The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 113

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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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113
Woo Geom-san Contends for Supremacy
Yingcheng was a city situated near the Yangtze River.
The reason this city became famous was all thanks to the Yayue Market.
The Yayue Market was one of the largest markets Under Heaven.
Ordinary markets usually formed within the safety of a city, but the Yayue Market was uniquely located in the vast plains outside Yingcheng.
In the beginning, the poor living in Yingcheng naturally created the Yayue Market by buying and selling goods in the plains. After that, its scale gradually expanded, and countless people began utilizing it.
The variety of goods sold grew diverse, and the number of people seeking them increased as well.
While some goods entered through official merchant groups, there were also many dangerous items that could absolutely never be obtained through legitimate channels.
There was no item that did not exist in the Yayue Market.
Ordinary goods like silk or porcelain were a given, and even poisons, jewels, or various weapons could be found here without much difficulty.
People could even be bought and sold in this place.
On the outskirts of the Yayue Market, it was common to see individuals sitting around with signs writing things like “ten silver taels” or “twenty silver taels.”
Those sitting with pieces of paper displaying their own price tags were none other than Rogue Warriors.
The Rogue Warriors waited here for someone to purchase their martial might.
There were people looking to buy them scattered absolutely everywhere.
Merchants, powerful figures, and even ordinary people bought Rogue Warriors from this place.
As long as they paid the price, anyone could hire the Rogue Warriors.
Hundreds of Rogue Warriors resided permanently in the Yayue Market.
Among them, there were those who were famous or highly trusted, but there were also many whose notoriety was widespread.
The trustworthy ones were sold off early on, while those who lost their credibility received no choices; that was the nature of the Yayue Market.
Geum Ak-cheol was one of the Rogue Warriors who had not been chosen.
This was because he had committed an act that shattered his reliability.
Geum Ak-cheol had a history of murdering his employer, a merchant, stealing the goods, and selling them off at the Yayue Market.
He believed he would absolutely never be caught, but due to the exposure by the employer’s son, his corruption was revealed to the whole world, and he lost all trust.
Since then, the footsteps of customers looking for him had completely stopped.
The Rogue Warriors surrounding Geum Ak-cheol were all individuals who had lost trust just like him.
Those who had killed their employers or caused severe trouble.
The market and the people thoroughly turned their backs on them.
Because of that, they were killing time from broad daylight, throwing a drinking party in a corner of the Yayue Market.
“Damn it! It’s already been ten days of swatting flies with zero business.”
“Those sons of bitches! The bastard employer was throwing a fit, so I just disciplined him a little, and now they aren’t looking for me at all.”
“If you don’t get along, you can beat them up a bit. Those bastards are so incredibly timid anyway.”
The shunned Rogue Warriors drank alcohol while cursing the customers who wouldn’t seek them out. There were more than just one or two such people.
It was right at that moment.
“Hey, you bastards! Stop guzzling alcohol and gather over here!”
Geum Ak-cheol called together the drinking Rogue Warriors.
“What is it?”
“Why are you shouting at the top of your lungs since morning?”
The drinking Rogue Warriors glared at Geum Ak-cheol with unfriendly eyes. However, Geum Ak-cheol did not even blink an eye as he continued speaking.
“It’s a request.”
“What kind of request?”
“Some crazy bastard wants to hire every single Rogue Warrior left in the Yayue Market.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
The Rogue Warriors stared at Geum Ak-cheol with expressions of disbelief.
Geum Ak-cheol waved the piece of paper held in his hand as he spoke.
“It’s a request worth a full ten thousand gold taels. You bastards who don’t believe it can get lost, and only those who believe it follow me.”
“Really? A request worth ten thousand gold taels?”
“Yeah! Damn it! We have to split it among ourselves, but in a recession like this, how can we complain? Everyone who’s in, follow me.”
“What kind of request is it that they put up ten thousand gold taels?”
“They want us to kill some bastard. Find out the details later, and for now, just decide whether you’re doing it or not. Those who are in, gather in front of me.”
No sooner had Geum Ak-cheol finished speaking than the Rogue Warriors tossed away the liquor bottles they were holding and gathered in front of him.
“Heheh! Of course we have to do it.”
“Are you an idiot? To throw away a request worth ten thousand gold taels.”
The Rogue Warriors smiled, exposing their yellow teeth.
Geum Ak-cheol also looked at them and smiled.
“You damn bastards! Even if you drop dead, I won’t take responsibility.”
“What a funny bastard. Who are you to take responsibility for us anyway?”
“Then I’ll take it as everyone is doing it and proceed.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve properly loosened up my body. Heheh!”
A sinister murderous intent surfaced on the faces of the Rogue Warriors.
The fact that a massive sum of money was hanging on it meant that this request was just that dangerous.
The probability of losing their lives was just that high.
However, there were no Rogue Warriors here who would pull their feet out because they feared losing their lives.
Rather, they flared their nostrils in excitement at the thought that they had seized a great opportunity.
On this day, one hundred and twenty-five Rogue Warriors left the Yayue Market.
***
“How is the reaction to the Yunjung Tea?”
“It is explosive. Those who have tasted it are clamoring, asking if they can get more.”
“Just as I thought.”
At her subordinate’s report, a young woman resembling a black cat smiled.
The woman’s name was Nam Su-hyang. She was precisely the daughter of the Tianjin Escort Agency Leader, Nam Tae-ha.
Having barely obtained the Yunjung Tea at Cheonbaeksan not long ago, she had returned straight to the Main Headquarters.
Returning with several wagons fully loaded with the precious Yunjung Tea, her father, Nam Tae-ha, welcomed her passionately.
Upon returning to the Tianjin Escort Agency, Nam Su-hyang divided the Yunjung Tea into small portions and sent them to the Honored Guests with whom she had maintained relationships.
The reaction of the Honored Guests who tasted the Yunjung Tea was truly explosive.
The flavor of the Yunjung Tea, which grew while harboring the natural Essence and Qi at the peak of Cheonbaeksan, was more than enough to win the favor of the Honored Guests.
Contracts that had been sluggish until now were easily concluded thanks to the Yunjung Tea.
Not to mention the Agency Leader Nam Tae-ha, the Branch Managers of each Branch Office highly praised Nam Su-hyang.
Thanks to this, her status within the Tianjin Escort Agency had risen to a level incomparable to the past.
“If I keep going like this, the position of the next Escort Agency Leader will be mine.”
A smile surfaced on Nam Su-hyang’s red lips.
Since childhood, she was someone who had run forward looking only at the single position of Escort Agency Leader.
There was nothing she hadn’t tried in order to catch up to her elder brother, Nam Seung-pyo. Even so, catching up to him had felt distant, but using the securing of the Yunjung Tea as a turning point, her footing within the Escort Agency had definitely grown large.
If she continued to grow like this, she would be able to grow large enough to swallow Nam Seung-pyo whole.
It was right at that moment.
“Young Lady!”
Suddenly, an urgent voice drifted in from outside.
Awakening from her rosy dream, Nam Su-hyang furrowed her brow. However, she soon spoke with an indifferent expression.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
The one who opened the door and entered into the room was a burly man in his late forties.
The name of the burly man, whose sharp, blade-like gaze was impressive, was Nam Baek-san.
He was the Branch Manager of the Henan Branch, one of the Twelve Branches of the Tianjin Escort Agency.
He was a figure whom Nam Su-hyang had barely managed to draw in after visiting his thatched cottage three times.
Leaving the Henan Branch to his son, he was assisting by Nam Su-hyang’s side.
Nam Baek-san spoke in a low voice.
“I came in a hurry because I have something to report.”
“What is the matter?”
“Suspicious movements have been detected from the Hanyang Branch Office.”
“Suspicious movements?”
“Circumstances have been captured showing that the Escort Warriors of the Hanyang Branch Office moved in large numbers without the permission of the Main Headquarters.”
“Is that true?”
“It seems Young Master Nam Seung-pyo moved the Hanyang Branch Office.”
At the words that Nam Seung-pyo was involved, Nam Su-hyang furrowed her face without realizing it.
Nam Seung-pyo was her greatest competitor.
Naturally, she had no choice but to keep her nerves strained at even a single minor movement of his.
“What is the reason?”
“It has been grasped that he contacted Young Master Yun of the Yunyo Bang at Cheongmul Island. It is said they blocked the waterway using the Escort Warriors of the Hanyang Branch Office and held a secret meeting.”
“It seems he intends to draw in the Yunyo Bang. How foolish!”
Nam Su-hyang wore a pathetic expression despite herself.
Nam Seung-pyo had always been that way since the past.
Rather than a frontal breakthrough, he preferred collusion or conspiracies.
Whenever there was a difficult matter, he had a habit of evading it to solve it comfortably.
There was only one reason Nam Seung-pyo drew in the Yunyo Bang.
It was definitely to check her.
“To draw in the Yunyo Bang, this side will have to pay a price as well.”
“The Yunyo Bang are untrustworthy people. They will certainly demand a heavy price.”
“Uncle, from now on, secretly monitor the movements of the Hanyang Branch Office. I must find out what kind of conspiracy they and my brother are plotting.”
“Understood.”
“You mustn’t miss even a single trivial movement.”
“Do not worry.”
“I will trust only you, Uncle.”
“I will not disappoint you.”
Nam Baek-san replied with a firm expression.
Like Nam Su-hyang, he also possessed great ambition.
He had no intention of living as the Branch Manager of a mere single branch forever.
If he made Nam Su-hyang the Agency Leader, he would also come to occupy a higher position.
That was the reason Nam Baek-san left the Henan Branch to stay by Nam Su-hyang’s side.
***
Woo Geom-san’s party spent the night on the mountain.
Not to mention Ha Baek-jin, both Gong Pyeong-hae and Yi Se-gyeong were individuals accustomed to sleeping outdoors.
Even though no one ordered them to, they found a suitable spot, flattened the ground to arrange a place to lie down, and gathered tree branches to light a campfire.
Once the campfire was lit, Yi Se-gyeong stepped forward and began cooking.
Hanging a pot over the campfire, she poured in the ingredients prepared in advance along with water.
Finally, she tore beef jerky into small pieces, threw them in, and seasoned it, quickly completing a delicious meat hotpot.
“First, Ning Yunxiao and Ha Yeong-ryeong…”
Yi Se-gyeong took care of the young children first.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll eat well.”
Ning Yunxiao and Ha Yeong-ryeong offered greetings of gratitude as they received the bowls.
Yi Se-gyeong then distributed the hotpot to Ha Baek-jin, Gong Pyeong-hae, Woo Geom-san, and the others as well.
Receiving his bowl, Gong Pyeong-hae looked at Yi Se-gyeong with a slightly absurd expression.
“What’s this? Why do I only get this much?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not even half the amount Ha Baek-jin got.”
“Don’t lie. I scooped the exact same amount.”
Yi Se-gyeong glared at Gong Pyeong-hae with a sulky expression.
“No, look at the meat, not the broth. Ha Baek-jin’s bowl is packed full, but mine has nothing but scraps of grass. Are you going to keep treating me with such discrimination?”
Indeed, Ha Baek-jin’s bowl contained a lot of meat, while it was only seen sparsely in Gong Pyeong-hae’s bowl.
Gong Pyeong-hae had a right to protest.
However, Yi Se-gyeong ignored his protest.
“If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t. Give it here.”
“Uh-huh! Don’t go stealing it back just because of that. Dammit! Is a guy without a woman supposed to live in sorrow? Someone must be real happy. Receiving such meticulous care.”
Gong Pyeong-hae grumbled as he hid the bowl behind his back.
In an instant, Yi Se-gyeong’s face was dyed the color of the sunset.
Fortunately, the darkness concealed her facial color, allowing her to hide her embarrassment.
Yi Se-gyeong’s gaze unconsciously directed toward Ha Baek-jin.
Anyone looking could tell she was pouring her heart into Ha Baek-jin. However, the party concerned, Ha Baek-jin, was focusing his attention on Ha Yeong-ryeong, failing to notice her gaze.
“Chew it thoroughly before you swallow. It’s hot, so be careful.”
“Yeah!”
Ha Baek-jin barely lifted his spoon after confirming that Ha Yeong-ryeong was eating deliciously.
Woo Geom-san ate the food made by Yi Se-gyeong while wearing a smile.
As soon as he took a bite, an exclamation burst forth.
It was because it was just that delicious.
It seemed like it was made hastily, but all the flavors were contained within it.
“This is really delicious.”
“I’m glad it suits your palate.”
“It’s much better than an ordinary inn. Were you originally interested in cooking?”
“Originally, my dream was to open an inn. Although I wander around like this because I haven’t saved any money.”
Yi Se-gyeong replied calmly.
Her gaze was still fixed upon Ha Baek-jin.

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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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