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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Repaying the Favor (1)
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Today, the Black Gold House Lord and his minions had come to Ghost Sword Manor determined to collect the gold they were owed no matter what.
Unlike when they had ascended Dome Green Mountain full of bluster,
"Kuh-huh-huhk!"
they descended in tears and wails.
It was inevitable. They had come to collect gold and ended up having every last bit stripped from them instead. Tears streaming down their faces was only natural.
'At my age of forty-two, to have my money taken like this.'
Yeo Rip was furious and indignant, but the thought of seeking revenge against the Heavenly Demon never crossed his mind.
He simply resolved never to set foot near Dome Green Mountain or Ghost Sword Manor again.
"What a good little baldy. Right?"
"Y-Yes? Ha, hahaha."
Yang Dae-un laughed as he gazed at the Heavenly Demon, who had so effortlessly resolved the long-standing debt with the Black Gold House that had plagued him for years.
"I was going to just pay them off if I could, but their outrageous interest rates and their scheme to gouge us were just too infuriating."
The Heavenly Demon said this as he pulled out gold bars and various rare jewels from among the items he had brought with him.
"Heeeek!"
Yang Dae-un, who was watching, was stunned. Even
"Oh my gosh!"
"Heavens!"
Sogang and Yang Yeon-hwa right beside him gasped in shock, their eyes dazzled by the blinding golden light.
Sogang, a former storyteller and pauper, went without saying, but it was the first time Yang Yeon-hwa or Yang Dae-un had laid eyes on so much treasure and gold.
"Gunryong. What in the world is all this?"
"Could it be...?"
Yang Dae-un and Sogang were too astonished. Sogang in particular suspected the Heavenly Demon had used his specialty once again to transfer ownership, just like before.
Of course, it was just a groundless worry.
"I found one of my cult's temporary storehouses from what I remember. So don't worry."
The Heavenly Demon casually offered Yang Dae-un and Yang Yeon-hwa an enormous amount of gold bars and treasures—enough to change a family's fate or elevate an entire sect.
"Take what you like and sell the gold bars or whatever to cover the urgent needs."
The nonchalant way he presented it, as if he had just picked it up off the ground, moved the two even more deeply.
"No, we couldn't."
"That's right. How could we take so much?!"
The Yang father and daughter, who had long battled poverty, frantically waved their hands in refusal.
Seeing this only made the Heavenly Demon's heart ache more.
"It's because I haven't done right by U-ryang. Please accept it."
"But..."
Yang Dae-un and Yang Yeon-hwa had no choice but to relent when the Heavenly Demon put it that way.
"Besides, think of me as one of Ghost Sword Manor's own. It's just family earnings, isn't it?"
Yang Dae-un finally realized.
In times like this, he should just...
"Thank you. Truly, thank you, Gunryong."
bow his head and sincerely accept it.
"This puts me in a good mood."
The Heavenly Demon felt satisfied watching the Yang father and daughter grin from ear to ear, their eyes moist with emotion.
Seeing others fulfilled and joyful because of him pleased him more than possessing great wealth himself.
He preferred things like that.
"How about using this money to first stock the warehouse full and properly repair the barriers so no outsiders can ever invade again?"
The Heavenly Demon even offered advice.
"Of course. That's exactly what we should do."
"And if there's anything you want, take it or buy some."
The Heavenly Demon said this, noticing Yang Yeon-hwa fondling the smallest and cheapest hairband among the countless treasures.
"Is that really okay?"
"Of course."
The Yang family of Ghost Sword Manor, who had awaited the Heavenly Demon across generations for so long.
At long last, they could finally enjoy happiness.
The comfort of never going hungry again felt even better than the satisfaction of becoming rich.
And there were even more surprises in store.
"Oh, right. Let me take a look at your martial arts and internal energy. Want to come over here?"
With the debts of Ghost Sword Manor paid and the warehouse stocked, the next step was to enhance their martial prowess for self-sufficiency.
"Yes!"
Yang Yeon-hwa, who showed particular interest in martial arts, stepped forward eagerly.
With Ghost Shadow Sword Yang Hui-gun missing, she was by far the most promising junior of Ghost Sword Manor.
"..."
Yang Dae-un, as a father and manor lord, watched his daughter's back with a pleased smile.
It was then.
"Dae-un. Why aren't you coming?"
The Heavenly Demon tilted his head, genuinely puzzled.
"Hahaha, come on, Gunryong. I'm already past fifty, and after all my hardships, my prime is long gone. Maintaining my current realm is challenge enough."
Yang Dae-un waved it off, insisting he was fine.
In truth, after turning fifty, he had felt his cultivation steadily declining.
While exceptional martial artists usually maintained their skills into their sixties or seventies, he had lacked the time due to his efforts to keep the declining Ghost Sword Manor afloat.
That was why.
Yang Dae-un had abandoned his dreams as a martial artist and focused solely on his responsibilities as manor lord.
"Nonsense. Even in my time—not to mention the current martial world—plenty of experts in their sixties thrived."
The Heavenly Demon scolded him fiercely, like he was grabbing a rat.
"Y-Yes? But I'm already... My meridians are blocked, and my dantian is dried up, isn't it?"
Could a martial artist ever truly lose interest in martial arts?
Once a martial artist, always one. His desire to reach the pinnacle burned as fiercely as in his youth.
It was just that his aging body no longer kept up with his will.
"Heh heh heh."
The Heavenly Demon gave a meaningful smile as he looked at Yang Dae-un, who inwardly regretted thinking it was too late for him.
"I've got ways around that."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"You don't have to go to all this trouble on my account."
Yang Dae-un repeatedly declined as the Heavenly Demon led him to Ghost Sword Manor's infirmary.
Of course, his true feelings were different.
'Could it really be...?'
His heart raced at the thought that he might wield the sword again and achieve greatness as a swordsman.
He might look like a simple manor lord, a countryside bumpkin now, but in his youth, he had been one of Liaoning Province's top experts with a solid reputation.
"Quit yapping and sit down."
The Heavenly Demon spoke somewhat forcefully.
No one ever took offense to his tone.
Yang Dae-un sat obediently, as did his daughter Yang Yeon-hwa and the Heavenly Demon's new companion Sogang. They all knew his gruff words hid a deep care for those around him.
"Father, do your best!"
Yang Yeon-hwa was thrilled, as if it were happening to her, watching her father assume the cross-legged position after so long.
She too hoped her father would properly resume his martial arts training.
She had always felt guilty that he had neglected his own cultivation to support his children.
"Hmmm."
Yang Dae-un tried not to show his excitement, just in case it proved impossible—it would hurt less that way.
"Now, take slow, deep breaths and clear your mind and body."
The Heavenly Demon guided him expertly.
"You cultivated the Ghost Recommendation Heart Method like U-ryang, right?"
There was another piece of good fortune for him.
The Heavenly Demon not only knew Loyal Ghost Sword Yang U-ryang's martial arts inside out but could even perfectly replicate some of his techniques.
Helping the Yang family, who had inherited the same arts, was child's play for him.
"Circulate your qi slowly."
Shwaaaaa!
No sooner had the Heavenly Demon spoken than Yang Dae-un unleashed the Ghost Recommendation Heart Method, emanating a serene aura.
'It's definitely far inferior to U-ryang's.'
There was bound to be a huge gap compared to Yang U-ryang, the greatest martial artist the Yang family had produced.
The Heavenly Demon decided to narrow that gap, even if just a little.
As Yang Dae-un rediscovered the joy of circulation after so long, color returned to his face and a gentle heat began to build,
swish!
the Heavenly Demon pulled something from his bosom.
And incredibly, it was
"Oh my, heavens!"
"S-Spiritual medicine?!"
Yang Yeon-hwa and Sogang, witnessing it right beside him, jumped in exaggerated shock.
What the Heavenly Demon held was none other than millennium snow ginseng—a top-grade spiritual herb priceless beyond measure.
For martial artists obsessed with martial arts and internal energy, they would beg on their knees with gold jars in hand to buy it.
As proof, the moment the Heavenly Demon produced the millennium snow ginseng, a sharp yet profound fragrance tickled everyone's noses.
The millennium snow ginseng, which grew only near North Sea Star City with its chilling energy, was perfectly suited for Yang Dae-un, who had hit the limit of his realm and begun aging as a martial artist.
'How can he use something this precious!'
Though Yang Dae-un had his eyes closed in focus and couldn't see it directly, the scent alone told him everything.
It was a spiritual medicine of immense value emitting this extraordinary aroma.
"Keep circulating and take it slowly."
The Heavenly Demon instructed him, but for the first time, Yang Dae-un hesitated to obey.
This wasn't rebellion. It was simply too wasteful to use such a rare and expensive spiritual medicine on an old martial artist like himself.
Smirk!
Even as Yang Dae-un put up his non-rebellious resistance, the Heavenly Demon didn't get angry.
Far from it—he smiled.
The Heavenly Demon knew well how to persuade people.
Usually with fists and martial arts, but this time was an exception.
Shhrrrr!
As if to show Yang Dae-un, he pulled out a pile of other items from his bosom.
Incredibly, they ranged from solar flame grass to millennium polygonum, golden vermilion fruit—top-grade spiritual herbs that every martial artist in the world desperately craved.
"Dae-un, I've got so many top-grade spiritual herbs they're rotting. If you don't take it, some mangy mutt or goat outside will have to. That okay with you?"
True to form, the Heavenly Demon was a master persuader.
Shhh!
Realizing the Heavenly Demon's words were no exaggeration, Yang Dae-un felt his heart pounding like it hadn't in ages as he slowly began consuming the millennium snow ginseng.
The thrill was equal to when he had first learned the Yang family martial arts.
Rumble!
Soon, the immense medicinal potency and energy of the millennium snow ginseng flooded through Yang Dae-un's body like a raging river.
Without exaggeration, if he had taken such a massive top-grade spiritual herb alone, he might have perished without absorbing even a fraction of its power.
But by his side was the supreme Heavenly Demon, Gunryong.
Swish!
The Heavenly Demon placed his right palm on Yang Dae-un's back and
Flash!
shared his own energy, guiding the medicinal potency and energy of the millennium snow ginseng to infuse every part of Yang Dae-un's body without waste.
How much time passed like this?
After quite a while, when Yang Dae-un finally opened his eyes...
"...!!"
Incredibly, he who had been merely first-rate at best—and recently teetering on the edge, unsure when he might drop a realm in his semi-retired state—had truly reached the peak realm.
It was all thanks to the Heavenly Demon's guidance.