The reason I was flustered was the person walking toward us up ahead.
Namgoong Gang.
He was the Merchant Lord of the Baekcheon Merchant Group.
As far as I know, with the Baekcheon Merchant Group, every five years the senior figures of the Murim Alliance gather to review the Merchant Lord’s qualifications.
Because the Baekcheon Merchant Group is run with the Murim Alliance’s funds, the opinions of those seniors carry a lot of weight.
And since those seniors are people who pay a certain minimum share of contributions to the Baekcheon Merchant Group, it’s only natural they’re very invested.
All the profit that doesn’t get reinvested goes straight into their pockets.
Last fall, on Namgoong Gang’s decision, they tried to corner the market on fish bone powder and lime powder, the most important ingredients of Golden Wound Ointment.
But thanks to me responding in time, they took a pretty big financial hit, and their prestige dropped a lot as well.
Because of that, I heard Namgoong Gang’s position became very shaky.
Yet seeing him striding over so confidently like that, he must’ve managed to keep his seat again.
Well, he was a tenacious one even in my previous life.
And if he got removed that easily, it wouldn’t be any fun.
Considering how much I owe him back, things are only going to get more fun from here.
Ah…
I suddenly stopped short at a thought that crossed my mind.
“What’s wrong, my lord?”
Escort Guard Seo Wu asked me, and I controlled my expression as I answered in a low voice.
“I’m worried he might notice my realm. And I can’t exactly avoid him right now…”
“If that’s what you’re worried about, you don’t need to be.”
“What?”
“I’ll explain later. For now, please just greet him calmly.”
Soon we closed the distance, and I was the first to greet him.
“Ah! Aren’t you the Merchant Lord of the Baekcheon Merchant Group?”
He accepted my greeting with a kind smile.
“Ah, you’re the Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group!”
“I’m honored you remember me!”
“Hahaha, no need to go that far? Still, seeing you here, I take it you’ve come to attend this gathering as well.”
“Yes, that’s right. Getting to see you like this makes me glad I came.”
“Listen to this one, really gilding my face. Hehehe.”
He laughed heartily.
Yeah, go ahead and laugh.
For the sake of revenge, I can happily butter you up as much as it takes.
“Ah, judging from how hurried your steps are, it seems you’re busy. I must’ve held you up too long.”
“Not at all. I was glad to see you as well.”
“Then, take care on your way.”
“See you next time.”
With that, Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang hurried off again with the others.
I watched his back as he left.
Right now, my realm is Profound.
Thanks to that, I could also sense his realm. His realm was also Profound.
As expected of the Namgoong Clan.
To think they decided there was no place for him in the clan even with talent like that.
I heard that even when he was young he figured martial arts wouldn’t let him gain much influence within the clan, so he turned toward the merchant path instead.
Well, the Namgoong Clan has several Profound experts, and the current Clan Lord is a Transcendent expert.
Anyway, since Escort Guard Seo Wu told me not to worry, I went ahead and greeted him…
Did he really not notice my realm?
If he had, there’s no way his face would’ve stayed that calm. Honestly, someone my age being Profound is just impossible.
“Can I ask for that explanation now?”
At my question, Escort Guard Seo Wu nodded.
“Yes. To be honest, we don’t know your exact realm, my lord. It was the same before, but now it’s even harder to tell.”
“What? Didn’t you say back in the North Sea that you all knew my realm?”
Escort Guard Seo Wu shook his head and answered.
“We didn’t gauge your realm back then, my lord. We just happened to see you breaking through to a new realm at the time.”
“Huh?”
“Of course, if we see you actually using martial arts, we could probably figure your realm out. But just by looking, we can’t. It’s no different from looking at an ordinary person.”
This didn’t happen in my previous life.
And you’re telling me it’s always been like that?
“But didn’t you already know my realm before?”
“Like I said, we only figured it out after seeing you use your martial arts.”
I turned my head to look at the other escort guards.
“Just like Escort Guard Seo Wu said, I can’t tell your exact realm just from your appearance either, my lord.”
At Escort Guard Jin Yu’s words, everyone nodded.
They had no reason to lie to me. And Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang’s reaction backed it up too.
Oh… Come to think of it, even before, Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang looked like he had no idea about my realm.
The only time he found out was during that incident at the Dragon–Phoenix Martial Gathering, when I was hailed as a hero.
In that case…
That’s actually great.
I grinned to myself.
Whatever the reason, the Murim Alliance not knowing my realm is a good thing.
I sent a voice transmission to my escort guards.
– Officially, I’m still at Peak. Please keep it secret that I’ve stepped into Profound this time.
At my voice transmission, they cupped their fists in acknowledgment.
By the way, what is Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang rushing around for like that?
My gut was telling me to follow him.
So I started trailing after him.
A little while later,
The place we arrived at after following Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang’s group wasn’t Jinan’s main busy district.
It was a little off from the bustling streets, and there stood a three–story tavern.
Golden Rooster Pavilion.
They went inside, and we naturally followed them in.
Just then, the conversation of some guests on the first floor reached my ears.
“When it comes to spicy braised chicken in Jinan, you have to eat it here. People just don’t know about it because it’s so out of the way.”
“Oh! I can see why you talk it up like that!”
“You really ought to have some wine with food this good, but thanks to the prohibition order we can’t. What a shame.”
“Yeah, seriously.”
I was wondering why the tavern was called Golden Rooster Pavilion – now I knew.
Spicy braised chicken is one of Shandong Province’s famous dishes.
Just how good is it supposed to be for them to go on like that?
I should try it at least once.
Just then, a server boy came over to us.
“Welcome. How many in your party?”
“Eight.”
After confirming that Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang’s group was heading up to the third floor, I asked,
“Do you happen to have any seats upstairs?”
“A guest has rented out the entire third floor right now, so only this floor is available.”
Thorough as expected.
“Then we’ll sit on this floor.”
We took seats by the railing on that floor and ordered food.
“I heard the spicy braised chicken is famous here.”
“Yes! That’s right! It’s our signature dish here at Golden Rooster Pavilion!”
“Then we’ll have that, and serve whatever tea you think is best.”
“Right away.”
And just like that, we ended up eating braised chicken there without really planning to.
While we waited for the food, I focused my Qi sense toward the third floor.
I heard all sorts of random chatter, but it was all completely pointless.
Before long, the dishes were set on our table.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you.”
I spoke to everyone.
“Let’s eat.”
“I’ll eat well, sir!”
“Thank you for the meal.”
The moment I took a bite of the spicy braised chicken, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
Wow! Why is this so good?
Out of all the spicy braised chicken I’ve eaten across both my previous life and this one, this was the best.
The conversation those guests on the first floor had earlier about this dish wasn’t exaggerated at all.
If anything, they’d undersold it.
“Wow! This is insanely good!”
At Palgap’s words, the other escort guards agreed and started devouring the food.
But in my previous life, I’d come to this area fairly often, and I’d never seen Golden Rooster Pavilion.
And there’s no way a place that makes food this good would’ve escaped me… Wait!
This was no time for me to be like this.
The flavor was almost scary, enough to make me lose myself in the food.
I hurriedly snapped out of it and focused on the conversation above.
Fortunately, it sounded like they were finally getting to the main point.
“So, all I have to do is shake that old man up, right?”
“That’s all you need to do.”
“But thinking about it, I feel like I’m getting the short end of the stick. As you know, that old man doesn’t get shaken easily. I’m taking a risk here, and the amount you’ve offered is too low.”
“You call that low?”
“Since you’re already paying, just add another hundred taels of silver.”
“Fine. It’s just a hundred taels – I’ll add that.”
“Thank you. And please make sure you keep your promise to give me a Chief Supervisor position in the Baekcheon Merchant Group when I come over to your side, Merchant Lord.”
Just hearing that much, the whole conversation reeked of something shady.
“Then we’ll be going now.”
“Take care on your way.”
I quickly pretended to know nothing and focused on my food.
“Wow, this is seriously good.”
“Exactly, sir. Can we order one more of this?”
“Of course. I’m not that stingy when it comes to food.”
At my words, Palgap beamed, then called the server over and ordered another spicy braised chicken.
After finishing the conversation, Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang came down from the third floor of the tavern.
His newly appointed Deputy carefully asked him,
“Are you really going to add another hundred taels?”
“It’s not a waste to add a hundred taels for this. It will be the springboard for the Baekcheon Merchant Group to climb higher.”
“That’s true, but…”
“What’s bothering you?”
“Letting that man into the Baekcheon Merchant Group bothers me. If things get exposed because of him…”
“Don’t worry. He’ll never actually work in our merchant group.”
“Sir?”
A moment later, he caught the meaning of those words and nodded.
That kind of quick wits was exactly why Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang had chosen him as his Deputy.
“As expected of you, Merchant Lord!”
Right now, Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang was desperate.
Early this year, there had been a discussion about the position of Baekcheon Merchant Lord, and the Murim Alliance’s senior figures had been toying with the card of dismissing him.
“In the list of the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven that the imperial palace announced this winter solstice, the Baekcheon Merchant Group ranked sixth.”
“So instead of going up from last time, you went down.”
“Th–that… I apologize.”
“You’ve taken losses, taken criticism, and even dropped in the rankings… Why should we keep you in the Merchant Lord’s seat?”
“…”
“Still, for the sake of your clan’s face and all the work you’ve done so far, we’ll give you one more chance.”
“Thank you!”
“But this time, there are conditions.”
“Conditions…?”
“Three years! Within that time, you’ll turn the Baekcheon Merchant Group into one of the top three merchant groups under heaven. If you can’t, then it’s really over.”
“But isn’t the term for confirming or dismissing a Merchant Lord supposed to be five years?”
“Of course. But if you can’t make it one of the top three merchant groups under heaven in three years, that just means your ability ends there. What’s the point of watching any longer?”
“…”
That was how it was.
He had to turn the Baekcheon Merchant Group into one of the top three merchant groups under heaven within three years.
To accomplish that in such a short time, his only options were to topple the higher–ranked merchant groups or steal what they had.
‘I gave those old men expensive gifts without batting an eye and wagged my tail so much for them… Damn it, a conditional Merchant Lord!’
Cursing the Murim Alliance’s senior figures like that inside, he was coming down from the third floor when he suddenly flinched.
Because there were some familiar faces at a table over there.
“Aren’t those people the Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group and his party?”
His Deputy seemed to recognize them as well.
“Could they have eavesdropped on our conversation?”
“It’s possible.”
Just then, Palgap raised his hand high and called over the server boy.
“Order over here!”
“Ah, yes!”
“Please add five more orders of spicy braised chicken here.”
“Right away!”
A small mountain of picked–clean chicken bones was piled up on their table.
If they’d been focusing on eavesdropping, there was no way there would’ve been traces like that.
Besides, seeing that somehow made him feel hungry too.
“From the looks of it, they only came here to eat.”
“I think so too. They really can eat.”
“We’d best get going. Nothing good will come from letting it get out that we met that person.”
“Yes, understood.”
Just in case, they’d cleared out the entire third floor, so their conversation shouldn’t have been heard from this floor.
‘Someone with about Peak–level martial skill couldn’t possibly hear a conversation from the floor above. And the ceiling here is quite high, too.’
That was why he’d chosen this place as the meeting spot.
Eun Seo-ho’s realm wasn’t apparent on the surface, but it wasn’t unheard of for martial techniques to have that kind of trait.
Besides, if his background or inner strength had been suspicious, the Murim Alliance would never have so readily praised him as a hero at the Dragon–Phoenix Martial Gathering.
Even if the Murim Alliance had needed to divert people’s attention, they wouldn’t have done that if there had been anything fishy about him.
Because that’s the kind of place the Murim Alliance is.
With that, Namgoong Gang pushed away his thoughts and hurried out of the tavern.
I caught a glimpse of Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang’s back as he left the tavern.
Just as I’d thought, he saw us but pretended not to, then practically fled the place.
No doubt that means his reason for coming here wasn’t exactly clean.
I rose from my seat, pretended to head for the latrine, concealed my presence, and quietly went up to the third floor.
There, I confirmed the face of the man sitting alone on the third floor, calmly drinking tea.
Who is that guy?
It’s a face I never saw even in my previous life.
I quietly returned to my original seat and sent a voice transmission to Escort Guard Jin Yu, asking him to look into that man.
The Baekcheon Merchant Group was clearly up to something. And whatever their intention was, it definitely didn’t look good.
In that case, of course I had to ruin it for them.
–TL Notes–
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