Second-Rate Warrior Searching for a Legend (3)
“Senior Sister suddenly asked if we had any thoughts of going to the Martial Academy. When I asked the reason, I heard that she was going to take the official exam with head senior brother, so I found out.”
It seemed Saryeon had been looking for a way even though she knew it would not work.
Should I call this foolish lingering attachment?
Then I felt something strange at one point in the story and tilted my head.
“Of course, it would not have worked, but why did you refuse?”
The Martial Academy was the dream gateway all rising talents wished for.
For someone like Geumpyo, who had reached the semifinals, it should have been tempting enough, so I found it strange that he had refused immediately.
“Is Senior Sister not the sect leader’s daughter? Even setting that aside, I did not think food at the Martial Academy would go down comfortably after sending Senior Sister to a deadly place.”
“…”
His words left me speechless.
We had grown up like brothers, but we were not actually brothers…
The way they thought of one another was touching and made me grateful, so many emotions overlapped.
“So please take us with you.”
“Please take us with you.”
“Please take us with you.”
I came to my senses and shook my head.
“No. The official exam is not as easy a path as you think.”
“…”
At my firm words, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers lowered their heads like puppies caught in the rain.
“However, if the matter I am planning goes well, and if you complete all the tasks I give you in the meantime, I will think about it.”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“Really?”
“If you are all going to give the same answer, only one of you should speak.”
The Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers looked as happy as if they had already entered the Martial Academy.
“Every morning, go up and down Hwaun Mountain three times.”
“Pardon?”
“Why? Can you not do it?”
“No! We can do it.”
“And from now on, match the sword formation I teach you fifty times a day. The period is the next half year. Even without looking at one another, listening to one another, or speaking to one another, the three of you must fit together perfectly.”
Gulp.
The Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers swallowed at the same time.
“And while doing that, you must not miss Kuaehwa Hall’s classes either. Once you complete all of Kuaehwa Hall as well, I will think about it then.”
“…”
“The Martial Academy exam is one where even the rising talents of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families fail one after another and get injured. And even among them, deaths occur. If you do not have that level of ability, taking you with me would be no different from telling me to take the exam while carrying heavy baggage.”
The three brothers’ expressions darkened.
“So you must have something beyond the goal of simply wanting to enter the Martial Academy. The resolve to shed blood for the brothers and sisters of the Taeul Sect, and the effort to uphold that resolve! If you do not have those, then you can simply receive my and Saryeon’s protection.”
At that moment, the youngest, Dongryong, hesitated and said,
“Then… are head senior brother and Senior Sister not shedding blood for us?”
I patted his head.
“It is fine. That is what I must do as head senior brother. Saryeon will think the same way.”
“…I will do it.”
Dongryong spoke as if making a firm resolve, and then Eunho and Geumryong followed.
“I will do it.”
“I will do it.”
My plan to give them deliberately difficult tasks and frighten them into giving up had produced a strange result.
Of course, I did not think these children could do all of it.
Even so, the very fact that they had such hearts was important, so I needed to become the destination of their efforts.
“Understood. Then I will decide after seeing your achievements half a year from now.”
“““Yes!”””
“Ah, and this must be kept secret from everyone. The adults in the sect would never allow you to participate in the official exam.”
#
I separately said goodbye to Sect Leader Hong and Father, packed light luggage, left the Taeul Sect, and headed toward Wangbu.
Since this was the schedule for the next half year, I needed to pack a lot of luggage, but I could not borrow horses every time I moved, so I had no choice but to trust my internal energy and choose to walk.
“Should I have taken a little money from the sale of the Seven-Colored Jewel?”
The first destination was Suzhou.
If I used movement techniques, distance would not be a problem, but there was no way to relieve the accumulating fatigue.
“Should I dig up some treasure?”
I knew a few treasure maps that had not yet become known to the world, but they were too far away.
“Let’s move first and think later.”
Wangbu was located on an enormous plot of land half an hour away from the Taeul Sect.
Because it had been made from the beginning as a village for people connected to the Wang Family Estate, the structure of the village differed greatly from that of ordinary villages.
In particular, because this place was the headquarters of the businesses operated by the Wang Family Estate, Wangbu was also nicknamed “the village where the lights never go out.”
Yet for some reason, all of Wangbu felt quiet.
At the mansion of the Wang Family Estate Lord in the center of Wangbu, rather than people connected to the merchant world walking around,
pots were being set up, soup was being boiled, meat was being hung and roasted.
The steward guiding me said,
“The estate lord said he had an important appointment today, so he cleared his entire schedule.”
“Huh? Then did I come for nothing?”
“Ho ho, that cannot be.”
While I was wondering whether I should return immediately or not, the steward smiled mysteriously and guided me to Wang Geumsan.
“This late learner of the murim world, Jin Sowoon, offers his greetings. Have you been well?”
In Wang Geumsan’s residence, there was not only Wang Geumsan, but also his only daughter, Wang Soso.
“Ho ho, I did make a mistake with you back then, but I thought I had eased things a little. It seems I was wrong.”
“What do you mean? The things you have already given me were so great that I do not know how I could repay them.”
“It has not been eased. Not eased at all.”
Wang Soso covered her mouth and giggled.
I spoke honestly.
“Why did you suddenly ask for me? I almost ended up being sold off in place of a debt.”
“That was because I wanted to repay my debt to you.”
“Repaying a debt nearly ruined my life, did it not?”
“Why would it ruin your life? It means gaining a power you cannot easily possess.”
“…?”
“Is martial force the only power in the world? Wealth can accomplish plenty of things martial force cannot.”
That was not particularly wrong.
In fact, the greatest obstacles to the Demonic Cult ruling the murim world were the three great merchant houses.
After Wang Geumsan disappeared, the three great merchant houses united tightly and did not yield to the Demonic Cult’s pressure.
The Demonic Cult destroyed the families of great merchants with storm-like momentum, but the remaining retainers did not submit and continued resisting.
In the end, nothing in the world works without money.
Even the Demonic Cult eventually had to go through a process of negotiation with the three great merchant houses, and they remained in the murim world even after the Murim Alliance disappeared.
“However, you still seem to be walking your own path with some certainty. So I thought I had made another mistake.”
“No. Thank you for caring.”
“Are you thinking of taking the official exam?”
“!”
He suddenly struck with unexpected words from an unexpected place.
Wang Geumsan’s eyes were already full of certainty.
As expected, the title of one of the four great merchants under heaven was not given to just anyone.
“What do you mean? Father?”
Wang Soso asked, but Wang Geumsan did not answer and only looked straight at me.
When I also did not answer, Wang Soso’s complexion gradually worsened.
“Orabeoni! That makes no sense. Even I, who spent my entire life at home, know how terrible the official exam is.”
“Soso. This father is having an important conversation right now. You may speak of your personal concerns later.”
“…”
Even toward the daughter he cherished so dearly, Wang Geumsan spoke firmly this time.
I also could not spoil this atmosphere, so I answered obediently.
“How did you know?”
“You yielded the special privilege of the One Hundred Eight Peaks to your junior sister and are moving urgently when the official exam is half a year away. Moreover, at this important moment when no one knows how the Taeul Sect will be reborn. Then there is only one answer, is there not?”
“…”
Since Wang Geumsan also had his own personal intelligence network, he probably had not inferred this from only fragmentary information.
However, the way he predicted a person’s goal from that person’s actions alone showed that the wealth Wang Geumsan had accumulated was no coincidence.
“Traditionally, it is said that the Nine Great Sects use one unit just to send one talent to the Martial Academy. In the case of the Five Great Families, they use two units. Even after doing that, countless examinees still fail to enter the academy. The Taeul Sect does not have such capacity. What do you plan to do?”
“Originally, the official exam was made to be passed by the individual ability of the examinee.”
“Yes, and as the competition rate for that exam rose, the situation became like this.”
“Even so, the larger framework has not changed.”
“Hmm, are you saying you will simply run into it head-on?”
At my seemingly reckless appearance, regret lingered in Wang Geumsan’s eyes.
“I may fail. No, I will surely fail. But trying and failing is different from giving up without even attempting.”
“But that exam is too dangerous for that. That must be why you cannot talk about it either.”
“What matters is the spirit of not giving up. Even if I fail, if this spirit continues, my junior brothers will work harder to prepare, and the disciples of my junior brothers will work even harder to prepare. I think this is not merely a matter of entering the current Martial Academy, but the path a sect must take going forward.”
At my words, Wang Geumsan shut his mouth tightly like someone who had swallowed honey.
By contrast, Wang Soso’s mouth was hanging open in surprise.
After remaining silent for a long while, Wang Geumsan murmured to himself,
“They say a dragon can soar regardless of whether it is from a stream or the sea.”
Wang Geumsan nodded.
“Whether you take the official exam or do anything else, make sure you return alive. Even if you lose everything, as long as you still have the will to begin again, it is not failure but experience.”
“Thank you.”
“I called you because I thought I might be able to help you in your journey.”
When Wang Geumsan looked at Wang Soso and nodded, Wang Soso brought over a wooden tray lined with silk from one side.
On the tray lay a silver plaque the size of a finger and a small pouch.
“This is called the Silver Wang Plaque, used by members of our Wang Family Estate.”
At Wang Geumsan’s words, I swallowed.
The Silver Wang Plaque was practically a kind of credit certificate used only by the direct bloodline members of the Wang Family Estate.
Not only could one use businesses operated by the Wang Family Estate, but it was also a kind of usage-guarantee payment certificate that allowed one to obtain money from banks contracted with the Wang Family Estate.
“Um… I think that is far too much for me.”
“Hm? What are you thinking? If you use money at a bank, I intend to charge it all to the Taeul Sect.”
Wang Geumsan clearly had a talent for instantly destroying someone else’s good mood.
“This is being given to you so you can use the businesses operated by our Wang Family Estate. If you are going to stir up all four directions under heaven, should you not at least be able to freely use horse stations?”
“Ah… yes. Thank you.”
My heart filled with gratitude, but for some reason, I also felt regret at the same time.
“Ah, right. Soso insisted stubbornly that I had to give you that.”
“F-Father. When did I insist stubbornly?”
Wang Soso blushed and lowered her head deeply.
“I thought sending her to the Taeul Sect might make her a bit more mature, but only her body grew. She is still a child. A child.”
I glanced into the slightly open pouch and widened my eyes.
Contrary to my expectation that it would contain coins, the bulging money pouch was full of gold coins.
“Well, has your resentment still not eased?”
“Pardon? What do you mean? I have always respected Estate Lord Wang greatly.”
Once the money pouch went into my robe, my tongue began rolling smoothly.
Long live the rich.
#
In my previous life, while I was shoving the records of Simhyeon Pavilion from the Intelligence Department into my head without truly understanding them, there was a time when my hand suddenly stopped.
Taeul Sword Emperor.
It was only natural that my hand stopped at the sudden appearance of that word.
A legendary expert said to have ruled heaven and earth with ten thousand swords and made everyone who stood before his sword kneel.
This absurd legend was a story used by murim people to mock the Taeul Sect, which shared the same name.
Naturally, even the disciples of the Taeul Sect did not believe in the absurd tale, so when the protagonist of that story appeared from the deepest interior of Simhyeon Pavilion, I had no choice but to stop.
The oldest records even within Simhyeon Pavilion.
The name Taeul had appeared among records that had merely piled up for hundreds of years because their importance could no longer be judged.
The influence of the Dark Heaven intensified and covered the sun.
The master of ten thousand swords willingly stood before ten thousand people.
Ten thousand swords drove back the Dark Heaven.
The masters of the sun worried that ten thousand swords would fill the place where the Dark Heaven had retreated.
The masters of the sun decided to separate the Dark Heaven and the ten thousand swords from the mortal world.
Beside the tray of Chu. At the hell where heaven and earth meet. At its end, the Dark Heaven and the ten thousand swords were sealed. Then all under heaven became peaceful.
At the time, they were stories full of codes from which I could not make any particular inference.
Later, when I was buried deep in secluded mountains and valleys and reviewed the records of Simhyeon Pavilion out of boredom, I finally realized the importance of this information.
Within the Murim Alliance’s code system, the Murim Alliance is generally compared to the sun.
Conversely, the Demonic Cult is designated as the Dark Heaven, in reference to the Heavenly Demon.
Then who did the ten thousand swords appearing in this code refer to?
At first glance, it could be seen as a force with ten thousand people, but then it would not fit with the word seal.
The coded text clearly mentioned the master of ten thousand swords.
When I had decoded the code up to that point, my body trembled.
“Was the Taeul Sword Emperor real?”
The Taeul Sect entered the One Hundred Eight Peaks at the same time the Murim Alliance was founded.
And for nearly five hundred years, it had never once been excluded from the One Hundred Eight Peaks.
Such a thing was only possible for distinctive factions such as the Gangcheon Sect or Maosan Sect, which possessed powerful strength not inferior to the Nine Great Sects.
Yet the Taeul Sect, despite having almost no development, had never left the One Hundred Eight Peaks for four hundred years.
At that point, I began to think that the legend of the Taeul Sword Emperor might perhaps be true.
‘Perhaps the Taeul Sect was kept within the One Hundred Eight Peaks in preparation for the master of ten thousand swords who might someday appear again.’
That is why, now, half a year before the Martial Academy official exam, I was putting aside elixirs and treasures to search for the Taeul Sword Emperor.
The first location was not very difficult to identify.
The tray of Chu.
Tray is often used to mean lake.
The tray of Chu meant that the tray itself represented something, and when thinking of a place called Chu that had a representative lake, one could recall the State of Chu from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
Ultimately, the answer pointed to Hunan Province, where Dongting Lake was located.
“But it will not be easy… Of all times, this should be the period when Hunan Province is at its most chaotic.”
Around this time in my previous life, the Mita Divine Water, an unparalleled elixir, was discovered in Hunan Province.
This elixir, possessing an extreme yin nature, had such powerful cold energy that if an ordinary person merely touched it, they would suffer frostbite and have to cut off their entire arm.
However, if a martial artist consumed it in a special way, it had an effect like rebirth, and at the same time possessed the function of opening the fine meridians.
Moreover, although it was yin in nature, both men and women could consume it, so it was an elixir coveted by anyone who had learned martial arts.
“Thanks to that, many people died too.”
No fewer than five thousand people who entered the underground valley of Maling Plateau to find the Mita Divine Water died.
Even considering that bloody storms blew whenever an elixir appeared in the murim world, that was an excessive number.
Moreover, the reason this incident became famous across the whole country was that among those five thousand people were members of the Namgung Family and Namgung Seonhwa, the granddaughter of the current family head.
This was also the reason I did not dare attempt it even though I had sixty years of internal energy.
If even the elites protecting the young lady of the Namgung Family entered and could not return alive, could I, entering alone, preserve my life?
“Should I have told them?”
Namgung San suddenly came to mind, but I immediately shook my head.
“Stop it. One wrong step and I could end up becoming a shaman.”
Saving people who were destined to die in the future was something I could only do within the limits of what I personally moved to do.
“Neigh.”
While I was lost in thought, the horse I had borrowed from the horse station snorted as if it wanted to run.
“You want to run too? Let us have a good run.”
I gripped its reins tightly and turned the horse’s head toward Yueyang.
#
After arriving in Yueyang, the first place I visited was a horse station operated by the Wang Family Estate to leave the horse there.
Because it had run a long distance, the horse was covered in dust and quite exhausted.
Seeing such a horse, the owner of the horse station clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. What was so urgent that you overworked a horse like this?”
“My schedule was tight.”
“I am sorry, but I cannot exchange your horse for another one.”
“Ah, I only came to leave it here…”
“Huh?”
The owner of the horse station looked me up and down, then clicked his tongue again.
“If so, would it not be better to try somewhere else? Our horse station is famous for being expensive in Yueyang city.”
“Ah, I do not intend to pay.”
“What!”
The horse station owner’s eyes turned sharp.
I quickly showed him the Silver Wang Plaque I had received from Wang Geumsan from inside my robe.
“The estate lord said I could use things as I please if I showed this.”
When he saw the Silver Wang Plaque, the horse station owner’s eyes went round, and he bent his waist in half.
“A-Aigo, I-I apologize. I failed to recognize an honored guest.”
Seeing his attitude change so quickly, he was someone who would succeed in life.
“It is fine. Stand up.”
“…Ah, yes. Th-Thank you.”
At my sudden informal speech, the horse station owner’s expression turned into a strange shape that was neither laughing nor crying.
“Do you only need me to keep the horse?”
“Ah, do you perhaps have a room at the horse station where I can stay?”
“Pardon?”
Since I had ridden without rest for four days, my whole body ached.
I was planning to stay for several days to recover from the journey and make preparations.
“…”
“Why? Is it not possible?”
Originally, I had intended to get a room at an inn, but because he had looked down on me from our first meeting for seeming to have no money, I decided to stay here.
“N-No. I will personally attend you. Please come inside.”
“Lead the way.”
For three days, I rested from the journey at the horse station operated by the Wang Family Estate and handled a few matters before leaving.
Yueyang was lively, exactly as I had seen it in my previous life.
Countless people walked along the main road, and in front of stalls, many merchants raised their voices to sell their goods.
I passed quite a few decent-looking shops, then entered an alley slightly away from the main road.
There were shops there that seemed lower in quality than the proper shops I had seen before.
And among those shops, I stood before a fabric shop.
Ha’s Fabric Shop.
“Cheap martial uniforms and long robes have just arrived. Please take a look.”
The owner of the fabric shop was showing cheap cotton cloth and calling for customers.
I approached the owner and said,
“I am looking for a special cloth.”
“What kind of special cloth are you looking for?”
“The darkest and deepest cloth would be good.”
The owner’s expression hardened for an instant, then quickly relaxed.
“As it happens, I have cloth that came in from Tibet, but I have not yet laid it out. Would you come inside?”
“Of course.”
When I followed him inside, a small corridor appeared.
“Ah, before that, pardon me, but may I confirm that you have money?”
“Of course, I have enough, so do not worry.”
“That is not the correct answer.”
The owner, who had been smiling brightly, suddenly turned serious and drew a knife from his waist. At the same time, blades flew in from all directions and formed a flower tray around me.
“I know. But since I do not have a black plaque, I came in first.”
“If you do not want to die, leave.”
“Do you call out to sell cloth that does not sell, yet do not call out to important guests?”
“Most people who say that are insignificant nobodies.”
“I will put my hand inside my robe for a moment.”
I carefully took the Silver Wang Plaque from inside my robe and showed it.
Then the owner’s eyes flashed open.
“Would this be enough to make me an important guest?”
This place, which looked like an ordinary fabric shop,
was Haomun’s Yueyang branch.
#
The place I was guided to after following the owner was a staircase leading underground at the end of the fabric shop corridor.
When I went down that staircase, a large room appeared. Inside the room, where there was not even a hole for light to enter, night pearls were shining instead.
“I failed to recognize an honored guest. Please understand that it took time to confirm.”
He was talking about the time it took to send and receive a messenger pigeon to confirm the authenticity of the Silver Wang Plaque.
Since not even a week had passed since the Wang Family Estate issued the Silver Wang Plaque, even though there were very few holders, it would not have been easy to know the authenticity of the Silver Wang Plaque in advance.
“It may not be much in exchange, but please give me a black plaque. I think I will use this place often.”
“Of course. I will prepare a special-grade black plaque for you.”
Inside the room were strange devices and weapons.
There were items, poisons, mechanical devices, and treasured swords that could not be easily obtained on the market and seemed to have been taken from someone.
“What do you need? We have everything from hidden weapons to elixirs. If it is not here, we will search all under heaven and bring it to you.”
“I have heard the rumors well. But what I need now is information.”
“Ah… information sometimes requires greater value than a treasured sword.”
The owner rubbed his palms once and spoke.
“What information do you want?”
“Find me a place in Hunan Province where the name ‘at the end of the hell where heaven and earth meet’ would fit.”
Because the clue was too brief, I expected it would take some time.
However…
“The price is twenty gold nyang.”
“Pardon?”
At the answer that came too quickly, I tilted my head.
Then the owner also tilted his head.
“Did you not come to search for the Mita Divine Water?”
At the appearance of words that should not have come from his mouth, my eyes flashed open.
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