Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 16. The Sword Demon’s Shock
‘Who am I? Where is this place?’
Man Hong Ki, a merchant, looked around with a dazed expression.
The shop he’d entered while following the young master called Shin Yong of the Namgung Clan was peculiar.
Round, flat moon cakes, small spherical tang yuan, and dragon sugar candy formed by pulling spun sugar fine as a dragon’s whisker.
‘Hmm, does this shop only sell snacks for children? There’s no way this business can survive.’
What could you possibly earn scraping together the few coins from children’s pockets?
Land prices in Hefei weren’t cheap either, and operating like this, the shop was bound to fail within months.
“Ah, welcome, Master Ho Yeon!”
The moment Ho Yeon appeared in the shop, the proprietor—who’d been sitting with a languid expression—bounded out like a dog that had spotted its master.
“Yeah. Good to see you.”
“Hehe, Master. This Pil has invented a brand new sweet pastry just for you!”
“Really?”
“Behold!”
The proprietor dashed away and returned with a bowl.
Man Hong Ki caught a glimpse of what lay inside—something that looked like rice cake but was far smoother and softer, a translucent black rectangle stacked neatly in the bowl.
“……What is this? It looks revolting.”
“Ah, Master! Never mind its appearance—the taste is exquisite!”
“Is that so?”
“Do try it, sir!”
As the proprietor confidently offered the bowl, Ho Yeon reached out with an expectant expression and popped one of the black confections into his mouth.
The candy, soft as young calf cartilage, slipped past his lips.
“……Are you trying to poison me? This tastes like bile.”
“Bi, bile, sir?”
“Did you add gall juice? Are you telling me to endure hardship like a sage? Shall I take my revenge right now?”
Ho Yeon’s brow furrowed sharply as he glared at the proprietor with a low growl.
“N-No, sir. It’s called Herbal Jelly—made from turtle shell and medicinal herbs as its primary ingredients.”
“Medicinal herbs? Who puts such impurities in a sweet pastry?”
“My f-father said it was quite delicious……”
The proprietor hung his head in dejection, and Ho Yeon smacked his lips before speaking.
“Well, the elders might enjoy it, I suppose.”
“R-Right?”
“Send some to our council of elders.”
“Yes, sir!”
The proprietor’s fists clenched in delight, but Ho Yeon furrowed his brow in warning.
“You keep attempting strange experiments with money that isn’t yours. Next time, only make things that are sweet, sour, or bold in flavor. Understood?”
“Y-Yes, sir. I will remember.”
“Pil, there’s been nothing of note since the Tanghulu. This is becoming a problem.”
“I’ll work harder!”
“What about what I requested?”
“I’ve prepared it!”
At Ho Yeon’s words, the proprietor bolted off like a colt with its tail on fire and returned straining under an enormous bundle.
Thud!
But when Ho Yeon lifted it, the bundle rose as lightly as a feather.
“Farewell!”
The proprietor bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the ground.
Once outside, Man Hong Ki turned back to study the shop’s signboard carefully.
[Tang Tang Tang]
“……The House of Sweet Indulgence? Hmm, I’ve never seen a shop like this before.”
“Of course not. I created it.”
“Pardon? You created this shop?”
Man Hong Ki’s eyes widened in bewilderment, and Ho Yeon let out a soft laugh.
“You were just thinking it was a waste of money, weren’t you.”
“Ah, no, that’s not it at all.”
“Heh, it’s running at a loss for now, that’s true.”
“‘For now’ meaning……?”
Man Hong Ki asked with evident curiosity, and Ho Yeon lifted the bundle.
“What would pair well with snacks like these?”
“Well, they’re typically eaten as… Oh!”
As realization dawned on Man Hong Ki’s face, Ho Yeon nodded and spoke.
“Our tea leaves are quite good, you know? I’m thinking of opening a tea house later, but there are already plenty of ordinary ones out there.”
“Ah! So you’ve already secured the tea, and now you’re aiming for differentiation by developing unique desserts!”
“Something like that, I suppose.”
Truth was, I hadn’t given it much thought.
It was Uncle Pil’s masterwork of a lifetime.
He’d simply funded me to develop something new because I’d grown tired of eating nothing but tanghulu.
‘Fell into it by accident, really.’
After transforming the Western Wasteland into fertile soil using the Celestial Thunder Sovereign Divine Technique.
I was deliberating on what to plant when someone recommended tea.
Tea was the crop that could generate the highest value per unit area.
‘Besides, Anhui Province had always been famous for tea.’
Anhui Province had long been renowned for tea—four of the Ten Greatest Teas Under Heaven were produced there.
It was the birthplace of Huangshan Maofeng, Taiping Houkui, Lu’an Guapian, and Keemun Black Tea.
‘The tea grown in our fields has rich fragrance and deep flavor, they say? Because the land is that fertile?’
Truth was, I knew nothing about tea, but the land itself was extraordinary.
Plant beans and you don’t get red beans, but you do get robust, sturdy giant beans.
Treasure, however well hidden, eventually catches people’s eyes.
Word spread, and before long we couldn’t keep up with demand.
With money flowing in, I threw myself into sweets—what had been a hobby—in earnest.
When people began asking if I was preparing to open a tea house, I figured it wasn’t a bad idea.
‘Would I have succeeded as a merchant too, maybe?’
As Ho Yeon chuckled to himself, Cheon Roe Geom spoke as if exasperated.
—You brat. Don’t get cocky just because luck favored you. What have you actually done? Even the suggestion to cultivate tea came from the clan’s counsel.
‘Well, I gave fifty percent to the family instead.’
At Cheon Roe Geom’s reproach, Ho Yeon shrugged.
The day I’d paid off the land purchase price.
I’d tried to hand the entire tea field over to Father, but he’d refused.
Instead, we agreed that the clan would receive half of the tea sales revenue, including various management costs.
‘Tch, I was hoping to wash my hands of it and loaf around, but thanks to that, work keeps piling up.’
It felt like I’d fallen into Father’s trap, but I didn’t mind it.
A swordmaster who once carved through people with his blade was now in business.
The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
And besides…….
“Hmm? Is this an orphanage?”
Man Hong Ki asked as they arrived at the gates of a spacious estate.
Dozens of children were playing in the courtyard, and the sound of children reciting the Thousand Character Classic drifted from within the buildings.
“Oh, it’s a place called Ho A Won.”
“A garden for protecting children, I see. Impressive indeed.”
Man Hong Ki was impressed.
Running an orphanage—truly befitting the Namgung Clan.
A righteous deed worthy of an orthodox faction’s pillar.
“Ha ha, the name is Ho A Won, but truthfully, this place is an absolute hell.”
“Hell……?”
Man Hong Ki looked on with confusion, and Ho Yeon, wearing a meaningful smile, spoke while gazing at the playing children.
“You need people to cultivate tea fields, right? I pick up orphans from the slums and put them to work. Clever, wouldn’t you say?”
“What? But the children look far too healthy for that……”
“Of course they do. They need three meals a day to work, don’t they?”
“They don’t even look tired……”
“Sleep is necessary. That way they can work harder the next day.”
“Do they need to recite the Thousand Character Classic to work in tea fields?”
“You need literacy to manage accounts, don’t you?”
“……And aren’t those desserts in your hands gifts for the children?”
“The occasional treat keeps their spirits up for work.”
…….
Man Hong Ki fell silent at Ho Yeon’s words.
Ask a hundred orphans from the slums:
What do you call a place that gives you three meals a day, lets you sleep on time, teaches you to read, and even buys you snacks?
Every last one would call it paradise.
“Oh! There’s the master!”
“Huh?”
“Wow!”
“Brother!”
The children who saw Ho Yeon lit up and came running toward him in a rush.
“Heh, innocent little things. Getting fatter by the day, not knowing they’re ready to be devoured, and they’re so happy about it. Isn’t that foolish?”
“Uh… yes.”
Man Hong Ki gave up trying to understand Ho Yeon’s murmuring and simply played along.
“Here. Eat some treats.”
“Hooray!”
“Tanghulu!”
“There’s Dragon Sugar Candy too!”
As Ho Yeon tossed the bundle, the children swarmed like ants and began stuffing their mouths with sweets.
In the chaos, Ho Yeon dragged Man Hong Ki into Ho A Won, where a middle-aged man approached him with a bow.
“Young master. You’ve come again.”
“Tak Won Ui, it’s been a while.”
“A while? It’s only been four days.”
“Four days is a while.”
Tak Won Ui smiled softly at Ho Yeon’s words.
‘He really is an amusing man.’
Clearly he was doing good works, yet he seemed deeply uncomfortable with anyone calling them such.
‘On the day we first met, he told me something like this: that he needed cheap labor.’
When I wondered what he meant, I realized he was offering to support the Ho A Won I was running.
Thanks to him, the children of Ho A Won, who had always gone hungry, could now eat their fill. The Ho A Won was even incorporated as part of the Yuk Young Dang, one of the nine divisions of the Namgung Clan.
After that, things moved swiftly.
We moved to a larger estate, took in more children, and were able to provide better education.
‘He may be young, but I’ve truly found someone worthy to serve.’
As Tak Won Ui looked at him with affection and respect, Ho Yeon cleared his throat uncomfortably and spoke.
“Ahem, Won Ui. Show this gentleman the tea fields.”
“The tea fields… you mean?”
“Yeah. I came back to Hefei after so long, and I wasn’t sure what we should be dealing in. We really ought to start promoting our tea fields.”
Tak Won Ui glanced at Man Hong Ki, who stood awkwardly in the background.
Man Hong Ki came forward with a strained smile and offered a greeting.
“I’m Man Hong Ki, a merchant. I run a modest trading company called the Man Su Trading Company.”
“So you’re the head of a trading company.”
“Oh no! It’s just a gathering of traveling merchants. Please, just call me Merchant Man, not a company head.”
“You two talk then. I’m leaving.”
Ho Yeon introduced Tak Won Ui and then whoosh—disappeared from sight.
“Wait, just a moment—!”
Man Hong Ki tried to call after him, but Ho Yeon vanished like the wind, as suddenly as he had appeared.
“Sigh…”
“Heh, it seems our Ho Yeon’s young master has taken quite a liking to you, Merchant Man.”
“To me? I simply offered a few words of concern for the Namgung Clan at the inn, nothing more.”
Tak Won Ui smiled and nodded at Man Hong Ki’s words.
“That’s surely all it took. Young Master Ho Yeon cares for Namgung deeply.”
* * *
Step, step, step.
Ho Yeon left Ho A Won and arrived at the Namgung Clan Main Gate.
The two gatekeepers of the Ho Beop Dang’s escort division spotted him, their eyes lighting up as they called out loudly.
“Salute! We greet the Young Lord!”
“Salute! We greet the Celestial Dragon of Namgung!”
“…I told you to stop that.”
Ho Yeon shot them a look, and the gatekeepers grinned sheepishly, scratching the backs of their heads.
“Hehe, the young master’s reaction is so amusing, we can’t help ourselves…”
“Hehe, if Celestial Dragon of Namgung doesn’t suit you, how about Namgung Precious Jade?”
“Just pretend you didn’t hear. Stop embarrassing the neighborhood—what is all this every time?”
Ho Yeon frowned and expressed his annoyance, but to the gatekeepers’ eyes, he only looked endearing.
“Ha, we’ll be more careful next time.”
“Please, enter safely!”
“…Ugh.”
Ho Yeon sighed at the gatekeepers’ response and headed into the compound.
Then a flood of greetings poured forth from attendants, servants, and martial artists alike.
“Oh my, shall I prepare a meal for you, Young Master?”
“I’ve eaten already.”
“Young Master! Isn’t your room too cold? Shall I add more firewood for you?”
“It’s fine.”
“Young Master! When will you visit our Tianli House again?”
“I’m not leaving.”
Though Ho Yeon answered curtly, his expression flat, smiles bloomed across every face around him.
And well they should have—over the past year, Ho Yeon had become the Namgung Clan’s most treasured jewel.
“Sigh… did I really need to go this far?”
Ho Yeon found himself regretting the year that had passed.
After swearing to restore the Namgung Clan to its former glory as the greatest family under heaven, he’d thrown himself into ceaseless labor.
He’d conversed with the countless swords stored at Cheon Pung Mu Go and written hundreds of volumes of commentary on them.
He’d traveled through each brigade delivering lectures on those commentaries.
In the process, warriors from every division had begun calling him the Young Master—a title meaning “little teacher.”
‘Well, at least I don’t have to force myself to be polite anymore, which is something…’
Then came the time when the northern fields had been seized by the Baek Un Trading Company, leaving the clan’s servants downcast.
That’s when Ho Yeon deployed a miraculous technique, reclaiming the Western Wasteland and transforming it into fertile tea plantations.
As a result, the clan’s finances improved, and the escort business could proceed without hindrance.
Through this chain of events, Ho Yeon’s popularity had exploded among all the retainers—servants, attendants, and warriors alike.
“Sigh… would they follow me to my death? I’ve never seen people this exhausting.”
―There are people who would die for you, you know.
“Why are even you lecturing me, old master? The Namgung Clan has always been better with a little arrogance.”
―So you’ve decided to be insufferable on their behalf?
“What are you talking about? I’ll show you what real rudeness looks like. Prepare yourself for some hurt feelings today, old master.”
Ho Yeon was grumbling away in conversation with Cheon Roe Geom when
—Tap-tap-tap!
a warrior came rushing toward him at full speed.
“Huff! Huff! Young Master! There you are!”
“Hmm?”
“The Patriarch is looking for you!”
“Me? Why?”
Ho Yeon tilted his head in confusion, and the warrior answered with a radiant smile.
“Haha! Your fiancée has come to visit our clan!”
“…!”
What?
What kind of nonsense is that?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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