Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Translator: Penny
Chapter 57
Silent Retreat (3)
Upon arriving in Jinan, we immediately went to finalize the contract.
The contractor we had chosen was a man named Du Jong, renowned throughout Jinan for his exceptional construction skills.
"I never expected Young Master Ma to come in person," Du Jong said, his voice tinged with nervousness. Despite having dealt with rough laborers his entire life, he was visibly tense. He couldn't shake the fear that Ma Jeongsu had come seeking retribution for the broken contract.
"Since I didn't make an appearance myself, baseless rumors began to spread," Ma Jeongsu replied coldly.
Du Jong stammered, "My apologies. Those who work on construction sites live hand-to-mouth. If we don't stick to the agreed-upon schedule..."
Ma Jeongsu raised his hand to cut him off. "I'm not here for excuses."
Du Jong fell silent at the cold words. Given his opponent's status and his previous breach of contract, caution was warranted.
Ma Jeongsu presented the banknote.
"Here's the Twenty Thousand Taels contract fee. I've added Ten Thousand Taels beyond the original amount. Now, focus on the construction and ignore the rumors."
"Right now..."
Du Jong couldn't bring himself to voice his predicament. Ma Jeongsu was glaring at him with murderous intent. With a sigh, Du Jong said,
"Understood. I'll do my best."
He had concluded that even at a loss, he had no choice but to postpone his other ongoing projects. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but there was no alternative.
"Hahaha! Wise decision."
"Let's draft the contract first."
Du Jong summoned a servant to bring the contract.
"Please wait a moment."
He excused himself briefly, likely to deposit the banknote at the nearby Financial House. Twenty Thousand Taels was a substantial sum, representing one-fifth of the total construction cost.
Ma Jeongsu affixed his seal and signature, his expression now radiating joy, a stark contrast to his reluctance during the Night Merchants' contract negotiations.
Moments later, Du Jong returned, his face clouded with concern.
"You're back?" he said cautiously, glancing at Ma Jeongsu. "There seems to be some kind of mistake."
"What do you mean?"
"The banknote you gave me... it's counterfeit."
"What?!" Ma Jeongsu exclaimed, startled. I feigned equal shock and shouted, "That's absurd!"
Du Jong looked back and forth between us, asking carefully, "Are you truly unaware of this?"
I raised my voice. "Who do you think this man is? Why would he use a counterfeit banknote? And risk getting caught so quickly? This would bring great shame upon the Heavenly Blade Gate!"
Du Jong spoke with relief, apparently having feared that we might be angry about the contract breach and had brought fake banknotes to cause trouble.
"I thought so too. Let's go together and verify them."
We followed Du Jong outside.
At the nearby Continental Bank, we confirmed that the banknotes were indeed fake.
It turned out that all but two thousand taels of the eighteen thousand taels were counterfeit. Only the two thousand taels Du Jong had kept on top, likely to avoid suspicion during verification, were genuine.
Ma Jeongsu grilled Du Jong.
"You switched them, didn't you?"
"Oh no! Absolutely not!" Du Jong cried, prostrating himself on the spot and begging for mercy.
I interjected, "How could he have known to prepare fake banknotes in advance?"
Suspicious glances immediately turned toward me.
"Why are you looking at me like that? You don't suspect me, do you?"
I met Ma Jeongsu's gaze with an expression of unwavering confidence, as if I had nothing to hide.
Ma Jeongsu quickly dismissed his suspicions. My demeanor was too assured for me to have switched the pellets, and he likely reasoned that I wouldn't have accompanied him all the way to Jinan if the truth would be exposed so easily.
"Could those Night Merchants have given us a fake?"
"Most likely."
"Something that would be exposed so quickly? How dare they try to deceive me?"
"They're probably not acting alone. Didn't you say other heirs are trying to sabotage the Young Master's affairs?"
"Ah! So that's it! These bastards! They're mocking me to the very end!"
Ma Jeongsu believed that the person who killed Si Gon had conspired with the Night Merchants.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
Unable to contain his rage, he roared in fury.
Fearing he might harm Du Jong's family, I warned him, "If you don't handle this properly, you could end up having to repay the One Hundred Thousand Taels."
"What?"
"You affixed your seal and signed the loan agreement, didn't you? You should return immediately and verify the remaining banknotes. If there are any discrepancies, you need to correct them immediately."
We hurried back to the Yang Association.
We took the remaining banknotes from the vault to the Financial House for verification, but every single one was counterfeit.
Ma Jeongsu smashed his desk again and flew into another rage.
"I will never forgive them! Not a single Night Merchant from Shandong will survive!"
"Of course, you shouldn't."
"I'll summon everyone who supports me from Our Sect and tell them to abandon this ridiculous successor trial!"
At the heart of his fury was the humiliation of being disregarded.
I wanted to tell him:
This is karma. You've spent your life dismissing others far more cruelly. Now, that contempt has finally come back to haunt you.
But even if I said it, he wouldn't understand.
"Bring me wine! Wine!"
I brought him wine—lots of it.
"Where's that bitch? Where is she?"
"I haven't seen her today."
"Hmph! That rat! Hiding like a ghost."
Ma Jeongsu gulped down the wine straight from the bottle.
I excused myself to fetch some snacks and slipped outside.
She was in the corridor. I'd seen her earlier when I brought the wine.
"Why didn't you tell him I was here?"
"Just... as you can see, Great Hero Ma is in a bad state."
A flicker of gratitude crossed the woman's eyes.
There was no need for thanks. Considering the profound enlightenment she had given me on our journey to Jinan, this small act of kindness didn't even count as repayment.
That night, Ma Jeongsu, drunk and stumbling, was walking somewhere.
His destination was Song Family Manor. As the alcohol took hold, Song Hwarin's image surfaced in his mind, and a burning desire to defile her began to grow.
The lust, once ignited, continued to intensify. Her beautiful face haunted his thoughts, and the blood pooling in his lower body refused to subside.
Finally, he resolved to act on his impulse.
He could no longer endure the recent anger and pressure.
A sense of reckless abandon fueled his decision. It was clear that he would be excluded from the succession race. If he failed to become the heir, he would either be killed by the new successor or suffer an even more gruesome fate.
In the end, he had made a decision he shouldn't have. Of course, he had a plan. Even a descendant of the Heavenly Blade Gate couldn't handle the consequences of defiling the Head of the Song Family Manor's daughter.
He would break in wearing a mask and rape her. He planned to use the aphrodisiac he always carried—a powder that could be sprinkled on her while she slept.
He justified this vile decision to himself.
"Damn bitch! You said you'd make me regret this, didn't you?"
He used the grudge he'd held since her words on the road to Jinan as an excuse.
"Arrogant wench! Let's see how you act when you're drugged!"
His pace quickened.
At that moment, someone blocked his path.
"Who are you?"
Ma Jeongsu didn't recognize the person.
Which was only natural.
I was waiting, wearing a new mask.
I spoke coldly to him, "In this Martial Arts World, there are things you must never touch."
I meant my father, Song Hwarin, the Shandong Martial Arts World, and even Du Jong, whom I had been forced to make a contract with earlier. I meant all those who had been trampled by him.
But he needed to understand this:
"No one who touches the Night Merchants' money survives."
Somewhere, that woman must be watching.
"You dog! Not only did you give me a fake banknote, but you dare come looking for me? You bastard, you've walked right into my trap!"
Ma Jeongsu drew his sword, his killing intent radiating like a palpable aura. The man was undoubtedly a master. For a drunken, lust-driven twenty-five-year-old to emit such a powerful aura was truly astonishing.
I was once again reminded of the formidable power of the Five Great Forces of the Central Plains.
But even that wasn't enough to contend with me.
I could have killed him sooner, but I was conscious of the eyes watching us.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Our evenly matched battle continued.
I didn't use the Soul-Chasing Asura Sword Technique or the White Moon Sword Technique. I fought him without using any forms, instead mimicking the sword arts favored by assassins—techniques I had faced countless times in my previous life.
These were forms devoid of any flourish, designed solely to kill.
In an instant, over fifty exchanges had passed.
Just when I felt it was time, I channeled my full power and speed into my blade.
Our swords crossed.
Ma Jeongsu's blade pierced empty air, while mine pierced his chest.
Thwack!
"Ugh... ugh... ugh!"
The man's eyes widened as he stared down at the sword piercing his chest. The pain was secondary; he was overwhelmed by terror. He had stabbed others countless times, but he had never been stabbed himself.
"...What... is this?"
I twisted the sword mercilessly.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Ma Jeongsu screamed in agony.
"It hurts! Please! Stop!"
Tears streamed down his face. If they were tears of repentance, that would have been something, but they were tears of pain and fear. Tears of injustice.
"Please... I don't want to die like this."
You don't need to feel wronged. This is the price you deserve to pay.
That's what I wanted to say.
Born as the child of a Heavenly Blade Gate maidservant, how difficult her life must have been. She claimed she had become a monster to survive.
But so what? Not everyone succumbs to their environment and becomes a monster. It's just an excuse, blaming her own evil deeds on her circumstances.
Swoosh!
My sword, drawn swiftly, pierced his neck again.
Thunk!
Ma Jeongsu coughed up blood from his throat.
Swoosh!
Thunk!
Swoosh!
Thunk!
I drew and stabbed repeatedly, each strike swift and precise. Though he had already died from the second thrust, I continued to stab him multiple times. This was the Night Merchants' way.
Ma Jeongsu collapsed like a bundle of straw, landing with a heavy thud. A pool of blood quickly formed around him.
As I retrieved my sword and turned away, I saw her watching me from a distant tree, as expected.
Her gaze was cold, her aura sharp and piercing.
She was undeniably strong, perhaps even stronger than Si Gon, I thought. Yet she didn't attack me. If she had intended to, she would have intervened during my fight with Ma Jeongsu.
As I glared at her, I warned coldly, "Touch us, and you'll die."
With those words, I immediately left the scene.
The woman didn't pursue me.
As I'd predicted, she remained a detached observer. And I saw it: as she carried Ma Jeongsu's corpse under her arm, a faint smile played on her lips.
I returned to my room, changed my clothes, and put on my original Human Skin Mask.
I had a premonition that she would come looking for me before leaving.
Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later, she arrived.
Tap.
A small pebble struck the window.
When I opened the window, she was standing in the courtyard. The corpse must have been hidden somewhere beyond the wall.
Was it because we were about to part? Or did she have other reasons?
She gazed at me with a slightly conflicted expression.
It occurred to me that I might be the first person she had ever shared a personal conversation with in her life.
She didn't mention leaving, nor did she mention Ma Jeongsu's death.
Instead, she said softly, "My name is... Chilho."
In that moment, it was revealed that she was a secret weapon of some organization.
For a woman to reveal her name as Chilho must have been an incredibly difficult thing to do. But perhaps she knew no other name.
My chest tightened with a surge of emotion, leaving me speechless.
Yet I suppressed my feelings, smiled brightly, and said, "It's a good name."
Her name was Chilho, but her true identity remained a mystery. My own name, Galpyo, was also an alias, and even this face I wore was a disguise. Everything was uncertain, yet our encounter had been more striking and intense than anything I had experienced before.
Her lips moved slightly, as if she were about to speak, but she quickly abandoned the attempt. Without a word of farewell, she turned to leave.
"Wait."
She stopped walking.
"Why were you staring at the pond so intently?" she asked, turning back to me.
"I heard that lotus flowers bloom from mud. Is that really true?"
It wasn't the carp or the moon reflected in the pond that had captivated her—it was the lotus flowers themselves.
"That's what I've heard."
"So it's true after all."
A faint smile touched her lips, the most relaxed and genuine expression I had ever seen on her face.
With that final exchange, she vanished into the darkness.
Would I ever see her again?
It was inexplicable.
Even if I never saw her again, I would never forget the name Chilho.
I stood there for a moment, gazing up at the autumn moon that filled the night sky.
Then, in the distance, Jeong Yeo stood at the gate of the Annex, bowing respectfully to me.
I smiled at him.
"You've worked hard too, Association Leader Jeong."
With this, the turmoil that had begun with Ma Jeongsu's descent came to an end.
I knew that Ma Jeongsu was nothing more than a passing shower compared to the true typhoon that would soon rage.
I needed to become stronger.
For I would have to face even stronger and more ruthless foes in the future.