Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 33 - Fallen Angel (4)

Chapter 33 – Fallen Angel (4)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Myeong-gyeong was just as flustered. Right now, simply because he’d been fed something delicious, he had already judged Zhuge Yan to be a very good person. If that was childlike, then it was childlike indeed. His judgment swayed like a reed.

“Isn’t it fine if all we do is deliver a single letter?”

“Exactly. Can’t you at least do that much of a favor?”

Zhuge Yan quickly chimed in with Myeong-gyeong’s words. But since I knew perfectly well what Zhuge Yan intended to do, there was no way I could just stand by and watch.

“No. He cannot.”

“Ha.”

I felt like I could hear the veins in Zhuge Yan’s temple bulging.

“Who are you to be ordering us around?”

“What do you mean, who am I? I’m a disciple of the Wudang Sect. I can’t just stand and watch something that would harm Wudang.”

Zhuge Yan flinched slightly at my certainty, but then she raised her voice again.

“Harm? Do you even know what’s written in that letter to say something like that?”

“Isn’t it a proposal for a joint venture?”

“That’s right. How exactly would that be harmful? If we entered a joint venture with the Zhuge Clan, the scale of the business would grow and the profits would increase.”

“If that were all, why would I object? Once you figure out the business secrets, the customers, and how the organization is run, you’ll suck it dry and run off at once.”

Zhuge Yan was struck speechless. The blow had probably landed right where it should.

Myeong-gyeong was simply whipping his head back and forth between Zhuge Yan and me. He probably didn’t understand a single word.

Barely managing to turn her head away from me and toward Myeong-gyeong, Zhuge Yan spoke.

“Daoist Myeong-gyeong. Your lay disciple junior brother is speaking outrageously like this. Aren’t you going to manage him?”

“Then the deputy hall master of the Zhuge Clan’s external business division should manage herself better. You shouldn’t be trying to seize other people’s business without even the most basic merchant ethics.”

“Do you have proof that I had such thoughts?”

“If you were that upright, you’d send it to Wudang directly. Why are you trying to hand it to us in secret after following us from behind?”

“Y-You’ve got to be kidding. You’re saying I followed you?”

“If you didn’t follow us, then are you saying you just happened to have a letter ready for Wudang? At least try a little.”

Myeong-gyeong and Zhuge Yan were both shocked at the same time. Realizing her own slip, Zhuge Yan bit her lip.

Actually, if one just thought about it a little, it was obvious. If this had been the Zhuge Yan I knew, she wouldn’t have made such a clumsy mistake. But even Zhuge Yan, the woman called Poison-Heart Iron Mask, was still young right now. Since her impatience had gotten ahead of her, she had made that sort of mistake.

“Tsk tsk. If you’re going to do something, at least do it prope…”

Even as I sneered, an icy chill crawled down my spine. The instant I felt cold steel against the back of my neck, I shut my mouth.

“If you further insult the Zhuge Clan and the young lady, I’ll cut you down.”

It was the guard who had been watching us from the second floor earlier. By the time it came to this, Myeong-gyeong, who had only been standing there, also drew his sword.

“How dare you threaten a person of the Wudang Sect?”

Myeong-gyeong’s sword pointed at the guard. Naturally, if the guard and Myeong-gyeong actually fought, Myeong-gyeong would lose. Even I, whose movement was already ahead of Myeong-gyeong’s, hadn’t been able to track how the guard had moved.

But right now actual fighting ability wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was the justification.

It was a moment where one spark could set everything off. Silence hung as each side probed the other, and then I spoke.

“Let’s make a wager.”

“What kind of wager?”

I grabbed a nearby cup of water, turned it upside down, and emptied it. Then I clapped it down over the letter lying on the table as my target.

“I will stake everything I have on the claim that this letter contains a personal request promising something to Hall Master Cheong-su. What will you stake?”

“What if I want your life?”

“Then you’ll have to stake your own life too.”

My gaze and Zhuge Yan’s collided in the empty air. Naturally, she was the first to look away.

If the letter didn’t contain such a request, there was no reason she would be trying to deliver it to us privately like this.

Sweat broke out on my skin, and even the sound of breathing seemed loud. Zhuge Yan shut her eyes and trembled for a moment before speaking in a weak voice.

“Won. Lower your sword.”

“Miss.”

“I said lower it.”

The martial artist called Won lowered his sword. Both Won and Zhuge Yan had red faces, full of humiliation and disgrace.

The cool touch at the back of my neck vanished. I pulled the letter trapped under the cup back out and tore the seal apart.

Zhuge Yan couldn’t say a single word even at my actions.

The contents of the letter were exactly what I had expected. It proposed a joint venture, and added that if they accepted the joint venture, she wished to present spiritual medicines to Hall Master Cheong-su and his disciples. It was a clear personal inducement. I tossed the letter to the ground at Zhuge Yan’s feet.

“There’s no room for excuses now.”

“…Saying I intended to steal the business is too much of a stretch.”

“But it’s true.”

“Do you think I’d admit that here?”

“Of course not. But I’m convinced, and Miss Zhuge knows that I’m convinced. That’s enough.”

I turned to look at Myeong-gyeong. Myeong-gyeong was still too young to keep up with everything happening here.

“Senior Brother.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Let’s go. We finished eating, right?”

“…Yeah.”

It seemed he hesitated a little. But there was no way he could keep eating while facing Zhuge Yan after all this. The same went for the other side.

“Since we did receive the food, I won’t report this to the sect. We’ll be going now.”

I grabbed Myeong-gyeong’s hand and left the restaurant. Zhuge Yan’s expression, stunned to the very end, was a masterpiece.

Clearly, the current Zhuge Yan still fell short of being called Poison-Heart Iron Mask. To put it bluntly, even if there had been personal inducements in the letter, she could have simply denied it and raised her voice until the matter died. The still-young Zhuge Yan was no match for me, who had already mastered the arts of the merchant world.

“I wanted to eat more of that bear paw from before.”

Myeong-gyeong made that confession only afterward. I let out a small laugh.

“I’ll buy it for you next time. This isn’t the restaurant famous for bear paw. Dishes like that should be eaten at a place known for them.”

“It’s a promise?”

“Of course.”

Myeong-gyeong’s expression, which had immediately sunk into gloom, brightened right away. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but smile.

***

Zhuge Yan stared at the door through which Muk Hui-yeong and Myeong-gyeong had departed, then collapsed back into her seat.

“…Elder Sister.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

Zhuge Yan snapped back coldly.

Won lowered his head. Suddenly he remembered how Zhuge Yan had been in the past. Back then she hadn’t even known how to use such venomous tones, and within the clan she had been called an angel because of how kind she was to the servants. How on earth had that person changed into this?

Still not fully over her anger, Zhuge Yan let out a ragged breath. Won knew what he ought to do at moments like this. He quickly procured some Bamboo Leaf Green from a server.

“I’ll pour you a cup.”

Zhuge Yan looked up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh, then held out her cup. Clear liquor filled the teacup. The instant it was full, Zhuge Yan tipped her head back and drained it in a single swallow.

“Hoo.”

The warm energy of the liquor spread throughout her body. The moment the cup was empty, Won filled it again. Zhuge Yan emptied it again.

How much had she drunk? Zhuge Yan let out a breath, her face flushed red.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“Are you looking down on me right now?”

“…How could I? You are a direct descendant of the Zhuge Clan, Miss.”

Won answered naturally. It was the same sort of thing he heard and said all the time, so it wasn’t difficult to deal with.

“I’m furious.”

“Let it pass. The Clan Head probably won’t say anything either. It wasn’t such an important matter.”

The moment Won answered, her head whipped toward him. The drunken Zhuge Yan had just slapped him across the face.

“Return to position.”

At Zhuge Yan’s words, Won turned his head back into place.

“I repay things. I repay all of them. No matter what they are.”

Her speech wasn’t entirely coherent from drink, but Won understood her perfectly.

Even within the Zhuge Clan, Zhuge Yan was called a poisonous breed. There were countless servants who said they would rather leave the clan than be singled out by her. That was why only Won, who simply accepted everything, could stay by her side.

“That bastard named Muk Hui-yeong.”

“Yes.”

“Dig into him.”

Zhuge Yan’s sinister voice filled the room. Won found himself feeling a little sorry for Muk Hui-yeong. Things never ended well for those whom she marked.

One way or another, Zhuge Yan and Muk Hui-yeong were bound to meet again. And it would be soon.

***

Wuhan was far more bustling than Xiangyang. Xiangyang was crowded too, but it could not be compared to Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei.

“It’s dizzying, Junior Brother.”

It seemed Myeong-gyeong had never seen so many people before, because he was even complaining of feeling motion sick.

“Bear with it a little longer.”

“Where are we going?”

“The Provincial Administration Commission.”

Each provincial capital had a Provincial Administration Commission that handled the province’s administration. Founding a merchant company wasn’t as simple as buying goods and selling them.

You had to report it to the authorities and receive approval for the merchant company. Only after that did the true work of a merchant company begin.

Getting a merchant company approved wasn’t as easy as one might think. You had to prove you had capital, pay the registration fee, and submit a summary of the goods you intended to handle. On top of that, you had to report whether anyone in your household register had committed one of the Ten Evils or had a criminal record. Naturally, I had already prepared all the necessary documents on the way to Wuhan.

By the time Myeong-gyeong had grown somewhat accustomed to the great crowd, I found the Hubei Provincial Administration Commission.

“Whew.”

I hadn’t committed any crime, but entering government offices always made me tense.

Martial artists were rogues, but officials were no lesser rogues themselves. Depending on who handled the matter, the registration tax might come out high or low.

The moment we entered the Provincial Administration Commission, one of the constables approached us.

“Aren’t you Daoists of Wudang?”

Even though Wudang Mountain and Wuhan were quite far apart, he recognized Wudang’s clothing because they were in the same province of Hubei.

“Yes. We are.”

“What brings Daoists here?”

The constable tilted his head. That made sense. The Five Great Families often overlapped with official business because they ran many enterprises, but the Nine Great Sects often deliberately avoided the authorities.

“May I see the Document Examiner?”

The Document Examiner was a ninth-rank official who inspected official documents. Obtaining approval for a merchant company began with submitting one’s papers to him.

“The Document Examiner? What business do you have with him?”

“I’m going to found a merchant company.”

“A merchant company? A Daoist of Wudang?”

Myeong-gyeong and the constable both stared wide-eyed. Wearing Daoist robes and talking about founding a merchant company was enough to attract everyone’s attention. Even the people inside the Provincial Administration Commission who had been busy with their own work all turned to look at me.

“Ha ha.”

I smoothed the situation over with an awkward smile. Even while looking puzzled, the constable guided us to where the Document Examiner was.

The Document Examiner at the Hubei Provincial Administration Commission was just as confused by what I said.

“You look like a Daoist, so what do you mean, a merchant company?”

“I’m not a Daoist. I’m a lay disciple.”

“Is that so?”

Myeong-gyeong looked like he had a great deal he wanted to say, but perhaps because officials were present, he didn’t seem able to raise his voice.

“But what can I do? For the time being, we’re not accepting any more merchant company registrations in Hubei.”

“Pardon?”

“Not just merchant companies. We aren’t accepting registrations for sects either. Even if I forwarded the documents, there’s no one to approve them.”

What was that supposed to mean now? It wasn’t as though there were fixed numerical limits on how many merchant companies a province could approve. But if registration itself wasn’t possible, then I had an idea what the issue was.

“Are you saying there is no Registrar?”

“That’s right.”

The Registrar was the sixth-rank official in the office that oversaw registrations.

“More precisely, the Registrar is there, but he can’t come to work.”

“If someone can’t fulfill his duties, don’t they usually dismiss him?”

A huge organization like the government didn’t make allowances for private circumstances. If you couldn’t perform your duties because of your own situation, they replaced you immediately. Yet from the way he was speaking, it sounded as if the Registrar still held his post even though he couldn’t come in.

“That’s true, but the Registrar is a man with a great reputation. In the first place, the Registrar himself requested dismissal, but the Provincial Councillor refused to accept it.”

“I see.”

Then it had to be one of two things. Either he was truly a man of great ability and reputation, or he had excellent connections.

“Who is the current Registrar, if it’s like that?”

“Then you must not be from Wuhan. How can you not know Lord Hyeong?”

“Lord Hyeong?”

“Indeed. He’s an incorruptible official who even uses the salary he receives from office to relieve poor commoners.”

At that moment, a name flashed through my mind like lightning. The uncommon surname Hyeong, and an incorruptible official. I knew of just such an official.

“Could it be Lord Hyeong Tae-seong?”

“What’s this? So you did know.”

The Document Examiner laughed broadly. I smiled along with him, doing my best not to show how surprised I was.

It felt as though the ties and acquaintances I had scattered in my previous life were crossing back over the river of death to come find me. It was a strangely peculiar feeling. I knew them, but they did not know me.

“Know him? I certainly do.”

I smiled.

There was no way I wouldn’t know a future grand minister.