Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 345

345. Just Until the Rite of Passage

The girl ran over with a bright smile.

“Uncle Gwan!”

Gwan Cheol-hoon quickly lowered himself.

“Young lady.”

The pretty girl hugged Gwan Cheol-hoon without hesitation.

Gwan Cheol-hoon carefully hugged her back before releasing his arms.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, I’ve been good. I took all my medicine, too.”

The girl said proudly, then suddenly looked up at Woon-hyun.

“But who are these uncles? Are they friends?”

The girl blinked her round eyes, looking curious.

Woon-hyun smiled.

“Yes. Very old friends.”

Slightly lowering himself, Woon-hyun looked directly at the girl and said,

“I am Woon-hyun. What is the little lady’s name?”

“I’m Ah-ryeong.”

Perhaps because he was a stranger, the child used honorifics.

That made her even cuter, and Woon-hyun’s smile deepened.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Ah-ryeong.”

“Hehe.”

“My name is Yeong Ho-joon. Just call me Ho-joon *oppa* [older brother or male friend, term of endearment].”

Yeong Ho-joon, who had joined in, lowered himself and greeted her.

“I’m Dam So-ha.”

When Dam So-ha spoke, Jo Gwan couldn’t stay still.

“Ahem. I am Jo Gwan.”

“Wow, a big uncle.”

Ah-ryeong, who had been looking up at Jo Gwan, turned her head to Gwan Cheol-hoon.

“But how did you come? You said you weren’t coming today?”

Ah-ryeong asked, her eyes sparkling.

“I had some time, so I stopped by.”

“I see. I wish you had time more often.”

Ah-ryeong said with a smile.

While Gwan Cheol-hoon and Ah-ryeong were talking, a gentle-looking maid appeared and stood behind Ah-ryeong.

The maid bowed silently to Gwan Cheol-hoon and Woon-hyun’s group.

Woon-hyun stood up and bowed back to the maid.

Then, Yeong Ho-joon said quietly.

“Alliance Lord. This child is……”

“Yes. I know.”

Woon-hyun replied with a stern expression.

Ah-ryeong’s face, slightly flushed, was particularly pale.

Not only her face but also her hands and wrists were the same.

Besides, even considering she was a child, she was too small and frail.

Anyone could tell at a glance that she was sick.

Woon-hyun looked at Ah-ryeong, who was talking to Gwan Cheol-hoon.

“Then, will you play with me until dinner today and then leave?”

Gwan Cheol-hoon gave a bitter smile at Ah-ryeong’s eyes, which were sparkling with anticipation.

“I’m sorry, young lady. Today……”

It was then.

“What is the meaning of this?”

A stern voice echoed quietly.

Gwan Cheol-hoon’s expression instantly hardened as he turned his head.

“Ah! It’s Daddy!”

Ah-ryeong shouted with a bright smile.

“Oh, my princess!”

The plump Naval Commander Jin-rim smiled brightly.

Tap, tap, tap.

Ah-ryeong ran straight to Jin-rim.

“Oh dear, be careful, be careful.”

Jin-rim quickly lowered himself and opened his arms, worried that Ah-ryeong might fall.

“Daddy!”

Ah-ryeong jumped into Jin-rim’s arms without hesitation.

Thud.

Jin-rim gently embraced Ah-ryeong with his large frame.

Then, he stood up with Ah-ryeong in one arm.

“Have you been well? My pretty princess.”

“How did you come so early? Did you have time too, Daddy?”

“Of course, I had time. Hahaha.”

Jin-rim laughed heartily, as if he was simply happy.

Jin-rim, who was laughing, subtly gestured to the maid.

“Young lady. Go wash your hands.”

“Can’t I wash them later? I didn’t touch anything.”

Ah-ryeong grumbled, but Jin-rim said with a smile.

“Daddy bought something delicious, but you have to wash your hands to eat it. Go quickly. Change your clothes too.”

“Yes!”

Jin-rim carefully put Ah-ryeong down.

Ah-ryeong waved to Jin-rim, Gwan Cheol-hoon, and Woon-hyun’s group, then disappeared with the maid through the back garden gate.

Jin-rim, who had been watching the scene with a pleased expression, turned his head.

The smile on his face had already vanished without a trace.

“……What is the meaning of this?”

Jin-rim glared at Gwan Cheol-hoon and growled.

“I trusted you and entrusted everything to you, yet you dare bring these people into my house? And even let them meet my daughter!”

Jin-rim shouted in a voice full of anger.

“Are you perhaps plotting with those people to sell me out!”

Jin-rim’s anger was immense.

His eyes were blazing with fury.

“Lord!”

Thud.

Gwan Cheol-hoon immediately knelt on one knee and lowered his head.

“How could I ever forget the grace of the Lord who took me in? This is absolutely not an attempt to harm you.”

Gwan Cheol-hoon bit his lip and looked up at the furious Jin-rim.

“It is only to try and cure the young lady’s illness.”

“Cure?”

Jin-rim’s anger did not subside.

He shouted even more furiously.

“How exactly? Is this person some legendary divine physician? How can he possibly cure my daughter’s……”

Gnash.

Jin-rim gritted his teeth.

“How can he possibly cure my daughter’s illness!”

“Can’t we show her to the royal physician?”

Jin-rim flinched for a moment.

Gwan Cheol-hoon continued with a firm expression.

“With Eunuch Park’s power, we can have the royal physician examine the young lady’s illness. If it is the royal physician of the Imperial Palace, wouldn’t he be able to know the young lady’s diagnosis and treatment?”

Jin-rim closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Gwan Cheol-hoon continued in a passionate voice.

“I already know that you are not fond of Eunuch Park. But curing the young lady’s illness is the priority. If things continue like this, the young lady will……”

Ah-ryeong was getting weaker day by day.

Gwan Cheol-hoon couldn’t bear to watch her pitiful appearance, having to stay indoors all day at such a young age, and even struggling to come out to the back garden for a short time.

Gwan Cheol-hoon, who had been biting his lip, looked up at Jin-rim.

“So, Lord, please put aside your intentions just this once……”

“Hoo.”

Jin-rim let out a soft sigh.

He staggered and grabbed the tree next to him.

“Lord!”

Gwan Cheol-hoon jumped up and tried to support Jin-rim.

However, Jin-rim waved his hand.

“Hoo-oo.”

Jin-rim, who had been sighing with his head down, said quietly.

“……I already showed her.”

“Yes?”

Gwan Cheol-hoon asked back with a surprised expression.

However, Jin-rim continued to speak quietly, still with his head down.

“I used all sorts of connections and illegal means to see the royal physician. I offered a thousand gold, begging him to save the child. But……”

Jin-rim gritted his teeth.

“The royal physician also shook his head.”

Jin-rim said as if groaning.

“……He said that she wouldn’t make it past this year. That once she collapses, it would be the end……”

“Th, that can’t be……”

Gwan Cheol-hoon looked at Jin-rim with a bewildered expression.

“I was hoping she would live at least until her rite of passage……”

The rite of passage is a kind of coming-of-age ceremony for girls, usually held around the age of fifteen, where a hairpin is inserted into their hair.

Thud, thud.

Thick tears fell from Jin-rim’s eyes.

“Even that was my greed, it seems.”

Gwan Cheol-hoon also lowered his head.

He clenched his teeth, but he couldn’t stop the tears that were already flowing.

Step.

“I will find a way.”

It was Woon-hyun’s voice.

Jin-rim raised his head.

The anger had already disappeared, but his gaze towards Woon-hyun was still not good.

“Leave.”

Jin-rim said with a stern expression.

“I have nothing to say to you. I won’t ask how you entered my house without permission, so……”

“I.”

Woon-hyun looked directly at Jin-rim and said again.

“I will definitely find a way. So please, wait.”

Jin-rim frowned.

“What is that……”

However, Woon-hyun did not wait for Jin-rim’s reply.

Step.

Woon-hyun moved his feet.

Yeong Ho-joon and Dam So-ha followed behind him, and the Royal Secret Agent Jo Gwan lightly bowed to Jin-rim before walking out.

Step, step.

Jin-rim was still frowning as he looked at Woon-hyun’s back.

Woon-hyun did not stop or look back at Jin-rim.

Woon-hyun bit his lip and said nothing until the moment he left Jin-rim’s house.

***

Woon-hyun’s group headed to their lodging in Nanjing by carriage.

“Is there any possibility?”

Dam So-ha said carefully in the silent carriage.

“It’s unfortunate, but if even the royal physician has given up……”

Clatter, clatter.

No one spoke.

Yeong Ho-joon let out a soft sigh.

“Perhaps a divine physician……”

“A divine physician?”

Dam So-ha’s eyes lit up.

Jin-rim had mentioned a divine physician earlier.

But that was just a legend.

On the other hand, Yeong Ho-joon was talking as if a divine physician actually existed.

“Is there really such a person?”

Not only Dam So-ha but also Jo Gwan showed curiosity.

However, Yeong Ho-joon shook his head.

“I don’t know. Whether there is one or not.”

“Yes?”

“It’s just rumors, nothing is known. They say he saved a village dying from an epidemic, but nothing is known about the divine physician himself. Even the Murim Alliance [martial arts alliance] couldn’t find him.”

Rumors about a physician with divine medical skills, a divine physician, had always existed.

Sometimes it was used as a sign of respect for a famous doctor, or it was an illusion created by the patients’ wishes.

“All that’s certain is that no one knows who the divine physician is.”

“Then it’s meaningless.”

Dam So-ha said, looking disappointed.

If they don’t know, they can’t find him.

No, since even his existence is uncertain, it had no meaning for the group right now.

Clatter, clatter.

A moment of silence followed.

Woon-hyun, who had been lost in thought, let out a soft sigh.

“……I guess.”

Woon-hyun said.

“I’ll have to use this.”

Yeong Ho-joon, Dam So-ha, and Jo Gwan’s eyes lit up.

Woon-hyun put his hand into his inner pocket and took out something wrapped in silk.

Inside the silk was a purple jade pendant, slightly longer than the palm of his hand.

“What is this? It looks very old?”

Dam So-ha muttered, looking at the jade pendant.

The patterns engraved on the jade pendant and the slightly worn edges spoke of the passage of time.

“Huh? This pattern is……”

Yeong Ho-joon brought his head closer and looked at the jade pendant.

“……This looks like the early Tang Clan’s pattern?”

Dam So-ha stared at Yeong Ho-joon with wide eyes.

“How do you know?”

“I’m a little interested.”

Yeong Ho-joon muttered, examining the jade pendant closely.

“Alliance Lord, this is unusual. This is……”

“It’s the Tang Clan’s Supreme Command Medallion.”

“Gasp!”

Yeong Ho-joon’s mouth dropped open at Woon-hyun’s reply.

He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, slowly backed away, and then took a deep breath.

“No, is this really the Supreme Command Medallion? The Tang Clan’s?”

Yeong Ho-joon asked, unable to take his eyes off the jade pendant.

“Yes.”

“Good heavens. To see this with my own eyes……”

“What is it?”

Dam So-ha asked, pointing at the jade pendant with her finger.

Yeong Ho-joon became serious.

“Hey, take your hand away.”

“Why? Is it poisonous?”

Dam So-ha flinched and withdrew her hand.

However, Yeong Ho-joon shook his head.

“It’s not that. I’m worried about the jade pendant getting worn out.”

Dam So-ha frowned, but Yeong Ho-joon clicked his tongue and said.

“Is this really the Tang Clan’s Supreme Command Medallion? I thought it was lost a long time ago……”

“So what is it?”

Dam So-ha couldn’t help but ask.

Jo Gwan was also curious, so he was also looking at Yeong Ho-joon.

“In simple terms, it’s an item that can control the Tang Clan at will.”

“Yes? Control the Tang Clan at will?”

“Yes. The Tang Clan has many divine objects, but the Clan Head’s divine object does not exist. This is because they did not create a separate Clan Head’s divine object after losing this. So this medallion is the best of the Tang Clan’s divine objects.”

“Wow! Then if we take this, the Tang Clan will be helpless?”

“That’s not it.”

Dam So-ha’s expression quickly turned to disappointment.

However, Yeong Ho-joon’s words were not over.

“But if it’s to get this back, the Tang Clan will do anything. No, just having it can bring immense benefits.”

Yeong Ho-joon raised his head and said to Woon-hyun.

“If this rumor spreads in the *Jianghu Murim* [martial arts world], the Tang Clan’s reputation will suffer a huge blow. This is a matter of pride.”

Regardless of the reason, the fact that the family’s divine object is in the hands of others is literally a matter of pride.

Especially in the Jianghu Murim, where honor is important, it is very fatal.

“With this alone, we can get a huge concession from the Tang Clan……”

“That’s not what it’s for.”

Woon-hyun said quietly but in a clear tone.

“I didn’t receive it for that purpose either.”

Jo Gwan and Dam So-ha nodded as if they expected it.

However, Yeong Ho-joon couldn’t hide his regret.

“Oh dear. If only I had this……”

“Why? Are you going to spend the rest of your life playing and eating at the Hangzhou brothel again?”

“No.”

Yeong Ho-joon sighed and said.

“I’d have to buy all the Hangzhou brothels. I could just go around the brothels for the rest of my life.”

“Tsk.”

Dam So-ha stuck out her tongue as if she was dumbfounded.

Yeong Ho-joon looked at Woon-hyun and asked.

“So, what are you going to do with this medallion?”

“First, we need to return to Chengdu, Sichuan.”

Woon-hyun said with a serious look.

“As soon as possible.”