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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Hmm…”
“Hey, this kind of manual is hard to find even if you pay extra.”
“Can you guarantee that?”
“Come on, don’t you trust me?”
As if I hadn’t met countless merchants trying to rip me off. I placed the manual titled “Diamond Steps” back on the stall and turned away.
“Jegal, what kind of footwork technique is Diamond Steps?”
“Diamond Steps is a basic footwork technique taught at Shaolin. Its movements are simple and straightforward, making it ideal for building a foundation, but its predictability makes it less effective in actual combat.”
Jegal Hyeon-sang, who had been coincidentally…or perhaps not so coincidentally…following me around the market, offered a brief explanation of the footwork technique the merchant was trying to sell.
“Hmm. Does this really look like the Diamond Steps?”
“Would a genuine Shaolin manual be sold here? Of course, there are cases where unscrupulous individuals try to pass off forgeries or where a clan’s secret manual is leaked and circulated, but…such manuals are rarely authentic.”
“He says it’s not. What do you think?”
“Ahem, I’m no expert on martial arts…I’m simply relaying what I heard when I acquired this…”
There were so many swindlers.
Seeing how they all assumed I couldn’t understand the Central Plains language and tried to deceive me, I was glad I had brought Jegal Hyeon-sang along.
Though I still didn’t understand why he was following me.
“There’s nothing useful here either.”
“Then let’s go.”
I turned and left the bookstore with Jegal Hyeon-sang.
“Shall we rest at an inn?”
After two hours of searching for manuals in Wuhan, Jegal Hyeon-sang suggested a break, tapping his leg.
I considered continuing the search but decided to grant his request, as he had been helpful in assessing the manuals.
“Do you know a good place?”
“There’s an inn I know nearby.”
“Let’s go there.”
I followed Jegal Hyeon-sang to the inn. As I sat down in a corner and removed my bamboo hat, I felt the gazes of the other patrons.
“A Westerner…”
“The Lion Sword?”
“He’s truly massive…”
I wondered how long these reactions would continue. I ordered some tea and looked at Jegal Hyeon-sang, who was about to speak.
“Wi, I should have said this earlier…but please speak comfortably. There’s no need for such formality from someone older than me.”
“Then, let’s drop the formalities.”
While it felt like another misunderstanding, I brushed it off.
I realized that being perceived as a “relatively old master” would be advantageous. While Jegal Hyeon-sang likely had a good idea of my actual age…it didn’t matter if he didn’t.
I also didn’t want to bother explaining my age to everyone.
Hye-ryeong, who usually handled such explanations, was talking with Elder Baek. Mokgyeong was at the Patrol Unit…
“So, why have you been following me?”
I wanted to know why he had abandoned his usual mysterious demeanor and started following me. He didn’t seem like the type to do such a thing.
“What do you think is the most important factor in business?”
“Business?”
Why was he talking about business?
“Yes, business.”
“Capital?”
“That’s not wrong, but…there’s something even more important.”
“And that is?”
“Connections.”
“Ah, connections.”
This was China, after all.
Where Guanxi was valued above all else.
While connections were important everywhere, China was a land where connections had dictated success and failure for thousands of years.
So, it wasn’t surprising that he prioritized connections.
“So…you want to build a connection with me?”
“Indeed.”
“But I don’t understand why that involves following me around.”
“I was discovered sooner than expected, but I originally intended to build a connection by appearing and helping you when merchants tried to swindle you.”
Did I transmigrate into a dating sim?
I rubbed my forehead, realizing I had almost been unwittingly courted.
To think that his subtle attempts to make his presence known were for this reason.
“Couldn’t you have just approached me normally?”
“These things work better when they’re dramatic.”
“Right…of course…so, why me?”
“The Jegal Clan values the ability to judge character. Just as our ancestor chose Liu Bei, who visited him three times, we carefully choose our connections.”
So, he had been evaluating me.
“And you chose me. Why?”
“Well…haven’t you shown us yourself? Your exceptional martial arts.”
“I don’t see why that would be a reason to choose me.”
I was just a Westerner, a martial artist from a foreign land. It didn’t make sense for him to choose me for such a simple reason.
The people around him were all promising disciples from the Five Great Clans and the Nine Great Sects.
Why would he suddenly invest in me?
“I understand what you’re thinking. But you’re fundamentally different from them. One who embodies the essence of martial arts, and those who simply follow. The difference is significant.”
It was.
“Well, I understand…so, what are you trying to say?”
“I want to build a connection with a future top-ranked martial artist.”
“Huh.”
A top-ranked martial artist?
He spoke as if he was certain I would reach the transcendent expert realm.
I couldn’t help but be puzzled by his confidence.
Regardless, Jegal Hyeon-sang continued, like a salesman pitching to a potential customer.
“Even in the Five Great Clans and the Nine Great Sects, transcendent experts are rare. Even in Shaolin, there are less than ten who have surpassed that level.”
“I understand. So…what are you willing to do to maintain this connection?”
“You need a Qinggong technique, don’t you?”
“Indeed.”
I acknowledged my weakness. There was no point in hiding it. Any observant martial artist would have already noticed.
“I’ll find a suitable Qinggong manual for you. The ones available on the market are usually second-rate at best.”
“You could have just said that from the start.”
“Wouldn’t that be suspicious?”
You were already suspicious.
I sighed at Jegal Hyeon-sang’s sudden abandonment of his mysterious persona and downed my lukewarm tea.
The conversation had taken longer than expected.
“I understand you want to be my sponsor, but I don’t see what I can offer you.”
“Not at all. Nothing would be more beneficial to me than you becoming one of the top-ranked martial artists, so please focus on breaking through your barrier.”
“If you say so…”
There were more questions I wanted to ask, but I would save them for later.
I had to prepare for my trip to Mount Wudang.
“Then, I’ll see you later.”
“I hope you’ll have achieved mastery by the time we meet again at the Martial Alliance.”
I stood up without hesitation and left the inn.
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“Mister! Welcome back! Did you find a manual?”
“Jegal Hyeon-sang said he’ll find one for me.”
“Huh? Jegal is going to find one for you?”
“He wants to befriend me.”
“Wow…as expected of the Jegal Clan.”
“As expected?”
What was their reputation that warranted such a reaction?
“There’s a rumor that the Jegal Clan is obsessed with connections. They even befriend Demonic Cult members…I heard their network extends from the Imperial Family to Xizang, which gives them all sorts of advantages in their business dealings.”
Ah.
That explained it.
With connections to even the Demonic Cult, they could avoid trouble in their business dealings.
They would receive some protection even outside the righteous factions’ territory.
“A peculiar clan. What about Mokgyeong?”
“He hasn’t come back yet.”
“He’ll be back.”
I laid out the items I had bought on the bed and picked up the new clothes.
“Why did you buy leather clothes? Those are for hunters…”
“Consider it a tool for using Arts, or rather, martial arts.”
I would have preferred chainmail, but it was difficult to acquire as it was restricted to soldiers. So, as a temporary measure, I bought hunting leathers and planned to modify them.
The effectiveness of Aura Armor varied greatly depending on what you wore.
Leather was much better than cloth, which offered little more protection than being bare-bodied.
Though I hadn’t tried it yet, so I wasn’t sure.
“Didn’t you buy too much food?”
“Have you seen how much I eat?”
I ate twice as much as she did.
Depending on the Qinggong technique Jegal Hyeon-sang brought, I might even have to hunt.
“Ah…right!”
Should I be happy or concerned that she accepted that so easily?
“We’re leaving tomorrow morning, so get some sleep.”
“Okay~”
I sighed, tidied up the items on the bed, placed them on the table, and lay down.
“…It’s truly beginning now.”
I wondered if I could reach the Master realm on this journey.
Could I achieve my dream of becoming a Master in the shortest possible time? Lost in thought, I drifted off to sleep.
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well, if he’s already thinking of becoming a master, that means his time is soon