Chapter 309 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

Delivery Mishap - 7 "Kang Gong-ja! Where have you been? We've been looking for you!" As the commotion seemed to settle down, he slowly approached the spot where the people had gathered. "Is it all over?" "The Nokcheong Pyeoguk's Pyeosa have already been subdued, but…" The Seocheon Pyeoguk Branch Chief turned his head with a troubled expression and looked towards the warehouse. "Do you think I'll just eeeasily give it up!" There, the Nokcheong Pyeoguk Head and some of the Pyeosa were kneeling with great difficulty, clutching their swords. Wow. Even with their bodies soaked in blood and tattered rags, they're still holding their ground without falling. "Why are they doing that?" "The Pyo Guk Ju and the Pyo Doo are refusing to open the warehouse under any circumstances." "Heh. You lot pretend to be noble, but when things go awry, you resort to force! Seocheon Pyeoguk! Manggeumjeonjang! If you really want it, cut off our heads and open the door!" The Pyo Guk Ju spat blood and glared murderously at the warrior, who seemed to be representing the Manggeumjeonjang. "We just want to verify." Caught in a dilemma, the Manggeumjeonjang Warrior glanced back and forth between us and the Pyo Guk Ju. "The warehouse is the heart of our Pyeoguk! To you, it might just be opening a door, but to us, it's like tearing out our heart!" "I would have said the same thing. It's a difficult situation. Even the Manggeumjeonjang is hesitant to open the warehouse door." It's indeed troublesome. Today's goal is to subdue the Nokcheong Pyeoguk, not annihilate them. The current scenario is akin to asking an outsider to open the vault of a private vault company. One might say there's no harm if nothing's hidden, but it's a matter that concerns the trust of the Pyeoguk itself. I know what's inside the warehouse, but it's about revealing the wrongdoing and then punishing the crime, not the other way around. 'Wait a minute. Revealing the wrongdoing?' I took a moment to survey my surroundings. The Pyo Guk Ju and Pyeosa guarding the warehouse. The Manggeumjeonjang warriors observing the situation from afar, thanks to whom, a wide no man's land was formed in the middle. This might work. "The Seocheon Pyeoguk Pyeosa can disperse the threat, so please gather the bystanders." He quickly called upon the Seocheon Pyeoguk Pyeosa around and stated his purpose. “Why the bystanders?” Why, you ask? "We need to quickly cover the bad rumors spread by the Nokcheong Pyeoguk with good ones." Restoring lost credit swiftly and opening the warehouse without using force. If there's such a way, isn't it proper to do it? It's been a while since Kang Yun-ho, the raconteur, has a chance to shine. —————– "The heart of the Nokcheong Pyeoguk shall never be surrendered!" Waiting for a while amidst the standoff, the noise drew in bystanders who were loitering nearby. Let's start with applying the So Yoon Sim Sang Kyeol tactic. With vigor coursing through his entire body, he stepped energetically into the no man's land. As he stepped forward, he could feel all eyes focusing on him. With a low, solemn voice, he spoke clearly so everyone could hear. "Mo Sa Jae In (謀事在人) - Seong Sa Jae Cheon (成事在天) - Bul Ga Gang Ya (不可强也)." He began with the famous saying of JeGal MuHu. "If you want the warehouse opened, then cut off our heads! What is this?! Who are you?!" The Pyo Guk Ju recognized his face and immediately frowned. Still staking their lives on refusing to open the door. "Then I shall stake my life claiming there's something of mine in that warehouse." He declared boldly, offering his neck. “Kang Gong-ja!” Voices of shock erupted from all directions. "A Joseon person? Who is he?" The bystanders who saw him for the first time began whispering among themselves with curious expressions. "They call me Kang Yun-ho of Dasa-gak. I spearheaded this case, so I too shall stake my life on it." "You?! You dare detain an innocent man!!!" The enraged Pyo Guk Ju attempted to rise but, having lost too much blood, staggered and fell back to his knees. Phew. Almost bolted in panic there. Without betraying his alarm, he produced a carefully crafted folding fan from his bosom—clearly a luxurious piece at first glance. Whoosh! The feeling in his hand confirmed it. Indeed, discussing matters calls for a fan. As he opened and closed the fan, all attention turned back to him. "An innocent man?! Does it seem to those gathered here that I have detained an innocent man?" He began his narrative, now holding his fan, with a nonchalant expression as he addressed the onlookers. "..." Even the Pyeosa and Manggeumjeonjang knew the affair; the spectators, not so much. Thus, the explanation began with the backstory. "Not long ago! Members of the Seocheon Pyeoguk, someone's father, someone's husband, or someone's son, could not return to their families but fell victim to a beast aboard the ship!" Though now a writer, the experiences of his trade didn't fade easily. With modulated intonations, he explained in the characteristically exaggerated style of the raconteur. "Ah! The ghost ship from yesterday!" "Wasn't it said that the Seocheon Pyeoguk was attacked by bandits leaving only a ghost ship behind?" Good. Indeed, not a rumor unknown. "How could it be?! Not even an external attack nor a mix-up with the Pyo Mul, yet why were the Seocheon Pyeoguk's Pyeosa helpless?" Leading curiosity forward another step. "Hmm..." He paused, observing the audience's expressions as they showed traces of doubt before he continued. "The crew's belongings! The mysterious attackers lay in wait, concealed within the poorly inspected cargo! And only someone who was a Pyeosa would know the crew's vigilance was lax!" "Is that flimsy reason why we were attacked?!" The Pyo Guk Ju loudly objected to his explanation. Still more to come. Currently, he was engaged in storytelling. Having stirred curiosity, it was time to embellish the tale with quality. "The Pyeosa of Seocheon Pyeoguk! While any ordinary person would think of their family in their dying moments! But! Our Seocheon Pyeoguk Pyeosa made a critical decision even as they lay dying to reveal the whereabouts of the Pyo Mul!" Grasping his chest, he contorted his face as if reflecting the resolve of someone on the brink of death. "What decision?" “In the midst of battle, they severed and swallowed a fistful of green hair!” Transforming mere eyewitness accounts into stirring anecdotes. The important thing is the green hair, not the other details. He scattered the green hair he'd picked up beforehand on the ground for the audience to see. A dying Pyeosa leaving evidence for his comrades. This single tale alone would highlight just how exceptional the Seocheon Pyeoguk's Pyeosa were. "They swallowed the green hair?" "Indeed! That way, evidence remains even after death!" "Seocheon Pyeoguk's Pyeosa did such a thing…" "Look over there! The hair's been cut!" The audience pointed to a Pyo Doo with a large clump of green hair cut off. "This was just cut!" No use arguing. Once he had started the narrative, any words coming after could only sound like excuses. "Are you suspecting us for such a trivial reason?! Green hair is not that uncommon!" Correct, that is true. He nodded to the Pyo Guk Ju's words, then turned and pointed his fan at the Pyo Guk Ju. "Your goal was to dock the ghost ship and announce the Seocheon Pyeoguk's failed delivery to everyone. Your plan was perfect! But the heavens did not permit it to succeed." He pointed his fan at the sky and then back at the Pyo Guk Ju. "What nonsense is this?!" "The deceased Pyeosa's eldest son saw you at the dock." "What?!" Having woven doubt and quality into the story, it was now time to add emotion. He turned to the audience and, with a sorrowful expression, began pacing the area. "A boy, forever waiting for a father who will never return home, unknowingly witnessed the green-haired ones loading goods onto a vessel at the dock and informed me!" In truth, it was the Hao Mun who had informed him. "Good heavens!" "My word! Such a thing!" The audience, as if they were the boy themselves, could not hide their sorrowful expressions. "There are many paths at the harbor! Green hair is not rare! That alone cannot be proof!" "Mo Sa Jae In (謀事在人) Seong Sa Jae Cheon (成事在天) Bul Ga Gang Ya (不可强也)." A famous saying from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms by JeGal GongMyeong, meaning people scheme, but it's the heavens that determine the outcome, nothing can be forced. "What?" The Pyo Guk Ju spoke with a bewildered expression. "Didn't I tell you? That day, the heavens watched your vile deeds to the end and didn't permit them to succeed." "What nonsense are you spouting!" "Because yesterday, the sky shed tears." In situations like these, claiming that the heavens do not overlook such acts often garners trust. "Tears? Surely... Rain?" "The rain that fell the night before! The wheel tracks at the harbor where the cargo was moved were washed away! Meaning it traveled in the direction the boy indicated along a paved road!" He initially pointed to the door with the paved road using his fan, then slowly shifted it to indicate this spot. Anyone catching on to what this implies? "What? Surely not?!" "Wait a minute! Isn't the road from the harbor to here paved for the Nokcheong Pyeoguk?!" Perfect. He, exuding an aura of confidence like a detective declaring the singular truth, walked toward the Pyo Guk Ju. Frustration flashed across the Pyo Guk Ju’s face. This is the end. He opened his mouth for the final declaration, pointing with the folding fan to a singular culprit. “A place well-aware of the symbiosis of the Pyeoguk! Harboring a grudge, having lost contracts to Seocheon Pyeoguk! Possessing clear motives to dock a ghost ship, thereby announcing Seocheon Pyeoguk's failed delivery to all! A Pyo Doo with green hair! The direction indicated by the deceased son of Seocheon! The only Pyeoguk resident on the paved road is!!! One!!!” "No way?!" "What?!" "Nokcheong Pyeoguk! A place where those have a beast’s heart, not a human's heart, are!" “Grr!” Ultimately, the Pyo Guk Ju couldn't refute his insightful deduction. Though he was simply fitting answers to a known conclusion. He pointed with the fan like an arrow aimed at the warehouse’s heart of wickedness. "Reveal the beast's heart! Expose these villains' misdeeds to the world!" This was the end. Wretched beast-like creature. "You scoundrel! Because of you!" "Kang Gong-ja!" "Be careful!" Ah, he hadn't considered this. In his excitement, he had approached the Pyo Guk Ju too closely. The kneeling Pyo Guk Ju sprung up like a coil and swung his sword at him. Confronting an expert leading a Pyeoguk. The distance was already at arm’s length in an instant, and a limb would fly off in a single breath. “Ugh!!!” Under ordinary circumstances, that is. Pop. With the sound of carbonated gas being released, hidden weapons shot out from the end of his fan. Five darts lodged into the Pyo Guk Ju's chest faster than his eyes could widen. "Kang Gong-ja subdued the Pyo Guk Ju with a fan!" "Oh my!" To a man whose body was drenched in blood without a single intact spot. The hidden weapons of the Sichuan Tanggar were more than sufficient. ******************** "There it is! The stolen goods are here!" "So, the culprit really was the Nokcheong Pyeoguk!" As the warehouse door creaked open, the beastly crimes were effortlessly revealed. People were awed by a young man’s deduction, glancing back at the black-haired youth in admiration. "Remarkable!" "Who would have thought he could subdue a skilled warrior with just a fan!" The distance had been exceedingly close. While the present martial artists witnessed Kang Yun-ho subduing the Pyo Guk Ju with his hidden weapons, to the onlookers, it appeared as though the black-haired protagonist had overtaken the famous Pyo Guk Ju with a fan. "He barely looks past twenty! And yet, he subdued the villain like that!" In reality, the specifics hardly mattered. The act of unveiling and punishing the villain who killed Pyeosa and looted the goods. This display drew admiration from everyone, whether Manggeumjeonjang, Seocheon Pyeoguk, or bystanders alike. And there was one more person captured by the sight. “Kang Gong-jaaaaa!” The treasure of the JeGal family with blush-tinted cheeks, JeGal Hyang, was also present, calling out for Kang Yun-ho. “JeGal Sojeo! You were here!” Kang Yun-ho discovered JeGal Hyang and approached her with a genial smile. ‘Kang Gong-jaaaaa looks even taller nowwww.’ Though he always seemed so, today he towered even more in JeGal Hyang's eyes, and she couldn't tear her gaze away from Kang Yun-ho. Even with countless eyes upon him, he smiled calmly and swayed the crowd with his eloquence. He asserted his opinions with willpower and delivered results that met those expectations. Just now, Kang Yun-ho displayed the very qualities that JeGal Hyang had long admired. "JeGal Sojeo, are you unharmed anywhere?" JeGal Hyang gazed blankly at Kang Yun-ho standing before her. Surely, there were many people around, yet it felt as if there were none. Normally, she would have hidden away somewhere, but today she didn't even feel like doing that. It seemed as if the world consisted only of Kang Yun-ho and herself. In JeGal Hyang's eyes, only one person existed. I need to be brave. She barely managed to contain her pounding heart and spoke to Kang Yun-ho in a voice that was almost melting. "Kang Gong-jaaaa, please do a diary exchange with meee."