Chapter 19. The Value of a Warrior (3)

"Master."

"What is it?"

Even after several years as the chief manager, Taekyung was still overly cautious and respectful to Yeonwi.

"A letter has arrived from the Murong family."

"From the Murong family?"

"Yes."

A hint of surprise flickered across Yeonwi's usually indifferent face.

The Murong family was one of the Seven Great Families, just like the Yeon family. Unlike the Yeon family, which was based in Beksan, the Murong family was a traditional martial arts family with a history of over five hundred years.

For this reason, the Yeon family had little interaction with the Murong family. They had exchanged pleasantries a few times at the righteous martial arts alliance, but that was the extent of their relationship.

"Give it to me."

"Here it is."

Yeonwi's eyebrows twitched as he read the letter.

Taekyung cautiously asked, "What is it?"

"It's a business proposal."

"Business?"

Yeonwi, who had placed the letter on the table, tapped his finger on it.

'Work together?'

The region where the Yeon family was based, Jiangsu Province, was one of the areas actively engaged in maritime trade, along with Zhejiang Province.

Of course, prestigious martial arts sects often established branches in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to conduct trade. The Yeon family, which had settled in Jiangsu, was also involved in trade.

'Is the Murong family planning to get into this business?'

In the past, the Murong family was based in Liaoning Province, on the outskirts of Central China. However, after the Blood Sect Rebellion three hundred years ago, they moved to Hunan Province, the heart of Central China.

Since they had settled inland, it was assumed they had no interest in maritime trade. But it seemed that was not the case.

After a moment of contemplation, Yeonwi shook his head.

"It won't work. Chief Manager."

"Yes."

"Prepare the writing materials."

"Ah, yes!"

Yeonwi quickly wrote a reply. As a swordsman praised for his literary and martial prowess, his handwriting was exceptionally elegant.

"Send this to the Murong family."

"Understood!"

"You may leave now."

Taekyung bowed and left the master's room.

As Yeonwi was about to return to his work, he suddenly looked out the window.

A faint worry clouded his indifferent eyes.

"…It must be cold over there."

* * *

"Wow!"

Yeon Jiping's face was filled with uncontainable admiration.

"Amazing, Brother!"

As they entered Hefei, the number of people noticeably increased.

It wasn't just that. The city's splendor was truly remarkable. It could easily rival Hangzhou and Suzhou, known as the "Heavenly Cities."

Yeon Jiping looked around in amazement. It was clearly different from Jiangsu, which was adjacent to the sea. From the buildings to the people's clothing, everything was a vibrant mix of colors, delighting the eye.

Seeing Yeon Jiping's excitement, Jeong Ahyan poked Yeon Hojeong.

"Your brother is almost riding the waves of excitement. He was so worried last night. Is it because he lives near the sea?"

"…"

"Is he always like this?"

"Shut up."

"Even if you say that…"

Yeon Jiping, with an excited face, approached Yeon Hojeong.

"Brother! Brother! Can we go play in the market? Can we?"

Yeon Hojeong's face showed a hint of awkwardness.

"Let's find a place to stay first, how about that?"

"Any place will do! Right?"

Well, that's true.

"But even if it looks fine, rest should come first."

Yeon Hojeong pointed to Jeong Ahyan and Jeong Jun.

Yeon Jiping realized his mistake.

"Ah! I'm sorry. I got too excited…"

Jeong Ahyan laughed and waved his hand.

"Ah, it's fine. Don't worry about us. Go and have fun. We'll find a place to stay."

Jeong Jun also chimed in.

"Right. We have about two days left, so we can rest nearby during that time."

The Jeong siblings looked at Shinmo and asked simultaneously.

"Right?"

Shinmo cleared his throat.

"Great Prince. What do you think?"

Everyone's gaze naturally turned to Yeon Hojeong.

After a moment of looking around, Yeon Hojeong nodded.

"I'll go to the meeting hall first. If you want to play, go ahead."

"Cough!"

"Ah…"

A cough and a sigh of disappointment were heard simultaneously.

Yeon Hojeong scratched his head.

I said it without thinking, but it might give the wrong impression.

"No, really, you don't have to worry about me."

"Hey, that's not right."

Yeon Hojeong glared at Jeong Ahyan with a fierce look.

Jeong Ahyan shrank back like a turtle, but he had his say.

"If we're going together, we should move together. Cough!"

"Isn't there something you need to do separately?"

"Huh? Something to do?"

"Shouldn't you find the guards from the family you likely isolated?"

"Ah?!"

Jeong Jun, realizing his mistake, straightened his limping leg.

Yeon Hojeong frowned.

"I see. If you don't find the guards before the meeting starts, the innocent guards will return to their families and be beaten."

"Ah, no!"

Snap!

Jeong Ahyan suddenly picked up Jeong Jun. Jeong Jun didn't even have time to protest.

"We'll go first! Master Shin! See you at the meeting hall! Jeong Ah! See you later!"

"Ah! Sister! Put me down! As a man…!"

"Shut up, you weakling!"

Snap!

The Jeong siblings disappeared in an instant. Everyone looked at where they had vanished, dumbfounded.

Yeon Hojeong muttered.

"They're still pretending to be close."

Whether it was the Nine Great Sects or the Seven Great Families, everyone had to be suspected. The suspicion about the Jeong family had almost been diluted, but who knew?

He had seen countless unexpected events happen in unforeseen situations. It wasn't time to lower his guard against the Jeong family yet.

'To truly understand, I need to meet the senior members of the family. Complacency is forbidden.'

At that moment, Yeon Jiping asked.

"Brother."

"Yes?"

"Let's go to the meeting hall."

"Huh? Didn't you want to see the market?"

Yeon Jiping smiled brightly.

"What's the point if you're not coming with me? It's fine."

"There's no need to do that. If you really want to, we can go together until tonight…"

"No, no. Thinking about it, we're not here to play. Even though it's a gathering, we can't tarnish the family's reputation. It's best to compose ourselves."

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

'He's grown.'

At this age, his thoughts were clearly different from those of other boys. He still had his innocence, but his thoughts were also deep.

"Alright, let's do that."

"Yes!"

Thus, the group headed straight for the meeting hall.

As they walked, Yeon Hojeong was lost in thought.

'The gathering of the young talents is in two days. It lasts for four days. It's called a gathering, but it's really a social event, so I need to gather all the information I can during this time.'

Since it was a gathering of young talents representing the Seven Great Families, the number of participants was small. Even if a family sent five or six people, the total would be less than fifty.

The important thing was to thoroughly assess the martial arts and internal energy of each individual. At his current level, Yeon Hojeong couldn't analyze the nature of another person's internal energy just by looking at it.

'Even if it's not a fight, if there's a sparring match or physical contact, I should try to…'

At that moment,

"Sorry."

"Hmm?"

Yeon Hojeong looked at Yeon Jiping.

"What did you say?"

"Sorry."

"For what?"

Yeon Jiping bowed deeply.

"Actually, I heard you and Miss Jeong talking in the forest yesterday."

"I know."

"Ah! You knew?"

Yeon Hojeong chuckled.

"Your internal energy was so poorly concealed, it was impossible not to notice."

"Ah…"

"There's no need to apologize for that. If it bothered me, I would have called you first."

Yeon Jiping's face turned red with embarrassment and guilt.

"That's true too."

"Hmm? Did you do something wrong to me?"

"…Not really, but I'm still sorry."

Yeon Hojeong couldn't help but chuckle.

At first, he didn't understand why his brother was acting this way. But last night, during the conversation with Jeong Ahyan, he realized why Yeon Jiping had been unusually quiet.

'I was too insensitive.'

He had no intention of changing his way of thinking or his principles. But he felt guilty for not paying attention to his brother.

Yeon Hojeong ruffled Yeon Jiping's hair.

"Ah! Brother!"

"Kid, you're too young to keep saying sorry. It'll become a habit."

"But…!"

"I have very strong and rough principles, so I don't easily get close to people. Sometimes, I don't even try to understand others. That's why I don't often feel gratitude or guilt."

"…"

"I don't think you need to be as extreme as me, but constantly saying thank you and sorry isn't always good either. Being different isn't wrong, is it?"

"Is that so?"

"That's what I think."

Yeon Hojeong tried not to impose his thoughts on his brother.

He just wanted to make him think. He hoped his brother would become someone who could see things more broadly and deeply than himself.

At least, he didn't want him to become someone who mistook someone else's principles for his own.

Shinmo's face showed a strange light as he watched the brothers talking.

'They have a very close bond.'

He had thought the same thing when they were heading to Choseongru.

He was secretly puzzled because everyone knew that the Great Prince hated the Second Prince terribly.

But in reality, it wasn't like that. To Shinmo, the Yeon brothers seemed closer than any other siblings in the world.

'Besides…'

Shinmo's eyes were fixed on Yeon Hojeong's back.

'He was incredible.'

At the time, the situation was so urgent that he didn't have time to think about it, but now, it was a continuous surprise.

Not only his martial arts, but especially his judgment was remarkable. He came up with surprisingly quick and clear solutions, as if he had experienced countless fire incidents.

'Where did he get such experience?'

His martial arts could be understood if he had been taught by the family head.

However, the natural way he found solutions in a crisis was not something that could be learned from a manual.

'It wasn't just a one-time thing. It's really…'

"Master Shin."

"Ah? Ah, yes!"

"Please have one of the guards set up a watch at the entrance to the meeting hall."

Shinmo, startled, looked around.

They had already arrived at the entrance to the meeting hall. It was called a meeting hall, but it was just a borrowed mansion. Of course, it was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

"Of course."

"Also, please report to me immediately if anyone enters, which family they're from, and how many there are."

"I will follow your orders, Great Prince."

"Good."

Yeon Hojeong relaxed his shoulders.

"Shall we go in?"

Shinmo knocked on the mansion's door.

Knock! Knock!

"Is anyone inside?"

A voice came from inside as if they had been waiting.

"Who is it?"

"We are from Beksan Yeon family. Please open the door."

After a moment,

Creak!

The door opened, revealing the spacious interior of the mansion. And a group of people near the entrance.

"Beksan Yeon family?"

"Yes."

The man at the front bowed.

"I am Han Homing from Sichuan. It's an honor to meet the warriors of the Yeon family."

Sichuan, and Han Homing.

Although they had never met, Shinmo immediately recognized him.

"Poison Dragon Iron Whip Han Homing?!"

"Ha ha! It's an honor to be recognized."

Like Shinmo, Han Homing was one of the top martial artists in his region.

Moreover, Shinmo and Han Homing had one more thing in common: they both belonged to the highest martial arts families in their regions.

Yeon Hojeong's eyes sparkled.

Behind Han Homing, a young man with a well-built physique and sharp eyes caught his attention.

"Tang family."