The main estate of the merchant group finally came into view.
Pointing toward it, I spoke to Seok Il-song.
“See that over there?”
“Yes, it’s a huge building.”
“That’s the Eunhae Merchant Group. It’s where you’ll be living and working from now on.”
“Amazing.”
Seok Il-song exclaimed in awe.
His eyes sparkled as he said,
“If someone like me can be of help, I’ll do my best.”
Father nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
At first, Father expressed concern when I told him I wanted to bring Seok Il-song in as part of the group.
He worried I was being overly sentimental.
But I said firmly,
“Father, I’m a member of the merchant group too.”
Hearing that, Father tested Seok Il-song and then agreed to bring him along.
I knew Father would recognize talent when he saw it.
In truth, sympathy is one of the most dangerous things for a merchant.
If you start delaying payments because someone seems pitiful, or tolerating late deliveries out of pity, the one who ends up ruined… is yourself.
That doesn’t mean you should eliminate compassion entirely.
It’s part of being human. Asking someone to abandon it entirely would be like asking them to abandon their humanity.
But it’s something that must be carefully controlled.
The carriage soon arrived at the Eunhae Merchant Group.
We stepped down and walked inside.
“Welcome back.”
Hearing we were returning, Chief Administrator Yu and all the senior members had come out to greet us.
“Why is everyone out here?”
At Father’s words, Yeon, the Pavilion Lord of the Finance Pavilion, answered.
“You’ve returned with a great achievement from Beijing. Of course we should welcome you.”
“So… if we’d failed, you wouldn’t have welcomed us?”
“That’s right.”
“Hah…”
“I’m kidding. Hohoho.”
Yeon continued with a grin.
“The family members are waiting in the rear garden. But… who’s this child?”
She looked at Seok Il-song as she asked, and I answered.
“His name is Seok Il-song. He’s thirteen. I plan to have him work in the Finance Pavilion.”
At my words, Chief Administrator Yu asked with a puzzled look,
“The Finance Pavilion?”
“Yes.”
“But why the Finance—”
I quickly cut him off.
“Chief Administrator Yu, have I ever disappointed you?”
“…”
After thinking for a moment, Chief Administrator Yu replied.
“No, you have not.”
“Then trust me and take him in. You’ll be thanking me every time you see me from now on.”
“If… if Deputy Merchant Lord says so, then… understood.”
I handed Seok Il-song over to Chief Administrator Yu and headed toward the rear garden. Time to greet my family.
At that moment, in Beijing.
People were gathered, reading the proclamation newly posted by the Imperial Guards.
It stated that all members of the Dong Merchant Group who attacked Merchant Lord Jin U-rim while he was on imperial business had been captured, and that further pursuit would cease.
It also warned that anyone involved should refrain from acting rashly in the future.
Among the crowd stood a man wearing a bamboo hat.
“That’s a relief, sir.”
At his companion’s words, the man nodded.
“Looks like it’s finally safe to go home.”
“Yes, sir.”
They were the leader and followers who had served Dong Wu-yeok, the second son of the Dong Merchant Group’s lord.
“Master Eun kept his promise.”
“Yes, he did.”
To be honest, the man hadn’t been fully confident Eun Seo-ho would follow through.
After all, it required moving the Emperor himself.
But with no other choice, he’d fled while clinging to that sliver of hope.
He’d even hidden right here in Beijing, banking on the logic that no one would expect a fugitive to run straight into the capital.
Now, with the imperial edict posted, their life on the run was finally over.
“What will you do now, sir?”
The leader chuckled bitterly.
“I’ve been a merchant all my life. What else would I do? I’ve still got some seed money left. I’ll start over.”
“I’d like to follow you.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because all I know is trading. And… I figure as long as I’m with you, I won’t end up broke.”
“Was that a compliment?”
“It was.”
“Good. Then let’s do it. Though… there’ll be some hardship ahead.”
“If I regret it, I’ll just chalk it up to fate.”
And with that, they left Beijing behind.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, in front of Merchant Lord Jin U-rim’s residence.
A man stood there, stunned, listening to the gatekeeper.
“Is… is that really true?”
“Yes, it is.”
The man was a messenger from the Tang Clan. He had come looking for Eun Seo-ho at the Eunhae Merchant Group only to hear he’d gone to Beijing.
After returning to the Tang Clan to report, he rushed back to Beijing, only to arrive now.
Only to be told that Eun Seo-ho’s group had left for Hubei ten days ago.
With no other choice, he had to turn back.
The messenger sighed and muttered,
“Ah… why’s paying back a favor so difficult for our Clan Lord…”
The poor messenger was completely deflated.
The Eunhae Merchant Group was bustling.
It was because preparations for my Deputy Merchant Lord appointment ceremony, which had been delayed due to the Beijing trip, were underway.
As usual, I began my morning with training.
Master nodded as he watched me.
“You’re learning remarkably fast. You’ll be able to move on to the third form soon.”
“That’s great to hear.”
At my response, Master asked,
“But, Young Master… why don’t you ever pester me to speed up the lessons?”
“Huh?”
“To be honest, the True Snow Twelve Form Sword progresses more slowly compared to other sword techniques. Most who learn it complain about the slow pace. But.”
Master looked at me as he continued.
“You’ve never once said anything like that.”
I scratched my cheek at that.
In truth, in my past life, I’d heard about this directly from Gwak Jun-ha, Master’s second son and my escort guard.
“Honestly, our family’s sword style can be a bit frustrating to learn. But… if you rush it, you’ll run into serious problems.”
“Problems?”
“Yeah. Our internal cultivation art generates incredibly strong Qi. It gathers extreme Yin Qi, after all.”
“That makes sense.”
“Which means… the sword technique was developed to control that overwhelming Qi. Because of that, the progression is slow.”
“So if you don’t learn it slowly and carefully… you won’t be able to control your Qi properly.”
“Yes. Instead, the Qi will rebound and cause serious injuries. If it’s just your meridians freezing and bursting, you’re actually lucky. In severe cases, your entire body can freeze and shatter.”
“Seriously?”
“Absolutely.”
That’s exactly why I never asked about it.
Besides, in this life, Master is still my Master.
I trust that he wouldn’t teach me anything that could harm me, which is why I could follow without question.
But realizing that my attitude had puzzled Master… felt a bit awkward.
Was I supposed to ask?
But I’ve never been one to ask pointless questions.
Since I couldn’t exactly say I’d heard it from Gwak Jun-ha in my previous life, there was only one answer left.
“I just trusted you, Master.”
“You trusted me?”
“Yes. Master only wishes for your disciples to improve. So I simply trusted you and followed.”
Master silently stared at me for a moment.
“Is… something wrong?”
“Young Master… you’ve moved me.”
“Master, how can you be moved by something like this?”
“I shall devote myself even more to guiding you. Starting today, your training time will be extended by half a shichen. You’ll begin waking up half a shichen earlier.”
Wait… what?
That’s not what I meant.
“Do you remember the sword path I taught you? Let’s go over it again.”
At that moment, I noticed something.
Huh?
Master… was smiling.
For the first time, both in this life and the last, I saw Master smile.
So even our Master is capable of smiling.
.
.
.
That afternoon.
I headed to Silver Dragon Hall.
I’d been summoned by Jeok Byeong-cheol, Pavilion Lord of the Operations Pavilion.
After waiting for about half a ke (roughly fifteen minutes) in front of Silver Dragon Hall, Pavilion Lord Jeok approached with his deputy.
“Greetings, Pavilion Lord Jeok.”
“Greetings, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
“I’m not officially Deputy Merchant Lord just yet.”
“You’ll be officially appointed soon enough. No harm in calling you by the title early. Hahaha.”
Pavilion Lord Jeok laughed warmly.
“Come, let’s go. I’ll take you to your detached residence.”
“Huh?”
“Once you become Deputy Merchant Lord, you’re granted a detached residence.”
How could I forget that?
Being given a detached residence means you’re officially recognized as an independent member of the merchant group.
It’s also an old tradition of the Eunhae Merchant Group for the Pavilion Lord of the Operations Pavilion to personally guide the new Deputy to their residence.
I followed Pavilion Lord Jeok along a familiar path.
It was the path leading to the residence I’d received when I became Deputy Merchant Lord in my previous life.
Back when I first returned to this life, I’d intended to come this way.
Thinking about it now filled me with emotion.
It’s already been nine months. I’ve achieved a lot.
But it’s still not enough.
I still had to take revenge on the Baekcheon Merchant Group and the Murim Alliance.
And I had to make the Eunhae Merchant Group the greatest under heaven.
We soon arrived at the detached residence.
Seeing the place I once lived in brought a smile to my face.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?”
At Pavilion Lord Jeok’s question, I nodded.
“Yes. It feels good… like I’ve finally been recognized as someone who contributes to the merchant group.”
Pavilion Lord Jeok smiled.
“Don’t say that. We’ve had our eyes on you ever since you started working in the Finance Pavilion.”
“Haha, is that so?”
At those words, his deputy began explaining the layout of the residence.
The residence included my private quarters, quarters for attendants and servants, living quarters for escort guards, a warehouse, a kitchen, and more.
Even though I’d be living here, breakfast was still a family gathering.
But sometimes, when eating separately, the kitchen was used for meals.
The servants, maids, and attendants would also prepare their food here.
“These are the servants and maids assigned to serve you from today.”
I was introduced to my personal staff.
The male servant’s name was Gyeong-sam (庚三), and the maid’s name was Yeong-yeong (榮榮).
So even in this life, I’d end up working with them again.
“You can start moving in today.”
“Understood.”
“Also, please give the residence an appropriate name. We’ll have it registered as such.”
“Alright.”
Residences are named by their owners.
It’s customary to refer to someone by the name of their residence as well. For example, Jeong-ho’s residence was named Geryang (巨梁), meaning ‘Great Beam,’ a name bestowed by our grandfather, hoping he’d become a great pillar of the merchant group.
So when someone said Geryang Residence, they were referring to Jeong-ho himself.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Thank you for everything.”
Pavilion Lord Jeok and his deputy left, and I looked around the residence again.
“Oh my! Our young master finally has his own residence! I’m overwhelmed, truly overwhelmed!”
I laughed at Palgap’s exaggerated reaction.
“You’re right.”
“Don’t hold it in! Be happy if you’re happy! Let’s start moving in right away!”
As always, Palgap was overjoyed, just like in my previous life.
I headed back to my quarters.
There, a deputy was waiting for me, carrying a message from the External Chief Administrator.
“Young Master, the External Chief Administrator is requesting your presence.”
Now that I had my own residence, I could guess why he was calling me.
A little while later, I arrived at Chief Administrator Go’s office.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, you summoned me.”
“The reason I called you… now that you’re becoming Deputy Merchant Lord, you must select an escort guard.”
Just as I expected.
Deputy Merchant Lords needed to operate independently, which meant having a personal escort guard was essential.
Normally, one would have already chosen an escort prior to being appointed, like how Jeon Wu-jin became Jeong-ho’s escort.
But since I became Deputy Merchant Lord unusually fast, I hadn’t yet picked anyone.
“The appointment ceremony is in three days. Please select your escort by tomorrow and report back.”
“Understood.”
I left the office after answering. As I walked out, I heard Chief Administrator Go grumbling inside.
“Ugh, there’s still more paperwork?”
“This is part of it too, sir.”
Listening to his grumbling, I said to Palgap,
“Let’s head to the training grounds.”
“Understood.”
As we walked, I recalled the escort guards I’d chosen in my previous life.
They were decent swordsmen and spearmen.
But I wasn’t going to choose them this time.
–TL Notes–
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