Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Good Experience - 1
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When the scattering plum blossoms caught the moonlight and began falling one drop at a time like dew, I picked up my brush.
Normally, it would be time to sleep in preparation for dawn training, but my heart was pounding so insistently that sleep just wouldn't come.
Today was the second happiest day of my life.
The first was the day I met my master.
I had come to truly understand that there was no one in the world on my side, that my future was nothing but cold and dark. I was living day by day amid dust and trash when a saving hand reached out to me.
It was my master's hand.
To someone like me who was nothing, a stranger who owed me nothing extended that hand, and through it, I felt that the world wasn't entirely cold after all.
And today, I felt it once more.
I, who had always only received, was finally able to share what I had with my sect's master and senior sisters for the first time.
And through that, I could bask a little in the happiness of the people I love.
Thank you.
I know full well that a single letter like this can never repay the grace you've shown to someone like me, who has nothing of value.
Please, grant me the chance to repay this kindness someday?
P.S.
Mister... or ma'am?
Or perhaps big brother? If not, should I call you big sister?
Senior Sister is still looking at you with suspicion, but in my imagination, you're a truly wonderful person.
Just like the master who reached out to me.
Because you reached out to someone like me who was nothing!
...
...
...
After reading it all the way through, I read the letter again.
She seemed to have learned a bit about writing letters on her own; it started off somewhat awkwardly structured, but as it went on, it revealed her true feelings in a way that made me smile.
I neatly folded the letter, slipped it into my drawer, and for a moment, sealed my lips in quiet satisfaction.
Sayoon had always been alone. She lost her sect, her village, and even the one friend she'd barely managed to make.
After that, unable to bear the pain of watching the people she loved die one by one, she closed off her heart and pushed away anyone who tried to get close.
It wasn't until around the midpoint of Act 4 that she finally met someone who could be called a friend, but until then, she had suffered endlessly.
And now, this girl—who had endured all that—had discovered the joy of giving to the people she loved and felt happiness from it?
Ah, I can't hold back anymore.
I'm going to keep this going!
The swelling pride in my chest kept tugging at the corners of my mouth.
"Hmmm..."
Still, Hongryeon being suspicious, huh.
Well, that's a normal reaction.
I'd suddenly sent over a whole ingot of silver, and the note had only one line on it.
Good thing I didn't approach them directly.
Even if she suspected me, she couldn't track me down anyway, so no problem there. Even if Nayerin was a benefactor to the Postal Gate and got free service from the Crimson Star Sect, their confidentiality was ironclad—they wouldn't reveal anything about me.
So, even if Hongryeon suspected me, it was no issue at all.
What could she do without evidence?
-Scraaatch... scraaatch...
I ground some ink, quickly scribbled a line on paper, let it dry, and slipped it into an envelope. I'd call the Postal Gate guy tomorrow and send it off.
-Crash!!
"What the—?"
The commotion from downstairs sent my good mood plummeting into the abyss in an instant.
The inn side?
Fights weren't unheard of in a place selling booze, food, and songs from courtesans.
But since entering this world, I'd never heard anything this rowdy.
I flung open the door and headed out. By the time I reached the first floor, a few burly men had the waiter by the collar.
"Get the owner out here!!"
"Fuck!! This inn's service is a joke!! Is this even an inn?!"
In places with a sect—especially a fairly renowned one—thugs generally didn't dare show up.
Makes sense. If it was a righteous sect, they were enemies of thugs; if an evil one, they paid protection money and got guarded in return.
So drifters like these tended to live quietly in strong sect territories.
And Island Flower Village was, naturally, under the Crimson Star Sect's influence.
Of course, the village didn't pay protection fees or anything.
No one expected them to in the first place.
Instead, the village supported the sect with surplus goods or test batches of items, things like that. The Crimson Star Sect couldn't refuse entirely, so they accepted the bare minimum and allowed the village to use their name for protection.
Yet thugs had shown up in Island Flower Village?
For folks coming after work for a drink or dinner, it was quite the shock.
"Get the owner out!! Fuck! Hey? We wanna run a tab!! You think I haven't been here once or twice?! And if you've got courtesans, hey? They should strip a bit!! Me and the owner here...!! Hey? We went to the bathhouse together yesterday! Hey?! Drank booze?! Hey?! We did it all!!"
A few burly men had stood up from their seats, causing a racket.
On their table sat the cheapest thin noodles the inn offered.
I watched them for a bit, then grabbed an empty bottle from a nearby table.
"Get the own..."
-Clang!!
The bottle smashed over the head of the guy who'd grabbed the waiter's collar and was yelling arrogantly with a grin.
I looked down at him twitching on the floor, then turned to the others, who looked flustered.
"Wh-what the hell! Who're you!"
"If you're thirsty for women, hit up a brothel. Or go home and jerk off. Why make a scene here? Wanna die?"
"What'd you say?!"
"I'm the owner of this inn, the one who didn't go to the bathhouse with this bastard yesterday, didn't hit the brothel, didn't eat together, and sure as hell didn't drink together."
Ignoring the suddenly chilled atmosphere, I turned my gaze to the guy at the back of the pack.
The one grinning even after his underling's head got smashed.
A hulking figure with two prominent sword scars on his face.
I knew him.
"Hey. You. Jang Woo-cheol of the Iron Chain Sect, right?"
"...You know me?"
Only then did his grin fade.
As if he wouldn't be known.
This guy picks a fight with Sayoon right at the start of Chapter 1.
A so-called starter mob.
When the Crimson Star Sect falls, this Iron Chain Sect thug from a nearby village— an evil sect group—steps up to take over Island Flower Village like it's natural.
His skills themselves...
Nothing special.
"If you know me, this'll go quicker. This inn. From now on, pay protection to the Iron Chain Sect. No guarantee trash like this won't show up again, right? The Crimson Star Sect just lends their name, but we're different. We..."
"Without you lot, they'd never show up in the first place."
I sneered, and his face twisted. As the mood turned to outright fight, the customers started uneasily getting up.
-Shing!!
A long sword slid from the scabbard at Jang Woo-cheol's waist. Taking that as the signal, the others drew their weapons too.
"Ohhh... merciful Buddha... What villainy is this! You insist on seeing blood today?!"
"Yeah! Let's see some blood!!"
"Even a greeting's too good for scum like you!! I'll cut you all down!! Lads!!"
At my shout, the inn staff rushed out with clubs, kitchen knives, or saw-like blades used for chopping candied fruit.
"Now, shall we put on a show too dangerous for anyone under 18—even worse than plague, pox, or war?!"
With my growl kicking things off, tension ballooned like a swelling balloon.
The air grew thick, like blades would clash any second.
"That's enough."
A slightly low, pleasant voice from the inn entrance deflated that tension.
All eyes turned there. Standing was a young woman in martial robes.
Her hair was red like a rose—or like hot blood freshly spilled.
Left loosely tousled, perhaps uncombed, it only heightened her feral allure.
Between those red locks, her jet-black eyes held indifference.
Her noble yet violently captivating beauty seized the room at once. Even the thugs who'd been about to draw swords now eyed her with lust.
Nothing strange about it. She was that beautiful, her ample chest swelling against her pure white robes, radiating feminine charm.
But Jang Woo-cheol's face drained white as her clothes.
He knew exactly who she was.
"...Falling Sun Sword... F-fuck. They said Crimson Star Sect never comes down here...!"
Falling Sun Sword Hongryeon.
Sword Saint Nayerin's prized disciple and the Crimson Star Sect's senior disciple.
A martial powerhouse who halved demonic beasts with a single stroke.
At Jang Woo-cheol's words, the other thugs froze stiff.
Especially those who'd leered at her with lust moments ago.
"It's fine to lust after my beauty and body... but eyes filled only with base desire, without true love? Truly grating."
"Kuh."
"And you seem to know Island Flower Village is under Crimson Star Sect protection..."
She slowly placed her hand on her sword hilt.
"So you'll leave a limb or two behind."
Just one sentence. But it was enough to freeze most there like northern frost in an instant.
And I, not among that "most," picked up a liquor bottle.
-Clang!!
The bottle shattered, and so did Jang Woo-cheol's head.
I nudged the collapsing man with my foot, then patted his nearly unconscious cheek.
"From now on, your name's Chun-sik."
As the guy who couldn't even reply passed out, the waiters and staff began beating his underlings with clubs.
"Urk! Ack!"
Since the boss wasn't much, his minions were small fry too.
I looked down at the clubbed thugs, then quietly told the waiter glancing at me.
"Contact the Azure Merchant Troupe. Tell 'em we've caught some Chun-siks."
There'd once been a hot thread in the gallery.
About how to prevent the Crimson Star Sect's destruction.
I'd joined in, of course, and one plausible method I'd prepped these past few days was linking up with the Azure Merchant Troupe.
The Azure Merchant Troupe was the group I'd met recently to build ties with, for this purpose—they don't appear in the main story until mid-Act 3.
On the surface, a wholesaler of sundries, but really one of the empire's emperor-direct conscription departments.
They quietly kidnap overreaching martial artists who don't know their place and turn them into soldiers for the imperial frontlines.
A sort of draft board that turns anyone into active duty.
And I'd promised to send them useful catches in exchange for troops and experts when I needed them.
Sure, there was a bit of friction in the process, but a fine deal overall.
I get backup in crises, the Chun-siks escape their trash lives tormenting others to serve the empire, and the empire fills its manpower gaps.
Win-win for everyone.
Those twitching down there would be reborn as prime conscripts, fine heroes making the empire great again.
"You bastards. If you make it big later, don't forget me. Good lads heading to a fine place. Treat 'em well."
Strip 'em naked and tie to a pillar somewhere.
Jang Woo-cheol knew martial arts, but third-rate trash like him wouldn't break proper bindings.
The waiters moved fast. The bound thugs were dragged out, but the frozen atmosphere didn't thaw a bit. So, as the inn's owner, I felt obliged to lighten the mood.
"Sorry for the disturbance. As recompense for interrupting your meals, dinner's on the house today. Su-rin, play some music. A song."
"Huh? Oh, yess~."
The courtesan with the pipa replied loudly, and I clapped lightly. Soon, her pipa sounds—a BGM quite familiar to me—filled the air.
"Plus, a bottle of clear liquor each on me. Use it to steady your startled hearts a bit."
"Well, if you're offering..."
No one hates freebies, after all.
Only then did people laugh and resume eating. I turned to Hongryeon.
She'd stood at the entrance with hand merely on her hilt, staring straight at me.
"Hmmm... I was going to handle them."
"It happened in my shop, so it's right I handle it. Still, I did get your help, so I can't just let you go empty-handed."
A faint light flickered in the icy rose's stoic demeanor.
I matched her slightly upturned lips with a smile of my own and headed to the shop next to the inn. Everyone's eyes were wide from the uproar, but they seemed relieved it ended without major chaos.
"Pack some candied fruit."
"Yes, sir!"
The clerks bustled, soon handing over a few bamboo boxes.
I offered one to the awkwardly standing Hongryeon.
"They say Crimson Star Sect doesn't take money for things like this. It's lacking compared to your help, but take this at least."
"Uh... candied fruit? But I didn't do it expecting anything."
"They say girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. If so, you need a recharge."
"Girls?"
"No?"
Compared to me, Hongryeon was plenty girly.
"First time being treated like a little girl."
"Hm. If that offends, my apologies."
"No, no. Just caught me off guard. Heh. Crimson Star Sect's senior disciple, a girl... Haha. True, she still has a girl's sensibilities."
If others heard that, she'd get called sentimental—better rein it in.
She shrugged lightly, laughing off the earlier frown like it never happened.
"Truth is, I've been on edge from recent events."
Hongryeon's fine brows furrowed slightly, her expression a touch displeased.
That reminded me of what Sayoon wrote in her letter.
Hongryeon was suspicious.
"Hm... Some trouble?"
I glanced at the waiters cleaning the floor, casually adjusting a cup on the table as if fiddling, and "subtly" asked. Maybe because of that?
Hongryeon didn't catch my intent and answered nonchalantly.
"Just back from the Martial Alliance. Some lunatic sent our little one a weird letter."
"Weird... letter?"
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Surely not referring to the one I sent?
Uh...
Nah.
Mine was pure concern and care, like "Are you eating okay?"
Perfectly normal!
"Stuff like 'marry me when you grow up, Uncle,' 'what panties today,' 'I'll visit soon,' 'let's be secret friends meeting in private.' No love, just selfish desire... something like that."
"...World's full of crazies."
...Good call scrapping the secret friend plan.
But seriously, who does that?
"Lately the world's been weirdly chaotic. Even our maknae got one from a creep like those guys earlier. Maybe related?"
The air chilled again.
A dagger plunged into my chest.
"Suspecting without evidence doesn't seem the righteous way."
Hongryeon's gaze sharpened toward me in an instant!
Those eyes, so foul!
The Martial Alliance external inspector and investigator side of Hongryeon began probing me.
That piercing stare, sensing hostility—it didn't faze me one bit.
I'm a man who lives looking at the heavens without shame.
"As Crimson Star Sect's senior disciple, I've gotten good at reading people from their eyes."
"And?"
"You're a good person."
Only after those foul eyes softened did I smile.
She sure has confidence in her judgment...
Still, she can read people.
No bad ones among the people Sayoon likes.