Chapter 782: The Land is Gangnam.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 782: The Land is Gangnam.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
Ha Su-ryeon began to walk slowly, her eyes hollow and sunken.
It was the result of staying up all night without a wink of sleep, scouting for the land where the Uicheon Alliance would be established.
'Sigh... I must be crazy... What do I even stand to gain from this?'
A sigh escaped her lips inwardly.
She found her own situation—toiling away like this—utterly ridiculous. To be honest, she didn't owe the Uicheon Alliance enough loyalty to scout land for them.
She had already achieved her primary objective.
Her goal had been to avenge her sister, who had met an unjust death. To that end, she had promised her active cooperation to Sun-woo, and as a result, her sister’s murderer, Lee Jae-won, was dead.
Her initial purpose was fulfilled.
She could have simply said her goodbyes and gone her own way, yet here she was, going out of her way to find a site for the Uicheon Alliance.
And she was doing it without receiving a single penny in commission.
How could she not sigh?
'This won't do... I have to at least demand an information fee.'
She changed her mind.
No matter how she looked at it, unpaid labor was not the way to go. Surveying land prices across the entire Central Plains required a significant amount of manpower.
She had to request official documents from each branch, and the branches that received those requests had to personally put in the legwork to investigate the terrain and market prices.
It was a task that consumed considerable personnel and expenses.
Processing such a job for free was unthinkable.
'Yes, I'll take the money. He's a rich man anyway.'
She finished her self-justification. Since he was a man with deep pockets, she didn't think he would refuse a request for fair compensation.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
Ha Su-ryeon’s pace quickened. The thought of getting paid made her footsteps feel significantly lighter.
After walking for a while, she eventually stopped right in front of the office.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
She began to knock gently on the door.
"Come in."
A familiar male voice reached her ears.
Creeeeeak.
Once his permission was given, Ha Su-ryeon opened the door without hesitation.
Her vision was met with the sight of a man reviewing documents at his desk.
The leader of the soon-to-be-founded Uicheon Alliance, and the World's Greatest Martial Artist who had killed Lee Jae-won.
It was Jang Sun-woo.
"You didn't even ask who it was..."
Ha Su-ryeon spoke in a calm tone as she stepped inside.
"I knew it was you without asking."
Sun-woo replied with an indifferent expression.
He had already reached the Half-Immortal Stage. Identifying someone through their presence was as easy as flipping his palm.
"Anyway, did you bring what I asked for?"
Sun-woo asked, his eyes sparkling.
"Yes, it's right here."
She pulled a book from her robes and held it out toward him.
Grab.
"Oh, thanks."
Sun-woo took the book she offered and began to read it slowly.
He wore an incredibly serious expression.
Ha Su-ryeon watched him intently. This man, who usually had a playful, mischievous smirk on his face, felt quite different when he was focused with such gravity.
As she watched him...
'No, this isn't the time to be distracted!'
She shook her head slightly from side to side. Now was not the time to be daydreaming. It was time to settle things with this man.
'Right, I have to say it. No more free labor... If you want to use me, pay up.'
Her eyes began to glitter with determination.
"Um..."
Just as she gathered her resolve to speak...
"Perfect."
Sun-woo spoke first, a soft smile playing on his lips. He had beaten her to the punch.
"Pardon?"
Ha Su-ryeon asked back, looking bewildered. She wondered what could possibly be so "perfect."
"This, I mean."
Sun-woo held up the book. His face was full of satisfaction.
"Who on earth organized it like this?"
Sun-woo looked genuinely impressed. The data organization was flawless.
It was categorized by region, with charts showing market prices, and even small maps indicating the ratios of forests, mountains, and flat land.
All the land in the Central Plains could be understood at a glance.
And all within a single book.
How could he not be impressed?
".......I... organized it."
"As expected of the Leader of the Hao Clan. To think your data organization would be this perfect."
Sun-woo continued to praise her, his face full of admiration.
"......It's... nothing special."
Ha Su-ryeon replied, feeling embarrassed by his constant praise. It was a skill she didn't consider particularly remarkable, so Sun-woo's reaction made her feel bashful.
"Nothing special? With this level of skill, you'd get recruitment offers with a high salary from the Jaegyeong Pavilion!"
Sun-woo shook his head, disagreeing. He felt she was undervaluing herself.
This was the first time since falling into the Central Plains that he had seen such clean organization. It was data management that wouldn't look out of place even in the modern world.
'I really want to recruit her.'
Sun-woo thought. How much easier would his life be if he could just hire her?
"So, about that..."
Sun-woo began to broach the subject.
"I refuse."
Ha Su-ryeon rejected him before he could even finish his sentence.
"I haven't even said anything yet...?"
"It's a recruitment offer anyway, isn't it? An offer to join the Uicheon Alliance."
Ha Su-ryeon spoke with a composed expression.
"............"
Sun-woo shut his mouth tight. She had hit the nail right on the head.
It was as if she had mastered mind-reading; she had seen right through his intentions.
".....Did you learn mind-reading or something?"
Sun-woo, feeling awkward now that his thoughts were exposed, spoke with a slight blush on his face.
"I knew it without having to hear it."
Ha Su-ryeon replied with a charming smile.
"............"
Seeing that, Sun-woo was momentarily dazed.
Ha Su-ryeon possessed an explosive Seductive Qi, enough to be called a literal wellspring of it. When a woman like her smiled, it felt so exquisitely beautiful that it created the illusion of a flower in full bloom.
After being entranced for a moment...
Shake, shake.
Sun-woo shook his head vigorously. Between his wives and slaves, he already had more than he could count on ten fingers.
To be distracted by another woman in this situation—what kind of nonsense was that?
'I've done enough nonsense already... Let's behave.'
Sun-woo steeled his resolve. He told himself not to fall for the wickedly beautiful Ha Su-ryeon.
"Ahem... Cough. It's not a bad offer... Why don't you reconsider? Isn't it better to move in the light rather than staying in the shadows?"
Sun-woo cleared his throat and continued.
"I'm sorry, but I'm a woman born and raised in the shadows. If I go out into the light, I'll probably burn to death in the sun."
Ha Su-ryeon shook her head, making her refusal clear.
She was someone who had lived her whole life in the Hao Clan. Asking such a person to move into the light was the same as asking her to deny her very origins.
There was no way she would make such a choice.
"That's a shame. I was confident I could treat you well."
Sun-woo spoke with a look of regret. He recognized her firm resolve. Clearly, she wouldn't accept no matter what conditions he offered.
"That aside, you were reading for quite a while... Did you find a place you liked?"
She asked Sun-woo, her face full of curiosity.
"I did. A good place."
Sun-woo replied with a deep smile.
"Where is it?"
Ha Su-ryeon tilted her head and asked back. She was curious about which location he deemed suitable.
"Here."
Sun-woo spoke as he lightly flipped the book open.
"Jiangxi Province!?"
Looking at the book, Ha Su-ryeon asked back in shock. She had never expected him to take a liking to Jiangxi.
"I think this will be a good place for the Uicheon Alliance to settle."
Sun-woo's eyes began to sparkle like stars. His glittering gaze was full of conviction.
*
Jiangxi Province.
Located in the inland part of the Central Plains, it bordered Hubei and Anhui to the north, Zhejiang and Fujian to the east, and Hunan to the west.
Situated south of the Janggang, it was part of the region known as Gangnam. However, compared to other Gangnam regions like Jiangsu or Zhejiang, it was famously shabby and desolate.
Unlike other Gangnam lands, the soil was not fertile, so agricultural production was poor, and no notable local specialties were produced there.
It was practically a wasteland among the Gangnam regions.
"It's impossible."
Ha Su-ryeon gave her immediate judgment as she looked at Sun-woo.
In her eyes, it was out of the question—establishing the Uicheon Alliance in Jiangxi, that is.
"Why do you think it's impossible?"
Sun-woo asked for her reasoning.
"Jiangxi is a pathetic neighborhood with neither fertile soil nor local specialties. If you suggest founding the Uicheon Alliance there, everyone will oppose it, saying it lacks dignity."
Ha Su-ryeon spoke in a calm tone.
Martial artists—especially those of the Orthodox Faction—valued "dignity" immensely. Therefore, they naturally felt a sense of rejection toward anything that went against that dignity.
Jiangxi was a region that offended the dignity of the high-and-mighty Orthodox warriors. It was too unsightly, too shabby, and a trivial place where poverty was palpable.
There was a reason why there were no notable martial sects in Jiangxi.
But to build the Uicheon Alliance in such a place? What kind of nonsense was this?
The elders would surely rise up in protest.
For the Uicheon Alliance, which sought to use the Cheonmu Alliance as a stepping stone to build its foundation, establishing the alliance in Jiangxi was a far too dangerous idea.
"I have my reasons," Sun-woo said calmly.
"What on earth could those reasons be?"
She asked, looking as if she couldn't understand at all. She couldn't grasp what criteria he had used to choose Jiangxi as the site.
"First, the reason is that there are no sects in Jiangxi."
Sun-woo's starlike eyes sparkled as he spoke.
"Sects?"
"Yes, sects."
Sun-woo nodded.
"If the Uicheon Alliance settles in another region, it will inevitably clash with the sects that are already the masters of that land. Such friction is disadvantageous for the Uicheon Alliance, which needs to absorb the forces of the Cheonmu Alliance as quickly as possible."
Sun-woo continued in a steady voice.
"But if we go to Jiangxi, we can avoid such unnecessary conflict and friction. Because there are no notable sects in Jiangxi."
Sun-woo pointed to the map in the book.
"There are plenty of other regions besides Jiangxi where no sects have settled, aren't there? Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian... So why on earth did you choose Jiangxi?"
Ha Su-ryeon asked back, still doubtful.
She still wasn't convinced. Regions without sects were a dime a dozen. Why settle in the unsightly Jiangxi?
"Because the land is cheap."
".........Pardon!?"
Ha Su-ryeon asked back, bewildered by Sun-woo's words.
"It's the cheapest in the Central Plains, and there's plenty of property on the market."
"........I can understand needing to consider economic factors... but even so, Jiangxi is low-quality land that matches its price. The soil isn't fertile, so it's hard to farm or even maintain a garden."
"That doesn't matter. We're only going to put up buildings anyway."
Sun-woo spoke as if it were of no consequence.
"We're not trying to farm. we're planning to establish an alliance. In fact, if the land is undervalued, it's much more of a gain for us."
"...........That... may be true... but I still don't understand why you'd go out of your way to buy land in Jiangxi... There are plenty of other places that could replace it..."
"No, there aren't."
Sun-woo shook his head with a firm expression.
"There is no place that can replace Jiangxi."
His eyes were filled with certainty.
"Why do you think so?"
"Because this is the only place where millions of pyeong of land would hit the market all at once in a single month."
Sun-woo's eyes began to flash sharply.