Chapter 187: v8c12 - Dual Frontline
Volume 8 Chapter 12 – Dual Frontline
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The general manager of the Lee Family’s merchant group—the Eternal Tile Merchant Group—dropped his head.
“…I will sell our merchant group to the Eldest Young Master.”
Sangwan Nan-hwa, with an expression that said ‘as expected,’ pointed to a blank space on the document.
“Write your name here, seal it, and stamp the merchant group’s seal and your thumbprint.”
“…No.”
At her words, the general manager of the Eternal Tile Merchant Group shook his head.
“Before that, we must clarify the amount.”
“Oh, you are right.”
Sangwan Nan-hwa, who had subtly tried to get it for free, smiled as if she had made a mistake.
“Would this amount be enough?”
Checking the amount written on the slip of paper she pulled from her bosom, the general manager jumped up from his seat.
“T-This is absurd! This kind of amount is merely the price of a single large inn located in the bustling streets of Luoyang! To think you are trying to acquire this giant merchant group for such a measly sum…!”
His eyes were bloodshot, and he frothed at the mouth.
“You said you would pay a proper price, but isn’t this action no different from that of an outright highway robber?! No matter how much our Lee Family’s fortunes have waned, rather than handing it over to the Eldest Young Master, who is no different from an enemy, at such a price, I would rather…!”
Sangwan Nan-hwa smiled brightly.
“Rather?”
“Rather….”
He could not continue.
Was it not because he had absolutely no other choice that he was enduring this humiliation now?
The Eternal Tile Merchant Group at present was nothing more than a giant but helpless beast exposing its dripping fat and meat.
There was no way anyone would pay a proper price to acquire the Eternal Tile Merchant Group.
“Certainly, this amount is ridiculously small to be called the sale price of the Eternal Tile Merchant Group.”
Looking at his dazed expression, Sangwan Nan-hwa tapped on the table.
“But what if we think of it this way?”
Lifting his unfocused gaze, he looked at Sangwan Nan-hwa.
“If you think of this sum as someone’s ‘funds for living in exile abroad,’ it is an amount that allows one to enjoy a very affluent life.”
A meaningful smile hung on her face.
“As you said, this amount is indeed enough to purchase a large inn in the bustling district of this giant city of Luoyang.” “…….”
His contemplation was not long.
There was no reason to sink along with a sinking ship.
The thought that it was now his turn to receive the reward for his devotion to the family thus far flashed through his mind.
“…You will guarantee my safety, right? Since you might need a witness to this transaction later.”
“How about the prosperous Eastern Kingdom? Or the warm-year-round State of Yue is also possible, as is the peaceful land of Xizang.
“If the adventurous spirit of your youth still remains, you could cross the ocean to the New World, or go to see for yourself the power possessed by the great powers of Europe.”
She wore a bright smile as if a flower were blooming.
* * *
“To think we acquired this giant merchant group, which connected Jiangnan and Luoyang by land, for just a single person’s exile funds…!”
Yi-ryeong looked back and forth between the documents related to the Eternal Tile Merchant Group and Sangwan Nan-hwa with sparkling eyes.
“This much is nothing. It was possible because the Representative paved all the roads.”
“Hehe. As expected, right? The ability of my master, the Eldest Young Master, is the best in the world…”
At Sangwan Nan-hwa’s modest words, Yi-ryeong, who for some reason was raising her nose and shrugging her shoulders, paused.
“Oh? Come to think of it…”
She asked Sangwan Nan-hwa.
“Even if Master owns this merchant group, wouldn’t it be difficult for this business, whose core is traversing Evil Tyrant Heaven’s territory, to operate properly?”
In fact, beyond being difficult to operate properly, it was close to impossible.
Sangwan Nan-hwa nodded with a gentle smile.
“That is true. Therefore, from here on, it is a realm that must be left to the Representative.”
She strictly sealed the documents and handed them over to a branch-manager-level figure of the Crescent Moon Pavilion who was waiting.
“Ah?! Does that mean I won’t be able to see for myself what becomes of this Eternal Tile Merchant Group?!”
At Yi-ryeong’s words, which sounded close to a lament, Sangwan Nan-hwa smiled brightly.
“Instead! Since we saved a lot of operation funds this time, I’m planning to additionally acquire promising businesses with that starting now…”
“Great! Wonderful! Let’s set off right away!”
The branch manager of the Crescent Moon Pavilion left behind the excited Yi-ryeong and Sangwan Nan-hwa, who burst into laughter.
For them, they had their war.
For him, he had his own war.
He once again firmly secured the sealed documents in his bosom. “…….”
That sight was altogether solemn.
The counterattack against the Crescent Moon Pavilion by the Second Young Master’s information organization, the Great Immortal Merchant Group, was growing fierce.
It would not be strange if he suddenly lost his life at any time and in any manner by getting caught in the Great Immortal Merchant Group’s espionage net. “…….”
He went down to the street and blended into the crowd.
‘Quickly, secretly, accurately, and safely.’
He reciting the most fundamental rules, he enhanced his senses to the maximum.
He must not draw up his Qi perception.
He had to utilize only his naturally sharp and polished senses.
It was because the ‘enemies’ who were sensitive to Qi could easily notice him. “…….”
It was when he, after passing a specific point on a rickshaw that had been waiting in advance, was moving toward the next point on a ferryboat via a small waterway.
The boatman, who had been silently rowing without any questions or conversation, coughed up blood. “……!”
The arrowhead that pierced through the chest of the collapsing boatman glistened, soaked in blood.
‘Dammit, it’s the enemy!’
They were clearly agents of the Great Immortal Merchant Group, or specialists commissioned by them.
There was no time to think now about through what path the enemies had grasped his movements.
‘First, escape—!’
He instinctively bounced his body to leave the ferryboat using movement technique, but then froze.
The experience he had accumulated as an agent and his sharp Qi perception were issuing a clear warning.
At that moment, the enemies shot up all at once from the water, which was opaque due to filth.
It was a surprise attack by those who had mastered uncommon water cultivation arts.
‘The enemies are five.’
No way out could be seen.
In that brief moment when the enemies soared from the water and hovered in the air, blocking the sun.
The branch manager steeled his resolve.
‘Until the reinforcements arrive, I will give up an arm or a leg…!’
Just as he prepared for a desperate resistance and tried to pull out a signal flare, a telepathic transmission flew into his ears.
[Hey, Crescent Moon Pavilion agent kid, duck.]
He immediately threw his body down as the transmission instructed.
Then, two of the enemies who were pouncing on him froze abruptly in midair as if caught in a spiderweb.
Their heads were gripped, one in each of the two hands that had broken through the wall of the building on the left side of the waterway.
Those were arms so long they could only be described as deformed.
“Khh…!”
“M-Mph!”
Before those who were grabbed could even attempt to resist, their heads were shattered along with a cracking sound.
As the two headless corpses fell into the water, scattering blood, the remaining three enemies were also losing their lives and falling into the water together like logs.
Every single one of them was spraying blood from their napes, with exactly one vertebra missing from their cervical spines.
The enemies’ corpses fell into the water, kicking up a large splash.
“…Who are you?!”
The startled branch manager, who raised his head at that sound, could see the owner of the deformedly long arms.
He revealed himself, moving like a spider through the narrow gaps between the buildings by an unknown method.
He was a man with a slender torso and deformedly long limbs.
“The Silent One of Sichuan…!”
The eccentric who was also called The Bizarre and Strange, who had widely spread his name in the past as the worst assassin produced by the Sichuan Tang Family.
Following the Red Venom Spider, Tang Baek, Tang Ye-rin, and Elder Gwak, he was the last person among the closest aides of the Fourth Young Master, Yeon Bi.
“To think you took care of three while this seat dealt with two…”
The man, whose face was covered with a hood, was looking behind the branch manager with furrowed eyes instead of at him.
“This seat has never heard of an assassin like you. What on earth is your identity?”
Turning his head at his words and gaze, the branch manager was startled out of wits.
“……?!”
It was because there was the figure of a woman standing behind him without making any presence.
“Hmm…”
Makeup close to disguise.
Wearing clothes so beautiful that it was hard to miss them, she—Seo Rim-cheong—let out a nasal hum and wore a fishy smile.
“The Bizarre and Strange. I wonder about an assassin having a widely known name~. Doesn’t fame only raise the target’s level of vigilance and not really help with a successful assassination~?”
Throwing the three vertebrae she held in her hand behind her back, she tilted her head in an annoying manner.
“Rather than being called an assassin, is it not more like you are a propaganda tool created by the Tang Family’s system to spread terror~?”
It was a sharp-edged sarcasm, completely different from her gentle tone.
It was a comment typical of her, who did not recognize anyone other than herself as a proper assassin.
“What?”
Murderous intent burst forth like a raging wave from The Bizarre and Strange, the Silent One of Sichuan.
He, who had been hanging on the wall, leaped and landed on the ferryboat.
The branch manager instinctively lowered his body in preparation for the small ferryboat to wobble.
But surprisingly, far from shaking, the ferryboat remained perfectly serene.
“…Why don’t you say that again to this seat’s face?”
Making a cracking sound from his long neck, The Bizarre and Strange bent down and thrust his face close to Seo Rim-cheong’s.
“Oh my~ thrusting your head first at a lady. You’re a man who lacks not only skill but also manners~.”
At Seo Rim-cheong’s words, The Bizarre and Strange’s teeth ground together with a grating sound.
Having the murderous intent of the two poured over him right next to them, the branch manager of the Crescent Moon Pavilion felt as if his body had frozen solid.
“The two of you getting along so well is very nice to see.”
Just then, a girl poked her face out from the roof of the building beside the waterway along with a sarcastic voice.
She spoke to the two assassins who were engaged in a war of nerves.
“If the two of you afford yourselves the leisure to socialize during a mission like that.”
She was Sam-ryeong, one of the triplet maids.
Having eliminated all the enemies on the rooftop, she had revealed herself.
“My master, who will receive the report later, will be very pleased, won’t he?”
Her mentioning of Yeon So-hyeon became a more definitive control mechanism for the actions of the two assassins than anything else.
“Tch.”
“Hmph.”
Clicking his tongue, The Bizarre and Strange showed a bizarre movement just like his name and disappeared through the narrow gap between the buildings.
In that brief moment the branch manager of the Crescent Moon Pavilion looked at the girl on the roof, Seo Rim-cheong also vanished like a lie with a snort.
“Up we go!”
Sam-ryeong jumped down from the rooftop and stood on the ferryboat.
The ferryboat swayed slightly.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know in advance.”
“Pardon?”
The branch manager of the Crescent Moon Pavilion took the hand she held out and stood up.
Showing a smile as if feeling apologetic, Sam-ryeong explained to him.
“Actually, it was our side that leaked the information that the branch manager was delivering important documents.”
With those words alone, the branch manager could realize the full picture of the incident.
“…So I was the bait to lure the enemies.”
Deliberately exposing important real information to make the enemies in the shadows show themselves, and then devouring them.
He did not feel surprised or betrayed by the Lord of the Crescent Moon Pavilion or the Eldest Young Master for not telling him this plan.
In this field of the information industry, things always happen behind someone’s back.
Today, it was just that things were carried out behind his back.
Furthermore, far from being abandoned, had he not rather received reliable reinforcements?
“Yes, exactly. I am Sam-ryeong, who, along with the two uncooperative personnel just now, constitutes the special strike force against the Great Immortal Merchant Group.”
“Ah, I am…”
Just as he was about to introduce himself, she vaulted away.
[Now! Run to the destination! Our special task force will handle all the gathering enemies.]
He silently nodded and began running toward the destination along the shortest route.
Although hunting hounds released by the enemies popped out along the path he ran, he simply concentrated on his movement technique.
A long hand protruding from a narrow window, and a woman who had taken the enemy’s back before anyone knew it, appeared and then vanished.
No one could block his path.
* * *
Luoyang, somewhere in the bustling district.
“I greet the Eldest Young Master.”
The branch manager offered the documents he had received from Sangwan Nan-hwa to the Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon.
Receiving those sealed documents, Yeon So-hyeon’s gaze rested on him for a moment.
“Thank you. You have worked hard.”
“…No. It was merely a mission.”
Patting him on the shoulder, the Eldest Young Master rummaged through a nearby drawer and offered him a small item.
“It is nothing much, but I hope it helps with your rest.”
“Thank you.”
Bowing politely, he exited the pavilion and headed toward the back alley.
Once out of other people’s sight, he immediately slumped down right there in the alley.
“Phew…”
He unwrapped the item he had received from the Eldest Young Master.
What revealed itself inside the silk packaging was a top-grade cigarette.
From the faint smell coming from his body, it seemed the Eldest Young Master had noticed that he was a smoker.
Leaning against the wall, he chuckled, put the cigarette in his mouth, and lit it with a portable flint device.
“Tastes awesome.”
While the attention of everyone in Luoyang was focused on the Lee Family falling into ruin by Yeon So-hyeon.
Behind the scenes, there was a war between the Eldest Young Master’s Crescent Moon Pavilion and the Second Young Master’s Great Immortal Merchant Group.
That war had been proceeding without a moment’s rest from the very moment the Eldest Young Master climbed Mount Beimang until now.
Moreover, in terms of its scale, the Great Immortal Merchant Group was a far larger opponent than the Crescent Moon Pavilion.
“…Good.”
Enjoying a brief moment of leisure by blowing out long trails of smoke a couple of times, he raised his body.
And leaving a long tail of smoke behind, he disappeared toward the other side of the alley.
It was time to return to his battlefield.
* * *
The merchant group of the Lee Family, and the last remaining strength of the Lee Family.
Checking the documents containing all ownership rights of the Eternal Tile Merchant Group, a smile hung on Yeon So-hyeon’s face.
The problem was that he could not operate this giant merchant group connecting Jiangnan, which was Evil Tyrant Heaven’s territory, and Luoyang, but that did not matter.
Was that not why he had arranged this gathering?
When he opened the door and entered, the spacious and luxurious interior was filled with tobacco smoke.
“You have all waited long.”
Confirming that everyone’s eyes were focused on him, Yeon So-hyeon smiled.
“Surely everyone brought plenty of bankbills?”
At his joke, the crowd let out a low chuckle.
Since they were agents of merchant groups famous even in the State of Zhongyuan, and if nothing else, they were people overflowing with funds.
“Now then.”
Yeon So-hyeon shook the documents held in his hand.
“As the new owner of the Eternal Tile Merchant Group, this Eldest Young Master will from now on divide the Eternal Tile Merchant Group by region and sell it.”
At his words, everyone, without exception, openly revealed their greed, their eyes flashing.
Everyone present in this place belonged to different competing businesses that vied in the same domain as the Eternal Tile Merchant Group.