214

Chapter 214 - Reopening - 6

"I don't need it."

Lim Ha Yeon, the shadowless investor of the martial world, dismissed my offer with a decisiveness similar to a fish that has already detected the fisherman's bait.

"Don't feel burdened. How could I possibly ignore the plight of my sworn brother's daughter in such straits?"

"No. Please, ignore me."

Such resolve could slice through a firm squash. You'll regret it. Do you think living in the Central Plains is easy?

Out there, a despised man can be beaten black and blue, and have to sleep in a dilapidated house without a roof, drenched by the rain and sorrowfully hungry. By the time you regret it, it will be too late.

How precious it is to find someone to rely on in a place without any support.

If you happen to meet your father's sworn brother, wouldn't you naturally ask for at least a meal? And with a pretty face and a teary-eyed look, who could possibly ignore you?

"Is there no one else for you to rely on?"

I asked her with a befuddled expression. I had my suspicions, but I wanted to hear her story.

"There isn't. And don't try to help me just because you think you're obligated to my father's cause. I don't want his help."

"Do you have a deep rift with your father?"

"That person. I haven't seen him for over a decade."

I had to forcibly swallow my sigh upon her words.

Considering the original setting, I wondered if she had learned martial arts from her father, who was a previous generation shadowless martial artist. Just as I thought.

"Your father may have had his reasons..."

"What reasons could he possibly have for not visiting his daughter and her mother for over ten years?"

I have no idea.

She looked past me as if she harbored resentment for someone beyond, her piercing gaze as if to bore through me.

At this rate, it seems less like a father-daughter relationship and more like a blood feud. Perhaps using the sworn brother angle was the wrong approach.

I had hoped to forge a connection deeper than one of indebtedness, but it felt as if I had stepped on a landmine.

I don't know why Mr. Wang disappeared, but for the sake of seeking out our true heroine, he should have at least visited his daughter during the holidays.

As I silently wished that Mr. Wang in Chilgok County would find his brunch the following day less appetizing than usual, I looked at Lim Ha Yeon.

Here, Ha Yeon is to live at Haomen. Your father's sworn brother will go to the Great Western Study. If it comes to it, when she needs help, they may not give her a second thought.

Let's continue pushing the sworn brother concept.

"I'm not fully aware of your father's detailed circumstances either. However, whenever I spoke of Miss Ha Yeon, he was always consumed with regret and longing. There must be profound reasons deep in his heart."

Honestly, I don't remember the expression he had when he told me he had a daughter with a courtesan. But if I want to improve my standing, I should speak well of Mr. Wang.

"That man has found himself a very good sworn brother. Thieves and vicious merchants, such a befitting brotherhood indeed."

Lim Ha Yeon said it with a slightly sarcastic tone, presumably because she disliked my defending Mr. Wang.

It's only natural for her to harbor ill feelings toward an absent parent.

I opened my mouth with a bitter smile and a look of understanding her feelings.

"I understand how you feel. However, if I hadn't been able to rely on your father back then, I wouldn't have been at the port with that umbrella at the time."

After defending Mr. Wang, I mentioned the incident with the umbrella, hoping that even she, with her pointed attitude, would soften up.

"So, what about it..."

Mentioning the incident with the umbrella seemed to soften her tone a bit.

The malice between father and daughter is unchangeable. It's not my duty to improve their relationship.

What I need is merely a link between her and myself.

"If my relationship with your father bothers you, Miss, you need not worry about it. However, I don't wish to see a woman I've now saved twice fall into distress again. I don't want to see a woman who once helped me in trouble either. So, should you ever need it, feel free to knock on the doors of the Great Western Study."

Sometimes, it's necessary to play the role of a chivalrous hero. Considering I've actually saved her twice, this should work quite effectively.

With a grave expression and a concerned gaze, I reached out to her pointed demeanor.

A harsh wind may pull the coat tighter, but a warm breeze loosens the buttons.

Lim Ha Yeon puckered her lips bitterly under my concerned gaze, then turned away as if she couldn't stand it any longer.

"…I'm leaving now."

She didn't refuse. That's a relief.

"Your father no longer wishes to get involved with the affairs of the pugilistic world. I hope you don't stir trouble at Haomen unnecessarily."

The last thing I wanted was to suffer collateral damage. I mentioned the most crucial matter last, making sure she would relay it to Haomen.

"Haomen would have no reason to search if they chose to retire discreetly, unrelated to the rebellion. I'll let them know."

"Good."

"I'll be on my way now."

"Miss."

I hurriedly called out to her as she started to leave.

"What now?"

"Haomen is that way."

Why would she not take the way she came? I pointed in the direction with my finger.

"Ah… There's a shortcut."

"…"

Aren't we a bit disoriented?

"I'll... go now."

Her face flushed, she disappeared quickly.

As assertive as she seems, she's like a young lady who's missing a screw or two.

*******

As Lim Ha Yeon re-entered the Haomen medical branch, it was in chaos.

"Branch leader! This man is bleeding a lot from his hand!"

One Haomen member shouted to the branch leader, holding the hand of another Haomen member who had suffered at the hands of Kang Yoon Ho.

"Why is this idiot just standing there!"

The branch leader approached the wounded man with visible annoyance.

"If I go out weakly, it would damage Haomen's reputation, wouldn't it!"

"It was already a blow to our face when you, worthless as you are, drew your sword and tried to act tough."

"Big brother! That's too much!"

"Who's your big brother? Let me take a look. Wow... what's this. Hey, don't pull it out."

With a look of amazement at the injured man's hand, the branch leader warned him in a chilly tone.

"Should I not pull it out? Is this a serious matter? I can't feel my hand."

The injured man, sensing that the situation was grave, spoke in a panicked, restless manner.

"A bookstore manager, they say, hit the acupoint precisely. They say if you remove it carelessly, you'll be crippled. Better see a physician right away."

Could it be that this black-haired Korean learned the martial arts of the Tang family? The branch leader internally exclaimed in admiration at the needlework skills.

"Uuuuugh! Brother! Please save me. I've lost all my money gambling, so I can't afford to pay for the treatment!"

"It's 'branch leader' to you. And you, a member of Haomen, crying and sniveling like this. Just go to the physician, and it will be fine if they remove it properly. Charge the treatment fee to my account. Take him away!"

"Yes!"

"Booooohoooo! Thank you, brother!"

The injured man left the branch leader's office with the other Haomen members.

"Is that guy gone? Hey. Cut that guy's salary for the next six months in half."

"Understood."

The branch leader's calculations were precise.

"So, sent them off properly, have you?"

The branch leader turned to Lim Ha Yeon, who was observing the situation, and asked her.

"Yes."

"To think the shadowless investor was still alive. We thought for sure he had died, unquestionably, over a decade ago."

The branch leader, slumping back into his chair, lamented while looking at the successor and offspring of the shadowless investor.

"Whether he's alive or dead doesn't matter to me."

"But he's still your father. …Ahem."

The branch leader awkwardly cut off his sentence with a fake cough under Lim Ha Yeon's angry gaze.

He knew the strained relationship between the two well. Now that he knew he was alive, discussing it carelessly could upset the potential heir to the shadowless investor.

"Kang Yoon Ho. Do you have information on him?"

An unexpected sworn brother of the shadowless investor appeared. Lim Ha Yeon, curious if the Haomen medical branch had any detailed information, asked the branch leader.

"All you know is everything there is to know. The owner of the Great Western Study bookstore. The manager who unearthed the author Hopil and got him to write The Tales of Tang Dynasty, with ingenious marketing that gets everyone talking. Right! I was going to add to that! A loyal man who would lay down his life for a friend, a merchant who knows the way of commerce, committed to protecting his writer until the end."

The branch leader, true to being Haomen, was also capable of quickly updating information with new insights.

"Is that all there is?"

"He's a foreigner who has been here less than a year. Naturally, the information available is going to be limited."

"But he's famous for his unheard-of marketing techniques."

"Just because a fishmonger sells good fish doesn't mean everyone knows his life story. He's not even a martial artist, and if this much information about a mere bookstore owner is more than satisfactory."

"Didn't you look into where he came from, what he did before, things like that?"

"Do you think this is a place with Haomen's strong influence like Gangnam? Hubei province is the territory of Wudang and the Household of Jie. Even the Sichuan Tang family is trying to stake a claim in Yichang, settling down here, so you better be thankful for what you have."

The branch leader, slightly irritated by Lim Ha Yeon's demanding tone, warned her not to overstep, even though they are familiar.

"I'm sorry. Then, how is it going with finding Hopil?"

Her tone shrank a bit, and she asked again.

"That's still a mystery. Unlike Kang Yoon Ho, there were some requests to uncover Hopil's identity, but there's no trace of him."

"Is that so."

Lim Ha Yeon sighed lightly with disappointment.

"After all, it's difficult to find detailed information about the Great Western Study."

"Why?"

Lim Ha Yeon cocked her head, asking the branch leader.

"How could Haomen members be familiar with books?"

"Ah..."

Haomen (下汚門), a sect filled with the lowlife, was bound to be distanced from literacy by its nature, more so than any other sect.

"None of the Haomen members work at the Great Western Study. They're not regulars there either. In fact, they are probably just about as unfamiliar with it as they are with the government offices. Additionally, bookstore manager Kang keeps to himself, making it extremely difficult to obtain any information on him."

Information labeled as Haomen came not from professional intelligence agents.

Stories overheard by barmaids, idle talk caught by carriage drivers from their passengers, gossip from courtesans.

Haomen members would sell information they thought could make some money to Haomen, and in turn, Haomen would compile and resell that information. 

In places where Haomen's influence is strong, there might be an influx of high-quality information, but usually, the overflow tends to be of gossip and superficial details.

"Understandable then, the information is sparse."

"There are theories about Hopil's identity, but no solid evidence. It feels like chasing a ghost. So when Kang the bookstore manager brought The Black Scripture, I wondered if perhaps he might be Hopil."

"That can't be. He's a man who treasures money more than ink."

He was the man who had advised to learn martial arts through the body rather than read about them. Lim Ha Yeon's tone was inevitably determined.

"I'm aware that the man dislikes the smell of ink. Still, he always seemed to enjoy a good story or people with a literary touch. Thought maybe he changed with age."

"People don't change overnight. It's not him."

She couldn't bear the thought of her admired author being the same person. Lim Ha Yeon spoke with aversion.

"In the end, it was a misstep. To think that Kang the bookstore manager is a sworn brother of the shadowless investor—if someone familiar with him heard this, they would be surprised. Who would have thought to include a cipher in The Black Scripture?"

"…Only the man and I know about it."

"To think he disclosed a cipher that was only meant for his daughter to you. Certainly seems you are indeed related."

"If he was part of the rebellion, he wouldn't have shared the cipher in the first place, so it's certain."

If only that cipher hadn't been handed to the notorious Kang Yoon Ho the bookstore manager. Lim Ha Yeon bit back her words.

"I see. Here, take this!"

The branch leader took out a pouch and tossed it to Lim Ha Yeon.

"Isn't this a bit too stingy for checking The Black Scripture?"

Looking at the bronze coins in the pouch, Lim Ha Yeon spoke with displeasure.

"You complain even when given something. Give it back, then."

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Is your plan to become a writer going as expected?"

The branch leader, watching her hastily hide the pouch, asked about her well-being in a familiar tone.

"I bought some brushes and inksticks yesterday. …They were really expensive."

"I can't pay you more than that for the job."

"Tch."

"But what's the plan with becoming a writer? Even if you write a great piece, it's still nothing if no one reads it. Writing one book doesn't mean everything's settled."

"That's true."

"You have no money, no intention of earning a living with what you've learned, and if you really want to become a writer, you'd have to find a bookstore to sponsor you, which obviously as a foreigner, you would have no connections to."

To become a writer, it's not enough to just write one book. To make a living as a writer, one must contract with bookstores to publish books. However, it was highly unlikely that any bookstore would sponsor the novice writer Lim Ha Yeon.

"Indeed."

As the branch leader touched upon reality, Lim Ha Yeon's expression darkened slightly.

"I have a proposal for you. What do you say?"

"A proposal? What kind of proposal?"

Could it possibl

y be a good solution? With a hopeful expression, Lim Ha Yeon leaned forward, eager to hear from the branch leader.

"The Great Western Study."

The suggestion from the branch leader was something she had not anticipated at all.

"What?"

"How about becoming an employee at the Great Western Study?"