Martial Artist Lee Gwak

Light Novel: Volume 2 Chapter 5

Manhwa: Chapters 31-32

Episode 2. Not a Single Person to Welcome Me Home (2)

After returning to the Jade Heaven Alliance, Lee Gwak spent his days doing nothing, staying only at his quarters.

Perhaps in recognition of their hard work, the Jade Heaven Alliance gave those who returned from Mount Shaohua a break and did not assign them any new missions. Thanks to this, Lee Gwak was enjoying his first period of free time in years.

With no one else in his squad, Lee Gwak had the spacious quarters all to himself. However, it didn’t feel comfortable.

At first, he thought it was because he hadn’t returned for so long that it felt unfamiliar. But after pondering for a few days, he realized it wasn’t just that.

He didn’t have this whole place to himself.

He was only able to relax right now because he was alone, but soon, when new squad members joined in, he would have to share this whole place with them. Once that happened, it was clear that the current peacefulness of the space would be disrupted and various restrictions would follow.

Lee Gwak needed a space of his own, where he could relax without having to be conscious of others.

Luckily, he hadn’t had to spend much money during his time in Mount Shaohua, so he had saved quite a considerable amount. The amount he accumulated was enough to buy a small house, not inside the Jade Heaven Alliance, but on the outside.

Once he made up his mind, Lee Gwak didn’t hesitate to leave the Jade Heaven Alliance. He spent the whole day wandering the streets looking for houses for sale. But they were several times more expensive than he had expected.

Especially for the houses close to the Jade Heaven Alliance, the prices skyrocketed. With the money he had now, buying a house in the central area was an impossible dream.

The reality that he couldn’t afford a proper house despite having saved every penny over the past few years was incredibly frustrating for Lee Gwak.

Eventually, he gave up on buying a house in the central area and turned his attention to the outskirts. But even there, he couldn’t find a property he could afford.

“Hoo!”

He let out a sigh involuntarily.

Roaming around looking for a house was more mentally exhausting than practicing martial arts in secret.

“Should I just stay in the quarters?”

The temptation to give up everything and just continue as is came to him. After a brief internal conflict, Lee Gwak encouraged himself to look one more time.

This time, he headed towards the northern streets. Being close to the slums, the house prices were relatively cheaper there.

Due to its proximity to the slums, the condition of the houses there wasn’t great. Many were poorly maintained, with crumbling walls or broken roofs.

A properly maintained house was beyond Lee Gwak’s budget.

In the end, he chose an unsightly, half-collapsed house. The house looked in ruins because it had been abandoned for a long time and hadn’t been properly maintained.

As he looked around the house, Lee Gwak couldn’t help but sigh. However, his face wasn’t as gloomy as expected.

Even though the house was in terrible condition, he liked the location and internal structure of the house. With the high walls surrounding it on all sides, the interior was impossible to see from the outside. There were only two rooms, but it had a spacious yard, big enough for Lee Gwak to practice martial arts.

The only problem was that it was so badly damaged that it would cost a lot to repair it properly. That’s why the owner had put it on sale for cheap.

Lee Gwak took the money he had and bought the house. His face wore a bright smile.

For the first time in his life, he had his own house.

It didn’t matter if the house was half-ruined. At Mount Shaohua, he had built and repaired houses to the point of exhaustion. Although he couldn’t repair it perfectly right away, he planned to restore it to its original state over time.

“Good!”

Lee Gwak lay down on the flat surface of the abandoned house and looked up at the sky.

For the first time in his life, he had a home of his own. The feeling was indescribable.

He thought about the mysterious ways of the world.

When he wanted to be with Geum Yul-seon, finding a house seemed so hard, but now that he had let her go, it came so easily.

Lee Gwak stared blankly at the sky for a while.

The next day, the first thing Lee Gwak did was visit the Creation Pavilion. The Creation Pavilion supported major events and facilities of the Jade Heaven Alliance, so it always had an abundance of materials.

During his time at Mount Shaohua, Lee Gwak had built a close relationship with the people of the Creation Pavilion. Ma Duwon, who had taught and entrusted him with the repair of mechanisms, in particular, was an important figure in the Creation Pavilion and had a lot of authority.

Ma Duwon greeted Lee Gwak warmly.

“What brings you here?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“Yes!”

Lee Gwak informed Ma Duwon that he had purchased a house. He also mentioned that he needed materials to repair the ruined house.

“So you want me to lend you the materials for the house repairs?”

“Yes! Is that possible?”

“Ha! You unbelievable guy.”

Ma Duwon laughed with a look of astonishment.

He had not expected Lee Gwak to come to him for such a trivial matter.

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“Why would I make fun of you? I really don’t have any money at all. I’m completely broke until I get my next month’s salary. I’ll pay the proper price once I receive it, so could you please help me out?”

When Lee Gwak made the most pitiful face he could, Ma Duwon grimaced.

“Forget it, man! You don’t have to pay me. Just take whatever you need and use it however you want. I’ll write you an order.”

“Really?”

“Yes! But in return, you have to come running to help me when I ask.”

“What would I be able to help with?”

“You know as well as I do that no matter how many people there are, the Creation Pavilion is always short-handed.”

“I understand.”

Lee Gwak answered cheerfully.

The Creation Pavilion was an organization far too important to be compared with the Outer Hall. It might not be visible externally, but without the Creation Pavilion, the Jade Heaven Alliance’s operations wouldn’t run properly.

Maintaining a relationship with the Creation Pavilion was also beneficial for Lee Gwak.

“Take this and go to the warehouse.”

Ma Duwon immediately wrote an order and handed it to Lee Gwak.

After thanking him, Lee Gwak went straight to the warehouse. The warehouse keeper opened the door as soon as he saw Ma Duwon’s order.

The warehouse was filled with materials for maintaining the Jade Heaven Alliance. Lee Gwak took out materials like bricks, tiles, and lumber, and loaded them onto a large cart.

Despite taking quite a lot of materials, the warehouse keeper didn’t say anything. The order he had received stated that Lee Gwak was to be given whatever he wanted.

Thanks to this, Lee Gwak was able to secure all the necessary materials without difficulty. From then on, it was a race against time.

He worked at the Outer Hall during the day, and in the evening, he spent his time repairing the house.

Lee Gwak used his experience from Mount Shaohua to repair the house.

He rebuilt the half-collapsed wall to its full height and neatly filled the holes in the wall. Lee Gwak did all the work meticulously without rushing.

The thing that Lee Gwak focused on the most was the yard. After paving the spacious ground with blue stones, a decent training ground was completed.

It would have cost a considerable amount of money to buy, but Lee Gwak settled everything with the Creation Pavilion.

A small smile crossed his face.

When he first bought this place, it was almost a ruin, but now, ten days later, it had transformed impressively.

The high walls perfectly blocked the view from outside, and the neatly raised tile roof exuded an elegant atmosphere.

There was still a lot to fix, but most were minor things, so he could take his time and do it slowly.

From that day on, Lee Gwak moved all his belongings from the quarters to his own house to live.

* * *

“Squad Leader!”

As soon as Lee Gwak entered the main gate of the Jade Heaven Alliance, a young warrior found him. It was a new recruit who had recently been assigned to the Outer Hall.

“What is it?”

“The leader is looking for you.”

“Me?”

“All squad leaders have been summoned.”

“Is that so?”

Lee Gwak inwardly knew this was coming.

Although he had taken over the squad leader position from Seo Jong-myeong, it was not through official channels. That’s why Lee Gwak’s position was quite ambiguous. It was also the reason he had been excluded from the main duties of the Outer Hall.

Of course, Lee Gwak was quite satisfied with the current situation, but he could not remain in this unsettled state forever.

Lee Gwak headed towards the main building of the Outer Hall.

The Outer Hall was one of the largest factions within the Jade Heaven Alliance. As he entered the main building, he saw familiar faces.

“Oh, you have you arrived?”

“Look at that! Our Squad 13 leader.”

Those who greeted him casually were the other Outer Hall squad leaders.

Lee Gwak’s face reddened slightly.

“I apologize. Somehow, I became a squad leader, even though I am the youngest.”

“Kid! I was going to scold you if you became arrogant after becoming a squad leader. If you act up again, you’re dead. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Haha! Sit down. The leader will be out shortly.”

Oh Guhong, who had now become the leader of Squad 8, offered the seat next to him.

It was Oh Guhong who had been the leader of Squad 13 before Seo Jong-myeong. He had taken care of Lee Gwak for a long time and thus had a special place in his heart.

“Thank you, leader.”

Lee Gwak smiled.

Oh Guhong was the eldest among the squad leaders gathered here. With Oh Guhong being friendly, the other squad leaders also had no choice but to acknowledge Lee Gwak.

“Wow, you’ve become a squad leader already. Time flies. I heard you had a hard time at Mount Shaohua? Good job.”

Cho Mu-tak, the leader of Squad 12, patted Lee Gwak on the shoulder.

Most of the squad leaders, including Cho Mu-tak, had not gone to Mount Shaohua. They had been tipped off by Maeng Hee-cheon that going to Mount Shaohua would only result in taking care of the Creation Pavilion’s errands.

Those who went to Mount Shaohua were either powerless within the Outer Hall or were young warriors. That had led to a lot of gossip, and the ones who returned had many complaints.

Lee Gwak was aware of this fact but didn’t show it. After all, he had gained a lot from his time at Mount Shaohua.

He had grown a lot, both as a person and as a warrior. The three years and seven months he spent at Mount Shaohua were among the most explosively developmental and valuable periods of Lee Gwak’s life.

As if to prove that fact, Lee Gwak’s eyes had grown deeper. Cho Mu-tak tilted his head, sensing the change in Lee Gwak.

It seemed something had definitely changed, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly.

‘It must be my imagination, right?’

Cho Mu-tak thought it was because he hadn’t seen him in a long time which was why he was feeling such a thing from Lee Gwak.

“Is everyone here?”

A heavy voice resonated as someone entered the room. It was Maeng Hee-cheon, the overall leader of the Outer Hall.

“Have you arrived, Leader?”

Thirteen squad leaders simultaneously rose from their seats and bowed their heads. Lee Gwak also quickly followed suit with the other leaders.

“Hm!”

Maeng Hee-cheon sat in the highest seat with an air of arrogance.

Although the Outer Hall was considered the bottom layer when looking at the entire Jade Heaven Alliance, in this place, Maeng Hee-cheon was no different from a king.

Maeng Hee-cheon’s gaze swept over each squad leader. His eyes halted on Lee Gwak, who was at the end of the row.

“I see a new face.”

“I’m Lee Gwak, the new Squad 13 leader.”

At Lee Gwak’s response, Maeng Hee-cheon made a strange expression. It wasn’t that he truly didn’t recognize Lee Gwak, but rather that he was taken aback by the unexpected announcement.

“So the new leader Seo recommended is you? The ways of the world are truly unpredictable.”

“……”

“Good! Well, now that you’re a leader, do well from here on out.”

“Yes!”

Lee Gwak answered briefly and concisely.

Maeng Hee-cheon watched Lee Gwak for a moment and then shifted his gaze back to the other squad leaders.

“The reason I’ve gathered you here today is that the situation in the world is becoming unusual.”

“Hmm!”

“According to the Heavenly Intelligence Hall, the movements of the Celestial Demon Union are being detected everywhere.”

Everyone’s expressions turned somber. Even though they had already prepared themselves for this, they couldn’t help but feel afraid that the Celestial Demon Union was on the move again.

“Make sure you all keep your subordinates in line. In times like these, there’s nothing good about standing out for the wrong reasons.”

“Yes!”

The squad leaders answered in unison.

Maeng Hee-cheon continued to give directives to the squad leaders.

Among them was the order to recruit new members for Squad 13, which currently had no members.

Taking the opportunity, Lee Gwak asked Maeng Hee-cheon if he could bring Seok Yi-cheon into his squad. Surprisingly, the squad leader to whom Seok Yi-cheon belonged readily agreed to transfer him.

Seok Yi-cheon was not only older but also a person who was skillful in avoiding work, the kind of presence that made no difference whether he was there or not.

“Squad 13 leader.”

“Yes!”

“Now that new personnel are assigned, make sure there’s no disharmony. Remember, if there’s any gossip, the leadership could change.”

“Understood.”

“Alright, now that I’ve said all that needs to be said, let’s have a drink together for the first time in a long time. This will also act as a welcoming ceremony for the new leader.”

At Maeng Hee-cheon’s words, the squad leaders cheered.

Among them, the leader of Squad 7 had a particularly bright expression and said,

“I’ve recently found a place. It’s a newly opened brothel, and the conditions are excellent. Heh heh!”

“Really?”

“I’ve made a reservation in anticipation of hosting you, Leader. All you have to do is show up.”

“There’s no one like you. Let’s go.”

Maeng Hee-cheon smiled contentedly.

The room was already buzzing with excitement. Lee Gwak found such an atmosphere unfamiliar.

Just then, Oh Guhong approached and slung an arm over his shoulder.

“Let’s go!”

There was no room for refusal.

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