Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Yeon-ryang, who was impressed by my amazing swordsmanship, quickly gave up teaching me the sword.
“If I let you use a sword, Kyung-ah, I’ll be the one who dies. Let’s find another way.”
Instead, he taught me how to hold a Flying Dagger in reverse and use it in close combat.
It was similar to the Palm Technique, where you hold the Flying Dagger in reverse, wrap Inner Force around your hand, and stab as if throwing it.
“How much Inner Force do I wrap around it? I can’t quite gauge it.”
“Just try wrapping it. It’s not easy to wrap the Flying Dagger with Inner Force in the first place…”
“Is this enough?”
As I wrapped the Inner Force, drawn out as thin as a thread, around the Flying Dagger and my hand as if tying them together, Yeon-ryang’s eyes widened.
“Huh? It’s not supposed to work this well at once. You’re quite something, Kyung-ah.”
He poked my hand curiously.
“That’s strange. Why does it work? Is it because you have a lot of Inner Energy built up?”
“It just works?”
“You wouldn’t be bad at using Palm Technique either. No one would ever think you’d be able to unleash such a brutally condensed Inner Force with your face.”
Is that so? Well, it wouldn’t hurt to practice Palm Technique in case I run out of Hidden Weapons…
Nodding and mulling over his words, I frowned.
“Did you just insult me? Did you just call me brutish because I don’t look like it?”
“It’s a compliment, Kyung-ah. How many Martial Artists your age do you think possess Inner Force that overwhelms opponents to this extent? You just need to use it well.”
Yeon-ryang chuckled and taught me a few tricks for applying Inner Force.
It was a simple method, but its effect was enormous.
“Brother, aren’t you a genius? It’s so much easier this way!”
“Haha, this brother is pretty good, isn’t he?”
It became possible to use the same method with much less Inner Force. I clapped my hands, overwhelmed with emotion.
It felt like I had been scraping potato peels with my bare hands and then received a sharp potato peeler as a gift.
…Ah. So that’s why he called me brutish. I guess people really need to use their brains.
Squatting down and practicing wrapping Hidden Weapons with Inner Force, I looked up at Yeon-ryang and asked.
“Then what about this sword? Should I just carry it around?”
“Let’s carry it around for a while since we bought it. And if you can’t swing the sword, you should at least practice Sword Drawing and Sword Sheathing, Kyung-ah. Even if it’s just for show, you’ll be able to ward off the riff-raff.”
“I think I can do that.”
I answered confidently and gripped the sword hilt.
“Okay, bend your arm like this…”
Whack!
“…You’re not supposed to throw it, Kyung-ah.”
“Ahaha.”
Yeon-ryang hurriedly grabbed my arm. I waved my hand awkwardly and laughed.
“Again, I’ll try again. I think I can really do it this time.”
“Okay. Not giving up is a good attitude.”
Yeon-ryang replied with a face that showed no expectation and moved away from me. It seemed he was trying to avoid being hit by the sword.
I glared at him and gripped the sword again.
Yeon-ryang drooped his elbow and put his hand like this, yeah. Like this.
I thought I had done a pretty good Sword Drawing, but before I knew it, the sword had left my hand and was stuck in a tree trunk far away.
Crack! Thud!
The tree, unable to withstand the force of the sword, split in half and fell to the side.
I’m going crazy. Why does it keep flying away?
As I stood there blankly, staring at the fallen tree, Yeon-ryang, who had been watching, rubbed his forehead as if he couldn’t take it anymore.
“…Let’s give up on the sword. Just carry it around, Kyung-ah.”
I nodded and put the sword back in.
Everywhere you went in Muhan, there were Martial Artists everywhere.
Whether you went to an inn, the Market street, or just walked down the street, most of the people passing by were carrying swords.
It was a scene that might make you worry about public safety, but the people of Muhan didn’t care.
If someone caused trouble, the Murim Alliance’s police force would rush over and drag them away.
“Eek! Let go of me! I didn’t do anything wrong. That guy started it first…”
“Tell it to the Alliance.”
It was a strange sight.
Murim police? What is the government doing while the Murim Alliance manages public safety? Is this a non-aggression pact between the government and the Martial Arts World?
Those who had always seen what happened when you caused a disturbance in the Murim Alliance’s front yard were not wary of the Martial Artists.
Perhaps that was why few people were surprised or avoided Yeon-ryang’s size.
Yeon-ryang seemed to like that.
He seemed much more relaxed now that the attention he used to get everywhere he went had disappeared. I wasn’t sure, but it might have been because he had taken the Antidote of Solitude.
“Kyung-ah, how much money do we have left?”
“Not much. About three Silver Ingot.”
Yeon-ryang rummaged through his money pouch, sorted out the remaining silver, and scratched his head.
“We’re going to be short on travel expenses. I’ll have to go to the Exchange Market.”
“The Exchange Market?”
“I have a Central Plains Exchange Market Note. It’s worth fifty Silver Ingot, so that should take care of us for a while.”
Yeon-ryang replied and showed me a small piece of paper. The paper, which said “Fifty Silver Ingot,” had a red seal on it.
As I looked at the Exchange Market Note with curious eyes, Yeon-ryang chuckled and shook the paper.
“Do you want to hold it, Kyung-ah?”
“Oh my? What if I take it and run away?”
“Fifty Silver Ingot is just one Silver Ingot. Why would a Young Miss from a wealthy family covet such a small amount of money?”
It’s not a small amount. My monthly salary as a Maid was two Silver Ingot. And right now, all my assets are three Silver Ingot.
Yeon-ryang seemed to be firmly mistaken that I was a Young Miss who had been raised preciously.
It was too much trouble to explain, so I shrugged and took the Exchange Market Note.
The thin paper had been waterproofed with oil to prevent it from tearing easily.
When I held the Exchange Market Note up to the sunlight, a picture superimposed on the seal appeared, and it looked like bamboo.
“What’s this? What’s drawn on it?”
“It’s an Insignia. The Central Plains Exchange Market uses a bamboo picture. Each Exchange Market imprints its own unique pattern on the Exchange Market Note.”
Is it a counterfeit prevention device? I guess it’s all the same wherever people live. It’s just like a bank check.
I handed the Exchange Market Note back to Yeon-ryang and asked.
“How do you tell if an Exchange Market Note is real or fake? I feel like you’d be fooled if someone tried to trick you with a fake Exchange Market Note.”
“If you’re not sure, you can just ask to go to the nearest Exchange Market together. Every Exchange Market has an appraiser who can verify the authenticity of the Exchange Market Note. They’ll verify any Exchange Market Note issued by an Exchange Market that’s valid in that area.”
“Oho.”
“Let’s go exchange the Exchange Market Note. How about meat for dinner, Kyung-ah?”
“Sounds good. The lamb ribs that the people at the next table were eating yesterday looked delicious.”
“Let’s go with lamb ribs.”
“Tell them to put a lot of Sichuan pepper on it. And a lot of peanuts.”
“You know how to eat, Kyung-ah.”
We headed to the Exchange Market, having a meaningless conversation.
The Central Plains Exchange Market was a one-story building on the main street. The entrance was wide open, but it didn’t seem to be a place with a lot of traffic, as it was quiet.
As we entered the building, an elderly man approached and spoke to us.
“Welcome. Are you depositing or exchanging?”
“Exchanging. This.”
The man took the Exchange Market Note that Yeon-ryang handed over, narrowed his eyes, and turned the Exchange Market Note over and over.
“Please wait in this room for a moment. We need to go through a routine verification process.”
“Okay.”
After asking for our understanding, he led us to a small room.
The man lit the candle on the table and shone it on the Exchange Market Note.
He seemed to be checking if the Insignia was drawn correctly.
“This is our Exchange Market Note. Please wait a moment, and I’ll bring it out soon.”
“Okay.”
The man bowed politely and left the room. I slowly looked around the room.
The room, filled with stacks of documents, smelled of aged paper and ink.
They write all the Exchange Market Notes by hand. Does one person write them? That’s amazing.
“Kyung-ah. Don’t go too far.”
“Okay, okay.”
Curious about what the rest of the Exchange Market looked like, I tiptoed around inside, and I saw a guest in the next room leaving his signature on an Exchange Market Note.
Five Taoists wearing Wudang robes were exchanging Silver Ingot.
Oops.
I didn’t want to be noticed, so I took a step back, but a young Taoist who met my eyes nudged the Taoist who was signing the Exchange Market Note.
“Senior Uncle. Over there…”
“It’s the same as the Facial Description the Alliance gave us.”
At the Taoists’ whispers, a man with sleek black hair neatly tied up in a Taoist crown turned to look at me.
It was Jin-sung.
After confirming my face, he raised one eyebrow.
I heard he was being dispatched to the Murim Alliance, so he’s already here? I didn’t expect to see him again.
As I hesitated whether to greet him or not, Jin-sung first clasped his hands in front of him.
"I am Jin-sung, the 18th generation disciple of the Wudang sect."”
“Oh… Yes, Jin-sung Taoist. It’s been a while.”
As I nodded awkwardly, he met my gaze. It wasn’t a friendly look.
At the same time, an ominous feeling ran down my spine. He was hostile to me.
I hurriedly took a step back and waved my hand.
“Haha, have a good Exchange Market Note exchange. Well, I’ll be going now…”
“Stop.”
Jin-sung’s cold voice made me realize for sure.
I’m screwed. I don’t know what it is, but I’m screwed.
I rolled my eyes and looked at Jin-sung.
As Jin-sung slowly approached me, the Wudang Taoists standing behind him formed a formation as if to surround me.
“I think you know why without me having to explain. I don’t want to cause a commotion. Please come with me to the Alliance willingly.”
“Ahaha, what are you talking about…”
Could it be that I’m wanted by the Murim Alliance? An Enemy of the Martial World, or something? Isn’t that something that only happens to great Demonic Masters?
I tried to hide my panic, but the corners of my lips trembled.
“We came knowing everything, Young Miss.”
“You came knowing what? I didn’t do anything wrong. Taoist, you must be mistaken…”
“If you didn’t do anything wrong, you can confidently cooperate with the Alliance’s investigation.”
Jin-sung calmly cut me off and strode up to me, stopping in front of me.
I felt intimidated by the way he looked down at me.
“Young Miss. It would be best if you came with me willingly.”
His calm, gray eyes stared at me. He said with a expressionless face.
“Because if you refuse, I might have to cut you down.”
