Chapter 54
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Opening for Business (1)
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Jinmyeong, who had been walking aimlessly, came to a halt.
“Hm? Where are we?”
“I have no idea.”
Shin Yehyang couldn’t possibly know.
She had merely been following Jinmyeong.
‘It looks like a slum.’
Akju, famous for its tourism, was a glamorous place.
But where he stood now was far from such splendor.
Buildings that looked ready to collapse at any moment were scattered about, and people with lifeless expressions lay strewn around.
“The smell is quite strong.”
“……”
A foul stench, enough to make one’s face scrunch up instinctively, assaulted Jinmyeong’s nose.
Instead of replying, Shin Yehyang simply frowned, her delicate brows furrowed as she held her breath.
She was clearly trying her best to block out the smell by controlling her breathing.
‘This is probably for the best.’
Jinmyeong, like Shin Yehyang, controlled his breathing to block the odor.
Even so, the smell continued to torment his nostrils.
“I’m going to keep looking around. What will you do, Young Lady?”
“You want to look around here?”
“Yes. You never know.”
“That’s true.”
Jinmyeong and Shin Yehyang hadn’t come here for leisure.
They were here to find new women to become courtesans.
And no matter how much of a slum it was, it wasn’t devoid of women.
There would surely be many who would follow for a small sum of money.
“But I doubt we’ll find anyone here with skills like playing instruments or dancing.”
“True. And without talent, their skills won't improve overnight.”
The problem was that it was highly unlikely to find someone with the skills Jinmyeong wanted in a slum like this.
“I can’t gauge talent, but that isn’t everything.”
One could also entertain a guest through conversation.
“The Four Gentlemen will be good at training them.”
“…You’re more irresponsible than I thought.”
“Isn’t it rare for someone of my rank to be doing this much legwork in the first place?”
Jinmyeong continued to survey his surroundings.
Was it because a well-dressed man and woman had suddenly appeared?
He could feel lifeless gazes fixing on the two of them.
But they only watched from a distance; no one approached them directly.
It was surely because of the sword and saber at their waists.
“Hmm. There’s one.”
Jinmyeong continued walking, beginning to select candidates.
Of course, he didn’t approach them directly.
He planned to look around first and then ask them all at once.
‘It’s a bit pitiful.’
Seeing these people in tattered clothes, so malnourished that their bones showed, unwashed and filthy, he felt a pang of sympathy.
He wondered if this was what he would have become had he not awakened as the youngest son of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—especially if he had been reincarnated as someone with no talent for martial arts and no family.
‘It seems this kind of emotion still remains.’
He had thought his personality was changing to suit that of a warrior.
He had thought his emotions were gradually dulling, becoming diluted, so to speak.
But feeling this way now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
“Looks like we’re about done.”
“How many have you chosen?”
“I’m thinking about five.”
“That’s more than I expected.”
Shin Yehyang had also been looking around intently, but she hadn’t thought there would be as many as five.
In her eyes, there wasn’t a single person worth taking.
“Shall we head back?”
It was just as Jinmyeong and Shin Yehyang turned to leave.
“Aargh! Please, save me! I’m sorry!”
A sharp voice pierced their ears.
“……”
“What’s wrong?”
As Jinmyeong stopped, Shin Yehyang also halted.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to help?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“I never knew you were such a compassionate person, Young Master Jin.”
“Me neither.”
The Jinmyeong that Shin Yehyang knew would have simply ignored such a scream and walked away.
But Jinmyeong headed toward the source of the cry.
When he arrived, he saw a middle-aged man beating a young woman.
“What are you going to do?”
“Hmm.”
Jinmyeong stared silently at the woman being beaten.
‘She looks a bit young, but on the other hand, she might be suitable.’
Even in this situation, Jinmyeong was assessing the woman.
After observing her for a long while, Jinmyeong nodded his head as if he had made a decision.
“Alright, that’s enough.”
Jinmyeong stepped in, blocking the middle-aged man.
“Who the hell are you?”
The man’s face was red; it seemed he was already drunk, even in broad daylight.
“Well, well. Looks like this one’s been whoring around.”
The middle-aged man slowly approached Jinmyeong.
He looked ready to throw a punch at any moment.
“That’s not it. But haven’t you been taught to watch your mouth? Say something like that again, and you might lose your head.”
The middle-aged man, who had been advancing on Jinmyeong, suddenly shivered from an abrupt chill.
The aura flowing from Jinmyeong’s body began to press down on him.
“Gasp, cough!”
The pressure made it hard for him to even breathe.
The man’s face turned pale, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at Jinmyeong.
‘A martial artist? Why is a martial artist here?’
The alcohol in his system evaporated in an instant.
Only then did he notice the sword hanging from Jinmyeong’s waist.
“W-What can I do for you, sir? Even if you are a martial artist, my disciplining my daughter is…”
“That’s true. There’s no reason for me to interfere.”
Jinmyeong turned his head to look at the woman.
The woman, collapsed on the ground, looked at Jinmyeong with a restless expression.
A look that pleaded for help, yet also resented him for intervening.
She must have known that while he might stop it for now, the beating would be even worse once Jinmyeong left.
“Her mother?”
“Why would you be curious about…”
The middle-aged man quickly shut his mouth at Jinmyeong’s cold glare.
“Sh-She’s dead.”
“Is that so? Then I only need to deal with you?”
Jinmyeong took out five silver coins from his sleeve and tossed them in front of the man.
“S-Silver coins?”
The man’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the silver.
“Sell me your daughter.”
“What?”
“That should be more than enough.”
For someone as poor as this man, a single silver nyang could last a whole year.
It was an absurdly low price for buying and selling a person, but here, it was more than sufficient.
In poor families, it was common for children to be sold for a silver nyang, or sometimes even less.
“Hehe. Well, that would be great for me, but…”
With this money, he could drink without worrying about his finances for a while.
Not the cheap liquor he had been drinking until now, but expensive spirits, and as much as he wanted.
“It’s not just because she’s my daughter, but she’s not bad-looking… Her mother was quite the beauty, you see.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes, as he picked up the silver coins from the ground, were filled with greed.
His greed seemed to have overcome his fear; it was as if his earlier terror before Jinmyeong had been a lie.
“Oh?”
Jinmyeong took out five more silver coins from his sleeve and tossed them toward the man.
“Hiek!”
The man’s eyes widened as five more coins appeared.
He never imagined this young man before him would want his foolish daughter this much.
It seemed that if he asked for a little more, the man might actually give him more money.
“If you pick that up, you die.”
A cold voice reached the ears of the middle-aged man, who was grinning as he bent down to pick up the money.
Hearing that voice, goosebumps broke out all over his body, and his head began to clear.
He started to regret what he had just done.
“I-I’m sorry.”
The man quickly straightened up.
Just then, the five silver coins on the ground floated up into the air.
“Don’t be too greedy.”
At this sight, the man was so shocked that he could only stare wide-eyed and nod his head repeatedly.
“Let’s go.”
“Pardon?”
The woman stared blankly up at Jinmyeong.
“Get up. I’ve bought you, so you don’t need to be here anymore.”
Even after witnessing herself being traded right before her eyes, the woman still hesitated.
She wondered if it was really okay to follow Jinmyeong.
Was it really okay to follow this person who made her father, the most terrifying person in the world, shrink back in fear, unable to do anything?
“You’ll die one way or another, so why are you so hesitant? I’m getting tired and want to head back.”
At Jinmyeong’s words, the woman hastily stood up.
But was it because her father had beaten her too much?
All the strength drained from her body, and her legs gave out.
“Ugh.”
She was about to fall, but something soft wrapped around her body, supporting her.
“Let’s go. There are others to pick up besides you.”
“Y-Yes.”
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“Huh? My name is Yuran.”
Yuran began to walk cautiously behind Jinmyeong.
She kept glancing back over her shoulder.
She was worried her father might follow her, but he was just staring at the silver coins Jinmyeong had given him, grinning.
“Do you know any of the people over there?”
Jinmyeong pointed to the women he had spotted earlier.
Thanks to Yuran, he was able to approach the candidates easily.
“Instead of living like this, how about coming with me and earning some money? It’s not a great job, though.”
Only after hearing Jinmyeong’s words did Yuran realize that he was taking her to be a courtesan.
‘Will it be better than now?’
She had heard that courtesans were not treated well, but she wanted to escape the hell that was her father.
She felt it would be better than her current life.
And it seemed the other women felt the same.
Even knowing they were to become courtesans, they readily nodded and followed Jinmyeong.
“No, did you really bring them? But their condition is quite…”
Yang Jeon looked at the women Jinmyeong had brought, his eyes filled with suspicion.
Watching them look around in their shabby clothes made his head ache.
“Wash them up and feed them well. I spent nearly ten silver nyang on them, after all.”
“What? You spent silver to bring back girls like these?”
Yuran alone cost five nyang, and he had given a fair amount of money to the families of the other five as well.
Yang Jeon clutched his chest, frustrated that Jinmyeong had wasted money again.
“More importantly, what happened?”
“I received the introduction. I made the request just as you instructed, Young Master.”
“Good. Tell him to come by later. I need to decide on a general look.”
Jinmyeong summoned the four women of the Four Gentlemen.
“Wash these girls, and feed them well. And if any seem to have talent, teach them some skills.”
“Yes.”
The Four Gentlemen led the women Jinmyeong had brought away.
Now, all he could do was hope that the Four Gentlemen would train the courtesans properly until the building was demolished and rebuilt.
“There is another problem.”
But as if waiting for them to leave, Yang Jeon didn’t give Jinmyeong a moment’s rest.
“What now? The courtesans are sorted, the cook is sorted, and the building is sorted.”
Jinmyeong’s face soured at the mention of another problem, especially after resolving the biggest one, the courtesans.
“It’s the alcohol.”
“Alcohol? All of a sudden?”
Come to think of it, the drink Im Sagyeong had served them was cheap, cloudy rice wine.
And it had been utterly tasteless.
“Don’t tell me that’s all the alcohol we have.”
“Yes. With no money, we have no suppliers.”
“Huu. Right. So we have to find new suppliers too.”
Sensing Jinmyeong’s displeasure, Im Sagyeong began to back away nervously.
“Where are you going?”
“Huh? Nowhere!”
“Bring me the list of our previous suppliers, now.”
“I’ll get it right away!”
At Jinmyeong’s command, Im Sagyeong quickly left the room.
“Seriously, what isn’t a problem here? We haven’t even started yet.”
“What can we do? You’re the one who started this big project, Young Master, so you have to endure it.”
“Right. It’s my fault for starting it, my fault. Huu.”
Sighing, Jinmyeong began to scan the list Im Sagyeong brought, hoping that his other senior brothers were suffering just as much as he was.