Ju Hyang-wol returned home.
As expected, her mother was waiting for her return.
“How did it go?”
Before answering, Ju Hyang-wol asked her mother a question.
“Did you know that Hwang In was bringing the contract today?”
“I did not.”
Did she really not know? Doubt crept in first.
This was the reality of the relationship between her and her mother.
“So? Did you sign the contract?”
And just from that reaction, she could tell how much of a hurry her mother was in.
Ordinarily, she should have said this:
‘He presented you with a contract? Without even sending it to us beforehand?’
Then she should have asked with concern:
‘Don't tell me you didn't sign it?’
But now, her mother was looking at her with worried eyes.
With eyes that seemed to ask, ‘Don't tell me you didn't sign it?’
She thought of the paper she carried in her robes.
Just as Geom Mugeuk had advised, she had written down everything she needed to say to her mother.
She hadn't just written it down.
She had anticipated various scenarios and written down how to respond to each.
The current situation was among those she had written down.
“No, I postponed it.”
A flicker of disappointment crossed her mother's face.
She had anticipated disappointment as well, and had written down what to say in that case.
Fortunately, her mother had a predictable personality.
That's why they fought so much, and why she could never truly hate her.
And so, at the very top of all this writing, she had written these words first.
Never raise your voice! Speak softly!
Whenever she raised her voice in a conversation with her mother, it never ended properly.
Even though she knew well that a low voice held power, and that her feelings were better conveyed when she spoke calmly, it was just so difficult with her mother.
But today, she was doing well.
“Because this is something that must be handled with care.”
If she mentioned what had happened at the inn earlier, her mother would never accept it.
Entrusting the contract to someone she had just met was something her mother would be furious about.
“We need to find out more about the Hwangdo Merchant Group, and I have to entrust the contract to an expert to see if there are any unfavorable conditions for us.”
In the past, she would have certainly added this.
‘Did you even look into it properly? No, you didn't, did you? It's always like this.’
That would have marked the beginning of a fight, a prelude to them raising their voices at each other.
But those words were not on the paper she had written today.
It seemed her mother was a little surprised that she had mentioned entrusting it to an expert.
Her mother asked with a surprised expression.
“What expert?”
“I’ll tell you when the results come out.”
She spoke more calmly than ever before.
“I know the family is in a difficult situation right now. I think it’s even more important to be cautious at times like these.”
The emotion in her mother’s puzzled eyes was this: Since when were you so cautious? Since when did you care about the family’s difficulties?
In the past, she would have reacted sharply.
But instead, she spoke even more softly.
“I’m grown up now, aren’t I? I’ll do my best to help you from now on.”
She bowed to her mother and went outside.
Her mother, slightly flustered by her somehow changed demeanor, was unable to say anything.
Coming outside, Ju Hyang-wol let out a sigh.
She took the paper out from her robes.
Although she hadn't said even a quarter of what she had written, the conversation was definitely different from usual.
Writing it down or not, there was a clear difference.
'Ah! I didn't say this.'
She had even underlined the part where she was supposed to tell her mother not to worry too much about family matters and to eat well before leaving, but she had just left.
In any case, today, they had not raised their voices at each other.
From a young age, Hwang In was trained not to reveal his emotions.
He was taught that this was the most important trait for living as a merchant.
But at least in this moment, it was not easy to hide his feelings.
Especially when he stood before Jeon Nak.
He was the devil with whom he had made a deal.
‘He is too dangerous. We must not join hands with them.’
To his father’s attempts to stop him, he had said this:
‘I do not wish to live the rest of my life as the lord of some backwater merchant group.’
Because he didn’t want to live such a life.
Because he had the ambition to make the Hwangdo Merchant Group the number one merchant group in the Central Plains.
The man he had joined hands with for that reason was this Jeon Nak.
After joining hands with him, he could clearly see it.
That he, too, was the same kind of person as this Jeon Nak.
That he held a sword, while he himself held an abacus.
That he glared coldly, while he himself smiled.
Aside from that difference, he and this man were fundamentally the same.
That must have been why.
After joining hands with Jeon Nak, the Hwangdo Merchant Group grew rapidly.
And one fact he came to realize.
This Jeon Nak was also nothing more than a subordinate receiving orders from someone else.
He learned this naturally through their conversations.
He worried about what he had gotten himself swept into, but it was already too late to turn back.
The only choice left was to become the number one merchant group under heaven, or be killed by this Jeon Nak.
“The agreement fell through?”
Jeon Nak spoke in his usual polite and low tone.
But hearing his voice always sent shivers down Hwang In’s spine.
Because he knew.
That he was a butcher with no blood or tears.
He felt that even if they were on the same side for the next thirty years, if the moment came when he had to kill him, he would not hesitate for a second.
“That is correct.”
“Didn’t you say you were confident about this matter?”
“The Sword Clan has brought in outsiders.”
“Who?”
“The Western Dao Sect of Gansu. It seems the sect master of the Western Dao Sect owed a debt to the deceased Sword Clan Leader.”
As Geom Mugeuk had predicted, he did not move directly but used an information broker to find out their identity.
He was able to find out sooner than he thought.
The information broker already had information on them.
When he realized the opponent was the Western Dao Sect, Hwang In felt relieved.
The people he had met at the inn gave off a strange feeling he couldn’t quite place.
A strange, unexplainable leisureliness had bothered him, but now he could guess the source of that leisureliness.
'A family that produced a winner in the Young Dragon Tournament, is that it?'
That incomprehensible leisureliness came from that.
And so, he was rather relieved.
'If that's the only reason?'
They were an opponent he could handle with confidence.
Jeon Nak said in a dry tone.
“I understand. I will handle the rest.”
Hwang In knew what kind of handling he was talking about.
He would kill the three from the Western Dao Sect and retrieve the contract.
He always liked a clean job.
But Hwang In wanted to handle this matter himself.
“The Western Dao Sect is just a regional sect, but by producing a winner in the Young Dragon Tournament, they have formed a connection with the Martial Alliance. If we touch them carelessly, the Martial Alliance might intervene. This matter must be handled with care.”
This was the reason Geom Mugeuk had chosen the Western Dao Sect as his cover identity.
To tell the opponent not to try to solve things with force, but to choose another method.
Because Geom Mugeuk intended to figure out who was behind them through this.
“Please lend me the Money Ghosts.”
Money ghosts.
That’s what Jeon Nak called the masters he kept with him.
They truly were ghosts when it came to money.
So far, whenever they moved, every problem was solved.
Those who were stubborn changed their minds, those who pointed their swords at them met with accidents, and those who cursed at them disappeared.
In short, when they stepped in, a signed contract would be in his hands the next day.
“I believe this matter requires a merchant rather than a martial artist. If things don’t work out even after I try to persuade them, it won’t be too late to handle things the way you originally intended.”
Finally, Jeon Nak spoke.
“How many do you need?”
“Enough to subdue the sect master of the Western Dao Sect.”
Hwang In spoke with a look that asked for trust.
“Don’t worry. What merchant would make a losing deal?”
That evening, Hwang In came to find Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk’s party was staying in a small manor they had rented a short distance from the marketplace.
From Hwang In’s perspective, it was a relief that they weren’t staying at an eye-catching inn.
As he handled this matter, Hwang In wanted to see Geom Mugeuk beg.
Pay for the inn you rented and leave? A merchant should do his calculations properly, shouldn’t he? He felt humiliated when he called the innkeeper and paid the money.
How dare he discuss a merchant’s calculations in front of him!
He wouldn’t kill the man, but he planned to toy with him to his heart’s content before sending him away.
When he left the inn, he had told the man.
That he was a man who always paid his debts.
Guided by Hwi, he entered the courtyard.
Geom Mugeuk was making something in a place where trees were planted.
“Welcome!”
Geom Mugeuk greeted him cheerfully.
As if he had forgotten what had happened at the inn, anyone would think they were close friends.
“You’ve come at a good time. Here, hold this rope.”
Hwang In absentmindedly took the rope Geom Mugeuk offered.
Geom Mugeuk tied the rope to the opposite tree.
In the middle of the rope, fixed on both sides, was a net large enough for one adult to lie down in.
“A hammock. It’s a temporary bed made for sleeping in areas with many poisonous insects.”
Another one was already made a little distance away.
“That one is my father’s. I plan to lie here side by side with my father tonight and look up at the night sky.”
Just the thought of it seemed to please him, as Geom Mugeuk smiled happily.
“Young hero, you seem to really like your father.”
“Of course. My father doesn’t trust me, but I like him the most in the world.”
Geom Mugeuk spoke in a loud voice, intentionally so it could be heard inside the building.
He was sure they could hear even whispers from here, but no answer came from inside the building.
“Alright, now that it’s all made, let’s try lying down.”
Geom Mugeuk lay down in the hammock.
As he rocked his body, the hammock swayed gently between the trees.
“It’s so comfortable and nice.”
Hwang In just looked down at such a Geom Mugeuk.
He had felt it at the inn, but this was not a common person.
That must be why he was asking such a question in this situation.
“How is your father?”
Suddenly being asked about his father, Hwang In was inwardly flustered.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, doesn’t your father surprise you, his son? I was so surprised back then. I didn’t know my father would step up for that woman.”
Hwang In didn’t know what to say about his father.
‘My father is…’
His father had joined hands with Jeon Nak according to his son’s wishes.
Was it a choice for his child? Or was it because his father had the same ambition as he did? Hwang In couldn’t know for sure what his father was thinking.
“The easiest person in the world to understand, and also the hardest. Isn’t that what a father is?”
Hwang In said nothing to Geom Mugeuk’s words.
Then, Geom Mugeuk suddenly sat up from the hammock.
“You try lying down too.”
“I’m fine.”
“I said, try lying down.”
He forced Hwang In to lie down there.
“Look up at the sky from there. How is it?”
It was his first time lying in such a bed, but it was more comfortable than he thought.
Then it suddenly occurred to him that this was not the time for this, and he tried to get up.
He stumbled and was about to fall to the ground, but Geom Mugeuk caught him.
“Thank you.”
“It’s because you’re not used to it.”
What he wasn’t used to was Geom Mugeuk’s attitude.
He was treating him much more friendly than at the inn.
“This won’t make me just let this matter go.”
On the wall Hwang In looked at, three men were already standing with their arms crossed, looking this way.
They were the Money Ghosts he had brought with him.
Among the Money Ghosts, they were the ones Jeon Nak cherished.
They were masters who could easily handle the sect master of a regional sect like the Western Dao Sect.
“You said you were just a merchant, but you’re not just a merchant.”
“There are many people who look down on merchants and try to solve things with force, so sometimes I have no choice but to ask for help.”
“If that’s the reason, you could have come alone. As you can see, I’m a person who prefers conversations with my mouth over conversations with a sword.”
Hwang In stared blankly at Geom Mugeuk.
'What on earth are you trusting in?'
Even though he had brought masters who could kill his father, he was not intimidated or dispirited at all.
Or perhaps he didn’t even know what the situation was?
“On my command, I will take the contract by force if necessary.”
Then, words Geom Mugeuk never expected flowed from his mouth.
“Will the three of them be enough? To make my father draw his sword, you would need about three hundred men like them.”
At that, the Money Ghosts burst out laughing simultaneously.
Although they were masters, they were not skilled enough to see through to Geom Mugeuk's true nature.
More importantly, the problem was that they already knew the opponent’s identity.
The successor of the Western Dao Sect.
Since they already thought of him that way, it was just laughable.
Moreover, before coming, Hwang In had told them that his eloquence was extraordinary.
“If you quietly hand over the contract, apologize politely, and leave, nothing will happen.”
“My father will never hand it over. He made a promise to that woman.”
“If you want to save your father, you go and persuade him.”
At that, Geom Mugeuk sighed and said.
“Impossible. My father is the kind of man who takes at least five years to persuade.”
Five years? What on earth was he talking about? Hwang In sent a puzzled look, but Geom Mugeuk was still at ease.
The three men on the wall, who had been watching until then, jumped down.
“Once they start moving, I can’t stop them. This is your last chance. You go persuade your father and get the contract.”
One of the three Money Ghosts stepped forward.
“There’s no need for all three of us to go. I’ll go and get it. I’ll bring your father too and throw him on that hammock.”
Even as he strode towards the building, Geom Mugeuk lay leisurely in the hammock.
“Aren’t you worried about your father?”
“I might worry about everyone else in the world, but he’s the one person I don’t have to worry about.”
Hwang In guessed the source of this leisureliness like this.
'Does he perhaps believe the Martial Alliance will protect him?'
He thought that might be the case.
The confidence that they wouldn’t dare to harm a family that produced a winner in the Young Dragon Tournament.
Yes, that was all the Western Dao Sect could believe in.
'That flimsy pride has ruined you!'
How much time had passed like that?
The Money Ghost who had gone in showed no signs of coming out.
Yet, no sounds of arguing or fighting could be heard from inside.
Only silence flowed from the building.
The second Money Ghost, tired of waiting, stepped forward.
“I’ll go and see.”
He walked into the building.
His skills were no less than the first Money Ghost, and he had a calmer personality.
But there was no news from him either.
The remaining Money Ghost’s expression hardened.
He realized something was wrong.
They should have all gone in together from the start.
“It could be a trap!”
At Hwang In’s attempt to stop him, the third Money Ghost said coldly.
“Then do you think it’s safe out here?”
The third Money Ghost drew his sword and cautiously entered the building.
Three ferocious men had gone in, yet not even the sound of a chair falling over could be heard, which was all the more frightening and astonishing.
There was no news from the third Money Ghost either.
Hwang In’s gaze, which had been fearfully looking at the building, turned to Geom Mugeuk.
Finally, Geom Mugeuk sat up from the hammock.
In the distance, the sunset was beginning.
A red hue spread across the world like ink on paper, and the sky looked wider.
With mystical eyes that held the sunset, Geom Mugeuk calmly asked.
“If you are truly a merchant, shouldn't you be making a deal instead of resorting to blades and threats?”