...I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't say you're sorry carelessly either."

At Baek Yoonjun's words, Baek Sowol just hung her head low.

Looking at Baek Sowol, Baek Yoonjun fell into deep thought.

'That child, she must have been so desperate to have come down the mountain without my knowledge.'

Come to think of it, Baek Sowol had mentioned leaving the mountain quite often.

But she never told him why.

Baek Yoonjun was secretly curious, but he didn't bother to dig into it.

Because he believed that people, you know, have secrets they can't even tell their families.

However, at this point, he couldn't help but confirm.

"Sowol, is the reason you want to go down the mountain for revenge?"

Sowol flinched for a moment, then slowly answered.

"...It's not that I haven't thought about it, but that's not the reason I want to leave the mountain."

"Then may I ask why you want to go down?"

Baek Yoonjun secretly thought that Sowol was leaving the mountain to take revenge on the thugs.

And if the leader of those thugs happened to be a martial artist, he was worried that Sowol would get seriously hurt, so he was concerned about her leaving the mountain.

But if there was another situation or reason, maybe he could think about it a little differently.

"...It's to meet my separated family."

"......"

"I don't know if they are alive or dead. But I'm going to go to the place where we promised to meet, believing that they are alive."

"I see."

Baek Yoonjun was curious about the destination, but true to his homebody, introverted nature, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

However, he had a feeling from the nuance that it was by no means a place close to here.

"The grace of Master taking me in is immeasurably deep, and the time we spend together is so precious, but..."

'Family is something you can't help.'

Baek Yoonjun nodded his head.

"Alright, if that's the reason, you may leave the mountain."

"......!"

"However, before you go down, there seems to be one thing I need to teach you."

Baek Yoonjun raised his sword and one by one, ended the lives of the fallen bandits.

Even when he had saved her before, he had killed all the attackers, but to think he would even end the lives of those who had fainted.

Baek Sowol was startled by this unexpected side of her master.

"Ma-master?"

"What is it?"

"Is there a need to take the lives of those who have already been neutralized?"

"There is."

Baek Yoonjun answered firmly and pulled out a long-buried memory from his mind.

"I once almost lost my life by showing mercy."

"What?!"

"This is a good opportunity. It will be a necessary story for you who may be leaving on a long journey soon, so I'll tell you now."

Baek Yoonjun, who seemed to be lost in memory for a moment, opened his mouth heavily.

"It was a time when I was showing some achievement in martial arts. At that time, I was immersed in the arrogant thought that I must have become quite strong by learning martial arts."

Even if it was a third-rate martial art, once he developed internal energy, he didn't age, his body became healthy, and his strength became absurdly strong.

It was impossible not to become confident.

"So I went down the mountain to punish the vicious thugs who were harassing and harming the villagers at that time. And that's when I realized. How insignificant my martial arts were."

Baek Sowol asked with surprised eyes, as if she couldn't believe it.

"Don't tell me Master was defeated?"

"No, I won. But I was only able to win after truly experiencing a life-threatening crisis."

As if the memory of that time was vivid, Baek Yoonjun bit his lip slightly.

"I thought those guys were the 'martial artist' type... but they weren't. After I subdued them and asked, they said they didn't belong anywhere.

Then what would they be? Aren't they just bandits who stole and learned martial arts over their shoulders?"

Baek Sowol tilted her head for a moment at those words.

'...Isn't that just because if their identity was revealed, Master would come for revenge?'

But she couldn't interrupt Baek Yoonjun's serious words, so she kept her mouth shut.

"So I just let the thugs who were begging for their lives go, and these guys led their gang and raided the place where I was camping near the village for a while."

"Ah..."

Baek Yoonjun shivered just thinking about how much he had suffered at that time.

"Of course, in the end, I was able to defeat all of them and finish it well, but that's when I finally realized.

When dealing with evil people, you must never show mercy in your hands."

In fact, Baek Yoonjun's decision was also partly due to the fact that when he was saving Baek Sowol, if he felt he was weak, the opponent was also really weak, but he didn't bother to mention that.

Thwack!

Baek Yoonjun took the life of the last remaining bandit.

"So you too must never, ever waver."

With this, he had taught everything he needed to teach, Baek Yoonjun wanted to say, but he still couldn't shake off his worry for Baek Sowol.

'Sowol is soft-hearted, but she's also so weak. Can she safely reach her destination?'

After pondering for a moment, he soon recalled someone's face.

'Should I ask that guy for a favor...'

* * *

The Namgung family.

It was originally a family that had a foot in the military, but after the martial world's turmoil, it was a martial arts family that had proudly put its name on the martial world's register.

And at the center of that Namgung family was the family head, Namgung Jehyun.

Namgung Jehyun was looking at an old, dilapidated warehouse in a corner of the family estate with a bitter gaze.

'So he finally heard the news.'

The reason was that his son, Namgung Cheon, was in seclusion in that warehouse, refusing all food and drink.

'I thought the matter of the Baek family would be known someday, but it's too soon.'

Namgung Jehyun recalled the Baek family, the family of his close friend that he had destroyed with his own hands.

A family of integrity, as if drawn from a picture.

That's why he had to destroy it.

'Everything is for the Namgung family. How could my heart be at ease?'

Controlling his heavy heart, Namgung Jehyun opened the warehouse door.

The inside was cleaner than it looked from the outside, but it was a space with no furniture or anything.

At the center of that space, his son, Namgung Cheon, was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

The handsome appearance that once made the women of Anhui province blush was gone, and he looked no different from a corpse with skin and bones.

"Cheon."

Namgung Jehyun called his son with a lonely voice.

Only then did Namgung Cheon open his eyes.

The dark circles under his eyes showed that he still hadn't been able to sleep properly.

"What is it?"

At Namgung Cheon's tired voice, Namgung Jehyun looked at him with pity.

"Shake it off. It was for the family, and in a broader sense, for the martial world."

"You mean destroying the family of a close friend?"

"That's right."

Namgung Jehyun pitied his son, but his words were nonchalant.

At those words and attitude, Namgung Cheon's expression distorted noticeably.

"You've changed."

"I haven't changed."

"No! You have changed!"

Namgung Cheon's voice became agitated, but Namgung Jehyun accepted his words nonchalantly.

Seeing that, Namgung Cheon let out a deep sigh.

"When I was young, you told me about the legendary knight-errant of the past, the White-Robed Sword Immortal."

"You mean the story of a person from 80 years ago?"

"I grew up dreaming of being a knight-errant after hearing that story from you, Father."

"So what about it?"

"I grew up dreaming of being a martial artist from the story of him wielding his ink-black sword and defeating those who stained the world with blood and chaos."

"......"

"But what about our Namgung now?"

Namgung Cheon spat out his words in anger.

"What you repeatedly told me back then was justice. Justice that bravely confronts even the greatest evil!!"

Namgung Cheon's eyes, looking at Namgung Jehyun, were filled with so much anger that tears were welling up.

"Where is the justice in destroying even the family of a close friend to expand our power?!"

But Namgung Jehyun just looked at Namgung Cheon nonchalantly.

"The current imperial court has long since let go of everything in the provinces, unable to even properly resolve the matters in Beijing.

Those who became officials through the buying and selling of positions only focused on exploiting and harassing the people even more harshly to make up for the money they spent.

Because we rose up, the lives of the people have instead become stable and peaceful."

"The Baek family was not like that! They were a family that cherished and loved the people more than anyone else, and took the lead in protecting them!"

"But they were weak! If we had left them alone, they would have been eaten by other forces or self-destructed!"

Namgung Jehyun shouted as if venting his anger, his face turning red.

Namgung Cheon felt that there was sincerity in Namgung Jehyun's crazed appearance.

"In the face of the coming chaotic era, we must make Anhui ours, the Namgung's. We must eliminate all the influence of the government here,

so that we can make Anhui the center of the Martial Alliance in the future, and expand our family's influence even further! For that great cause, even the Baek family cannot be an exception, why don't you understand that!"

Namgung Cheon was at a loss for words at Namgung Jehyun's confident attitude.

Looking down at Namgung Cheon, Namgung Jehyun continued to speak nonchalantly.

"We don't know what's happening in the imperial palace, and we don't know when or by whom a revolution will occur.

And in several provinces, warlords and sects that have driven out the officials and are ruling the regions are already emerging. There's even a group of unidentified madmen who worship the black sky running rampant!"

"..."

"In the end, to survive, we must build up our strength and power. Only by becoming strong can we remain intact, regardless of who takes the throne or whether the black sky descends.

That is why I, we, created the Alliance, and the leader of that Alliance will be our Namgung family.

For that, I will do anything."

Namgung Cheon bit his lip at Namgung Jehyun's words.

Then he got up from his seat and staggered towards the warehouse door.

Staggering towards the door, Namgung Cheon barely managed to lean his body against the door and glared at Namgung Jehyun.

"Couldn't you have at least saved that little child, Sowol?"

Then he muttered quietly.

There was no answer from Namgung Jehyun.

Seeing that, Namgung Cheon bit his lip so hard that it bled and headed out of the warehouse.

"I have no intention of following the path you are taking, Father. So do not look for me."

Namgung Jehyun watched his back silently.

After Namgung Cheon left.

A man in an assassin's uniform descended from the ceiling near Namgung Jehyun and knelt down.

"We have lost contact with the members of the Changcheon Brigade who were active in the vicinity of Sichuan, disguised as bandits."

Namgung Jehyun frowned at those words.

"What?"

"It seems they have failed to seize 'that item'."

The man's report made Namgung Jehyun's expression distort severely.

"Shall we select new people and send them?"

"No, it will be even more troublesome if someone finds out about 'that item'. Just send one or two who can track quietly."

"Yes, I understand."

"And... put a tail on Cheon as well."

"As you command!"

As Namgung Jehyun's order fell, the man in the assassin's uniform acknowledged it and immediately disappeared.

After confirming his disappearance, Namgung Jehyun slowly came out of the warehouse.

Then he looked up at the sky and muttered.

"Soon, the Namgung family will rise to the heavens."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"I will remove everything that gets in the way. Even if it's a close friend or a blood relative."

Madness overflowed in Namgung Jehyun's eyes.

(End of Chapter)