Chapter 47: The Visitor Who Came. -02
"He would be leaving soon. It seemed things here had been more or less settled too."
"But it wasn’t decided yet, was it?"
Seonwu Bang tilted his head.
He had thought they would stay a bit longer.
And Seonwu Bang did not think that would necessarily be a bad thing.
Unexpectedly, the environment was good for training, so Seonwu Bang thought it would be fine to remain a little longer.
"If you keep spoon-feeding someone, they grow spoiled. Things one can do alone should be done alone. And the help I could provide only went as far as now. If it went beyond this, it wouldn’t be good for Young Master Geum either."
"Hmm."
Seonwu Bang stroked his chin.
Now that he heard it, it made sense.
At the same time, he could newly feel Ban Hojin’s breadth of perspective.
The word ‘experience’ came to mind, but considering Ban Hojin’s age, it did not quite fit.
"And there are also people who were bothersome."
"Ah, are you perhaps referring to us?"
The deputy commander of the escort unit and the escort warriors, who had been approaching Ban Hojin timidly, wore gloomy expressions.
At that sight, Ban Hojin hurriedly shook his head.
"No. I was referring to someone else."
"Then that’s a relief."
Perhaps because it did not feel like empty words.
The expressions of the deputy commander and the escort warriors immediately brightened.
"Isn’t it exhausting to get beaten like this every day?"
"Not at all. Rather, we were grateful. Everyone knew how great an opportunity it was to be able to spar with the three of you. Especially Great Hero Ban’s advice, like golden rules carved in jade, was truly a huge help."
"That’s right! It would be a lie to say it wasn’t hard, but because we could feel ourselves improving that much, we actually looked forward to this time even more!"
"That’s really true!"
Following the deputy commander, the escort warriors shouted loudly.
Seeing how full of sincerity they were, Ban Hojin let out a small chuckle.
But it was not only Seo Joun and Seonwu Bang who were receiving help.
As the saying went that there was something to learn even from a child, and that was a proverb that applied in Murim as well.
"I’m glad to hear that."
"Would it be possible today as well?"
"I can’t give much time, but it is possible."
"Thank you!"
In the world, people belittled Ban Hojin and disparaged him as a lucky martial artist, but among those here, not a single person thought that way.
Moreover, the escort unit were the ones who had watched Ban Hojin’s battle with the Green Forest Great Lord from closer than anyone else.
Because of that, whenever they heard baseless rumors, they were the first to step forward and grow indignant.
Knowing the truth, they all tried to set things right.
"There’s no need to thank me so much. It’s also something I do for myself. Wouldn’t I also benefit if Young Master Geum became the estate lord? Hahaha."
"It will surely turn out that way!"
"Even if we have to offer our lives, we’ll make it so!"
Hearing the spirited replies of the escort unit, Ban Hojin nodded his head.
Then he fixed his gaze on Seo Joun, who was relentlessly pressing the escort warrior he had been facing without rest.
He was growing at a frightening speed, but in Ban Hojin’s eyes, there were still far too many lacking points.
Swaaahhh.
Pure white foam surged up greatly before settling down.
Seo Joun’s mouth fell open at the long wave that covered the sandy shore.
The endless horizon, together with the gentle waves, made it impossible for him to look away.
"Woooah……"
At the sight of the sea he was seeing for the first time, Seo Joun could not properly continue speaking.
He merely let out exclamations mixed with countless emotions.
"It’s different from Dongting Lake."
"You can’t compare the sea to Dongting Lake. Dongting Lake is large, but it can’t be compared to the sea."
"I think so."
Unlike Seo Joun, who was marveling at the sea he was seeing for the first time, Ban Hojin was calm.
Perhaps because he had seen Dongting Lake in his previous life, it was not as shocking to him as it was to Seo Joun.
Still, he was fully feeling the strange emotion that the sea conveyed.
"Should we ride a boat too? Since we came all the way to the sea, we should at least go boating once."
"The three of us men together?"
Ban Hojin let out a hollow laugh.
He had no desire to go boating with three men.
And although he had never ridden a boat on the sea, he had done so on rivers, so he did not particularly want to go boating.
"I also think boating with three men is a bit much. If it were with Sambong, I’d spend all my remaining fortune, but riding just among ourselves is a bit."
"If you’re already that obsessed with women, what are you going to do later on?"
"They say youth doesn’t come back. So I think it’s right to enjoy it as much as possible when you can."
Despite Seonwu Bang’s reproach, Seo Joun was confident.
Even at his age, he knew that time once gone never returned.
Moreover, Seo Joun had suffered from the Nine Yang Severed Meridians for seventeen years and had been unable to do anything, so now, as long as it was not against morality or the law, he wanted to try everything he could.
"They say a man must be careful with his middle leg. That’s what the elders say."
"Hey, I know all that too. I’m not at an age where I can’t tell right from wrong. Even if I talk like this, you all know how much of a training fanatic I am. At the very least, you’d have to be at Brother Hojin’s level before Sambong would come looking for you first, wouldn’t you?"
"That Sambong again."
Ban Hojin shook his head.
Whenever the topic of women came up, Seo Joun always brought up Sambong.
But it seemed Ban Hojin was not the only one tired of it, as Seonwu Bang clicked his tongue as well.
"That kind of fellow needs to be married off quickly. Only then will he know the world. He needs to live properly tightly held to understand what freedom is."
"For the record, my dream is three wives and four concubines."
"Well I’ll be damned?"
Seonwu Bang let out a laugh of disbelief.
The more he heard, the more outrageous it became.
But Ban Hojin’s expression did not change at all, as if he were used to it.
"Anyone can dream."
"That’s right!"
"But marriage is fine, yet you also need to seriously think at least once about your child’s life."
"Ah……"
Seo Joun’s pupils shook.
When he thought that his child might live the same life as him, his mind went blank in an instant.
If Ban Hojin had not taught him an extreme yin spiritual medicine and the Chukyun Divine Art, he would have been hovering on the brink of death by now.
When he thought that such a life might continue on to his son as well, Seo Joun realized that this was not something to be taken lightly.
"I couldn’t guarantee that it was certain, but I also couldn’t guarantee that it wasn’t, so it was that kind of issue."
"……That’s true."
Because he was sharp, Seo Joun agreed with Ban Hojin’s words.
While staying at the Geum Family Estate, Seo Joun had already reduced his sleep and researched the Nine Yang Severed Meridians.
Since the archive was not limited to martial scriptures alone, he separately sought out and studied books related to severed meridians.
His own life was important, but the life of the child who might be born in the future was no less important.
"It wouldn’t hurt to prepare in advance."
"That’s right. If I were to get married, I should first look for spiritual creatures or spirit herbs that contain Extreme Yin Energy. Fortunately, I do have Yang-attribute cultivation arts."
"That means you’ll have to earn an enormous amount of money."
"……Should we loot the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds?"
Perhaps because the amount earned this time had not been small, Seo Joun brought up bandits as if it were only natural.
It was because he had learned that the money obtained from looting mountain strongholds was quite substantial.
Moreover, since he knew that Ban Hojin had made a large sum by selling the martial arts of the Green Forest Great Lord, Seo Joun’s eyes sparkled.
"A get-rich-quick mindset isn’t good. And if possible, it’s best to return money to its original owners. You saw how Young Master Geum won over the hearts of the other escort agencies, didn’t you?"
"Even so, we could still take half. As a sort of compensation for our trouble. Even if we tried to find them, there might be people who are already dead."
"Even half isn’t a small amount."
Ban Hojin shook his head.
This case had been a special one.
First of all, there had been the justification that Wall-Severing Blade had plundered the escort goods of the Geum Family Escort Agency.
But if they went around looting mountain strongholds indiscriminately, there was a high chance that the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds would band together.
"Then should we try looting water bandits this time? For now, the waterway strongholds are divided into three, and they don’t seem to band together very well."
"Seriously. Where did you hear that now?"
"From the people of the Geum Family Estate. There were really a lot of interesting stories. Lots of strange tales too. Especially from people who regularly go out to the outer regions, there were many interesting stories."
Seo Joun casually brought up stories about the Neo-Outer Murim.
But Ban Hojin was not someone who would fall for such shallow tactics.
"There are indeed many strange items in the Western Regions."
"Have you seen them too, Brother?"
"I was at the Geum Family Estate as well."
"True. Among the lodgings where guests stayed, you were the one who stayed in the best place."
Seo Joun soon accepted it.
He knew well that the amount of information one could obtain would inevitably differ.
"More importantly, Bang."
"Yeah."
"Shouldn’t you be heading back to your main house soon? From here, Nanjing is close."
Ban Hojin asked casually.
It had been quite some time since they had left the Seonwu Family, starting with Taeho Stronghold.
They had also stayed at the Geum Family Estate for no short while, so Ban Hojin wore a slightly worried expression.
"It’s fine. I’m not a child. I was going to tell you anyway, so this worked out well. I’d like to keep traveling together from now on—would that be okay?"
"Traveling together?"
"Yeah."
"How would you know where I was going?"
Seo Joun, who had been beside them, wore an intrigued expression.
If anything, he preferred three over two.
If Seonwu Bang had been uncomfortable, he would have disliked it, but personally, Seo Joun was in favor of traveling together.
"From what I see, it doesn’t look like you’ll be heading straight to Shaolin. Judging by what you’ve done so far."
"You’re sly like a fox."
"I never said I was a bear."
"Did you get permission from the Family Head?"
"From the moment I said I’d follow you, he told me to decide for myself."
Ban Hojin wore a surprised expression.
Seonwu Bang was the only successor of the Seonwu Family.
In other words, he was an only son without siblings.
Yet after readily allowing him to go to Taeho Stronghold, and now entrusting his future schedule entirely to himself, Ban Hojin was slightly taken aback.
‘ Was it insight, or was it simply loyalty? ’
Without realizing it, Ban Hojin tilted his head.
He wasn’t certain which it was.
But soon, he brushed the thought aside.
For Ban Hojin, either way was fine.
"I feel the same as you, Brother. Right now, it’s time to broaden our horizons rather than go into closed-door training. Honestly, what we’ve experienced isn’t something you can easily go through."
"That’s true."
"When would we ever get to face the elite of the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds? At first, I thought the chances of dying were high, but looking back now, it feels like a fortuitous encounter."
"Right."
Seonwu Bang agreed with Seo Joun’s words.
His initial mindset had also been one of accepting death.
Though bandits were said to be despised by martial artists, when it came to something like the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds, it was a different matter.
There was even a strong chance of encountering the Green Forest Great Lord himself, so he had risked his life, yet when the lid was opened, the result was the complete opposite.
"It’ll probably be the same going forward too, right?"
"Or we could die along the way."
"Come on, now I know. I know for a fact that Brother will never die young. You’re incredibly attached to life. You have a lot you want to do."
"You’re surprisingly quick to read people."
"Being perceptive is a basic skill you have to have as the youngest."
Seo Joun lifted his nose arrogantly, as if boasting.
But Ban Hojin did not react at all.
It wasn’t even worth scolding him.
"In that sense, let’s stay here for today. At an inn with a view of the sea. We can do some fishing too. Since we came all the way to the sea, shouldn’t we try fishing at least once?"
"That’s right! A real man should naturally know how to enjoy elegance and leisure!"
"You never know. We might reel in a Hundred-Year Purple Tyrant. There should be more spiritual creatures in the sea than in the mountains."