Book 2 Chapter 2

To my esteemed master,

Your disciple has grown, now twenty years of age.

It is a true shame for a man to reach twenty without having seen the world!

I, your disciple, now wish to venture out into the world, to see it,

and then to reflect upon myself.

I shall go forth and make your name known, and bring glory to our sect, before returning.

Therefore, do not try to stop me. I am leaving.

Written by your disciple, Biryuyeon.

P.S. Below, at the Blue Dragon Silver Engraving branch in Ami, I have set up a guaranteed retirement pension in your name, so there should be no issues with your later life. I have made sure your retirement is secured, so don't bother chasing after me. The seal and deposit slip are beside the letter.

The account number is 241052-52-021455. The password is written on the back of the letter. And, please, moderate your drinking! It is the biggest cause of your expenses.

This was the full account of the disciple's runaway report, not particularly long. The main body was passable, but the P.S. was written with truly atrocious manners, the master thought. Fortunately, the words "guaranteed retirement pension" somewhat softened his anger. Still, it seemed he wasn't an entirely thoughtless fellow, or perhaps he was trying to deter pursuit, or perhaps he was trying to curry favor, but he had the foresight to set up a "guaranteed retirement pension" before leaving.

The "guaranteed retirement pension" was a specialized product of Blue Dragon Silver Engraving, requiring a substantial amount of money to be deposited over a very long period. Blue Dragon Silver Engraving was known to have been started by its founder, Yu Jaeryong, with his entire dowry. At the time, everyone told him not to do something so foolish and to pack his bags and leave, but now it was outshining even the most renowned silver engravers in the martial arts world.

Besides lending and storing money, Blue Dragon Silver Engraving offered a pension product where, by saving a certain amount of silver each month and reaching a predetermined sum, a fixed monthly interest was paid for life. Of course, upon the death of the insured, the deposited money naturally became the property of Blue Dragon Silver Engraving. Among these, the "guaranteed retirement pension" was their flagship pension product, a sure measure for life after fifty, and a popular product well-known among the middle class and above. Therefore, Biryuyeon's enrollment in this pension meant he had been preparing for his departure for a considerable time. It also implied that a significant sum of money must have been involved.

How and where he managed to gather such a sum of silver was a complete mystery to the master. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out. A few days ago, when Biryuyeon returned after spending a night by the stream, the disciple's behavior had been a little strange. The signs were there then, but the master had never imagined that things would escalate in such a manner, not even in his wildest dreams.

His disciple, his one and only disciple, had been staring blankly at the sky for days and had finally done it. He had always thought the boy only cared about money, but perhaps the mountains had felt too confining. Yet, the boy, who he thought held his master in very low regard, had actually meticulously planned for his master's retirement. It was as if he thought that by doing so, his master would not chase after him and bring him back…

"You're going, then. If this is fate, I must accept it. You wicked boy, you bad boy, you insolent brat, leaving without a word of farewell to your master, leaving like that…"

The master's curses and laments towards his disciple were lost in the winter wind and did not echo through the mountains, but disappeared quietly. It was one of the days at the beginning of the new year, in the first month.

While the master was lamenting and grumbling, Biryuyeon had already set off on a journey with the escorts of the Jungyang Escort Agency. Once again, Jungyang Escort Agency; when desperate, Biryuyeon always relied on them. Not having tired of using them, or perhaps there was still some flavor left to extract, Biryuyeon once again entered the gates of Jungyang Escort Agency a few days prior without even knocking. Upon hearing of his arrival, the head of the agency, Jang Wooyang, rushed out immediately, but he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the messenger was not the "old master" as usual.

At this time, Biryuyeon had removed the leather mask he had been wearing constantly for the past five months, revealing his bare face, which is why Jang Wooyang did not recognize him. When a letter came from Biryuyeon in his true form, Jang Wooyang seemed tense for a moment, but upon reading the contents of the letter, he let out a big sigh of relief. The contents of the letter were not significant.

"This child is my beloved disciple. I request that you take him with you on this escort mission to Nanchang. Of course, as an escort, just like last time, so don't forget his wages. Especially, I request a more generous wage than last time. He is worth at least that much. He is exceptionally strong. Be careful, or you might face unfortunate consequences."

- From the Old Master

The letter, with a hint of threat, was still within Jang Wooyang's acceptable limits. Is it not said that humans are creatures that adapt to their environment? Underestimating human adaptability can lead to significant trouble. In some ways, humans have a more tenacious life force than cockroaches. Due to the events that had transpired, Jang Wooyang's nerves seemed to have become quite thick and strong. His complexion also seemed to have improved, as if his stomach had also strengthened. For Jang Wooyang, this matter was nothing compared to the previous two incidents. Compared to the previous two cases, which were filled with violence and threats, this was a mere trifle.

Jang Wooyang felt like he could even put on a welcoming ceremony and dance. Last time, the escort mission to transport precious celadon vases from Goryeo and other high-value items to Nanchang, which was critical for the agency's fate, was successfully completed thanks to them, the disciples of the old master. The divine might displayed when they annihilated two of the seventy-two forest bandit strongholds with only sixteen men—if they hadn't been there, they might have been wiped out before even reaching Nanchang. Therefore, the fact that another disciple of that old master was accompanying his escort mission this time was something Jang Wooyang was grateful for, rather than displeased.

Jungyang Escort Agency seemed to have been struggling for a few weeks after the last escort mission, but now they appeared to be operating normally. The agency was busy tending to the injured, filling the vacant spots due to injuries, and reconciling income and expenses. Fortunately, the injured were limited to lower-ranking escorts, so there was no significant disruption in personnel replenishment. If serious injuries had occurred among the high-ranking experts, filling the vacant positions would have been very difficult. It is not easy to recruit top-tier masters to an escort agency.

In fact, since the clash between Jungyang Escort Agency and the forest bandits during the last escort mission to Nanchang, the reputation of Jungyang Escort Agency had grown even further, with constant applications pouring in, so there was no concern about personnel replenishment. Among them, there were often individuals classified as high-ranking, which had been bringing joy to Jang Wooyang recently. Given the circumstances of Jungyang Escort Agency, Biryuyeon conveying his intentions through a letter rather than words was indeed better in many ways.

Words conveyed through writing had a higher degree of psychological credibility than spoken words. It didn't matter if the agency head didn't know the old master's handwriting. Agency head Jang Wooyang felt a psychological pressure from the existence of the old master, so he would not dare to doubt or resist.

The reason Biryuyeon did not wear the leather mask and appear as the old master was out of laziness. If he appeared as the old master, Jungyang Escort Agency would become noisy again, and he disliked that. If Jang Wooyang harbored doubts and did not believe him, Biryuyeon had the option of resorting to force, so there was no problem for him. In any case, agency head Jang Wooyang did not harbor any particular doubts, and the matter proceeded smoothly and swiftly.

A few days later, the escort mission to Nanchang departed, and Biryuyeon set off with the group. Agency head Jang Wooyang also personally accompanied this escort mission. In fact, the item being escorted on this mission was not important enough to warrant the agency head's personal involvement. However, given that the highly dangerous-looking disciple of the old master was accompanying the escort, and more importantly, because he himself had business in Nanchang, Jang Wooyang joined this mission. He had made an appointment to meet the head of Daeho Escort Agency, one of the ten great escort agencies in the Central Plains, based in Nanchang. Originally, he was scheduled to depart in a few days due to many other commitments, but with Biryuyeon joining this escort mission, he had to change his schedule abruptly. He was concerned about potential issues arising between the new recruits of the escort agency and Biryuyeon.

Jungyang Escort Agency had many injured individuals after the previous incident and had recruited many new escorts. This was unavoidable, as so many had been injured that the agency could not function properly otherwise. It was a miracle that there were no fatalities, and expecting more would have been unreasonable.

However, there were also good things. Partly due to the numerous injured individuals, and partly due to the successful transport of Goryeo celadon, they received a substantial sum of money as a reward, allowing them to expand the agency. Their reputation had grown further after shattering two of the seventy-two forest bandit strongholds, leading to an overwhelming number of applications and escort requests, keeping the agency extremely busy.

However, most of the newcomers were unaware of the dealings between Jungyang Escort Agency and the old master. Therefore, no one knew what might happen. Rumors were circulating in the martial arts world through the mouths of gossipers and the tongues of jesters that Jungyang Escort Agency had highly skilled masters who secretly protected valuables, but very few in the martial arts world truly knew the truth. Those sixteen individuals kept silent, and the people of Jungyang Escort Agency also kept silent, so very few knew the exact truth. Therefore, Jang Wooyang had no intention of telling the newcomers the truth. Especially the stories of how they were defeated by the old master and his disciples. He had issued special orders within the agency, forbidding anyone from speaking of it. A strict order was given that anyone who revealed it would not be forgiven and would be severely punished.

Therefore, the newcomers had no way of knowing the delicate relationship between the old master, his disciples, and Jungyang Escort Agency, which was why he worried about what might happen along the way. Despite strict orders, human affairs are unpredictable, which was why Jang Wooyang had advanced his schedule to accompany this escort mission.

Regardless, the martial arts world was abuzz with stories that entrusting valuables to Jungyang Escort Agency was safer than with any other agency. Jang Wooyang was delighted, thinking it was only a matter of time before they became one of the top 1-2 escort agencies among the ten great escort agencies in the Central Plains. However, as he embarked on this escort mission, a concern weighed heavily on his mind. It was about his son.