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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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My daily routine is quite regular.
I wake up before sunrise, practice the Five Animal Frolics, and then handle the breakfast rush at the inn.
After the morning rush is over, I receive “forced injection” education from Chae-jin, who comes down from her room. The rest of the time is spent working.
After the lunch rush, I clean the guest rooms and continue working until Chae-jin comes to my room, like a Kumon teacher demanding my attention, and drags me away for a “forced injection” session of Chae Family Taijiquan.
And by the time that’s over, it’s evening. I practice the Five Animal Frolics again and then finish the rest of my work.
Quite a regular life, isn’t it?
A small change occurred in my routine.
“Thank you for your support, as always.”
“Don’t mention it.”
After the Demonic Sect’s attack a while back, the Hongseong Sect decided to patrol Seomhwa Village.
Of course, they wouldn’t let it interfere with their own training, but it was definitely beneficial for Seomhwa Village.
Having martial artists, especially those who were friendly toward the village, patrolling the area greatly helped maintain security.
Naturally, even the local government was happy and provided funding.
I was using that funding, along with my own money, to buy medicine. Ideally, I wanted to purchase elixirs, but they weren’t easy to come by.
So, I steadily gathered healing ointments and various medicines for internal injuries, and when I had enough, I gave them to the Hongseong disciples.
This was already the third time.
I shook my head at the adorable girl with silver hair who received the box of medicine.
Sayoon.
The reason I came to this world.
She was still awkward about receiving things from others, clutching the box tightly in her hands.
“Ah, s-so, I heard you received help from Senior Sister Hyun-wi yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Did you have any difficulties?”
I had suggested using the backyard of my inn as the gathering point for the Hongseong disciples after they finished their patrol.
The reason was simple.
I wanted to give them some candy after their patrol.
Of course, it was mainly for Sayoon, but all the other Hongseong disciples adored her too.
So, we were all one!
A few pieces of candy were nothing to me.
Whether they knew my intentions or not, the Hongseong disciples refused to accept it for free.
So, they agreed to observe my Five Animal Frolics practice, and it naturally became part of my daily routine.
It was a win-win for me.
“The fire form is a bit difficult.”
The Chae Family Taijiquan was easy enough since I was receiving “forced injection” education from Chae-jin.
But the Five Animal Frolics was different. All I had was the knowledge from the forum discussions and a single manual, so I was essentially self-taught.
Therefore, the Hongseong disciples had their work cut out for them in correcting my Five Animal Frolics, and thankfully, Sayoon was one of them.
“Would you like to demonstrate it?”
Sayoon stood right next to me. As her deep, violet eyes fixed on me, I extended my hand.
The Five Animal Frolics was a martial art based on Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements. Each form corresponded to one of the five elements, and the fire form was proving to be difficult for me to master.
“Hmm… I see why.”
As my outstretched hand lowered towards the ground and I twisted my body, striking at empty air, Sayoon nodded seriously.
“Why?”
“You lack internal energy. Originally, the fire form of the Five Animal Frolics…”
As I stepped back, Sayoon assumed the same posture I had just taken. Her right hand raised towards the sky, as if supporting it, while her left hand pressed down on the ground, anchoring it.
“It starts with the unity of heaven and earth.”
With a low murmur, her hands moved. Her right hand, which had been reaching for the sky, descended.
It symbolized the sun bestowing fire upon the earth, and at the same time, flames flickered around her right hand.
A faint, yet distinct energy of fire, one of the five elements, manifested.
But those flames weren’t hot. They were peaceful flames, meant to nurture those on earth.
“See? Like this.”
Sayoon finished the fire form and smiled faintly. I clapped and offered her a piece of candy I had prepared.
Her face flushed, her eyes darting between the candy and me. She bowed deeply and accepted it politely.
Seeing her so happy over a few coins worth of candy filled me with a sense of accomplishment.
Haha.
“Do you have any worries these days?”
“Worries…”
Sayoon, munching on the candy, closed her eyes for a moment. After a long pause, she spoke hesitantly.
“Um… Innkeeper, what do older men like?”
…Huh?
“Th-there’s this older man who has helped me a lot…”
She stopped abruptly, startled by her own words. And then, she started fidgeting,
Like a puppy caught in the rain, looking incredibly apologetic and embarrassed.
“Of course, you’ve helped me a lot too, Innkeeper!!”
She started rambling, waving her limbs in all directions.
She looked like a startled puppy, so cute, but my superhuman willpower was strong enough to maintain a poker face.
After rambling for a while, she finally blushed furiously, as if about to explode, and lowered her head.
I pieced together what Sayoon had just said and asked calmly,
“So, to summarize, there’s this older man who has helped you a lot, and you don’t know what he likes, so you can’t repay him?”
“Y-yes…”
That older man was obviously me.
Ah, a sense of pride swelled within me.
Guys… are you seeing this?
Our Sayoon wants to do something for me…
As a representative of the 50 million Sayoon Corps members, I recalled the forum posts where we discussed what we wanted Sayoon to do for us.
Aside from ridiculous comments like “Sayoon was the woman who would become my mother!” or “I want Sayoon to co-sign my loan!” …
Seriously,
Was “Just stay healthy and don’t get hurt” all they wanted?!
You guys are too selfless…
“Well, there are as many preferences as there are people in the world. I wouldn’t know what he likes either.”
“Is that so… Then what about you, Innkeeper? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Me?”
I smiled at Sayoon.
“Just stay healthy and don’t get hurt.”
Sayoon’s eyes widened at my words, and then she smiled faintly.
I couldn’t keep Sayoon for long. She left with the other Hongseong disciples who arrived, and I returned to my room to finish the rest of my work.
-Knock, knock.
“Sir, the magistrate is here to see you.”
Huh? The magistrate?
I went downstairs immediately, and there he was, the magistrate with a tiger-like face and a thick beard, escorted by two burly guards, waiting for me with his usual stoic expression.
“What brings you here, Magistrate?”
“I have something to discuss with you, Innkeeper Yu.”
“You could have just sent for me.”
“You must be busy with your work…”
“No busier than you, Magistrate. Come, let’s go inside.”
Soon, some rather expensive dishes were brought in.
“I didn’t come here for a meal, but… ahem.”
He had been eyeing the food and drinks with a hungry look every time they were served. What a hypocrite.
His mouth might be saying no, but his body was honest!
“It’s dinner time, Magistrate. You must be busy with your official duties, so please allow me to treat you.”
“Ahem, ahem. I feel bad about being treated by you, Innkeeper.”
“Don’t mention it. Here, please eat.”
This man wasn’t a bad person. He often helped Seomhwa Village and did his job properly.
So, it wouldn’t hurt to be friendly with him.
After all, they say you should scratch each other’s backs. As long as he didn’t ask for anything unreasonable, there were benefits to being on good terms with him.
After a few rounds of drinks and the dishes were mostly empty, he spoke with a slightly flushed face,
“You know that incident a while back, with the Demonic Sect?”
“Ah, yes.”
“There was quite a commotion, wasn’t there?
“Indeed.”
“And you even met the Demonic Sect member face-to-face. I also heard you’ve become quite friendly with the Hongseong disciples.”
“That’s… true.”
Why was he bringing this up now?
As I looked at him curiously, the magistrate grinned.
“So, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor, Innkeeper.”
“Please, tell me. I’ll accept it if it’s not too difficult.”
“I’d like you to go inside the Hongseong Sect and investigate the situation.”
The magistrate’s tone was serious, and my eyebrows twitched. He shrugged at my silent request for an explanation and took a sip of his drink.
“You know that another Demonic Sect member infiltrated the Hongseong Sect, aside from the one Sunset Sword caught?”
“I heard about it. They said the Sword Saint personally dealt with it…”
“I received orders to conduct a thorough investigation on that matter.”
“Oh… don’t such investigations usually handled directly by the central government? Why aren’t they coming themselves?”
“They said they would send someone after reviewing the investigation report. I guess they’re being cautious since it involves the Hongseong Sect.”
According to Sayoon’s letter and the stories I heard from the Hongseong disciples, the training hall was completely destroyed.
And that training hall was where the Sword Saint resided, the most important place in the Hongseong Sect.
In other words, outsiders couldn’t just casually investigate it.
“As you know, government officials shouldn’t get involved with martial artists. And since we’re indebted to the Hongseong Sect, we can’t just force our way in…”
So, he was asking me, who was on friendly terms with the Hongseong Sect, for help?
“Of course, I know the Hongseong disciples are good people. But even so, they’re still martial artists. They have their own rules, and we can’t impose our laws on them, can we?”
He sounded considerate, but his eyes were filled with fear and caution.
It was true that even if the Hongseong Sect was a prestigious righteous sect, they couldn’t just barge into their territory.
Especially when they were the ones who helped them.
“But it’s different with you, Innkeeper Yu, right? You’re personally acquainted with them, and I heard they even rest at your inn after their patrols these days.”
“Hmm…”
“Anything related to the Demonic Sect is a sensitive matter. If we don’t resolve this properly, the empire might restrict the privileges given to the Hongseong Sect, even if they’re a prestigious righteous sect and known for their good deeds. And if that happens, there’s nothing I can do.”
Ah, that would be troublesome.
“I understand. Leave it to me.”
He seemed satisfied with my answer.
“Good, that’s settled. I’ll send someone with a White Jade Tablet tomorrow.”
As the Demonic Sect was a long-standing enemy of the empire, the empire had its own countermeasures against them.
One of them was the White Jade Tablet.
It was a tool developed by the Anti-Demonic Division of the empire to absorb and analyze demonic Qi, identifying the specific demonic art it originated from.
By using the tablet to identify the type of Demonic Sect member and the level of their demonic art, if the target was dead and their art was of a high level, they could track down their origin based on the empire’s records and target their base.
The higher the level of demonic art a Demonic Sect member used, the higher their status, and the absence of high-ranking Demonic Sect members meant weaker defenses.
Recalling the events that frequently occurred in Heavenly Bright Moon, I nodded.
“But wouldn’t it be better to just entrust this to the Hongseong Sect?”
“Well, I did consider that… but analyzing demonic Qi with the White Jade Tablet isn’t a one-time thing. And there are other things I need to take care of…”
It usually took a day for the White Jade Tablet to absorb demonic Qi. But there were cases where it failed, requiring multiple attempts.
The forum even had a “Most Unlucky Player” poll based on this, and if I recall correctly, the most unlucky player had to try 13 times in a row.
Anyway, it seemed like the magistrate wasn’t comfortable leaving it to the Hongseong Sect because of the possibility of failure.
Well, it wasn’t a bad thing for me either.
I also wanted to go inside the Hongseong Sect at least once.
The Hongseong Sect might be a forbidden zone for men, but even other forbidden zones in Heavenly Bright Moon weren’t completely inaccessible to men, so there must be a way in.
If nothing else, I could just ask.
And I had something to ask the magistrate anyway, so this was perfect.
“Even if it wasn’t for this… I have a favor to ask of you, Magistrate.”
“Hahaha, you know our relationship, Innkeeper Yu. We’re not strangers, so I should grant you any favor. Don’t hesitate, tell me what you want.”
“When I need it,”
I looked at the magistrate with a glint in my eye.
“Please mobilize all the troops you can command. Of course, it won’t be anything that threatens the empire, so don’t worry.”
After a long pause, he raised his cup, accepting my proposal.
Deal.
I had acquired a weapon to use against the Iron Blood Clan.
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