Chapter 1 – Where is the Sword Saint (1)

Chapter 1 – Where is the Sword Saint (1)

[TL Note- Series title is a pun play on protagonist's name So-mu means Young Warrior/Young Master]

A small tavern located in Baiyang County, Shaanxi Province.

After half a day of business, the first customer finally arrived.

“Have you been waiting long? I put in a more generous portion today.”

This customer, who had visited after a long time, was the boss of the hoodlums who ruled the back alleys.

A shiny bald head and a massive build like a bear. Moreover, even two eyes torn like a parrot bill. Il-gwang had the knack for giving a sense of intimidation to the opponent with his appearance alone.

“Hey, So-mu. Clean yourself up a bit. You look decent, but your hair is disheveled. A young fellow doesn't know what style is.”

So-mu set down the meat noodles and sat opposite him.

“Haha. I wash well. I cannot make food to serve to customers with a dirty body.”

Il-gwang picked up his chopsticks and asked.

“How is business these days?”

“Don't even ask. Because of the war, customers have been completely cut off. I wonder what on earth will happen to the country…”

“Worrying about the country is the job of those high and mighty bastards. For guys like us, thinking of how to make a living comes first.”

So-mu folded his arms on the table and his eyes shined.

“Still, shouldn't the war end for business to go well again?”

“Before the war ends, we might meet our end first. Hearing the rumors, they say even here is no longer a safe zone.”

Everything started from the usurpation of the throne of the Jin Dynasty.

The new emperor, who rose rapidly with an unidentified military group at his back, named the country's name 'Hui'. Before them who shined with ferocity, neighboring countries collapsed one after another. First, the Mongolian steppes collapsed, and the Song Dynasty was also in a situation where half of its territory was taken.

“Then what will happen to us now?”

Il-gwang, who was about to taste the noodles, suddenly struck the table with his palm.

Bam-!

When he lifted his hand, the flattened corpse of a fly was revealed.

“We become like him.”

So-mu harbored a bitter smile. To think his future was the corpse of a fly whose innards burst and died.

“Does that mean the Hui Dynasty will harm us?”

Il-gwang, who swallowed the noodles in his mouth, snorted.

“You haven't heard the words of the people who fled here as refugees. Those bastards don't think of us as anything more than livestock.”

“Sigh… Then we must hope our government army blocks them well.”

“Well, it will work out somehow. What would we know about how the war is turning out?”

As the atmosphere was about to sink, So-mu changed the topic and asked.

“By the way, how do the noodles taste today?”

“As expected, your hand taste is really the best. It is because the meat preparation is very fantastic. Whenever I eat it, the texture is very good.”

Looking at So-mu's attitude, he did not seem to feel any intimidation at all from the man in front of him. Unlike his ferocious appearance, it was because there was no harm done as long as the protection fee was paid well.

“Arguably, my ingredient preparation technique is the best in Baiyang County.”

“Indeed, that is true. For a shop as small as a rat's dropping, I could just send my boys, but I cannot forget this taste, so I end up coming myself.”

“Come whenever you like. I can make you as much noodles as you want.”

Il-gwang drank the broth straight from the bowl and held out his left palm. It meant to wait for a moment.

After a moment, he said with a quite serious expression.

“Let's see. If you trim your hair a bit and this older brother touches you up a little, you might look decent. How about it? Since business is bad anyway, why don't you throw it away, go to the Machang Pavilion, and work with me once?”

So-mu snickered.

Machang Pavilion. It was a place where handsome men sold their bodies.

To women, that is.

“If the tavern goes bankrupt, I will think about it then.”

Il-gwang, who lost interest in the conversation, focused on eating the remaining food. A bowl of noodles that disappeared in the blink of an eye, like a crab hiding in its hole.

Confirming that, So-mu set down something on the table. It was twenty copper coins.

Il-gwang looked at the coins with a puzzled expression.

“I thought you wouldn't be able to pay today? Since business is bad, if it's hard, it's fine to delay it until next time.”

“This much is fine.”

Il-gwang, who rose from his seat, grabbed a handful of copper coins.

“Today, the Soho Tavern is the only shop that paid in full. That's why I like you. I want to beat up those guys who only have slick tongues.”

Looking at the receding back, an enigmatic smile appeared on So-mu's face.

Ten copper coins left on the table. Considering the price of the noodles was two copper coins, he had left a quite large amount of money.

Not long after Il-gwang disappeared, the kitchen knife began to move again.

Eight kinds of vegetables placed on the cutting board at once. The ingredients, trimmed uniformly without an error of a hair's breadth, were divided into hundreds of pieces in the blink of an eye.

Tatak-! Tatatatak-!

When he stir-fried the ingredients with duck meat on a greased iron plate, a fragrant smell filled the tavern. And just before the dish was completed, there was a man who entered the tavern.

“Brother So! How do you know I am coming every time and prepare the dish in advance?”

A snow-white Taoist robe and a simple longsword engraved with a plum blossom pattern. This young Taoist looked like a martial artist through and through.

He naturally took a seat in the corner of the tavern.

“Have you not come at the same time every day? And you always drank Soho Eight-Duck Delicacy and two bottles of Bamboo Leaf Green.”

This duck dish, named after the Soho Tavern, was a special dish that could only be eaten here.

The common Bamboo Leaf Green is also the cheapest among alcoholic beverages. These two were the young Taoist's favorite combination, and they never changed.

“By the way, did that hoodlum visit again? If he keeps bothering you, I can teach him a lesson.”

“You must have run into him. Do not hate him too much.”

“Business is bad because of the war, yet you are even extorted. Are you not aggrieved?”

So-mu said, setting down the Soho Eight-Duck Delicacy and two bottles of Bamboo Leaf Green on the table.

“In the history of the Central Plains, there was no era without hoodlums. If he is gone, another character will take his place, but would he be a better person than him? Still, that Il-gwang is a man of much affection, so I cannot hate him.”

Before he even finished speaking, the Taoist was already gulping down the Bamboo Leaf Green straight from the bottle.

“Keuh! The taste of alcohol is even better today.”

“It is good for me since sales go up, but I do not know if a Taoist is allowed to drink this much alcohol.”

A flush rose on the face of the Taoist who had emptied a bottle in an instant.

“Hehe. If my senior brothers find out, they will not leave me alone. But it does not matter anymore.”

Before he knew it, So-mu was resting his chin on his hand in the kitchen, looking at the Taoist. His face wore an amused expression.

“Usually, the reason for drinking alcohol is to feel good. But it seems Brother Cheong-hae drinks to forget his suffering.”

The young Taoist, called Cheong-hae, nodded with a bitter smile.

“That's right. It hurts enough to die.”

“It looks so. What on earth makes it so hard for you?”

Cheong-hae, who hesitated, drank the Bamboo Leaf Green once more and said in a low voice.

“Sigh… I was expelled from the sect.”

Cheong-hae's expression was too serious.

Staring at him, So-mu eventually grabbed something from the kitchen and approached.

“I do not know the detailed circumstances, but that is why you were just pouring alcohol down your throat like this every day. Since I am not a martial artist, I cannot give you advice, but I can keep you company in drinking.”

Thud-!

A jar of Bamboo Leaf Green came up on the table. At that, Cheong-hae blinked his eyes repeatedly in embarrassment.

“Brother So. I do not have the money to pay for all this. And what about business?”

“There are no customers anyway, so I am going to end today's business here. And this is on me. If you beat me in drinking, I will not even receive the food price.”

“No taking back your words later.”

So-mu, who scooped up a bowl of alcohol with a gourd, was already gulping it down.

Emptying it all at once, he scooped up another bowl and handed it to Cheong-hae.

“Keuh! Good. Now I think we've drunk about the same. Right, in the martial world, do they call that expulsion? Anyway, you suffered that? Why on earth?”

Cheong-hae emptied the gourd in an instant as if he could not lose. Then he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His face turned red in an instant as the alcohol rushed up.

“Phew. There was a misunderstanding. I just went because I was curious about what Mount Hua's Plum Sword Pond was like, and I had no intention of stealing martial arts.”

Although he did not hear the details, So-mu seemed to guess what the situation was roughly.

“Since you are in the same sect, what does it matter if you see a bit? Still, they are too harsh.”

“The problem is that what I saw was the training of the Plum Blossom Sword Guards. It turned out that I, the youngest in generation, stole a look at the high-grade martial arts that even first-generation disciples are forbidden to read.”

“If it is the Plum Blossom Sword Guards, I also heard of them vaguely while working in the tavern. Did they say they are the best geniuses of the Mount Hua Sect?”

“That's right. That day, I was beaten to death by the Plum Blossom Sword Guards…”

Cheong-hae stopped speaking, his eyes turning red.

He was even in a situation where his martial arts would be completely abolished. If his master had not begged the sect leader, it would have surely turned out that way. Fortunately, he was able to remain as an outer disciple, but returning to a formal disciple was close to impossible.

“Even so, it seems Brother Cheong-hae still cannot let go of his lingering attachment to the Mount Hua Sect.”

“Of course. My goal was to become a Plum Blossom Sword Guard, roam the rivers and lakes, and finally become the world's best expert. Is this not the dream of all martial artists? Like the Sword Saint… But now, all those opportunities have flown away.”

Before Cheong-hae even finished speaking, So-mu was drinking the Bamboo Leaf Green again.

“Keuuuh! Good. When the heart is suffering, there is only this alcohol to comfort you. …I cannot understand why martial artists long for the world's best. What is good about it once you reach that position? And what is the next goal?”

Receiving the bowl, Cheong-hae fell into thought for a moment. It was because an appropriate answer did not come to mind.

After worrying for a moment, he began to drink the bowl with a deep breath. His eyes were already half-unfocused.

“Keuuuuuh! I do not know either. Hic! I will think about it when the time comes… Hic!”

Cheong-hae staggered his upper body. Even his focus was tangling. He had already exceeded his drinking capacity long ago.

“Then what do you plan to do from now on?”

“I will leave…”

“Where to?”

An answer could not be heard. It was because his head was slowly collapsing toward the table. He had reached his limit.

So-mu stared at Cheong-hae who had fallen fast asleep with his head on the table.

His eyes were very different from a moment ago. His eyes, quiet and deep like a lake, looked like an abyss.

After a moment, a voice full of regret gently vibrated inside the tavern.

“He is a friend with much greed, but not a bad mind. That is why you do not suit the martial world. Rather, it might be a relief that you were expelled from the Mount Hua Sect. And tell me… have you not thought that the man called the Sword Saint is regretting his past days?”