Monopolizing Fortunes (138)
Monopolizing Fortunes (138)
"I'll just stay here."
"Then do as you please."
Go Seon-hwa flashed an unreadable smile at Do Tong-dal, then followed Jeong So.
Hwang Jang-su was about to lead them into the building when two middle-aged men appeared.
One wore a short beard, and the other had a large mole on his left cheek that made him look comical.
"So these are the ones who came running from Hwangdae Merchant Company."
The bearded man picked up where the mole-faced man left off.
"I suppose this time they've learned there are things money can't solve."
Ju Pyeong-seong stepped forward.
"Are you fanning the flames of a burning house? We're family, and treating us like this is going too far!"
The mole-faced man scowled.
"Family? Merchants daring to put themselves on the same level as us martial artists?"
The bearded man soothed the mole-faced man.
"A child born of a concubine is still a child, and some people even think of their servants as family, you know."
An outcry erupted from the Hwangdae Merchant Company party.
"Comparing us to servants!"
"This is too much, no matter how you look at it!"
"After living off the money we've earned for you all this time!"
The mole-faced man and the bearded man glared at the last person who had shouted. It was Chief Clerk Jo Byeok-sang, who handled the Hwangdae Merchant Company's general accounts.
"You fed us? We've never taken a single coin from you merchants! If anything, aren't you the idiots who made an enemy of the imperial palace and put our Revenge Society in danger?"
Jang Bu-ok stepped forward.
"We never made an enemy of the imperial palace."
The bearded man stared at Jang Bu-ok for a moment, then asked.
"Are you the company head?"
"I am."
"Then either you or one of your subordinates must have done it. The Revenge Society would never do anything that stupid."
"Hwangdae Merchant Company is also part of the Revenge Society."
"I wonder. How many people in the Revenge Society actually think of Hwangdae Merchant Company that way?"
"They've been strutting around just because they made a little money, and now look at them. Hwangdae Merchant Company is finished, so they'll have to go back to being the insignificant merchants they were before."
Jang Bu-ok clenched his molars. He had long sensed that Hwangdae Merchant Company was not treated properly within the Revenge Society.
In a martial group, merchants could never be anything but outsiders. But he had not known the contempt would be this blatant.
"A frog forgets its tadpole days, as they say. Wasn't the Revenge Society's root also merchants?"
The mole-faced man shouted angrily.
"We were martial artists as well as merchants, and now there are no more merchants! Don't forget that we were wiped out by those hypocrites precisely because we were powerless merchants! Though I suppose you're an outsider, so you can't even feel this bitterness."
The bearded man spat out in an even lower voice.
"Company Head, stay here quietly and await your disposition."
"Await disposition? Are we criminals?"
"Hwangdae Merchant Company became an enemy of the imperial palace, so you are criminals. And in the martial world, being powerless makes you a criminal."
Hostile glares poured onto the two men who were openly showing contempt. The bearded man met those glares and spoke.
"I'll give you a chance to vent your anger. Come at me if you're confident."
"Let's see how strong you are!"
The one who stepped forward indignantly was Gwak Ji-cheol. Gwak Ji-cheol was the general manager of Hwangdae Merchant Company and a friend of Jang Bu-ok's for twenty years.
"Manager Gwak. Stop this."
"Company Head, even if I die today, I cannot simply endure this insult."
The bearded man said with a smile.
"Coming at me prepared to die. That's spirit unbecoming of a merchant. Still, don't expect any mercy from my hands."
"Hmph. Don't underestimate the Hanam Blade!"
When Gwak Ji-cheol drew his sword, the mole-faced man stepped forward.
"I'll show you the terror of a true martial artist."
The bearded man readily stepped back and folded his arms. His relaxed expression showed he never even considered the mole-faced man's defeat.
Do Tong-dal also watched the two men fight from a distance.
Jang Yeon-seon asked in a low voice.
"Who do you think will win?"
"The mole-faced one, probably."
"You can tell just by looking?"
"Manager Gwak is all tensed up, while the mole-faced one is relaxed. In the martial world, nine times out of ten, the confident one wins."
Do Tong-dal's prediction was nothing special, and sure enough, the fight ended easily in the mole-faced man's victory.
Gwak Ji-cheol, unable to last even twenty moves, slumped down with a wound in his side. Blood flowing between his fingers ran down his trousers and dripped onto the ground.
The fight had not lasted long, but Do Tong-dal was able to gauge the mole-faced man's martial level to some extent.
'He's far below the Three Saints of Hwangdae.'
The bearded man's level was probably similar to the mole-faced man's.
The people of Hwangdae Merchant Company glared at the mole-faced man and the bearded man as if they wanted to kill them, but glaring was all they could do.
"Is there no one else who will step forward?"
No one knew who looked at Do Tong-dal first. One by one, the Hwangdae Merchant Company people turned their gazes toward Do Tong-dal, and the bearded man and the mole-faced man also directed their eyes at him.
Do Tong-dal did not want to fight here. He did not even know what kind of place Dongui Martial Hall was, so recklessly picking a fight was not a wise choice.
So Do Tong-dal turned his gaze away into the distance.
"Heh heh heh... That young fellow you're all pinning your hopes on seems to be a coward."
The bearded man picked up where the mole-faced man left off.
"Avoiding a fight he'd lose is wise. Though for a martial artist, it's the worst."
"The young fellow has no spirit."
"Merchants are all like that."
Once the bearded man and the mole-faced man left, Hwang Jang-su, who had been handling the guidance, spoke as if nothing had happened.
"There are eight rooms and thirty-two beds inside, so it shouldn't be lacking. You can unpack on your own. And I'll send a physician."
Hwang Jang-su left those words behind and departed. The Hwangdae Merchant Company people, left standing alone in front of the shabby building, turned their gazes toward Do Tong-dal.
Their eyes held undisguisable resentment. There was no doubt that Do Tong-dal was the strongest person here.
Yet while Gwak Ji-cheol was bleeding, Do Tong-dal had hidden like a coward.
"Why didn't you fight? You could have handled those two easily."
Do Tong-dal answered Jang Bu-ok's question with a question.
"What kind of place is Dongui Martial Hall?"
"What do you mean, what kind of place?"
"A restaurant is a place where you eat, and a shop is a place where you do business. A martial hall teaches you how to fight. So what does Dongui Martial Hall do?"
"It's a martial hall, so of course it teaches you how to fight..."
Jang Bu-ok swallowed the rest of his words. Everyone here knew that Dongui Martial Hall was no ordinary martial hall.
"Honestly, I don't really know either."
"You're telling me to fight without even knowing what kind of place I'm in?"
Gwak Ji-cheol shouted.
"You saw how those bastards treated us! Are you saying we should just endure that?"
"So you fought a fight you couldn't win. I don't know about you, Manager Gwak, but I only have one life."
Do Tong-dal asked Jang Bu-ok.
"And is Dongui Martial Hall our enemy?"
"Not an enemy, but..."
"If they're not an enemy, what happens if I kill them during a fight?"
Everyone from Hwangdae Merchant Company stiffened, as if they had realized something.
"If I fight, I can win. Do you really want to stake everyone's lives on that?"
Murmuring could be heard among the Hwangdae Merchant Company people.
"Now that I think about it, that does seem wrong."
"We don't even really know where we are, right?"
"And they don't seem all that friendly toward us either."
Taking everything into account, Do Tong-dal's decision to avoid the fight had been the wise one.
"Hearing what you said, I think I was a bit rash. It would be best to exercise restraint until we clearly understand what kind of place Dongui Martial Hall is and what our situation is."
Seeing him plainly admit his own mistake, Jang Bu-ok might be a decent person after all.
Jang Yeon-seon whispered.
"Mister, you're surprisingly thoughtful."
"Surprisingly?"
"But would you have held back even if the mole-faced one and the bearded one had provoked you?"
"If they'd provoked me, those bastards would be dead."
"Heh heh! I knew it. It's because it was someone else's business, right?"
Do Tong-dal simply shrugged.
* * *
Gwak Jeong-ju crumpled the messenger-pigeon letter in his hand.
"According to what's written here, the society has nothing to do with the First Prince's assassination."
The bearded man, Bae Ji-seok, spoke.
"The society would never have committed such a foolish act."
"Hall Master, if that's the case, wouldn't this be connected to Hwangdae Merchant Company?"
At the mole-faced Go Bu-sang's words, Hall Master Gwak Jeong-ju let out a low hum.
"Hmm. But why would Hwangdae Merchant Company assassinate the First Prince?"
"Could it be that they've turned against our Revenge Society? Isn't Hwangdae Merchant Company a stone that rolled in from outside?"
"There's been no sign of betrayal all this time. And if they had plotted something involving the First Prince's assassination, it makes no sense for them to be the first ones attacked. The Jang Bu-ok I know is not that foolish."
Bae Ji-seok spoke.
"Then they may have been framed."
Go Bu-sang raised an objection.
"Do you think it makes sense for them to be framed out of nowhere when they have no connection to it? Either way, they got involved in the matter, so the imperial palace came after them."
Gwak Jeong-ju unfolded the letter he had been clutching.
"What matters now is whether the imperial palace's target is Hwangdae Merchant Company alone."
Go Bu-sang asked in surprise.
"You mean our Revenge Society could be the target?"
"Even if Hwangdae Merchant Company joined midway, it is still part of the Revenge Society. Even if the imperial palace doesn't know of the Revenge Society's existence right now, it could come to light while they pursue Hwangdae Merchant Company. If that happens, they'll think we're the ones behind it."
Bae Ji-seok spoke.
"Then wouldn't cutting off the tail be the wise choice?"
Go Bu-sang asked in surprise.
"You mean eliminate the Hwangdae Merchant Company people?"
"Now that they've become the imperial palace's target, Hwangdae Merchant Company should be considered finished. Do we really need to keep holding on to people who are no longer useful?"
"That's true enough. They've been unpleasant for a while now..."
Gwak Jeong-ju cut off Go Bu-sang's words.
"This is a matter for the main society to decide, so until word comes, treat them courteously as guests."
They answered that they understood, but Go Bu-sang and Bae Ji-seok had no intention of being courteous to the Hwangdae Merchant Company people.
* * *
Word from Namgung Seol-rin came suddenly. A kid working at Dongui Martial Hall had tossed the letter down and left.
He had been suspicious, but the handwriting was unmistakably Namgung Seol-rin's, so he went to the designated place at the appointed time.
There, Do Tong-dal met unexpected figures. It was Ha Su-ran, wearing a veil, and Beggars' Sect Leader Baek So-gu.
Of course, Namgung Seol-rin, Jang Yu-seom, and Won Dae-yeon were also present.
"Oh? Yeon-seon came along too."
They did not exchange separate greetings, but since they had worked together when arranging the Hwangdae Merchant Company matter, they knew each other's identities.
"If I came out alone, it would look suspicious, so I brought her along."
At Do Tong-dal's words, Baek So-gu asked.
"Who's the little miss?"
"She's the daughter of the Hwangdae Merchant Company head."
Ha Su-ran and Baek So-gu, who did not know Jang Yeon-seon, were startled.
"You brought the company head's daughter to this meeting?"
"It's fine. She's a reliable ally."
"No matter how much of an ally she is, still...!"
Won Dae-yeon cut off Baek So-gu's words.
"If Coordinator Do says it's fine, then it's fine."
Baek So-gu grumbled.
"Still, you should at least explain. We're people working on the same thing..."
So Do Tong-dal told Ha Su-ran and Baek So-gu about Jang Yeon-seon.
"Revenge Society?"
"Yes. To Yeon-seon, the Revenge Society is practically her mother's enemy."
"The name is certainly direct. So this Revenge Society is some kind of faction?"
"That's right."
Just as Baek So-gu was about to say something, Ha Su-ran let out a low voice.
"Um..."
Everyone's gaze turned to her.
"I haven't even greeted Young Master Do yet."
A brief silence passed, and in that passing time, Ha Su-ran's exposed skin flushed red.
"Ahaha! Meeting after so long, you must be glad to see each other! Exchange your greetings!"
When Won Dae-yeon spoke exaggeratedly, Ha Su-ran lowered her head like a wooden doll.
"It's been a while. Have you been well?"
"Yes. But what brings you all the way here?"
"To get access to the information you've uncovered a little faster, Young Master Do."
Baek So-gu muttered.
"Seeing him and getting the goods too."
When Ha Su-ran glared at him, Baek So-gu avoided her gaze and asked Do Tong-dal.
"So is Hwangdae Merchant Company completely finished now?"
* * *