Chapter 43: The Greatest Trading Company in History
Hyeon-un’s dilemma dragged on.
Should he help Seo Yu-gyeom escape the impulses of bloodlust?
Or should he slay the Heaven-Slaying Star here and now, knowing he had the greatest chance of becoming a Great Demon?
If he pushed the chopsticks in his hand just a little deeper, the current Heaven-Slaying Star would die.
Perhaps that one decisive act might save the lives of dozens, even hundreds, in the future.
He was wrestling with a life-or-death choice while staring into a bowl of noodles. It wasn’t because of Seo Yu-gyeom’s earlier remark that if he planned to kill him, he shouldn’t even bother eating noodles.
He was merely recalling the meals he had been served free of charge at the Seong-un Inn.
“Elder.”
At Jin Seong-un’s call, Hyeon-un lifted his head and met his gaze. Jin Seong-un said nothing more, simply looking at him in silence.
That conveyed more than words. Jin Seong-un didn’t want Hyeon-un to kill Seo Yu-gyeom.
Hyeon-un’s chopsticks withdrew a little.
Tell me what martial arts you have learned.
Hyeon-un asked Seo Yu-gyeom through telepathy, since Seomun Ak was present.
Revealing one’s learned martial arts was the same as revealing one’s weaknesses. Yet Seo Yu-gyeom obediently answered—not through telepathy, but aloud.
“When I was young, I learned the Three Talents Heart Method and Three Talents Sword Art at Hwa-un Trading Company. Later, in the Deathshroud, I trained in the Black Killing Heart Art, Heaven-Slaying Saber Technique, Moon Shadow Steps, Lacquered Night Palm, Tortoise Breath Technique, Lightning Flight, and the Formless Soul-Seizing Finger.”
“Heo…”
A long sigh escaped Hyeon-un.
Seo Yu-gyeom had been born with the Heaven-Slaying Star, so his killing aura was already strong. Yet they had only taught him martial arts steeped in slaughter.
It seemed the Deathshroud wanted nothing more than to turn him into a demon of murder.
“At least you’ve trained in the Three Talents Heart Method. That much is fortunate.”
The Three Talents Heart Method and Three Talents Sword Art.
They were cheap techniques, available for a few coins in the marketplace.
Rumors occasionally spread that mastering the Three Talents Sword Art to its extreme could make one a peerless master, but at least Hyeon-un had never seen such a case.
The reason he found it fortunate was because the Three Talents arts had been created directly by the Taoist Sword Immortal for the common people.
The martial arts of both Taoism and Buddhism inherently carried the energy of subduing demons and breaking evil.
“From now on, memorize the incantation I recite.”
Hyeon-un began chanting a mnemonic formula through telepathy.
Normally, teaching Wudang Sect’s inner arts to outsiders was forbidden…
‘But this too is Heaven’s will.’
Recalling the same rationalization he often used when drinking wine and eating meat, Hyeon-un continued reciting.
“Have you memorized it all?”
“Yes.”
“Then repeat it to me.”
Seo Yu-gyeom recited the formula he had just memorized, this time through telepathy since it was another sect’s martial art.
Hyeon-un nodded with satisfaction.
“Your insight is truly remarkable. It is not the most profound method, but memorizing it at once is no easy feat. When your killing intent grows too deep or becomes uncontrollable, use the method I have taught you.”
Hyeon-un hoped his judgment would prove right.
That teaching Wudang’s martial art to an outsider, that sparing the Heaven-Slaying Star—both would turn out to be the correct choices.
He wouldn’t normally have done either. But this time, he had resolved to help Seo Yu-gyeom.
Whether it was because of the meals he had eaten, or because he had grown fond of the young man, he wasn’t sure.
Perhaps it was due to his trust in Jin Seong-un.
As he sighed quietly at that thought, Seo Yu-gyeom stirred his inner qi to practice the heart method he had just learned. But then he suddenly stopped and asked:
“What is the name of this method?”
Seo Yu-gyeom’s tone had shifted into formal speech. After all, having been taught something, he could not continue to speak casually.
Hyeon-un answered with a pleased expression.
“It is called the Pure Yang Infinite Art.”
“Pure Yang…”
Seo Yu-gyeom’s eyes narrowed.
A sudden chill ran down his spine.
“Pure Yang… Isn’t that usually attached to the Boy Arts?”
Hyeon-un nodded, staring at him with a look that said, ‘So what?’
Seo Yu-gyeom was gripped by the urge to draw his blade. Seeing his expression, Hyeon-un said:
“Now! Now is the time to practice the method!”
“…I’ve only just passed twenty. It feels strange to say this, but I’ve never even been with a woman I loved.”
Seo Yu-gyeom had never experienced love. During his days as an assassin, he had once pretended to seduce a female martial artist in order to kill her, but never with true feelings.
In truth, his life had afforded no such luxury.
“Then it is all the better. If you master it before knowing love, you will achieve even smoother progress in the Pure Yang Infinite Art.”
“Old man.”
“Yes, what is it?”
Hyeon-un shamelessly replied, already guessing what Seo Yu-gyeom feared…
“Don’t worry. I’ve lived alone until sixty, and it wasn’t so bad.”
At those words, Seo Yu-gyeom’s heart grew even heavier.
If the old man before him was a glimpse of his own future, then it was unbearably bleak.
“…There’s no other way?”
“Well, if you dislike the Boy Arts, there is also the Emotionless Art.”
Seo Yu-gyeom pressed a hand to his forehead.
The Boy Arts denied one women for life, while the Emotionless Art turned one into a eunuch.
Seo Yu-gyeom glanced at Jin Seong-un.
‘Can’t I just kill him?’
That was the look in his eyes.
Jin Seong-un shook his head.
‘That’s not possible.’
That was his silent reply.
For the first time in his life, Seo Yu-gyeom felt powerless. If Hyeon-un had not been a Peak-level Master, he would already have knocked him flat.
While Seo Yu-gyeom trembled with frustration, Hyeon-un continued speaking lightly.
“Otherwise, go to Hwa-un Trading Company.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I hear you’ve managed to restrain your bloodlust to some degree until now, is that right?”
“Yes.”
“But after your fight with the Food Butcher, that control weakened. Then, because of Hwa-un Trading Company and your sister, your killing intent began to surge out of control. Illnesses of the heart must be faced directly to be cured. The Food Butcher is already dead, so you should visit Hwa-un Trading Company and at least see your sister.”
Seo Yu-gyeom’s gaze sank low.
He had never considered seeing his sister again. Or rather, he hadn’t been able to.
He didn’t have the confidence. He couldn’t be sure what emotions would arise if they met.
He feared he might kill her in sudden rage. Or that unbearable sorrow would overwhelm him, driving him to kill himself.
Hyeon-un looked straight into Seo Yu-gyeom’s eyes and said.
“A man who risked his life fighting the Food Butcher—what is it that you fear so much? Go. Go and do as you wish.”
“I don’t know what it is I wish to do.”
“If you don’t know, then no one does.”
“Mm.”
Seo Yu-gyeom let out a low murmur and stood up. Hyeon-un’s words were right. He might have been a slippery old man, but he was no Wudang elder for nothing.
As Seo Yu-gyeom rose, Hyeon-un added.
“When things grow urgent, use the heart method I taught you. And really, what’s so terrible about the Boy Arts?”
“…That won’t be necessary.”
Seo Yu-gyeom soon left.
Watching his retreating back with mild amusement, Hyeon-un finally picked up his chopsticks. At last, thanks to a bold decision, he could eat his noodles.
“…”
But the conversation had dragged on so long that the thin noodles were all swollen.
That night.
Seo Yu-gyeom coated the Heaven-Slaying Dagger with ink and oil.
It was a method assassins often used to conceal their blades in the darkness.
Carrying the blackened Heaven-Slaying Dagger and a few strips of dried meat, he headed for Jin Seong-un’s quarters.
As if he had expected Seo Yu-gyeom to come, Jin Seong-un poured tea naturally and said.
“Have you decided?”
“Yes. I’ll go. After all, it was I who killed the former Leader of Hwa-un Trading Company, so I feel at least a shred of responsibility.”
Seo Yu-gyeom had killed the Leader of Hwa-un Trading Company, and her inexperienced daughter had become the new leader.
Thanks to that, Hwa-un Trading Company had fallen into crisis. The rough and cunning men of the Unorthodox Faction would hardly treat a young and inexperienced leader with respect.
Seo Yu-gyeom felt responsible for that situation.
Jin Seong-un nodded as if it were nothing.
The two of them drank tea in silence for a while.
After a long pause, Jin Seong-un spoke.
“Let’s go together tomorrow morning.”
Seo Yu-gyeom’s eyes widened.
Seeing his reaction, Jin Seong-un continued.
“If you were to die or get injured, it would be a huge loss for Seong-un Inn as well.”
His tone was calm, his expression even drier.
Even so, Seo Yu-gyeom felt a surge of emotion. Now that he thought of it, in all his years, no one had ever truly worried about him.
He had never known the faces of his birth parents, and his adoptive father had only sought to use him. Later, in the Deathshroud, he had only learned how to kill.
That had not been a life. He had lived his whole life as a mere tool for others.
Only after coming to Seong-un Inn had he finally begun to live as a person.
That was why he couldn’t leave. That was why he was going to Hwa-un Trading Company now.
“But if both of us leave, what about the inn?”
The kitchen could be left to Han Seong-chun.
But could Seomun Ak be trusted with the rest?
Since someone like the Food Butcher had shown up out of nowhere before, it was even more worrying.
“Elder Hyeon-un said he would watch over things.”
Jin Seong-un had already arranged everything.
Unlike Seo Yu-gyeom, who had agonized all day, Jin Seong-un and Hyeon-un seemed to have already expected that he would head to Hwa-un Trading Company in the end.
Only then did Seo Yu-gyeom’s expression ease. With the White Cloud Sword guarding the inn, even notorious demonic masters would pose no problem.
Seo Yu-gyeom grinned and added.
“So this is our first trip away together?”
“We’re also going for business. I heard Hwa-un Trading Company deals in Yangha Daegu.”
Yangha Daegu was one of the finest wines in the Central Plains.
It was also the drink sought by the arrogant merchants who had earlier spoken of Hwa-un Trading Company.
To Jin Seong-un, the Bamboo Leaf Green had already tasted extraordinary. He was curious what flavor Yangha Daegu had that people would belittle Bamboo Leaf Green in comparison.
If it truly was exceptional, he meant to find a way to serve it at Seong-un Inn as well.
“Yangha Daegu is fine indeed.”
“You’ve tasted it?”
“Of course. Living as an assassin of the Deathshroud, you play many roles—sometimes as a high official, sometimes as the spoiled young master of a wealthy family. That’s when you drink Yangha Daegu.”
He went on to describe its taste in detail.
That a sip would unfold wide plains before one’s eyes, that it was so smooth it was like swallowing clouds…
“Ooh.”
Jin Seong-un’s eyes sparkled with rare delight.
Seeing this, Seo Yu-gyeom chuckled. In truth, he himself had never tasted Yangha Daegu.
.
.
.
After Seo Yu-gyeom left.
Jin Seong-un immediately sought out the Martial Gods. He always made it a point to pay his respects before going anywhere.
Their space was always the same.
A dark realm without day or night.
Countless stars at distances impossible to gauge. And in that void, the Martial Gods.
“Seong-un, you’ve come.”
The Sword Immortal spoke without lifting his gaze from the game board. His expression was grim—he seemed to be losing to the Noble Enchantress.
“Yes. Where are the others?”
Aside from the Noble Enchantress and the Sword Immortal, the other three were absent. At Jin Seong-un’s question, the Noble Enchantress smiled softly and pointed.
Jin Seong-un turned his head.
There was only pitch-black emptiness.
He drew up his inner qi and sharpened his sight. Then faint figures began to appear.
A battle was underway.
Two shadows were attacking one. Yet the one being targeted remained utterly at ease.
Suddenly, a reddish light flared.
Jin Seong-un was forced to raise his inner qi to the utmost. From a single spark, a crimson explosion swelled with terrifying speed, threatening to swallow the vast void whole.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!
It felt like a tidal wave of blood crashing down.
Just before it reached him, the Sword Immortal, still focused on the board, waved his hand.
The monstrous red tide split around Jin Seong-un, the Noble Enchantress, and the Sword Immortal.
Though the overwhelming aura filled the entire realm, the space around them remained calm.
After the surge had passed, three figures trudged over.
The Merchant King and the Divine Thief looked pale—it seemed they had been defeated by the Blood Demon.
“Ah, Seong-un, you’re here.”
The Merchant King’s voice was weary.
Jin Seong-un clasped his hands and bowed lightly in greeting.
“So, nothing unusual?”
“I’ll be away for a short while.”
He spoke, casting a glance at the Blood Demon. The aftershock of that one move still lingered on his skin.
The Blood Demon gave him a brief look, then—as always—lay on the ground, staring at the heavens.
How strong was that man, truly? Why was he here? Such thoughts flickered through Jin Seong-un’s mind, but now was not the time to ask.
After steadying his breath, the Merchant King, looking somewhat recovered, asked.
“Where are you going?”
Jin Seong-un explained the matter concerning Hwa-un Trading Company. The Merchant King let out a small sigh.
“That little inn never ceases to stir with trouble. Since it concerns your cook, it is only right that you step in.”
He had reacted the same when Seomun Ak was involved before. For a merchant was one who dealt in both people and wealth, and above all, needed the skill to ensure those beneath them could work in peace.
Still looking weary, the Merchant King sank into a seat. After some thought, he spoke.
“Martial artists have always tormented merchants. Hwa-un Trading Company seems no different. Of course, it’s a simple matter to resolve.”
Looking at him, Jin Seong-un once more felt keenly that this was the man who had built the greatest trading company in the history of the Central Plains.