Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 269

269. Marriage Proposal

Un-hyun continued calmly, striving to appear as composed as possible.

“I have no desire or intention to marry you, Miss Ha. No, I can’t even afford to,” Un-hyun stated definitively.

“So, I will not marry you.”

“Hmph.”

Ha Young-ryung scoffed.

“How childish,” she said with a sneer. “Are you just saying ‘I don’t like you either’ after being rejected? Why don’t you be more honest?”

Un-hyun felt a surge of emotion rise within him.

But recalling Head Butler Kang’s words, he suppressed it.

“…Miss Ha.”

“What?”

Ha Young-ryung lifted her chin and looked at Un-hyun, as if daring him to speak his mind.

“If you have time to visit places like this, you should read a book and learn some manners,” Un-hyun said.

“Don’t they say, ‘Stand in propriety’?” [This refers to conducting oneself according to established etiquette and moral principles.]

‘Stand in propriety’ (立於禮) means that knowing etiquette is the foundation and basis of a person.

With this well-known saying, Un-hyun pointed out her rudeness.

However, Un-hyun’s mistake was overlooking that the other person was Ha Young-ryung.

“What, what did you say?”

Thud.

Un-hyun stood up from his seat. This was nothing more than a waste of time.

“Hey, hey! Don’t you stop there!” Ha Young-ryung flared up and stood as well, but Un-hyun walked out without looking back.

He didn’t even want to waste a greeting on someone so rude.

“Hey… hey!” Ha Young-ryung even pointed her finger and called out, but Un-hyun had already left. Only the fluttering curtain shook at her fingertips.

“That jerk! He should be begging and clinging to my skirt!” Ha Young-ryung said, fuming.

Of course, she had no intention of marrying him even if he did cling to her skirt.

But instead of doing that, he hurt her pride and even lectured her, which made Ha Young-ryung extremely angry.

“Aish.”

She bit her lip, but he was already gone. Ha Young-ryung plopped back down in her seat. Then, she downed the remaining alcohol in her glass in one gulp.

Clang.

She slammed the glass on the table hard enough to break it, but her anger did not subside. Being ignored so blatantly to her face was extremely unfamiliar to her.

“Stand in… what?”

Ha Young-ryung mulled over the words Un-hyun had left behind.

Then, she frowned and looked at her clothes. They were stylish and fine clothes that any woman in Gwangju would envy.

“What’s wrong with these clothes? What am I supposed to wear?” Ha Young-ryung waved her hand irritably. The splendid ornaments sparkled carelessly on her wrist.

***

Hero Alliance of Hangzhou, Main Hall.

Yum Jung-boo, dressed in red silk clothes, frowned.

“Azure Dragon Society?”

He leaned back on a long chair decorated as lavishly as an emperor’s throne. He was the Iron-Blooded Tyrant Yum Jung-boo, the leader of the Hero Alliance.

“Yes. They claim to follow the will of the Azure Dragon.”

“Has the Azure Dragon Sword Master revealed himself?”

It was obvious who they meant by ‘Azure Dragon’.

In response to Yum Jung-boo’s words, his subordinate replied, “It doesn’t seem so.”

The subordinate carefully placed the report from the Chongqing branch on the desk.

“However, two lower-level warriors and a regional manager from the Chongqing branch lost their lives after intervening in a factional dispute in Junyi.”

“Junyi?”

“It’s a provincial city in Guizhou Province.”

Guizhou Province was by no means close to Chongqing. Yum Jung-boo could understand why the Chongqing branch had bothered to intervene in a dispute in such a provincial city. They probably received a considerable amount of money.

“The attackers said that only the Azure Dragon Sword Master could stand against the Hero Alliance, and they called themselves the Azure Dragon Society, following the will of the Azure Dragon.”

Flap.

Yum Jung-boo unfolded the report. He examined the outline of the incident that occurred in Junyi, Guizhou Province, and fell into thought.

The River Trade Alliance and the Green Forest [groups of bandits and merchants], which were the major pillars of the Hero Alliance, did not have an organized system, as they originally were.

However, they could not seize hegemony over the Yangtze River with a haphazard approach. Blood Prince Moon Wang had already conceived a meticulous organizational system.

Of course, an organization cannot be created by conception alone. To control the River Trade Alliance and the Green Forest, strong leadership was essential.

In that respect, the Iron-Blooded Tyrant Yum Jung-boo was the perfect person, and thanks to him, the Hero Alliance was rapidly establishing its organizational system, contrary to people’s expectations, although all sorts of problems were erupting here and there.

“Azure Dragon Society, huh… Tsk.”

Yum Jung-boo rested his forehead with one hand.

“Shall I tell them to come up with countermeasures?”

“No need.”

Thud.

The Iron-Blooded Tyrant Yum Jung-boo lightly tossed the report.

“What? What do you mean…”

Yum Jung-boo said, as if annoyed, “Isn’t it just a matter of three or four people appearing in a small provincial city and causing a ruckus? Do you think the Alliance has nothing better to do than to respond to such things one by one?”

To say it was just a matter of a few people, one of them was a master of Sword Energy Manifestation [a high-level martial arts technique] and openly hostile to the Hero Alliance.

“But…”

Swish.

The subordinate, who was about to say something, flinched and couldn’t say anything when the Iron-Blooded Tyrant Yum Jung-boo glared at him.

“If the Alliance takes it seriously, that’s exactly what they want. From now on, tell each branch to handle such matters on their own.”

The seasoned Yum Jung-boo realized that this was a ploy to attract attention. If the Azure Dragon Society was serious, they would have attacked any major branch of the Hero Alliance, instead of killing three insignificant people in a distant provincial city.

“And strictly tell them not to send people anywhere just because they’re paid from now on.”

“Yes, sir!”

The subordinate quickly bowed his head and received the order. He thought that it would not be effective unless the tribute allocated to the branches was reduced.

“How is the branch expansion going?”

“Many sects want to become branches, but it is not easy to negotiate because of the intertwined interests with local river bandits and mountain bandits. Imusim, the Chief of the River Trade Alliance, seems to be resisting…”

Iron Mask Imusim, the Chief of the Yangtze River Trade Alliance, was another pillar of the Hero Alliance along with the so-called New Green Forest.

“Didn’t I already say not to worry about useless river bandits?”

However, Imusim was not even in Yum Jung-boo’s eyes. Yum Jung-boo’s voice even contained a subtle anger.

“Select a sect with the capacity to control the area, whether it’s a righteous or evil sect, as a branch. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“If I have to say the same thing again next time, I will cut off your head.”

“Yes, sir!”

In terms of influence within the Hero Alliance, even if the River Trade Alliance and the New Green Forest were combined, they could not match Yum Jung-boo alone.

This was because their martial arts were not enough to dare to put their names in front of Yum Jung-boo, and the actual power of the Hero Alliance was not them either.

The River Trade Alliance and the New Green Forest were, to put it bluntly, nothing more than greedy foxes riding on the coattails of a tiger.

“You may leave.”

As soon as Yum Jung-boo’s words fell, the subordinate bowed deeply and hurriedly left the office.

In the empty hall, Yum Jung-boo muttered quietly, “Azure Dragon Society, huh…”

The appearance of the Azure Dragon Sword Master was rather what he was waiting for. He knew how obsessed Blood Prince Moon Wang, and the Elusive Merchant, whom he had never even seen, were with him.

In front of the Azure Dragon Sword Master, even the Yangtze River and the Hero Alliance were not their concern.

‘Interesting.’

Yum Jung-boo thought, resting his chin on one hand. He called the river bandits and the New Green Forest foxes riding on the coattails of a tiger, but the Iron-Blooded Tyrant Yum Jung-boo was not a tiger either.

The leader of the Hero Alliance was not him or the owner.

To become the owner, he had to break the shackles on his ankles.

And that might be possible by the Azure Dragon Sword Master. If he, whose dantian [energy center] was destroyed by the Three Supremes, could somehow return.

“Interesting.”

The Iron-Blooded Tyrant Yum Jung-boo muttered with a bitter smile. In the main hall of the Hero Alliance, built on the site where the Martial Alliance had burned down, Yum Jung-boo’s cold eyes gleamed.

***

Gwangju, Hacheong Merchant Group.

“Chief Manager Joo!”

Chief Manager Joo flinched at the sharp voice of the young woman. This was because he knew the owner of the voice very well, and there was a reason why he felt guilty enough to be stabbed.

“…Y-Young-ryung, Miss Ha.”

The Chief Manager of the Hacheong Merchant Group turned around with an awkward smile.

“I have something to ask,” Ha Young-ryung, who had strode up, said bluntly.

“What is ‘Standing in Propriety’? (立於禮)”

“Yes?”

The Chief Manager wore a blank expression at the unexpected question. Ha Young-ryung’s eyes immediately narrowed.

“What does ‘Standing in Propriety’ mean!” She was also famous for being impatient.

The Chief Manager quickly rummaged through his memories.

“Erm, ‘Standing in Propriety’ is, well, it’s a very famous saying by Confucius, but where was it? Was it in the Ji Family chapter or the Taebaek chapter…”

Seeing Ha Young-ryung frown, the Chief Manager quickly said, “Ah, anyway, ‘Standing in Propriety’ means to ‘stand’ (立) in ‘propriety’ (禮).”

“What?”

“So, it means that knowing etiquette is the most important thing. It means that being polite and never losing etiquette anytime, anywhere is the right thing to do. Well, that’s what it means. Confucius liked propriety so much…”

Ha Young-ryung interrupted the Chief Manager’s words.

“So, it means that if you don’t know etiquette, you’re not even human?”

“Not that far…”

The Chief Manager gave an awkward smile. He doubted that the polite Confucius would have said it with that meaning.

However, Ha Young-ryung was relentless.

“Is that it, or not?”

At the sight of Ha Young-ryung glaring at him with sharp eyes, the Chief Manager quickly nodded his head.

“Y-yes, that’s it. That’s it.”

The Chief Manager kept wiping away the sweat that was constantly flowing.

“So that’s what it is…”

Ha Young-ryung bit her lip and fell into thought with a very annoyed expression. The Chief Manager mentally offered his condolences to someone Ha Young-ryung was thinking about now.

“I see.”

As soon as her curiosity was resolved, Ha Young-ryung immediately turned around.

“Um, Miss Ha!”

“Why?”

Ha Young-ryung turned around with an annoyed expression.

The Chief Manager forced a smile and said, “Sometimes, you should at least greet your father…”

“Chief Manager Joo, I didn’t come here to be nagged, you know?”

At Ha Young-ryung’s frown, the Chief Manager shrank back without saying a word.

Pat.

Ha Young-ryung hurried her steps. Biting her slightly reddened fingernails, she muttered.

“So, you’re saying I’m an ignorant woman who doesn’t even know etiquette? While looking me straight in the eye.”

Un-hyun had never said such a thing, but it was the same to Ha Young-ryung.

Ha Young-ryung couldn’t control the rising annoyance the more she thought about it. Chewing on her fingernails, she suddenly looked at her hands and screamed.

“Kyaa! My nails!”

The fingernails she had carefully trimmed in the morning were a mess. Of course, it was the result of her own biting.

However, the resentment was directed at a man who had given her advice.

“Just you wait and see!”

Ha Young-ryung, the youngest daughter of the Hacheong Merchant Group, shouted with a venomous expression.

***

“Sit there.”

Un-ilpyung offered Un-hyun a seat.

Un-hyun bowed and sat opposite him.

“The reason I asked you to come today is because I have something important to tell you.”

His uncle’s face was stern. Un-hyun felt uneasy inside. He wondered if something had gone wrong.

“Actually, there is a merchant group that has made you an offer.”

Un-hyun listened carefully. He thought that maybe a merchant group had appeared that would hire him.

“But…”

Un-ilpyung couldn’t easily continue. After a while, he let out a long sigh.

“Hoo, what difference would it make if I beat around the bush?”

Uncle Un-ilpyung raised his head and looked straight at Un-hyun. Then he said, “A marriage proposal has come to you from the Hacheong Merchant Group.”