Chapter 100
Part 25: The Main Road
On the street before Wongakjeong’s main gate.
Around noon.
A maid belonging to Wongakjeong’s maid corps had practically monopolized the attention of those around her.
“Haha. I have long heard that the maids of the Luoyang Sword Clan are extraordinarily beautiful, but I never imagined even a mere maidservant would be this beautiful.”
“She must have been specially selected because she serves the First Young Master, yes?”
At the conversation between two men in splendid silk clothes, another person joined in.
“Perhaps it is because she is a maid for receiving guests?”
As expected of people from merchant groups and trading companies, they naturally mingled and conversed.
“Haha. Perhaps that is so.”
“Surely maids like that do not empty latrines, do laundry, or do rough work outdoors.”
“Of course not. Besides, there must be male servants as well. Would maids like that ever even get their hands wet?”
The middle-aged men in silk clothes laughed heartily.
At that moment, another middle-aged man with a long beard clicked his tongue and joined the conversation.
“It seems you gentlemen have not come to the Luoyang Sword Clan very often.”
It was a rather openly dismissive remark, but anyone who would show displeasure over something of that level could not survive in the fierce world of commerce.
“From the way you speak, it seems you come to the Luoyang Sword Clan quite often.”
“Could you teach us what we are missing?”
At that, the long-bearded middle-aged man stroked his beard and jerked his chin toward the maid.
“Do you see that the maid is wearing a sword on her back?”
Everyone nodded.
“We have eyes, do we not? Surely we can see the sword.”
At that, the long-bearded middle-aged man lowered his voice and said,
“People of the Luoyang Sword Clan never carry swords for style or decoration.”
“Is that so?”
“Why is that?”
When everyone showed interest, the long-bearded middle-aged man grew smug.
“In the Luoyang Sword Clan, wearing a sword means one is willing to exchange blades at any time. In other words, it means one is declaring oneself a martial artist.”
The people around him exclaimed in admiration.
“Then that maid is also a swordswoman?!”
“Surely she is not a murim person with inner force as well?”
At that, everyone waved their hands dismissively.
“Haha. Say something that makes sense. How could a swordswoman who even possesses inner force be used as a mere maid?”
“Not every martial artist is a murim person. Surely that is natural, even for the great Luoyang Sword Clan.”
At that moment, a woman’s voice rang out.
“In the main family, we do not refer to martial artists with inner force as murim people. We call them warriors.”
When they turned around in surprise, there stood the very maid of the First Young Master who had been the subject of their conversation.
The reason they were surprised was partly because the maid’s martial arts were impressive enough for her to have heard the conversation they had been having in secret.
But there was something even more astonishing.
“Oh my, how rude of us.”
“We were not speaking ill of you behind your back, so please understand.”
“In any case, your martial arts are remarkable.”
The place where they had been conversing was a waiting house located on the street before Wongakjeong.
And it was on the second floor.
Amazingly, the maid of Wongakjeong was somehow standing on the second-floor railing as she spoke to them.
With a smile on her lips, she said to them,
“And since you seem curious, I am both a maid of Wongakjeong and a warrior.”
Her hand flashed.
No one there could follow the movement her hand made.
It merely felt as if a breeze had brushed past them, yet all the colorful money pouches they had been wearing at their waists were now in her hand.
“Oh! How impressive!”
“Splendid skill!”
Everyone clapped with flushed faces and spared no praise.
Those watching nearby also applauded her.
As they recovered their money pouches one by one, she gently bowed in response to their praise.
“If one is not an ordinary maid of the Luoyang Sword Clan, but a maid of my master, the First Young Master, then one must be capable of at least this much.”
Everyone snorted excitedly and nodded.
“As expected of the First Young Master.”
“A maid worthy of the First Young Master of the great Luoyang Sword Clan!”
They also knew that Yeon Sang-hyeon was called Swordless in some circles, but as people of merchant groups, none of them cared about such things.
“Huhu. Thank you.”
She asked them politely,
“You are aware that Master is currently not receiving guests without prior appointments, yes?”
Everyone nodded.
“We have already heard from others.”
She asked them,
“Then why are you waiting here?”
Their answer was not much different from the answers she had heard from others today.
“Haha. For merchant groups like ours, if someone is important, it is customary to dispatch people even if only to observe their movements.”
“That is right. Moreover, it is not just anyone, but the First Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan who is said to have ended his seclusion. How could any merchant group or trading company that does business in Henan Province fail to confirm it?”
“Besides, if we can meet someone who works inside like this and at least become acquainted, would that not be the icing on the cake?”
They laughed heartily.
She covered her mouth and laughed along with them.
“Since this too is fate, I will specially resolve one of your curiosities.”
The sparkling gazes of the surrounding people gathered on the maid.
“Oho! I look forward to seeing just what curiosity you will resolve for us.”
She smiled elegantly with her eyes and opened her mouth.
“There are no male servants in Wongakjeong. All menial work is handled by the maid corps I belong to.”
She added,
“We empty the latrines, do the laundry, and even handle all the rough outdoor work ourselves.”
While busily moving up and down the main road, she had been listening to all of their conversation.
“We even cultivate the fields and tend the oxen. Huhu.”
Just as they were about to feel embarrassed, she bowed her head to them.
“Then I will take my leave, as I have duties assigned to me.”
When she gracefully turned a midair somersault and landed on the main road, the people behind her burst into admiration.
“Maids like that cultivate the fields and drive oxen?!”
“She said it was the maid corps, did she not? Does that mean every single one of them is a murim person?!”
“To command maids like that—as expected of the First Young Master of the great Luoyang Sword Clan!”
At that moment, someone shouted from another waiting house.
“It’s the Medicine King! The Medicine King has appeared!”
At once, everyone crowded toward the railings.
Not only that waiting house, but every waiting house lined along the main road had people craning their necks to look outside.
“Ahem. You rascals. Now that you have the chance to see an esteemed elder as famous as I am in person, it seems none of you can keep your wits about you.”
The one who appeared while putting on airs was the Medicine King, who was returning home early today.
But the people’s reaction was somewhat different from what he expected.
“…That old man is the famous Medicine King?”
“He looks shabby. His appearance is nothing impressive either.”
“Judging by how arrogantly he is strutting about, that old man cannot possibly be the esteemed Medicine King. I heard that the Medicine King has the bearing of a noble immortal.”
At the words flying in mercilessly from the buildings on both sides, the Medicine King’s face flushed red, then blue.
“Y-you, you wretches who carry your eyes around only as decoration…?!”
At that moment, a woman dressed in Wongakjeong’s maid uniform appeared before the Medicine King with an elegant movement technique and greeted him respectfully.
It was the very maid who had been going around asking the people in the waiting houses what business they had.
“Esteemed Medicine King. You have returned early today.”
She took the Medicine King’s small bundle of luggage.
At once, his mood improved, and a satisfied smile settled on his lips.
“Mm, mm. I must go out again around evening today.”
“As expected of someone of your stature, esteemed Medicine King. You must be endlessly busy.”
“Haha. Well, that is so. For someone of my level, it is only natural to be busy with both public and private affairs.”
His eyes grew half-lidded as he walked beside the maid.
“Looking at you, do you perhaps suffer from chest pains from time to time? If I knead it a few times—no. If I perform palpation, I should be able to confirm it quickly.”
She covered her mouth and laughed.
“Master personally looks after our health, so I am fine. Still, thank you for worrying about me, Elder.”
“Oh?! That insolent brat again?!”
As people watched the two leisurely pass through the gate, they began whispering.
“…It seems he really is the Medicine King.”
“Seeing him in person, he did seem like a somewhat perverted old man, but well. I suppose that is how rumors tend to be.”
Some nodded for a different reason.
“As expected, only someone as famous as the esteemed Medicine King can enter Wongakjeong while being welcomed like that.”
“You fool. Should you not first be surprised that the esteemed Medicine King is staying at Wongakjeong of the Luoyang Sword Clan?!”
“Ah! Come to think of it, you are right!”
While they murmured and exchanged opinions, someone shouted loudly from the far end of the main road.
“An elder of the Luoyang Sword Clan is arriving! Everyone, show respect!”
At that shout, everyone straightened their posture and adopted a respectful attitude.
That did not mean they stopped looking outside.
Those who did not have a good view even poured outside and occupied both sides of the street.
Beside them, a procession of sword-bearing warriors arrived first.
The sight of warriors who would be treated with respect anywhere in the Central Plains marching in step made the crowd stir.
“They are heavily armed warriors…!”
“Look at the flag they are carrying. It says Sword Peak Mountain Breaker, so…”
“Sword Peak Mountain Breaker, Yeom Gwak-chu…!”
“You mean the Sword Peak Mountain Breaker who is said to have defeated the Sword Lord of Mount Hua after one thousand techniques?”
“A hero of the Northern War!”
Following the warriors, Elder Yeom’s maids walked forward with demure steps.
“Those maids are beautiful as well!”
“Haha. I would not mind taking any one of them as my new wife.”
But in one corner, there were also reactions like this.
“…Still, does that maid from Wongakjeong earlier not feel a little more special?”
“I suppose that is because those women are ordinary beauties, while that maid was a warrior.”
The eyes of those whispering soon widened like lanterns.
“A white tiger!”
“No, have you ever seen such a huge tiger?!”
“Look at it walking in step with the others! It must be a spiritual beast!”
And they could see the woman seated sideways atop that white tiger.
She wore an endlessly elegant palace dress, and her face was covered by a veil.
“…Have you ever heard of such a young lady in the Sword Clan? Her bearing is so graceful.”
“Perhaps she is a young lady connected to Sword Peak Mountain Breaker. She could be his beloved daughter, or perhaps an acquaintance accompanying him.”
From the back, people began closing their mouths one by one.
Soon, the crowd sank into silence.
They did not dare raise their heads and only looked down at the ground.
Behind the enormous white tiger, appearing with his guards, was a man whose build looked as though three full-grown men had been bound together.
But what drew even more attention than his size or his fierce impression was the enormous ink-black sword hanging on his back.
That enormous sword, which an ordinary person surely would not even dare attempt to lift, was the very sword said to have defeated the Sword Lord of Mount Hua in one thousand techniques.
Before long, when the procession reached Wongakjeong’s main gate, he personally stepped forward.
The woman riding the white tiger followed behind him.
When the Special Unit members guarding the main gate saw him, they all saluted with cupped fists and shouted.
“We greet the elder of the main family!”
He accepted their cupped-fist salute with a courteous attitude.
“Please send word inside. Elder Yeom of the main family humbly requests an audience with the First Young Master, together with his daughter.”