Chapter 298: Chapter 298
Long lashes.
Beneath them, deep eyes shone brightly in the moonlight.
Her light makeup made her look pure and youthful, while the red palace dress that subtly accentuated her figure made her seem like a mature woman.
From one angle, she looked like an immortal maiden.
From another, she looked like a courtesan.
The fact that such varied images could exist within a single person felt quite novel.
Moreover, once one heard her introduction, yet another image was added atop the rest.
“I greet you. This girl is called Jeong So-eul of the Silver River Merchant Guild.”
Her courtesy was neither excessive nor insufficient.
A natural elegance, one that had settled into her whole body over many years, could be seen.
“If you say the Silver River Merchant Guild…….”
Before I could finish speaking, a smile appeared on Jeong So-eul’s lips.
“Yes. It is the Silver River Merchant Guild you know, Young Master.”
Deep pride lay in her voice.
Naturally so. Her father, Jeong Sim-ho, was counted as one of the Four Great Merchants under Heaven alongside Wang Estate.
Her family had engaged in commerce for generations, and centered on Henan, they wielded enormous influence over the old territory of the Wei State.
They were both competitors and business partners to Wang Estate, which dominated logistics in the southeast with Anhui as its center.
But then,
“Why has that Silver River Merchant Guild come looking for me?”
At my question, Jeong So-eul turned her head toward Wang So-so.
With a “hmph,” Wang So-so snapped her head away.
“Recently, after hearing of Young Master Jin’s fame, which has shaken all under Heaven, I came to admire you and sought a meeting. Yet for some reason, my feelings did not seem to have been properly conveyed to you. Thus, I have dared to commit this discourtesy and come running here myself.”
“Ha! What sort of ridiculous nonsense is that!”
Wang So-so tried to cut in, but Jeong So-eul did not listen to the end of her words and looked up at me again.
Her large eyes were exceedingly moist.
Like a clear lake that stirred in one the impulse to throw oneself in at any moment.
“Young Master Jin, you are more dignified and more imposing than I heard in rumors. ……This girl’s heart pounds so strongly that I cannot look at you for long.”
“……Ha! Honestly! ……Ha! Honestly!”
Her beautiful appearance, her alluring figure, and her innocent words were more than enough to shake a man’s heart and mind.
“Oh dear…… I have said all sorts of things. Please forgive my discourtesy.”
Jeong So-eul bowed her head again.
Strangely, every time she moved, a different fragrance drifted from her.
If the scent a moment ago had been sweet, what I felt now was the cool floral scent of pure wildflowers.
‘She is skilled.’
What was most surprising was that every action and every tone she spoke in were far too natural.
As if everything had been decided and was flowing according to its proper course.
So long as a man was aware that he was a man, she was a woman he could not help but be drawn to.
I would have been the same.
‘If I had not known who she was.’
Smiling gently, she signaled to a servant with her eyes and received an invitation card.
Like her palace dress, it was red silk embroidered with golden thread.
“Will you accept this girl’s wish to know you a little better, Young Master?”
The invitation card, offered by a white hand like rice cake, was extended toward me.
“Brother Jin…….”
Wang So-so, who had suddenly tried to interrupt, bit her lip in frustration at Jeong So-eul’s relaxed gaze.
She must have realized that carelessly interrupting without the other party’s consent was an undignified act.
I withdrew my gaze from Wang So-so and looked at Jeong So-eul.
“Miss Jeong…….”
“Please call me Younger Sister Eul.”
Not a chance.
“……Miss Jeong. There is one thing I wish to ask.”
Although I deliberately did not change how I addressed her, she did not frown in the slightest.
“What is it?”
“Is this invitation something Miss Jeong is sending personally, or is it being sent in the name of the Silver River Merchant Guild?”
“Ho ho. Is there a difference depending on that?”
“Of course there is.”
“…….”
For an instant, embarrassment appeared on Jeong So-eul’s face, then quickly vanished.
“Hmm…… This girl does not know. Would you tell me?”
“If this is an invitation sent personally, I will refuse it. If it was sent through the Silver River Merchant Guild, then Wang So-so has already refused it, so there is no need for me to accept it.”
“……!”
Both Jeong So-eul’s and Wang So-so’s eyes widened.
Seeing them like this, they looked like two rabbits who had simultaneously seen a tiger and been startled.
“……A-are you saying you will refuse either way?”
Perhaps this was the first time Jeong So-eul had been refused like this, for she could not hide her bewilderment.
“May I ask why…….”
She began to ask, then soon closed her mouth.
It was plainly visible that her mind was working to determine how the current situation was unfolding.
I did not give her any more time and moved.
“Then I will take my leave.”
When I walked ahead first, Wang So-so stuck her tongue out at Jeong So-eul, then followed me with a triumphant expression.
Why did you look happier than I did?
“Brother Jin!”
Wang So-so, who had stuck close to me, whispered softly.
“As expected, my eyes were not wrong. As expected, there is no one but Brother Jin.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, so I almost asked, but stopped.
There were few acts more cruel than whispering in front of someone who had just been rejected.
For some reason, I felt a heated gaze on the back of my head.
After entering the office, I told Father and Estate Master Wang about what had just happened.
But their reaction was a little strange.
“So-un, my friend…… as expected, Wang Estate is something you should…….”
“Father!”
“Ahem…… I am sorry. In any case, Tae-san. Did you not tell him?”
“…….”
A complicated silence seemed to pass between the three of them, as though something else had happened.
“……I did not want to make him worry unnecessarily.”
At Father’s plain words, Estate Master Wang shook his head.
“Honestly…….”
“Has something happened?”
“Well…… if something has happened, then something has happened.”
As the Great Heaven Merchant Guild expanded into Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, the number of goods it needed to supply increased, but that process was not going smoothly.
Most of those who visited Hangzhou for sightseeing were the children of High Officials and Nobles or people of high status.
Goods that suited their standards were usually manufactured in Hebei.
However, most of Hebei’s artisans either belonged to the Silver River Merchant Guild or to merchant guilds related to it, so without the Silver River Merchant Guild’s permission, the goods could not be brought in directly.
“Of course, since the Silver River Merchant Guild also needs grain and silk from Jiangnan, we decided on an equivalent exchange. Yet they have not actually stamped the contract and have only been dragging things out.”
“Does the Silver River Merchant Guild have another route to receive grain or silk?”
Estate Master Wang nodded.
“Not as much as Jiangnan, but they have supply networks in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Hunan as well.”
The Silver River Merchant Guild’s main trading partner was Wang Estate.
But after realizing that Wang Estate needed luxury goods because of the Great Heaven Merchant Guild, they had presented another condition.
“It must be related to the invitation card that woman brought earlier.”
“The Silver River Merchant Guild is celebrating the one hundred eightieth anniversary of its founding. They said they are gathering people to display martial arts there.”
If songs and dances were essential to ordinary banquets, then what forces as great as the Silver River Merchant Guild always displayed alongside them was their influence.
They wished to boast of how strong their power was.
As a condition of the contract, the Silver River Merchant Guild was demanding that I attend the banquet.
“So they want me to come and dance to liven up the atmosphere.”
The easiest way to display one’s influence was to show an outstanding person moving according to one’s will.
From a martial artist’s perspective, displaying one’s martial arts in front of countless people was nothing short of humiliating.
The sight of an impressive person coming and performing tricks would certainly be enough to show influence.
“The Silver River Merchant Guild has a close relationship with Shaolin. In particular, that family’s second son is also from the Academy. You must have heard of him. Jeong So-gun.”
I nodded.
A record of him rising to the level of Great Hall Master had remained in Mantongbu.
“I know of Meteor Spear Jeong So-gun as well.”
Moreover, if I were to display some clumsy martial arts in a place where an outstanding master from the Murim Alliance was present,
‘I would most likely end up humiliated instead.’
To prepare such a stage and issue an invitation.
Their intent was so clear that I almost laughed.
“Once they learned you were the representative of this class, they became even more persistent in their demands.”
Come to think of it, had I not personally received countless invitations as well?
The position of Academy Representative was one that stirred people’s curiosity a great deal.
On top of that, I was the disciple of a tiny sect, so their curiosity would be twice as strong.
‘I found them bothersome, so I threw them all away without even looking.’
It was not strange that such a request had come through Father as well.
“There is no need to worry about it.”
Father spoke firmly.
“Even if we do not sell luxury goods, we are making enough profit. You do not need to step into a place you do not want to attend.”
Although Father said that, I thought a little differently.
“No, why not?”
“Hm?”
“How much profit remains from luxury goods? Why should we give that up just to protect a bit of pride?”
“…….”
“I want to build a pond in every hall of Taeul Sect.”
“Earlier you said that was an absurd waste of money…….”
Father looked as though he had been betrayed.
“Of course, if we do not have money, then it is an absurd waste. But if we have more than enough, then it becomes leisure, does it not?”
Father’s expression stiffened as he asked me,
“So…… you are saying you will go?”
Was that not obvious?
I immediately nodded.
“Of course. It is a place where money can be earned. I would go twice, no, even five times.”
The profit of luxury goods could not be compared to that of manufactured goods.
Necessities were swayed by cost efficiency, but rich bastards were madmen who thought their pride was crumpled if the price was low.
I could guarantee this, having diligently wiped the bottoms of the children of high-flying families in the Murim Alliance.
The more expensive something was, the more these bastards lost their minds and rushed toward it.
It was quite literally a matter of picking up money while swimming with one’s feet touching the ground.
And I was supposed to refuse this for the sake of some petty pride?
‘Moreover, this event probably is not merely an invitation meant to help the Silver River Merchant Guild save face.’
They had sent their precious daughter, cherished like gold and jade, just to invite the disciple of a sect barely larger than a speck of snot.
Even though they must have expected that if I refused, their dignity would be greatly damaged.
Of course, I did not know whether this was the Guild Master’s idea or Jeong So-eul’s.
‘Jeong So-eul herself did not seem to have expected she would be refused in the first place.’
The problem was that she had visited at night, not during the day when many people’s eyes would be present.
If Jeong So-eul had truly been confident in herself, she would have come during the day.
But she came at night.
In the end, I had to assume that her moving at night contained another person’s scheme.
‘They calculated even the possibility that I would refuse.’
Even in the smallest details, I could sense the gloomy nature unique to those in power.
Even if I let this pass now, similar things would likely continue happening.
After all, an awl protruding from a pouch bothered both ordinary men and saints alike.
If I was going to suffer this bothersome matter anyway, it was better for me to strike first.
At the very least, if I struck first, I could see the opponent’s opening first.
As I was briefly lost in other thoughts, Estate Master Wang’s voice reached me.
“As expected…… that mad obsession with money. Even the ruthless mind that will not choose means or methods for the sake of its goal.”
For some reason, Estate Master Wang was looking at me with hazy eyes.
“As expected, what flows inside your body is not the blood of a martial artist, but the blood of a merchant! Would you truly not consider becoming a merchant?”
He was not mocking me as a bastard mad for money, was he?
I specifically instructed them not to answer the invitation first.
For now, I had expressed my refusal to Jeong So-eul’s face, so answering immediately would not fit the situation.
‘And this is also an opportunity to see how persistent they are.’
I told them to wait for another invitation before answering, so we could see how much attention they were paying to us.
[What if no more invitations come?]
Father asked that question, but I shrugged.
If it did not come, then it did not come.
Father was far too rigid in matters like this.
The next day, after meeting Baek Hae-gwang, fainting once, and waking up, I saw a strange sight in the training ground on my way to meet Jang Do-won as promised.
Not only Sa-ryeon but also the Gold-Silver-Copper brothers seemed to be teaching Taeul Sect’s junior disciples, but the contents were a little strange.
“Listen carefully! Eldest Senior Brother said that this Moving Circulation is the only hope that will save your lives in any situation.”
“Eldest Senior Brother said that Jianghu is a place where you can lose your life if you relax for even a single moment! From what I have experienced, that is most certainly true!”
“Eldest Senior Brother said that only by training thoroughly and training again can you barely use it once in actual combat!”
“You must listen well to Eldest Senior Brother! If you listen well, you can always survive!”
Leaving aside the fact that they were instilling a strange fantasy about me, they were describing Jianghu far too terrifyingly and frightening the children.
‘If they do this, the children will become frightened and run away instead…….’
Just as I was about to enter the training ground to tell them to take it moderately,
“““Yes! We will keep it in mind!”””
……The answer came back in a thunderous roar.
“…….”
What was this? The children were taking it seriously too.
“From now on, I will correct your Minor Heaven Sword Art from the beginning. Whoever is prepared, step forward!”
At Geum-pyo’s words, the junior disciples began rushing forward, with no one wanting to be second.
I wondered whether I should stop them, then turned away.
It felt excessive, but it was better than being insufficient.
They would handle it well on their own.
I headed straight for the smithy.
It was a large smithy created by tearing down and expanding part of Taeul Sect’s original building and wall.
We had even made a stall counter so Jang Do-won could conduct business whenever he wished, but Jang Do-won himself had blocked off the whole counter.
“It seems you do not have much work. Seeing you resting like this…….”
Before I could finish speaking, Jang Do-won grabbed sand from the ground and threw it at me.
I quickly dodged with Taeul Eighty-Thousand Divine Steps.
“No, why are you throwing sand at a person?”
“A person? Are you a person? A person must have a conscience! How is a bastard without a conscience a person?”
“Come now, it was only a joke.”
“A jooooke? You call asking me to make a weapon in half a year, when I had not even lit the smithy fire yet, a jooooke?”
But there truly had been no helping it.
When I knew the Demonic Cult bastards were operating in secret throughout Jianghu, and I had gathered all the materials for the Red Radiance Sword, how could I wait for it to be made according to the original history?
Moreover, Jang Do-won had created the Red Radiance Sword in half a year in my previous life.
Well, the present him did not know that fact.
I deliberately pretended to watch his reaction and spoke.
“There was no helping it, Elder. For the sake of Jianghu’s peace…….”
“……Tsk.”
Seeing Jang Do-won click his tongue with a frown made unease spread through me.
Could it be that he failed to make it?
In any case, in my previous life, Jang Do-won had created the Fifteen Divine Weapons with his grudge against the Demonic Cult poured into them.
Since he did not yet have that grudge now, perhaps he could not make it—
THUD-
“……!”
Contrary to my expectations, Jang Do-won tossed out a long object wrapped in cloth.
“I will not ask where you obtained that ominous object. Still, it would be best to use it carefully. It is certainly not an object of the mortal world.”
The ominous object he spoke of was surely the Blood Sea Jade.
Now the remaining question was whether he had digested it well, just as in my previous life…….
Gulp.
With a tense heart, I slowly unwrapped the cloth.