Side Story 13. Martial Match (1)

Clatter, clack.

The sound of tableware being moved rang out.
Nam Family Manor’s banquet hall was filled with dishes that made one’s mouth water just by looking at them.
They had prepared a suckling pig and roasted it in the kiln for a long time.
They had sliced fine duck and stir-fried it with peanuts.
A large carp had also been cooked by pouring boiling oil over it together with slices of ginger.
The members of Nam Family Manor, including the Nam Family Manor Lord, were seated around the table eating, and among them were the guests, Baek Sang-ye and So-ryu as well.
So-ryu and Baek Sang-ye occupied seats beside the Nam Family Manor Lord.
It was only natural, since they were honored guests.

The Nam Family Manor Lord even personally refilled So-ryu’s empty cup with tea.

“Well then, does it suit your taste?”

For a local sect, ‘entertaining guests’ was a very important matter.
When a famous martial artist visited a region, the servants of each sect would rush over one after another to greet them.
They would do so with invitations saying, ‘We have long heard of your lofty fame, so please visit and share stories of the world with us.’
Time was limited, so one couldn’t visit every family and sect.
And among those invitations, which place one chose to visit first also mattered.

“These dishes were made by the cook we brought in a year ago. He is a renowned chef who once served in the household of Beijing’s Chief Grand Secretary.”

That was why, upon hearing that guests of the ‘Baek Clan’ were coming, the Nam Family Manor Lord had gone out in person to greet them beforehand.
It did not matter that So-ryu had only been adopted into the Baek Clan, or that Baek Sang-ye was merely an obscure collateral descendant.
The Nam Family Manor Lord waited for So-ryu’s answer with shining eyes.

“It is all very delicious. I thank the Lord once again for his hospitality.”
“Haha! Those are delightful words to hear!”

So-ryu’s answer was formal and stiff to the extreme, but even that alone seemed to satisfy him enough.
The Nam Family Manor Lord glanced at So-ryu and Baek Sang-ye.
So-ryu was a well-known martial artist, and though he had never heard of Baek Sang-ye, as a descendant of the Greatest Family Under Heaven, her martial arts would surely be exceptional.
And above all, they were young.
He did not know Baek So-ryu’s exact age, but Baek Sang-ye didn’t seem to be twenty yet.

And a young martial artist of that age was exactly the sort of talent Nam Family Manor presently needed.
The Nam Family Manor Lord turned his gaze to Baek Sang-ye.
It was only the way she handled her chopsticks, yet it was extremely refined.
Her table manners were more elegant than those of anyone the Nam Family Manor Lord knew.

‘Is the Greatest Family Under Heaven simply like that?’

He had that thought without even meaning to.
Baek Sang-ye’s eyes met those of the Nam Family Manor Lord.

“May I ask more about what you mentioned earlier?”
“Of course.”
“Have you still not caught that yokai?”

The Nam Family Manor Lord smiled bitterly.
A little earlier, he had told Baek Sang-ye a story from one year ago.

“Yes. It is probably hiding somewhere in the forest to the west.”
“I had no idea such a dangerous yokai was nearby.”
“Hasn’t the world become like this. We sent word to Chengdu and requested help, but even the Tang Clan has remained silent.”

The Nam Family Manor Lord told So-ryu’s party many things.
Among them was the matter of a yokai living near Chaesang County.
That yokai, which had appeared a few years ago, lived in the forest to the west, in the direction of Hunan Province.
It had harmed far too many people, so the magistrate sent soldiers after it, only for them to be annihilated.

Next to step up were the sects of Chaesang County.
Nam Family Manor, the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild, and other groups, regardless of orthodox or unorthodox alignment, gathered together to kill the yokai.
But in the end, they failed.
Many people died.
The Nam Family Manor Lord lost one of his children, and the Guild Master of the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild lost a disciple.
As they argued over right and wrong in that whole affair, the relationship between Nam Family Manor and the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild became irreparably twisted.

“Since you saw it in person, what grade do you think it was?”
“Grade……. To begin with, there was no particular animal it resembled. It was much larger than an ox……”

Ever since yokai began rampaging.
People had developed a standard for judging the danger posed by yokai. That standard was called ‘grade.’

“I would say it was at least Tiger Grade. Possibly even Dragon Grade.”
“Ah.”

Hearing that, So-ryu thought to herself.
‘That is a ridiculous exaggeration.’
Dragon Grade meant a great yokai on the level of a dragon.
Tiger Grade too was a formidable yokai, one only a Transcendent master could face.

There were five grades for classifying yokai.

Cat Grade, based on the level of a cat transformed into a yokai.
Even that required several grown men to rush in together to kill it. They were also the most numerous.

Then there was Wolf Grade, based on the level of a wolf transformed into a yokai.
They could not be taken lightly. Many of them were more dangerous than that giant tiger.
Several people trained in martial arts were needed to deal with them.

Then Tiger Grade.
Though compared to a tiger, their danger couldn’t be compared to that of an ordinary tiger.
Either several Peak Realm masters had to attack together, or a Transcendent master was needed.

After that came Dragon Grade, literally referring to great yokai on the level of dragons.

And after that was Disaster Grade, so named because they were like calamities.
These were dangerous things trying to crawl out from the underworld and the yokai realm.
To kill such things, one would need Heavenly Pillar Baek Yi-gang or a gathering of powerhouses equal to immortals.

‘Probably Wolf Grade. Tiger Grade at most.’

The Nam Family Manor Lord was a Peak Realm master.
The Guild Master of the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild was likely around that level as well.
Even if it were only a Wolf Grade yokai, if it was hiding deep in the mountains, it would be very hard to catch.
Nam Family Manor had probably been defeated and thus made the mistake of overestimating their opponent.

“So, to continue what I was saying earlier.”

The Nam Family Manor Lord spoke carefully.

“How would you feel about participating in the martial match?”

He was addressing Baek Sang-ye.

“Instead of this old man and the Guild Master of the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild facing each other directly, it was decided that our disciples and retainers would compete instead.”

Nam Family Manor and the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild had decided to resolve their dispute through a martial match.
A best-of-three martial match.
Each side would send out disciples or young retainers under the age of twenty-three to fight.

Two sons of the Nam Family Manor Lord and one guest retainer had already been chosen to represent Nam Family Manor.
Then Baek Sang-ye and So-ryu, who were surely stronger than them, appeared right before him.
Was this a sign from heaven? The Nam Family Manor Lord continued.

“Needless to say, we will prepare the greatest reward possible.”

That was not strange.
A sect’s human connections were strength as well.
The Three Pleasures Butchering Guild would surely have used all its influence to gather young masters as well.

Baek Sang-ye smiled faintly.
She glanced lightly at So-ryu.
As for the Nam Family Manor Lord’s proposal, So-ryu left the decision to Baek Sang-ye herself.
It would not be a life-and-death martial match, and the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild would not dare truly harm Baek Sang-ye.

“I must decline.”

But Baek Sang-ye refused gently.
She simply was not very interested.
And there was no way Nam Family Manor’s mere ‘reward’ would be enough to change her mind.

“Ho ho, if by any chance you change your mind, please let me know. There is still time.”

The Nam Family Manor Lord could only feel disappointed.
But until the day of the martial match came, Baek Sang-ye’s mind didn’t change.

There were public martial matches and private martial matches.
And the martial match between Nam Family Manor and the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild was unmistakably a public one.
And not merely one where only famous Murim figures were invited to observe, but something like a festival where even the ordinary people of Chaesang County could come watch.

“I mean, if they’re gonna hold a martial match, why make such a festival out of it?”
“Guess they want a lot of eyes watching.”

Nam Family Manor opened up its outer courtyard.
They had even prepared food for the people who came to watch the match.
There were not many people in Chaesang County who would turn down free food and a chance to watch a fight.
People crowded in as they speculated over who would become the true master of Chaesang County.

There was no way beggars would miss a feast.
The beggars of the Chaesang County branch of the Beggars’ Union also lurked around with bowls in hand.
Not only the Branch Leader, but even the beggars who had recently been beaten by Tsering were happily getting free food with grins on their faces.

“Where’d Tsering go?”
“She followed that shifty-looking bastard and still hasn’t come back.”
“Well, she’s not the kind of fool who’d miss a feast, so she’ll probably show up soon.”

There had been a fight, but the beggars had gotten over it quickly.
They could never have imagined that Tsering would end up entering today’s martial match.

Before long, all kinds of people had gathered.
People of Nam Family Manor, the common folk of Chaesang County, beggars, and even dark path martial artists.
The common folk and beggars looked carefree, but the martial artists alone could feel the strange tension running through the air.

Still, even among the martial artists.
There was someone who, despite being a martial artist, and even someone who would be participating in the match today, was not tense at all.
It was Cheongho.

“Young Master, have some of this.”

Jang Man-chun brought over a large duck leg from somewhere.
Cheongho took it and bit into it.
Then, chewing, he asked back.

“Young Master?”
“Yes, uh, would it be better if I addressed you differently?”

Jang Man-chun asked that.
Ever since receiving the Green Jade Token and setting out together, Jang Man-chun had shown Cheongho the utmost courtesy.
It was only natural, since Cheongho was his lifeline.
Thinking perhaps the title ‘Young Master’ displeased him, he asked, but Cheongho shook his head.

“No, I like it.”

Cheongho quite liked the term Young Master.
Because that was the title Yi-gang had often been called by.
Did Cheongho himself look like Yi-gang too?
He looked himself over.
It did not seem so. Yi-gang wore far more splendid clothes than Cheongho.
Maybe those were what counted as ‘Young Master clothes.’

“You’ll be fighting in the match later, so don’t get too nervous, Young Master.”
“I’m not nervous.”
“Hahahat, of course you wouldn’t be.”

In truth, Cheongho wasn’t nervous.
How had Cheongho, who was on his way to Azure Forest, ended up taking part in the match as a hired martial artist for the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild?
The reason was nothing much.
Jang Man-chun and Cheongho, carrying the Green Jade Token, set out on their journey.
In each region they visited, they stayed and ate at sects friendly with the Green Forest Alliance, and in Chaesang County, that place happened to be the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild.

The Guild Master of the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild asked Cheongho, who looked like a young master, whether he would take part in the martial match.
Cheongho accepted the proposal.

‘A lot of them used to do it. Martial matches.’

The many people Cheongho had seen while living as a fox.
Murim people often held martial matches.
Cheongho, who wanted to become human, suddenly thought he wanted to try a martial match too.
That was all.

“Where are you going?”
“To look around.”

Jang Man-chun tried to follow, but Cheongho stopped him with a gesture.
This Nam Family Manor was nothing all that remarkable.
They said it ruled Chaesang County and all that, but it was still only a small Murim family.
And there didn’t seem to be any especially powerful experts here.
Even the Guild Master of the Three Pleasures Butchering Guild didn’t impress Cheongho.
The only one who had caught his interest at all was Tsering.
For some reason, her martial arts felt familiar.
Though he couldn’t tell why…….

Cheongho walked slowly.
The duck leg in his hand had already been reduced to nothing but bone.

Cheongho looked around Nam Family Manor’s outer courtyard.
There was something here that irritated his senses.
Cheongho drew in a deep breath.

“……A smell.”

He was sure of it.
An unpleasant smell was coming from this Nam Family Manor.
Cutting through the smell of food and the damp body odor of beggars was a fishy, bloody scent.

‘This is uncomfortable.’

Back when he had a yokai’s body, he would have been able to tell exactly what this smell was.
But in a human body, all he could sense was that faint discomfort.
Because Cheongho’s current body was not the result of some transformation trick, but a real human body.

Cheongho walked for quite a while, following the scent.
And in one corner of the outer courtyard, what Cheongho encountered was…….

“Kooik.”

A small wild boar piglet.
Why was there a piglet in Nam Family Manor’s outer courtyard, of all places, and not even in the mountains.
Cheongho stared blankly at the piglet.
Was it distracted by the duck bone he was holding?
The piglet waddled up without showing any fear of a person.

It would grow into a fierce-looking boar, but right now it looked very cute.
But perhaps cuteness was merely a human standard.
Cheongho casually pushed the approaching piglet away.

“You’re ugly. Hideous.”

Then he frowned and glared at the piglet.
Seeing Cheongho’s blue-lit eyes, the piglet squealed in fright.

“Squeak, squeek.”

Then it hurriedly backed away as if fleeing for its life.
Someone appeared and scooped up the fleeing piglet.

“Calling it hideous. The one saying that is the uglier one.”

Baek Sang-ye was shooting Cheongho a sidelong glare.