WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 70: When Water Is Too Clear, There Are No Fish (18)

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Yi Yubaek asked,

“Sowol. Let me ask you one thing.”

“Yes.”

“Establishing a great sect and managing Heavenly Road Mountain will be an immense undertaking, one that no one here has ever attempted.”

“I suppose it will.”

“Then what will the success or failure of that undertaking depend on?”

“On the will of Lord Seo Myeongeum, the Governor-General of Liangguang.”

The answer came at once.

A smile formed on Yi Yubaek’s lips.

“Then how do you think we should persuade Lord Seo Myeongeum, the Governor-General of Liangguang?”

Yeon Sowol hesitated at the question.

Yi Yubaek gave a quiet chuckle.

“Why? Is the question difficult?”

“No, that isn’t it.”

“It isn’t?”

“Yes. I simply didn’t understand why we would need to persuade him.”

“That does not seem difficult to understand.”

“Not because the words are difficult. I was wondering whether this was something that required persuasion.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Yeon Sowol paused.

Slowly, he looked around.

His stepfather, Yi Yubaek, stood among the martial heroes who shared his ideals. They were all people Yi Yubaek had known and worked alongside for years.

Over there, many martial heroes had gathered separately around Noh Huideok. They had no particular connection to Yi Yubaek, yet they had come running all the same. Martial heroes who had heard only the stories of Hang Inwoo, Yi Yubaek, and Yeon Sowol, and felt their blood run hot enough to answer the call.

‘Jianghu people.’

Whenever he thought of that word now, Yeon Sowol’s heart stirred for some reason.

Those who did not want to live as they had been told.

Or those who could not possibly live that way.

Those cast out.

Those who fought against the world, struggled, and survived.

The world they were building.

The future they would make together.

“Father, you once said that the people of this land are bound together by fate, with countless rules they must follow.”

If one was born a farmer, one had to be a farmer.

Once someone became a courtesan, they had to remain a courtesan.

Commoners had to bow their heads before great lords.

Those of noble birth lived as nobles.

The lowborn lived as lowborn.

Lives bound by chains of fate, forced to follow rules and laws already set down, tethered to things they had never chosen.

“But no matter how solemn the laws established by the court may be, all under heaven is far broader and deeper than those laws. That is what I have seen and felt since coming to this land.”

“Hm.”

“Mmm...”

Low murmurs rose from all around. One by one, people nodded.

Depending on how one heard it, his words could have sounded deeply irreverent. Yet everyone here belonged to the Jianghu. They could not help agreeing with Yeon Sowol.

“They tell us to obey the law, yet the law does not always protect us. Look at Heavenly Road Mountain. Bandits ran rampant for decades, tormenting the people, but not once in all that time was a proper expedition carried out.”

Yeon Sowol still remembered it.

The moment he had poured out his anger before Yi Yubaek, asking how that could be allowed, how the world could possibly be like this.

And then came Yi Yubaek’s answer.

“That is why people like us emerge. Where those countless fates and laws fail to protect others, we draw our swords.”

Because laws we had not made did not protect us.

Because the fate we were born into was far too small to hold all our will and dreams.

“Though we know it is not the duty of ordinary people to take up swords, we take them up and make things happen.”

“...”

“...”

What Yeon Sowol said was nothing special.

Words every Jianghu person had held in their heart at least once.

Truths they had all lived through.

They were simply coming from the mouth of a young martial artist who had not yet reached twenty.

That was why it became quiet.

As though Yeon Sowol’s voice alone echoed through everyone’s hearts.

“My introduction grew rather long, but there are only two facts that truly matter.”

Yeon Sowol’s voice became clearer.

“No matter how great the authority of the government may be, it is still far from enough to cover all under heaven.”

That was the first.

“And Lord Seo Myeongeum, the Governor-General of Liangguang, has entrusted Father with a commander tally. We have already used that commander tally to carry out the Heavenly Road Mountain Expedition.”

That was the second.

The instant he finished speaking, cries of realization spread through the crowd. Yi Yubaek wore a grave expression as he took the commander tally from the pouch at his waist.

“Father. All under heaven is vast, so the government cannot do everything. That is why Lord Seo Myeongeum entrusted the Heavenly Road Mountain Expedition to us, the people, and granted us this commander tally. Because of it, we were able to subjugate Heavenly Road Mountain not as private citizens, but as martial heroes acting on behalf of the government, with a just cause and legitimate authority. That is already what we have done.”

“That’s right.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Voices of agreement rose from all sides.

“So in a sense, what we intend to do is not new. We have already subjugated bandits on behalf of the government. Why should we be unable to protect and manage a mountain on its behalf as well? It is no different from having already persuaded Lord Seo Myeongeum. All we need now is to give him confidence. To give Lord Seo Myeongeum, who has already trusted us once, confidence enough to trust us again. That is all.”

At last, Yeon Sowol brought his long speech to its conclusion.

“What we need is not dazzling eloquence or meticulous logic to argue right from wrong. We only need to show good faith through decency and fair dealing. I believe that is enough.”

Yi Yubaek closed his eyes.

The area fell silent.

The martial heroes swallowed and exchanged glances.

Only after quite some time did Yi Yubaek finally open his eyes.

Something hot flickered in them.

“Sowol. Thanks to you, I am certain.”

He looked around at the martial heroes, his comrades who had shared the same goal for so long in pursuit of the Heavenly Road Mountain Expedition. Then he clasped his hands and bowed deeply.

“Yeon Sowol and I will take responsibility and obtain a new commander tally. So let us establish it. A great sect.”

* * *

Yi Yubaek spoke with every martial hero who had joined the expedition.

Yeon Sowol sat beside him and listened as well.

At first, they had only intended to hold simple consultations.

Would they take their share of the spoils and leave at once, or stay and establish a sect together? They only meant to ask that, offer their thanks, and leave it there.

But once the discussions began, each person’s story somehow grew longer.

“I am a wanderer. Shaoguan over there was originally my hometown, but I killed a Black Path bastard there. That bastard had killed my sworn brother, who could not even practice martial arts. I killed the bastard, then fled before the gang he belonged to could take revenge. I have been wandering ever since. It has already been ten years.”

That person had chosen to live as a wanderer for the rest of their life to avenge their sworn brother.

They said that was why they could not stand it when they heard Hang Inwoo’s story. What kind of dog bastard would betray his own sworn brother?

Every person who had come had a different story, each with its own depth.

“I am an escort agent of the Golden Banner Escort Agency. One day, I heard about Heavenly Road Mountain, and my blood began to stir. My father was killed by bandits, you see. That is why I risked my life learning martial arts... Do you know something? Escort agents do not actually fight bandits. We laugh along with them and pay an appropriate toll instead. I suppose that is why I came here. The head escort laughed at me, asking how someone who could not even wipe their own nose thought they were going to help anyone. What could I do? I could not help myself.”

“I just... had nothing to do... Nothing, so... I came... Well. Bad people... make me lose my appetite... They say... if you learn martial arts... you live well... I... am bad with words... I have no... friends... So. I have no... money... Nothing to do... The stronger my martial arts become... the more people seem... uneasy around me... So I just... lived. And then... came...”

“Should I be honest? I came for fame. There was a lot of talk about the Heavenly Road Mountain Expedition. I thought that if I joined in, I might make some connections and get my name known. Then maybe I could join a decent faction and live comfortably.”

Listening to their stories, Yeon Sowol thought,

‘I really hope the sect is established. A truly good sect.’

A sect that could embrace these people.

A sect where these people could live satisfying lives.

Once all the consultations were over, seventy percent said they would wait for Governor-General Seo Myeongeum’s answer.

That was more than three hundred people.

They believed that if a great sect were established, it would be better than joining any other sect in Guangdong.

They had high expectations for its economic foundation, but their fondness and trust in Yi Yubaek and Yeon Sowol also played a large part.

The other thirty percent took their shares of the spoils and left Shinheung County at once.

Some did not want to be tied down. Others already had stable foundations. Some simply thought the plan to establish a great sect was absurd.

After matters were more or less settled, Yeon Sowol headed for Danzhou with Yi Yubaek.

They loaded all the remaining spoils onto carts and tied up the captured bandits of Heavenly Road Mountain behind them in a long line.

“Good heavens... What is that?”

“They say those are the bandits of Heavenly Road Mountain.”

“The Heavenly Road Mountain bandits? Those vicious bastards?”

“That is what I am saying. The Governor-General gave a commander tally to martial heroes of the Jianghu and ordered them to subjugate the bandits!”

“As expected of Lord Seo Myeongeum!”

“Then will we finally be able to buy salt and seafood from Yanggang on the coast more cheaply?”

“Wow! What is all that? Spoils taken from the bandits? There is that much?”

“You can tell right away just how vicious those bastards were.”

Yi Yubaek deliberately led the carts and bandits slowly.

By the time they wound through the roads of Danzhou and reached the government office where Lord Seo Myeongeum was staying, word had spread so widely that an official was waiting to receive them outside.

“Great Hero Yi Yubaek of Shinheung County. Allow me to escort you.”

An official of the seventh rank bowed to them first.

The official led them into a garden.

In the garden, where covered corridors and stone lanterns stood around a pond, Seo Myeongeum, the Governor-General, sat alone drinking tea.

He smiled when he saw Yeon Sowol.

“So we meet again.”

The atmosphere was very pleasant, and Yeon Sowol and Yi Yubaek accepted several cups of tea poured by Seo Myeongeum.

At the end of it, Seo Myeongeum asked,

“It took you a few days longer than I expected to come here after finishing the expedition.”

“Yes. We were handling the aftermath...”

“The spoils you brought as a gift in return were three times more than I expected as well.”

“That is because the favor we received from you was so great...”

“Do you want to take Heavenly Road Mountain?”

“...”

Yi Yubaek froze.

Yeon Sowol felt his throat tighten.

Yi Yubaek recovered first and answered carefully.

“We humbly wish to ask for your permission.”

“Ha ha.”

Seo Myeongeum laughed.

“How can I trust you?”

Swooosh.

Yeon Sowol felt it again. The qi of the natural world throughout the area was moving on an enormous scale. As though he were sitting still while seeing a thousand li away, Seo Myeongeum’s mind was weighing a world without limit.

“I do trust you. I trusted you enough to spend my own money supporting you and grant you a commander tally. But managing Heavenly Road Mountain is a different matter. What will you do if you take it over and begin managing it, only to find that the profits fall short of your expectations? Will you raise the tolls?”

“We will not.”

“How can I believe that?”

Seo Myeongeum calmly lifted his teacup.

Cold sweat ran down Yi Yubaek’s back.

‘Sowol was right. But this is difficult.’

His point had been correct. The issue was showing decency and fairness, giving others confidence. But how could he prove it? Was all he could do to ask the man to trust him?

Just as Yi Yubaek felt despair and tried to force out some answer,

“My lord. That will never happen. There is no reason for it to happen.”

Yeon Sowol’s voice rang out calmly.

“No reason?”

Seo Myeongeum looked into Yeon Sowol’s eyes.

‘Huh. Those eyes.’

He was a little surprised.

There was certainty in the eyes of a young Jianghu man who had not yet reached twenty, and a light in them.

He had seen it before.

What could possibly make that young man so confident?

At that moment, Yeon Sowol was thinking about the characteristics of taxation he had learned in high school, about the Laffer curve.

‘It looks like raising taxes would increase revenue, but it does not. Lower taxes increase people’s willingness to work. That makes commerce more active, and economic actors earn more. Once their profits grow, tax revenue actually rises.’

Tolls were the same. Once they rose above a certain point, revenue would fall instead. There was no point in crossing the mountain to trade if nothing remained after paying the toll.

The best choice was to lower the tolls instead.

Considerably lower than what people in this world would normally expect.

At first, the income might fall short of expectations. But as merchants traveling through Heavenly Road Mountain began earning large sums, more and more merchants would use the route. Then profits would rise instead.

It was nothing special, but it was an economic principle people in ancient and medieval times often overlooked.

“My lord. Even for our own benefit, there is no reason for us to demand high tolls. We only need to improve the mountain roads and make transport more convenient, so that more merchants will use Heavenly Road Mountain. That is how our own profits will increase.”

A smile appeared in Seo Myeongeum’s eyes.

“It is the same as what you said last time. Did you say there was no sin in private interests?”

“That is correct. We may act for private gain, but I am confident that it will instead benefit Heavenly Road Mountain and the surrounding area.”

“Ha ha.”

Seo Myeongeum gave a quiet laugh and lifted his teacup. As he savored its fragrance, he suddenly asked,

“Very well. What did you say the sect would be called?”

Yi Yubaek and Yeon Sowol looked at each other.

Smiles touched both their lips.

“Actually, we have decided on a name.”

Yeon Sowol’s cheeks reddened a little as he answered.

* * *

A few days later, in Shinheung County.

“...Will it work?”

“It would be really nice if it did.”

“It will work. You saw them. Great Hero Yi Yubaek and Young Hero Yeon Sowol are remarkable men.”

“I don’t have much hope, honestly.”

“Neither do I. I’m only waiting because there is nothing to lose.”

The martial artists who had remained in Shinheung County were restless again that day.

“Well, I have never heard of the government granting anything easily in my entire life. We should be grateful if they do not take something from us instead.”

“But it is not unheard of, is it? I have seen more factions than one might expect receive rights from the government.”

“Those were all great sects with long-standing reputations.”

“Right, right. We are just testing the waters. We should not get our hopes up too much.”

They chatted as they drank in an inn near the main gate of Shinheung County.

Then their eyes caught sight of the carts passing through the gate.

“Huh?”

“Ah!”

“It is Great Hero Yi Yubaek!”

“Young Hero Yeon Sowol is with him too!”

Everyone’s gaze locked onto them.

Some could not contain themselves and sprang from their seats.

“...Don’t they look grim?”

“They do look tense.”

“It did not work. It did not work.”

“See? I told you I was not expecting much.”

Yi Yubaek suddenly raised his head.

He met the eyes of the martial artists peering out from every roadside inn.

Yi Yubaek pressed his lips together gravely, then took a commander tally from his waist.

Unlike the old black commander tally, it was a half piece of wood painted white and carved with red letters.

The other half was stored at the government office, guaranteeing the military authority of its holder. It was a symbol of power.

Everyone’s eyes widened at once.

Those who had been sitting rose in a rush.

“A new, new commander tally!”

“A new one?”

“Wait! Then...!”

The murmuring martial artists suddenly looked at Yeon Sowol.

Yeon Sowol leaped onto a cart and took out something.

It was a plaque.

He pulled away the cloth wrapped around it and raised the large plaque above his head.

Two lines of characters, written in a script as vigorous as soaring dragons and snakes, were inscribed upon it.

The finest sect beneath Heavenly Road Mountain.

An alliance of Guangdong martial heroes.

Yeon Sowol shouted.

He raised the large plaque high over his head.

Smiling brightly.

“Grand Master of Splendor! Pillar of the State! Grand Preceptor to the Crown Prince! Minister of War and Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate! Pacifier of Liangguang! Lord Seo Myeongeum, the Governor-General, personally wrote this plaque and bestowed it with his own hands!”

A shiver ran through the martial artists.

They rubbed their goosebumped arms and looked at one another.

‘It worked?’

‘It worked.’

‘Really?’

‘You can see it.’

Just as they were about to erupt into cheers, the county magistrate of Shinheung County and the county guards came hurrying out.

They saw the commander tally Yi Yubaek held aloft and the plaque Yeon Sowol had raised, then did not know what to do.

A commander tally and plaque granted by a Grand Master of Splendor of the Senior First Rank.

The seventh-rank county magistrate of Shinheung County could only feel dizzy.

Watching it happen in real time, the martial artists’ mouths stretched wide with joy.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Guangdong Martial Alliance!”

“Great Hero Yi Yubaek!”

“Alliance Leader Yi Yubaek!”

“Young Alliance Leader Yeon Sowol!”

“Waaaaaah!”

Their excitement reached a fever pitch, and they shouted wildly without even knowing what they were yelling.

Amid the uproar, the county magistrate approached Yi Yubaek, sweating as he gave a long bow.

“Waaaaaah!”

The laughter and cheers of the Jianghu people shook all of Shinheung County.

Footnotes:

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