Chapter 6

I Obtained Guan Yu’s Martial Arts

Who Is the Winner? (1)

“Burp.”

Gwan Hwi patted his stomach with a satisfied smile.

He had eaten so much that his slightly bloated belly was visible even through his clothes.

…You certainly eat a lot.

Guan Yunchang couldn’t help but marvel as he looked at the dozens of bowls of thin noodles piled up in front of Gwan Hwi.

To eat that much in one sitting…

At this rate, he might even have a chance if he were put up against that fellow Zhang Fei.

“I don’t normally eat this much. It’s strange. I’m just unusually hungry.”

It must be because of the Red Flame Light Dance. External martial arts consume much more stamina.

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

Unlike ordinary martial arts that consume internal energy, external martial arts, which rely solely on the body’s physical strength, consume a considerable amount of stamina and muscular strength.

There was a reason warriors who had trained in external martial arts in the past could devour several whole pigs by themselves.

Now that you’ve filled your stomach, what are you going to do? Don’t tell me you have no plan.

“Of course I have a plan. Naturally.”

…Tell me.

Guan Yunchang spoke skeptically as he drew power from the middle of the sky.

If Gwan Hwi did something foolish like stuffing his face with food again, he was prepared to use up some of his soul’s strength just to smack him on the head.

“First, I have to pay off my debts.”

The Gwan Family Manor had accumulated roughly one hundred nyang of silver in debts over several generations.

Gwan Hwi intended to repay all of it first.

After all, if he had money, the proper thing to do was to pay off his overdue debts.

“That’s actually why I came here. And right on cue.”

Gwan Hwi raised his head and looked ahead.

A middle-aged man with a weasel-like mustache was coming down the stairs from the second floor, which had a high ceiling.

“Gwan Hwi. It’s been a while.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Lord Ji.”

Gwan Hwi stood up from his chair and respectfully cupped his hands.

Since he was someone who owed him money, he made sure to show even greater courtesy.

Just in case the man might reduce the debt.

“You look younger than the last time I saw you.”

“Hmm. I’ve put in some effort.”

“What is your secret? Please tell me as well.”

“I will.”

Lord Ji nodded and held out his hand.

“…?”

“There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you want information, you have to pay for it. Give me one nyang of silver.”

As expected of a merchant.

Despite having plenty of money, the man was truly ruthless when it came to business.

Well, perhaps it was precisely because he was this ruthless that he had become the number-one merchant in Yunseong City.

“Then I’ll pass.”

“Hmm. Very well. But now that I think about it, you seem to have eaten quite a lot. Can you actually pay for it?”

Suspicion appeared in Lord Ji’s eyes.

Having lent money to the Gwan Family, he knew their financial situation better than anyone.

“It must be difficult for the Gwan Family to casually pay one nyang of silver for a meal.”

“That is true.”

Gwan Hwi readily nodded and pulled a silver coin from his pocket.

“Here’s the money for the meal.”

“Oh?”

The suspicious look disappeared from Lord Ji’s eyes, replaced by a glimmer of surprise.

“How on earth?”

Had he stolen some money? Or had he gotten an advance from the Soul Medicine Hall?

All sorts of possibilities flashed through his mind.

But none of them seemed to be the right answer.

“I got it after wiping out the Soul Medicine Hall.”

“…?”

Lord Ji stood there dumbfounded for a moment before clutching his stomach and bursting into laughter.

“Hahahahaha! You really are an amusing fellow.”

After laughing so hard that tears welled in his eyes, Lord Ji suddenly became serious and waved his hand through the air.

It seemed like a meaningless gesture.

But the ripple caused by that small movement was considerable.

Rattle—

The dozens of people inside the three-story inn all began leaving at Lord Ji’s single gesture.

Those who had been eating, those who had just filled their wine cups, and even the chefs cooking in the kitchen all left.

“……”

Silence instantly filled the inn.

Gwan Hwi was left alone in the completely empty establishment, with nothing remaining but traces of the people who had been there.

He calmly shrugged.

“The food in the kitchen is going to burn.”

“That much is fine.”

Lord Ji sat down in the chair across from Gwan Hwi.

Gwan Hwi sat down as well, and the young man and the middle-aged merchant stared at each other quietly.

“Surely you didn’t borrow money from somewhere else?”

Lord Ji’s expression became extremely serious.

“That wouldn’t be a good idea. I have a small connection with the Gwan Family, so I lend you money with almost no interest. The others won’t be so kind.”

There were plenty of people in the world who lent money only to take even more in return.

Lord Ji didn’t want Gwan Hwi to fall victim to such people.

The family might be on the verge of extinction, but they were still descendants of the great Guan Yu.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then?”

“Just as I said. I obtained the money by wiping out the Soul Medicine Hall.”

“Pffft!”

Lord Ji spat out the water he had been holding in his mouth.

“Good grief. You should be careful.”

Gwan Hwi quickly leaned to the side and avoided it.

He had nearly gotten his already-clean face dirty.

“You… really? You really destroyed the Soul Medicine Hall?”

“That’s right.”

“…You?”

“That’s right.”

“…By yourself?”

“That’s right.”

“H-How?!”

Lord Ji genuinely couldn’t believe it.

It wasn’t just some ordinary black faction.

It was the Soul Medicine Hall.

Along with the Black Flame Hall and the Blood Steel Sect, they were known as one of the Three Great Black Faction Forces.

And Gwan Hwi had wiped them all out by himself?

It couldn’t be that some sudden fortuitous encounter had fallen from the heavens.

How on earth had he done it?

“Here is the money we borrowed from you.”

Gwan Hwi took one of the three heavy money pouches he had divided the silver into and held it out.

Before coming to the inn, he had separated the three hundred nyang of silver beforehand.

“Y-You really did?! A-A hundred nyang?!”

Lord Ji’s face filled with shock when he checked the silver inside the pouch.

“N-No. But how in the world…”

Lord Ji remained stunned for roughly fifteen minutes before turning his head to the left.

One of his subordinates, who had been listening to the conversation outside, had gone to the Soul Medicine Hall’s manor to confirm it.

“It, it really is true, my lord. The Soul Medicine Hall is filled with corpses. Even the Hall Master is dead.”

“……”

Lord Ji’s mouth opened so wide that ten flies could probably have flown inside.

…He really had annihilated the Soul Medicine Hall!?

The Soul Medicine Hall, which had terrorized Yunseong City for decades?!

“How on earth did you do it?”

Gwan Hwi didn’t answer the question.

Instead, he gave a sly smile and held out his hand.

“…!”

Lord Ji’s mouth fell open after being hit with his own words.

Who would have thought Gwan Hwi would use what he himself had said against him?

Was he always like this?

The Gwan Hwi he knew had never been this bold and spirited.

If anything, he had been the exact opposite.

He had lived half like a corpse, crushed beneath his worries about his collapsing family.

Ha! I was wrong.

Lord Ji realized that perhaps he had misunderstood Gwan Hwi all this time.

Perhaps he had never actually seen the true nature of the young man standing before him.

“Here.”

Having reached that conclusion, Lord Ji immediately took out one nyang of silver and handed it to Gwan Hwi.

It wasn’t because he was curious about how Gwan Hwi had earned his money.

He was curious about Gwan Hwi himself.

“Oh my. Such a large sum. Then I suppose I should tell you.”

Gwan Hwi quickly slipped the silver into his clothes, smiled faintly, and began speaking.

“So, what I did was…”

---

Lord Ji had started trading when he was seven years old.

With his tiny hands, he began by gathering medicinal herbs and selling them.

Over the next forty years, he expanded his business until he became the greatest merchant in Yunseong City.

Having built his business from the absolute bottom, he had experienced virtually everything there was to experience.

Lord Ji had been through every possible hardship—on land, in water, and even in the air.

After living like that, a person naturally became accustomed to the many things that happened in the world.

Lord Ji had once confidently declared that there was nothing left in life that could surprise him.

No.

He had declared that.

At least until he heard Gwan Hwi’s story.

“The Soul Medicine Hall was annihilated…”

The shock that shook his very skull made Lord Ji clutch the back of his head.

His head felt numb, as though someone had struck him.

I didn’t know the Gwan Family Head was this strong.

The head or sect master of a third-rate martial family was usually, at best, at the second-rate level.

At that level, they were basically just ordinary people who were somewhat skilled at fighting.

Gwan Hwi had been no different.

No.

He hadn’t been.

He’s different now.

Even though Gwan Hwi hadn’t formally learned martial arts, Lord Ji could tell that the man now looked like a proper martial artist.

The Gwan Hwi before him was completely different from the one he had seen in the past.

How should he put it?

It was almost as if he had become an entirely different person.

Remarkable.

A glimmer of interest flashed through Lord Ji’s eyes as he examined Gwan Hwi.

His muscles were definitely more solid than before, and he looked much more agile.

Of course, the changes weren’t merely external.

His eyes are different too.

Gwan Hwi had become the head of his family at a young age and was responsible for everyone under him.

There had always been a tremendous weight of responsibility in his eyes.

It was as though he were carrying the heavens on his shoulders, and everyone around him could feel how deeply that weight pressed down on him.

But now he was different.

It wasn’t as though he had thrown off that burden.

Rather, it was as if he had melted that burden into his own body.

Gwan Hwi looked lighter and more confident than ever before.

“What on earth happened to you?”

Instead of answering, Gwan Hwi held out his hand.

Even that gesture pleased Lord Ji.

With a faint smile, he handed Gwan Hwi another nyang of silver.

“Here.”

“I had a fortunate encounter.”

“A fortunate encounter…! Is that what happened?”

Lord Ji clapped his hands in amazement.

He had occasionally heard stories about martial artists who became experts overnight after encountering some great opportunity.

But he had never imagined he would actually witness such a thing with his own eyes.

“The emergence of a new expert who brought down the Soul Medicine Hall…”

Lord Ji had always felt sympathy and affection for the Gwan Family.

Seeing the new Gwan Hwi before him caused an even deeper light to appear in his eyes.

His gaze was filled with pride and affection, almost as though he were looking at his own child.

Could the descendants of Lord Guan rise again?

Suddenly, Lord Ji felt that this might only be the beginning.

If the descendants of Lord Guan could move forward once again…

If, after enduring all those hardships, they could once again begin to shine in Yunseong…

This might be a chance to wipe out the Black Faction from Yunseong.

Yunseong City was a place where the Black Faction ran rampant because there was no proper White Faction force.

Throughout the Central Plains, the White Faction generally held more power than the Black Faction.

But in small cities like Yunseong, there were many cases where the influence of the Black Faction was much stronger.

What merchants need is a White Faction force.

Merchants were among those who most wanted the Black Faction gone.

If those bastards disappeared, merchants would no longer have to pay protection money against their will.

Of course, merchants also paid money to the White Faction in the name of protection.

But compared to the amounts extorted by the Black Faction, it was barely a drop in the bucket.

Besides, the Black Faction were nothing more than violent thugs who would cause trouble the moment they were short on money for even a single day.

The Gwan Family Manor could fulfill that role.

Of course, not everyone in the White Faction was good, and not everyone in the Black Faction was evil.

Even if a White Faction force established itself in Yunseong, it would be meaningless if they behaved no differently from the Black Faction.

But Lord Ji trusted the Gwan Family.

No.

More precisely, he trusted Gwan Hwi.

Even through all those hardships, he stubbornly walked only the righteous path.

He had become the head of his family before even reaching twenty and had taken responsibility for dozens of family members.

He must have wanted to escape from that enormous responsibility.

He must have wanted to turn away from it.

One wrong decision on his part could cost dozens of lives and bring an end to a family lineage that had continued for hundreds of years.

Honestly, if Lord Ji had been placed in that situation, he would have run away long ago.

Anyone would have done the same in such a miserable situation.

But Gwan Hwi hadn’t.

Instead, day after day, he took one step at a time in an effort to restore his family.

He had used his own body as a test subject to make money for his family and never shied away from difficult work.

Buried beneath mountains of debt and barely able to breathe, he could easily have taken the crooked path of stealing other people’s possessions.

Yet he had continued walking straight ahead without a moment’s hesitation.

For years, he had endured a path of hardship that almost no one would have willingly chosen.

And he had done it at only twenty years old.

He is a man the world rarely produces.

There were many people in the Central Plains who possessed outstanding martial prowess.

But among them, there were few who wished to practice xia—chivalry and righteousness.

Only the powerless spoke of chivalry, while the weak continued to suffer even now.

He is the only one.

A blazing passion began to shine in Lord Ji’s eyes, as hot as the sun.

“Take this back.”

“……!?”

Lord Ji handed back the heavy money pouch he had been holding.

He didn’t stop there.

He even took out his own money pouch from inside his clothes and placed it on top.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“I wish to sponsor the Gwan Family Manor. No—more precisely, I wish to sponsor you.”

“Sponsor me?”

Gwan Hwi’s eyes widened in surprise.

“There is no chivalry left in this world. Those with power and influence only look after their own interests, while the poor suffer every day.”

“……”

Facing Lord Ji’s passionate gaze, Gwan Hwi’s expression became serious.

“I don’t ask for much. There is only one condition for my sponsorship.”

“What is it?”

“Become a righteous man.”

“…?”

“Continue being a righteous man as you are now. Even if you cannot change the entire world, at least make Yunseong a place worth living in.”

“……”

It wasn’t something he could answer easily.

He was being asked to become a righteous man.

Knowing the weight of those words, Gwan Hwi found it difficult to speak.

“Lord Ji.”

“Go ahead.”

Lord Ji straightened his posture, and even his tone changed.

Gwan Hwi looked at him with solemn eyes and spoke.

“I am neither a good man nor an evil man.”

“Then what are you?”

“I am a martial artist.”

A good person does good deeds for those around him.

An evil person does evil to those around him.

Then what is a martial artist?

A martial artist is someone who uses the martial prowess he has honed and cultivated to carry out his own will.

“I cannot promise to be a righteous man. But as a martial artist, and as the head of a White Faction family, I can promise that I will fight against what is wrong.”

As he said this, Gwan Hwi closed his eyes once and opened them again.

Perhaps it wasn’t the best answer.

If he had lied and promised to become such a person, he could have received the enormous amount of money his family desperately needed.

But he didn’t want to be that servile.

He might kneel with his body, but he would never kneel with his soul.

Even if he was poor, he wanted to remain proud.

Money could always be earned again.

But once one’s pride was sold, it could never be bought back.

“……”

Instead of answering, Lord Ji simply smiled.

“That is enough.”

Lord Ji pushed the money pouches on the table toward Gwan Hwi.

“I know where your heart lies because I’ve watched you all this time. And it’s not just me. Everyone in Yunseong knows.”

Everyone in Yunseong knew that, despite his young age, Gwan Hwi had walked a path of hardship in an effort to lead his family as its head.

The path had been so thorny that even the Black Faction couldn’t casually dismiss it.

“Just continue as you have been. That is all I ask.”

With a gentle smile that rarely appeared on his face, Lord Ji grasped Gwan Hwi’s rough hand.

“Please change Yunseong.”

“Yes, Lord Ji. As the head of the Gwan Family, which has established itself in Yunseong, I promise you.”

The old merchant and the young family head exchanged their determination through burning gazes.

“Thank you. Come to think of it, I haven’t even given you tea. We’ve only been talking.”

Lord Ji poured tea into the cup sitting in the center of the table.

At the very moment the hot tea flowed from the teapot—

“My lord! It’s him. He’s appeared!”

Lord Ji’s subordinate, the man with the weasel-like mustache, hurriedly opened the door and rushed inside.

“Who is it that you’re making such a fuss over?”

“T-The Little Lust Demon, Mak Pyeong… He has appeared again.”

“……!”

“……!!”

Lord Ji and Gwan Hwi’s expressions twisted simultaneously, as if they had planned it.

“That damned bastard…!”

Lord Ji clenched his old fist and trembled.

The Little Lust Demon, Mak Pyeong, was one of the disciples of Bang Gi-tae, the Lust Demon.

That bastard had forcibly violated dozens of women.

In the past, he had also assaulted Lord Ji’s daughter, driving her to take her own life.

Crack—

One corner of the table shattered, and fragments fell to the floor.

Gwan Hwi had lost control of his strength in his fury and broken the table using nothing but the strength of his hand.

“…? Surely, you too?”

Seeing the tremor in Lord Ji’s eyes, Gwan Hwi nodded.

“Yes. Two years ago, that bastard violated one of the women of our family.”

Remembering what had happened back then, Gwan Hwi’s face twisted into a terrifying expression.

That bastard had been one of the main culprits responsible for accelerating the downfall of the Gwan Family.

Shing—

Gwan Hwi picked up the silver crescent-bladed guandao that had been set aside in one corner.

“Where is he?”

Overwhelmed by Gwan Hwi’s aura, Lord Ji’s subordinate involuntarily swallowed hard.

“H-He is at a manor called Eunpyeongwon, to the west.”

“……”

Gwan Hwi was about to leave when he saw the steam rising from the hot tea.

He called out:

“I’ll be back before the tea gets cold.”