“Unbelievable!”
A woman with pink pigtails was stomping down the street.
In Yichang, a bustling metropolis, her extraordinary beauty was so striking that countless men, even while pinching their girlfriends’ thighs, couldn’t tear their eyes away from her.
“How did I end up being saved by that man?”
A sudden attack by the Hao Clan’s Umbrella Branch.
The only one who managed to escape was herself, with her exceptional light body movement skills. It was such a well-planned ambush that she was anxious about whether she could safely withdraw from the situation.
With enemies surrounding her and no one to call for help, the moment she had hoped wouldn’t come had finally arrived.
Is this it? If I run, can I survive? In that moment of worry and contemplation,
a man with black hair appeared. Twice, in fact.
Once could be a kindness. But to help her even after realizing she was a runaway courtesan?
When a lowly courtesan escapes from a gisaeng house, the reality is they would either be caught for rewards or be ignored. Yet, he instead wrapped around her and helped her.
With a confident expression and astonishing quickness, he rescued her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Seeing Kang Yoon-ho like that, she was reminded of a character from her favorite novel.
“He’s like Tang Jung from The Rise of the Tang Family…”
The protagonist from The Rise of the Tang Family, which she adored.
Of course, he wasn’t nearly as cool as the great hero Tang Jung, maybe just a fraction of his charm. But still, she thought he resembled him a bit, if not a lot.
“What’s your name, Master?”
She decided to remember the name of her savior. Gathering her courage, she asked him.
“But don’t you have something to tell me first?”
What should she say?
Even though he was her savior, revealing she was a runaway courtesan could be dangerous. After some thought, a good idea popped into her head.
If he was Tang Jung, then of course her name wouldn’t just be any random name, right?
“My name is Du Eung-hyang.”
An action hero saving a courtesan in trouble. If the other person was Tang Jung, it made sense her name would be Du Eung-hyang.
“Don’t I kind of look like Du Eung-hyang?”
“Are you out of your mind? You? Where do you think you are next to the great courtesan Du Eung-hyang?”
“Hey!”
If she said she was Du Eung-hyang in the Umbrella’s gisaeng house, she would definitely hear it from other trainee courtesans, but she didn’t care.
After all, no one was listening.
Wishing that the man would remember her as Du Eung-hyang, she uttered the name of her favorite novel character.
And that was a huge mistake that made her wake up in embarrassment at night.
“There’s no way he’s Kang Yoon-ho.”
The rumors about Kang Yoon-ho in the Umbrella’s gisaeng house were rampant, even if not as strong as those about Ho Pil.
An unscrupulous bookstore owner who took the famous author Ho Pil hostage.
A vile merchant who was rumored to be feeding off Ho Pil, fattening his own pockets.
Of course, this was a mix of fact and fiction becoming twisted rumors.
There were claims that the store manager Kang Yoon-ho was so obsessed with money that he was stopping Ho Pil from publishing the next The Rise of the Tang Family.
Additionally, the trainee courtesans in the Umbrella’s gisaeng house, who became fervent fans of The Rise of the Tang Family, continued to curse Kang Yoon-ho.
Ultimately, the more The Shadowless Thief loved The Rise of the Tang Family, the more antagonism would brew against Kang Yoon-ho, the culprit behind the delay in the next volume.
And yet, she ended up receiving a favor from the very merchant she despised.
“To say I’m Du Eung-hyang in front of Kang Yoon-ho! Urgh!”
How much had she laughed inside upon hearing her alias?
Referring to a character from the novel that was keeping her alive.
She thought it was a story so ridiculous it was worth tossing a purse filled with coins. She might end up discussing it as a good drunken anecdote somewhere.
“Still…”
She pulled out the purse that Kang Yoon-ho had given her.
Though he might be the worst bookstore owner, an unscrupulous merchant, he didn’t seem like the villain he was portrayed as. He didn’t look like a barbarian, at least not as rough as they described.
No, he was surprisingly…
“No, he is indeed the worst shop owner, Kang Yoon-ho!”
She quickly brushed away the thoughts that were creeping in her mind. Gratefulness was one thing, but him being a vile merchant was another.
Receiving help from the enemy of Ho Pil was an unbearable humiliation.
As the leader of the Tea and Book Club in the Umbrella’s gisaeng house, a passionate reader of The Rise of the Tang Family, and a fervent supporter of Ho Pil, this was a lot to take.
She stuffed the purse from Kang Yoon-ho into her pocket, shaking off her complex feelings and headed towards the Hao Clan.
“Master Kang Yoon-ho has returned!”
As soon as she set foot in Yichang, she let out a loud victory shout.
A bit embarrassing, but who cares since she spoke in Joseon language? In this bustling port, no one would understand her words; it would just sound like noise.
She left Yichang, prepared to die at the Tang Family’s hands.
Fortunately, the problems with the Tang Family had been resolved, and the tigers that seemed ready to take her life had turned into reliable allies.
She defended the Tea Bookstore and protected The Rise of the Tang Family while virtually solving the issue with Hwa-rin’s poison. Although she felt a moment’s sadness about their brief separation, if she worked hard, she could meet Hwa-rin even sooner.
Returning to Yichang after solving everything was overwhelming with joy.
“I think you spoke in Joseon language. What did you say?”
Pyo-du, who had been instructing to unload the cargo, noticed her and approached.
“I said I was happy to be home.”
“Haha, I see. Even if you’re glad, there’s a lot of cargo, so let’s head to the Seocheon Post Office branch together.”
“Sure.”
She yearned to go straight to the Tea Bookstore, but there was no helping it.
She had luggage from the Sichuan Tang Family, and the warriors from the Tang gang accompanying her needed places to rest.
Of course, there was the Tea Bookstore, but she absolutely had no intention of cohabitating with those men.
Since the Seocheon Post Office offered accommodations for the Tang Family people, it made sense to head there to gather her things.
“You’ll be quite surprised when you get there.”
What could it be? With a meaningful smile, Pyo-du led their party to the Seocheon Post Office.
—————
“This is the new Yichang branch of the Seocheon Post Office.”
Pyo-du led them to a location that felt very familiar.
“Baek House?”
Baek House was where Lady Tang’s maternal grandfather lived. It was supposed to be on the market due to debt settlement, but they’d said it was so large and expensive that it wasn’t selling well.
“Welcome! We’ve been waiting for you.”
As they arrived in front of Baek House, a familiar face came out to greet them.
“Head of Guards, sir!”
The person whom Hwa-rin and she relied on the most in Yichang. Even after Baek House had gone bankrupt, he was the one who kept things together until the very end.
The Head of Guards approached her with a delighted expression.
“I heard you were coming and prepared to welcome you. Please, come inside.”
The Head of Guards led them to the guest room, making tea, and asked to hear about what had happened while they were gone.
“…Because of that, Hwa-rin is unable to join us.”
She gave a detailed account of the happenings without touching on the sensitive issue related to the Sichuan Tang Family.
“I see… So Hwa-rin became a poisoned woman and had to stay with the Sichuan Tang Family.”
The Head of Guards’ face was conflicted as if he didn’t know whether to be happy or to lament as he stroked his beard.
“I’m sorry that she couldn’t return with you.”
She bowed her head slightly in apology.
The Head of Guards was someone who could be considered family to Hwa-rin in Yichang. He would surely be heartbroken, even if not as much as she was.
“No, it’s quite the event that Hwa-rin overcame a lifelong illness that plagued her. I’m more worried if Master Kang is heartbroken.”
That’s right; she had wanted to come to the Tea Bookstore with Hwa-rin to have valuable experiences together.
“If you wait at the Tea Bookstore, you will definitely see Hwa-rin again, so it’s nothing to worry about. If only the Head of Guards saw Hwa-rin, you would be truly amazed at how beautiful she has become.”
She wasn’t just saying this to flatter; her skin had improved so much that she could truly be called the fairest maiden of Sichuan.
No man could deny her beauty upon seeing her overwhelming charm.
“If you’re still around long enough, you’ll surely see her beautiful face.”
“Yes, I’m certain that will happen. But what’s going on with Baek House?”
It was astonishing to hear that Baek House had become the new branch of the Seocheon Post Office. They had said before that no one would readily purchase such a large and valuable real estate.
“The Sichuan Tang Family purchased it.”
“The Tang Family?”
“They said they would acquire the birthplace of their people to manage. At first, I was unsure if what they said was true. Probably, Hwa-rin has been accepted as one of their own, and that’s how it goes.”
“Did they buy Hwa-rin’s birthplace?”
Wasn’t that the residence where the poisoned woman had lived as a child?
Someone like her, who was paying debts and living in a loft, could hardly imagine such purchasing power. Truly, the leader of Sichuan Province, the Sichuan Tang Family, was on another level.
If that’s the case, they could just pay off the debts of the Tea Bookstore.
After receiving the Tea Bookstore from Hwa-rin, she had to bear the debt alongside the property mortgage.
While it would have been nice if Hwa-rin paid it off, their positions were still vague, and it was awkward for both of them to reach out to Tang Family now.
Ultimately, like a man who was sweating with a 35-year mortgage on a red-roofed house, she would have to work hard to repay it.
“I’ve been managing Bai House for a long time, so they hired me as the manager of Bai House in the Tang Family. Plus, residents of the Seocheon Post Office have moved in to help manage it, which makes things incredibly easy.”
Did the Sichuan Tang Family buy it and lease it to the Seocheon Post Office? It was like owning the building but renting it back to the subsidiary.
Houses that are uninhabited fall into disrepair quickly if not maintained regularly. No matter the circumstances, it’s better for Hwa-rin’s birthplace to be used by people from the Seocheon Post Office than by outsiders.
“That’s great. Hwa-rin would prefer the Seocheon Post Office using it rather than strangers. By the way, has there been any news regarding the Tea Bookstore or The Rise of the Tang Family?”
She asked the Head of Guards if any problems had arisen regarding the Tea Bookstore while she was away.
“Did you not stop by the Tea Bookstore before coming here?”
“No.”
“Ah. If you had gone, you would have seen a crowd of people outside the Tea Bookstore moaning ‘Oh! Oh!’ in despair. You’ll also find people setting up a shrine, hoping for Master Kang’s safe return.”
“…What?”
“What happened recently is that someone suggested, ‘Maybe Ho Pil has run away and Kang Yoon-ho has died, shouldn’t we hold a funeral for him?’ And it almost turned into an actual funeral.”
“Hahaha.”
The members of the Tea and Book Club were still as dramatic as ever.
“I hear The Rise of the Tang Family has become quite famous in neighboring cities. When you resume operations, it seems you’ll be busy.”
She was surprised too. To think that The Shadowless Thief would become aware of The Rise of the Tang Family! It looked like the book had been steadily gaining fame even during her absence from Yichang.
Choosing books as a means to enhance one’s reputation was indeed the right choice. If she wasn’t going to be slashing color demons, demons, or even the heavens, she might as well use words without feet!
Suppressing her pride, she spoke with a worried expression.
“I’m worried too. Hwa-rin has done so much, and now I have to do it alone.”
During work hours, she had to manage the Tea Bookstore and afterward take care of sales, inventory management, writing novels, printing… The list seemed endless.
How could she handle all of this without Hwa-rin? It was suffocating.
“Why not consider hiring someone?”
“I’ll have to think about it. By the way, is there any trouble regarding debts?”
She had entrusted the Head of Guards with all responsibilities for the Tea Bookstore’s debt before leaving. She wondered if any issues had arisen.
The Head of Guards looked at her seriously as if contemplating her question about debts.
This doesn’t feel good…
“Actually, I have something important to tell you regarding the Tea Bookstore’s debt…”
