Chapter 287
Chapter 287
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 287
Chapter Title: Shanshi Liquor King Supremacy
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Four days later.
People were trickling into the courtyard of the Jeongyang Mak Clan, the most powerful family in Jeongyang.
The Shanshi Liquor King Supremacy, the contest to crown the province's top brewer, was set to unfold right here today.
Preparations were underway in a frenzy, and spectators began to gather.
Before long, the courtyard buzzed with crowds encircling the two chairs at the center.
And just now, a late-arriving group had shown up.
Hyeok Mulin, Cheon Su-myeong, and Byok Jangho, who carried a bundle on his back.
Byok Jangho swallowed hard as he eyed the throng of onlookers packed in like clouds.
He had never imagined his brew would be judged before so many people, and the tension made his body go rigid.
Hyeok Mulin smirked at the sight.
"Don't worry. They couldn't possibly overlook it for the Shanshi Liquor King title."
"Hyeok... great hero..."
Byok Jangho's gaze toward Hyeok Mulin brimmed with utmost respect and gratitude, his tone humbly deferential.
The title "great hero" felt almost insufficient for him.
'To prepare everything in less than half a day...'
What he had confessed to Hyeok Mulin was a lack of ingredients and no place to brew.
He figured it would be impossible to fix.
The prideful brewers wouldn't lend their cherished breweries, steeped in their expertise, and even if they wanted to, their schedules were backed up solid.
Not to mention sourcing rare, fresh ingredients on such short notice.
Yet...
'He made it all possible.'
With one word from Hyeok Mulin, he secured a brewery effortlessly, and ingredients poured in from all directions in an instant.
This went beyond mere wealth—it demanded real power backing it up.
And in the end, Byok Jangho succeeded in brewing his liquor.
It had been a razor-thin timeline, but he made it just in time.
'Just who is Great Hero Hyeok...?'
Byok Jangho didn't care about his background and had no curiosity left.
This noble patron had savored his liquor with delight and sponsored him without asking for anything in return.
Win or lose, he felt infinite gratitude toward Hyeok Mulin for simply enabling his participation.
At that moment...
"All participating brewers and their entourages, this way!"
A young woman raised her voice, and the contestants headed over in unison.
But their group had arrived so late that the crowd blocked the path, leaving them stuck at the rear.
"Please make way for a moment!"
Byok Jangho called out, but the wall of people stood firm, unyielding.
"We need to go now...!"
As Byok Jangho stamped his feet in frustration...
"Make way."
Cheon Su-myeong stepped forward.
Hyeok Mulin sent him a transmission.
『Don't wipe them out just because they're in the way.』
『I know that much.』
Reassuring him, Cheon Su-myeong subtly released a trace of his energy.
Just the faintest wisp of demonic qi, so minute that even martial artists wouldn't notice.
But that delicately controlled aura sent chills down the civilians' spines, prompting them to instinctively clear a path.
The result?
"Now, let's go."
A straight lane opened before them.
Like a tofu sliced down the middle, bowing left and right, a clear path lay ahead.
Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong strolled through leisurely, while Byok Jangho followed, eyes wide in belated awe.
They registered for the contest with the young woman and received their number.
"You're the last one."
Number fifty.
The number given to Byok Jangho, who had arrived dead last amid the crush.
As he reacted with dismay, Hyeok Mulin spoke.
"In contests, the more confident you are in your skills, the better to go last. Memories of the early entries fade as it goes on."
Byok Jangho nodded firmly at those words.
He patted the liquor jar tucked in his bundle and steeled himself with resolute eyes.
But then...
"...Pyo Mok."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Why the hell is that bastard here?"
A man watching Byok Jangho from afar ground his teeth.
He unleashed uncontainable fury at his subordinate.
"I don't know how either."
"Didn't you say you smashed his liquor jar?!"
"Y-yes, I did."
"Then how is he in the contest?!"
The man berating his subordinate so fiercely was Pyo Cheong.
One of Shanshi Province's top brewers and the frontrunner for this contest's victory.
Pyo Cheong glared at Byok Jangho, his face twisting in rage.
Like Byok Jangho, he had grown up under a brewer father.
Inheriting the family brewery, he naturally built his reputation as a brewer.
He soared with acclaim and victories, proudly claiming the title of Shanshi's finest.
Until he met the young Byok Jangho.
Over a dozen years ago.
Pyo Cheong had accompanied his father to visit a friendly brewery.
There, he encountered Byok Jangho playing around by mixing liquors.
The moment he tasted the simple brew Byok Jangho whipped up, Pyo Cheong realized the truth.
No matter what he did in his lifetime, he could never surpass Byok Jangho.
Years later, when he heard of the Shanshi Liquor King Supremacy, Pyo Cheong was certain.
'He'll come.'
Byok Jangho, the unbreakable wall he could never climb, would appear.
So he resolved himself.
If he couldn't surpass him, he'd destroy him.
He secretly sent a lackey to smash the liquor jar Byok Jangho brought for the contest.
The mission succeeded, and word came that Byok Jangho had given up everything to drown in drink.
So he put it out of his mind.
'What the hell happened in the meantime?'
Pyo Cheong glared at the man and elder beside Byok Jangho.
Brewing new liquor in such a short time was impossible without help—clearly from those nobodies.
After shooting them a cold stare, Pyo Cheong turned away.
"Whatever. Liquor rushed in four days won't be proper anyway."
He had prepared his entry for three whole years.
How could it compare to something hastily thrown together?
He soon turned his attention elsewhere.
At that moment, two men emerged from inside the manor.
The crowd's chatter hushed instantly at their appearance.
They took their seats at the prepared chairs with dignified strides.
The Shanshi Liquor King Supremacy, to select the province's representative brewer.
Its two judges.
The middle-aged man on the left was Jin the Wine Connoisseur, a famed drinker of Shanshi.
The elder on the right was Mak Rinpyeong, lord of this manor and patriarch of the Jeongyang Mak Clan.
As all eyes fixed on them, Mak Rinpyeong spoke.
"Thank you all for your interest in this contest."
Amid applause from the crowd, he continued.
"For fairness, we've invited Jin the Wine Connoisseur as a judge. He'll help select the winner with me."
Mak Rinpyeong gave a brief explanation of the judges and the judging process.
Finally, in a stern voice, he issued a warning.
"This contest crowns Shanshi Province's representative brewer, so we promise impartial judging and tolerate no impropriety."
At that declaration, Byok Jangho finally felt like he was truly in the Shanshi Liquor King Supremacy.
He swallowed and fiddled with his liquor jar before asking Hyeok Mulin.
"Is this really okay?"
Though he had succeeded in brewing, he still lacked confidence in the result.
Half-doubtful, really.
The reason was clear.
He couldn't brew the one he had originally prepared for the contest.
The time and conditions were different.
Even with ingredients and a brewery, replicating it exactly was tough.
So he had to devise and brew a new one on the fly.
He couldn't be sure it would measure up.
"It'll work."
Hyeok Mulin addressed him assuredly.
"I guarantee it."
Hyeok Mulin's voice held no shred of doubt, instilling confidence in him.
Plus, when pondering what to brew, Hyeok Mulin's advice had decided it.
As Byok Jangho shook off his lingering hesitation with firm resolve, Mak Rinpyeong spoke again.
"Then let the contest begin."
Tension gripped the brewers, while excitement swelled among the spectators.
Just before it started...
"But first, one rule change. We'll reverse the order—highest number goes first."
"What...!"
Byok Jangho's jaw dropped at the announcement.
All the waiting brewers turned to stare at him.
"That means... I'm first...?"
A confirming voice followed.
"Number fifty, Byok Jangho, bring out your liquor."
First up!
His legs shook at the unforeseen change.
He wasn't mentally prepared at all, and who could predict such a disadvantage?
As he stood dazed...
"Number fifty? No one?"
Mak Rinpyeong called again, snapping Byok Jangho into motion.
With a pale face, he grabbed his jar with trembling hands.
As he moved unsteadily, on the verge of dropping it...
"You there."
Hyeok Mulin's voice from behind halted his steps.
Byok Jangho slowly turned to look at him.
Hyeok Mulin pointed to the jar in his arms.
"The result is already in there. What is there to fear?"
At those words, Byok Jangho's trembling stopped.
Great Hero Hyeok was right.
What did the order matter?
The outcome hinged on his brew, and its contents wouldn't change.
Hyeok Mulin's words made him realize there was no need to tremble now.
Calming his nerves in one breath, Byok Jangho gave a slight bow of thanks to Hyeok Mulin.
Hu—
After a deep breath, he strode confidently to face Jin the Wine Connoisseur and Mak Rinpyeong.
A horizontal table sat before them, with two cups.
Mak Rinpyeong nodded, and Byok Jangho approached.
Carefully, he poured his liquor into their cups before retreating.
Jin the Wine Connoisseur and Mak Rinpyeong lifted their cups and sniffed.
Immediately, both furrowed their brows.
"This aroma..."
"Smells like turbid liquor."
It resembled the scent of turbid liquor, the lowest grade among liquors in the Central Plains.
The cheapest option, guzzled by commoners for a quick buzz, with a somewhat bitter taste.
Mak Rinpyeong eyed Byok Jangho questioningly, but he stood expressionless.
Exchanging glances, Jin and Mak Rinpyeong soon wet their lips with it lightly.
If it was truly turbid liquor, they had no intention of drinking the full pour.
But the instant they tasted Byok Jangho's brew...
Drip.
As if by agreement, their minds blanked simultaneously.