Named Lay Disciple (1)
After I won the proxy battle, the Seung-roe Gate fled in utter disarray. All that remained were the amused onlookers and the Shanxi merchants with faces like they'd stepped in dog shit.
The Shanxi merchants had no choice but to sell us the salt at a bargain price, weeping all the while. They couldn't predict when the monopoly law might be abolished, and switching to another market would cost them too much in lost opportunities. After all, they still had to buy something from Yi-chang and haul it back to Shanxi for their trade runs.
Only after everything wrapped up did I explain to the curious Cheong-su what groundwork I'd laid beforehand—from how the lay disciples, many with ties to merchant families, had rallied to help, right up to the end.
"You knocked off four-tenths. That's a massive profit."
"You won't sell it to the common folk at last year's prices, right?"
"Wudang doesn't gouge the people."
Once the monopoly law was scrapped, prices would halve anyway, but factoring in that it hadn't been abolished yet, four-tenths off was a steal. Even maxing out the preemptive purchase rights would've only shaved off five-tenths of a tenth.
I took more pride in that than anything, but the Wudang disciples were fixated on how I'd beaten the Seung-roe Gate's leader.
"Temporary main sect disciple, was it?"
"Less than six months since you started learning martial arts?"
"That Cheonunbo move was incredibly clean."
The five Ming-ja apportionment disciples, who had barely spoken a word on the way to Yi-chang, now showed tremendous interest.
"Haha... I guess so."
"What talent!"
"I've been at Wudang for twenty years, and this is the first time I've seen a lay disciple formally enter as a true main sect disciple."
"Once you're a main sect disciple, do we call you junior brother now?"
We parted on warm terms with the Ming-ja apportionment first-generation disciples. Just helping Wudang had earned their goodwill. That was the Nine Great Sects for you—they embodied their sect as if it were themselves.
Cheong-su and I hadn't even had a proper chat amid all the conversations with the Ming-ja disciples.
Only after splitting off at Gok-jeon Pavilion could we finally talk.
"Well done."
"Straight to the point, huh."
"What, should I lay it on thick?"
"I didn't mean that."
"Just follow me."
"Where to?"
"Sam-cheong Hall."
My face soured instantly, and I stuck out my tongue. The sect leader struck me as a tricky sort, impossible to read. I had zero desire to get more entangled with him.
"Ugh. Why there of all places?"
"Irreverent brat. It's not just the sect leader—it's where the ancestral tablets of our founding patriarchs are enshrined, and that's your reaction?"
"That's that, and this is this. But seriously, why drag me along? You're just reporting back, aren't you?"
"Right. We're back, so we report the results right away."
"What's my reason for being there?"
"Shut up and come."
"Ah, fine."
No choice if he said shut up and come. I pouted and headed to Sam-cheong Hall. By now, I could climb that cliff with my eyes closed.
The door to the Sam-cheong Hall meeting room slid open, and there was the sect leader, already seated as if he'd known we were returning.
"You're back. I've heard the gist—that the Shanxi merchants slunk away empty-handed."
"Rumors really do grow legs faster than people."
"But I don't know the details. How much did you knock off, exactly?"
"Take a guess, Sect Leader Brother."
Cheong-su chuckled. Cheong-ui, the sect leader, narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the jest, but held back since it made him look impressive somehow.
"Judging by that laugh of yours, two-tenths?"
"Two-tenths? You're thinking too small."
"Two-and-a-half tenths, then?"
"Four-tenths."
Cheong-ui's eyes widened in shock. Honestly, even I thought it was an absurd discount.
"...Is that true?"
"Yes. We bought three thousand seok of salt and still had four hundred nyang of silver left."
"Impressive."
Cheong-ui was genuinely awed. Even if Taoists lived apart from money, as head of the sect, he couldn't ignore finances. Saving four hundred nyang of silver was no small feat.
"This isn't my merit. It's all this one's doing."
Cheong-su suddenly clapped a hand on my shoulder. I flinched a bit. I'd never thought he'd steal credit, but I hadn't expected him to highlight me either.
"Ho. Is that so."
Cheong-ui's gaze shifted to me. He'd probably already guessed as much. After all, I'd been the one insisting we could buy cheap.
Cheong-su recounted everything I'd done. Hearing my own story from someone else's mouth made it surprisingly engaging. Cheong-ui seemed absorbed too.
He marveled at how I'd mobilized the lay disciples to sweet-talk the officials and had the rogue traders harass the Shanxi merchants' caravans. He laughed when Cheong-su described the merchants' faces as they sold the salt cheap.
Whether intentional or not, Cheong-su saved the proxy battle against the Seung-roe Gate leader for last. Up until then, Cheong-ui had been smiling, but his face turned grave.
"You beat the Seung-roe Gate's leader?"
"Yes."
"Hah."
Cheong-ui's piercing gaze bored into me.
"How, exactly?"
Cheong-su described the proxy battle in vivid detail, like a sword debate. He unpacked movements I hadn't even been conscious of, making me realize the intent behind them.
"I see."
Cheong-ui nodded, fully convinced after hearing every step. It was as if he'd witnessed the fight himself. That was the caliber of martial experts. I was impressed anew.
"No wonder Cheong-hwa took notice of you."
"Indeed."
Interest flickered in Cheong-ui's eyes as he looked at me.
"Honestly, I didn't think you'd live up to my words. Even I knew it was an unreasonable order."
You knew that, huh? I wanted to say, but his heavy stare kept the words locked in my throat.
"Yet you handled it brilliantly and proved your talent."
A sudden unease stirred in me. It was the honed instinct of a merchant. That gut feeling rarely failed. As I opened my mouth to speak, Cheong-ui continued.
"So, from today, I intend to grant you a Taoist name and formally register you as a main sect disciple."
"...Ah."
My premonition had been spot on. But Cheong-ui mistook my sigh.
"Heh. Surprised, eh? The last lay disciple to enter as a main sect disciple was fifty years ago. Most lay disciples join later in life, so Wudang doesn't accept them without exceptional talent. You're one of us now—hold your head high. I, the sect leader, permit it."
Cheong-su's expression turned awkward. He knew I didn't want to become a main sect disciple.
"Uh, Sect Leader Brother..."
"And I'd like to grant one request of yours. Saving four hundred nyang is a major contribution. Anything short of the absurd, I'll approve."
Cheong-ui shot Cheong-su a glare, as if daring him to interrupt the sect leader.
His final words, though, were a lifeline to me.
"You'll grant a request?"
"Yes. I don't make empty promises."
"Then expel me from main sect disciple status. Just don't cripple my dantian."
Cheong-ui froze, blinking in stunned silence. Cheong-su covered his face with his palm, as if he'd seen this coming.
"...What did you say?"
"Exactly what I said. I have no intention of becoming a Wudang main sect disciple."
Cheong-ui looked like the world had crumbled. Apparently, Cheong-hwa hadn't told him. No surprise there—who'd bother informing the embodiment of Wudang's pride about a lay disciple who shunned the sect?
"This weirdo hates being tied down as a main sect disciple. Haha."
Cheong-su tried to lighten the mood with a late laugh, but the room had already chilled. I'd anticipated this much. If I didn't speak up now, I'd be stuck as a main sect disciple.
"As a Wudang disciple, you'd learn ascension arts, and anyone in the Central Plains would respect you as one of us. And you don't want that?"
"It's not that I hate it—I've got other things to do."
"More important than becoming a Wudang main sect disciple?"
Cheong-ui pressed me, his pride as sect leader clearly wounded. It must've been baffling—who rejects Wudang main sect status? Especially a farmer's kid with nothing to his name.
"Yes. I want to make money."
"Money?"
"I like money."
In my past life, I'd felt no shame in that. My goal was to live as I had before. My only regret was taking that request from the Murim Alliance leader to safeguard some Sinma Dan or whatever. Without that beggar of a job, I'd have spent my final years in luxury.
I'd expected disappointment from Cheong-ui at my blunt answer—I'd said it so brazenly hoping for it. But he looked deadly serious.
"I don't think earning money is evil. Our Wudang Taoists have no personal wealth, but the sect buys goods, food, clothes with its funds. We're masters of banditry, so why not mastery of profit?"
"I think the same."
"But you've already mastered Cheonunbo. To be expelled as a main sect disciple, you'd need your dantian crippled or a foot chopped off."
I flinched. That was the snag I'd worried about even while pleading my case. But I had a point—I'd just climbed the cliff, how was mastering it my fault?
"I've never considered a case like this. I'm at a loss."
"I'm sorry to even bring it up."
I spoke respectfully. No need to antagonize someone who understood the merchant's way.
Silence fell over Sam-cheong Hall. Cheong-su and I stood awkwardly while Cheong-ui pondered deeply.
"There's a system called Named Lay Disciple."
Breaking the quiet, Cheong-ui spoke.
"Main sect disciples have their names entered in the roster, from the founding patriarchs downward. It's declaring to the heavens that we'll accept this disciple. But you can be named and still remain a lay disciple."
"That's possible?"
Cheong-su asked, sounding as surprised as I was. He hadn't known either.
"You probably wouldn't. It was a wartime measure to bolster Central Plains forces quickly against the Demonic Cult's rampage."
The last Great War between Orthodox and Demonic was over a century ago. No wonder the Cheong-ja apportionment folks didn't know.
"I had no idea."
"Even I only learned from the sect leaders' records. It's natural."
Cheong-ui turned to me.
"A Named Lay Disciple learns Wudang martial arts and must answer the sect's call, but no other impositions."
"...Sounds perfect."
Exactly what I wanted. Leverage the Wudang name for trade while doing my own thing.
"But these aren't Demonic Cult rampage days, so it might set a bad precedent."
As expected. No way such a sweet deal passes easily. Even I felt it was a bit shameless.
"I'll bring it to the elders' council. I can't decide unilaterally on something that could create precedent."
"What if it doesn't pass?"
"You become a main sect disciple. You'll get your Taoist name."
"Oh no."
Cheong-ui chuckled dryly at my grimace.
"Dodging main sect disciple status. The world's full of wonders."
"People come in all kinds."
I felt that every day on the trade routes. You never run out of new types—everyone's different.
"But I won't table it right away. I'll give you three months' grace."
"Grace for what?"
"Time to convince the elders."
"...!"
I was taken aback. I hadn't expected such consideration.
"You brought Wudang great profit, so consider it the sect leader's reward. But if the council rejects it, even I can't help."
"Understood."
I bowed deeply and left with Cheong-su.
Wudang's stunning peaks stretched before us.
How the hell was I supposed to convince the elders? The path ahead looked bleak.