Chapter 30
“Say it again…”
Unyeong thought Master Deung Noya would get angry. But he was wrong.
Deung Noya didn’t show a hint of rage. He simply asked again, his voice low and calm.
“…It’s just a hypothesis.”
“I told you to say it again.”
“I tried thinking from the merchant’s point of view.”
Unyeong didn’t know exactly how things had played out in the past. But by piecing together the fragments he did know, a bigger picture formed.
“The thief’s grandson, living as the son of a merchant, wanted to become an official. Since he passed the local exam, wouldn’t he have to go to the capital for the metropolitan exams? If it were me, I’d target that moment.”
It had actually happened.
Geum Huiryang, the son of the wealthy merchant Geum Wijeon who ran Manggeum Merchant Guild, met with misfortune on his way to take the civil service exams.
“It’s not unusual to encounter danger on a long journey, is it?”
The central plains were vast, and travel was always fraught with peril.
The grandson went missing.
Or rather, Deung Noya believed he had. He searched endlessly for his grandson until the day he died.
But Unyeong believed he had died. After Deung Noya passed, Unyeong had searched for his whereabouts.
Because Deung Noya had believed it, Unyeong had followed that belief.
He owed him a great debt.
But in the end, even Unyeong couldn’t find the grandson’s trail.
This could be changed.
It hadn’t happened yet.
He could make sure Deung Noya didn’t spend his last days searching endlessly, hurt, and full of regret.
Clenching his fist, Unyeong continued.
“And I’d leak information about the thief to the enemy. With the number of people hunting him across the realm, it’s natural he’d be put in danger.”
Once Deung Noya learned of the grandson’s misfortune, he roamed the central plains in search of him. During that time, he was ambushed by those pursuing the Muyeong Martial Sect and barely escaped.
When Unyeong first met him on Hwangsan Mountain, Deung Noya had already lost an arm. If someone of his caliber lost an arm, the opponents must’ve been formidable.
“He…”
Deung Noya’s voice dropped to a near whisper.
“He… Geum Wijeon didn’t know the thief’s true identity.”
“Are you sure of that?”
Unyeong asked calmly.
Was he really unaware?
No, he wasn’t. All of it had already happened. Only Unyeong remembered.
Later on, Geum Wijeon did even more horrific things.
Manggeum Merchant Guild, which he controlled, became the funding source for Cheongung.
That’s why protecting the guild was of utmost importance. While the enemy was still unaware, it was crucial to grow their own forces.
Unyeong didn’t worry about whether Deung Noya would believe him. Since his grandson’s safety mattered most to him, even the slightest doubt would be enough to move him.
That was the starting point.
“What’s your purpose in telling me this story?”
“I wish you peace, sir.”
“Peace? You call this peace?”
Deung Noya snorted.
“Yes, that alone is enough for now.”
“For now?”
Deung Noya’s lips curled up slightly.
“Well, for now. Once you leave here today, you’ll check it yourself. If my suspicions turn out to be true, you’ll realize the information you gave me wasn’t worth enough.”
“What? Not worth enough?”
“Wouldn’t you say so? The math doesn’t add up.”
“Hmph.”
“Can a life—your life and your grandson’s—really be compensated with just money?”
“You impudent brat. You dare talk about the value of a life? How should I shut that mouth of yours?”
“I know you’re a man who pays his debts. Settle it later.”
“Hahahaha!”
Deung Noya burst into hearty laughter, and Unyeong smiled brightly.
Though his heart must have been stirred, it was still something that hadn’t happened yet.
Deung Noya laughed because he had calculated his next move. He probably realized he could stop it too.
“But if your words are false…”
A fierce aura pressed down on Unyeong.
“If you dared deceive Deung Noya, how will you pay for it?”
“…Then I’ll have to wager my life as the price.”
Unyeong, mustering his inner strength, answered without hesitation. Even when speaking of death, his voice was unwavering.
“You think that’s enough? Killing you would be nothing to me.”
“I know that.”
“That’s still not enough. If this is all a lie, a storm of blood will sweep through this manor—”
At that moment—whoosh. A murderous aura surged from Unyeong’s small body. It wasn’t something a child could produce. It was the killing intent of someone who had walked through hell.
“That’s enough. Even if it’s you, I won’t forgive any more.”
It was the killing aura of the Sword Demon.
“Heh…”
Dispersing Unyeong’s aura, Deung Noya chuckled softly.
“Incomprehensible… Indeed, some things can’t be understood.”
Deung Noya, who had spent decades in the martial world, knew this well.
There were strange and exceptional beings in the martial world. He himself was called one of them.
“I’m searching for a master.”
Having regained his composure, Unyeong spoke again.
“What?”
“If you feel the debt still isn’t paid, please become my master.”
Before, he had been unable to call Deung Noya “Master.”
Though Deung Noya had guided Unyeong during his training and even passed on the Muyeong martial arts, he had refused to officially take him as a disciple.
He’d claimed that Unyeong, who walked his own path, didn’t need a master. But Unyeong understood the real reason.
He didn’t want the grudge of the Muyeong Sect to pass on through the bond of master and disciple.
In the martial world, a master’s grudge becomes the disciple’s burden too.
Since the Muyeong Sect had more enemies than allies, Deung Noya had likely feared for Unyeong.
He had always been kind to him.
That’s the kind of man Deung Noya was.
“I do have some natural talent.”
But so what?
Unyeong wasn’t afraid of Muyeong’s grudges. He was going to get entangled with Cheongung’s scum anyway—what was one more burden?
What mattered more was being by Deung Noya’s side.
“You don’t even have to teach me anything.”
“Hoh… Where does that confidence come from?”
“I was born with it. Would you like to check?”
Unyeong extended his wrist toward Deung Noya, who decided to go along with the child’s intent.
With everything still unclear, all he could do was check his pulse.
After a while, Deung Noya’s eyes widened in shock.
“A Heavenly Martial Body.”
“You knew?”
“Yeah. I’m the only one who knows.”
“Well, I can see why you’re so confident.”
“…Would you become my master?”
Unyeong’s voice trembled. It was hard to believe he had been speaking so calmly until now.
“Alright. If the debt remains, I’ll accept.”
“Thank you… sir.”
“Not yet. Nothing’s certain.”
“Of course. I’ll see you later, then.”
“Click.”
With a click of his tongue, Deung Noya’s presence vanished in an instant.
Hoo. Unyeong let out a deep sigh.
“That old man… Seriously strong.”
Though he grumbled, his expression was warm.
A happy smile spread across Unyeong’s face.
“Hurry back, Master.”
At the mountaintop, on a large boulder where nothing should have been, a flickering shadow appeared. It slowly took the form of a person.
Dressed in black nightwear—it was Deung Noya.
“…Truly incomprehensible.”
He murmured quietly, eyes fixed on the estate below.
Within Manggeum Merchant Guild, there was a special account. Hidden so even Guildmaster Geum Wijeon didn’t know about it. It could only be accessed with a code known by Deung Noya and his grandson.
It was prepared just in case of danger, though he hadn’t expected it would ever be needed.
But someone had withdrawn money from that account. And even left their name.
“Seol family estate…”
His gaze deepened as he looked toward the moonlit Seol estate.
He’d come to see the audacious person who had stolen from a thief—but ended up caught in something far beyond expectation.
He knew the name left behind belonged to a young girl. He had investigated beforehand, naturally.
But he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
How did she know about the Muyeong Sect? About his grandson? How did she crack the code? What was that chilling killing intent? And what does she intend to do now?
Incomprehensible.
Though he said it couldn’t be understood, the questions wouldn’t stop coming.
“I thought nothing could surprise me anymore… Tsk.”
Deung Noya’s figure blurred again.
“Let’s see if there’s a real rat in there… Tsk.”
With a final click of his tongue, his figure vanished.
All that remained atop the mountain’s great boulder was the moonlight.
