Up ahead, four blacksmiths were hauling a crucible sloshing with molten metal, grunting under the weight.
Young Master Ho stopped in his tracks when he saw them.
Which was only natural; we had to let them pass first.
But then,
“Whoa!”
One of them slipped, his foot skidding out from under him, and he went down hard.
The problem was, the place he was about to fall… was exactly where Young Master Ho was standing.
“Aaagh!”
“Young Master!”
Everyone froze in shock, their attention locked on that scene.
But I clearly saw it.
I saw the man called Mak Du take an iron marble from his pocket and roll it toward the men carrying the crucible.
So this was that bastard’s plan?
To fake an accident and kill Young Master Ho?
If you really wanted to shake a merchant group, wouldn’t starting a fire or something be better than this?
At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
“Because Gyeong is here, I can finally close my eyes in peace. He’s truly our merchant group’s artifact.”
If someone like that, Young Master Ho, died in an “accident”?
Ah, damn it!
This wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.
Right now, the boiling molten metal inside that crucible was about to spill all over Young Master Ho.
He was acting as our guide and had stepped a little ahead of the others, so no one else would get caught up in it. Thanks to that, though, I could be certain.
Mak Du’s target was definitely Young Master Ho.
With metal that hot, there wouldn’t even be a proper corpse left!
Surviving it was out of the question.
If I stepped in now, I could save him, but if the Murim Alliance found out what realm I’d reached…
A torrent of thoughts flashed through my head in that split second, then a quiet laugh slipped out.
Was that really what mattered right now?
Someone was about to die right in front of my eyes.
Tap!
I sprinted toward Young Master Ho, wrapped one arm around him, and at the same time blasted my Qi toward the boiling molten metal.
Fsssshhh–!
The molten metal cooled in an instant and hardened into a solid lump.
I set Young Master Ho down on the floor and asked,
“Are you alright?”
“Ah, ah… y–yes. I–I’m fine.”
He looked completely dazed, which made sense, since he’d just had the closest of calls.
Clatter.
Thump.
Clunk.
The blacksmiths who’d been holding the crucible let out sighs of relief and collapsed where they stood.
They’d almost killed their merchant group’s successor after the next in line with their mistake, after all.
Even though it hadn’t actually been their fault.
If I hadn’t been here, they’d have carried that guilt for the rest of their lives.
The one who causes trouble is the one who should pay for it.
Watching Mak Du, flustered by his failed plan and trying to slip away, I spoke up.
“Restrain that man.”
“Huh?”
“He rolled an iron marble. Right toward the men carrying the crucible.”
At my words, the nearby blacksmiths rushed him like hounds.
He flailed his hands, panicking.
“What are you doing?! It wasn’t me!”
“Shut up for a second, you bastard!”
“I’m being framed here!”
The blacksmiths patted Mak Du down and found an iron marble in the inner pocket of his pants.
“Would you look at this piece of shit?”
“Ha!”
“T-that, that’s…”
“We’ve got the evidence right here. Still feel framed?”
“From the look of it, this is the iron we smelt here at the Iron Workshop.”
“Since when did we start making iron marbles?”
With his excuses drying up, Mak Du slowly dropped his head.
Working as a blacksmith is a dangerous job.
After you brush past death a few times, your mouth naturally gets rough.
And honestly, even cursing like that was part of how they looked out for each other.
Today, I got to personally confirm just how foul-mouthed blacksmiths could be.
It started with the four blacksmiths who’d carried the crucible.
“This little thing on the ground here, it’s an iron marble, right?”
“I thought the floor suddenly got slippery. So it was the damn marble you rolled!”
“Hey! You son of a ×××! You filthy ×××!”
“××! You worthless piece of ××!”
Ugh…
It felt like my ears were bleeding.
But it was only natural for them to snap like that. If it were me, I’d have done the same.
…No, actually, maybe not.
If it were me, instead of cursing like that, I’d quietly pay him back later.
Just then, Young Master Ho, having finally pulled himself together, spoke.
“Call the Ho Iron Squad here immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Ho Iron Squad was the White Flame Merchant Group’s combat unit.
“Hic!”
At that, Mak Du’s face went deathly pale.
He’d realized there was no way this was going to end gently now.
In that instant,
Mak Du snatched the iron marble from the blacksmith in front of him and shoved it straight into his mouth.
He was trying to swallow it and kill himself.
Over my dead body!
I whipped the dagger from inside my robe and hurled it at him.
“Ghk!”
My dagger sank cleanly into his hand, and his suicide attempt failed.
I strode over, yanked my dagger free, and pinned him down.
Young Master Ho hurried over after me and shouted to those around us,
“Gag him and tie him up.”
“Yes!”
The blacksmiths rushed him, shoved a gag into his mouth, then wrapped another cloth around his wound and tied it off tight.
“Phew… I’ve troubled you yet again.”
At Young Master Ho’s words, I lightly shook my head.
“Not at all.”
Inwardly, I was a little impressed.
He’d regained his composure much faster than I’d expected.
Well, that was probably why he’d later be the one to revive the White Flame Merchant Group.
Besides, as the second successor of the number one merchant group under heaven, it wasn’t like he’d never faced threats of assassination or kidnapping before.
He turned to Mak Du and said,
“I’m not going to interrogate you right now. If I did it myself, I’d probably kill you.”
“…”
Mak Du bit his lip, seething.
While that was happening, the Ho Iron Squad arrived, clad in full armor.
“You called for us? Wait, what in the world happened here?”
The squad leader of the Ho Iron Squad took one look at the scene and jolted in shock.
The lump of solidified metal on the floor, the blacksmiths holding one man bound and gagged… all of it.
“This man tried to assassinate me.”
Young Master Ho quickly explained the situation to him, then issued his order like a judge handing down a sentence.
“Interrogate this criminal thoroughly and uncover whoever is behind him. Someone must have put him up to it. Do whatever it takes to find out, as long as you don’t kill him.”
“I receive your command!”
Half of the Ho Iron Squad dragged Mak Du away, while the other half started taking statements from the blacksmiths.
In the meantime, Young Master Ho clasped his fists to me and bowed his head.
“Thank you, truly. I survived thanks to you, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun.”
“It’s nothing. I only moved because your life was in danger.”
“I will never forget this life-saving grace.”
I returned the gesture, clasping my fists and acting modest.
“Still, I was truly shocked. I never imagined your martial arts would be that strong, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun…”
Well, I hadn’t just cooled the boiling metal in an instant, I’d frozen it solid.
I gave a wry smile on the inside.
I’d originally planned to keep my cultivation realm hidden… but it couldn’t be helped.
I couldn’t just stand by and let Young Master Ho die.
Letting someone die for the sake of my own goal would be putting the cart before the horse.
I had a clear goal: revenge against the Murim Alliance.
But that desire for revenge came from me being human, from the anger I felt at what they’d done.
I had no intention of giving up that humanity just to achieve it.
“Hahaha. You’re giving me too much credit.”
I said that and bowed my head.
Just then, something slipped out of my sleeve.
Tap.
This was the ornament I’d given to Geumryeong.
Back when I’d taken that commission from the Commissioner of Land Affairs in Guizhou, I’d bought some ornaments at the market, pretending they were treasures so I could disguise preserving its eye.
Just in case, I’d bought a few extra, and when Geumryeong looked like it wanted one, I’d handed one over.
So why was this here now?
– Kui!
Geumryeong’s voice transmission echoed in my head.
So this wasn’t an accident, you dropped it on purpose?
I immediately examined the ornament.
The blue gemstone in the ornament was shattered. Looked like Geumryeong had deliberately bitten down and broken it.
Ah, so that’s what you meant!
As soon as I saw it, I understood what Geumryeong was going for.
Wow, what a clever little thing.
Are you secretly a genius or something?
I’ll have to give you a gold tael instead of a silver one later.
I picked up the ornament, putting on a troubled expression. Next to me, Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun asked,
“What’s with the ornament?”
Pretending to hide how flustered I was, I played dumb.
“It’s nothing.”
At that moment, Deputy Merchant Lord Sa Gang spoke up.
“Looks like a artifact to me.”
“Then don’t tell me it’s a artifact imbued with cold Qi?”
At Deputy Merchant Lord Han Baek-geon’s question, I let out a sigh and said,
“Sigh… you’re right. How would I have the skill to freeze that molten metal in an instant? I just used this artifact’s ability.”
“What an astounding artifact!”
“I’ve heard of tools like that existing as well.”
A few of the other merchant lords who were still there nodded along. Among them was Merchant Lord Sa Gu-cheol, Deputy Merchant Lord Sa Gang’s father.
For a place that produced weapons, securing a steady supply of iron was extremely important.
The White Flame Merchant Group was their most important client, so of course they’d gladly come visit to strengthen the relationship.
Besides, they could pick up a few tricks by watching the techniques here while they were at it.
Merchant Lord Sa Gu-cheol glanced at the shattered stone in my hand and said,
“Oh dear… from the way the gem’s broken, it looks like its lifespan is over.”
“It seems so.”
“Our merchant group makes weapons. We know exactly how hot molten metal is. For a artifact to freeze that much of it in one go… it’s only natural it burned out its lifespan.”
Clasping my fists, I said,
“Even so, trading this artifact for a person’s life is more than worth it, in my opinion. Isn’t a human life the most precious thing of all?”
I smiled.
“Even if I’ve lost the artifact, I’m satisfied.”
“Heh…”
“You really are the Handsome Young Hero.”
“…”
The various deputy merchant lords and young masters all started praising me.
“That’s right!”
“No wonder people keep talking about the Handsome Young Hero, over and over.”
“It’s reassuring to know a hero like this is among the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven.”
“As expected of the Handsome Young Hero.”
“…”
Ugh, p-please, can we stop with that “Handsome Young Hero” title…
Sure, there were times that nickname helped me out, but whenever I heard it said to my face, I felt like hives were going to break out all over my body.
Still, thank goodness.
Thanks to the ornament Geumryeong dropped at just the right time, I could chalk today’s events up to a artifact’s power instead of my own pure skill.
“I’m truly sorry. Isn’t it because of me that your precious artifact burned itself out?”
Young Master Ho looked genuinely apologetic.
“It’s alright. I can’t help thinking this artifact ended up in my hands just so it could save you today, Young Master Ho.”
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun…”
“All this artifact did was fulfill its purpose. Thanks to it, you’ve kept your life, so I’m sure it’s happy too.”
Wow…
Even I had to admit, I had a real way with words.
Alright, time to start wrapping this up.
“In any case, after such a frightening incident, it would be best for you to go and get some rest.”
The others all agreed with me immediately.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun is right.”
“Let’s end our tour of the Iron Workshop here.”
“Please, go and rest at once.”
And just like that, our tour of the Iron Workshop came to an end.
For me, it had been a satisfying day; I’d managed to foil Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang’s scheme.
Before long, we stepped out through the Iron Workshop’s door, forged from refined black iron.
“Young Master!”
“Lord!”
The Ho Iron Squad had rushed inside in such a hurry that the attendants and guards waiting at the door had been left outside. So as soon as everyone came back out, they hurried over to check on their lord.
Palgap and my escort guards were no different.
“Are you alright? What in the world happened in there?”
I just grinned at their questions.
“I’ll tell you later.”
Seo Wu, who’d been examining me with hawk-like eyes, said,
“I’m glad to see you aren’t hurt anywhere.”
“Yeah.”
Then Palgap spoke up.
“But why did you burn the hem of your robe?”
Huh?
Palgap lifted the edge of my robe between his fingers, and I suddenly had no idea how to explain it.
“Well, that’s, uh… hahaha. How did my robe end up burned, I wonder?”
Right then, someone cut in.
“Don’t scold him too harshly. Thanks to your young master, this place isn’t a funeral hall right now.”
The one who approached us was Merchant Lord Dam Sim.
He was Deputy Merchant Lord Dam Jin’s father, the man whose son had been mocked by those rotten brats earlier, and the merchant lord of the Mudong Merchant Group.
He’d toured the Iron Workshop with us earlier and had been one of the people who witnessed my little performance.
Smiling, he said,
“You left quite an impression today. And thank you for helping my son.”
So he did know that Deputy Merchant Lord Dam Jin had gotten into trouble earlier.
“I won’t forget this favor.”
Right after him, Deputy Merchant Lord Dam Jin, who’d been standing a little behind, clasped his fists to me and bowed.
“I’ll treasure the bond I’ve formed with you, Deputy Merchant Lord. And I won’t forget the kindness you showed me earlier.”
After exchanging farewells with them, I looked around. Young Master Ho was still outside, finishing up arrangements.
I walked over to him.
“Why aren’t you going back inside yet?”
At my question, he gave a bitter smile.
“I should at least finish the job I’ve been given. It’s not like I was badly hurt.”
“…”
Why did he look so pitiful saying that?
I’d blocked Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang’s scheme for today, but this alone wasn’t enough to really make him pay.
He would definitely cut off the tail and act like he knew nothing.
Which meant the existence of a witness here was crucial.
“Um, actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”
–TL Notes–
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