Without any unnecessary thoughts, Seo-jun emptied his mind and drank, noticing that the sky had already grown dark.

The cool river breeze and the gentle rocking of the boat. Seo-jun, staring at the reflection of the moon on the water, raised his cup.

Even on the surface of his drink, the moon appeared.

"Let’s drink," Seo-jun said, offering his cup.

Hyeon-wol gave a bitter smile. "You drink quite well."

"Of course. I’m the martial arts master Lee Seo-jun."

"Perhaps it’s because I’m not a martial arts master, but I’m finding it a bit difficult. I’ll take it easy."

Hyeon-wol raised his cup and only wet his lips, while Seo-jun downed his drink in one go and leaned back in his chair. Namgung Sua, sitting beside him, chuckled softly.

"You drink well."

"Isn’t that something you should be saying to yourself, Nuna?"

Despite drinking with everyone, Namgung Sua looked completely fine, as if she’d been sipping water all night. Anyone who didn’t know better would think that was the case.

Seo-jun glanced over at the courtesans Hyeon-wol had brought along. Since they weren’t on duty, they accepted the drinks offered to them and were now slumped over the table, fast asleep.

As for Chunbong? She had worn herself out playing and was now curled up in a corner, asleep.

Seo-jun chuckled softly and looked up at the sky, just as Hyeon-wol spoke.

"Did I ever tell you? You saved my life."

"Huh? No, you didn’t."

"Then I’ll tell you now. Thanks. I almost had my neck snapped by that crazy old man, the Soul-Stealing Demon, but I was saved thanks to the device you repaired."

"Oh… that’s good to hear. I thought he was just an eccentric old man, but it turns out he was a real bastard."

"Haha! You’re probably the only one who would ever call the Soul-Stealing Demon a good old man."

Namgung Sua, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, naturally chimed in.

"These days, there seem to be a lot of incidents. The Black Lotus Sect, the Soul-Stealing Demon…"

Seo-jun, guessing her thoughts, added, "Right? I even ran into some Black Lotus guys in Shaanxi."

"What? Really?"

Namgung Sua widened her eyes.

"Yeah, I saw them while I was on my way to Mount Hua. I cut them down, of course."

Seo-jun made a slicing motion with his hand.

Thinking about it now, he realized he might have been a bit reckless swinging his sword like that, but they had drawn their swords first, so it was self-defense.

After all, they were like spies.

And they had gathered in an armed group, so executing them on the spot wasn’t something anyone could complain about.

"…Do you think a war is about to break out?"

"Who knows? Oh, right."

Seo-jun casually stood up.

"Anything happening in Shaanxi? The Black Lotus guys have been on my mind."

"Shaanxi?" Hyeon-wol rested his chin in his hand and thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Nothing major, as far as I know."

"That’s good."

Seo-jun exchanged a glance with Namgung Sua.

Jong-in had disappeared, yet the head of Hao Gate knew nothing about it?

It might be that Mount Hua was hiding the situation.

There wasn’t enough evidence to make any assumptions.

They could be working with the Black Lotus, or maybe they were trying to keep them at bay.

In any case, if Mount Hua was indeed covering up Jong-in’s disappearance, that was a good thing for them.

"Alrighty."

Seo-jun got up and walked over to where Chunbong was sleeping, scooping her up in his arms. She groggily opened her eyes and snuggled into his chest.

"Mm… what’s going on…?"

"Isn’t the final act of a day on the water always fireworks?"

"What are you talking about now…?"

Standing by the boat’s railing, Seo-jun jumped into the air.

"Hey, hey, what the—!"

Hyeon-wol rushed over, startled, but Seo-jun calmly walked on the water as if it were solid ground.

This was water-walking (水上飛), a high-level martial art technique.

Everyone had their own methods, but in Seo-jun’s case, he used his internal energy to lighten his body with qinggong (lightfoot) and emitted energy from the Yongchun point in his feet, allowing him to walk on water without much difficulty.

It felt a bit like walking on a gently rippling surface.

With each step, water splashed around his feet, but the sensation was firm, like walking on land.

"Let’s see…"

Holding Chunbong in his arms, Seo-jun tilted his head back and looked at the large moon hanging in the night sky.

The stars scattered around it were beautiful.

Humming a small tune, Seo-jun sent out his own star among them.

Whoosh!

In the darkness illuminated by the lights from the boats, red and blue plum blossoms soared into the night sky, blending with the stars.

"Wow…"

Chunbong, who seemed to have woken up fully by now, looked up at the sky in awe.

"Hey, where’s your Yellow Cloud Divine Sword?"

"In front of all these people?"

"It doesn’t matter. This is Henan. Just keep it subtle."

"Hmm… I suppose you’re right."

Henan, home to the righteous sects of Mount Song, including the Shaolin Temple.

There was no way the Black Lotus would cause trouble in Henan.

If Shaolin had joined forces with the Black Lotus, well, that would mean the righteous sects were finished.

Seo-jun felt at ease, seeing Chunbong a little more relaxed lately, and his spirits were high.

‘Maybe she’s relying on me?’

In good spirits, Seo-jun leaped into the air, stepping lightly on the water.

But the sky was too high to reach in one jump.

Using the same technique as his plum blossom strike, Seo-jun unfolded the Yellow Dragon Crossing.

Golden energy rose beneath his feet, forming the shape of a dragon, and carried him higher into the sky.

"Wow… he’s really grown, huh?"

Chunbong’s words made Seo-jun laugh.

"Outdoing the master, aren’t I?"

"Yep, outdoing the master. You’re going to make the name of Shin Sword Gold Family known throughout the martial world."

"Sounds good to me."

As he rose higher, the night sky filled with plum blossoms, and in the distance, the silhouette of Mount Song, home to Shaolin, seemed to come into view.

Mount Tai. The towering Mount Tai…

"Mount Tai is high, but still under heaven. Now that I wander the sky, Mount Tai is beneath my feet."

"What’s that from?"

"I don’t know."

Seo-jun chuckled and glanced down at the river.

The boats below were twinkling like stars. Meeting the gazes of Hyeon-wol and Namgung Sua, who were watching from the boat, Seo-jun clasped his hands together and bowed from atop his golden dragon.

"Namu Amitabha."

At the same time, the plum blossoms collided, and yin and yang came together, filling the night sky with a spectacular explosion.

BOOM!

Swept up by the explosion, Seo-jun fell back toward the river, laughing loudly.

"Hahaha!"

"Eeeek!"

"Chunbong, laugh!"

"Shut up!"

With a splash, Seo-jun landed back on the water, completely unbothered, and gave a small bow.

"Thank you."

"You crazy bastard…"

Amidst the applause and cheers from the crowd, Seo-jun casually returned to the boat.

•  

"Martial artists are truly incredible! To create such a spectacle with just their bodies!"

Even after they disembarked, Hyeon-wol was still excited, praising the fireworks display repeatedly.

"With such amazing abilities, why do other martial artists waste their time on such petty things? I’m convinced they must be a bit crazy."

"Hehe, not just any martial artist can pull off something like that. Young Hero here is extraordinary."

"Is that so?"

"Of course."

Namgung Sua smiled softly as she helped one of the staggering courtesans.

"Thank you, sister."

"Oh, it’s nothing."

"Still, today’s show was amazing. As someone who’s supposed to provide entertainment, I’m a little jealous!"

The courtesan clenched her fists and her eyes sparkled.

"I’ll have to keep practicing. I may not be able to do something that grand, but I’m confident in my music."

"Oh, I’ll have to come and see you sometime, then."

"Really? Hehe, you’ll bring him along, right?"

The courtesan glanced at Seo-jun, and Namgung Sua smiled softly.

"Hmm… Maybe? I hope so."

"Oh, come on, sister. If you want it, just take it!"

"We’ll see…"

Namgung Sua looked over at Seo-jun, who was now running around the street with Chunbong on his shoulders.

"Honestly, I really do hope so."

•  

Crossing Henan and heading toward Hefei in Anhui Province.

The sheer size of Zhongyuan (the Central Plains) was overwhelming. The journey was long, but thanks to Seo-jun’s improved speed, it didn’t take as long as it could have.

Still, it took months. It was ridiculously far. Was this distance even normal?

Along the way, Namgung Sua explained that the Namgung family originally started in the southern region of Jiangnan, but as their influence grew, they relocated to Hefei, north of the Yangtze River.

Apparently, this made Hefei the capital of Anhui.

Curious, Seo-jun asked if it was the capital or a prefecture. Chunbong said both were technically correct.

He had heard it before, but it seemed that the Six Great Families were treated like independent nations.

Fortunately, nothing major happened during their journey to Hefei.

Seo-jun spent most of the time refining his martial arts, incorporating the Absorbing Star Technique into his internal cultivation.

By merging the Absorbing Star Technique, he was able to drastically improve his energy absorption rate, which sped up his cultivation.

He planned to teach Chunbong by incorporating it into her Clear Cloud Technique as well.

"Why do you keep carrying that thing around?"

Chunbong’s question snapped Seo-jun out of his thoughts, and he tucked the snake’s neidan back into his robes.

"This? It’s for you."

"What."

But this alone wouldn’t be enough. If the elixir Namgung Sua mentioned was comparable to a Plum Blossom Pill, they’d need a couple more miracle medicines.

Once Seo-jun gathered them all, he would absorb the energy himself, refine it, and transfer the purified energy to Chunbong using the Absorbing Star Technique.

Then Chunbong would be fully cured. Everyone would live happily ever after! Clap, clap, clap.

Picturing the scene in his head, Seo-jun nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, we’re finally here! So, where’s your house, Nuna?"

Seo-jun looked around.

As expected of the capital, the buildings were quite impressive.

Namgung Sua chuckled as she watched Seo-jun gawk.

"Anywhere you go here, it’s all our family’s property."

"Huh?"

What was that supposed to mean? Seo-jun scratched his head, and Chunbong popped up between them.

"Hefei’s practically owned by the Namgung family."

"Then, are all those people working for the Namgung family?"

"That’s not quite it. It’s more like the family rents the land out for others to live on."

"Oh… but still, that means this isn’t your house specifically."

"Hehe, true."

Leading the way, Namgung Sua stopped in front of a large gate.

"This is the real Namgung family estate."

Seo-jun stared up at the house, mouth agape.

It was gigantic.

Of course, it wasn’t just one building. It was a vast, walled-off compound with numerous structures inside, almost like a castle.

More than that, Seo-jun could feel the flow of Qi within the estate, and he was impressed.

He didn’t know much about formations, but the flow of energy alone told him what he needed to know.

Every building inside the walls was part of an intricate formation.

"Wow… If I’m not careful, I’ll get shredded to pieces in here."

So, this was the strength of the Six Great Families.

They hadn’t even set foot inside yet, but Seo-jun could already sense the Namgung family’s power.

And more than anything, the looming presence of the future in-law…!

‘I’m really not good at acting…’

Well, here I am, Lee Seo-jun, playing the role of Namgung Sua’s lover. Sigh.

Anyway, time to head in.