Chapter 321: Chapter 321

“Denied.”

“Why?!”

Dan Woo-hyun frowned.

Stories of smashing a perfectly fine place or putting bugs in food were none other than absurd and ridiculous.

The personality of each person was clearly revealed.

Sa Do-hak wanted to smash things as much as possible, while Jeok Mu-seong plotted in the shadows to prevent them from doing business.

Namgung Cheon was unconsciously smiling and egging Sa Do-hak and Jeok Mu-seong on, but when the two started talking, he would pull back as if he had never done so and just watch the situation. The worst one seemed to be Namgung Cheon.

Dan Woo-hyun sighed softly and shook his head.

“So, what do you gain from that?”

“Well… allowance?”

Sa Do-hak muttered with an awkward expression.

At the single word that came out of his mouth, Dan Woo-hyun had an absurd expression. Since they wanted to crush the inn and the merchant group just to get a bit more allowance, how angry would those who were targeted be?

“N-no, aren’t they the ones who will pick a fight anyway? So I am saying we should smash them beforehand.”

Sa Do-hyue hurriedly made an excuse, as if even he found his own words ridiculous. Nevertheless, when Dan Woo-hyun’s gaze did not disappear, he turned his eyes away like a dog with its tail between its legs and slumped his shoulders.

Since his allowance had decreased, he felt miserable that he could no longer buy even the fire liquor he used to drink occasionally when he was in a good mood.

“How can people who have aged as much as you think in that way?”

Dan Woo-hyun let out a long sigh and shook his head.

They say that the older one gets, the more one becomes like a child, and this seemed to be a story referring exactly to those present in this place.

“Haha, but those words are not wrong. The fact that the Myriad Gold Merchant Group is acting like that means they ultimately intend to take away our influence.”

“See? I am right! wouldn’t it be better to just destroy all of them?”

“I am telling you we just need to catch mice and release them?”

“Haha.”

In the atmosphere that was slowly settling down, Namgung Cheon’s single sentence set it on fire again.

Sa Do-hak exuded an aura as if he would destroy them immediately, and Jeok Mu-seong seemed to intend to catch all the mice in the vicinity and release them.

Looking at the three of them, Dan Woo-hyun shook his head.

“Let us watch a little longer. There is no need to move first, is there?”

“You are too relaxed. Do you only move when a blade is at your throat?”

Sa Do-hak looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a lukewarm expression.

Unless there was a direct threat before his eyes, he did not even care. Although he had known that personality long ago, he felt a bit frustrated now.

In any case, they could not live under the same sky as the Myriad Gold Merchant Group.

Namgung Cheon’s matter was one thing, but in bringing the commercial rights of Hunan, clashing with the Myriad Gold Merchant Group was unavoidable.

“If you do that, a really big trouble might occur?”

Even at Sa Do-hak’s words, Dan Woo-hyun shook his head. In a sense, he could understand what he was saying, but he had no hobby of bullying the weak.

Because Dan Woo-hyun was always the strong one and he knew that point better than anyone else, he tried not to touch them as much as possible.

This could be thought of as the leisure of the strong, but it was also an ironclad rule that Dan Woo-hyun possessed.

“Leave them be. Even a dog does not bite unless it is touched.”

He smirked and harbored a laugh.

The small sneer hanging on his lips seemed to mock all opponents.

* * *

Swish…

A man hurriedly bowed his head and laid a portrait from his chest onto the table. While looking at the face that was somehow extremely familiar, everyone present in the room nodded their heads.

“These are the ones Lord Yun wanted.”

Lord Yun of the Myriad Gold Merchant Group.

The figure who had allowed them to earn the name of the world’s greatest merchant group, and as the right-hand man of Man Hu-ryang, he was a person thought to have a brain perhaps even superior to Zhuge Un’s.

Although his name was not widely spread, he was also the one who resolved and reunited the Myriad Gold Merchant Group, which was on the verge of dividing due to Man Hu-ryang’s absence.

“Tell me starting from the left.”

At Lord Yun’s words, an innkeeper of the Myriad Gold Inn nodded his head. Having established the Myriad Gold Merchant Group and the inn and watched the situation in Yueyang, he collected as much information as possible and kept it in his mind.

Among them, the one he considered most important was collecting information about the Hunan Dan Family.

“From the far left, Dan Woo-hyun. This person is the core figure and head of the Hunan Dan Family. His origin is unknown and even his age is unclear, but he seems to possess considerable skills.”

“Seems?”

When speculative words came out, Lord Yun frowned.

To a merchant, speculation rather than certainty was nothing less than a word that brought death.

Nevertheless, the innkeeper did not even change his expression.

Even though the great figure Lord Yun was present, he had no hesitation in expressing his conviction.

“He is a person about whom nothing has been precisely revealed. Or perhaps he is the Ghost-Faced One whose rumors are widespread recently.”

“I see.”

The innkeeper glanced at Lord Yun.

He quickly examined his face as he nodded slightly in agreement. Seeing him accept it so readily, it was clear that he knew far more things than himself.

‘Indeed… it is a command directly given by the merchant group leader. There must be something I do not know.’

“Also, I am certain that the skills of the Gentleman’s Sword and the Demonic Heavenly Army are beyond what they showed at the Martial Grand Assembly. Besides them, there are Namgung So-hye, Gwon Mu-jin, and Ma Jang-gang.”

Lord Yun nodded and looked at the portrait on the far right. A young child’s face was drawn on it, which was the same as the child he saw a few days ago.

“This child?”

“She is the child of the man named Dan Woo-hyun. Although she is an adopted daughter…”

“Adopted daughter?”

Lord Yun stared intently at the portraits of the two people.

Dan Woo-hyun and Dan So-mi.

They resembled each other so much that it was hard to believe they were adoptive father and daughter. It was to the point that one would believe they were biological parent and child, so since it was said not to be so, it was hard to believe.

“Hmm, what is this child’s origin?”

“…That… about that…”

Instantly, the man hesitated and could not continue his words.

Unable to understand that, Lord Yun frowned.

Clang!

Behind Lord Yun, Ja Hak-sang drew his sword slightly. A strong aura flowed as if he would cut off the neck in a single blow if a proper story did not come out.

The man swallowed his dry saliva and said.

“She… she is merely a child from a slash-and-burn farming background…”

“And? What is the problem with that?”

Lord Yun scowled and glared at the man. Looking at him breaking out in a cold sweat, an unknown strange feeling arose.

As he gently raised his finger.

Shring!

The sword that had been trapped in the scabbard was slightly drawn out.

Soon, the man raised his voice.

“Do… do you remember the slash-and-burn farmers we massacred a few years ago while searching for the location of the Scriptures of the Martial God?”

“Yes, I remember it well.”

“Ha, ” A dry laugh escaped Lord Yun’s mouth.

They had obtained information that the Scriptures of the Martial God were hidden near Hunan. Although it was information obtained purely by chance, it was also certain enough that it could not be passed off as empty words.

“Did a survivor remain?”

“…It seems to be so.”

“What a dog-like situation.”

Lord Yun’s face scowled even further.

That matter had only brought the worst results.

In the end, they failed to find the place where the Scriptures of the Martial God were, and only massacred innocent villagers.

It would have been good if it had simply ended there, but due to the Slaughter King who suddenly pursued them, the experts of the Myriad Gold Merchant Group were also wiped out.

Ultimately, without obtaining anything, they only lost money and saw blood.

Thanks to that, Lord Yun had to be harassed by Man Hu-ryang for a while.

Tap, tap, tap…

Lord Yun tapped the table with his finger and took a deep breath.

“In the end, that child, when you think about it, has a debt to us. We are the same…”

A glance.

Lord Yun looked at Ja Hak-sang.

The ones who raided the slash-and-burn farming village were Ja Hak-sang’s subordinates. They were indeed the top experts of the Myriad Gold Merchant Group, and it was a matter that could never have failed if not for the Slaughter King.

Ja Hak-sang’s fist was seen clenching tightly.

His burning gaze looked ready to pursue immediately and swing a sword.

However, Lord Yun shook his head.

“They are not ones we can defeat with force right now. Do you not know?”

“Unless we clash, we know nothing.”

“Hahaha!”

At Ja Hak-sang’s single sentence, Lord Yun burst into a great laugh.

He liked that confidence.

Chivalrous confidence like that was why he was called the top expert of the Myriad Gold Merchant Group, was it not?

After laughing for a long time, Lord Yun took something out from his chest and placed it in front of him. It was a strangely shaped pill, of which there seemed to be dozens.

“Take it. It is to prepare for any unexpected event. Distribute one to each of your subordinates.”

“…Understood.”

Ja Hak-sang bowed his head and accepted it.

Although he did not know what this was, he knew at least that it was something Man Hu-ryang himself had bestowed.

He wondered if this would definitely be a hidden trump card to defeat the Hunan Dan Family.

“Then where should I start touching…?”

Lord Yun muttered as he stroked his chin.

His eyes sparkled.

“Hey, damn it! I am telling you it is not this!”

At that moment, a loud voice was heard from somewhere.

At first, they thought it was simply a customer raising their voice a bit, but the disturbance gradually grew, and now it had reached a level that could not be ignored.

“Is this rice, or is this rice cake? Eh?! How can you tell me to eat this after paying a high price?”

At the incoming sound, Lord Yun frowned.

It was clear that a disturbance had arisen in the inn.

* * *

One hour ago.

“What did you say?”

Jang Sam-tae, as if he was now used to it, opened his eyes and asked with a casual expression. Because the beaten spots were painful, he was rubbing them here and there, but nothing was severely damaged.

Getting beaten every day seemed to have increased his physical resilience that much.

Looking at Jang Sam-tae, Zhuge Un smiled. He really liked Sam-tae’s roundly opened eyes.

“You have great pride in your cooking, do you not?”

“Of course! Although I am stuck here because of our master, if I go anywhere and just cook, there will be people who will give me fortunes to eat my rice.”

“Puhaha,” Jang Sam-tae burst into a loud laugh.

Jang Sam-tae had two things that could be called his pride: one was lightness arts, and the other was cooking.

Wasn’t it thanks to that that he ended up staying here?

“Indeed. So how about you go to the Myriad Gold Inn and evaluate it?”

“Eh? Why should I do that?”

“Haha, there are rumors that their cooking is quite delicious. So you go and taste it. It is also to check which is more delicious, your cooking or theirs.”

Zhuge Un patted Jang Sam-tae’s shoulder casually. Although he spoke playfully without any meaning, his glancing at Jang Sam-tae’s reaction seemed to suggest a hidden scheme.

“Those guys… they are boasting that they make the best food in Hunan. But isn’t the best food in Hunan the one you make?”

“Those guys are saying such things? Is it that delicious?”

“They boasted so. In fact, I do not know well.”

Zhuge Un pretended not to care.

However, Jang Sam-tae gnashed his teeth as if he was set on fire. Just how delicious was the food they made that they claimed to be the best in Hunan?

“I will go and try eating it once!”

“Here is some travel money.”

As if he had been waiting, Zhuge Un took out a coin pouch from his chest and gave it to him. It felt quite heavy, suggesting a fairly large amount was inside, but Zhuge Un did not care at all.

Rather, with a smile.

“Try all of it.”

“Understood!”

Thud, thud!

Looking at Jang Sam-tae walking toward Yueyang, Zhuge Un smiled.

‘How will they react…?’

He had already received information that suspicious people had entered the Myriad Gold Inn. He felt sorry for Jang Sam-tae, but it was a move to check whether that was indeed a hornet’s nest.

Zhuge Un also stood up from his spot and slowly followed behind Jang Sam-tae.

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