Chapter 196
Jeok Mugun?
“Y-You’re the Heavenly Martial Emperor?”
“That’s right.”
“Wh-What is the Heavenly Martial Emperor doing here?”
“The True Martial Sect is where my son lives, and the True Martial Merchant Company is where my grandson lives.”
“What?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No. I only rushed here because I heard there was a master of formations here.”
“Is that so? Wigang is pretty good at making formations.”
“He is far beyond merely ‘pretty good.’ He is the greatest.”
“Heh. All this fuss just because he knows how to make a few formations.”
Jeon Ju bristled.
“They are not ‘just’ formations. My lord is the greatest formation specialist in the Central Plains. Even the Divine Calculator and the Divine Mechanism Scholar cannot reach his heels.”
“Look at you getting all worked up.”
“My lord is a god of formations. He will dominate the martial world through formations alone.”
“What are you talking about? Formations aren’t even Wigang’s specialty.”
“What? Formations aren’t his specialty?”
“No. This is.”
“His fist?”
“Yeah. One punch from him can erase a mountain and reshape the terrain.”
“Oh, come now. No person like that exists. He must have shown you an illusion using a formation.”
“Think whatever you want. Anyway, you said the two better than you are the Divine Calculator and Divine Mechanism Scholar?”
“Yes...”
“Why are you looking so dejected now? You’re all about the same beneath Wigang anyway.”
Jeon Ju’s expression immediately brightened.
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. Beneath my lord, we are all equally insignificant. Thank you for granting me this enlightenment.”
Seeing Jeon Ju revere Jeok Wigang so deeply put Jeok Mugun in an even better mood.
“Study hard. Later, you can fix up the formations at Heavenly Martial Castle too.”
“What? Heavenly Martial Castle?”
“Our Wigang will soon become the Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.”
“What?!”
Jeon Ju jumped in shock.
“I-Isn’t the position of Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle reserved for the greatest martial artist in the Central Plains?”
“You brat. Did you listen to anything I just said? I told you our Wigang is the greatest in the Central Plains with this.”
Jeok Mugun held up his fist again.
“You were serious?”
“Want me to hit you with it?”
The moment Jeok Mugun made a striking motion with his clenched fist, Jeon Ju hurriedly shrank back.
“Coward. Anyway, serve Wigang well and make sure the formations at Heavenly Martial Castle are properly maintained too.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“And if you ever want to learn martial arts, just say the word. I’ll find you a decent master. If you’re going to follow Wigang around, you should at least be strong enough to protect yourself. Don’t you think?”
“Th-Thank you.”
*****
While Jeon Ju was becoming Jeok Wigang’s subordinate, someone stepped into the path of the elite delivery team responsible for the True Martial Merchant Company’s pride and joy—same-day delivery.
“Stop for a moment.”
The man blocking the road smiled with his eyes closed.
“I am Gi Horang, known as the Iron-Blood Sword. Surely you’ve heard of me.”
“What the hell? We’re busy. Get rid of him.”
Get rid of him?
He was standing here talking to them!
Gi Horang’s face twisted as he opened his eyes.
THUD—
WHUMP—
His vision flashed white.
Then he lost consciousness.
A long while later, Gi Horang finally came to and looked around.
“Wh-What happened?”
He had blocked the True Martial Merchant Company’s elite delivery team exactly as he had been hired to do.
So why couldn’t he remember anything after that?
Throb—
Pain pulsed through his face.
He raised a hand to touch it.
“Ghk!”
Agony shot through him.
He hurried to a nearby stream and looked at his reflection.
The entire right side of his face was swollen.
“This... Don’t tell me... those bastards did this to me?”
He could hardly believe it.
“That’s it! My eyes were closed! Those cowards attacked while my eyes were shut.”
He would never sleep peacefully again if he let this stand.
And what would happen to his reputation?
If word spread that he had been beaten unconscious by men who weren’t even martial artists, just delivery workers, he would never be able to show his face in the martial world again.
He immediately launched himself after them at full speed.
******
“Stop!”
Gi Horang had finally caught up.
They were so fast that even pursuing them at full speed had taken him quite some time.
“Huff... huff... You cowards! Attacking me while my eyes were closed!”
“What’s he babbling about?”
“No idea. Want me to get rid of him again?”
“You can’t be bothered?”
“You deal with him this time.”
Their conversation made rage surge through Gi Horang.
They had obviously seen him fall to their sneak attack and now thought he was a joke.
SHING—
He drew his beloved sword and spoke with a cold expression.
“Whatever tragedy happens from this moment onward, you brought it upon yourselves.”
“Oh! He drew a sword. This might actually be fun.”
“Don’t drag it out. We’re short on time.”
“Obviously.”
Gi Horang’s patience snapped.
“You dare look down on me? I’ll make you regret it!”
Sword qi tore through the air in a wild barrage.
His goal was partly to attack the men, but his true target was the boxes on the wagon.
Destroying those was his main assignment.
The sword qi sped straight toward the wagon as intended.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG—!
“Huh?”
The man who had stepped forward to face him drew his sword and knocked aside every strand of incoming sword qi before rapidly closing the distance.
From his movements alone, Gi Horang could tell the man was a formidable expert.
Realizing he could not afford to underestimate him, Gi Horang prepared to unleash his signature technique.
Then the man spoke.
“Now I see what you’re after. Which merchant company sent you?”
Which merchant company?
Was he not the only one targeting them?
“Forget it. We’re busy. Just go back to sleep.”
“You think I’ll fall that eas—”
CRACK—
“Guhk!”
THUD—
Gi Horang collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
The man looked disappointed.
“What are you doing? Let’s get moving.”
“Damn it! I’m coming, I’m coming!”
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE—
Despite being pulled by people, the wagon moved so quickly that it vanished from sight in moments.
*****
When Gi Horang opened his eyes again, his left cheek hurt too.
“Dammid...”
He could not even pronounce the words properly.
Once his head cleared, he thought carefully about what had happened.
Those men were not ordinary.
𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Could he have beaten them if he had truly gone all-out?
No.
Thinking about it calmly, he might actually have been lucky.
Now he was curious.
Just who were those people that they could be so strong?
And what was inside those boxes that required experts of that caliber?
Could they contain something extraordinary?
While he was lost in thought, a group of martial artists approached.
“Let me ask you something. Did you see men pulling a wagon pass this way?”
“They went that way.”
“Much appreciated. Move! We’re catching up to them!”
The group immediately unleashed their lightness arts and shot off in the direction he had indicated.
Gi Horang followed.
“Why are you following us?”
“I’m chasing them too.”
“In that condition?”
“Do not underestimate them. They’re strong.”
The martial artists snickered at his warning.
Gi Horang knew that look.
They were looking down on him.
Suppressing his irritation, he asked,
“What exactly is in those boxes that everyone is making such a fuss over them?”
“You’re chasing them without even knowing that?”
“Is there something important inside?”
“Probably fresh fish and vegetables.”
“What? What are you talking about? Not some incredible spirit medicine?”
“You must not have heard the rumors. Those people are supplying fresh ingredients at incredible speed, and sales at the surrounding merchant companies are plummeting because of it. Aren’t you another martial artist hired by a merchant company?”
“I am.”
“And you accepted the job without knowing even that much?”
“No, but... even so, you’re telling me experts like those are serving as guards over nothing more than fish and vegetables?”
“They aren’t guards. They’re delivery workers. They serve as both escort guards and wagon hands.”
“Impossible... The men who defeated the Iron-Blood Sword in a single move are nothing more than delivery workers?”
The martial artists running beside him reacted in shock.
“Y-You’re the Iron-Blood Sword, Master Gi?”
“That I am.”
“I have admired you for years. It is an honor to meet you.”
“Heh heh. I’m hardly important enough to deserve admiration.”
“But you’re saying those men defeated you?”
“Embarrassing though it is, yes. They are strong.”
“Hmm. No wonder the merchant company offered such a high fee for this job. Just how strong are they?”
“I was defeated before I could properly do anything.”
At Gi Horang’s answer, the man who appeared to be their leader suddenly raised a hand.
“Stop!”
The entire group halted at once.
“Why?”
“If even the Iron-Blood Sword could do nothing against them, what chance do we have?”
“We’re giving up without even trying? We don’t even know whether this man really is the Iron-Blood Sword. You’re just going to believe him?”
Gi Horang frowned.
“Are you calling me an impostor?”
“Show us your skill. Then I’ll believe you.”
Gi Horang grinned.
The martial artist scoffed.
“You’re laughing because you can’t do it.”
Gi Horang continued smiling.
“You might want to fix your clothes first.”
At his words, the martial artist looked down.
At some point, the entire front of his robe had been sliced away and was now fluttering loose.
“You should count yourself lucky today. I was going to take your head, but your unit leader said he admired me, so I left it attached.”
THUD—
The martial artist dropped to the ground in shock.
Behind him, the unit leader gave Gi Horang a martial salute.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Think nothing of it. Anyway, even I couldn’t lay a hand on those men. You should give up.”
“Thank you for the warning. We’ll withdraw.”
The leader gave him another martial salute, then turned the group around and headed back the way they had come.
Gi Horang’s curiosity only deepened.
“Fish and fresh vegetables?”
He wanted to see if it was really true.
“Let’s follow them.”
******
“It’s true?”
Fish so fresh they looked ready to leap back to life came spilling from the boxes.
They were immediately snatched up by people who had come to the marketplace.
The prices were fairly high, yet the entire shipment sold out in the blink of an eye.
Only now did Gi Horang understand.
This was why the other merchant companies were fighting so desperately to interfere with them.
And there probably was not a single merchant company that had succeeded.
By this point, he was growing curious about the True Martial Merchant Company itself.
Just what kind of place could create a device like those boxes?
He had just decided that he needed to learn more about them when he noticed a group of people heading toward the True Martial Merchant Company.
His gaze fell on their sleeves.
The Eight Trigrams briefly shimmered across the fabric before fading away.
“The Eight Trigrams... the Zhuge Family...”
Their expressions as they approached the True Martial Merchant Company’s stall were almost solemn.
One of the Five Great Families and the True Martial Merchant Company.
This was getting interesting, so Gi Horang stayed to watch.
The man at the front pointed at one of the boxes.
“How much is that box?”
“You mean the Snow-Pattern Box?”
“That’s right.”
“Ten gold taels.”
“I’ll take it.”
Gi Horang’s eyes widened.
Ten gold taels for one box.
A family could live comfortably for two years on the amount of money that had just vanished into a single container.
He could not help envying the Zhuge Family’s wealth when they purchased it without batting an eye.
Then again, for an artifact like that, perhaps the price made sense.
But was it really all right to sell one to the Zhuge Family so casually?
The Zhuge Family could thoroughly study the box and perhaps reproduce it.
Gi Horang remained lost in thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Why the hell am I worrying about them?
It would actually be better for him if they went under.
Still, if he wanted to complete his assignment, he somehow needed to interfere with their operation.
Was there any way to do it?
As he pondered the problem, he sensed someone beside him.
He turned his head.
“What are you doing here?”
The martial artist who had defeated him in a single move earlier stood there with a broad grin.
Gi Horang was so startled that his mouth merely opened and closed.
“What, do you like us that much? You’ve been following us around everywhere.”
He needed to say no.
“Looking for work?”
Work?
A good idea suddenly occurred to him.