Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 29. A Person’s Life Must Be Upright
Dan Yeop is a beautiful youth.
So lovely that even men would feel a flutter upon seeing him.
This Dan Yeop had set out into the streets with purpose today.
Yesterday’s Dan Yeop had avoided meeting anyone’s gaze.
No matter how beautiful, it is difficult for others to approach someone who offers them no eye contact at all.
But today’s Dan Yeop was different.
He walked through the crowds with a gentle smile, deliberately catching people’s eyes again and again.
When someone met his gaze, he would respond with a warm, knowing smile.
Shen Hour—five in the afternoon.
One young man and one young woman entered through the main gate of Posi District.
They were the son and daughter of Na Jin Geum, the proprietor of Jingbo Merchant House across the street.
The young man’s name was Na Bu Gang, and his impeccable bearing—refined as a crane—drew the attention of countless women.
His younger sister Na Geum Ryeong attracted even more notice.
Beneath her finely shaped crescent-moon eyebrows, her eyes held the striking contrast of black and white, deep and serene as a lake; and with her high, delicate nose and lips full and red as cherries, she possessed a beauty both elegant and luminous.
Na Bu Gang, who preferred quiet composure, held a white fan to his face as he spoke.
“Geum Ryeong, don’t you think it time you walked about with a young man of your own?”
“One would have to exist first.”
“If you spend every day with me, no man will ever come courting.”
“Oh? Is that pride talking?”
“Well then—what of keeping company with women your own age?”
“Most of my generation are already married.”
Na Bu Gang clicked his tongue.
He clicked his tongue and strode ahead with a wave of his hand.
“Brother, wait for me.”
Na Geum Ryeong hurried after Na Bu Gang.
Just then, three young women came walking toward them from the opposite direction.
“That man was quite something, wasn’t he?”
“I think he’s the most handsome in all of Seosi.”
“Seosi? He must be the most handsome in all of Jang An City.”
“Did you see his eyes when he smiled? My heart nearly stopped.”
“But he’s probably just a clerk, isn’t he? The way he stands in front of that fabric shop constantly.”
“Must be a clerk. His clothes were rather plain.”
“They say clothes make the man, but if he had proper attire…”
The dreamy-faced young woman’s gaze met Na Bu Gang’s.
In that instant, Na Bu Gang broke into a broad smile.
But the young woman passed him without the slightest acknowledgment.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Flustered by this unfamiliar rebuff, Na Bu Gang cleared his throat, and Na Geum Ryeong asked.
“What is it? Something caught in your throat?”
“No. Did you hear what those women were saying just now?”
“I wasn’t paying attention to such things.”
“They said he’s the most handsome in Jang An City.”
“I didn’t say I hadn’t seen him.”
“Oh?”
The siblings’ pace slowed as they conversed.
They had caught sight of the young man the passing women had been discussing.
Na Bu Gang studied him quickly.
‘Hmm!’
He was more a beautiful youth than a man.
The moment their eyes met, the youth smiled and approached them.
Na Bu Gang, having never before experienced such directness, found himself momentarily at a loss.
Confucius spoke thus in the Analects:
‘A person’s life must be upright. If one lives without uprightness, one merely enjoys fortune in avoiding calamity.’
Dan Yeop, who had learned morality from books, spoke with confidence.
“Honored guests, I was raised as an orphan among other orphans, without parents. Recently, I secured work at a fabric shop, and I have wagered with the proprietor: should I bring a customer through the door today, I shall gain my freedom of movement; should I fail, I must stand like a faithful stone wife before that shop all year long. If you have a moment’s kindness in your hearts, I humbly beg you to visit our establishment out of sympathy for a junior in distress. I assure you that I shall help you purchase whatever you desire at a most reasonable price.”
Na Geum Ryeong looked back and forth between her brother and the youth, her expression one of utter bewilderment.
In all her days, she had never heard such words.
And this brazen youth—he had not even glanced at her.
From the start, as though it had all been planned, he had aimed directly at her brother.
For reasons she couldn’t quite name, her face burned with the sting of defeat.
What was strange was her brother Na Bu Gang’s reaction.
He, who ordinarily shunned entanglement with others, suddenly nodded in agreement.
“Right. Lead the way.”
Na Bu Gang and Na Geum Ryeong entered the Yang Family Fabric Shop with Dan Yeop.
A short while later, Na Bu Gang and Na Geum Ryeong emerged from the shop.
Yang Bok and Dan Yeop followed them out and bowed deeply to the two siblings.
Once Na Bu Gang and Na Geum Ryeong had disappeared, Yang Bok hurried back inside the shop.
For reasons of his own, Dan Yeop followed in Yang Bok’s wake.
Yang Bok, seeing Dan Yeop, asked with a puzzled expression.
“What is it?”
“You haven’t forgotten our agreement, have you?”
“An agreement? Ah yes, of course. If you can bring customers directly, there’s no need for me to stand out front. But you’ll need to keep the shop clean morning and evening.”
“I understand. Since this is my first customer, I’d be grateful for your support.”
“I’ve been rooted here in Seosi for thirty years. Stop fretting over nothing and just do your work well.”
Only then did Dan Yeop turn and head back outside.
“Goodness, making such a fuss over bringing in one customer….”
Though Yang Bok grumbled, the corners of his mouth curved upward.
Out on the streets of Seosi, Dan Yeop made his rounds, purchasing supplies needed for the evening.
He bought pork lard from an oil merchant and flour from a grain dealer.
The grain dealer had recommended the flour for making Ho Byeong, and Dan Yeop took his advice.
With the pork lard and flour in hand, Dan Yeop returned to the Yang Family Fabric Shop.
This was because the shop’s owner had instructed him to clean the place morning and evening.
Once Dan Yeop finished cleaning, the owner locked the shop’s doors.
***
Early in the evening, Dan Yeop returned to the Boseun Boarding House and began preparing dinner.
Though Dan Yeop came and went from the kitchen as he prepared the evening meal, the Old Master, who had promised to teach him how to make Ho Byeong that night, never appeared.
‘Looks like he’s sulking because I’m not asking for his help with dinner.’
Dan Yeop couldn’t help but smile at the Old Master’s transparent behavior.
“It’s not as though I can’t make it on my own.”
The grain dealer had recommended flour as the ingredient for Ho Byeong and had even shown him the method of preparation.
Dan Yeop first lit the stove using flint.
Then he lightly coated the cooking pot with pork lard and spread the kneaded flour thin inside it.
The Ho Byeong was ready in no time.
After the Ho Byeong, he made Baek Chae Tang following what he’d learned yesterday.
He carried the finished Ho Byeong and Baek Chae Tang to the table and ate with unhurried ease.
How to describe it.
A sense of stability settled over him, and his mood lifted naturally.
This morning he’d felt so adrift, yet now he had the luxury of thinking about the future.
‘I’ll devote every spare moment to martial training.’
He couldn’t afford to grow complacent now that he had means to live.
In the Gangho world of Survival of the Fittest, there was no knowing when or how he might become entangled with masters, so he needed to deepen his martial prowess.
After finishing his meal, Dan Yeop surveyed his surroundings before beginning his martial training.
The Old Master’s house stood in an isolated place, which was fortunate—he needn’t worry about being seen.
Still, to be safe, he moved to the back courtyard.
As Dan Yeop was in the midst of training in the Yukmun martial art, footsteps sounded in the yard.
‘Is it the Old Master?’
But that thought didn’t linger.
“Old Master!”
At the call for the house’s owner, Dan Yeop quickly stepped forward into the front courtyard.
Presently, his eyes met those of a man in his thirties who stood before the entrance.
The man in his thirties spoke first.
“Who are you?”
Seeing the water bucket placed in the yard, Dan Yeop could make an educated guess as to the man’s identity.
“I’m Dan Yeop, newly arrived and staying in the back room as of yesterday. Are you perhaps the water merchant?”
“That’s right. I’m Ma Deung. Where’s the Old Master?”
“I’m not sure. When I arrived in the early evening just now, he wasn’t here either.”
“Tsk! He’s probably gone off to a wine house again.”
Muttering as he did, Ma Deung set down the wrapped bundle he was carrying on the table and addressed Dan Yeop.
“Young brother, let’s have a drink.”
At Ma Deung’s invitation to share a drink, Dan Yeop readily settled himself across from him.
It wasn’t that he wanted to drink—rather, since they lived under the same roof, he thought it wise to build a rapport.
Watching Ma Deung pull a bottle and dumplings from a cloth wrapping, Dan Yeop hurried to the kitchen and returned with two teacups.
Ma Deung poured Gok-ju into the empty cups as he spoke.
“You’re a blessed friend indeed. What sort of work does the young brother do?”
“I do odd jobs at a fabric shop.”
“East Seosi or West Seosi?”
“The Yang Family Fabric Shop in Posi District, Seosi.”
“Ah, Posi District. Is the work bearable?”
“So-so. The Old Master mentioned that your water-selling business brings in decent coin. Is that true?”
When Dan Yeop addressed him as an older brother, Ma Deung immediately relaxed his formal speech.
“You know the saying—even a locust has only one season. Water-selling is exactly like that. Things pick up a little in summer, then fall flat afterward. In winter, you’re half-dead.”
Dan Yeop nodded as if he understood.
It seemed the other man’s neighbor’s rice bowl had simply looked bigger to the Old Master’s eye.
All the same, if the business were truly so profitable, anyone could jump in and the margins would thin out quickly.
As they drank, Ma Deung and Dan Yeop ate dumplings by hand.
After the drinking ended, Ma Deung said he was tired and went to his room, while Dan Yeop stepped out for a night walk.
As he made a wide loop around the house, a gentle bell toll announcing Gate Closure drifted from the distance.
After Gate Closure, the Geumoh Guard patrolled endlessly at all hours.
Back at home with nothing in particular to do, Dan Yeop lay down in a small room to sleep.
He’d finished the day’s work, but this consideration for the dull-witted Dan Yeop’s need to rest for tomorrow was deliberate.
Yet due to the excitement of his new surroundings, sleep would not come.
“Tch! I need to tire my body more.”
He went out to the courtyard again and trained all night in the martial arts of Yukmun and the Taego Sect Method.
At dawn, he made Ho Byeong and Baek Chae Tang to eat, then left the house.
***
Posi District, Seosi.
After finishing the cleaning at the Yang Family Fabric Shop, Dan Yeop spent the entire day poking through the various fabric shops of Seosi.
Pretending to run errands, he took in the types and prices of all manner of textiles traded in Seosi.
Beyond that, he learned without exception about cloth distribution channels and the costs involved in garment production.
As evening fell, Dan Yeop returned to the Yang Family Fabric Shop and began hovering near Yang Bok.
Sensing his gaze, Yang Bok finally turned his head.
“Stop wandering about so restlessly. If you have something to say, say it.”
“The customers I brought yesterday placed an order for clothes.”
Yesterday, Na Bu Gang ordered a Won Ryeong Po, and Na Geum Ryeong ordered a Je Hyung Yu Gun.
The Won Ryeong Po was a silk robe with a rounded collar, while the Je Hyung Yu Gun was a skirt and short jacket made of satin and embroidery.
The finest materials were to be used for these two direct connections to the Jingbo Merchant House.
“You’re talking about the Won Ryeong Po and Je Hyung Yu Gun?”
“Yes, I was hoping you might see fit to adjust the prices kindly.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to worry about it? How else would I handle it well? You can’t even tell shit from urine, yet you poke your nose in.”
“Come now, I did market research today, so I know plenty.”
“Hmph! With that head of yours, I’m sure you learned volumes in a single day.”
Yang Bok let out a cold laugh.
His derision was perhaps only natural—he’d spent all of the first morning teaching Dan Yeop.
“So what price are you asking?”
“Twenty silver coins for the Won Ryeong Po, thirteen for the Je Hyung Yu Gun.”
One silver coin was worth a thousand copper coins—an enormous sum.
Yet given that clothing prices in Jang An City equaled a year’s living expenses for ordinary folk, it was hardly surprising.
“Goodness! Your appetite is too grand. Make the Won Ryeong Po thirteen coins and the Je Hyung Yu Gun ten.”
“You madman, not even knowing the going rates for materials.”
Stung by the word “too grand,” Yang Bok let loose a curse straightaway.
Yet Dan Yeop didn’t so much as blink.
“The Gyeongsa and satin that go into the Won Ryeong Po are twelve coins’ worth. Even accounting a coin for labor, that leaves two coins profit. Why are you trying to pocket seven? As for the Je Hyung Yu Gun…”
“Shut your mouth! Where did you get such nonsense…”
Despite his words, Yang Bok’s heart lurched.
Though there were minute differences, it was true that he’d been planning to pocket seven coins from the Won Ryeong Po.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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