The next morning.
As promised, I headed to the treasury near Taegyeong County.
[Geumsan Treasury (金山錢場)]
It was a trustworthy establishment that hadn’t collapsed even by the time I died in my previous life.
Truth be told, our Eunhae Merchant Group once considered entering the treasury business, but we eventually concluded it lacked long-term viability and gave up the idea.
The primary revenue source for treasuries is the interest earned from lending money.
Compared to usurious operations like Loan Sharks, their rates were reasonable, so many people used them.
They also issued and received promissory notes, effectively handling payments on behalf of clients.
Since the business dealt entirely with money, martial power was a necessity.
They had to pressure debtors or chase down those who skipped out on repayments.
Because of that, the skill level of the guards they employed had as much of an impact on a treasury’s credibility as an escort bureau’s did.
Geumsan Treasury had maintained high credibility and longevity for that reason.
Above all, its owner was a Peak-level warrior.
Usually, Peak-level warriors are on par with the leaders of major sects.
With someone like that running the treasury, who would dare to skip out on repayment?
Additionally, each branch had its own trained letter-carriers, capable of transmitting important messages quickly.
“Oh! You’re here!”
“Welcome, sir.”
As I approached Geumsan Treasury, I saw Lord Ma waiting at the entrance.
He looked quite anxious, probably afraid I wouldn’t show up.
As if I’d miss this.
No matter how much I intended to strip him bare, reputation is reputation.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“No, I just arrived myself. Though the treasury hasn’t opened yet.”
That’s how early it was.
I’d arranged to meet around this time on purpose…
Even Lord Ma’s influence meant nothing here, so he couldn’t force them to open early and was just stuck waiting.
He must’ve been really on edge, afraid I’d back out of the deal.
“It’s cold out. How about we go have a cup of tea in that teahouse while we wait? They should be opening soon.”
“Sounds good.”
“My treat today.”
“No, let me pay.”
“Please, I’ve enjoyed enough of your fine tea already. Let me return the favor just once.”
With that warm exchange, we headed into the teahouse.
Given the early hour, we were the only customers.
Even if there were others, the fierce presence of Lord Ma’s guards would have kept them far away.
Or, anyone local who recognized Lord Ma would’ve turned around as soon as they stepped inside.
That’s how infamous he was.
While enjoying the refreshments, we chatted about this and that.
“Ah, by the way, did you hear?”
“About what?”
“I heard Geumsan Treasury was nearly robbed recently.”
“What?”
“They say a thief managed to sneak into the treasury.”
“…”
That wasn’t a lie.
A thief really had broken in and nearly got away with it, but the treasury owner caught them in the act, and the attempt failed.
That was about a year ago.
Since then, Geumsan Treasury had tightened its security even more.
But I deliberately left that part out, planting a small seed of unease in Lord Ma’s mind.
“So, I’m considering switching to a different treasury.”
Just then, Palgeop approached.
“Young Lord, the treasury’s open.”
“Ah, is that so?”
I stood up.
“Shall we?”
“Let’s go.”
We entered Geumsan Treasury.
“Welcome to Geumsan Treasury, where we value your money above all else.”
I handed my token to the clerk and said,
“I’d like to make a withdrawal.”
“Yes, how much would you like to withdraw?”
“2,300 Gold Taels.”
“…”
For a moment, the clerk looked startled, but quickly regained composure.
“I apologize, but our branch doesn’t currently have that much money on hand. We’ll need to request it from a nearby branch.”
Lord Ma’s face didn’t look too good, understandably.
The Murim Alliance representative was scheduled to arrive this afternoon to receive the investment money and finalize the contract.
Of course, no single branch would carry that much money normally.
That’s why I hadn’t made a request in advance.
“I was planning to make a withdrawal as well…”
Apparently, this was the treasury Lord Ma used too.
But since the branch didn’t have enough money, issuing a note wasn’t an option either.
Notes can’t just be printed without backing—the funds have to be physically present at the issuing branch.
“How much do you need?”
The clerk asked.
Lord Ma told them the amount.
“Hmm… for that amount, it should be ready by tomorrow evening. Um… do you need it in taels?”
Lord Ma responded without hesitation.
“Of course I do!”
If he asked for a note, the funds wouldn’t need to be paid immediately, and the treasury could go ahead and issue a receipt.
Honestly, that would’ve been safer.
In case anything happened, they could just stop payment.
But clearly, what I said earlier in the teahouse was still weighing on his mind.
The small seed of doubt I’d planted was now gnawing at him.
“But the Murim Alliance is supposed to arrive just after lunchtime today…”
I said to Lord Ma,
“Then why not explain the situation and give them a promissory note for the full amount? Come back tomorrow and hand over the money once it’s ready. I’m sure the Murim Alliance would understand.”
“Hmm… that sounds reasonable.”
“Plus, if you tell them it’s a Geumsan Treasury note, they’ll feel assured and head back without worry.”
“Alright, let’s do that.”
Then the clerk asked carefully,
“Would you like us to deliver the funds directly to the recipient’s branch?”
In other words, he was asking if we wanted to issue a trust note.
But now that the seed of doubt had taken root, there was no way Lord Ma would agree to that.
“No, I’ll deliver it myself.”
That meant the treasury was now just a debt issuer.
If a default happened, they’d have to recover the debt.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
I returned to the inn and had lunch while working.
At the Hour of the Monkey (3 to 5 PM), Escort Guard Jin Yu came to report.
“The Murim Alliance representative has left.”
“Did he take the promissory note?”
“Yes. They signed the investment contract and left with the note. He hesitated at first, but once we mentioned that the note was backed by Geumsan Treasury, he agreed.”
“Did you happen to see how much it was?”
“Yes, 10,000 Gold Taels.”
“…”
At those words, Palgeop and the other guards gasped.
Now that was a massive sum.
It meant Lord Ma had completely emptied out his available assets.
The next day, we arrived at Geumsan Treasury again, this time in the evening.
Because we came here today, I’d postponed my visit to young Han until tomorrow.
Lord Ma showed up with even more guards than the day before.
Understandable. If you’re about to physically carry 10,000 Gold Taels, you’d want all the protection you could get.
We completed the withdrawal.
10,000 Gold Taels weighs about 625 geun. (TL Note: Around 375 kg)
Considering that a full-grown pig weighs around 160 geun, that’s an absurd weight.
Roughly the same as four pigs. That’s why they brought a large wagon.
“Then we’ll be heading to young Han’s martial hall tomorrow morning.”
“Understood. Are you returning home right after visiting the Han Family Martial Hall?”
“I’ll probably stay for another five days. My father ordered me to acquire several nearby shops, but Geumsan Treasury emptied out all its money today.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“So I’ll need to wait for the treasury to replenish its money reserves.”
“How much do you need to wait that long?”
“More than today’s amount.”
“…”
At my words, he cleared his throat awkwardly.
His expression said he’d just realized that the Eunhae Merchant Group’s wealth was far beyond what he’d imagined.
Really, he’s just a frog in a well.
Even if he’s the wealthiest man in the region right now, how could he compare to our merchant group, which ranks in the middle of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven?
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Lord Ma turned back toward the Ma Clan Manor with his guards.
Once they were out of sight, I turned to Escort Guards Seo Wu and Jin Yu.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Don’t worry.”
“That kind of job? It’s nothing.”
Lord Ma and his guards were on their way back to the Ma Clan Manor with the gold.
“Hehehe…”
Seated inside the large wagon, Lord Ma couldn’t stop grinning as he stared at the crates of gold stacked across from him.
It was practically his entire fortune.
And to him, it was clearly the seed of a fortune yet to grow.
He was so obsessed with the gold that he didn’t notice the changing expressions in his guards’ eyes.
“My Lord, we should stop and rest for a bit over there.”
“What? We’ve barely done anything. Why rest now?”
“Well… the road’s freezing from the cold, and if we keep going, the wagon’s wheels might break. That’d be a disaster.”
“Hmph… well, that’s true.”
In the end, they decided to stop and rest until morning.
The group busied themselves preparing to sleep outdoors.
Meanwhile, Lord Ma stayed inside the wagon. He just couldn’t tear his eyes away from the gold.
And he didn’t want to get dirt on his clothes.
As the guards spoke quietly outside, the night deepened.
“Snooore… kuuuu… mmnyaaa…”
Whether it was from the stress of the entire day or the tea he drank earlier, Lord Ma fell into a deep sleep.
So deep that when the guards carefully carried him out of the wagon and laid him on the ground, he didn’t notice a thing.
Then the guards took the wagon full of gold and vanished.
At that moment.
I was watching the whole thing from behind a tree, along with Seo Wu and Jin Yu.
Wow…
This is getting pretty entertaining.
– What now?
Seo Wu’s voice came through sound transmission.
I responded the same way.
– Obviously, we recover it.
I glanced at Lord Ma, still asleep on the cold ground.
Honestly, I hadn’t ruled out the possibility of the guards betraying him.
But for all of them to turn? That was unexpected.
If he’d built trust with them, this never would’ve happened.
We followed the fleeing guards and soon arrived at their destination.
“What the hell?! Why’s my cut so small?”
“Huh? You bastard! Take your damn hand off it.”
“I’m the one who drugged Lord Ma!”
“Yeah? And I was the one who said we should stop and rest!”
This was a crossroads, and just as I’d expected, they were here dividing the gold.
Each one trying to claim more by boasting about their contribution.
How pathetic.
Not that any of them would be keeping a single tael.
Too busy bickering to notice their surroundings, they didn’t even see us approach.
I signaled the guards using sound transmission.
– Let’s go.
We donned the masks we’d prepared earlier—each with a smiling face drawn on it—and charged in.
“W-Who…?”
Smack—!
One of them, clearly more sensitive than the others, noticed us at the last second.
But too late.
Thunk—!
“Guh!”
He was knocked out cold with a strike to the back of the neck using a sheathed sword.
The others scrambled to draw their blades, but it was pointless resistance.
They may have had the numbers, but they were only First-rate warriors at best. Against three Peak-level warriors, they didn’t stand a chance.
In moments, we had them all unconscious.
We didn’t kill them, because they had crimes to answer for.
They’d used Lord Ma’s power to abuse and terrorize the townspeople.
That’s why I’d planned from the start to intercept the gold before they returned to the Ma Clan Manor.
If we recovered the gold afterward, innocent servants and maids at the manor would suffer.
But this way, the blame could fall squarely on the guards.
They’d extorted goods from the townsfolk, dined and drank without paying, injured people, and even assaulted women.
If anyone deserved punishment, it was these scum.
And now they’d even given us the perfect evidence.
We left behind just enough proof and stashed the gold in my private vault.
Ah, tomorrow is going to be so much fun.
After cleaning up, we returned to where Lord Ma was.
He had just woken up and was in a complete panic.
Realizing the situation, he ran straight to the county office, reported everything to the magistrate, and returned to the Ma Clan Manor with his help.
The fact that the county office was nearby was the only blessing left to Lord Ma.
.
.
.
The next morning.
Since I was supposed to visit young Han with Lord Ma, we headed to the Ma Clan Manor.
He was anxiously waiting for me at the entrance.
The moment he saw me, he grabbed my sleeve and pleaded desperately.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun, please… save me!”
–TL Notes–
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