Chapter – 22…
The wagon carrying Kang Yu came to a stop somewhere.
The wagon driver lifted the canvas at the back.
“Get off.”
“Are we there already?”
“That’s right.”
But all that was visible were forests and trees, and a small cave nestled among them.
“The exam is inside here?”
Clatter.
“……”
Kang Yu stared blankly at the wagon departing in silence.
This was the forty-seventh… no, the forty-eighth wagon.
It went here, then there, switching from this wagon to that one.
After an entire month of this bothersome journey, the final destination turned out to be a miserably small cave that even had a narrow-looking entrance.
“This escort agency must be really strapped for cash.”
He didn’t expect a large hall or a grand manor like in Hefei.
But at the very least, there should have been something like the thatched hut where he first boarded the wagon.
Suddenly, the face of Namgung Cheon, the family head of the Namgung Family, came to mind.
“That stingy old man.”
Grunumbling, Kang Yu adjusted his bundle and entered the cave.
Soon, a damp smell and a narrow path, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, appeared.
Kang Yu followed the path downward for a long while.
Then, a small iron door embedded between the rock walls came into view.
“Is this it?”
Kang Yu cautiously knocked on the iron door.
Immediately, an iron plate at eye level slid open.
“Hello…”
“Recommendation letter.”
“……”
Why were the people in this tiny, insignificant place so curt?
Kang Yu pouted and put the recommendation letter through the hole.
A low voice came through.
“You came from Namgung?”
“I came from Jangbaekdong.”
“Jangbaekdong? But the recommendation letter is from Namgung.”
“Ah. They wrote it for me in Namgung.”
A brief silence.
“Wait.”
With a light metallic sound, the iron plate at eye level closed.
And from beyond the door, the sound of footsteps heading somewhere could be heard.
“Tch.”
Kang Yu’s lips pouted out again.
No wonder, since the person beyond the door just now was also a martial artist. The wagon drivers, who changed every other day, were all martial artists too.
In a large escort agency, it seemed like only top masters were everywhere.
Since this agency was shabby, its workers were also unimpressive.
And on top of that, they acted so rigidly, which he really didn’t like.
But he wasn’t disappointed.
The smartest Grandpa Hak in the village had said:
‘Yok Sok Bu Dal’ (欲速不達 – Haste makes waste).
Everything has its order, and being impatient only ruins things, he said.
The reality was that he was still far lacking compared to the top masters.
This was the natural treatment in a place like this.
Start from the bottom and work up step by step.
Kang Yu planned to give his all in this Jangjasu exam.
“Alright. Let’s do this.”
Kang Yu clenched his fists tightly.
Under a small lamp.
A slender, yet sturdy-looking finger tapped on a lacquered chest.
It was a finger of an unusual shape.
The ring finger of the right hand was severed right down to the root, a bizarre sight.
The owner of that finger was none other than Sa Ji Cheon Geom (Four-Fingered Thousand Swords) Wi Yeon.
A sword demon who cut off his own right ring finger because it hindered his sword art, and one of the absolute top masters who reached the level of Sipje (Ten Emperors) at the age of Ji Cheon Myeong (Knowing Heaven’s Mandate).
He was also the leader of Geumjong, directly under the Martial Alliance Leader.
A deep sigh flowed from the lips of such a Wi Yeon.
His expression was heavy.
“Really, this one and that one, seriously.”
Wi Yeon’s four fingers swiftly flipped through the documents.
Seven years.
Unknowingly, it had been that many years since Geumjong last accepted new members.
Judging by the entrance test held a month ago, it was highly likely this year would be the same.
The higher-ups and existing members all said to just accept someone first and think later, but there simply wasn’t anyone who met his standards.
This was Geumjong.
The Geumjong, known as the strongest in the Murim and the dream of all martial artists.
But just because the situation was difficult, could they really bring in any mediocre person?
“It seems it’ll be a failure this year too.”
He tried opening his ears and lowering the standard, but that wasn’t the solution.
It wasn’t just because of Geumjong’s reputation.
Most of Geumjong’s missions involved intelligence gathering, infiltration, retrieval, and even execution on the spot depending on the situation.
Given the nature of the missions, one’s martial arts skills had to be extremely high, inevitably.
Overwhelmingly so.
Of course, the owners of the unsatisfactory scrolls on the chest were also talents called the best rising stars in the martial world.
But that level was insufficient.
Geumjong needed individuals with absolute, not relative, strength.
If he didn’t produce a successful candidate this year either, he’d hear some nagging here and there, but there was no helping it.
As Wi Yeon let out a sigh and was organizing the scattered scrolls…
『Danju-nim. (Head of the Division)』
A voice transmission came from beyond the thick iron door.
It was from Maeng Ham, who acted as the manager for Geumjong.
Wi Yeon, while organizing the scrolls, voiced his response.
“What is it?”
『An applicant has arrived.』
“Applicant?”
『Yes.』
Wi Yeon’s hand, which had paused for a moment, resumed organizing the chest.
“The application period ended ages ago. What brings them now? Tell them to go back.”
『Well… it’s someone bearing a recommendation letter from Namgung.』
Wi Yeon’s hand paused again.
He had deep ties from the past with Namgung Cheon, the family head of the Namgung Family.
But public duty is public, private matters are private.
Just as Wi Yeon, with a firm expression, was about to issue the order to send the guest away again, Maeng Ham’s voice transmission came through once more.
『To be honest, this subordinate also tried to send them away using the deadline as a pretext, but the phrase written at the end of the recommendation letter seems quite meaningful…』
“What phrase?”
『It says, “The debt is repaid.”…』
“……”
Wi Yeon’s gaze, which had been fixed on the chest the entire time, turned toward the iron door for the first time.
As the firmly shut iron door opened, Wi Yeon’s pupils dilated.
A face like a child’s.
Soft-looking fingers that seemed like they might have held a wooden sword at best.
Arms and legs that showed no sign of training whatsoever.
To anyone’s eyes, he looked frail, but Wi Yeon’s eyes could not be deceived.
A top master who had returned to the state of simplicity.
It was clear he was, at the very least, an absolute top master who had reached the extreme state of martial arts.
He had refined his Ki to such an ultimate extent that had Wi Yeon passed him on the street, he wouldn’t have recognized him and just walked by.
Suddenly, the hearty laughter of Namgung Cheon seemed to ring in his ears.
Wi Yeon cheered inwardly.
‘That fellow is finally being helpful for the first time in his life…!’
Wi Yeon’s eyes turned back to the belated applicant.
He seemed barely past the age of majority.
In his initial joy, he had forgotten, but to think a mere youth had reached the state of returning to simplicity.
Even he, the fastest among the Ten Emperors, had only achieved that state after passing forty.
A genius.
These days, the word ‘genius’ tends to be used too easily.
Literally interpreted, it means a talent bestowed by heaven.
He himself had heard the word hundreds, thousands of times since his youth, but only today did he face a true genius.
Compared to that boy, his own talent was nothing but a firefly under the sun.
A shudder ran through Wi Yeon’s entire body.
Even upon closer inspection, there was truly nothing to see regarding martial arts.
He was at a level unquestionably top even among the members of Geumjong, known as the best of the best.
Then, the only thing left was his character as a human being.
Of course, unless he was a villain notorious enough to be counted among the martial world’s public enemies, Wi Yeon intended to pass him unconditionally, but procedure was still procedure.
Hiding his elated inner thoughts, Wi Yeon asked Kang Yu.
“Do you know what kind of place this is that you’ve come to?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking you to tell me what kind of work is done here.”
“Hmm.”
At Wi Yeon’s words, Kang Yu pondered for a moment.
Asking if he knew what kind of work was done here and came?
What kind of work is done here?
Wasn’t it just an escort agency?
But he probably didn’t ask to hear the obvious answer.
Judging by the expression facing him, it seemed he wanted some plausible answer.
‘Seriously.’
This tiny, insignificant place demanded so much.
Feeling annoyed, Kang Yu answered roughly.
“What kind of work? It’s a place that carries luggage, isn’t it?”
“Luggage?”
“Yes. A place that carries luggage on behalf of people who have no time or no strength.”
“Luggage, you say. Luggage… A place that carries luggage for people with no time and no strength. Carrying luggage for people who have no time and no strength…”
As Wi Yeon repeated Kang Yu’s answer, a flash of realization dawned on his face.
Until now, he had heard many plausible speeches from applicants about the safety, peace, and stability of the martial world.
Of course, the words themselves were correct, but for some reason, a corner of his heart had been bothered.
It was as if they were just reciting words they heard, like catching clouds.
But now.
‘What kind of work? It’s a place that carries luggage for people who have no time or no strength, isn’t it?’
“So it’s a place that carries luggage for people who have no time and no strength…”
In this world, time is capability and strength is power in itself.
The weak live lives as if carrying a heavy burden just by surviving.
Protecting the weak and fulfilling duties instead of the rights of the strong.
The boy before him had alluded to that point with a simple metaphor.
And that was precisely the founding purpose and essence of Geumjong.
Wi Yeon looked at Kang Yu, who had accurately pierced the intent of the question, with an admiring expression.
There wasn’t a shred of doubt regarding his martial prowess, and even his thoughts were upright.
Unlike martial artists who, having spent their whole lives grasping only their swords, had a narrow perspective, he possessed the eyes to see the world.
Then, was there any need to ponder further?
There’s a saying about shaking hands after long deliberation.
This time, it was wrong.
After long deliberation, a master had arrived.
And the greatest master, unprecedented in all of history.
Wi Yeon stood up with an expression of joy unlike any before.
He was so passionate that Maeng Ham, who knew his usual self, was quite startled.
“I am Wi Yeon. I look forward to working with you from now on.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s work hard to carry the burdens of the world together from now on. Just as you said, on behalf of those who have no time and no strength!”
Kang Yu, who had been blinking his eyes, tilted his head.
“Did I… pass by any chance?”
“That’s right!”
At Wi Yeon’s words, Kang Yu turned his head and grumbled.
‘Well, of course.’
This was a place so destitute it had to set up its escort agency in a remote cave like this.
No matter who came and what they said, they probably would have passed them anyway, so why all the fuss?
Even upon hearing the news of his passing, Kang Yu just turned away and muttered, so Wi Yeon fake-coughed as if to make sure he heard.
“Hey there, didn’t you hear? You passed…”
“Yeah, I heard.”
Wi Yeon was impressed once again.
This was none other than Geumjong.
The dream, goal, aspiration, and lifelong wish of all martial artists.
Yet, despite joining such a Geumjong, his bold attitude was as if he had just joined some escort agency in the back alleys.
There wasn’t a single thing about him that he didn’t like.
The long wait didn’t feel wasteful in the least.
His spirits soaring, Wi Yeon grabbed Kang Yu by the shoulders.
“Thank you for coming to Geumjong. From now on, I’m counting on you!”
“……”
Seeing Wi Yeon’s excited face, Kang Yu tilted his head.
Anyone seeing this would think he was doing something as great as the top masters…
