But neither of them immediately accepted the golden wound salve I held out.
“Why are you giving us this?”
Their eyes were filled with suspicion.
Tch. It seemed the lives they had led until now had been far from easy.
“It’s simply a gesture of goodwill.”
“Is there something you want from us?”
At times like this, it was best to answer bluntly.
“Do you have anything I could possibly want?”
“…”
“Then stop looking at me like that.”
“Ahem, ahem. My apologies.”
“We’re sorry.”
I nodded and accepted their apologies.
“Your match today was truly impressive. I couldn’t help but admire your determination to fight until the very end.”
“Th–thank you.”
“That’s why I’m giving you this golden wound salve.”
That was certainly part of it, but honestly, I was even more grateful that he had knocked Namgoong On out of the ring.
It had been deeply satisfying.
I had also rather enjoyed the twisted expressions on the Namgoong Clan members’ faces.
But that wasn’t the only reason I was giving him the golden wound salve.
Namgoong On, the man he had just defeated, looked like the petty and vindictive sort at a glance.
There was a good chance he would take out his frustration over losing on Warrior Dae-nok.
There was already a considerable gap between their abilities. If Warrior Dae-nok remained injured on top of that, the situation could turn disastrous.
He at least needed to recover enough to endure an attack or escape from one.
Wait.
No. That wasn’t right.
I had just come up with a much better idea.
“Where are you staying right now?”
“We’re staying at Jang’s Inn. It’s one of the shabby inns on the outskirts, so you probably haven’t heard of it.”
Just as I expected.
There would be no one there to stop Namgoong On if he came looking to vent his anger.
“Now that you’ve advanced to the main tournament, you need to recover before your next match. Wouldn’t it be better to stay at a nearby inn where you can also receive notices more easily?”
“That would certainly be better, but…”
“There are rooms available at the inn where I’m staying. Come stay there.”
The two of them hesitated before finally speaking.
“A Great Hero like you must be staying at a fine inn, but we don’t have enough money to afford a place like that.”
“I’m the one telling you to move. Do you really think I’d expect you to pay for the room yourselves?”
“…”
“If accepting charity makes you uncomfortable, consider it a merchant’s sponsorship of a warrior who advanced to the main tournament.”
“Didn’t you just say that we didn’t have anything you wanted?”
“You seem to have misunderstood me. I clearly asked, ‘Do you have anything I could possibly want?’ I don’t see how you interpreted that to mean what you did. I was telling you to recognize your own value and prove it.”
Technically, he was right, but words were always open to interpretation, weren’t they?
I hurriedly talked my way out of it, and the two of them cleared their throats awkwardly.
“Ahem, ahem.”
I continued.
“If you neglect your recovery with injuries that severe, they’ll trouble you for the rest of your life. Unless you intend to end your life as a martial artist here, you should do as I say.”
Acting as though they had no other choice, the two finally accepted my offer.
I took them to Yeonpung Inn and gave them a room.
I had already rented out the entire inn, so we had plenty of rooms to spare.
I asked the physician who had accompanied us to examine Warrior Dae-nok’s condition thoroughly.
Then I decided to have lunch with the man who had helped Warrior Dae-nok here, his senior brother.
Before long, dumplings and noodles arrived, and we ate our fill.
Afterward, we drank tea and talked.
“Where is the Yeongyeol Sect located?”
“It’s in Shaanxi.”
“Did only the two of you come?”
“Yes. We couldn’t afford to bring more people with us…”
He gave an embarrassed smile.
Shaanxi wasn’t particularly far away, but even that journey must have been burdensome for a small or mid-sized sect.
“Come to think of it, I never got your name.”
At my words, he hurriedly waved his hands.
“Please don’t call me a Great Hero. That honorific is far too lofty for someone like me. My name is Su-am.”
He then explained the Yeongyeol Sect to me.
The Yeongyeol Sect was a small sect in Shaanxi with only around twenty members in total.
“Strictly speaking, we call ourselves disciples, but we’re actually all orphans Master took in. Dae-nok and I are no different.”
“Then how do you support the sect?”
“The sect owns some farmland, so we grow crops. But it isn’t much. We barely manage to feed ourselves.”
“Then why did you suddenly enter the friendly matches at the Murim Grand Assembly? Surely you knew it could be dangerous with Warrior Dae-nok’s current ability.”
His expression darkened at my question.
“Well… there are circumstances behind it. In addition to what we earned from farming, there was a Manor Lord who used to support us. But he informed us that he would be ending his support. He said the drought had made things difficult for him as well.”
That must have been a heavy blow.
He continued.
“So we went to ask him to reconsider, but he gave us one condition. We had to earn a respectable epithet in the martial world. He said that only then would he have a justification for stretching his means to continue supporting us.”
“So you entered the friendly matches at the Murim Grand Assembly to earn that epithet.”
“That’s right.”
He continued speaking.
“Aside from Master and our eldest senior brother, Dae-nok is the strongest person in our sect. That’s why he was the one who entered.”
“I’m glad your efforts weren’t wasted. Now that he’s advanced to the main tournament, he’ll be able to make a name for himself as one of the thirty-two rising experts.”
“Fortune smiled on us.”
“There’s a saying in the martial world. Luck is also a part of one’s ability.”
And luck only became good fortune when it found someone who had worked hard and prepared for it.
“Warrior Dae-nok never gave up, not even at the very end. Advancing through the preliminaries was the result of that determination.”
I grinned.
“Congratulations.”
.
.
.
Some time later.
We headed back to the arena.
I had urged Warrior Dae-nok and Warrior Su-am to rest at the inn, but they insisted on watching the matches, so they came with us.
“But they only have wooden passes, so they’ll have to watch while standing, sir. And from there, the fighters will look smaller than my little finger, sir.”
I shook my head at Palgap’s words.
“That’s not true.”
“Sir?”
“They don’t seem to know it, but those who advance to the main tournament receive a special privilege.”
That privilege was a silver pass granting access to the Eul section.
Most martial artists skilled enough to reach the main tournament already possessed gold or silver passes, so it was a privilege that rarely proved useful.
Better yet, each participant could bring one companion, which meant both warriors could watch together from the Eul section.
I took the two warriors to the Murim Grand Assembly’s administrative headquarters and secured a silver pass for them.
The two warriors were deeply grateful.
“We had no idea such a privilege existed.”
“Most people don’t. That’s why information is so important.”
With that, we headed to our seats to watch the afternoon matches.
Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a competed that afternoon. She calmly defeated her opponent and advanced to the main tournament.
“Waaaaah!”
“Hundred-Strategy Cold Sword! Hundred-Strategy Cold Sword!”
The crowd roared her epithet and cheered.
She was certainly popular.
Before I knew it, dusk had fallen, and the remaining matches were naturally postponed until tomorrow.
On the way back to the inn, Warrior Dae-nok and Warrior Su-am spoke up.
“We’ll stop by Jang’s Inn to collect our belongings, then head to Yeonpung Inn.”
“Go ahead.”
After sending them off and turning away, Young Lady Seohyang spoke to me.
“I think we should go with them.”
“…”
For her to suddenly say something like that could only mean she had seen the future.
I immediately turned around and called out to them.
“Wait!”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go together.”
“We can manage on our own.”
“No. The merchant group I belong to has an ironclad rule. Once we decide to sponsor someone, we see the matter through properly.”
With that, we followed the two warriors toward Jang’s Inn.
But it was quite a long walk.
I asked Young Lady Seohyang,
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. It’s good training, actually. Besides, it isn’t as though I didn’t know it would be far. If I’m needed somewhere, then I should be there.”
In other words, she had come because she already knew she would be needed.
That was a little touching.
“We only have about fifteen more minutes to go.”
As I listened to them, I sensed an unpleasant presence ahead.
“Stop.”
“…!”
Everyone halted at my command.
“There’s someone ahead of us. Something doesn’t feel right.”
I spoke to my escort guards.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu. Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am.”
“Yes!”
“Circle around and get behind them.”
“Understood.”
“And Escort Guard Lee Pil, call the patrol and bring them here.”
The moment they received their orders, they vanished from our sight.
“Then let’s go.”
“All right.”
I sent Warrior Dae-nok and Warrior Su-am ahead while the rest of us followed from a short distance behind.
Just before they reached the inn, they encountered a group of men.
The men had a distinctly thuggish air about them.
One look was enough to tell that they made their living doing other people’s dirty work.
But how had Unorthodox Sect scum gotten this far inside?
“Which one of you is Dae-nok?”
Warrior Dae-nok answered the question.
“I’m Dae-nok. What business do you have with me?”
The men grinned.
“So it’s you.”
Without another word, they rushed forward and swung their fists at Warrior Dae-nok.
Warrior Dae-nok fought back, but there were far too many of them, leaving him unable to defend himself properly.
Thud! Thud!
“What do you think you’re…”
Warrior Su-am tried to protest, but they attacked him as well.
“We don’t have anything against either of you personally. So don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Just take the beating and stay down. It’ll hurt less that way. Heh heh heh.”
“Who are you? Who sent you to do this?”
At Warrior Dae-nok’s protest, they answered.
“Who else? Someone who bears a grudge against you.”
“Use your head for once. Heh heh.”
Then they swung their scabbards at the two warriors.
Judging by the paths of their strikes, they intended to break the warriors’ arms.
Clang!
Claaang!
But their attacks never reached the two warriors.
Escort Guard Jin Yu and Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am had approached from behind and knocked every attack aside.
Whoosh–! Thud!
They then spun around and kicked the attackers off their feet.
The other escort guards charged in at once, and the Unorthodox Sect thugs who had been tormenting Warrior Dae-nok and Warrior Su-am were sprawled across the ground in moments.
“Ugh…”
“Ghh…”
“Owww…”
I looked down at them coldly and asked,
“Who sent you?”
“I–I can’t tell you!”
“You were clearly paid to do this. What, exactly, were you hired to do?”
“I–I can’t… Aaaaargh!”
Escort Guard Jin Yu’s sword mercilessly pierced the back of the man’s hand.
“Wouldn’t it be better to tell us the truth instead of resisting and getting hurt even worse? You make your living with a sword. How are you going to feed yourself if you lose the hand you use to hold it?”
I sneered at him.
“Judging by these so-called comrades of yours, I doubt they’ll support you.”
Their eyes wavered at my words, and one of them trembled as he hurriedly spoke.
“I–I’ll talk! Please… We were told to rough up a man named Dae-nok badly enough that he wouldn’t be able to appear in his next match.”
“Who hired you?”
“I don’t know who he was. He had a mole beneath his chin and sharp eyes. He gave us ten silver taels to do the job…”
“Hmm…”
Of course. Namgoong On was probably still locked in the underground prison.
He must have ordered one of his subordinates to arrange this.
“We’re sorry! We’re truly sorry! We’ll live honest lives from now on!”
“See that you do. Now come with us to the Murim Alliance.”
Fweet! Fweeeet!
At that moment, whistles sounded, and the presences of approaching warriors rapidly drew closer.
They were the members of the Murim Alliance patrol summoned by Escort Guard Lee Pil.
The man leading them was Team Leader Won Eop.
Right on time.
“Handsome Young Hero!”
“We meet again, Team Leader Won. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Ha ha, it’s nothing.”
He looked at the men sprawled across the ground and asked,
“Are these the ones?”
“Yes. They’re the men who attacked Warrior Dae-nok, who advanced through today’s preliminaries.”
Warrior Dae-nok spoke up.
“I escaped disaster thanks to the Handsome Young Hero.”
“As expected of the Handsome Young Hero.”
Team Leader Won gave me a cupped-fist salute, admiration clear on his face.
“It was nothing. Please see that these men are properly dealt with.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Oh, by the way, is Young Lord Namgoong Ok still in the underground prison?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Just before he was locked up, the Namgoong Clan said they would confine him to their residence for two days and took him away.”
“…”
That left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Team Leader Won wore the same bitter expression.
But what could he possibly do about it?
“Then I’ll leave this matter to you.”
Team Leader Won tied the men together with binding rope like a string of fish and hauled them away to the Murim Alliance.
I turned to Warrior Dae-nok and Warrior Su-am and asked,
“Are you both all right?”
“Ah, yes. We’re fine.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t intervene when they first started hitting you. We needed to make certain of their intentions.”
“I understand.”
Warrior Dae-nok burst out angrily.
“Who in the world would hire men to do something like this?”
“Who else could it be?”
“What?”
“Think carefully. The answer should come to you.”
He thought for a moment, then bit his lip. He had realized who was behind it.
Warrior Su-am spoke.
“You told us to move to another inn because you were worried something like this might happen. That’s also why you accompanied us, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Then… we owe you our sincerest thanks.”
They gave me respectful cupped-fist salutes.
“Thank you.”
“Truly, thank you.”
“There’s no need. I was simply glad to find someone talented and wanted to offer my help.”
I pointed toward the inn.
“Then go gather your belongings and come back out.”
“Understood.”
Just in case, I sent Escort Guard Seo Wu inside with them.
I raised my gaze toward the sky.
Just as I had thought.
The Namgoong Clan would most likely ignore this entire incident—the fact that Namgoong On had hired men to vent his anger—and allow it to disappear without consequence.
But I couldn’t allow it to end here.
I would make it impossible for them to ignore.
–TL Notes–
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