Chapter 9

While Dan Woo-sung holed up in his quarters, clinging to the Hundred Battles Ten-Point Technique and qigong breathing, the one who disturbed him was neither the Small Immortal Sect nor Gu Yang-hu, but formidable foes of his own: the Four Heavenly Kings.

News of the Grand Prince of the Galaxy Merchant Guild’s return spread like wildfire. With so many people coming and going through the guild, rumors traveled just as fast.

The good-for-nothing from the upper district and the drunkard from the lower district knew the news, as did the failed scholar who often suffered from stomachaches and the wandering womanizer. Even those who had extorted the Grand Prince’s money and, finding that insufficient, dragged him into gambling dens were all eagerly awaiting the return of the sucker.

Among them, the trio who lived by the motto “Live for women, die for booze” rejoiced most purely.

These three were Sima Ke, Zhou Ciliang, and Qiu Xiong. Add Li Zhenyan to the mix, and you had the so-called “Four Scoundrels of the Waiting Room.” Others called them the Four Scoundrels, but among themselves, they called themselves the Four Heavenly Kings of the Waiting Room.

The common thread among the four was that they were all men without any particular purpose. Sima Ke sought out Zhou Ciliang; the two then summoned Qiu Xiong before dashing off to the Galaxy Trading Company.

Sima Jue showed considerable talent in martial arts, but his problem was that talent alone wasn’t enough. He was a perpetual failure at the entrance exams for the Martial Arts Alliance.

Ju Jaryang was a failed scholar who, despite his eloquence and long years of study, consistently underperformed on exams due to recurring bouts of diarrhea and stomachaches.

Gu Woong was the heir to the Seopung Trading House, so he spent money freely after Lee Jin-eon, but he didn’t have any particular job. This was because his father had suffered greatly, and since Gu Woong was a late-born only son, he still hadn’t been allowed to go on trading expeditions. He was a man who was, in his own way, overprotected.

They were friends with more conscience than others, yet they too openly coveted and envied the money of the great merchant’s son.

The three arrived at the Galactic Union side by side and summoned the Crown Prince. It was deep into the night, with the bright moon already hanging in the sky.

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As Danwooseong appeared at the gate, the trio in question spread their arms wide.

“Hey buddy! You’re alive!”

“Wahahaha!”

The three rushed forward, placing Dan Woo-sung in the center. They clasped hands and spun around while singing.

“Our sucker prince has arrived.”

“The money-spender has arrived. Spender, spender, the money-spender has arrived.”

“The First Under Heaven, the Great Prince of the Eunha Trading Guild, has arrived. You lot, lay out the wine! Sing! Strip!”

Even Danwoo Seong, who was usually pretty level-headed, found it so utterly ridiculous he laughed several times, as if air were leaking from his lungs. These three were the only ones he’d known since way back who were completely comfortable with each other.

But seriously, they were definitely crazy bastards.

They openly called their friend a sugar daddy and a sucker, using those exact terms. They were guys who hadn’t escaped the madness of their youth.

They might be important friends to Lee Jin-eon, but not to Dan Woo-sung.

Dan Woo-sung hadn’t come to catch up with friends; he’d come to sever ties, whether temporarily or forever.

Dan Woo-sung calmly surveyed the friends who existed only in his memory and said.

“Let’s go. To Eunseonru…”

The three pointed toward Eunseonru and chanted in unison.

“Let’s go drink our fill!”

Danwooseong intended to offer today’s drink to the deceased Crown Prince. Even in death, he was in a position where he couldn’t even receive offerings at the ancestral altar. The four who charged into Eunsunru sat around a square table, chattering loudly even before the drinks arrived.

Guung, seated next to him, poked Danwooseong all over and asked.

“What’s this? This unnatural stiffness? Did you just do push-ups at the palace before returning? Why is your body like this? Did someone torture you?”

Gu Woong had noticed Lee Jin-eon’s body change the moment he walked beside him. Now he was pressing firmly against his friend’s solid chest.

Sama Gyeok, who had also noticed the change earlier, scrutinized Danwooseong as if curious.

‘Look at this guy. He really did master martial arts, didn’t he?’

Feeling the aura of qi, Sima Jue was the most flustered.

When the wine arrived, Dan Woosung personally picked up the bottle and poured into four cups.

Even now, Dan Wooseong remained silent. It was a meaningful silence. Only then did the three men, realizing the young master of Eunhasa Trading had truly changed, blink at each other’s faces.

Failed scholar Zhu Ziliang asked thus:

“Is that really what you said?”

Dan Woosung poured himself one last cup of wine and replied.

“That bastard is dead.”

Zhu Ziliang nodded and replied.

“I see. That piece of trash got what he deserved. Let’s drink to celebrate.”

The other two burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha…”

Danwooseong also grinned.

The four men looked at each other for a moment before downing their drinks. Zhu Ziliang, who emptied his cup first, spoke.

“Man, you’ve really changed. What happened? Did something go down?”

Dan Wooseong nodded and picked up the bottle again.

“Yeah, something happened.”

Once again, Dan Woo-sung poured the liquor without a word. With a gurgling sound, the second cup filled.

As Dan Wooseong raised his cup without a word, everyone else followed suit, their expressions growing increasingly stiff. They could clearly sense that the Crown Prince had truly changed.

Holding his cup, Dan Woo-sung asked.

“I’ve changed. What about you?”

Though seemingly trivial, the words strangely provoked his friends.

The three men each responded.

“What are we supposed to do?”

“I don’t know. Damn it.”

“If we changed easily, would we be us? Let’s just drink first.”

Danwooseong didn’t speak at length because every time he drank, memories of the drinking sessions the four of them had shared kept flashing through his mind.

When Dan Woo-sung picked up the bottle again, Gu Woong, who was the weakest with alcohol, grabbed his head and said,

“Let’s take a break before drinking. What’s the rush?”

Dan Woosung said.

“Drink up. Just die already, you bastard.”

Gu-woong sighed.

“Ah, damn it… He was right. I knew it.”

Danwooseong poured the liquor, and the four of them drank it again. The liquor was particularly strong today. Carried away by the mood, they drank glass after glass without any snacks, so it was only natural they got drunk quickly. In the strange atmosphere, the drunks who had downed three shots of liquor simultaneously fell silent.

A moment later, Ju Jaryang spoke, sounding both pleased and bitter.

“You’ve really changed. Congratulations. It’s something to celebrate. I don’t know what happened, but it’s not bad.”

Sama Gyeok asked,

“Who taught you martial arts? It doesn’t look like you learned it on your own, no matter how I look at it.”

Danwooseong looked at his friends and said.

“The connection has been made.”

Sama Gyeok nodded.

“So this is the legendary martial world’s serendipity I’ve only heard about. Even you get lucky sometimes. How fascinating.”

Since it was commonplace for martial artists not to reveal their origins, his friends didn’t press him for details. Seeing the man who always chased only drink and women now seeming to have properly mastered martial arts made the atmosphere even more peculiar.

Gu Xiong spoke as if he felt slighted.

“Damn, suddenly feels like my youth is over. Already boring. Truth is, I knew a day like this would come. Fuck, it’s over. You bastards… I told you to kidnap that sucker on his way home, didn’t I? That piece of shit finally grew up and came back. The world’s gone mad.”

This time, no one laughed. The three of them looked at each other with bitter expressions.

All the answers lay in Danwooseong’s attitude.

It was clear he wouldn’t fit in with them anymore. Seeing the friend they’d thought would be the last to grow up change first had come as quite a shock to them too.

Danwooseong asked with a smile.

“Are your elders keeping well?”

The three answered, only then belatedly inquiring about the well-being of the merchant leader who had reportedly collapsed recently.

Dan Woo-sung replied.

“He’ll be up soon. He’s a healthy man…”

Sama Gyeok, who was relatively well-informed about martial arts world news, asked this.

“I’ve been hearing bits and pieces about the Small Star Sect at drinking parties. Some say they’ve agreed to work with your merchant guild. It seems like an unlikely rumor. What’s this all about?”

Danwooseong nodded.

“Well, there was some talk about it. It’s obvious what it’s about.”

Joo Ja-ryang replied as if he didn’t need to see it to know.

“Money, I suppose. Anyway, those thieves are worse than us.”

Sama Gyeok said it as if he wanted them to remember.

“I’ve heard they’re setting up a branch here too. Your Eunha Trading Company and other big businesses are all eager to expand into this area. Honestly, it’s surprising martial arts sects haven’t established themselves here yet. Just collecting tribute fees here would be quite lucrative.”

Dan Woo-sung grinned. This was new information. Being drinking buddies, they were well-versed in what happened at the nearby brothels and taverns.

Dan Woosung asked, his voice tinged with hope.

“Does the head of the escort group, Gu Yang-hu, frequent the brothels too?”

Joo Ja-ryang nodded.

“Gu Yang-hu, you’re coming and going like crazy. Just how much monthly allowance does your merchant guild give you? You’re frequenting the Golden Flower Pavilion like it’s your own bedroom. Did you embezzle the public funds or something?”

Dan Woo-seong crossed his arms and retorted.

“So this so-called Guard Captain, instead of tending to his father who’s fallen ill, is running around outside? He’s practically living in that brothel. And the Deputy Captain is supposed to be guarding him… What a cushy life he leads. I’ll have to deal with this bastard soon enough.”

Sama Gyeok said.

“Deal with the Gu Yang Hou cautiously. It’s not the Gu Yang Hou himself we fear, but the Gu Yang family behind him.”

“Understood.”

Even those worthless bastards had their own sense of loyalty.

Guwoong stared at his empty cup with a deeply subdued expression.

“Damn it, I thought this was a welcome-back drink for the scumbag’s return, but it’s a farewell drink. Let’s drink and get up. This Gu-woong’s drink tastes bad today.”

The three of them each wondered what they had been doing. It felt less like a friend returning and more like a friend departing far away, leaving them with a heavy heart. Ignoring Gu-woong’s whining, Sama-geuk looked at Dan-woo-seong and asked.

“How are you going to live now?”

Dan Wooseong replied.

“I have a debt to repay concerning the monk. I plan to keep preparing while observing the caravan. I have no interest in anything but growing stronger.”

Sama Gyeok nodded, then picked up the wine bottle himself and filled the empty cup as he spoke.

“With that resolve, it’s quite something we came to see you. Anyway, thanks. If you ever need help from us good-for-nothings, just give us a shout. Someday we’ll have to buy you a round. Let’s have one more drink and then get up.”

Even though he suggested ending the drinking session there, no one said a word. It felt like a turning point in life had arrived, and youth was already fading into distant memories.

The four of them held their full cups, met each other’s eyes, and quietly drank. The drinking party truly ended there.

A moment later, the three stepped outside and stood awkwardly for a brief moment. Danwooseong, heading alone in a different direction toward Eunhwasangdan, glanced back at the three.

The three waved awkwardly, each wearing an uneasy expression.

“Go.”

“Take care of yourself.”

“Train hard. Don’t get beaten up anywhere.”

Dan Woo-sung nodded and replied.

“Friends, farewell.”

Sama Gyeok, who had been staring blankly until his friend disappeared, muttered this.

“He didn’t come home; he left for the martial world.”

Gu Woong sighed as he gazed at the dazzling night streets.

“Damn, I feel lonely tonight. Let’s go, us too.”

Then, the failed scholar Zhu Ziliang looked at a brothel and replied.

“Where? Over there? The Golden Flower Pavilion? All three of us?”

Gu Woong smacked the failed scholar on the back of the head as he spoke.

“Go home! You bastard. Go study. You failed scholar.”

Rubbing the back of his head, Zhu Ziliang calmly retorted.

“Hey, how many times do I have to tell you? It’s not that I can’t study. I just can’t take the exams well.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Yeah. No.”

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Danwooseong walked alone through the night streets. As soon as he reached a familiar street, he turned into an alleyway. He wasn’t heading home, but toward the place that had made him pour out countless amounts of money. It was a place he considered far worse than alcohol or brothels.

ⓒ Yoo Jin-seong

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