CLS-CH43

Chapter 43:

“Have you reflected on your actions?”

Grand Eunuch Nok-gi looked at the man before him with cold eyes.

“Yes, Father.”

The man.

Nok Mok-pung answered with his head bowed to the floor.

His corpulent body was pressed flat against the ground.

“It would have been good if you had killed Lee Wang-ya there. Even if you had failed to kill him and been killed instead, it wouldn’t have been a bad thing.”

“…….”

“However, returning without killing or dying is the worst outcome. Is your life so precious to you?”

“No, it is not.”

“Then why didn’t you die?”

“Because it would have been a dog’s death.”

“How so?”

“If I had died there at the hands of Lee Wang-ya, it would have had meaning. But I fought someone else there, not Lee Wang-ya. So even if I had died, it would have caused no harm to Lee Wang-ya.”

“Hmm.”

Nok-gi nodded his head.

“That’s a reasonable statement.”

“I do not fear death, but I fear a dog’s death. I want to offer my neck where it will be useful, Father!”

“Good words.”

Nok-gi smiled.

“Has it been three years since you entered as my adopted son?”

“That’s correct.”

“Remember this. I don’t raise useless dogs. If you want to remain by my side, you must develop the ability to at least bring back a bone.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“You may withdraw.”

Nok Mok-pung quietly stood up.

“Yes.”

“Oh, and…….”

“Yes, Father.”

Nok-gi’s eyes narrowed.

“Investigate that young brat who stopped you a bit more. I have an ominous feeling about him.”

“Understood.”

“Go.”

“Yes.”

Nok Mok-pung bowed deeply and left the room.

Nok-gi hummed a tune.

“An incompetent and ambitious pig will eventually end up in the pot.”

Nok-gi’s humming flowed through the room.

“Hmph.”

Nok Mok-pung snorted.

“That eunuch doesn’t know how high the sky is.”

Suddenly, a man appeared and stood quietly before him.

“Are there words from that person?”

The man nodded.

“Nok-gi still has use value. He says we must keep him alive for now.”

“Use value…… What can an already exposed force accomplish?”

“He said that just existing can bind the Imperial family’s feet.”

“If it’s such a task, couldn’t I do it myself? How long must I continue to humor that eunuch?”

“The Grand Duke has other work to do.”

“Hmm?”

“There has been a summons from the main castle. You are commanded to come to the main castle within a short time.”

“Hmm, if that’s the case…….”

Nok Mok-pung smiled.

“I can escape from this detestable appearance.”

Nok Mok-pung passed by the man and walked slowly.

‘Anyway, Nok-gi is someone who will be eliminated when his usefulness runs out. I just need to leave him be until he’s useful. After that, everything of Nok-gi’s will become mine.’

Nok Mok-pung’s eyes gleamed.

“There’s no rush with the Imperial family. Then I should handle what needs to be handled first.”

At that moment, a man came to mind in Nok Mok-pung’s head.

“You have work to do.”

“What is it?”

“Wei Yan-ho, was it…… Investigate everything about that man. Not missing a single detail.”

“Is it urgent?”

“Not particularly urgent. But there must be nothing overlooked.”

“…….”

When there was no answer, Nok Mok-pung’s eyes darkened.

“Are you dissatisfied?”

“How would this lowly one dare to be dissatisfied with what the Young Master does?”

“Then what?”

The man bowed his head deeply and said.

“I don’t understand why someone of the Young Master’s stature would take interest in such a trivial person.”

Nok Mok-pung sighed quietly.

“Listen here.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Great plans are usually brought down by such small moments of carelessness.”

“…….”

“And he is not a trivial person. Considering his age, he possesses a surprising level of martial arts. He’s someone fully qualified to be discussed as a future greatest hero under heaven. How can you call such a person trivial?”

“The future greatest hero under heaven is the Young Master’s position.”

“Tsk.”

Nok Mok-pung, who didn’t like flattery, shook his head. The man seemed to speak sincerely, but even such sincerity was unwelcome to Nok Mok-pung.

What he needed was not sweet praise but sharp, direct advice that would pierce to the heart like a dagger.

“Even if I become the future greatest hero under heaven, do you think I would be valued?”

“…….”

The man couldn’t answer.

“What I need is not such evaluation but achievements. Achievements that even Father and my brothers must acknowledge. Achievements that even the haughty nobles of the castle cannot ignore. For that, I cannot easily overlook even small things. Why don’t you understand this?”

“I was foolish.”

Nok Mok-pung’s eyes gleamed.

“And I have a feeling that young man will be of great help to my achievements.”

“Him?”

“He’s not yet become a typhoon, but he’s like a core that will soon become a typhoon. Just watch. Soon that man will bring a sudden storm to the martial world.”

“To that extent…….”

The man couldn’t understand Nok Mok-pung’s overestimation.

Of course, it was undoubtedly true that the boy called Wei Yan-ho possessed martial arts excessive for his age.

But considering the countless old monsters and extraordinary figures buried in the martial world, it didn’t seem like he would be able to wield special power.

“Can’t believe it?”

“How could this subordinate harbor doubt?”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Nok Mok-pung clicked his tongue.

Well, if the man had the insight to see such things, he wouldn’t be staying in a position of assisting him.

That martial prowess and that personality.

If left alone, he would become a passing gentle breeze, but where is the martial world a place that leaves people alone?

Nok Mok-pung smiled grimly.

“You’ll understand if you watch.”

“Yes.”

“What are my brothers doing these days?”

“I don’t know exactly, but I heard they’re currently interfering with the Righteous Family.”

“The Righteous Family?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…….”

Nok Mok-pung tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

The Righteous Family…… What could they accomplish by touching such a trivial place?

‘If my brothers are paying attention to such a place, there’s no loss for me.’

The question passed, but there was no need to scratch at it unnecessarily. What mattered was not them but how much achievement Nok Mok-pung himself could accomplish.

“What about Lee Wang-ya?”

“It seems he’s keeping his mouth shut.”

“Smart.”

Nok Mok-pung nodded.

Striking the grass to startle the snake…… If the Imperial family stirred up Nok-gi’s forces now, they couldn’t avoid a bout of misfortune. Nok-gi too wouldn’t be able to avoid death, but the damage the Imperial family would have to suffer in the process couldn’t be called small either. Considering that damage, it was better to keep quiet now.

In the current situation where Imperial power was being pushed back by divine authority, if the Imperial family’s power became further weakened, it would become difficult to govern the Central Plains.

“Chaotic times…….”

Nok Mok-pung smiled.

Heroes appear in chaotic times.

A world of great peace might bring happiness to countless people, but to hidden dragons waiting for their time, it was like a desert.

Nok Mok-pung was also one who welcomed chaotic times.

“Wei Yan-ho, Wei Yan-ho…….”

Nok Mok-pung smiled slyly.

“Wait. I’ll come find you soon.”

Nok Mok-pung was humming as he was about to go to his room when he stopped walking.

“But…….”

“Yes.”

“It didn’t seem like that fellow would continue staying there, so where is he going?”

“Actually, I had something to tell you about that.”

“Hm?”

Nok Mok-pung tilted his head.

“What is it?”

“They say that person called Wei Yan-ho has been registered as cargo at the Swift Dragon Escort Agency.”

“Mm, you mean he’s accompanying an escort mission?”

“No, that’s not it, he’s actually been registered as cargo.”

“……What does that mean? Speak so I can understand.”

“It means exactly what I said…….”

Nok Mok-pung grabbed his forehead.

‘Unpredictable, it’s unpredictable.’

Nok Mok-pung realized that he too had been swept up in the typhoon that Wei Yan-ho was creating.

Unfortunately.

***

“So…….”

Gok Bi-hang, the second escort leader of the Swift Dragon Escort Agency, looked at the escort members with a perplexed expression.

“Didn’t you say you were bringing back a cargo?”

“That’s right.”

“Where’s the cargo?”

“Well, how should I put this…….”

The escort member glanced sideways at Wei Yan-ho, who was on the cargo wagon with only his feet sticking out.

Then he pointed to that ‘cargo’ with a reluctant tone.

“For now, it’s cargo.”

Gok Bi-hang’s face changed to an indescribably strange expression.

An expression of complex feelings where he was getting angry but couldn’t just blame them arbitrarily, didn’t quite understand but was also annoyed.

“……Are you playing games with me right now?”

“We wanted to refuse too, but since it was a request from the prestigious Hanrim Grand Academy, we couldn’t refuse.”

“Ugh.”

Gok Bi-hang’s head began to ache.

Moving people and moving cargo were completely different matters.

When a person gets involved in an escort mission that lasts at least ten days, the things that need to be prepared because of that one person become far too numerous.

Just for meals alone, you can’t serve the food that escort members eat to a customer. Preparing three meals a day is no ordinary task. Moreover, since they can’t be made to sleep on the ground with just a blanket like ordinary escort members, the preparation time doubles.

That’s why there were separate escort missions for gathering and moving people. But this way, there would be far too many things to prepare because of just this one person. So how could his head not ache?

While Gok Bi-hang was pondering how to send this cargo back, the escort member slowly opened his mouth.

“Moreover…….”

“Hmm?”

The escort member quietly approached Gok Bi-hang and made a coin shape with his hand. Gok Bi-hang flinched when he understood what that shape meant.

“They say four times the amount.”

“Four times…….”

To Gok Bi-hang, who was slightly conflicted, a secret temptation was whispered.

“And a little extra separately. You know? Separately.”

Gok Bi-hang ended up nodding.

“If it’s a request from Hanrim Grand Academy, we can’t refuse.”

Gok Bi-hang had cleanly switched his stance.

No matter what anyone said, Hanrim Grand Academy was a prestigious place with considerable influence in the scholarly world.

Moreover, it was a place that could sufficiently be called a local elite.

It wasn’t easy to flatly refuse a request from such a place.

Having prepared a legitimate excuse, Gok Bi-hang approved the cargo.

“Still, this has become troublesome.”

Moving a person couldn’t be easy. To make matters worse, since they hadn’t thought this kind of thing would happen at all, they weren’t prepared. They would have to separately gather the necessary supplies and food for the escort mission, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the work had doubled.

“Can’t be helped.”

The resigned Gok Bi-hang climbed onto the cargo wagon.

Anyway, since it was cargo, it seemed he should meet with it.

“Huh?”

Gok Bi-hang, who had climbed onto the cargo wagon, was at a loss for words.

On the cargo wagon, something was happening that he had never once thought of until now was taking place casually.