The Granddaughter of Manhyang Escort Bureau Hides Her Magic - Chapter 113

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 113

 

“Father! Father!”

 

So Mando, who had been lounging around Yuwon Pavilion since returning from an escort mission not long ago, huffed and puffed as he opened the door to Yuwongak Master So Baekrim’s room.

 

Mando, who was about to enter Baekrim’s private quarters, hesitated and stepped back.

 

“Ugh, Father, what’s with all this smoke?”

 

The room was filled with smoke.

 

Mando waved his hand to disperse the dust and squinted his eyes.

 

In the dim interior with all the window blinds lowered, Baekrim sat there blankly.

 

“Ugh, the smell.”

 

Mando covered his nose with his fingers as he rolled up the blinds and opened the windows to ventilate.

 

Baekrim frowned at the light that suddenly poured in.

 

“Father, have you been here this whole time? The Escort Warriors were looking for you.”

 

“…Looking for me?”

 

Baekrim muttered blankly.

 

Mando’s eyes narrowed.

 

Baekrim’s condition had been strange for a while now.

 

Though he wasn’t particularly diligent, he wasn’t the type to openly slack off either, yet there were days when he was late to the pavilion masters’ meetings, and he was often seen sitting around blankly.

 

But today it was particularly severe.

 

Not properly hearing what was said to him, and those vacant eyes too.

 

“Father, are you really not feeling well? Let’s call Doctor Ju to do a pulse reading.”

 

At the mention of calling a doctor, Baekrim’s eyes gradually became clearer.

 

“I’m fine. Don’t make a fuss over a little drowsiness.”

 

“If you say so… But Father, Shin Ah is participating in the Escort Assignment Ceremony.”

 

“That cunning wench bewitching the Lord of the Nation to participate in the ceremony isn’t anything new, is it?”

 

Baekrim twisted his lips.

 

Now Baekrim saw Shin Ah as nothing more than a nine-tailed fox.

 

“Yes, but this time that wench actually received escort priority rights from Grandfather! As a birthday gift! Argh! Why didn’t I think of that?”

 

She wasn’t satisfied with just a villa.

 

Mando regretted the opportunity he had missed years ago.

 

Back then, he should have asked for a proper branch office too!

 

“What? She received priority rights?”

 

Baekrim’s eyes flashed for a moment.

 

The escort missions that the Chang’an Branch had taken over the past few years were all so-called ‘profitable’ ones.

 

Most were escort missions that, though small in scale, could yield large profits.

 

‘It’s strange.’

 

Given the Chang’an Branch’s scale, it was understandable that they wouldn’t receive large-scale package requests.

 

But how was it that every escort mission they took managed to avoid danger like ghosts, and drastically reduced schedules to cut operating costs?

 

‘Moreover, that So Shin Ah can’t even accept escort mission requests that go outside Seomsu?’

 

Of course, other Escort Warriors from the Chang’an Branch did accept escort mission requests that required leaving Seomsu, but circumstances inevitably created limitations.

 

‘I heard there have been quite a few times when requests specifically asking for the Chang’an Branch came in, but we had to pass them to other escort agencies because we didn’t have enough Escort Warriors to work!’

 

Though Baekrim was unaware of this, Shin Ah had mobilized both her memories from her previous life and Juhwa’s intelligence network to select only the most profitable requests and pass them on to Dokgo Sin and Cheondo.

 

She also created artifacts imbued with fatigue recovery effects and distributed them to the courier workers and Escort Warriors heading out to the Central Plains on escort missions, calling them ‘Safe Return Talismans.’

 

She had improved them to be effective just by carrying them, timed to match the duration of escort missions.

 

Naturally, work efficiency increased, escort mission periods were significantly reduced, and this resulted in cost savings.

 

So while on the surface it appeared that Yuwon Pavilion, which delivered large quantities of rice and fabric to distant places, was making much more money, when it came to actual profit, the Chang’an Branch was far superior.

 

‘The Chang’an Branch chief is working hard. Excellent. Don’t you have any thoughts of taking on larger escort missions?’

 

This was what Hyeokho had said at the quarterly performance report meeting where all branch chiefs reported their results.

 

He didn’t directly tell others to look at Shin Ah and learn, but he constantly praised the Chang’an Branch and trampled on Baekrim’s pride.

 

‘What if the Chang’an Branch gets promoted to a full pavilion at this rate?’

 

In Baekrim’s view, Shin Ah was already arrogant enough.

 

But what would happen if their positions became equal as well?

 

Apart from their family relationship as uncle and nephew, there was nothing Baekrim had to suppress Shin Ah with.

 

The moment he imagined Shin Ah with that haughty expression acting superior, rage flared up inside Baekrim. Immediately, a headache struck.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Baekrim clutched his head in agony.

 

“Father?”

 

Mando was startled and grabbed hold of him.

 

“The, the bell, ring the bell… ugh.”

 

Baekrim pointed to the small bell on the table.

 

When Mando quickly picked up the bell and rang it, Servant Girls immediately rushed in and helped Baekrim to lie down on the bed.

 

Baekrim’s complexion turned ashen in an instant as he gasped while clutching his chest.

 

Seeing his father in such a state for the first time, Mando finally came to his senses and scolded the Servant Girls.

 

“Wh-what on earth is happening? Does he often get like this normally? Call a doctor immediately!”

 

However, the Servant Girls only exchanged glances and didn’t move carelessly.

 

Mando raised his pot-lid-sized hand.

 

“You wenches, why aren’t you moving quickly?”

 

“There’s no need for that.”

 

Behind him, just as he was about to swing his arm, Dang Mihee appeared carrying a tray. On the tray was a medicine bowl.

 

The Servant Girls immediately bowed and hurried out of the pavilion chief’s private quarters with quick steps.

 

Dang Mihee passed by Mando and sat on the edge of Baekrim’s bed.

 

“Sit up and take your medicine.”

 

Baekrim barely managed to raise his upper body and gulped down the medicine.

 

His complexion visibly brightened, and soon he fell asleep with steady breathing.

 

Only then did Mando understand the Servant Girls’ attitude and nodded.

 

“Mother has been taking care of Father’s medicine separately.”

 

If his mother, who was from the Sacheon Dang Family, was taking care of his father, there was no need for him to step forward and worry.

 

She would be as knowledgeable about medicine as any decent doctor.

 

Still, as a son, Mando wanted to know exactly what was wrong with Baekrim’s condition.

 

“Mother, what exactly is wrong with Father?”

 

“He’s just tired. It hasn’t been long since he returned from completing an escort mission. Don’t worry too much about it. More importantly, what brings you here? You should barely have time for cultivation.”

 

Mando was learning the final chapter of the Heaven and Earth Sword Technique.

 

The reason Mando was still struggling with what Cheondo had already mastered long ago was simple.

 

‘Because the Biwongak Master is still the Bogukgak instructor.’

 

Instantly, Dang Mihee’s eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light.

 

So Hyeokho had not forgotten how Ha Dowi had exaggerated Mando’s level. So from then on, specifically for Mando, he forced him to learn only at Bogukgak without assigning any private teacher.

 

The Yuwongak Master thought this was unfair, but given the nature of the matter, he could not disobey that strict order.

 

And the Bogukgak instructor was still Cheonrim.

 

Dang Mihee thought that Cheonrim was deliberately teaching Mando slowly.

 

Of course, it was a completely unreasonable misunderstanding, but she really hated that Cheonrim was the Bogukgak instructor.

 

The fact that he continued to be in charge of Bogukgak meant that the relationship between So Cheonrim and So Hyeokho wasn’t bad.

 

Moreover, as days passed, So Hyeokho’s trust in the Biwongak Master continued to grow.

 

On the other hand, the relationship between the Yuwongak Master and So Hyeokho grew increasingly strained.

 

In Dang Mihee’s view, the cause of this was Shin Ah.

 

‘To think he’s still holding onto what happened during the Heir Selection Test!’

 

After Baekrim had neglected the investigation into what Shin Ah experienced during the Heir Selection Test, So Hyeokho’s gaze had changed.

 

Of course, they couldn’t know if this was actually the case.

 

However, that’s how the Yuwongak Master and Dang Mihee felt.

 

‘I need to regain trust in Yuwongak as quickly as possible. While creating distance between Biwongak and Wolhwa Hall. Before that, I need to solidify Mando’s position first.’

 

Only then, when the relationship between the Biwongak Master and the Escort Agency Head soured, could Mando slip into that gap.

 

If everything went according to plan, it would be perfect.

 

As if reading Dang Mihee’s mind, Mando grumbled.

 

“What’s this about Shin Ah receiving priority rights? I haven’t even been to an Escort Assignment Ceremony yet! I want to go to an Escort Assignment Ceremony too.”

 

Only senior-level Escort Warriors and above could participate in Escort Assignment Ceremonies. Even those senior Escort Warriors had to be designated by the representative head.

 

Naturally, Mando, who was only a two-year Escort Warrior, had never attended an Escort Assignment Ceremony even once.

 

“Mother, please speak well of me so I can be taken to this Escort Assignment Ceremony instead of a senior Escort Warrior.”

 

Dang Mihee looked at her grown son.

 

Though some traces of his chubby childhood appearance remained, So Mando had a robust build befitting someone from the So Family.

 

Thanks to being well-fed and raised, his muscle quality was good, and thanks to consistent cultivation, his skills weren’t bad either.

 

In Dang Mihee’s view, Mando had grown splendidly enough to represent Yuwongak immediately.

 

However, while Shin Ah became a branch head and frequented Escort Assignment Ceremonies, Mando, who should become the next Escort Agency Head, had only followed escort missions and never once led an escort group.

 

Even if he wanted to make an impression on So Hyeokho, he wasn’t given that opportunity.

 

‘What if our Mando gets pushed aside forever like this?’

 

Then all of Dang Mihee’s efforts would come to nothing.

 

‘I can’t let that happen.’

 

Dang Mihee clenched her skirt.

 

“You’ll be participating in this Escort Assignment Ceremony.”

 

“Really?”

 

“That’s right. So don’t worry about anything and just prepare to participate in the Escort Assignment Ceremony.”

 

“Yes, Mother! I will devote myself to both studies and cultivation to become an Escort Warrior who brings no shame.”

 

So Mando beamed with joy as he hurried out of Yuwon Pavilion.

 

And Dang Mihee looked down at So Baekrim, who had fallen asleep after taking his medicine.

 

Her gaze was rather cold.

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