I said to the Alliance Leader,
“Then please give me 100,000 silver taels.”
“100,000… silver taels?”
“Yes.”
Had my answer caught him off guard?
The Alliance Leader gave me a puzzled look.
“Everyone here knows how wealthy the Eunhae Merchant Group is. Why would you ask for even more money?”
“That wealth belongs to the merchant group, not to me. Besides, money is what I like most.”
The people who knew me nodded among themselves. Judging by their faces, they assumed there had to be some deeper purpose behind my request.
Those who weren’t acquainted with me, however, reacted far less favorably.
A few even openly scoffed.
They were probably thinking, ‘Of course a lowly merchant would be obsessed with money.’
They could think whatever they wanted.
The Alliance Leader, on the other hand, wore an unreadable expression.
“So, will you grant my request?”
“If that is truly what you desire, I can hardly refuse. Very well. I shall give you 100,000 silver taels.”
“Thank you.”
“You may leave now. I look forward to seeing how you fare in your next match.”
“I’ll do my best not to disappoint you.”
I respectfully bowed and left. Once outside, I sent Escort Guard Jin Yu a Voice Transmission.
– Are you all right?
He smiled at my question.
– I’m fine. To think I can walk openly through the Murim Alliance like this! It feels like a dream.
A brilliant smile spread across his face.
Then again, he probably hadn’t even dared to dream of something like this before.
Just bear with it a little longer.
Someday, I’ll make sure you can walk proudly through the Murim Alliance without relying on the Novel Disguise Art.
With that, I returned to the Yeonpung Inn.
It was time for lunch.
Palgap, who had arrived at the inn ahead of me, came over and spoke.
“Young Master, you have a visitor.”
“A visitor?”
“Yes.”
He led me to a corner of the first floor, where I found someone I hadn’t expected to see.
It was Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a.
“How are your injuries?”
She had been badly injured during the deciding match for the Heaven Group’s winner.
“I’m much better. Thanks to the Elixir you gave me, I’m almost completely healed.”
“That’s a relief.”
“That’s why I came. I wanted to thank you in person.”
She gave me a cupped-fist salute and bowed her head.
“But… why did you give me such a precious Elixir? When Father used it on me, even he was shocked by how effective it was.”
Naturally.
Geumryeong’s saliva was so effective on external injuries that calling it miraculous wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
I grinned.
“Well, you’re going to become the next Clan Lord. Wouldn’t life be easier for the Eunhae Merchant Group if I stayed in your good graces?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. That’s all there is to it.”
She grinned back at me.
“Well, knowing you expected something in return makes me feel better. Anyway, I enjoyed watching your match today.”
“I never even swung my sword. Can you really call that a match?”
“Didn’t you stop the Two-Faced Lust Demon from ambushing Warrior Hyang-ok?”
“That had nothing to do with the match.”
Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a shook her head.
“In military strategy, there’s a saying that the finest victory is one achieved without fighting. There are many ways to win without fighting, and what you showed us today was one of them.”
“…”
“In that sense, I believe you fought the finest match of all.”
I nodded at Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a’s words.
“Now that you put it that way, I suppose you’re right.”
She wasn’t wrong, so I continued nodding.
More importantly, my match with Cousin Hyang-ok was coming up soon.
After everything Cousin Hyang-ok had said, I couldn’t exactly forfeit…
Damn it.
Why did the Alliance Leader have to recommend me in the first place…?
.
.
.
After Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a left, I ate lunch.
I had invited her to join me, but she said she had already eaten and went on her way.
Now, should we get moving?
“I just remembered something I need to tell Supervisor Im at the temporary shop. Let’s stop by before heading to the arena.”
“Understood.”
After we had walked for some time, Escort Guard Seo Wu spoke to me.
“You seem troubled by something.”
“Ah… Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
“Palgap and the other guards are worried about you as well.”
I gave an awkward smile at the two Escort Guards’ words.
Perhaps because they had guarded me for so long, they could now tell what I was thinking just by looking at my face.
I had always thought I was fairly good at keeping my expression under control.
“I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“It’s all right.”
I stopped walking for a moment.
“The truth is, I don’t seriously walk the martial path, yet I was allowed into these friendly matches on the Alliance Leader’s recommendation. It doesn’t sit well with me. To be honest, I’m an outsider who doesn’t belong among them.”
“You needn’t think that way.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu continued firmly.
“For a martial artist, there is no greater honor than crossing hands with the strong.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks to Young Clan Lord Zhuge, I’ve settled my doubts about whether my victory was legitimate. But I still can’t understand what the warriors I faced were thinking when they chose to forfeit.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu considered my question for a moment before answering.
“Before they are martial artists, they are still people. Just as every person thinks differently, everyone has different principles by which they choose to act.”
“…”
“The opponents you have faced thus far made their decisions according to their own principles. I believe each of those decisions deserves to be respected.”
Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am added,
“It may seem as though you stumbled your way into the fourth round of the main tournament, but every step that brought you there was legitimate. Therefore, my lord, you should continue down that road according to your own principles. We, too, will follow the martial path according to ours.”
As I listened, I looked up at the sky.
It was such a clear, brilliant blue.
The two Escort Guards’ advice settled the unease that had been stirring inside me.
If I was being honest, I had been irritated because my opponents’ forfeits had thrown my plans into disarray.
But they had only acted according to their own principles.
Right. I had to respect their decisions.
Which meant Cousin Hyang-ok would have to respect mine as well.
Even if she couldn’t accept it right away.
Alliance Leader Hall.
The Alliance Leader sat in his office, using the brief intermission to work through a stack of documents.
The Murim Grand Assembly might have been in full swing, but that didn’t mean his duties could simply be put on hold.
“Bah! If I’d known the Alliance Leader’s duties were this endless, I never would’ve made the ‘choice to become Alliance Leader.’”
He quietly grumbled before rising from his seat and throwing the window wide open.
Alliance Leader Hall offered an unobstructed view of Luoyang.
Countless people had gathered for the Murim Grand Assembly, and the clamor they created grated on his nerves.
It wasn’t simply because they were loud.
That clamor was the sound of peace.
A peace enjoyed by those who chose to ignore the blood beneath their feet.
The Alliance Leader closed the window.
Clack.
He returned to his writing desk and unfurled the next scroll.
It was the document approving a reward of 100,000 silver taels for Eun Seo-ho.
“Hmm… Just what is he planning?”
He recalled his earlier conversation with Eun Seo-ho, who had successfully completed the ‘test’ he had given him.
— A martial art? I’m deeply grateful for the offer, but I must decline. As I said before, a merchant values what he can see and hold in his own hands. I have no desire to covet anything beyond that.
Eun Seo-ho had openly declared that he was a merchant and boldly requested tangible compensation.
“Hmm… Did he truly ask for money simply because he likes it?”
He was a deeply contradictory man, capable of appearing magnanimous one moment and remarkably petty the next.
‘In a way, perhaps it is fortunate that a man like him is the Heavenly Flow Ice Sword’s successor.’
A man who cared only for money would never grasp the Heavenly Flow Art’s true essence.
The Alliance Leader signed the document with that thought in mind, but his expression remained dark.
Everything he had hoped to accomplish through the Murim Grand Assembly’s friendly matches had ended in failure.
The most painful failure of all was undoubtedly the theft of the Buddha statue.
Upon reaching the commercial district, I headed toward the Eunhae Merchant Group’s temporary shop.
“How’s business?”
The supervisors there immediately came forward to greet me.
“Ah! Deputy Merchant Lord!”
“We heard the news! You advanced to the fourth round!”
“Yes, I did.”
“Congratulations. But what brings you here at this hour?”
I immediately explained the reason for my visit in response to Supervisor Im’s question.
“Ah, it’s nothing serious. I simply noticed that the weather is extremely dry today. If a fire broke out in these conditions, it would be disastrous, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re absolutely right.”
“That’s why I’d like you to regularly sprinkle water over the temporary shop’s roof and thoroughly wet the ground around it. I know it will be inconvenient, but I believe it would be wise.”
“Understood. We’ll do that.”
Supervisor Im readily nodded before ordering the servants to fetch water.
“I apologize for putting you through extra work over what may be needless worry.”
“Please don’t say that. If a fire really does break out, we’ll be in serious trouble. Thank you for the warning.”
“It was nothing. Let’s hope nothing happens.”
I sent another supervisor to pass the same warning along to the other merchant groups.
The merchants who were friendly toward me followed my advice, but quite a few others dismissed it.
One of them was the Baekcheon Merchant Group.
Namgoong Gang’s younger brother had recently taken over as Merchant Lord, and several supervisors had been replaced along with him.
Perhaps because the new supervisors knew little about me, they openly sneered when they saw us.
“Hmph! If you have time for that nonsense, you should use it to sell another item!”
“What a pointless waste of effort!”
Tsk, tsk. They really should’ve listened to me.
Lunch hour was just about to end when it happened.
Someone shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Fire! There’s a fire!”
I let out a sigh. So the fire had broken out after all.
The incident Father and my brothers had told me about in my previous life was unfolding exactly as they had described.
On the day before the friendly matches’ final, a sudden fire had reduced several temporary shops in prime locations to ashes.
I remembered hearing where the fire had started and how far it had spread. That was why I had willingly surrendered the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s location.
I would’ve preferred to prevent the fire altogether, but without knowing what caused it, there had been no reliable way to do so.
The best solution I could devise was to advise everyone to wet their roofs and keep plenty of water nearby.
The temporary shops that had followed my advice should be able to keep the flames at bay.
Those who ignored me, however, were about to pay dearly for it.
“P–Put out the fire! Now!”
“Keep it from spreading!”
“The merchandise is burning! It’s all going to burn!”
And I planned to use this fire as my excuse to miss today’s match.
I felt bad for Cousin Hyang-ok, but if I fought with everything I had as she demanded, everyone would discover my true strength.
That would put me in an extremely difficult position.
Therefore, keeping me out of today’s match was best for everyone.
Besides, just imagine how smug the Alliance Leader would become if I actually won the entire tournament.
I refused to give him that satisfaction.
“Bring more water! Quickly!”
“Yes!”
“Put out the flames over there first!”
I calmly directed the firefighting efforts, and everyone moved in perfect coordination according to my orders.
Then came the screams.
“Help!”
“Please, save us!”
Several people were trapped inside the warehouse behind the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s temporary shop, unable to escape.
The weather was exceptionally dry, and the place was filled with paper soaked in oil to protect the merchandise. The fire had spread in moments, leaving them no opportunity to get out.
Behind the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s temporary shop stood a warehouse they had used for years.
That warehouse was the main reason the organizer had looked so troubled when I originally chose the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s location.
The location itself was excellent, but the Baekcheon Merchant Group needed to use that warehouse.
I unleashed the Heavenly Flow Ice Art to clear a path through the flames and charged inside.
“Quickly! Come this way!”
“Th–Thank you!”
“Thank me after you’re safely outside!”
I evacuated them one by one. Once I confirmed that everyone had escaped, I discreetly tapped one of the warehouse’s support pillars.
Crash!
As intended, the pillar gave way, and the entire structure began to collapse.
People urgently cried out for me.
“My lord!”
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho!”
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun!”
“Handsome Young Hero!”
I threw myself into a hard roll.
“Urgh!”
I narrowly rolled clear of the collapsing roof, then bit my lip and knitted my brows.
“My lord! Are you all right?”
“Ugh… Damn it, my leg…”
“What?”
“I think my leg is broken.”
Father must have been nearby, because he came sprinting over in a panic, with Brother Jin-ho right behind him.
“What happened… Seo-ho! What happened to you?”
“Father… I’m sorry. I think I broke my leg.”
Brother Jin-ho rushed forward in shock.
“What? Your leg is broken?”
I nodded with a pained expression.
“Yeah… What am I going to do about the match?”
“Are you insane? Who cares about the match right now? You’re not seriously hurt, are you?”
Brother Jin-ho hurriedly reached down to examine my leg.
I quickly sent him a Voice Transmission.
– Brother, I’m actually completely fine. I have my reasons, though. Just play along.
When Brother Jin-ho stared at me in confusion, I lightly clenched my fist.
He immediately looked down at my leg and cried out with exaggerated horror.
“Oh, no! This is terrible! You won’t be able to move properly for at least several days!”
Only then did I relax my clenched fist.
I turned to Father and apologized.
“Father, this happened because I was careless. Please don’t blame my escort guards.”
“Tsk!”
Father clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Still, we’re fortunate it wasn’t worse.”
“We should move our lord back to the inn first.”
“Do so.”
And so, I was placed on a stretcher and carried back to the Yeonpung Inn.
Meanwhile, the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s temporary shop and warehouse burned completely to the ground.
The nearby temporary shops were caught in the fire as well, but every shop that had followed my advice remained intact.
See? They should’ve listened to me.
At that moment, Father approached me and spoke in a low voice.
“I’ll explain the situation to the physician, so stay in your room and don’t move a muscle. It’ll be more convincing if we say you passed out because you couldn’t endure the pain, won’t it?”
H–How did he know?
–TL Notes–
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