The incident of “The Rise of the Tang Family” piracy was both bad news and good news.
Thanks to the Tea and Book Club publicizing the replication incident, in Yichang, there were people who hadn’t read “The Rise of the Tang Family,” but not a soul who hadn’t heard of it.
Moreover, since all the bookstores in Yichang were illegally reproducing and actively selling it, my book spread widely among the people there.
Even if Hwa Rin and I had cranked out books all day on an old printing press, we couldn’t have distributed them across Yichang like this.
“Hwa Rin, I’ll handle this side.”
“I’ll take care of the other side.”
I organized the second volume of “The Rise of the Tang Family,” which had been printed unlawfully as a punishment for breaking the rules, with Hwa Rin at another bookstore. Yesterday we had record sales, so I was able to quickly fill the empty table again.
Now, I had secured copyright for my book in Yichang. Plus, I had enough stock of the second volume.
All the popularity of “The Rise of the Tang Family” could now be converted into profits for the Tea Bookstore.
“Yoon Ho, let’s open the store.”
“Got it.”
As soon as I opened the door, unexpected people rushed into the store.
“Why aren’t you opening faster! Do you want to see people suffering?!”
“Exactly! Someone who needs to spread “The Rise of the Tang Family” to everyone should open promptly at dawn!”
“Is that the Tea and Book Club? What brings you here so early?”
Were the people who bought my book first yesterday coming for tea before breakfast?
Behind the members of the Tea and Book Club, a long queue of people was forming, albeit fewer than yesterday. Were they perhaps here to buy more copies of the second volume?
Contrary to my expectations, the members didn’t head to the stack of the second volume but approached me instead.
“Give it to me.”
“Excuse me?”
What should I give them?
“Give us three copies!”
“Three copies for us, please!”
“I stayed up all night wanting to read the third volume!”
Surrounded by the members of the Tea and Book Club, they spoke with eager expressions. They had come after seeing the announcement for the third volume.
“The third volume isn’t out yet.”
Once again, I concealed my delight at this success and replied calmly.
“Why isn’t it out yet?”
“How could the third volume be out when the second just released?”
“Ugh! Why, why isn’t there a third volume?”
“When will the third volume come out?”
“It won’t come out until the second volume sells nearly all of its copies, just like last time.”
I pointed to the piles of the second volume stacked like a mountain behind me.
“No way. This can’t be happening…”
“Why is it piled up so high?”
The members of the Tea and Book Club gazed mournfully at the stacked second volumes of “The Rise of the Tang Family.”
“If only I could hibernate like a bear instead of having to wait for the third volume once I finish the second!”
“If Ho Pil doesn’t release the next volume soon, what’s the point of it being so entertaining? Why is there no third volume when it’s written so interestingly?”
“Indeed! If it’s fun, then why not hurry it up? Sigh. Am I supposed to wait indefinitely for those two sister-like beautiful swordswomen to clash over Tang Jung?”
“Ho Pil must be a Demonic Cultist!”
As the members of the Tea and Book Club lamented with despair, one man declared resolutely. What kind of disaster is this?
“What do you mean?”
Another member of the Tea and Book Club asked, puzzled.
“If he’s manipulating our feelings and making us eager, isn’t that a form of demonic arts? He must have mastered the technique of emotional manipulation!”
Fortunately, it was said out of anguish, not malice.
“Hah! How dare you say that Ho Pil has mastered demonic arts? Such vicious rumors could shock him into writing more Ho Pil items!”
“Still, there’s no denying he’s manipulating our feelings to extract them!”
“Ugh, I acknowledge that. It’s malignant enough to be called demonic art, yet too clever to just consider it a trick—let’s compromise on calling it the art of emotional extraction.”
“Ugh, why is he extracting my heart like that?”
“The third volume will come out once we sell out the second volume, so let’s each buy two more copies of ‘The Rise of the Tang Family’ and then head for breakfast!”
“Owner! Can we buy ten copies each?”
“For now, it’s limited to two copies.”
“Ugh.”
On the second day of the release of the second volume of “The Rise of the Tang Family,” the sales were flying like a ship riding the winds.
—————–
Not only the members of the Tea and Book Club but other readers were in hot pursuit of the third volume just one day later.
“Hey, owner. I’m looking for something.”
Of course, this led to some unexpected customers appearing.
“What book are you looking for?”
“Not a book…that spring medicine. If it actually exists, I’d like to buy it.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll keep it a secret from others, but if you can get it for me, I’ll pay this much…”
I had a hunch, and lo and behold, a man showed me a banknote with a sizable amount written on it.
“Sir, this is a bookstore.”
Books should be found in bookstores! This isn’t a place that delivers drugs alongside chicken orders!
“I know everything.”
What could he possibly know? The man spoke with the audacity of a nuisance customer, believing that he could get anything he wished for.
“To find spring medicine, you’d be better off contacting the Sichuan Tang Family.”
I redirected the responsibility as though I were an employee saying the current department isn’t the right one for that inquiry.
“If I contact the Sichuan Tang Family, can I get it?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but if you ask for it, there might just be someone from the Tang Family chasing after you like they did with Tang Jung.”
“Ah…right. I should have thought of that.”
The man left, looking disappointed.
I should put up a warning before more customers like him show up.
—————————
With the back-to-back success of the second volume of “The Rise of the Tang Family,” the second floor of the Tea Bookstore was packed every day.
The members of the Tea and Book Club gathered in a space arranged for conversation and began talking about “The Rise of the Tang Family.”
“Threefold poisoning? When the protagonist mentioned having a scheme, I thought he’d set up a poisoning space in advance.”
“I thought the same. I expected the Sichuan Tang Family to concoct some shady plot, but to think the protagonist would set up such a meticulous scheme to navigate through it!”
“When he mentioned, ‘You’re already poisoned!’ I gasped. That was a shocking moment!”
“The scene where he shouted, ‘You are already poisoned!’ was simply crack! No words were needed.”
The response to the threefold poisoning was certainly positive. Even Hwa Rin, not part of the Tang family, was curious about how they thought of such methods! I can only imagine how intriguing it must have been for the readers.
“Wow, the content of Volume 2 was insane!”
“Ho Pil, just the pseudonym shines brightly!”
“Though waiting for Volume 3 is tough, I hope it keeps coming out like this!”
“What if the next volume isn’t interesting…?”
“Gasp! How dare you suspect the ‘faith’ in Ho Pil!”
“Excuse me! I won’t be doubting!”
With excessive compliments, I felt a bit shy. Since business is good, maybe I should treat the members of the Tea and Book Club with some snacks as a service.
“I found this volume satisfying, but it’s unfortunate not to conclude the poisoning space with Tang Jung’s training.”
“Hahaha, this character really loves the poisoning space! But it makes sense; they’d probably be caught by their sister if they shouted, ‘Come to my poisoning space!’”
“Th-that was supposed to be kept a secret!”
“Hey! I thought I was the only one who felt that way.”
“Just like me! I wasn’t alone!”
“Exactly! That’s not embarrassing. Isn’t it a memorable line everyone has to try at least once?”
“Hahaha, that’s right! It’s a classic quote. How about we all try it together?”
“Sounds great! One. Two. Three!”
“““Come to my poison. space.”””
Several of the younger members of the Tea and Book Club struck the poses they thought were cool and shouted the poisoning space line. Women passing by looked at them with disdain.
Please spare me. Don’t. You’ll regret it later!
“What’s happening?”
Hwa Rin, who was unable to hear the ongoing cringeworthy revival of history among the members of the Tea and Book Club, approached me, who was lowering my head in embarrassment.
“Listening to the reactions to ‘The Rise of the Tang Family’?”
“Did you like it?”
Hwa Rin asked me with a teasing tone.
“Of course, it’s great.”
Good reactions from readers always get a writer dancing. I smiled and responded confidently.
“I think it’s great too.”
Seeing my smiling face, Hwa Rin chuckled and walked towards the coffee machine.
“I’ll get it for you. Just rest.”
“I can do it myself.”
“You’ve worked hard. Make sure to rest when you can.”
As the Tea Bookstore got busier, Hwa Rin busied herself behind the scenes while I was primarily on the second floor. There was a lot for her to do: from bookkeeping to managing inventories and overseeing the staff, while I had plenty of time.
“What’s that? We’re going through this together.”
She seems to brush it off lightly even when it’s tough. Sitting in a chair next to the stand, Hwa Rin watched me as I brewed the coffee.
“Here. Coffee. It’s strong.”
“Thanks. What are the Tea and Book Club members chatting about now?”
Hwa Rin pointed her chin towards the members while accepting the coffee.
“Why on earth is the protagonist leaving behind those beautiful women?”
“Same here. He has the top beauties from Sichuan and Hubei, yet why the Color Demon?”
“Exactly.”
I conveyed the enthusiastic voices of the Tea and Book Club members to Hwa Rin.
“That’s something I wonder about.”
“Hmm?”
“Why does Tang Jung leave behind those women?”
“Leave behind? He never left anyone behind, that’s harsh.”
They are all women he’ll someday meet again, so it’s too much to say he’s abandoning them forever.
“Anyway, why does he do it?”
“Tang Jung is a rogue swordsman. If he were a man wanting to live comfortably, he wouldn’t be chasing the Color Demon. He cares too much about the concerns that his family’s future vision could cause harm to innocent people. To solve this, he puts aside his happy life to chase after the Color Demon.”
If you’re a rogue, you must have values that come before wealth and fame. Though it’s wrapped in a colored heroic story, this is martial arts, you know, Hwa Rin?
I answered her serious question with a serious face.
“Chuckle You really sound like a rogue.”
Hwa Rin suddenly found my serious expression amusing and burst out laughing while sipping her coffee.
“I, a normal person, couldn’t make such a choice, but a rogue must have values above their happiness.”
“You speak well. Chuckle”
Hwa Rin kept sipping her coffee while looking at me with delight. I felt a bit embarrassed, like my true self I had concealed in this world was being exposed.
I managed to contain myself when the ‘cool’ friends were talking about how a ninja’s finishing move was a rubber punch.
“Have you said everything now?”
“Yes, I’ve said everything!”
As I tried to suppress my embarrassment, a loud shout rose from the area where the Tea and Book Club members were sitting.
“What a jerk!”
“What jerk?”
Why were they all grabbing each other by the collar? It wasn’t just one or two people; why was everyone acting this way?
“Hwa Rin!”
“Yeah!”
In a situation that felt like punches were about to fly, Hwa Rin and I hurried over to separate the arguing members of the Tea and Book Club.
“Everyone was so cheerful; why are you all doing this?”
Hwa Rin and I barely divided the groups of members ready to fight and asked them what was happening.
“Listen here, owner. I can’t believe these guys, who seem to know nothing about the novel, have been in the same club with us all this time!”
“Who’s saying that! These filthy jerks!”
“This jerk right here!”
“Ready to fight? Huh? You wanna go?”
“Why are you all doing this?”
I interjected and held them back with both arms to ask for the reason again. What on earth was going on?
The furious words dripping from one of the members of the Tea and Book Club were unexpected.
“These guys! No, these jerks! Tang Jung’s real partner is Du Eung-hyang, not Gu Suk-Jung!”
“What? Jerks? How dare you speak so carelessly about the lady’s name?”
“Calling her a courtesan! Know your place!”
The unexpected internal conflict within the Tea and Book Club.
The Succession Battle.
That day, the Tea and Book Club quickly split into two factions.
