Chapter 342
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 342
Chapter 342. Things Gone Astray (5)
I know very well those who have this habit.
Il-mun.
The man who was my bodyguard.
It was definitely him.
How many times did I cross swords with him?
In my previous life, I often sparred with bodyguards and fought alongside them, so I recognized his habits immediately.
But he was the second son of the governor of Hunan Province?
No wonder I didn't recognize him at first glance.
First of all, his name was different.
My bodyguard's name was Ilmun, but the name of the second son who was sparring with me now was Yeon-gyu.
Also, when he became my bodyguard, his face was horribly burned and disfigured.
That's why he wore a mask.
His vocal cords were damaged, so his voice wasn't very pleasant to listen to.
Nevertheless, his skills were outstanding, and his determination was strong, so he became my bodyguard.
However, he also died on the day I died.
Let me try to remember him...
Come to think of it, according to what Pal-gap told me, there was a huge fire at the house of the Po-jeongsa of Hunan Province.
As a result, the second son of the Po-jeongsa, who happened to be at home, and his fourth son were killed.
Then...
The second son didn't die and barely escaped with his life to become my bodyguard?
I couldn't help but look at him with complicated feelings.
* *
In the courtyard of the reception hall, the second son of the Hunan Province Po Jeongsa, Yeon Joo-hyeok, and Eun Seo-ho were engaged in a duel.
Swords clashed.
Yeon Joo-hyeok's skill was top-notch.
In fact, considering that he was in his early thirties, it was quite an achievement for him to be a first-class warrior.
Considering that even the elders of most sects were at their peak, it was quite an accomplishment.
Eun Seo-ho was fighting at the same level as him.
The Hunan Province Pojeongsa watched and thought.
“Surely... his skill must be at its peak, but is he holding back for Joo-hyeok?”
But then he saw something strange.
“...!”
It was Eun Seo-ho's footprints.
As it was close to the back, the floor was dirt, and Yeon Ju-hyuk's footprints were scattered below.
“Why are there no footprints?”
Soon, he noticed something that others had not noticed.
“Gasp! Unless my eyes are deceiving me, the author hasn't moved a step since earlier!”
As far as he knew, even a top-ranked warrior couldn't do that against a first-class warrior.
That meant Eun Seo-ho was far beyond the peak of his abilities.
“Was he hiding his true abilities?”
His eyes lit up.
“This is perfect.”
Before he knew it, the sparring was coming to an end.
“I think this is enough.”
Yoo-hyuk replied breathlessly to Eun Seo-ho's words.
“I've learned a lot. Thank you for indulging me.”
“Don't mention it.”
* *
“My father asked me to bring back a reply.”
Hangsu Gongzi said that the magistrate of Hunan Province would write a letter if we waited.
But it probably won't be ready right away. He must have a lot to think about.
When I returned to the annex, Hangsu Gongzi asked me, “Were you able to use your martial arts?”
“Of course.”
I smiled lightly and replied.
“How else would I have brought back the snow from the North Sea?”
“That's true.”
He just nodded and went into his room.
How cold-hearted.
After all, I accompanied him and even fought for him, so he could at least say “good job.”
He spoke quite well in front of the Hunan Provincial Office of Justice earlier, but now he is cold and indifferent in front of me.
It doesn't matter. Once this matter is resolved, I won't have to see him again.
I looked up at the sky. The sun had completely set.
No one else is looking for me, right?
I plan to sneak into the fourth Mister's quarters tonight. No matter how much I think about it, he is very suspicious.
I entered my room and said to Pal-gap.
“Pal-gap. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I'm asleep.”
“Where are you going?”
“Yes. I have something to check.”
Waiting for night to fall, I changed into comfortable clothes that would be easy to move around in.
Honestly, a nightgown would be the least conspicuous, but it would look too suspicious if it caught someone's eye.
And it would be troublesome to change if someone called me...
So I changed into the darkest light robe I could find.
Just then,
“Liege, a servant is here to see you.”
“...?”
I tilted my head and left the room.
I've never seen this servant before.
“Are you Master Seon-hyeok's servant?”
I nodded.
“My young master asked you to come with me.”
“Your young master?”
“It is your second young master, Yeon-hyeok.”
What could it be?
To be honest, I wanted to refuse, but I changed my mind and accepted.
Going to see him meant that I could enter the inner chambers with confidence.
A moment later.
I followed the attendant into the inner chambers.
“But is it okay for an outsider like me to enter the inner chambers at this late hour?”
Usually, outsiders are not allowed inside at this late hour.
The attendant kindly answered my question.
“Don't worry. If you have been invited by someone who lives here, there is no problem.”
“I see.”
Soon, I arrived at... a training ground?
This looks like a training ground.
It was so spacious that it looked like a training ground. What's more, the floor was covered with blue stones.
It looked like it cost a lot of money.
And there stood Mister Yeon-gyo.
“You're here, Master.”
“The title ‘Master’ is too embarrassing. Just call me Captain.”
“That's...”
“Please.”
At my request, he reluctantly nodded.
“If that's the case, then I understand.”
He continued.
“The reason I have brought you here is because I have a request. I hope you will listen to me.”
And he looked at me as if asking me to ask him what his request was.
“...”
I had no choice.
“What is your request?”
“Please spar with me.”
“I clearly remember sparring with you earlier. Are you asking me to spar again?”
He nodded in response to my question.
“Yes. I know that you went easy on me earlier to save face in front of my family.”
“....
Actually, the reason I didn't show my true skills earlier was because of your suspicious fourth son.
However, Mister Yoo Joo-hyuk is mistaken in thinking that I did it to save his face.
Well, he is free to make mistakes.
”I don't want you to go easy on me this time. I want to know my true skills."
His eyes were serious.
It overlapped with the gaze of the bodyguard who had sacrificed his life for me in my previous life.
“Huh...”
I sighed and agreed.
“I have no choice. Fine.”
“Thank you!”
“But let's use wooden swords, not real swords.”
He looked taken aback by my suggestion.
“Wooden swords? But I want to fight with real swords.”
I shook my head.
“Real swords and wooden swords are equally dangerous, so why do you insist on real swords?”
“Because using real swords will make me more familiar with actual combat, right?”
“A skilled painter does not blame his brush.”
“....”
“If you don't accept my proposal, then there will be no sparring.”
To be honest, I suggested sparring with wooden swords so that neither of us would be put in an awkward position.
First of all, I am still relatively new to this.
If I make a mistake while using a real sword, it will be embarrassing.
Earlier, I deliberately held back, so it was fine, but now that my opponent is serious, I don't know what will happen.
Furthermore, even if the other party says it's okay, a duel with real swords is easy to be misunderstood by others.
However, wooden swords are generally considered to be for training purposes.
He finally nodded at my words.
“I understand.”
“Can I borrow some wooden swords?”
He instructed his attendant, who brought two wooden swords.
I picked up a wooden sword.
It was heavy with iron nails embedded in it, but it was solid and well-balanced.
“These are good wooden swords.”
“They are made of cheonggang wood.”
“Ah, I see.”
I nodded and said.
“Take the wooden swords. You said you wouldn't go easy on me, right? I'm not going to give you the first three starting stances.”
“I understand.”
We took our starting stances.
Before we knew it, silence fell around us. We were even careful with our breathing.
Just as the tension was building.
Thwack!
Mister Yoo took the first move.
It was clearly very fast, but it looked slow to my eyes.
This is the difference between the best and the first-rate.
When I was at my peak, I couldn't feel this much difference.
I raised my wooden sword and blocked Mister Yoo's wooden sword, which was coming down from above.
“Ugh!”
He didn't miss his wooden sword and swung down again with force.
As I felt earlier, Mister Yeon Joo-hyuk's skill is quite good.
Even for a first-class warrior, it's not easy to immediately attack again without missing your wooden sword after my attack just now.
I blocked his wooden sword again.
But this time, unlike earlier, I used the subtlety of Songjeolseol.
It was one of the Twelve Swords Techniques, a middle-level technique.
“...!”
He looked confused. My wooden sword was blocked by the energy contained in my sword, and he couldn't move it anymore.
Then
swoosh
I brought my wooden sword to his neck as naturally as water flowing.
“You lose.”
With that declaration, I lowered my wooden sword.
Our sparring match was actually a short exchange of blows that lasted only about five seconds.
As if disappointed that it was over so quickly, he bowed his head with a desperate look on his face.
“Please, just one more time.”
But I knew that he would not give up after just one try.
The man I remembered as Il-mun was a tenacious man who never gave up.
So I had to get a definite answer from him.
“Five more times. No more than that.”
His face lit up.
“Thank you.”
We began sparring, and in the four rounds that followed, Mister Yoo played first and I won.
Of course, it was only a few seconds of back and forth.
“This is the last one.”
“...”
“A promise is a promise.”
“I understand.”
I said to him, who looked disappointed.
“This time, I'll go first.”
He nodded with a tense expression and gripped his wooden sword tightly.
I rushed at him.
Swoosh!
“...!”
Unlike before, I put real killing intent into my attack.
At the same time, sensing my killing intent, a figure jumped out from the side.
Just as I thought.
The reason I used a wooden sword was because of him. Judging from the way he was hiding, he appeared to be a bodyguard of Mister Yoo Jae-hyuk.
Mister Yoo must have known about him. That's why he fearlessly challenged me to a real sword fight.
He rushed toward me and tried to draw his sword.
But
tok.
Before he could, my wooden sword lightly tapped Mister Yoo's head.
“Eh...”
He looked at me with a dazed expression, and I smiled and continued.
“If this were a real fight, you would be dead.”
“Uh...”
He still looked confused. His bodyguard couldn't even draw his sword and looked flustered.
“What were you thinking just now?”
“Uh...”
He swallowed hard and said.
“I didn't think anything.”
“When you face the killing intent of a master like just now, it's normal to not think anything. In that situation, what could save Mister's life?”
“...”
I immediately continued.
I wasn't expecting an answer in the first place.
“Answer me honestly. When you practice sword fighting, you don't place much importance on basic training, do you?”
“...How did you know?”
“You couldn't even move properly when I attacked you. If you had practiced the basics thoroughly, you would have been able to block my attack. It wasn't even that fast.”
He looked down at his hands.
“I heard that you are a disciple of the Mount Heng Sect. I understand that not only the Mount Heng Sect, but also other sects begin their daily training with basic training.”
“That's right. The Mount Heng Sect does the same.”
“To be honest, repeating the nine basic sword techniques hundreds of times is painful and boring. But it's not to torment the disciples. It's so that they can wield their swords instinctively in an emergency.”
I continued.
“So, before you go looking for strong opponents to fight dangerous battles, focus on basic training. If you don't neglect your basic training every day, even if you meet a master who is stronger than you, you will be able to block their attacks once or twice.”
I turned my head and looked at the bodyguard next to me and continued.
“Then Mister's bodyguard won't be late.”
In his previous life, he had said that.
He regretted neglecting the basics.
If he hadn't made that mistake, he could have protected his loved ones.
He wouldn't have lived a life of hatred...
“I was arrogant, trusting only in my talent.”
I smiled wryly as I recalled his words.
In this life, he wanted him to avoid such regrets, so he resorted to somewhat extreme measures.
“Now that we have completed five rounds of sparring as promised, I will take my leave.”
With that, I handed my wooden sword to my attendant standing beside me. Just as I was about to turn around and leave, he called out to me.
“Master!”
“Yes?”
When I looked back, he was kneeling on the floor and bowing to me. Then he shouted.
“I will serve you as my master!”
Why are you doing that? You are older than me...
I'm embarrassed.