[Chapter 38]
Yeon Ho-jung and his party were able to arrive at the clan in twenty-one days.
Surprisingly, their Mongols were not horses. They had replaced their way back to the clan with training in new techniques and physical endurance.
Of course, Yeon Ho-jung was the one who led that absurd movement. Shin Mo took over the role of instructor.
That's how the party arrived at the clan and they were all on the verge of collapsing.
But they couldn't rest. Yeon Ho-jung and Yeon Ji-pyeong were called to the clan leader's room, and Chang Eung-dae had to start training as soon as he stepped on the return squad because it was training time.
Originally, all schedules were canceled on the day of returning from an outside mission, but Shin Mo didn't let them off. He was already planning to increase the intensity of the training, but he said it was a good thing and didn't hesitate to whip them.
That day, Chang Eung-jo, who had been to Hapbi, had to taste hell.
* * *
Yeon Wi frowned as he saw his brothers enter the clan leader's room.
Hoo.
Even though it was chilly, the smell of sweat suddenly filled the air.
It was not the smell of sweat soaked in clothes, but the fresh sweat that had just been shed. And judging by the clothes, it was not a day or two thing.
"I'm back."
"I'm back, father."
Yeon Wi was speechless for a moment.
He lost his words at the sight of his sons. Was this how he felt when he saw his children return alive from the battlefield?
A moment later, Yeon Wi opened his mouth.
"Get up."
The two got up.
Yeon Wi's eyes sparkled.
Yeon Ho-jung's face was calm. On the other hand, Yeon Ji-pyeong's face was gaunt. He had no fat to begin with, but anyone could see that he had suffered.
"I'll hear the details from your brother, so you can go and rest, Pyeong."
"Ah… Thank you."
He said thank you. Considering Yeon Ji-pyeong's usual personality, it was a reaction that would make one laugh.
That's how Yeon Ji-pyeong left, and only the father and son remained in the clan leader's room.
"Sit down."
"Yes."
Yeon Ho-jung sat down.
The father and son were silent. Until the steward Taekyung brought the tea.
"Moisten your throat."
"Yes."
Yeon Ho-jung picked up the teacup.
Yeon Wi's eyes lit up. He saw that Yeon Ho-jung's hands were slightly trembling as he held the teacup.
Yeon Ho-jung, who had moistened his throat several times with tea, finally looked alive.
Yeon Wi asked.
"What's that thing?"
"I did some training on the way."
"Training? What kind?"
Yeon Ho-jung calmly told him the training he had done until he came home.
Yeon Wi's eyes shook.
"You mean you did such harsh training with Pyeong?"
"No."
"Then?"
"Shin Da-ju and Chang Eung-jo all did it together."
"…You led it?"
"Yes."
Such a ruthless guy.
Yeon Wi almost said that without knowing it. The training content was so shocking that even Yeon Wi, the lord of the world, reacted unconsciously.
The training was simple. It was just running.
The problem was how to run.
Running at a constant speed was not a difficult thing, as long as you had enough stamina. It was just a matter of how long you ran, not the running itself.
But running at different speeds every half hour was a different problem.
Run at full speed for half an hour, then slow down for another half hour. Then run at full speed again for another half hour, then slow down again.
The first day of training was like that. And every day, he increased the time of running at full speed by half an hour.
He did that all the way home. And he even came back on a mountain road, not a flat road.
'Ten days without inner power?!'
No matter how much he rested during meals, and slept more than four hours a day, wasn't it too harsh training?
It was fortunate that they had trained their bodies since childhood and learned inner power; otherwise it would have been a dangerous training for anyone to follow.
"I made sure to rest and replenish my nutrition."
"Muscles are muscles, but your joints could have been hurt."
"I don't think I'm skilled enough to not observe my body condition."
"Excessive training can cause internal injuries."
"That's why I left some time to practice inner power."
He was too ruthless. Actually, Yeon Wi had also done such training, but he had never continued it for twenty days.
'But still…'
Yeon Wi read the energy flowing from Yeon Ho-jung's body.
The energy that had been perfectly contained before was flowing out at will. It meant that his stamina and inner power had reached their limit.
'This much in twenty days. He gained a lot.'
He was surprised by the excessive amount of training, but Yeon Wi believed his son's words.
He had no choice. His son was proving to him that it was a proper training.
The quality of his inner power was much clearer and more majestic than when he left the house. It was such a change that he couldn't believe it was the same person's energy.
It couldn't have been done with just meditation. The brutal physical training had changed the nature of the energy embedded in the body.
'Energy is constantly creating the body. He tortured himself until he collapsed, then stimulated the change with a large amount of nutrition, rest, and true energy.'
Yeon Wi nodded.
"You've worked hard anyway."
"No. This is just the beginning."
"…Hm?"
Yeon Ho-jung smiled.
He couldn't hide his fatigue, but he felt more rewarding than that.
"I'll continue this training until I feel the limit of my mind, body, and energy. Of course, I'll have to rest well enough, though."
"You've made up your mind."
"I don't know when I'll reach the ultimate even if I train with my life. I'm still far away."
"…Really?"
Yeon Wi nodded.
"I see."
Finally.
Finally, Yeon Wi was able to accept his son's change without any bias.
Before he left for Hapbi, his son's change was somehow uncomfortable. He was nervous because he seemed to have become a different person.
But from today.
Now that he saw that deep smile and clear eyes, Yeon Wi was able to accept his son's change as it was.
'Maybe it was my stubbornness that didn't want to admit my eldest's change.'
His son had grown up.
Not because he was an adult of age, but because his eyes and mind that saw the world had grown up.
Yeon Wi leaned back on his chair.
"How was the meeting?"
Yeon Ho-jung's eyes shone.
'I found out something big, father.'
He had a lot to say. But he was silent. He thought it was not time to tell his father yet.
"It was just okay."
"Did you make a lot of friends?"
"Not deeply."
He said that, but it seemed that there were some people he liked.
Yeon Wi took out a well-folded letter from his bosom and handed it to him.
"What is this?"
"Read it."
Yeon Ho-jung unfolded the letter.
A moment later, he said in a trembling voice.
"Um… I don't think it's such a big deal."
"I would send such a letter too. That's the parent's heart."
"When did it come?"
"It came this morning."
Yeon Ho-jung coughed.
"That girl has a loose mouth."
The letter was from Je Gal Se-ga's clan leader. He personally conveyed his gratitude.
Judging by the time the letter arrived, he must have told the truth before the meeting.
Yeon Wi nodded.
"You did well."
"No, it's nothing."
He didn't show it, but Yeon Wi was proud of his son.
He saved someone's life, but he didn't brag about it and thought it was a natural thing to do.
He had become much rougher than before, but he seemed to be learning the way of people. Yeon Wi was very pleased with his son's change.
So he asked him bluntly.
"I heard you got tangled up with Namgung Se-ga pretty badly."
Yeon Ho-jung nodded.
He knew this would come up.
"Yes."
"I want to hear the details."
Yeon Ho-jung explained in detail what had happened at the meeting.
Of course, he didn't mention anything related to Myeong Ho-rim. Even without that, there was enough to tell.
"I see."
Yeon Wi knew that Yeon Ho-jung had explained as objectively as possible.
"Namgung's second son… did that."
"Yes."
Yeon Wi's eyes grew cold.
Yeon Ho-jung flinched at the sight of his eyes.
He felt goosebumps from his back to his shoulders. He had never seen his father's cold eyes like that.
"It's not easy. It's not just a grudge, they went too far."
"I didn't want to get involved with them, but it was too much that they teamed up with the eldest son of our clan."
"Of course it was. I heard he was over the age of consent, how did he learn such a wicked scheme?"
Yeon Ho-jung tilted his head inwardly.
Was it because he hadn't seen him for a long time? Somehow, his father's emotional expression seemed more honest than before.
"You did well."
"Yes?"
Yeon Wi's eyes were clear as he looked at his son. His unique sternness was still there, but it was as if a layer of hard ice had fallen off.
"Sometimes, rumors can be more fatal than swords. You didn't go and cause a ruckus in excitement, but you handled it wisely."
"Ah, yes."
His father wouldn't know. He had half-killed the eldest son of our clan and his men.
Han Ho-myeong had thoroughly hidden it. If that got out, it would be a real bomb.
"But, they also knew the fear of rumors."
"What do you mean?"
"Namgung Se-ga's side apologized to our clan."
Yeon Ho-jung frowned.
"They apologized?"
"Yes. The clan leader himself apologized."
"No way…"
"He also confessed what his daughter did."
Yeon Ho-jung exclaimed.
"What a snake."
Yeon Wi's eyes shone.
"Do you see how the situation is turning?"
"He threw away his daughter and saved his son's face. He made his son's deed a personal grudge that had nothing to do with Namgung Se-ga."
Yeon Wi admired him inwardly.
He heard a few words and immediately combined and inferred the situation.
This was not something that could be done by being smart. He had to be able to read the flow of the world.
"That's right."
"Huh, I thought he would hide it until the end, but he cut his face and closed the case. Namgung clan leader's tact is not ordinary, is it?"
Yeon Wi nodded.
He had no choice but to admit it. His son's growth, his son's insight.
"So, what do you think?"
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't answered their apology yet. What do you think you should do?"
Yeon Ho-jung shook his head.
"What's there to think about? It's a bit annoying, but it's a waste of time to worry about such a headache."
"Should we accept this apology?"
"Unless we can shake the Namgung clan leader, what can we do about it? He did it for his brother's sake."
"Aren't you angry?"
Yeon Ho-jung snickered.
"How many times do you think I'll face the threat of death while living in the martial world? It's better to accept their apology here and raise the reputation of our clan."
It was a rational judgment.
Yeon Ho-jung didn't care about Namgung Se-ga 'anyway'. He had a mountain of things to do in the future.
But Yeon Wi, who didn't know his son's inner thoughts, felt both sorry and proud of his son's conclusion.
He forgives the one who tried to kill him? It was not an easy thing for a young man who was not even twenty.
Not only that, he was thinking about the future of the clan. That was admirable, and also regrettable.
"Good. Let's do as you say."
"Yes, I understand."
Yeon Ho-jung got up from his seat.
"Then, can I go and wash up?"
"Yes."
Yeon Ho-jung bowed his head and turned around.
Yeon Wi called his son without knowing.
"Ho-jung."
"Yes?"
Yeon Wi was silent for a moment.
He tilted his head until it touched his shoulder.
"You worked hard."
Yeon Ho-jung smiled.
"What are you talking about?"