Geom Mugeuk's words struck him like a dagger to the heart.
Aren't you a merchant? Shouldn't you be making a deal?
Hwang In often showed pride in being a merchant.
But he knew.
This pride was nothing more than a sandcastle that would crumble with a single wave of truth.
In decisive moments, he had always resolved matters by mobilizing the Money Ghosts, not through a merchant's transaction.
“Ordinarily, you should have come to me alone and made a proposal. ‘I want that contract back. What is it that you desire?’ To speak like that, isn't that a true merchant? To grasp what I want and offer something that matches it. A person who achieves what cannot be done with a sword, isn't that a merchant?”
Hwang In unknowingly bit his lip.
The reason he had bristled at Geom Mugeuk's words in the tavern earlier, asking if a merchant shouldn't get his sums right, was likely due to this same insecurity.
After a moment of silence, Hwang In's gaze turned to the building the Money Ghosts had entered.
"What happened to the men who went inside?"
"That, I do not know either."
"Did you release some kind of poison?"
Geom Mugeuk smiled.
"My father despises poison. There is even one person who is quite disappointed because of it."
What on earth did he mean? Hwang In could not understand.
Geom Mugeuk rose from his seat.
"Well, if you're curious, let's go inside and see."
Geom Mugeuk took the lead and walked in.
Hwang In's heart wanted to run for the main gate, but he could not.
Not only would he be unable to escape, but even if they let him go, what would he say to Jeon Nak upon his return? That he fled without even confirming the fate of the three Money Ghosts Jeon Nak cherished?
Being someone who didn't know martial arts, he could have done that.
But Jeon Nak would not believe it.
He would think there was no way they would have just let him go.
With a fearful heart, Hwang In followed Geom Mugeuk inside.
As they walked down the neatly decorated corridor, there was no sign of a fight, let alone the corpses of the Money Ghosts.
Not a single drop of blood had splattered on the flowers in the vase on the decorative cabinet.
He was sure they were skilled enough to kill the Sect Master of the Western Path Sect.
‘Where on earth did they disappear to?’
The thought occurred to him that perhaps the three of them were sitting in the room at the end of the hall, drinking tea.
Please let it be so! Or maybe after killing the Western Path Sect's Master, they were looking down at the corpse, exchanging idle jokes.
But what if it was the other way around?
As all sorts of thoughts raced through his mind, the two of them arrived at the room at the end of the corridor.
When they entered the room, Geom Woojin was sitting at a table, drinking tea.
The Money Ghosts were not in the room.
"Father, the merchant we saw at the tavern that day has come to visit again."
Geom Woojin, who had been looking out the window, turned his gaze to Hwang In.
"Greetings, Sect Master."
Hwang In greeted him with a trembling voice.
Geom Woojin looked at him with an expressionless face.
It was the same gaze he had seen at the tavern, but the heart of the person receiving it was different.
He should have continued with other greetings, but he was too curious to hold back.
"The people who came with me entered this building first. By any chance... have you seen them?"
Honestly, he wanted to ask outright.
Did you dispose of them?
Geom Woojin shook his head.
Geom Mugeuk already knew.
The one who had dealt with them was not his father, but Hwi.
Unless an order was given to let them in, there was no way Hwi would have stood by and watched as someone entered the house targeting his father.
To Hwi, it would have been a matter of 'How dare they!'.
He had probably remained hidden, silently dispatching the Money Ghosts one by one as they entered.
Without a single drop of blood, without a single scream.
This was the skill of the current Heavenly Demon’s head of security.
"Then where could those people have gone?"
Hwang In asked cautiously, looking at Geom Mugeuk.
Shouldn't he be curious as well? Yet, with such a composed demeanor?
At that moment, a thought flashed through Hwang In's mind.
'Could it be? These people?'
Like the protagonists of the secret stories quietly passed down in the Martial World.
'A Mysterious Noble Clan that has lived while hiding its power?'
And another thought followed.
'Then one of the young successors, unable to bear the stuffiness, makes his debut in the Martial World, participates in the Young Dragon Tournament, and wins? In the end, because of that, even the Clan Leader emerges into the world.'
He did not think this naturally formed story was absurd.
Without such a background, how could a martial artist from a mere regional sect win the Young Dragon Tournament and make three Money Ghosts disappear in an instant without a sound?
It was a plausible story.
The Martial World was a place where beings with all sorts of secrets and mysteries existed.
Thinking this, he even understood the incomprehensible ease they had shown at the tavern.
At the same time, a surge of fear rose within him.
'He might even kill me to protect their secret.'
The secrets of a mysterious clan must be kept hidden.
'If not that, then.'
Hwang In looked at Geom Mugeuk.
Seeing those clear and deep eyes, far from killing intent, he felt a glimmer of hope.
'It will be an opportunity.'
A heaven-sent opportunity to make the Hwangdo Merchant Group the greatest merchant group under heaven.
Geom Woojin, finally breaking his silence, asked.
"What business brings you to me?"
Should he answer honestly? That he came to retrieve the contract? No, that he came to take it by force?
As Hwang In hesitated, he suddenly recalled what Geom Mugeuk had said.
If you are truly a merchant, shouldn't you make a deal?
Hwang In took a deep breath and then spoke to Geom Woojin.
"I have come to make a deal with you, Sect Master."
Geom Woojin listened without a word.
"Please make our merchant group the greatest in the world."
Anyone who heard it would call it madness.
They might ask how he could betray Jeon Nak so quickly just because three Money Ghosts had disappeared.
But this was not a betrayal.
It was a calculation for survival.
At least in this moment, he had to be a true merchant.
He had to calculate correctly.
"In addition to the money earned in the process, I will offer half of all future earnings for the rest of my life."
It was a desperate gamble Hwang In threw at an opponent who might kill or spare him.
The Jeon Nak he knew was a butcher without blood or tears.
If such a man lost all three of the Money Ghosts he cherished, would he let these people be? No, he would not.
If a fight were to break out, he had to side with the winner.
'Let's stake my fate on these people.'
Because right now, they were the ones before his eyes.
Presently, Geom Woojin replied curtly.
"Discuss it with my son."
From Geom Woojin's reaction, Hwang In was convinced his guess was correct.
An ordinary sect would have reacted like this, right?
—Make you the greatest merchant group under heaven? What kind of nonsense is that?
But he said to discuss it with his son.
As if, if they discussed it, the matter could be accomplished.
Geom Woojin, as if he had no more to say, drank his tea and turned his gaze back to the window.
"Well, let's be on our way."
At Geom Mugeuk's words, Hwang In respectfully bowed his head to Geom Woojin.
Hwang In followed Geom Mugeuk out of the room.
The moment he stepped out, a sigh escaped him without him realizing it.
When they were outside the building, Hwang In asked Geom Mugeuk.
"By any chance, did I make a mistake with the Sect Master?"
"You made no mistake. However, the terms of the deal could not be considered excellent."
"What do you mean?"
"What you offered as payment for the deal was money."
Geom Mugeuk smiled faintly and added.
"My father also has plenty of money."
Hwang In said, as if in protest.
"The amount I guaranteed is not just 'plenty,' it is an immense fortune."
"My father also has an amount that is quite immense."
What on earth was he talking about?
The greatest merchant group under heaven was offering half its wealth, and he was comparing it to a personal fortune?
Every now and then, this person said things he could not comprehend.
"In any case, you're acting more like a merchant now."
Seeing Geom Mugeuk's gentle expression, Hwang In felt a sense of relief.
At least it seemed he would not be killed.
Naturally, his worries then turned to Jeon Nak.
"When he finds out that the three men who came with me are dead, he won't stand for it. He will bring all his subordinates to kill you."
"Does he have about three hundred subordinates?"
It was the same joke Geom Mugeuk had made earlier.
His words that it would take three hundred men for his father to draw his sword no longer sounded like just a joke.
"All in all, there are just over thirty, but I know that among them are masters even more skilled than the ones I brought."
Geom Mugeuk stared at Hwang In for a moment.
As the smile vanished from Geom Mugeuk's face, Hwang In anticipated that a crucial statement that would decide his life was about to be made.
"Go back and bring only that person here."
Hwang In flinched.
What could this mean? It meant he was to lure Jeon Nak here to be killed, didn't it?
"He might suspect me and kill me."
"You might betray us."
Hwang In knew.
This was a test for him.
It meant that if he passed this test, they would join hands with him.
The scales in his heart swayed up and down.
A wrong choice now meant death.
"If I bring him? Can you handle it? That man is a far greater master than the ones who came before."
"Whether we can handle it or not is for you to judge. But you should know this. Your dream is so big that you have involved a very dangerous person."
He might think that dangerous person was the one he had allied with, but the person Geom Mugeuk was referring to was his father.
"So, judge carefully. There will be no backing down from this deal."
To state the result first, Hwang In chose the Mysterious Noble Clan.
The reason was simple.
The fact that his opponent left the judgment to him was a show of confidence that they could handle it even if he betrayed them and brought everyone.
Of course, it was a temporary choice.
He planned to keep a foot in both camps and watch the situation.
Aren't scales meant to go up and down?
For now, he would take Jeon Nak to them.
If he took him and the Western Path Sect killed Jeon Nak, he would stick with them as originally planned.
If Jeon Nak defeated them, he intended to stick with him as if nothing had happened.
What weighed on his mind was that Jeon Nak had a backer, but that was something to worry about later.
The thing to worry about now was how to bring him without arousing his suspicion.
He had many thoughts on the way.
Should he say the Money Ghosts were calling for him? Then why did he send you, and not one of them? It must be a situation that requires all three of them.
No. That kind of reason wouldn't work.
After much thought, he came up with a method.
"I wish to absorb the Western Path Sect into our side."
At Hwang In's words, Jeon Nak's eyes showed puzzlement.
He had sent him with three Money Ghosts, yet he had returned alone to say this.
Without revealing his inner thoughts, Jeon Nak asked calmly.
"What is the reason for suddenly trying to bring them in?"
"As we talked, I came to like their successor."
"For what reason?"
"He reminded me of the way of commerce that I had recently forgotten."
Jeon Nak's expression soured slightly.
His very existence was the antithesis of the way of commerce.
To discuss the way of commerce now was infuriating.
"They are a sect that will surely be useful in many ways. Please trust my judgment."
Jeon Nak finally asked about the Money Ghosts.
"Where are the Money Ghosts who went with you?"
"I told them to hold them there. Just give me your permission. I will go and get the contract signed. I believe the reason they were entrusted with the Ju Clan Sword Family's contract was for this connection to be made."
He absolutely did not ask him to come along.
If he had, the suspicious Jeon Nak would have immediately sensed danger.
"Haven't I always listened to your words until now? So please, leave this matter to me."
Hwang In was truly acting with all his soul.
He had to.
He could really die on this very spot.
Jeon Nak, who had been staring at Hwang In without a word, accepted his request.
"Very well, bring them in."
"Thank you. I will go at once and get the contract signed."
As Hwang In turned away, he shouted inwardly.
'Tell me to go with you! You have to suspect me!'
Just as he was about to open the door and leave.
"Let us go together."
Hwang In turned back, deliberately hardening his expression.
"I can handle this on my own. You don't have to come with me."
"Let's go together. I've become curious to see for myself what kind of person changed your mind."
It was a success born of suspicion, but that suspicion was airtight.
Before departing, he had secretly ordered the remaining Money Ghosts to follow him.
Late at night, Geom Mugeuk and Geom Woojin were lying side by side in a hammock, looking up at the night sky.
"This is your first time in a hammock, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Another first experience with you, Father!"
Geom Mugeuk was genuinely delighted.
In the past, he had hoped his father would recognize such feelings, but now he no longer held such a wish.
He believed his father would understand.
It didn't matter if he passed by without knowing.
He intended to keep conveying his feelings from now on.
"I'll take this hammock and hang it between the fingers of the great statue in front of the Heavenly Demon Hall. If you're bored, you can rest there."
If installed between the tilted fingers, it would offer a clear view of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
Of course, he didn't think his father would actually lie there.
"You're the one who wants to lie there, aren't you?"
"When will you teach me the martial art of reading people's minds?"
As they were gazing at the night sky for a long while, Jeon Nak and Hwang In arrived.
Seeing the two of them lying in the hammock in the yard, Jeon Nak was inwardly dumbfounded.
'Did he really get my permission just to recruit people like that?'
Martial artists lying side by side in a hammock, just playing around? He had never seen such martial artists before.
Geom Mugeuk sat up in the hammock.
"You've returned!"
Watching Geom Mugeuk smile brightly at him, Jeon Nak felt a strange sensation.
For a martial artist, he felt he was too innocent.
Jeon Nak's gaze shifted to Geom Woojin, who was still lying in the hammock.
Geom Woojin was looking up at the stars in the night sky.
Seeing this, Jeon Nak found himself following that gaze and looking up at the night sky as well.
He didn't know why he looked up.
It was just an automatic thought, that since that person was looking, he should look too.
Even as he looked at the incredibly beautiful stars, Jeon Nak felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety.
And so, he knew.
'Something has gone wrong.'