Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Even So, We're Heading to the Murim Alliance
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“…If by any chance you get caught sneaking through the road we paved without paying, you'll have to pay 1,000 times the original toll fee.”
Kim Moon and Ha Ryang sensed the threat in the man's words and nodded vigorously.
“Yeah, got it.”
“We'll keep that in mind.”
“Just be careful about that, and…”
“Then, can we head inside?”
“Of course. With a toll pass, you're free to use all our pavilions. Oh, before that—any injuries?”
The man pointed at Ha Ryang, who was a total mess, and Ha Ryang showed off the scratches all over his body.
“I took a tumble on the mountain path before getting here…”
“In that case… Hey, Little Bro. Grab that from inside.”
“Yes, Big Bro.”
At the man's order, the young guy called Little Bro hurried inside and came back with something.
What was it?
“Golden Injury Ointment?”
“Yes, Golden Injury Ointment. Your wounds look bad—rub some on before you go in.”
…It was Golden Injury Ointment.
The moment they saw it, the two were moved and smiled warmly.
“Whoa… such kind-hearted young men.”
“I'll never forget this favor.”
As Ha Ryang said that and reached for the ointment…
“Haha, forget the favor, but you do have to pay for it. One silver tael.”
“What…?”
…The man dodged Ha Ryang's hand and said with a smile.
The price was one silver tael.
“What do you mean…!”
“One silver tael…? That doesn't even look like top-grade ointment! For one tael, you could buy three of those!”
As merchants, their math was spot on.
It was mid-to-low-grade Golden Injury Ointment.
For one tael, you could easily buy three.
Outraged by the outrageous rip-off, the two merchants protested…
“Hey, uncles. If this were flat land, I wouldn't sell it for this price. But this is the mountains. Without us, you couldn't get ointment like this anywhere around here, right?”
“W-well, that's true, but…”
“Man, you guys sure know how to hurt feelings. We pave the road, build pavilions, even worry about your injuries and offer ointment—and you complain it's expensive? I'm really hurt now. Just hand back the toll pass and take that old slope like before.”
“No, no, sorry about that. We'll pay right now.”
…The man turned it around, painting the two merchants as petty.
He even talked about taking back the toll pass, leaving them no choice but to open their wallets.
Having gotten used to the easy road, neither had the confidence to tackle that slope again.
They shelled out another silver tael for the ointment and stepped inside, where they saw other people enjoying drinks and snacks.
Having skipped meals properly due to the detour, the two couldn't tear their eyes away from folks downing booze and tearing into meat.
Gulp.
The violent feast made their throats dry and hunger hit hard.
“Uh… you sell booze for a price too, right? How much per bottle?”
“We don't sell booze singly. It's two bottles of bamboo leaf wine and a bundle of wild boar meat for one silver tael.”
“…What?!”
Kim Moon and Ha Ryang jumped in shock again.
Just two bottles of booze and some meat snacks for silver? How many times were they marking it up?
And…
“…We just wanted one bottle to tide us over, so why force the bundle?”
They had no intention of such extravagance just to stave off hunger, so they were flustered.
“Heh heh… Bundling products is, uh… our business policy. Please understand.”
“Fine, whatever—but two bottles of wine and wild boar meat for silver? Isn't that too much?”
“Sigh… More newbies today. Guess I have to explain.”
The man's face brimmed with confidence as he leaned in and whispered.
“Truth is, we're tight with the Beggars' Sect.”
“Beggars' Sect…? Why bring them up…?”
“You know they run breweries too, right? All that bamboo leaf wine? Straight from their distillery.”
The Beggars' Sect, gathering all sorts of folks, naturally owned breweries.
“Their brewery's booze is so damn good. Look at that uncle over there, swigging it down happy as can be. Whoa, down the hatch.”
“……”
Right then, the guy at the front table was chugging with pure bliss, making the words ring true.
“Selling that delicious stuff cheap would disrespect the booze. And wanna hear about our wild boar? We catch ones soaked in Mount Wudang's spiritual energy, roast 'em whole…”
“Okay, okay, we get it. Bring us the bamboo leaf wine and wild boar too.”
The man's silver tongue worked its magic…
Before they knew it, the two were seated, indulging in unplanned spending.
“We're out of water—do we have to pay for that here too?”
“We draw it from Mount Wudang's spring, infused with the mountain's spiritual energy…”
“……”
…And just like that, their wallets emptied.
**
“Haha, come again! Spread the word to other merchants about this great spot!”
“Haha! You bet! We'll be back!”
The two, who started out suspicious, left drunk and beaming.
In the end, they'd stop here every time through Hunan Province. Loyal regulars for sure.
For merchants whose daily grind was grueling journeys, this was an oasis in the desert.
They might hesitate at the price, but they couldn't stay away.
“Little Bro.”
“Yes, Big Bro.”
“You jot down every move and word I made today?”
“Yes, all of it.”
“Use that as your textbook—have everyone follow it. God, our bandit punks have no charm…”
I never planned to hustle like this when I first dreamed up the business. But my dimwit underlings couldn't greet customers right, and business was dead.
So until it stabilizes, I'd work the front lines and set an example.
“Gotta hustle like this if we wanna make real money! Tolls alone barely cover costs, y'know?”
“True, foot traffic's picking up, sales trending steady upward. But, Big Bro…”
Little Bro offered optimism, then looked uneasy.
“…Our methods are less brutal than before, but… will this draw the Murim Alliance's attention?”
“Little Bro. Hand on heart—I swear this is the most upstanding thing I've done in my life.”
“…Upstanding? We're pocketing multiples in profit.”
“If we were normal, we wouldn't stop at profit—we'd rob 'em blind.”
“Ah…”
I pointed at the silk merchant boozing carefree over there.
“You know how stifled I felt all day? If I'd stripped that silk uncle bare, we could've built three pavilions. But I held back and took just five taels—get my pain?”
“…You suffered.”
“I'm tiptoeing around the Murim Alliance, playing nice, paving roads—and they come to exterminate us? Then…”
“Then…?”
“…We turn gangster too. Charge right at 'em.”
“Whoa… hope the Murim Alliance stays away.”
“Yeah, let's pray every night those bastards don't show.”
We glanced at the sky, then cleared the tables left by the customers.
**
Anhui Province.
Heart of the Southern Murim and hub of the world's goods. There stood the Murim Alliance headquarters.
In that place swarming with hundreds of martial artists daily, the busiest spot was the Shadow Hall, gathering intel, monitoring the world's state, and running espionage.
The Shadow Hall handled more: torture, counterintelligence, informant recruitment. They even updated the Murim Wanted List based on intel, so no days off for its members.
Shadow Hall officer Ma Yu sifted endlessly through the mountain of documents.
“Man… so much…”
Intel flooding in came from Beggars' Sect branches everywhere, vast in scope.
Ma Yu checked each, logging major events.
“Shaanxi: Deep Moon Sect vs. Bright Eye Sect dispute… Huashan and Zhongnan territory, they'll handle it… Kunlun Sect leader caught a cold… Meh…”
Top and high-grade intel was done; only low-priority left.
Exhausted from overtime nights, Ma Yu skimmed them…
“Hunan: Bandits uniting as one… What the hell?”
…One piece chased away his sleep.
“A bandit comet-streaks in, merges local bandits fast. Merchants call him Bandit King… Ha! Beggars' Sect idiots finally lost it? Mid-to-low intel for this?”
If true, dispatch an extermination squad now.
Evil faction unity? No ignoring that.
But…
“Gotta list this Bandit King on the Wanted List first. Form an extermination team… Huh?”
…The next line in the report made Ma Yu flinch.
“…But instead of mischief, they pioneered mountain roads, built pavilions—rest stops for merchants at each point?”
…These bandits?
Worse, the next line said merchants were thrilled.
“This is tricky…”
Ma Yu fell into thought.