Chapter 123: Publication (5)

Copyright.

One of my friends once got dragged to the police station after uploading movies to a web hard drive for pocket money while studying for the civil service exam.

— It wasn’t me! My little brother uploaded it! I swear I didn’t do it! I’m so sorry!

He took his younger brother with him, had him write a letter of apology, and managed to get off with just a warning.

But the whole ordeal left him shaken, and he resented losing face in front of his sibling.

We laughed at him mercilessly, but after that incident, he never touched web hard drives again.

Thanks to the copyright laws that protect creators today, countless writers and artists could make a living from their work.

But those laws hadn’t been around forever.

Of course, there were no such copyright protections for creators in this world.

If someone found a good piece of writing, they shared it, copied it, critiqued its flaws, and moved on.

That was just how things work here.

“Hwarin, let’s close up and go check it out.”

“Yeah!”

If my book became famous, piracy was inevitable.

I had expected that much.

To protect my rights, I would need a network to track where my book was being illegally sold.

I’d also needed some kind of legal authority—or force—to punish those who sold pirated copies.

But what power did a barbarian like me have in the Central Plains?

Still, I had assumed that kind of trouble would arise outside of Yichang.

I never expected it to happen right here.

“They’re actually selling it.”

Sure enough, another bookstore was openly selling The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan.

“Welcome! Are you looking for the hottest book these days, The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan? We sell it much cheaper than Tea Book Pavilion—huh?! Wait a second! You’re that barbarian from Tea Book Pavilion!”

The bookstore owner scowled as soon as he recognized my black hair.

“What the hell is going on here?”

“What do you mean? We’re just selling The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan at a more affordable price.”

I glared at him, but he avoided my eyes, feigning ignorance.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

“This is against business ethics!”

I raised my voice so that passersby could hear.

“Business ethics? Ha!”

“The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan was sponsored and published by Tea Book Pavilion! And yet you have the audacity to ignore basic business ethics and pull this kind of nonsense?”

There might not be formal copyright laws here, but that didn’t mean business practices were completely lawless.

Even in this world, publishers frequently sponsored authors, supporting them in exchange for exclusive publishing rights.

Hwarin’s grandfather had done that exact kind of work for decades.

While authors didn’t have personal copyright protections, publishers had an early form of business rights under the name of commercial ethics.

“Business ethics don’t apply to filthy barbarians like you!”

Ah, there it is—blatant, raw discrimination.

Now this was the Central Plains I was familiar with.

“You punk. What did you just say to Yunho?”

Hwarin suddenly pulled hidden weapons from seemingly nowhere and took a step toward the bookstore owner.

Where the hell did she just pull that from?

“A, a-a martial artist is trying to attack a civilian!”

“Hwarin, I’ll handle this.”

I stopped her before she could do anything.

The bookstore owner’s face had already turned pale as he glanced between us, carefully choosing his next words.

“You—you damned barbarian! If you had any sense of ethics, you wouldn’t be talking! You came here and ruined the local bookselling industry!”

“What?”

“You brought in a foreign bookstore and disrupted the market! Do you have any idea how much business we’ve lost because of you?”

“That doesn’t make any—“

“You found some talented writer, thinking you’d make a fortune, huh? Well, we won’t stand for it! Every bookstore in Yichang has agreed to print and sell The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan ourselves to recover our losses. Get used to it!”

Though his voice was loud, his feet subtly shuffled backward as he kept eyeing Hwarin’s weapon.

So that was what happened.

Tea Book Pavilion was the largest bookstore in Yichang.

It had been running for over fifty years, and despite lazy management, it had always been profitable.

This was for various reasons such as its prime location on a major street and its extensive collection of books.

But then we introduced a new sales model—customers flooded in.

Naturally, that meant other bookstores saw a decline in sales.

Now, instead of competing fairly, they had banded together to steal my work and make a profit while undermining the Tea Book Pavilion.

“Yunho, should I step in?”

“Stabbing one guy won’t solve anything.”

“If stabbing is too much, there’s always poison.”

“Eek!”

“Don’t.”

I stopped her again.

If every bookstore had decided to print their own copies of The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan, then waving a knife around wouldn’t fix anything.

They had openly and thoroughly screwed me over.

A book that was already trending, a way to make easy money, and a chance to deal a blow to the Tea Book Pavilion—of course they had no reason to hesitate.

“But, Yunho—“

“I have a plan. Just follow me.”

“I’m coming too!”

Without looking back, I walked out of the competitor’s bookstore.

Since they started this fight, I have no intention of backing down.

No, in a battle like this, if I tolerate it once, I’ll just keep getting hit in the future.

As the co-owner of the Tea Book Pavilion and the author of The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan, I absolutely had to win this fight.

So, what’s the best way to do that?

When businesses went to war, the easiest strategy was a price war.

The problem was, in a price war, my opponent had the overwhelming advantage.

“Their printing setup is way better than ours.”

Tea Book Pavilion’s printing press was decades old.

We didn’t even have a type-casting machine.

On the other hand, they probably had access to better printing technology and a cheaper supply chain.

If I engaged in a price war, there was a high chance of failure.

“Should I just poison them all?”

Hwarin looked at me with a serious expression.

“If you do that, the Tang Clan will come after you, even if it’s not because of the book.”

I appreciated her thinking of solutions, but that was a bit extreme.

This wasn’t a life-or-death battle between martial artists—it was a competition between merchants.

Besides, if I turned them into enemies instead of competitors, I’d never be able to do business in Yichang again.

“Damn… Then what should we do?”

“I have a plan.”

“What plan?”

Hwarin looked at me with curiosity.

If we fight them in publishing and price competition, we’ll get crushed.

They probably think they have an easy, one-sided victory.

But there’s no rule saying I have to fight on their terms.

If the playing field favors them, then I’ll just flip the entire board.

“There’s a method, but it’ll take some time. In the meantime, we can’t just sit back and get beaten down. We need to hit them back.”

I’ll deliver a one-two punch that leaves a lasting impact.

They’re attacking my bookstore’s weakness, so I’ll strike back using my greatest strength.

“Hit them back? How?”

“I’m going to try something called ‘dropping coordinates.’”

I’ll use my strength as a writer.

Scholar Hwang visited the Tea Book Pavilion as usual.

Waiting for the second volume of The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan was an agonizing ordeal.

The more he reread the first volume, the stronger his thirst for the second became, like drinking seawater, only to grow thirstier.

“At least there’s the Tea Book Society.”

The gathering where people discussed The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan—the Tea Book Society.

Meeting with other members of the Tea Book Society was the only thing that eased his craving for the next volume.

As the novel gained popularity, more and more people joined.

As always, the first thing Scholar Hwang did upon entering the bookstore was look at the display where the Rising Tempest of Tang Clan was stacked.

“What is this!? This can’t be happening!”

“This must be a dream! Please, let it be a dream!”

Several members of the Tea Book Society, who had arrived before him, were wailing in despair.

“What happened here?” Scholar Hwang asked, stunned by the sight of his distraught peers, but they didn’t respond.

Instead, they pointed with devastated expressions toward a sign.

Seeking answers, Scholar Hwang turned his gaze toward the sign.

Ho Phil—wasn’t that the author of The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan?

Could this finally be an announcement about the second volume?

He began to read.

“What kind of disaster is this?!”

Scholar Hwang clutched his head, unable to believe what he had just read.

“The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan might not have a second volume,” the bookstore manager appeared among the wailing crowd, calmly tidying up books as he spoke.

“Manager! What is the meaning of this?”

“Why is the second volume not coming out?”

The devoted readers of The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan surrounded the manager, demanding an explanation for this dire situation.

“Well… The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan was written by an author fully supported by the Tea Book Pavilion. Ho Phil was delighted that his work was successful and that he could finally give back to the bookstore that had helped him. But then, he witnessed something shocking.”

“Something shocking?”

“Other bookstores started selling The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan without permission. Because of that, our copies at Tea Book Pavilion haven’t sold for days. When the author saw this, he was so devastated that he stopped eating and collapsed from the shock.”

The manager shook his head grimly.

“Those people have no sense of business ethics! When a bookstore supports an author, it’s only natural that the book should be printed and sold exclusively through that bookstore!”

“They know that. But The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan is selling too well for them to care.”

“And all that money goes straight into their pockets, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, unfortunately. The Tea Book Pavilion had been giving the author all the profits out of goodwill, but for days now, we haven’t been able to give him a single coin.”

“What a bunch of disgusting thieves!”

“Because of people like them, good authors burn out too quickly!”

“Manager, what will you do now?”

“What can a mere bookstore owner do against every other bookstore in Yichang? We have no choice but to give up on The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan Volume 2.”

So it’s really over?

The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan is finished?

The faces of the Tea Book Society members varied, but they all wore the same expression of despair upon hearing this shocking news.

“We cannot let The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan end with just one volume.”

Scholar Hwang steadied his shaken heart and addressed the gathered members.

“Yes! We can’t let that happen! We have to do something!”

“What can we do?”

The manager, suddenly seeing a spark of hope, focused on their words.

“Just wait and see.”

The members of the Tea Book Society gathered in a circle, discussing their next steps.

“There are dozens of people I’ve been wanting to invite to the Tea Book Society. If we persuade them…”

“There are many at our academy eagerly awaiting the next volume…”

“I’ll speak to my teacher. He’s a devoted reader—he’ll definitely support this.”

“Esteemed customers?”

““Just trust us!””

The eyes of the Tea Book Society members burned with determination, more fiercely than ever before.

“What is this?”

The next morning, posters were plastered all over Yichang’s streets, in places where people frequently passed by.

“What does it say?”

“It says the Tea Book Pavilion funded The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan, but other bookstores are printing it without permission.”

“That novel that’s been so popular lately?”

“Yeah. Absolute scumbags. I heard the author was so shocked that he decided not to release the second volume.”

“No! I need to see the part where he conquers Hubei’s Top Courtesan!”

“The scholars have made a noble decision. Those who lack integrity in business should be taught a lesson!”

“A boycott, huh? If the scholars, who buy the most books, organize a collective boycott, those bookstores will take a serious hit.”

“Just how good is this book that people are willing to boycott over it?”

“You don’t know? There’s even a whole discussion group called the Tea Book Society dedicated to analyzing it.”

“Really? I might have to check it out myself.”

The posters spread throughout Yichang quickly drew attention.

Even people who normally had no interest in books started to take notice of The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan, wondering why a single novel was causing such an uproar.

One by one, people started buying The Rising Tempest of Tang Clan, and more and more citizens became obsessed with it.

The Tea Book Society gathering continued to grow in numbers.

“The customers have vanished from our store!”

“Where did all the scholars go?!”

As more devoted readers raged against those responsible for delaying the second volume, the losses faced by the offending bookstores grew even more severe.

“I was only planning to throw a light one-two punch, but this worked better than expected.”

I had expected that even after marking my target, they’d only take a few light jabs.

But instead, they took a full counterpunch straight to the face.

Originally, I had intended to just apply some pressure before moving on to my real strategy.

“I can’t be satisfied with just this.”

Even unexpected results should be used to their full advantage.

I picked up my brush and began writing again.

Ho Phil feels dizzy.

Please torment them even more, quickly.