“Gasp! Wh-what is this?”
Father cried out in surprise.
“The distribution rights to Anxi Tieguanyin?”
I nodded at his words.
“Yes, just as you see, Father.”
“Good heavens…”
“That’s why I hesitated to accept it. But they insisted so many times that I had no choice.”
“…”
Father sighed and said,
“It even says here that rejecting it would deeply offend them. We have no choice. Let’s accept it.”
“Understood.”
“Anything else you’d like to talk about?”
“No, Father.”
“Then go rest. You must be tired.”
“Yes, I will.”
Leaving Father’s office, I headed straight for the Finance Pavilion.
Chief Administrator Yu would definitely be there.
As soon as I entered the pavilion, the clerks greeted me.
“Welcome back, young master.”
“Yes. I’ve returned safely.”
“Did you arrive today?”
“Just now. I came here right after visiting Father. Chief Administrator Yu is inside, right?”
“Yes.”
“He’s been working like mad. There’s a mountain of work that piled up while he was gone.”
Ah! Right!
I forgot about that.
I quickly took a step back.
But just then, the door to the Chief Administrator’s office burst open, and he came rushing out toward me.
He grabbed my wrist.
“Young master, you’ve returned.”
“Hahaha… Chief Administrator Yu…”
“Come in quickly. We have a lot to do.”
“There’s only one more hour until closing.”
“One hour is plenty of time to handle paperwork.”
“…”
In the end, I was dragged into the office by his hand.
I should’ve come later.
.
.
.
One hour later.
I glanced at the stack of papers beside me.
We’d gone through more than a hand’s span worth of documents in just one hour.
Somehow, I felt proud… No! I can’t be turning into a workaholic already.
Just then, the sound of the drum signaling the end of the workday echoed.
I rose from my seat.
“Chief Administrator, it’s time to go.”
At my words, he replied with a voice full of regret.
“Yes, go on.”
Then he set down the brush he was holding and asked me,
“Did everything go well?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks to the Changin Escort Bureau, I arrived safely. But judging by how late you returned, it must’ve been more serious than expected.”
I nodded at his words.
“Yes. Actually…”
I explained the whole incident to him.
He had every right to hear it, since he had been at the heart of it all.
“I see… Then the Grand Elder must’ve been deeply hurt.”
“Still, the forces working in the shadows have been cleared out. He’s probably feeling much lighter in spirit now.”
As we spoke, I pulled out a letter from my robe.
“Here. This is for you.”
“Hm?”
“A letter from the Grand Elder.”
Chief Administrator Yu’s eyes trembled as he saw the tightly sealed envelope.
“For me…?”
“Yes.”
He received the letter, broke the seal, and read it on the spot.
I didn’t read it.
Even if the seal was tight, there are ways to open it without leaving a trace.
But this letter was meant to foster friendship between the Grand Elder and Chief Administrator Yu. I had no desire to sneak a look.
After reading it, he looked up at me.
“What is it?”
“It says you asked the Grand Elder to continue staying in touch with me… to remain friends.”
“Ah…”
Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek.
“I did.”
“Thank you.”
That simple gratitude made me chuckle.
“So take good care of your health. No matter what, you’ve got to outlive the Grand Elder, right?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Yes.”
I turned and left the office. When I glanced back, Chief Administrator Yu was still reading the letter.
He looked incredibly happy.
Now I should go report to Grandfather, Mother, and my two older brothers that I’ve returned safely, then rest in my quarters.
Ah…
Come to think of it, those people should be arriving in Sunyang County tomorrow. I’d better prepare to receive them.
Then when do I get to rest?
I sighed without thinking.
I made a promise to myself.
Once I’ve taken revenge on the Murim Alliance—or rather, once the Eunhae Merchant Group becomes the number one merchant group in the world—I’ll finally take a long, deep rest.
The Murim Alliance.
As the union of the Orthodox Sects, its scale was immense.
And at the head of this Orthodox alliance stood the Alliance Leader.
His office.
Strangely, the walls were covered in facing mirrors, like wallpaper.
But aside from that, it looked like a typical office.
The Alliance Leader was receiving a report from his subordinate.
“The Zhuge Clan suffered virtually no damage.”
“No damage?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible! If that Blood Formation (血陳) was activated, at least half of them should’ve died.”
The Mist of Delusion Formation.
It was also called a blood formation.
Once activated, it turned people into murderous foes, resulting in rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.
“Our guess is that the Grand Elder and the Clan Lord broke the formation faster than expected.”
“Well, it was a formation created by the Zhuge Clan. If their Grand Elder and Clan Lord were involved…”
“Placing that blood formation there was a mistake. We should’ve considered another option.”
“At the time, Zhuge Gyeong insisted he’d activate it after the Grand Elder and Clan Lord were dead, which is why we approved it. So why’d he trigger it early?”
In response to the Alliance Leader’s question, the subordinate answered.
“The last report mentioned the Grand Elder and Clan Lord catching on to the poisoning attempt. He likely feared his identity would be exposed if he lingered any longer.”
“I don’t even have to see it to know. He probably worried that fleeing would cost him the merit he sought, so he acted.”
“I suspect the same. But do you think Zhuge Gyeong truly didn’t know he’d die once the formation was activated?”
“He probably had no idea. He believed it was a formation passed on by us, not something created by the Zhuge Clan. And we never told him that activating it would turn him into a lifeless husk.”
That’s why they had originally planned to use a disposable pawn rather than Zhuge Gyeong himself.
“Tsk, tsk. He was useless to the Alliance. Better that he died early—he would’ve just drained our funds.”
“Indeed.”
“But still, even if the Grand Elder and Clan Lord survived, it’s hard to believe there were no casualties at all…”
“That’s what I find strange too. Didn’t they say the Blood Formation affects anyone, no matter how profound their Qi is?”
“That’s right. The only way to nullify it is with that family’s Qi.”
“But that clan was completely wiped out.”
“Exactly. We killed every last one of those bastards, down to the last chick and pup.”
The Alliance Leader recalled that clan as he spoke.
They had been known for their uniquely pure and clear Qi.
But they’d gotten in the way of his plans.
So he had them wiped out, disguised as a massacre by a Demonic Cult.
“The Zhuge Clan is an established family. It’s possible the Grand Elder or Clan Lord had at least one method of resistance.”
The subordinate cautiously asked,
“What should we do about the Zhuge Clan?”
“Leave them be.”
“Pardon?”
“Now that the Blood Formation has been exposed, we should lay low for a while. That idiot ruined everything.”
He let out his anger, prompting the subordinate to bow his head even deeper.
“But there’s no evidence tying this to us, and we’ve warned them enough. That old man won’t act recklessly. He cherishes his clan too much to brandish a sword at us lightly.”
The Alliance Leader continued,
“And we don’t have the time or resources to keep meddling there. We’ve got other operations in progress.”
“Understood.”
When the subordinate answered, the Alliance Leader nodded and asked,
“Any unusual findings from that incident?”
“Nothing in particular. Though, it seems the Grand Elder had a guest at the time.”
“A guest?”
“Yes. Just in case, I did some checking. Their names are Yu So-ak and Eun Seo-ho. Yu So-ak is forty-five this year and the Internal Chief Administrator of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Eun Seo-ho is fifteen and the third son of the merchant lord.”
“Eunhae Merchant Group? And what’s that?”
“It’s a group based mainly in Hubei. They mostly deal in grains, tea, and medicinal herbs. In the most recent winter merchant ranking, they were listed ninety-eighth.”
“So a group we don’t need to worry about.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
“If that’s all, you may go.”
“Yes, sir.”
The subordinate left the office, and the Alliance Leader picked up the documents on his desk.
Suddenly, the name “Eunhae Merchant Group” flashed through his mind.
‘I’ve heard that name before… Ah!’
He once attempted to set up a secret branch in southern Hubei.
But the owner of the pleasure house in that area botched the job, and the operation failed.
He’d received a report that the pleasure house had ultimately been acquired by the Eunhae Merchant Group.
That incident, and now this one—both featured the name “Eunhae Merchant Group.”
He let out a faint laugh.
‘What an amusing coincidence.’
In that moment, his eyes glowed red.
‘Tsk!’
Noticing the change in the mirrors covering his office walls, he quickly covered his eyes.
Sunyang County, Hubei.
A group had just arrived there.
There were seven men and women, mostly middle-aged, and they were surrounded by twelve warriors wearing identical uniforms.
They were escorts from an escort bureau, hired to protect the group on their journey.
When they arrived at the county office in northern Sunyang, the escort chief spoke.
“We’ve arrived at Sunyang County’s magistrate office, just as you requested.”
The man who appeared to be the group’s leader replied,
“Thank you for your efforts.”
“It was no trouble.”
“Here’s the remaining half of your escort fee.”
He pulled a pouch from his robe and handed it over.
Unless the job was special, escort fees were typically paid in two halves—half before departure and the rest upon arrival.
“Please count it.”
“Of course.”
The escort chief counted the money on the spot, then nodded.
“Perfect as expected.”
“Accuracy is a merchant’s virtue. Though I don’t even know if I can still call myself one.”
At that, the escort chief said,
“You were once the leaders of the Nokok Merchant Group. I’m sure you’ll find a way to start anew.”
“I suppose we can scrape by. But… the passion we once had is already gone.”
A year ago, disaster struck them like lightning from a clear sky.
The merchant lord of the Nokok Merchant Group, whom they had served with heart and soul, passed away.
Before his death, the merchant lord summoned them and left a final wish: to please support his son.
After his death, his son became the new merchant lord.
“I may be lacking, but I ask for your guidance. That said…”
He began enthusiastically pushing new initiatives.
That part was fine.
But the real problem was that these initiatives were utterly absurd.
Anyone could see they were doomed to fail.
They wanted to follow the new lord’s will, but the memory of the late lord’s final words kept them from staying silent. So they voiced their opposition.
“This will result in major losses.”
“I don’t care.”
“Do you really intend to go through with this?”
“I’m the merchant lord! Me! You were all so obedient to my father—yes, yes, at every word! But with me, you oppose me at every turn!”
In the end, things proceeded just as the new merchant lord wanted.
And the result was exactly as expected.
Major losses.
Yet he still refused to admit his fault.
“This is all because you were lazy! Weren’t you all so diligent when my father was alive? Are you looking down on me just because I’m young?”
They were stunned.
The Nokok Merchant Group was something they had devoted their entire lives to.
And now he was accusing them of laziness?
They could swear before Heaven and Earth that they had never slacked off.
Nor had they ever disrespected him.
But the new merchant lord remained convinced they were slighting him, leaving them beyond frustrated.
The conflicts kept piling up, the tension growing deeper by the day.
And then, one month ago—
The new merchant lord summoned them.
Then, he dismissed them.
“All of you, leave the group.”
“What?”
“I’ve thought it over. If the group is to be reborn, then the people must be reborn too. Can you make good tea by mixing leftovers with fresh water?”
They’d expected this.
But it still hurt more than they thought it would.
‘If I knew it’d end like this, I would’ve left the moment the merchant lord passed…’
It was the former lord’s final wish that had kept them, and now they’d been thrown out because of it.
–TL Notes–
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