Chapter 75
Translator: uly
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Invitation - 5
Travel and assassination should not be carried out on a whim.
If this were a game, I could just press the fast travel button, arrive, and clear the quest, but reality isn't a game, is it?
Cost preparation, transportation, a schedule-based plan, and contingency plans for variables—it requires countless plans and preparations.
So-hee said she needed a day or two of preparation for all that.
"Today is this Kangmo's final performance in Chilgok County!"
Thanks to her, I had time for one last performance in Chilgok County.
"No! How can you end it after just a few days of a new story!"
"Storyteller! My wife and I were planning to come tomorrow! Do it until tomorrow!"
"My daughter praised you so much she got hoarse! I would have been in big trouble if I hadn't come today!"
"You can't! When the audience disappears, I wanted to try playing the role of the lead lady!"
"Sister! I'm glad I came today!"
The audience alternated between sighs of regret that they would never see it again and sighs of relief that they could see it today.
"This Kangmo will do my best for this final performance!"
I need to scrape together every last coin.
I announced the final performance in Chilgok County with a booming voice.
"Ah! Was that lady the lead lady? I can't remember well!"
The final heroine name auction has arrived.
Perhaps the female audience members also realized this was the last chance to become the lead lady in Chilgok County.
Even as I stepped down from the stage and approached the audience, the women crowded in front of the stage.
"I'll be the lead lady!"
"Kid, go buy some sweets with that money! I'll do it!"
"Auntie! You should use that money to cover your wrinkles!"
"Wha-what did you say!"
"Don't outbid me for the lead lady I bid on!"
"Yong-nyeo! Don't you bid either!"
Starting from a single copper coin, to dozens of coins, and even up to silver coins—countless amounts of money swelled my collection bowl.
Counting this is a job in itself.
If not for the enhanced eyesight from the Soyun Sim-sang-gyeol, I would have gotten confused about which lady put in how much money, and there would have been fistfights.
"Aak! I lost!"
"I won!"
A lady who had dropped five silver coins into the bowl clenched both fists and let out a cry of victory.
"Ah! Lead lady! Will you grant this Romeo, who was so captivated by your beauty that he even forgot your name, the honor of hearing it?"
I spoke courteously, bowing as if a fantasy knight were asking a noble lady for a dance.
"I... I'm So... So-young!"
Why is your voice trembling?
Are you going to say 'LeadSoSoSo-young' instead of 'So-young'?
"Lady So-young! Just looking at your beautiful appearance is enough to make one lose their mind!"
"Th... thank you!"
I'm the one who should be thankful.
With the generous spirit of a karaoke owner who gives extra service time on slow days, I continued the performance, praising her throughout the story.
"You there! Are you really leaving?"
After successfully finishing the final performance, when I visited Mr. Wang's fabric store, Mr. Wang asked with a surprised face.
"Yes. I plan to go elsewhere now."
"No. If business is good here, couldn't you just stay? Did I perhaps do something to offend you?"
"How could that be? You are my benefactor, Mr. Wang. My friend here kept pestering me about when we'd start our tour of the Central Plains, so I'm planning to leave now."
I pointed at So-hee standing quietly behind me.
"I promised to take her on a tour of the Central Plains in exchange for her keeping the beat, right? Right. Time has already flown by."
Mr. Wang nodded with a bitter smile.
"Mr. Wang. Thank you so much for everything. You are the greatest benefactor of my life."
I bowed at a 90-degree angle in a respectful greeting.
The stage manager who introduced me to Chilgok County was also a benefactor, but Mr. Wang, who gave me clothes here, prepared a stage, and spread word about me at the right times, truly deserved to be praised as my greatest benefactor.
"Huh! This kid. You have a talent for moving people. Alright. If you're leaving, take this with you!"
Mr. Wang took something out from his pocket and handed it to me.
A black coin?
Looking closely, the character for 'Wu' was written on the black coin.
It's a currency I've never seen before. What is it used for?
"What is this?"
"If you ever need to ask a favor of the Haomun later, show them that and make your request. They'll do it for free once."
"Mr. Wang, were you part of the Haomun?"
Haomun .
Among information organizations, if the Beggars' Sect is famous among the orthodox factions, then among the unorthodox factions, there is the Haomun, formed by street ruffians.
Being an organization made up of street ruffians, each individual's power may be insignificant, but their numbers are vast, making it one of the top organizations for handling information.
No wonder rumors spread within a day whenever I said something.
So you were part of the Haomun.
"I was part of the Haomun in the old days, but now I'm just an uncle enjoying brunch at a fabric store."
Mr. Wang wore an expression recalling the days when he was a known figure.
Was there a time when that bulging belly was overflowing with muscle?
"I'm not sure if someone like me deserves to receive such an amazing thing."
Even if it looks like a shabby coin, from what he said, it's a coin that serves as a one-time free pass for the Haomun.
I don't know how much the Haomun's service fee is, but it's highly likely to be a price too burdensome for someone like me to use.
"Just take it and use it when you need it. Thanks to you, the fabric store has been bustling every day, and it was nice to have someone to chat with after a long time."
"I'll use it well."
"That thing is precious, so don't use it on something trivial. Use it for something important."
Just how amazing is this coin?
After briefly listening to Mr. Wang explain how to use the black coin, I looked at it. I thought it was just a simple information pass because of its shabby appearance.
If he hadn't told me, I might have made a mistake on the level of gathering wish-granting beads and wishing for girls' underwear.
"Thank you. Stay healthy."
"Take care!"
I repeatedly bowed to Mr. Wang and left the fabric store.
The final day at the house in Chilgok County ended.
So-hee and I packed our bags like we were preparing military field gear, loaded them up, and left Chilgok County at dawn.
"Leaving Chilgok County fills me with emotion."
Looking back at the receding Chilgok County, I spoke to So-hee with an indescribable expression.
"It's just an ordinary county in the Central Plains. There will be plenty of counties like that elsewhere."
Was she worried I might have lingering attachments and turn back? So-hee replied impassively.
"It's not an ordinary county. Because I met you there, So-hee."
I looked at So-hee and smiled warmly.
"……. We need to hurry if we don't want to sleep outdoors in the mountains."
Averting her gaze from my words, So-hee quietly urged us to depart.
I didn't reply to her for a moment, taking one last look to etch the sight of Chilgok County into my eyes.
I experienced both failure and success there. There were many ups and downs, but I went from worrying about a single piece of bread for the next day to living like a human being.
I probably won't have a reason to return.
I don't know what will happen after Daeheung County, but my goal is to increase my fame.
It would be wise to travel around the Central Plains instead of staying in one place, doing storytelling work, saving money, and writing my book.
"Yun-ho?"
"Right. Let's hurry."
The starlight in the dawn sky above was beautiful.
As if blessing my future.
"Blessing my ass. Huff, huff!"
Walking is a damn pain. Seriously.
Second day of travel. I was hiking with So-hee to get to Daeheung County over the mountain.
"Yun-ho. Your pace is slow."
So-hee, who was walking ahead, turned around and scolded me with a face that hadn't shed a single drop of sweat.
Isn't it you who's too fast? Oppa needs consideration.
Even with a body strengthened by the Soyun Sim-sang-gyeol, keeping up with So-hee's pace was like an overweight office worker who went to the pool a few weekends and tried to compete with a dolphin.
'I wish I could have learned lightness skill.'
Unfortunately, they say the two years of internal energy I possess are insufficient to use lightness skill.
When will I ever accumulate internal energy?
I used the ginseng internal energy jump ticket to start with two years' worth instead of zero, and I had hoped that scraping together any remaining ginseng energy in my body might add more, but that was it.
When I asked So-hee if taking medicinal herbs would help accumulate more internal energy, she said the internal energy currently in my body isn't fully assimilated as my own yet, so taking more wouldn't be meaningful.
Ultimately, for the time being, I have no choice but to accumulate internal energy through the Soyun Sim-sang-gyeol.
Like a dating novice who can't match their partner's pace, So-hee walked ahead, then stopped and urged me, before finally giving up and starting to match her pace to mine.
'Is she bored?'
As So-hee walked at my pace, I sensed she seemed bored. Well, from her perspective, it must feel like matching a child's walking speed.
"Walking in the mountains reminds me of when I ran into bandits alone in the past."
Time for a story session to prevent boredom in times like this.
"You've encountered bandits?"
As if she had never shown any sign of boredom, she showed interest in my story.
I have. I almost died for real.
"Hey mister, why are you in such a hurry on this mountain path alone?"
The dream of every office worker. A real estate tycoon earning passive income. After saving my life, I wanted to achieve that dream, you know.
"Thanks to you, mister, our entire bandit hideout can retire! We'll spare your life as a special favor!"
In reality, it was a Central Plains bandit retirement pension service, not a real estate owner.
I told So-hee about what happened then, as cheerfully as possible, even adding some acting.
"Where do those bandits live?"
Perhaps angered by how quickly I had been robbed by the bandits, So-hee spoke in a voice tinged with a faint, chilling intent.
"Who knows. Well, they probably bought houses and land and are living well somewhere. It's in the past now, so no need to worry too much about it."
I'd love to say "Go get 'em! So-hee-mon!" and demand cash recovery, but I don't even know where they live. I'm very grateful just for the Cheongsa Sect massacre.
But even after my words, the chilling intent didn't leave So-hee's face. There are far sadder things than that, though. Better not dig it up.
I continued climbing the mountain, telling So-hee stories from my time in the Central Plains that were at least somewhat cheerful, so she wouldn't get bored.
"Yun-ho. Ahead."
How long had we walked? So-hee cut off my incessant storytelling and pointed ahead.
"The path is blocked."
The path ahead was blocked by fallen logs.
Did lightning strike them?
Focusing my eyesight, I saw they weren't naturally fallen but bore marks of being cut with a blade.
'If someone deliberately blocked the path, it means they had a reason to block it.'
In these mountains, there's usually only one reason for that.
I hastily scanned my surroundings.
As I looked around, men holding swords jumped out from the bushes with menacing laughter.
My prediction wasn't wrong.
"Heh heh heh heh. One sword-wielding woman and one man carrying a bunch of luggage."
"Black hair? There was another with black hair earlier. Is today some kind of barbarian festival?"
"Brother. Let's kill the man and have some fun with the woman."
A man and a woman walking together, of all times! Surrounded by bandits!
Wow. This. Is. A. Real. Problem.
"Gak!"
"Damn it!"
"Spare me!"
You guys are the ones with the problem.
So-hee plucked the bandits' necks as easily as if she were doing a bottle cap challenge, not a neck-snapping challenge.
Don't they know the martial world saying to beware of children, women, and the elderly? If a woman is holding a sword, you should have been cautious on your own.
"Yun-ho. What are you doing?"
"Just a moment."
I checked if there was anything to loot from the bandit corpses, but they were on a level where they'd have to be cousins with beggars.
Don't you know you should carry emergency cash and cards when you go out?
"Sp... spare me..."
Just as I was about to give up looting and leave, a voice fading of life force came from somewhere.
Was there a bandit still alive? All their heads were separated, so unless they were Durahan, words shouldn't be coming from their mouths.
"Yun-ho."
So-hee also heard the voice from somewhere and hurriedly came to my side, on guard.
So-hee and I went into the bushes where the bandits had been hiding, searching for where the voice came from.
"A Joseon person?"
There, a black-haired Joseon man was bleeding and dying. Was he the person those guys mentioned earlier?
"Ah... Jo... seon..."
His face is too pale. He's lost too much blood.
This looks hopeless.
The vitality was already gradually draining from the man's eyes.
"Hey!"
Should I tell him to leave some last words?
"Th... that box..."
As the man raised his arm to point somewhere, something glinted naturally from under his rolled-up sleeve.
"Huh?! Wha-what?"
Instead of looking in the direction the man's finger was pointing, I looked at the man's wrist.
What the. Why do you have that?
"To Szechwan..."
The unidentified man breathed his last with those words.
Hey! What do you mean you just die! I have things to ask!
I hastily rolled up the dead man's sleeve again and looked at his wrist.
"Why is this here?"
What was worn on the man's wrist was a bracelet.
This is something I know.