Chapter 152: Where Did He Run Away To?
Hunan Province Anchaesa’s prison.
When Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom maintained an indifferent attitude, the constable watching them banged his club against the bars and said.
“You brats think you can rely on your pitiful martial skills, but martial artists are still nothing more than subjects leeching off the country. This is the time for you to properly learn the fear of the authorities……”
Smack-!
With the sound of a skull splitting, the constable clutched the back of his head.
The Anchaesa had suddenly swung and smacked his head, sending the big man staggering despite his size.
“How dare you speak so rudely to honored guests!”
“…What?”
The constable looked bewildered.
Behind the Anchaesa stood a middle-aged man with dark green eyes and a young woman of striking beauty.
The Anchaesa continued.
“Guards! Is no one outside? Drag this fool away immediately!”
A few constables rushed in, seized him, and dragged him away. Then the Anchaesa personally opened the cell and said to the two men.
“Haha, you must have suffered a great deal.”
Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom stared fixedly at him.
The Anchaesa even stepped inside the cell and gently patted their shoulders with utmost softness.
“From now on, here in Hunan, I shall take responsibility for you both. You need not worry about a thing.”
“You were the one who arrested us.”
Jin Seong-un’s reasonable question.
The Anchaesa, deliberately ignoring the sharp gazes of Tang Tae-san and Hwa Yeon-seol behind him, forced a sly smile.
“Eheh, that was nothing but a trivial misunderstanding. Even so, it’s not like we treated you harshly—we’ve been extremely courteous, haven’t we? Let bygones be bygones and only look toward the future!”
Clicking his tongue, Jin Seong-un then bowed lightly toward Tang Tae-san and Hwa Yeon-seol.
“I’m sorry for troubling you. It just happened this way.”
“Oh come now, why would you say such things between us? Even if you were in the distant Western Regions instead of Hunan, I’d have rushed there in a heartbeat.”
He swallowed the thought that, since it was his prospective son-in-law’s matter, it was only natural.
Hwa Yeon-seol also spoke, unwilling to be outdone.
“Even if it were Hell itself, I would have gone.”
“……”
When Jin Seong-un gave her a look as if to say, ‘That’s a bit much,’ Hwa Yeon-seol added.
“Though the world does not know, Jin Sohyeop’s close friend Seo the Chef is my only blood relative. Of course I would come.”
She said this while casting a subtle glance at the Anchaesa.
It was both a warning and a pledge.
A warning that he had dared to throw the kin of the Hwa-un Trading Company into prison.
And a pledge that since she had shared a secret unknown to the world, they were now bound in closeness.
In any case, Wi Gyeong-heon, being a man who held the position of Anchaesa, understood immediately and nodded, casually revealing one of his own secrets.
“That is politics in the Central Plains. In truth, I too have a few illegitimate children scattered here and there, unknown to the world.”
“……”
Perhaps he had taken the wrong approach, for a fleeting scorn passed through Hwa Yeon-seol’s eyes.
The Anchaesa gave an awkward cough, then led the four of them to his office.
The Anchaesa’s office.
He served them the finest tea water and continued to extend the hand of reconciliation.
Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom also had no desire to waste time on such matters when the Namok Trading Company lay ahead, so they nodded perfunctorily.
Soon the Anchaesa relayed to them the conversation that had taken place between himself, Hwa Yeon-seol, and the Poison Lord.
Seo Yu-gyeom spoke.
“All that’s left now is to crush the Namok Trading Company.”
The Anchaesa revealed his concern.
“The Namok Trading Company may appear so, but it is a truly massive enterprise. Here in Hunan there is a fellowship called the Namgye Association, centered on the Namok Trading Company, where many officials, martial artists, and merchants gather in camaraderie.”
In other words, if they struck at the Namok Trading Company, some of its allies might step forward in its defense.
“Of course, as a member of the Namgye Association myself, I can restrain at least half of them from acting rashly, but…”
The Anchaesa subtly displayed his authority.
Jin Seong-un asked indifferently.
“If the Trading Company Master dies, will they still step forward?”
“Hmm…”
The Anchaesa flinched slightly.
He had not expected that they would intend to kill Nam Il-ju outright.
If Nam Il-ju were to die before matters escalated further?
After a moment of thought, the Anchaesa shook his head.
“After Nam Il-ju’s death, there would be hardly anyone willing to aid the Namok Trading Company. That is the nature of our relationships.”
Though the Namgye Association was a fellowship, it was also a gathering that moved solely for mutual profit.
A Namok Trading Company without Nam Il-ju would be an empty shell.
On the contrary, many would bare their fangs like predators, seeking to seize its vacant space.
“However, Nam Il-ju’s personal guard Nam Yeong will surely act. He is an exceptional master. His elderly mother suffers from an incurable disease, so he swore loyalty to Nam Il-ju in exchange for treatment. Nam Il-ju pays the enormous cost of medicine, and Nam Yeong repays with his very life.”
From the Anchaesa’s recollection, ever since Nam Il-ju had taken Nam Yeong under his wing, despite his many enemies, he had been able to stroll the streets in peace. That alone proved Nam Yeong was indeed formidable.
Nodding calmly, Jin Seong-un asked.
“Has this Nam Yeong killed many people?”
“That I cannot say. But the likelihood is low. When Nam Il-ju had shady business, he usually borrowed outside hands rather than relying on the Namok Trading Company itself.”
Just as he had used the Mount Heng Sect for such deeds.
After pondering for a while, the Anchaesa spoke again.
“The Namok Trading Company has committed no small number of crimes. If one resolves to dig, its very roots can be ripped out. But after all, it is a pillar of Hunan’s commercial world. If such a Trading Company were to vanish at once, the resulting chaos would be severe…”
Though he spoke as if worrying for Hunan’s merchants and stability, Hwa Yeon-seol perceived the true meaning.
“You’re afraid that such chaos would cause the central government to dispatch a Sunmu Inspector, aren’t you?”
“Khmm.”
In each province, the supreme positions over military, administration, and inspection were held by the Dojihuisa, the Pojeongsa, and the Anchaesa.
They wielded nearly absolute power within their provinces, but their limits were clear.
No matter how powerful a regional official, they could never compare to the central government’s high officials.
Those who could oversee the Three Offices, and even summarily dismiss them, were none other than the central high officials—the Sunmu Inspectors.
If the Namok Trading Company collapsed and great chaos befell Hunan, the central government would certainly dispatch a Sunmu Inspector.
And then all the illicit gains the Anchaesa had pocketed over the years would be exposed as well.
“Mm…”
The Anchaesa did not deny Hwa Yeon-seol’s point, only letting out a grave murmur.
He looked as though expecting Hwa Yeon-seol or Tang Tae-san to offer a solution.
Hwa Yeon-seol gave a faint laugh and said.
“Another Trading Company can take Namok’s place. What is there to worry about?”
“The Namok Trading Company’s scale is not so easily replaced.”
“But there are at least nine other Trading Companies large enough to fill its place.”
These were the great merchants commonly called the Ten Great Trading Companies of the Central Plains.
The Anchaesa’s eyes widened.
“Surely you don’t mean…?”
“By tonight, one hundred wagons and dozens of merchants will arrive here in Changsha. And that’s only the beginning.”
This was the reason Hwa Yeon-seol had personally come to Hunan—not merely to rescue the two men.
The Hwa-un Trading Company, poised on the brink of a great leap, intended to seize the Namok Trading Company whole.
Even the Poison Lord, who had been silent, added his support.
“Our Tang Clan’s Poison Horn Unit is also on its way. You need not fear that our valuable wagons will be ambushed.”
The Anchaesa swallowed nervously.
Even he, the chief administrator of Hunan, had heard of the Tang Clan’s Poison Horn Unit—an elite force composed of masters of poison arts.
This was no longer a simple matter.
Two great powers of Sichuan had come to devour Hunan’s mighty Trading Company.
The Namok Trading Company, with its long-standing roots, would now have to fight for its very survival, while the Namgung Clan, which had held subtle influence in Hunan, might find the turn of events displeasing.
Hwa Yeon-seol and Tang Tae-san stared directly at the Anchaesa. He was being forced to choose.
The Namok Trading Company and the Namgung Clan.
Or the Hwa-un Trading Company and the Tang Clan of Sichuan.
As the Anchaesa wracked his brain, he suddenly recalled the letters that had flown in from across the land.
“There was also the Guest Dragon…”
If alongside the Hwa-un Trading Company and Tang Clan stood the great Guest Dragon, the weight of power was staggering. After all, even the Chief Strategist of the Murim Alliance had personally sent letters of warning about him.
The Anchaesa soon made his decision.
“Summon Nam Il-ju, Master of the Namok Trading Company.”
Namok Trading Company (南木商團).
Nam Il-ju savored his tea with a rare sense of ease.
“Guest Dragon has been dealt with, and once the Red Cliff Escort Agency matter is resolved, it will be finished.”
He had sent several martial artists along with the General Manager to the Red Cliff Escort Agency. If Bang Man-bok cooperated, they would swallow the entire escort agency whole. If not, they planned to stage an internal conflict and cleanly wipe them out.
“Still, they are a bit late. It should be about time for them to return.”
There was no word from those who had gone to the Red Cliff Escort Agency. Stroking his teacup repeatedly, Nam Il-ju eventually spoke to Nam Yeong, who was by his side.
“Go and check for yourself.”
Nam Yeong silently bowed his head and soon dispersed like a shadow.
.
.
.
The sole passage across Dongting Lake leading to the Red Cliff Escort Agency.
Nam Yeong unexpectedly encountered a man.
“……Why are you here?”
An elderly man, sitting cross-legged atop a boulder with the bearing of an immortal.
It was none other than Hwang Seon-ja, Sect Leader of the Mount Heng Sect.
He grasped the sword laid diagonally across the bridge and spoke.
“Turn back.”
His tone was closer to a command than a request.
Nam Yeong’s brow twitched. After briefly surveying the area, he asked in a quiet voice,
“Alone?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
It was spoken in a way that made it unclear for whom the misfortune lay.
Nam Yeong pondered his words, then slowly moved his hand toward his sword hilt.
Hwang Seon-ja, who had been gazing into the distance, gradually shifted his eyes toward him.
Nam Yeong recognized those eyes.
They were the same eyes as his own, when he had resigned himself to mutual destruction under his master’s orders.
He had lived as Nam Il-ju’s dog, solely to save his gravely ill mother, and so he bore those same eyes.
But why would the head of an entire sect look at him with such eyes?
Hwang Seon-ja quietly repeated himself.
“Turn back.”
A brief clash of gazes followed.
Nam Yeong realized then. For some unknown reason, Hwang Seon-ja was prepared for mutual destruction here.
‘If I die here, the Trading Company Master will also be endangered.’
If he died in vain, he could not be certain that Nam Il-ju would look after his mother.
After a moment’s hesitation, Nam Yeong sighed and turned away.
The distance between the two men grew, while the wind from somewhere blew endlessly between them.
Upon returning to the Namok Trading Company, Nam Yeong immediately sought out Nam Il-ju to report.
It seemed clear that the Mount Heng Sect had begun to actively intervene in the matter of the Red Cliff Escort Agency.
It was also highly likely that the General Manager and martial artists previously sent had fallen to the Mount Heng Sect.
Yet Nam Il-ju was nowhere to be found. When he asked one of the servants who waited on him closely, an ominous reply came.
“About a quarter of an hour ago, he left after being summoned by Lord Anchaesa.”
“Hmm.”
Nam Yeong let out a troubled sigh.
Why would the Anchaesa, who had Guest Dragon in custody, suddenly summon Nam Il-ju at this point?
Summoned by the Anchaesa, Nam Il-ju grumbled all the way to the Anchaesa Office.
“That greedy bastard. He doesn’t even know what moderation is.”
He had already gifted him several thick golden toads, yet the man wasn’t satisfied and was calling him again to squeeze more.
Even as he cursed, Nam Il-ju carried a wooden case filled with golden toads in his hand.
And when he arrived at the Anchaesa Office—
He was confronted with a long line of wagons and bustling people.
Two flags fluttered high into the sky.
‘The Hwa-un Trading Company and the Tang Clan?’
Nam Il-ju’s head spun, and curses spilled out on their own.
‘That ungrateful toad bastard…’
He immediately turned on his heel and returned to the Namok Trading Company.
There, he happened upon Nam Yeong, who had just been stepping out, unable to suppress his unease.
“Ah, Master! Forgive me. On the way to the Red Cliff Escort Agency, I came across the Sect Leader of Mount Heng Sect…”
“The escort agency doesn’t matter anymore. Carry out the preparations I mentioned earlier. At once.”
“Pardon?”
When Nam Yeong looked confused, Nam Il-ju’s tone turned cold.
“The Anchaesa has betrayed us. In front of the Anchaesa Office, it was filled with men of the Hwa-un Trading Company and the Tang Clan. They must have come to protect Guest Dragon. And in such a situation, the Anchaesa calls for me? He has switched sides. They mean to kill me!”
Nam Yeong’s face grew deadly serious.
If Nam Il-ju died, there would be no one left to pay for his mother’s medicine.
“Then…”
“Since I didn’t answer their summons, they’ll be coming here soon. Guest Dragon himself may come. Or perhaps martial artists of the Tang Clan.”
“……”
Nam Yeong swallowed hard.
The martial artists of the Tang Clan were terrifying even to him.
“Nam Yeong, it’s time for you to give your life. I, Nam Il-ju, swear on my name that your mother will be cared for all her life.”
Nam Yeong slowly closed his eyes.
He had long prepared himself, but now that the order to die was given, his stomach churned once.
How much time had passed?
He slowly opened his eyes and spoke.
“…Understood, Master. Thank you for everything until now. Please take good care of my mother.”
Nam Yeong bowed deeply before Nam Il-ju.
But Nam Il-ju merely waved his hand impatiently, urging him to hurry.
The vast central square of the Namok Trading Company.
Over a hundred wanderers had gathered—among them, a notable number of children, women, and elderly.
According to Nam Yeong’s investigation, Guest Dragon leaned toward the orthodox side. For such a man to come all the way here and draw his sword against the Namok Trading Company merely to save the Master of the Red Cliff Escort Agency, he had to be soft-hearted.
Such a man could never strike down children, women, and the elderly without hesitation.
These hundred wanderers all knew martial arts, but none were masters.
Yet precisely because they were weak, the one-sided slaughter would only unsettle Guest Dragon further.
‘Hesitation always breeds openings.’
That was the moment Nam Yeong planned to strike.
Nam Yeong did not know his own standing.
Too weak to be called peak-level, yet too strong for a mere master, for he could already wield sword flux freely.
It was proof that realms could not be neatly divided like chopping bamboo.
But one thing was certain—if Guest Dragon showed even the slightest opening, and Nam Yeong rushed in with resolve for mutual destruction, the chance of success was great.
From the very rear, Nam Yeong memorized the figures of countless wanderers and steeled his heart.
Then it happened.
A man approached like the wind and stopped beneath the towering main gates of the Namok Trading Company.
The gates were so high and imposing that the lone figure beneath seemed even smaller.
At the sight, Nam Yeong let out a dry laugh.
“…He really came alone.”
Nam Yeong knew the flaw in this plan.
If Guest Dragon came with several martial artists, things would get complicated.
Especially if the vicious men of the Tang Clan showed up—without hesitation, they would scatter poison and melt the wanderers to nothing.
But even at such risk, this was the only plan that gave him a chance to kill Guest Dragon. He had no choice but to accept it.
Still, who would have thought he’d truly come alone?
As Nam Yeong stood dumbfounded, Guest Dragon walked in with calm, steady steps.
Then, with a casual wave of his hand, the massive gates began to close with a thunderous rumble.
They were so heavy that it normally took a dozen men with ropes to move them, yet he had shut them lightly with the mystery of Psychokinesis.
The sight struck Nam Yeong with a sharp sense of foreboding.
Kuuuuung—!
The gates shut firmly, and the Namok Trading Company trembled once. A hundred wanderers turned their eyes in unison to Jin Seong-un.
Jin Seong-un looked over the gathered wanderers and sighed faintly. The malice of the Namok Trading Company could be felt plainly.
There was no way such a massive trading company lacked money and had resorted to hiring these wanderers.
With his usual calm gaze, Jin Seong-un’s eyes passed over the wanderers and settled on Nam Yeong.
Nam Yeong felt the pressure of that gaze but steadied himself and spoke quietly.
“Strike.”
At the command, the hundred wanderers drew their blades and advanced.
Nam Yeong watched carefully, planning to make his move at the decisive moment.
If everything went according to plan, then no matter how great a master Guest Dragon was…
Swaek—!
Suddenly, a tearing sound split the air.
The wanderers who had just taken a step forward froze in place. Above their heads, a long straight tail of force had appeared, then scattered.
All turned their heads dumbly to follow it.
With but a single leap, Jin Seong-un had rendered the hundred wanderers useless and now stood before Nam Yeong, asking in a calm voice,
“Where did your Master flee to?”