Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Southern Jiang Merchant King (2)
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- Tch! These yellow-skinned money-grubbers always spout the same nonsense, past and present! Argh!!
Good grief.
‘You were just calling me promising a moment ago, so why the sudden foul mood?’
- Even if the brat is promising, so what! How dare he test the magnanimity of a Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect disciple?! Does he think money can buy everything?! There are things money can't touch! Even after a hundred years, these merchants are still the same!
Well, I could understand why my master was flying off the handle.
Eun Se-pyeong's question of ‘How much?’ seemed casual at first glance, but its true intent was to make me put a price on my own worth.
In other words, it was a test of my caliber.
Master must have been seething with the thought of ‘How dare anyone weigh my disciple like merchandise?!’
‘He grumbles about everything, but he shows his affection in such a peculiar way.’
Anyway.
I got why Master was pissed off.
‘Who’d be happy about stepping onto someone else’s scale?’
But in this case, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
‘It's not like he's all talk.’
The Southern Jiang Merchant King had made it clear he was willing to pay.
From what I could see, most people in the Silver Radiance Merchant Group just saw me as the guy Yin Xia Lian gave a platinum gratitude token to, without knowing the full story.
But someone like Eun Se-pyeong would know exactly who I was.
Which made this pretty generous treatment.
‘Um, Master?’
- What is it?
‘If I may be so bold. While you were sealed in that tomb's formation, our sect has been on hiatus for over a century.’
- …Ahem.
‘And as I mentioned before, this disciple was kicked out of the family. Honestly, someone of the Merchant King's stature is decent enough. He's offering to evaluate me without prejudice. And even paying for it.’
- Khm. Well, now that you put it that way, your point has some merit.
The real issue here was figuring out how to answer to squeeze out the best value for my time.
‘Say too little, and I'm small-minded. Say too much, and I'm clueless about my place.’
That's why philosophers through the ages have passed down the wisdom to know thyself.
It wasn't the kind of question you could answer lightly.
And in my case, the one asking was Eun Se-pyeong.
Who was Eun Se-pyeong?
‘The head of the Silver Radiance Merchant Group, one of the two great merchants under heaven, hailed as the king of merchants south of the Yangtze.’
In short, if it came to weighing worth, no one ranked second to him.
‘I'm in a spot where I have to name a figure closest to whatever price tag is floating in that Southern Jiang Merchant King's head for me.’
It was enough to make most people's heads spin.
But not mine.
Hell, had I not heard every "king this" and "king that" under the sun back in the day?!
I'd dealt with plenty of folks with that kind of aura.
‘So-called big shots in the business world.’
Men, women, young, old, different nationalities—you name it.
So, at that moment.
"One big bill."
I flashed Eun Se-pyeong a grin and opened my mouth.
"That might just be enough to borrow some of my time."
At my words, a faint murmur rippled through the room again, just like before.
"...Hah. He's seriously saying he'll only talk if the Merchant King pays up?"
"Indeed. Folks bring treasures galore just to exchange a word with the Hall Leader, and here he is making her pay to meet him? They called him a noble guest of the Radiant Prosperity Hall Leader—talk about magnanimity."
"...But what do you reckon 'one big bill' means? Sounds like a voucher. Maybe around a hundred taels in silver?"
"Come on, man. She's the one who gave him a platinum-edged gratitude token. You gonna judge a guy like that with your penny-pinching standards? Money's money! At least value it in gold bars, right? Gold coins would be different, though."
"...Hah?"
"What's with the sudden 'hah'?"
"Think about it. We're merchants ourselves, and even we're divided on this. Isn't this exactly why the platinum noble asked the Merchant King to test his caliber?"
...Huh.
I hadn't thought that deep into it.
Hm.
Come to think of it, unlike my previous life where 'one big bill' had a social consensus, this era didn't have that.
‘Does it matter?’
It had just cast a bigger impression than intended, but nothing changed.
‘If anything, it might be working in my favor.’
And sure enough.
Eun Se-pyeong's expression shifted to one of 'Well, well' for a split second before his mouth opened.
"Done. One big bill."
At this point, it meant he'd pay an amount befitting the Southern Jiang Merchant King.
No need to drag it out any longer.
I nodded at Eun Se-pyeong's words.
"Good."
Eun Se-pyeong nodded back, then suddenly turned and began swiftly dismantling the scene he'd called a 'spectacle' moments ago.
"As of this moment, Radiant Glory Hall's operations are suspended. All warriors, escorts, and servants under its command, lay down your weapons immediately and follow the Inner Law Hall's orders. The matters Radiant Glory Hall was handling will be taken over by headquarters until further notice."
And sure enough, someone raised an objection to Eun Se-pyeong's command.
"M-Merchant Lord! You can't do this!!"
"Lady Wife is right! Radiant Glory Hall merely sought to secure the reckless fool who dared touch the Merchant King's blood! Yet you're issuing him a blank voucher and suspending the hall?! It's outrageous!"
It was none other than Ha Mountain Owl's mother and uncle.
They'd squirmed instinctively under Eun Se-pyeong's foot, but their wriggling ended there.
"Whether it's outrageous is entirely for me to judge."
"B-But!"
"Quiet. Right now, I'm showing mercy because I believe Radiant Glory Hall's actions had at least some justification. Raise any more objections, and I'll immediately deem it treason for drawing weapons in my estate and threatening a benefactor with a gratitude token. Is that what you want?"
At Eun Se-pyeong's hardline stance, Yin Ha-seong's mother and uncle were struck dumb as if they'd swallowed honey.
And with that, the Radiant Glory Hall members set down their weapons one by one.
Having sorted the mess in an instant, Eun Se-pyeong turned to me.
"All that talking dried out my throat. We agreed on tea earlier, so young hero, follow me."
* * *
Following behind Eun Se-pyeong as he led the way to the main hall, a maid soon entered carrying an exquisite celadon tea set.
Eun Se-pyeong dismissed her and personally poured me tea.
"It's the famed tea of Haenam Province, said to retain its aroma even after seven infusions. Fit for tribute to the imperial court."
Quuuuurgle—
- Indeed, the subtle lingering fragrance doesn't overpower the taste. Truly top-notch. Worthy of the Son of Heaven.
My master at my waist kept praising the aroma wafting from the tea.
But honestly, as a so-called 'ice-death summer person' who craved frozen drinks even in freezing weather, it wasn't really my cup of tea.
"And this is payment for borrowing your time as promised."
But when envelopes like this popped open, things changed.
"Slurp. The tea's excellent."
I gulped down the tea in front of me.
Then I pulled out the voucher from the envelope Eun Se-pyeong offered and checked the amount written inside.
- How much?
‘A thousand taels.’
- A thousand?! In silver?
‘Nah, gold coins.’
- ...Gold coins?! His successor daughter offers some friendship trinket to make you her friend... and her father burns a thousand to chat?! How the hell do these suckers hold onto the title of one of heaven's two great merchants?!
Why does your mind jump to my disciple's value being high at that point?
- ...No, seriously. Isn't the amount too much?!
As Master said, it was quite a sum.
I'd received the same thousand gold from Yin Xia Lian before, but that was compensation for helping in the Northern Deer crisis, and a show of her intent to claim me as hers. This was purely for sharing a cup of tea.
Anyway.
Money received meant value delivered.
I tucked Eun Se-pyeong's voucher safely into my bosom.
Then opened my mouth right away.
"I doubt you'd pay this much just for tea company, so ask away."
"Straight to the point—I like it. First question, then. It was you who saved Ha-yeon from danger in the Northern Deer outpost not long ago, right?"
Hm.
Should I answer this?
Back then, I'd yielded the credit to Escort Leader Eun Jeong-gil.
Having chatted with him here after so long, it seemed things had proceeded as discussed.
Eun Se-pyeong seemed to already grasp the facts roughly, but once something became 'official,' circumstances shifted.
Admitting it from my mouth could put Yin Xia Lian or Eun Jeong-gil in a bind.
So I hesitated briefly, but Eun Se-pyeong caught on and dispelled my concern.
"If it's about crediting Escort Leader Eun, don't worry. No intention of holding it against you. If anything, I respect that you have the character and ability to yield merit to another."
...Huh.
That said, it kinda overrates Escort Leader Eun, doesn't it?
Anyway.
If that's the case, no need to play dumb.
"Yes. Correct."
"As expected. Then, you're the eldest son of the Pearl Eon Family, whose name echoes through northern Ha-beok? That true too?"
Echoes as a scoundrel, more like.
Judging by his expression and tone, he wasn't asking out of ignorance. No reason to dodge.
"No need to sugarcoat it. Yes. I'm that Pearl Eon Family scoundrel."
But at that moment, Eun Se-pyeong's brow furrowed oddly.
"Hm."
I'd confirmed my identity as asked, so why the face? I shot back immediately.
"Something wrong?"
"Yes. Folks in Ha-beok who have ears click their tongues and point fingers at you as a scoundrel, but the you I've seen is nothing like that."
"How do you see me, Merchant King?"
"I see you as the most underrated hidden dragon under heaven."
Well, technically, the old Eon Yong-un and I were completely different inside, so he wasn't wrong.
Stick around me like Master did, and you'd see we're totally different people.
‘But from Eun Se-pyeong's position, shouldn't I just look like a scoundrel?’
All I'd done here was mooch meals, booze, a bathhouse, guest quarters, and then beat a maid senseless over a spat with the 'Pearl Eon scoundrel'?
No matter how you slice it, wasn't I a scoundrel freeloading on a gratitude token and punching the host's young master?
Wondering what he saw in me to say that, I found my chin stroking involuntarily, but Eun Se-pyeong continued.
"In all my years, I've met exactly three people where the rumors and reality clashed so hard. Know what became of them?"
"No idea?"
"One went into officialdom and earned the title of Great Man. The other two ventured into the jianghu and became known as Dragon and Ghost. From what I've seen today, you're cut from the same cloth."
"Thanks for the praise, but I don't get it. All I've done under your roof is nearly spark a knife fight among Pearl Eon folks by brawling with Ha Mountain Owl—no, the Radiant Glory Hall Leader."
When I countered like that.
Eun Se-pyeong smiled faintly and continued.
"If we're just counting actions, sure. But you did it on purpose, didn't you?"
"Not sure what you mean."
"Drop the act. There's consistency in your moves. You hide yourself thoroughly, and when needed, you don't shy from infamy. The Northern Deer incident was like that, and today's mess used your scoundrel rep to back Ha-yeon."
As expected of the Southern Jiang Merchant King.
That moniker wasn't won on luck; his insight was sharp...
"You probably took the fall deliberately when booted from the Pearl Eon Family too. Why?"
...Pardon?
Why veer into such a weird conclusion when you were on a roll?
You did win that title gambling...?
"Well, you won't answer that. Doesn't matter. Whatever it is, I judge you're worth investing in."
Huh.
But that doesn't sound bad?
Maybe I'll just roll with it.