Chapter 517: Side Story 17

Chapter 17

“The Lanzhou Merchant Guild…….”

Jang Sam-Tae was moving towards Jiuquan on a horse he had obtained from the Hao Sect. Although it was quite a long distance, his steps didn’t seem all that heavy.

He just had a lot on his mind, which was due to the matter between his younger sister and the Lanzhou Merchant Guild.

The place where Jang Sam-Tae had stolen the silk was without a doubt the Lanzhou Merchant Guild.

And the place that killed his younger sister when she was caught wearing it as she pleased was also the Lanzhou Merchant Guild.

Since it was an unforgettable mortal enemy to the point that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them so, it was also the reason why he hadn’t forgotten that name until now.

If it were the past, he wouldn’t have even dreamed of revenge.

How could it be an easy task for a powerless thief to tear down a merchant guild?

But that wasn’t the case for the current Jang Sam-Tae.

Since he had enough power to exterminate the Gongcheon Gate alone, tearing down the Lanzhou Merchant Guild was nothing.

However, when he actually tried to take revenge, his body didn’t want to move easily.

Every situation would have a beginning and an end, but no matter how young he was, Jang Sam-Tae was the one who started it, so he had to be able to calmly accept the result as well.

Would his younger sister also want the kind of revenge he was thinking of now?

“Ah… fuck, I don’t know! It’s really annoying.”

Jang Sam-Tae scratched his head vigorously and shook it nervously. Although his desire for revenge was as high as a chimney, he couldn’t say that he hadn’t made a mistake in that process either, so it had become a situation where he couldn’t tell who was right and who was wrong.

When he had no power, they were the people he wanted to kill so badly, but now that he actually gained power, it had become a ridiculous situation where he started having useless thoughts.

After thinking for a long time, he eventually sighed and put everything aside.

The distance from where he was now to Jiuquan wasn’t that far.

For now, he only wanted to focus on going to meet his younger sister.

He followed the path like that for a long time.

Another day passed, and he set off on his horse early in the morning. After repeating that for a few days, his hometown of Jiuquan finally revealed itself.

“It’s changed a lot, here…….”

The scenery he remembered from his childhood only remained sparsely. But many things had changed, such as the surrounding scenery and the people.

There were also almost no familiar faces.

He didn’t know whether they had left this place or died, but it felt as if it was filled with new people.

Jang Sam-Tae walked through such streets, heading towards where his house was located.

It was a place where one had to exit Jiuquan and go up a mountain path a little bit, and since no one lived nearby, there was no place like it for living quietly.

He moved along the winding mountain path.

The mountains were no different from his childhood, but the feeling that the scenery had changed slightly was certainly not an illusion.

They say that even mountains and rivers change in ten years, but more than twenty years had already passed since he left this place, so apart from the small things that remained, only unfamiliar things could be seen everywhere.

Eventually, he stopped at a certain place.

It was a house located quite far up the mountainside, and it was also a place where the Jiuquan village could be seen at a glance.

There, a crumbling house was left all alone. Because there were no traces of people using it for a long time, weeds were overgrown, and it exuded a somewhat desolate atmosphere.

Jang Sam-Tae stepped inside.

Looking around the space that looked like it would collapse if just touched, he fell into reminiscence.

His younger sister would always run and play in the small yard, and Jang Sam-Tae would return after chopping wood or digging up things to eat in the mountains. He also had to chop wood to make a fire, and was it doing so in the middle of winter that was the hardest?

Having such thoughts, Jang Sam-Tae took a seat on a large log visible in the yard. Although it was a rotten log, he had brought it with difficulty because he wanted to make a place to sit in the yard.

Because he dragged it all day long from deep in the mountains tied with a rope, his hands had practically been torn to shreds.

“Is this your house?”

Just then, a small voice was heard.

Jang Sam-Tae, who was sitting down, was startled and turned his gaze.

There, Dan Woo-Hyun, Namgung Cheon, and Sa Do-Hak were looking around the house so naturally, not knowing since when they had been there.

Jang Sam-Tae made a dumbfounded expression.

“Somehow, I felt like I had shaken you off, but how did you manage to find out?”

“Your thoughts are all pretty much the same.”

“That sounds like you’re calling me simple…….”

“That’s right.”

“…….”

Jang Sam-Tae glared at Dan Woo-Hyun without a word.

Seeing him clenching his fists, it was obvious that if it weren’t for Dan Woo-Hyun, a punch would have already flown.

Even knowing that, Dan Woo-Hyun just chuckled and moved on.

“It’s a nice house. It seems people could still live in it.”

“Do you want to try living here?”

“You mean you?”

“Ha, you’re good at joking. It’ll collapse the moment you lie down.”

“Yet you’re telling me to live in it?”

Dan Woo-Hyun looked at Jang Sam-Tae with an expression mixed with questioning.

There was also an absurd look in his eyes, but he completely ignored it and muttered.

“Wouldn’t you, Manor Lord, be someone who would survive perfectly fine even if a house like this collapsed while you were sleeping in it?”

“Haha.”

It was a tone that was hard to tell if it was trust or sarcasm. Dan Woo-Hyun shook his head, took out a bottle of alcohol from his chest, and sprinkled it in the yard.

“My sister isn’t buried here, you know?”

“I know. I’m just giving a cup of alcohol because the wind that stayed here is happy to see you, so don’t mind it.”

“Anyone watching would think you’re crazy.”

Although he whispered so no one could hear, he couldn’t fool Dan Woo-Hyun’s ears. When that sharp gaze returned, Jang Sam-Tae flinched, coughed in vain, and turned his head.

“No, well… did I say anything wrong? I’m just saying that’s how it would look to others, right?”

“Be quiet. By the way, where is your sister? Since I’m here, I should pour her a cup of alcohol.”

“Ehh?”

Jang Sam-Tae made a displeased expression.

Although it was obviously a situation where he should say thank you first, a reluctant face appeared first, so Namgung Cheon opened his mouth in disbelief.

“Brat, do you dislike it? Why are you frowning like this?”

“Well… making her see the faces of the people who always beat up her brother is a bit… you know?”

“Hoho, that’s because you do things that deserve a beating, like right now.”

Smack!

With a sound of ‘Ack!’, Jang Sam-Tae clutched his head.

Although it was a lightly delivered strike, Jang Sam-Tae, who got hit on the head, swallowed his groans with a dying expression.

It hurt, it really hurt a lot.

Since it was a flick on the head given by one of the Five Emperors of the World, how could the pain be described?

Jang Sam-Tae rubbed his head with a tearful expression.

“Keuuh… it’s not far from here… but are you really going to follow me?”

“Yes, I’m curious about your family.”

At Dan Woo-Hyun’s words, Jang Sam-Tae had no choice but to give up everything.

Because it had been a long time since he had seen her, he wanted to talk with her just the two of them as much as possible, but since Dan Woo-Hyun, Namgung Cheon, and Sa Do-Hak said such things, he let out a sigh as if he couldn’t help it.

“It’s straight down this path. It’s made by piling up stones, so it’s easy to spot.”

Rubbing his head, he walked along the path on one side. It was a situation of going slightly downhill to the west from where the house was located. It was somewhat close to the Jiuquan village, and the reason he buried her in a place like this rather than near the house was because the Lanzhou Merchant Guild knew of Jang Sam-Tae’s existence and was searching for him at the time.

He had no choice but to bury her in a hurry and had to escape quickly.

However, it was somewhat fortunate that it was a place that didn’t easily catch people’s eyes.

Unlike at first, Jang Sam-Tae, who was heading there, had a relaxed expression on his face at some point. It had always weighed on his mind because he hadn’t been able to visit for a long time, but now that he was visiting, how great must his heart flutter?

He couldn’t contain his excited heart.

“Over there! It’s over there!”

“Are you sure?”

“I am Jang Sam-Tae! No matter how long it’s been, do you think I wouldn’t remember where my sister is buried?”

He put on a sly smile.

Just by looking at that, one could instantly tell how good Jang Sam-Tae’s mood was right now. There would be a lot he wanted to say and also things he wanted to give.

Even though she wouldn’t be able to receive them with a bright smile, right now, Jang Sam-Tae only had the desire to give her everything he could.

Had he finally arrived at that spot?

Jang Sam-Tae, who was walking ahead, stopped in his tracks.

“What… the?”

Jang Sam-Tae tilted his head.

The place he remembered was definitely here.

However, the piled-up stones couldn’t be seen. It was just flat ground, and a mountain overgrown with weeds and bushes. No matter how one looked at it, it didn’t look like a place where a person was buried.

“What is this?”

“Didn’t you find the wrong place?”

Sa Do-Hak asked indifferently.

A reprimanding gaze was evident, as if wondering if he couldn’t even find his own sister’s grave.

“No… it’s definitely here! L-Look at this tree! There, there are marks where I made cuts!”

Jang Sam-Tae pointed at a large tree.

He had carved them in preparation for any possible situation. Since stones could collapse at any time, if he left marks on a large tree, he would just need to find it.

However, although he found the marks, what appeared to be his sister’s grave did not exist.

“What on earth happened here?”

Jang Sam-Tae slumped down with a bewildered expression.

His eyes shook severely and his hands trembled. He looked around with a look of disbelief and then eventually began to pace back and forth like a madman.

“This can’t be happening! I’m telling you this is the place!”

A voice almost resembling a scream spread out loudly.

* * *

Money is truly a frightening thing.

The saying that one can even command ghosts with money is by no means an exaggeration.

Because from the moment a person is born until they die, their life changes depending on whether they have a lot or a little of that money.

Gong Baek-Ji looked around.

Numerous men stood holding all kinds of weapons.

They were experts who were relatively well-known by name alone.

They were people called the Top Hundred Experts of the World, and they were also those active in this Gansu province.

Since the power each person possessed was not small, with this number, even the places called the Eight Great Families would feel a sense of crisis.

Thud-!

She looked at those people and threw a money pouch onto the table.

It was quite heavy, and as the opening loosened, gold ingots poured out from inside.

“Whoa-! This is incredible?”

“Kahaha, as expected of the Lanzhou Merchant Guild. To prepare such a huge sum of money in an instant.”

The men gathered around nodded with satisfied expressions. With this much money, there would be no problem making a living without working for several years.

But that wasn’t the end.

As if mocking their surprise, Gong Baek-Ji took out a bundle of bank notes from her chest and placed them down.

“It’s a hundred thousand taels of silver.”

“Heok?!”

“A… hundred thousand?”

Just the bank notes placed there amounted to a hundred thousand taels of silver. Then, if the gold ingots were added, it was undoubtedly an unimaginable amount.

It was also an amount that could never have been obtained if it weren’t for the Lanzhou Merchant Guild, which was said to be the wealthiest in Gansu.

“Jang Sam-Tae of the Hunan Dan Family. I am putting this money on his head. Bring it to me.”

The people opened their eyes wide.

The weight of the name Hunan Dan Family pressed down on their shoulders. However, what shook their hearts more than that was none other than the enormous amount of money placed on the table.

But isn’t life originally more important than money?

As they hesitated and observed each other’s reactions, Gong Baek-Ji bit her lip and spoke.

“If you succeed, I will give you another five hundred thousand taels.”

They say money can even command ghosts.

And Gong Baek-Ji was a woman who knew how to command even ghosts with money.

At her single word, the men composed their wavering hearts.

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