Chapter 29

"You were the one who made this tea, weren't you?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

Ryeon opened her eyes wide and looked at him. Danmok Cheon-gi took a spoonful of the congee and clicked his tongue.

"As the eldest grandson of the family, you were busy making congee in the kitchen and brewing tea."

"Huh?"

For a moment, Gang Lip's shoulders trembled.

'Although Young Master is the eldest grandson...'

For some reason, the tone felt a bit strong. After all, the term 'eldest grandson' often refers to the heir's heir.

Danmok Ryeon was the firstborn of the previous young master, Danmok Hyun-seong, so if nothing had happened, she would have naturally become the young master. However, the situation had been different until now.

Danmok Hyun-seong passed away early, and Ryeon had only been maintaining her position until she turned seven, so the family members avoided mentioning her as the eldest grandson.

However, when the Grand Patriarch called his eldest granddaughter 'eldest grandson,' it felt even more weighty than usual.

Before Gang Lip could dwell on his thoughts, Danmok Cheon-gi stood up, and his robe fluttered with his movement.

"Ryeon, since this enlightenment came from you, it's only right that you be the first to confirm it. Let's go."

The girl and the chief steward looked at his back and hurriedly followed.

The inner courtyard of Wolyoung Pavilion was as quiet as a mouse.

Danmok Cheon-gi walked without leaving a single footprint on the well-trodden ground and slowly drew his sword.

Ryeon felt his aura through her skin and opened her eyes wide.

'Is this what a master's enlightenment looks like?'

Even though Danmok Cheon-gi had only meditated for a few days and hadn't undergone any intense training, his aura and flow were completely different from before.

Just as one can clearly feel a clearer blue sky no matter how high it is, the changes in Danmok Cheon-gi were evident to her.

Danmok Cheon-gi started moving his sword slowly from the beginning. It was the flow of the Twelve Falling Swords, but it was extremely slow compared to what she knew.

However, there was no disorder in that slowness. It was like a comet's tail that never deviated, no matter how long it stretched.

Finally, when he completed the last move with a heavy stroke, there were no footprints in front of him, but twelve sword marks were clearly visible.

─ When a swordsman of the Danmok family wields a sword, everyone should be able to understand its meaning clearly.

The meaning resonated clearly in the sky. Ryeon smiled broadly. In her eyes, the characters written in ink appeared one by one.

Danmok Cheon-gi

Traits: Protector of the martial world / Tendon collector / Filled with regret / Phoenix / Witnessed the trajectory of a star (additional)

Twelve Falling Swords: 12 stars (recovered)

Infinite Treasure: 12 stars

Meteor Formation Technique: 11 stars

Talent and Five Stars: Upper-Middle (上-中)

Concerns: Danmok Ryeon's health, his duties

The family is about to enter a new phase. Ryeon had a clear intuition that it would happen.

* * *

In the early morning, before his granddaughter had even opened her eyes, Danmok Cheon-gi wielded his sword in the empty courtyard of Wolyoung Pavilion.

The pain in his waist and the unstable dantian, which had plagued him for decades, were now gone.

He had been frustrated for a long time over the wound he received from the Blood Demon's poison, but it had healed as if it had been washed away.

Danmok Cheon-gi realized that this was a minor rebirth.

He looked at the tip of his sword, which did not waver at all.

And beyond that tip, he recalled the trajectory of the sword drawn by the end of a little girl's chopsticks.

He slowly recalled that trajectory, and a shiver ran down his spine.

'How is this possible...?'

How could the path of the sword, which he had sought all his life, be seen in the fingertips of his young granddaughter?

The clear energy contained in the tea she had served. The current that purified the air and calmed his breathing.

'Come to think of it, they say a chicken they raised turned into a phoenix?'

He had always dismissed such stories as nonsense, but now Danmok Cheon-gi could no longer ignore them. In fact, he understood them all.

Danmok Cheon-gi smiled softly and slowly closed his eyes. The girl's eyes, which sparkled like stars, just like his grandmother's, were vivid in his mind.

'Oh, divine spirits...'

His heart tightened. He had naturally realized the direction of all the actions his granddaughter had taken while busily moving around Wolyoung Pavilion.

Even though she was frail due to the power she possessed and knew that she couldn't cultivate inner strength because of it, Ryeon had still tried to help her family with that power.

She had circled around him during his enlightenment, trying to help with that power.

"Kang Lip, are you here?"

"Master..."

After sheathing his sword and turning around, he saw Kang Lip standing there with a moved expression.

Having been the chief steward of the martial family for a long time, Kang Lip could tell that Danmok Cheon-gi had not only regained his former strength but had surpassed it just by seeing him wield his sword.

Danmok Cheon-gi laughed heartily and waved his hand, heading for the inner chamber. After congratulating him several times, Kang Lip began to report on the backlog of affairs.

"Hmm. So, Jian Weixue finally passed the imperial examination as the top scholar?"

The first news Kang Lip delivered was that Jian Weixue, the third son of Jian Yanzhao, had passed the imperial examination as the top scholar.

"Yes, the whole of Hangzhou is in an uproar. The head of the merchant guild has already sent various gifts to Young Master, thanking her for the Qinglian Water. Ah! Among them was a Xianglin Flute, and the head of the medicine guild was delighted, saying he would teach Jian Weixue to play the flute."

At first, Danmok Cheon-gi had intended to sneer, but when Kang Lip mentioned that Danmok Xianwu was delighted, he lowered his eyes with a vague expression.

"The Xianglin Flute, which Jian Yanzhao cherished so much that he never showed it to me, was given to Ryeon?"

"It was one of the things sent in a hurry."

"Tsk. He must have been so excited about making a profit from the Qinglian Water that he sent it."

Danmok Cheon-gi said it as if it were a side comment. Kang Lip smiled.

"He said he would send a gift worthy of the Grand Patriarch's good news."

"Isn't that also a way of saying he wants me to give something for my son's good news?"

"Since it's not just a pass but the top scholar, we should also enjoy the pleasure of giving a gift. The head of the inner chamber is already busy choosing good items."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes, but..."

Kang Lip hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"The movements of the Jin Family seem a bit unusual."

The smile on Danmok Cheon-gi's lips turned bitter.

"Is it only them? With the news of my achievement, all the martial families in Hangzhou must be surprised."

That was true. If Jian Weixue had turned the literary families of Hangzhou upside down, then Danmok Cheon-gi had certainly stirred up all the martial families.

So, it was natural that the Jin Family, which was now the most prominent family in Hangzhou, would also be in turmoil.

"There's no need to worry about such things now."

Danmok Cheon-gi clenched and unclenched his fists, recalling his granddaughter's eyes. The eyes that sparkled with star-like particles.

What lies beyond that starlight?

Dawn.

The light will rise again and burn.

"Rather, it's time to send someone to Henan Province."

"To Henan Province...?"

In Henan Province, there is the Black Heaven Lotus, the Devil Heaven Sect, and the White Path Alliance, a martial alliance formed to stand against the great evil, the Blood Demon.

And in that martial alliance, his daughter, Danmok Xianyao, is currently serving as the head of the outer chamber and acting as the family head.

"Tell the head of the outer chamber that it's time for her to return. She has worked hard in the martial alliance for a long time, so it's time for her to rest. Tell her to come back to the family."

Kang Lip swallowed hard. The head of the outer chamber of the Danmok family is the second daughter, Danmok Xianyao.

Saying it's time for her to rest also means it's time for her to step down from the acting family head position.

Kang Lip sensed a storm brewing.

* * *

"Haha. Is it because I'm so capable? I thought he was just indulging in drinking, dancing, and pleasure every day. How could I know when he studied?"

Jian Yanzhao laughed heartily. The chief manager of Li Hua Trading House, who was in the middle of giving congratulations, looked a bit flustered but managed to calm down.

The chief manager of Li Hua Trading House was from the distant northern Shanxi Province and was not as eager to make his children officials as the Huizhou merchants.

However, having several children, and if one or two of them could become officials, it wouldn't be a bad thing, right?

Since he often did business with the Mansong Trading House, he had his son study with Jian Weixue. While Jian Weixue unexpectedly passed the imperial examination as the top scholar, his son narrowly avoided failing.

If he hadn't met with the chief examiner separately at the last moment, he might have failed.

'If they both played, how can one become the top scholar and the other barely avoid failing?'

Even though he played, his son was also a remarkably intelligent child in the neighborhood, having chosen to become an official from a young age.

"Still, it's really impressive. But I heard that... "

The chief manager cautiously brought up the topic.

According to his son, Jian Weixue often applied a small medicine to his forehead or temples when he was tired, which was sent by a child he cherished like a nephew and was said to help with his studies.