Chapter 266
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 266
Chapter 266. The Dragon and Phoenix Duel (3)
I was momentarily taken aback by the Captain's question.
Are you asking me if I'm participating in the Dragon and Phoenix Duel? Now?
I knew that the Captain's skill was close to that of a master. It seemed as if he had noticed my skill and asked me that question.
I smiled shyly and replied.
“Thank you for your kind words, but I will not be participating in the Dragon and Phoenix Duel.”
“Why not? You are not yet thirty, so you are eligible to participate.”
“Captain, I am a merchant.”
“...”
“The goal of a merchant is not fame in the martial arts world, but money. That is why I will not participate in the Dragon and Phoenix Duel. Is that answer sufficient?”
My firm answer made Captain Dae-jung wince.
“I can't help it if that's what you say, but it's a shame...”
Hearing this, Miss Dang Su-bin said to Captain Dang.
“Captain, that's rude.”
“Ru... rude...”
“Yes, rude! So stop bothering someone who doesn't want to participate.”
Captain Dang scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and said to me.
“I'm sorry.”
“It's okay.”
I replied gently, and Miss Dang Su-bin said to me.
“By the way, I didn't expect to see you here.”
“Ah... Every time there is a dragon and phoenix duel, the Trading Company opens a temporary store in the commercial district. I'm here for that.”
“I see.”
“When are you competing in the preliminary round?”
“Oh, I'm not participating in the preliminary round. I was one of the 108 who qualified during the last Dragon and Phoenix Duel.”
“Is that so?”
Miss Tang participated last time as well.
There are two types of contestants who advance to the finals of the Dragon and Phoenix Duel.
Those who advanced to the finals in the previous duel and those who pass the preliminary round.
Those two groups are combined to select the final 108 contestants.
However, for various reasons, the number of finalists who are competing again is smaller than expected.
As far as I know, there are about ten contestants who advanced directly to the finals this time.
This means that the remaining 100 or so contestants will be selected in the preliminary round.
There is a reasonable explanation for why the finalists from last time do not have to go through the preliminary round.
It is to give the preliminary contestants more experience.
If they meet the finalists from the beginning, they are very likely to be eliminated.
Dang Jo-woong smiled and said,
“I will participate in the preliminary round this time.”
“But you are still too young...”
I said worriedly, but Dang Jo-woong said in a confident voice,
“I'll be fourteen after my birthday. Of course, I know I'm young. But I don't think being young means you're weak.”
He was right, so I nodded.
I, too, had reached my peak before I was twenty.
“And Captain Dao also encouraged me to participate.”
Captain Dae-jeong added with a pleased smile.
“You've already surpassed that age level.”
He was indeed a talented child.
Even though he hadn't been able to practice martial arts for many years in his previous life, he had reached the peak of his abilities.
Although he died at a young age and was unable to surpass the limits of his abilities.
I looked into Tang Dao-woong's eyes and said,
“I'll cheer for you.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Ugh, I told him not to call me Master... He seemed to have forgotten already.
“Since we've met like this, would you like to have dinner together?”
It was a kind offer, but I politely declined.
“Thank you for your kind offer, but I just finished dinner. If I eat more, my stomach will burst.”
“That won't do. I'll invite you again when it's a more appropriate time.”
“Thank you. I'll be waiting for your call.”
After bowing in respect, I also greeted Miss Tang Su-bin and Tang Zhaoweng.
“I wish you good luck.”
With that, we parted ways, and I headed back to the inn.
By the way, how many people I know are participating in the competition?
On my way to the inn, I saw the list of participants for tomorrow's preliminary round posted on the wall.
Hmm... Hyang-ok is participating tomorrow.
.
.
.
The next day, I headed to the duel arena with my mother.
“Hyang-ok is competing today! I wonder what kind of performance she will give.”
I nodded at my mother's words.
“Yes, I'm really looking forward to it.”
“Still, I hope she doesn't push herself too hard... I want her to do well, but at the same time, I don't want her to overdo it!”
In response, the wife of the head of the Kwangjoon Trading Company said,
“It can't be helped. She's our niece.”
“Yes, that's true.”
The bitter look on my mother's face last night was nowhere to be seen.
She was just excitedly waiting for Hyang-ok's turn to compete.
Perhaps she had given up, or perhaps she had simply forgotten.
Meanwhile, the emcee came out and proceeded with the preliminary rounds of the duel, and before we knew it, it was Hyang-ok's turn.
Hyang-ok's turn was third after lunch.
“...The next contestants are Hyang-ok, a disciple of the Emei Sect! And facing her is Dong-mae-mun's Soo-jin-wook!”
“Wahhh!”
When my sister appeared, my mother cheered loudly.
“Hyang-ok! Do your best!”
Seeing us, Hyang-ok smiled at us.
Dong!
The duel began with the sound of drums.
After sizing each other up, the two swords clashed violently.
But...
“What! That shameless guy!”
My mother was furious.
“That guy! He's definitely doing that on purpose.”
The wife of the Trading Company's captain was also furious.
It was because of Hyang-ok's opponent, a martial artist named Su Jin-wook.
When martial artists duel, it is an unwritten rule not to aim for the vital points of the opponent, so martial artists do not aim for the chest of a female opponent.
If they do, they will be treated as if they were a molester.
But now... The sword of that man, Soo-jin-wook, was clearly aimed at my sister's chest.
“Ouch! I'm sorry. My sword missed.”
“Hahaha. You missed again.”
He apologized, so she couldn't just accuse him of being a pervert.
However, she could tell from the look in Soo-jin-wook's eyes.
It was definitely not a mistake; he was doing it on purpose.
Is he crazy? How could he do something like that in front of all these people?
Others seemed to notice as well, and the murmurs grew louder.
“Was that a mistake?”
“Hm...”
“Hm!”
These were men who had spent their entire lives with swords. There was no way they couldn't tell if it was a mistake or not.
In particular, Hae-cheong-sin-ni of the Emei Sect looked as if he was about to rush onto the duel stage at any moment.
So that's why Hyang-ok was holding back her harsh words.
At the time, I only heard that the other party had committed an act of disrespect.
I would be angry too.
I was startled for a moment. It was because Hyang-ok's eyes suddenly changed.
“Oh no...”
My mother saw this and clicked her tongue.
“She's angry.”
I offered my condolences to the warrior, Su Jin-wook, in advance.
A cold aura began to emanate from Hyang-ok's sword.
At that moment!
I could catch a glimpse of the legend of her subduing the Amisan tiger.
“Haah!”
Her sword shot out faster than a tiger and struck Su Jin-wook's sword.
Clang!
Su Jin-wook's sword was cut in half.
Wow, if you can break your opponent's sword with a single strike like that, it seems like your skill is close to perfection.
My sister raised her head and said to him.
“If you keep making mistakes with your sword, you'll have to cut it off.”
“....”
“By the way, with your poor sword skills, how did you manage to participate in the Dragon and Phoenix Duel? I applaud your courage.”
“Are you insulting me?”
“Oh! Insulting you? If that's how you heard it, then at least your ears are working properly.”
“Where do you think you are, talking so boldly....”
“You were the one who acted boldly, so why should I just stand here?”
Her sister's harsh words continued to pour out.
“This is the Dragon and Phoenix Duel. You came here with skills that make me doubt you can even peel an apple properly! What do you think this duel is? That is an insult to the Martial Alliance, who organized this duel, the participants, and the audience. And your master who sent you here is unqualified!”
Everyone nodded in agreement with Hyang-ok's words.
“That's right!”
“Wow! That's refreshing!”
“That's right! That's exactly right!”
The enthusiastic response from the crowd made Su Jin-wook's face red with embarrassment.
Still, he was proud and snapped back.
“Don't insult my school and my master!”
“So you mean you have proper skills? Is that what you're saying?”
“Of course! I am a second-rate warrior!”
“Then it wasn't a mistake to aim for my chest. A second-rate warrior made more than a dozen mistakes...”
“That...”
“Who decided you were a second-rate warrior? I guess it was you.”
“No! My master...”
He was speechless and couldn't continue.
The more he said, the more he would disgrace his master.
So why did you do that... Tsk, tsk.
“And it really was a mistake.”
“Is that so? Then...”
His sister's eyes turned cold.
“You haven't surrendered yet, have you? I'll cut off the hand that made that mistake.”
“Ha...”
But Su Jin-wook couldn't surrender. His sister's fist had struck him in the face.
Bang!
“Guh!”
Wow! Hyang-ok is fierce!
People cheered at his sister's actions.
“Woohoo!”
“Cool, Hyang-ok!”
But Hyang-ok didn't stop there. She kneed him in the stomach.
“Guh!”
After her repeated bare-handed attacks, he finally collapsed on the unarmed floor.
Hyang-ok approached him with her sword and stepped firmly on his arm.
“Kraaah!”
Just as she was about to swing her sword down toward his hands, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around.
“Wait, wait! Please listen to me!”
What?
He continued with a cowardly expression.
“The truth is, someone told me to embarrass you.”
What?
At his words, the crowd began to murmur.
“Who? Who are they?”
“Those guys!”
He pointed somewhere. There were four burly men where his finger was pointing.
Huh? They look familiar...
Ah! They're the ones who insulted Hyang-ok and her friends with vulgar words when they were waiting in line last time.
I thought I understood the whole story.
The other disciples of the Emei Sect also noticed this and jumped up and shouted.
“What? Who are they?”
“They are the ones who insulted us with vulgar words the other day!”
“We even wrote a pledge that we would never do such a thing again...”
The big men waved their hands in confusion.
“We didn't...
”When did we ever do that...
When they denied it, the warrior Soo-jin-wook shouted angrily.
"Are you saying that I lied? Here is the contract!
He took the contract out of his pocket and handed it to Hyang-ok.
Hyang-ok read it and her mouth twisted.
“This is a contract saying that you will give me ten nyang if you disgrace me. And the names written here are the same as the names on the pledge we received earlier...”
With the situation now like this, the thugs were unable to escape.
“Damn it...”
Before Hae-cheong-sin-ni could say anything, the spectators reacted first.
“Damn those bastards!”
“What are you doing at the Dragon and Phoenix Duel?”
“Such people should be expelled from the martial arts world!”
They tried to run away, but their escape route was already blocked by Hae-cheong Shin-ni.
And then...
“Please come with us.”
They were arrested by the patrol and taken away.
With the situation settled, all that remained was the battle between Hyang-ok and Su Jin-wook.
“Then...”
Hyang-ok looked at Su Jin-wook.
“I will cut off your hand again.”
“I surrender! I surrender!”
He desperately cried out in surrender, and Hyang-ok was declared the winner.
Sujin-wook was also taken away by the patrol.
Hyang-ok came down, and we quickly went to her.
“Hyang-ok!”
“Oh, Grandma!”
“Congratulations on your victory today. You must have had a hard time.”
“No, it's nothing. It's not uncommon to encounter people like that in life.”
I realized that this wasn't the first time my sister had defeated such a pervert.
That evening.
My mother celebrated Hyang-ok's victory and once again invited Emei Sect's group to the inn.
I went to the inn where my sister was staying and took them to the inn where we were staying.
That was when it happened.
Someone walking down the street saw us and said,
“Hey, who's that?”
“Isn't that the female warrior who beat up that scoundrel?”
“Oh, yes, it is.”
Seokgeom Yeokhyeop (女劍女俠).
It means a female warrior with a sharp tongue.
I heard that name again.
“Seokgeom Yeokhyeop? Seoho? Is that my name?”
“It seems so.”
Oh, now I remember, my sister hated that name.
That's why you got into trouble and had a hard time cleaning it up...
Quick!
I quickly grabbed my sister's skirt.
“Sister! You mustn't get into trouble!”