Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter 13

The first assignment I took on after becoming a courier for the Sagong Courier Agency was to transport household goods to another village. To be precise, a wealthy man residing in the royal capital had bought a house in another village, seemingly for his son to move into. My job was to escort the transport of household goods to ensure no petty thieves interfered.

“Piece of cake.”

I’d done many escort missions over the past few decades, so I left without any tension, comfortably starting the journey with the cargo. This time, there were a total of three couriers, and no official escort came along. This was because the cargo wasn’t that valuable, and bandits were rare in these parts.

A few hours after setting off, the transport cart took a brief rest. The horses seemed a bit tired, so the stop was intended to give them a break in the shade. The couriers and laborers also took the opportunity to sit, snack, and rest.

“Why did you become a courier?” 

One of the couriers, who appeared to be in his early thirties and was a typical lower-ranked courier, asked me. Like me, he had probably joined the courier industry to make a living and had been at it for over a decade. I looked at his utterly unremarkable face and replied,

“There’s no other way for me to make a living.”

“You’re skilled enough in martial arts to try for a position in the military,” he said, a hint of pity in his voice.

He had a point. With my martial skills, I could have tried taking the martial arts exam or participated in the annual martial arts tournament hosted by the royal family. There would be strong competitors, but failing wasn’t likely. Perhaps being a courier was indeed a waste of my skills.

But for me, rising through the ranks in government wasn’t the priority. First, I had to consume the Millennium Snow Ginseng, then unlock the secrets of the Heavenly Tome of Dark Mysteries. On top of that, there was the matter of avenging my family against the village chief. There were so many things to do that I didn’t have time to consider every option.

I chuckled and said, “I don’t think being a courier is a bad thing. As long as you do your job, the money rolls in.”

“That’s true,” the courier seemed satisfied.

No trading company would ever underestimate or abuse couriers. The world was full of trading companies fiercely competing within their commercial zones. Even if a courier was a low-ranked warrior, those with courier-level martial arts weren’t common.

In any case, couriers were martial artists who had mastered basic martial arts. They were assets of the trading company, and thus it was customary to ensure they earned a decent living.

After the small talk, the caravan resumed its journey. With morning dew settling in, it was important to move quickly to prevent the cargo from getting damaged. Fortunately, we managed to transport everything before dawn. My fellow couriers and I, along with the laborers, quickly moved the goods into the house.

Everything was finished by early morning. The surroundings were so dark that nothing was visible except where the torchlight shone. The senior courier, who led this expedition, emerged with a torch and announced, “Everyone’s tired today, so we’ll stay at the inn for four hours! We’ll depart tomorrow morning, so get plenty of rest.”

“Aye!”

Crossing over the mountain to quickly return to the courier station was an option, but the senior courier seemed to think that crossing the mountain path at dawn was dangerous. A moment later, the workers and couriers headed to the inn in the village, unburdened their loads, and started to rest. Of course, not everyone could get a room; some workers spread out their sleeping bags inside the building and slept.

I couldn’t sleep, so I watched everyone prepare for bed from the second floor of the inn. It was noticeable how the workers, tired from their work, were catching short naps.

‘So that’s why I didn’t want to be a casual laborer.’

Being a casual laborer meant not having to fight bandits like a courier, but generally, they were treated worse than couriers. Even now, three couriers including myself managed to secure rooms in the inn, while the remaining laborers slept on the floor.

‘I feel like having a drink.’

I don’t dislike alcohol; I actually like it. A good drink helped me forget the day’s hardships when I worked as a courier. But since my regression, I have had no chance to drink. Now, with this young body, it felt awkward to drink, so I refrained.

Instead, I returned to my room and began to cultivate my inner energy. By circulating the microcosmic orbit of the Thunder Dragon Breath Technique, I could recover my stamina without sleeping. It’s a win-win, as my internal power increases with cultivation.

I can’t rest or play around when there are things to be done.

After completing the courier mission and returning, Sagong Pae greeted me. He’s Sagong Rin’s older brother and an executive in the courier agency, so I couldn’t ignore him.

“Baek-woong, did you finish your first courier mission well?”

“It wasn’t difficult.”

“Hahaha. You’re our agency’s rising star.”

Sagong Pae chatted for a while, asking about my background, what he was up to lately, and commenting that Sagong Rin was pretty. I felt awkward, not knowing why he was talking like this.

“See you next time.”

“Yes.”

I sensed that Sagong Pae was favorable towards me, probably because a useful person had joined the guild. The feeling was unfamiliar, but soon became an ‘it is what it is’ thought.

‘Power changes many things.’

I felt the same when taking revenge on the village head. Power changes the world a lot. Or in other words, not having power is miserable.

Now, the real work begins.

I continued to live uneventfully in the courier agency for about 3 years. Initially, my fellow couriers underestimated me due to my young age, but my martial arts skills helped them more than once. I’ve saved the lives of couriers at least ten times over the years, and they came to accept me as a colleague.

During courier missions, I’ve fought mountain bandits and water bandits over 20 times. It was not as frequent as I thought, but every time, it was a life-or-death situation. It was not a crime to kill bandits threatening us during the mission, so couriers had no hesitation in killing them.

In the past three years, I must have killed at least thirty people. I tried to restrain myself from killing when possible, but sometimes there was no choice.

Over time, my body had grown enough to perform advanced martial arts. During a snowy winter, as I was warming myself near the fire, I looked out the window and thought.

‘This courier agency is a composite of the Sagong Clan. Unlike typical courier guilds, the members here have high martial arts skills and a familial atmosphere.’

The guild’s executives were from the Sagong Clan, making the couriers more like subordinates than contractors. Sagong Pae’s continual friendliness was probably because he considered us in the same boat.

What I don’t understand is why a prestigious clan with high-level martial arts would be involved in the courier business. They could easily accumulate wealth in more straightforward ways, so why this?

And Sagong Rin still weighed on my mind.

Falling in love with her was a problem, but the real issue was that [I didn’t know who she was].

You may think this is absurd, but it was a big problem. In all my decades of memory, I had never heard of names like Sagong’s clan head  or Sagong Rin shaking the martial world. Sagong’s clan head was questionable, but Sagong Rin was undoubtedly strange.

She was the top disciple under Mount Tai’s Grand Old Master, one of the strongest figures in the martial arts world, and she was also an unparalleled genius compared to Jin So-cheong. How could she not become famous in the future as a martial arts master? Considering the environment of the martial world, where even a woman can gain fame if her martial arts skills are extraordinary, it was incomprehensible.

“Let’s find out what I’m curious about before leaving the agency.”

Lately, I had been considering leaving this courier agency. My mastery of the “Thunder Dragon  Breath Technique” had significantly increased, and my hands-on experience had thickened my martial arts skills. Even if I didn’t know, I wouldn’t lag behind a top-class expert. I also had some money saved up, so I thought it was about time to start searching for the Millennium Snow Ginseng in Huangshan.

Who should I go to for the information I seek?

After some contemplation, I headed towards Sagong Rin. I was close enough with the Sagong family to openly ask them, but mainly, I wanted to see her face again.

“Lady Sagong Rin, do you have a moment?”

“Come in.”

Sagong Rin was quietly reading a book in her private room, a privilege for being the courier head. The sight of a beautiful woman reading a book while the white snow fell outside the window behind her was like a painting.

‘She’s beautiful.’

For a moment, I was mesmerized by the scene as if the painting had come to life before I snapped back to reality.

“I have something to ask Lady Sagong Rin.”

“What is it?”

“Why is Sagong Clan in the escort business?”

Sagong Rin closed her book and looked at me deeply, her eyes blinking like those of a doe. She gave a slight smile and spoke.

“Ahaha, have you been wondering about this for the past three years?”

“Something like that.”

“It’s no secret. My family doesn’t want to confront the Huangshan Sect.”

“Huangshan Sect…”

My face scrunched.

“So that’s it.”

Huangshan Sect was a new martial arts sect that had recently joined the Nine Sects—One Nation, famous for their extraordinary swordsmanship. The reality was that the Sagong clan’s martial arts, while top-notch, were slightly inferior to the Huangshan Sect, which boasted peak martial arts skills and top masters. If a physical or verbal clash occurred, the Sagong clan would be at a disadvantage, which is why they had apparently withdrawn from combat and finance to make money in the escort business.

“I can understand avoiding territory disputes, but the Huangshan Sect will eventually expand its influence even into the government. Can you afford to respond so passively? You’ll ultimately have no choice but to submit or disappear.”

Sagong Rin’s eyes shone mysteriously.

“It seems you’re quite certain this will happen.”

“Ah…”

Ah, I inadvertently ended up talking about the future.

As I said, decades from now, the Huangshan Sect will assert its dominance over the Huangshan and Gwanjung (Guanzhong) regions, rapidly expanding its influence. Every minor faction and martial arts school within that area will submit to them. Unable to tolerate Huangshan Sect’s rise, Zhongnan Sect and Huashan Sect will join forces and clash with them on Dailun Mountain, leading to a grand battle known as the Five Peaks Blood War.

In that battle, there was no clear victor. All three factions suffered great losses and fell into a dormant state. For a time, Guanzhong and the Five Peaks regions became power vacuums, which allowed various evil factions and rogue martial artists to run rampant. My own previous organization, Plum Blossom Courier Agency, was attacked by Blood Phosphorus Hand amidst this chaos.

In the future, even the trading associations will likely be absorbed by Huangshan Sect. That’s why their names remain unknown.

Even though Huangshan Sect has grown to the point where it can fight a 2-to-1 battle against the large traditional factions like Zhongnan Faction and Huashan Faction, countering such an aggressive faction passively will only result in being devoured. If possible, we should form an alliance with neighboring factions to check Huangshan Sect, in order to avoid such a future.

Sagong Rin sighed.

“Sigh… I understand what you’re saying, little hero. My father and older brother are always worried about the same thing. But worry or not, there’s nothing we can do if we don’t have the power.”

“……”

It’s true. The Sagong family and the Sagong Clan are not fools who wouldn’t know they should keep Huangshan Sect in check. However, facing a faction that possesses peak martial artists and transcendent martial artists is just too unrealistic, so they’ve been enduring it.

“Do you have nothing else to say?”

“Miss Sagong Rin, it seems like you’re a peak martial artist. Don’t you have any plans to make your name known in the gangho? Being a courier head in a place like this seems a waste…”

“A waste, is it?”

Sagong Rin chuckled. Her laugh was tinged with a mixture of desolation and bitterness. I found it even that beautiful, perhaps because I’m already smitten with her.

“If I make my mark in the gangho, I could gain some fame and live happily as a female escort guard. But doing so would only burden my family. I can’t just live however I want.”

“But that’s…”

“Little hero, everyone has their own way of living.”

I know her words are not truly sincere.

Sagong Rin is interested in martial arts and wants to be active in the martial world, which is why she became a disciple of Mount Tai’s Grand Old Master. However, her family’s situation is not good, so she’s been suppressing her desires to assist her family.

Moreover, she’s already of a marriageable age and yet remains unmarried. The reason she’s still single, teetering on the edge of marrying age, is likely because she’s too busy with her duties.

A second question of mine was answered.

‘So that’s why Sagong Rin’s name remained buried even decades later.’

She will soon reach the pinnacle of martial arts expertise, and may even become a transcendental master in the future. However, she has spent decades solely focusing on protecting her family and has not ventured out into the world. I thought she was unfortunate, but I also felt that it might not necessarily be so.

Everyone has their own way of living.

Even if the path she chose isn’t the one for her, if she can live contentedly, isn’t that alright?

After concluding my thoughts, I gave a slight bow to Sagong Rin.

“I plan to leave starting today. Thank you for everything so far.”

“…I thought you might.”

Sagong Rin quietly stared out the window where the snow was gently falling as she spoke.

“Little hero, you have a dream. A dream aimed at a broad and expansive world…”

“It’s merely my greed I wish to fulfill.”

“Dreams and greed aren’t different. I envy you, Little hero…”

Sagong Rin smiled desolately.

“Farewell, little hero Baek-woong.”

And so, on that day, I handed in my resignation to Sagong Hwan, the owner of the courier agency, and left the place.

This time, I vowed to find the Millennium Snow Ginseng in Huangshan.