Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 117 - When the Forest Grows Dense, Tigers Enter (2)

Chapter 117 – When the Forest Grows Dense, Tigers Enter (2)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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I had dealt with far more of this sort of scheming and setup in my previous life than in my current one. When you had money, all sorts of flies naturally gathered around.

At first, I found the very thing uncomfortable and avoided such people. But that had been the wrong choice.

Schemes targeting me did not disappear in the first place. If I refused to meet them, they simply moved in the shadows where I couldn’t see them.

Schemes took manpower and money to set up. They couldn’t just throw the blueprint away because I wouldn’t show my face.

So if there was someone trying to play tricks on me, I tended to meet him even more deliberately. I had to keep the trickster within my sight in order to dig out the one behind the scenes.

“Heh heh. You’re back.”

Yeom Baek-gyu welcomed Myeong-il and me with a smile.

I returned the smile. Yeom Baek-gyu poured Tiger Bone Wine again until the cup nearly overflowed, and I poured for him as well.

Right now, I was only sizing Yeom Baek-gyu up when he wasn’t conscious of me doing so. That man. First of all, he wasn’t a merchant.

A merchant based in the northwest would have no reason not to know the Western Regions handshake. He’d hidden it well with an artificial skin mask, but his neck was thick, his jawline sharp, and he looked sturdy. He was unlike the merchants whose folded chins and wobbling flesh you often saw.

I didn’t go that far myself, but some merchants actually put on weight to show off how much wealth they had. They’d say that a great belly and folded chin were symbols of wealth.

That was also why I drank the Tiger Bone Wine while remaining on guard. I only drank after Yeom Baek-gyu did. Judging by how heartily he drank it, it didn’t seem like he’d tampered with the liquor.

“By the way, I heard you’re interested in the black market.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. Originally I only joined your table to ask about the black market, but somehow I ended up meeting someone as distinguished as you and forgot the purpose of the table itself.”

Yeom Baek-gyu laughed in that heh-heh manner of his, all while emptying cup after cup. Since his face was reddening, it didn’t look as though he was using internal energy to process the alcohol. He simply seemed to be a tremendous drinker.

“In truth, I heard that a rare item will appear at this black market.”

“Is that so?”

“More than so. Ah, but that’s a secret. It seems the drink has made me unable to tell what I should and shouldn’t say.”

I smiled inwardly. He really was good at acting.

“But alas, would you believe I don’t have an invitation? So I’ve been trying to secure one in a hurry.”

“And what you found instead was us?”

“Exactly. Just by looking at you, you seemed like people who either possessed invitations or could get them.”

Yeom Baek-gyu smiled. That certainly wasn’t a joke. Ever since I started supplying money to Wudang, even the Wudang disciples’ travel clothes had been replaced with expensive tribute-satin material. As for me and Yeo Hong-yang, who had to dress expensively by default as merchants, there was no need to say more.

“Foreman. We were talking earlier, weren’t we? Can you get an invitation?”

When I said that to Yeo Hong-yang, he composed his expression and replied.

“Of course, Company Lord. We should be able to get one from the Xi’an branch of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company.”

By now, Yeo Hong-yang had begun matching my acting beat as well. He knew I wasn’t the sort to put on a pointless act. He really did have a good eye for such things.

“Oh ho. The Xi’an branch of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company. It seems you even have connections with the Merchant King’s company.”

“Ah, this time I happened to build some ties with the Huizhou merchants.”

“As expected, as expected. Your skill is remarkable.”

“But I don’t recall anyone saying I’d be the one to bring you an invitation to the black market.”

I smiled. Yeom Baek-gyu smiled back without losing ground.

“Tiger Bone Wine is indeed a fine liquor, but how could I possibly express my whole heart with only this? This is merely a drink I wanted to offer a distinguished guest.”

“Then let me ask plainly. How many invitations do you need?”

“How many would I need? One for myself is enough.”

“I see. But I’d have to ask a favor of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company too, and getting one more invitation would likely be rather troublesome…”

I let the end of my sentence trail off as I glanced sidelong at Yeom Baek-gyu.

As if he’d expected exactly that, Yeom Baek-gyu took a money pouch from his robe. Then from within it he pushed two horseshoe-shaped sycee ingots into my robes. Naturally, I caught his wrist and tried to push it away.

“Come now, my good man. Do I look like I’m saying this because I want that sort of thing?”

“It’s only a token of sincerity. Please, keep it.”

There was quite a bit of pushing back and forth, but in the end the two sycee ingots found their way into my robes.

“You’re making this difficult. Honestly. This won’t do.”

“Thank you for accepting it, sir.”

Myeong-il looked at us as though we were pathetic, while Yeo Hong-yang clicked his tongue. What had just happened was truly like a play. Since the situation itself was a play, perhaps it should have been called a play within a play.

“Sir, please have one more cup.”

“Heh heh. Shall I?”

Quite naturally, I slipped into speaking down to him. After our cups had gone back and forth enough times, the bottle of Tiger Bone Wine was empty too. It hadn’t been a liquor with much quantity to begin with. Even so, it had been enough to get two men drunk.

Of course, only my face had warmed. My mind remained cold and clear.

“Shall we have one more drink, elder brother?”

When had I become your elder brother? I didn’t even know your age. I sneered inwardly, but what came out of my mouth was something else.

“Ha ha. I’d like that, but aren’t we both busy men? Come back to this inn at this time tomorrow. I’ll have the invitation for you then.”

“As expected of elder brother. Your boldness is like Bamboo Leaf Green sliding down one’s throat.”

“Then let’s call it a night here. I suppose I’ll have to go to the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company and get that invitation.”

“Understood!”

Yeom Baek-gyu even gave me a military-style salute before paying and leaving.

“That salute was something else.”

Watching his retreating back, I let the intoxication bleed away. My wavering vision slowly returned to normal.

“What are you thinking? It’s true that getting a single invitation isn’t hard.”

I broadly explained again to Yeo Hong-yang what I’d told Myeong-il. The essence was that this man Yeom Baek-gyu was either the schemer himself or at least a planted operative.

Yeo Hong-yang knew in general that merchants often had such operatives attached to them, so he nodded.

“You really think you’re that important already?”

“Honestly, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Your self-regard is something else.”

“Why wouldn’t it be? I’m a big man.”

Yeo Hong-yang did shoot me an annoyed look, but he didn’t refute it.

Hard as it was to say with my own mouth, I was already a remarkable figure in the commercial world. Pulling out lofty Daoists who had lived in seclusion on Wudang Mountain for centuries and drawing them into the commercial world alone was enough to qualify me for that sort of regard.

“Let’s go to the Xi’an branch of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company first. There are some things we need to find out.”

I said it, and Yeo Hong-yang confidently took the lead.

But what happened at the Xi’an branch of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company was different from what I’d expected.

“You mean he said no?”

Yeo Hong-yang’s voice rose. The man who looked like a low-ranking errand boy of the company started sweating profusely.

“Y-yes. It’s what the branch manager said personally.”

“And where is the branch manager? Is it right that I’m here and he won’t show his face even once?”

“The branch manager is currently away at the Mount Hua Sect on business…”

“Are you joking with me!”

Yeo Hong-yang burst out. The errand boy went pale. I grabbed Yeo Hong-yang by the shoulder.

Yeo Hong-yang, his face flushed, whipped around toward me. I slowly shook my head. It meant he should regain his composure.

“Did Young Master Yeo Hong-won happen to visit the Xi’an branch recently?”

When I cut in with the question, the errand boy glanced around nervously before nodding.

“Damn it.”

At that answer, Yeo Hong-yang walked out of the Xi’an branch without even looking at the errand boy.

I offered the errand boy a brief nod, then followed after Yeo Hong-yang. He was still bracing a hand against the wall, his face flushed.

I had a rough idea what the situation was. The Xi’an branch manager had likely been ordered not to grant Yeo Hong-yang any sort of convenience.

“The Xi’an branch had still been neutral…”

Yeo Hong-yang muttered it. In truth, one could say that Yeo Hong-yang had been using Wudang as a kind of psychological refuge.

Things might worsen, but there was no chance they would improve, so it was something he should have expected.

“It was a fresh start from the beginning anyway. Don’t take it so hard.”

I placed a hand on Yeo Hong-yang’s shoulder. He glanced at me, then roughly scrubbed his face.

“You just saw an ugly side of me. My apologies. To you as well, Daoist Myeong-il.”

“Whatever.”

Myeong-il answered indifferently. If anything, that tone would probably be more comforting to Yeo Hong-yang.

In any case, the hill we could have leaned on was gone now. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Yeo Hong-yang said:

“Then should we just go to Gansu? Going to the black market wasn’t part of the plan anyway.”

“No. We should show Senior Brother Myeong-il the black market.”

I said it with a smile.

“And I need to see that bastard’s face too.”

“Ah. Right.”

The Yeom Baek-gyu we’d just met was a thorn in the neck. We could have simply left it alone and moved on, but I didn’t want to depart while leaving an unnecessary source of unease behind my back.

“Then we need to get invitations.”

“Then we’ll get them.”

“How?”

“There’s always a way. Why do you think it’s called a black market?”

Smiling, I took the lead. There was no particular destination. All I did was head toward Xi’an’s outskirts and walk through alleys. Sometimes I even took a wrong turn and walked the same path again.

“What kind of method is this?”

Yeo Hong-yang, who had silently followed me until then, finally asked. This was why rich young masters were no good.

I merely shook my head and kept heading toward Xi’an’s outskirts. Gradually, we left the wealthy quarter and reached an area filled with thatched houses. The sun had also gone down, and the surroundings had grown dim. The wealthy quarter back there was touched with red dusk, but where we walked now was in shadow and smelled only damp and stale.

And when we entered roughly the eightieth alley, I found the sort of people I wanted.

“Huh. You people look like merchants in rather expensive clothes.”

A man carrying a blade with a ring on it approached while giving a fist salute. Smiling, I returned the salute.

“How did you end up all the way in a slum like this? You haven’t heard that this alley charges a toll, have you?”

Yeo Hong-yang and Myeong-il both looked at me at the same time. It seemed only now had they realized what I intended to do.

“I don’t know anything about that.”

I loosened the sheath at my waist. Of course, I didn’t actually draw the blade.

“Come on.”

There was no room for talk.

The black-path men in the alley stared blankly at me, then burst out laughing.

It didn’t take long for that laughter to turn into groans.

The black-path men who had laughed at me first were now all sprawled on the ground, groaning. At this point, I could easily handle street thugs without even raising internal energy.

The black-path men looked at me with fear. They had understood now. It wasn’t that they’d found me. I was the one who had found them.

“W-what in the world do you want from us?”

“Invitations to the black market.”

I answered with a smile.

It was easy to get black-market invitations from black-path men. Because just as ordinary markets had government soldiers serving as security, black markets had black-path men serving as security.

“Quickly.”

At once, the man who looked like the leader among them pulled out a fistful of folded papers. Those were all invitations.

“Don’t feel too wronged. If you hadn’t had them, I’d have gone looking for other black-path men anyway.”

I snatched the invitations away. The black-path man couldn’t even meet my eyes and merely trembled.

“There, satisfied?”

I waved the invitations toward Myeong-il and Yeo Hong-yang, who’d been watching from behind.

Myeong-il quietly closed his eyes, lowered his head, and murmured:

“The secular world…”

And so we obtained a whole bundle of invitations to the black market.