Chapter 37. Surviving Overtime (1)

After returning from the meeting, I easily swallowed the Summoning Pill fragment with the help of Wi Ji-yeon. I could stabilize my inner energy much more quickly and steadily than when I had eaten the ten-year-old ginseng alone before.

Most importantly, it hardly hurt at all.

I could feel the difference in quality compared to the ordinary ten-year-old ginseng from the Huang family pharmacy.

'As expected, this is the Summoning Pill from the renowned pill-making family, Shaolin. The quality of a masterpiece is truly different.'

After stabilizing my inner energy without much difficulty, I exhaled a long breath and slowly stood up.

And I could feel it—the powerful inner energy flowing through my body, as if it had a will of its own.

The emptiness that lay beneath everything.

This is the perspective of an absolute being...

Suddenly, Wi Ji-yeon, who saw me stand up and look down at the mountains, asked, "Are you okay? Do you have a headache or anything?"

"…I just feel a sense of emptiness from the easily obtained power. Now that I've become the highly sought-after expert, the hardships of the past seem meaningless."

"You're not an expert yet."

"Really?"

"Not at all."

I see.

I thanked Wi Ji-yeon.

"Thank you anyway, Miss Wi."

It's about five years' worth. When I circulated my inner energy, I could feel a significant increase in my inner power.

My dantian felt as heavy as a quail's egg.

The size of my inner power was clearly different from before, giving me a sense of security. Wi Ji-yeon, seeing my excited state, warned me.

"Congratulations on reaching the initial stage. At this level, your inner power can be considered mid-tier. Of course, you must remember that your martial arts skills are far from matching your inner power."

"Of course."

There are also experts who have only cultivated their inner power through methods like bee venom and medicinal doping, but most of these so-called experts are actually not even first-rate in their actual abilities.

In short, they are like players who have no skill but only rely on in-game items.

Martial arts are not just about inner power. Of course, you can't do martial arts without inner power, but it's not the only factor.

'I have become a low-paying mid-tier warrior.'

It means I still can't match the mid-tier warriors who have grown through hard-fought battles. I shouldn't get too cocky just because of my inner power.

"And for the time being, it's best not to consume any more medicinal herbs. Since the external energy is more than what you've cultivated on your own, your internal energy is very unstable. It's easy to fall into a state of mental derangement at this time."

"I understand."

It means that the inner power I've built up through shortcuts is too much.

"But at this level, can't I try using sword qi?"

"It's risky, but not impossible."

"Can you teach me? Using sword qi has been my dream."

Generally, it takes about ten years of cultivation to use sword qi stably, but with this level of power, I could at least try to mimic it, albeit somewhat unstable, as I saw Baek Seung-il do before.

Of course, I can't use it freely like Gang Pyo-doo, but I can force it out for a short time.

Wi Ji-yeon looked somewhat hesitant.

"Using sword qi is a bit premature at your current level."

"Is that so?"

"But the Qinghong Sword Technique is specialized for using sword qi, so it's necessary to practice it in advance."

That's right. According to Wi Ji-yeon, the Qinghong Sword Technique is specialized for using sword qi. Especially, the red sword qi, which can be generated at the peak level, can specifically break through the opponent's protective qi.

Hearing this, I imagined generating sword qi. Holding a pair of swords and raising red and blue energy to overwhelm the enemy... It was a truly grand imagination, though it's still a distant dream.

"Then can you teach me how to use sword qi?"

As I approached with sparkling eyes, Wi Ji-yeon took a step back, looking uncomfortable, and said in a cautionary tone.

"Alright. But you have to make one promise."

"What is it?"

"You must only practice according to my guidance. At your current level, learning to use sword qi is a bit too much, so if you don't follow the proper method, you might fall into a state of mental derangement."

It was a rather stern warning. She was telling me to follow the control of a skilled instructor... Well, it should be fine.

"I understand. I promise."

I clenched my fist, extending only my pinky and thumb, and held out my hand. Seeing my hand, Wi Ji-yeon looked confused and asked, "What is this?"

"Ah, don't you know? This is how you make a promise."

"O-Oh...?"

She doesn't seem to know.

I grabbed her wrist, extended her pinky, and hooked it with mine, then stamped my thumb.

"Alright, promise."

"..."

"Since we've made the promise, will you trust me? Now, teach me how to use sword qi."

Wi Ji-yeon stood still, her face turning red, like a broken kiosk machine.

"Um, are you okay?"

"…I'm sorry. I feel a bit feverish, so I'll take my leave for today. See you tomorrow..."

With that, she hurriedly left.

...I start work tomorrow.

***

After a month-long vacation, my steps to return to work were very heavy.

"It's been a while since I've worked, and I feel like I'm going to die."

"Have you been so lazy after a month off?"

My colleague, Gwak Doo-san, replied bluntly. I revealed my deeply hidden thoughts.

"I wish I could live without working."

"Are your parents royalty?"

"Not really."

"Or do they own a lot of land?"

"Not at all."

"Then you have to work."

Gwak Doo-san handed me a large box. Unfortunately, my first day back coincided with the inventory audit week. What bad luck.

I carried boxes in the warehouse all day, making my whole body ache. Thanks to the increased inner power, my physical strength and muscle power naturally improved, so I only felt a bit sore. If I had only two years of inner power, I might have been bedridden.

"Want to grab a drink after we're done?"

"Sure."

As we chatted noisily, Baek Ryeong-hwa suddenly approached us.

'What's going on?'

We hastily made a fist salute and greeted her. Baek Ryeong-hwa, half-heartedly acknowledging our greetings, approached me with a serious expression.

"Cheng Piao-shi, can you spare a moment?"

"Yes?"

"Hurry."

I followed her, feeling a bad omen.

'What's going on all of a sudden?'

Baek Ryeong-hwa stopped in front of her office. It seemed we had arrived.

She slowly opened the door.

*Thud!*

The door opened, and the moment I saw the inside of the office, my heart sank.

Inside, there was a massive... an overwhelmingly massive amount of documents, piled up like a mountain.

An amount of documents that one person could hardly handle! I instinctively knew I needed to run.

Seeing me hesitating, Baek Ryeong-hwa looked at me with a serious expression and said, "Cheng Piao-shi."

"Yes."

"Can you write good reports?"

I felt as if my breath was cut off. In a split second, I desperately thought of a response.

"Not really. They're a complete mess. Sigh. I can barely write the Thousand Character Classic..."

"I've seen your previous reports. If you lie, I'll make you clean the branch toilets for ten years."

"…I did cheat, but I studied hard and now I can write reports. Yes, I can do it to some extent."

"Good. Then let's solve this major problem together."

Is this karma coming back to me? I just worked diligently...

My attempt to lie down and give up failed. It was a world where I would be the only one to suffer.

Having secured her first slave, Baek Ryeong-hwa pointed to the piles of documents scattered around the office and said, "We need to finish organizing these documents within four days. I can't do it alone."

"The amount is quite significant. What kind of documents are they?"

"They are documents related to Yoon Jun-seop. Lists of discovered items... things like that. They are prepared for the compensation negotiations with the Jinju Yoon family."

"Hmm..."

The incident at Mount Mujang was still unresolved in terms of compensation. The positions of the Jinju Yoon family and the Baegun Escort Agency were in sharp contrast.

The Jinju Yoon family claimed that Yoon Jun-seop had already been disowned, so there was no need to compensate the Baegun Escort Agency for the damage.

On the other hand, the Baegun Escort Agency argued that the Jinju Yoon family's claim that they had killed Yoon Jun-seop was false, and therefore they should be compensated for the damage.

In the end, the Jinju Yoon family proposed to step back and verify Yoon Jun-seop's body before negotiating. We needed to organize these documents to welcome the delegation from the Jinju Yoon family and lead the negotiations favorably.

Jun-seop, even in death, you're still tormenting me...

"I understand. I will actively help. But please exclude me from the heavy lifting."

I didn't want to clean the warehouse while doing office work. Baek Ryeong-hwa nodded agreeably.

"Of course. That goes without saying."

"Great. Let's start."

We rolled up our sleeves and dove into the mountain of documents.

***

Cheng Piao-shi and Baek Ryeong-hwa sorted through the documents for a long time. It was almost night. If there were a few more people, it would have been faster, but with just the two of us, it seemed endless.

If it weren't for the vertical writing, it might have been a bit faster, but I really can't get used to it.

I was flipping through the documents and got bored, so I decided to ask a question.

"By the way, Chief."

"Yes."

"Why were you doing this alone?"

"Why alone?"

"There are scribes, other escorts, and the branch manager. And there's also the White Flower Squad."

There were several people who could read and write, so why did she do it alone?

For reference, the Myeongyang branch had a scribe named Seo Rim, who had a goatee and often asked me for a ginseng root, even though I'm not a ginseng dealer.

I don't understand why he keeps asking for ginseng.

"Jang Pyo-doo and Scribe Seo were busy preparing for the regular escort, so I couldn't assign them to the document work. And the other escorts... it was just terrible when I tried."

Baek Ryeong-hwa shuddered. She then picked up a crumpled piece of paper from the corner and handed it to me. I unfolded it.

After looking at it for a moment, I sighed.

"This is quite a creative document."

Ignoring the illegible handwriting, there were scribbles and strike-throughs for typos, and bizarre drawings instead of words...

It was a complete mess.

"Who wrote this?"

"It was an escort named Sima Yul. I thought he was a mid-level escort, but this is the level he's at."

Baek Ryeong-hwa gritted her teeth.

This guy really needs to stop showing off...

"In four days, we have to negotiate with the Jinju Yoon family, and we can't show them this."

"I understand."

It's like bringing a college student's PPT to a corporate meeting. A PPT with a ridiculous blue sea drawn on it.

And most importantly, this meeting was about getting compensation from the Jinju Yoon family.

If we presented such amateurish materials, we would be treated as fools and wouldn't get the compensation we deserve.

"Then what about the White Flower Squad? They should be familiar with this kind of work."

Originally, Baek Ryeong-hwa was the leader of the White Flower Squad (White Flower Team), which was responsible for the overall inspection and supervision of the Baegun Escort Agency. It's like a government inspection, not a corporate one.

Although she had been acting as the branch manager in place of Jang Pyo-doo, it was only temporary because of the new security business for the government.

The White Flower Squad, her direct subordinate, was not skilled in combat but was at the peak level in document work. With them, this task would be nothing to fear.

When I asked where the White Flower Squad had gone, Baek Ryeong-hwa shook her head and answered.

"I sent the White Flower Squad back to headquarters."

"Really? When?"

"While you were enjoying your month-long vacation."

"…Well, it wasn't really enjoyable."

I suffered a lot during the mission.

"But why did you send them back? They could have helped."

"The White Flower Squad also had a lot of work to do. I couldn't leave here either."

"Because of the government security business?"

"Yes. It seemed difficult for Jang Pyo-doo to handle both the government security and the branch. So, I decided to handle the government security here and send the White Flower Squad back. I will also hand over the leadership to someone else."

Baek Ryeong-hwa answered calmly while looking at the documents. I asked a question.

"Then will you become the branch manager?"

"Of course not. A new position called Baegun Jiao will be established to oversee about five or six branches in Hubei and Sichuan provinces, and I will take that position. Not immediately, but after things are settled."

"Then it's a promotion. Congratulations. I will call you Chief from now on."

"Thanks. But it feels like I'm going to die. I don't know how to handle this... If I had known, I wouldn't have sent the White Flower Squad back."

Baek Ryeong-hwa looked very regretful. It was understandable, as the data collection had just ended, and now she had to organize everything item by item.

From how the work was handled to the types of items found after killing Yoon Jun-seop, the number of coffins discovered, the identities of the deceased, the costs of moving them here, the compensation details for the injured escorts... It was endless.

After thinking for a moment, I said, "I have one suggestion. Would you like to hear it?"

These office workers need slaves.