WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 120: When Young, I Knew Not Sorrow's Taste (25)
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The room of Yuezhou gossipmonger Gaseopmyeong.
Ink-blackened sheets of paper lay scattered about, drying in the sunlight.
Gaseopmyeong had barely slept for several nights. With hollow eyes, he looked over the piece he had finished yesterday.
<Register of Jianghu Figures - Hunan Edition>
As he slowly turned the pages, his hand suddenly stopped at one passage.
His eyes moved up and down it again and again.
“Whew.”
He let out a long breath.
“How could this actually be real...?”
Beneath his slightly trembling fingertips were three written characters: Featherless Arrow.
[What Stopless Sword Na Seok meant had been praise. Yet Yeon Sowol did not let it pass. He challenged Na Seok and ultimately made him yield. He did not change his attitude even before the strong, and everyone was left speechless.]
Gaseopmyeong shook his head.
“Martial artists, honestly.”
Yet the corners of his mouth curled upward, as though he did not dislike it.
“Uuugh!”
Gaseopmyeong set the bundle down and stretched hard.
“Time to print these, then.”
Usually, the Register of Jianghu Figures was copied by hand and passed from person to person.
But Gaseopmyeong had even put his own name on the book. He had no intention of doing that. Since he had poured so much effort into it, he had planned from the start to make a fortune from it.
The woodblocks for every other section had already been carved. He only needed to carve Yeon Sowol’s recently added entry.
“Ah. I should print this too. With this, I won’t need to worry about sales.”
A triumphant smile spread across Gaseopmyeong’s face.
“Really, bowing to Young Master Yeon a hundred times still wouldn’t be enough.”
He folded up the large sheet he had set aside and headed outside.
* * *
Yuezhou had been boiling over lately.
Men or women.
Young or old.
Lowborn or noble.
Whenever two or more people gathered, they always spoke about the same thing.
The Yuezhou martial arts tournament!
Travelers and merchants who had only recently arrived in Yuezhou could not even join in the conversation.
“You don’t know about the Yuezhou martial arts tournament?”
“Good grief. Have you been wasting your whole life?”
Being treated as though they did not exist would have been preferable. People looked at them like uncivilized barbarians who knew nothing of the world, so all they could do was keep their mouths shut and let their eyes dart about.
“Ha! How did Hero Yeon even come up with something like this?”
“Exactly! He’s a ghost, a real ghost! He’s got people completely wrapped around his finger!”
“Who would call him a rising young talent at this point? Hunan’s finest masters are all getting swept up in his every move.”
“That’s why everyone calls him a hero now.”
Those who had only arrived in Yuezhou yesterday or today screamed inwardly.
‘Yeon Sowol? Who is that?!’
It was in the midst of that atmosphere that Gaseopmyeong’s <Register of Jianghu Figures> first went on sale.
“Come on! Form a line! A line!”
When the bookstore owners who had received the goods from Gaseopmyeong began shouting at the top of their lungs, people snorted.
“What is this, a bookstore?”
“Who lines up outside a bookstore?”
“Eight or nine out of ten people can’t even read.”
But then...
“The Register of Jianghu Figures!”
At those words, people turned around.
“The Register of Jianghu Figures?”
“Jianghu? Martial artists?”
The martial arts tournament was the most popular thing in Yuezhou right now, and its main figures were Jianghu martial artists. Of course people were interested.
Then they heard this.
“It also contains an entry on Hero Yeon Sowol, the organizer of this tournament!”
“What?!”
“Hero Yeon’s?”
Murmur, murmur.
The area erupted into noise.
One by one, people began rising and heading over to buy the book.
How could they not?
No matter what anyone said, Yeon Sowol was the person most talked about at this martial arts tournament.
A Register of Jianghu Figures that described what sort of man he was? Anyone who could read would find it hard to resist.
And then...
“Anyone who buys the book now gets a special bonus!”
The bookstore owner pressed further.
“A special bonus?”
His booming voice rang through the curious crowd.
“As an appendix, you’ll receive a list and one-line introductions for the 108 Malefic Stars who distinguished themselves in this tournament, as well as the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits who ultimately proved their worth!”
Flap!
The bookstore owner unfolded a large sheet densely covered in tiny writing.
The title printed in large letters was:
<Hunan’s 108 Hands>
A list of the masters chosen as the 108 Malefic Stars.
<Hunan’s 36 Heroes>
A list of the true masters who competed for places among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits and claimed them in the end.
!!!!
The crowd was stunned.
“What?!”
“What did you say?!”
Rumble!
Footsteps rushed in from every direction.
Now, even those who could not read could not hold themselves back.
A disorderly line formed in front of the bookstore in an instant.
For a moment, it was neither truly a line nor not a line. Then the crowd surged forward with a roar, and chaos erupted like a sandcastle collapsing.
“How much?!”
“Two silver ingots!”
“What? A single book costs two silver ingots...?”
“Then don’t buy it!”
“If you’re not buying, move!”
“Urgh!”
“Could you perhaps sell only the appendix...?”
“If you can’t afford it, step aside!”
“Urgh!”
Two silver ingots was enough to cover a frugal person’s food expenses for a month, even if they bought their meals rather than cooking them.
Books were expensive in this world, but this was more than twice the price of other books.
Yet people bought it.
They kept buying it.
Even...
“Huh? Jangseok! You can’t even read. Why are you buying a book? Two silver ingots must be expensive for you.”
“Sir, the names are written in there, aren’t they? The Jianghu martial artists who shone in the tournament.”
“Yes, they are.”
“Then that’s enough. I may not be able to read, but whenever I see this book, I’ll be able to remember this martial arts tournament. And if I happen to meet someone who can read, I can ask them to read it to me.”
“Huh. I suppose that’s true.”
Even farmers and fishermen who could not read willingly paid the hefty price of two silver ingots.
Clink, clink.
Silver coins piled up in the bookstore owner’s cashbox. Despite being overwhelmed by the flood of customers, his face was beaming.
He had to send part of the profits to Gaseopmyeong, and another part to the merchant guild backing him, but...
‘There’ll still be plenty left. A whole lot left!’
More silver coins than he had ever seen or heard of in his life kept falling into the chest with a clink.
* * *
The power of the written word was tremendous.
Once people learned about something, they came to love it.
The martial arts tournament had already been blazing hot, but when the Register of Jianghu Figures spread alongside the lists of Hunan’s 108 Hands and Hunan’s 36 Heroes, people burned with even greater passion.
There was more than enough to chew over, argue about, savor, and enjoy.
One hundred and eight people was too many?
Not at all.
It was even better.
People came up with an innovative way to remember all 108 names. Within only a few days, a song encompassing all of Hunan’s 108 Hands became popular throughout Yuezhou.
“Beautiful Dongting Lake, on Yuezhou’s outskirts,
Yeon Sowol, leader of the White-Robed League, takes his place,
He opens a martial arts tournament to aid the suffering,
Fine people gather from all across Hunan.”
“Iron Sand Palm Kang In-su,
Foremost Woman Shin Si-ye,
Learning Through Teaching Won Huiseung,
Amorous Hero Hwangbo Hwi.”
Even snot-nosed children wandered the streets singing it.
Once that basic learning was done, deeper discussions began.
People stared at the final list of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits and played at dividing even them into tiers. Most split them into groups of twelve, ranking them as first, second, and third class.
“The peak-realm masters have to be first class.”
“Right. From what I saw, late first-rate and the peak realm are on entirely different levels.”
“Before the tournament, some people said late first-rate masters could beat peak-realm masters, but after seeing it ourselves, that was complete nonsense.”
“Exactly.”
“Then the eight peak-realm masters go into first class...”
“I think Kang In-su should be first class too.”
“Ah, Iron Sand Palm is scary, all right. But isn’t first class a bit much? I think he belongs around second place in the second class.”
“Come on. Not second place. If he’s in second class, he has to be first.”
“I think Won Huiseung is above Kang In-su.”
“Oh, please. Did you not see Kang In-su crush a steel blade with his bare hands?”
“Did you not see a famous Yuezhou master flee in tears before Won Huiseung?”
“What about Ha Jeop? He’s still a Huashan Sect master.”
“Third class. Third class.”
“I heard he’s right on the verge of the peak realm.”
“Is there anyone among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits who is not?”
“Third class. Third class.”
“He only barely won every time. Third class.”
“Then what about Hero Yeon?”
“First class. First class.”
“He’s definitely first class.”
Merchants gathered beside the people talking like that.
“Come on! Buy rice cakes! Heavenly Spirit cakes and Earthly Fiend cakes!”
“Oh! Give me one Heavenly Spirit cake!”
“I’ll take an Earthly Fiend cake!”
“Pictures of masters raging in front of the Amorous Hero! We have all kinds!”
“Who would buy something like... Give me one right now!”
“Place your bets on tonight’s martial arts tournament! Wager on the martial artists who will survive tonight! The highest odds right now are five to one!”
“Here! I’ll wager one silver ingot!”
“I’ll wager one gold ingot on Hero Yeon!”
The entire world revolved around the martial arts tournament.
Money poured in without end.
Yuezhou had always been a wealthy place, but it was hard to believe it had been this wealthy.
Even those who normally kept their purses tightly shut spent gold and silver without restraint.
Joy and excitement bred desire.
At the center of it all, Yeon Sowol thought of the twenty-first century.
‘Father always said it.’
The best businesses were copyright businesses and platform businesses.
He had never expected to learn that those words held true even in this martial arts world, far from Earth.
Yeon Sowol had not done much himself.
He had simply granted permission for people to sell products related to the martial arts tournament. Moyong Ha and So Hye had handled all the practical work.
They had gathered Yuezhou’s major merchant guild leaders in one place, slapped and intimidated them with force and authority, then coaxed and soothed them into signing contracts.
Thanks to that, it was now unthinkable to do business related to the martial arts tournament in Yuezhou without permission.
A portion of the gambling profits flowed to him.
So did a portion of food and alcohol sales.
The same went for books like the <Register of Jianghu Figures> and paintings depicting scenes from the bouts.
Money came in while he did nothing but sit there.
Yeon Sowol did not count all of it as profit, though.
In exchange for giving up a substantial portion of the payments, he had commissioned the merchant guilds.
Acquire martial arts secret manuals.
Acquire secret manuals containing enlightenment.
Acquire the finest spiritual elixirs.
Acquire precious weapons and materials.
They were all things difficult to obtain even with money, but Yeon Sowol was firm.
“If you cannot obtain them, our contract ends there.”
The merchant guilds went all out. They risked everything to procure those items.
Gold and silver were literally flowing through Yuezhou right now. If they lost their contracts and could not take part, they would inevitably be pushed aside by other merchant guilds.
And so, the treasures of the martial world entered Yeon Sowol’s hands one by one.
The time had come to truly set the martial arts tournament ablaze.
“The bigger the uproar gets, the safer Ha will be...”
Yeon Sowol had decided to dance in earnest.
* * *
The martial arts tournament.
At some point, the people gathered around the platform stopped talking.
No one had told them to, yet they kept their mouths shut.
Amid the sound of Dongting Lake’s waves, only the faint breathing of countless people could barely be heard.
Everyone waited.
For the man who had opened this tournament. Its main character.
Tap!
Breaking the silence, a man stepped onto the platform.
His robe fluttered. A red cord hung at his waist.
The handsome man, as picturesque as a painting, clasped his hands and offered a greeting.
“It has been a while, fellow travelers of the Jianghu. Thank you for coming to the Yuezhou martial arts tournament again today.”
Only then did everyone release the breaths they had been holding.
“Waaaaaah!”
“Hero Yeon! Hero Yeon!”
“Waaaaaah!”
The roaring cheers stopped as if by magic the moment Yeon Sowol raised a hand.
The soft lapping of Dongting Lake.
Countless breaths.
“A few days ago, the true Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits were decided.”
Yeon Sowol looked down at the participating martial artists below the platform.
Some looked indifferent. Others were excited.
Yeon Sowol clearly felt the difference in their reactions.
‘The more famous and skilled they already are, the less they stand to gain.’
For younger martial artists and those whose reputations did not match their skill, it was an opportunity that would not come twice.
But masters who had already reached the top had little to gain.
Many had only stepped forward because the rumors spreading through the world had provoked them.
Today, Yeon Sowol intended to give them proper motivation.
“For the true masters who rose among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, I, Yeon, have prepared a small gift.”
A gift?
The martial artists murmured and lifted their heads.
At Yeon Sowol’s gesture, people from the merchant guilds came onto the platform carrying gifts covered in cloth.
Flap!
Yeon Sowol pulled away one of the cloths.
Beneath it lay a bluish-white metal ingot, about half the size of a palm.
Someone who saw it screamed.
“Cold Iron!”
What martial artists loved were martial arts, spiritual elixirs, and weapons.
Cold Iron belonged to the last category.
It was called Cold Iron because it felt incredibly cold to the touch, but it did not actually contain cold qi.
Iron that had remained buried underground for a long time eventually absorbed the energy around it. It absorbed all kinds of energy without discrimination.
Ice placed on it would rapidly melt as its coldness was drained away. When a person touched it, it stole their body heat and felt cold.
That was why people in the past, who did not understand its nature, had called it Cold Iron.
Because it possessed the ideal qualities for holding energy, few materials were better suited to a martial artist’s weapon.
Even Clear Mirror, the sword gifted to Yeon Sowol by the Hengshan Sect leader, had been forged entirely from Cold Iron.
“Hm?”
“This is...”
Even peak-realm masters showed interest.
It might only be an ingot half the size of a palm, but it was still Cold Iron. A spearhead could be forged entirely from it, and even mixed into an alloy, it could produce an extraordinary famed sword.
More importantly...
“There are still thirty-six people left, and he’s giving out a prize like this?”
“Hm. If someone wins, then perhaps...?”
They could not help but consider that this was only a gift for the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits.
If it was already this impressive...
What came next?
And after that?
“This is getting interesting.”
“Ha ha. That is rather tempting.”
“Cold Iron is something one can only obtain through a fated opportunity. To think I could get it here...”
There was no longer a split response like before.
Everyone showed anticipation.
Perhaps sensing it, even the spectators swallowed hard.
They instinctively knew that the real event began now.
Yeon Sowol smiled.
‘Now the atmosphere is ripe.’
It was time to announce the next format.
Yeon Sowol hardened his voice and shouted.
“They may be called the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, but not every one of them has truly proven themselves yet!”
Many participants frowned.
They had not proven themselves yet?
“That is because the previous format allowed challenges to be issued and accepted! Some may have suffered losses by challenging someone stronger, while others may have benefited by challenging someone weaker! What is more, some Heavenly Spirits have not fought a single bout because everyone was reluctant to challenge them!”
The participants frowned, but the spectators went wild.
“That’s right!”
“It is!”
Yeon Sowol continued.
“So! This time, I received anonymous lists from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits.”
“What?”
“Could it be...? So he’s going to...?”
Yeon Sowol shouted over the murmuring participants.
“Choose the twelve people you think are the strongest!”
The spectators held their breath.
“Choose the twelve people you think are the weakest!”
The spectators grew excited.
“I asked every one of you these questions and received your answers. After compiling the results, I made this list!”
They had chosen it themselves?
“The twelve chosen as the strongest must defeat two people! One person from the twelve chosen as the weakest! And one person from the twelve chosen by neither side!”
If someone known as strong lost, their place would be taken immediately. The remaining two would fight to determine the final winner.
“And so, we shall decide the Twelve Earthly Branches, the masters among masters!”
The martial artists looked at one another.
The spectators swallowed.
Would those known as strong truly be strong?
Or would there be an upset?
The matchups were quickly decided.
The first bout was...
“Hm. A disciple of Huashan? Sorry about this. Don’t take it hard. Making it into the Thirty-Six Heroes was good enough.”
A peak-realm master called the genius of Hubei.
Bubulbu Wi Sihon.
He waited for Ha Jeop, the Huashan Sect’s late first-rate martial artist, who had been chosen among the weakest twelve.
Everyone expected Ha Jeop to lose quickly.
Then...
“Ha Jeop.”
Yeon Sowol whispered to Ha Jeop as he was about to step onto the platform.
They were the same age, so while running the tournament, they had naturally begun speaking casually to each other.
“Win.”
“W-What?”
“Win. You have to win for things to get chaotic. Things have to get chaotic for Ha to be safe.”
Ha Jeop hesitated, watching Yeon Sowol’s expression.
“I-I’m still late first-rate... Senior Bubulbu is a renowned master even among peak-realm experts... With my Faint Fragrance Unfading stage, it’ll be far too difficult to face someone at Hundred Flowers in Wild Profusion...”
“I know.”
Yeon Sowol stared directly at Ha Jeop.
“Win.”
“...”
Ha Jeop’s eyes shook.
Then, slowly, they settled like falling snow.
Nod.
“...I’ll give it a try.”
Yeon Sowol gave him a push on the back.
Ha Jeop stepped onto the platform.
Footnotes:
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