Light Novel: Volume 7 Episode 23

Manhwa: N/A

Wu Jang-rak had gained many experiences as he had lived. He naturally had a lot of knowledge and great insight.

But he swore he had never even heard of a clan named supreme-rulerly Sword Clan.

Like the name of the supreme-rulerly Sword Clan, he could not have known about such a grand clan.

For a moment, a light of doubt flashed in Wu Jang-rak’s eyes.

A well-established sect does not give such a poignant name recklessly. Those who overestimate themselves give it a name that makes people so captivating.

People who do not know the reality were just right to be deceived by the grand name of the supreme-rulerly Sword Clan.

Wu Jang-rak looked closely at Lim Tae-moon.

The true nature of the clan called the supreme-rulerly Sword Clan is unknown, but the status of Lim Tae-moon was not naive. His physique was dignified, and the aura emanating from his body was not bad.

But that was all.

It was still not enough to meet the standards of Wu Jang-rak. Still, Wu Jang-rak didn’t make it obvious.

“I don’t know much and have little knowledge about the supreme-rulerly Sword Clan. If you tell me the location of the supreme-rulerly Sword Clan, I will definitely stop by.”

“Haha! Our supreme-rulerly Sword Clan is known for being a mysterious sect, so it’s no wonder that Lord Wu doesn’t know.”

“Does that mean that you haven’t been showing your sect’s presence on purpose?”

“Lord Wu, you must be aware that many sects suffered damage during the War of the Demons and Heaven. Our supreme-rulerly Sword Clan was one of those sects. We were at the forefront at that time so we ended up suffering great damage. After that, we refrained from doing external activities, so we can focus on strengthening our internal solidarity by encouraging disciples to train.”

“Hmm…”

“Although our sect did not engage in external activities under the guise of being mysterious due to unavoidable circumstances, now that the internal power has been maintained to some extent, we are trying to spread our influence again.”

“Is that so?”

Wu Jang-rak tilted his head.

There were a lot of questionable parts, but because Lim Tae-moon spoke so calmly, he wondered if he was wrong.

“What is the name of the sect leader of the supreme-rulerly Sword Clan? This is so I will not make a mistake once I meet him in the future.”

“Use the old man in Lim.”

“Is it Lord Lim Gusan?”

“Haha! That’s right. He’s my father.”

“As expected.”

“My father will like it when he sees Lord Wu.”

“I look forward to meeting him too.”

“It’s a little iffy now, but if Lord Wu stops by our place before returning to Chengdu, I will make sure to arrange a meeting between you and my father. You will not regret it.”

“Alright.”

Lim Tae-moon smiled at Wu Jang-rak’s answer.

It’s an expression of a person who has heard his desired answer.

“By the way, did you say that you are a friend of Lord Hwa?”

“That’s right.”

“I wonder how the two of you became friends. If you were the successor of such a mysterious sect, you would not have been that really active in Jianghu.”

“We met at a guest house by chance. And since we got along well, we started to get acquainted with each other.”

“I see!”

It was a common occurrence.

In fact, there were a lot of warriors who met by chance at a guest house and continued their relationship. Wu Jang-rak had also made friends in the same way.

Next to Lim Tae-moon was a beautiful woman. She looked like she was in her late teens. Her pretty and bewitching appearance was impressive.

“I’m Geum Juhwa of the Haneum clan. It is an honor to meet Lord Wu like this.”

“Nice to meet you, Lady Geum.”

Wu Jang-rak had an unexpected expression on his face.

Although the Haneum clan was not widely known in the Jianghu, it was still a venerable sect with a history of 100 years. It is not a clan that has no substance like the supreme-rulerly Sword Clan, but rather a clan that is classified as a prestigious sect.

Of course, Wu Jang-rak’s reaction to her had to be different.

“How is sect leader Gong?”

“Do you know of my Master?”

“I haven’t met him in person, but I’ve always heard of the reputation of Haneum sect leader, Gong Seung-hak. I haven’t gotten the chance to see him yet because I haven’t been able to reach him, but I’m really glad to meet his disciple like this.”

A smile crept on the corner of Geum Juhwa’s lips.

She naturally felt happy when Wu Jang-rak, a man of high reputation, praised her master.

“I am also honored to meet Lord Wu. I look forward to your guidance in the future.”

“What do you mean guidance? I’m retired now.”

“Still, where is your experience in Jianghu that you have accumulated over the years going to? I would like to ask you to teach me a lot.”

“Hu! The Young Lady speaks nicely. Anyway, it’s really nice to meet you like this.”

Wu Jang-rak looked at Geum Juhwa with a happy expression.

On the other hand, Lim Tae-moon’s expression was slightly distorted.

It was because he could feel the difference in treatment between himself and Geum Juhwa.

‘This old man is discriminating against people.’

He was in a bad mood, but he tried to hide his anger.

Instead, his gaze turned to Pyo-wol and Soma, who were behind Wu Jang-rak.

“Who are those two?”

“They’re just accompanying me.”

“Could you please introduce me to them?”

“What?”

Wu Jang-rak had a bewildered expression.

So far, he has encountered many people while traveling with Pyo-wol, but not one of them has  shown their interest in Pyo-wol.

This is because Pyo-wol covered his handsome face with a scarf, trying to avoid gathering anyone’s attention. Only Wu Jang-rak and his companions paid attention to him.

‘There’s something.’

Lim Tae-moon’s eyes lit up.

It wasn’t because he had business with Pyo-wol. He just want to poke and test him because he  wasn’t in the greatest mood, but Wu Jang-rak’s bewildered reaction made everything even more interesting.

“That—”

“If Lord Wu feels uncomfortable, I will greet him personally.”

He strode closer to Pyo-wol without even asking for Wu Jang-rak’s permission.

Lim Tae-moon greeted Pyo-wol without hesitation.

“I am Lim Tae-moon. It’s also considered fate for the two of us to meet at a banquet, so let’s exchange our names.”

Pyo-wol raised his head and looked at Lim Tae-moon, who suddenly approached him.

Lim Tae-moon was smiling at him.

Pyo-wol’s eyes were burdensome, but Lim Tae-moon did not avoid his gaze and looked straight at him.

Since Pyo-wol did not speak for a long time, a crease broke out in between Lim Tae-moon’s forehead.

“Why aren’t you answering me? You don’t even want to say hello to me?”

Lim Tae-moon’s tone was sharp.

“Lord Lim!”

Wu Jang-rak tried to dissuade him in a hurry.

Because he knows the nature of Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol opened his mouth.

“Pyo-wol.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s my name.”

“Hoo! So you weren’t mute. I thought your tongue was cut off because you kept your mouth shut. Anyway, nice to meet you, Lord Pyo. Where are you from?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Well, I’m just curious.”

Lim Tae-moon replied with an indifferent expression.

There was no courtesy in his attitude.

“Lord Lim! That’s—”

Geum Juhwa who was next to him became embarrassed and tried to stop him.

She also had her arrogant side, but as a famous disciple of a prestigious sect, she at least keep the minimum courtesy.

They were only together because of their mutual friend, Hwa Ok-gi, so she didn’t know that Lim Tae-moon would be such a rude person.

Pyo-wol opened his mouth,

“You’re unnecessarily curious.”

“I can’t stand it when I’m curious about something. So you’re not gonna answer?”

“I have no reason to answer.”

Anger appeared on Lim Tae-moon’s face at Pyo-wol’s indifferent answer.

He looked like he was about to have a seizure.

“The Lord is arriving.”

Mae Bulgun’s voice resounded throughout the hall.

“We greet you, my Lord.”

The Heavenly Silver Marketplace’s warriors all stood up and greeted him in unison.

“Haha! Let’s all sit down.”

Hwa Yu-cheon raised his hand and gestured for the warriors to sit down.

At his appearance, Lim Tae-moon couldn’t say anything more. He ust chewed his lips and went back to his place.

At that moment, Wu Jang-rak breathed a sigh of relief.

‘That unexpected loach made me nervous.’

Wu Jang-rak’s lifespan seemed to have been cut short by ten years. In just that short interaction, his face looked much older.

Wu Jang-rak glared at Lim Tae-moon’s back.

‘If it’s a clan that produced people with such a personality, there’s nothing more to see.’

He knew it since the time he introduced his clan with the grand name of the supreme-rulerly Sword Clan. The name alone was plausible, and it was clear that it was a mundane sect with no substantiality.

Lim Tae-moon was dissatisfied that he had not heard from Pyo-wol, so he sat down and stared at Pyo-wol.

When Wu Jang-rak saw it, he sighed.

‘He doesn’t live up to his name.’

Wu Jang-rak shook his head and looked at Hwa Yu-cheon, who was sitting in front.

Hwa Yu-cheon opened his mouth.

“I would like to express my gratitude to those who attended the banquet. Although there is not much set up, I hope you enjoy it to your heart’s content. Heh heh heh!”

Hwa Yu-cheon looked easy-going, not like the owner of a large force called the Heavenly Silver Marketplace. But no one believed his current attitude was his real nature.

He was a talented person who had grown Heavenly Silver Marketplace to this scale in just a few decades. It was impossible for a person with just ordinary skill.

Mae Bulgun waited for Hwa Yu-cheon to finish speaking and introduced Lim Tae-moon and Geum Juhwa.

“It feels really good to see Jianghu’s famous members like this. So are you Ok-gi’s friends?”

“Yes! We get along with him quite well.”

“Heh heh! Continue being his friend from now on. There are many things that the child lacks because he grew up too spoiled.”

“We will.”

“I want to see your father someday. Seeing you makes me think that I’ll get along well with your father.”

“My father always said that he wanted to meet Lord Hwa.”

“Oh! Really?”

“How can I tell a lie?”

Hwa Yu-cheon smiled at Lim Tae-moon’s words.

To be honest, he didn’t know where the supreme-rulerly Sword Sect was attached, but he couldn’t allow the other person to be in a bad mood so he just agreed.

“I can’t wait to see your father.”

“My father will like it.”

“Speak well about me .”

“Of course.”

A small smile appeared on the corner of Lim Tae-moon’s lips.

If his father and Hwa Yu-cheon had a relationship because of him, he would have done a great job.

“But I don’t see Ok-gi.”

“I sent him to do an errand because I have work to do. He’ll be back soon, so please wait for a while.2*

“Alright.”

Lim Tae-moon bowed his head slightly to Hwa Yu-cheon and sat down.

Hwa Yu-cheon also greeted Geum Juhwa warmly.

“Are there any inconveniences in staying at the main sect?”

“I am resting comfortably thanks to the consideration of Lord Hwa.”

“There shouldn’t be any inconvenience in serving Wu Daehyup of the Taiyuan Merchant Group.”

“It’s been a long time since I retired from Taiyuan Merchant Group. Right now I’m just the general manager of a small manor.”

“Isn’t that a small manor where Lord Yu Gi-cheon, who was the head of Taiyuan Merchant Group, resides?”

Taiyuan Merchant Group, which was cultivated and raised by Yu Gi-cheon, expanded even further by his son’s generation. It was incomparably bigger than when Yu Gi-cheon was on active duty.

Because of that, many sects in the world wanted to establish a relationship with the Taiyuan Merchant Group. This is because they can secure stable financial resources if they receive support from the Taiyuan Merchant Group.

Heavenly Silver Marketplace was not financially so poor that he dared to spread his hand to the Taiyuan Merchant Group.

They were rather affluent. But the more resources, the better. For that reason, Hwa Yu-cheon tried to have himself introduced to Yu Gi-cheon after establishing a relationship with Wu Jang-rak.

Wu Jang-rak also noticed Hwa Yu-cheon’s inner intentions. However, he did not blame Hwa Yu-cheon for his greed.

This is because Jianghu is such a fierce place.

Taiyuan Merchant Group in the early days grew like that.

Yu Gi-cheon and Wu Jang-rak fought really fiercely and struggled to form even a small relationship.

Hwa Yu-cheon lowered his voice.

“There is one thing I really want to ask you.”

“Yes?”

“I heard that a lot of things have happened in Chengdu recently.”

“Ah! Are you talking about what happened to the Emei and the Qingcheng sect?”

“Yes. May I know a little bit about the details? Most of them have only heard about the two closing their gates, because they don’t know about the inside processes.”

It was difficult to obtain detailed information from the outside due to the closed topography unique to Sichuan. For that reason, he is trying to find out information directly from Wu Jang-rak, who stayed directly in Chengdu.

Wu Jang-rak was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected words. However, as a person who had been trained for a long time, he quickly corrected his expression and continued speaking calmly.

“Even we don’t know the details. As you know, it happened so quickly that we didn’t know what was going on.”

“But don’t you know a little bit about it?”

“It’s hard to say right now.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, Lord Hwa!”

Hwa Yu-cheon was flustered by Wu Jang-rak’s reaction.

He naturally thought Woo Jang-rak would tell him some information, but he didn’t expect him to outright reject himlike this.

Wu Jang-rak couldn’t hide his embarassed expression.

Not because of Hwa Yu-cheon, but because of Pyo-wol, who was accompanying him.

Pyo-wol didn’t want his identity to be revealed. To explain in detail the process of the two clans, he, of course, had to talk about Pyo-wol.

How could he talk about him when he is there watching him?

It was an act of receiving his resentment not only of Wu Jang-rak himself, but also Yu Gi-cheon, the owner.

Wu Jang-rak didn’t want to die yet.

At the unexpected reaction of Wu Jang-rak, Hwa Yu-cheon’s expression was slightly distorted.

In an instant, a cold atmosphere was formed between the two of them.