Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 104 - A Confident Bet (1)

Chapter 104 – A Confident Bet (1)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“A ruthlessly concise movement.”

Myeong-gyeong looked upward. Before he knew it, the man in the black hat was already standing beside him. Even though Myeong-gyeong had been rather on guard because he was in an unfamiliar place, he had felt absolutely nothing of the man’s approach.

It wasn’t that chilling. Myeong-gyeong had already guessed more or less who the man in the black hat was from the sword he’d wagered as stake money.

“My Junior Brother moves a bit like that. You could say he pursues efficiency to the extreme.”

“That doesn’t match Wudang’s martial principles. Those who look for efficiency are those seeking shortcuts, whereas the Wudang Sect’s martial arts are closer to the great Dao without gates.”

“Not wrong.”

“Judging by the fact that you understand that, this disciple of yours must have achieved quite a bit. Is that merchant Company Lord truly important enough that Wudang would hand over such a disciple to him?”

“No one is unimportant to Wudang. Your clan is the same, isn’t it?”

At Myeong-gyeong’s indifferent tone, the man in the black hat flinched. To him, Myeong-gyeong had looked like no more than an immature child. But now that the merchant Company Lord was no longer beside him, the atmosphere Myeong-gyeong gave off had changed slightly.

“Do you know me?”

“I recognized the sword. It looked so cool that I remembered it. I once told Master that I wanted that sword, and he said it was a divine heirloom of the Namgung Clan. I remembered that.”

“You’ve got a sharp eye, young disciple. What’s your Daoist title?”

“Myeong-gyeong. You’re Namgung Hwi, right?”

“Has no one taught you polite speech yet? Though I suppose you’re at that age.”

“Do you want me to use it? If you want it, I can.”

“No. Speak however you’re comfortable. From what I saw earlier, formal speech doesn’t seem natural to you with strangers.”

“I don’t feel any need to use it with people outside my sect.”

“That’s fair. I’m much the same way.”

Namgung Hwi and Myeong-gyeong folded their arms and watched the sparring matches. Muk Hui-yeong’s next opponent had a fair bit of skill, so they had already exchanged more than twenty moves.

“But is it really right for a lay disciple to be using the Flowing Cloud Sword Art?”

“I told you. He’s a registered lay disciple.”

“Then I suppose they even teach him Wudang’s true transmitted skills. In that case, they should just bring him in as a main-sect disciple.”

“He said no, and that was that.”

For the first time until then, Namgung Hwi’s expression changed violently.

“He refused it himself?”

“Yeah. He says he’s a merchant by heavenly decree. Really now.”

Even thinking about it again, Myeong-gyeong seemed unable to believe it, because he let out a hollow laugh.

Namgung Hwi was part of the same martial world and belonged to a prestigious house, so he knew well the prestige of the Wudang Sect. There were countless people who would perform the nine bows on the spot if Wudang offered to accept them as a main-sect disciple, and yet this man had refused?

“That’s dizzying. For a second I thought all the Wudang lay disciples were like that.”

“If that were true, Wudang would be the greatest sect under heaven. Though it already is the greatest sect under heaven.”

“Then be grateful that the Namgung Clan isn’t a sect.”

“It wouldn’t make much difference.”

Myeong-gyeong and Namgung Hwi glared at each other for a moment, then both snorted a laugh. Whatever their ages, after being buried among merchants for so long, it felt good to meet another martial artist who spoke a language that made sense.

“By the way, why did you suddenly wager your sword? If it’s a divine heirloom, isn’t it important?”

“If Father learns I wagered it in a petty salt game, he’ll probably clutch the back of his neck and collapse.”

“Then why?”

“I suddenly felt like messing with the merchants a bit.”

Myeong-gyeong tilted his head. Namgung Hwi noticed that he didn’t understand, but didn’t bother elaborating.

“By the way, doesn’t this make you angry? They’re using martial artists like caged beasts.”

“I think it would’ve angered me too, back in the old days.”

“Back in the old days? That’s a strange way to talk for someone your age.”

“Then let me correct it. Before I met my Junior Brother, that is.”

“You mean that Company Lord?”

Myeong-gyeong nodded. Namgung Hwi looked like he couldn’t understand it. How could some mere merchant affect a main-sect disciple of Wudang?

“Could it be you’ve gotten a taste for money? I know in broad terms that Wudang Daoists deliberately live in poverty.”

“Don’t insult me. I simply chose not to put myself first anymore.”

“And what exactly does that mean?”

“Even when I try not to insist on myself, I still keep being aware of myself. So at least in the moments I notice it, I erase myself.”

“I wondered what you were talking about, and it turns out to be the issue of the small self and the great self from the Dao De Jing.”

“Oh. So you know it.”

Myeong-gyeong looked a little crestfallen. He had apparently thought only he knew it, and hadn’t expected Namgung Hwi to know it too.

Namgung Hwi noticed that reaction at once and shrugged.

“If you’re from a great house, they make you study all the classics whether or not you follow any particular philosophy.”

“I didn’t ask.”

Myeong-gyeong’s face reddened. Namgung Hwi smiled.

“Even so, that’s impressive. How many people at your age try to grasp the meaning of the classics on their own and put them into practice?”

“I realized it by watching my Junior Brother.”

“Realized what?”

“Believe it or not, right now my Junior Brother is the person in Wudang who’s closest to the great self.”

“…That merchant?”

Namgung Hwi was so flustered that he even let the word merchant, which he’d kept only in his mind, slip out aloud. Myeong-gyeong frowned.

“Don’t call my Junior Brother that. You sword-swinger.”

“My apologies.”

“Then I’m sorry too.”

Namgung Hwi gave a dry laugh. This little brat was proving much less easy to handle than he’d expected.

“But what do you mean by saying the Company Lord is close to the great self?”

“You only just met him, so you wouldn’t know, but strangely enough, my Junior Brother changes personality depending on who he’s dealing with. It’s like looking at an entirely different person each time.”

“That’s impressive in its own way, but isn’t it natural for a person to vary by time, place, and company?”

“That’s only outward social maneuvering, or petty flattery. My Junior Brother is different. He’s exactly like water. Even if water changes shape according to the vessel, water is still water. Sometimes fierce, sometimes soft.”

“Hm.”

Namgung Hwi looked at Muk Hui-yeong. Muk Hui-yeong had just beaten his opponent and was already placing salt on the next one.

At least one thing was certain. This young Daoist named Myeong-gyeong clearly followed that Company Lord Muk Hui-yeong closely.

And one could also infer that he possessed extraordinary martial talent. It was unheard of for Wudang to offer a main-sect disciple position to a youth already that old.

And his current martial strength wasn’t bad either. The fact that he could gamble with that much certainty meant he could read the levels of the martial fighters clearly. Needless to say, that was possible only because he himself was stronger than them.

For someone so young to establish a merchant company and achieve this much, he truly did seem remarkable in many ways. Even so, he still didn’t look to Namgung Hwi the way Myeong-gyeong had described him, as though he were some sage who had already reached the realm of the great self. Myeong-gyeong’s explanation had been too abstract.

“I’ll wager again. With this sword again.”

In any case, Namgung Hwi continued taking part in the gambling.

By then, the amount of salt he had won had already reached three thousand geun.

“Shall I have an empty cart brought in for you?”

“No need.”

At one point some merchant asked timidly, but Namgung Hwi cut him off coldly. It wasn’t as though he was doing this because he wanted salt in the first place.

Then a rather interesting thought crossed Namgung Hwi’s mind. He had joined this gambling in the first place to mess with the merchants. Since he disliked the way martial artists’ pride was being bought and sold for money. In that case, there was nothing wrong with messing with them a bit more.

“Hold on. Chief Salt Merchant.”

“What is it?”

“Shouldn’t the stakes be raised at this point? It’s awkward for me to say this myself, but this sword is quite valuable. Even ten thousand geun of salt wouldn’t be enough to buy it. Since you’re merchants, you ought to have eyes for objects, no?”

At Namgung Hwi’s words, everyone turned to look at the sword. Certainly, it seemed to be the work of a famous craftsman.

While the merchants exchanged glances, one of them stepped forward a few paces.

“I know a bit about weapons. Would it be all right if I took a look?”

“You? At my weapon?”

“My name is Oh Jong-yo. If you have any interest in weapons, then surely you must have heard of Oui Iron Workshop.”

“And what of that? I was saying that the very idea of a merchant touching my weapon displeases me. If you only intend to look, then I’ll allow it.”

“What’s important is the sword, not the scabbard, isn’t it? You need to draw the sword to really see it.”

Oh Jong-yo said it. His expression didn’t change in the slightest, even under Namgung Hwi’s glare.

“No matter how strong and illustrious you martial people may be, we still need to verify the value of the stakes if the game is to proceed, don’t we? If you dislike it, then don’t take part. The only reason we’ve let you into the game at all is out of regard for Lord Son.”

A cold current passed between Oh Jong-yo and Namgung Hwi. Son Yeong-ui’s expression turned awkward.

Namgung Hwi was the one who relented first. He let out a long sigh, grabbed the scabbard, and extended it toward Oh Jong-yo.

Oh Jong-yo carefully took the sword from Namgung Hwi, then slowly drew it.

“Hah.”

Everyone gasped. The blade was so beautiful that an exclamation escaped without conscious thought.

A beautiful blue blade. A powerful sheen that refused to be dimmed even by the darkness of evening. An edge honed beyond sharpness into something positively cold. Something had been engraved in small letters on the blade, but merchants who had never learned martial arts couldn’t read it.

And yet the merchants knew what sword it was without having to verify the letters for themselves.

“…Azure Radiance!”

Because there was only one famous sword known for such a blue blade.

A treasure counted among the Eighteen Famous Swords of the jianghu, and a divine heirloom of the Namgung Clan.

All of them stared at Namgung Hwi with shocked expressions. Namgung Hwi gave a bitter smile, then removed his black bamboo hat.

It was the moment Namgung Hwi’s identity was revealed.

***

Now this was a little surprising. The man Son Yeong-ui had brought turned out to be a member of the Namgung Clan. Not just anyone, but Namgung Hwi, the youth currently called the most outstanding of the younger generation. Everyone knew that the Huizhou merchants had close ties with the Anhui-based Namgung Clan.

Even so, for someone of Namgung Hwi’s stature to have come personally was remarkable. He had clearly been embarrassed by it himself, considering he’d tried to conceal his identity.

“H-heh heh. Isn’t this Young Master Namgung?”

“I believe we met once before.”

The instant the merchants realized who Namgung Hwi was, they all began falling over themselves to act familiar.

But there was one man who stepped forward to stop them. Son Yeong-ui’s face turned triumphant as he moved between Namgung Hwi and the merchants.

“Young Master Namgung is here tonight solely in the capacity of a martial escort of Janggyeong Merchant Company. I ask that no one create unnecessary noise.”

At Son Yeong-ui’s words, all the merchants looked disappointed. Son Yeong-ui had every reason to look triumphant. By drawing out Namgung Hwi, he’d effectively proven that among the many Huizhou merchants, the Son family to which he belonged was especially close to the Namgung family.

“A beautiful sword.”

But to be honest, I wasn’t particularly interested in Namgung Hwi’s identity itself. Since he’d come out to oppose Wudang, I’d already guessed they must have brought someone of roughly that sort, so it didn’t leave me stunned.

Instead, my eyes were fixed on the sword. Azure Radiance. I’d heard the name often enough, but this was my first time seeing it in person.

In my previous life, I’d regarded weapons as inauspicious things, and in truth had kept them far at arm’s length. The fact that a sword could now stir my interest at all showed exactly how different my former life was from my current one.

“You look rather tempted.”

As Namgung Hwi sheathed the sword after taking it back from Oh Jong-yo, he said it. I felt slightly awkward. I had been staring at someone else’s possession like I wanted to swallow it whole.

“It’s beautiful.”

I admitted it honestly. Namgung Hwi grinned.

“If you can look at this and not be stirred, then you’re no martial artist. So you really are a martial artist. Why, then, are you conducting trade?”

“I’m a merchant, and I’m a martial artist.”

“I see. I suppose such people exist. There are many kinds of people in this world.”

After saying that, Namgung Hwi took his eyes off me and swept his gaze over the room.

“Well then. Is this enough to justify raising the stakes?”

“But is it really all right to stake a treasure like Azure Radiance? We only meant to hold a bit of casual gambling, nothing serious.”

Oh Jong-yo said. Namgung Hwi let out a sneer.

“It’s fine. I won’t lose. However.”

“However?”

“You people will have to stake something precious in response.”

Blue lightning qi crackled out from Namgung Hwi’s body.

The situation had suddenly become one where the scale of the game could only grow.