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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Na Yerin was a good teacher, but not a good sect leader.
The reason was simple.
She was an excellent martial artist, but not an excellent manager.
However, the reason the Hongseong sect was able to maintain its current status was thanks to her first disciple, Hongryeon.
If it weren’t for her, who seemed carefree and boisterous, yet was meticulous and multi-talented, the Hongseong sect would have already crumbled, and Na Yerin might have become a wandering swordsman.
Although Hongryeon had gone through a lot of trouble, serving a master who was clumsy and, frankly, incompetent in matters not related to martial arts, she had never once disliked her master, the Sword Saint.
Because to her, Na Yerin was more than just a master.
She was the ideal person she admired.
Because she possessed those strong eyes of someone who would never bend their will to anything in the world.
That’s why Hongryeon continued to support her flawed master.
“Hmm…”
One part of her support was connecting with the Martial Alliance.
The Hongseong sect was undeniably part of the righteous faction, and it acted according to the principles of the righteous faction.
Especially with the recent events happening in the martial world, she couldn’t stay away from external affairs as the senior disciple of the Hongseong sect.
As she was already a renowned master of the martial arts, known as the Sunset Sword,
By the time she returned to the Hongseong sect after completing her duties outside, the sun had already set.
The other sisters would be doing their evening training. She smiled, looking at the bamboo box in her right hand.
The candies packed inside would bring smiles back to the faces of her exhausted sisters.
Thinking of their smiles helped her forget about the unpleasantries she encountered at the Martial Alliance.
Those unpleasant gazes.
Eyes filled with lust for her appearance.
Or those who expressed base desires towards the Sword Saint’s martial arts.
Or those who tried to use the authority of the Hongseong sect for their own gain.
“I’m back!!”
She threw open the main gate of the Hongseong sect and shouted loudly. Thanks to her shout infused with internal energy, her sisters, who were gathered on the training grounds for their training, greeted her with welcoming smiles.
Hongryeon raised the bamboo box she was holding.
“You’ve all worked hard training! Eat these before you wash up! Of course, if you’re feeling the urge after working up a sweat, you can always…”
“Sister!!”
Ryuhyeon, who took care of their sisters and managed the Hongseong sect while she was away, the second disciple of the Sword Saint after Hongryeon, yelled.
She was good in every way, but her uptightness was a problem.
Especially since their sisters were now past puberty, if she didn’t allow them to relieve their pent-up energy in appropriate ways, it could lead to serious trouble.
They weren’t children anymore, and they needed to learn about these things, at least through knowledge, so they could have healthy relationships with the people they truly loved in the future.
So Hongryeon, smiling at Ryuhyeon who was marching towards her with a frown, took a book out of her bag and held it out.
“Huh? What’s this? A new martial arts…”
“I managed to obtain a very excellent book, a must-read for this generation, called ‘Harmonious Spring Daydream.'”
“…But what’s this mark?”
“Just a reminder to read it quickly?”
Ryuhyeon’s finger was pointing at the red character ‘Spring’ (春) inside a red circle. Hongryeon answered nonchalantly, but Ryuhyeon was speechless. Without hesitation, she grabbed the senior disciple of the Hongseong sect by the ear.
“Ow, ow, be gentle! I’m your elder sister!”
“It’s an erotic novel! An erotic novel! Why would you take this out with the kids around?!”
Whispering in her ear with her face red as a beetroot, Ryuhyeon finally snapped.
Her sharp hand struck Hongryeon’s back with a resounding slap.
Despite the pain that followed the crisp sound, Hongryeon just grinned.
“You’ve got pent-up frustrations, don’t you?”
“I don’t! Ow, ow, ow…”
Don’t lie. Hongryeon had seen her.
She had been secretly borrowing her erotic novels and indulging in some self-gratification in secluded spots for quite some time now.
She had even finished reading all of her erotic novels and was on her third read-through.
She had brought her a new erotic novel out of kindness, but she didn’t even appreciate her elder sister’s efforts.
Ungrateful little brat.
But she had no intention of exposing her naughty little sister’s secret and tormenting her.
She herself had a clear distinction between reality and fantasy, so she didn’t feel the need to hide anything.
That’s why she used things like this to relieve the stress and pressure from managing the Hongseong sect, but Ryuhyeon was different.
Different strokes for different folks, after all.
“Oh, by the way, what’s that?”
Only then did Hongryeon hold up the bamboo box she was carrying in her other hand.
“Speaking of which, I have something to tell you all. Everyone’s worked hard training, so take one each.”
“Yes!!”
The sisters quickly lined up. Hongryeon smiled at her sisters, who were practically drooling over the candies. She placed one candy in each outstretched hand.
As more and more sisters received the colorful candies, the training ground was filled with a warm atmosphere.
After giving candies to most of the sisters, she finally reached their youngest.
They say you love all your fingers equally, but there was one finger she paid a little more attention to, her youngest, Sayoon, who was looking at her with a smile.
Those eyes she loved.
Eyes that knew pride and wouldn’t be broken.
Hongryeon placed a candy on the palm of her adorable youngest sister, Sayoon, and gave a dashing smile.
“Alright, everyone got one, right?!”
“Yes!! Thank you!”
“Good!”
As she nodded firmly, the sisters started to munch on their candies. Some popped them in their mouths whole, while others nibbled on them carefully.
But they were all happy and enjoying themselves.
Pleased with the sight, she popped a candy in her own mouth and put the remaining ones aside for her master before speaking calmly.
“After the Hongseong Swordsmanship training in twenty-one days, everyone in the Hongseong sect will be going down to the village.”
“Why? We already bought everything we need…”
She casually explained what had happened earlier to her curious sisters. They all cheered.
After all, they were still young and full of energy, and they craved rich food.
Of course, such food wasn’t ideal for martial arts training, but Hongryeon knew better than anyone that the Hongseong Divine Art wasn’t some low-level martial art whose mastery was affected by a simple change in diet.
As everyone was rejoicing, a small hand was raised timidly. It was their youngest, Sayoon.
“Um… what about Master? Will she be coming too?”
Even their youngest knew that the Sword Saint rarely participated in such outings.
All eyes turned to Hongryeon.
How could they possibly go out to eat while leaving their revered Master behind?
Their good mood plummeted instantly. The only saving grace was that they were trying their best to maintain their composure.
So, with a bright smile, Hongryeon ruffled Sayoon’s hair.
“I’ll make sure she’s prepared, so don’t worry.”
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My daily routine hadn’t changed much. I woke up in the morning, gathered the waiters and workers, and instructed them to clean the inn. By the time they finished cleaning, the inn’s cook, who lived upstairs, would come down, since he started work at lunchtime. Everyone went out to buy breakfast.
It wasn’t a good thing in my eyes. Of course not.
To achieve my goal, money and power were essential.
Sure, I had a lot of money now, but I couldn’t just spend it recklessly.
I had to save wherever I could.
So, I started offering something that wasn’t there before: breakfast.
It was nothing special.
Indian-style roti made with whole wheat, barely fermented, filled with leftover meat or vegetables from the previous day, chopped and stir-fried with seasonings.
It was a good way to use up leftover ingredients, it tasted decent, and most importantly, it was cheap. Recently, even the workers in the area had started buying them to go.
“Innkeeper! We have three orders of Seomhwa wraps to go!”
“Alright.”
They were delicious hot and fresh, but even after they cooled down, they were just a little hard, not inedible.
Perhaps that was why some people even took them to go for lunch.
Thanks to that, the income from selling breakfast was surprisingly good.
I had to use this to buy Sayoon some more candy.
“We’re out of ingredients.”
“We’re closed for breakfast!”
“Aw, I was going to buy some more.”
A few people who had been waiting grumbled, but that wasn’t my problem.
“Put away the ingredients that arrived this morning.”
The skill of the cook was important in cooking, but the freshness of the ingredients couldn’t be ignored either.
However, since I started selling breakfast like this, it became rare for ingredients that required freshness to be left over, so I ended up buying new ingredients every day.
As a result, the quality of the inn’s food had improved, which was a good thing for me as a businessman.
Alright, now that the morning work was done, it was time for my personal business.
The atmosphere in Seomhwa Village hadn’t been good since Chun-sik’s visit.
The number of suspicious characters from the evil faction coming in had subtly increased.
They weren’t causing any major trouble, but their presence inevitably darkened the mood.
After finishing breakfast service, while the waiters and workers were resting, I headed to the market.
It was possible that the Iron Blood Clan was behind the unsettling atmosphere in Seomhwa Village, so I needed to investigate.
So, as usual, I walked through the market, heading towards the back alleys, the place to gather shady rumors, when I sensed a presence near a deserted alley.
“What’s this?”
I stopped and spoke. At the same time, burly men emerged from both ends of the alley. Armed with clubs and knives, they didn’t look like they were there for a friendly chat.
“Yu Wol, right?”
“No, you’ve mistaken me for someone else. My name is Wang Chung-yang, a…”
“…Get him.”
Ah, that didn’t work.
I shrugged and picked up a wooden plank, a common sight in back alleys. I swung it around threateningly, but the men just smirked coldly and approached…
-Thwack!!
“Ugh!!”
Just then, one of the guys trying to sneak up behind me clutched his head and collapsed. Startled by the sudden turn of events, the men turned their attention away from me, and I took the chance to swing the plank at the weakened part of their encirclement.
-Whack!
“Gah!”
With a strange yelp, the guy I hit fell, and I saw the person who had created the opening.
A patchwork martial arts uniform, sewn together from various worn-out pieces.
Long, silver hair that reached her back.
An oval-shaped, slender jawline, and snow-white skin.
Slightly upturned eyes that looked provocative, and a smile on her small, light pink lips.
I knew this face.
But it was much younger than the face I was familiar with.
The beautiful girl, holding a wooden sword and looking at me, quickly grabbed my hand.
“This way!!”
Taking advantage of the broken encirclement, she pulled me along as she ran.
The petite girl, who barely reached my chest, swung her wooden sword without hesitation at the enemies that appeared as we ran, and I swung my plank as well, taking them down one by one.
After escaping the alley and reaching a crowded area, the girl, her face flushed from the exertion, finally relaxed and gave a gentle smile.
But that smile…
It was a smile I wasn’t familiar with.
“Are you okay?! That was close!!”
The girl, smiling a smile unfamiliar to a member of the Sayoon Corps,
It was the gentle smile she occasionally showed in the prologue, when she was with her fellow disciples.
Sayoon.
The girl I had to make the protagonist.
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First meeting