The children were shaken by my words.
Perhaps it was because they’d found a sliver of hope; for kids who’d been almost unresponsive until now, it was a dramatic change.
At least the girl standing at the front had a spark in her eyes, a sign that she was still alive inside.
“That’s impossible! You’re lying!”
“Why?”
She turned around, trembling.
“Even if you try to get Elixirs to cure Jeolmyeok right away, you can’t get that many all at once! You’d have to cut open the belly of the goose that lays golden eggs to manage that!”
“That’s not your concern. I’m the one paying.”
I walked past the girl.
Her cold shoulder brushed against me.
I looked at the rest of the children, who still hadn’t said a word.
The girl at the front looked about my age, but most were younger.
Many couldn’t stand on their own two legs and clung to their parents’ arms.
Well, Jeolmyeok often meant kids got a different fate before the age of fifteen.
That’s why the kids who were about twelve or thirteen, like me, all had pale skin and hollow eyes.
“As I said earlier, I’m here to save you. I’ll give you Elixirs, feed you good meals, and give you a nice place to live.”
The look in their eyes wavered.
Honestly, they probably agreed with the girl at the front.
Even the most ignorant worm knows it takes a fortune to cure Jeolmyeok.
I understood that too.
People who’d spent a long time in despair wouldn’t easily believe in hope.
“Of course I know. You’re scared. Some stranger comes in and makes a crazy offer, asking you to follow them. But I’m not here to persuade you. I’ve made my decision, and you have to follow me.”
I glanced behind me.
The girl listened intently to every word.
“Tonight, we’ll sleep here, and tomorrow we’ll move somewhere else. If you want to run away in the night, go ahead. You were only bought for five nyang of silver anyway. I won’t miss that much.”
With that, I finished.
They looked at each other’s faces.
Among them, a boy who looked about eight or nine raised his hand.
He was another child without family, and his sharp eyes left an impression.
“Why are you going to so much trouble to cure us?”
“You already know that. Why else would someone want to cure Jeolmyeok?”
At my words, they murmured.
Everyone knew the only advantage of Jeolmyeok.
Those with Guum Jeolmyeok showed extraordinary talent in Yin arts, and those with Geukyang Jeolmyeok showed extraordinary talent in Yang arts.
Of course, there were exceptions.
“Not everyone cured of Jeolmyeok becomes a supreme expert. Some only ever reach the peak. That’s why even wealthy people don’t bother with the cure.”
The girl pointed that out, her voice much calmer than before.
With everyone listening, she seemed to have regained her composure.
“It doesn’t matter. You’ll get treated for Jeolmyeok, and become warriors of our clan. I don’t care if you only reach the peak or become first-class.”
“You’re going to waste those expensive Elixirs on us, even if we only become first-class? Isn’t that a little too extravagant?”
The girl still seemed unwilling to believe me.
So did the others.
Doubt lingered in the air.
But tomorrow, they’d see for themselves.
“Luxury is when you spend money you can’t afford.”
I looked at her.
At least, this was something I could say for certain.
“I’m the kind of person who can’t afford luxury.”
***
I’d arranged for lodging, prepared attendants, and even set up meals, but Sung Gajang was just a place to rest for a few days.
There were reasons I’d gathered the children at Sung Gajang first.
First, I needed time to prepare a place for them at the Hwanggeum Family.
Second, I needed to filter out those who might run away.
I could afford to lose five nyang of silver.
Anyone who didn’t trust me that much wouldn’t pick up a sword for my sake.
“…Seventy-one, seventy-two. All present.”
I counted the children one by one and confirmed that none had run away.
Scanning the group, I spotted the girl sitting at the back, sucking on candy.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You didn’t leave?”
“I have Guum Jeolmyeok. If I wander outside at night in this weather, I’ll die.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
That chill—something I could never imitate.
Only someone whose blood vessels were frozen by Guum Jeolmyeok could muster such an aura.
“What’s your name?”
“…Why? Are you interested?”
“No.”
“Han Yulim.”
“Good. I’m Gold-necked Hwan.”
Just as we finished exchanging names, carriages began to arrive at Sung Gajang, one after another.
The children’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the massive carriages.
Those carriages held warm blankets for the children with Guum Jeolmyeok and were packed with ice for the ones with Geukyang Jeolmyeok when they suffered attacks.
“Geukyang Jeolmyeok up front, Guum Jeolmyeok in the back.”
I divided the children.
Carriages with blankets and carriages with ice—nearly two hundred people, including families, were sorted into groups.
“…Wow, ice!”
One of the people who opened a carriage door stared in awe.
Ice wasn’t something you saw every day, after all.
And to find it in a carriage, not an icehouse, must have been a marvel.
“Get in.”
They hesitated.
Now that it was time to go, they seemed afraid.
The first one to get in was the boy who had questioned me earlier.
After him, the rest followed.
Once everyone was aboard, I got in the lead carriage.
Inside were Gwak Jindo and Geumwolsang.
“So you went and did something behind my back, didn’t you?”
Before I could even greet Geumwolsang, Gwak Jindo let out a long sigh.
“I’m the family head, how could I do anything in secret?”
“That’s true, but at least give me a heads up. Suddenly, all sorts of Elixirs like the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Tonic, Gumyung Sulsam, Sunfire Lotus, and more are being hauled in by the wagonload. How could I not be shocked?”
“Ah, sorry about that.”
“You do sound sorry.”
It was a misunderstanding.
I should have told Gwak Jindo.
I just forgot because I was too busy.
When Gwak Jindo saw the Elixirs being loaded by the wagonful, he was shocked.
That’s when Geumwolsang told him I was gathering children with Jeolmyeok.
At first, he was beside himself, ranting about how much money I was burning, but by the time the Elixirs and the children had all arrived, there was nothing Gwak Jindo could do.
Still, he seemed to have questions.
“Gold-necked Hwan. I’m curious. Wouldn’t it be better to recruit people who can fight right away? The Hwanggeum Family is practically empty right now.”
“I’ve already taken precautions.”
I’d already patrolled the outer perimeter with Geumsurin and the Jinbeopga.
That time, I taught Geumsurin the basics of Jinbeop, and together with the Jinbeopga, we set up a lot of Jinbeop formations.
Jinbeop are far more expensive security devices than mechanical traps.
The cheapest cost ten nyang of silver, the priciest a thousand.
Of course, we covered everything with only the finest.
Even if elite disciples from the Gupailbang came, they wouldn’t be able to find their way through—such was the scale and precision.
“And there’s little chance of immediate invasion. The smaller Munpa are allied with the Murim Alliance, so they can’t attack, and it’ll take time for the Gupailbang to reach a consensus.”
This was something only Geumwolsang and I had discussed.
Rather than recruiting untested warriors for money and ending up with troublemakers, it was better to gather children and raise them ourselves.
While we had time, our goal was to start nurturing them as soon as possible.
We needed to set up the basic structure of the family so it could function without me.
Even now, with so much going on inside the family, I barely had time for personal training.
The Taeul Heavenly Origin Divine Art was stuck at the third stage, and I’d only mastered up to the seventh form of the Namhae Sibigeom.
My impatience must have shown, because we arrived at Namchang even faster than I expected.
Well, perhaps it wasn’t just impatience—there were other factors, too.
“All the horses at our estate are being replaced. We’re swimming in money, after all.”
“Ah.”
Gwak Jindo had replaced all the carriages and horses with the very best.
It wasn’t that what we had before was bad—at the time, it had been top-class.
But now, he’d just replaced everything.
That’s how wealthy the Hwanggeum Family was, that even spending money like water still left us with plenty.
“It does look extravagant now that I see it all lined up.”
With the ornate decorations on the horses and carriages, it was hard not to draw attention.
We looked like we were boasting about our wealth.
As we drove the carriages through Namchang, the people of the city lined up on both sides, watching our procession.
“Looks like the Hwanggeum Family is up to something again.”
“After the family head went missing, it was like they’d died. I thought maybe they’d lost all their money.”
“If the Hwanggeum Family ever runs out of money, we’ll all be skeletons first.”
The people of Namchang were beginning to notice the changes in our family.
Of course, the outer and inner estates were still cut off from the outside world, so they didn’t know what we were really up to.
I cracked open the carriage door and looked behind.
All the windows were covered in black cloth.
Even so, the children behaved well.
I’d told them not to peek out, and they’d obeyed.
We entered the inner estate, drawing all eyes as we went.
While I was checking the children at Sung Gajang, Geumwolsang had been preparing to receive them inside.
I asked him, “Elder brother, are the preparations done? Even if it’s not perfect, it doesn’t matter. These kids will be staying here for good.”
“Just wait. Try not to be too surprised.”
Geumwolsang answered with confidence.
I had no idea what he’d prepared.
For now, the temporary lodging for a hundred people was set as the inner hall dormitory, Okmyogak.
Geumwolsang handled everything else—stocking Elixirs and bedding, swords for training, renovations to the building, even Jinbeop formations around Okmyogak.
Our carriages headed to Okmyogak.
Gwak Jindo, curious, opened the carriage door to look, and I opened the opposite side.
“Oh.”
“Whoa.”
Gwak Jindo and I let out exclamations at the same time.
Somehow, in just a few days, the very structure of Okmyogak had been transformed.
Wide wooden fences and a training yard, all sorts of weapons, and a warehouse next to it—which, clearly, was for Elixirs.
Even that wasn’t what surprised us.
What did was that everything was painted in shining gold.
“You really went overboard with the spending.”
“Looks great.”
Gwak Jindo and I differed in our evaluations.
But since the kids would be using it, it was better to make it as flashy as possible.
Soon, our carriage stopped in front of the warehouse.
Gwak Jindo used his Six Harmonies Transmission Voice to shout,
“Everyone out!”
At his command, the doors burst open.
Even though the trip was short, the children must have felt cooped up.
Like fish freed from a net, people poured out of the carriages.
The first ones out didn’t even think to make way for those behind—they were too busy staring at the grand Okmyogak and its dazzling decorations.
“Wow!”
Most of these children had lived in poverty.
With a crippling illness like Jeolmyeok, any family’s fortune would soon decline.
And since they’d been sold for just five nyang of silver, you could guess their situation.
The kids came out, unsure where to look.
Everywhere they gazed was something marvelous and dazzling—they couldn’t get their bearings.
“From now on, this will be your home.”
I raised my voice to get their attention.
Their eyes grew wide.
They’d hoped for something like this, but clearly hadn’t dared to believe it.
They were children not used to hope.
“Han Yulim. Come here.”
I called out.
The only one whose name I knew among them was Han Yulim.
She hesitated, but came forward.
As fierce as she was, she was obedient now that she’d come this far.
Still, there was a defiant glint in her eyes.
I had already decided—she would become the leader of the warriors I would train for the Hwanggeum Family.
In front of the anxious Han Yulim, I threw open the warehouse doors.
A strange energy, both hot and cold, and a fragrant scent wafted out.
“These are the Elixirs that will cure you.”
Han Yulim and the rest craned their necks up.
Piles upon piles of things worthy of being called Elixirs—it was overwhelming.
I walked over and picked up the Elixir on top.
Wrapped in silk, it radiated a ferocious heat.
It was the Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Tonic.
Carrying it, I approached Han Yulim.
As she stood there, dumbfounded, I handed her the Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Tonic.
“Eat it. It’s yours.”
Was there any other army in all the Central Plains made up solely of warriors cured of Jeolmyeok?
Such a luxurious force could only be ours.
These children were the living proof that the Hwanggeum Family was not just another merchant house, but a martial clan.