The chief steward was slightly taken aback when Jeok Wigang casually asked for the top floor.
At ten gold taels, most guests would have chosen the seventh floor or somewhere below it.
Not Jeok Wigang.
The chief steward studied the group’s clothes.
They were far plainer than he had expected.
“Haha! You certainly don’t hesitate. Rooms are paid for in advance.”
“Pay him.”
At Jeok Wigang’s words, Jin Muryang pulled out a bank draft and held it out.
“Here. Ten gold taels.”
The chief steward’s eyes quickly swept over the stack of bank drafts Jin Muryang had taken out.
At a glance, there had to be at least a hundred gold taels’ worth.
The God of Wealth himself walked through my doors today.
The chief steward bowed deeply, his face breaking into a radiant smile.
“Please follow me. I’ll show you the way.”
The top floor occupied the entire level, with open views in every direction that kept it from feeling cramped.
Jeok Wigang settled by a window overlooking the city and watched the textile shop below.
Jin Muryang and Ye Yahyeon sat beside him, watching as well.
“You can see much better from up here.”
“Yeah. This is entertaining. I never thought he’d actually be running a textile shop.”
“And not merely selling fabric, either. He’s making clothes himself. I can hardly believe it.”
While the three were talking, the chief steward returned with several women.
“Hahaha! Thank you for waiting. These ladies are the most popular courtesans in our establishment.”
Jin Muryang waved a hand dismissively.
“We don’t need them. Just bring us food and wine.”
“Pardon? You don’t need them?”
“No.”
“My apologies, but... this is part of the standard service at our establishment.”
“Why does everything have to be so complicated? Fine. Have them sit over there and sing or something.”
Were these men even men?
To remain so wooden in front of women this beautiful...
The chief steward soon shook his head.
The customer was king.
Whatever made the customer happy was all that mattered.
“Understood, sir. What sort of food and wine would you like?”
“The best.”
“Our finest spread costs ten gold taels.”
“Fine. Bring it.”
Not even a moment’s hesitation.
Most people would at least stop and think at that price.
The chief steward instructed the courtesans to play music and sing, then headed back downstairs.
Watching the textile shop while listening to the music made the wait far less tedious.
“Oh? Look over there.”
Jeok Wigang followed Jin Muryang’s pointing finger and saw government soldiers rushing toward the textile shop.
“Looks like that county magistrate’s son ran off and complained.”
“To think they’re planning to arrest Baek Ryeongso with government soldiers. Those fools are as good as dead.”
The three watched with obvious interest.
“Come out!”
At the soldier’s shout, the owner of the textile shop stepped outside.
“What is it?”
“We heard you insulted the young master here. Is that true?”
“Insulted him? I did no such thing.”
When the shopkeeper played innocent, the man who had brought the soldiers immediately flared up.
“You insulted me earlier! You said I dressed terribly and that you felt sorry for the clothes I wore!”
“That wasn’t an insult. Wasn’t I simply stating a fact? I told you the truth. I had no intention of insulting you.”
The soldiers sighed at the shopkeeper’s response.
“Why make such a big affair out of something you could simply let go?”
“You expect me to send my precious children off with a man who dresses like that? I refuse.”
The soldiers’ eyes shifted toward the man.
He really was terribly dressed.
Even the colors clashed horribly.
Someone would have had difficulty dressing that badly on purpose.
Unfortunately, the man was the son of the county magistrate they served.
They had no choice but to follow orders.
“Sorry, but you’ll have to come with us to the county office.”
“On what charge?”
“Insult.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense. Take that bastard home and give him a bath instead. How long has it been since he washed? I can smell him from here.”
The soldiers knew that perfectly well themselves.
There was simply nothing they could do about it.
The man hated bathing more than death.
“If you keep acting like this, we’ll have no choice but to take you by force.”
“Huh... So that’s how you want to play this?”
“What?”
“I’m a martial artist. Never heard of noninterference between officials and the martial world?”
“What are you talking about? Why would a martial artist be running a textile shop?”
“I have my reasons.”
“I don’t believe you. If you’re truly a martial artist, show us your martial arts.”
“Damn it! Seriously?”
The textile shop owner raked both hands through his hair.
Then he began looking around repeatedly.
“What are you looking for?”
“Nothing. Just making sure.”
Making sure of what?
“Phew. Don’t see anyone suspicious.”
Looking relieved, he turned back toward the soldiers with a grin.
“The only time I normally use my martial arts is when I’m killing someone... You lot are lucky. You get to see them without dying.”
A chill suddenly ran through the soldiers.
“There. I showed you. Now leave.”
The soldiers tilted their heads.
He hadn’t even moved.
What exactly had he shown them?
“You didn’t move.”
The shopkeeper grinned.
“You all just escaped death.”
Then he gestured toward their chests with his eyes.
Sensing that something was wrong, the soldiers looked down.
“Gasp!”
At some point, a perfectly straight sword cut had appeared across the front of every breastplate.
“W-when?”
“Consider yourselves lucky.”
They had not seen him move.
And it wasn’t merely one or two of them.
Every soldier who had come here had the same sword mark across his armor.
If that man had actually meant them harm...
SHIVER—
Gooseflesh rose over their skin.
They would not still be standing here.
“Now that you’ve confirmed it, why don’t you leave?”
“V-very well.”
The soldiers fled in a panic, clutching their racing hearts.
The shopkeeper watched them go with an amused snort.
“That warning should be enough to keep them from coming back.”
Then he started looking around again.
From the Drunken Blossom House, Jin Muryang watched the scene with a grin.
“That Baek Ryeongso bastard. His Soul-Annihilating Lightning-Sundering Sword has improved again.”
“He must have trained hard even while running his business.”
What they had just seen left no room for doubt.
“It’s definitely Baek Ryeongso. Shall we go meet him?”
“The way he started looking around nervously the moment he used martial arts settles it.”
Jeok Wigang smiled.
“Let’s watch a little longer. This is fun.”
Seeing this unfamiliar side of Baek Ryeongso was entertaining enough that he wanted to keep watching.
“Think the county magistrate’s son will really give up here?”
“Who knows? I imagine he will. From what we saw, he seemed a little... lacking.”
“That might be exactly why he won’t give up. Now that he knows Baek Ryeongso is a martial artist, he could ask other martial artists for help.”
“Oh! He certainly could.”
“That might actually be entertaining. Let’s have a drink and keep watching.”
*****
The county office of Baili County, Jiangxi Province.
The county magistrate frowned as he looked at his son, who was bawling beneath the blankets, then stepped outside and asked the Deputy Magistrate,
“What’s wrong with that fool this time?”
The Deputy Magistrate answered cautiously.
“It seems he went to buy clothes earlier today and came back after being insulted.”
“What? Who dares insult my son?!”
“Well... apparently the shopkeeper told him he couldn’t sell clothes to someone who didn’t know how to dress and threw him out.”
“What kind of bastard deserves to be torn apart for that?! If someone doesn’t know how to dress, you sell him proper clothes so he can learn how to dress properly! Where is that damned bastard? You arrested him, didn’t you?”
“That is... we were unable to bring him in.”
“What? Go arrest him at once!”
“He’s a martial artist.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The owner of that clothing shop is a martial artist. The government soldiers can’t touch him.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. They said he sliced through the fronts of their armor before any of them even realized he had moved.”
“What? He attacked them?”
“No. It wasn’t an attack. Apparently they asked him to demonstrate his martial arts so they could confirm he was telling the truth.”
The county magistrate’s eyebrows twitched.
“So what? You’re saying you can’t arrest him?”
“How are we supposed to arrest someone like that? I just told you, he cut their armor before the soldiers could even perceive what had happened. He isn’t merely skilled. He’s an incredible expert. You know perfectly well how capable the martial artists among our county soldiers are.”
“So my son gets humiliated and we just sit here and do nothing? Find a solution! Isn’t that what you’re here for?”
The Deputy Magistrate cursed him viciously in his head, but outwardly maintained an amiable smile.
“The only option is to hire another martial artist to teach him a lesson.”
“But you said he’s strong. Wouldn’t some mediocre martial artist be useless?”
“Perhaps we should submit a commission to a martial sect.”
“Do you know one?”
“The orthodox factions... would probably refuse this sort of work. If we want someone to accept the commission, we’ll likely need an unorthodox sect.”
“Aren’t those bastards the kind who go around killing people?”
“They used to be. These days, they seem to be watching themselves because of Heavenly Martial Castle.”
“Really? Then it should be fine, right?”
“I’m not entirely certain. Shall I go and ask?”
“Hmm. They can’t find out we’re behind this.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? I’ll handle it discreetly.”
“Ah! And make absolutely certain they don’t kill him. Just teach him a lesson.”
“Understood.”
The Deputy Magistrate bowed politely.
The pleasant smile remained on his lips as he muttered inwardly,
Damn it. I’m already buried in work, and now he’s giving me even more...
*****
The chief steward of the Drunken Blossom House shook his head in amazement.
“They’ve been eating and drinking for three straight days now.”
“Incredible. Absolutely incredible.”
“They’ve already spent more than a hundred gold taels. They truly are Gods of Wealth.”
“Make sure no one does anything to upset them.”
“Yes! I’ve warned the courtesans repeatedly as well. I told them not to overstep.”
“But they really do nothing except eat and drink? They haven’t touched any of the courtesans?”
“No. The girls say those men haven’t so much as glanced at them. Some have come out genuinely offended because their pride was hurt.”
“Maybe the women aren’t to their taste?”
“Impossible. I only sent in girls men practically beg to meet.”
“At this rate, our pride is at stake. Why don’t we mention this to Lady Cheon Hyanghwa?”
“No matter how much those men resemble eunuchs, there’s no way they could behave the same way in front of her.”
The chief steward stroked his chin.
“Lady Cheon Hyanghwa only moves when she feels like it. You know perfectly well that even if someone offered her a thousand gold pieces, she wouldn’t lift a finger unless she personally found him interesting.”
“Aren’t you curious, though? Whether those men would still act like that after seeing her?”
Truthfully, he was curious.
“Very well. I’ll go and discreetly ask what she thinks.”
*****
The reason the Drunken Blossom House had risen to such fame was a woman named Cheon Hyanghwa.
Her skin seemed to glow with captured moonlight, her eyes sparkled as though scattered with the Milky Way, her lips gleamed like polished jade, and her figure was both perfectly balanced and firm.
Every man who saw her said the same thing.
It felt as though he had just awakened from a sweet dream.
But not just anyone could meet her.
She had to decide that she wished to meet them first.
The Drunken Blossom House had a proprietor of its own, yet even the proprietor did not dare treat her carelessly.
Inside Cheon Hyanghwa’s room, the chief steward knelt before her with his head lowered.
“I hear we have some interesting guests.”
“Do you mean the guests on the top floor?”
“Yes. Who are they?”
“They rented the top floor three days ago and have been staying there ever since. They do nothing but eat and drink, and they never even look at the courtesans. Every courtesan in the Drunken Blossom House has visited that room at least once by now, and not one of them has managed to draw so much as a glance.”
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