Save the Rich Friend (4)
“Kuhuk!”
The assassin known as the Petty Killer No Cheonhoe—named for his perpetual smile even when slaying foes—was now screaming in agony, his face twisted in torment. A single blow had caved in his ribcage; no assassin, no matter how enduring, could withstand that.
“Deputy leader!”
“Are you alright?!”
A few of his underling assassins rushed over as No Cheonhoe crumpled, but I paid them no mind. Instead—
: Water
I unleashed an even fiercer technique than the one I'd used on No Cheonhoe, drawing a line they dared not cross.
Boom!
As a demonstration, I obliterated several assassins approaching him, leaving no trace behind. The hall fell deathly silent in an instant.
“Now do you get it?”
I smiled down at the Great Killing Veil assassins, whose composure had utterly vanished.
My moniker wasn't Petty Killer, yet here was Petty Killer No Cheonhoe grimacing while I grinned. What irony.
“Impossible! He's this strong?”
“No wonder he beat the Black Heaven Sword Ghost Du Jeongcheong.”
“To think someone so young could be this powerful...”
Just moments ago, these Great Killing Veil assassins had looked down on me with scorn. Now they gazed up in awe and shock. How ridiculous.
“You're Cheon Myeong, the Jade-Faced Divine Saint, right? Truly impressive.”
Binchuk Young Master Seok Musam was equally stunned. He'd thought he was done for at the assassins' hands, but now his eyes were wide as saucers watching me drop them all.
“This isn't the time for chit-chat.”
Seok Musam, curiosity piqued, tried to approach and talk, but I stopped him. There was still work to do—interrogating Petty Killer No Cheonhoe.
“No Cheonhoe, who ordered you to kill Seok Musam?”
I raised my fist and demanded, but the veteran assassin didn't answer. Instead, he bit down on the deadly poison hidden in his mouth, attempting suicide.
Of course. No way he'd spill easily.
I hadn't expected him to. Before the poison could take him—
“If anyone's killing you, it's me.”
: Fire
With those words, I unleashed the fire attribute of Sokseong Oh Haeng Kwon, engulfing his entire body in flames.
Whoosh!
No Cheonhoe thrashed in unimaginable agony amid the inferno, but that was the end.
Poof...
He crumbled to a handful of ash and scattered.
I denied the ruthless assassin No Cheonhoe the mercy of suicide. His hands were stained with too much blood and karma for an easy death. He wasn't virtuous enough for that luxury. So I handled it myself.
“Whew.”
After catching my breath from the consecutive uses of Sokseong Oh Haeng Kwon, I eyed the still-dazed assassins.
“Anyone else wanna go?”
Their mission had been solely to kill Seok Musam. With that failed and an obstacle like me in the way, they had no reason to linger.
“Retreat!”
* * *
“Thank you, truly thank you.”
“I don't even know how to express my gratitude...”
As soon as the Great Killing Veil assassins withdrew without a single straggler, merchants and their escort warriors swarmed me with clasped hands in respect.
Rather than bask in it, I got practical.
“We still have a long way to the mainland. Anyone here know how to handle a boat?”
Luckily, several servants under the merchants had boating experience. Plus, there was a boatman traveling with us who'd only cooperated under duress. No worries there.
With the immediate crisis averted and us smoothly heading to our destination, I sought out Seok Musam.
“No injuries, I hope?”
I already knew the answer. How could there be?
“Just a scare, nothing more. But I do have one question.”
Seok Musam had been deep in thought while I rounded up the boatman. Turns out he had something to say.
“What is it?”
“Did you board this boat specifically to meet me, Young Hero Cheon Myeong?”
Sharp as expected. The rumors painted him as a poor-reputation halfwit overshadowed by his brothers due to his lowly maternal lineage, but he was shrewd and sharp-minded.
“Yes.”
I didn't deny it, opting for honesty. No lie would fool him anyway—better to be straightforward.
“So you've known everything since I mentioned my father?”
“Yes.”
Rather than shock or disappointment, Seok Musam voiced curiosity at my candor.
“Why seek me out? Don't take this the wrong way, but... most people go to my eldest brother Muil or second brother Mutu instead. What does someone as strong and insightful as you see in me?”
He was genuinely exceptional. A petty sort would rage at the deception; a greedy one wouldn't even ask why they'd bother with a nobody like him—they'd just stay silent for potential gain.
But Seok Musam neither raged nor clammed up. He straight-up asked why me over his flashy brothers.
The answer was simple for me.
“Since we're alone, I'll be frank.”
True sincerity demands the same in return. I laid out my thoughts to the intrigued Seok Musam.
“They call your eldest brother, Myeonggeum Young Master Seok Muil, a genius—but strip away the Hwanggang Merchant Group's halo, and his picks have tanked in value. He hasn't expanded the business or even capitalized properly, right?”
Myeonggeum Young Master? Hardly. Generously, he was worth maybe a hundred gold taels.
Seok Musam didn't bristle at my biting words; he leaned in attentively.
“Your second brother, Cheongeum Young Master Seok Mutu, is simpler. Talented as a warrior, maybe, but as a merchant? Rock bottom. That's why he contents himself as number two to big bro and sees you—a threat to his spot—as an enemy.”
In the original story, Seok Mutu indeed bloomed as a martial artist, not a merchant.
Seok Musam gestured for more.
“So in my view, no matter how you slice it, no one's better suited as next young leader than Binchuk Young Master Seok Musam. Isn't there a merchant saying? Buy the premium stock when it's cheapest.”
To me, the ultimate premium was no silk or gold, but the man before me: Binchuk Young Master Seok Musam. How could I let him die?
Especially since in the original, his innate merchant genius withered unfulfilled due to smears about his background, leading to his death. Heartbreaking.
Seok Musam wasn't just a merchant prodigy; his personality made him a great friend too. Chatting alone today felt refreshingly comfortable, for one.
“Aren't you overrating me? I'm not as great as you say.”
He still didn't grasp his own talent, stunted from childhood by his brothers and their mothers. No surprise.
“Aren't you underrating yourself, Young Master Seok Musam? I trust my eye.”
Did my words hit home? He beamed.
Or so it seemed.
Drip. Drop.
Tears fell from his eyes.
I didn't mock or find it strange. Having read his episode in the original, I understood.
Within the Seok Family Manor, he'd been pointed at and shunned. Even the family head pitied him without recognizing his talent, just shielding him blindly.
His smile was joy at finally being seen for the first time. His tears? Pent-up resentment bursting after all these years past his prime.
I approached and embraced him warmly. “It's okay.”
“I hear you're a few years my senior. Mind if I call you Brother Seok casually?”
One burning wish from my old world: buddy up with a filthy rich older bro. A bucket-list item, finally checked off.
“How could I have my lifesaver and benefactor call me 'brother'? Let's be friends.”
And just like that, I unexpectedly gained a rich friend. Not bad at all.
We held each other for a while, offering mutual comfort, before I finally spoke.
“Oh, once we hit land, let's swing by Da Hong Mountain.”
“Feel free to speak casually. Anyway, why Da Hong Mountain...?”
To my new friend Seok Musam, I replied with a meaningful smile.
“The Da Hong Mountain Bandit's chief has some real guts.”
* * *
After twists and turns, the boat reached our destination safely. The merchants the Great Killing Veil assassins had dragged aboard as witnesses unexpectedly became a huge boon for Seok Musam.
“Young Master Seok Musam, we're Sichuan peddlers.”
“Just lowly peddlers for now, but we plan to form a merchant group.”
“Fate brought us together—partner with us when we do?”
“Binchuk Young Master? Must be baseless rumors.”
“Right? Seeing you in action, you're sharp. We trust you.”
I couldn't help blurting out from where I'd been quietly standing.
“Ah!”
My outburst stemmed from a faint memory.
A small band of peddlers grew into a massive merchant house spanning Sichuan. For Seok Musam, dreaming of the family head seat, this was perfect serendipity.
Maybe this is fate?
I'd chalked it up to luck at first, but soon realized: my Maternal Uncle's will guiding it, my protagonist perks remaking destiny into inevitability.
Coincidences repeated become necessity; necessity repeated becomes fate.
“How could I refuse? I lack backing now, but with your support, let's get serious.”
I knew it for certain. The world's creator, my Maternal Uncle, had affirmed it:
"You know the saying talented people die young? The more gifted—especially surrounded by jealous petty fools—the shorter their lives."
"This Binchuk Young Master Seok Musam has merchant genius enough to become a lone titan without capital, yet it withers unbloomed."
"With these peddler merchants and my backing, won't he surpass even a titan to become a grand merchant lord?"
Seok Musam will surely rise as Seok Family head soon.
I believed in him without doubt.