We took turns eating lunch while watching the manor.
There was no particular movement in the meantime.
Then a black hawk swooped in and settled on Money House Lord Hwang San's shoulder.
“Oh! You're back?”
A man approached as well.
His black clothes resembled those worn by the two Escort Guards who'd taken jobs posing as security guards.
That was why the security unit protecting the Geumsan Money House was officially called the Black-Robed Ghosts.
He was the Commander of those Black-Robed Ghosts.
“My respects, Money House Lord.”
“Thank you for coming all this way.”
The Money House Lord turned to me and spoke.
“Please report the situation.”
“Ah, yes. Escort Guard Jin Yu.”
At my call, Escort Guard Jin Yu immediately gave a detailed account of the situation inside the manor.
“There are roughly a hundred and fifty people inside. About half, seventy to eighty, are martial artists. Around five are Peak-level Warriors.”
Five Peak-level Warriors meant they were serious about this operation.
Those men would rank as Elders in a small or medium-sized sect. There was no reason for five of them to be in such a remote manor otherwise.
“The Artisans appear to be working under the Warriors' watch. And people I took to be their families seemed to be living together in two rooms, with the men and women kept apart.”
“I see. They're probably being threatened.”
It was true that plenty of people willingly used their skills to commit crimes.
But some became criminals against their will because of their families.
This was probably one of those cases.
“What shall we do, Money House Lord?”
The Money House Lord answered the Black-Robed Ghost Commander's question.
“Teams One and Two will attack. Team Three will protect the Artisans. Team Four will rescue the families. Team Five will seal off the area.”
“Understood.”
I asked the Money House Lord a question.
“Will you do it tonight?”
“Why wait?”
His words carried the confidence of a man who saw no difference between day and night when it came to crushing his enemies.
About an hour later, I couldn't help marveling at the sight of roughly five hundred people surrounding the manor.
“That's incredible.”
“Our customers' money is precious. Surely we should invest at least this much to protect that precious money?”
His words gave me a new respect for the Money House Lord.
“Besides, you've done the most important part: locating their base and telling us where it is. How could we show our faces if we couldn't handle the rest ourselves?”
The Money House Lord continued.
“I'll be back in a little while. Watch how your money is protected, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
At that instant, I felt enough killing intent from the Money House Lord to make my skin prickle.
The black hawk rose from his shoulder with a piercing cry.
That must have been the signal. The Black-Robed Ghosts began charging into the manor.
I witnessed, quite plainly, the downfall of the Asura Blood Cult members inside.
Ah… I'd made the right choice in depositing my money with the Geumsan Money House.
.
.
.
It took less than two hours to settle everything there.
Compared with the time it had taken to find the place, the speed with which it was dealt with was almost ridiculous.
Among those led out after being thoroughly subdued was the man I'd followed.
Their future was obvious now.
Of course, I didn't feel sorry for them or think it was a shame.
There were other people who deserved that sympathy.
The ones who had been threatened into making counterfeit drafts.
“My lord, what will happen to them now?”
I shook my head at Escort Guard Myeong Jong's question.
“I don't know either. That's for the Money House Lord to decide.”
“True.”
Just then, the Money House Lord's voice came from behind us.
“I intend to hear their circumstances and take them into account when determining their punishment. The technical term is mitigating circumstances.”
“Money House Lord.”
Although he'd taken part in the fighting, there wasn't a drop of blood on his clothes or a single hair out of place.
Was this the power of the Transcendent realm?
I suddenly thought of the Lone Serpent Sword, who'd said he would kill me the next time we met.
He was Transcendent too.
If I wanted to stay alive, I needed to reach the Transcendent realm myself.
Of course, I needed to reach it for my ultimate goal as well.
“Now that this is settled, I think I'll return to my own place of work.”
“It's a shame I can't keep you any longer.”
The Money House Lord looked sincerely regretful.
“You've done us a tremendous service, Deputy Merchant Lord. I don't know how to repay you.”
“It was hardly a service worth mentioning.”
I answered modestly.
Reaching the Profound realm at my age hadn't been the result of my own strength and talent alone.
I'd had information I knew in advance and the help of countless people, including the Patriarch of Snow Wind Palace.
In other words, it was the result of extraordinary good fortune and miracles coming together.
In any case, the Transcendent realm was still a long way off. The best thing I could do was forge as many connections as possible with people who could protect me.
One of them was the Money House Lord standing in front of me.
That was another reason I'd taken such an active part in this affair and put him in my debt.
“To be honest, I did this to protect the Eunhae Merchant Group's money and my own. I also wanted to prevent turmoil in the merchant world. How could we earn money if the merchant world was in chaos?”
The Money House Lord nodded in admiration.
“You certainly… are a merchant, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
After a moment's thought, the Money House Lord spoke.
“Then let's do this. If you ever face grave danger, Deputy Merchant Lord, I, Hwang San, will help you even at a loss to myself.”
“What? You needn't go to such lengths.”
That was what I said, but those were precisely the words I'd been waiting for.
“Please, at least let me do this.”
“If you insist, I understand. I'll remember that promise, Money House Lord.”
“We shouldn't leave it to memory. I'll put it in writing for you.”
“There's no need!”
I waved my hands.
“You yourself are the very symbol of trustworthiness, Money House Lord. And frankly, it wouldn't matter even if you forgot.”
He gave a small laugh at my words.
“Then I must be sure never to forget. In that case, keep the whistle.”
“What?”
“If you blow it, I can hear it and come to you wherever I am. Use it in an emergency.”
Then I'd certainly accept it.
“Thank you. I'll gladly keep it.”
He nodded at my answer.
“But are you planning to go straight back to Beijing? You did work alongside those people. I think you should say a proper goodbye before leaving.”
“Of course. I was going to ask you about that myself.”
They said that, to judge someone's character, you should look at how they left things behind.
That was how important it was to put things in order.
Nothing was more irritating than cleaning up after someone who'd quit, only to discover that they'd made a mess of their work or failed to hand it over properly.
There was nothing to be gained from giving someone a reason to attack me over this or bear a grudge.
My way was to leave them not the slightest excuse to use against me later.
And although it had only been a few days, I'd grown fond of those people. I wanted them to remember me well.
There was also something I needed to check.
.
.
.
I entered the Geumsan Money House's Hebei main office.
“You! What happened? How could you suddenly take sick leave like that?”
“Ah, well… I'm sorry. There were circumstances.”
“Circumstances?”
“I'll explain.”
The Money House Lord approached me as he spoke.
“Ah! Money House Lord!”
Everyone who saw him quickly bowed their heads.
“As you all know, the counterfeit-draft case was a crisis facing the Geumsan Money House. This employee has just returned from resolving it.”
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
The startled employees murmured among themselves.
“In fact, he was an employee of the inspection section whom I placed here to resolve this case.”
“Ah!”
“I-is that true?”
I nodded with an embarrassed smile.
“Yes. That's how it happened.”
Before we came here, the Money House Lord and I had agreed to explain it that way.
“Now that my assignment is complete, I'll be returning to my original position. Thank you for looking after me in so many ways.”
“So that's what was happening. We were happy to have someone who worked so well.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
I respectfully cupped my fist.
“I'll put my work in order and hand it over to another employee.”
“Oh, there's no need. We can take care of that.”
“It won't take long. Two hours will be enough.”
I immediately began putting the work I'd handled in order.
At lunchtime, I called over my fellow recruit Gang Il, who'd worked beside me.
“Do you have a little time?”
“Ah! Yes!”
I led him somewhere quiet and asked him a question.
“When we saw that counterfeit draft before I disappeared, how did you know it was counterfeit?”
“…”
“I'd like you to tell me the truth. I arranged this private conversation because I want to help you.”
After my persistent efforts to persuade him, he finally sighed and answered.
“I have the skills to make drafts myself.”
“What?”
“My father used to make the draft paper supplied to the Geumsan Money House. Then he heard that my grandfather was gravely ill and went back to his hometown.”
“I understand your hometown is in Anhui?”
“It is. My grandfather recovered, despite how ill he'd been, and my father stayed by his side caring for him for ten years.”
“Then how did you cover living expenses?”
“Fortunately, my grandfather had some property.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, once my father found he couldn't come back, he handed everything over to the man who'd worked under him.”
Gang Il continued his explanation.
“Ten years later, my grandfather passed away. Then, one day, I was told the Namgoong Clan came to see my father.”
“The Namgoong Clan?”
“Yes. They apparently offered my father work making draft paper for a money house. I was told that everyone in my family except me had left to take the work the Namgoong Clan had introduced.”
Something about his words felt odd.
When he spoke about his father and family's whereabouts, it sounded as if he'd only heard about them from someone else.
“Were you not living with your family?”
He nodded at my question.
“No. I was in Beijing preparing for the civil service examinations. My father wanted at least one official in the family, so I took the exam. Luckily, I passed the provincial examination and became a Provincial Graduate.”
He bit his lip.
“I learned about the Namgoong Clan through my father's letter. But… before long, all word from them stopped. I went back to my hometown and asked around for news of my family.”
“…”
“Whew… No one had any news of my family. I managed to make inquiries with the Namgoong Clan, but they told me they didn't know either.”
He continued.
“Then a letter arrived at the place where I'd been studying. When I opened it, there was a draft inside.”
A draft?
“A Geumsan Money House draft made by my father's hand. I told you I can make drafts too, didn't I?”
“Yes.”
“I learned the skills while helping my father from childhood. That's why I could recognize that he'd made the draft. At the same time…”
A pained expression crossed his face.
“I realized my father had been caught up in a crime. He'd used an anti-counterfeiting technique to write a message on it. He said it was a counterfeit draft, and that if I found any counterfeit money he'd made, I should tell people it was forged so no one would suffer a loss.”
That Artisan was impressive too.
He must have been under strict watch, yet he'd managed to get past it and send his son a message inscribed on the paper.
He must have trusted his son that much.
“Is that why you took a job with the Geumsan Money House?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“I thought that if I was at the Geumsan Money House, I might find another trace of my father.”
“I see.”
“What my father makes is slightly different from what the man who took over his business makes. You can only tell by touch… But for me, after spending so long handling my father's work, that's easy enough. So I knew as soon as I touched that draft.”
He sighed and continued.
“But when I actually realized it was counterfeit, I panicked and didn't know what to do… Thank you for asking me what was wrong then.”
“There's no need to thank me. You helped me complete my assignment as well. And thank you for trusting me enough to explain your circumstances.”
He looked worried as he asked a question.
“Um… Is my family among the people arrested this time?”
“What are your family's names?”
“Ah… My father's given name is San. And my mother…”
Just then, the Money House Lord approached.
“Money House Lord.”
He looked at Gang Il and nodded.
“So that was what happened. Forgive me. I overheard without intending to.”
“Oh, no. I meant to tell you about it and ask to be punished anyway.”
“Punished? Why?”
“Because I joined the money house while hiding my intentions…”
The Money House Lord smiled as he spoke.
“Whatever your intentions, I'm glad to have gained such a capable employee. Come with me.”
“What? Where?”
“Don't you want to see your family?”
“Of course I do, but… Could it be?”
“Yes. Your family is currently under the Black-Robed Ghosts' protection. They committed no crime, so they'll be released soon. And with those mitigating circumstances, your father should be released shortly as well.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Watching him, I felt a warm glow of satisfaction. Without meaning to, I'd helped bring together a family that might otherwise have been forced to live apart.
When I first met Gang Il, he'd been reluctant to talk much about the Namgoong Clan.
That was probably because his father had obtained the job through the Namgoong Clan.
And he likely hadn't been treated very well while asking them for information.
Did that mean the Namgoong Clan was connected to the Asura Blood Cult too?
The Murim Alliance definitely had some sort of relationship with the Asura Blood Cult. Since the Namgoong Clan was the leading power in the Murim Alliance, it was quite possible.
His Majesty would be pleased to hear about this.
He'd tease me for going out of my way to make trouble for myself, though.
–TL Notes–
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