Chapter 154: A Truly Strange Inn
The blood spilled by Nam Il-ju stained the ground around him red.
General Manager Yoo Won-ho of the Myriad Gold Manor held his breath as he glared at Jin Seong-un. Though he was not a martial artist, not a trace of fear appeared in his eyes.
Jin Seong-un, as if he had no interest in him to begin with, confirmed Nam Il-ju’s death and slowly turned away.
As Yoo Won-ho quietly watched his back, he suddenly asked.
“Guest Dragon, are you truly fine with making an enemy of the Myriad Gold Manor? I’m asking because I am genuinely curious.”
His tone was as if he truly could not understand. There was no one under heaven who did not fall under the influence of the Myriad Gold Manor.
Martial artists, merchants, officials, even Taoists and monks all watched the Manor’s reactions carefully.
But Guest Dragon did not. More than that, in the Merchant Festival, even the people around him acted as if they had something certain to rely on.
After Song Jae-mun’s death, Yoo Won-ho had also investigated Jin Seong-un through many channels. There was no way, but perhaps the Myriad Gold Manor had overlooked a hidden danger.
But he found nothing. Aside from his own martial ability, he was merely the owner of an inn.
“It was truly strange. I’ve spent more than twenty years in the Myriad Gold Manor, yet I’ve never seen anything like this.”
After long investigation into Jin Seong-un and those around him, Yoo Won-ho came to a conclusion.
The reason why the Hwa-un Trading Company and the Jingzhou Merchants’ Association dared to oppose the Myriad Gold Manor.
Surprisingly, they trusted Guest Dragon. No exaggeration—he realized that, at some point, most of the great movements of the Hwa-un Trading Company, the Jingzhou Merchants’ Association, and even the Sichuan Tang Clan were centered around Yichang.
‘It is astonishing.’
That a man barely past his youth, whom one could not even tell was a martial artist or a merchant, possessed such influence.
But what concerned him even more was that the man himself seemed utterly uninterested.
As Jin Seong-un looked at Yoo Won-ho, he spoke.
“To be exact, it isn’t I who is making an enemy of the Myriad Gold Manor. It is the Myriad Gold Manor that keeps blocking my path.”
Jin Seong-un truly believed so.
From the beginning, Song Jae-mun, Bang Myeong-ho, and Nam Il-ju had all been the ones to reach their hands into Jin Seong-un’s peace.
In truth, Jin Seong-un wanted to ask instead.
“How did the Myriad Gold Manor become like that?”
“You speak as if you know it well.”
“I know one person who does.”
Yoo Won-ho’s eyebrows twitched.
This was information he had not discovered even when investigating Jin Seong-un.
“Who is that? I should make sure to drive him away at once.”
Jin Seong-un let out a faint laugh.
Just who was going to drive out whom?
“We’ll see each other again.”
“I would prefer not to.”
“That makes two of us.”
But what choice was there?
Since the request of the Merchant King was connected to the Myriad Gold Manor, they were bound to meet again someday.
Jin Seong-un briefly looked at the corpse of Nam Il-ju, left behind a single sentence, and departed.
“I’ll return the saber.”
Just as Jin Seong-un began to walk away—
The utterly tattered Golden Tiger Captain, Ma Jung-gwan, appeared.
When Jin Seong-un glanced at him, the Golden Tiger Captain flinched, breathing heavily as he remained frozen in place. He did not even dare to attempt anything.
Only after Jin Seong-un had completely disappeared,
the Golden Tiger Captain, Ma Jung-gwan, bent his waist toward Yoo Won-ho with great difficulty.
“…My apologies, General Manager.”
Yoo Won-ho looked at the Golden Tiger Captain and shook his head. How could it be his fault? It was his own mistake for not properly assessing the opponent.
“It is because that man is incomprehensible. If the entire Golden Tiger Squad had been present, what do you think would have happened?”
“……”
After a moment of thought, the Golden Tiger Captain fell silent.
The Golden Tiger Squad was a military force of one hundred men. If all of them had come, they could have stopped or killed Guest Dragon.
Yet still, no easy answer came. The opponent was such an unreasonable existence that he could not say for certain.
“It seems it would not be easy.”
“My apologies. But there was one strange thing.”
“What was it?”
“During the battle, his sword broke, and one of his subordinates seized the Golden Tiger Saber…”
The Golden Tiger Captain looked at the Golden Tiger Saber still lodged in Nam Il-ju’s chest, then continued.
“His saber techniques were astonishingly similar to those of the Golden Tiger Squad.”
Yoo Won-ho’s eyebrows twitched once more.
After a moment of serious thought, Yoo Won-ho cautiously spoke.
“Are you saying he is such a genius that he could mimic your saber art on the spot?”
“…Hmm.”
In truth, the Golden Tiger Captain also did not know the answer.
But strangely, it did not feel like he had mimicked it on the spot. It felt as if he had always practiced such a saber art. Only, he could not explain why.
Hunan Province, Changsha.
Dozens of carriages and wagons flying the flag of the Hwa-un Trading Company bustled chaotically through the marketplace.
It was such a rare sight that the merchants of Changsha widened their eyes in astonishment.
The Hwa-un Trading Company and the Sichuan Tang Clan were absorbing the markets under the influence of the Namok Trading Company at an incredible speed.
They bought up everything, from great brothels, inns, smithies, to escort agencies.
Of course, since these events took place under the approval of the Anchaesa, there was nothing to stop them.
Hwa Yeon-seol, Seo Yu-gyeom, and Seomun Ak stood together on the street, watching the scene.
At that moment, Hwa-un Trading Company’s General Manager, Mun Hyo-sang, approached, wiping sweat from his brow, and reported.
“Master, everything is proceeding smoothly. At this pace, it should be over within a month or two at most.”
“You’ve worked hard. And the Namok Trading Company?”
“They’ve made no movement at all.”
Ordinarily, with their territory being disrupted to this extent, the Namok Trading Company should have stepped in directly.
But there was no reaction whatsoever.
It was only natural, since the Trading Company Master, who should have led them, was absent.
As Hwa Yeon-seol nodded, Seo Yu-gyeom beside her ate candied fruit with an indifferent expression.
Despite his look, he spread his qi perception wide, keeping vigilance over the surroundings. After all, enemies could leap out from anywhere at any time.
Nearby, Seomun Ak, who had been loitering about, suddenly whispered quietly to Seo Yu-gyeom.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“Is she really your sister?”
Seomun Ak’s eyes were fixed on Hwa Yeon-seol. Seo Yu-gyeom answered carelessly.
“Why, is she too ugly?”
“No, you are. How can your sister be so beautiful, while you look so unpleasant?”
Seo Yu-gyeom stared at Seomun Ak.
Of course, he knew they weren’t true siblings. This was nothing but pointless provocation.
Soon, Seomun Ak grinned slyly and spoke.
“Been seeing anyone lately?”
Seo Yu-gyeom let out a sigh, stretched as if casually, and then smacked Seomun Ak’s head with full force.
SMAAACK—!
It was such a sudden, all-out strike that Seomun Ak couldn’t even react before clutching his head.
“Aagh! Are you insane?!”
“Know your limits, you rascal.”
Seomun Ak looked at Seo Yu-gyeom in disbelief. When had he ever treated him like an enemy, and now he was suddenly acting like a protective brother?
Regardless, Seo Yu-gyeom yawned long and lazily again while keeping watch over the surroundings.
Just then, Anchaesa Wi Gyeong-heon approached, looking uneasy as he asked.
“But is Guest Dragon really fine? Didn’t Nam Il-ju flee to the Myriad Gold Manor?”
The Namok Trading Company’s escort, Nam Yeong, had gone straight to the Anchaesa right after his pact with Jin Seong-un and reported everything.
Seo Yu-gyeom shrugged his shoulders.
“Myriad Gold Manor or Ten-Thousand Gold Manor, what does it matter.”
“No, but surely they have more than a few powerful masters on their side…”
“He may not be the number one under heaven, but unless his opponent is the Demonic Cult Leader or the Murim Alliance Leader, he can at least escape alive. So don’t worry.”
That was what Seo Yu-gyeom believed.
Jin Seong-un might not be stronger than every martial artist in the world, but no matter how strong the opponent was, he would at least make it back alive.
Seomun Ak added from the side.
“You’re not supposed to worry about Jin Seong-un.”
He already knew from experience.
Whenever something happened and he worried in secret, the situation would always resolve far too easily, leaving him deflated.
And sure enough.
While the three of them were speaking, Jin Seong-un appeared in the distance with a calm expression.
But he was drenched in blood from head to toe, making everyone flinch.
“What, did you go and start a massacre?”
Seo Yu-gyeom joked deliberately, though inwardly he scanned Jin Seong-un up and down in concern.
If the enemy really had been the Myriad Gold Manor, they could have been accompanied by extraordinary masters.
Jin Seong-un answered casually.
“The Namok Trading Company’s Master is dead. The Myriad Gold Manor’s General Manager and those called the Golden Tiger Squad tried to interfere, but I handled it.”
“…That’s leaving out quite a lot. You didn’t kill anyone from the Myriad Gold Manor, did you?”
“They’re all alive.”
The way he said “alive” sounded odd, but at least everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
If he had killed martial artists of the Myriad Gold Manor directly, the trouble would have doubled.
The Anchaesa spoke up.
“If Nam Il-ju is dead, then the Namok Trading Company is finished. We can move on them at once.”
He nodded toward a subordinate standing respectfully at a distance.
The subordinate took on a resolute look and disappeared immediately. Soon, he would dig up every bit of corruption and wrongdoing of the Namok Trading Company.
Once the Anchaesa resolved to act, the collapse of the Namok Trading Company was only a matter of time.
That was especially so since all its power and influence had been concentrated on the Master alone.
That position would then be smoothly taken over by the Hwa-un Trading Company, backed by the Tang Clan.
Just then, Hwa Yeon-seol approached and pointed to a shop as she spoke to Jin Seong-un.
“Master Jin, we just bought that Cloth Shop over there. Please change your clothes first.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Jin Seong-un looked down at his martial arts uniform, soaked in blood, and headed for the Cloth Shop.
Hwa Yeon-seol watched his back with a peculiar gaze. And Seomun Ak, in turn, looked at Hwa Yeon-seol with the same kind of peculiar gaze.
“……”
At that moment, Seomun Ak tilted his head and locked eyes with Seo Yu-gyeom, who was watching him.
Seo Yu-gyeom extended two fingers and thrust them toward Seomun Ak’s eyes.
Startled, Seomun Ak barely managed to block with a hand strike.
“Are you crazy? What’s wrong with you now?”
“You’re not allowed.”
“…Why?”
“Say you had a younger sister.”
Seomun Ak nodded, and Seo Yu-gyeom continued.
“Would you allow it?”
“Of course not, what kind of question—”
Memories flashed before Seomun Ak’s eyes like a lantern slide.
He swallowed hard.
If he had a younger sister? Or if someday he had a daughter so precious he would never let her go?
And then some scoundrel like his own past self clung to her?
That man would have had to face the Seomun Clan’s secret arts that very day.
Seomun Ak finally nodded like a man and said.
“Fine. I give up.”
“A man with no backbone. Drop it, drop it.”
“?”
Seomun Ak looked at him indignantly.
Damn it, whatever he did, it was always wrong.
Soon, Jin Seong-un returned, having changed clothes, and approached Hwa Yeon-seol. Seomun Ak and Seo Yu-gyeom, for some reason, looked tense as they watched.
As Jin Seong-un came straight up to her, Hwa Yeon-seol also stiffened.
After a brief pause, Jin Seong-un, unusually conscious of others’ eyes, spoke.
“Let’s talk over there for a bit.”
The two of them moved a short distance away, and the looks on Seo Yu-gyeom and Seomun Ak’s faces became all the more amusing.
The two began conversing.
As Jin Seong-un spoke calmly, Hwa Yeon-seol’s eyes widened in shock, and she covered her mouth.
Seo Yu-gyeom and Seomun Ak tried to heighten their senses from afar, but they couldn’t hear a thing.
Of course—they were blocked off by Jin Seong-un’s qi barrier.
After a short exchange, the two returned.
As always, Jin Seong-un’s expression had not changed.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Seo Yu-gyeom went up to Hwa Yeon-seol and asked.
“What did you talk about?”
“I suspected it before, but Master Jin…”
“Yeah?”
“…He seems just a little crazy.”
Hwa Yeon-seol couldn’t get their conversation out of her head.
What kind of man is the Myriad Gold Manor’s Master?
I don’t know the details, but I do know he controls all the gold veins in the world. Honestly, I think he might have more power than His Majesty the Emperor himself.
Hmph, then it won’t be easy.
What won’t?
If the day comes that I kill the Myriad Gold Manor’s Master, will the Hwa-un Trading Company be able to step into the gap and prevent chaos, like it did today?
What? Ah, no way.
Hwa Yeon-seol wanted to wash her ears with water.
She too had ambitions, dreaming of making the Hwa-un Trading Company the greatest in the Central Plains. But it had only ever been a vague dream.
The Myriad Gold Manor by now could no longer be seen as a mere Trading Company. It was one of the great foundations of an entire nation.
To speak of killing its Master was something she had never even imagined.
The current Master of the Myriad Gold Manor was such a being.
Practically the incarnation of gold itself.
Within the merchant world, some even revered him half as a divine being.
Hwa Yeon-seol looked at Jin Seong-un, who spoke so casually of such a man’s death, then quietly asked Seo Yu-gyeom.
“Could it be that the Seong-un Inn is built on a spiritual vein?”
Her suspicion was very reasonable.
From the innkeeper who declared he would kill the Master of the Myriad Gold Manor, to the chef from the Deathshroud, and even the Seomun inn waiter who kept giving her sly looks since earlier.
Each and every one of them was unusual, and together they walked an utterly extraordinary path.
‘It really is a strange inn.’
At least, that was how it seemed to Hwa Yeon-seol.