Book 26 Chapter 6

The first gateway to the South Seas

-Show Me the Money

"Two people……. Even with the emergency bell ringing, the security at the gate is weaker than I thought. Are you sure that's the way to the South Sea?"

Sneaking a glance at the gateway to the South Sea, Namgungsansan asked in a suspicious tone.

"I think so."

Hyunwoon replied in an uncertain voice.

"We should go in, right?"

Looking at the gateway to the Southern Sea Islands in the distance, Nangong Shanshan sighed lightly and asked again.

"Maybe."

Hyun-woon, next to him, replies briefly. Up until now, the two of them had been moving together, and they had been lucky enough to come this far without any obstacles. However, from now on, that luck would have to be pioneered by their own skills. Even knowing that, Namgung San San opened his mouth again.

"It must be hard, right?"

"Maybe."

Hyun-woon answered again, in the same tone and with the same words. No matter what he asked, the same answer didn't sit well with Namgung San San.

"Maybe, maybe, maybe! Hyun-woon, can't you say something at least a little more palatable, like, 'No, it's okay, we can do this!'?"

He asked for reassurance, but when he was met with a series of heartbreaking answers, Sansan couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"Wen Xianjin, 'maybe' was an honest impression. Lying is not good."

Namgung San San was stunned by the answer.

"You know what your problem is, you're always so uncertain, you're so vague, you're so vague."

She hissed, as if her anger had truly exploded. After a moment of silence, Hyunwoon spoke up.

"Hmm… I guess so."

It's the same old tone. Namgungsan Mountain exploded again.

"Again, again, again, you're an old fart because you can't say anything more than that! Why don't you get your act together?"

The words are sharp, like thorns.

"Sansan, don't you think your problem is trying to get everything right every time?"

Hyun-woon has been pointing out the problems with Namgungsan Mountain.

"What's wrong with being sure, it's so much better than being watered down, drunk, and neither this nor that!"

At the very least, you won't be frustrated enough to beat your chest.

"If only things could be divided as neatly as that, with a knife and fork……."

"Ugh, you're always so unsure, it's hard to be around you."

"No, I mean, who's having a hard time?"

Suddenly, Nangong Shanshan's face turned bright red.

"Mo, all of them, all of them!"

Bam, yell. This is not the behavior of people in hiding.

"That seems to be your personal opinion, Sansan?"

"If I am, then I am, and that's why you're the right person to meet!"

It was a personal attack with no context, but instead of getting angry, Hyunwoon just smiled.

"Isn't it better for you if I'm the second in command, because that means he's the first in command?"

"Even twins have different ideas."

He snorted and shook his head. Hyunwoon laughed again.

"Come to think of it, don't you think we look alike?"

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

Nangong Shanshan couldn't understand the meaning of Shen Yun's words.

"We're both two-biters."

The words hit him like a hammer, striking at the truth that his mind had been ignoring. Shan Shan's body shook for a moment.

"Uh, uh, how dare you, I'm not like you with your flowing asterisks!"

Nan Gongsan shouted, his face red as hot iron. He had completely forgotten about his current stealthy move.

"Are you sure it's different? It's not good to lie to yourself."

Hyun-woon continued to poke at the sore spot, unperturbed by Namgungsansan's panicked state.

"that's…… that's……."

Sansan was unable to answer. The trauma was too much for her. Hyun-woon kept bringing up things that he wanted to keep pretending he didn't know, picking and choosing, especially at a time like this.

"See? You can't deny it, we're alike, you and I. We both have people in our circle who stand in our way, you with Qin Lie, me with Gongsang."

As Sansan reeled from the shock, Hyun-woon drove the final wedge.

"If we get this, this, and this right, there's no reason we can't be number one too."

"You mean us?"

Hyun-woon pointed his finger alternately at Sanshan and himself, and Nangong Sanshan looked angry again and exclaimed, "I'm sorry.

"Yeah, you and me, we! So let's make sure we get it 'right', okay?"

It's been a long time since we've seen Namgungsang and Jinryung in the front row, but their breathing has been creaky from the start.

Angered by Hyun-woon's vague and uncertain demeanor, Namgungsansan stalks forward. She shrugs off Hyun-woon's attempts to stop her, and Hyun-woon chases after her, but they continue to argue. Namgungsansan just wants to get away from Hyun-woon, and Hyun-woon is trying to keep her close.

"I'm sorry we're in the middle of a fight, but can you stop fighting and listen to me?"

Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, when was that person standing in front of you?

A dapper young man in a white robe stood in front of them, looking very troubled. He was wondering how to break up this argument.

"What brings you here to South Korea? Can you tell me your purpose?"

His tone and demeanor were so polite that I didn't think he was a black man at all. It was the kind of graceful hospitality you'd expect from a clerk at a famous store.

The young man standing guard at the gate was dressed in a plain white robe, but the markings on his chest indicated he was from Auburn University. He had a neat, clean-cut face, and looked more like a merchant than an unattended man. He looked like a young man who would be much more at home with an abacus than a sword. The white horse youth had a sword strapped to his waist and a long stick wrapped in cloth on his back.

"Can you tell me what you're here for?"

The young man in the white robe asked politely once more.

"I'd like to meet with the captain of Auburn University, who is in charge of the South Seas here."

Namgung Sansan stepped forward and said. It was the indecisive Hyun-woon's fault.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Nope. I didn't get an appointment."

Then the young man looked slightly apologetic and said.

"Well, that's a problem, because he's always busy. He has a total of twelve appointments today. And I'm only halfway through them."

"But there's something I need to see you about, right now."

Namgung Sansan specifically emphasized the word "right now.

"No, you don't have to come out so strong from the start……."

"No, no. You stay put, Hyun-woon, and I'll take care of everything."

She was obviously not happy with Hyun-woon.

"But……."

She was ready to draw her sword if she had to. But for now, she was just assessing the situation. The other man had been more polite than she had expected, and she had no choice but to engage him in a nice little conversation.

"Well, I see you're not who you say you are, do you have a pass?"

Namgungsansan and Hyun-woon showed them the passes they'd gotten for coming to the Temple of Heaven. They didn't know if it would work yet.

The young man, who had been staring at the pass for some time, looked back at the two of them and said.

"Well, this is not a pass through the gateway to the South Seas here, and it's not valid after the highest level of emergency has been declared. Everyone with this pass is to assemble in Dormitory Thirty-three and not move a step. Didn't you know?"

Namgung San San said with a surprised expression.

"Wow, I had no idea there was such a rule."

I have a hunch," said Namgungsansan, smirking.

"It's usually not something you need to know."

Without question, the white-haired youth replied.

"I have an urgent errand for the boss here, and I'll be right back as soon as I'm done. How about that? Just a minute, just a minute."

Please let it go, Namgung San San prayed fervently to himself.

"But…… can't unless you 'clarify' your purpose."

She flinched at the words.

"Do I really need to clarify?"

"We don't like uncertainty. I can't let you in unless you clarify."

"How do I do that?"

Namgung Sanshan hurriedly sent a message to Hyun Yun.

"What can I do, I'm supposed to be clear, and vagueness is not a good thing, right?"

He was asked to reveal his purpose, but for some reason, it sounded very unpleasant to Namgung Sansan's ears.

"Are you being sarcastic with me, and now you're pouting because I just told you to get your attitude straight?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, and the guru doesn't sulk."

"So now you're lying to me, too, which is great, I can tell you, because I'm a woman of integrity!"

Nangong Shanshan jerked his head ferociously toward the young man.

"We just need to find out what was in the wooden coffin that was transported here, what do you think, are we good, can we go in now?"

Nangong Shan Shan tried again and again to pass in front of him, but the white-haired youth slid in front of him and said, "I'm sorry.

"So you're in the same company as the intruders that rang a while ago."

The young man in the simple white robe spoke in a very calm voice. For a moment, the two of them stiffened with tension.

"Ahhhhh…… No way, that's not true at all."

Though she laughed and denied it, her hand was in position to draw her sword at any moment, but the young man in the white robe hadn't attacked or rung the emergency bell.

"Well, I see, you're trespassing, you don't have a valid pass, and you're two people……."

I mutter to myself and snap my fingers.

"……?"

He wasn't looking at me at all, but it was unnerving to not be able to tell what he was thinking.

"Get ready."

Without letting his guard down, Namgung Sansan sent a telegram, and the answer came back immediately.

"I'm already working on it."

The young man in the white robe turned his head toward the two of them and spoke.

"The calculation is done, the toll is one hundred silver pieces."

"Wait a minute, what do you mean, a toll, you mean you'll let me through if I pay you a hundred silver coins?"

Nangong Shanshan blinked and asked.

"Yes, a hundred silver coins."

"So… you're saying I didn't mishear you?"

I thought he was going to ask for a fight, but then he suddenly asked for money…….

"You didn't hear me wrong."

"Aha, so you must have misspoken."

The white-haired youth shook his head.

"You didn't misspeak, you passed for a hundred silver coins, no doubt."

"Pay me all that money now, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes, that's the rule here in the South Seas, where money is justice."

The young man said with a serious face, as if he were speaking the truth.

"Money talks, is that what you're saying?"

"No, it's not. It takes a lot of money, not just money, to make anything work."

The young man's tone was determined.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"That's ridiculous, there's a huge difference between the two. But the average person doesn't realize that."

"You sound like a big brother, you."

Nan Gongshan said something with an incredulous expression. This was exactly how he felt whenever he was subjected to something unbelievable by his big brother.

"I'm just saying what I think. But if you want to go into the South Seas here, you're going to have to go along with it. What do you say?"

"Well……. But a hundred silver jars…… is outrageous!"

Once I learned from her, haggling was basic.

"Why do you think that?"

"Think about it, if everyone had to pay a hundred bucks every time they walked through this door, who would want to come here? We'd have fewer and fewer customers, and we'd be in the red."

It was a well-reasoned negotiation, but my opponent was tougher than I thought.

"Oh, don't worry about that at all, everyone else can get through this door for a lot less, maybe a tenth of the price. And of course, we Auburn guys can get in and out for free."

A tenth was ten silver pieces. It was not a small sum, of course, but it seemed trivial compared to the outrageous sum of a hundred. The young man's words angered Nan Gongshan.

"Wait a minute, but why are they taking such a huge bite out of us? It's stupid, it's stupid, it's against our morals."

"No, the price of this toll is set by strict criteria. The most important job of the guards guarding the South Sea Gate is to set the price of the toll. You are the so-called illegal trespassers who do not have passes, and it is only natural that they should pay many times more than the legal passengers to pass through this gate, isn't it?"

"ugh……."

Now that they'd crossed the threshold, Namgung Sanshan had nothing to say in retort.

"Can't you shave, shave?"

"I only know how much money I'm going to get, not how much I'm going to have to cut."

"But……."

The White Horse Youth pondered for a moment, then spoke up.

"By any chance, are you two married?"

"No!"

"No!"

Both men were in vehement denial, not sure who came first.

"So, are you in a relationship?"

The gatekeeper asked again.

"Absolutely not!"

"No!"

This time, Hyun-woon's denial was a little faster. It even had the unnecessary word 'never' attached to it. Nan Gongshan's gaze sharpened to the point of nervousness.

"Who is this guy!"

Nan Gongshan shook his head. The White Horse youth scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"Then I guess I don't qualify for the married couple discount or the sweetheart discount."

It meant that it couldn't be reduced because there was no longer a basis for it to be reduced.

"Now, what do you want to do?"

The white-haired youth smiled once more. It was a smile that didn't have any wrinkles, a smile that looked very kind. But somehow, Lin Yun didn't like it. It was too pretentious. It was as if he wasn't smiling at them, but at the money they were carrying. It was a smile as if money was the only thing of value in the world.