After returning to the inn, I hung a piece of indigo cloth over the window.
The next morning.
A letter arrived. It told me to come to the alley between Yumi Restaurant and Chaeil Restaurant before lunch.
I got ready and headed there.
After I waited there for a bit, an old woman walked up to me.
“Huh…”
A quiet sound of admiration slipped out before I could stop it.
If I hadn’t felt Chun-il’s Qi, I really would have thought she was an actual old woman.
He spoke to me.
“I heard something rather interesting happened at the banquet.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t exactly pleased. The person he targeted is my close friend.”
Palgap and even the Escort Guards were staring at our conversation in shock.
Seo Wu especially was shaking his head.
Well, with disguise skills like this, of course he could slip into the imperial palace, find out what was going on, and report back to Father.
At my words, Chun-il let out a sigh.
“He’s been greedy since forever, so I always figured that if he ever caused trouble, he’d cause something big…”
“But… you as well as that guy from yesterday both have incredible disguise skills.”
Chun-il nodded.
“Naturally. We learned under the same master.”
The moment he said that, everything clicked.
No wonder he was so good at disguises.
“Then what happened to your master?”
“He died after getting caught trying to rob a noble family’s treasures. He barely managed to escape, but the sword wound festered.”
“…”
I cleared my throat.
“Hm-hmm, so how many disciples did he have?”
“Just that brat Geun-seong and me, the two of us. Strictly speaking, I’m the senior disciple.”
“I see. So that guy’s name really is Geun-seong?” (TL Note: Geun-seong (근성) means Stubborn Perseverance)
“Yes. Master said he had grit, so he named him that.”
I had only half been joking, but it turned out to be true?
While I was still dumbfounded, Chun-il frowned and added,
“But something about this feels strange.”
“…?”
“He’s greedy, sure, but even without pulling a stunt like that, he has more than enough skill to clean out every silver plaque in that place. So why go that far and take such a huge risk…?”
Hmm?
“Up until I quit, the two of us took turns sweeping up those silver plaques.”
Hearing that, it definitely felt strange.
His disguise skills were on par with Chun-il’s.
If that’s the case, he could have just disguised himself as a servant and stolen to his heart’s content with almost no risk. So why go for something as reckless as kidnapping one of the people attending the gathering of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven?
I mulled it over for a moment before the answer came.
The silver plaques weren’t the actual goal.
There had to be some other purpose behind it; the problem was figuring out how to drag that out into the open.
“Could you look into who his accomplices were in this job?”
“Of course.”
I took a gold tael from my pocket and held it out. Chun-il’s eyes widened at the gold flashing in the sunlight.
“Th-this, what’s this for?”
“This is my personal request, isn’t it? That’s your commission fee.”
Chun-il took the gold tael, tucked it into his robe, then dropped to his knees on the spot.
“I swear my loyalty.”
“Ah, and…”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“What kind of weaknesses does this Geun-seong have? I get the feeling I’ll need something to threaten him with.”
.
.
.
That day,
After lunch I headed to the inn where Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun was staying.
We could have arranged to meet and eat lunch together, but we hadn’t set anything up in advance.
Some people would say we’re close enough that I could just drop by and share a meal, but I think there are courtesies you should keep even with close friends.
So before lunch, I had Palgap send a message and got his permission to visit.
“Welcome!”
Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun greeted me warmly.
“Did you enjoy your lunch?”
“Yes. I just grabbed some dumplings.”
“Dumplings are always good. Please, come in and have some tea.”
The inn where Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun was staying was also quite a decent one. Not only Gwangjun Merchant Group, but other merchant groups were staying there as well.
No matter how big Luoyang was, there weren’t that many inns good enough to house members of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven.
So after greeting another deputy merchant lord I ran into, I followed Bok Yun into his room.
“Does the tea suit your taste?”
“It’s very good. Full of flavor.”
“I’m glad you like it. But… it doesn’t seem like you came just to visit.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Aren’t you busy right now? You always are, but this time you’re also in charge of the medicinal ingredients for the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering.”
He was right.
Our Eunhae Merchant Group has been expanding into all kinds of areas, but we’re originally a merchant group famous for medicinal herbs.
And since this is a martial gathering where countless people end up injured, the demand for medicine skyrockets.
Of course, those entering the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Gathering bring basic medicines with them.
But there are times when they need more than that, and times when the medicines they brought have gone bad.
So from our merchant group’s point of view, it’s a pretty big season.
“Honestly, that’s true. But the desire to see a friend’s face was still stronger.”
“I’m grateful just to hear you say that. So, what did you need?”
“I want to meet the fake who impersonated you yesterday. I may have been the one who exposed him, but you were the actual victim. I feel like it would look better if you were the one to go and see him.”
At my words, he nodded.
“To be honest, I’ve been wanting to see that man’s face myself. Then we should send a letter asking to visit.”
“Ah, I already sent one. And they agreed.”
“…You’re quick.”
We headed to where the local branch of Sebin Merchant Group was located.
Sebin Merchant Group had a Luoyang branch, and they were staying there.
“Welcome.”
The one who greeted us was Young Master In, whom I’d seen at the gathering as well.
“My grandfather and father are busy, so I had no choice but to come out in their stead.”
“Not at all. We’re already grateful that you would greet us in person, Young Master.”
“Then would you care for some tea?”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’d like to see the man from yesterday first.”
“Understood. Please, follow me.”
Led by Young Master In, we headed toward the dungeon. Strictly speaking, you aren’t allowed to imprison someone privately, but there are always ways around rules like that.
For example, you can say you’re just ‘borrowing’ the dungeon.
On the way there, Young Master In gave us a brief explanation.
“We’re interrogating him as best we can, but he’s got quite the backbone. He keeps insisting it was all his idea.”
“I see. He’s a tough one.”
Soon we reached the dungeon, and I saw the man whose collar I’d grabbed and thrown down.
Seeing the wounds covering his body, hanging from the wall, I could tell they’d interrogated him pretty harshly.
He opened his eyes as we approached.
“Ah, we did manage to get his name. He calls himself Geun-seong.”
Same name I heard yesterday.
As Young Master In said that, I met the man’s eyes.
Since I was the one who exposed him and smashed him to the ground, I expected his gaze to be full of hatred toward me.
Instead, what filled his eyes was relief.
Which only made it clearer that the silver plaques weren’t his real objective.
I spoke to Young Master In.
“I’d like to speak with him alone for a moment.”
“That is…”
He looked troubled, so I offered a convenient excuse.
“I think some sensitive business matters might come up. I’d appreciate your understanding.”
“…”
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Very well. But if you learn anything, you must tell me.”
“Of course.”
Once Young Master In and Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun left us alone, I stepped closer to Geun-seong and spoke.
“I heard you pulled this stunt to get your hands on the silver plaques. But my personal informant says otherwise. They said even without taking such a reckless gamble, you could have cleaned out every last silver plaque.”
He bit his lip.
“So what’s your real objective?”
“…”
He clamped his mouth shut, but I had the information Chun-il had given me.
“I heard you have a younger sister.”
“…!”
His eyes flew wide.
Chun-il had told me that even though Geun-seong was an orphan, he had a younger sister.
He said Geun-seong became a thief just to put food in her mouth.
“If you’re going through all this and still refusing to talk, that must mean your younger sister’s being held hostage, right?”
“Gh—!”
“So who is it? Who forced you into this by taking your family hostage?”
“I-I can’t say. If I talk, that person will do something to my sister…”
“I’ll protect your sister.”
The reason Chun-il had told me about Geun-seong’s younger sister was simple—because he knew I’d help her.
For all his grumbling, he still cared about his fellow disciple.
“He hired an expert called Ghost Hand Sword.”
Ghost Hand Sword?
If my memory was right, he was an Unorthodox Sect swordsman.
He was called Ghost Hand Sword because his blade work was so cruel people said it was like a ghost’s hand.
And he was obsessed with money.
He was infamous for taking any filthy job as long as it paid.
Which only made their goal even more suspicious. To hire a master on the level of Ghost Hand Sword just for something like this…
“Because he’s a Peak-level expert, is that it?”
“Yes.”
I let out a short laugh, picked up one of the metal stakes scattered nearby, and handed it to Escort Guard Seo Wu.
“Cut this.”
It was as thick as my forearm.
Normally, if you struck something like that with a sword, you’d only chip the blade. But it’s a different story if you can project sword Qi.
“Understood.”
Seo Wu took the stake, then hurled it at the wall.
Puk-!
As it buried itself in the wall, Seo Wu swung the sword.
Seogeok-!
Thunk,
Watching the metal stake cut clean through like tofu, Geun-seong’s jaw practically dropped to the floor.
“At this level, don’t you think we can take down Ghost Hand Sword?”
He slowly calmed his shock, then looked at me with desperate eyes.
“Please, you must keep your promise to protect my sister’s family.”
“Of course.”
.
.
.
That night.
I took Escort Guards Seo Wu and Jin Yu with me and headed for the place Geun-seong had told us about.
It was something that needed to be done quietly, so I only brought the two of them and moved under the cover of night.
It was the house where Geun-seong’s younger sister lived.
He’d said she had left her old life behind and was living as an ordinary person now.
We hid our presence and approached. As we drew near, I could feel the Qi of someone watching the house.
Disgusting.
I knew at a glance it was Ghost Hand Sword.
Ghost Hand Sword in Luoyang, of all places…
Either he wasn’t afraid of the Murim Alliance at all, or he had absolute confidence in his martial arts…
Well, even the Murim Alliance doesn’t have the time to chase down every single person like him.
As long as they don’t cause a major incident, they can always pretend not to notice.
— Let’s go.
At my voice transmission, Seo Wu and Jin Yu nodded. Seo Wu approached him.
“Who are you?”
Instead of answering, Seo Wu swung the sword without a word.
Ghost Hand Sword stood at the Peak realm.
Why someone with that level of skill was doing such filthy work, I had no idea, and honestly, I didn’t care.
Still, his reputation wasn’t exaggerated—he slipped past Seo Wu’s attack.
“Damn it!”
Jin Yu quickly joined in, and the two of them began their joint assault.
I didn’t just stand around watching either.
It wasn’t just Ghost Hand Sword here; there were other watchers as well.
They were steeped in Unorthodox Sect Qi.
Which meant there was no need for mercy. For their Qi to be this drenched in the Unorthodox, they’d clearly done plenty of brutal things already.
I drew Silver Mist Sword and charged at them.
“Huh! Who… Ghk!”
Their words never finished. My blade cut across their throats first.
Right then, one of them saw an opening and tried to flee.
Like I’d let you.
I unleashed a strike that combined Snow Wind, the fourth form of True Snow Twelve Form Sword, with its ninth form, Snow Light.
A swift sword made even swifter.
Silver Mist Sword shot out faster than the eye could follow and buried itself in his head.
Puk-!
I walked up, pulled Silver Mist Sword free, and in the time it took me to remove the rest of the watchers, the fight between Ghost Hand Sword and my two Escort Guards was reaching its end.
Puk-!
Jin Yu’s sword pierced Ghost Hand Sword’s heart from behind, and Seo Wu’s blade, rising like a butterfly, sliced through his neck to finish it.
Thud.
I gave Ghost Hand Sword’s corpse a cold glance and spoke.
“Good work.”
With that, Geun-seong’s younger sister was safe.
All that remained was to use Geun-seong to track down and arrest the one who had ordered all this.
First, we needed to report it to the authorities.
We’d just say we found the bodies while passing by.
.
.
.
A few days later.
Palgap brought me new information.
“They say Yeong Family Trading House has been turned upside down.”
They weren’t on the level of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven, but even I knew their name—they were one of the bigger merchant groups in Hebei.
“Not just imperial soldiers, but even Murim Alliance warriors stormed in. Looks like they found signs of a connection to that Unorthodox Sect man, Ghost Hand Sword.”
It was the same story I’d already heard straight from Geun-seong’s confession.
“So why did they have to pull something like that…”
Just then, I sensed a group of people coming into the inn.
Soon, I heard my father’s voice.
“Seo-ho! Sebin’s Merchant Lord has come to see you.”
The door flew open and Sebin’s Merchant Lord strode in, grabbing both my hands.
I had expected him to come, but he arrived sooner than I thought.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt
Thank you for the translation!!!