At that moment, Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong spoke.
“You’d be wise not to think you can unsettle me with that cheap little tongue of yours.”
Cousin Hyang-ok didn’t bother answering. She simply charged straight at him.
Crack!
The token shattered instantly beneath Cousin Hyang-ok’s strike.
So that was the Tiger-Subduing Great Firmament Sword?
It lived up to its name. The martial art radiated enough overwhelming force to make even a tiger submit.
The Tiger-Subduing Great Firmament Sword was Divine Nun Haecheong’s specialty, wasn’t it?
So that was Cousin Hyang-ok’s answer: shut up and fight.
Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong looked flustered, but he quickly assumed an opening stance and prepared to fight in earnest.
The Hwangbo Clan primarily specialized in fist arts, and its reputation in that field rivaled even the Jinju Eon Clan.
The Jinju Eon Clan strengthened their bodies through the Iron Body Art to withstand bladed weapons, but the Hwangbo Clan didn’t bother with anything like that.
They seemed to be born with towering frames and extraordinary recuperative abilities, making something like the Iron Body Art unnecessary.
Come to think of it, the Hwangbo Clan had once been famous for its bold, openhearted temperament and its devotion to fighting fair…
But much of that old family character seemed to have faded in recent years.
One of their young lords had even stooped to participating in illegal match-fixing.
Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong’s fist shot forward with vicious force.
Cousin Hyang-ok narrowly slipped past it and swung her sword.
Her blade was aimed precisely at the token on Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong’s body.
As though he had anticipated it, Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong threw a punch toward the approaching blade.
At that instant, Cousin Hyang-ok abruptly changed her sword stroke, and her blade struck a different token instead.
Crack!
He’d swallowed her feint whole.
Was it because Cousin Hyang-ok was far stronger than he’d expected?
Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong’s expression grew increasingly distorted.
“You filthy little rat!”
Ah… He really shouldn’t have said that.
Emei Sect disciples usually wore gray, and their footwork was both nimble and exceptionally quick to change.
Perhaps because many of their martial arts focused on striking and swiftly retreating, some martial artists contemptuously referred to them as rats.
“What did he just say?”
“That bastard!”
Naturally, not only the Emei Sect disciples watching beneath the stage, but even the Emei Sect Leader bristled at the insult.
“Ahem. That remark does not represent the Hwangbo Clan’s position, so please do not misunderstand.”
The Hwangbo Clan Lord immediately distanced himself from the remark.
This friendly martial gathering was an official event attended by numerous clans and sects. One careless insult could easily grow into a serious dispute.
Then it happened.
“…!”
Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong’s entire body suddenly flinched.
His face twisted as though he had swallowed a mouthful of filthy sewage.
I quickly realized what had happened and grinned.
Cousin Hyang-ok…
Did you just tear him apart through Voice Transmission?
Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong had overlooked one important fact. Nearly every martial artist skilled enough to participate here could use Voice Transmission.
And plugging his ears wouldn’t block a Voice Transmission.
Just what had she said to make Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong react like that?
He gritted his teeth and hurled himself at Cousin Hyang-ok.
It was a blind, bullheaded charge that ignored everything in its path.
However.
Whoosh!
Cousin Hyang-ok didn’t meet him head-on. She lightly slipped aside, and he went tumbling straight off the stage.
“…”
The match was decided in the blink of an eye.
Commander Geum Yeon-hwa stepped onto the stage and announced,
“The winner of this match is Hyang-ok!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
“Snow Sword Heroine! Snow Sword Heroine!”
As thunderous cheers shook the martial arena, Young Lord Hwangbo Ho-myeong stared blankly ahead before scrambling to his feet. He ripped the wax plugs from his ears and shouted,
“You coward! You toyed with me using nothing but that poisonous tongue of yours!”
“Toyed with you using my tongue? I never even opened my mouth.”
“You mocked me through Voice Transmission just now!”
“Do you have proof?”
“…”
Cousin Hyang-ok was right.
A Voice Transmission could only be heard by its intended recipient. No one else could possibly hear it.
“And even if I did toy with you through Voice Transmission, you’re hardly in a position to complain. Unlike you, Young Lord, I hadn’t plugged my ears. I heard you perfectly clearly when you called me a filthy little rat.”
“W-When did I ever…”
At that moment, Commander Geum Yeon-hwa spoke.
“We all heard you.”
Her gaze was ice-cold. Come to think of it, she had also come from the Emei Sect.
“…”
When people blocked their ears and couldn’t hear themselves properly, they unconsciously raised their voices.
That was why elderly people with poor hearing and blacksmiths often spoke so loudly.
That was what he got for plugging his ears and making such a stupid mistake.
Off to one side, several people who appeared to belong to the Hwangbo Clan were shaking their heads in dismay.
In any case, Cousin Hyang-ok had safely advanced to the next round.
When lunchtime arrived, Mother and I went to find Cousin Hyang-ok.
“Cousin, congratulations on advancing to the next round.”
“Thank you.”
Mother then spoke.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Aunt.”
“To celebrate your victory, I was thinking of inviting everyone from the Emei Sect to dinner tonight. Would that be all right?”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Do you really think buying one meal to support my niece is such a burden? Your mother will complain later if she finds out I didn’t even treat you to dinner. Hohoho.”
“In that case… all right. I’ll speak with my master.”
Cousin Hyang-ok went to see Divine Nun Haecheong, then returned and told us that everyone would come to the Yeonpung Inn that evening.
“By the way, Cousin.”
“What?”
“What in the world did you say to Young Lord Hwangbo through Voice Transmission?”
Cousin Hyang-ok smiled at my question.
“Your curiosity is going to get you into trouble one day.”
“I’m well aware of that, but I still want to know.”
“Do you truly want to hear it?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Through Voice Transmission, Cousin Hyang-ok repeated exactly what she had said to Young Lord Hwangbo earlier.
I immediately understood why she had warned me.
I also understood why Young Lord Hwangbo had reacted the way he did.
The Snow Sword (雪劍) Heroine… (TL Note: Her epithet, 설검여협, normally means “Snow Sword Heroine”, but “설” can also represent the chinese character “舌”, meaning “tongue”. So she’s also the Tongue Sword Heroine)
I had no idea who had coined that epithet, but they had chosen it perfectly.
.
.
.
All of today’s matches came to an end.
After the fourth match concluded, the two competitors from the first match returned after finishing their treatment and resumed their interrupted fight.
When the match began again, the Pungha Sect disciple won by the narrowest of margins.
The Bigyeok Sect would probably feel like a house in mourning for quite some time.
My parents and Brother Jin-ho had already returned to the inn.
Since we had invited Cousin Hyang-ok and the members of the Emei Sect, they had probably gone ahead to make preparations.
I intended to look around the temporary stalls before heading back to the inn.
I would be competing tomorrow, but that didn’t mean I planned to cram in any additional training.
I already trained seriously every morning.
Besides, I had no intention of revealing my full strength just to win the entire gathering.
Of course, the Alliance Leader wouldn’t be pleased if I was eliminated in the first match. It would be best to win twice or so before deliberately dropping out.
After examining the temporary stalls and taking a look around the entire commercial district, I started toward the Yeonpung Inn and ran into someone along the way.
“Have you been well?”
It was none other than Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa of the Ji Clan.
“Yes. Well enough, I suppose.”
“First, I would like to apologize for the present difficulties surrounding the contract with the Ji Clan.”
Well, it was certainly something they owed me an apology for.
But only an amateur would let that show on his face.
A merchant had to know how to wear whatever mask the situation required.
That didn’t stop me from cursing them inwardly, of course.
“What can be done? Things have already turned out this way.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
I never said I understood… but I supposed he was free to interpret my words however he liked.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, my grandfather and father asked me to bring you to them, Great Hero.”
I didn’t care for the fact that they had summoned me instead of coming to see me themselves, but since Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa had personally come to fetch me, I decided to let it slide.
“Let’s go.”
I accompanied him to the Ji Clan’s estate, where I met the Clan Lord and the Young Clan Lord.
“Junior Merchant Eun Seo-ho greets the Clan Lord and Young Clan Lord.”
“Welcome.”
I sat down before them.
“May I take your summons to mean that you’ve decided to accept the proposal I made previously?”
The Clan Lord cleared his throat at my question.
“Ahem, ahem. That is correct.”
“I know you’ve been running yourselves ragged trying to gather enough money to repay the debt. I take it things did not work out as you had hoped.”
He avoided my eyes, apparently unable to come up with a convincing response.
The only people they could have approached for a loan were probably members of the clans and sects attending the Murim Grand Assembly.
But there was no chance those people would readily lend them the enormous sum of three million silver taels.
As I had mentioned before, martial clans and sects were not nearly as wealthy as most people imagined.
Ah… The Namgoong Clan might be another story.
“Did even the Namgoong Clan refuse you? They are probably the wealthiest clan at present.”
“Ahem, ahem. We cannot bow our heads to the Namgoong Clan.”
I had already known that the Ji Clan would never ask the Namgoong Clan for help.
Their pride would never allow them to lower their heads before the Namgoong Clan.
“In any case, our clan intends to borrow the money from you.”
“Then let us make one thing absolutely clear. Do you want me to assume and repay your existing debt, or do you want me to lend you the money directly?”
“We will borrow the money.”
So they intended to borrow money from me, repay their existing debt, and avoid falling under the Eunhae Merchant Group’s thumb?
It made no difference to me.
I wouldn’t lose anything either way.
But when you got down to it, was there truly any difference at all?
“Very well. I will lend you the money.”
“How much can you lend us?”
“How much do you need?”
The Young Clan Lord answered my question.
“Four million silver taels. Can you manage that?”
Just as I had expected.
After combining the silver taels I had discovered in the cave outside Luoyang, where those men had been hiding, with everything I knew about the Ji Clan, that was precisely the amount I had predicted.
“I can.”
I nodded, then noticed something strange.
Wait.
Why were only the Clan Lord, the Young Clan Lord, and Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa present?
The Inner Chief Administrator, who handled the clan’s finances, would normally be present for a matter like this.
Shaanxi wasn’t particularly far away, so he should have had more than enough time to come.
I cautiously asked,
“Will the Inner Chief Administrator not be joining us?”
“We are currently searching for a new Inner Chief Administrator.”
“Did something happen to the previous Inner Chief Administrator?”
“We discovered he was in league with the men who deceived us. He is currently locked in the Underground Prison.”
“I see. But there must have been someone who held the position before him…”
“We dismissed him.”
“Then why not ask that person to return?”
“How could we possibly face him after what we did?”
Was that shame talking, or was it simply their pride?
My money was on the latter.
Still, at least the former administrator was alive.
“Allow me to offer you some serious advice. Bring that Inner Chief Administrator back. He supported the clan for many years. You will need him if you truly intend to restore the Ji Clan.”
“…I understand. But if you lend us the money, do we truly need to bring him back?”
I inwardly clicked my tongue.
“No matter how much money I lend you, the clan can still find itself in trouble again depending on how that money is used. If things go wrong, you may even lose whatever assets you put up as collateral.”
“…I understand.”
I moved on to the next subject.
“Now, let us discuss the collateral.”
“Collateral? Is that truly necessary? Do you not trust the Ji Clan?”
“Then did you anticipate that you would one day need to borrow money from me?”
“…”
“Isn’t that the purpose of collateral? It protects against risks no one could have anticipated. Besides, I am a cautious man. Four million silver taels is an enormous sum, even to me. And as long as you repay the money without incident, there will be no problem, will there?”
“T-That is true.”
“All of the clan’s current assets have already been pledged as collateral. Am I correct?”
“…You are.”
“Then we will simply change the secured creditor from the current holder to me.”
In other words, if the Ji Clan failed to repay me, every asset they possessed would become mine.
“The interest rate will be fifteen percent.”
“T-That much?”
“How is that expensive? Go ask around the marketplace. Thirty or forty percent is commonplace.”
“…”
“You have nothing to worry about. As I just said, there will be no problem as long as you repay the full amount.”
Four million silver taels was an enormous sum.
Even if they cut every possible expense, repaying such a fortune quickly would be nearly impossible.
That meant they would have no choice but to remain in my good graces for quite some time.
They could insist that they didn’t want a leash around their necks, but in the end, that leash was inevitable.
That was why I said there was hardly any difference between the two arrangements.
They could reduce their debt somewhat by selling this estate in Luoyang or some of their land, but judging by their pride, that would never happen.
“Shall we draw up the contract, then?”
The Clan Lord and I drafted the contract, and we each signed and sealed it to finalize the agreement.
“Would you be interested in reducing your debt?”
“Hmm?”
“I could shave about ten silver taels off the amount.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. If the Ji Clan is going to unite and overcome this crisis, I believe everyone needs an opportunity to steel their resolve.”
“Hmm. You are not wrong, but what are you truly after by proposing this?”
“What do you mean, what am I after? Do you see this clause?”
It read, [The Ji Clan will make every effort to reduce its debt, and Eun Seo-ho will actively support those efforts.]
“I am making the offer under this clause.”
“I-I see.”
“It is not a bad proposal.”
At the Young Clan Lord’s words, the Clan Lord nodded.
“Very well. Go ahead with it.”
“Thank you.”
That gave me the justification I needed to invite Cousin Hyang-ok.
With that, I left the Ji Clan’s estate.
Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa, who had followed me out to see me off, spoke.
“Thank you for showing so much restraint.”
At least this man had his eyes open. It was a relief to know the clan’s future wasn’t entirely hopeless.
“And thank you for saving our clan.”
“What happens from this point forward depends on what you do. Your clan has not fully recovered yet.”
“I know. But at least we have put out the immediate fire.”
It seemed Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa wasn’t pleased with the Clan Lord and Young Clan Lord’s behavior either.
“You are competing tomorrow, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Then… please be careful. There are troubling rumors about the man you will be facing.”
–TL Notes–
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