An Invitation to Play
February had arrived, winter gone and the full warmth of spring in the air.
As always, Ja Gangcheon stood facing Cheongu, wooden sword in hand.
"Today makes three months."
"Hoo. Good. I'll start."
Cheongu raised his wooden sword and assumed the opening stance of the Moonlight Sword Art. Ja Gangcheon simply stood there, sword hanging loose at his side.
"Haap!"
Circulating the Moonlight Heart Method, Cheongu launched the first form of the Moonlight Sword Art—Moon Shadow Beneath Clouds.
A smile touched Ja Gangcheon's lips. At last the form was displaying its true power. He was glad for his friend's progress, but more than that, facing the Moonlight Sword Art again after so long was simply fun.
Not quite Father's level, of course.
The only reason Ja Gangcheon had been able to teach Cheongu the Moonlight Sword Art was because the research had already been finished on the deserted island. His father—said to be peerless in sword talent—had studied it himself, and Ja Gangcheon had passed the interpretations and movements on exactly as they were.
So this is Cheongu's Moonlight Sword Art.
Whisper-soft footwork carried Cheongu forward in a sudden rush. He twisted his wrist and drew the sword back; the wooden blade vanished, leaving only afterimages. The instant Ja Gangcheon's wariness spiked, a lightning-fast thrust came for his solar plexus—swift, sharp, yet nowhere near enough to touch him.
Crack!
Ja Gangcheon stepped back, knocking the blade aside and preparing to counter, only for Cheongu to accelerate and stick to him like a shadow. Superb Bicheonsinbo—Flying Heaven Divine Steps. The stealthy speed of the Moonlight Sword Art now had the added transformation of that legendary footwork.
Footwork, heart method, sword art.
Combine them differently and the result becomes something else entirely.
Weapon, build, mindset.
Those change the power again.
Proficiency, internal energy, health.
Factor everything in and no two martial arts are ever the same. And Cheongu had one more advantage.
He's smart.
While Ja Gangcheon's thoughts wandered for a heartbeat, Cheongu seized the opening and drove his wooden sword in a low diagonal. The thrust shot straight for the instep. The moment Ja Gangcheon instinctively pulled his foot back, Cheongu's tip bounced off the ground and whipped upward.
The wooden blade was a hair's breadth from his chin when—
Crack!
Ja Gangcheon swept his arm and knocked it away. It looked like a bare-handed strike, but he had used the pommel of his own sword. In the split second Cheongu's confident blow missed—
Thok.
Ja Gangcheon's wooden sword stopped at Cheongu's throat.
"I lose."
Even with Cheongu's meteoric improvement, a true life-and-death bout against Ja Gangcheon was still beyond him.
"That last form was excellent. That was the third one, right?"
"Clear Cry Under the Moon. I really thought I had it this time."
"Then let's try with Big Brother Panseok next."
With Panseok joining them, they spent a full two hours sparring and researching. It was the same scene every morning after breakfast.
"They really do look like they're playing."
"I see it the same way. In all the world, only those three would train like that."
"Is it all right for us to watch like this?"
At Han Pilseng's question, Song Jain nodded.
"We've already been invited. He said if we ever get bored we should come play anytime."
"Play with martial arts… I should have learned some myself."
"Your full recovery isn't far off. Trying wouldn't be a bad idea."
"You think so? Looking at those three, I want to."
Han Pilseng suddenly fell quiet, lost in thought.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing."
Song Jain knew her son's heart perfectly well.
"Very different from me, isn't it?"
"Yes. Mother, you always suffered so much. You said if you could go back you'd never learn martial arts again…"
"To me, martial arts were only pain and karmic debt. I never once thought they were fun."
Just then—
"Auntie! Big Brother Pilseng! Come on over!"
Ja Gangcheon looked exactly like a boy calling his friends while swimming in a river. Astonishingly, Song Jain moved. She pushed her son's wheeled chair into their midst, then smiled her characteristically soft, fluffy smile.
"Shall I join in once?"
"Yes!"
Ja Gangcheon was genuinely delighted as he took position opposite Song Jain.
"Would everyone else step back a little? When the spar is over I'll explain everything you've been curious about."
Hearing that, Han Pilseng finally understood why his mother had accepted the invitation.
She's going to teach him martial arts.
Ja Gangcheon still held his wooden sword as he faced Song Jain.
"I'll go first!"
Like a child who could not wait another second with a new toy, he charged at her. Seventeen this year. He still wore that innocent smile, yet he was already old enough to be called a young man without shame. Song Jain felt genuine admiration at the force of his presence.
Whoosh!
A sword loaded with tremendous internal energy sliced past her temple—deliberately aimed so she could dodge. The gesture ignited a competitive fire in her chest.
Testing me, are you?
He had thrust into empty air because he was not certain she could evade.
"Manor Lord, you may use your full strength."
"Really?"
Ja Gangcheon lit up. It was the first time since sparring with his parents.
"Then here I come!"
From that moment the sounds changed completely.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every clash of wooden sword and bare hand rang out like falling boulders.
"Hup!"
Riding the advantage of a weapon, Ja Gangcheon pressed his attack—only to see Song Jain's foot already occupying the exact spot he needed to step. With that single motion she reversed the initiative and drove forward, pinning him. Yet neither struck first. Song Jain advanced; Ja Gangcheon retreated. To an outsider it might have looked like a dance. In truth she was applying relentless pressure while he, unable to find an opening, dared not lash out recklessly.
At last he could wait no longer and thrust. Song Jain, as if she had been waiting for exactly that, shot her arm toward his wrist. The distance was too close for the sword to generate power.
Then—
Thok!
Once again Ja Gangcheon used the pommel to slap her palm aside. Startled, Song Jain recoiled; he closed instantly and brought the sword down in a heavy overhead cut. The force was so great it looked more like saber work than swordsmanship.
Boom!
She dared not meet it and gave ground again. This time the sword that had struck the earth shot forward in a rising diagonal from below the knee—clearly a spear technique.
That's spear work…
Dagger, saber, spear—he was expressing every one of them with a wooden sword.
By rights it should have been clumsy, yet for that instant it was perfect.
Song Jain thought,
If I let my guard down even a little, I'll be humiliated.
From then on the spar grew fiercer still. Explosive impacts thundered as though the two were fighting for their lives; the watchers could not help but hold their breath. Then, after the space of a single incense stick—
Crack!
Ja Gangcheon's wooden sword snapped.
"Ah!"
He stepped back at once.
"I lose."
"Even without a weapon you would still fight superbly, I believe."
"But I had a weapon and still couldn't win, so I lost. Next time let's try without weapons."
His expression was light and free.
"That was so much fun."
Seeing that face, Song Jain could not help smiling herself.
"Would you let me join your morning exercise as well?"
"You're welcome anytime!"
She never said a word about teaching. If they simply played together, her body would instruct him naturally.
Still… truly astonishing. Foundations rock-solid, yet no limit to the applications. That such martial arts can even exist…
Song Jain, who had survived countless life-and-death battles, had never experienced a spar like this.
I want to see where it ends.
Pure curiosity had bloomed inside her.
At Gyounam Harbor, thunderous fireworks exploded into the sky.
Such displays were common enough whenever a new ship launched or a fresh shop opened. But today's fireworks far exceeded the ordinary scale. Three seaside storefronts had been demolished and a single grand pavilion raised in their place.
Shandong Trading Company — Gyounam Branch
The greatest merchant house of Shandong Province, backed by the Hwangbo Clan, had opened a branch in Gyounam. A brand-new banner snapped high overhead while hundreds of firecrackers shook the entire harbor.
"So the Shandong Trading Company really did come."
"Looking at the size of it, no wonder. Gyounam market's ballooned like crazy lately."
"Same as the Hao Clan. Word is they shut down the capital branch and moved the whole operation here."
"The capital's going to be wailing again."
"Come on, quit fretting over nothing and let's grab some free food."
Many people simply called the Shandong Trading Company the Hwangbo Trading Company.
"Come, come! Everyone welcome!"
The moment the doors opened, Shandong Trading Company threw a lavish feast. Shipowners, sailors, and every nearby merchant thronged the gates—not merely for the free food, but because once the Shandong Trading Company had arrived, they all needed to forge some kind of connection.
Among them was Jo Pilsung, master of the East Sea Trading Company. Compared to the others he was relatively untroubled.
Our goods don't overlap, so we won't take any damage.
East Sea Trading's core products were Deungmyeong Medicines, ice, and East Sea liquor. They had focused on those through the winter and were now preparing to expand into medicinal-herb distribution. Because everything was manufactured in-house, even the arrival of Shandong Trading Company gave him little cause for worry.
I'll just pay my respects and leave.
Jo Pilsung entered carrying a jar of East Sea liquor and a box of Deungmyeong Medicines. When he stated his gifts at the entrance, the reception hall master himself wrote down the name.
"You come from the East Sea Trading Company. Our master wishes to meet you. Allow me to escort you."
"Ah! An honor."
Outwardly he smiled; inwardly he was puzzled.
Me?
Even a glance showed an overwhelming crowd of guests, many of them bearing expensive gifts and hoping for an audience with the trading master. To leapfrog every one of them?
No matter how he turned it over, he could not guess the reason.
"This way."
He was led to a small annex in the rear garden. Inside sat a man in his late fifties whose broad shoulders and ramrod-straight back immediately suggested a martial artist. Seeing Jo Pilsung, the man rose, smiled warmly, and indicated the opposite chair.
"Please, sit. I have wanted to meet you. I am Hwangbo Jeong."
"A pleasure. I am Jo Pilsung, humble master of the East Sea Trading Company."
Though they held the same rank, Jo Pilsung lowered himself. Hwangbo Jeong personally poured tea, then stated his purpose.
"I have heard much of the East Sea Trading Company's recent successes. In particular, the response to your pills has been extraordinary. That is why I ask—would you consider joining forces with our Shandong Trading Company?"
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Deungmyeong Medicines, ice, and East Sea liquor—every last item. We will purchase your entire stock."
"Pardon?"
"You need only handle quality inspection; we will take responsibility for sales. With our distribution network, your volume will multiply several times over."
The unexpected proposal set Jo Pilsung's mind racing, but Hwangbo Jeong gave him no room to think.
"The price will more than satisfy you. Adjust the current retail price by only ten percent and we will not only buy everything—we will also invest in the infrastructure needed to increase sales."
It was an almost intoxicating offer.
Simply receive the goods and hand them over, sell at a mere ten-percent cut from current prices. No need for distribution networks, storefronts, or laborers of our own.
At that point even a thirty-percent cut would still be pure profit. Borrowing the name of the Shandong Trading Company would also send the goods' reputation soaring. They could sell nationwide in a single leap.
In exchange, we lose one thing.
Jo Pilsung saw the hidden meaning at once.
We would no longer function as a true trading company.
More precisely, they would cease to be producers and become mere quality inspectors of someone else's production.
"Hmm."
Indirectly, it was an acquisition of the East Sea Trading Company.
The only way to obtain Deungmyeong Manor's goods.
If they simply bought East Sea Trading outright, Deungmyeong Manor might cut off the supply of pills and ice, rendering the company worthless. So they proposed this half-measure—leaving East Sea Trading as inspector while quietly absorbing it.
"I must decline."
The deliberation was short. Jo Pilsung met Hwangbo Jeong's eyes and stated his refusal clearly.
The warm smile vanished. In its place remained a gaze sharp enough to flay a man alive.
"I am a man who always obtains what he wants."
The warning could not have been clearer. Only then did Jo Pilsung realize that the Shandong Trading Company's advance into Gyounam was a grave crisis for the East Sea Trading Company.