The Price of Information
The evening sky lay thick with the deep hues of sunset.
“Hmm.”
A soft sigh slipped out near the entrance of Deungmyeong Manor.
Dressed in pale yellow robes like a dawn narcissus, she worked the muscles of her lips a few times and shaped a smile that was carefully measured, never excessive.
Thud. Thud.
The door she tapped lightly with her small hand swung open, and a figure appeared.
“Welcome, Captain.”
“Panseok, you’re as dependable as ever today.”
Panseok greeted Yeonhui as she arrived at Deungmyeong Manor.
“The Captain is a dangerous person, so I don’t make conversation.”
“I’m not a dangerous person at all.”
“They say the ones who claim that are the most dangerous of all. So please speak with the brothers.”
Panseok sealed his lips and guided her into the manor.
The place he led her to was the rear garden.
It held no particularly fond memories, yet she gave no sign of it and offered her greetings to the two who waited.
“It’s been some time. I trust you have been well?”
“Big Sis said if you had something to say, I should invite you, so I did.”
“I’m grateful for the consideration.”
Yeonhui was the one who had gone to the trouble, yet Ja Gangcheon was the one receiving the courtesies.
Even someone as experienced as Yeonhui found the situation confusing whenever she faced Ja Gangcheon alone.
In the past she had tried every means to seduce him onto her side; now all she wanted was to escape as quickly as possible.
“Big Sis.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“You look pretty today.”
Ordinarily she would have worn a deeper smile, but not here.
Just how much does he intend to squeeze out of me?
Ja Gangcheon even dusted off a seat with a few brisk pats and indicated where she should sit.
“Your legs must ache. Sit down.”
“Thank you.”
Concealing her true thoughts, she took her place. Ja Gangcheon settled across from her with the tea table between them, and to his right, just as before, sat Cheongu.
“For what reason have you summoned this humble one?”
“I want to know about the Chosuhoe.”
Yeonhui fell silent a moment, then slowly nodded.
“Because of the Donghae Merchant Guild, I take it.”
The moment she linked Deungmyeong Manor’s present circumstances with the Chosuhoe, she arrived at the answer.
Impressive.
Ja Gangcheon admired her inwardly.
It means she even knows what I want.
This time, unlike before, he genuinely needed the information.
I’m the one at a disadvantage.
For the first time, Yeonhui held the superior position.
“The tea fragrance is lovely.”
Of course she knew. The smile at her lips was softer than it had ever been. Instead of speaking with that pretty mouth she simply sipped tea for a long while, drawing out the time.
Having flaunted her advantage to the fullest, she began to speak just as Ja Gangcheon’s patience neared its end.
“If it’s the Chosuhoe, a great many movements have been detected of late. Our Haomun is watching as well.”
“Convenient timing.”
“But the value of the information is rather high. As I said, it’s the latest intelligence, and considerable manpower has been committed.”
She meant to negotiate first, before any information changed hands.
“What do you want?”
Ja Gangcheon abandoned any clumsy fencing and entered into earnest bargaining.
“Well now. Shouldn’t the one who desires the information make the first offer?”
“You have to name the price of the goods before anyone can know whether it can be paid.”
Yeonhui noticed that Ja Gangcheon’s manner of speaking had changed.
He’s grown a great deal.
Once he had known next to nothing. Now he carried a distinctly more mature air.
“Very well. This time I’ll make a special and generous concession.”
“I’ll have to hear it before I decide whether it’s a concession.”
“I want to open a shop at the port.”
“That’s a breach of contract.”
They had already promised not to start any new ventures beyond the existing businesses and the black market.
“Please make an exception this once.”
“Is that the price of the information?”
“Yes. I intend to open a teahouse at the port.”
“The reason?”
“To keep watch on the Shandong Merchant Guild. Those bastards might even try to touch the black market.”
Ja Gangcheon grasped one more fact.
“So the Shandong Merchant Guild’s advance isn’t welcome to Haomun either.”
“They say the enemy of my enemy is my ally.”
“I have no desire to become allies with Haomun.”
“What a pity. I was hoping to grow closer to the Lord.”
Ja Gangcheon glanced at Cheongu beside him.
“If the condition is that any purpose discovered beyond monitoring the Shandong Merchant Guild and operating in the black market will result in the shop being transferred to us, then it’s acceptable. And the condition must be put in writing.”
“The Chief Manager is always so thorough.”
“I am learning a great deal from the Captain.”
“You have a tendency to learn useless things.”
“Making them useful is my job.”
This time Cheongu and Yeonhui locked into a taut war of nerves. Then Cheongu’s lips curled into a faint smile.
What is it?
Just as an ominous premonition brushed her,
“Last time you said that if I came to the manor you would return it just as it was. I’m the sort who keeps her promises.”
A shadow stood behind the seated Yeonhui.
There had been no hint of approach; only when her collar fluttered belatedly in the breeze did she notice.
“Hup!”
The moment she saw who it was, Yeonhui froze solid with shock.
“Th-this humble one greets the Immortal. I am deeply sorry for failing to offer proper greetings earlier.”
“What Immortal. I’m merely an ordinary auntie raising a son.”
The one standing behind her was Song Jain.
“Auntie. Please sit.”
“I like it here.”
She deliberately remained standing at Yeonhui’s back.
“Do not waste the Lord’s time. It cannot be compared with yours.”
That single sentence laid bare how deeply Song Jain cherished Ja Gangcheon.
How in the world did he win over the Poisonous Loving Mother?
She could only assume it had something to do with her son’s restored health.
Has she truly become part of Deungmyeong Manor’s household?
Thoughts crowded her mind, yet there was no leisure to dwell on them. Sharp killing intent pressed against her from behind.
“The Chosuhoe is a gathering of mountain folk from across the entire nation. Until ten years ago it still maintained a semblance of continuity, but now it has splintered into small bands and lost all meaning. From the beginning it was a group with a weak center, so it was always vulnerable to internal division.”
Once she began speaking, the words flowed without the slightest hitch, as though she had prepared them in advance.
“The reason the Chosuhoe of the past grew strong enough to rival the Green Forest lay entirely in the abilities of its last Leader, Ga Cheollyang. He was the man who united hundreds of branches that had been acting independently.”
The Extreme Mountain Old Ghost, Ga Cheollyang.
As the moniker—a vicious ghost that haunted the mountains—suggested, he was known as a brutal and cruel figure. Yet Yeonhui’s assessment differed.
“His methods were cruel and merciless, that much is true. But the targets were limited to those groups that had harassed the Chosuhoe. The moniker Extreme Mountain Old Ghost was coined by their enemies. Within the Chosuhoe itself he was called the Solitary Mountain Spirit.”
Solitary Mountain Spirit.
It meant the lonely soul of the mountain. To the Chosuhoe, Ga Cheollyang had been the mountain itself.
“When he failed to return from the expedition to Guigokdo, conflict erupted over the new Leader’s seat. Several men claimed the title, yet none lasted a year. With Ga Cheollyang gone, the Chosuhoe became choice prey for both the orthodox and unorthodox factions.”
Ga Cheollyang’s presence had been that immense.
“In the end the organization tore itself apart piece by piece and began to dissolve. Once membership fell below a certain level, dissolution followed as a matter of course. Now they have scattered and no longer even use the name Chosuhoe.”
“If they vanished of their own accord, isn’t reuniting them impossible?”
“Every one of them feels the necessity. Since the Chosuhoe affair, ginseng diggers and hunters have received nothing but poor treatment. Yet there is no center like Ga Cheollyang to bind them into one.”
“And Haomun is watching because there is still potential?”
“Honestly, the outlook is not especially bright. But if they succeed the repercussions will be enormous, so we keep an eye on them.”
In short, room for negotiation existed only if their alliance succeeded.
“At present five people are leading the effort to reunite.”
“Can I meet them?”
“Do you want us to arrange it ourselves? That would require a separate accounting.”
“No. Knowing their identities and locations is enough.”
“Very well. I’ll organize the information and contact you shortly.”
With that, Yeonhui rose from her seat.
“Big Sis. Why the rush to leave today? Don’t tell me Auntie makes you uncomfortable.”
“Of course not. I simply wish to deliver the information as quickly as possible.”
As she descended from the pavilion, Ja Gangcheon called after her.
“Big Sis. Where shall we meet next time?”
At the question Yeonhui’s brows drew together. Conversing with the Poisonous Loving Mother standing behind her was anything but pleasant.
“I’ll prepare everything thoroughly and invite you myself.”
“All right. I’ll look forward to it.”
Yeonhui left the manor.
Ja Gangcheon also relayed word that he would meet with the Chosuhoe to the guild master. That same evening a grave meeting convened at the Donghae Merchant Guild.
“The Lord is going this far for us. We too must make a decision now.”
Even under the Shandong Merchant Guild’s pressure they had sought a path to survival. In the process of refining one particular plan, Ja Gangcheon had stepped forward.
“Even if it was the Shandong Merchant Guild’s coercion, those people discarded us in an instant. We have no reason to hesitate either.”
In the end the guild master reached his decision.
“This is the guild’s affair. We cannot leave the entire burden on the Lord’s shoulders alone.”
Late that night they came to the manor.
“What brings you at this hour?”
“Lord. In truth we already possess a means to break through this situation. We needed resolve, and now we intend to hesitate no longer.”
“What method?”
“Branch Leader Cha will explain. He was the first to propose it.”
It was Cha Makdo—once betrayed and driven from the Haesin Merchant Guild, now a central pillar of the Donghae Merchant Guild.
“Then allow me to speak. Instead of halting the production of elixirs, we should begin direct distribution using ice.”
“Direct distribution?”
“At present the other merchant guilds are refusing our ice. That means the goods that ought to have traveled inland have come to a standstill. In other words, the demand that has arisen inland remains unfilled. If we carry it ourselves, it can become a new mainstay of our business.”
“Fifteen days ago, after hearing Branch Leader Cha’s proposal, we surveyed the inland markets. Prices of goods that require ice are climbing. Supply is insufficient, so the opportunity is real.”
The others nodded in agreement. Cha Makdo added one further point.
“Ordinarily a distribution network is not easily seized. This time, however, the established guilds have voluntarily abandoned their own solid networks. It is a chance we will never see again. Still, because the Shandong Merchant Guild may interfere even with this, we should aim for regions beyond Shandong Province.”
The Donghae Merchant Guild had found its own path to survival. Learning of it, Ja Gangcheon regarded them with warm eyes.
“You claimed you had scraped together talent from across the country, and indeed they are excellent.”
“Thank you, Lord.”
Ja Gangcheon fell silent in thought for a moment, then reached his conclusion.
“Let us do this. You will put the plan you just described into action. I will resolve the supply of medicinal herbs.”
“Lord. There is no need for you to go so far. We will manage somehow.”
“We are family, so it is only right that we strive together. If there is something I can do, sitting idle does not sit well with me.”
When he spoke to that extent, Jo Pilseng could press no further.
“That’s good.”
Ja Gangcheon spoke with quiet force.
“Let’s show them exactly what happens when they lay a hand on us.”
At those words the hearts of every guild member burned hot within their chests.