Instead of entering the banquet hall, we had to head straight for the bath barrels.

Every time we washed ourselves with powder made from ground red beans and mung beans, filthy water ran off us, and only after emptying the bath barrels three times could we change clothes again and head for the banquet hall.

When we entered the banquet hall like that...

"Eldest Senior Brother!!"

"Sowoon!"

The people of the Taiyi Sect, who had kept their distance at first, began approaching us warmly and exchanging greetings.

That was just too much.

I had still washed in a stream before coming here.

Meanwhile, the Geum-eun-dong Brothers, who had been surrounded by their fellow disciples, also approached their parents and greeted them with dignified bows.

"Hoho... The boys who left as children have returned as men."

"... Sniff, sniff."

Their parents tried to hide their tears at the sight of how much their children had grown in a year.

And beside them...

"You worked hard. You truly worked hard."

Even Hong Mungi was hugging Saryeon tightly.

Moving reunions were taking place all throughout the banquet hall.

For some reason, the tip of my nose felt itchy.

Just then, a welcome voice reached my ears.

"Whether on your way out or on your way back... you are truly impossible to predict."

When I turned my head, Wang Geumsan was approaching with Wang Soso.

"Have you been well in the meantime?"

"Well... So much has happened, you see. I feel as if I will die before my allotted lifespan."

"I heard the prosperity of Wangga Manor is echoing not only across Jiangnan, but even through Jiangbei."

"Haha, do not say such things. It is still difficult."

Wang Geumsan looked at me with a strange gaze.

Then he soon spoke rather quietly.

"So, about that... the dividends you bring in are far too large. Could you not moderate yourself a little now?"

For some reason, Wang Geumsan's eyes were full of desperation.

But desperation was desperation, and business was business.

"Lord Wang, that is a little..."

Before I could even shake my head, Wang Soso's scolding flew in.

"Father, honestly! You said your original dream was to build the number one merchant group in the world. Thanks to oppa, you have come one step closer to that dream, so how wonderful is that?"

"No... that was a dream from my youth. Now I would rather retire and rest while watching my grandchildren play, so to speak."

Wang Soso pushed her father aside and stood in front of me.

"Oppa. While you, Senior Sister, and Senior Brother Geumpyo were away, I worked hard looking after the people of the Taiyi Sect."

At Wang Soso's action of sticking her head out like a child hoping to be praised, I chuckled and patted her head.

"Thank you."

"Hehe."

Saryeon really hated this, so it was strange.

The faces of the people I saw after a year were different from how they had been a year ago.

The anxiety had vanished, and ease showed on them.

They were comfortably happy in the face of joyful events, and they did not force themselves to hide their feelings.

It was completely different from my previous life at this time, when they had been fretting to appease the Gyeryong Merchant Group, which had gradually reduced its support and thrown its weight around.

"Does it look good to you as well?"

At the sudden words, I turned my head and saw Hong Mungi looking at the same scene as I was.

When his eyes met mine, the corners of his mouth rose.

"You made this. You achieved this."

"What could I have done? It is thanks to everyone's efforts."

His figure was leaner than in my previous life.

His firm muscles showed just how grueling his training had been.

And there was a strong look in his eyes that I had never once seen in my previous life.

With that firm gaze, he looked at me warmly.

Things were changing.

I was changing, and the Taiyi Sect was changing.

Unlike my previous life, we were clearly changing.

"Thank you."

Then Hong Mungi looked around.

"Where did that fellow Taesan go? His son has returned looking so fine."

"Exactly. Such a proud son has returned, after all."

I had a rough idea where he would be, so I took a bottle of wine and a cup and left the banquet hall.

* * *

I left the banquet hall and headed off to one side.

The night was dark and there was no light, but finding the way was not difficult.

It was a place I had seen earlier while heading to the baths.

Sure enough, in a space landscaped with a small pond, Father was gazing at the pond where the moonlight had settled.

"Have you already started enjoying hobbies like this just because you made some money?"

At my joke, Father turned his head slightly, then looked back at the pond.

"It is for guests. If they wish to meet me, they must wait quite a while. Would it not be boring to wait without even this small pleasure?"

"Having a pond in the Taiyi Sect's courtyard was also your dream, Father."

Because ponds cost a great deal of money.

Being able to maintain a pond was also a symbol of leisure.

And Father had wanted a pond very much.

"Yes. Now we have enough to build a pond in the Taiyi Sect."

"We are still far off. Each hall should have at least one."

Father, who had been looking at the pond, shifted his gaze to me and chuckled.

"Is that so?"

"Of course, I am not saying we should actually build them. There is no greater waste of money than that."

"What do you take the External Hall Leader for, you brat?"

I examined Father closely.

Like Hong Mungi, he had lost a great deal of weight, but I could not see any muscle.

He probably had not had any time to look after himself because he had been working.

"... Why have you lost so much weight?"

Suddenly, I worried that Father might have spent the past year living far too frantically.

At my question, Father answered playfully.

"They say being this thin is in fashion these days."

"... Lord Wang has a splendid build, though?"

"That man need not chase fashion."

"Are you not yet at that level, Father?"

"I am not."

"Then you will have to work harder."

"Indeed."

It was a pointless exchange, but neither Father nor I considered this time wasted in the slightest.

I held out the wine bottle I had brought to Father.

"Have some of this with..."

"You damned brat, are you openly saying you are going to drink now?"

"Well... I am an adult now too, Father."

Father's eyes, which had been glaring wide, wavered.

"... I suppose you are."

Father took the wine cup, downed the wine in one gulp, and held the cup out to me.

"How have you been all this time?"

I thought back over each and every thing I had gone through since returning to the past.

The Demonic Spirit Plateau, the Murim Academy's standard exam, the Blood Death Gang incident in Sichuan, the territorial hostility of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Noble Clans.

There had been countless times when I had nearly lost my life.

This damned curse of remembering everything clearly made all of those events as vivid as if they had just happened.

As I recalled those vivid memories, I spoke honestly about what I had felt.

"Nothing much happened."

"..."

Father's hand stopped for a moment as he was pouring wine into the cup.

Father's hand trembled briefly.

I spoke calmly.

"Truly, nothing much happened."

"... Is that so?"

No matter how good a mood he was in, I did not think he had ever filled a cup to overflowing.

"You did well to come back."

"Yes, Father."

"You truly... did well to come back."

We silently watched the carp splashing in the pond.

* * *

After the banquet ended, most of the people returned to their respective homes or to the Taiyi Sect.

And in Jin Taesan's office, only six people remained: Hong Mungi, Kang Chaeseok, Jin Taesan, Jin Sowoon, Saryeon, and Sama Jeong.

"... Gulp. So... this is that..."

Hong Mungi swallowed his words as though he were even cautious about saying it aloud.

"It is the Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk, Father."

"... Yes. The thing that is shaking the entire world..."

I heard the Zhongnan Sect lost this and blockaded Xi'an, causing complaints from Jianghu figures to flood in... So how did this object end up all the way in Hefei?

"What in the world have you children been doing out there...?"

Kang Chaeseok stared blankly at Sowoon and Saryeon.

Then, all of a sudden, the image of the children returning looking like beggars connected in his mind with the Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk.

"Do not tell me... you came back looking like that because of this?"

Saryeon rubbed the bridge of her nose with her finger and gave a light, fake cough.

"Isn't the important thing that the Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk has come to the Taiyi Sect?"

"... For now, we must take care with security."

A single precious spiritual elixir could ruin an entire village.

Historically, whenever treasures and spiritual elixirs appeared, had blood not flowed along with them?

"Rather than making the spiritual elixir immediately... I think we should leave some time."

"What are you talking about, Senior Brother! Such a precious item has finally come into our hands! Did you not say it then? That we should immediately give it to the children..."

Hong Mungi firmly shook his head.

"If we move hastily, rumors will spread."

Obtaining a precious spiritual elixir was important, but protecting it was even more important.

Because Kang Chaeseok also understood the ways of Jianghu, he pressed his lips tightly shut with a face full of dissatisfaction.

Breaking the silence that had settled for a moment, Jin Taesan carefully opened his mouth.

"How about we hear Physician Sama's opinion first? Of course, since the children said it, it must be true, but we should also determine what level of spiritual elixir it truly is..."

Then he turned his gaze to Sama Jeong, who was seated beside him.

When everyone's gazes focused on him, Sama Jeong placed his hand on the table.

"I will take a look."

He took the canteen and opened the stopper.

"...!"

In an instant, a strange fragrance filled the entire office.

DRIP.

Then he carefully tilted the canteen, received a single drop of the Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk in a wine cup, and examined its color.

The people of the Taiyi Sect watched Sama Jeong's face with tense expressions, like people having an heirloom antique appraised.

How much time had passed?

With an admiring expression, Sama Jeong placed the wine cup down on the table and spoke.

"It is genuine... And it is indeed immortal flower milk of high purity."

"What do you mean by high purity?"

"Ordinarily, the Murim Alliance mixes camphorwood oil into Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk before using it."

"If camphorwood oil has not been mixed in..."

Sama Jeong nodded and added.

"Then its efficacy would be better."

At Sama Jeong's words, Kang Chaeseok grew restless and shifted where he sat.

"Senior Brother, no, Sect Leader. Let us just make it, yes? Did he not say even the Murim Alliance cannot easily use this medicinal ingredient?"

"But..."

To Hong Mungi, who was wavering, Jin Taesan said,

"I also think it would be all right to make it right away."

"Hm?"

Since he normally took a conservative position in matters like this, just like Hong Mungi, Kang Chaeseok was even more surprised.

Jin Taesan tapped the table and added,

"In any case, have we not been diligently gathering ingredients all this time to feed them to the children? Rumors will not spread very far. Doctor, what do you think?"

At Jin Taesan's question, Sama Jeong nodded.

"As the Merchant Group Leader said, we have all the main herbs, so even if we ask around and gather the remaining herbs, it will not draw much attention."

"Is that so..."

At length, Hong Mungi's eyes slowly turned to Jin Sowoon.

"Sowoon, what is your opinion?"

It might have been strange to ask the opinion of a young disciple on a major affair of the sect, yet no one present questioned it.

"Naturally, I think we should make it immediately."

"Hm...? Why?"

Jin Sowoon pointed at the bottle containing the Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk with his finger.

"There is a saying that if you hoard something too long, it turns to shit."

Just as Jin Taesan frowned as if to say, of course.

"And the Taiyi Sect is no longer the Taiyi Sect of the past, is it?"

At Jin Sowoon's words, Hong Mungi stared blankly for a moment, then chuckled.

"Yes, you are right. The Taiyi Sect is no longer the Taiyi Sect of the past."

Then he looked at each person present and commanded,

"Then let us make it at once."

* * *

After spending one night at the Daecheon Merchant Group, I visited the Taiyi Sect the next day.

The very first one to greet me was none other than...

"Hyuuuuung!!!!!!"

... Zhuge Cheongi.

Perhaps he had shot up in the span of a year, because the childlike look he had before was nowhere to be found.

However, his disheveled outfit and the grease stains on his face somehow reminded me of Zhuge Cheongi from my previous life.

"Have you been well?"

Though he had already grown much taller, when he thrust his head toward me like a puppy, I ruffled his hair roughly.

Only after wagging his tail like that for a long while did he seem satisfied and grin with a heehee.

Looking at the hammer in Cheongi's hand, I asked,

"Has the mechanism array still not been completed?"

The mechanism array that, originally, he had never completed in my previous life.

Zhuge Cheongi, who had been trying to create it, had met the array masters of the Mount Mao Sect and was now seeking to devise a new mechanism array.

"There is no way that would be the case. These days, I look like this because I am installing mechanism arrays at Wangga Manor."

"At Wangga Manor?"

"Yes. After seeing the array installed at the Taiyi Sect, they asked me to install one at Wangga Manor as well. But the grounds are so vast that it will likely take quite a while before the work is finished."

If it was the Lord of Wangga Manor, he could have directly hired the Zhuge Clan or the Mount Mao Sect to install one...

Since he had specifically installed Zhuge Cheongi's mechanism array, I could not even guess anew just how remarkable a thing he had created.

'A genius is a genius, after all.'

Then Yeongyeong, who had been standing beside Cheongi, bowed her head.

"I have heard rumors of you in the meantime, Young Master."

At the unexpected sight, I could not hide my surprise.

"You can reveal yourself now?"

Yeongyeong glanced at Zhuge Cheongi once, then nodded.

"Yes."

In other words, that meant Zhuge Cheongi had reached a level where he could protect himself.

This fellow had grown quite a lot, had he not?

"Hehe!"

Zhuge Cheongi rubbed the bridge of his nose as though embarrassed.

"I worked hard."

Seeing him smiling so brightly, I thought it might now be time to return what was his.

"Do you have time now?"

"Pardon? Right now?"

"Yes."

"... What is this about?"

I patted his head once more.

"I have something to give you."

I took Cheongi, who tilted his head, and headed to the sparring ground.

"H-Hyung... No matter how hard I have trained, beating you is im-impossible."

Hoho, the fellow had become insolent after training a little.

To think he was already considering beating me.

I looked the flustered fellow straight in the eyes.

The time had come.

"There is something I will teach you."

Zhuge's Three Forms had originally belonged to Zhuge Cheongi.

The time had come to return them to him.

"Think of this as part of your learning."

"Y-Yes."

I took the Black Dragon Sword in hand.

As he had said, it seemed he had not neglected his training, for he held his sword across from me with upright posture.

TREMBLE.

Though his sword kept trembling for some reason, as if he were afraid.

"Now, we begin."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

And a moment later...

CLANG!

The Black Dragon Sword fell to the ground with a loud sound.

"..."

"H-Huh?"

Zhuge Cheongi, still holding his sword, looked as though he had no idea what had happened.

Phew, did I lack strength in my hand because I drank too much yesterday...?

"Ah! Sorry, Cheongi. I must have drunk too much yesterday."

"... R-Right?"

"Yes. Again... Let us try again."

The fastest and most efficient way to teach Zhuge's Three Forms was to have him learn by showing him the original sword techniques and the sword techniques transformed through Zhuge's Three Forms in alternation.

That was why I had intended to first demonstrate the Taiyi Sect martial arts he also knew, the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique and the Great Heaven Sword Technique.

CLANG!

The Black Dragon Sword once again fell to the ground with a loud sound.

... What was that?

"... H-Hyung? You are not sick, are you?"

"..."

Cheongi was already using the Destruction Form.

"Hyung?"

Fuck.

What the hell was going on?