Chapter 5
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Raising the Stakes
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“Wait!”
Aeng-hwa froze at the woman's shout.
Cheon Hajin cleaned out his ear.
“Quite the set of lungs.”
The woman, who had shot to her feet, wore an expression of extreme coldness.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Of what?”
“I'm asking what you think you're doing!”
“You can see what I'm doing, you little robber.”
“Hey, Third Young Master!”
“Hey, and I’m asking because I really don’t know.”
Cheon Hajin tilted his head.
“Are you, by any chance, a disciple of the Cult Leader like me?”
Though he asked out of genuine curiosity, to the woman, it could only sound like sarcasm.
The woman's face flushed. She couldn't control her expression at all.
“No? Right, I thought so. But here you are, threatening me and shouting in my face.”
“Look here.”
“Are you perhaps of a higher status than me?”
Cheon Hajin turned his head to Aeng-hwa.
“Aeng-hwa, is that woman my superior?”
“N-No, she is not.”
“Ah! Right. You might know. Who is that woman?”
Aeng-hwa glanced nervously at the warriors.
Cheon Hajin's eyes widened.
“Hey, why are you looking at these hulks? Answer me, quickly.”
“Yes, sir!”
Aeng-hwa explained briefly and simply.
The woman's name was Hong Yeorin.
She was a demonic practitioner currently working in the Garden of Joy within the Divine Cult, and the daughter of the Red Snake House, one of the Seven Demonic Houses.
Though young, she was strong enough to be called a rising star, and her excellent work ethic had earned her recognition as a pillar of the demonic martial world.
And most importantly.
“Oho, is that so? The younger sister of a fellow disciple?”
“Y-Yes, that is correct.”
“I was wondering why she was barking so much. Turns out she has some reliable backing.”
The woman, Hong Yeorin, her face twisted.
Reliable backing? The Third Young Master was insulting her, knowing full well the deadly relationship between her and her brother.
Cheon Hajin waved his hand dismissively. It was a gesture steeped in endless annoyance and lethargy.
“Things have gotten a little weird, but fine. I'll let it slide since you're the sibling of a fellow disciple. I don't want to make a big deal out of this either.”
“...”
“Get out. And don't come back. Got it?”
*Not that I'll be here if you do come back anyway.*
Cheon Hajin smiled slyly. The thought of finally escaping this place made the back of his neck flush with heat.
*This…!*
Hong Yeorin's cheeks trembled uncontrollably. The insults she had endured so far were hard enough to bear, but now he was openly mocking her.
“...Fine.”
All expression had vanished from her face.
As her anger reached its peak, her face paradoxically grew calm, emanating a chilling aura.
“Since you're acting this way, Third Young Master, I suppose it's for the best.”
“Yeah, goodbye.”
“Before I go, let's just take care of one thing.”
“What now.”
She took out two sheets of high-quality paper from her robes.
“This is a contract bearing both our signatures.”
A contract?
“You remember, don't you? If either of us breaks the contract first, or creates a situation where it must be broken, the penalty is three times the amount.”
“Hmm?”
“The elixirs I've invested in you, Third Young Master, when converted to gold, amount to nearly one thousand nyang.
Add in the other miscellaneous financial support, and it comes to a little over two thousand nyang. For old times' sake, let's round it down.”
“...?!”
“Six thousand nyang of gold. Pay up right now. If that's too difficult, you can write me an IOU stating when you'll pay it back. Then I'll disappear quietly.”
Elixirs? Financial support?
Wait, a disciple of the Cult Leader received elixirs and money from the sibling of another candidate? What kind of crazy bullshit is this?
*I've never heard anything about this.*
Cheon Hajin looked at Aeng-hwa.
Aeng-hwa, her face frozen, shook her head from side to side. Her expression said she knew nothing about it.
*Huh! Six thousand nyang? Six thousand nyaaang?!*
Six thousand nyang of gold.
That was sixty thousand nyang in silver. An amount so immense it was equivalent to the annual budget of a major sect.
She wants that huge sum right now? And if I can't pay, I have to write an IOU?
Unbelievable!
“Sure, why not. Let's write the IOU.”
“...What?”
“You said to write an IOU if I can't pay right now, didn't you? Aeng-hwa! Get me some ink and paper.”
His nonchalant attitude was what flustered Hong Yeorin.
“Y-You're going to write an IOU? Really?”
“You told me to, you wench.”
His tone was dripping with bluntness. Hong Yeorin felt dumbfounded.
*He's going to write an IOU?*
An IOU was not something to be written lightly. Especially for someone of high social standing, one had to be even more cautious.
The issue wasn't whether the promise would be kept, but the very fact that an IOU was written could stir up controversy.
To put it bluntly, if word got out that Hong Yeorin and the Third Young Master had written some kind of IOU, public attention would inevitably focus on him.
Public attention is a double-edged sword.
It wouldn't matter if that attention was merely curiosity, but the moment it developed into suspicion, the target would be trapped behind invisible bars.
For someone like the Third Young Master, those bars would be immense pressure, wouldn't they?
*Is he serious?*
Seo Ryang wasn't exceptionally smart, but he was someone who understood the political climate and could read the flow of events.
She had assumed he would naturally refuse to write an IOU. That was why she had offered it as an option in the first place.
It was the best way to pressure her opponent and gain the upper hand.
But he said he would write it. And with a completely unfazed expression.
“Are you really going to write it?”
“Are your ears just for decoration?”
“You're really going to write it, right?”
“Want me to clean them out for you?”
The bridge of her nose twitched uncontrollably.
Cheon Hajin scoffed inwardly.
*It's not like it's a big deal.*
He had over thirty years of experience in the martial world. There was no way he wouldn't see through this cute little robber's shallow scheme.
So what? What's she going to do about it?
Once he escaped this place, the IOU and everything else would vanish into thin air. He was a thorough individualist with no interest whatsoever in fame or power.
Besides, the original owner of this body was said to be pointlessly cruel, killing his subordinates at the drop of a hat. He couldn't care less about some guy's reputation.
“Young Master, I've prepared the ink and paper.”
“Ah, good work.”
Cheon Hajin asked as he ground the ink stick.
“So, should I write that I'll pay it back in about three or four months?”
“...”
“Why no answer? Is that too long? It's six thousand nyang of gold. I think giving that much time is common courtesy.”
You never know what might happen. The three or four months was the minimum insurance to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
Hong Yeorin's complexion changed several times.
But that was only for a moment.
“...Fine. Write it.”
“Alright.”
Cheon Hajin hummed as he moved the brush.
Hong Yeorin, who had been staring down at the IOU with a confused look, suddenly her eyes flashed.
“What are you doing now?”
“Writing the IOU.”
“...”
“Don't talk to me. I'm busy.”
Hong Yeorin was dumbfounded.
“Do you really think changing your handwriting will invalidate it?”
Handwriting? Ah!
*I see.*
There was no way his handwriting was the same as that Seo Ryang fellow's.
But what does that matter?
“I'm going to sign it anyway. Don't nitpick over trivial things.”
“...”
“Let's see, the Spring Festival is in four months, so I'll write that I'll pay by the end of the year. That should be fine, right?”
“No.”
“Three months, then? Fine by me.”
“It doesn't matter if it's three months or four. That's not what's important.”
“Dammit, if you have something to say, just spit it out. What are you doing, testing the waters bit by bit like this?”
Faced with his irritated tone, which showed not a speck of consideration for her, Hong Yeorin took a deep breath.
*Calm down. If I get angry here, I lose.*
“I'll have to correct the amount.”
“Making it cheaper? Well, thank you.”
“I'll have to raise it to ten thousand nyang.”
The brush stopped dead.
“Ten thousand nyang?”
“Yes, ten thousand nyang.”
“Did it give birth or something? Why did six thousand nyang suddenly become ten thousand?”
“I need to be compensated for emotional distress.”
Cheon Hajin's brow furrowed.
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Eleven thousand nyang.”
“What?”
“The contract is only truly voided when the payment is complete. Until then, you must maintain the dignity of a contractor.”
“Dignity my ass. You're raising the price by five thousand nyang over a few words?”
“I must.”
A clear killing intent had now settled in Hong Yeorin's eyes.
“An insult to me is an insult to the Red Snake House.
The Third Young Master not only treated the daughter of the Red Snake House, a branch of the Divine Cult, like a robber, but he also cursed at her to her face.
What do you think will happen if that fact becomes known to the outside world?”
She had twisted the personal insult she received into an insult against her family.
In other words, by inflating it from a personal matter to a conflict between factions, she intended to draw swords and spears over their secret contract.
From now on, it wasn't a matter of money, nor a transaction for a better future.
It had become a battle of pride.
“What will happen? Well, I'm not so sure.”
“Many things will happen, but one thing is certain: you, Third Young Master, will have unnecessary troubles to deal with from now on.
Because when the smell of blood is in the air, hungry wild dogs are sure to gather.”
“Is there anyone who saw me insult you?”
“There is. Those two.”
She meant the attendant warriors she had brought with her.
Hong Yeorin went a step further.
“Or, perhaps everyone in my main family saw it.”
“You're spouting crazy nonsense.”
“I'm raising it to twelve thousand nyang. And it would be best if you don't take my words lightly.
If my family puts their mind to it, inflating a rumor isn't difficult at all.”
“So you have the ability to turn lies into truth?”
“More accurately, it's about giving strength to the truth. A few lies might be added, but that's up to us.”
Hong Yeorin smiled.
Though her eyes held a murderous glint, her expression was one of relief.
“If you don't like it, change it to twelve thousand nyang and sign. I'm telling you in advance, there will be no more discounts.”
“...”
“What are you doing? Hurry up and sign. Didn't you say you had somewhere to be? You seemed very busy.”
Cheon Hajin silently glared at Hong Yeorin.
Hong Yeorin's smile deepened.
*How dare this useless bastard!*
From the beginning, the reason she supported him with elixirs and money was to turn the Third Young Master into a prized stallion.
She was inferior to her brother in martial talent, rank, and age.
But her ambition far surpassed her brother's.
With the inherent limitations of being a woman and her lack of talent, she couldn't become the Cult Leader, so she wanted to at least rise to the position of 'below one, above all others.'
In the past, she had even considered a strategic marriage with the Third Young Master, but that thought was now completely gone.
A prized stallion that had fallen to Qi Deviation and could no longer run, a stallion that had lost even a minimum of dignity, was of no use to her.
It was a shame, but her only choice was to multiply her investment and find another prized stallion.
A triumphant Hong Yeorin and a glaring Cheon Hajin.
Hong Yeorin thought Cheon Hajin was bewildered, but he was preoccupied with an entirely different thought.
*...Right, that's how it was.*
Escape this hellish Demonic Cult. Build my own peaceful life.
Those were his thoughts.
But he had just realized something. To be precise, he remembered something he had forgotten.
*Life is a matter of equivalent exchange.*
Escaping the Demonic Cult was, of course, no easy task.
But he had taken it too lightly. He thought he could escape easily with just a little effort, a little struggle.
He was wrong. That was nothing more than optimistic observation.
*I shouldn't have been like that.*
An insurance of three or four months? It'll work out somehow?
This place was the headquarters of the demonic martial world, renowned as the most brutal in all of Murim.
In a situation where he should have been endlessly tense and cautious, he had viewed things too casually.
*Crucially, I'm still living in the martial world.*
And the martial world was a place where you could never achieve what you wanted without putting your life on the line.
*Swish, swish, swish.*
Cheon Hajin corrected the amount written on the IOU to twelve thousand nyang.
Hong Yeorin let out a smirk.
“Give it to me.”
“I won't.”
“...What did you say?”
Cheon Hajin gently rolled up the paper.
Hong Yeorin frowned.
“Hey, Third Young Master.”
“Aeng-hwa.”
“Yes! Young Master!”
“Go out and bring me the captain of the guard.”
Without a word of reply or question, Aeng-hwa hurried out. She was extremely tense in this suffocating atmosphere.
A moment later, the captain of the guard entered.
“Invincible Divine Cult, All Demons Surrender. I greet the Third Young Master. For what reason have you summoned this humble servant?”
“Prepare a carriage. I have somewhere to go.”
“Third Young Master, forgive my impertinence, but your current condition...”
“I'm going to the Cult Leader's palace.”
“...What?!”
“Prepare the carriage, and send word to the Cult Leader's palace. Inform them that the third disciple wishes to see his master.”
In an instant, the atmosphere in the room turned ice-cold.
“Going to call your mommy and daddy? Perfect. I don't have parents, so I'll call my master. After all, they say the ruler, teacher, and father are one and the same.”
He had endured for three months, and he was sick of it.
He would no longer test the waters. He would enter the heart of this hell called the Demonic Cult and stake everything on a direct confrontation.
He wasn't even annoyed with Hong Yeorin anymore.
In fact, he was grateful. Thanks to this robber, he had perfectly realized just how brutal this place was.
If I want to find my freedom, I have to put up the right amount of stakes.
I will reclaim my rights before the most powerful person in this place.
“What are you doing? Send word to the Red Snake House, too. Let's see whose voice is louder in the Cult Leader's palace.”
Hong Yeorin's face turned deathly pale.