Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 3 - Wudang Sect (3)

Chapter 3 – Wudang Sect (3)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“…Oh.”

When I demonstrated the grass flute, the children’s eyes lit up.

‘They may have the bloated pride of Nine Great Sects main-sect disciples, but that does not change the fact that they are only children around ten years old.’

And what sort of children were they? Children shut up on Wudang Mountain from an early age, unable to play, forced to do nothing but grueling martial training. Of course they could not help but be interested even in a shabby little toy like a grass flute.

“Ahem. This Daoist is called Myeong-gyeong. Might I perhaps try blowing it once?”

The child’s instinct and his reason that told him he must not look like a child collided, and so he spoke in an old-man tone.

“Of course. Free demonstrations are always available.”

I handed Myeong-gyeong the one with the best sound.

Myeong-gyeong checked the reactions of the other children of the Myeong generation around him and then blew into the flute softly.

Fweee.

“Wow!”

The grass flute gave a clear high note, and the children erupted in excitement.

The lay disciples looked as though they could not believe what they were seeing. To them, with their worldly perspective, a grass flute was far too dull a pastime to be interesting.

But everything is relative. Myeong-gyeong passed the grass flute to the child behind him and had him try it. The children reacted instantly whenever a sound came out.

“The sound is lovely.”

“How did you make this?”

The prickly attitude from earlier vanished without a trace, and now they simply looked like a cluster of adorable children.

“Senior Brother, look at this. If you make the sound like this, doesn’t it sound like the morning wake-up flute?”

“It does.”

Myeong-gyeong nodded, looking pleased. Among the Myeong generation children here, he seemed to be the eldest senior brother.

Capture the leader first. If you want to catch the bandits, catch the king. The person I needed to sell to most aggressively had been decided.

“They’re three copper coins each, but if you buy five, I’ll make it ten copper coins.”

I rubbed my palms together. But at my words, the expressions of the Myeong generation children all darkened at once.

“…Money.”

Myeong-gyeong looked awkwardly at the children behind him. I understood immediately.

Of course. They were not out on some excursion. There was no way they would have money on them. I had only tried asking on the off chance.

Seeing those children droop like squirrels soaked in rain tugged at me a little, but business is not done with sentiment.

“At the moment, this Daoist does not have any money…”

Myeong-gyeong wore a troubled expression. Judging by the way he looked behind him, he seemed to be speaking up at least for the sake of the others.

“Would you like credit?”

“Ah, yes. Credit. It would be very nice if you could do that.”

I put on a thoughtful expression. I narrowed my eyes and looked Myeong-gyeong over as well. When our eyes met, Myeong-gyeong hastily looked down. He seemed to know he was making an embarrassing request.

“Do you perhaps have anything besides money? Goods, for instance.”

“G-goods. We do receive robes, but…”

Would that even fit me? More importantly, what use would that be to me?

“That is not of much use to me.”

“This Daoist is asking you sincerely. It is the first time I have ever seen my junior brothers this happy.”

Myeong-gyeong even made a martial salute with his tiny hand and lowered his head.

“Please.”

That was enough teasing. My goal had never been to squeeze money out of them, only to open a channel with the main-sect disciples.

“Your circumstances are pitiful. Then I shall simply give you one.”

“Really? Not even on credit, just give it?”

Myeong-gyeong’s face brightened at once. The faces of the children behind him, who had been anxiously watching their senior brother, brightened too.

“Yes. I am simply giving it to you. It would be an honor for me if it were an offering to the Wudang Sect’s main-sect disciples.”

“K-khm. You know how to show proper respect to main-sect disciples. For a lay disciple, you are commendable.”

And although none of them knew it yet, that round-headed brat named Myeong-gyeong would later become a renowned master in the Wudang Sect.

Wasn’t he called the Taiji Invincible Sword? Forming ties with a man like that would be good business.

“Honestly.”

From behind me, Jeon Oh-su muttered in disgust. He had paid three copper coins for one, while I was about to give one away for free, so naturally he would not be too pleased.

Still, someone like Jeon Oh-su would understand what I was aiming for here.

“Then I shall accept it gratefully.”

I handed him a grass flute. No, I was about to hand it over.

The moment Myeong-gyeong’s hand and mine connected through the grass flute, a sudden gust of wind blew through. In that instant Myeong-gyeong’s face turned pale.

Before I knew it, the grass flute had been split cleanly in two.

“We greet Master!”

When Myeong-gyeong called out first, the Myeong generation children all made martial salutes and bowed their heads together. I closed and opened my eyes, and a middle-aged man was suddenly standing before me. He was a face I had never seen before.

If he was the master of the Myeong generation disciples, then he should be from the Cheong generation. But had anyone from the Cheong generation ever come visiting like this so suddenly? As far as I remembered, not once before I left.

The middle-aged man looked at me and immediately opened fire.

“What are you?”

“Pardon?”

“What sort of thing are you, bewitching my disciples with cheap tricks?”

I barely managed to keep my brow from creasing.

Why is it that martial artists treat everything other than martial arts as low and vulgar?

My voice came out crooked before I realized it.

“Sound is more than enough to serve as a pleasant diversion.”

“You have insolent eyes.”

The moment his words fell, a chill ran through me. It felt as though a blade had been thrust against my throat.

“And I do not like your tone either.”

My spine turned ice-cold, and words would not come properly. Of course I knew what kind of situation this was. I had experienced it many times in my previous life as well.

‘Cowardly bastard, using internal energy like this.’

I bit my lip hard. Even with both feet planted firmly on the ground, I felt as though I were hanging off a cliff. The terror that if I moved even slightly I would die swept over me.

But I knew. This was no more than fear itself. No matter how high-handed Wudang might be, they would not kill someone over something like this.

I forced my trembling body to speak.

“There is an old saying. It is always your eyes that waver. Your hand that draws the bowstring. Your heart that doubts whether the shot will hit. The target has always remained at the same distance.”

Even though my voice shook, a strange light entered the middle-aged man’s eyes.

“To keep speaking firmly even under this Daoist’s Injuring Others with Directed Qi. So you do have spirit.”

If this was what he called Injuring Others with Directed Qi, then the man before me was a true expert.

“Even if this truly is bewitchment, as the Immortal says, then if one knows the truth, it should amount to nothing.”

The middle-aged man’s expression hardened. The other children did not grasp my meaning, but he seemed to.

Because what I was really saying was that if your education were done properly, you would have nothing to fear.

“May I take those words as an insult to the Wudang Sect?”

“When the wind blows, how can the tree stop it? It can only pray not to break.”

“Kahahaha!”

The middle-aged man suddenly burst into loud laughter. At the same time, all of the internal force pressing down on me vanished at once. It felt as though my throat had been strangled and then abruptly released. I dropped to my knees and coughed harshly.

“You do not bend, not even at the very end.”

The middle-aged man had understood my last remark as well.

It was meant as a sneer saying, I do not think so, but if a strong man like you says it, then so be it.

“Very well. A grass flute like this may indeed serve as a diversion from life in these tedious mountains. In that case, we will simply have to educate them all the more thoroughly.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“I came because I kept hearing grass-flute sounds, and it seems I have found an interesting fellow.”

I lowered my head. Even if the grass-flute sounds were audible, they could not have traveled more than a few zhang. Yet he had come in person after hearing that faint sound. Martial artists truly were monsters beyond common sense.

“So then. How much is a grass flute?”

“Three copper coins each.”

“I will buy them all.”

Though I was surprised by his words, inwardly I exulted. I had only meant to forge a tie with the main-sect disciples, but to think I would actually get paid as well.

“How many do you have?”

“About thirty at the moment.”

“Was it ten coins for five? Then should sixty copper coins do?”

“No. Ninety.”

“That is not what you said before.”

At the middle-aged man’s bewildered response, I decided to haggle one more time.

“The special price only applies to the Daoists of the Myeong generation. An elder of the Cheong generation must pay full price.”

“Ha. You are unbelievable.”

Saying that, the middle-aged man pulled a note from his robes. I took it reflexively and saw it was a note worth one hundred copper coins. The stamp of the Wuhan Money House was pressed onto the end of the paper.

“I do not carry loose copper on me. They will change it for you at the Wuhan Money House. Keep the change. Call it payment for the intimidation.”

“Thank you.”

So the value of the life I had risked under intimidation was ten copper coins. That was a sufficiently high price. There are plenty of men in this world not worth even a single copper coin.

I handed the bag of grass flutes to the middle-aged man. He untied it, gave it a rough glance, then tossed it to Myeong-gyeong.

“Ah.”

“Play them well. They are a gift from me.”

“Thank you, Master!”

Myeong-gyeong and the other Myeong generation children all offered loud thanks. The middle-aged man watched the children rejoice over the grass flutes with a smile on his face.

“I hear more heartfelt thanks over these than I ever do when I teach martial arts worth their weight in gold.”

“That is simply how children are.”

“You speak as though you have comprehended all of life.”

I shook my head.

“How could I dare speak on the whole of life? I merely identify the traits of a customer. That is the only way to sell even one more item.”

“Is that so.”

The middle-aged man seemed to think for a moment, then asked,

“What is your name?”

“Muk Hui-yeong.”

“Muk Hui-yeong. I see.”

“Might I know this Immortal’s Daoist title?”

“This Daoist bears the title Cheong-hwa.”

I froze on the spot. The lay disciples behind me all froze as well.

Cheong-hwa was currently one of the five strongest figures in the Wudang Sect. Later on, he would even come to occupy one of the Eight Exalts. A giant among giants.

I recovered my expression belatedly and offered a formal martial salute.

“I greet Senior Boundless Divine Sword.”

“So you did not know who I was.”

“I had heard only of your great name. I did not know your appearance.”

“Naturally. Do you understand now, then, just whose presence you were acting impudently in?”

Yes, I do. Had I known he was the Boundless Divine Sword, I truly would not have pushed back like that. A whelp really does not know to fear the tiger.

“My apologies. But just as Wudang has the Way of Wudang, merchants too have the merchant’s way.”

“You handle your tongue freely to the very end. If you learned techniques for charming people, you would become unmatched.”

Cheong-hwa laughed heartily, apparently not at all displeased, and then departed. The Myeong generation children also left, blowing their grass flutes among themselves.

“That was impressive.”

At that moment, Jeon Oh-su’s voice came from behind me.

“What was?”

“You said absolutely everything you wanted right in front of Immortal Cheong-hwa.”

“That was only because I did not know who he was.”

“Even if you did not know, some people are not going to see it that way. Some may even think you acted up on purpose while knowing exactly who he was.”

The lay disciples, unlike the main-sect disciples, were in competition. A small mistake and you could be expelled, just as I had been in my previous life. Receiving the name of a Wudang lay disciple was that difficult.

“You say that as if it were someone else’s problem.”

“Because it is.”

“True enough.”

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

It looked as though Jeon Oh-su was about to say more, but instead he hurriedly slipped back into the inner courtyard.

I tilted my head at the abrupt change in attitude, and then someone spoke to me.

“What you did earlier was deeply impressive.”

I turned toward the voice and found that a group of boys had come up without my noticing.

“I’m Sagong Hyeon of Ascending Thunder Gate. Good to meet you.”

“…Ah.”

Looking up at the boy who stood a full head taller than me, I sighed.

That bastard Jeon Oh-su. He had run away.

As I remembered it, the worst-tempered bastard in the cohort had latched onto me.