Chapter 10 — If You Have No Teeth, Use Your Gums
The coachman stared in disbelief at the place where the carriage had stopped.
It was none other than the local government office.
“No matter how you look at it, the government office is the safest place around. I’ll use this money to negotiate with the county magistrate.”
Jaha approached one of the soldiers guarding the office and exchanged a few words with him before disappearing inside.
Hanseol and Jo Unryong watched their Second Senior Brother with thoroughly confused expressions.
Everything he had shown them since the attackers ambushed them was far too different from the Second Senior Brother they had known all these years.
After waiting for a while, Jaha returned with an officer.
“It’s settled. We’ll stay at this government office tonight. It cost a lot of money, but there’s nowhere safer than this.”
The group was guided to the guest quarters used for receiving visitors.
The carriage was left in the government office’s stable.
The only reason Jaha had spent so much money to stay there was because of Hanseol and Jo Unryong.
The two of them were still not skilled enough to fight people like their attackers.
If even two or three more enemies showed up, Jaha could not guarantee that he would be able to protect them.
The coachman understood that as well, so he did not object to Jaha’s decision.
If anything, he was amazed that Jaha had thought of using the government office as their lodging.
An ordinary martial artist would never even consider such an idea.
People of the martial world were generally not on friendly terms with government officials, nor did they like getting involved with them.
Once they entered the guest quarters, Jaha felt as though his entire body was breaking apart.
It was the result of using Banyangpyeonggong.
Byeokho’s body had never been trained to use Banyangpyeonggong, yet Jaha had suddenly forced it to perform the technique.
Naturally, the body had not been able to endure it properly.
On top of that, Byeokho did not possess an especially strong physique.
Every joint in Jaha’s body ached.
“I’m going to lie down for a while.”
When Second Senior Brother lay on the bed, Hanseol left the room.
Jo Unryong, however, remained standing beside the bed without moving.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“What is it?”
Jo Unryong hesitated briefly before speaking.
“When I watched Senior Brother Byeok fight earlier, I thought your swordsmanship looked very different from the Cheongun Sword.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Its basic framework was definitely the Cheongun Sword, but the overall feeling was completely different. Even the way you used the forms had been changed slightly.”
Jaha asked while still lying down.
“Does that bother you?”
Jo Unryong shook his head.
“No. Honestly, even though I’ve been training in the Cheongun Sword, I’ve never thought our swordsmanship was particularly outstanding. I feel sorry saying that about Master’s swordsmanship, but it’s the truth.”
He continued firmly.
“But Senior Brother Byeok’s Cheongun Sword was incredible. I want to learn that version of the Cheongun Sword from you. The one that is practical in battle and carries such an overwhelming, domineering force.”
Jaha looked at Jo Unryong with pity in his eyes.
The boy had excellent talent.
He had immediately noticed that Jaha had mixed techniques from the Demonic Cult into the Cheongun Sword.
His ability to analyze sword forms was not bad either.
He had the potential to become someone great.
Yet someone like him had been stuck learning nothing more than the Cheongun Sword.
He must have felt incredibly frustrated.
Even if he trained the Cheongun Sword to its absolute peak, it probably would not surpass even the basic introductory swordsmanship practiced by beginner disciples of the Mount Hua Sect or the Wudang Sect.
That was how Jaha evaluated the Cheongun Sword.
Jaha thought inwardly.
Byeokho, you answer him. This has nothing to do with me.
After remaining silent for a moment, Jaha spoke in a low voice.
“Youngest, the Cheongun Sword is good swordsmanship. Its weakness is that it isn’t practical enough for real combat. That’s because it was originally created by a Taoist from the Mount Hua Sect.”
He continued.
“While I was working as an escort guard, I met a wandering martial artist and learned his swordsmanship. Later, I combined it with the Cheongun Sword. That’s why it has such strong killing intent. It isn’t suitable for you to learn.”
Jaha cursed Byeokho inwardly.
Where did you learn to lie like this?
And how dare you compare the strongest martial arts of my Demonic Cult to some wandering martial artist’s cheap swordsmanship?!
Jo Unryong spoke with determination.
“I want to learn Senior Brother’s Cheongun Sword.”
“I want to become strong like you.”
His expression was serious.
“I was taught that martial arts continue developing as the generations pass. Weaknesses are corrected and flaws are improved until the martial art becomes more complete.”
“The reason the martial arts of the great sects are so powerful is because generations of practitioners have continuously improved them.”
“I believe Senior Brother’s Cheongun Sword has gone through that same process.”
Jaha stared at Jo Unryong.
What a waste for a kid like this to rot away in some countryside martial arts school.
However, Jaha had already decided to leave the decision about Jo Unryong entirely to Byeokho’s spirit.
So he remained silent.
Then his mouth opened.
“Fine. If you want to learn it that badly, I’ll teach you.”
Jaha had actually handed the decision over to Byeokho because he expected Byeokho to refuse.
When those completely unexpected words came out of his mouth, Jaha was startled.
“…Wait!”
But Jo Unryong was already bowing before Jaha could say anything else.
“Thank you, Senior Brother Byeok. I’ll work hard.”
Perhaps afraid that Jaha might change his mind, Jo Unryong immediately rushed out of the room.
Jaha groaned.
“Damn it! I hate teaching people more than anything…”
Still, Jaha could understand why Byeokho wanted Jo Unryong to learn even demonic martial arts if necessary.
If Jaha had not used the Demonic Cult’s martial arts and inner cultivation methods during the previous fight, Hanseol and Jo Unryong would never have survived the attackers.
Byeokho understood that.
That was why, even though he knew Jaha’s martial arts were rooted in the Demonic Cult, he could not bring himself to reject Jo Unryong’s request.
Then a voice emerged from within him.
“Please.”
Byeokho’s spirit had gathered enough willpower to speak directly to him.
Jaha was dumbfounded.
Now the spirit was actually talking to him.
“Seriously? Just go to heaven already.”
Jaha could not understand why Byeokho’s spirit was becoming stronger instead of gradually weakening.
There was no point thinking about something that had no clear answer.
In the end, Jaha simply decided that Byeokho must have left behind an unusually powerful lingering attachment.
Staying inside the government office allowed the group to sleep peacefully without worrying about another attack.
No matter how bold the attackers were, they would never dare storm a government office just to steal a carriage.
Attacking a government office was practically the same as committing treason.
The next morning, as they prepared to leave, the coachman approached Jaha.
“Once we leave this government office, those people may start following us again. I’m worried. How do you think they’ll move?”
The coachman had no plan for what to do once they left the protection of the government office.
He had no choice but to rely on Jaha’s judgment.
Before beginning this journey, when the branch manager had ordered him to travel with Jaha’s group, the coachman had thought they would only be a burden.
From what he knew, they were useless martial artists.
He had thought that safely getting out of Yeongje County thanks to them was already more than enough contribution.
But when real danger appeared, they became the people he relied upon the most.
Jaha answered calmly.
“They’ll definitely come again.”
The coachman frowned.
“I’m not sure we can finish this escort mission with only the people we have.”
If stronger experts appeared among the attackers, the coachman had no confidence that they could stop them.
Jaha smiled.
“Don’t worry. The county magistrate here happens to like money quite a bit.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
Jaha himself could not guarantee that he would successfully stop another attack either.
Byeokho’s internal energy and martial arts were nowhere near enough.
If Jaha had not used Banyangpyeonggong and the Demonic Cult’s martial arts, they might all have died miserable deaths.
That was why Jaha had combined the social skills Byeokho had learned during his days as an escort guard with Jaha’s own experience in manipulating people.
And with a suitable bribe, he had completely won over the county magistrate.
When they brought the carriage out of the stable, around ten soldiers came out with them.
The coachman blinked.
“Who are these people?”
“Soldiers who’ll escort us to the next village.”
The coachman asked in surprise.
“How did you manage to hire them? The county magistrate must have demanded a great deal of money…”
He already knew they had paid a considerable amount just to spend one night in the government office.
Hiring ten soldiers should have required even more.
The coachman could not understand where Jaha had gotten the money.
Jaha looked at him as though the answer were obvious.
“Where would I get that kind of money?”
“I used the name of Hahu Money House in Yeongje County.”
The coachman froze.
Jaha continued casually.
“I already gave the county magistrate a promissory note from Hahu Money House, so he believed me. I told him that if he sends the bill to the branch manager, the branch manager will pay it.”
The coachman stared at Jaha in stunned silence.
Jo Unryong and Hanseol reacted the same way.
The current Byeokho spent large sums of money without hesitation.
It was completely different from the Byeokho they remembered, who used to bargain relentlessly even when buying the smallest item.
Jo Unryong whispered,
“Senior Brother Byeok really seems to have changed after going to Taiyuan. We’re seeing so many sides of him that we never knew existed.”
Although Jo Unryong said that, he secretly thought his Second Senior Brother looked impressive.
There was something admirable about how confidently he spent such huge amounts of money.
It stood in sharp contrast to Jo Unryong himself, who worried over even a few copper coins.
The coachman asked,
“Then are you planning to hire soldiers in the next county as well?”
“That’s the plan. Hopefully, the next county magistrate will be just as corrupt as this one.”
“And you’ll make the branch manager pay their wages too?”
“Of course.”
Jaha stared at the coachman as though he had asked something ridiculous.
“Wouldn’t it be better to spend some money and safely deliver this carriage instead of having it stolen or damaged?”
Then he narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t know the exact instructions you were given, but I imagine the branch manager told you to deliver this carriage even if it cost you your life.”
The coachman went silent.
That was exactly what the branch manager had told him.
He knew Jaha had only guessed, but the guess was so accurate that it made him uncomfortable.
Jaha continued.
“I intend to fulfill my duty as an escort guard.”
“So even if some of my methods seem strange, I’d like you to follow my decisions.”
In the coachman’s eyes, the Byeokho who had returned from Taiyuan was completely different from the Byeokho who had left Yeongje County.
He had changed from an insignificant man into someone who seemed to be hiding extraordinary abilities.
At least, that was how the coachman saw him.
In any case, with the soldiers accompanying them, they reached the next village without incident.
There were many corrupt officials in the world.
But naturally, there were also honest officials.
The county magistrate of Sogang County was one of them.
The Sogang County magistrate refused both of Jaha’s requests.
