At those words, Eun Gil-sang looked to Yu So-ak.
It was to silently ask if Yeo Chang-ui, who was also present, could hear what was about to be said.
Yu So-ak nodded in response to that glance.
“I’ll explain it myself.”
“Very well. I’m listening.”
“In truth, Fire Lotus Inn has been behind on its payments for eleven months now.”
“…”
As I listened to Chief Administrator Yu, I recalled the future I had lived through.
When something major happens, the one who gains the most from it is usually the culprit.
And back then, one of the three narrowed-down suspects was Fire Lotus Inn.
In fact, even at the time, I eventually found out they had defaulted on payments for nearly a year.
And I even learned why.
But now, I couldn’t reveal that I already knew—so I played dumb and asked,
“What? They haven’t paid for nearly a year? Then why didn’t we report them to the authorities?”
“Because of this clause in the contract.”
Chief Administrator Yu opened the document marked [Fire Lotus Inn] and showed the contract attached to it.
“Please look at this clause.”
I looked where he pointed.
[If Fire Lotus Inn fails to pay the Eunhae Merchant Group for more than one year, ownership of Fire Lotus Inn will transfer to the Eunhae Merchant Group the day after the last payment deadline.]
That was the reason we’d allowed Fire Lotus Inn’s overdue payments to go on for so long.
However, in the future I’d lived through, the Eunhae Merchant Group never received ownership of Fire Lotus Inn.
Not only that—we didn’t recover any of the unpaid fees either.
Because this very ledger and contract were destroyed in the fire, leaving no evidence of the transaction.
Back then, the culprit had only been a matter of suspicion.
Now, I knew for certain.
“But, Chief Administrator.”
“Yes, Young Master?”
“Has Fire Lotus Inn been struggling that badly? Enough to be late on payments for nearly a year?”
“No way. It’s still one of the Five Grand Courtesan Houses of Hubei.”
“Then…?”
“I never understood why they couldn’t pay—until Clerk Ah Seung told us.”
“…?”
“They’ve been running an illegal operation. But it doesn’t seem to be making much money.”
“I see.”
Father sighed.
“Well then, what are we supposed to do? Even if we report it to the authorities, the fire didn’t actually start, and we’ve got no solid proof that Ah Seung acted on their orders…”
He was right.
But I couldn’t just let it go.
Bastards.
If they wanted to destroy evidence, they could’ve just taken this one ledger—but they tried to burn everything to cover their tracks?
The damage I saw back then was immense.
We suffered, took losses, and when we asked for even half of the overdue payment, they mocked us—
— Did we ever do business with you? I don’t recall.
They nearly gave Father and Chief Administrator Yu a stroke.
To top it off, they even scolded us—
— Well, maybe you should’ve managed your records better.
Ah, just remembering it made my blood pressure rise.
Calm down.
Anyway, I couldn’t let this slide.
Sure, we’d avoided the worst—this time. But in the future I remembered, we took the full brunt of it.
As long as I remembered, I couldn’t pretend it never happened.
Then a thought crossed my mind.
There’s a real chance Fire Lotus Inn might end up fully absorbed into the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Would they really bank everything on just this clause?
No way.
Then I spotted the date of the final payment deadline.
Five days from now.
I asked carefully.
“Clerk Ah Seung was an extremely cautious person. That’s why no one ever suspected he’d commit arson. So why did he try it today, of all days?”
At my question, Chief Commander Go responded.
“Ah Seung told us. He said he was ordered to set the fire by today—no later.”
That’s when it all clicked.
“Then that means… if this plan failed, they’d have time to try something else. A backup plan.”
“Ah…”
“They don’t want to pay. That’s why they tried to burn everything. Do you think they’d turn around and settle the debt now? If they had the money, they wouldn’t be this behind in the first place.”
At my words, Chief Administrator Yu, Father, and the others widened their eyes.
“You’re right.”
Said Yeon Dami, the Pavilion Lord of the Operations Pavilion.
“They’ll probably stop at nothing next time.”
“Then what should we do…?”
A short silence followed.
That’s when I stepped forward.
“Father, may I offer a suggestion?”
“What is it?”
“We should set fire to the Finance Pavilion.”
“Set… a fire?”
Even Father and Chief Administrator Yu looked baffled.
“What are you saying? You want us to set it ourselves?”
“Hohohot!”
A sudden laugh rang out.
“Our youngest Young Master has come up with a truly brilliant scheme.”
It was Pavilion Lord Yeon from the Operations Pavilion.
Eyes gleaming, she continued.
“It’s the Igananjin (以假亂眞) strategy, isn’t it?” (TL Note: Classic Murim strategy, it literally means to fake the false as real to obscure the truth)
“Yes, Pavilion Lord Yeon. We need a falsehood to conceal the truth.”
“You’ll have to explain.”
Said Jeok, Pavilion Lord of the Trade Pavilion.
So I began carefully explaining the plan—how we’d use the strategy of Igananjin to trap Fire Lotus Inn.
As I spoke, smiles slowly spread across everyone’s faces. Their eyes lit up.
“And in the end, we’ll swallow Fire Lotus Inn whole.”
By plotting such a scheme, Fire Lotus Inn had already abandoned all honor.
And for those who abandon honor, there is no mercy.
Baek Bok (白福), the current master of Fire Lotus Inn, was the son of the previous one.
But the general opinion was that the former master had failed in raising his son.
And for good reason—Baek Bok was arrogant and willful.
That was likely because there was no one around him to correct or advise him.
All he had were sycophants.
Naturally, Fire Lotus Inn’s finances began to collapse.
It’s hard to earn money, but easy to spend it.
He grew numb to outrageous expenses and eventually heard a thunderbolt from the blue from his finance manager.
“What? There’s no money?”
“Yes, Master.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“If this keeps up, we’re in real danger. We’ve got wages to pay the servants and maids, and we still owe the Eunhae Merchant Group for deliveries… You need to cut spending, immediately.”
“Cut spending? That’s not happening!”
“But, Master…”
“I’m the master of Fire Lotus Inn! The master of one of Hubei’s Five Great Courtesan Houses!”
He seemed to think that had anything to do with cutting expenses, but the finance manager just stayed silent.
Arguing would’ve only earned him a flying inkstone.
“You know that payment we owe the Eunhae Merchant Group? Delay it.”
And so began the overdue payments—but that didn’t solve anything.
A month passed, then another.
Still no payments.
Around that time, Baek Bok heard something while visiting a gambling den.
“Honestly, this place makes good money, but I’ve got some personal issues. I’m thinking of selling.”
Even he had to admit the place was always packed.
Which meant: it made money.
Thinking it would be a gold mine, Baek Bok bought the gambling den on the spot.
But there was one thing he hadn’t considered.
It was an illegal business.
The seller had skipped out on paying bribes to his higher-ups, fallen out of favor, and was planning to flee.
So not long after Baek Bok took over, government officials came knocking.
He had no choice but to bribe them heavily.
The bribes quickly outstripped the den’s profits, and he had to start pulling money from Fire Lotus Inn’s income just to stay afloat.
Then, a month ago, his finance manager dropped a bombshell.
“Master, by next month, Fire Lotus Inn will change hands.”
“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”
At Baek Bok’s outburst, the manager sighed and placed a contract in front of him.
“You don’t remember, do you? Take a look at this.”
Baek Bok read the clause the manager pointed out.
[If Fire Lotus Inn fails to pay the Eunhae Merchant Group for more than one year, ownership of Fire Lotus Inn will transfer to the Eunhae Merchant Group the day after the last payment deadline.]
He asked the manager,
“How many months late are we?”
“This is the eleventh month. One month left.”
At that, Baek Bok exploded.
“Why the hell are you telling me this now, you worthless bastard?!”
“I did tell you! I’ve told you five times already!”
“I don’t care! I don’t remember hearing it!”
After beating the manager bloody, Baek Bok stormed off to the gambling den he now owned.
He drank heavily and threw himself into gambling again.
The crisis he had just learned about vanished from his mind.
That’s when someone approached him.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m with the Doun (桃雲) Merchant Group. I heard you’re in a bit of trouble.”
“That’s… true. And who are you?”
“I’ve come to offer a solution.”
Baek Bok grunted.
“What’re you talking about? Let’s hear it.”
“Destroy the contract.”
“…How?”
“Set a fire.”
“What?”
“We’ll handle that dangerous part. All we ask is one favor in return.”
Of course they wouldn’t do it for free.
But Baek Bok didn’t have much choice.
“What do you want?”
The man from the Douun Merchant Group smiled.
“It’s nothing difficult. Simply agree to do business with us. Also, construct a new wing at Fire Lotus Inn where our people can stay. And lastly, employ the individuals we designate.”
The conditions weren’t as heavy as he expected.
Baek Bok couldn’t help but ask,
“That’s… really all?”
“Of course. There’s no loss to you, is there? Just make sure construction begins immediately.”
“Fine. I’ll give the order today. But if this plan fails…”
“It won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because this isn’t the only method we’ve prepared. If the first attempt fails, we’ll use another.”
About a month passed.
Then news reached Baek Bok’s ears.
“You hear? There was a huge fire at the Eunhae Merchant Group!”
“Oh, I heard too! It started in the Finance Pavilion, right? They say someone died inside, burned beyond recognition.”
“And of all places, it was the Finance Pavilion—so all the important documents went up in flames.”
“Now the whole group’s in chaos. All the contracts with the Hubei pleasure houses were destroyed. What’re they gonna do now?”
“Tsk. That’s why you’ve gotta manage things properly.”
Listening in, Baek Bok grinned.
The Doun Merchant Group had done their job well.
And that very day—
A final notice arrived from the Eunhae Merchant Group.
But where it normally listed the amount due, the space was blank.
The rumors must be true—their ledger was gone.
Baek Bok burst into laughter.
“Puhahahaha!”
He wasn’t about to miss this opportunity.
He immediately summoned the finance manager and gave the order.
“You know the delivery receipts and contracts from the Eunhae Merchant Group? Bring ’em all here!”
The manager returned with all the documents from their dealings with the group.
Baek Bok tossed them into the courtyard and set them ablaze.
“L–Lord! What are you doing?!”
The manager was horrified, but Baek Bok grinned and glared at him.
“We’ve never done business with the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“W–what do you mean…?”
“You heard what people are saying. They’ve got no way to prove anything. Which means our debt is gone. Hahaha!”
He thought it was all over.
He was wrong.
I was standing before Fire Lotus Inn.
Originally, Father and the other elders were supposed to handle this, but I insisted on coming along.
The five-story pavilion, painted in the red hue of a lotus blossom, was stunning in its ornate beauty.
And suddenly, I remembered the future I had once lived.
–TL Notes–
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