Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Niche Market Probe
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Geon Cheon-hwi, moving through the streets, suddenly voiced his doubts.
“Young Master, so this is what you mean by territory management?”
“What?”
“I mean... stamping your face with the merchants, cleaning the streets, that sort of thing...”
It was quite a far cry from what he had imagined territory management to be.
They had even come armed with swords, yet all they were doing was sweeping streets and greeting merchants.
‘Are we fighting other sects?’
But come to think of it, were there even sects worth fighting?
Anhui Province was House Nangong's domain, and no one dared bare their fangs before the Nangong name.
Just how immense House Nangong's prestige was in Anhui—especially Hefei—could be seen from how the leaders of the Ten Great Sects had groveled flat last time.
Nangong Hyeok chuckled dryly.
“Is territory management such a big deal?”
“...Pardon?”
“To run a big business, you need the people's goodwill. That's the rule.”
“Business?”
...Business?
What business was House Nangong's Second Young Master getting into?
It was an utterly unfamiliar and baffling notion.
And why did the word "business" sound so ominous coming from Nangong Hyeok's mouth?
Geon Cheon-hwi asked cautiously.
“...What kind of business are you planning?”
Nangong Hyeok let out a sly chuckle.
“Money flows big from unexpected places, you know.”
“I'm having a hard time understanding. With House Nangong behind you, why bother with business...”
He nearly added, *why poke around everywhere stirring up trouble*, but caught himself and swallowed the rest.
Nangong Hyeok smiled faintly.
“I told you, House Nangong isn't mine.”
“But your bloodline...”
“Hey, with the Family Head and the eldest son up top, you think scraps will fall to me? I've got no personal assets. No personal assets.”
“Even without them, you have plenty...”
“If I had plenty, would I be doing this? You forget how I was scarfing down grass roots just a month ago?”
Ah, right, that was then.
Geon Cheon-hwi nodded slowly.
Thinking back, it made sense why Nangong Hyeok was so obsessed with money.
Nangong Hyeok stated firmly.
“I need steady personal income. Money that rolls in regularly, so I can spend without worry. House Nangong isn't becoming mine tomorrow, so I need enough to use freely.”
“How much are you aiming to make...”
“The more, the better. Isn't that obvious?”
Nangong Hyeok wore a meaningful expression as he kept walking.
“But what business requires going to such lengths?”
“Niche markets.”
“Does that have to do with where we're headed? This doesn't look much like business territory...”
They had arrived at an abandoned house that seemed far removed from any business.
Nangong Hyeok grinned.
“Market research first.”
“...Market research?”
In an abandoned house?
Nangong Hyeok stepped inside.
There, fat and plump, sat Pa Ho-un.
He was the Black Spot's Hefei branch manager who had once mistaken Nangong Hyeok for a Black Spot headquarters employee.
Pa Ho-un, who had been shoving fist-sized dumplings into his mouth, widened his eyes.
Nangong Hyeok, clad in flashy black silk robes, had barged in and was glancing around, searching for something.
He scanned the Black Spot so naturally as he entered, but he didn't look like a customer, which left Pa Ho-un flustered.
“...Who are you?”
Nangong Hyeok chuckled at Pa Ho-un's dazed look.
“Long time no see.”
There was no way Pa Ho-un could recognize Nangong Hyeok, who had worn a mask during his previous visit to the Black Spot.
*What the hell is this guy babbling about?*
As Pa Ho-un blinked in confusion, Nangong Hyeok casually approached the secret passage.
“H-Hey! Excuse me? Wait, what do you think you're doing?”
Thud! Thud!
Nangong Hyeok ignored him and tinkered with the mechanism.
Clunk!
A gap appeared, and the door to the secret passage swung open.
“Hey, hasn't this changed at all since last time?”
“Uh, u-uh?”
This... this looked familiar.
Pa Ho-un stared at Nangong Hyeok in shock.
He covered the area under Nangong Hyeok's eyes with his palm, then pulled it away.
Gasp!
Pa Ho-un's mouth fell open.
“Y-You! That, that time with the mask?!”
Nangong Hyeok smiled nonchalantly.
“Ring any bells?”
“You bastard... weren't you from headquarters?!”
“When did I ever say I was from headquarters?”
Well, he hadn't, but the circumstances...
Pa Ho-un bit his lower lip hard and grabbed Nangong Hyeok's collar.
“What the hell are you?! How dare you slink in here like a thief! You wanna die?! I'll chop off your wrist and make it a damn decoration...”
Pa Ho-un felt a chill at the sight of Nangong Hyeok smiling brightly.
He was grinning even under threat.
What the hell was this guy?
*Am I threatening him too weakly?*
Pa Ho-un glanced sideways and...
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A bear of a man strode up and loomed before him.
Unlike Pa Ho-un's flabby bulk, this was a bear with arms like boulders glaring down at him.
Huff.
Hot breath washed over his face like an enraged bear's snort.
Gulp.
“What the hell are you doing right now, you punk?”
“...Pardon?”
“What are you doing to the Young Master?”
“Y-Young... Master?”
Young Master?
Where's a young master around here...
Ah, the one whose collar I'm grabbing.
“H-Haha. N-No way. Just brushing some dust off your clothes.”
With an awkward expression, Pa Ho-un released the collar.
Then, he quietly offered his own collar to the bear(?).
Pa Ho-un looked around in panic at the man and the bandits surrounding the Black Spot.
Their outfits looked familiar.
Bandits dressed in House Nangong garb?
Heh, heh?
House Nangong?
*House... Nangong?*
*Then that punk is a young master of House Nangong?*
From what he knew, the only ones in House Nangong with such rough auras were the Thunder Dragon Squad, and the Second Young Master managed them.
“Y-You, what the hell are y...!”
“This punk still hasn't gotten it?”
Tak Hyeok-dong hoisted Pa Ho-un up effortlessly.
Pa Ho-un's ashen gaze locked onto Nangong Hyeok, who was casually heading down the secret passage.
*Sh-Shit. Why the hell is that guy here again?!*
* * *
Nangong Hyeok propped his feet on the table, swinging them as he hummed.
He was flipping through some ledgers when Geon Cheon-hwi scratched his head and asked carefully.
“...Young Master, how did you know about this place?”
“Hm?”
“This place. You opened the mechanism all by yourself...”
Geon Cheon-hwi glanced around.
It was a secret chamber packed with shady, suspicious items.
And in one corner, a massive blob of flesh in a bluish pallor was eyeing Nangong Hyeok nervously.
Nangong Hyeok said as if it were nothing.
“Oh, the Black Spot? Me and this guy go way back.”
“Pardon? You two are close?”
“Not close? Don't wanna do business in Hefei?”
Pa Ho-un, the Hefei branch manager, jiggled as he shook his head frantically.
“I've always admired you. It's an honor to behold the Second Young Master's visage.”
“Right?”
“Hehe, yes.”
Nangong Hyeok shrugged at Geon Cheon-hwi.
“He says so.”
“...”
“See? Told you.”
“...”
Geon Cheon-hwi looked away.
He could guess well enough without watching.
Nangong Hyeok scratched his cheek and turned to Pa Ho-un.
“Branch Chief.”
“Y-Yes! Speak, hehe.”
“Recite 'em. Where and where?”
Pa Ho-un chuckled and rose.
“The Crimson Seven Gang, Earth Cave Gang, Salt King Gang, and Great Bear Gang are the four major black path forces in Hefei right now.”
“Fancy names.”
“Yessir, of course, compared to House Nangong, they're less than bugs...”
“Skip it. Keep going.”
“...Starting with the Crimson Seven Gang. They operate east of Hefei, about fifty strong. Parasites living off smuggling, trafficking, and protection rackets.”
“Which is the biggest?”
Pa Ho-un eyed Nangong Hyeok before continuing.
“Salt King Gang and Great Bear Gang.”
“Salt King Gang uses Salt King Village techniques?”
“Yes! They specialize in usury, vicious enough to make Sichuan Tang Clan blush...”
“Bullshit.”
“Yes, total bullshit. H-Haha!”
Right, not Sichuan Tang Clan level.
Those guys trained their dogs to bite with poison fangs.
“Ahem! Anyway, they're brutally ruthless, extorting without mercy...”
“Next.”
“Y-Yes. N-Next are a bit different. There's a big brothel called Silver Moon Pavilion. Their operations are pretty filthy. So...”
“Short version.”
“...We're pretty sure they traffic people.”
“Filthy.”
“Word is Earth Cave Gang helps them. Whether as partners or underlings, still unclear...”
“Trafficking people, huh?”
As Nangong Hyeok narrowed his eyes slightly, Pa Ho-un shut up.
Nangong Hyeok tilted his head crookedly.
A type he had always despised in his past life. Nothing like the path he walked.
“Great Bear Gang?”
“Ahem! Their gambling dens are booming. They collect protection fees and lend muscle to Silver Moon Pavilion for security.”
Nangong Hyeok twisted his lips.
“Quite the lineup.”
Hefei was crawling with all sorts.
“As expected. Flies always buzz around.”
My instincts were spot on.
Black path sects infested everywhere under heaven.
The old House Nangong wouldn't have tolerated such vermin.
Even if they hid and scraped by, they were still leeching off Hefei soil.
‘Well, that's the past.’
House Nangong's influence wasn't what it used to be, and there was no need to stir up the black path in peacetime.
Anyway, it was to Nangong Hyeok's advantage.
Geon Cheon-hwi, listening to Pa Ho-un, turned serious.
“Should we crush them?”
Nangong Hyeok furrowed his brow as if it were nonsense.
“Crush what?”
“For territory management...”
“Those are all money makers.”
“...Pardon?”
“You gonna find silver digging dirt?”
Right, land didn't spit out money.
But wasn't Nangong Hyeok saying they'd profit through those guys?
“Young Master, even if we're in rough shape, we're righteous sect warriors. Greedily chasing black path money...”
“Swords serve butchers or warriors the same. Cut out the rotten, use what's useful.”
True. Sound logic.
But not something House Nangong's Second Young Master should say.
And.
“...But does that really make money? As much as you say.”
“That's why we listen first, then decide the take.”
“Pardon?”
“Hey, recite.”
Nangong Hyeok turned back to Pa Ho-un.
Sweating bullets from Geon Cheon-hwi's crush-them talk, Pa Ho-un quickly answered.
“So, combining Crimson Seven Gang, Silver Moon Pavilion, Salt King Gang, and Great Bear Gang's intake... roughly ten thousand silver taels estimated.”
Geon Cheon-hwi's eyes bulged.
How much?
Ten thousand silver taels?
From four groups totaling under five hundred members?
Money he'd need forty years of slaving to earn.
Geon Cheon-hwi blurted without thinking.
“...Per year?”
“No. Per month.”
“Uh?”
“And that's the minimum: ten thousand silver taels.”
“Muh?”
Geon Cheon-hwi whipped around to Nangong Hyeok in shock.
Minimum ten thousand silver taels a month?
Steady all year round?
“Wh-What kinda black path nobodies rake in that much?”
At that point, they weren't nobodies—they were tycoons.
He even thought of ditching it all to run a black path gang and live the good life.
Over ten thousand from such small outfits!
Even split four ways, that's two thousand five hundred each.
Nangong Hyeok chuckled.
“Money always rolls bigger in the shadows. Right, Branch Chief?”
“H-Haha, y-yes. Though I don't make that much myself.”
“Still, ten thousand silver taels worth, yeah?”
“Y-Yes! Exactly!”
“Impressive.”
Nangong Hyeok looked pleased.
After cuts and bribes, half might vanish, but it was still a massive sum.
Enough for Nangong Hyeok to prepare his future without money worries.
Clink clink.
Nangong Hyeok let out a hollow laugh at Geon Cheon-hwi maintaining his sword nearby.
“What're you doing?”
“Heading out now?”
“Eager beaver?”
“It's no small change... Getting ready before you go.”
“Do what you want.”
Nangong Hyeok grinned and turned to Pa Ho-un.
“From now on, share Hefei intel with me first. Got it?”
“...B-Before Black Spot headquarters?”
“We're making a deal. They'll love it. Trading with House Nangong? You might get promoted.”
“Ah, aah!”
Pa Ho-un thought it over quickly and nodded.
He had shaken hands with the devil on a whim.
“Y-Yes! I'll do my best!”
Nangong Hyeok patted Pa Ho-un's shoulder and stood.
“Time for some fresh air.”
“Yes, Young Master!”
Nangong Hyeok stretched as he headed topside.
Thus, Nangong Hyeok's territory management entered its final phase.