The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 76

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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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76
The Battle for Woo Geom-san
“Amazing.”
Woo Geom-san could not hide his admiration as he looked at the massive procession moving ahead.
The procession, consisting of two hundred people, about a hundred horses, and fifty wagons lined up in a row, was truly a spectacular sight.
These were all people from the Feiyun Merchant Group.
When those scattered across the Zhuyang Inn and other inns gathered, the number grew to this extent.
Of the two hundred people, over one hundred and fifty were martial artists who had trained in martial arts.
Trading beyond the border brought enormous profits, but the level of danger was high in exact proportion to it.
Bandits lay in wait along the trade routes, and numerous other unpredictable dangers were lurking.
Because of that, at least a hundred or more people had to gather and move together to guarantee safety to some extent.
That the Feiyun Merchant Group could grow to this size was entirely thanks to Niu Jinhong.
Niu Jinhong, the younger brother of the merchant group leader Niu Jinshu, had trained in martial arts at the Mount Hua Sect, so he knew a great many martial artists.
It was not a very difficult matter for him to draw in those whose livelihoods had been impacted by the Mount Hua Sect’s sealing the gates.
Thanks to the martial artists Niu Jinhong brought in, the Feiyun Merchant Group was able to conclude this trade successfully as well.
They secured profits by selling the high-quality silk, ceramics, tea, and accessories obtained in the Central Plains to the Western Regions, and from the Western Regions, they brought back various spices, gems, and glassware crafts to sell in the Central Plains.
If they sold the goods brought from the Western Regions in the Central Plains, they would secure a massive profit this time too.
Two martial artists walking at the very rear of the Feiyun Merchant Group chattered rowdily.
“Haha! Once I get my success bonus, I intend to shut myself up in a brothel for three months and not come out.”
“Must be nice to be single. Damn it! I’m going to have everything stripped away by my wife.”
“Exactly, who told you to get married so early anyway?”
“Tsk! How was I to know she’d suddenly get pregnant from just one time? If not for that, I would’ve lived a bit more freely.”
“Still, don’t your sister-in-law and the kids greet you warmly when you go home? I live cooped up in a brothel because I’m alone. Don’t be too envious.”
“Right! That’s why we do this grueling work.”
Signs of exhaustion were glaringly evident, but smiles were playing on their faces.
They still had to travel thousands of miles more to where the Feiyun Merchant Group’s main headquarters was located, but the fact that they could return home if they endured just a little longer made them smile.
Right then, one of the martial artists having the conversation called out to Woo Geom-san.
“Hey there.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Isn’t it boring walking all by yourself like that?”
“It is boring.”
“Come over here. Let’s go together while sharing some talk.”
He invited Woo Geom-san.
Woo Geom-san did not hesitate and approached him.
The man who called him was in his early forties, and his dark, tanned skin made him look even older.
It wasn’t just him; most of the people belonging to the Feiyun Merchant Group looked older than their actual age.
Being exposed to the blazing sunlight and sandstorms for a long time had brought on early aging.
The martial artist who called Woo Geom-san grinned, revealing yellow teeth.
“My name is Gong Hwapyeong. What is your name?”
“I am called Woo Geom-san. But is it alright for me to join the procession?”
“Haven’t you already received permission from our chief?”
“That was for following quietly from behind, not to join in like this.”
“Well, that or this, it’s all the same! We still have a long way to go until the Yangtze River, so traveling while acting distant like that makes it uncomfortable for both sides. Isn’t that right?”
Gong Hwapyeong possessed a slick, sly personality.
His sociability was extremely good, so anyone would quickly become close after exchanging a few words.
Woo Geom-san replied with a smile.
“I also prefer traveling while talking.”
“Spoken like a broad-minded man. So, Great Hero Woo, have you lived in Guangu County for a long time?”
“I think I have lived there for about fifteen years.”
“At that rate, you’re practically a local. By the way, why are you going to the Yangtze River?”
“I intend to visit my hometown after a long time. Going by boat is much faster, so I am heading to the Yangtze River.”
“Ah, you’re returning home just like us.”
“Great Hero Gong, have you been with the Feiyun Merchant Group for a long time?”
“It’s been over ten years for me too. Originally, I learned martial arts in a secular sect of the Mount Hua Sect, but when the Mount Hua Sect sealed its gates, our family fortune completely plummeted. While worrying about what to do because making a living was bleak, I received a call from the chief and joined the Feiyun Merchant Group.”
“Since you’ve been with the Feiyun Merchant Group for a long time, you must have been beyond the border multiple times?”
“Needless to say. I’ve been there at least once a year. Thanks to that, I’m completely well-versed in the geography beyond the border.”
“That is amazing. Traveling a path ten times that others find difficult to visit even once in their lifetime.”
Woo Geom-san wore an expression of genuine admiration.
“Amazing? It’s just something I do because it’s my job. At first, it was fascinating. The snow-capped mountains, deserts, endlessly unfolding plains, and people with different skin colors were all things I was seeing for the first time. But having seen them so much, it’s just tedious now.”
“Still, isn’t it good since you can live cooped up in a brothel for three months once you return?”
“I endure this hardship looking forward to that one thing. Hehehe!”
Gong Hwapyeong could not hide his smug expression.
Even when he thought he wanted to form a family like his friend, the moment a brothel was before his eyes, he could not simply pass it by.
Every time he went beyond the border once, an amount equal to several years of others’ salary came in, but after enjoying himself in a brothel for a few months, he would squander it quickly. Thus, Gong Hwapyeong could not save money, and marriage was out of the question.
When entering the main headquarters, he sometimes felt envious seeing the figures of his friend’s family waiting, but even so, he had no intention of making a family.
He simply intended to wander like floating weed and die in this lifetime.
If the place he died was in the arms of a courtesan, he felt nothing could be better than that.
Just then, Gong Hwapyeong’s friend who was with them chimed in.
“Hey, young friend. Don’t listen closely to that fellow’s talk. Otherwise, you might end up growing old and dying as a bachelor ghost like him.”
“Haha! I will keep that in mind.”
“The young friend is quite refreshing, which I like. My name is Zhang Yinu.”
“I am Woo Geom-san.”
“I heard earlier. Walking with a fresh face rather than the humans I see every day to a sickening degree makes me feel good. Let’s go straight to the Yangtze River like this.”
“Yes!”
As the saying goes that friends resemble each other, Zhang Yinu possessed a personality just as good as Gong Hwapyeong’s. However, they were not treating Woo Geom-san warmly simply because their personalities were good.
His six-foot-tall stature, handsome face, and Woo Geom-san’s otherworldly demeanor were more than enough to win people’s favor.
‘If I had that face, courtesans would have clung to me like crazy.’
In particular, Gong Hwapyeong envied Woo Geom-san’s handsome appearance. Perhaps because of that, he treated Woo Geom-san especially warmly.
Woo Geom-san also greatly enjoyed walking while conversing with them.
Because they had traveled beyond the border for a long time, Gong Hwapyeong and Zhang Yinu knew an immense amount of things.
Woo Geom-san lost track of time listening to the heroic tales they unraveled.
***
“Haha!”
“So I said…”
At the loud laughter and voices echoing from far behind, the Niu brothers turned around.
In their sight, they saw Woo Geom-san, Gong Hwapyeong, and the others laughing and chatting.
“He is a fascinating man. He looks so elegant, yet he mingles and chats with low-ranking warriors without any reservation.”
“Indeed. Even if Martial Artist Gong looks like an entirely good-natured person, he isn’t someone who lets others into his personal space easily.”
Niu Jinhong agreed with his older brother Niu Jinshu’s words.
Even if they looked like completely good people on the outside, Gong Hwapyeong and Zhang Yinu did not trust people carelessly.
Not just them, but most of the martial artists belonging to the Feiyun Merchant Group possessed a similar disposition.
Once going beyond the border, no one could be trusted.
They had to be wary of everyone except themselves.
It was impossible to know when someone who approached with a smile would change their face and plunge a sword into their windpipe.
Because such incidents actually happened frequently, the people belonging to the Feiyun Merchant Group did not easily trust others and remained vigilant.
Gong Hwapyeong and Zhang Yinu were severe in that regard.
They were the type to deal with others with a smile while being entirely on guard internally, never letting down their string of tension.
Yet those very men, Gong Hwapyeong and Zhang Yinu, were conversing with someone while laughing genuinely.
Niu Jinhong, who had lived with them for a long time, recognized at a single glance that their laughter was not a facade.
“If that man is an enemy, we have personally let the most terrifying existence into our fence.”
“Probably. But because you have certainty that he isn’t, you didn’t object to my opinion either, right?”
“Yes! His eyes are so clear and pure that just looking at them makes me feel like my mind and body are being cleansed. A person with a dark mind could never possess such eyes. Perhaps Martial Artist Gong opened his heart to those eyes as well.”
“I felt the exact same way. That is why I permitted him to follow. But I didn’t know he would win the hearts of others so easily.”
Niu Jinshu let out a faint sigh.
Occasionally, there were such people.
Those who drew others in even when they themselves did nothing.
Though the reason why was unknown, people naturally gathered around them.
Just like Woo Geom-san right now.
Niu Jinhong spoke.
“I will keep keeping a close eye on him, so do not worry too much, brother.”
“Understood!”
It was just as Niu Jinshu nodded and looked forward.
A disparate sight far in the distance entered his view.
“What is that?”
“It’s a carriage.”
Niu Jinhong replied, knitting his brows tightly.
A single carriage lay battered and overturned by the side of the road. The horse that pulled the carriage was nowhere to be seen, having fled to who knows where.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
They spurred their horses and dashed toward the broken carriage.
The condition of the carriage was truly severe. It was smashed to pieces, barely maintaining its frame.
Niu Jinshu looked at the steep mountain right next to it.
“Did it roll down from the mountainside?”
“There are people inside.”
“What?”
At Niu Jinhong’s words, Niu Jinshu urgently peered inside the carriage.
Amidst the debris inside the carriage, someone’s hand was sticking out.
“Damn it!”
Niu Jinhong, along with the martial artists, hurriedly cleared away the debris of the carriage.
When they completely cleared the debris, the figure of a beautiful lady tightly embracing a boy of about ten years old was revealed.
While the boy was relatively intact, the beautiful lady’s condition was disastrous.
This was because when the carriage rolled down the slope, the beautiful lady had protected the boy by wrapping her entire body around him.
“Both of them are still alive. Move them carefully.”
“Yes!”
The martial artists carefully moved the two to a flat area nearby.
“Ugh…”
The beautiful lady let out a groan, as if in immense pain.
Niu Jinshu and Niu Jinhong looked at the beautiful lady with pitying eyes.
Even if they wanted to save her, they did not know medicine.
That was the case for the others as well.
Thus, even while knowing the beautiful lady was dying, they had no choice but to stand by and watch.
“How tragic!”
“There’s nothing we can do since there is no way to save her.”
It was just as the Niu brothers were looking at the beautiful lady with sorrowful expressions.
“May I take a look at her?”
Parting through the crowd, Woo Geom-san stepped forward.
Niu Jinshu looked at Woo Geom-san with an unexpected expression.
“Do you know medicine?”
“I know acupuncture a little.”
“Hurry and look.”
Niu Jinshu stepped aside.
Woo Geom-san quickly sat next to the beautiful lady and grabbed her wrist.
The beautiful lady’s pulse was faint, as if it would snap at any moment.
It was certain that if left like this, her life would end before fifteen minutes passed.
There was no reason to delay time.
Woo Geom-san urgently took out a wooden box from his robe.
When he opened the wooden box, hundreds of silver needles revealed themselves.
Woo Geom-san began to insert the silver needles into the beautiful lady’s body.
He was deploying the Nine Heavens Soul Returning Acupuncture on the woman.
Finding the acupoints and inserting the silver needles without hesitation, Woo Geom-san’s appearance astonished all the people of the Feiyun Merchant Group.
Just looking at the speed at which he inserted the needles was enough to know his skill was no ordinary feat.
It wasn’t simply that his speed was fast.
Every time Woo Geom-san inserted a needle, the woman’s complexion visibly improved.
Acupuncture of this caliber was not something just anyone could deploy.
Niu Jinshu recalled the group possessing the most miraculous medicine in the current Jianghu.
‘Could he be from Saengsagok?’
The Ten Pillars, the core powers of the current Jianghu.
Among them, there was one uniquely mysterious sect.
Saengsagok.
A group of madmen dreaming of the harmony between medicine and poison arts.
At that name, which many respected yet feared deeply, Niu Jinshu bit his lip without realizing it.

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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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