Chapter 26: This Isn't Wuxia..! (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: This Isn't Wuxia..! (3)
The next morning, Seo-jun led the courtesans toward the Azure River Sect.
The women didn't exactly look thrilled. A complicated mix of anxiety, excitement, and fear of the unknown lingered on their faces.
Chu-ryeong, in particular, was on edge. She kept looking around restlessly, but whenever her eyes met Seo-jun’s, she glared at him like she wanted him dead.
Rather than finding her bratty, Seo-jun just felt sorry for her. Is that attitude some kind of defense mechanism?
"Alright, we're here."
When Seo-jun pointed at the Azure River Sect, the courtesans' faces went completely blank.
"The... the Azure River Sect, you mean...?"
"Really... truly?"
Their reactions were extreme. Tears were a given; some collapsed to their knees, while others began to sob openly.
"Wait, what... Does the Azure River Sect eat people or something?"
"N-no! It's not that..."
As it turned out, they had simply never dared to dream of such a massive leap in social status. Seo-jun wondered how becoming a kitchen maid or a servant at the Azure River Sect counted as "moving up in the world," but...
"It’s a huge step up, in its own way. A place like the Azure River Sect is basically the ruler of this entire region," Chun-bong explained.
"Ruler? Do they collect taxes and stuff?"
"They do. It’s only natural if you’re running a city."
"Huh? Running a city?"
What was she talking about? There was a country and an Emperor; were sects just allowed to run cities however they pleased?
When Seo-jun asked, Chun-bong was the one who frowned.
"What are you talking about? No matter how great the Emperor is, he doesn't rule the Central Plains. ...Wait a second. Now that I think about it, didn't you tell me once before that the Emperor was your dad or something?"
"Yeah."
Chun-bong glanced around nervously before grabbing Seo-jun’s sleeve and pulling.
"Hey, let’s talk for a second."
"Sure."
Seo-jun left the courtesans standing in front of the Azure River Sect’s main gate and stepped a few paces away.
"No, let’s go further," Chun-bong insisted, tugging on his sleeve, but Seo-jun shook his head.
"Ah, I see you don't know."
Snap! Seo-jun flicked his fingers.
Chun-bong’s eyes widened. The moment he made the gesture, his internal energy spread out, blocking all sound in the immediate area.
"A... a Qi Membrane...?"
"Is it really that surprising? I’ve used a Sword Curtain before."
"How is that even the same?!"
Chun-bong shouted, shaking her head vigorously. "N-no, wait. That’s not what’s important right now."
Since the Qi Membrane was up, their voices wouldn't leak out. Chun-bong spoke with a serious expression.
"That stuff you said before about being from another world. Were you actually serious?"
"Of course. Wait, you haven't believed me until now?"
"Who would believe that?!"
"Geum Chun-bong, you jerk! You, of all people, should believe me!"
At those words, Chun-bong went quiet. Then, she slunk closer, gripped his sleeve tight, looked up at him with a coy smile, and giggled.
"I believe you now. Right, Oppa?"
This girl...
Did she think "Oppa" was some kind of magic word?
Surprisingly, she was right. Combined with her aegyo, it was impossible not to forgive her.
"I forgive you, Geum Chun-bong."
"Hehe."
That satisfied look on her face was slightly irritating, but she was cute, so what could he do?
"Anyway... I believe you, but it’s still hard to wrap my head around. Another world." Chun-bong furrowed her brow and muttered, "Wait. If you think about it, the Celestial Realm is basically another world, too. Is it like that?"
"I’m not sure, but probably?"
"Hmm..."
Chun-bong nodded, though she still looked a bit uneasy. "Well, fine. That explains why you have absolutely no common sense."
"You brat. You really thought I was just some idiot with no common sense this whole time!"
"Isn't that obvious...?"
Regardless, that wasn't the point. When Seo-jun stared at her with a pout, she quickly got back to the main topic.
"Anyway, I think you’ve got the wrong idea. The Emperor isn't exactly the ruler of the Central Plains."
"Then what is he?"
"What else? He’s a sect leader."
"What?"
The Emperor was a sect leader? The concept was so confusing it made Seo-jun’s head spin.
"No, wait. There are countries in the Central Plains, right?"
"Right."
"There are martial artists and there are commoners."
"Correct."
"Usually, there’s an Emperor who rules the commoners, right? That’s why there’s the saying 'Non-Interference Between Government and Murim.' The government and the martial world don't cross paths."
"Ah, that."
Chun-bong wore a strange expression. "I’ve seen that in history books. Apparently, there was a very brief period a long time ago when the Imperial Court unified the Central Plains. It was like that back then."
But not anymore. Now, the Imperial Court was just one of the great sects. However, because its historical prestige hadn't completely vanished, it was still ranked as one of the Six Great Clans.
"What kind of..."
"Oh, then you probably don't know this either. I said the Imperial Court unified the Central Plains once, right? The Emperor back then was the Martial God, Ju Un-cheon."
"Wow."
Chun-bong’s lecture on common sense continued for a bit longer.
"You can look at the Central Plains as one big country, or you can see it as a coalition of several smaller countries."
In a broad sense, the Central Plains itself was one nation, but in a narrower sense, the great factions known as the Six Great Clans or the Nine Great Sects and One Clan were each treated as individual countries.
"Take the Namgung Clan, for example. Anhui Province is their country, and the smaller sects within it are like cities or villages."
"Aha... So you’re saying this place is basically a city ruled by the Azure River Sect?"
"Yeah. Exactly."
In short, did this mean the courtesans had just become civil servants directly under the mayor? It felt a bit different, but thinking of it that way didn't seem to cause any problems.
"Wait, hold on. Then that means I beat up the mayor?"
"Pretty much."
"Oh... I feel like I’ve become someone quite impressive."
Yahoo! Seo-jun threw his hands up in the air, and Chun-bong silently shook her head. He wished she would at least say something; that kind of deadpan reaction hurt his feelings.
Anyway, after receiving a crash course in common sense from Chun-bong, Seo-jun headed back to the waiting courtesans.
"So, do I pretty much know all the common sense stuff now?"
"As if. Don't be ridiculous."
Since she didn't know what he knew and what he didn't, she decided to just teach him things one by one as they came up. He had been living just fine without knowing anyway, so he was fine with learning slowly.
"Alright, shall we head in?"
Thump, thump!
Seo-jun knocked on the main gate of the Azure River Sect.
"Is anyone there!"
Creeeak—
The door opened, revealing a familiar face.
"I thought you would be arriving soon."
Cheong-un performed a fist and palm salute.
"It is good to see you again, Young Hero. I owe you a great debt for your help last time."
"Uh... Your attitude changed so suddenly it’s hard to know how to respond."
"Even a beast knows how to repay a kindness. Thanks to your advice, I have gained a small enlightenment. It is a great favor that cannot be repaid with mere words."
Seo-jun raised an eyebrow. Checking the man's qi, it was clear that the flow had become significantly smoother. To be honest, he had thought the guy might just ignore him, but seeing that Cheong-un had actually followed his advice gave Seo-jun a sense of pride.
"Oh, come on. It wasn't that big of a deal. You’ll reach the Peak Realm soon enough. Fighting!"
"Fighting... Indeed. I shall fight hard."
Cheong-un pumped his fist.
A martial artist saying "fighting." It really did feel bizarre. It seemed the more educated they were in this world, the better they knew English. Chun-bong was young, so she probably hadn't reached the English portion of her studies yet, but someone like the Azure River Sect Leader could probably hold a full conversation in it.
This crazy pseudo-wuxia world.
If he had read a web novel like this back in the modern world, he would have coughed up blood and left a 5,700-character hate comment for the author.
'Are you a goddamn heretic? I'm dropping this, so why don't you go drop some boxes at a warehouse instead?'
But if he had done that, he probably would have just been reincarnated here as punishment anyway, right? The result would have been the same. Dammit.
Seo-jun smacked his lips and followed Cheong-un, who had offered to lead the way. The courtesans watched him with strange looks. Chu-ryeong, in particular, had eyes that were visibly trembling.
"Hmm..."
Chun-bong’s eyes gleamed sharply.
* * *
Seo-jun went straight to the Sect Leader’s hall.
"It’s been a while, hasn't it?"
"It hasn't even been a few days."
"Let’s not get hung up on the small stuff."
"Ugh..."
The Sect Leader looked at the line of courtesans behind Seo-jun.
"So, are these the people you mentioned?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Understood. If they know how to cook, I’ll send them to the head chef. If not, they’ll work as maids."
"Good."
Seo-jun gave a thumbs up. But before that...
"Since I do have a conscience, I’ll provide a service before I leave them in the Azure River Sect’s hands."
"Service... You know the Westerners' tongue quite well."
"Uh... Are you a racist by any chance?"
"I am no racist."
"Oh, shit."
This guy’s English is actually decent. Seo-jun clapped in admiration.
"Anyway, let us borrow a training ground for a day. You have a spare one, right?"
"Very well. Un-i, guide them."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
Cheong-un bowed deeply. "I shall lead the way."
* * *
Upon arriving at their destination, Seo-jun scanned the training ground.
Not bad.
Even though it was a spare, it was spacious and clean. This would be perfect for what he was about to do.
"Alright, everyone. From this moment on, this instructor will not be using honorifics with you."
"Wh-what...? Instructor?"
"All responses must end in 'Sir'... wait... that’s a bit much. Anyway, I’m going to speak casually, so just deal with it."
What could women who hadn't exercised much in their lives do?
Wait. Is sex considered exercise?
No. Even for him, saying that out loud to former courtesans would be too much of a dick move. Anyway, he thought of something good.
Even though the courtesans' tendons had been cut, martial artists were experts in human anatomy; they had severed them precisely so that there wouldn't be major issues in daily life as long as they weren't running marathons. It meant moderate exercise wouldn't be a problem.
"A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body. Have you ever heard of calisthenics?"
"No..."
"Then just follow my lead and match my count. First..."
Wait. Was the first move the arm and leg stretch? Or was it just the legs?
Since he was having a minor lapse in memory, he quickly changed the schedule.
"Actually, let’s just do the Three Talents Sword Art. Now that I think about it, this should be enough."
"Y-yes..."
* * *
The reason he was making the courtesans do calisthenics or the Three Talents Sword Art wasn't anything special.
First of all, wasn't he the one who provided this labor force to the Azure River Sect? If the courtesans entered the sect and acted completely helpless, he would feel bad for the sect.
So, he pushed them a bit hard, and now the courtesans were melted into puddles on the ground. Seo-jun chuckled as he checked on the panting women. They looked like they were about to die from exhaustion, but fundamentally, their expressions were bright. It seemed the sheer prestige of the "Azure River Sect" had the power to make even this kind of grueling training enjoyable.
"Do you have something to say?"
He once again locked eyes with Chu-ryeong. In a way, she was the first person he had formed a connection with since falling into this world. As he stared at her, her eyes darted around nervously.
"Why... why are you giving me this opportunity?"
Right, so you do know you were acting like a brat.
Still, it wasn't like he couldn't understand her perspective, so he wasn't particularly offended.
"Are you curious?"