If that’s the case, then it’s highly likely that Baek, the head of the courtesan house, wasn’t taken by illness, but was murdered.
Then what could they have been trying to accomplish by investing so much effort into Fire Lotus Inn?
The answer came to me almost immediately.
This place was one of the Five Great Courtesan Houses of Hubei Province.
By nature, it sees a high volume of visitors.
And with so many exceptional courtesans, it’s a frequent haunt for wealthy and cultured types, making it the perfect place to gather intel on them.
And to spread rumors or quietly win them over.
In short, this place was meant to become a secret branch of the Murim Alliance.
In the future I’d lived through, the wealthy of Hubei had all been oddly friendly with the Murim Alliance and the Baekcheon Merchant Group, and now I knew why.
They’d been quietly recruited through this very place.
I barely suppressed a laugh.
I’d just prevented Fire Lotus Inn from becoming a covert outpost of the Murim Alliance.
At the same time, a chill ran down my spine.
All I’d done was prevent the fire at the Finance Pavilion that would’ve caused massive losses to the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Because of that, the archive documents hadn’t been destroyed. We wouldn’t lose a single coin.
Clerk Ah survived, and his family would be safe.
Clerk Yeo, too, was spared.
The one who’d been scheduled for duty that night was also unharmed, and Clerk In Dae-su, who’d later resign out of guilt, would now go on to live a happy family life.
Honestly, that was all I’d thought about at the time.
But the ripple effect from me preventing the fire twisted causality much further.
I didn’t know how far the consequences of my actions would spread.
But one thing was certain.
None of it would benefit the Murim Alliance or the Baekcheon Merchant Group.
And that alone satisfied me.
“Young Master?”
A voice shattered my thoughts.
One of the guards who had accompanied me was looking at me curiously.
“Ah, sorry. Let’s head back.”
“Yes, sir.”
We returned to the office, and I reported everything I’d uncovered to Father.
“There was also a strange symbol on the wall. Clouds intertwined with peach blossoms, no doubt the emblem of a demonic cult.”
At my words, Baek cried out in alarm.
“W–what ridiculous nonsense! That’s just the insignia of the Doun Merchant Group!”
“The Doun Group?”
Feigning ignorance, I tilted my head.
“…”
Father’s eyes grew cold.
“The Doun Group… So they’re a merchant group, huh.”
He turned to Baek.
“If you’re hoping for mercy, you’d best understand it comes with a price. Are you still planning to stay silent?”
“T–that is…”
Baek hesitated, but under relentless pressure, he eventually spilled everything.
“…That’s what happened. I really don’t know much about them! They made an offer, and I simply accepted it!”
“Tsk, tsk.”
Father clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Clearly frustrated by how short-sighted Baek was.
Then he issued an order to Chief Administrator Go.
“Turn him over to the authorities.”
“Yes, sir.”
And with that, Fire Lotus Inn was now in our hands. The question was, how should we run it?
“But should we really keep Fire Lotus Inn under our control?”
Father asked as he flipped through the accounting ledgers. Chief Administrator Yu nodded.
“Shall we put it on the market?”
“That’s not an option!”
My urgent outburst made the two of them look at me, surprised.
“Why not?”
“I beg your pardon. It’s just…”
I trailed off, mind racing.
We’d barely stopped the Murim Alliance from planting a secret branch in our front yard. If we put this courtesan house up for sale, everything I’d done would be for nothing.
But I couldn’t say that outright.
One day, I’d explain everything, but not now. So I needed a plausible reason.
“Fire Lotus Inn can serve an important role for the Eunhae Merchant Group. We mustn’t sell it.”
“An important role?”
“Yes. Isn’t it vital for us to know what our customers want?”
“Indeed.”
“And their evaluations of our products are important, too.”
At that, Chief Administrator Yu grinned.
“I believe I understand what the Young Master’s getting at. You’re suggesting we use Fire Lotus Inn as a hub for information gathering and promotion, am I right?”
Of course. Chief Administrator Yu always caught on quickly.
“Yes. And we can spread word-of-mouth while we’re at it.”
“An excellent idea. But we don’t have much experience operating a courtesan house. How do you plan to handle that?”
“We just keep Chief Administrator Seo in his current position. He’s managed Fire Lotus Inn well thus far, he’ll continue to do so.”
Hearing our exchange, Father nodded thoughtfully.
“Hm. Chief Administrator Yu, what’s your take?”
“If we’re keeping it, he’s the best choice. The staff speak highly of him, and his competence is well known.”
Chief Administrator Yu continued,
“After reviewing the ledgers, I’m convinced. Numbers never lie.”
“Very well. We’ll go with that.”
“Thank you.”
I gave a small bow of gratitude.
And with that, Fire Lotus Inn was set to play the same role it had in the future I once lived through.
Only the owner had changed.
From the Murim Alliance to the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Just then, a method I’d once used came to mind.
“How about we provide our silk to the courtesans free of charge and have them make their outfits from it?”
“To the courtesans? But…”
“This is a courtesan house, yes, but the women here are entertainers, not prostitutes. So there’s no need for concern.”
“Fair enough.”
Back when I ran Eunhae Textiles, I used to provide high-quality silk for free to the most famous courtesans and entertainers of the courtesan and tavern districts.
They were women who could enchant men with their beauty and talent.
Naturally, good silk looked even better on them, and Eunhae Textiles made a tidy profit from the attention it drew.
Father looked at Chief Administrator Yu. After a brief moment of thought, he nodded.
“It makes sense. People are always drawn to beautiful things.”
That one sentence said it all.
“I’ll need to speak with Pavilion Lord Yeon later.”
I was sure my proposal would be accepted.
Father truly was a good man.
Running a merchant group means walking a path of ruthless pragmatism.
And yet, the reason Father had led the Eunhae Merchant Group so well was because he always listened to those around him.
And when it was time to make a decision, he never hesitated.
Just like when he took control of Fire Lotus Inn and handed Baek over to the authorities.
He also turned Clerk Ah over, but in Clerk Ah’s case, Father requested leniency.
He said he’d help them if they wanted to start over in a new place.
Truly, Father was a good man.
Clerk Yeo Chang-ui and I were granted some time off.
It was a reward for the success of this operation, and we received a generous bonus as well.
When Father said he was giving me a vacation, Chief Administrator Yu looked like he had a lot to say.
He already had a mountain of work thanks to the new initiatives I’d proposed, and now the assistant he was counting on was going on break.
But vacation was my right.
I ignored his pleading eyes and gratefully accepted the time off.
.
.
.
I lay on my bed, lost in thought.
‘Thankfully, nothing serious happened this time, but…’
A sigh escaped me.
It was frustrating, pretending I couldn’t use martial arts even though I could.
If the fact that I could use martial arts wasn’t a secret, I’d have jumped in to subdue the masked man I encountered at Fire Lotus Inn.
And I would’ve chased him down.
If it were me, I probably could’ve figured out where he was headed.
Missing that chance, it stung.
If I wanted to use martial arts freely going forward, I’d need to show myself actually learning them.
Besides, it’s best to start training in martial arts at a young age anyway.
Had my martial arts been stronger, I wouldn’t have died so miserably in the end. I wouldn’t have had to watch the people who followed me die, powerless to help.
There was no reason to delay martial training any longer.
Now that the urgent matters were settled, I had to find the master who had once taught me martial arts and ask him to take me as a disciple.
He was the Escort Chief (표두) of Changin Escort Bureau (昌仁鏢局), an ally of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Was he currently working as an Escort Chief?
Then, a memory suddenly surfaced.
“If only I had returned an hour earlier… If I had, my eldest son would still be alive.”
A cold chill ran down my spine.
W–wait. What day is it today?
I counted the dates on my fingers and shot up from bed.
“Damn. It’s today, isn’t it?”
Lady Gwak was preparing to leave early in the morning.
Her husband was the Escort Chief of the Changin Escort Bureau.
So he was away from home more than half the year. During those times, she had to take care of the children on her own.
Sometimes, the household money he left behind wasn’t enough.
In those cases, she’d earn a little extra by helping out at banquets or doing sewing work.
Today was the birthday celebration of Pavilion Lord Jang, and she had agreed to help out.
She was skilled with her hands, so she was always one of the first to be called when such events came up.
“Mother, are you going out?”
She had two sons, her eldest, Gwak Hyeong-jin (郭炯進), and her younger son, Gwak Jun-ha (郭俊廈).
Gwak Hyeong-jin was twelve, a reliable firstborn.
“I’m going to Lord Jang’s house. There’s a banquet today.”
“You look tired, Mother. You should just rest.”
Lady Gwak smiled and shook her head at Hyeong-jin’s concern.
“Tired? Not at all.”
“You’re going to work, it can’t not be tiring.”
“I’m fine, really. I’ll get to eat some good food, too. I’ll bring something tasty back for you.”
At her words, her eight-year-old second son, Gwak Jun-ha, chimed in.
“I want some candied fruits!”
“Alright, I’ll bring some. Study with your brother while I’m gone.”
With her sons seeing her off, Lady Gwak made her way to the Jang residence.
Now only the two brothers remained at home.
“Jun-ha, time to study.”
“I don’t want to study.”
At Jun-ha’s whining, Hyeong-jin said,
“Father’s coming home soon. If we haven’t memorized the Thousand Character Classic, he’ll scold us hard.”
“Okay, okay. Then let’s play sword-fighting after lunch.”
“That much, sure.”
The two sat at the table and began studying.
Gwak Hyeong-jin was done with the Great Learning (大學) and had moved on to studying the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸). (TL Note: Famous Chinese Texts)
Studying the Doctrine of the Mean at age twelve, he was quite clever.
They didn’t attend a private school, but their father had been teaching them literature and martial arts.
However, martial arts training was only allowed under their father’s supervision.
He said solo practice was too dangerous.
Lunchtime arrived.
They each had a big dumpling.
As promised, Hyeong-jin then played with his younger brother.
Their games were always the same.
Living in a bamboo grove, bamboo was everywhere, and bamboo made for the perfect toy.
Today, Jun-ha wanted to play bamboo sword-fighting, and Hyeong-jin agreed.
They weren’t allowed to practice martial arts alone, but playing with bamboo swords was harmless enough.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack, thwack!
Though four years younger, Jun-ha had excellent physical instincts.
He had a natural sharpness, an intuitive sense for finding openings.
Their father often watched Jun-ha with a complicated expression, but the boys never noticed.
Clack!
“Wah!”
Jun-ha’s bamboo sword struck with force, sending Hyeong-jin’s flying.
“Ah! Sorry, elder brother!”
“It’s fine.”
As Hyeong-jin went to retrieve his sword, his foot caught on something, and he fell forward.
It happened in an instant.
Thud!
“Aaaagh!”
Hyeong-jin’s scream echoed through the bamboo grove.
Startled, Jun-ha ran over.
“E–Elder brother! What’s wrong?”
“Ughh…!”
Helping his brother up, Jun-ha was horrified.
Blood was pouring from Hyeong-jin’s stomach.
Panic-stricken, Jun-ha screamed and cried.
“Somebody help! Please, someone help! Waaah!”
He was terrified.
It felt like he was going to lose his brother.
Especially because their house was in such a remote area.
No matter how loudly he screamed, no one came.
And just like that, Hyeong-jin lost consciousness.
–TL Notes–
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