The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 127: Merchant’s Way - 4
"Hey, have you heard the news?"
Rumors spread in the blink of an eye.
"You mean how every bookstore in Yichang returned their copies of Storm of the Tang Clan? Yeah, I heard."
"I heard they even compensated Daseogak for the damages."
"I heard they paid back double. Must’ve taken a heavy hit from the boycott."
"The Daseo Society and even the Chairman of the Yichang Merchants’ Association stepped in to resolve the Storm of the Tang Clan incident, apparently."
"So that means Volume 2 is coming now, right?"
"If Ho-pil the author hears all this, won’t he be encouraged to write again? We’ll just have to wait and see."
[This is Ho-pil.]
I also posted a message of thanks in response.
"Ho-pil the author’s thank-you message just went up on Daseogak!"
"Did you hear? Ho-pil’s writing again!"
"The Daseo Society really pulled off something big."
"Sniff I can’t believe it. Storm of the Tang Clan... and now Volume 2 is coming...!"
Daseogak, the only bookstore in Yichang now selling Storm of the Tang Clan. The news that Volume 2 was in the works caused customers to pour in daily, eager to get their hands on Volume 1.
"Still not out?"
"They said there’d be a notice one week before release. Why do you have to come here every day?"
"I came to check for the notice."
From customers who glanced wistfully at the Storm of the Tang Clan display table to those who spent their whole day waiting by the printing press for Volume 2—anticipation grew by the day.
"You finished reading it?"
I asked Hwa-rin, who was on the last page of the manuscript draft of Volume 2.
"Y-Yun-ho..."
Her voice trembled with shock.
"Yeah?"
"You're not even from the Sichuan Tang Clan—so how, how do you come up with things like this?"
She looked me up and down with astonishment. For a moment, she seemed to wonder if scrubbing me down thoroughly would reveal violet hair and green eyes underneath.
"Well..."
Well, I’ve read enough martial arts novels with Sichuan Tang Clan protagonists to fill an entire room. It’d be weirder if I couldn’t come up with this stuff. But what am I supposed to say? I can’t tell her the truth about reality, so this is a bit tricky...
"Ah... right. That friend of yours who was a Poisoned One. I’m sorry."
Hwa-rin must’ve picked up on my discomfort and lowered her head apologetically.
"Ha ha. Nah, it’s fine. I just got caught up in some old memories for a moment."
"Yeah, [N O V E L I G H T] that happens. Still—here, here, and here! These fight scenes are kind of weird. I like the clever ideas, but the explanation and descriptions feel lacking."
Trying to steer the topic away, she quickly began pointing out flaws in Volume 2.
She explained in detail what felt off when using poison arts, what didn’t work when throwing knives were involved. Like being told, “You’re great at soccer—except you can’t attack or defend.”
"I’ll revise it."
If this is all that needs fixing, then a few more days of editing and we’ll be ready for print.
"And this part here... uh, never mind."
Hwa-rin pointed to a part of the manuscript but then withdrew her hand.
Something vague, huh? In these cases, it’s best to hear all editorial suggestions and judge for myself.
"What is it? Even if it’s unclear, just tell me. I’ll decide after hearing it."
"It’s just..."
She couldn’t meet my eyes and stared at the floor as her voice trailed off.
"Yeah?"
Wait, is it because of a lewd scene? You really don’t have to point those out...
"The ‘Top Courtesan of Hubei’ who appears here... That’s not the name of that courtesan you visited at the brothel, right?"
Her head was lowered, but she looked up at me with her eyes—clearly embarrassed to even ask.
"Puhahahaha!"
Wait, that’s what this is about?
"Forget it! If it’s not, then never mind!"
Sensing from my laughter that the name had nothing to do with the courtesan, Hwa-rin turned bright red, leapt to her feet, and stormed off.
"Puhahaha! Where are you going?"
"You don’t need to know!"
As I clutched my stomach laughing, she slammed the door behind her, her face flushed with frustration.
"Hwa-rin! Don’t go! There’s a place nearby that does really good Sichuan food. Let’s go eat together!"
No answer. Did she go downstairs? I didn’t hear the door shut. Am I really going to have to eat alone after finishing edits?
Just as I was debating it, the attic door creaked open.
"I-Is it good, that place?"
Hwa-rin peeked her face halfway through the door, her voice small and shy.
"Yeah. Heard it’s great. Let’s go."
"Mmhm."
I put down my brush and headed off to the Sichuan restaurant with her.
---------
Release Day: Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2.
Editing and printing were definitely time-consuming—but not so long that the readers’ patience broke.
“Whoa...”
The moment I opened the door that morning, all I could do was let out a gasp.
A line so long I couldn’t even see the end.
"Snacks here! Get your snacks!"
"Give me some, please! And some water too!"
"Over here!"
"Puffed rice! Get your hot puffed rice here!"
"We’ve got popcorn too! Caramel and onion flavor!"
The line had grown so massive that random vendors had shown up to sell food to those waiting.
Was this crowd really here... for my book?
Was there some other event happening at Daseogak?
For a moment, it didn’t even feel real.
“Can we come in now?”
A familiar face from the Daseo Society, looking utterly haggard, approached and asked me. Now that I looked closely, the people at the very front of the line were all Daseo Society members.
“Why are you folding up a sleeping bag?”
“We camped out here right after Daseogak closed yesterday.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Us too!”
“Ha ha ha. I’ll just check one thing quickly, then we’ll begin.”
Could we really manage to control a line this long?
“Make way! Cart coming through!”
Someone was pushing through the crowd, hauling a large cart toward Daseogak.
“Please, come in.”
The one pulling the cart was none other than the bookstore owner who had previously violated the Merchant’s Way.
“As promised, I brought the full batch of Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2. Didn’t siphon off a single copy. No need to worry.”
With Daseogak’s aging printing press running day and night, it still wasn’t enough to meet demand. As compensation, and at his own expense, the bookstore owner had agreed to produce a large quantity of Volume 2 for us.
“Thank you. We’ll store them in the back.”
“That queue is outrageous. Can Daseogak’s staff even manage all those people?”
“We’ll do what we can.”
“Don’t be ridiculous—let me help.”
“Really?”
“What is the Merchant’s Way, if not helping fellow tradesmen in need! Ha ha ha! I’ll assign my bookstore staff and even some escorts to help manage the line.”
...Bold words coming from a guy who had the Merchant’s Way forcibly beaten into him just recently, but hey—never say no to free help.
“I appreciate it.”
“Leave it to me.”
--------
As expected, the first buyers of Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2 were the Daseo Society members.
“This—this is the Volume 2 that our Daseo Society earned!”
The first to enter lifted the book reverently, as if drawing a sacred blade from a lake.
“Indeed! This Volume 2 is proof that justice can triumph over injustice! That righteousness and chivalry can defeat evil!”
“Exactly. We’ve acted in the spirit of Tang Jeong himself!”
“We may not have won Sichuan’s Most Beautiful Woman, but we did win Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2!”
“Indeed! Now we only have to witness Tang Jeong’s acts of righteous chivalry!”
Their enthusiasm was understandable, though it was strangely bittersweet to see them lifting a martial smut novel like it was holy scripture. Still—thank you, Daseo Society. If I had a camera, I’d take a commemorative photo with you.
“I’m looking forward to more than just the chivalry, to be honest.”
“Ahem. No need to say it out loud.”
“Hey, hurry up already!”
Beyond the Daseo Society, a flood of customers swarmed into Daseogak to buy their copies of Storm of the Tang Clan.
“Two copies per person, no more! Please stay in line! Anyone who cuts will be sent to the back!”
“I’ve waited so long for this one copy!”
“A night with the Top Courtesan of Hubei! Can’t wait to read it.”
“It’ll just be another aphrodisiac plot, what’s there to be so excited about?”
“Silence! Losing faith is the same as death!”
“C-Calm down! I lined up since dawn too, okay? I didn’t mean it!”
Release Day: Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2.
That day’s sales marked the highest revenue in the 50-year history of the Baekga Bookstore.
*******
Scholar Hwang returned home in a frenzy, clutching Volume 2.
“Master, have you concluded your business?”
“Of course! No visitors today—anyone who comes gets turned away at the gate!”
Holding up his precious copy of Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2, Scholar Hwang firmly instructed the servant to send all guests packing.
“Ho ho. If it’s not too rude, may I also read Volume 2 after you’re done, sir?”
“I bought an extra copy for proselytizing—I’ll lend you that one.”
“Thank you. But... if you’re going to lend it to me, could I have it now—?”
“Ahem! I’ll not allow anyone to read Volume 2 before I do!”
Hugging the book to his chest like a father protecting his child, Scholar Hwang barked in mock outrage.
“Ho ho, then I’ll wait a little.”
“Yes. The more who understand Storm of the Tang Clan, the better. Just wait one day.”
“A whole day, sir?”
“To truly savor Storm of the Tang Clan, that’s the bare minimum. I’ll be in my room.”
Scholar Hwang entered his chamber, Volume 2 in hand.
His hands trembled as he flipped the first page. Sitting at his desk, he turned the cover with utmost care, not wanting to wrinkle even a corner of the paper.
What he found inside Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2...
...surpassed even his wildest expectations.
