Chapter 48 :

Chapter 48. The First Pouch (2)

“Hah! Wha, what is this?”

Father exclaimed in shock.

“The distribution rights of Anxi Tieguanyin, you say?”

At Father’s words, I nodded.

“Yes, it is as you see, Father.”

“Hm……”

“That is why I hesitated whether I should accept it. But he insisted several times, so I had no choice but to take it.”

“……”

Father let out a sigh and spoke.

“It is written here that he would be very disappointed if you refused. There is no helping it. Let us accept it.”

“Understood.”

“Do you have anything more to say?”

“No, Father.”

“Then go and rest. You must be tired.”

“Yes, Father.”

Leaving Father’s office, I immediately headed toward the Finance Pavilion.

Chief Manager Yoo would surely be there.

As I entered the Finance Pavilion, the Pavilion Members greeted me.

“Welcome, young lord.”

“Yes, I have returned safely.”

“Did you arrive today?”

“Just now. I came here right after seeing Father. Chief Manager Yoo is inside, correct?”

“Yes.”

“He is working furiously at the moment. The work piled up like a mountain while he was away.”

Ah! Damn!

I hadn’t thought of that.

I quickly stepped back.

But just then, the office door opened, and Chief Manager Yoo hurriedly ran out toward me.

He grabbed my wrist.

“Young lord, you are here.”

“Ha, hahaha, Chief Manager Yoo……”

“Come in quickly. There is much to be done.”

“But only one shijin remains until the end of the workday.”

“One shijin is more than enough to process the documents.”

“……”

In the end, I had no choice but to be dragged into the office by Chief Manager Yoo.

I should have come later.

.

.

.

One shijin later.

I looked at the pile of documents beside me.

The paperwork I had handled in one shijin was taller than a handspan.

This somehow felt satisfying… no, this is dangerous! Becoming a workaholic already would be troublesome.

Just then, the sound of the drum announcing the end of the day rang out.

I rose from my seat.

“Chief Manager, it is the end of the workday.”

At my words, Chief Manager Yoo replied in a voice full of regret.

“Yes, you may leave.”

He then put down the brush he was holding and asked me.

“Did the matter you went for resolve well?”

“Yes.”

“I too returned safely thanks to Prosperous Escort Agency escorting me well. But seeing as you were delayed, it seems the matter was larger than expected.”

At his words, I nodded.

“Yes. In fact……”

I explained everything to him.

Chief Manager Yoo had every right to hear it. After all, he had been at the center of the incident.

“Haa… so that is what happened. Elder lord must be in much pain.”

“Still, with the hidden forces within the clan swept away, at least the burden on his heart must be lessened.”

As we conversed, I took out a letter from my bosom.

“Please accept this.”

“Yes?”

“It is a letter from the elder lord.”

At the sight of the tightly sealed letter, Chief Manager Yoo’s eyes trembled.

“For me…?”

“Yes.”

He accepted the letter, broke the seal, and read it on the spot.

I did not read the letter.

Even though there are ways to open it without leaving traces, this was a private letter to strengthen the bond between the elder lord and Chief Manager Yoo. I had no desire to peek at it.

After reading, Chief Manager Yoo looked at me.

“Why do you look so troubled?”

“It says here that young lord asked the elder lord for a favor. That I should continue to interact with you in the future……”

“Ah……”

I scratched my cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“That’s right.”

“Thank you.”

At that simple word of gratitude, I smiled faintly.

“So take good care of your health. No matter what, you must live longer than the elder lord, mustn’t you?”

“I shall do so.”

“Then I will take my leave.”

“Yes.”

I turned and left the office. When I glanced back, Chief Manager Yoo was still reading the letter.

He looked truly happy.

Then I should go to my grandfather, mother, and my two elder brothers, to tell them I have returned safely, before heading back to my quarters to rest.

Ah……

Come to think of it, around tomorrow they should arrive here in Sungyang District. I should prepare to receive them.

So then, when do I get to rest?

A sigh escaped me.

I made a resolution.

After avenging myself upon the Murim Alliance, and after Eunhae Merchant Group becomes the greatest merchant group under heaven, I will truly rest.

***

Murim Alliance.

As it was a place that could be called the alliance of orthodox Murim, its scale was immense.

And the one who stood as representative and leader of the orthodox alliance was the Alliance Leader.

The Alliance Leader’s office.

It was peculiar in that face mirrors were arranged in all directions, plastered across the walls.

Other than that, there was nothing special about the office.

The Alliance Leader was receiving a report from his subordinate.

“They say the Zhuge Family has suffered almost no damage.”

“No damage at all?”

“Yes.”

“That cannot be! If the Blood Formation is activated, at least half must perish.”

Vision-Blurring Bewilderment Formation.

That formation was also called the Blood Formation.

Once triggered, it caused a blood calamity of mutual slaughter, turning the area into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

“Our guess is that the elder lord and the family head destroyed the formation faster than expected.”

“Well, since it was the Zhuge Family who created it, if it was their elder lord and family head……”

“Setting up the Blood Formation there was a mistake. We should have thought of another method.”

“At the time, Zhuge Gyeong said he would activate the Blood Formation only after the elder lord and family head were dead, so I allowed it. But why did he trigger it beforehand?”

To the Alliance Leader’s question, his subordinate answered.

“The last report said the elder lord and family head noticed the poisoning attempt. It seems he feared his identity would be exposed if he stayed longer, and so he acted out of anxiety.”

“It is obvious. He feared that fleeing without results would mean no merit to his name, and so he acted as he did.”

“That is also my conjecture. But did Zhuge Gyeong truly not know that triggering the Blood Formation meant death?”

“He did not know. He firmly believed that the formation came from us, not from the Zhuge Family. And we never told him that triggering it would make him the sacrificial victim who dies.”

That was why the plan was to have some disposable pawn, not Zhuge Gyeong himself, activate the formation.

“Tsk tsk, he was of no use to the Alliance. Better that he died quickly. Otherwise, he would have wasted more funds.”

“Indeed.”

“Still, no matter how unscathed the elder lord and family head may be, there is no way they suffered no losses at all……”

“Indeed, I also find it strange. Did they not say that the Blood Formation affects even those with the deepest Internal Energy?”

“Correct. The only way to nullify that formation is with that clan’s Internal Energy.”

“But that clan has already been annihilated.”

“Yes. We killed every last one of them, even the dogs and chickens of that clan.”

As he said this, the Alliance Leader recalled that clan.

It had been a clan renowned for its exceptionally pure and clear Internal Energy.

But they had obstructed his affairs.

So he disguised it as the work of the dark sect and exterminated them.

“The Zhuge Family is a prestigious one. So if it is their elder lord and family head, they would likely have some countermeasure.”

The subordinate carefully asked.

“What shall we do about the Zhuge Family?”

“Leave them be.”

“Pardon?”

“Now that the Blood Formation has been revealed, we must be more cautious ourselves. That foolish bastard ruined the plan.”

He revealed his anger, and the subordinate bowed his head even lower.

“Still, there is no evidence it was us, and having warned them this much, that old man will not act rashly. He treasures his family, so he will not recklessly raise his blade against us.”

The Alliance Leader continued.

“Besides, we cannot afford to pay further attention there. There are plenty of other matters currently in progress.”

“Understood.”

When the subordinate answered, the Alliance Leader nodded and asked.

“Were there any peculiarities regarding that matter?”

“Nothing special. Only, at the time, the elder lord’s retainers were present.”

“Retainers?”

“Yes. Just in case, I investigated. They are a man named Yoo So-Ak, and another named Eun Seoho. Yoo So-Ak is forty-five this year, Chief of Internal Affairs of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Eun Seoho is fifteen this year, the third son of the Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”

“The Eunhae Merchant Group? And where is that from?”

“It is a merchant group based around Hubei Province, mainly dealing in grain, tea, and medicinal ingredients. In the merchant group rankings announced this Winter Solstice, they placed ninety-eighth.”

“So, a place unworthy of our concern.”

“I think so as well.”

“If your report is finished, leave now.”

“Yes.”

The subordinate exited the office, and the Alliance Leader lifted the documents on his desk.

Suddenly, the name Eunhae Merchant Group crossed his mind.

‘I recall hearing it before… ah!’

There had been an attempt to establish a secret branch in the southern part of Hubei Province.

But the House Master of that brothel had botched the task, and the plan ended in failure.

In the end, he had received a report that the brothel had fallen into the hands of a place called the Eunhae Merchant Group.

Both that incident and this one had the name Eunhae Merchant Group surface.

He smirked.

‘What an amusing coincidence.’

At that moment, his eyes glowed red.

‘Tsk!’

Confirming it through the face mirrors placed all around the office, he hurriedly covered his eyes.

***

Hubei Province, Sungyang District.

A group had just arrived there.

Among the seven, men and women both, most were middle-aged.

And surrounding them were twelve warriors in identical garb.

They were escorts of an escort agency, hired to protect them and see them safely here.

Upon arriving at the district office in the north of Sungyang District, the escort leader spoke.

“As requested, we have arrived at Sungyang District’s office.”

At those words, the man who seemed to be the leader of the group replied.

“You have done well.”

“Think nothing of it.”

“Here is the remaining half of the escort fee.”

He took out a pouch from his bosom and handed it over.

Escort fees, unless in very special circumstances, were usually half paid before departure, and the remaining half after safe arrival.

“Please count it.”

“Understood.”

The escort leader counted the money before him, then nodded.

“As expected, it is exact.”

“The virtue of a merchant is accuracy. Though, I am not sure if we can still be called merchants.”

At his words, the escort leader said.

“Since you were the ones who led the Green Jade Merchant Group (綠玉商團), surely you can start again anywhere.”

“We may scrape by, but… the passion of our glory days has already died out……”

A year ago, a bolt from the blue had struck them.

The Merchant Lord of the Green Jade Merchant Group, whom they had served with body and soul, had passed away.

Before his death, he summoned them and left his will. That they should please support his son.

After the Merchant Lord’s death, his son became the new Merchant Lord.

“I am lacking, but please take care of me. And so……”

He energetically pushed forward with various undertakings.

Up to that point, all was fine.

But the problem was that those undertakings were utterly nonsensical.

They were doomed to fail, no matter who looked at them.

They tried to follow the words of the new Merchant Lord, recalling the deceased lord’s will, but in the end, they opposed it.

“This will incur great losses.”

“It does not matter.”

“Must you truly go through with this?”

“I am the Merchant Lord! Me! When Father spoke, you all nodded obediently, yes! yes! But why is it that when I speak, you oppose me at every turn?”

In the end, matters proceeded as the new Merchant Lord commanded.

But the result was as plain as day.

They suffered huge losses.

Yet still, the new Merchant Lord did not acknowledge his fault.

“This is all because you were negligent in your duties! Were you not diligent when Father was alive? Is it because I, a mere youth, have become Merchant Lord, that you look down on me?”

They were wronged.

The Green Jade Merchant Group was the fruit of their lifelong devotion.

Negligent in their duties? They swore to Heaven and Earth that had never been the case.

Neither had they ever disrespected the new Merchant Lord.

But since the new lord insisted he was being looked down upon, they could only feel suffocated.

Thus, the conflicts continued, and the discord only deepened.

Then, a month ago.

The new Merchant Lord summoned them.

And he notified them of their dismissal.

“All of you, leave the merchant group.”

“What?”

“After much thought, I have realized, for the merchant group to be renewed, the people must also be renewed. Would new tea taste good if poured over old, leftover tea?”

They had expected it.

But it felt worse than imagined.

‘Had I known, I should have left when the Merchant Lord passed away.’

It had been the deceased Merchant Lord’s will that bound their feet, and in the end, they were cast out like this.