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Chapter 41
Chapter 41: The Beginning of my Banquet (3)
Translator: Hwarang
Editor: Klaurem
Ma Jung Soo was sitting down with a stern face. After seeing the empty vault he didn’t break even a single piece of furniture. This was the first time he was so mad that the thought of breaking anything didn’t come to him.
Aside from him there were three others inside this room with a heavy atmosphere.  The other three were Old Man Flower Fan, Si Gon, and the Mysterious Woman. There was a big bruise on Si Gon’s face which made him feel more humiliated than having his arm cut off. Since he was someone prideful he might have even thought about committing a suicide.
But the first to wake from this heavy mood was Ma Jung Soo, “I couldn’t even have a single bite.”
He was lamenting the fact that he lost the Divine Nine-Leaved herb. The reason why he didn’t eat it was because he was going to use it to lure the other youths. Since he showed the Heavenly Origin sword this time, he was going to show the Divine Nine-Leaved Herb the next time. By showing them the divine sword and profound medicine he was going to get their trust and interest. Of course he didn’t have any intention of giving it to them, they were just baits but…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ma Jung Soo continuously smashed the table. The rage that he had been holding back finally exploded. At a time like these when profound medicines are rare, who wouldn’t be mad if they got their precious herbs stolen from them. The table finally shattered into pieces but no one inside the room said anything. If that rage was directed at them, then they could lose their life.
Ma Jung Soo asked angrily, “Have you not found out who it was?”
Old Man Flower Fan cautiously looked at Ma Jung Soo and said, “Jung Bangjoo sent out his men.”
“And you think it’s not him?”
Old Man Flower Fan stared at Ma Jung Soo in the eyes and said, “It’s not his doing. He was with me when it happened.”
Jung Yeo was very smart in choosing his alibi, he was with a person who could verify it right away.
“He could have sent his men”
“No one in the Yang Clan is such an expert as to knock out Si Gon in one hit. Even Jung Bangjoo doesn’t have the skill to do so.”
When he heard the word ‘knocked out’, Si Gon stare became filled with bloodlust.
Then Ma Jung Soo stared at Old Man Flower Fan and said, “Then you must be working with him.”
“How could you say such thing even if you are that angry?!”
“Angry? Do I look like I am angry?!”
Ma Jung Soo showed his teeth, “Do you think I am just angry? I am about to go crazy! If I catch that rat I will torture him until he dies. But I will never kill him, I will make him live in a world of torture.”
As he said that he flared his killing intent and Old Man Flower Fan flinched. Since he knew that those words were true he felt somewhat afraid. He didn’t  know much about Ma Jung Soo but he knew about Ma Jung Soo’s evil intent.
Ma Jung Soo’s glare was now pointed toward Si Gon, “Have you gone mute?”
Si Gon hadn’t said a word since he entered this room.
He finally opened his dry mouth, “I am sorry”
His apologies made the mood even worse.
Old Man Flower Fan tried to lighten the mood, “I don’t think there is anyone that we met who is that much of an expert. Don’t you think so?”
With that sentence Si Gon flinched. It sounded as if Old Man was doubting him.
“What do you mean?”
“I am not saying this because I suspect you.”
“Then why are you saying such a thing?”
“Why?”
This time Old Man Flower Fan flinched. Everyone could see that pressure that these two were giving off. Then Ma Jung Soo’s expression worsened. The person who was making things worse was the Mysterious Woman that was with them.
What if these two fought against each other, then he would have to discipline them. These stupid fools, but he couldn’t say anything.
The women didn’t say anything, she had her arms crossed just observing the situation. She was always like this. It didn’t matter what he did, she was always silent and observing as if she was testing him. If it wasn’t for his father, Ma Jung Soo would have slapped all of them.
Then Ma Jung Soo yelled, “Everyone shut up!”
With this the staredown between Si Gon and Old Man Flower Fan ended.
Then Ma Jung Soo said to the two of them, “You aren’t the only ones who are suspicious.”
Their sights naturally turned towards the woman. However, even with their stare the woman didn’t show any reaction.
It was suspicious if you were calm at a time that you had to be bewildered. But since the women was even calmer than that, she was not even suspicious. She looked like a person who had no interest in this.
Then Si Gon said, “It’s not her”
Then Old Man Flower Fan question, “How are you so certain?”
“The opponent wasn’t a female.”
“Didn’t you say you didn’t see the face. Are you saying this because it might hurt your pride?”
Then Si Gon flinched. The words that Old Man Flower Fan said were pulling on his nerve. However, he wasn’t going to fight him since he is a martial artist while Old Man Flower Fan was not. Old Man Flower Fan was someone who was driven by power.
Then Old Man Flower Fan added more insult to the injury, “Not that I am trying to hurt you pride, but the situation calls for it.”
“I am certain it wasn’t a woman”
Old Man Flower Fan took a step back, “If you insist.”
Then Si Gon looked at Ma Jung Soo and said, “It wasn’t that I was surprised… the opponent was truly strong.”
It was something that only the person who was hit knew. If the assailant had tried to kill him he would not have praised them this highly but the assailant didn’t try to do that, but instead knock him out. This was something that was harder to do than to kill in that situation since they had to control their strength perfectly. If the assailant wanted to kill him he would have already been dead.
Ma Jung Soo made perplexed expression, “Why would someone that strong stoop so low as to steal? He probably would have some sort of grudge against me.”
Then Old Man Flower Fan answered, “Maybe he was aiming for the Heavenly Origin Sword?”
“Even if he stole it he would not be able sell it. While the black market might buy it, it would place a huge burden on them.”
“Probably.”
Nodding, Old Man Flower Fan thought of something, “What if it was the work of one of the other successors?”
Ma Jung Soo stood up and said, “Yes that’s it!”
That was the only explanation.
It didn’t seem like the Yang Clan would do something as stupid as that since they could gain more by getting his favor. They couldn’t have stolen from the vault since it contained a sword that they couldn’t even sell.
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
This time his father sent out many of his descendants to different areas. This was a form of test. To be able to hire an expert who was able to knock out Si Gon in a single blow, there was only one explanation. It was one or maybe couple of his brothers plotting against him. Especially the ones who were competing for the successor’s seat had many experts under them.
“These b*tches” Ma Jung Soo grinded his teeth.
Old Man Flower Fan calmly said, “First we need to regain our composure and decide how to move forward. Even though we don’t know who it is, if you lose your composure than you are just doing what they want you to do.”
Ma Jung Soo nodded ,calming himself and sat back down. Seeing that he calmed down old man Flower Fan added, “Even though we may have lost a sword and some money we are still alive and well. We can always gather more money, and we can take back the sword anytime.”
“Your words are wise”
“First we must gather some money since it might affect the construction.”
“How much do we need?”
“To start the construction we need ten thousand nyang and later on we are going to need a hundred thousand nyang.”
“Shit!”
From his position where he lost all his money getting ten thousand nyang wasn’t going to be easy.
Ma Jung Soo showed his teeth like a predator and said, “Make a plan to gather the money.”
****
I bought a new face alteration mask. Since I was going to use it and throw it away I bought a mid-tier mask.
Since I changed my voice as well as my walking habits I was like a different person. With all that preparation I entered the Shrouded City merchant guild and met with the old man who sold me the profound medicine before.
I was going to use the fifty thousand traceable banknote to buy some profound medicine. Finding a way to trade this for money was very dangerous so it was better to use it get something even if it was overpriced.
“I heard that you came here to buy some profound medicine?”
“Yes”
Since I used different tone and attitude in my previous visit he was unable to find out who I was. However even if he find out it wouldn’t have been a problem since I disguised my face and my voice back then too.
“Do you have some?”
“We do. But they aren’t the best quality”
“What do you mean?”
“We currently have six roots of white thorowax. It is said that they can only give two maybe three years worth of energy.”
“How much is it?”
“Each root is nine thousand Nyang”
So six root meant fifty four thousand Nyang.
“Relatively expensive.”
“These are times when these medicines are precious”
Last time I was able to get fifteen years’ worth of energy from the Bansho root for fourty four thousand nyang. But six root of thorowax would at most increase the cultivation by eighteen years.
One might think that it is more expensive since you get more out of it; however, the effect of the root will diminish as you continuously used it. If you wanted to get the full effect of two years from these roots you had to eat them a year apart from each other so that your body would not build tolerance for it. But I didn’t have time to do that so if I ate them all at the same time I would get at most ten years of energy. Considering the price it was rather expensive, but it wasn’t wise to buy something like a weapon or gear since it can leave behind evidence. It was better to get this and just eat it leaving no evidence.
“I will buy all six roots so sell it to me for fifty thousand nyang.”
Since they were strict on the price the old man hesitated for a while.
Then he nodded his head and said, “Alright. It is better to sell it when there is a buyer.”
He showed me the roots.
With that I bought six roots for fifty thousand nyang.
This fifty thousand nyang was traceable but the Shrouded City was a very tight knit organization so it wouldn’t be easy for the Heavenly Dao Gate to get anything out of it.  Even if the Murim Alliance made a move, it wouldn’t matter since I was wearing a face mask that I was going to burn.
After getting out of the Shrouded City merchant guild I entered the nearest inn. I moved without worry since this face was no longer going to exist in this world. After getting into my room I ate one of the roots. The first root gave me three years of energy. The second root also gave me three years of energy. The efficiency of my Heavenly Protection Technique was fully displayed. However, the third root only gave me two years’ worth of energy. I stopped eating the roots. From now on the efficiency of the root will decrease to two maybe one. It would be a waste to use any more.
With the three roots I was able to gain an additional eight years worth of energy. Now I had fifty-two years’ worth of energy in my dantian. I only need eight more years to reach sixty. At this rate it would take me less than a year to reach. Next year around this time I would be able to use the fourth technique of the Ashura Soul Chasing Sword Art.
After packing up the three roots, I got out of the inn. I planned on giving these three to Kwang Du.
I wanted to give it to my parents but they wouldn’t keep it a secret so I decided to give it him. It would have been hard to explain to them where I got it, but the bigger problem was keeping it a secret. If their son gave them a profound medicine, which parent wouldn’t show it off to others. If others knew about it I would be in trouble.
‘I am sorry you two, I will get you something better when I make more money’
I made Kwang Du swear that he wouldn’t say anything. Either way he wouldn’t know what he is eating so it wasn’t going to be too much of a problem; and giving it to one person was safer than giving it to two since it was one less person to worry about.
Now the only thing that I had to take care of was the Heavenly Origin Sword. I knew a few famous blacksmiths in the Central Plains. They were worthy of being called masters, but since they were far away that wasn’t an option. Also since this was one of the personal swords of the previous mengju they wouldn’t keep the secret if they were threatened. So I had to disguise this myself.
I went straight to the nearest blacksmith.
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