Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 128 - For the Emperor (2)
Chapter 128 – For the Emperor (2)
===================
Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
I swept my gaze around with only my eyes moving.
For the working space of a prince, it was excessively modest. Wooden shelves and a desk. It was neat, but there were no carvings or paintings hanging anywhere, making it almost feel bare. At this level, the company-lord’s room of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company had been far more splendid.
Even in my previous life, I had met royals and princely lords. I had even met the Emperor. The Emperor would sometimes summon merchant lords of the great-company level and ask for their opinions.
‘And yet.’
I felt tense. At the very least, I had believed I would not be nervous. I had experience, after all.
And from what I had experienced in those meetings, royals and princely lords often felt almost disappointed if I stood too rigidly on ceremony. More than once they had emphasized that they and I were equally human.
Under imperial law, the Emperor was said to carry the bloodline of Heaven, but everyone knew the truth, did they not. Every Emperor in history had still been the son of a human being.
And this was a side point, but people with vaguely placed offices often tended to have the strongest sense of privilege and the loudest voices… though that was irrelevant to the matter at hand.
“Sit.”
In any case, in my eyes Prince Xian was a man honed sharp like a single blade. Had there ever been a royal or princely lord who exuded this kind of cutting edge? At least among those I had met, there had not.
“I thank Your Highness for your thoughtfulness.”
“Enough. I am tired of such empty compliments.”
Prince Xian waved his hand as if annoyed.
“The goods?”
It seemed Prince Xian had little interest in me as a person. That was only natural. From Prince Xian’s perspective, I was no more than a courier sent by Yeo Bul-jin.
But in reality, that was not the case. I had come as a merchant selling goods to Prince Xian.
Carefully, I took out the item Yeo Bul-jin had entrusted to me from my satchel. It was a small box sealed shut.
“First, allow me to show Your Highness the item.”
Yeo Bul-jin had not told me what I was to sell. Which meant that I too was seeing the goods for the first time.
The box opened with the sound of the seal being broken. The instant I saw what was inside, I curled my lips inward and bit them. For that moment, even I failed to control my expression.
“Good.”
Prince Xian merely nodded in satisfaction, paying no heed to the expression of a mere courier.
The Taiji Wisdom Sword.
One of Wudang’s ultimate arts lay inside the box.
* * *
“What choice do you think Muk Hui-yeong will make?”
“What would a blade-wielder like me know?”
“You must have learned something from watching over my shoulder all this time.”
Mun-won gave an awkward smile. At the very least, he could tell that Yeo Bul-jin did not look down on Muk Hui-yeong. Normally, after all, Yeo Bul-jin did not bother speaking of just anyone.
“May I simply say my personal opinion?”
“Go on.”
“If he were on Prince Xian’s side or on the Eldest Young Master’s side, there’d be no reason for him to be flustered. Even if he’s close with Wudang, that would only be appearance. Perhaps wasn’t it Prince Xian who sent him to Wudang as a lay disciple in the first place?”
“Go on.”
“If he’s a man of the Eldest Young Master’s side, then there should be no problem. He’ll safely deliver the Taiji Wisdom Sword to Prince Xian, and that will be the end of it.”
“Then why would Hong-won have sounded me out?”
“Rather than sounding you out, he probably wanted to let you know. If he hid it and it was later exposed, he would be blamed, so he was hinting at it. So that Company Lord Muk would be a little less shocked.”
“Likely so.”
Mun-won took a moment to steady his breathing, then continued.
“The real problem is if Company Lord Muk truly is not on Prince Xian’s side or the Eldest Young Master’s side.”
“Indeed.”
“If, as our investigation says, he truly has deep ties to Wudang, then he will certainly be deeply flustered. He may even refuse to sell it at all.”
Yeo Bul-jin nodded. They had already investigated everything about Muk Hui-yeong. Because they had poured out money on both the Hao Clan and the Beggars’ Sect as if it were water, they had been able to learn everything, from what time he had been born to who his childhood friends had been to where the moles on his body were.
And as a result of that investigation, the relationship between Muk Hui-yeong and Wudang did not stop at the merely businesslike. Though a lay disciple, he was close enough with the others to call them senior brothers, and he also maintained smooth relations with the Daoists of the Cheong generation.
In that situation, what would happen when he realized that the item he was to sell was the Taiji Wisdom Sword?
“Then Company Lord Muk will have to choose. There is no way he can keep posturing in front of Prince Xian forever. That place is a dragon’s pond and tiger’s den a merchant cannot walk out of alone. Prince Xian will not simply let him go after seeing the Taiji Wisdom Sword in front of him either.”
“Indeed.”
“In the end, he will have no choice but to sell it with tears in his eyes. Or else he will resist to the end and die.”
Yeo Bul-jin nodded in satisfaction. That was exactly what he himself thought.
To roughly gauge whether Muk Hui-yeong was on Prince Xian’s side or not was one matter, but before that came making Muk Hui-yeong sell the time bomb called the Taiji Wisdom Sword.
If that became known, Muk Hui-yeong would certainly be thrown aside by Wudang at once. The process did not matter. What mattered was the fact that he had sold it.
“Tsk, tsk. He had spirit, at least.”
Yeo Bul-jin clicked his tongue. Of course, he was curious as to why Muk Hui-yeong was playing such tricks.
Why he had taken Yeo Hong-yang’s side, and why he was trying to seize control of the board and shake it. But Yeo Bul-jin had no intention at all of passively taking it.
Rather, he had launched a counterattack through this very move. Muk Hui-yeong’s intent itself did not matter in the slightest.
“There are too many people in the Central Plains. Don’t you think?”
Yeo Bul-jin looked out the window. The sun was setting in the west.
* * *
I quickly regained my composure. At the very least, I knew when I was thinking clearly and when I was not. And this was the point since my regression where I most needed to think clearly.
It seemed Yeo Bul-jin had truly wanted to tear me away from Wudang. Only then could the Huizhou merchants take that place for themselves.
Whether Wudang would once again open its gates toward the commercial world, I did not know, but reopening a door that had once already been opened was relatively easy.
“Yes. Now that I think about it, the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company did say that the courier knew the price. It seems their security is quite thorough.”
Prince Xian twisted up the corner of his mouth.
“So how much is it?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“What?”
At my answer, Prince Xian’s voice turned incredulous.
“You’re telling me you’re going to think about it now, right in front of me?”
“Yes. There was no fixed amount.”
“Heh heh. Do you not know who I am?”
“I do. Your Highness Prince Xian.”
“And yet a mere courier of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company wants to try bargaining with me?”
“I am not a courier of the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company.”
I looked directly into Prince Xian’s eyes. His eyes were full of the arrogance unique to royalty.
“I am Muk Hui-yeong, Company Lord of the Radiant Crystal Merchant Company.”
“Radiant Crystal Merchant Company? That is a merchant company I have never heard of.”
“That is possible.”
I shrugged. The brow of Prince Xian, who had been sitting there in weary composure, twitched slightly.
“An arrogant tone. But I have no wish to cross swords with the retired merchant king unnecessarily, so quietly hand over the item and go.”
“There is something I wish to ask first.”
I knew it too. I knew this was an immense breach of courtesy toward a princely lord.
Even so, I had to know. I had to know why Prince Xian was trying to bring chaos to the martial world.
“Why are you continually spreading the martial arts of the famous orthodox sects into the market?”
At my continued words, Prince Xian’s brow stopped merely twitching and his entire expression hardened. He had not given permission for questions, yet I had asked one anyway.
“Toward royalty, even mere discourtesy is a great crime.”
“It is not entirely beyond expectation. The imperial family has always tried to dominate the jianghu. Such attempts have existed in every dynasty. But when the Demonic Cult invaded in the past, the jianghu rendered immense service in repelling it, and at that time the Emperor bestowed official-martial noninterference upon the jianghu as a reward.”
Prince Xian rested his chin on his hand and looked at me. I had no idea what he was thinking, but I was already pressing forward with the momentum of a man riding a tiger’s back. And once one was on the tiger’s back, there was no point in doing something foolish like trying to stop it here.
“But even after that, certain princely lords and royals continued to make attempts. What Your Highness is doing now looks like part of one of those attempts.”
“You know quite a bit. But aren’t you a company lord? If the strength of the jianghu weakens, shouldn’t you be pleased instead?”
“I am not merely a company lord. I am a disciple of Wudang.”
“A disciple of Wudang who is a company lord? A disciple of the main mountain?”
“No. A lay disciple.”
“Absurd. Lay disciples are simply those admitted once they make a donation, aren’t they? Is it because of such a shallow connection that you mean to stop me now? You, a mere young company lord, against me, a princely lord?”
“That is correct.”
At my answer, Prince Xian burst into laughter. At this point, it went beyond boldness and bordered on madness.
“Young company lord, listen well. Since you too are a subject of the Great Empire, you should know this. The jianghu is nothing but organized rabble. What do you think would happen if all of them were subordinated to the imperial army? We would not merely repel the northern tribes that invade constantly. We could push them back, and from Tibet to the Eastern Barbarians we could seize it all.”
“So that is why you spread the martial arts of the famous orthodox sects and weaken the jianghu by drawing it into turmoil?”
“Quick comprehension. Manners are also a form of intelligence, and I had not thought you a particularly intelligent fellow.”
“The affairs of the state are not mine to meddle in. But as one of Wudang, I simply cannot sell stolen property taken from Wudang.”
“You truly are bound to Wudang by a tight and sticky friendship.”
“Deep friendship can be likened to affection.”
Prince Xian nodded. If anything, his expression had loosened slightly compared to before.
“I like people with loyalty such as yours. Usually such men are also deeply loyal in service. Since this is my praise, you may feel proud.”
“Thank you.”
“Even so, there are times when the world presents matters beyond choice. For example, when one meets another at the very center of a narrow bridge.”
Prince Xian smacked his lips regretfully.
“If you had served as an official in Gansu, I would have valued you highly. It is only regrettable that we met like this.”
“Silencing me by killing me? By a princely lord of a nation?”
“I do feel sorry for it. But what can be done? Sometimes one drop of blood prevents enough blood to fill an entire basin. A leader must be able to look at things that way.”
“I understand. There are times when one has no choice.”
“You are remarkably understanding, even as your own life is about to be taken.”
Prince Xian gave a bitter smile. That bitterness was sincere.
I felt slightly puzzled. Just why was Prince Xian trying to raise a rebellion? If he was going so far as to ruin the jianghu like this, it had to be for the Emperor’s sake.
Was his intention to ruin the jianghu, then seize the imperial throne for himself? So far, I still could not know anything for certain.
“Farewell.”
Prince Xian closed his eyes. The next instant, dark shadows poured down at me from the ceiling. Throwing darts and daggers densely embedded themselves in the place where I had been standing.
“So you’ve learned martial arts.”
A person with a delicate voice descended from the ceiling. His appearance was strikingly handsome.
But I was no longer fooled by such things. No matter how delicate his voice became, he could not hide that thick Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. That man was a eunuch, in other words, a man of the Eastern Depot.
The eunuch growled at me. As expected of a eunuch personally guarding a princely lord, his movements were on an entirely different level from an idle post like the Hubei Superintendent of the Eastern Depot.
“I’ve wanted to kill you every time you flapped your rude mouth, but now at last the chance has come.”
“Congratulations. Now you have the chance.”
I clapped my hands. Then I slowly drew the Ancient Pine-Pattern Sword from my waist and unfolded my opening stance.
“Do you really think the martial arts of a mere lay disciple would be enough to defeat a fighter of the Eastern Depot?”
“These are not the martial arts of a mere lay disciple.”
I gripped the blade with my palm and drew it along. The blood spilling from my split palm soaked the blade completely. The Ancient Pine-Pattern Sword became, strangely enough, a sword with a crimson blade.
When I released my energy, both Prince Xian’s and the eunuch’s eyes widened at the same time.
They could not help it. What flowed out was not the pure force of the orthodox path, but demonic qi that made the viewer’s flesh crawl.