"Hah… I never imagined things would turn out like this."
Kang Moo-jin gazed up at the sky with complicated eyes.
After hearing the explanation of how the Diamond Escort Agency had fallen into such a state, a heavy melancholy weighed down on his heart.
It was so stifling that even the clear sky, dotted with just a few white clouds, seemed oppressive.
"So, to sum it up, Second Brother went missing during an important escort mission, the mission failed, and that's when our fortunes began to decline."
"Yes, Uncle."
"And First Brother went to Shaolin Temple for help?"
"Yes, Uncle. It's been a little over a month since he left."
According to Soo-yeon, the biggest reason the Diamond Escort Agency was on the brink of ruin was the failure of an escort mission involving an enormous sum of money.
That failure had buried them under a mountain of debt, forcing them to borrow even from the black path's King Yama Branch.
"How much was the compensation?"
"Ten thousand silver taels."
"T-Ten thousand?!"
Ten thousand silver taels was an astronomical amount—enough that they'd have to sell off all the agency's land and buildings five times over.
It was a debt large enough to buy an entire neighborhood outright.
"We… the Diamond Escort Agency took on a job like that?!"
Moo-jin stared at Soo-yeon in disbelief.
Why on earth would they accept such an escort mission?
An escort agency was a business that took money to deliver clients' goods safely to their destinations. If they failed, they had to pay compensation on top of refunding the fee.
That was why every escort agency did its utmost to never fail a mission.
And the Diamond Escort Agency had been thorough enough to establish a strict principle just to avoid failure.
They'd never taken on missions beyond their means before, sticking only to safe, reliable ones with almost no failures.
The agency's head, Moo-jin's father Kang So-gong, was a man who knew his own limits all too well.
He never accepted reckless requests, only safe ones he was certain of succeeding or had succeeded before, running the agency steadily and reliably.
For such a reputable agency, built on trust and integrity, to take on a mission with an insane compensation and then fail? Something was off.
"Do you know what that mission was about?"
"No, Uncle. Only Father, First Uncle, and Grandfather know."
"Hm. Then that's the first thing we need to look into. Lead me to Father for now."
"But Grandfather is…"
"It's fine."
Seeing the worry on Soo-yeon's face, Moo-jin placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
"All right, Uncle. This way."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"…Father."
Moo-jin's sorrowful gaze turned to the elderly man lying on the sickbed.
This gaunt old man, with cheeks hollowed out and sunken eyes, looked so frail he could die at any moment. He was Moo-jin's father, Kang So-gong.
"How did it come to this…"
Moo-jin's hands trembled faintly—hands that had never shaken even when fighting Linked Qi Realm monsters to the death.
His chest felt like it was collapsing. His heart throbbed as if torn apart.
Damn it…
Moo-jin's large, quivering hand—like an aspen leaf—gently rested atop his father's hand, shrunken so much in just ten years.
"…"
Moo-jin's expression grew complicated as he touched the fragile hand, which seemed like it would crumble under the slightest pressure.
Sadness, regret, longing—various emotions flickered across his eyes.
How could someone who had always seemed so unbreakable become this weak?
How sharp must the winds of time have been to shred that strength and leave him so withered?
It was hard to even imagine.
"Hoo."
The suffocating pain made Moo-jin clutch his chest roughly.
No monster had ever tormented him like this—not the ones that poured molten hellfire on his flesh, nor those that spewed poisonous mist to melt his lungs and organs.
If I'd been here… this wouldn't have happened.
A deep sigh of regret escaped Moo-jin as he gripped his father's dry, branch-like hand.
A coma…
The sight of his father in a coma from some unknown illness moved even Moo-jin's hardened eyes, tempered by thirty years in the Linked Qi Realm.
"It's me… your youngest son Moo-jin. I've come home, Father."
Moo-jin murmured softly to his father, who could neither respond nor hear.
"…I'm sorry, Father."
It all felt like his fault.
Because he'd run away from home. Because he'd vanished into that formation. The aftermath had shaken the family and brought his father low.
If only I'd come back a little sooner.
Regret churned within him over time long past—when suddenly,
"Father…"
Twitch—
His father's fingertip moved, as if responding to his son's call.
Huh?
A comatose patient couldn't move their body.
In other words, his father might not be in a true coma.
No way…?
A sudden thought snapped Moo-jin to attention. He placed two fingers on his father's wrist, checking his pulse.
This murky energy… it's not an illness. It's poison.
A coma from mental shock showed no response to external stimuli.
But one from poison or deep physical trauma was different—the mind remained alert within an unresponsive body.
If it's poison, I can handle it.
Steadying his quickened breath, Moo-jin pressed lightly on his father's wrist with trembling fingers.
Stay calm. I can do this.
Regaining his composure, Moo-jin channeled true energy into his father's dantian.
Good thing I forced myself to learn the Water Spirit Arts in the Linked Qi Realm.
The Water Spirit Arts.
A Linked Qi Realm technique that used vital energy to neutralize poison—one that Seo-rin had stubbornly forced on Moo-jin despite his reluctance.
At this stage, my current internal energy should be more than enough!
As a basic technique, the Water Spirit Arts didn't demand much power.
Moo-jin drew up his internal energy and activated it. His father's complexion began to change for the better almost immediately.
"U-Uncle! Grandfather's face!"
Soo-yeon's eyes widened at the sight of So-gong regaining vitality from the brink of death.
"Hoo. What a relief. Who knew the Water Spirit Arts would come in handy."
Moo-jin let out a long sigh of relief, his forehead slick with sweat from the tension.
"N-No way. D-Did you just heal Grandfather?!"
"Yeah. Seems like it."
It wasn't a full cure yet.
He'd removed the poison, but not restored the stamina. Still, his father should wake in about seven days.
"Even the famous physicians of Shanxi Province gave up… You're amazing, Uncle! How did you do it?"
Soo-yeon covered her gaping mouth with her hand, eyes wide, body trembling as if she might burst with excitement despite trying to hold it in.
"I picked up a few things while I was away."
"Eek! Uncle!"
Moo-jin scratched his cheek, watching Soo-yeon jump around in awe, then warmly grasped his father's hand—now sleeping peacefully with a more serene expression than before.
"You'll be fine now, Father."
Gazing at his father's tranquil face, Moo-jin rose from his knees.
And in that moment—
"Moo-jin… is that you?"
Kang So-gong's frail voice reached Moo-jin's ears.
"…"
At first, he thought it was a hallucination.
Sweat drenched his palms the instant he heard it, and his back grew damp too.
Even his thick legs wobbled. They shook so badly he had to clench his fists and legs tight just to stay upright.
Otherwise… he felt like he'd collapse right then and there.
"Father?"
Moo-jin turned slowly, sat back down, and gave his father a faint smile.
"It's you, Moo-jin…"
"Father."
Seeing his son return after ten years, So-gong mirrored the smile on Moo-jin's lips.
"…"
The two simply gazed at each other in silence.
Ten years had passed, but the awkwardness vanished in an instant.
The farther apart they'd grown, the deeper the longing—perfectly natural.
Tenderness welled up in both their eyes. They bit their lips hard to hold back tears.
"It's been a long time, Father."
Moo-jin's voice trembled faintly—a voice that had never quavered even before stronger foes.
"Have you been well?"
So-gong didn't ask what had happened or why he'd left.
All he cared about was one thing, no matter where his son had been: his well-being.
"Yes, Father. Your son has been well."
"You've grown into a fine man. Haven't you eaten too much?"
The gruff father, still awkward at expressing his feelings honestly, tossed out a light joke,
"Once I left home, I got awfully hungry."
and his son, reading his heart, smiled and shot back with humor.
"If there was that much good food, you should've brought some back now and then."
"Haha."
Moo-jin clenched his fists tight to hold back the tears pricking his eyes. His nails dug into his skin, but he felt no pain.
Right now, the aching heaviness in his chest dwarfed any physical hurt.
"That's why I've come myself this time—loaded with plenty."
"Heh heh. You rascal. Yes… thank you. Truly, thank you."
"Yes, Father."
For a fleeting moment, regret flashed in Moo-jin's eyes,
clasp—
and So-gong gripped his son's arm with his twig-thin hand.
"Son. Don't make that face. It's not your fault."
Were all fathers like this?
Without a word from Moo-jin, So-gong pierced straight to the demon haunting his child's heart.
"…Yes, Father."
"Seeing you again… it fills me with joy. *Cough*!"
"You still need more rest. Sleep a bit longer, Father."
The poison was gone from So-gong's body, but his stamina hadn't returned. What he needed now was long, deep sleep and recovery.
"Right. You're correct."
So-gong squeezed his son's hand firmly before letting go, closed his eyes, and drifted into deep slumber.
"Rest well."
Moo-jin led Soo-yeon out of his father's chambers.
He wanted to stay longer, tell him everything that had happened—but there was no time now.
With all the crises facing the Diamond Escort Agency, he needed two bodies just to handle them.
One problem down, at least.
His father regaining his health was now just a matter of time.
So, what was the most urgent issue left?
No need to think.
The debt came first, obviously.
He couldn't let black path loan sharks keep sticking their noses in the Diamond Escort Agency's business.
"Soo-yeon."
"Yes, Uncle."
"About that debt—you said the principal's already been paid off?"
"Yes, Uncle. Father even sold the jewelry from his wedding to pay it off long ago. But those bastards demand insane interest… that's why we're still suffering."
"I see."
Moo-jin nodded in understanding.
Those King Yama Branch types never wanted borrowers to pay up fully.
It cut off their interest stream—the most unpleasant outcome for them.
"Then we handle the debt—no, those bastards—first."
Eyes on the agency's dilapidated front gate, Moo-jin felt the murky energies nearby and rolled his shoulders.
"Uncle, how do you plan to settle the debt? We don't have that kind of money…"
BAM—!
The gate exploded inward, shards of door scattering across the courtyard.
"This the place? Where the bastard who half-killed our boys is?!"
A black path warrior with two scars on his forehead forming a crossed "X" stomped in with a savage scowl.
"Which one of you touched our boys? You, you son of a bitch?"
Soo-yeon paled at the sight of the man leading five underlings and backed away.
"Th-the Silver Push Sect."
"Silver Push Sect?"
"The black path group we borrowed from!"
"Ho. So those are the bastards."
A glint flashed in Moo-jin's eyes. He patted Soo-yeon's frightened head and asked,
"Soo-yeon, listen. With the King Yama Branch, you can't settle debts by paying them off. There's only one way to resolve their loans, from time immemorial."
"What way is that?"
"It's…"
Moo-jin grinned with delight.
Whether in the Linked Qi Realm or here, nothing cleared the mind like solving things with fists.
"First, beat the crap out of that guy. Then his boss, and his boss's boss—all of them. Smash their whole organization to pieces."
"S-Smash?! W-Wouldn't going to the authorities be faster?"
Moo-jin shook his head firmly.
"The law's always too far away to help when you need it. Fists are closer than any law."
He clapped his fists together lightly and flashed a broad smile.
"Remember this: No matter the problem, smash it and beat it down—the answer always comes."