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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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The inside of the inn was filled with light noise.
On the first floor of the two-story courtyard-style inn, there were people having dinner, men drinking alcohol, and others fiddling with dominoes at corner tables. Amid them, a portly middle-aged man who appeared to be the innkeeper hurried back and forth carrying bowls of noodles, bottles of liquor, and snacks.
At that moment, a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat entered through the inn’s entrance curtain.
He was an outsider. Those eating noodles and drinking alcohol glanced furtively at him. Though he had a sword at his hip, suggesting he was a martial artist, in the new continent self-proclaimed “martial artists” carrying swords were as common as dogs and cattle, so he didn’t seem too out of the ordinary.
When the stomping newcomer stopped upon sensing the stares, the innkeeper approached him, wiping his hands on the cloth tucked into his waistband.
“You’re an outsider, I see. Welcome, welcome.”
The man slightly pushed up his hat with a finger to look at the innkeeper, who continued upon glimpsing his eyes beneath the brim.
“Will you be staying the night?”
“Just a meal.”
The innkeeper nodded.
“Ten coins then.”
Without a word, the man took out ten coins from his robe and handed them over. Accepting the payment, the innkeeper headed for the kitchen, saying:
“Have a seat anywhere comfortable. I’ll bring out a bowl of noodles shortly.”
The man walked to a corner, setting down the sword from his waist upright beside the table before removing his hat.
As he didn’t seem liable to cause any trouble, the momentary lull in the inn’s clamor resumed its previous noise level.
The man, Jang Geon, rested his hands comfortably on the table and slowly scanned the inn’s occupants.
Most appeared to be locals or nearby farmers. Though among them were a few others like himself with swords propped beside their tables, at most they numbered three or four. In coastal cities and towns to the west, self-styled “martial artists” outnumbered ordinary civilians, but this area was more inland, hence farmers outnumbering blade-wielders.
The few swordsmen present seemed merely drifters carrying blades for self-defense, rather than true martial artists.
Though quite full of customers, the innkeeper appeared to be the only staff. Unlike other inns with at least a maidservant or two, neither a wife nor child of the owner was in evidence. Jang Geon reckoned at this staffing level, even bringing out a single bowl of noodles would take some time.
“This damn scoundrel! You, you cheat – you just cheated, didn’t you?”
“What? Cheating? Don’t blame me for your clumsy fingers, you idiot.”
Just then, harsh words erupted between two men fiddling with dominoes in a corner. One stood up abruptly, glaring accusingly at the other still seated as he alleged cheating. The two then rose, trading insults back and forth about killing each other over the perceived deceit.
The other inn patrons seemed used to such scenes, merely shaking their heads amusedly or chuckling into their drinks. Even the innkeeper only briefly poked his head out from the kitchen entrance before retreating with a laugh, indicating he didn’t expect any real violence given no one else appeared tense or apprehensive – presumably it would just blow over with some shouting as usual.
However, Jang Geon’s eyes were fixed on the pair, or more precisely, from the moment the standing man opened his mouth:
“This bastard! Does it make sense that you’ve been winning all day while I keep losing?”
“Well, I don’t know, maybe it’s your clumsy fingers. Everyone else was winning plenty besides you.”
“You piece of shit?”
Unable to contain his rage any longer, the accuser gave the other a light shove. The taunted man stumbled back a couple steps before growling:
“What? You really want to go there?”
“Yeah, you scumbag! Did you think I was just a fool letting you keep doing this?”
The two soon grappled, roughly shaking each other by the collar while spewing indecipherable profanities. And it was then that Jang Geon, who had been observing the commotion, finally caught a glimpse of the face he had only seen from behind.
A light smile crept across his lips.
“So that bastard was here.”
Muttering briefly to himself, Jang Geon watched their scuffle for a moment before standing up and striding over. Even as he approached, the pair continued showering each other with spittle-laced vulgarities, the other patrons merely laughing instead of attempting to calm them.
“Hey.”
At Jang Geon’s voice, the grappling men turned their heads. While the cheating accuser looked confused, the other man instantly paled and froze upon seeing him.
“…What is it?”
Jang Geon shook his head at the accuser’s question.
“Not you.”
The pale-faced man anxiously rolled his eyes upon hearing Jang Geon’s words, before his expression turned slippery as he replied:
“…Jang Geon, you’re here?”
“Yeah, it’s been two months. Been well?”
Releasing his grip on his opponent’s collar, the man took a step back. His opponent too let go, looking bewildered.
“Me? Oh, I’ve been fine. And you, Bro?”
Jang Geon shook his head with a smile.
“Not so well for me. How is it that whenever I find one of you lot, you all claim to be doing great?”
“…So you’ve tracked down the others too?”
“Yeah, you’re the last one.”
The man took another subtle step backwards.
“Well, you see…I did try to advise against it, didn’t I? I mean, using crooked dominoes to hustle martial artists out of their money – if we got caught, we’d be the ones on the receiving end of those blades, right?”
“But in the end, you all did it anyway.”
Upon hearing Jang Geon’s reply, the man stared at him blankly before letting out an awkward laugh and suddenly turning to flee. But the moment he spun around, some unseen force seized the back of his head and slammed it down onto the domino-littered table.
“Argh!”
His forehead smashed into the table, sending dominoes and coins clattering. The surrounding patrons recoiled in shock. The slammed man thrashed his limbs, struggling to free his head from the vise-like grip pinning it to the table as if caught in a rock’s clutches.
“I, I really did try to stop them! And in the end, the one who got totally cleaned out by sitting there was you, Bro! We were going to make a run for it even if you hadn’t left first! Honestly! Please forgive me!”
Without a word, Jang Geon seized the man’s left hand and placed it on the table, retrieving the concealed dominoes from his sleeve. Pressing the dominoes against his face, Jang Geon leaned in close to murmur:
“Does using crooked dominoes to cheat at gambling make it any less swindling? Cut the crap, Yang Gweng – where’s my money?”
The man named Yang Gweng gulped audibly upon meeting Jang Geon’s steely gaze before answering:
“…That…I, I spent it on a Martial Alliance bounty…”
“What the fuck? You spent it on a bounty?”
Yang Gweng trembled at Jang Geon’s scowling face.
“W-well, there’s a Martial Alliance branch right here, what was I supposed to do? I need to eat at inns too, don’t I…”
Grabbing Yang Gweng by the collar, Jang Geon lifted his head off the table and gave it a shake.
“So you’re saying you don’t have a single coin left?”
“N-no, that’s not it, I did win some here…maybe I could use that to…”
Yang Gweng’s eyes darted to the coins scattered on the table. Seeing this, Jang Geon released his grip, shoving him aside as he approached the table Yang Gweng had been seated at. He then began hastily scooping up the coins.
The man who had accused Yang Gweng of cheating, his former gambling partners, and the other inn patrons all watched the scene with dumbfounded expressions. While Yang Gweng did appear to be a swindler Jang Geon had caught up with after he fled, Jang Geon’s actions still seemed rather unrestrained given the circumstances.
“Hey, hey – hold on a second there!”
At that moment, the cheating accuser seemed to regain his senses and shouted at Jang Geon:
“Stop right there! That’s all the money he won by cheating – it’s mine!”
Jang Geon glanced at the man before continuing to collect the coins, replying:
“That’s not my concern. You can get it back from him later.”
“What the fuck?”
Growing incensed again at Jang Geon’s words, the man reached out as if to shove him like he had Yang Gweng.
But the moment the man tried to push Jang Geon, Jang Geon grabbed his wrists and tugged, deftly stepping aside.
“Oww!”
Pulled off-balance, the man tumbled forward, slamming face-first into the floor – clearly no martial arts training. Jang Geon calmly returned to the table, sweeping the rest of Yang Gweng’s coins into his robe.
Once he had collected all the coins, Jang Geon tucked them into his garment and turned to grab Yang Gweng’s collar again as the latter sat dazed.
“Ah, w-why are you doing this, Bro?”
“Why, you ask? Because what you’ve given me so far isn’t nearly enough.”
“B-but…I really don’t have anything else left now…”
Yang Gweng let out an awkward laugh, showing Jang Geon his empty palms as if to say he truly had nothing left, inviting him to search his person if he didn’t believe it.
As Jang Geon wondered if he should indeed strip the man down to his skin, a voice intruded:
“You, you bastard!”
It was the man who had fallen, holding his bleeding nose as he glared at Jang Geon, crimson liquid seeping through his cupped hands.
“You prick! You did this to my nose? You’re dead!”
Jang Geon pulled a wry face at the ghastly sight before replying:
“My apologies for the injury. But this scoundrel owes me far more than just a few coins…”
Jang Geon’s words trailed off as the enraged man, looking about to charge at any moment, instead whirled and fled out of the inn. Jang Geon watched his retreating back with an incredulous snort before turning back to Yang Gweng.
“What an idiot that one was.”
“Well…uh, his name is actually Jin Yangseok, and…”
Jang Geon cut Yang Gweng off with a shake of his head.
“Never mind that. What about you?”
“Me? What about me?”
The grip on Yang Gweng’s collar tightened.
“Are you going to find some way to return my money, or do you want your dantian smashed to pieces?”
At those words, Yang Gweng’s left eye and both hands began trembling uncontrollably.
“M-my meager cultivation wouldn’t even be a fart to you, Bro. Of what use would it be?”
Unmoved by Yang Gweng’s quavering voice, Jang Geon simply raised his rock-solid left fist before the man’s eyes.
After darting nervous glances between the fist and Jang Geon’s steely gaze, Yang Gweng finally sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping as he cast his eyes down and replied:
“…Alright, let me go for now. I have something in my robe.”
Once released, Yang Gweng loosened his front and pulled out a small cloth bundle cleverly hidden in his chest area by tearing off a corner of the lining. With sluggish movements, he unwrapped the bundle to reveal a small jade pendant, letting out another sigh before offering it to Jang Geon.
“…Here, this is a piece of real jade I obtained back in Xinsachuan. If I can find a decent buyer, it should fetch a decent sum.”
Taking the pendant, Jang Geon examined it from various angles before promptly depositing it into his own robe. Yang Gweng studied his reaction before asking:
“Ah, is that enough for you?”
“Yeah, this should do for now.”
Jang Geon replied with a light chuckle.
As Yang Gweng forced an awkward laugh in return, Jang Geon turned toward the innkeeper who had emerged from the kitchen entrance, his befuddled look suggesting he had witnessed the entire scene. Seemingly unconcerned by the other patrons’ incredulous stares, Jang Geon calmly asked:
“So when will my noodles be ready?”
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