Chapter 334
Chapter 334
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 342
Chapter Title: The Ripped Agreement
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It was while Changcheon Merchant Guild Leader Go Dong-gil was exchanging words with the chief steward about the meeting.
Bang!
“Ch-Chairman!”
Go Dong-gil turned his head at the sight of his subordinate bursting in unannounced.
“What has you running in here like a madman?”
“Th-there’s big trouble!”
“Big trouble?”
In Hangzhou right now, the only big trouble could be something related to the meeting.
Go Dong-gil flinched, and his subordinate quickly answered.
“Th-the Huangbo Clan is leaving!”
“What?!”
“What does that mean? The young masters only arrived less than an hour ago!”
This was a gathering not just to decide the clan’s major and minor affairs, but to solidify the alliance of the Five Great Families.
Even the merchant guild’s daily meetings lasted over half an hour, yet this critical matter had concluded in just one?
“Th-there must be a disaster.”
“Hmm! A disaster?”
“Isn’t it obvious? The young masters, inexperienced as they are, must have clashed with the Huangbo elders!”
It was entirely possible.
No, it was exactly what he’d feared.
‘The Huangbo Clan could aid not only our main house but the growth of the Changcheon Merchant Guild as well…’
An ominous feeling settled in, and Go Dong-gil shot to his feet.
“Where are the young masters?”
“They just returned.”
“I’ll head there now! I need to hear it from them directly!”
Go Dong-gil and the chief steward followed the subordinate toward the parlor where Namgung Hyeok and the others were.
Even as they moved, all sorts of thoughts churned in his mind.
Things had felt off even before the meeting…
He let out a sigh and pushed open the parlor door.
Creak!
The scene inside left him slack-jawed.
“What’s wrong… Oh!”
“Hup!”
The two, arriving late to the commotion in the parlor, also sucked in their breaths.
In the center of the parlor, Namgung Hyeok sat with legs crossed, arms folded, leaning back in his chair almost like he was lying down.
Swish swish.
Jin Cheom-sang fanned him from the side, while Geon Cheon-hwi attended him from the front.
“Nothing beats a drink after wrapping up work!”
With an exclamation, Geon Cheon-hwi poured a cup of Seven-Colored Chaos Wine.
“Kya! This stuff is killer!”
As he marveled, the Thunder Dragon Squad thudded their foreheads to the floor.
Rumble rumble!
Pop pop pop!
The seven-layer wine tower, built high on the table, collapsed from the impact.
“Woooah!”
“It’s the seven-layer wine tower!”
“Mix it, mix it!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad went wild.
Namgung Hyeok raised his cup and looked up.
“Hm? Chairman?”
…What the hell is this mess?
“The booze here tastes like honey! Hangzhou isn’t called paradise for nothing!”
No one calls a drinking party paradise…
No, wait.
Go Dong-gil snapped back to reality.
This was one of two things.
Either they’d lost their minds, or they’d given up entirely.
A chill hit the back of his neck.
“Y-Young Master…”
He swallowed hard as he looked at Namgung Hyeok, who broke into a smile.
“Ah, you’re here about this?”
He pulled a still ink-damp paper from his bosom and held it out before Go Dong-gil’s eyes.
“Ah, ahhh?”
Go Dong-gil’s pupils shook wildly up and down.
Thud!
After reading the contents, his legs gave out, and he collapsed right there.
He let out a hollow laugh, “Heh, heh heh,” gazing up at Namgung Hyeok.
Namgung Hyeok grinned.
* * *
“…Iron, ten thousand catties, manpower supplied to the mines and guild, and timber for building clipper ships delivered in three-month installments.”
No matter how many times he read it, the contents didn’t change.
The conditions densely packed on the paper went on endlessly.
“All this… in exchange for opening Hangzhou’s docks, plus granting commercial rights to one of our inns and a southern village?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“All of it?”
“Man, how many times do I have to tell you?”
“This is one of two things.”
Go Dong-gil’s mouth gaped wide as a pot lid.
“Either the Huangbo proxy’s head split open and turned him into an idiot, or you’re a negotiation genius!”
“Genius?”
“Of course! You pulled off a deal like this with the Huangbo Clan! I’ve been with the guild over twenty years, and I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it!”
Go Dong-gil raised his voice in excitement.
Namgung Hyeok had secured a deal that was almost absolute dominance—no, outright unfair.
Especially against the Huangbo Clan.
They were pickier than most merchants, yet he’d pulled this off!
“Heh heh heh! As expected, the hope of the main house. No wonder they’re called dragons. Indeed, indeed! The Family Head had a reason!”
Paeng Jung-hyeok let out a groan as Go Dong-gil went from buttering up to gilding.
‘…Yeah, dragons they are.’
A Light Dragon in negotiations, no less.
No, not negotiations—blackmail.
A groundbreaking method unimaginable for an orthodox sect junior.
If they’d seen how he’d pinned down the Huangbo Clan under the alliance banner…
Namgung Hyeok caught Paeng Jung-hyeok’s gaze and his eyes gleamed.
“Why?”
“…Nothing.”
“Jealous?”
“No. Listening to the chairman, you really seem amazing.”
“Wanna taste the anesthetic needle?”
Namgung Hyeok held up the anesthetic needle he’d snatched from Dang Myeong-jin.
Gulp.
“…I’ve already taken two hits.”
“I can make it three.”
“…S-sorry.”
“Watch yourself.”
Paeng Jung-hyeok swallowed tears and turned away.
But why only me…
Namgung Ryong sipped his Seven-Colored Chaos Wine, then sheepishly turned with a start.
‘…Damn, he really doesn’t touch blood kin.’
The non-kin feel so damn sorry for themselves.
But Paeng Jung-hyeok soon spotted Dang Myeong-jin, plastered with anesthetic needles, and clamped his mouth shut.
No telling if that guy’s dead or alive.
Pat pat.
So Geol-gae patted his shoulder.
“I get how you feel.”
“…”
Hah, getting comforted by a beggar bastard.
It was an auspicious day for the Five Great Families, but a sorrowful one for him.
* * *
Huangbo Seong, patriarch of the Huangbo Clan, glared at Huangbo Ryun with a face twisted not just in rage but demonic fury.
He stared as if ready to tear him apart on the spot, the killing intent prickling like needles on skin.
And that intent burst from his throat.
“First Elder! How dare you return to the clan with this rubbish oath?!”
Splat!
Unable to contain his fury, Huangbo Seong hurled the stack of documents in his hand at Huangbo Ryun’s face.
“P-Patriarch!”
“Patriarch!”
“P-please calm down!”
The elders looked at Huangbo Seong in shock.
They’d never seen him this enraged.
Especially not against First Elder Huangbo Ryun of the Huangbo Clan.
The elders hurriedly shifted their gazes to the papers scattered on the floor.
As they read through the mess, their eyes bulged.
“Insane!”
“What is this?!”
“This is just handing over the clan’s wealth!”
“First Elder! What is this? Explain yourself!”
“Are you a fool or an idiot? How could anyone from our clan make a deal like this?!”
Huangbo Ryun bit his lower lip.
He endured the elders’ scorn, holding back his humiliation and anger.
Huangbo Seong growled, baring his rage.
“Explain! What happened? Why settle for Hangzhou rights—not even Zhejiang Province—for a measly forty percent?!”
Beyond absurdity, the deal’s contents nearly drew a laugh, but Huangbo Seong clung to reason and demanded answers.
Huangbo Ryun swept his gaze over the elders, waiting for the clamor to die, then spoke to Huangbo Seong.
“They blackmailed us.”
“Blackmailed?”
“They threatened to cut all our trade routes and isolate Shandong if we didn’t join the alliance. How could we not negotiate under that?”
“You folded to that nonsense and brought back this?!”
Huangbo Seong bellowed.
The elders, stunned by the ridiculous claim, snapped out of it and vented their fury.
“What nonsense is this?!”
“Threats? At the meeting?!”
“The proxy was a fraud! This is invalid, null and void! How could we negotiate properly under duress?!”
“Those three clans must be mad!”
Then, someone stepped forward from a corner.
“Didn’t I tell you, Patriarch?”
Huangbo Seong glared with bloodshot eyes at the man entering the hall.
“This is a clan matter! Outsiders, stay out.”
The man, former branch leader of the Yellow Mountain Sword Pavilion, Namgung Cheong, toyed with his token as he spoke.
“I warned you clearly. Don’t underestimate the Namgung Clan.”
“…If I’d underestimated them, would I have sent the First Elder to Hangzhou?”
“You should’ve prepared more contingencies. Including a situation like this.”
Huangbo Seong’s eyebrow twitched at Namgung Cheong’s near-sneer.
“Should I have flexed our military might?”
Namgung Cheong didn’t answer directly.
But he spoke in a firmer, more resolute tone.
“This is just the beginning. The alliance will demand more and more. Or at least, the Namgung Clan will aim higher.”
“…”
“One meeting has led to this. If it becomes two, three… it won’t stop at threats.”
Huangbo Seong’s eyes narrowed at Namgung Cheong’s words.
The other elders’ murmurs grew louder.
Namgung Cheong hardened his expression and continued.
“Patriarch, you can’t let them lead you twice. Yielding to blackmail could invite something even greater…”
“Withdraw.”
“…”
“I said withdraw.”
Namgung Cheong gave Huangbo Seong a strange look, clasped his fists, and quietly left the hall.
Huangbo Seong’s eyes followed his back.
Chief Steward Huangbo Cheol gathered the scattered papers from the floor and handed them to Huangbo Seong.
He took them and slowly scanned Huangbo Ryun and the elders.
The murmuring elders fell silent, watching him.
Huangbo Seong fixed his gaze on Huangbo Ryun.
“They said they’d isolate us if we didn’t join?”
“Yes, explicitly.”
“Is it true?”
Huangbo Chung nodded from the side.
“Yes… I heard it clearly.”
Huangbo Seong ground his teeth and growled.
“What they really want is Shandong. That’s why they made that empty threat.”
“B-but…”
“If they planned to force us by strength!”
No one could stop him.
No, no one here dared restrain him.
Rip rip rip!
In an instant, Huangbo Seong shredded the papers in his hand.
“B-brother!”
“Patriarch!”
“Th-that…!”
Chief Steward Huangbo Cheol, Huangbo Ryun, and everyone present stared in shock.
Huangbo Seong raised his voice.
“If they can, let them try!”
His defiance in tearing the oath of cooperation in one go left the room breathless.
To think he’d rip up the Five Great Families’ pledge of alliance on the spot!
Huangbo Cheol groaned.
Forgetting decorum, he voiced his concern.
“Brother! The Five Great Families…”
Huangbo Seong sneered, radiating fury.
“It’s a hasty contract without the patriarchs’ consent! I never agreed to this!”
The Huangbo clansmen echoed his declaration.
“Yes, anything under duress is void!”
“The patriarch is right.”
“What use is an oath made by those brats without even an elder?”
Huangbo Seong bared his teeth.
“I’ll make them learn what the Huangbo Clan is. From now on, we’ll teach those arrogant fools a lesson!”
His vow of certain retaliation hung heavily in the hall.