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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Phoenix of Sichuan Spreads Its Hardened Wings. Fin.
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"My name is Dong-jeok."
"I'm Jang-tae."
"And I'm the youngest, No-sak."
"..."
The two old men stared at the four individuals calling themselves the Four Demons of Mount Jung, speechless for a long moment. Finally, they managed to speak.
"Did... did I hear that correctly?"
"I'd like to think so, but... this oppressive, suffocating aura is unmistakably demonic energy."
Elder Jo shot down the chief steward's hopeful question.
Demonic energy.
The aura of demonic practitioners, said to overwhelm the spirit.
An energy one inevitably acquires when practicing demonic arts.
"S-so, they're definitely the Four Demons of Mount Jung..."
The chief steward trailed off, looking at Mujin.
"That's right. I met them on Mount Jung. They're not bad guys. They just look a little old for their age. They're simple folks, so treat them well."
"Y-Young Master? H-haven't you heard the rumors about the Four Demons of Mount Jung?"
"Rumors?"
"They went on a killing spree at the Red Wolf Society, beat a lay disciple of the Wudang Sect half to death, and even the warriors of the Baek Family Manor suffered at their hands! And that's not all, even the lay families of the Diancang Sect..."
"I know. They said there was a misunderstanding."
"What?"
The chief steward stared blankly at Mujin for cutting him off so sharply.
"I said I know all about it. Still, I've decided to take them in as my own."
As Mujin spoke with finality, the chief steward turned to Elder Jo.
"You should say something too!"
"What more is there to say when the Young Master has made his decision? As his retainers, our only path is to follow."
At Elder Jo's words, the chief steward's jaw dropped.
He couldn't get used to this sudden change in the man, who was known for being one of the most fastidious people in the world.
"By the way, where did this carriage come from? It's heavily loaded. Shall I call some warriors to move the cargo?"
Mujin shook his head at Elder Jo's question.
"No need. These guys can carry it. Chief Steward, lead them to the warehouse."
With that, Mujin turned to leave.
The steward called out to his retreating back.
"You have to tell me what all this is..."
"Two thousand two hundred and thirty nyang. In. Gold."
With those words, Mujin disappeared into his quarters.
The chief steward's eyes widened at the mention of a staggering 2,230 nyang.
"M-more gold, and so much of it..."
The man who had just been listing the evil deeds of the Four Demons of Mount Jung instantly changed his tune and led them forward. Elder Jo shook his head.
"He wasn't always like this... What has money done to him..."
Elder Jo wore a bitter expression, seeing the change in the chief steward who had struggled to support the family by juggling debts.
When Mujin returned to his quarters, Masok, who had been waiting for him, rushed out.
"Young Master!! You've returned safely?"
"Yes. I'm hungry, bring some food. Ah, there are four new warriors in the warehouse. Bring them along and prepare enough for everyone."
"New warriors?"
"That's right. We can't keep running this family with just a dozen third-rate warriors forever. We need to train the ones worth training and recruit new ones."
"Yes, sir! I'll bring it right away!"
Recalling the days when the Yeomhwa Family was filled with warriors, Masok ran off excitedly.
Before long, Masok returned with the Four Demons, who had finished unloading the cargo. He rushed in, his hands full with heavy insulated containers.
"Everyone, come in. Let's eat together."
Yes!
Starving, the Four Demons seemed to have forgotten the word 'refuse' out of courtesy and entered Mujin's quarters.
"It's meat!"
Mujin nodded at the words of Cheol-muk, the eldest of the four.
"You have to eat meat to get strong."
"Yes, that's right. Our master always said that eating meat hardens the body."
Seeing the five warriors huddled around the small table, chewing on the tender meat, Masok quickly ran out.
"This won't be enough. I'll bring more!"
After Masok left, the youngest, No-sak, swallowed a mouthful of meat and spoke.
"There's almost no gamey smell. The tiger meat we used to eat in the mountains reeked of piss."
At No-sak's words, the other four, including Mujin, nodded in agreement.
The mention of tiger meat brought back memories of his days training deep in the mountains with his master.
"Tiger meat has a terrible stench, doesn't it? In the mountains, wild boar or rabbit meat is the best."
"Exactly. Rabbit is just hard to catch and there's not much meat on it. It's tastier than chicken, though."
"It's been a long time since I've had rabbit."
Jang-tae and Dong-jeok also chimed in, lost in reminiscence for a moment.
The warriors continued their meal, sharing stories of their lives in the mountains.
After devouring all the extra meat Masok brought, they finally leaned back in their chairs with satisfied expressions.
Mujin looked at the four and spoke.
"That demonic energy of yours. You can contain it, right?"
At Mujin's question, the four looked at him.
"We can, but..."
"Do we have to?"
Mujin nodded at Dong-jeok and Jang-tae's questions.
"This is still a family of the Orthodox faction. You can't just walk around reeking of demonic energy."
"If that's the case... it's not a difficult task."
As soon as Cheol-muk replied, the demonic energy emanating from the four completely vanished.
With their fierce auras gone, Masok felt the atmosphere in the room inexplicably relax and looked at the four men again.
"And can you also give up your martial names?"
At the mention of giving up their names, the four looked at Mujin.
"Giving up our names..."
"What do you mean?"
Mujin took a sip of the stale tea on the table before answering.
"I'm talking about your title. The Four Demons of Mount Jung. I'm asking if you can give it up. As I said before, it's difficult for an Orthodox family to openly harbor demonic practitioners."
Cheol-muk replied as if it were no big deal.
"We like the title 'Four Demons of Mount Jung,' but what's so great about it? We'll probably get a new one later, like the 'Four Demons of Yeomhwa' or something."
"Yes. It's not like giving up our title changes who we are, right?"
"That's right. If we can be with you, Young Master, something like this is no problem at all."
"Of course. If it means I can get married, I'd even change my name."
At the youngest, No-sak's, final comment, Mujin looked at him.
"Get married?"
"Yes. Stuck on Mount Jung, I was afraid we'd all end up as pathetic old bachelors. A man should have a wife and kids, shouldn't he?"
"..."
Mujin looked at No-sak for a moment before shaking his head.
*'I don't think being stuck on a mountain is the only reason you haven't been able to get married.'*
Looking into No-sak's hopeful eyes, Mujin couldn't bring himself to say such a thing.
Their appearances made them look like they were already in their thirties or forties.
What kind of young maiden would want to marry middle-aged men who looked like they should already have several concubines and children, let alone a wife?
"Well, they say every pot has its lid. We'll see."
It was the most positive response Mujin could muster.
While they were talking, the chief steward, having finished recording the new gold in the ledgers, arrived with a folding screen tucked under his arm.
"Young Master!"
"Ah, right. I forgot about that."
Seeing the screen the steward was holding, Mujin stood up.
"I was going to put it in the warehouse, but it looked valuable, so I brought it just in case."
"I brought it because it piqued my interest. Good job. Just leave it on the floor for now."
At Mujin's words, the chief steward laid the screen down on the wooden floor.
"Did you also confiscate this screen from that swindler?"
Mujin nodded at the steward's question.
"Confiscate makes it sound like I took it by force. The guy just gave it to me. Said my room looked bare. What was it? He said it was a work by some Master Jang So-san or someone."
The chief steward shook his head at Mujin's words.
"A work by Master Jang So-san? That scoundrel must have scammed you again. There's no way a swindler like him would possess such a precious piece..."
"Is this Jang So-san fellow that famous?"
At Mujin's question, the chief steward began to unfold the screen on the floor as he spoke.
"Of course. He was an eccentric among eccentrics, a man of many talents. He was skilled in martial arts, once ranked among the top ten masters of Hubei, and had a deep appreciation for calligraphy and painting. Every one of his works is traded at high prices even today. He also had a keen eye for mechanisms and formations... Huh?"
The chief steward's words trailed off as he fully unfolded the screen and stepped back to take in the overall impression.
"It's probably authentic, you know."
At Mujin's words, the chief steward finally managed to speak.
"That can't be. Where would a mere swindler get an authentic piece... But even if it's a forgery, it's exquisite. I once saw a painting by Master Jang So-san, and this perfectly captures his style. The powerful yet fluid brushstrokes, the way it evokes a wistful atmosphere yet uses direct expressions..."
As he continued to speak, gradually becoming absorbed in the painting, the chief steward trailed off again.
"See?"
"...How did that scoundrel get his hands on such a precious work..."
"Just looking at his neighborhood, it was obviously a wealthy area. He probably made a living off high-ranking officials and nobles, right? He must have received it while visiting their prestigious homes."
"Y-Young Master! This is truly a rare masterpiece! I see now that you have an excellent eye for art!"
"No."
"Pardon?"
"I said no. I just felt a sense of unease. It felt like there was some kind of trick hidden in the painting, but I couldn't figure it out, so I brought it with me."
The chief steward asked with a puzzled expression.
"A trick...?"
Instead of answering the expectant question, Mujin changed the subject.
"Enough idle chatter. From now on, these four will be the instructors for our warriors, so make the preparations. And make sure to inform the warriors. Let them know that if they try to challenge them like they did me, these guys won't let it slide. They aren't as generous as I am."
"As... as instructors..."
"How long do you plan to run this family with a dozen third-rate warriors? We need to train the ones worth keeping and recruit new ones, fast."
"That's true, but..."
"What? Are you worried they'll ask for the family's secret techniques? Don't worry. I won't ask you to hand over something like the Iron Fan Arts. The family's warriors can't all be walking around with iron fans, can they?"
The steward waved his hands in denial at Mujin's words.
"That's not it, Young Master! It's just so sudden..."
There are generally two ways a martial family raises its warriors.
The first is by passing down secret arts only to blood relatives, raising children and growing the clan.
This is not a short-term solution; it's a method that requires a long time to expand the branch families. Thus, it's a path of gradual growth over many years.
The second method is to recruit warriors.
Sometimes, they hire already-trained warriors with money, or they entice those who don't know martial arts by offering to teach them the family's techniques.
In the past, the Yeomhwa Family had twenty famous masters, so the prospect of learning from them attracted many young men from Sichuan who dreamed of becoming warriors.
Indeed, the family elders would impart bits of their own martial arts to the warriors, thereby increasing their strength.
But now, only two elders remained in the family.
And they were the two who had been the weakest among the twenty elders.
The reality was that they had neither the capacity to train many warriors nor the appeal to attract them, which was why the chief steward was flustered.
"I would gladly offer all of my martial arts if it would help the family. However..."
"However?"
"I wonder how many people in Sichuan would actually volunteer to become warriors for our family..."
"Well, about that..."
Having never actually tried to build up a family's power, Mujin's voice trailed off.
He had assumed people would flock if he just put out a call, but now that he thought about it, he couldn't imagine why anyone would pledge their loyalty to his destitute family that even a dog would ignore.
As Mujin fell silent, lost in thought, Cheol-muk, the eldest of the four, spoke up.
"What's there to worry about? If the Hidden Dragon of Sichuan is recruiting warriors, they'll surely gather!"
The chief steward shook his head at his words.
"Perhaps some naive, passionate youths might gather. But it will be difficult to recruit warriors who can be of immediate use. The problem is that while we're feeding, clothing, and paying a monthly stipend to warriors who aren't yet battle-ready, the family's actual strength remains the same. Besides, the cost of raising a single warrior is not to be taken lightly."
The conversation turning back to money, Mujin spoke up.
"How much does it cost?"
"At the very least, it would cost ten silver nyang a month to maintain one warrior."
"Ten nyang per person means five gold nyang for ten people. For a hundred, that's fifty nyang. Six hundred gold nyang a year?!"
"Yes. And that's for the lowest-ranking, basic warriors. As their skills improve and their treatment gets better, the maintenance costs will increase. When we had a thousand warriors, it cost 1,500 gold nyang every month just to maintain them."
"...How much profit do our reclaimed businesses generate?"
"Since those bastards from the Defense Gang left, it's been difficult to resume normal operations, so we're not making any profit yet. If we can get things back on track, I expect we can make at least two hundred gold nyang a month."
"...Then how did they maintain all those warriors in the old days?"
At Mujin's question, the chief steward recalled the glorious era of the Yeomhwa Family with a wistful expression.
"Back then, countless merchant families were desperate to curry favor with us. Not just merchants, but many martial arts schools also pleaded with us to accept their students as warriors, and there were many who wished to borrow our warriors. We should have started a merchant guild back then..."
"You should have?"
Engrossed in the steward's story, Mujin prompted him to continue.
"Ahem. The esteemed Flame Emperor said that a martial family could not become a vulgar merchant guild. I completely agree with his sentiment."
"Ah! Right. A martial family can't become a merchant family."
Mujin nodded as if belatedly coming to his senses.
"Young Master! Money comes and goes, doesn't it? If your reputation grows, merchants will line up to establish connections with our family again."
Mujin nodded at Jang-tae's words.
"You're more thoughtful than you look. Right. Martial families and merchant families are like thread and needle anyway. It'll work out somehow. Chief Steward, you can't be full after the first spoonful, right? Let's start slow. For now, reorganize the family's warriors and prepare to accept new ones."
"Yes, sir!"
As Mujin pressed on, the chief steward bowed his head and answered with vigor.
Lately, the chief steward had started to see glimpses of the late Flame Emperor's youth in Mujin.
"You four, follow me."
As the chief steward led the four men out, Mujin watched the setting sun and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, tsk. In my past life, I walked a solitary path, supreme and alone. Taking care of a few family members is harder than I thought."
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