Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Heavenly Grace Merchant Group
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Commonly, those who travel the world selling goods are called merchants, while those who settle in one area and run a street stall are called peddlers.
There are also escort agencies that facilitate the flow of goods, bandits who maintain and guard the passes, accountants who manage money, and money changers who keep currency circulating.
The merchant world formed an ecosystem entirely separate from the martial world.
Thus, the merchant world had no concepts like the relationships between orthodox sects or the distinctions between the Central Plains and the outer regions.
To them, only money and profits existed.
That was why even among the Ten Great Merchant Groups representing the merchant world, quite a few had ties to the Heavenly Demon Divine Church.
However, the Heavenly Grace Merchant Group was not one of them.
This was mainly because their sphere of activity was concentrated in the central or eastern regions of the Central Plains.
They typically traveled by waterways, so they had strong ties to the South Palace Clan or the Wudang Sect.
That was why I was so shocked when the Dark Lord revealed that the Tang Clan was the hidden backer of the Heavenly Grace Merchant Group.
I even wondered if, just as the South Palace was trying to devour the Tang Clan, the Tang Clan had prepared the Heavenly Grace Merchant Group long ago to strike at the South Palace.
Yet who could have guessed that the Bloodsucking Demon had taken refuge in that very Heavenly Grace Merchant Group?
"Having the honor of meeting the Young Bloodsucking Demon who has shaken the current Central Plains martial world after crossing Sichuan. I am Shangguan Chuseol, who runs the modest Heavenly Grace Merchant Group."
Shangguan Chuseol, who appeared to be in her mid-thirties, was a heroine who perfectly balanced the bold vigor of one transitioning from youthful energy to seasoned maturity with impeccable courtesy.
The way she greeted me with a long pipe far exceeding the length of a typical short pipe clenched in her mouth exuded confidence.
I returned the courtesy with a cupped-fist salute.
"I am Dang Woonhwi. Please forgive my lack of decorum for meeting such a distinguished person in this unexpected place through Protector Tak's introduction."
Shangguan Chuseol downplayed her group as small, but the Heavenly Grace Merchant Group was far from modest in scale.
The Tang Clan branch had even given over an entire building for their use.
Just glancing around, I could see there were easily several dozen people stationed here.
The staff looked briefly surprised by the sudden visit from an outsider but quickly returned to their tasks without concern.
This showed how well-disciplined the merchant group was.
It alone hinted at just how capable Shangguan Chuseol was.
That made me all the more curious about how such a woman had fallen for the Bloodsucking Demon's parasitic flattery.
She was clearly no naive girl who would be swayed by smooth talk alone.
"You call my man 'Protector Tak.'"
My man.
It seemed our protector had already set up a honeymoon household?
Shangguan Chuseol clearly already knew about me.
"Is that alright? Using such an overt title?"
"What's not to be alright?"
"I'm an outsider, after all. What if I spread word about Young Master Tang's affairs? Wouldn't that be a huge problem for you?"
Heh.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
I sensed she was testing me.
"What problem? Protector Tak said I could trust Leader Shangguan."
"I see."
For a moment, one of Shangguan Chuseol's eyebrows twitched upward.
"Why is that?"
"It's unexpected."
"What is?"
"Warriors usually think merchants lack integrity, don't they? So they try to hide things and avoid important discussions."
Shangguan Chuseol's eyes deepened.
"I've heard that your relationship with my man and Young Master Tang is special. And that it contains secrets that must never be revealed to the outside. Yet you reveal it so casually—it's unexpected to me. Perhaps it's not as important a secret as he claimed—"
"It's important. It concerns my life and Protector Tak's, or rather, the fate of our sect."
"Then why—"
"If anything, I'm the one who's puzzled."
"?"
"Doesn't Leader Shangguan value Protector Tak? Or am I wrong?"
"!"
"As I said, Protector Tak told me Leader Shangguan is 'someone I can trust.' So why shouldn't I?"
"!!"
"Besides, merchants lack integrity? What could be more foolish? In matters involving money and profit, what could be more vital than trust?"
"……."
"If that were true, she couldn't lead a major merchant group like this."
"……."
"I trust Protector Tak's judgment. He's someone worth trusting. So I believe it's safe to have any conversation here."
"……."
Shangguan Chuseol stared intently at my face for a long while.
Smoke leaked from the corner of her mouth around the long pipe.
Then her gaze shifted sideways.
The white smoke coalesced into a human shape.
The Bloodsucking Demon scratched his cheek with an awkward expression. His face, ruined by burns, was slightly flushed.
Seeing his reaction, Shangguan Chuseol laughed.
Then she bowed politely to me.
"If my idle chatter has offended Young Master Tang, I apologize. Please consider it the overreach of a mere woman desperate to protect her man from the world's demons."
At that moment, the presences hidden in the ceiling and behind the walls all vanished.
They must have been her personal guard unit.
If I'd said anything suspicious here, they would have thrown themselves at me without regard for their lives.
It was a moment that revealed just how precious the Bloodsucking Demon was to Shangguan Chuseol.
"I understand. Wishing for a beloved partner's safety is a universal sentiment."
"Thank you for your understanding. Then I'll take my leave—please speak freely."
Shangguan Chuseol offered a courteous bow and left the room.
Thud!
The door closed.
「I once heard that the little mistress of the Heavenly Grace Merchant Group has the boldness to easily devour most men and still have room for more—indeed she does.」
「It seems the Bloodsucking Demon has brought a precious connection. If we can offer loyalty to the Young Church Lord, she could become a great wing.」
I smiled at the Bloodsucking Demon, who was still scratching his cheek.
This playboy uncle acting embarrassed like this.
It was a sight unimaginable six years ago.
"You've met a good person, it seems?"
"She's too good for the likes of me. I can't fathom why she'd give her heart to someone like me and take on such needless risks."
"How did you two meet?"
Before I knew it, I was speaking in the tone of an ordinary Dang Woonhwi rather than the Myth Incarnate Church Lord.
The Bloodsucking Demon was doing the same.
"Well, actually—"
After hearing the full story, I let out a hollow laugh.
"One of the many girls you seduced back in the day?"
"…Saying it like that makes this Demon seem like total trash, doesn't it?"
"But you were trash, weren't you?"
"……."
"Remember how much trouble Master and I went through cleaning up after Protector Tak's messes back then?"
"……."
The Bloodsucking Demon slyly turned his head aside.
He had no rebuttal.
I'd only stated facts, after all.
It must have hit hard.
Even if the martial world was more open than common folk regarding romance and sex, there were still lines that shouldn't be crossed.
The Bloodsucking Demon crossed those lines incessantly.
How did he manage to leave scandals everywhere he went?
If it were just church members, fine—but the women he seduced came from all walks of life.
Some from the Nine Great Sects, some pampered palace ladies. Even a newlywed wife.
And Shangguan Chuseol was one of them. A woman he'd seduced during a journey through the Central Plains.
He'd thought it was just a fleeting encounter and soon forgotten her. Then, during the church rebellion, while fleeing to the Central Plains with the followers, they reunited.
More precisely, when he was hiding briefly at the Heavenly Grace Merchant Group's Sichuan branch, he ran into Shangguan Chuseol, who happened to be there on patrol.
Shangguan Chuseol took him in without asking for anything in return.
His ruined face?
His changed voice?
His beggar-like appearance?
None of it mattered to her, she said.
Just stay here.
She said having him was enough.
"…If not for Lady Chu, I hate to imagine what would have become of me afterward."
The Bloodsucking Demon and I sat across from each other with the liquor table she'd prepared between us, sharing drinks.
"So that's why you were able to steadily gather the followers afterward—"
"It was all thanks to Lady Chu's help."
"……."
"The rescued followers are now scattered throughout the Heavenly Grace Merchant Group. Some as accountants, others as laborers, loaders, porters, or managing shops."
"They've been doing my job for me."
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
What a grateful person she was.
Providing a roof and walls for the lost followers.
It was a debt I could spend a lifetime repaying and still not fully settle.
"I must devote my life to making her smile."
"Has she not asked for anything in return?"
"She's the head of one of the Ten Great Merchant Groups. What could she lack?"
"Fair enough. With that kind of wealth, she has everything and more. Still, offering such hospitality can't be easy."
"Ah, actually, there was one condition…"
"Condition?"
The Bloodsucking Demon scratched his cheek.
"Yes. Well, that is—"
"?"
"…In exchange for letting me stay here, if I ever again… fool around down there… she said… she'd… cut it off……."
"……."
"…My apologies for such an unseemly remark."
What could be more chilling for a man?
One thing was clear: once Shangguan Chuseol set her mind to something, she would see it through.
I quietly patted the Bloodsucking Demon's shoulder.
"Demon."
"…Yes."
"If that ever happens,"
"?"
"Don't get caught by Leader Shangguan—come to me instead."
"…Y-Young Church Lord."
The Bloodsucking Demon's eyes welled with emotion.
I flashed him a grin.
"I'll cut it off for you."
"……."
Crash!
His emotion shattered.
"Or should I blow it up along with the rest?"
"……."
"Just behave yourself."
"……Yes."
Only after hearing his response several times did I change the subject.
"More importantly, how has the Young Church Lord been during this time?"
"Me? Compared to you, Protector Tak, or the other followers, I've had it easy."
That was when my story began.
Waking up six years later as Dang Woonhwi.
The confrontation with the North Sea Sect.
My meeting with the Dark Lord.
The old ties with the Mad Storm Squad.
And even the punishment of the North Sea Sect Lord.
As my tales unfolded one by one, the Bloodsucking Demon laughed, exclaimed in admiration, and even shed tears alongside me.
And then.
"I've also found traces of Master."
At those final words, the Bloodsucking Demon's body went rigid.
His eyes trembled.
Far more than when he'd realized my identity.
"I-Is it really the Church, Church, Church Lord's—"
"It's not certain. But the North Sea Sect Lord mentioned it directly, and the Tang Clan rates the intelligence highly credible, so the likelihood is strong."
"!!!"
I watched the Bloodsucking Demon's face harden like stone as I drew the Northern Tomb Tablet and slashed deeply across my left palm.
Drip, drip!
The empty liquor cup filled with my blood.
It was Ghost King Blood.
I handed the cup to the Bloodsucking Demon.
"Drink. Heal your body first, then we'll go find Master."