A slight tension lingered in the escort agency's procession.
Zhuge Seola sharpened her vision.
"Are they river pirates?"
The group of people, each holding their own weapons, were river pirates.
"Seeing them occupying the ferry, their intentions are clearly impure."
"Why are you so excited?"
"?"
Zhuge Seola's large eyes widened. Her tone was strangely high, as if she was enjoying it.
"You don't have to worry about fighting with the river pirates."
"What? No way. They look fierce."
"Unorthodox faction guys usually bluff without having anything. That guy Neung-heo over there used to talk back to ."
"Why are you suddenly talking about ?"
Neung-heo's lips pouted.
As the distance closed, Jang No slowly rode his horse forward.
A man who seed to be the leader among the river pirates ca out.
The two, who t in the middle, had a conversation. Zhuge Seola pricked up her ears and eavesdropped on the conversation.
'Where are you from?'
'We are the Azure Star Escort Agency from Wonyang County, Henan.'
'You've co from far away. The journey must be tiring, so why don't you have a drink of wine before you go.'
'I appreciate the offer, but I'm too busy to do so. Still, I should repay your kindness, but I don't know the market price in Hubei. How much should I repay you?'
'Indeed, you look experienced for your age, so it's good that things are going smoothly. Seeing the size of the escort agency, it seems like a small one, so I won't take much. Just give twenty silver coins.'
'Oh, let's not do this. What's there to get red-faced about? I'll give you ten silver coins.'
"Huh?"
Zhuge Seola looked at Cheon Mubaeck with a face that said she didn't understand.
Seeing that intelligent and smart child with a blank expression, Cheon Mubaeck also let out a laugh.
Well, no matter how smart one was, it was difficult to understand the situation right away if it was the first ti seeing it. Cheon Mubaeck spoke in a calm tone, as if explaining to a child.
"It's the process of paying a toll."
"A toll? Is there a need for that? That river doesn't belong to those river pirates. Even the governnt office doesn't collect tolls?"
"The Central Plains is wide, and there are many places where the influence of the governnt office does not reach."
"Still. Twenty silver coins. This is a pure thief's ntality. Should I step in?"
Zhuge Seola's eyes shot up as if she was angry.
From now on, it was the territory of Hubei Province, so if she ntioned the na of the Zhuge Clan, the river pirates would tuck their tails and run away.
Cheon Mubaeck shook his head.
"Don't do that. The Zhuge Clan can't always protect the Azure Star Escort Agency, can it?"
"Uh... that's true."
"If we set up a branch in Hubei, the escort agency will have to frequent Hubei Province, so it's enough to get to know the river pirates and pay the toll. Then the work won't be cumberso. If we fight once? We can solve it easily now. But after that, we will be constantly challenged. It will be annoying just because we didn't pay a few silver coins now."
There was no problem for now.
Cheon Mubaeck was also there. Jang No was also there. It could be handled in an instant.
But as the escort agency grew larger and there were more small-scale escort missions, would the level of the person in charge of the escort mission always be at the branch chief level?
Moreover, there would be so who were quite sothing among the river pirates.
The picture of paying the toll and passing through was the cleanest.
How much ti had passed?
Jang No, who had been haggling, subtly exuded his aura and settled the matter with ten silver coins.
Zhuge Seola's face beca sullen, as if she thought her good money had been stolen.
"Why do you have a more serious expression?"
"Hoo. Because it's absurd. Whose money is that, and what are they doing just by occupying a ferry."
"Whose money, it's our escort agency's money. You must feel like family because you've been at our house for quite a long ti installing the Guardian Array of Wondrous Questions."
"Fa... family, you say."
In an instant, Zhuge Seola quickly turned her head. Her red neck was visible between the hair that covered the back of her neck.
"Well, but we should give them so warning."
"What?"
"We have to make sure the river pirates don't do anything foolish."
Cheon Mubaeck said so and strode forward.
The river pirates, who were laughing heartily at the thought of having made a score today, tilted their heads as Cheon Mubaeck approached.
As a young man with a sword approached among the fierce river pirates, all eyes were focused on him.
Chareureuk!
At that mont, Cheon Mubaeck untied the sword belt at his waist and said.
"This is the Azure Star Escort Agency."
A heavy word spread like a ripple from a stone thrown into a lake.
"...?"
"That bastard, what is he?"
"Isn't the deal over? Chief, are those guys trying to fight?"
Both sides were flustered by Cheon Mubaeck's sudden action.
Cheon Mubaeck subtly exuded his aura and strode to the vicinity of the riverbank.
He slamd the sheathed sword down on the water.
The eyes of the river pirates, who were blankly wondering what he was doing, widened as if they would tear.
Sss.
White frost ford on the river water.
The water gradually solidified around the frost that was rising on the water.
A fan-shaped supre yin energy spread out from the sword that Cheon Mubaeck had slamd down.
Jjeojeojeojeok!
"I-it's freezing!"
"The river is freezing!"
It was an impossible thing. Spring had passed and early sumr was approaching.
The river could not freeze. It was a miracle that went against the laws of nature.
But it was true.
Because it had happened right before their eyes.
Cheon Mubaeck, who had frozen a part of the river in an instant, drew his sword.
Then he approached the leader and said in a clear tone.
"I am Cheon Mubaeck."
"...!"
"I am also called the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero. And I also belong to the Azure Star Escort Agency."
"Heok!"
Only then did their faces turn pale white at the fact that they had extorted a toll from the Azure Star Escort Agency of the great Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero.
How could they, who were just local river pirates and not the Yangtze River Waterway Stronghold, commit such an act?
Cheon Mubaeck warned them clearly.
"It is an easy task to freeze the river and cross it like this. But the reason I paid the toll was to create an amicable relationship, so if you play gas with the toll in the future..."
He didn't have to say the rest.
Because the chief had even wet himself on the floor, overwheld by Cheon Mubaeck's aura.
"I-I-I will keep it in mind!"
Jang No clicked his tongue. Now, even without Cheon Mubaeck, and even without Jang No, the Azure Star Escort Agency would not be greatly hindered by river pirates or mountain bandits in their escort missions in Hubei Province.
If they just paid a reasonable toll, no one would even dare to touch them.
Although the river pirates in front of them were just kids who threw their weight around in the neighborhood, rumors were bound to spread quickly.
"You're amazing. Such an ice art."
"I didn't know it would work."
"When on earth did you learn ice arts... You've been hiding a lot from ."
When Jang No spoke as if he was genuinely disappointed, Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.
"Isn't it natural for people to have things they hide? Isn't that right, Chief Escort Jang?"
"...That's right."
At Cheon Mubaeck's sowhat sly tone, Jang No pretended to nod his head.
Cheon Mubaeck's clear eyes pierced through Jang No's expression.
* * *
Just as Huayin County, where Mount Hua of Shaanxi was located, a large city was bound to form around a huge sect.
Longzhong in Jingzhou, where Zhuge Liang had lived in the past, had been continuously developing since the Zhuge Clan was established.
Although it was certainly inferior when compared to the large towns of Yichang or Wuhan, one could tell it was prosperous by looking at the many people moving on the streets.
It was a distance that could be reached in at least half a day if one passed through the city to the Zhuge Clan.
But the ti was ambiguous. In an hour, the sun would set.
It was clearly not polite to visit the clan in the evening.
In that case, it was decided to stay at an inn for a day and leave early in the morning.
While unpacking their luggage at the inn, Cheon Mubaeck said abruptly.
"I have sowhere to go for a while."
"Where? We're almost at the Zhuge Clan."
"I have to buy sothing."
"Buy sothing? Uh, there's a shopping district nearby. What are you going to buy?"
"Is there a large pharmacy nearby?"
"A pharmacy... Yes. If you follow the shopping district, there's a place where pharmacies are gathered."
"I'll be back in a mont."
"Wait a minute. Let's go together."
"...?"
"This is your first ti here, isn't it? This is like my front yard."
Perhaps because she was in her hotown, Zhuge Seola, with her shoulders squared, put her hands on her waist.
When Cheon Mubaeck didn't answer and just stared blankly, Zhuge Seola beca sowhat timid.
"Umm... is it sothing I can't go with you? I can guide you well."
"No, well, you can. Don't you want to rest? You must be tired."
When permission was granted, Zhuge Seola shook her head fiercely.
"Not at all!"
"Then let's go."
The two walked side by side for a long ti. Zhuge Seola was filled with a strange emotion at the thought of walking a familiar street together. That emotion soon beca ticklish and felt like an awkward atmosphere.
"S-so, what are you going to buy?"
"Well, I'm going to buy a gift."
"A gift?"
"Since I'm visiting the Zhuge Clan as a guest, I can't go empty-handed."
"Uh, aren't those the things the porters brought in the carriage?"
That's right. Gifts that were a kind of thank you to the Zhuge Clan and to save face.
Cheon Mubaeck smiled faintly.
"Besides those, I have to give a separate gift to the grand clan head."
"To my grandfather? Why?"
"To ask him to look favorably on , I need a bribe to greet him."
"...!"
Zhuge Seola, who was walking with him, stopped as if she was stuck to the ground.
'Why? To ask him to look favorably on ?'
Everyone in the martial world knew that her grandfather cherished his granddaughter dearly.
'Could it be because of that?'
All sorts of thoughts swirled in Zhuge Seola's mind.
"What are you doing?"
When Cheon Mubaeck turned his head, Zhuge Seola pretended to hide her reddened face and followed him.
Cheon Mubaeck was inwardly dumbfounded at her seemingly excited steps.
'I wonder what she's been thinking about so much lately, being sad one mont and laughing the next. Well, she's young, so it's understandable.'
Zhuge Seola said with a smiling voice.
"What are you going to buy? Should I recomnd sothing?"
If it was Zhuge Seola's recomndation, it would be the grand clan head's taste. But Cheon Mubaeck had no intention of giving a gift so readily. He shook his head with a aningful smile.
"No, I have sothing in mind."
"Hmm, then I'll recomnd sothing for my parents."
"...Your parents?"
"You have to ask not only my grandfather but also my parents to look favorably on you. My mother and father are also very strict."
Cheon Mubaeck thought that wasn't what he ant, but he nodded his head reluctantly. It wasn't wrong.
On the way to the pharmacy, Zhuge Seola recomnded a high-quality famous wine and an accessory that was simple but full of antique feeling.
After purchasing them, Cheon Mubaeck imdiately headed to the pharmacy street.
After searching several pharmacies, Cheon Mubaeck, who had barely found what he wanted, put the gourd bottle he had bought into his bosom and said.
"Alright, let's go back now."
"I hope it goes well."
"I have the sa thought."
Although their thoughts were completely different, their words were the sa.
* * *
They left the inn in the morning and headed straight for the Zhuge Clan, arriving just around noon.
The Zhuge Clan, who had already received the news, was waiting in front of the gate.
Among them, seeing a middle-aged man who resembled Zhuge Seohu and a middle-aged woman who looked exactly like Zhuge Seola, Cheon Mubaeck guessed.
'The current head of the Zhuge Clan, Zhuge Yeogang, and his wife.'
Cheon Mubaeck got off his horse and took a fist and palm salute.
"This junior of the martial world is just happy to et the great senior and elder of the renowned Zhuge Clan. I am Cheon Mubaeck."
"I have heard the rumors, Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero. I have also heard well about how you saved my daughter, and I am also well aware of what happened in the process."
Although Zhuge Yeogang spoke with a smile, there was a bone in his voice.
Cheon Mubaeck let the aura flow away with a light smile.
At that, a strange light flickered in Zhuge Yeogang's eyes. But soon, he said with a look of disappointnt.
"I would like to welco you warmly and greet you, but the grand clan head has asked you to co and see him as soon as you arrive. Let's greet each other again later, and for now, go and et the grand clan head first."
As one of the Ten Great Masters of the World and the highest-ranking person in the martial world, the words of the grand clan head, Zhuge Seon, were like a command.
Cheon Mubaeck imdiately headed to the rear garden as guided.
Before he left, Zhuge Seola carefully advised him through telepathy.
'Although my grandfather is quite eccentric, he is a person with a lot of affection. So don't worry too much.'
Cheon Mubaeck just smiled. As if that appearance was telling her not to worry, Zhuge Seola felt sowhat reassured.
'Well, I know that man well too.'
Zhuge Seola might think she knew Zhuge Seon the best.
Well.
Cheon Mubaeck smiled and headed to the rear garden.
A rear garden like a painting unfolded before his eyes, as if a scenic spot from sowhere had been moved there.
The white-haired old man sitting in a graceful pavilion on a pond looked like an immortal.
The grand clan head, Zhuge Seon.
The mont he saw Cheon Mubaeck and was about to open his mouth.
Hwiik!
"...?"
Cheon Mubaeck took out the gourd bottle he had bought earlier from his bosom.
And he opened the lid without hesitation.
Zhuge Seon's eyes contorted strangely.
Cheon Mubaeck scattered the contents inside into the rear garden without restraint.
A black and green unidentified liquid spread in the rear garden. The clean and clear pond soon gave off a foul stench and boiled, turning black as if it was being polluted.
At that, the nurous formations and deadly chanisms hidden within were revealed.
"...!"
Zhuge Seon's eyebrows twitched.
Cheon Mubaeck smiled and took a fist and palm salute.
"This junior of the martial world greets the elder, Strange Heavenly Brain."
Zhuge Seon, who had been staring at him for a long ti, suddenly burst into laughter.
"They say you are a descendant of the Azure Sky Sword God, that elder. Your actions are exactly the sa!"
It was a very joyful laugh.
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