There Are No Evil Madou in the World (2)
“Hmm...”
“Come now, my friend. Manuals like this are hard to come by even if you pay extra, you know?”
“Can you really guarantee that?”
“Aigoo, you don’t trust people easily, do you?”
I’d lost count of how many obvious swindlers like this one I’d met. I set the manual labeled Geumgangbo back on the stall and turned away.
“Young Master Jegal. What kind of footwork is the Geumgang Step?”
Jegal Hyeon-sang, who had been stalking me through the market like some kind of living explanation machine, politely answered.
“The Geumgang Step is a basic movement technique taught at Shaolin to lay the foundation for footwork. Its paths are simple and straightforward, making it excellent for building fundamentals. However, because the movements are so easily read, it isn’t particularly useful in real combat.”
“I see. So does this look like the real Geumgang Step to you?”
“Would a genuine Shaolin manual be lying around in a place like this? There are occasional cases where shameless thieves or disciples from the outer court leak manuals, but those are never proper versions.”
“That’s what he says. What do you think?”
“Ahem, well, I’m no expert in martial arts… I was simply repeating what I heard when I purchased something similar before…”
Good grief. Were there this many con artists in the world?
Every single one of them assumed I couldn’t speak the Central Plains language and immediately tried to scam me. Seeing that, I felt newly grateful that I’d dragged Jegal Hyeon-sang along after running into him. I still wasn’t sure why the guy was following me, though.
“There aren’t any particularly useful manuals here either.”
“Then let’s go.”
I turned my back on the stall and left the bookstore with Jegal Hyeon-sang.
“How about we rest at an inn for a while?”
After two hours of wandering around Wuhan in search of manuals, Jegal Hyeon-sang rubbed his legs and asked for a break. I briefly considered ignoring him and continuing the hunt, but since he had been helping me look, I decided to grant his request.
“Do you know a good place?”
“There’s an inn I’m familiar with just over there.”
“Lead the way.”
We headed toward the inn Jegal Hyeon-sang had pointed out. The moment I sat in a corner and removed my bamboo hat, I felt the stares of the customers converge on me.
“A colored-eyed foreigner…”
“Is that the Lion Sword Hero?”
“He really is huge…”
I wondered how long these reactions would continue. I ordered a simple cup of leaf tea and glanced at Jegal Hyeon-sang, who looked like he wanted to speak.
“Master Wi. I missed the chance to say this earlier, but… please speak comfortably. There’s no need for you to be so formal with someone younger than you.”
“Then I won’t hold back.”
It felt like another misunderstanding was piling up, but I lightly ignored it. After thinking it over, I realized that appearing as a “reasonably aged expert” would benefit my image. This guy had probably already guessed my real age, but if he hadn’t, all the better. Explaining my age every single time was more annoying than it was worth. Hye-ryeong, who usually explained things for me, was currently talking with the elders, and Mok-gyeong was busy with the patrol unit.
“So, why exactly have you been following me around?”
I wanted to know why he had abandoned his usual mysterious-scholar act to tail me. He didn’t seem like the type to do something like this.
“What do you think is the most important thing when conducting business?”
“Business?”
Why was he suddenly talking about business?
“Yes, business.”
“Capital?”
“Not wrong, but there’s something even more important.”
“And that is?”
“Connections.”
“Ah, connections.”
Right. This was China.
The land that valued guanxi above all else. Other countries didn’t disregard personal networks, but the Central Plains was a place where people had lived and died by connections for thousands of years. So naming it as the top priority wasn’t strange at all.
“So you want to build a relationship with me… is that it?”
“Correct.”
“Then I don’t understand why that led to you monitoring me.”
“You noticed faster than I expected. My original plan was to appear at the perfect moment when merchants tried to swindle you and help you out. That way I could naturally build rapport.”
Had I somehow possessed a dating sim heroine? I pressed a hand to my forehead at the sudden realization that I had almost been hit on. So that was why he had been subtly trying to leave an impression all this time.
“Wouldn’t it have been fine to just approach me normally?”
“Things like this need to be dramatic to create a strong bond.”
“I see… So that’s why you were so determined to get close to me?”
“The Jegal Clan places great importance on judging character. Just as our ancestor chose Liu Bei, who visited him three times to recruit him, we carefully observe people before deciding whether to form a relationship.”
So he had been testing whether I was worth forming a connection with.
“And you chose me. Why?”
“That’s because… you showed it yourself, Master Wi. Your outstanding martial prowess.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good enough reason to pick me.”
I was, after all, nothing more than a foreign martial artist from the Western Regions. There were too many suspicious parts for him to choose me for such a simple reason. The people around him were all promising juniors from the Five Great Clans or the Nine Great Sects. Why would he suddenly try to recruit me instead of them?
“I know what you’re thinking. However, Master Wi and they are fundamentally different. One who is faithful to the essence of martial arts, and those who merely follow along. The difference is vast.”
It was indeed vast.
“Well, I roughly understand… So what exactly are you trying to say?”
“I wish to form a connection in advance with a future member of the Hundred Great Masters who will shake the murim world.”
“Hah.”
The Hundred Great Masters?
His tone carried absolute certainty that I would reach the Super Peak realm. I could only tilt my head at his strangely confident words. Regardless, Jegal Hyeon-sang continued speaking like a salesman pitching to a potential client.
“Even among the Five Great Clans and the Nine Great Sects, Super Peak experts are not common. At Shaolin alone, the number of martial artists who have surpassed that realm is said to be fewer than ten.”
“I get the general idea. So… what do you plan to do for me in order to maintain this connection?”
“You need a lightness technique, don’t you?”
“That’s right.”
I readily admitted to a weakness that could be called my Achilles’ heel. It wasn’t something I could hide, and any sharp-eyed martial artist would have already noticed.
“I will obtain a suitable lightness technique manual for you before you depart. After all, what you can buy on the market would at best be second-class level.”
“You should have said that from the beginning.”
“If I had offered right away, wouldn’t it have seemed suspicious?”
It still seemed suspicious now.
I let out a deep sigh at Jegal Hyeon-sang, who had completely shattered his mysterious-scholar image, and downed the leaf tea I had ordered in one go. Because the conversation had gone on longer than expected, the tea had gone lukewarm.
“I understand your intention to become my sponsor, but I don’t see what I can really offer you in return.”
“Not at all. Nothing would benefit me more than you, Master Wi, engraving your name among the Hundred Great Masters of the world. So please focus solely on breaking through your wall.”
“If that’s how it is…”
There were still things I could nitpick, but this was enough for now. I needed to prepare for the journey to Wudang Mountain, so I could hear the rest later.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
“When we next meet at the Wuxia Alliance Headquarters, I hope you will have achieved a great breakthrough.”
Without hesitation, I stood up and left the inn.
“Mister! How did it go? Did you find any manuals?”
“Jegal Hyeon-sang said he’d get me one.”
“What? Young Master Jegal is getting one for you?”
“He said he wants to get close to me.”
“Whoa… That’s so like the Jegal Clan.”
“So like the Jegal Clan?”
Just what kind of reputation did the Jegal Clan have here to get that kind of reaction?
“There’s a rumor that the Jegal Clan is obsessed with building connections. They say they even form relationships with experts from the Demonic Sects… I heard their network stretches from the imperial palace all the way to Tibet, so they receive all kinds of special treatment when doing business.”
I see. So that’s how it was.
If they had connections even within the Demonic Sects, they would face fewer accidents during business. Even outside orthodox territory, they could probably receive some degree of protection.
“What a strange clan. By the way, where’s Mok-gyeong?”
“She hasn’t come back yet.”
“She’ll come when she’s ready.”
I laid out the things I had bought on the bed and picked up the new clothes among them.
“Why did you buy leather clothes? Those are what hunters wear…”
“Think of it as preparation for using Aura techniques.”
If I could, I would have liked to find chainmail somewhere, but that was something only soldiers could wear, so it was hard to obtain. As a makeshift solution, I planned to modify these hunting leathers and wear them.
Aura Armor efficiency varied wildly depending on what you wore underneath. Leather would be far more effective than thin cloth that offered almost no difference from being bare.
I hadn’t tried it yet, so I wasn’t completely sure.
“Don’t you think you bought too much portable food?”
“Does that sound right when you’ve seen how much I normally eat?”
I ate twice as much as her.
Depending on what kind of lightness technique Jegal Hyeon-sang brought, I might even need to hunt for food.
“Ah… that’s true!”
I wasn’t sure whether to be glad she accepted it so readily or not.
“Anyway, we’re leaving tomorrow morning, so get some sleep early.”
“Okaaay~”
I sighed, organized the items on the bed onto the table, and lay down.
“…So it’s finally beginning in earnest.”
I wondered if I could become a Master during this journey.
As I pondered whether the dream of becoming a Master in the shortest time possible was even feasible, I stopped resisting the drowsiness that washed over me and closed my eyes.