I Learned Very Well Thanks to You (5)
"What?!"
Song Tae-ak, whose eyes had gone round as saucers, shouted before he could stop himself.
"We won?"
"Yes!"
"Who beat whom?"
"Mount Hua beat Wudang!"
"...What?"
It wasn’t as if there was something wrong with his ears. There was no way he could have misheard the same thing over and over again.
But the result was so far beyond anything he had ever imagined that he had no choice but to ask again.
"Mount Hua beat Wudang?"
"That’s right!"
"S-say that again in more detail! What happened? How did this happen?"
At Song Tae-ak’s urging, the steward wordlessly held out the sealed letter in his hand, as if there was no need to say more. Song Tae-ak snatched it up and read it in a hurry, and while he did, his mouth slowly fell open in shock.
"A-e-elder... They beat Wudang’s elder? That... that Mount Hua Divine Dragon?"
No matter how many times he rubbed his eyes and read it again, the contents of the letter did not change one bit.
"Th-this... there’s nothing wrong with this report, is there?"
"Have you ever seen a sealed dispatch contain a mistake?"
"Right. Y-yes, of course."
For a merchant, information was life. Besides, if it was a sealed dispatch flown in from such a short distance, there was no chance for the contents to have changed. It would have been written exactly as witnessed.
"Well... they do say that sometimes a wolf chases off a tiger..."
But saying that Mount Hua had defeated Wudang didn’t even feel like calling it a wolf defeating a tiger. This was more like a rabbit slugging a tiger in the jaw and ripping its teeth out with its paws.
"My heavens..."
If something this impossible had happened, the reason was obvious enough. Either the tiger hadn’t been a tiger, or the rabbit hadn’t been a rabbit. And Wudang couldn’t possibly have been anything other than a tiger, which meant Mount Hua was far more formidable than he had ever imagined.
"A-aigoo!"
Song Tae-ak let out a strangled cry and yanked at his hair.
Only then did he realize the mistake he had made. If he had known Mount Hua would defeat Wudang like this, he would never have remained at the merchant group. He would have gone to the place where the martial contest was being held and waved a bouquet or something like an idiot.
"D-damn it, I made such a stupid mistake..."
He smacked the top of his own head with a large hand and then whirled toward his subordinate, his eyes blazing red.
"W-well then, where are the Mount Hua people now?"
"They should be on their way back to the merchant group by now. We sent word the moment the match was decided..."
"What? They’re coming back now?"
"Yes. T-that’s right!"
"A-already?"
He was flustered, but only for a moment. Song Tae-ak was a merchant who ran a massive trading group. If he were stupid enough not to know what needed doing right this instant, he never would have been able to move so much money around in the first place.
"What are you all standing around for? Prepare a victory banquet immediately! Wine! Tell them to bring enough wine and food to drown us in it!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Make it lavish! Use anything and everything you can get your hands on—make it as magnificent as possible! We need to show that Song Tae-ak and the Geum-seon Merchant Group are overjoyed by Mount Hua’s victory!"
"Yes, sir!"
Watching his subordinates hurry this way and that, Song Tae-ak took a deep breath.
So what exactly does this mean now?
The reason he had abandoned Wudang and thrown his lot in with Mount Hua wasn’t because he thought Mount Hua could beat Wudang right away.
Investment, by nature, was made with the future in mind, not the present.
He had acted on the calculation that from this point on, Mount Hua would grow faster than Wudang.
But if things had turned out like this...
This is a complete success!
If Mount Hua’s skills and momentum were greater than he had predicted, he might recover his investment several times over.
"I knew it—my dreams were auspicious! There’s no time to be sitting around like this!"
Rather than leaving it to his underlings, he needed to step forward and personally oversee the banquet. Mount Hua had now finished everything it had to do in Wuhan, so it would soon be leaving for Shaanxi. Before that happened, he had to etch the name Song Tae-ak—and the Geum-seon Merchant Group—deep into their memory.
"What should I start with? First..."
Just then—
"Merchant Group Leader!"
"What is it? What happened?"
"The Mount Hua Sect members are returning!"
Song Tae-ak jerked in shock and nearly jumped in place.
"W-what do you mean, already? We haven’t even finished preparing yet! This, this is bad!"
For now, he ran as fast as he could toward the main gate.
"Open the gate! We need to welcome the heroes who are returning with victory bells ringing in their ears! Open it wide, now!"
"Yes, sir!"
Understanding how important this was, the merchant group members also rushed to throw the massive gate open. Song Tae-ak sprinted out beyond the gate and, catching his breath, stared ahead.
"A-are they coming from over there?"
"They should be."
"Huff! Huff!"
"Please, calm yourself a little..."
"I know that! But do you think that’s going to happen on command?"
Song Tae-ak snapped back with an irritated face.
Does no one understand how huge this is?
Mount Hua had defeated Wudang here in Wuhan of all places. Did no one grasp what that meant?
This was, quite literally, the kind of event that could change the balance of the entire martial world.
So how could he not be tense?
"Merchant Group Leader!"
"I said I know!"
"No, not that! Over there, there they are! The Mount Hua people are coming!"
The moment those words were out, Song Tae-ak’s head snapped toward that direction.
Sure enough, far off in the distance, he could see a group of people making their way toward him.
He swallowed hard and stared at the approaching figures with wide eyes. Naturally, they were Mount Hua’s disciples.
But...
Something feels different...
They were definitely the Mount Hua disciples he knew. He had seen them set off for the martial arena that very morning, so there was no way he was mistaken.
And yet, the disciples of Mount Hua walking toward him now gave off a completely different impression from the ones he had seen in the morning.
How should he put it?
They looked the same on the outside, and yet it felt as though a presence and momentum that hadn’t been there before had suddenly been born within them.
Am I just feeling that way because they beat Wudang and came back?
But no matter how he looked at it, that wasn’t it.
Merchants had to watch the flow of money, yes, but before that, they had to know how to read people. No matter what the other party did or what kind of person they were, he had no choice but to keep his perspective objective.
Their momentum really has changed.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t hard to understand.
Martial artists grew through training, but they also grew through what they achieved.
Winning against Wudang in a martial contest would have given them immeasurable confidence. If people who already possessed ample skill gained confidence on top of that, it wouldn’t be strange at all for their aura to change overnight.
Even the disciplined way Mount Hua’s disciples advanced in formation now carried a weight that hadn’t existed before.
A shiver ran down Song Tae-ak’s spine. He clenched his fists tight.
He wasn’t a martial artist, but simply watching people who had spent their lives on one path grow and stride stubbornly toward their goal filled him with a strange thrill. How could it not?
Forcing down the urge for his body to bounce with excitement, he waited until the Mount Hua disciples drew near, then shouted loudly, "Congratulations on your victory! Heroes of Mount Hua!"
At that, Hyun Sang, standing at the front, smiled warmly and spoke.
"It seems our joy has doubled with Merchant Group Leader coming to greet us personally."
"Of course I should come out myself to offer my congratulations! When else would there be such a joyous occasion? To think you’ve defeated Wudang!"
"Hahaha. Thank you."
"My heart is practically on fire. Truly, congratulations!"
Hyun Sang nodded gently. Song Tae-ak sincerely thought, from the bottom of his heart, that choosing Mount Hua over Wudang had been the right decision.
But then a familiar, crooked voice drilled into his ears.
"For someone who’s been sitting on the fence the whole time, your congratulations sure are enthusiastic."
"..."
When he glanced to the side, Chung Myung was standing there with one leg cocked, his head tilted at an angle. His expression was so sullen it was practically sulking.
"Sitting on the fence...? I never..."
"Everyone saw how, the second the Wudang bastards showed up, you shoved your ass right back and out of the way after looking like you were about to join Mount Hua on the spot. And now what, huh? Congratulations?"
"Ha... hahaha..."
Cold sweat began beading across Song Tae-ak’s forehead.
Did I know it would come to this?!
It was true that he had been a little afraid. With Wudang, he had assumed they’d at least let Mount Hua do as it pleased to preserve appearances; he hadn’t expected them to make their move so quickly or so decisively.
"What, did we win and now your mind’s changed a little?"
"W-what are you talking about, Dojang! My heart has only ever been with Mount Hua from the very beginning."
"I wonder if you even bothered to spit on your hands before saying that."
"..."
Chung Myung shot him a glare that was clearly unsatisfied. Song Tae-ak looked utterly miserable.
"Th-there, Dojang. I..."
The one who saved him was Hyun Young.
"Chung Myung. Don’t press him too hard. Merchant Group Leader has his own circumstances, doesn’t he?"
"Tch."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue and pouted, but he still stepped back as if he intended to listen to Hyun Young.
Hyun Young smiled gently at Song Tae-ak.
"Don’t take it too much to heart, Merchant Group Leader. We understand."
"Th-thank you, Elder."
"However..."
"...Yes?"
Stroking his beard, Hyun Young wore a kindly smile.
"Business is built on trust between both sides, isn’t it? Trust that changes depending on the situation isn’t exactly real trust, now is it?"
"...Of course not."
"This is the first time the Geum-seon Merchant Group and Mount Hua have done business together, so it’s only natural that there might be a few mistakes. If we both work a little harder, then there’ll be no need to repeat such foolishness in the future, won’t there?"
"I’ll keep that in mind."
Song Tae-ak answered quickly and swallowed hard.
Chung Myung’s hostility had been direct, but Hyun Young hid a knife inside kind words.
It was nothing less than a warning that if he continued to take an ambiguous stance in the future, they would never let it slide. So Song Tae-ak had to show a response of equal sincerity.
"Please, come inside! A victory deserves a banquet worthy of it. I’ll prepare everything properly as a celebration."
"Haha. There’s no need to go that far..."
"What a hurtful thing to say! The Geum-seon Merchant Group and Mount Hua aren’t strangers, so of course I should celebrate properly. Come, please, come inside!"
As Song Tae-ak fussed over them, Hyun Young moved along as if indulging him. The other Mount Hua disciples followed him into the Geum-seon Merchant Group as well.
Once they had all gone in, Song Tae-ak wiped his forehead and let out the long breath he’d been holding.
That was close. I nearly made a fatal mistake.
If he had panicked under Wudang’s pressure and broken off the contract with Mount Hua, the Geum-seon Merchant Group would have been driven into a corner it couldn’t recover from. In the end, it was his stubborn resolve, forcing him to endure until the very last moment, that saved him.
And yet.
"Tsk."
"..."
"Tssssk."
"..."
In this world, there was always at least one bastard who forgot kindness but never forgot grudges. Everyone else had already gone inside, but one little demon remained at the entrance, glaring at Song Tae-ak. Wiping away his cold sweat, Song Tae-ak said,
"...Little Dojang. Th-there’s... I mean, I..."
"I."
"...Yes."
As soon as Chung Myung opened his mouth, Song Tae-ak hurriedly folded both hands in front of him, almost meekly.
What could he possibly say in front of someone who had taken down a Wudang elder? It wasn’t as if he were innocent of all wrongdoing, either.
"Since Hyun Young has spoken, I’ll let this one slide."
"...Yes."
"But when war breaks out, the bastard sitting on the fence gets hit by the frost first. You understand?"
"I understand. Of course I do."
"Tch."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
"We’ll see how well you treat us before we talk again."
"Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to..."
"How."
"...?"
"Well."
"..."
"I trust you understand."
After shooting Song Tae-ak one last glare, Chung Myung swaggered inside. From the side, the steward who had been watching the exchange cautiously approached Song Tae-ak.
"...What should we do?"
Song Tae-ak silently looked up at the sky, then with a solemn motion, took something from his sleeve and handed it to the steward.
"Open the treasury."
"All of it...?"
"...Use it all for the banquet first."
"Yes, sir."
"And take whatever’s left and put it in that demon brat’s room."
"..."
As the last of his private savings was stripped away without mercy, a clear tear of regret gathered at the corner of Song Tae-ak’s eye.