Chapter 127: A Thief Feels Guilty on His Own
Silence fell over the hall.
The merchants glanced at General Manager Yoo of the Myriad Gold Manor, then turned to
Jin Seong-un’s face before finally settling their eyes on the split corpse of Song Jae-mun.
Some of them even gagged. No matter how hardened a merchant might be, for one who wasn’t a martial artist, the sight was shocking enough.
Jin Seong-un walked forward with a calm demeanor.
The two guards of the Myriad Gold Manor, who had tried to protect Song Jae-mun, blocked his path.
They glared at Jin Seong-un. It was hard for them to erase the humiliation of being disgraced in front of everyone.
“What is it.”
Jin Seong-un asked in a plain tone.
The two guards then raised their auras, pressing down on Jin Seong-un.
Rumble—!
When the two martial artists, both at the Peak Master Level, deliberately released their qi, the air around them quivered.
A glimmer of intrigue flashed across Jin Seong-un’s eyes.
It was clear that the Myriad Gold Manor was far above the level of an ordinary trading company.
White Cloud Sword Hyeon-un, Tang Tae-san, Seomun Jeok, the White Sword Hall Master of the Murim Alliance, the Vice Leader of Deathshroud, the Vice Leader of the Heavenly Poison Alliance Sa Ryeong-geuk, the Southern Black Lotus Lord Jo Rae-ak…
So far, every Peak Master he had encountered belonged to the highest echelons of great Murim powers that represented their era.
For a single trading company’s general manager to keep two Peak Masters as bodyguards was deeply impressive.
“Guest Dragon. Do you take us for a joke?”
One guard asked.
The tension in the hall grew taut.
Since none of them were martial artists, the merchants grew pale and instinctively stepped back.
“I only did what had to be done.”
Jin Seong-un replied indifferently.
That only made the guards’ aura more violent.
Yet Jin Seong-un stood calmly, enduring their oppressive presence.
He looked as though he would fight without hesitation if they drew their blades first.
It was then—
“Enough.”
A low and firm voice rang out.
Though it held no qi at all, the words immediately dispersed the oppressive aura of the two Peak Masters.
At the command of General Manager Yoo, the guards still glared at Jin Seong-un but stepped aside.
Jin Seong-un shrugged and walked casually between them.
General Manager Yoo Won-ho of the Myriad Gold Manor watched Jin Seong-un with disbelief.
He wondered where such a man had suddenly appeared from.
He recalled the report given by his Inner General Manager, Jang Ji-hyeon, right after visiting Deyang for matters with the Hwa-un Trading Company.
— Take the Seong-un Inn of Yichang under your wing.
When Yoo had first heard that, he couldn’t hide his bafflement. How could the Myriad Gold Manor, the greatest trading company in the world, take an inn under its wing?
‘But now I understand.’
The Inner General Manager hadn’t meant the inn itself, but rather its owner. Yoo didn’t know how events had unfolded afterward.
But now, seeing Guest Dragon with his own eyes, he thought the advice had been reasonable.
After collecting his thoughts for a moment, General Manager Yoo chuckled softly.
“Guest Dragon, and Master of the Hwa-un Trading Company. Are the two of you declaring yourselves enemies of the entire Central Plains merchants’ world?”
Jin Seong-un merely glanced at him and ignored the question. As an innkeeper, talk of the “merchants’ world” meant little to him.
The one to respond was Hwa Yeon-seol.
“To call it making enemies of the merchants’ world… you speak as if the Myriad Gold Manor is both the beginning and the end of it.”
“Haha, don’t twist my words. Do you think I acted out of fondness for Escort Master Song? It was only that, in a gathering of merchants, we should not let brute force dictate all matters. The two of you refused that.”
With a few words, General Manager Yoo twisted the situation so that Jin Seong-un and Hwa
Yeon-seol looked as though they had rejected the merchants’ world itself.
Indeed, the sight of Song Jae-mun’s body split in two made it appear that Jin Seong-un had resolved the matter through sheer force alone.
Hwa Yeon-seol answered with a subtle smile.
“A merchant buys and sells trust. And merchants of Sichuan especially never forget gratitude and grudges. That is all. The interpretation belongs to each person.”
General Manager Yoo smiled faintly.
That little girl had grown enough to parry his words with her own.
His gaze shifted again. Pressuring Guest Dragon and Hwa Yeon-seol further seemed meaningless.
So instead, he pointed to Oh Jeong-san and asked,
“Chairman Oh. As the host of this Merchant Festival, what do you think?”
Oh Jeong-san’s response would be quite important.
His words would, in effect, represent the festival.
If he sided with the Myriad Gold Manor, Jin Seong-un and the Hwa-un Trading Company would be painted as reckless aggressors.
If he sided with Jin Seong-un, debates would inevitably flare up within the merchants’ world for some time.
Of course, siding with the latter meant offending the Myriad Gold Manor, the so-called King of Merchants.
Thus, most expected Oh Jeong-san to give an ambiguous answer, or perhaps lean slightly toward supporting the Manor.
Even with his personal connection to Guest Dragon, that would have been the rational choice.
But those who knew Oh Jeong-san better thought differently.
“The bastard who deserved to die, died well. Let’s continue the festival.”
“……”
Everyone blinked in surprise, and even General Manager Yoo looked momentarily dumbfounded.
Oh Jeong-san merely shrugged as though nothing was wrong.
Those who had expected him to side with the Myriad Gold Manor were merchants to the bone.
They failed to consider one thing.
Oh Jeong-san was not a pure merchant.
If anything, he was half-merchant, half-warrior.
His foundation lay in the Wudang Sect.
And his teacher was none other than White Cloud Sword Hyeon-un, one of the Wudang Seven Masters.
Moreover, that very Hyeon-un had already marked Jin Seong-un as his prospective disciple.
Even if it was only Hyeon-un’s unilateral wish…
For that reason alone, Oh Jeong-san had no choice but to stand on Jin Seong-un’s side, no matter what he did.
Oh Jeong-san now gazed steadily at General Manager Yoo, his eyes saying it all:
‘So what? It’s not like you want to pick a fight with the Wudang Sect.’
Even for the Myriad Gold Manor, that would not be an easy decision.
In sheer scale, the Manor might surpass Wudang, but martial artists were blade-wielding madmen.
Their history stretched back centuries, they had nearly a thousand such madmen, and they were one of the strongest factions of the era.
No one in the world could take Wudang lightly.
Oh Jeong-san spoke again.
“Since you’re here, why not enjoy the festival with us? It would be an honor for the Merchant Festival to host two of the Ten Great Trading Companies for the first time.”
“Haha…”
General Manager Yoo only laughed quietly, as though finding the situation absurd. Everyone watched him.
After laughing for quite a while, General Manager Yoo finally spoke.
“That would be good, but unfortunately I have many matters to attend to. I wish you all good fortune.”
With that, General Manager Yoo turned and left the grounds. His guards vanished into the shadows as well, and the merchants’ eyes rolled about restlessly.
During the brief silence, Hwa Yeon-seol spoke.
“Today, the Hwa-un Trading Company will pay for the wine.”
Everyone turned to look at Hwa Yeon-seol.
Their expressions were complicated. As expected of merchants, each seemed to be running countless calculations in their heads.
With the departure of the General Manager of the Myriad Gold Manor, though the Hwa-un Trading Company was still far inferior compared to the Manor, it was nonetheless one of the Ten Great Trading Companies of the world.
As each merchant calculated what would be most profitable as a businessman, Hwa Yeon-seol’s simple words helped guide their thoughts.
“Send the bill for the drinks you’ve had tonight to the Hwa-un Trading Company after seven days and nights.”
In other words, those who remained here would be able to establish ties with the Hwa-un Trading Company.
The merchants’ eyes sparkled as they exchanged glances.
It was no longer a matter of choosing between the Myriad Gold Manor or the Hwa-un Trading Company.
No matter how great the Manor was, it would not go so far as to record the names of everyone who stayed at the Merchant Festival and take revenge one by one. Such actions would only harm the Manor’s reputation.
Thus, only one outcome remained.
This Merchant Festival was a golden opportunity to engage directly with the Hwa-un Trading
Company, which had secured ties with the Tang Clan of Sichuan and was now destined for a brilliant future.
Only a handful of merchants, bound by strong loyalty to the Myriad Gold Manor, withdrew, while the rest approached Hwa Yeon-seol with smiling faces.
“I hear the prestige of the Hwa-un Trading Company is now soaring to cover the heavens themselves!”
“As its name suggests, the flower of Sichuan is blooming splendidly…”
Most of the merchants participating in the festival were aligned with the Orthodox Faction.
For decades, the Hwa-un Trading Company had dealt mostly with the Unorthodox Faction, so for these merchants, the present situation was nothing short of a golden chance.
They flattered Hwa Yeon-seol, their tongues dripping with oil.
In their minds, Song Jae-mun and the Jo-yang Escort Agency had already long been forgotten.
Such was the nature of merchants.
.
.
.
While Hwa Yeon-seol was dealing with the merchants, Jin Seong-un stepped aside. He walked over to the man who had split Song Jae-mun in half, still standing there blankly.
“How do you feel.”
At Jin Seong-un’s question, the man just stared silently at the blade in his hand.
He could not easily answer. He could not even tell what his feelings were.
If he had to put it into words, he felt good. After all, he had finally achieved ten years of vengeance with his own hands.
Yet at the same time, a strange feeling arose. It wasn’t guilt or self-reproach. As Oh
Jeong-san had said, a bastard who deserved to die had simply died.
Instead, it was a faint sense of emptiness. And perhaps the strange realization that what had taken him ten years of desperate effort and nearly his life had been something another man achieved with ease.
This was natural.
When an old goal was suddenly fulfilled, people often felt this way.
It was especially true when revenge had become one’s entire life.
Once accomplished, life itself suddenly felt empty and uncertain.
As he examined each emotion one by one, the man finally came to a conclusion.
“I feel good.”
Despite it all, the joy of having achieved his revenge outweighed everything else.
The other strange emotions were simply things he would resolve in time.
He bowed toward Jin Seong-un with a clasped-hands salute. Though he had lived ten years with a sword, he was no martial artist, so the gesture was clumsy.
“Thank you. Because of you, I was able to avenge my family, my escort agency, and myself.”
Jin Seong-un nodded.
Not just for the man’s sake, but because he thought that Song Jae-mun was destined to be cut down by someone sooner or later.
There were no eternal secrets in this world.
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
Jin Seong-un asked casually.
The man furrowed his brow and thought.
“I plan to go to Uiseong first, to pay my respects at the graves of my brothers and subordinates. I must tell them of Song Jae-mun’s death.”
“And after that?”
“Well…”
The man thought for a long while, yet no clear answer came.
Settling back in Uiseong would mean living only with lingering attachments. Starting another escort agency was impossible—he had neither the money nor the strength.
Becoming a martial artist, perhaps a wandering swordsman, was also beyond his reach.
And simply waiting idly for death was unthinkable; he was still too young.
It was a situation without answers.
Taking his silence as an answer, Jin Seong-un spoke lightly, emphasizing that he had no hidden intentions.
“Yichang is a very fine place to live.”
“Yichang…”
The man thought of Yichang for a moment.
He had been there before but wasn’t familiar with the town. Then he suddenly remembered that Guest Dragon’s inn was there.
“Ah, the Seong-un Inn.”
“That’s right. A man needs work of some kind, does he not? If you have nothing for now, I can arrange something. Just take it lightly, work a little, and slowly think about your future.”
The man’s eyes trembled slightly as he looked at Jin Seong-un. He had no experience working in an inn.
But having been a porter, an escort, an escort leader, and even an escort master, it was clear he could handle anything given to him.
Jin Seong-un thought the man needed a comfortable place to rest for the time being. He needed time to slowly heal his long-worn emotions. For a new life.
And very coincidentally, the Seong-un Inn was the perfect place.
Everyone there was good.
Moreover, an inn, being a place that faced many guests, was full of diverse emotions and encounters.
It had warm food and comfortable beds…
This wasn’t about needing “skilled manpower.” It was truly for the man’s sake. Truly.
“Ahem.”
As the saying goes, a thief feels guilty on his own, Jin Seong-un let out a needless cough. And not just a thief—he was the disciple of the greatest thief in history, which made it all the more fitting.