Chapter 151: The Golden Dragon Trading Company’s Marriage Tournament
Sitting on the driver’s bench as I waited for Yeon Ryang, I reread the Imperial Noble Consort’s letter.
Since Her Grace’s reply had already arrived, I figured I would soon hear back about the letter Uncle Geunmyeong had taken with him as well.
Was the Ghost-Hand Divine Therapist treating Brother Un properly? Surely he wasn’t tormenting him out of spite by bringing up Grandfather?
As I pondered the question and kneaded Cane between my hands, I sensed Yeon Ryang approaching from behind.
“Your brother’s back.”
“That took quite a while. Did you have a lot to—Aagh!”
I turned toward his cheerful voice, then shrieked and clutched Cane to my chest.
“B-Brother! What happened to your face?”
Yeon Ryang now had the face of a middle-aged man who looked as though he had spent decades rolling around in the underworld.
When I recoiled in horror, he gave an awkward smile, scratched his cheek, and asked, “Does it look that strange?”
“Yes! It looks completely bizarre! What’s with that mustache? You look like a treacherous court official! It’s disgusting!”
“Then it worked.”
His eyes curved into a smile, twisting the fine wrinkles around them and making him look as vicious as a yaksha. It was such a sinister smile that if he held out his hand to some passerby, they would probably surrender every coin they had and flee.
Struggling to suppress my revulsion, I asked, “Is that a human-skin mask?”
“Yeah. The Alliance knows my face now, so I figured it would be difficult to keep traveling as I was.”
“Mm, I thought we’d need to do something about that too. The idea is good, but...was that face really your best option?”
“I have a few more. I can wear a different one in each region.”
“...I see.”
Surely the other masks didn’t all look this terrifying. I could stare at that face for a hundred years and never get used to it.
I averted my eyes from the unsettling sight, forced a smile, and asked, “Brother, should we buy you a bamboo hat?”
*****
With his face hidden beneath a bamboo hat, a worn sheath at his waist, and black martial attire covering his body, Yeon Ryang looked like an ordinary martial artist one might see anywhere.
The contrast with my splendid green robe also made him look like a guard hired by a wealthy family.
“Brother, dressed like that, you look like a guard I hired from a market full of wandering martial artists.”
“Do I? My fee is two silver coins a day. How far would you like me to escort you, my lady?”
Chuckling, Yeon Ryang bent at the waist and pretended to bow.
“That’s strange. Last year, two silver coins would have gotten me an escort all the way from Chongqing to Wuhan. Aren’t you overcharging me?”
“Overcharging? How could you say something so hurtful? I’ll have you know I command quite a price.”
As Yeon Ryang and I traded jokes and laughed, I draped a black fur-lined cloak over my shoulders.
I had bought it while getting him his new clothes. At least while we were in Yueyang, I wanted to conceal my green robe.
When I stuffed the long folds of green silk beneath the cloak, Yeon Ryang straightened my clothes and asked, “Wouldn’t it be better just to take off the green robe?”
“I wanted to, but it’s far too convenient, Brother.”
After putting the accursed yet beloved green robe back on, I found myself unable to take it off again. No other outfit could match the storage capacity of sleeves designed specifically for the convenience of Tang Clan martial artists.
“Well, it is your clan’s martial uniform. I suppose they wouldn’t have made it carelessly.”
Yeon Ryang nodded and grinned. I flinched at the chilling smile visible ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) beneath his bamboo hat, then pretended not to see it and changed the subject.
“Let’s go eat, Brother. Didn’t you say the fish hotpot here is especially good?”
“It’s called Butterflies Drifting on the Sea. The good places make it with a clean, delicate flavor. You’ll like it, Sohae.”
“Oh, that sounds delicious.”
I smacked my lips and started toward the carriage, only to realize that I had forgotten something.
“Oh! Wait—Yang Gyojin!”
I had forgotten all about Yang Gyojin!
At my shout, Yeon Ryang scratched his head as if she had only just occurred to him too.
“Ah. We forgot Miss Yang, didn’t we? Maybe she’s still at that inn. Well, I’m sure she’s fine.”
We hurried back to the inn Yang Gyojin had run off to, but she was nowhere to be seen. I caught an inn runner and asked, “Excuse me, did a swordsman order braised lamb here? About this tall, wearing a silver-gray fur-lined cloak?”
The inn runner seemed to recognize my description and nodded.
“Ah, that young hero finished eating and left a while ago.”
“What? She didn’t run away, did she? Did she pay for the meal properly?”
“Yes, the bill was paid in full.”
Had she simply left? After we fed her and gave her a place to sleep, she couldn’t even say goodbye?
I pouted, feeling oddly deflated, and Yeon Ryang laughed as he patted my shoulder.
“She must have had her reasons. You know how absentminded she is.”
“That’s true. Let’s eat.”
She wasn’t likely to let anything happen to her, so I wasn’t terribly worried. We decided we would meet again if fate allowed it and took seats on the first floor of the inn.
The fish hotpot was delicious.
We lightly cooked thin slices of fish in bubbling broth, then dipped them in a seasoned sauce. It suited my tastes perfectly.
We kept ordering more fish until the delighted innkeeper brought us stir-fried eggplant and medicinal wine on the house.
“It’s a relief to have customers with such hearty appetites again. We haven’t seen many outsiders lately.”
“Is that because of the river-bandit suppression?”
“That’s right. With the situation so unsettled, the Escort Agencies have doubled their protection fees. The trading companies are beside themselves. You would do well to avoid the area around Dongting Lake. The Alliance has forces stationed there.”
I had wanted to climb Yueyang Tower at least once. It seemed that would be difficult.
What a shame.
Since we indulged him instead of brushing him off, the innkeeper grew increasingly animated and launched into a lengthy account of Yueyang’s troubles without being asked.
After complaining that the waterway restrictions had driven up the price of wheat shipped down from the north, he suddenly beamed and asked Yeon Ryang, “Might the great martial artist seated there be married?”
“Not yet. Why do you ask?”
“So you’re a bachelor. Then you might want to visit the Golden Dragon Trading Company. Its master is presently searching for a son-in-law.”
Now that sounded somewhat interesting. Resting my chin on my hand, I asked, “He’s searching for a son-in-law? Is he accepting suitors publicly?”
“Yes. The Trading Company Master has only one daughter, and he is gravely ill—so gravely that he could die at any time. Since he has no son, he intends to take in a live-in son-in-law and secure an heir. But his daughter said she would never accept a weak man and demanded a marriage tournament.”
A marriage tournament? She intended to marry whoever won?
My brow furrowed instinctively as I remembered that bastard who had abruptly ordered me to prepare for a betrothal. It was the sort of idea one had when one regarded a daughter as property rather than as a child.
The innkeeper leaned toward Yeon Ryang with a knowing look and whispered, “I say this as a native of Yueyang: the young lady of that household is a true beauty. If you have no wife, why not try your luck? They say fortune favors the bold where beauties are concerned.”
“I have no interest.”
“What a shame. A martial artist like you would surely reach the final round with ease. It’s all anyone in Yueyang has been talking about lately. With everything else going on, the Golden Dragon Trading Company’s marriage tournament is the only thing giving people a chance to breathe.”
Perhaps it was the vicious-looking human-skin mask, but the innkeeper seemed to have mistaken Yeon Ryang for some hidden master.
Well, he wasn’t entirely mistaken. Yeon Ryang really was a master.
When I glanced at him with that idle thought in mind, he hurriedly waved both hands.
“I’m not interested. I mean it.”
“I didn’t say anything, Brother.”
“I’m never getting married. Someone like me has no business...”
“Weren’t you calling yourself the perfect husband before?”
“All I want is for you to meet a good man and live happily, Sohae. That’s your brother’s only wish.”
...He sounded like an eldest brother who had lost his parents young and raised his youngest sister by himself.
I supposed that wasn’t too far from the truth.
Whenever the subject came up, he recoiled and denied it so vehemently that it seemed the possibility of creating a new family had never even entered his mind.
It might be difficult for now, but once the Demonic Sect business was resolved, perhaps I should encourage him to settle down somewhere quiet.
Considering how much Her Grace had liked his face, there were bound to be other women who would find him attractive. He was capable at managing a household and would probably be good with children. Once he left the martial world behind, couldn’t he find another kind of happiness?
“My sister is thinking strange thoughts again.”
“Brother, I’d prefer a niece—Ow.”
Yeon Ryang stretched my cheek, shook his head, and turned to the innkeeper.
“When does the tournament begin?”
“It starts today and lasts for three days.”
“Three days? There must be a great many entrants.”
“Naturally. Every local martial artist with a little strength to boast of has gathered there.”
Yeon Ryang stroked his chin thoughtfully, then said to me, “Let’s go watch. Observing other martial artists spar would be valuable experience.”
“Should we?”
My eyes lit up at the suggestion. I had rarely had the chance to properly observe other people sparring.
Everyone from incompetent amateurs to truly skilled martial artists would be gathered in one place. It might be fun to learn how to distinguish between them.
“If you intend to watch, you should hurry. The crowd is so large that you may not find a place even if you leave now.”
“Where is the Golden Dragon Trading Company?”
Yeon Ryang asked as he cut off a piece of silver and held it out. The innkeeper’s face brightened.
“The Golden Dragon Trading Company is...”
*****
Just as the innkeeper had said, the area around the Golden Dragon Trading Company was packed with spectators who had gathered to watch the tournament. The crowd was so vast that I could have believed every resident of Yueyang had come.
The fighting platform was so far away that the middle-aged referee looked no larger than my little finger.
As I strained on tiptoe, Yeon Ryang asked, “Can you see the platform? Want me to lift you?”
“I can’t see. Lift me.”
I grumbled and held out both arms. Yeon Ryang chuckled and effortlessly picked me up with one arm. Gripping his shoulder, I peered toward the fighting platform.
“Then let the match begin!”
CLAAANG!
The middle-aged man struck the great gong with his mallet, and the two competitors exchanged clasped-fist salutes.
Oh, it was starting.
I gathered internal energy around my eyes, bringing the two martial artists facing each other atop the platform into sharp focus.
I watched with fascination as the competitors drew their swords—only for cold sweat to dampen my back when I recognized a familiar face.
No matter how I looked at her, there was no mistaking the person standing on that platform.
Hey, Yang Gyojin?
What are you doing up there?