Daeheung County.
Unlike Chilgok County, which is well-developed commercially and has a large floating population, Daeheung County is not a place where many people come and go.
Someone came to find me here?
After living as a storyteller in Chilgok County for several months, has word of my skills spread all the way to Daeheung County?
Sohee and I followed a man, who identified himself as a servant from the Seong family in Daeheung County, into the guest room where the man was staying.
“You have a guest here.”
Inside the guest room, there were burly men exuding an aura that suggested they could wield a sword or two.
It reminded me of a time I went out to trade secondhand goods and ended up with a few hoodlums who thought they were tough.
If I had come alone, I might have been a bit more on edge.
I subtly glanced at Sohee. She showed some signs of wariness, but she didn’t seem too nervous. Heavenly Killing Star has my back.
“They’re just here to escort you. Please, have a seat.”
The man, who declared himself a servant from the Seong family, sat down and gestured for me to take a seat at the chair across from him.
“Did you come all the way from Daeheung County just to summon me?”
“Of course. Since the family head became the Seong Family’s head, it was his first birthday, and he was troubled about which performer to invite. He heard rumors about you. Lately, it seems no one has seen anyone who can tell stories as well as that Joseon storyteller. Everyone who visited Chilgok praised you.”
To come all this way just to invite me?
Maybe I’m building my reputation as a storyteller as well. The thought that all my struggles until now haven’t been in vain makes me a bit emotional.
A birthday party. It’s obvious, but there aren’t many forms of entertainment in this world.
A party is a rare event to enjoy those few forms of entertainment.
Rich families don’t just serve delicious food on the day of the banquet; they provide various amusements to showcase their generosity and wealth.
Minstrels and performers who live day by day long to be invited to such grand banquets, performing in the streets to make their talents known everywhere.
Once invited to a grand banquet, they receive lavish treatment and substantial money that they can’t usually touch while providing entertainment for the guests on the special day.
“It seems like an exaggerated reputation. I only have enough skills to scrape by.”
“No need for false modesty. I just heard your story. It was that of a brave man. I was truly impressed.”
“Haha, thank you.”
I feel good about the praise, but it feels a bit over the top.
“So, what do you say? Would you like to go with us to Daeheung County?”
That was a direct question. Did he think I’d just jump in after saying thank you?
Of course, I have no reason to refuse. But accepting immediately is a rookie move.
An invitation to the birthday party of the head of the Seong family. If they came all the way here for me, it’s worth bargaining a bit.
“I recently started a new performance in Chilgok County, and the audience response has been really good. To ignore that and go to Daeheung County…”
I intentionally left my words trailing to create some room for negotiation.
“Wow. So the audience in Chilgok County is plentiful, and you’re making good profits.”
Seeing me measure the atmosphere, the man took a step back.
“Sometimes I just smear a bit of rose sauce instead of making ends meet, you know.”
I’ve been the one mainly getting smeared, but lately, I’ve started leaving some food for her.
“Rose sauce, huh! You’re making quite a bit then! I wasn’t planning to invite you lightly. Would this be enough as an advance?”
The man passed over a small pouch.
Not a bulky pouch but a small one. Is he planning to give a stingy advance? I opened the pouch to see its contents.
“Huh?”
The color looks a bit unusual.
“I’ll give you 1 gold as an advance.”
I stared blankly at the shimmering coin inside the pouch.
Wow. So this is real currency.
“1 gold as an advance. After the banquet, I’ll give you 2 more gold. What do you think?”
They’re offering a staggering 3 gold for inviting a storyteller?
Calm down. Steady that racing heart. Maintain a poker face.
‘That’s way too much money.’
It feels suspicious since it’s such a large sum.
I’ve never even seen 1 gold coin before, and they’re offering 3?
It’s too much money, and I barely managed to suppress my reason from being paralyzed.
Objectively speaking, I’m not a storyteller of that caliber. Does the head of the Seong family have that much money to spend on a barbarian storyteller?
That could be the case. But something feels off.
‘There’s a scent of a scam.’
It feels like I smell a con artist trying to hide their dark intentions behind a tempting reward.
Much like someone tempting a struggling self-employed person with low-interest loans, such lures can easily trick someone as naive as me.
The near-death experiences that had saved me multiple times sped up. I ought to think about the points I suspect in my heart.
Does it make sense that they traveled for days just to invite me?
Is offering 3 gold for a barbarian storyteller reasonable?
The man seems to be a martial artist; why would he claim to be a servant?
Plus, the instinctual disrespect directed at him. The martial artists look at this man as though he’s above them.
I have a weird feeling of unfamiliar discomfort.
‘The invitation from the Seong family… I feel like something is starting to come together. Ah! Perhaps?’
Suddenly, an old story I had heard before came to mind.
“Is there something specific you want me to say when I go? Or can I speak freely?”
“That story about the Hamurin Prince was quite entertaining. I’d like you to tell that story at the banquet.”
That’s what this was about.
The pieces of the puzzle in my mind fell into place.
“I’ll have to decline the invitation from the head of the Seong family.”
I rejected the invitation seriously.
“Why not? Isn’t 3 gold a huge sum? I’ve never spent 3 gold on a performer on the banquet day.”
Well, he’s right.
That is indeed a sizeable amount for a storyteller.
I slowly placed the gold coin back into my pouch as I spoke.
“For a storyteller, that may be a large sum, but it’s hardly enough for a storyteller’s life.”
I looked at the man with a smirk, as if I knew everything.
“… Did you know?”
The man’s complexion suddenly hardened, and he spoke in a stiff tone.
Just as I expected.
“You’re not the servant sent by the head of the Seong family. What’s your relation to the late Jongjuru?”
“… I am the father of Seong Se-hwi.”
As I thought.
The story that came to mind was one I had heard just after arriving from Chilgok County.
The Seong family’s Jongjuru and Seong Ji-ru.
A triggering event that inspired me to tell the story of the Hamurin Prince in Chilgok County.
Originally, the position should have gone to the son of the deceased Jongjuru, but due to a scheme from his uncle and the new mother he was having an affair with, this man before me didn’t inherit the position. It passed to his uncle.
“激将之計 (Gyeongjang Jigi). You intend to bring the Hamurin Prince story to the banquet to frame your uncle for your father’s murder.”
There’s no other meaning behind insisting on the Hamurin Prince story at the banquet.
“Frame? It’s common knowledge that that bastard killed my father!”
The man slammed his hand down on the table, bursting out in anger.
He’s the one that should be hiding. What’s he hitting the table for?
“But there’s no evidence, so you must have wished to use me.”
“… That’s right. If he saw my performance and got angry, I could use that as an excuse to rise my forces.”
The man begrudgingly nodded.
“But before that, this Kang Mo wouldn’t remain safe.”
The furious head of the Seong family wouldn’t leave me unharmed.
Of course, the Heavenly Killing Star, furious over that scene, wouldn’t just let the head of the Seong family slide either.
“… I tried my best to protect you.”
The man seemed weak to hitting critical points and spoke with his eyes closed.
“Sure you did. I’ll be taking my leave. And just to note, my neck was once on the scale held by Seong Se-hwi, so I’ll be taking this money.”
I sent a furious glance toward him, lifting the pouch containing 1 gold as if taking my life’s worth.
You. If you refuse, it’s a ninja massacre.
“The money doesn’t matter. I’m sorry for not explaining in detail. However, my father died wrongfully. Can you not help me for justice?”
“To come here with ulterior motives, then cunningly allure me and finally shout for justice? The whole world will laugh. Sohee, let’s go!”
I called Sohee over in Joseon language, jumped up from my seat, and headed to the door with her.
“I’m sorry! If you change your mind, please come back. I will treat you with the utmost respect as a guest of my family!”
The man said pathetically to us as we tried to leave through the door.
I’m not leaving, you little rascal.
I’ll stay here safely chatting about the tale of Romeo and the younger Zhu while making money.
I almost sold my life for 3 gold.
—–
It had been a day since I met with the Seong family.
I lay in bed, gazing dreamily at the details of the shimmering gold coins.
“With this money, I could write a book.”
It seems that I could finally write the book I had always put off, thinking the time wasn’t right.
It’s common knowledge that writing a book costs a lot.
Not just a lot, but for me, it’s like throwing money into the sky.
When I first wrote Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes, I completed it using poor-quality paper and ink that looked like muddy water with a brush that was falling apart. The result was chilling.
It wasn’t even a popular genre, and there was no audience for a poorly made book.
Even if it’s not as absurd as the reasoning that books have to be sold at regular price because they’re written on paper mixed with stone powder like in modern times, it’s essential to use high-quality materials to write a book here as well.
And one book wouldn’t be enough.
Because it might not get any reaction at one bookstore, I need to write at least a dozen books and supply them to various bookstores.
And writing those books requires a lot of money.
“Time is also an issue.”
Of course, writing new compositions requires time. After numerous plot revisions and editing, a single book emerges. That alone takes considerable time.
And it’s not just writing one book and calling it a day.
To copy a dozen books takes a great deal of time too.
It takes a lot of time to transfer data from a document made decades ago to Excel, let alone painstakingly copying it by hand.
In short, someone like me with nothing would need money for quality writing materials, time to write and copy the books, and money to live off during that time.
“If the new work fails, I’ll lose all my money and time.”
If I fail, I risk losing everything—money and time.
The funny thing is, even if the book succeeds, it won’t necessarily yield huge profits.
Sure, success brings fame. But unless I hit a jackpot that allows me to contract my next work for a high price, a dozen books will barely break even.
If I were a noble in fantasy or a young lord from the Sega family, I would be writing without worries, thinking that if I fail, I could just enjoy a slow life afterward.
For me, struggling as a storyteller day by day while investing my remaining time in martial arts training, writing a book is currently a significant risk.
It’s bittersweet.
Whether here or in reality, a challenge for someone with nothing often means risking everything. For some, it’s a challenge they might laugh off despite failure. But for others, it could mean never standing back up again.
“With this money, I can give it a shot.”
I gazed at the unexpected golden luck. With this money, even if I fail, I can stand back up.
When the tide is high, you should rev up the engines; now is the right time to focus on the tales of Romeo and Zhu.
There will come a time when people start drifting away like during the last days of my Hamurin performance.
At that time, I’ll stop storytelling and dive into writing.
“By the way, why hasn’t Sohee come?”
She said she’d be back after a meal, but she has been gone for quite a while.
Ever since the Cheongsa-pa incident, Sohee has been oddly gentler toward me. If it isn’t simply guilt, then she might have formed a place for me in her heart.
I’ve taught her martial arts, provided her a home, and taken care of her deliveries.
‘Am I her pillar man after all?’
I’m not providing a pillar, so I’m not technically her pillar man, but a pang of conscience strikes me.
I wonder how she sees me right now.
It’s probably not to the level of calling me “oppa,” but perhaps over time, she has developed feelings for me while living together.
How does she perceive me?
“She’s back.”
Sohee opened the door and entered.
“Welcome back.”
Do you want to eat first? Should we bathe first, or… I couldn’t pull off the same jokes, so I welcomed Sohee with a smile as usual.
“……”
However, Sohee did not reply to my greeting and continued to gaze at me intently.
“Sohee?”
Does she have something to say? She seems to be fidgeting as if she has something on her mind.
Sohee kept looking at me until she finally spoke.
“Yoon Ho.”
“Yeah?”
“Please be my husband.”
