The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 242: Bidding - 5

I never expected I’d end up buying a government-issued printing press for half the price.

The bastards at Goldseal Bookstore really went all out for me.

Jeon Gil-san must’ve thought he could get away with bidding some outrageous price after bribing the official in charge and using Goldseal’s clout to violently intimidate the competition.

And to be fair, a government-issued printing press was basically free loot.

A printing press is an expensive asset, but even if it’s sold at a good price, the money just gets dumped into the bureaucracy’s budget—no one in the office actually profits from it.

For government officials, the only thing that matters is who fattens their pockets the most. Whether the press sells for half or for thirty percent, they don’t care. If they’re told to shut up, they shut up.

From my perspective, the Yichang printing press was a perfect trophy item to boost one’s prestige as the next head of the Goldseal Merchant Guild.

Even a successful bookstore owner would have to take a financial hit to buy one of those.

If you could snag a near-mint condition press, the kind that meets official standards, at half the price? That’s a massive win.

The problem was that someone else had put in a slightly higher bid.

‘I figured he’d be pissed, but I didn’t expect a death threat.’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Not that it was completely out of the question.

If I were just Kang Mo the office worker, a failed bid would’ve meant a lecture from my boss followed by a half-hearted “do better next time.” I’d put on a sorry face, say “yes, sir,” and think to myself, Whatever, I’m clocking out. Not like it’s my company. I did my best. The end.

But Jeon Gil-san is a chaebol’s grandson. And to make things worse, this wasn’t just a loss—it was a humiliating defeat at the hands of the black-haired barbarian’s scheme.

The pampered punk must’ve felt like his dignity and his golden opportunity were shattered. Of course he wouldn’t back down quietly.

Which is why I had already set up a little insurance.

“I said, what the hell did you just say?”

When a mutt who lives off his family’s scraps meets a real tiger, all the posturing falls apart.

Dang-Pae scowled and took a threatening step toward Jeon Gil-san.

“D-Do you know who I am?!”

Still clinging to the illusion that he was a tiger, the mutt clutched at his metaphorical fur coat and shouted in a quivering voice.

“Great Hero! Lord Jeon Gil-san is the grandson of the master of Goldseal Merchant Guild!”

Jeon Gil-san’s lackey, terrified by Dang-Pae’s murderous aura, hurried to shout out his master’s credentials.

“That’s right. I-I’ll overlook this if you back off now!”

Jeon Gil-san nodded at the support and forced a fake smile, pretending to be confident.

Yeah, he’s not exactly a chaebol’s youngest son, but he is the grandson of a major banking mogul.

Even if he’s not the successor, the Goldseal Merchant Guild isn’t some backwater clan the Tang Clan of Sichuan can just ignore.

Even a big shot like Dang-Pae, who hails from the Sichuan Tang Clan, would hesitate to lay hands on someone like Jeon Gil-san—if this were a normal situation.

But it wasn’t.

“So what?”

Because the person Dang-Pae has to protect... is the Tang Clan Lord’s illegitimate child.

Without a shred of hesitation, Dang-Pae stepped right up to Jeon Gil-san despite all his bluster.

“W-What...?”

Jeon Gil-san must’ve realized this wasn’t going the way he predicted. His puffed-up act began to crumble.

“You dare threaten the life of a guest personally acknowledged by the Tang Clan Lord?”

“A black-haired barbarian like him is a guest of the Tang Clan?”

Jeon Gil-san barked in disbelief, shooting back at Dang-Pae.

Does this guy have no filter between his brain and his mouth? Or did he grow up so spoiled that one never had a chance to form?

Dang-Pae didn’t tolerate the insult to me buried in Jeon Gil-san’s words.

“You bastard!”

To insult someone acknowledged by the Tang Clan Lord was to insult the Tang Clan itself.

Dang-Pae, face twisted in fury, grabbed Jeon Gil-san by the collar and lifted him with one hand.

“Guh!”

“L-Lord Jeon!”

“What are you doing?!”

As Dang-Pae hoisted Jeon Gil-san off the ground, the warriors from Goldseal Bookstore panicked and reached for their swords.

“Anyone who so much as touches their blade—be ready to turn to a pile of poisoned corpses!”

The tiger’s roar shattered their will to fight.

And it wasn’t just Dang-Pae watching. As Tang Clan warriors began appearing around us, Goldseal’s men froze, helpless, staring at Jeon Gil-san.

“You lowly bastard, running a measly bookstore dares to insult the great Sichuan Tang Clan? Do you want to die?!”

“P-Please... spare me...”

“I’ll slit your damn throat and deliver your obituary to the Guildmaster myself! I’ll tell him that his thunderous little brat dared to insult a Tang Clan guest and even threatened his life, so I took the liberty of ending him!”

Is Dang-Pae actually mad now? I ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ could feel the killing intent wafting toward me, too.

It sounded like a threat, sure—but it wasn’t impossible either. The Tang Clan is the overlord of Sichuan. Even the Nine Sects and One Gang bow their heads in Sichuan.

“G-Gahh! Cough—!”

Jeon Gil-san’s face had gone from red to blue under the pressure.

The Goldseal crew had no idea how to salvage the situation. They just stood there helplessly.

What should I do now?

“Let him down.”

If the bad cop’s done his part, it’s time for the good cop to step in and smooth things over.

Dang-Pae loosened his grip at my words.

“Lord Jeon.”

I flashed a friendly smile as I looked at the punk gasping for breath on the ground.

Crushing him completely was an option. But in business, it’s not always wise to make enemies.

So to show him what I was capable of, I opened my mouth.

“You already tried to kill me once.”

“...What?”

The Tang Clan warriors stirred at my words.

“What?! Lord Kang, step aside. We’ll deal with him right here!”

“Please! Spare me!”

“That won’t be necessary. Lord Jeon, I didn’t bid for the printing press out of personal spite, even after what you did.”

The truth is, you didn’t know—but I had power. I wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.

Once I made that clear, I continued.

“You may have thought I was a rabbit you could devour whenever you liked. But I treated you as a rival in business—nothing more. No personal emotions were involved. That’s why I didn’t report this to the Tang Clan.”

You didn’t know it, but I was no pushover. And I even spared you out of kindness.

The opponent the punk dismissed turned out to be someone on a whole different level. I was raising my status in one move.

“Though I won this time, I didn’t take your life or steal anything from you. I simply won in fair competition.”

“...Yes. You... didn’t.”

Now this bastard’s being polite?

“But if you do insist on making this personal—then I have no choice but to respond in kind.”

As I slowly lowered my raised hand, the Tang Clan warriors all stepped toward me in unison.

“Lord Jeon!”

“Don’t!”

“Eek!”

The Goldseal men turned pale, but not a single one dared risk their life for the punk.

After scanning the situation, I looked back at Jeon Gil-san with a calm smile.

“Lord Jeon. I’m letting you go this time. But just this once.”

Strength must be met with strength. Authority with authority.

The best way to shut up a punk who doesn’t know his place is to show him a gap so wide he won’t even dream of revenge.

I dusted off Jeon Gil-san’s clothes and helped him to his feet.

See that, Jeon? My gesture just made the Tang Clan warriors move. I’m being generous this time—but don’t expect it again.

Got it?

“...I-I’ll quietly... head back...”

The little punk finally realized he wasn’t a tiger, just a trembling puppy. Tail tucked between his legs, he scurried off in terror.

-----------

The evening I heard that the people from Goldseal Bookstore had hastily boarded a ship bound for Wuchang...

We gathered at the Baek Family Estate—which now served as the new headquarters of Seocheon Escort Bureau—for drinks with members of the Tang Clan and the Seocheon branch head.

Technically I was the guest of honor today, but they went ahead and sat me at the head of the table. That was a bit much.

“I’m disappointed in you, Lord Kang,”

Dang-Pae said, pouring me a drink, his voice dripping with offended affection.

“I caused you trouble,”

I replied, taking the full glass with both hands and bowing to the group.

Dang-Pae blinked at me, then waved both hands in exaggerated protest as he opened his mouth.

“Trouble? How could you say that? How could cleaning up trash possibly be considered trouble? What pains us is that you faced such immense danger and didn’t think to tell us!”

“It’s a bad habit when a businessman tries to throw his weight around by leaning on his family’s name. Especially when that businessman doesn’t even carry the Tang surname.”

The Sichuan Tang Clan must remain the last card in the deck.

Because I was still someone of the Kang family—not of the Tang Clan.

“Haa... I know even the Clan Lord couldn’t shake your resolve. But whether you carry the Kang name or the Tang name, the blood that runs through you doesn’t change. If you ever need anything, the Tang Clan will help you. We’ll also send a separate warning to the Goldseal Guild.”

And that’s exactly the problem.

Now that the Tang Clan Lord himself had acknowledged me and confirmed it, everyone saw me as nothing more than a stubborn illegitimate son.

Sure, people would tread lightly because of my political standing and the twisted relationship between me and my father, but since the Clan Lord had openly recognized me, no one had a reason to pretend they didn’t hear my requests.

I poured drinks for the Tang Clan members to thank them for their hard work, then opened my mouth.

“Once we bring in the printing press, I’ll begin full-volume printing of Storm of the Tang Clan for the Tang Clan.”

The escort party that came with me from the Tang Clan had one job: get me home safely and bring back the next volume of Storm of the Tang Clan.

And now it was almost time to part ways with them.

“What are your plans from here?”

“As a man born into this world, shouldn’t I at least try to make my name known far and wide?”

Like a man carrying great ambitions in his chest, I raised my cup with one hand and gazed beyond the window at the distant sky.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m thinking of expanding my business.”

I began sharing my vision with the Tang Clan members and the Seocheon Escort Bureau staff.

Starting with a print shop, I’d establish Daseogak branches all along the Yangtze River, turning Storm of the Tang Clan and countless other novels into hits.

I’d make a name for myself both as a businessman, Kang Yun-ho, and as a writer, Ho-pil.

I laid out my grand ambition.

“Just hearing it is impressive. The blood of a tiger can only produce another tiger.”

The Tang Clan’s martial artists smiled warmly at me. Their expressions practically said: “Our young lord is destined for greatness. The next generation is in good hands.”

Sorry. I’m actually a Kang, not a Tang.

Of course, that wasn’t something I could openly say.

The atmosphere was too heartwarming—it was almost suffocating.

To lighten the mood a little, I averted my gaze and threw out a joke.

“I mean, I have to work hard. Otherwise, people might call me the man of the Poisoned One. Wouldn’t it be better if they called Hwa-rin the woman of Kang Yun-ho instead?”

I scratched my nose with one finger, pretending to be bashful.

“Hahahaha!”

“Lord Kang, I never realized you had such concerns!”

“Indeed! That’s a very important issue!”

“Lord Kang, you must live your life to the fullest!”

Laughter burst out all around at my very human-sounding dilemma.

The mood eased, and the drinking party became even livelier. Compared to the booze-filled business gatherings riddled with schemes and politics, this was actually pleasant. I could drink in peace.

“Will you be securing a building for the print shop first?”

The Seocheon Escort Bureau’s Yichang branch head asked me a bit loudly once the drinks were flowing, so everyone could hear.

“I don’t have a ton of money right now. It’ll be tight, but I’ll install the press in Daseogak’s current print room for now. Once I make some more profit, I plan to buy a proper building and start a full-scale print shop.”

If I open a real print shop, I’ll need a foundry to cast typefaces, and if things go well, maybe even a paper-making room.

Now that I have two modern presses, and if I manage the old one properly, I could run three in total.

“If you do start a print shop, I assume you’re considering the port area of Yichang?”

“Of course. If we’re talking about location, the port would be best.”

If I’m printing hundreds of copies of a book, shipping them by water is obviously more efficient. It’s the same logic behind opening bookstore branches along the Yangtze.

“The buildings near the Yichang port may not be as expensive as those along the city’s main street like Daseogak, but even a small one there will cost far more than a printing press.”

“It’d be great if the print shop was near the port, but it’s not a necessity. No point in being greedy from the start.”

It’s not like I’m running a chain of a hundred branches. I should just look for whatever I can afford right now.

“Still, if you’re planning to expand your business, shouldn’t your print shop be by the Yangtze?”

“You’re not wrong, but...”

As if that’s up to me. It’s not like people don’t want river-view apartments—they just can’t afford them.

As I hesitated with a half-hearted response, the Seocheon branch head pressed on with a firm look, clearly setting me up for something.

“What if you could buy a riverside building for cheap?”

“A building by the Yangtze? Even at a bargain, wouldn’t that be too much right now?”

Sure, a discount sounds great, but I’ve already stretched my budget with the printing press. Buying a building too?

That’s like buying a 25-ton business truck and someone asking, “Hey, while you’re at it, how about grabbing that river-view apartment that’s on sale?”

No way that’s doable.

But then the Seocheon branch head pulled out an option I hadn’t even considered.

“The building Seocheon Escort Bureau used before moving into Baek Family Estate—would you be interested in purchasing it... at a low price?”