The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 44

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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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44
Woo Geom-san’s Conquest
Woo Geom-san walked slowly through the Market, looking around.
Countless items were displayed on the stalls, including silks, splendid garments, gold ornaments, and swords forged in the Blacksmith Street, but none of them managed to catch Woo Geom-san’s eye.
He checked to see if there was a proper sword available, but every single one was inferior to his own.
In the end, he gave up on a sword.
As for buying garments, they were far too extravagant.
Baek Ho-yang preferred worn-out clothes over splendid attire.
Baek Ho-yang’s philosophy was that if clothes were too fine, one would cherish them too much and become reluctant to do rough work, and Woo Geom-san agreed with his line of thinking.
Therefore, he preferred loose-fitting, comfortable clothes that were easy to move in, but the garments sold in the Market were all far from practical.
Ultimately, he gave up on buying clothes as well.
After discarding the remaining items for various reasons, there was almost nothing left.
Instead, he was fortunate enough to obtain a bundle of Silver Needles from the Blacksmith Shop.
Right then, an anomalous sight suddenly entered Woo Geom-san’s field of vision.
In a corner of the crowded Market, Books were stacked high in front of a shabby shop.
“A Bookshop?”
Woo Geom-san approached the Bookshop as if possessed by something.
Inside the Bookshop, an Old Scholar with a hunched back and a beard like an immortal was painstakingly organizing the Books. However, his face was pale and the dark circles under his eyes made it entirely clear that he was in poor health.
Woo Geom-san cautiously greeted him.
“Hello.”
“Who might you be?”
“I was passing by and came inside after seeing the Books piled up.”
“Are you looking to buy Books?”
“Yes! I’d like to buy some if there are any that catch my fancy.”
“How unusual.”
“Pardon?”
As Woo Geom-san showed a puzzled expression, the Old Scholar spoke with a bitter smile.
“You are my very first customer this year.”
“I am?”
“Indeed! As you can see, since it’s a Bookshop tucked away in a corner of the Market, literate people rarely visit. People who know how to read think that coming to a bustling marketplace lowers their dignity. That’s why it has been completely dead here.”
“It must have been difficult for you.”
“It was difficult. But that’s the end of it now. I’m going to close up the Bookshop.”
“Does this happen to be related to the chronic illness you are currently suffering from?”
“You have sharp eyes. Yes, that’s right! I’ve fallen gravely ill and can no longer run the Bookshop. So, I intend to wind things up before I die.”
The Old Scholar spoke of his own death with composure.
The Old Scholar’s detached expression and voice stirred something within Woo Geom-san’s heart.
“Then, are all the books displayed outside for sale?”
“They haven’t sold until now, so why would they sell now? Still, just in case, I put them out at a low price. Why, are you interested?”
“Yes! I am interested. May I take a look?”
“Do as you please.”
“Thank you.”
Woo Geom-san immediately began inspecting the Books.
There were Books recording myths and folklore, like the Shanhaijing, Tianwen, and Soushen Ji, and there were also numerous Daoist scriptures, such as the Daodejing, Zhuangzi, and Huangting Jing.
He couldn’t tell for certain just from a brief look, but he could at least be sure that they weren’t the fakes rolling around common markets.
The Old Scholar spoke.
“These are things I’ve collected over my entire lifetime. Although most are transcriptions rather than the originals, the contents are absolutely genuine without a single shred of falsehood.”
Woo Geom-san nodded at the Old Scholar’s proud words.
“It certainly seems that way. You must have gone through a lot of trouble to gather all these Books.”
“It was as rewarding as it was troublesome. Though it saddens me that I now have to dispose of them for a pittance.”
“Could you not pass them down to your children?”
“My children have no interest in running a Bookshop. They are only interested in the crumbs left behind after I die. I raised my children wrong.”
The Old Scholar closed his eyes gently.
Woo Geom-san naturally felt a wave of pity.
“Oh dear.”
“There’s no need to feel so bad for me. This is all my own karma. Choose whatever you like. I’ll give it to you cheap.”
“I will buy all the Books inside here.”
“Are you pitying me?”
“No. I’m doing it because I need them. I have a grandfather, and I think he would love it if I brought them to him. I think it would be good for me to read them by his side as well.”
Woo Geom-san’s words were sincere.
Baek Ho-yang spent most of his time in meditation.
It was to the point where he worried that the old man might suddenly experience Ascension to Immortality.
Because of that, he thought that bringing Books to Baek Ho-yang, who even looked somewhat bored at times, would make him happy, which is why he offered to buy every book in the shop.
The Old Scholar spoke with a dumbfounded expression.
“Ha! Do you even know how much all this costs?”
“I will give you whatever amount it is.”
“You shouldn’t say such things to a merchant. Do you know how much I might ask for?”
“It just means I desire them that much.”
“Just give me thirty Silver Coins. Then, I will hand over all the Books to you.”
“You may ask for more.”
“No. Thirty Silver Coins is enough. That much should prevent my children from whining while holding my funeral. Leaving behind any more money would only turn into a poison instead.”
“Even so, Elder…”
“Just give me the thirty coins before I change my mind.”
“Understood.”
Woo Geom-san immediately pulled three ten-tael Money Vouchers from his robe and handed them to the Old Scholar.
“Thank you! Please cherish these books.”
“I will keep them safe and read them with care.”
“Thank you. These books are all yours now. By the way, how do you plan to carry hundreds of Books?”
“Could you please wait for a moment?”
Woo Geom-san immediately left the Bookshop and went to the opposite side.
It was the small Horse Market he had noticed earlier when looking around the Market.
It was a place that mainly sold horses, but he had noticed donkeys tied up there as well.
Woo Geom-san purchased two donkeys and returned to the Bookshop.
He packed the Books securely, loaded them onto the backs of the donkeys, and carried the remaining ones on his own back.
The straps dug into his shoulders from the immense weight, but Woo Geom-san didn’t mind.
“Well then, I shall be on my way. Please take care of yourself.”
“Don’t worry about me, just return safely yourself. Thank you!”
The Old Scholar spoke with a relieved expression.
He was thoroughly delighted to think that the Books, which his children would have used as kindling if left alone, were going to an owner who would cherish them.
After bidding farewell to the Old Scholar, Woo Geom-san returned to the Zhuyang Inn.
Baek Wol-sang was startled when he arrived with over hundreds of Books loaded onto the backs of two donkeys.
“My goodness, what is all this?”
“As you can see, they’re books.”
“Wait, you spoke as if you weren’t going to buy anything…”
“I suppose I did.”
Woo Geom-san wore an embarrassed expression.
Baek Wol-sang caressed the numerous books.
It felt as though the passage of time could be sensed at his fingertips.
He cautiously spoke to Woo Geom-san.
“Could you speak to your grandfather and ask him to teach the children how to read as well?”
Yunjung Village was located so deep within the remote backcountry that there was no one capable of serving as a literature teacher. Because of this, most of the Village people were completely illiterate.
At best, only a few people, including Baek Wol-sang, could barely read. However, they were too busy with their livelihoods to even dream of teaching the children.
Woo Geom-san readily nodded his head.
“I will. If Grandfather doesn’t have the time, I’ll teach them myself.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I should have paid attention to this sooner, I’m sorry.”
“No. I know how busy you are, so how could you pay attention to such minor details?”
Baek Wol-sang patted Woo Geom-san’s shoulder.
In truth, he had only thought about needing to teach the children to read because his daughter was born; before that, he hadn’t even given it a single thought.
The two of them unloaded the books from the donkeys’ backs and stored them in the Storehouse.
Inside the Storehouse, the items purchased by the Village youths were piled up to the brim.
Just looking at it made one feel fully satisfied.
Baek Wol-sang spoke.
“Go on inside first. I need to verify if the goods were purchased correctly.”
“All right.”
Knowing that his presence would only be a hindrance, Woo Geom-san immediately left the Storehouse and entered the Zhuyang Inn.
In the first-floor Restaurant of the Zhuyang Inn, he saw some familiar faces.
It was So Seol-yeong, Sado Cheong, and the Escort Guards.
However, an unexpected person was also sitting among them.
It was none other than Jin Seo-ho, who had received help from So Seol-yeong.
Watching him barely swallow porridge with a battered face, Woo Geom-san showed a puzzled expression.
Jin Seo-ho also spotted Woo Geom-san and paused his movements.
“Ah?”
“Your face looks more like a total mess every single time I see you.”
“Whose fault do you think this is?”
“Whose fault is it?”
“Yours!”
“Mine?”
“Yes! It’s because of you.”
Jin Seo-ho pointed his finger at Woo Geom-san.
Woo Geom-san furrowed his brows.
“Don’t tell me you got caught meeting with me?”
“Exactly! I almost died because of it.”
“Miraculously, you didn’t die.”
“It’s all thanks to the Young Lady. If the Young Lady hadn’t saved me, I wouldn’t be a person of this world anymore.”
The one Jin Seo-ho pointed to was indeed So Seol-yeong.
So Seol-yeong offered the seat opposite her to Woo Geom-san.
“Would you care to sit down for a moment?”
“Why are you asking that guy to sit with us?”
Jin Seo-ho expressed his dissatisfaction, but So Seol-yeong lightly ignored his opinion entirely.
“If it’s fine with you, let’s have a meal together. As you can see, there is plenty of food.”
Just as So Seol-yeong said, many dishes were laid out upon the table.
Since it felt awkward to reject her proposal flatly, he sat in the front seat.
So Seol-yeong spoke.
“My name is So Seol-yeong. As you may already know, I come from the Man-sang Alliance.”
“I am Woo Geom-san from Yunjung Village.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“A pleasure to meet you too.”
“I heard that the negotiations with Master Seo went well.”
“Master Seo conceded a lot, so we were able to get a good price.”
“That miser conceded? Hohoho!”
So Seol-yeong laughed loudly as if she had just heard the funniest story in the world.
“What is so amusing?”
“Because it’s entertaining. Master Seo is not a person who makes concessions. It’s not just Master Seo; all merchants are like that. If they hold the upper hand in a negotiation, they absolutely never concede. That is the nature of all merchants.”
“I suppose you are one of them as well?”
“To be completely honest, I am exactly the same. I grew up in such an environment, and that’s how I was educated. If even a young person like me is like this, what do you think Master Seo, who has lived his entire life in that environment, would be like? Do you know what Master Seo’s nickname within the Man-sang Alliance is? It’s the Bottomless Pit. It means a pit that you can absolutely never escape once you fall in. For such a relentless man to concede that much means, in the end, he lost the upper hand in the negotiation.”
When she heard the details of Master Seo’s negotiation, So Seol-yeong was no small amount of shocked.
This was because he had conceded far more than she had vaguely anticipated.
It was to the extent that she couldn’t even be confident whether she could extract that level of concession if she had negotiated with Master Seo directly.
It was a price that had risen by a whopping four times compared to the amount previously purchased.
Of course, even if they purchased it at that price, the Man-sang Alliance would absolutely never suffer a loss.
This was because they could simply raise the selling price by as much as the purchase amount.
For now, its recognition was low compared to Longjing Tea and the like, but if the Man-sang Alliance stepped forward to promote it in earnest, it would receive treatment as a famous tea no less than those. Then, no one would complain even if they raised the price further.
What So Seol-yeong was curious about was the method Woo Geom-san used to pressure Master Seo.
Woo Geom-san’s negotiation style would clearly serve as a great lesson to So Seol-yeong as well, which is why she was this curious.
So Seol-yeong asked in an insinuating voice.
“Do you happen to have any intention of joining the Man-sang Alliance? If you join, I will put you in an important position.”
“No thank you.”
“Why? It’s a great opportunity to achieve success. Tell me what you want. I will grant it all.”
So Seol-yeong’s eyes twinkled like stars.
She possessed a strong desire to collect talented individuals. That was why she had accepted Jin Seo-ho’s absurd proposal.
To be precise, she had read Jin Seo-ho’s tenacity for life and his strong sense of purpose. Her philosophy was that a person with such fierce tenacity would eventually amount to something.
Similarly, So Seol-yeong felt an extraordinary aura emanating from Woo Geom-san.
Woo Geom-san possessed an aura so mysterious that even her eyes, which were highly accurate in judging people, could not decipher it.
This kind of aura wasn’t something just anyone could possess.
So Seol-yeong believed that Woo Geom-san held some sort of secret.
Woo Geom-san flatly rejected her proposal.
“No thank you. I like my current life much better.”
“That’s a shame. If you change your mind, tell me even later on. However, bear in mind that the value I place on you then will be much lower than it is right now.”
“That will absolutely never happen.”
“The word ‘never’ doesn’t apply to this world. You never know what might happen and when.”
It was right when So Seol-yeong was wearing a confident smile.
Crash!
Smashing through the windows, a band of martial artists broke into the Zhuyang Inn.
They rushed violently toward So Seol-yeong.
With their faces concealed by masks, the martial artists brandishing their weapons were clearly targeting So Seol-yeong.
Woo Geom-san let out a sigh and muttered to himself.
“Talk of the devil, you really never know what might happen and when.”

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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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