How to Make Them Eat It (2)
Jin-ho hyung's spar with the Zhao Yun warrior dragged on for quite a while, and after about half a shichen of fierce back-and-forth, the victor was finally decided.
"The winner is Eun Jin-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group!"
"Wooooaaah!"
Jin-ho hyung let out a triumphant roar, and the crowd showered him with unrestrained cheers.
"True Tiger of the Iron Spear! True Tiger of the Iron Spear!"
I watched them with a touch of bemusement.
These were the same people who had mocked me for being a mere merchant when I got recommended by the Alliance Leader, weren't they?
And now they were cheering for my brother like this.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
Well, I'll let it slide this time.
Just then, Jin-ho hyung hopped down from the sparring platform and sauntered over to me.
"See that?"
"Yeah. You did great."
Surprisingly, Jin-ho hyung didn't have a single scratch on him.
He'd put in a ton of effort just to avoid getting hurt.
That was part of why the match had lasted so long, too.
Of course—showing up injured in front of our parents would be the height of filial impiety.
I turned to glance at the Chang Yun warrior.
His senior brother looked utterly shell-shocked, as if he couldn't believe he'd lost.
"You alright?"
"Y-yeah..."
He doesn't look alright at all...
Meanwhile,
in the back courtyard of the Lianfeng Inn, Dae Nok and Su Am were deep in training.
The regimen Eun Seo-ho had ordered was straightforward.
Basic sword forms.
And the three core fundamentals.
That was standard daily training for the Silver Wind Corps warriors.
Running, push-ups, horse stance endurance.
And hanging pull-up crunches.
The Silver Wind warriors dedicated set times to it regularly, but these two? They had to train all day long.
No slacking off even if they wanted to—the unbearable muscle pain kicked in the moment they stopped moving.
And one more thing tormenting them...
"Warriors, time for your medicine."
Palgap approached with the Heo Ung Yuanche Tang.
Good medicine tastes bitter, they say, but this stuff went beyond bitter.
They'd have puked it up if they weren't forced to down it—and pricey, premium tonic that it was, their bodies absorbed every drop.
Even when training exhaustion brought on dry heaves, not a single bit came back up.
"Do we really have to drink this crap for three straight days?"
Palgap nodded at Dae Nok's grumble.
"Yes, sir."
"Sigh... At least let us have some water."
"Thirsty, are ya? But your throats ain't dry, and your bellies ain't empty, right?"
"..."
He was spot on.
Doing grueling physical training on nothing but this decoction for three days straight? It sounded impossible.
But sadly, they weren't thirsty, and they weren't hungry.
"Just chug it down. Young master said if you spill a drop or leave any, that's ten extra hanging crunches."
"..."
"Aigoo, this stuff's expensive. Young master's splurging big time here—what kinda gratitude is this? You think you'll get your revenge acting like that?"
"Fine, fine. Gimme the tonic."
"Just drink it already."
They forced it down with grimaces.
They'd had it several times by now, but the bitterness never got any easier.
And soon after, the excruciating muscle pain returned.
They resumed training.
After swinging their swords for a good while, exhaustion finally dropped them flat on the ground.
Dae Nok panted heavily as he called out.
"Senior brother."
"What?"
"I just don't get what riches or glory we're chasing to put up with this."
"Isn't it revenge for what they did to you and to uphold our sect's honor?"
"The opponent's from the Nangong Clan. No matter how hard we try, revenge is a tall order. And we've already got honor from making the preliminaries."
"What're you getting at?"
"Let's bolt."
"What?"
"Honestly, I don't see the point in this sadistic grind."
"But we signed a contract. You gonna break it?"
"From what I remember, the deal was we'd help with revenge, and you'd back our sect. So if we bail, doesn't that void it?"
Su Am perked up.
"Y-yeah?"
"Admit it, senior brother—you're suffering too."
"..."
"Let's bolt."
"Can we even get away?"
"Most folks are out watching the spars. Only servants and aides left."
"..."
"Senior brother. Now's our chance."
Su Am pondered briefly, then nodded.
"Alright."
They scoped out the inn and slipped away quietly.
But they didn't know.
Eun Seo-ho had left more than just Palgap and Gwak Seo-hyang behind.
"Kkwi?"
The morning spars wrapped up, granting an hour for lunch.
Instead of eating, I headed to the temporary shop.
Had to check sales from the morning and see if anything needed handling.
Jin-ho hyung went off with the external steward, while Mom and Dad attended a gathering of merchant leaders and their spouses.
"Second young unit leader made it through preliminaries, I hear?"
"Congratulations!"
The shop managers greeted me warmly, celebrating Jin-ho hyung's prelim win.
"Thanks. I'll pass it on. So, how're sales looking?"
"Booming."
I got the full rundown.
Sure enough, gold wound salves, weapon charms, and trinkets martial artists love were flying off the shelves.
Events like this loosen purses more than usual.
And merchant groups often discount to match.
I checked out Baekcheon Merchant Group's nearby stall.
They were doing brisk business too.
They'd lost goodwill back at the Dragon-Phoenix Sparring Meet thanks to ex-leader Nangong Gang's greed, but enough time had passed, and their prices undercut others.
Cheap prices to win back hearts... but selling subpar junk cheap? Good luck.
It might sell now, but that karma bites back later.
Sigh, Baekcheon has it easy.
They could play hardball like that.
One of their exclusives was whetstones.
Essential for keeping weapon edges sharp—must-have for martial folk.
And smiths too, so even Hongryeon Merchant Group supplied them via contract with the Martial Alliance, I'd heard.
"Keep up the good work."
"No worries."
As I wrapped up the rounds and turned to grab a bite, something poked my arm from inside my sleeve.
I slipped a hand in discreetly and felt something plump and squishy.
Eh? Goldie? When'd you get here?
Kkwi! Kku! Kkwi!
Just now? And... you know where Dae Nok and Su Am bolted to?
Wait, that means...
Hah, they ran.
I sighed and sent a mental message to Goldie.
Lead the way, Goldie.
Kkwi!
Moments later,
I headed to Luoyang's south gate.
Not the west gate closer to Shaanxi—they'd used their heads, picking south.
Tsk tsk, putting in effort.
Kkwi!
Goldie was clicking its tongue too.
"Spineless lot. If it were me, I wouldn't squander a chance from my lord."
Myeongjong warrior nodded in agreement with Changyun warrior.
"I agree. The tonic's brutally bitter, but three days for three months' gains? Worth enduring."
I smirked.
"If they'd thought that, this wouldn't have happened."
We dashed with lightness skill, soon spotting Dae Nok and Su Am hightailing toward Mount Song.
Farther than expected.
That desperate, huh? Training that bad?
"Seo-u warrior, Yeo Eung-am warrior—with me. Everyone else, keep pace."
"Yes, sir!"
My two guards and I surged ahead.
We cut them off, blocking their path.
"Huff huff... huff..."
"Huuuh... huuuh..."
The two Lianlian Sect warriors staggered up, gasping.
Spotting me, shock froze their faces—I wasn't supposed to be here.
"G-Great hero... um..."
"W-We, that is..."
I smiled at their fumbling.
"Back courtyard too cramped for training?"
"..."
"Sorry I didn't catch your... difficulties sooner."
They dropped to their knees.
"S-sorry!"
"Forgive us!"
"What's to forgive? You came all this way to train harder, right?"
"..."
I pressed on.
"I get it—it's grueling. But you've lived long enough to know: no easy paths in this world. Especially not revenge against the strong."
"..."
"Revenge that bad, yeah?"
I continued.
"You know Nangong On didn't end up in prison. Think house arrest has him repenting?"
No way.
"Word is, he's calling in friends and courtesans for parties."
"..."
"And he claims he lost to cowardly tricks in the spar."
True story—Eunhae intel network dug it up.
"Cowardly? No! I fought fair and won!"
"That's why I'm saying this."
I went on.
"Quit if you want—your call. But bail now, and Dae Nok, you'll be the guy who prelimmed via dirty tricks. No more backing either— who'd sponsor a cheat?"
"...!"
"Still quitting?"
"No!"
Dae Nok's eyes blazed with fury.
"We won't quit!"
I turned to Su Am.
"Go back like this, and it's not just lost support—mockery from all sides. Your sect crumbles further. Watch your juniors starve?"
He bit his lip, horrified at the thought.
"Never."
"Told you—revenge ain't easy."
I knew it best, living fiercer than anyone for my own vendetta.
"Forget yourself utterly, they say. Sleep on firewood, lick gall to remember. Every bitter sip of that tonic, every ache—let it fuel your rage. That's your power."
They prostrated themselves.
"We'll never forget your words, Great Hero."
"We were rash. We'll engrave them on our hearts."
"Good. To avoid repeats, best say this now."
I pulled the contract from my sleeve.
"This contract you signed. Read it thoroughly?"
"Of course."
"Remember this clause?"
I unrolled it and pointed to the bottom.
To abandon this contract midway, the abandoning party shall pay compensation of fifty gold taels.
Fifty gold taels—a fortune they couldn't touch.
Enough for a tiled house in Luoyang, easy.
"...!"
"...!"
Their bulging eyes said they'd conveniently forgotten.
I rolled it up and tucked it away.
"Got fifty gold taels on you?"
"..."
No answer. As if.
"Guess you took my resolve talk lightly. Haha, no worries. Do better from now."
I grinned wide.
"Up you get—full speed back to Lianfeng Inn."
"Uwaaaah!"
"Uwaaaah!"
The two bolted like their tails were on fire.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Now they were wide awake.
The picture in my head was sharpening.
"Kkwi?"
Goldie poked its head from my sleeve.
Why no silver?
Don't worry—I'll pay. When have I ever stiffed you?
Forgotten, maybe. Stiffed? Never.
The day after hauling those two back, the Heavenly Branch prelims wrapped.
Earth Branch prelims followed right away, with Hyang-ok noona competing first.
And she verbally demolished her mocking opponent.
She's so mild if you don't poke her—why do they always poke?
"Kh! Kkh! I forfeit!"
Her foe surrendered without swinging once, so noona advanced sans fight.
That's partly why I fear her.
She nails facts like daggers—hurts like hell.
Her rep as the "Fragrant Iron Fairy" soared higher.
Prelims ended days later; mains began.
Sigh, my turn now.
And time to see Dae Nok and Su Am's training pay off.