Chapter 242

He was a young man with an approachable expression.

He looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties at most, with a strangely friendly smile playing on his lips.

“Whew. Why are you walking so fast?”

“Do I know you?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“They say even brushing sleeves with someone creates a connection, don’t they?”

“We haven’t even brushed sleeves.”

“But we’ve exchanged words, so that counts. Let’s be friends.”

“……”

It was one of two things. He was either crazy or a crazy social butterfly.

I took my time looking him over. Beneath his loose robe, I spotted well-developed muscles and the hilt of a sword jutting from his waist.

At the same time, I sensed the qi lying dormant within him.

A Peak master?

I had no idea how old he actually was, but his attainment was fairly impressive.

No, at this level, it could even be called remarkable. Reaching the Peak realm in your twenties was no easy feat.

But how should I put it? The qi I sensed from the young man seemed to amount to exactly that and nothing more.

If I had to put it into words…

An ordinary Peak master?

The Peak realm was already an incredible level, so why did he feel ordinary? Because I was surrounded by too many monsters.

Getting hit with the insane three-hit combo of Jin Mukyung, Cheongpung, and the Fire King was bound to leave side effects like this.

In any case, I had more or less figured him out. I spoke politely to the young man.

“Don’t mind me. Go on your way.”

“Good heavens, isn’t that awfully cold between friends?”

“If we’re friends, can I drop the formal speech?”

“Haha. Of course!”

“Then fuck off, asshole.”

“……”

I left him behind and started walking. After standing frozen for a moment, he hurried after me in quick little steps.

“That was the first time anyone has ever insulted me. I was stunned for a moment. Yes, this is what true friendship is!”

“Just go while I’m still asking nicely.”

“What’s your name?”

“Michael Johnson.”

“That’s an unusual name.”

“……You believe that?”

“Jang Sam? Or Yu Pil? Are you perhaps a Disciple of one of the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Families?”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I’m interested, of course. I heard you killed the Red-Killing Axe with One Strike.”

I stopped dead at the unfamiliar epithet.

“Who?”

“The Stronghold Lord of Black Mountain Stronghold. Was that your doing?”

I recalled the hairy bandit chief I had dealt with on the way here. There had been so many bandits that I had taken him out first to intimidate the rest.

I had thought he was unusually strong for a bandit. Apparently, he had been somewhat famous.

“But how did you find out?”

“I heard it from the Geumwa Merchant Group’s merchants at the inn earlier. They said the surviving bandits claimed it was the work of a strange man carrying iron balls and chains.”

The young man beamed as he pointed to the iron balls strapped to my back.

I had covered them with cloth to disguise them as luggage, since I did not want to invite any strange misunderstandings. But apparently, I could not fool the eyes of a Peak master.

“And then you happened to walk by. My curiosity got the better of me, so I came straight after you.”

“Hmm.”

“So, what’s your name?”

Should I tell him or not?

After a moment’s thought, I opened my mouth. I was beginning to grow curious about which sect this eccentric young man belonged to as well.

“Jin Taekyung. That’s my name.”

“Are you the Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan in Shanxi Province?”

“You know me?”

“Of course I do. I’ve heard so much about the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi becoming the Fire King’s Disciple that my ears are ringing.”

A year could be short or long, depending on how you looked at it.

But it was more than enough time for rumors about me and the Fire King to spread throughout the continent.

“What about you?”

“Ah, as for me…”

The young man grinned and continued.

“Jongni Chu. I’m Jongni Chu from Yunnan. I have my reasons for not revealing my sect, so I hope you’ll understand.”

“Jongni Chu from Yunnan?”

“My epithet is the Always-Victorious Sword. Have you ever heard of me?”

I knew Yunnan, but this was my first time hearing his name or epithet.

Considering I had spent the past year holed up in Fire Gate Cavern, that was only natural.

“Sorry, but I haven’t.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know.”

Would you look at that positivity? Most martial artists his age would have been disappointed, but he showed no sign of it.

The freakishly positive guy continued with a serious expression.

“That’s because I just came up with the epithet. A swordsman who always wins. Isn’t it cool?”

“……”

Is he crazy?

As I stood there speechless, Jongni Chu made a motion of twisting his wrist.

“How about it? Shall we have a drink to celebrate becoming friends?”

“Not interested. Besides, there aren’t any seats at the nearby inns.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been following you this whole time, and every inn had at least one or two seats open.”

“……The waiters said there weren’t any.”

“Hm? Then why did they tell me there were empty seats and invite me inside?”

“……”

Damn it. Of course.

Even with the Star-Array Grand Banquet right around the corner, how could every last seat in dozens of inns possibly be taken?

I’m washing because I’m filthy. Because I’m filthy.

I would have to draw water from a stream and wash myself. At this rate, I would end up sleeping on the street despite leaving perfectly good inns unused.

“I know a decent inn, so come with me. I’ll pay for the drinks to celebrate our new friendship.”

“What friendship? You said your name was Jongni Chu, right? You should go on your way too.”

It was not as though I was completely penniless. I had no intention of getting tangled up with some weirdo and wasting time chatting.

Hadn’t someone said there was a stream if I kept following this road?

As I searched my memory and walked on, Jongni Chu called after me.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“None of your business. Don’t follow me.”

“Then answer just one last question! Where can I see you again?”

“The Star-Array Grand Banquet.”

That was my final answer. I used qinggong¹ and quickly left the area. After covering more than a hundred zhang² in an instant, I heard Jongni Chu shouting behind me.

“See you next time!”

Not a chance, punk.

One man left, and one remained.

Jongni Chu stared in the direction Jin Taekyung had disappeared and murmured,

“The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi, Jin Taekyung…”

Before long, a deep dimple formed beside his smooth, unlined mouth.

After standing there alone and chuckling to himself for a while, he turned toward an inn not far away.

The waiter who had driven Jin Taekyung off fifteen minutes earlier bent at the waist with a broad smile.

“Welcome!”

“Do you have any seats left?”

“Of course, sir!”

Jongni Chu’s smile deepened.

Splash!

When I sat up, the hot water filling the wooden tub sloshed around me.

I had found the battered old tub lying in the grass, filled it with cold stream water, and heated it with Scorching Yang Qi.

After dumping and refilling the water several times to scrub away the accumulated grime, I felt as though I had lost several kilograms³.

“I feel like I’ve undergone Bone Transformation⁴.”

I finally felt alive again.

It would have been nice to have shampoo or body wash, but this was more than enough to satisfy me.

The inventories for Murim and the modern world were separate, so bringing any over had been impossible from the start.

But these clothes are a problem.

I frowned as I put the rags back on. It was hard to tell whether they were clothes or garbage.

The discomfort was one thing, but putting these back on made the bath feel completely pointless.

I wandered through the streets, intending to buy at least one cheap set of clothes.

The streets of Henan had been crowded with people from every class and profession even a year ago, but given the timing, martial artists were especially conspicuous now.

Naturally, snippets of their conversations reached my ears.

“Have you heard? The Sword Dragon of the Namgung Family won’t be participating in this year’s Star-Array Grand Banquet.”

“Good heavens. Why would the Sword Dragon suddenly drop out? Is there some sort of problem?”

“Who knows? It’s a shame. He was one of the favorites to win. The outcome is getting harder and harder to predict.”

“Among the young prodigies, the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes probably have the best chance, but…the age limit is thirty-five. There’s no telling what will happen.”

“That’s a fair point. The world is vast, and there are many masters. A powerful newcomer from outside the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Families could easily appear.”

“You mean someone like the Heaven Shaking Sword of the Jin Family of Taiyuan and the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi?”

“Exactly. Though I don’t know whether either of them will attend this year’s Star-Array Grand Banquet.”

Hearing them talk about me made my face burn.

I quickened my pace and left the road behind.

As soon as I reached a main street lined with large buildings, a cloth shop displaying silk and dozens of different outfits caught my eye.

“Excuse me.”

“Why, they say clothes make the woman, but those suit you wonderfully. Are you perhaps a fairy? A fairy… What do you want?”

The cloth-shop employee had been enthusiastically showering a group of pretty female customers with flattery, but he frowned the moment I called out to him.

The change in his expression was so extreme that I barely resisted punching him in the face.

“Why do you think I came to a cloth shop?”

“To beg, obviously.”

“……”

No matter how ragged my clothes were, there was no hiding my massive frame.

If anything, the rags left so much skin exposed that my muscles stood out even more.

When I stared at him while subtly tensing my body, the employee flinched.

“W-why are you looking at me like that? Was I wrong?”

“That’s enough of the kind of remark you’ll regret. Let me see some clothes.”

“C-clothes?”

“Here. I have money, so don’t treat me like a beggar.”

The employee’s expression changed when I pulled out a silver nyang⁵ and waved it around.

Contrary to my expectations, it changed for the worse.

“That’s all?”

“It is. Is there a problem?”

“Good grief. What kind of clothes do you think you can buy with one lousy silver nyang⁵?”

“……One lousy silver nyang⁵?”

Had there been some major currency reform in the past year that caused the value of silver to collapse?

As I stood there in confusion, the employee snorted.

“Did you even read the price list before coming in?”

I reflexively turned and checked the sign.

A wooden board at the front of the shop had these words written across it in enormous letters:

The owner has gone mad! Star-Array Grand Banquet special discount! Martial-artist’s outfit—two silver nyang⁵!

“……Two silver nyang⁵? For a martial-artist’s outfit?”

“With that, you could buy underwear at best. Our cloth shop handles only the finest silk. Even our martial-artist’s outfits are made from Shu brocade⁶.”

“……”

So this was a department-store brand.

Of all the places I could have walked into, I had chosen this one. What an embarrassment.

The other employees and customers inside the shop began whispering as they watched me.

“Oh my, he must be a beggar. How pitiful. Don’t you agree, dear?”

“He certainly looks like one. He seems strong enough to put those muscles to use, though. Should we take him in as a servant?”

“You’re so merciful, dear. I’m sure that beggar would be delighted.”

Being called a beggar was irritating enough, but hearing it from a couple made me twice as angry.

I shouted with all the anger I could muster.

“Who are you calling a beggar?”

“Gasp!”

“Eek!”

“H-how dare you!”

People recoiled in fright at my booming shout.

At the same time, several burly employees came rushing over and surrounded me, brandishing clubs threateningly.

“You bastard! How dare you make a scene here!”

“Do you even know where you are, you filthy beggar?”

“What? A beggar? Oh, you sons of bitches…”

Fine. You said it.

I rolled up the sleeve that was already half torn off.

“All right, let’s be a real pain in the ass today. Who owns this place?”

That was when it happened.

“You’re the kind of bastard who won’t come to his senses until he sees a coffin. How dare you make a scene here?”

A grave voice rang in my ears.

I slowly turned around and saw a man.

He wore a bamboo hat pulled low over his face and black silk clothes embroidered with dragons. One hand rested on the hilt of his sword as though he might draw at any moment.

The lips visible beneath the bamboo hat curled as he let out a quiet laugh.

“You seem to have learned a move or two somewhere, but if you don’t want to see blood, step aside.”

I cocked my head.

“And if I don’t?”

“Nameless martial artist, the price of reckless bravado is death.”

The people nearby erupted in cheers at the line straight out of a martial-arts movie.

Once the cheering died down, I spoke.

“Hey, can I ask you one thing?”

The martial artist answered casually,

“Speak. They will be your last words.”

I stared into the shadow beneath the martial artist’s bamboo hat and continued.

“You’re Hyuk Mujin, right?”

“……!”

I let out a deep sigh and looked up at the sky. A signboard written in vigorous, soaring calligraphy caught my eye.

Hyuk Family Cloth Shop

“You have three seconds. Put your head on the floor.”