The one who followed behind Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang was Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un of the Changhae Merchant Group.
But his expression was completely different from the last time I’d seen him.
We’d received a commission from the imperial palace to trade with foreign nations, so everyone stood to make a hefty profit in the process.
In that case he should obviously be grinning from ear to ear. Even if he wasn’t actually happy, he should at least pretend, so the officials wouldn’t mark him down.
The way he looked like someone who’d already lived out his entire life was obviously because of Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang…
I turned my head and looked at Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang.
So why on earth did he come here?
As far as I knew, the Baekcheon Merchant Group didn’t own a single ship.
That was why they hadn’t even applied for this imperial announcement…
Unless…?
For now, greetings came first.
I couldn’t exactly bare my fangs at him in public.
“Merchant Lord of the Baekcheon Merchant Group, I greet you.”
“Who do we have here? Isn’t this Deputy Merchant Lord Eun of the Eunhae Merchant Group?”
So he actually remembered who I was.
Well, we’ve run into each other more than a few times already… he’d have to be a real idiot not to remember.
“Thank you for recognizing me.”
Right then, an official from the Ministry of Rites walked in.
“Is everyone here? Then we’ll begin the second meeting now.”
Today was the time to discuss which country each merchant group wanted to trade with.
“Our group, the Eunhae Merchant Group, will trade with the Great Yue Kingdom.”
“Very well. Next… the Baekbuik Merchant Group will be going to the Maraeseo Kingdom, I assume.”
“That’s correct.”
“The Changhae Merchant Group…”
Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un sneaked a glance at Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang, then spoke with a conflicted look on his face.
“Our group, the Changhae Merchant Group, will go to the Great Yue Kingdom.”
.
.
.
A little later.
Once the meeting ended, we stepped out of the Ministry of Rites building.
“Hum, I’ll be heading off now, so you take care of the rest on your own.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Do it properly! Otherwise I might end up replacing even you!”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang strutted off, leaving with the escorts who had been waiting in front of the imperial palace.
The people from the other merchant groups said their farewells and left one by one, until only the Baekbuik Merchant Group and us remained.
“Excuse me, Deputy Merchant Lord Song.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Ji Seok-mun of the Baekbuik Merchant Group walked up to him and asked.
“What in the world is going on? Why are you watching the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s Merchant Lord’s mood like that?”
“Phew…”
At those words, Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“Our Changhae Merchant Group… has been taken over.”
“What do you mean? The Changhae Merchant Group might not be that large, but I heard it’s a fairly solid merchant group.”
“That’s true. But… the money we borrowed from the Baekcheon Merchant Group about ten years ago finally came back to bite us.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un’s voice was filled with resentment as he spoke.
But… it didn’t feel like resentment over the merchant group being taken over, so much as sheer indignation.
So I carefully asked him.
“So this happened because you still haven’t repaid that ten–year–old debt?”
“No!”
He shouted firmly.
“Our Changhae Merchant Group clearly paid off that debt back then! But…”
He ground his teeth.
“A few days ago, people from the Baekcheon Merchant Group came out and claimed they never received the money we clearly paid a month ago… and then they swallowed our merchant group whole.”
They definitely repaid the money, yet they’re saying they never got it…
Something about this stank.
“But the Changhae Merchant Group has been steadily paying off that debt all this time. There’s no way you mixed up who you were paying, right?”
“Of course not!”
He clenched his fists tight as he spoke.
“Up until now we’ve always gone directly to the person in charge and paid the installments. When only the last payment was left, that same person came to us personally and said we could just give the money straight to them… so we did…”
“So that person ran off with the money or something like that?”
At my question, he nodded.
Then it made even less sense.
The Baekcheon Merchant Group was founded by the Murim Alliance. In other words, even if someone ran off with their money, it wouldn’t matter.
They’d get caught in no time.
And that debt manager would know that better than anyone.
“Something’s off here. The Baekcheon Merchant Group still hasn’t caught the manager who ran off with the money?”
“Right. They came by again about three days later and said there was absolutely no way to find them.”
That was nonsense.
The Baekcheon Merchant Group was notorious for being relentless, and they gave up the chase after just three days?
These were people who would chase someone branded a public enemy of the martial world for over fifty years.
Lies.
There was no doubt in my mind the Changhae Merchant Group had been dragged into a scheme cooked up by the Baekcheon Merchant Group.
Namgoong Gang headed toward the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s Beijing branch. Right now he felt like breaking into a shoulder dance.
‘My, how clever! Who would’ve thought up something like this?’
Namgoong Gang had to turn the Baekcheon Merchant Group into one of the Three Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven within three years.
If he failed… then…
Anyway, one way or another, Namgoong Gang had to raise the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s ranking.
That was why, last time, he’d hatched a scheme to shake the Baekyeom Merchant Group.
His plan was to deal a crippling injury to, or even kill, Young Master Ho Gyeong, the one called the Baekyeom Merchant Group’s future, and rattle the merchant group that way.
But he failed.
From what he’d heard, Eun Seo-ho had saved Young Master Ho Gyeong back then by sacrificing one of his own treasured artifacts.
‘Damn it! That brat keeps getting on my nerves, every single time.’
He pictured Eun Seo-ho’s face, smiling brightly as if he were genuinely happy to see him.
In his heart he wanted to get rid of him just like he’d tried with Young Master Ho Gyeong, but he couldn’t.
That guy was… a hero of the Murim Alliance.
Which meant the higher–ups were keeping an eye on him too.
Unlike Namgoong Gang, they didn’t seem to consider Eun Seo-ho someone who needed to be eliminated.
On top of that, his skills were good enough that the martial world hailed him as a hero.
So he was the only one stewing over this like this.
‘Damn!’
Someday he wanted to see that smug face twisted in agony, but for now keeping his own position came first.
While he was gathering information on how to rapidly grow his merchant group, he heard news that they were recruiting merchant groups to go abroad and purchase grain.
It was a chance to go out and trade under the imperial family’s protection.
However, the Baekcheon Merchant Group didn’t have any large trading ships.
When he thought about how huge the profits from this opportunity could be, his stomach suddenly started to ache with frustration.
“Merchant Lord, this isn’t something we can just sit around and be jealous about.”
The Deputy he’d recently hired said that.
“What are you talking about?”
“If we’re not careful, the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s ranking could be threatened.”
“So the profits are really that big?”
“Yes.”
“Then what should we do?”
“The best option is for us to take part in this trade ourselves.”
“But our merchant group doesn’t have any large trading ships.”
“We don’t. But when you’re desperate, there’s always a way, isn’t there?”
And a few days later, that Deputy came up with a downright nasty little scheme.
It was to make use of a group called the Changhae Merchant Group that was participating in this trade.
They had borrowed money from the Baekcheon Merchant Group and hadn’t finished paying it back yet.
“Right now, one more payment will clear all of their debt.”
“But if they fail to make that payment, the contract says it’ll count as them failing to pay the next installment within a month, and they’ll be in default, is that it?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s a very good method.”
Honestly, it was the sort of thing only a sleazy loan shark would do, but Namgoong Gang’s feet were already to the fire.
He didn’t have the luxury of picking and choosing between right and wrong.
“B–but… if others find out about this, our reputation will be dragged through the mud.”
“As long as we don’t get caught, it’s fine.”
“B–but still…”
“Tsk!”
When Namgoong Gang glared at him, the Supervisor who’d dared to offer honest advice could only quietly back down.
Inside, the man let out a sigh so heavy it felt like the ground might cave in.
‘Haah… if Chief Supervisor Heo Won were still here, we would never be charging ahead this recklessly…’
Things hadn’t exactly been spotless in the past either, but before Chief Supervisor Heo Won died, it had never gotten this bad.
His death suddenly felt painfully real all over again.
In his heart he wanted to risk his life to block this decision, but he couldn’t.
He valued his life, and he didn’t want to be thrown out in disgrace.
So he had no choice but to back down and go along with it.
“Go bring me the Supervisor in charge of their debt.”
That was how they got their hands on the Changhae Merchant Group.
Curious how the meeting would play out, he’d shown up today, and had to put in quite a bit of effort to hide the way the corners of his mouth kept twitching up the whole time.
‘Snatching up the Changhae Merchant Group really was the right move. Hehehe. With this trade, we can climb even higher.’
Just then, a face suddenly brushed past his mind’s eye.
It was Eun Seo-ho’s face.
‘Mm… this ominous feeling is just my imagination, right?’
After I returned to our Beijing branch, I headed straight for my office.
Today, Lady Seohyang hadn’t come along with me, so she was working in the office.
“You’re back?”
When I entered the office, she stood up from her work to greet me.
“Yeah. Is there anything you need to report?”
“There are three matters in total.”
I took the documents from Lady Seohyang, listened to her report, and took care of the paperwork.
“Then I’ll go take a short walk.”
“It seems like you have something to think over.”
How did she know?
She saw me off with a smile.
“Have a good walk.”
I left the office and started walking.
Palgap, Escort Guard Seo Wu, and Escort Guard Myeong Jong quietly followed behind me.
In my previous life, everyone who’d taken part in this trade had grown by leaps and bounds, hadn’t they?
Trading with foreign countries was that big of an opportunity to earn massive profits.
One of the groups back then was the Changhae Merchant Group.
I didn’t know any of their faces, but even I’d heard their name.
They didn’t quite make it into the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven, but they were at least strong enough to aim for a spot.
But with things going like this, it would end up just lining the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s pockets.
Their ranking could skyrocket, and they might even rise into the Three Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven.
I couldn’t let that happen.
For the sake of my revenge alone, the Baekcheon Merchant Group must never climb higher.
Besides, I could never tolerate them profiting through such underhanded means.
Phew. And it seemed my own actions had played a part in the Changhae Merchant Group ending up like this.
Because I’d kept interfering with the Baekcheon Merchant Group over and over, Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang was now walking a razor–thin line between being dismissed and being kept on.
So the man who, in my previous life, had been content just supplying goods to the merchant groups actually making the voyages was now forcing through reckless moves like this to raise his group’s ranking.
And in the middle of that, the Changhae Merchant Group ended up taking the hit.
In that case, it was only natural that I help them.
If possible, I had to settle this before the ship set sail.
The way to resolve this was actually simple. All we had to do was prove that the Baekcheon Merchant Group really had received the money from the Changhae Merchant Group.
Which meant we needed to find the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s debt manager.
According to Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un, after that person came to collect the last payment, they disappeared right away.
I turned my head and spoke to Escort Guard Seo Wu.
“By any chance, are you good at tracking people down?”
“Huh?”
“There’s someone we need to find.”
At my words, Escort Guard Seo Wu replied.
“In that case, Escort Guard Jin Yu is more suited to the job than I am.”
Well, that was true.
I went straight back to the office and summoned Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“You called for me?”
“Yeah. There’s something I need you to do.”
“Give the order. Whatever it is, I’ll carry it out even at the cost of my life.”
No, no, there’s really no need to go that far…
I told him everything I’d learned from Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un about the debt manager.
“We need to find that person. And there are two possibilities regarding where they are now.”
I raised my fingers and explained.
“First, the Baekcheon Merchant Group might be hiding them. Second, the Baekcheon Merchant Group might have eliminated them.”
“Judging from how the Baekcheon Merchant Group operates, the second possibility seems more likely.”
“I think so too. If this leaks out, the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s prestige will hit rock bottom. There’s one thing they value a thousand times more than a human life, and that’s their honor. So what’s the big deal about killing one Supervisor who’s served them loyally for years?”
At my words, Escort Guard Jin Yu nodded in agreement.
After all, Escort Guard Jin Yu was the one who had carried out those ‘unofficial deaths’ on the Murim Alliance’s orders.
“If that person is still alive, bring them here. If they’re dead, then bring back proof of their death.”
“Understood. By when do you need them found?”
“The sooner the better. At the latest, we have to find them at least fifteen days before the trading ship departs.”
“Understood.”
I held out a token to Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“With this token, you can receive support from every branch of the Eunhae Merchant Group. If you need money, supplies, or people, just show this token.”
“Th–”
“You can save the thanks. I’m just giving my own man the support he needs to do my work. This much is only natural.”
At my words, Escort Guard Jin Yu clasped his fists with a grave expression.
“Understood.”
Hey… there’s really no need to be that dramatic though…
As he took the token I offered and tucked it into his robes, I added one last thing.
“To be honest, I’m asking you to track down that debt manager because there’s one more possible outcome for what happened to them.”
“And what’s that?”
“The Baekcheon Merchant Group might have tried to eliminate them, but failed, and they could still be on the run even now.”
They’d said that person had worked as the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s debt manager for over ten years, so it was highly likely they’d prepared for the worst.
“Personally, I think that possibility is the highest.”
–TL Notes–
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