Jeok Rihyeon was studying a stack of documents with one hand pressed to his forehead.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“Oh? You’re here?”
Jeok Rihyeon handed the documents to Jeok Wigang.
“I went around collecting construction-cost estimates to expand the sect with the money you gave me, but what do I know about this? Have a look.”
“I do not know much about this either.”
“Is there anything you do not know?”
“Of course. Do you think I know everything?”
“Now that you admit you do not know something, you finally seem human.”
“What do you mean, I finally seem human? Does that mean you normally think I am a monster?”
“Am I wrong?”
“I am not!”
“Hahaha! Look at you getting all worked up. I am joking, you brat. Still, what do we do if you do not know either? The prices are all about the same. I cannot tell who actually does good work.”
Jeok Wigang thought for a moment. Then, as something occurred to him, he snapped his fingers.
“Ah! We have them, do we not?”
“What?”
“There are experts for this sort of thing. This is perfect. You said the True Martial Sect needs a new head cook too, right?”
“That is right. More people will be joining us now, so we should enlarge the kitchen accordingly.”
“And we need to make the sect’s weapons ourselves too.”
“But we have the Merchant Company. Cannot we just procure them—”
“Come on. We should make them ourselves. That way, we can tailor weapons to the hands of the martial artists in the sect. Father, just wait. I will take care of everything.”
Jeok Rihyeon often found it hard to understand what Jeok Wigang was saying.
Yet the results always exceeded expectations, so he nodded.
“All right. Do as you see fit.”
“Yes!”
*****
A few days later.
When Jeok Rihyeon heard that Jeok Wigang had arrived, he went outside and found a group of people waiting.
“Who are they?”
“They are the artisans I told you about. This is my father. Introduce yourselves.”
At Jeok Wigang’s prompting, they introduced themselves one by one.
“I am Hae Jeon. I was once known in Sichuan as the Master of Delicacies. It is a pleasure to meet you, Gate Master.”
“The Master of Delicacies? Is that not someone who researches cuisine? No, how did such a talented person—?”
“There were circumstances. Still, meeting Young Master Jeok was a blessing, so I cannot call it wholly unfortunate.”
The claim that meeting Jeok Wigang had been fortunate brought a smile to Jeok Rihyeon’s face.
“I am Mok Hon, a master carpenter from Guangdong. I heard the sect expansion has been giving you trouble. Leave everything to me from now on, and simply watch without concern.”
“A master carpenter? Is that not a title reserved for the finest among all carpenters?”
“No. People simply called me that because they did not know better. There are countless carpenters in the Central Plains more skilled than I am.”
He had said he would bring a carpenter, but he had brought a master carpenter, one considered among the best of the craft.
There was a rank above it, Grand Master Carpenter, but Master Carpenter was the highest rank among the carpenters one could realistically encounter.
Among the people Jeok Wigang had brought were a former blacksmith and a chief steward who had overseen an entire household. There were farmers, too, and former servants.
“From today onward, they will belong to the True Martial Sect. They have suffered for a long time, so please treat them well, Father.”
“Of course I will. It looks as though I will be the one indebted to them.”
Jeok Rihyeon bowed deeply to the group.
“I am Jeok Rihyeon, Gate Master of the True Martial Sect. I look forward to working with all of you.”
The people stared in surprise before hurriedly bowing.
“No, sir. You have taken us in. We will do our utmost for the True Martial Sect from this day forward.”
*****
“Thank you all for coming when I called.”
“Not at all, Young Master. Thanks to you, we can work again. We should be the ones thanking you.”
“Hae Jeon.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“I am leaving on a trading run to Sichuan this time. Come with me.”
At the mention of Sichuan, Hae Jeon’s face darkened.
“I promised I would clear your name. Let us go.”
“Y-you truly mean it?”
“Of course. Someone under me has been wronged. How could I stand by and do nothing?”
“You do not even know who you would be facing.”
“It does not matter who it is.”
Hae Jeon seemed so overcome that no words came out. Then he shook his head.
“Your words alone are more than enough. But I am all right. It is already in the past. I only need to forget it.”
“Who is it that makes you react like this?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Hae Jeon. That is an order. Tell me.”
Hae Jeon hesitated for a moment, then sighed.
“It is... the Tang Family.”
Hae Jeon expected Jeok Wigang to be startled.
But—
“The Tang Family? Then this is the perfect opportunity to teach them a lesson. I will make sure they never dare touch you again.”
“What?”
“Young Master, it is the Tang Family.”
“So what? Just wait. I will make sure every bit of your grievance is washed away.”
“It is dangerous, Young Master.”
“For whom? Me? No. The Tang Family is the one in danger.”
Such confidence.
And yet, the sight was dependable. When Jeok Wigang said it, even the fearsome Tang Family no longer seemed like much of anything.
By his side, it felt as though there was nothing in the world to fear.
“Do not worry. No one in this world can do anything to me.”
“Young Master. For the sake of someone as insignificant as me... you would go that far?”
“Hae Jeon is one of mine. What would I not do for someone who belongs to me? Tell me whenever you have trouble from now on. I will solve it for you.”
“Young Master... No, my lord. How could I ever repay such kindness?”
Jeok Wigang grinned.
“Make me lots of delicious food.”
“Yes! I will prepare all the Medicine Immortal dishes I have kept hidden away for you!”
“Medicine Immortal dishes? What are those?”
“The Tang Family wants me because of Medicine Immortal cuisine. It removes impurities from the body, restores vigor, and calms the body and mind. For those who practice martial arts, it even increases inner qi by a small amount.”
“Wow! Food like that exists?”
This was incredible.
It increased inner qi.
If they ate this every day, then the True Martial Sect would grow stronger merely by eating their meals.
“How much inner qi does it increase?”
“At my current level, not very much.”
“What happens once you reach the highest level?”
“Those who eat my cooking will heal ten times faster, their strength will double, and the flow of their true qi will accelerate dramatically. A thousand poisons will not harm them, and even if they have already been poisoned, the food will detoxify them.”
“Is that why the Tang Family wants you? Because it neutralizes poison, their specialty?”
“That is what I believe. Medicine Immortal cuisine is the natural counter to the Tang Family.”
“What a petty bunch. How weak do you have to be to fight with poison? A real man fights with his fists. Right?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to you?”
“I research cuisine. It is a process I must go through to raise Medicine Immortal cuisine to a higher realm. One day, a colleague of mine came back poisoned after apparently offending the Tang Family. Yet no physician would step forward to provide treatment. They must have feared the Tang Family.”
“So you cooked for your colleague?”
“Yes. Saving a life came first.”
“Was it poison strong enough to kill?”
“Later, I learned it was not that potent. It was a poison that made a person suffer such unbearable agony for several days that it felt like dying.”
“The Medicine Immortal cuisine detoxified it?”
“Yes. The problem was that the Tang Family saw my colleague walking around the very next day. My colleague was taken captive again and told them everything about me.”
“Then the Tang Family came for you?”
“Yes. When I arrived at the Tang Family, they told me to cook. I refused, but they poisoned my colleague and said they would not provide an antidote unless I did.”
“So you cooked?”
“Yes. I fed the dish to my colleague.”
“And the meal detoxified the poison.”
“Yes. Even the Tang Family was astonished. It was not an easy poison to detoxify, yet it was cured merely by eating a meal.”
“They saw you as a threat.”
“That is right. At first, they tried to persuade me. They told me to become the Tang Family’s cook. But I did not want to work for such a filthy place—a place that poisoned innocent people and threatened others.”
“What happened then?”
“Surprisingly, they released me without resistance. I thought that, as a prestigious orthodox family, they would not cross certain lines. But I was wrong. Without my knowledge, they poisoned people who had eaten my food and placed all the blame on me.”
His fists clenched. His body trembled with injustice.
“The authorities had no intention of hearing my side. They treated me as a criminal. I thought I might die if I did nothing. Then the Tang Family came to see me. They said that if I handed over the Medicine Immortal recipes, they would help me get released.”
“So you gave them to them?”
“Yes. I handed over false recipes. I thought I had to survive before I could do anything else.”
“And the Tang Family kept their promise?”
“No. The very day I gave them the recipes, I was sentenced to death.”
“How did you escape?”
“Someone in the same prison broke through a wall and escaped. I begged to go along, and that person let me follow. Once I got out, I fled without knowing where I was going and ended up in a bandit stronghold. It was the only place I could hide.”
Tears ran down Hae Jeon’s face.
“I was so wronged and furious that I often spent entire nights awake. But I had no power... Afraid that I would be recognized and dragged away if I went outside the stronghold, I shut myself in the kitchen and worked myself to the bone researching cuisine.”
Hae Jeon looked at Jeok Wigang.
“My lord. I am afraid. Can I truly go to Sichuan?”
Jeok Wigang flashed a grin at Hae Jeon.
“Of course. No one will be able to touch you, so trust me and follow.”
“Yes! I will trust only you, my lord, and follow you!”
Jeok Wigang looked around at the others.
“I will clear your grievances soon as well.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
*****
“Merchant Master, all preparations for the trading run to Sichuan are complete.”
“You have worked hard.”
“Not at all. The Deputy Merchant Master took care of all the preparations, and you arranged the escort captains and escort guards yourself.”
“You want to come with us this time?”
“Yes. If you will permit it, I would like to attend you at your side.”
“Then I will count on you.”
With Jeok Wigang’s permission, Ha Muhyeon beamed and bowed.
“Thank you. I will attend you to the very best of my ability.”
“The trading run to Chengdu has already failed three times?”
“Yes. The losses were severe enough that the True Martial Merchant Company is now in austerity.”
“Have you figured out who is behind it?”
“Not yet. We only suspect merchant companies in Chengdu.”
“Well, we will find out once we get there.”
It was reassuring.
The escort captains were all martial artists of the Transformation Realm, while the escort guards were at the supreme level.
The strongest trading run in the world had been assembled.
There was nothing left to fear.
Whoever you are, just wait. This time, I will catch you and put you in an early grave.