Surviving as a Cripple in Murim – Chapter 45

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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“Halt! This road is under the jurisdiction of the esteemed Lord of the Toll Road Gang!”

Bandits, positioned behind an expertly crafted wooden barricade in the middle of a well-maintained mountain path, a formidable defensive structure, shouted, stopping a group of merchants in their tracks.

“We built this road with our own funds and keep it clean! If you wish to pass, you must pay the toll!”

An ornate carriage came to a jolting stop, and a large figure, its amber eyes gleaming, stirred within.

He dragged himself out of the carriage, his mind still foggy with sleep.

Tap, tap.

As the tall man, clearly over seven cheok (1 cheok = 25cm) in height and radiating a formidable aura, emerged from the carriage, leaning on a staff, the bandits reached for their weapons, their eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Mancheon (Deceiving the Heavens) looked at them and asked in a low, menacing growl,

“Do you offer a discount for cripples?”

The bandits lowered their weapons and shouted,

“The elderly, pregnant women, infants, and the disabled receive a fifty percent discount!!”

Mancheon, startled awake by their booming voices, like the crowing of a rooster at dawn, chuckled and looked up at the sky.

Eighteen years had passed since he was reborn into the martial world. For the first time in his life, he was benefiting from being a cripple.

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“Since birth, I’ve had no love for books (生來不會讀詩書).”

“I prepare bait to catch the dragon (安排香餌釣鰲龍).”

“I prepare my bow and arrow to hunt the tiger (準備窩弓射猛虎).”

“A hero has no need for books (英雄不會讀詩書).”

He recited a poem, his aspirations of becoming a wealthy man of leisure encapsulated in its verses, as he gazed out the window of the jolting carriage.

The merchant leader’s daughter, who had offered him a ride in her carriage, clapped enthusiastically.

“Young Master Sima, you are a talented poet. Would you be willing to share another poem?”

He felt a pang of guilt at her exaggerated attempts to please him.

As the Feng Merchant Group was a subsidiary of the Sima family, she was likely trying to avoid offending him and incurring her father’s wrath.

He disliked it when children acted like adults, so he decided to tease her a little.

“What is your name?”

“Excuse… me?”

They had already been introduced by her father before boarding the carriage, so she didn’t understand why he was asking again. But then…

“I wish to hear it from your own lips.”

His soft, gentle tone compelled her to answer.

“My name is… Feng Lan (Wind Orchid).”

Mancheon reached out the window and plucked a delicate branch of cherry blossoms. Then, he recited another poem.

“A young lady in a carriage, whose daughter might she be?”

“Her beauty captures my eye, yet her name I do not know.”

“Now, at last, I hear the name Feng Lan.”

Thud—!

The carriage jolted violently, as if it had hit a bump in the road.

“My lady! Young Master! Are you alright?!”

The coachman shouted, but Feng Lan couldn’t answer, her breath caught in her throat.

Mancheon, bracing himself against the carriage wall with his left hand, gently tucked the cherry blossom branch behind Feng Lan’s ear.

“Your beautiful eyes, your long lashes, have captured my heart.”

Her face… flushed, and she couldn’t speak.

Speechless, Feng Lan shrank back, her eyes fixed on Mancheon’s face, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

She savored the sound of his voice, so soft and gentle, a stark contrast to his cold demeanor.

This is bad. I need to maintain my composure, to avoid offending the young master and embarrassing my father.

But… she couldn’t. Her mind went blank, her heart pounding in her chest.

‘Why isn’t she reacting?’ Mancheon wondered.

He had expected Feng Lan to laugh at his cheesy lines, or at least to tease him, but she hadn’t reacted at all.

Yeonhwa also went quiet… when he tried to be funny. Perhaps he wasn’t as good at jokes as he thought?

It was a crisis, a shocking revelation, that Sima Mancheon, the genius who deceived even the heavens, might have a weakness.

Oblivious to the turmoil he had caused in the heart of the precious young lady, Mancheon gazed out the window, watching the clouds drift by.

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They decided to stop and rest at a clearing, a suitable spot to take a break from their journey.

“Ahhh-!!”

He stepped out of the carriage, stretching his stiff limbs, when a large, jovial man approached him.

“Haha! That’s quite a stretch! Are you finding the journey tiring, Young Master?”

Feng Bai, the leader of the Feng Merchant Group.

He had been working for Mancheon’s father since before Mancheon was born, and was now in charge of managing the merchant group.

A friendly man who occasionally visited their home for dinner and slipped him some spending money. He was currently tasked with escorting Mancheon and instructing him in the ways of commerce, as per his father’s orders.

He worked tirelessly for his family, like a loyal ox, and yet, because he was deemed competent, he was now burdened with the education of a spoiled young master… the woes of middle management.

“With your consideration, Merchant Leader Feng, providing me with such comfortable transportation, how could I possibly find the journey tiring?”

“I’m relieved to hear it. We’ll reach Baihua County in Hubei Province, our destination, shortly. Just a little further.”

At the mention of Baihua County in Hubei Province, a map unfolded in Mancheon’s mind. While not entirely accurate, he knew it was near Mount Wollongong, where the Jegal Estate was located.

He thought of the baby dragon, her beautiful blue eyes like the morning sea, her sharp teeth a charming contrast to her adorable appearance.

“Merchant Leader Feng, how far is Mount Wollongong and the Jegal Estate from Baihua County?”

“The Jegal Estate? Hmm… about half a day by horse or carriage, and a full day on foot.”

It was much closer than he anticipated. He could easily travel there alone.

While he was supposed to be learning about commerce, not sightseeing, his father had told him to treat this trip as a vacation…

So… there wouldn’t be any issue if he actually did go sightseeing.

Hmm~ As expected of a genius who deceived even the heavens. A truly brilliant idea.

Having made his decision, he didn’t hesitate. He launched into a lengthy explanation of why he needed to part ways with the merchant group at Baihua County and travel to the Jegal Estate.

While his true purpose was to visit his precious disciple, to others, it would appear as though he was simply visiting a woman, so he omitted any mention of Gwahae, instead fabricating a story about receiving a letter informing him of the illness of an elderly man who had taught him Go in his childhood.

He said he felt obligated to visit, having traveled this far. Of course, it was a lie. Jegal Liang was perfectly healthy.

That Go-obsessed old geezer was too stubborn to die, probably fueled by the spite of all those who had cursed him.

Feng Bai, the merchant leader, listened patiently to his story, then chuckled heartily and nodded.

“I understand. Maintaining connections is important, especially with an elder of the Jegal Estate.”

As a seasoned merchant, Feng Bai had undoubtedly seen through his flimsy excuse, but it was plausible enough.

“Thank you for your understanding, Merchant Leader Feng.”

“Haha… You’re welcome.”

While Feng Bai, a pragmatic businessman, saw this as a minor inconvenience, easily avoided by not antagonizing the future head of the Sima family, Feng Lan, the lovestruck girl in the carriage, had a different perspective.

“Young Master Sima, aren’t you returning with us?”

Feng Lan, who had apparently overheard their conversation, approached them, her eyes filled with longing, fiddling with the cherry blossom branch he had given her.

“I’ll… treasure this. So… please… remember me…”

She hadn’t said anything before, but she seemed to like the cherry blossom branch and the poem. He had received her assistance on this journey, so he decided to give her another branch.

“You don’t need to remember me.”

“What? Why?”

He reached up and plucked another cherry blossom branch, this one even more laden with blossoms than the first, and offered it to Feng Lan, her beautiful green eyes sparkling as she looked up at him.

“When spring arrives, I will bring you as many cherry blossoms as you desire.”

Feng Lan’s hand trembled as she accepted the precious gift. He had told her she doesn’t need to remember him, but after hearing those words, how could she ever forget?

“I’ll… treasure it.”

Clutching the cherry blossom branch to her chest, her face flushed crimson, she hurried away. Mancheon watched her go, a warm smile on his face.

“Your daughter is quite charming.”

But… Feng Bai didn’t smile. His face hardened.

“It seems my daughter is quite fond of you, Young Master.”

“Is that so? I suppose my irresistible charm has inadvertently swept her off her feet~ Haha!”

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He ended up riding in the cargo hold.

‘Ugh… so hard… so uncomfortable… I should have chosen my words more carefully…’

He recalled Muk-gang’s words: You must always take responsibility for your words and actions. It was a lesson he was learning the hard way.

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Let’s go! to the first disciple