Chapter 580
Chapter 580
Chapter 580. Backroom Deal (1)
The next morning.
Eun Jinho calmly took a deep breath inside his room.
At last, today was the day of his first-round main tournament duel.
He was not particularly nervous or trembling.
He was only worried that he might bring disgrace to Chief Administrator Go Ilpyeong and the honor of the Eunhae Trading Company.
And if he were to be injured, his parents would surely worry greatly, so that concerned him as well.
Naturally, his youngest brother, Eun Seoho, would not sit still either.
"Should I have just not participated?" (Eun Jinho)
But this was something he had decided after agonizing over it dozens of times.
Once the Eunhae Trading Company grew further, there would be more people who kept it in check or envied it.
Whether to warn them or pay them back, he needed to gain fame.
If he possessed powerful martial prowess like Geoam True Sword, the guard warrior of the Sebin Trading Company Head, people would step back on their own, but he was not at that level yet.
So he had to show his skill and raise his fame through occasions like this.
To protect the Eunhae Trading Company.
"Hyung, it’s me." (Eun Seoho)
Just then, he heard a voice calling him from outside the door.
"Yeah, come in." (Eun Jinho)
Soon the door opened, and Eun Seoho came in.
"What is it?" (Eun Jinho)
"Are you all ready to go out?" (Eun Seoho)
"Not yet. I only need to put on my jeogori." (Eun Jinho)
"I timed it just right." (Eun Seoho)
Eun Seoho placed the bundle he had brought on the table and untied it.
What was inside was…….
"A breastplate?" (Eun Jinho)
"That’s right. I got it after a lot of trouble. They say it’s made of ten-thousandfold refined steel, no less." (Eun Seoho)
It was steel said to have been tempered ten thousand times, and its hardness and toughness were at a considerable level.
On the other hand, it was very light and comfortable to wear, so it was often used to wear underneath, like a breastplate.
Of course, it was not easy to obtain.
It required high-quality iron that could be tempered ten thousand times, and the skill to do so as well.
As such, the techniques for ten-thousandfold refined steel were passed down only to an extremely small number of people.
"Under the rules of the friendly martial arts competition, you can’t wear full-body armor, but armor that protects part of the body like this can be worn. Basically, a neck guard is provided, but no other protective gear is. That’s why I prepared it." (Eun Seoho)
If they were going to provide protective gear anyway, it would only be right to provide something that protected the chest as well, but there was a reason they did not.
Because depending on the characteristics of one’s martial arts, wearing a breastplate could instead become a restriction.
So opinions on that had been divided, and in the end, they decided to provide only protective gear for the neck and leave the rest to individual choice.
Eun Jinho felt that he understood Eun Seoho’s heart in giving this to him.
Because he could feel that heart, Eun Jinho smiled awkwardly.
"Thanks." (Eun Jinho)
He said while lifting the breastplate.
"Since you’re here, help me put it on." (Eun Jinho)
"Hyung." (Eun Seoho)
"What?" (Eun Jinho)
"I’m busy." (Eun Seoho)
"……." (Eun Jinho)
"But make sure you wear it. I’m going to punch it later and test it." (Eun Seoho)
---
I came out of Jinho Hyung’s guest room and scratched my cheek.
I could have helped Hyung put on the breastplate, but I felt far too embarrassed, so I made an excuse and came out.
And though I had not told Hyung, there was a reason I had gone to the trouble of separately procuring a breastplate and handing it to him like this.
Because of the opponent Jinho Hyung would be facing this time.
Yesterday, while I was resting briefly after the duel ended, Miss Seohyang, her face pale blue, came to see me.
And she said to me,
"Young Captain Eun Jinho is in danger." (Seohyang)
I heard the whole story from her and pieced it together with my memories.
The opponent Jinho Hyung would be crossing hands with this time was Ji Gyeonghwa of the Ji Clan.
He used a whip studded with iron plates as his main weapon, and those iron plates were an extremely dangerous weapon.
Perhaps because of that, in my previous life too, his duel opponent had died.
It was Martial Artist Joun, the Senior Brother of Martial Artist Changun.
The reason I only remembered that fact after hearing Miss Seohyang’s words was because, in my previous life, I had not been here.
I had heard about it from my brothers, but my brothers were not the sort to go around talking about someone’s death, and I also had not considered it an important fact.
So I had simply let it pass.
In any case, because there was no liability for the results that occurred during the friendly martial arts competition of the Murim Grand Conference, Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa received no punishment.
But the person who died had been the future of the Zhongnan Sect.
So the relationship between the Zhongnan Sect and the Ji Clan became vicious, and the problem was that the two forces happened to be based in the same region.
This later brought about an unfavorable result.
But now his opponent was not Martial Artist Joun, but my older brother.
Then for my part, I had no choice but to do everything I could to stop it.
For now, I did not know why Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa had used a lethal technique at the time, or in what way he had killed his opponent.
But according to Miss Seohyang, he would collapse while bleeding from his chest, so that must mean he was attacked in the chest.
That was why I had gifted Jinho Hyung the breastplate.
I looked at Martial Artist Changun, who was meditating in the backyard.
Perhaps because Martial Artist Joun had lost to Jinho Hyung and he had been shocked, he had been devoting himself to training lately.
Martial Artist Changun, please do not be too shocked that the Senior Brother you respect was eliminated in the preliminaries.
Rather, you could say his life was saved.
Of course, if I said something like that, he would look at me with strange eyes.
I put those thoughts aside and called Martial Artist Changun.
"Martial Artist Changun." (Eun Seoho)
"Yes!" (Changun)
He opened his eyes and rose from his seat, and I turned around and said,
"It’s time to go to the duel arena." (Eun Seoho)
.
.
.
My group and I arrived at the duel arena.
"Did you wear the breastplate I gave you?" (Eun Seoho)
"Yeah. I asked Mani to help me." (Eun Jinho)
Mani was Jinho Hyung’s attendant. If he had asked Waiter Mani, then that meant he had put it on extremely carefully.
"Good." (Eun Seoho)
Like that, we each sat down in our seats.
After we had waited a while, Captain Geum Yeonhwa climbed onto the duel stage.
"We will now begin the duels for the second day of the first round of the main tournament." (Geum Yeonhwa)
"Waaaaaah!" (Crowd)
"Today’s first duel is Eun Jinho of the Eunhae Trading Company! Facing him is Ji Gyeonghwa of the Ji Clan!" (Geum Yeonhwa)
"Chamho Changung! Chamho Changung!" (Crowd)
"Hongcheon Seonpyeon! Hongcheon Seonpyeon!" (Crowd)
Hongcheon Seonpyeon was Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa’s alias.
It was an alias given because when he swung his red whip, it looked as if a thousand lines were being drawn.
"Be careful!" (Eun Jinho’s Father)
"Please take care of yourself." (Eun Jinho’s Mother)
At our parents’ worry-filled words, Jinho Hyung nodded vigorously.
"Yes. I will do my best." (Eun Jinho)
Then, as Jinho Hyung turned his head to look at me, I grinned at him.
Jinho Hyung and Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa climbed onto the duel stage.
Once they had attached seven markers to each of their bodies and finished preparing, the sound of a drum rang out.
Boom!
The duel had begun.
As soon as they finished lightly probing each other, the one who took the first attack was Jinho Hyung.
Taaat!
He kicked off the floor and shot forward, swinging his spear.
Whirik!
Against him, Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa swung his whip, and Jinho Hyung swiftly avoided the whip.
If the spear was wrapped by the whip, the initiative would inevitably be stolen.
That was why he had to be careful so that his weapon would not be caught by the whip.
As if he knew this well, Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa aimed for Jinho Hyung’s weapon rather than Jinho Hyung himself.
In the meantime, Jinho Hyung succeeded in breaking two of his opponent’s plaques.
That was thanks to one of Jinho Hyung’s techniques, a deflecting technique.
Hyung had a wide field of vision and quick reaction speed.
That was why he could strike away the tip of the whip with his spear, create an opening, and attack.
Hyung could use a technique like that too?
Ah!
Something suddenly occurred to me, so I turned my head.
Mother was watching the duel with a pleased expression.
Come to think of it, Jungho Hyung had said so.
That Mother sometimes served as his sparring partner.
Mother’s main weapon was a whip sword similar in form to a whip.
It seemed Mother had taught him how to respond to a whip sword or a whip.
Even if he had learned that method, to use it so freely in real combat like that!
That’s surprising.
Crack!
The number of plaques disappearing from Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa’s body was gradually increasing.
There were three left.
Jinho Hyung had still lost only one plaque, so Jinho Hyung was seizing the advantage.
At that moment, Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa suddenly clenched his teeth and swung his whip toward Jinho Hyung’s weapon.
But the length of that whip seemed to have grown a little longer.
What is it? What method did he use?
Ah, the handle!
When I observed closely, the handle of the whip in Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa’s hand was in a much longer state than before.
There had been a hidden section.
One might ask what kind of trump card that was, but in a situation where one had grown accustomed to the whip’s range until now, even becoming just a handspan longer could inflict a fatal wound.
And the whip seemed a bit too long to be aiming for the spear shaft. That’s dangerous.
It was exactly as I expected.
The iron plate lashed straight toward Jinho Hyung’s chest.
Kaaang!
"Gasp!" (Crowd)
"Ji, Jinho!" (Eun Jinho’s Parents)
My parents sprang up from their seats in shock, and I also stood up from mine.
"Ugh……." (Eun Jinho)
Jinho Hyung groaned and staggered.
That’s a relief.
I let out a sigh of relief.
If Miss Seohyang had not told me, this really could have been a disaster.
The left chest area of Jinho Hyung’s jeogori was torn, revealing the glinting iron plate beneath.
And the sound of metal colliding we had just heard.
"……."
I said to my parents, who were tilting their heads.
"I gifted Jinho Hyung a breastplate this morning. Fortunately, he wore it when he went out there." (Eun Seoho)
Only then did my parents sweep their hands down their chests.
"But how did you think to gift him a breastplate today?" (Eun Jinho’s Father)
"I just felt like it." (Eun Seoho)
"You mean it was intuition?" (Eun Jinho’s Father)
"Well, something like that." (Eun Seoho)
I glossed it over like that, then turned my head and looked at Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa on the duel stage.
It was only for an instant, but the emotion that crossed his face was unmistakably disappointment.
Disappointment?
Are you disappointed that you couldn’t kill Jinho Hyung? Surely not?
There’s something here.
Once again, the weapons of the two men moved.
How would Jinho Hyung break through this situation…….
Huh?
Jinho Hyung suddenly offered out his spear shaft meekly and let the whip coil around that spear.
But there was a faint smile on his face.
It meant it was Hyung’s ploy.
As Jinho Hyung pulled the spear, Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa was dragged forward, and Jinho Hyung instead charged forward and swept his opponent’s leg.
Thud!
Crack!
Two plaques remained!
Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa barely freed his whip and retreated, but Jinho Hyung charged in as though he would not let him escape.
Thud! Thud!
Perhaps because his mind was in confusion over what had just happened, Young Master Ji Gyeonghwa could not respond properly.
And so this duel ended in Jinho Hyung’s victory.
"The victor of this duel is Eun Jinho!" (Geum Yeonhwa)
"Uwaaaak!" (Eun Jinho)
Jinho Hyung let out a shout of victory.
"Chamho Changung! Chamho Changung!" (Crowd)
And people chanted Jinho Hyung’s alias and cheered for him.
Jinho Hyung came down from the duel stage with a pleased face and joined us.
"Jinho!" (Eun Jinho’s Father)
"Are you all right? Jinho?" (Eun Jinho’s Mother)
At our parents’ questions, Jinho Hyung scratched his head and said,
"I apologize for alarming you. But I am fine. It is thanks to Seoho giving me something fairly good as a gift." (Eun Jinho)
"Yes, we heard. Seoho gifted you a breastplate." (Eun Jinho’s Father)
"Yes." (Eun Jinho)
"Seoho’s intuition saved you." (Eun Jinho’s Father)
"I am already feeling extremely grateful to him right now." (Eun Jinho)
.
.
.
After the morning duels ended, Jinho Hyung headed straight for the inn. It was to receive treatment from a physician.
When Jinho Hyung took off his jeogori and removed the breastplate, the left side of his chest was black and blue with bruising.
"Are you all right?" (Physician)
"Yes." (Eun Jinho)
The physician touched Hyung’s chest.
"Aaagh!" (Eun Jinho)
Hyung screamed, and the physician nodded and said,
"It seems your sternum is broken." (Physician)
"I see." (Eun Jinho)
"I heard the news. It is thanks to this breastplate that it ended at this level. One wrong move, and there could have been a funeral." (Physician)
The physician, who had said that, continued speaking.
"But to think you continued the rest of the duel in this condition! Haa……." (Physician)
The physician let out a sigh.
I sighed too.
"Then should I have disgracefully forfeited? When I was taking the advantage?" (Eun Jinho)
"Then, are you intending to go out for the next duel as well?" (Physician)
"Of course." (Eun Jinho)
"Forfeit." (Physician)
"Yes?" (Eun Jinho)
"You may look fine now, but you are not fine at all. If you take another shock in the next duel, you may never be able to hold a weapon for the rest of your life." (Physician)
"No. I’m all right! I will go out for the duel!" (Eun Jinho)
Jinho Hyung declared firmly.
And it would not be easy to stop that stubbornness.
.
.
.
After even the afternoon duels ended, our parents returned to the inn and entered Jinho Hyung’s guest room, but soon came out with heavy faces.
They had failed to persuade Jinho Hyung.
"Bah! That wretched boy!" (Eun Jinho’s Father)
"Hoo……." (Eun Jinho’s Mother)
Chief Administrator Go Ilpyeong, who was beside them, had already failed to persuade him as well.
"Just how are we supposed to break that stubbornness of his……." (Go Ilpyeong)
I smiled and approached my parents.
"Father. I have a good idea." (Eun Seoho)
"All right, what is it?" (Eun Jinho’s Father)
I sent Father a telepathic message, and Father nodded.
"Do that." (Eun Jinho’s Father)
I left the inn with Martial Artist Seowu and Martial Artist Yeo Eungam.
"Where are you going?" (Seowu)
I answered Martial Artist Seowu’s words.
"Yuwol Inn." (Eun Seoho)
"Isn’t that where the Emei Sect disciples are staying?" (Seowu)
"That’s right. I’m planning to bring Hyangok Noona." (Eun Seoho)
I was worried for Jinho Hyung, who would be utterly torn apart by Hyangok Noona, but that was not the issue right now.
If Jinho Hyung won one bout after another and raised his fame, that would be good for me.
But Jinho Hyung’s health and life were more important than that.
Using spiritual medicine to heal his body was one method, but with Jinho Hyung’s personality, he would trust in that instead and use his body recklessly.
That would not do.
No matter how ancient and miraculous a spiritual medicine might be, it was not a cure-all.
"What brings you here?" (Emei Sect Disciple)
The disciple standing in front of Yuwol Inn asked that, and I answered politely.
"I am Cousin Hyangok Noona’s younger cousin. Is she inside?" (Eun Seoho)
"Please wait a moment." (Emei Sect Disciple)
Fortunately, Hyangok Noona seemed to have been at the inn, because she soon came out together with the disciple.
"What is it?" (Hyangok)
"Um, Noona. I have one favor to ask." (Eun Seoho)