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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Fish dishes today!”
“Fish dishes inland… they must have gone through a lot of trouble to transport them here.”
Everyone nodded in agreement with Hajin’s words. Fish dishes in Hubei during this era…
How did they even manage to bring them here?
William marveled at the steamed fish, coated in a sweet and savory sauce. He didn’t know what it was called, but its appearance alone made his mouth water.
To think he could eat such a dish at a low price… was the Wulin Alliance filled with only generous individuals?
He had to submit his application to join the Wulin Alliance quickly—
“Mister?”
“What?”
“Is it good?”
“Well, yes. I’m just impressed that I can eat such a dish at this price.”
“You really like eating, Mister.”
“Spend a month on the battlefield, and you’ll be just like me.”
Fighting continuously for a week without food, surviving on pig slop that was indistinguishable from food waste, chewing on grass roots pretending it was soup… ugh, just thinking about it made him lose his appetite.
He had to eat quickly to stimulate his appetite.
“Brother Wei, should I order more?”
“If you insist.”
One portion wasn’t nearly enough. William watched Hajin order more food out of the corner of his eye and picked up a fist-sized dumpling with his chopsticks, popping it into his mouth.
The slightly chewy dumpling skin, the flavorful juices oozing out from the tear he had made, and the savory, yet tender texture of the minced meat danced on his tongue.
Now that was a dumpling.
“Mister, try this too.”
“You don’t have to give me yours.”
Hye-ryeong placed various dishes on his plate, one by one, as she looked at him. But why was she looking at him with a motherly smile, as if she was happy just watching him eat?
“…Anyone would think we’re already engaged…”
“Hagyeong, be quiet.”
Why was she giving him her portion as well?
William sighed, looking at the mountain of food piled on his plate. He could eat it all, but he didn’t want to eat someone else’s share.
“You should eat too.”
“I’ve had enough.”
If she said so.
William methodically ate the dishes on his plate. It was a bit greasy, but a cup of tea would be enough to settle his stomach.
He wasn’t someone who couldn’t handle greasy food like before he transmigrated.
“Mister, where are we going after we eat?”
“I need to submit my application for the martial arts tournament and do some training. I haven’t been able to train much while traveling.”
“Honing one’s mind and body is indeed important for a martial artist. Hye-ryeong, why don’t you focus on your training as well? You’re on the verge of reaching the first-rate level, aren’t you?”
“Hehe, I guess I should train too.”
The first-rate level.
To think it had seemed so far away at first.
Even he, who had shown exceptionally fast growth among his peers, had taken nearly a year and a half to reach the position of a full-fledged knight.
…Was it even fair to compare himself to others, considering his growth was exceptionally fast?
“I also plan to dedicate myself to swordsmanship until the martial arts tournament.”
“Mu-guang, I’ll give you some extra guidance in my spare time.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“I’d like to join your training sessions, but… it seems I’ll be busy with sect matters for a while.”
As the next sect leader, Hajin would have a lot on his plate.
He had to build connections and attend meetings with Elder Baek.
William was glad he didn’t have to get involved in such matters as an outsider, but he still needed to be informed of the details later.
Even the smallest piece of information could sometimes be the key to turning the tide of battle.
“If anything comes up, let me know. I’ll help you as much as I can.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
“…”
So everyone had something to do. It might not be easy for them to gather and eat together like this again.
Their schedules might not align, and some might have to eat elsewhere. It seemed likely he would be eating alone for a while.
…Even if he tried to eat alone, Hye-ryeong would probably stick to him like glue.
“I’m so excited to wield my sword again!”
The sword.
He had to practice his forms and correct his posture in the open space in the middle of their lodging.
He should also practice controlling his increased aura and try to manipulate his mana roads more delicately.
As he made plans, mechanically shoveling food into his mouth, his chopsticks finally clattered against his empty plate.
He hadn’t eaten much, but he was already finished.
William put down his chopsticks and stood up.
“Thank you for the meal. I’ll see you all this evening.”
“Goodbye, Brother Wei.”
“Mister, let’s go together!”
The sound of scraping chairs and Hye-ryeong’s voice reached his ears.
…So it was just the two of them again.
William continued walking out of the dining hall.
Fortunately, the dining hall was becoming less crowded as lunchtime came to an end, so the way out wasn’t congested.
As he stepped outside, the dazzling sunlight assaulted his face.
Ah, his bamboo hat.
“Mister, you forgot your hat!”
“Thank you.”
“Hehe, you’re welcome.”
Could she stop fidgeting? People were staring.
William subtly moved closer to Hye-ryeong, blocking the gazes of the men looking at her.
“Mister?”
“You know where to submit the application for the martial arts tournament, right? Let’s go quickly.”
“Okay~”
They headed towards the reception area for the martial arts tournament.
“…Benefactor, did you sleep well?”
“Did you get back alright?”
“Yes.”
They exchanged awkward greetings and stared at each other.
Unlike last night, the atmosphere was strained.
It was only natural. They were the person who had held a sword to his neck and the person whose life had been threatened.
It was bound to be awkward if they met like this.
“Are you participating in the martial arts tournament, Benefactor?”
“I am. Are you?”
He knew Mokgyeong was participating, but he asked to keep the conversation flowing. Mokgyeong readily nodded.
“Yes. The prize for the tournament is something any martial artist would covet.”
“That’s right! I heard it’s an amazing spirit herb!”
It was amazing, indeed.
If absorbed properly, it could grant sixty years’ worth of internal energy. Or was it even more than that?
In any case, an irresistible prize for any martial artist had been offered, so countless martial artists were lining up to participate in the tournament.
William was one of them.
Of course, most of the people standing in the seemingly endless line wouldn’t even make it past the preliminaries.
There was an age limit, and even though there were many martial artists, only a handful were first-rate, even fewer were peak experts, and even fewer still were transcendent experts.
As far as he knew, including himself, there were less than five peak experts participating in this tournament.
The winner would likely be one of those five.
While it wasn’t impossible for someone with a lower realm to defeat someone with a higher realm, the odds were in favor of those with a near-certain chance of victory.
…Come to think of it, the boy standing before him was the embodiment of that sliver of possibility.
He had managed to defeat a peak expert by exploiting an opening. Based on that experience, he eventually reached the peak expert realm himself.
The more he thought about it, the more absurd his talent seemed.
…Though William wasn’t one to talk.
He had survived in a place where every moment was a life-or-death situation, so he deserved some leeway.
“Mister, let’s hurry and get in line! I think the line is already ten li long!”
Hye-ryeong grabbed his hand and pulled him along. As she said, if they hesitated any longer, they might not be able to register until well after lunchtime.
William followed Hye-ryeong to the end of the line.
Mokgyeong was with them as well.
“Mister, what does the line look like from above?”
“The line?”
Was she curious about that?
William stood on his tiptoes and looked ahead.
The reception area was obscured by the sheer number of people standing in line, but he was different.
At least, there was almost no one here taller than him.
“It’s just a sea of people. The reception area looks like a tiny dot from here.”
“You can see the reception area from here?”
“Well… I can’t see anyone taller than me here.”
“I want to see too…”
“Be patient.”
He couldn’t give a grown woman a piggyback ride here. That would be inappropriate.
“I was just kidding! But I’d like to be carried…”
What was she thinking?
“Hye-ryeong, get a grip. Look at how many people are here.”
“…Hehe.”
Hye-ryeong sheepishly stuck her tongue out and averted her gaze.
Just how seductive was she trying to be?
“Ah, Mister! Now that I think about it, we have to write our names to register. How should we write your name?”
“…Ah.”
That’s right.
He had forgotten something important.
His name… how should he write it?
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[huuuuu so many martial arts names man jeez idk how sherine does it]
