Chapter : 74
The siblings Dan Liqing and Dan Lishang of the Danli Escort Agency had looked troubled ever since hearing the news that morning.
“What in the world is going on?”
Dan Lishang asked her older brother.
Dan Liqing couldn’t find an answer. After letting out a sigh, he collapsed into a chair.
“I don’t know either. No matter how famous she is, she’s still just a girl who only recently came of age. And she only arrived in Anhui about a week ago…”
In the meantime, what had happened within the Namgung Clan was, quite literally, something that turned the whole world upside down.
“Is that really the issue right now? They say that woman is coming to our escort agency!”
It was already burdensome enough that she was someone favored by the Three Commanders of the Murim Alliance, but now they heard she had become the new Young Clan Leader of the Namgung Clan. Even deciding the proper etiquette to receive her was a headache.
“First, have the escort agency staff stand by according to the time she arrives. Prepare a grand welcome and serve the finest refreshments… and then—”
“Is that how you treat a guest who’s coming to apologize?”
“You brat! Then what do you expect us to do? Treat the young leader of a great power carelessly? Are you asking us all to die together?”
At first, when the Namgung Clan had picked a fight and destroyed their escort cargo, Dan Liqing had suppressed his anger and thought it would be enough if they simply received proper compensation.
But instead, the Namgung Clan had acted brazenly. Eventually, they even started insisting that their own people had been injured and demanded compensation.
Negotiations repeatedly turned into physical fights.
And the outcome was always the same.
The Danli Escort Agency was beaten black and blue.
After all, even if they were no longer what they once were, the opponent was still the Namgung Clan, one of the Five Great Families.
Whether in martial skill, manpower, or influence, there was no comparison.
In the end, Dan Liqing decided to overturn the table with the resolve to die if necessary.
He brought up the fact that the client who commissioned the cargo was Lord Jo Jihyeon of Hyeon-a, demanding that the Namgung Clan personally go explain the matter to him.
Only then did the Namgung Clan soften their stance—but by then it was already too late.
Lord Jo had already grasped the entire situation and imposed conditions that neither the Namgung Clan nor the Danli Escort Agency could easily bear.
The Namgung Clan stalled for time, and Lord Jo dumped all the pressure onto the Danli Escort Agency.
In the end, the Danli Escort Agency was caught between the government authorities and the martial world, unable to move in either direction.
“I’m sorry, brother. I should have held back back then.”
“If you had endured them insulting the escorts of the Danli Agency and treating them like mules, that would’ve been the real problem.”
Dan Liqing shook his head.
It had been Dan Lishang who stepped forward first, but he himself hadn’t behaved particularly politely either.
“When Mother was alive, she said the two of us had such hot tempers that someday we’d suffer a disaster. She told us to find a good master and just do what we were told. Back then I asked how that could be such a curse… but as expected, Mother was never wrong.”
“Mother might have been right. But the Namgung Clan behaved far too shamelessly this time! If Mother knew, she’d burst out of her coffin and come defend us!”
Dan Lishang meant it sincerely.
After all, the very mother who used to tell them to restrain their tempers was herself a famously fierce widow in their town. Dan Lishang truly believed she was capable of such a thing.
“If you can’t even speak properly…”
Dan Liqing sighed and placed a hand on the top of his sister’s head.
“Little sister, it’s not too late even now. Why don’t you take some gold and run away?”
“Hah! What nonsense are you talking after eating well, brother?”
Dan Lishang grabbed a whip and swung it through the air.
If they lived, they would live together. If they died, they would die together.
Just then—
The outside suddenly became noisy, and Head Escort Zhang ran in shouting.
“Someone from the Namgung Clan will arrive soon!”
Upon hearing this, the siblings jumped to their feet at the same time and rushed outside.
Creak, creak, creak!
The wheels of the carriage carved deep tracks into the road as it rolled forward.
Inside the carriage, Yeonhwa gazed out the open window at the scenery of Anhui.
When they reached the western side of the county where the Danli Escort Agency was located, she turned to look at Yu Geonmyeong.
“Are you still unhappy that I personally came to apologize?”
Yu Geonmyeong lowered his gaze.
“Are you refusing to talk to me?”
“That’s not it. But… as the young clan leader who will be known throughout the world, does your first move really have to be apologizing to a third-rate escort agency?”
“Did that upset you?”
“You could say that makes the apology more meaningful. But in my opinion, sending a personal letter from you and having the Foreign Affairs Hall Master come would have been sufficient.”
“Geonmyeong, you’re not wrong… but I’m doing this personally so the world will know that this is the attitude the Namgung Clan will take from now on. This is not merely an apology.”
Yu Geonmyeong let out a long sigh.
“Understood. How could I ever win an argument against you?”
Even so, he hesitated.
Yeonhwa urged him.
“Let’s go. It looks like the people of the Danli Escort Agency are already outside.”
“Then I will—”
At that moment, Seong Haran, who had been watching from the opposite side, finally interrupted.
“When exactly are we getting off? If we delay any longer, they might think we’re deliberately stalling.”
Yu Geonmyeong hurriedly opened the carriage door and stepped out.
Yeonhwa and Seong Haran followed.
As the three of them appeared, Dan Lishang pursed her lips.
“So they are coming out. I thought they might stay in there forever.”
Dan Liqing made a gesture as if to smack her head.
“Watch your mouth. Masters can hear conversations from this distance.”
“Gasp! Really?”
Dan Lishang hurriedly covered her mouth.
By then, Yeonhwa had already walked up to them.
“So you are the young clan leader of the Namgung Clan.”
“I am Dan Liqing, head of the Danli Escort Agency. This is my younger sister Shang-ah… she’s the same age as you, Young Clan Leader.”
Receiving Yeonhwa’s gaze, Dan Lishang clasped both hands together.
“It’s an honor of three lifetimes that you came, Young Clan Leader!”
The exaggerated greeting sounded almost sarcastic, and Yu Geonmyeong’s face stiffened instantly.
Seong Haran, who had seen Dan Lishang once before, sighed inwardly.
Half of that was probably sincere.
Yet Yeonhwa, watching her, felt as though she might laugh and slightly lifted the corners of her lips.
“You remind me of someone I know.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
She thought of Gu Heeryang.
Yu Geonmyeong lightly grabbed Yeonhwa’s hand and shook his head with clear disapproval.
“They don’t resemble each other at all.”
If there was anything similar, it might simply be that Yu Geonmyeong disliked them both.
Yeonhwa felt puzzled, but this was hardly the place to continue chatting.
When she looked at Dan Liqing, he quickly and politely gestured.
“Please come inside. We’ve prepared refreshments.”
“Very well.”
Yeonhwa responded calmly, and the other two made no unreasonable demands.
Once they were seated across from one another, a brief silence passed.
Yeonhwa spoke first.
“The person previously responsible has already been punished. I came personally to apologize for the mistakes made and to take responsibility for all necessary compensation.”
Dan Liqing’s eyes widened.
Dan Lishang leaned forward toward Yeonhwa.
“Really? You’ll really do that?”
“It was the Namgung Clan’s fault. Of course we should.”
“You’re the best, Young Clan Leader! If you had been in charge earlier, our escort agency wouldn’t have ended up like this!”
Yeonhwa turned to Dan Liqing.
“Is the escort agency in serious difficulty?”
“Who would welcome an escort agency that caused a dispute over cargo? But once this is resolved, things should gradually improve.”
Yeonhwa nodded.
“It won’t take long. And if the Namgung Clan has work in the future, we will entrust it to the Danli Escort Agency—if you are willing to accept.”
It was practically a declaration that neither side would hold lingering resentment.
The siblings’ faces brightened immediately.
“Please calculate everything—both the compensation owed to Lord Jo and the damages owed to the Danli Escort Agency.”
Yeonhwa’s intention was clear.
For some reason, Dan Liqing hesitated slightly before standing and bringing over a document.
He handed it to Yeonhwa.
As Yeonhwa read through it, her eyebrows rose.
The compensation was larger than what she had heard before coming.
“Is this Lord Jo perhaps a corrupt official?”
“…It’s hard to say that outright, but you could say he does have certain… tendencies.”
Dan Liqing spoke as diplomatically as possible, but the truth was obvious.
The compensation demanded was twenty times the average amount—and the responsible party had to come apologize personally.
If he wasn’t a corrupt official, he might as well be a loan shark.
Seong Haran quickly scanned the document and handed it to Yu Geonmyeong.
“This is…”
Yu Geonmyeong’s expression darkened without a word.
The greed of a government official living off the court’s salary was unpleasant.
But since Yeonhwa had already made her decision, she did not hesitate.
“Prepare the compensation.”
“You’re really going to pay all of this?”
Dan Liqing asked.
Yeonhwa replied calmly.
“If this had been right after the accident, even double the amount would have seemed excessive, let alone twenty times. But much time has passed. What we allowed to accumulate during that time was not interest, but worsening feelings and a ruined reputation. To restore such things, no price is too great.”
Dan Liqing was moved—not by her status, but by her mindset.
