Brother Jin-ho shot me a glare.
“Seo-ho.”
“What?”
“At times like this, can’t you just comfort me and leave it at that?”
I gave an awkward laugh at his grumbling.
Honestly, Brother Jin-ho… if he wanted comfort, he should’ve asked someone who was actually capable of giving it.
I was the one who had brought Cousin Hyang-ok here, after all.
.
.
.
Day broke.
Today was finally the last day of the Heaven Group matches.
Warrior Dae-nok and Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a would face each other, while Brother Jin-ho would withdraw, sending his opponent through by default.
And this afternoon, Cousin Hyang-ok would finally take the stage.
I left Yeonpung Inn early in the morning and headed for the Ji Clan estate.
As I approached the main gate, the gatekeeper stopped me.
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to see Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa. Please tell him Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group is here.”
“Understood.”
The gatekeeper summoned a servant to deliver the message, and before long, the servant came running back.
“The Young Master asked me to escort you inside.”
I entered the estate with my party.
I had brought Young Lady Seohyang, Escort Guard Jin Yu, and Escort Guard Lee Pil with me today.
The reason I brought Young Lady Seohyang was because we would need to draw up a contract here.
She was currently the one managing all my contracts, after all.
Of course, today’s agreement would be confidential, but Young Lady Seohyang was someone I could trust.
However, the servant didn’t lead me to the Reception Room.
This place was…
The door opened, and Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa emerged.
“Welcome.”
“I hope I’m not too late.”
“Not at all. Please, come inside.”
The place I had been brought to was a meeting room.
Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa wasn’t the only one inside. Two other men were seated there, and judging by their ages, they appeared to be his grandfather and father.
“I am Ji Jung, Lord of the Ji Clan.”
“I am Ji Hyeon-cheol, the Ji Clan’s Young Clan Lord.”
Just as I had expected.
Without showing the slightest surprise, I cupped my fist in salute and returned their greetings.
“Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group greets you.”
Once I finished introducing myself, Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa spoke.
“I told my grandfather and father about the deal we made yesterday. This matter is too important for me to handle on my authority alone.”
“I assumed as much.”
“I hope you aren’t offended that I informed my elders without first receiving your permission, Great Hero.”
“Of course not.”
I had already expected this much.
The only question had been whether he would tell them before my arrival or after it.
He might be the Clan Lord’s grandson, but he still couldn’t make decisions concerning the clan’s future on his own.
That was also why I had told him I would personally visit the estate.
Still, telling them beforehand had saved me the trouble of explaining everything myself.
I turned toward the Clan Lord and Young Clan Lord.
“Since Young Lord Ji has already told you everything, I doubt there’s any need for me to explain further. Have you reached a decision?”
“We have. We have no intention of accepting your proposal.”
The Clan Lord’s answer was firm.
Wow. It wasn’t as though I had never considered this possibility, but I hadn’t thought it was particularly likely.
“I see. May I ask why?”
“Our clan is a distinguished family with a long history in Shaanxi. We may be pressed for money, but we have no intention of allowing some lowly merchant to pull our strings.”
“How candid. I thought you would at least offer some polite excuse for appearance’s sake.”
“You’ve heard our answer. Now leave.”
At that blunt dismissal, Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa cried out desperately.
“Grandfather! Please reconsider!”
“Silence.”
The Clan Lord barked at Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa, then turned a surly gaze toward me.
“Why are you still here?”
“May I ask two questions before I leave?”
“I can grant you that much. Go ahead.”
“Did those people make you another offer?”
“No.”
“That’s a relief. When I tracked them down, they were already dead, and the cave they had been staying in had collapsed. I imagine someone was trying to cut off the loose ends.”
Their expressions turned strange at my words. They looked as though they were wondering what on earth I was talking about.
I continued.
“On my way back, however, a question occurred to me. Why did the Ji Clan, which had always devoted itself entirely to martial arts, suddenly decide to enter the world of business?”
“…”
“Even if you had your reasons, most people would seek advice from merchants they already knew before entering an unfamiliar trade. But it seems you never did that. Since merchants are too lowly for you to associate with, I suppose you never developed an eye for recognizing a good one either.”
He glared at me.
“Are you insulting me?”
“Of course not.”
I calmly continued.
“I merely find the entire situation rather peculiar. You refuse to associate with merchants because they’re beneath you, yet you still started a business because you wanted to make money. But doesn’t running a business make you merchants as well? A family entering the merchant trade while refusing to associate with merchants… Don’t you find that strange?”
“That… That is…”
Even he must have realized how little sense it made when spoken aloud.
“Besides, it’s rather strange that you refuse to join hands with merchants, yet apparently have no qualms about joining hands with an Unorthodox Sect.”
The Clan Lord’s face filled with confusion.
“What are you talking about? Why are you suddenly mentioning the Unorthodox Sect…?”
“Then who did you believe those people were?”
“They serve a Manor Lord living in Henan. They heard of our difficulties and came here to help us.”
“Would an ordinary Manor Lord order someone to commit murder during a friendly martial match?”
“…What are you talking about? They only made victory a condition, didn’t they?”
The Clan Lord looked genuinely bewildered.
I slowly turned my head and stared at Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa.
Sensing something was amiss, the Clan Lord and Young Clan Lord also turned toward him.
Unable to endure their gazes, Young Lord Ji Gyeong-hwa dropped to his knees.
“I’m sorry! Grandfather! Father!”
He lowered his head and cried out.
“There is something I never told either of you. They secretly summoned me to an abandoned manor on Luoyang’s outskirts and threatened me. They ordered me to kill my opponent on the martial stage.”
“What?”
“What are you talking about, Gyeong-hwa?”
“They said that if I refused to obey their orders, they would no longer pay off our debt.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because they ordered me to keep it completely secret. They said that if I revealed the truth to anyone, they would withdraw their offer to clear our debt.”
“…”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
So that was what had happened.
No wonder their expressions had looked so strange when I told them how those people had died.
“After Young Lord Ji’s match ended, I followed them and discovered that they belonged to an Unorthodox Sect. In other words, a prestigious Orthodox clan joined hands with an Unorthodox Sect and allowed itself to become their pawn.”
The Clan Lord hurriedly waved his hands, his face stricken with alarm.
“W-We had no idea!”
Well, of course you didn’t.
That was the only reason you had been able to act so self-righteous.
I pulled a letter from my robes and placed it on the table.
“I found this at their hideout.”
The Young Clan Lord approached first and picked it up.
After reading the letter, he squeezed his eyes shut.
“What does it say?”
Instead of answering, the Young Clan Lord handed the letter to the Clan Lord.
The Clan Lord read it, then let out a disbelieving groan.
“Ha! How could this be?”
A moment later, he looked at me in confusion.
“But why are you giving this to us?”
“I could, of course, submit that letter to the Murim Alliance.”
If I did, the Ji Clan would cease to exist that very day.
There was no chance the other factions would forgive a clan that had joined hands with the unorthodox factions and attempted to sabotage the Murim Grand Assembly.
The Clan Lord and Young Clan Lord understood that perfectly well, which was why they were reacting this way.
“However, I will leave that letter with the Ji Clan.”
“Why?”
“Who knows? I simply felt like it.”
“Do you intend to use this as leverage and force us to accept your proposal?”
I gave a quiet laugh at the Clan Lord’s question.
“Wouldn’t that be blackmail? If I did that, I would be no different from the unorthodox scoundrels who threatened the Ji Clan.”
“…”
“If you cannot understand my reasoning, simply tell yourselves that it is because I am a merchant. A great merchant never focuses solely on the profit directly before his eyes.”
I continued.
“Now for my second question. If you refuse my proposal, do you have any other way to resolve your debt?”
The Clan Lord remained silent for a moment before answering with difficulty.
“The truth is… I had intended to go begging to them one more time. Now that I know what they truly were, I realize just how absurd that thought was.”
“I see.”
I rose from my seat and cupped my fist in farewell.
“Then I will take my leave.”
“Where are you going?”
I smiled at their question.
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t associate with a lowly merchant like me? You also told me to leave. I have received the answers to both my questions, so it seems only proper that I depart.”
Then, as though I had no lingering attachment whatsoever, I turned and walked out of the meeting room.
“Let’s go.”
I led my party out of the Ji Clan estate.
Once we were outside, I turned to Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“Did you have a chance to look around? Did you recognize anyone?”
What I was truly asking was whether the Alliance Leader had any people inside the Ji Clan estate.
That was why I had brought Escort Guard Jin Yu with me.
Escort Guard Jin Yu shook his head.
“There was no one.”
“That saves us some trouble.”
Escort Guard Lee Pil spoke up just then.
“Still, I didn’t expect us to return empty-handed.”
“Empty-handed?”
I gave a quiet laugh.
“There’s no need to worry. It isn’t as though I never considered this possibility. Besides, I haven’t suffered any loss whatsoever.”
Even if I failed to get the Ji Clan by the throat, I still lost nothing.
Instead, I would simply keep the five million Silver Taels they had originally been meant to recover.
Hearing the confidence in my voice, Young Lady Seohyang asked a question.
“Do you think they’ll contact us?”
“I can’t guarantee that. But there is one thing I know for certain. They’re scared shitless right now.”
.
.
.
We headed straight for the martial arena and joined the rest of the escort guards there.
“You’re back, Young Master?”
“Yeah.”
“How did the matter go, Young Master?”
“It’s still in progress.”
After giving that answer, I entered the martial arena and took my seat with the others.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, Father.”
When I turned my head, I saw Brother Jin-ho staring at the martial stage with a face full of regret.
Honestly, Brother Jin-ho’s opponent would ultimately have been Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a.
Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a possessed an instinctive ability to identify her opponent’s weaknesses.
That talent did little good against someone stronger than her, but when facing anyone at or below her own level, she could uncover their weaknesses with almost frightening precision.
Then she would exploit those weaknesses with meticulous care.
That was why she was known as the Hundred-Strategy Cold Sword.
There was no chance Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a had failed to notice Brother Jin-ho’s injury.
And she would never go easy on him because of it.
In the end, Brother Jin-ho would probably lose the match and worsen his injury in the process.
But Brother Jin-ho wasn’t the sort of person who would accept that explanation, no matter how reasonably I presented it. Which meant…
“Keep sulking like that, and I’ll call Cousin Hyang-ok over.”
“Gah!”
The regret instantly vanished from Brother Jin-ho’s eyes. Mm. As expected, that worked remarkably well.
At that moment, Commander Geum Yeon-hwa stepped onto the martial stage.
“We will now begin the Heaven Group’s afternoon main-round matches. Our first contender is the Miracle Man himself, the newly titled Tempest Sword – Dae-nok of the Yeongyeol Sect!”
“Waaaaaah!”
Amid the crowd’s thunderous cheers, Warrior Dae-nok climbed onto the martial stage.
“Facing him is the Hundred-Strategy Cold Sword, the Zhuge Clan’s Young Clan Lord – Zhuge Yu-a!”
“Waaaaaah!”
The spectators began chanting both their names.
With seven plaques fastened to each of their bodies, the two stood facing one another on the martial stage.
Neither said a word. They simply watched each other.
Boom!
The drum sounded, signaling the beginning of the match.
They slowly circled each other, carefully probing for an opening. Once that tedious exchange finally ended, Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a made the first move.
‘She was attacking first? What was she planning?’
Crack!
Her opening strike shattered one of Warrior Dae-nok’s plaques, sending the fragments scattering across the stage.
And her assault didn’t stop there.
Clang!
Clang!
Their swords collided, spraying sparks through the air. However, without using his anger to draw out his latent potential, Warrior Dae-nok was only a First-rate warrior.
He was no match for Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a, who had reached the Peak Realm.
By the time he had only four plaques remaining…
“Raaaaaagh!”
Warrior Dae-nok unleashed a wild roar and charged straight at Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a.
So it was finally beginning.
However, instead of confronting him head-on, Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a slipped around him again and again, avoiding his attacks while deliberately dragging out the match.
Ah. As expected, she had already figured it out.
She had realized there was a limit to how long Warrior Dae-nok could maintain his heightened strength.
That was why she was avoiding direct clashes as much as possible and stalling for time.
“Raaaaagh!”
As an added bonus, she was getting under Warrior Dae-nok’s skin.
She didn’t know that anger was what drew out his latent potential, so she was deliberately provoking him without realizing that she was helping him.
Just as I had expected.
Even though far more time had passed than Warrior Dae-nok should have been able to endure, he was still displaying the might of a Peak martial artist.
That was when it happened.
Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a grinned.
Hm? What was that about?
Not long afterward, Warrior Dae-nok’s legs began to wobble, and Young Clan Lord Zhuge Yu-a didn’t miss the opportunity.
Whoosh!
A roundhouse kick swept in with blinding speed.
Thud!
The kick struck Warrior Dae-nok squarely, sending him toppling backward.
“…”
There were several ways to lose a friendly martial match.
A contestant could have all seven plaques destroyed or be knocked out of the ring.
There was also one other method – if a contestant fell to the ground and failed to rise before the referee finished counting to ten.
“One! Two! Three! Four!…”
Commander Geum Yeon-hwa’s voice rang across the arena.
“Nine! Ten! Zhuge Yu-a wins!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
“Hundred-Strategy Cold Sword! Hundred-Strategy Cold Sword!”
As the crowd roared, Warrior Dae-nok was loaded onto a stretcher and carried toward the infirmary.
I clicked my tongue and rose from my seat.
I had a fairly good idea why Warrior Dae-nok had ended up in that state.
“Palgap.”
“Yes, Young Master!”
“Take some dumplings and head to the infirmary. He must be starving to death by now.”
“Understood, Young Master.”
I couldn’t leave my seat right now. I needed to keep an eye on Brother Jin-ho.
More importantly, the expressions worn by the Ji Clan’s Clan Lord and Young Clan Lord, who were watching the matches from the front, were truly a sight to behold.
Should the Ji Clan ask to sign a contract with me, it seemed I would need to add one more clause.
A mandatory attitude-adjustment clause.
As for the instructor… Mm, Cousin Hyang-ok would be perfect.
–TL Notes–
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