Chapter 531

This kid’s looking like a beggar, sitting there and grinning like a simpleton.

Not a shred of exaggeration here.

Is he dressed like a beggar? Yes.

Is he laughing like a simpleton? If you look closely, yes.

Is he sitting? Yes.

But doesn’t anyone think about this?

He’s a free spirit, unshackled by the past.

“Ugh, I can’t do this. Seriously, why are you like this? Is it because you’re broke?”

“Nope! I’ve got plenty of money. I’m rich!”

And then he flexes his money bag like a show-off.

It’s not entirely yellow, but there are definitely bits of gold glimmering here and there—quite a sum, really.

Still, everyone seems to look down at Seoliri with pity.

Sure, he’s joking, but rich?

Even without knowing it, he’s actually the true wealthy guy of the era, possessing all the assets (including people) of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

And what about the other members of the Half-Sword Society?

They’re just rich folks.

If you ask them to give you some pocket money for a trip, a whole gold ingot will fly your way, making it a hassle for them to deal out change, just like the offspring of the top ten families of the Central Plain.

Even Tang Nan-ah, the richest of the rival families, doesn’t need to carry cash around in Sichuan.

You and I, don’t have to say more than three words to settle things.

Later, when it comes time to settle up with the Tang family, they’ll just double it back, with everyone waiting with bated breath for when the Young Lady will arrive.

“Wait, if you’re so rich, why are you homeless?”

“Because Young Lady Seomun is staying here.”

“Then you should’ve said someone was called for!”

At this, Seoliri shakes her head.

“No, everyone knows where Young Lady Seomun is staying. Can’t just show up recklessly. There are many unsavory folks around.”

If you bring up this careless knowledge with a spiteful spirit, surely someone would try to approach you—be it enemy or not—and maybe for reasons tied to friendship or infatuation.

So in consideration of Cheong, it seems she was just waiting until she could come out in front.

Hmm. It’s admirable, but—

“Ah, wait…!”

Just as I thought, Gongson Yo-ye lets out a gasp and bows her head deeply.

“I don’t think I even deserve to be called a friend…”

“Gongson, stop. You’re a normal person, okay? Who the heck would camp out in front of someone?”

“But Seol-soju—”

“Originally, people do sleep nicely outside, right?”

“No. No way.”

“Is this a lie or what?”

“Nope, yes.”

Seoliri remains unmoved, her face not changing a bit, shameless as always.

Last time she followed along because she claimed she had no money and wanted to sleep in a muddy water channel during the rainy season, only to end up flooded while she was at it.

And now, shouldn’t you at least sit up if there are people around?

Why is she still lollygagging on the ground like glue stuck to her behind?

“Aren’t you getting up?”

She then reaches both hands up high.

Oh, come on, what a circus this is.

Just as Cheong was about to help her up, a little thing rushed over and grabbed Seoliri’s hands.

“What’s up with you? You lost your hands or feet?”

“Nope. Nope.”

“Why’s she talking like that? Was she always like this?”

“Hmm. I’m surprised she can speak at all. I thought she couldn’t speak Central Plain.”

This was coming from Pang Dae-san.

And here, a tug-of-war begins, with Tang Nan-ah sweating and struggling to pull, while for some reason, Seoliri is fighting back too.

—-

The Life and Death Match is over.

I wouldn’t want to jump into this either; at least if there were an Infinite Fist or two, I could manage.

Cheong once again realized the power of the Infinite Fist.

Those were good times; with just one card, you’d fear nothing in the world…

Yet, at that moment, I didn’t consider how I ended up in this mess—a real thief’s mentality, isn’t it?

Merchant Shintu had surely picked a proper next-in-line Merchant.

At this point, it seemed the crowd had given up on witnessing the Life and Death Match.

Only when the Cheonhwa-geom was alone would the rabble speak in arrogance and derision, and even the lady from the Gongson Family would be taking a seat.

Although the Gongson Family had only recently joined the top ten families, they were closely related to the wolves that were much scarier than tigers from afar.

Since the people of Jiangsu Province were once more afraid of the regional powers than the five great families.

Yet, even so, the audience at the duel site has grown rather than dwindled.

There was no need to mention the main culprit here.

With Oki-rin’s arrival, it was only natural for the fanatic lady brigade to show up.

Where do they even come from?

Does Oki-rin just magically summon them whenever he appears?

Despite Pang Dae-san’s relentless criticisms, our Oki-rin’s absolute protectors remain loyal.

Some even wore tattered beggar clothes but kept their heads and faces tidy, looking absurdly strong.

And the majority seemed to be—

“Wow, look over there. Awesome! Wouldn’t it be better to just not wear a top at all if you’re going to dress like that?”

Cheong advised that, as part of getting rid of the followers, they should focus on the woman whose bare skin was most exposed.

As long as they’re willing to bear the reputation of being frivolous with lewd men, some of them might drop out.

Since Pang Dae-san didn’t care about reputation, he thought Cheong’s suggestion was reasonable.

The result? Cheong got an eyeful.

But when he offered the advice back then, did he not admit that he had a desire to observe girls spilling out of their tops?

So Cheong stands confidently.

“Pang Dae-san, look at that woman who’s barely covered. Wow, the peaks are showing! Isn’t it windy?”

“…Do you really need to say that out loud?”

“That? Is that really what they call it?”

Cheong leans in with a smug, mischievous grin, poking Pang Dae-san in the side.

“Wait, uh, huh. You really have no shame, do you?”

“Hm. What do you mean by that? Oh, Je-gal, can you explain what that is?”

And then he pokes Je-gal Lee-hyun.

Je-gal shyly bows his head, his face red as a tomato.

Huh? The guy’s as big as a mountain but acts like a kid?

What is he? A shy boy?

Or isn’t Je-gal the youngest here?

Thinking back, Je-gal must be a late-blooming teenager.

The female members display complex expressions.

In particular, there’s one woman who looks particularly dejected and shadowed.

At that moment, Namgoong Shin-jae calls Cheong.

“Oh, Swordmaster. Look at that woman over there.”

“Hmm? Where?”

“That woman next to the bright-red Yugu, the one whose chest is visible through her light green veil.”

“Oh, that one? What about her? She looks nothing special.”

It might’ve sounded a little jarring to her.

“No, not her chest, look at her arms. If she wields a sword, it’ll be just right. She’s got an arm length that would reach an extra span for her height.”

Strangely enough, while I watched quietly, even with all this swordplay and training talk, there’s something about her skin that caught my attention.

“Let’s spar a bit, shall we?”

“In front of this many people?”

It’s not that I’m embarrassed.

The principle of martial arts dictates that the more secretive, the harder to counter; hence, it’s why warriors don’t show off their swordplay publicly.

“Hmm. Shouldn’t be a problem to use what everyone knows. You know the Iwa Sword, right? If you don’t, how about learning it now? It’s rather profound for a commonly known swordplay.”

“Oh? I know that one.”

“Of course! I knew you would know. The more widely known the sword styles, they’re straightforward and simple, so the basics of swordsmanship are embedded within. How about learning a few while you’re at it? Do you know the Simple Sword?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know the Ilhwa Sword?”

“I do.”

“Eunsal Sword, Chamu Sword, Oksogum, Jang An Sword Technique.”

“I know them all.”

“Excellent! A true Swordmaster! Well, I must apologize. It seems I underestimated your passion for the sword. I thought that with a Swordmaster like you, it was impossible you hadn’t practiced swordplay yet.”

It’s not like they’re rare.

When it comes to common martial arts, Cheong is an easy catch, being a secret plunderer and dreadful nightmare of the martial arts contrast with a collection habit.

“Good! Let’s have everyone learn to use swords together! Pang, why are you still bothering with half-sword techniques? How about stepping into the world of proper swordsmanship? And Tang, you should too. No matter how good your poison and memorization skills are, a warrior ultimately needs to wield a sword.”

You can hear the cracking of muscles as some of them flex.

In fact, in the Half-Sword Society, it’s rare to find a dual wielder—there aren’t many non-swordsmen.

Pang and his sister Tang Nan-ah comprise the entirety of it.

In the past, they used to say that wielding two swords wasn’t proper swordplay, but now I’m the one who could care less if he carries two swords.

“Calling a common weapon means it’s easy to find. How convenient is it for a warrior to know one sword style? It’s useful in combat to just pick one up on the fly.”

“Doesn’t that mean we should be learning the techniques of the Dao? The Sapa folks typically use the Dao for combat.”

“Right! Just like Pang said, the half-sword really is a weapon for those Sapa types.”

Crack! Uncle, add another tendon here, please.

Pang Dae-san immediately regretted it.

It was obvious that conversing with them wouldn’t lead to anything sensible.

“Hmm, isn’t it a bad idea? If you get a little sword practice in, it’ll definitely help when you fight a swordsman. And Nan-ah, especially now that you’re using poison, you can’t afford to let anyone close, can you?”

“Me? I’ll just take the antidote and trigger the poison bomb, thank you very much. I have plenty of explosive stuff with me.”

“That’s true when you’re alone.”

“Hmm.”

“And then after that, you could learn some half-sword techniques too. Like Pang said, the Sapa types use half-swords, so learning the Dao would be handy against half-sword wielders.”

“That sounds reasonable, but I’ll pass. Pure iron doesn’t blend with impurities.”

Even if Cheong is somewhat ignorant, he knows that a bit of impurity is needed to make iron harder.

But there’s no reason to respond to nonsense, and Cheong just pretended he didn’t hear.

“Does it have to be about half-swording?”

“Then Pang can call it two-swording.”

“…Sigh.”

Thus, instead of a Life and Death Match, they shifted to a third-rate martial arts training seminar for the fans—event schedule changes.

—-

“Sister! Would you like to try this!? It’s Hong Shao Pork. You can’t miss it when talking about Huaiyang cuisine.”

“Sheng Jian Bao! The bottom is fried, and the top is naturally steamed. Hmm, delicious, like Xiao Long Bao.”

“Cheong Ah, want to try this? It’s so rare to find a good place for it.”

“You should definitely try this, Young Lady. I’ve truly loved this dish since I was a kid, you’ll love it…”

“Seomun Young Lady, it’s a must-try. If you don’t eat it while in Jiangsu, it’s like you’re not really here. This is the best among all delicate snacks, I highly recommend it.”

Cheong looked at the flying dishes being served to him, even seeing three pairs of chopsticks reaching out toward him.

Two belong to Tang Nan-ah, who grabbed a hefty chunk of fish head, while one is firmly held by Mo Yong Joo-hee, clamping a big chunk of meat.

What the heck? What’s going on here?

Do I look that hungry?

Cheong glanced at Wang Sang-ryong, who was standing a bit behind him, looking at him with vigilant eyes, holding a small snack bowl carefully.

And what’s that about the general?

“Hmm. Thanks, but I have hands too—”

“Ouch, I think my arm’s breaking, Cheong Ah?”

Let’s deal with the twitching fish head first—

Just then, a head popped up from nowhere, snatching the juicy meat from the head of the fish that Cheong had just peeled.

“Hey! What are you doing!?”

“Bing Seolhwa. Seoliri.”

“Seriously…!”

Tang Nan-ah’s eyes glistened like the blade of an axe, shooting up angrily.

Cheong’s superhuman eyesight caught on to the weird skill of Tang Nan-ah with her strange hand-eye coordination.

It was clear that, aside from his eyesight, his own skills in Mugeong Shinsu helped him spot the opponent’s deceptive technique.

“Shh, Nan-ah. You can’t use poison.”

“But she’s—”

“We need to get along. If this happens, you can’t use it.”

“Yes.”

Seoliri answered immediately.

But there’s this never-ending chill awkwardly between the two of them.

Nan-ah tends to bark without restraint at anyone, but for some reason, Seoliri is getting progressively more offbeat.

Hmm. They really don’t get along at all…

Cheong grabbed the fish ball that Mo Yong Joo-hee had served him, offering it up.

Then he glanced down, noticing he now had three dishes in front of him.

Cheong pondered for a moment and concluded that it might be a contest over who can eat the most.

If that’s the case, I can’t lose.

Thus, he began devouring his share with a vengeance.

By the way, the dish that the Great General held was a snack from the Jiangsu lands known as red bean soup.

It’s a sweet dessert made from finely pounded red beans with honey added, stuffed with honey rice cake.

Mmm. It was delicious. I liked it.

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