Chapter 16 Could It Really Be Coincidence
Could It Really Be Coincidence?
It was revealed that the woman who had disguised herself as Lee Hwa-myeong’s daughter was none other than the Thousand-Faced Demon.
Fortunately, the real Lee So-yi was discovered tied up in the attic of her residence.
“Father!!”
“Oh, my dear So-yi! My daughter! Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, Father, I’m fine.”
“Thank heaven… truly, thank heaven.”
Though she looked a bit worn out, there wasn’t a single wound on her body.
The Thousand-Faced Demon’s original plan had been cruelly simple.
He intended to toy with Lee Hwa-myeong’s daughter before his very eyes, kill them both, and then impersonate the girl to seize all the wealth of their merchant guild.
And the fact that there had been no enmity between them showed just how wicked that man truly was.
“My savior, I cannot thank you enough. I almost fell into that demon’s trap. I’ll never forget this grace as long as I live.”
Lee Hwa-myeong clasped a wine bottle in both hands and politely filled Muk Yeo-jin’s cup.
After the scene had been settled, the two men sat in the inner quarters, sharing a few dishes and drinking together.
Lee Hwa-myeong had insisted on treating Muk Yeo-jin at the finest tavern in the city, but the man refused so firmly that he had no choice but to arrange a table in the guild’s guest chamber instead.
“That’s enough thanks. I merely completed the task I was hired for.”
At Yeo-jin’s calm reply, Lee Hwa-myeong felt his heart swell even more.
He had sent out requests everywhere he could — to powerful martial families, righteous and demonic alike — anyone capable of handling the job.
But once people learned that the assassin was the Thousand-Faced Demon, they all made excuses and refused to get involved.
If not for Muk Yeo-jin, both he and his beloved daughter would surely have lost their lives.
Even the merchant guild he had devoted his life to might have been trampled under that assassin’s filthy feet. The thought still made his blood run cold.
Yet the man before him had slain that very demon — and now sat there quietly, as though he had merely swatted away some local thug.
>How could such grace not inspire awe?
Thud!
Lee Hwa-myeong suddenly bowed his head to the table.
“My savior! Please, allow me this request — whatever you desire, say the word. If it is within my reach, I’ll make it happen. Please, grant me a chance to repay your kindness!”
Muk Yeo-jin smiled faintly where the man could not see.
He had intended from the start to make use of Lee Hwa-myeong, and if the man was this willing, all the better.
Yeo-jin cleared his throat lightly before speaking.
“Hm… Since you put it that way, may I make a small request?”
“A request? Nonsense! Please, speak freely.”
Nodding once, Yeo-jin emptied his cup in one motion and said,
“I’m planning to start a business. I’d be grateful if your guild could handle the middle distribution of the goods.”
“…!”
Lee Hwa-myeong blinked in surprise.
He had expected the man to ask for a treasured sword, a rare elixir, or even a fortune in gold — but to talk about running a business?
And not even through the Demonic Heaven’s official merchant guild, but through his own guild instead.
Still, his guild had been passed down for three generations, with deep roots across Guangdong Province. They were respected local merchants — though of course, they couldn’t compare to the massive guilds under the direct control of the great sects.
Even so, this was his savior’s request. He decided not to question it further.
“May I ask what kind of goods you plan to trade?”
“Paintings.”
Lee Hwa-myeong nodded slowly.
Paintings. A profitable trade indeed.
Not for commoners — but for the wealthy, who were always eager to pay extravagant prices for works by famous painters.
Besides, paintings made perfect gifts for officials and served as excellent tools for bribery and tax evasion. The profit potential was immense.
Finding a skilled artist was the only real challenge. If one could secure such a painter, it would be an extremely high-value business.
“May I ask whose works you plan to sell?”
“The painter is called Wolha. Here — this is one of his works.”
Yeo-jin took a carefully rolled scroll from his robe and handed it over.
Lee Hwa-myeong received it respectfully but felt his expectations lowering.
“Wolha? Strange name… I’ve never heard of him.”
As someone familiar with every well-known painter across the land, he was certain this name was new. It must be a newcomer.
And for new painters, who could say whether it would take a year or ten for their works to gain recognition?
‘Perhaps it would be better if I connected my savior to some painters I know personally,’ he thought.
But the moment he unrolled the scroll—
“Ah!”
Lee Hwa-myeong’s eyes widened in shock.
Inside the scroll was a painting — a floral-and-bird scene.
But it was no ordinary painting found in markets.
The tree branches, drawn with soft yet firm strokes, seemed alive.
>The blooming plum blossoms looked ready to scatter in the wind.
>And the two long-tailed birds beneath the tree seemed to be dancing — so vivid they almost moved.
“How… how could such a painting even exist…”
He had seen the works of the three greatest painters in the land.
>Yet even if their masterpieces were combined, they could not surpass the power of this one.
After a long silence, his trembling voice finally spoke.
“M-my savior… could you perhaps introduce me to this painter Wolha?”
It was a question full of hope.
But Yeo-jin simply shook his head silently.
“Ah…”
Of course.
>A painting of this caliber would overturn the art world the moment it appeared.
>No one would casually introduce such a genius to another merchant.
Just as he was thinking that—
“There are circumstances,” Yeo-jin said quietly. “I can’t introduce the painter. But if your guild handles distribution, I’ll grant you thirty percent of the sales profit.”
“Th-thirty percent?!”
Lee Hwa-myeong’s jaw dropped.
A painting like this would attract not only the wealthiest merchants but even the royal palace itself. With good sales, it could bring in piles of gold. Thirty percent of that…
It was a fortune beyond measure.
Snap!
Lee Hwa-myeong leapt to his feet and bowed deeply.
“Please, allow my guild to handle it! I beg you, my savior!”
Muk Yeo-jin smiled faintly.
“I look forward to working with you, Guildmaster.”
The painter known as Wolha was, of course, Muk Yeo-jin himself.
The name carried no special meaning — he simply enjoyed painting beneath the moonlight.
But it wasn’t as though he intended to devote himself to the arts now.
‘I barely have time to train, let alone spend it painting.’
He simply planned to sell the paintings he’d made long ago at Mangdam Hall.
He knew well what they were worth.
>Selling even a portion of the works he’d stored away would be more than enough to raise the capital he needed.
With that capital, he planned to build his own merchant enterprise.
Because war required money — enormous amounts of it.
And where had the cult of Won-Eum obtained such vast funds?
>Did they truly earn it themselves?
‘Impossible.’
There had to be a power behind them — a sponsor supplying their wealth.
And that wasn’t all.
‘Before my regression, I never had time to think about such things. But looking back now… too many things don’t add up.’
The great factions of the martial world were mighty:
>The Demonic Heaven, the Orthodox Alliance, the Heavenly Demon Cult, even the Five Northern Palaces.
Each one was a major power in its own right.
Yet all of them had crumbled like sandcastles soon after the rise of the cult.
Could that really have been coincidence?
‘No. Absolutely not.’
He was certain of it.
The cult had not appeared overnight.
>They must have been preparing in secret for years — perhaps decades — for the day they would set the land ablaze.
>And they must have had hidden allies helping them from the shadows.
That was Muk Yeo-jin’s conclusion.
It was also why he wanted to build a business through Lee Hwa-myeong’s guild.
He thought carefully.
‘If I’m going to stand against them, what must I prepare first?’
After long consideration, he decided to start by entering the merchant world.
If he could grow his business into the greatest trading company on the continent, seizing control of the financial flow, then surely he would uncover the trail of those funding the cult.
But there was one problem — Yeo-jin had skill in painting, not in business.
So what could he do?
The answer was simple.
‘I’ll find someone talented to manage it in my stead.’
And if that someone happened to be the future master of the world’s greatest merchant guild, all the better.
That person was Bu-yeon, the master of the Crimson Union — the greatest merchant guild in all the land.
Originally, the Crimson Union wouldn’t appear for another two years, and it would take them a decade to reach the top.
>But this time, things would be different.
In his past life, Muk Yeo-jin had known Bu-yeon well.
>After the cult’s massacre, she had been the one who provided immense support to the warriors who rose to resist.
He also knew that she was currently based in Mako, within Guangdong Province.
>It was she, in fact, who had warned him in his previous life that Lee Hwa-myeong would be assassinated by the Thousand-Faced Demon disguised as his daughter.
‘If I can bring Bu-yeon to my side, I’ll never have to worry about the business side of things again.’
And more than that — she was a woman of remarkable talent in many fields.
‘For the future I’m planning, she’s one of the most essential people I could ever find.’
Conveniently, his next mission site was also in Mako.
>So after finishing his business with the guild, Muk Yeo-jin set out to meet the master of the Crimson Union.