Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 179
.jpeg){kind=tracking}
C179. Why Are There No Customers?
At lunchtime, Yeon Jeokha and Old Shim from Nokrim arrived in Kaifeng to find a cook for their inn.
Not knowing anyone in the city, they decided to return to the tavern they had visited earlier, intending to ask the waiter, Sosam, to introduce them to a broker.
Sosam showed a surprised expression when Old Shim mentioned they were looking for a cook.
“Have you bought an inn?”
“Yes. Now we need a cook, could you call a broker for us?”
“I know a few cooks who frequent this tavern. Let me contact one of them right away.”
Sosam, having learned from Hwangso and Seokin, skillfully imitated a broker.
“Of course, make sure to bring someone with good skills.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be long.”
Sosam, smiling and bowing, hurried away.
Old Shim, watching him, commented approvingly.
“That kid is very diligent. He has a future as a waiter.”
“Yes, it seems that the people of Kaifeng are very kind and helpful.”
While they waited for Sosam, another waiter brought them wine and food.
After they finished emptying two bottles of wine, Sosam returned accompanied by an old man.
“This man used to work in Kaifeng and is known for his culinary skills.”
The old man bowed before them.
“My name is Gong Yoo. I was told you are looking for a cook. In my prime, I was called the best in Kaifeng. I won’t disappoint you.”
Old Shim, after carefully observing the old man, gestured for Sosam to leave. Sosam returned to his post without protest.
As Gong Yoo waited anxiously, Old Shim abruptly asked:
“How much do you ask for a monthly salary?”
“Cooks with more than ten years of experience in Kaifeng usually earn four taels of silver a month. But I’ve been retired for a few years, so three would suffice.”
Old Shim looked at Yeon Jeokha to see if he had any objections. Yeon Jeokha nodded.
Old Shim then looked at Gong Yoo with a serious expression.
“You said your name is Gong Yoo, right?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll go to the inn right now to taste your food. If we like it, we’ll pay you three taels a month. But if not, you’ll have to pay with one of your limbs for deceiving my Young Master.”
“…”
Old Shim’s gaze was so threatening that Gong Yoo didn’t dare to respond.
With the agreement seemingly made, Yeon Jeokha and Old Shim stood up. Gong Yoo followed them, moving as if he were being led to the slaughterhouse.
Before leaving the tavern, Old Shim tossed a silver coin to Sosam as a token of gratitude.
Sosam, who was standing at the tavern’s entrance, ran to pack his things, unaware that Hwangso and Seokin had betrayed him.
———————
Sosam hadn’t deceived them. Gong Yoo’s culinary skills turned out to be quite satisfactory, leaving Yeon Jeokha and Old Shim content.
Encouraged by their success, Old Shim also found an elderly man in Huashang Village who was good with numbers to take charge of the cash register.
The old man recommended a nimble young man as a waiter, and the young man, in turn, introduced a woman to clean the inn.
In just half a day, Yeon Jeokha and Old Shim were ready to open the inn and sat down to enjoy a drink in the dining hall.
“This is exactly what I wanted. Now, everything should run on its own. This is living like an immortal.”
Old Shim nodded, satisfied.
“Exactly. You can sleep in an empty room when you’re sleepy and come down to eat when you’re hungry. This will be your life from now on.”
“But Old Shim, what will you do now that you can’t open your tavern? When we save enough, we’ll buy or build one.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll do it in due time.”
Both naively believed that by simply opening the inn, money would start flowing in.
Three days passed.
While dining in an empty dining hall, Yeon Jeokha expressed his concern.
“Old Shim, don’t you think we have very few customers?”
“Yes, it’s strange.”
Old Shim, puzzled, called the waiter, Sang Do, who was standing in a corner.
“Tell me, do you know why we have no customers?”
To his surprise, Sang Do replied without hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Really? Why don’t we have customers?”
“It’s because the dock was moved ten li (about 4 kilometers) downstream.”
“The dock was moved?”
“Yes, people used to pass through here to cross the Huang He. But after they moved the dock, no one uses this route anymore. Didn’t you know?”
Yeon Jeokha intervened, curious.
“Why did they move the dock?”
“The current here is strong. They moved it to a place with calmer waters.”
“So, the business wasn’t doing poorly just because the previous owner was lazy.”
“I don’t know about that. I just know that people no longer pass through here because of the dock.”
“Wow! We were deceived. They sold us a declining place, saying that with effort we could make money.”
Old Shim abruptly stood up.
“I’m going to find that broker right away…”
“Sit down. Where will you go at this hour? Even if you find him, do you think he’ll bring customers?”
“But they deceived us. He deserves to die.”
“And will you close the inn if you kill him?”
“…”
Old Shim slowly lowered his head.
Yeon Jeokha had invested all his money in this inn, so he couldn’t just abandon it.
After a long while, Old Shim suddenly raised his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have an idea.”
“What is it?”
“If we move the dock back here, people will return.”
“But how will you do it?”
“Trust me. I’ll make them move the dock back here.”
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but make sure no one gets hurt.”
“Don’t worry, no one will get hurt.”
Old Shim’s eyes gleamed with cunning.
He planned to destroy the new dock so that people would be forced to use the old one.
He couldn’t foresee that this would complicate matters even further.
————————
Mount Wudang.
Wudang Sect.
Guest Hall.
A group of people was chatting lively.
The Great Swordmaster Namgung Byeok, who had just finished his secluded training, was with his son Namgung Cheon, his daughter Namgung Yeon, and his cousin, the Blue Sky Squadron Leader, Namgung Jin.
“Father, should the Blue Sky Squadron join the Justice Alliance?”
Namgung Jin asked, to which Namgung Byeok nodded.
“Yes, all remaining members of the Namgung Family should join the Justice Alliance under the name of the Blue Sky Squadron.”
Namgung Jin was excited to hear this, as it meant the restoration of the Namgung Family.
“And you, Father? What do you plan to do?”
Namgung Cheon looked at his father curiously, as he seemed to have separate plans from the Blue Sky Squadron.
“I will lead the joint attack force of the Seven Great Sects.”
“Attack force?”
“Yes, I’ve coordinated with the Wudang Sect Leader. We will form a vanguard unit for the battle against the Yoomyung Cult. The squadron will also be part of that attack force.”
“Have the Seven Great Sects finally united?”
“Yes, they agreed to move once I emerged from seclusion. That’s why we sought the cooperation of the Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord. He had Yeon Jeokha handle it. It seems you accompanied him without prior notice.”
“Yes, it seemed inevitable that we would eventually fight against the Yoomyung Cult.”
“Well done. How did you find the power of the Demon Warriors of the Yoomyung Cult?”
“Father, don’t be surprised. They seem to have two lives.”
“Two lives?”
Namgung Byeok interpreted this figuratively.
“Yes, it appears to be due to some demonic method. When killing a Demon Warrior, a monster emerges from their corpse. That’s why I say they have two lives.”
“Really?”
Namgung Byeok looked at his daughter Namgung Yeon, who never spoke nonsense.
“Yes, it’s exactly as my brother says.”
With this, Namgung Byeok was even more surprised.
“Two lives… I can’t believe it. But if you saw it, it must be true. And their skill?”
Namgung Cheon continued.
“The Demon Warriors have varied skills. Some are as strong as the elders of the Seven Great Sects, while others are comparable to sect leaders.”
“Impressive.”
“But the problem is the monsters that emerge after killing a Demon Warrior. They seem to be difficult to handle even for the leaders of the Seven Great Sects.”
“And how did Yeon Jeokha deal with them?”
“Yeon Jeokha has reached an impressive level, beyond that of the Ten Great Masters.”
Namgung Byeok was left speechless upon hearing this.
The term “beyond the Ten Great Masters” used to refer only to the top warriors.
“Has he already reached that level?”
“Yes, it seems the Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord knew of his ability for a long time, which is why he entrusted this task to him.”
“They say he was locked up in a warehouse for ten years. Where did he learn his skills?”
“He said he found the true manual of the Nine Heavens Swordsmanship, left by his ancestors of the Yeon Family.”
“Ah! Then he had a stroke of luck.”
The Moon-Splitting Swordsman Yeon Muryong, despite losing the manual, was an exceptional swordmaster. If Yeon Jeokha had learned everything, then it wasn’t surprising that he had reached that level.
“Yeon Jeokha was able to handle up to two monsters of the Demon Warriors. But three would be too much.”
“You call those monsters by ‘number,’ so they aren’t human, right?”
“Yes, some were so big and powerful that they were called demonic dragons or thunder gods. Others were almost three meters tall, flew like birds, and breathed fire.”
Namgung Cheon’s continuous descriptions left Namgung Byeok with an incredulous expression.
“I’m worried about how the Justice Alliance will receive this information. Even I have difficulty believing it.”
“Sister Jin of the Justice Alliance said the same. Although they were writing a report, she feared that the higher-ups wouldn’t believe it. But we saw it with our own eyes.”
Namgung Yeon, who had been observing in silence, intervened.
“Anyway, when the fight begins, everyone will experience it. But we must ensure that the Justice Alliance doesn’t suffer heavy losses at the start. Knowing the enemy is key to avoiding disaster. We can’t allow a repeat of the massacre at Eunha Manor two years ago.”
Namgung Byeok nodded solemnly.
The members of the Justice Alliance who attacked Eunha Manor were nearly annihilated.
If something similar were to happen again, the Justice Alliance would suffer a blow from which it would be difficult to recover. This could turn the Heaven Destroyer Demon Lord into their enemy, something Namgung Byeok couldn’t allow.
English