Chapter 227
Chapter 227
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: Hefei in Uproar
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People were flocking to the Hefei region.
The inns were packed to the brim, throngs of crowds forming seas of humanity.
The owner of the Wind and Cloud Inn, Mr. Wang, stuck out his tongue in astonishment at the surging masses.
"Whoa, so many. So many people."
Hefei was the capital of Anhui Province, but it was rare to see it so crammed with people that there wasn't even room to set foot.
Merchants were a common sight thanks to the abundance of goods, but it was unusual to have armed warriors constantly coming and going like this.
It was all thanks to the Nangong Family.
The warriors with swords at their waists and the merchants in silk robes had all gathered to head to the Nangong Family.
"Talk about seas turning into mulberry fields!"
It was a change as dramatic as mulberry fields transforming into an azure sea.
The situation showed just how much the Nangong Family's standing had risen.
As the Nangong Family's fortunes began to recover, the inns prospered alongside them. Mr. Wang couldn't help but feel dazed yet grinning from ear to ear.
The bustling inn buzzed with endless chatter, most of it about the Nangong Family.
"I heard the Black Wind Corps were actually Nangong Family warriors. Is that true?"
"That's what they're saying. Word is, the Nangong Family moved in themselves and wiped out the unorthodox sects in one fell swoop!"
"Exactly! Who else but the Nangong Family could pull that off?"
"I heard the Peng Family of Hubei helped too."
"Hahaha! You folks really don't know anything, do you?"
One man burst into laughter, drawing everyone's attention.
"Come on, people. Everyone in the Central Plains knows the Nangong Family took down the Black Dragon Sect. You Anhui folks haven't heard?"
"Wh-what? The Black Dragon Sect?!"
"That's right! The Nangong Family crushed the Black Dragon Sect and seized the Hangzhou region!"
"Is it really that Nangong Family we know? They took down the Black Dragon Sect? When?"
The unbelievable news sent a ripple through the entire inn.
No one in the inn was unaware that the Black Dragon Sect had once been a threat to the Nangong Family.
People couldn't help but be shocked at the news that this thorn in their side had fallen and Hangzhou had been occupied.
"Whoa! Was the Nangong Family always that strong?"
"Hah, the Black Dragon Sect wiped out overnight?"
"Wow, the Nangong Family swallowed up the Hangzhou area!"
"Not just Hangzhou—they're influencing southern Jiangsu too!"
"Amazing, the Nangong Family's prestige is incredible!"
"It feels like the old days! That's the Nangong Family for you!"
The crowds gasped in admiration at how the Nangong Family—once seen as the weakest of the Five Great Families—had cleaned up the unorthodox forces and expanded their influence.
"The unorthodox sects must be shaking in their boots!"
"The righteous spirit is soaring! Haha!"
"Worth of the Sword King's lineage. They were biding their time for this moment!"
No one in Anhui would begrudge the Nangong Family's success.
Even Mr. Wang at the inn was profiting handsomely from it.
Then, the man who had started the talk spoke up again.
"And get this—the Nangong Family's Second Young Master and Eldest Young Master led the charge on that whole affair! Bet you didn't know that."
"Whoa! Really?"
"Of course! The young masters of the Nangong Family subdued the unorthodox sects! Especially the Second Young Master, shedding tears as he distributed wealth—everyone in Jiangsu knows that story!"
"As expected of our Second Young Master! What a true hero with a侠骨! Weeping for the common folk—his skills aren't all; his heart is pure righteous sect through and through!"
The crowd raised their thumbs in approval.
Winning the martial tournament was impressive enough, but to have such heroic spirit too!
People reveled in the Nangong Family's string of good fortunes.
"Truly Nangong Mad Dragon, Young Master Nangong Hyeok!"
"That Mad Dragon moniker isn't for nothing!"
"But why 'mad' dragon? Shouldn't it be 'radiant' dragon for such an outstanding man?"
"Because he swept through the Seven Dragons and Four Divine Stars like a raging gale, that's why!"
"Ooooh! That makes sense! Right, the guy who crushed the martial tournament!"
As the crowd got swept up in excitement, the man added one more tidbit.
"And there's talk that Nangong Hyeok himself took down the Black Dragon Sect Leader..."
"Hahaha! That's crossing the line. No matter how you slice it, how could he beat the Black Dragon Lord? The top expert of Zhejiang, whose infamous name has reached even here!"
"But some claim they saw it with their own eyes..."
"Whoa! Even if we love the Nangong Family, that's too much! Probably just exchanged a single move or something. Rumors always get exaggerated!"
"Uh, yeah. Makes sense. Anyway, the Nangong Family's on the rise now! They might reclaim the top spot among the Five Great Families soon!"
"Hahaha! Wouldn't that be something!"
The mood, briefly dampened by talk of defeating the Black Dragon Lord, surged again at mentions of topping the Five Great Families.
Mr. Wang beamed happily.
"My chest is swelling with pride—I can't stand it! No business today! Closing up, and drinks are on the house!"
"Woooaaah!"
The inn erupted in cheers in an instant.
As people clinked glasses, the merchants and warriors subtly rose from their seats.
Having gathered intel on the Nangong Family, they scattered to their respective sects, eyes gleaming.
The man who had spread the info slipped out the back door and headed down the alley.
Pa Ho-un, the plump branch chief of the Hefei underworld network, stepped out from the alley and grabbed him.
"Whew, thought I was done for. What a mob."
Clink!
Pa Ho-un handed over a money pouch and patted the man's shoulder.
"Good work."
"But how long are we doing this?"
"Till we're told to stop, of course."
"..."
"How's the reaction?"
"Good."
"And?"
The man shrugged.
"...As long as we skip the part about beating the Black Dragon Lord, it's smooth sailing. Mention that, and they boo. Sigh."
"Is that so?"
"Even a stray dog wouldn't buy it."
"Hmm! What can you do? If that's what they think."
Pa Ho-un sighed deeply.
Spreading rumors was harder than it looked.
"Nothing else noteworthy?"
"Just the merchants and out-of-town sect warriors lapping it up."
"I see."
"And folks are saying the Nangong Family's grown a lot."
Size was one thing.
But with a monster they couldn't handle in the mix...
Pa Ho-un rubbed his chubby belly with a bitter expression.
"Man. Making even Hefei locals doubt it. They're insane, really."
At first, when they said Nangong Hyeok had disguised as the Black Wind Corps and swept the unorthodox sects, no one believed a word.
Outlandish tales just invite mockery.
So they downplayed the truth, pieced it together, dressed it up plausibly—that was the story his subordinate was spreading now.
"Hah, what a thing..."
Pa Ho-un shook his head, thinking of Nangong Hyeok's absurd feats, diluted and patched together just to be believable.
He tried to think of another young expert with such accomplishments in the world but drew a blank.
Pa Ho-un let out a heavy sigh.
"Come on, next job."
* * *
Geum Gwang-mo's grin nearly reached the heavens as the Nangong Family's chief steward.
Seeing the endless stream of cargo and people, he couldn't keep his lips from curling up.
Visitors to the Nangong Family had tripled since Nangong Hyeok's return from Hangzhou.
"Crushing the Black Dragon Sect did this!"
The kid runs off to reclaim stolen goods(?) and comes back having boosted the family fortunes—how could he not marvel?
With the Black Dragon Sect gone, the shackles on the Nangong Family vanished, bringing unimaginable gains.
Seizing Hangzhou meant swallowing everything the Black Dragon Sect owned!
The family's power was expanding explosively.
"Hahaha! So many people, so many!"
More people meant hiring more hands.
Hiring laborers, warriors, expanding business...
Geum Gwang-mo spread his wings of imagination over the growing ledgers.
As he dreamed, Geum Cheom-sang came running up.
"Father!"
"You're back! My boy!"
"...Something good happen?"
"Hohoho! What else could it be?"
"...Anyway."
Geum Cheom-sang shifted topics to the main point.
"Where's Physician Ha Baek?"
"Ha Baek?"
"Yes!"
"Let me see. Ah, he should be back from the fields by now! That physician plants so well—must be all that acupuncture skill."
"..."
What good is planting if you're supposed to stick needles in people?
Geum Cheom-sang scanned around and lit up.
There was Ha Baek approaching in hempen robes.
"Physician Ha Baek!"
Ha Baek turned his head.
"What?"
Huh?
Was this guy always so insolent in his gaze?
He seemed... different somehow since last time.
'Whoa, check those shoulders? They're buffed out.'
His exposed chest and arms, thanks to the loose hemp robes, were nothing like a month ago.
Tanned from labor under the blazing sun, his skin made the muscles pop even more.
The hoe slung over his shoulder somehow suited him better than needles. Was that an illusion?
...Had he become a Nangong Family laborer in a month?
Ha Baek cocked his head and eyed Geum Cheom-sang.
"What do you want? What are you making me do this time?"
"Ah, it's not that..."
"Damn it, do you know what I've been doing for a month? Up at dawn to plow, rice planting after lunch, digging herbs at night! Look at these hands!"
Looks like a lot built up.
Ha Baek showed his dirt-caked palms, thick with calluses like a farmer's, swallowing tears of blood.
"These are hands that save lives! But why am I shoveling dirt? How long do I have to...!"
"Well, your salary is pretty good..."
"Damn it! Without that, I'd have buried my head in the fields and died already!"
Hey now, physicians shouldn't toss around talk of dying.
"When the hell are you teaching me pill refinement? Pill refinement! Just teach me pill refinement!"
Thwack!
Ha Baek vented a month's frustration by slamming the hoe handle into the ground.
Whoa, scary eyes.
"Damn it! The Second Young Master's been back ages! And I'm still doing field work..."
"Ah, that's why the Young Master is calling you now..."
"..."
"He got the pill refinement ingredients, so hurry over."
"...Ahem! Oh, really?"
Ha Baek straightened his robes and bowed to Geum Gwang-mo.
"Then this humble one will go to the Second Young Master."
"...Y-yes, go ahead."
"I've learned a lot. Haha!"
Ha Baek smiled warmly and dashed off to Nangong Hyeok's quarters faster than anyone.
His sprint reflected his desperate urge to escape this hell.
Geum Gwang-mo and Geum Cheom-sang stared blankly as Ha Baek kicked up dust and vanished.
"Was he always like that?"
"...Anyone who's gone through the Second Young Master comes out weirder. Normal ones would be stranger."
"Hoho."
"You worked him too hard, Father."
"...He's family staff, so he works for the family, hohum!"
Geum Cheom-sang narrowed his eyes at Geum Gwang-mo's words.
No need to point out that Geum Gwang-mo was among the weirded-out ones.
Geum Gwang-mo cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Anyway, how's Hangzhou? I gave you a few pointers..."
"Same there. Short on hands. So I brought some reinforcements."
"Hands? From where?"
"Where else? Scraped up some unorthodox scum and made 'em laborers."
"...Un, unorthodox as laborers?"
"Ah, no. I mean, isn't it time we ran a proper merchant caravan?!"
"A merchant caravan?"
"Yes! The other Five Great Families have solid cash flows—we don't! Strike while the iron's hot!"
Geum Gwang-mo tilted his head as Geum Cheom-sang spoke confidently.
"You got a way? Our spot is already set..."
"Heh, hehehe! I grabbed one from the Black Dragon Sect."
"What?"
"This."
Geum Cheom-sang pulled something from his bosom.
"...Sailing log?"
"Using the sea routes those pirate bastards used, we can grow the caravan huge! Sell mysterious Eastern goods too!"
In that moment, gold light flashed in Geum Gwang-mo's eyes.
He seized Geum Cheom-sang's hand.
"My boy, well done! Future chief steward material!"
"Hahaha!"
"Now we just row when the tide comes in—no, exploit, I mean!"
The father-son duo's laughter made the servants shudder.