A huge willow tree stood by one part of the lake, and beneath it an old man was fishing.
I let out a small snort of laughter and walked up to the old man.
“Compared to when I saw you before, you haven’t changed much, have you?”
At my words, the old man smiled and replied.
“Is that so? I think I’ve changed a lot.”
He turned his head and looked at me.
“Young Master seems to have changed a great deal.”
“You heard a lot about me through Milyeong, didn’t you?”
“Heh heh heh. That’s right. Thanks to that, you don’t feel like a stranger.”
“Why do you think I came?”
“To place the Hao Clan under your command, isn’t it?”
As expected of the head of the Central Plains’ largest information faction.
“Putting together what I’ve heard about you, I thought there would come a time when you’d need a great deal of information. What path would you choose? Would you build an information organization? But with your temperament, I figured you wouldn’t build one—you’d take an existing information organization whole and place it under you.”
“You know me well.”
“Didn’t I just say it? You don’t feel like a stranger.”
Then he looked out over the lake and said,
“What do you think this lake is like?”
“It’s wide and peaceful.”
“Our Hao Clan is like the fish in this lake. Even if we want to go somewhere wider, there’s no waterway—so we can’t escape.”
The Lord of the Hao Clan looked at me and asked,
“If the Hao Clan becomes yours... can you open a waterway for us?”
I grinned.
Then I just drove my fist out.
KABOOM—!
One side of the lake blasted open, and it connected to the nearby river.
ROAR—!
Water spilling in from the river began to fill the lake’s low waterline.
“I opened it, so now you should go out into a wider world, right?”
With shocked eyes, he looked back and forth between me and the waterway that had formed in an instant.
He’d received reports that I was strong, but to this extent?
This wasn’t simply “strong.”
‘I didn’t even properly see the punch.’
A river appeared from a punch I threw like it was nothing.
It didn’t even look like I’d used my full strength.
Reading words written on paper and experiencing it in person were worlds apart.
The old man watched the lake’s water level rise and settle, and he smiled.
He’d asked me to open a waterway, and I made one without the slightest hesitation.
And I did it while displaying overwhelming divine might.
The Hao Clan had waited a long time for a master like this.
The Lord of the Hao Clan slowly rose from his seat.
Then he prostrated himself toward me.
“This subject! Ak Sopyeong, Lord of the Hao Clan, greets my lord.”
“Feels like you already made up your mind to serve me. Since when?”
“I believe... since the day I first met you.”
“The day you first saw me?”
“Yes. I happened to be touring a Hao Clan branch, and out of boredom I met you. I handle countless pieces of information, so I’m not the type to become deeply interested in any one thing. Yet I was struck by you, and little by little I was giving you my heart—so you could say it began then.”
“I’ll make sure no one can look down on the Hao Clan ever again.”
“If it can only be so, then even if I die, I will have no regrets.”
“Thanks. I’m counting on you from here on out.”
“LOYALTY! Give any order, and I will carry it out.”
“I’m going to give Milyeong full authority. He says it’s too heavy to carry alone.”
“As my lord wills, I will grant Milyeong full authority over the Hao Clan.”
“And for finding traces of the Four Heavenly Demon Fiends—mobilize every scrap of the Hao Clan’s information power.”
“Your command... will be obeyed.”
I held out a small wooden box and something rolled up in plain cloth to Ak Sopyeong.
“Take it.”
“What is this?”
“I heard you like swords, so I made you one. And this is a pill—so you can stay healthy, live a long time, and support me.”
At the word “sword,” Ak Sopyeong slowly unwrapped the plain cloth.
Inside it was a sword with a beautiful bearing.
SRRRNG—.
A sword whose unsheathing sound was beautiful, too.
But the moment Ak Sopyeong saw the blade, he froze in place.
“Th-this is....”
Even at a glance, it wasn’t an ordinary sword.
He loved swords—he was the kind of man who knew every sword that existed in the world.
Even so, it was an astonishing sword he’d never seen before.
“I cannot accept such a precious sword. It is only right that my lord uses it.”
“I made it myself. If I need one, I can just make another.”
“You mean... you made this yourself, for me?”
“Yeah. I was going to give it to you as a gift if you became mine.”
Ak Sopyeong barely managed to rein in the emotion surging up in his throat.
But in the end, he couldn’t stop the tears welling over.
He’d found it—Ak Sopyeong’s name engraved on the blade.
It really was a sword made for him.
To personally make a sword like this...
My lord’s ability reached the heavens.
He was overwhelmed.
“Eat the pill now, too.”
It was a pill I was giving him.
There was no way it could be ordinary.
He carefully opened the wooden box and took the pill out—and in that instant, a cool, clear energy wrapped around his whole body.
He’d only smelled its fragrance, yet it felt like his body had become ten years younger.
Ak Sopyeong stared blankly at the pill.
This wasn’t just a pill—it was a spirit pill.
No, it went far beyond the level of a spirit pill.
It had to be a divine pill.
Then... could it be this, too?
“Th-this too... did my lord make it?”
“That’s right. I stuffed in every beneficial energy I could, so eat it quickly. That’s an order.”
There truly was nothing my lord couldn’t do.
He’d thought it was fate and made his choice, but my lord was perfect—without a single flaw.
At the word “order,” he put the pill into his mouth—
SLURR—.
The moment it went in, it melted like snow and slid down his throat in an instant.
Afraid of letting even a trace of that precious medicinal energy slip away, he quickly sat in a lotus position and began energy-circulation breathing.
Then Ak Sopyeong’s skin tone began changing wildly—until it turned gold.
CRACK—.
The golden skin split, then fell away like flakes.
HOO—.
Ak Sopyeong let out a long breath, finished his energy-circulation breathing, and stood up—and Milyeong stared at him with shocked eyes.
Milyeong’s reaction was strange, so Ak Sopyeong reflected his face in the river.
“Huh?”
His white hair had turned black, and the dense wrinkles had mostly vanished—he’d changed into the appearance of a man in his prime.
A being who could make a youth-restoring spirit pill that defied sense—and then hand it over like it was nothing.
Ak Sopyeong prostrated himself before me.
“My lord’s immense grace—this subject will repay it until the day I die!”
“You don’t need to repay it. So live a long, long time, and stay by my side.”
“LOYALTY!”
“And if anyone gives you trouble, tell me. I’ll discipline them.”
“LOYALTY!”
So this was what it was.
He’d had to endure everything alone his whole life, but now he had somewhere to lean—someone to rely on.
That brought peace into Ak Sopyeong’s heart, and soon he began to gain enlightenment again.
Watching Ak Sopyeong enter a state of great enlightenment, I said to Milyeong,
“Looks like it won’t end in a day or two. I’m busy, so I’m leaving first. Guard the Lord.”
“Yes!”
Two days later.
When Ak Sopyeong opened his eyes, he searched for me.
He felt sorry—he’d heard I’d left first because I was busy.
“My lord told me to pass on his congratulations.”
At Milyeong’s words, Ak Sopyeong formed a faint smile, then sprang to his feet.
He pulled out the Hao Clan Token from his robe and handed it to Milyeong.
“Lord...?”
“Deliver this to all Hao Clan members at once. Tell them to search with full force for traces of the Four Heavenly Demon Fiends.”
“Understood.”
“And I’m entrusting you with full authority, so when my lord’s command comes down, don’t delay—carry it out immediately.”
“Yes!”
“Which direction did my lord go?”
“That way.”
Ak Sopyeong bowed toward that direction and spoke.
“Without fail! I will find the information my lord desires and present it!”
Milyeong watched that with a satisfied look.
Now it was done.
The Hao Clan had been chosen by the greatest person in all ages.
No one would be able to look down on the Hao Clan anymore.
After finishing his bow, Ak Sopyeong stood and spoke to Milyeong with a determined expression.
“Let’s go. There’s a lot to do.”
“Yes!”
After bringing the Hao Clan under my command, the next place I headed was a pavilion halfway up a mountain, where a view unfolded of a river winding in countless bends.
I’d obtained information that Gongsun Cheongi—Gongsun Munryong’s second child—would sometimes come up here to enjoy the scenery.
When I reached the mountainside, the scenery really was extraordinary.
I could almost understand why Gongsun Cheongi, dragging a body that wasn’t in good condition, would still come all the way here.
I took out the liquor and snacks I’d brought, settled down in the pavilion, and enjoyed the view.
Even if I couldn’t meet Gongsun Cheongi today, the thought crossed my mind that seeing this scenery alone was enough—it was that beautiful.
That was when it happened, as I drank with the scenery as my side dish.
Sensing a presence, I turned my head—and far in the distance, I saw a group of people climbing up while carrying a palanquin.
Around the palanquin, martial artists who seemed to be its guards kept watch like an iron wall.
The martial artist at the front spotted me, then ran to the palanquin and reported that there was someone here.
The palanquin stopped for a moment, then began moving toward the pavilion again.
The lead martial artist approached the pavilion cautiously, then gave a fist-and-palm salute and said,
“So there was a guest here. If it wouldn’t be rude... may we sit beside you?”
“Of course. It isn’t my pavilion, and there’s plenty of space. Do as you please.”
“Thank you.”
The martial artist saluted again, withdrew, and reported to the person inside the palanquin.
Soon, the palanquin was set down on the ground, the door opened, and a sickly-looking man emerged with a strained face.
He looked like he might collapse at any moment.
Martial artists helped him over and seated him in a chair placed at a good spot.
“COUGH! If I’ve disturbed you, I apologize.”
“Not at all. Ha ha ha.”
“If I don’t look at this scenery, my heart won’t calm down.”
“I can see why. It’s my first time seeing it today, too—it’s truly beautiful, and just looking at it makes my heart settle.”
I gave Gongsun Cheongi a fist-and-palm salute.
“My name is Gang Wi. Since we met like this, it’s a connection—let’s exchange names.”
“Ha ha. So you are Young Hero Gang. I am Gongsun Cheongi.”
“It seems your body is unwell.”
“Yes. I’ve been in poor health since I was young.”
“Then you can’t enjoy this good liquor, either.”
When I lifted the bottle, Gongsun Cheongi spoke with a frail smile.
“That’s right. They say the taste of liquor is so good... but I’ll never feel it in my life.”
Winding streams embrace mountains, emerald shadows long,
Rainbow waist a hundred turns, into the slanting sun.
With no cup, I’ll simply sip the clear-flowing stream as wine,
Sitting, I take rivers and mountains and make them my side dish.
When I recited a verse, Gongsun Cheongi made a surprised expression—then immediately returned it in kind.
Bamboo pipes and wind in harmony, stirring by the islet’s side,
With zither in hand, we sit together by the slanting sun.
Freely we drink the winding stream, moistening the belly of poems,
With you, I get drunk together, facing the setting sun.
When Gongsun Cheongi answered me, I burst into laughter.
“Ha ha ha! Impressive.”
At that, Gongsun Cheongi smiled brightly and said,
“Not at all. I was the one who admired you. To treat even water as liquor—taking the breathtaking view before your eyes and swallowing it all as a side dish... that verse held boldness, yet it also carried a calm refinement. It was impressive.”
“And you returned what you thought was impressive with an even better line—so it feels like the liquor tastes even better. You’re more impressive than I am.”
“You flatter me. I merely placed my thoughts atop a perfect verse.”
With a single exchange of verse, the two of us drew close in an instant.
And at that sight, even the martial artists who’d been wary of me let out small snorts of laughter, loosened their guard, and began watching other directions instead.

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