It was almost time for the Nine Dragon Assembly to begin. I was being held by a man who looked like a bear.
The man said to me,
"This time, you didn't try to run away, huh?"
If there were a person as imposing as Mount Tai, this would be it.
He was at least six feet tall, and the massive pressure from his broad shoulders was impressive.
His snow-white hair and the wrinkles on his face spoke of the years he had lived.
However, he was still too formidable to be called an old man; he was more fittingly called a martial artist.
He was Elder Goo of the Goo family, the First Elder.
"Why did you come here, you little scoundrel, who always ran away whenever you saw this old man?"
"Didn't you say you'd cut me in half if I didn't show up? And how could I skip the Nine Dragon Assembly?"
"Really? Now you even answer back."
He spoke harshly and roughly tousled my hair with his giant hand.
Elder Goo had always been particularly fixated on me. Being the only son of the family head was probably the biggest reason.
He didn't seem to control his strength, and every time he tousled my hair, I moved with his hand.
'I'm going to... vomit...'
Just as I was about to pass out, Goo Yeonseo appeared. To me, he was a ray of light.
Goo Yeonseo frowned at the sight of me being tossed around but quickly composed himself and bowed to Elder Goo.
"I greet you, Elder."
"Oh! Yeonseo is here too!"
Upon seeing Goo Yeonseo, he let go of me and pulled out a sweet from his robe.
This scene seemed familiar...
"This naughty brat is never cute, but Yeonseo, you must have had a hard time coming from far away. I didn't bring anything in a hurry, but would you like a sweet?"
Goo Yeonseo stiffened at the sight of the sweet in Elder Goo's hand. Then he slightly smiled and declined.
"I'm sorry, but my stomach isn't feeling well right now..."
"Oh no! We should call a doctor!"
"No, Elder, it's probably just the tension from the Nine Dragon Assembly. I'll take the sweet next time, thank you."
He bowed and left to change his clothes.
"You're so well-mannered and polite, unlike someone else."
"I'm about to faint from all the shaking. Can I go see a doctor?"
"That can be cured with a little ointment. Be quiet."
...What is this ridiculous favoritism?
I felt a bit wronged, but since he was such an eccentric person, I let it go.
"Elder, if you're not going to eat that sweet, can you give it to me?"
"I've told you before, you need to eat less. It's ridiculous for a martial artist's son to crave sweets."
"Excuse me, you were just about to give a sweet to a martial artist's son. And what does a sweet have to do with being a martial artist?"
"Yeonseo eats and trains consistently, unlike you who just eats and sleeps."
"I won't eat it, so it's fine."
Saying that, I took the sweet from Elder Goo. Of course, it was for Wixia.
I had somehow started to think of Wixia whenever I saw sweets, probably because she enjoyed eating them so much.
As I was about to take the sweet, I saw Wixia coming with another servant.
The servants bowed to me and Elder Goo, and Wixia followed suit.
Elder Goo waved his hand to signal that it was fine, and they all straightened up.
Wixia then quickly walked over to me.
"Master! There are so many people outside!"
"Of course, it's a festival."
"There are buns, skewers, and noodles for sale!"
"...Didn't you just say there were a lot of people? Why are you talking about food?"
"But the buns..."
Wixia, who was excitedly talking, suddenly hid behind me in surprise.
I turned around to see what was wrong and saw Elder Goo looking at Wixia with a strange expression.
His towering figure, over six feet tall, was quite intimidating.
Moreover, the Goo family had a reputation for having fierce eyes, so they were not known for being friendly.
"...Elder, people will be scared if you stand like that."
"Hmm..."
"Why are you doing that?"
"Is this girl your concubine?"
"...What are you talking about, Elder? Look at her clothes. She's a servant."
Among the servants, the blood relatives wore yellow clothes, and Wixia was one of them.
"Is that so? If you say so, then that's that."
He seemed to lose interest and left. It was really time to prepare as the sun was setting.
I gave the sweet to Wixia.
"Eat this and behave."
"Huh? I already ate one earlier..."
"Why? You said it was delicious. Are you tired of sweets?"
"No... Grandfather said not to eat more than five a day."
"...When did you eat five?"
I only gave her one in the carriage. When I glared at the servants, they all avoided my gaze.
"It must have been them..."
They probably bought and gave her the sweets with their own money, not touching my snacks.
I told her to keep the sweet and eat it later, and I quickly changed my clothes.
There wasn't much to prepare. I just put on the red robe, the symbol of the Goo family.
As the sun set and the sky turned orange, lanterns were lit throughout the venue.
In the center of the venue, Elder Goo stood, with me and Goo Yeonseo on either side.
Since it was the Nine Dragon Assembly, the blood relatives had to participate, but the youngest was not in the family, and the eldest was away on sword duties, so it was just me and Goo Yeonseo.
Ideally, the family head should attend the Nine Dragon Assembly, but he was away at the Jinma Jingwen and couldn't move easily.
The First Sword Team, directly under the family head, was also unavailable.
Therefore, the current participants were the Second, Third, and Fourth Sword Teams, excluding the Fifth Sword Team on a long-term mission and the First Sword Team.
This year's first Nine Dragon Assembly had a relatively small number of participants.
'Thanks to the Qianri Merchant House, it's the largest in scale.'
The venue was indeed too large for the number of people.
It allowed many spectators to enter, but it was also a potential site for accidents due to the crowd.
Of course, with the Goo family's sword teams gathered, no one would dare cause trouble.
In front of Elder Goo, Goo Yeonseo, and me, about a hundred people stood, the sword teams of the Goo family.
Even with light armor, the sharp aura they emitted proved that each one was an excellent martial artist.
"Captains of each sword team, step forward."
Elder Goo, who had been playful earlier, now exuded the authority of an elder of a family.
His short words, filled with his accumulated inner strength, echoed throughout the venue.
Following Elder Goo's command, a few members from the many sword teams stepped forward.
"First Sword Team Captain's Deputy, Woo Anseon! I greet you, Elder of the Goo family."
"Third Sword Team Captain, Ma Cheolhyun, I greet you, Elder."
"Fourth Sword Team Captain's Deputy, Hyuk Juyeom, I greet you, Elder."
There were two deputies for the captain of the First Sword Team.
They were appointed to handle any unforeseen incidents if the captains were all absent at once.
Of course, this was agreed upon among the sword teams.
Elder Goo nodded at the sight of the sword team members and continued.
"For the Goo family and the common people..."
The rest of his words were too long to remember.
In summary, he thanked them for their hard work, encouraged them to continue, and promised rewards.
The rewards for each sword team included a significant amount of medicinal herbs and a doubled monthly salary.
To the sword team members, Elder Goo's words seemed more touching than the rewards.
I couldn't quite understand why...
My role, along with Goo Yeonseo's, was just to stand there, symbolically showing that we, as blood relatives, had observed their hard work.
This was necessary to boost the morale of the sword teams.
"...I thank you for your hard work."
By the time I came to my senses, Elder Goo's speech was almost over.
As Elder Goo expressed his gratitude, the sword team members and the spectators all applauded.
Looking up at the sky, it was already dark.
The first day of the two-day Nine Dragon Assembly was coming to an end.
'Fortunately, nothing troublesome happened.'
In a gathering of the Goo family's elite, it was unlikely for anything troublesome to happen, but it was something I always paid attention to.
My poor memory couldn't remember everything.
I remembered the big events that shook the Central Plains martial world, but the memories of this time were hazy.
It could be because I was young and didn't remember well.
Or perhaps I had deliberately forgotten to keep only the happy memories.
'At least nothing happened at this Nine Dragon Assembly.'
I remembered the 'incident' that would happen in winter, but I had no particular memories of the spring Nine Dragon Assembly.
As the applause was ending, we moved to our seats under the guidance of the Qianri Merchant House.
******************
In the evening, the remaining time was a small festival for the Goo family's sword teams.
It was more like a feast with numerous foods and drinks prepared by the Qianri Merchant House.
The captains and deputies asked to be excused from the drinks, but Elder Goo insisted they drink today.
The sword team members cheered even louder than when they received their salaries or medicinal herbs.
"It's a mess."
They were human, so they would crave alcohol and greasy food.
But as martial artists, they usually endured.
Elder Goo's permission made the atmosphere lively, or more accurately, chaotic.
I went outside the merchant house for some fresh air, and Wuyan followed me.
"What's up? Why aren't you drinking and came out with me?"
"Would a bodyguard drink? This is for the sword team members, not for me, so it's fine."
"Didn't you say you were from the same sword team?"
Wuyan hesitated at my words.
The bodyguards of the Goo family were also part of the sword teams, so Wuyan was also a member of the sword team.
"I... That..."
"Forget it. Let's take a walk around the area."
Seeing his awkwardness, I changed the subject. I wasn't that curious, and there was nothing else to ask.
"Shinweol County is indeed large, but the scope is different."
The streets were more vibrant than where the Goo family was located, thanks to the Qianri Merchant House.
Especially at night, the quiet taverns during the day were now lit up.
With this level of street activity, it could rival Anhui, where the Martial World Alliance was located, or Sichuan, where the largest merchant house was.
I felt sorry for Wuyan, who was on edge behind me, but I enjoyed being out in the market.
Seeing people walking around comfortably, I realized that the past bloodshed hadn't happened yet.
I could also wander around without a care, feeling that the future I had experienced was no longer a reality.
"Should we buy some buns?"
I suddenly remembered Wixia talking about buns.
"Because of Wixia, right?"
When I mentioned buns, Wuyan brought up Wixia.
"Well, not necessarily, but everyone will like them if I buy them."
Buying them for everyone would be good. Wuyan looked proud at my words.
"...Indeed, Master is different from the rumors. I should learn more, as they say, not to believe rumors."
"Is that all because I'm buying buns? Wait, how long have you been my bodyguard...?"
"It's been a little less than two weeks."
...You must have taken the job just before I returned. That's why you can say such things.
Should I say Wuyan was lucky, or that I was lucky?
Thinking about Wuyan, I realized I didn't remember him well, so he must have been replaced like the other bodyguards.
"Master, there's a bun stand over there."
While I was lost in thought, Wuyan pointed to a steaming building. Even I, who wasn't particularly hungry, felt my stomach growl at the smell.
"Let's go there."
I didn't think for long.
As I searched my pouch for money and headed towards the bun stand,
"Miss, it's dangerous to wander around like this."
"I'm worried, but I heard the Nine Dragon Assembly is happening. With so many Goo family members around, how could anything happen to me?"
I recognized the familiar face.
"That's why I'm more worried... What if you run into Goo Gongzi?"
"How could that happen? There are so many people here."
I shouldn't have said that.
As soon as the girl spoke, our eyes met.
The girl froze like a stone when our eyes met.
The woman guarding her behind her also looked shocked.
Her short hair reached her shoulders, and her eyes were as black as go stones, making her stand out.
The ring on her hand caught my eye.
Although the pattern was hard to see, I knew what it meant.
The Peng family of Hebei.
The girl was a blood relative of the famous Hebei family, one of the four great families of the Central Plains, known for practicing sword and saber techniques.