Martial Ambitions and Hidden Blades
Cheonhwa discussed the future of the Haedong Merchant Group with his maternal uncle, Yi Ja-saeng.
“I want to expand the business, but it’s not easy. Simply opening a few more stores doesn’t mean the merchant group will grow.”
Yi Ja-saeng explained things to Cheonhwa step by step. Cheonhwa nodded, showing he understood.
“I see what you mean. But right now the Haedong Merchant Group is stagnant. There’s no growth at all.”
Yi Ja-saeng nodded.
“Even just keeping the merchant group afloat is difficult these days.”
It was clear the Haedong Merchant Group’s situation was far from good.
“Isn’t that because you’re trying to handle everything alone, Uncle? Cheon-sang has grown up now. Wouldn’t it be good to let him lead the merchant group on a trading trip?”
“Cheon-sang alone?”
“Why alone? So-ryong and Jin-hwa are right there with him. And I’m here too. If you’re still worried, there’s always Baek Do-san.”
Yi Ja-saeng couldn’t quite grasp what Cheonhwa was getting at and asked directly.
“What are you thinking, suggesting we hand the merchant group over to Cheon-sang?”
“Nothing special. I just hope Cheon-sang can gain experience, deal with people, and live a little more fiercely so he can find what he truly wants to do. After all, he’s supposed to succeed you as the head of the Haedong Merchant Group.”
“What he truly wants to do?”
Cheonhwa nodded.
“Sometimes when I look at Cheon-sang, it feels like responsibility is pressing down hard on his shoulders.”
“Responsibility?”
“The kind that says he has to restore the fallen family? Or the thought that, as the eldest son, he must take responsibility for the family without falling behind his younger siblings?”
“Hmm……”
“Now that So-ryong and Jin-hwa have returned to the family, if they share the burden Cheon-sang was carrying alone, wouldn’t it become lighter and easier? Fortunately, they both follow Cheon-sang well. If they work together on the merchant group’s affairs, their bond will only grow stronger, don’t you think?”
“I see. That makes sense. But what about you?”
“Me?”
Cheonhwa smiled brightly.
“I have my sights set on something else.”
“Something else?”
“Yes. I’m thinking of accomplishing what my parents couldn’t.”
“What your father and mother couldn’t achieve?”
“The greatest under heaven in the martial world!”
Cheonhwa revealed that his ambitions lay in the martial world.
“Helping the maternal side of the family is just one step toward realizing my goal. After all, the merchant world and the martial world are inseparable.”
Yi Ja-saeng realized that Cheonhwa was an even greater figure than he had imagined.
‘The child of a tiger is also a tiger……’
“I understand.”
“If the maternal family is to become a strong support while I become the greatest under heaven, it must first achieve great success, right?”
“So you’re helping us for that reason?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t it be best if we all succeed together? Cheon-sang as the greatest merchant under heaven, and me as the greatest in the martial world.”
Yi Ja-saeng nodded. He thought that would truly be wonderful.
“That’s why I’m saying Cheon-sang needs to be raised a little tougher.”
“But simply leading the merchant group on a trip won’t solve everything.”
“Cheon-sang knows that better than anyone. He’s seen and learned plenty while following you around. From what I’ve observed while spending time with him, Cheon-sang is extremely intelligent. He has an outstanding memory and comprehension—he never forgets anything he sees or hears even once.”
“Thank you for seeing him in such a good light.”
“It’s true. But he lacks courage to match that sharp mind. He has no backbone either. His personality is a bit passive. If he can fix just that, he’ll do really well.”
“I understand.”
“By the way, Uncle.”
“What is it?”
“When I asked Cheon-sang, he said he didn’t know, but did he ever get seriously ill as a child?”
“I’m not sure. Who doesn’t get sick a few times while growing up?”
“Is that so?”
“But why do you ask?”
“Cheon-sang seems fine most of the time, but he struggles whenever he moves his body.”
“He’s been like that since he was young. Starting around age ten, he would suddenly have trouble whenever he exerted himself too much.”
“It got worse when he tried learning martial arts, didn’t it?”
“Yes. He stopped training after practicing with So-ryong and Jin-hwa because of that.”
Cheonhwa nodded.
“Then, would it be all right if I took Cheon-sang to see a physician?”
“A physician?”
“Yes. I already asked Uncle Mumyeong to introduce me to a skilled physician from the martial world.”
“From the martial world?”
“Yes. I think Cheon-sang might have a problem with his qi meridians.”
“Qi meridians?”
Qi meridians were different from blood vessels; they were the pathways through which internal energy flowed. Though some argued they were the same since internal energy traveled through the blood, the term generally referred to the eight extraordinary meridians, the conception vessel, and the governing vessel.
“Yes. He’s fine normally, but the symptoms appear especially when he practices martial arts that stimulate the qi meridians. That’s why I thought a physician who specializes in martial artists would be better able to diagnose him accurately than ordinary doctors.”
“That makes sense. I never considered that until now.”
“Uncle Mumyeong said he’d look into it. Once I hear back, I’ll take Cheon-sang to see the physician.”
“All right. Thank you for your concern.”
“It’s nothing. If Cheon-sang gets healthy, I gain a powerful ally as well. So everything I’m doing is ultimately for my own benefit. You don’t need to thank me.”
Though he smiled and brushed it off as nothing, Yi Ja-saeng was grateful for Cheonhwa’s thoughtfulness.
“Then please keep that in mind. Right now we’re operating separately from Sinpungjang, but eventually the Haedong Merchant Group will need to absorb it. So start recruiting and training people in preparation for that.”
“Understood. I’ll do as you say.”
* * *
“Big brother, do we still need to keep watching him? He carries a sword at his waist, but from what I can see, he doesn’t seem to possess any remarkable martial arts.”
In the darkness, the men watching Cheonhwa exchanged words.
“I think the same. For a martial artist, he has far too many openings.”
“The Black Horse Chamber suffered at his hands.”
“But big brother, looking at him now, it seems like the Black Horse Chamber was defeated by someone else, not him. Remember the one who wiped out the Un Tae Mountain Bandits?”
“How long are we going to keep following him around? It’s been nearly a month since we left the sect and tailed this bastard’s rear. Is there still something we need to watch for?”
The men sent from Wolyeong Moon to Suzhou on the Gangso Merchant Group’s request to deal with Cheonhwa voiced their frustrations to their leader, Gu Sang-tae.
Even Gu Sang-tae, after observing Cheonhwa all this time, had found nothing particularly noteworthy.
Cheonhwa spent his days at the courtesan houses on Taihu Lake, gambled at the casinos in the evenings, and returned home. That was all.
“Big brother, I’ll just go stab him in the gut and be done with it. No one will know if I do it while passing by.”
Gu Sang-tae nodded at his subordinate’s words. The moment he gave permission, one man with a bright expression stepped out of the shadows and approached Cheonhwa, who was walking ahead.
As he passed by Cheonhwa’s side, he drew a dagger and thrust it at him.
“After all that watching, this is what you do?”
Startled by Cheonhwa’s words, the man looked down at the dagger in his hand.
At some point his wrist had twisted, and the dagger was now embedded in his own abdomen.
“Ugh!”
Only then did the pain surge through him as blood began to seep out. Realizing something had gone terribly wrong, the man tried to call out to his comrades watching from the shadows, but Cheonhwa’s hand was faster.
A chill ran down the man’s spine at the sight of Cheonhwa smiling while gripping his throat.
“You should have watched a little longer and moved more carefully. Still, don’t worry. I’ll send off those uncles hiding over there with you as well.”
With those words, Cheonhwa tightened his fingers. They dug into the man’s neck, seized his vocal cords, and snapped them.
Watching their comrade collapse, foaming at the mouth, the others burst from the shadows and charged at Cheonhwa.
Shing!
They drew their swords in unison, and Cheonhwa drew both swords from his waist as well.
“If Wolyeong Moon collapses, things might get a little chaotic, so not yet. But once my maternal family grows stronger, I’ll make Wolyeong Moon just like you lot.”
Whoosh!
Cheonhwa’s figure shot forward like an arrow and slipped between the Wolyeong Moon warriors, his swords flashing.
“Kuaaak!”
In the instant the death cries echoed quietly through the air, Cheonhwa had already passed through the group.
The Wolyeong Moon warriors looked down in disbelief at what had happened to them. The shallow wounds on their chests gradually turned red, widening until blood gushed out like a fountain.
“These damn……”
He regretted not listening to his subordinates, but it was already too late.
Once all the warriors from Wolyeong Moon had fallen, Cheonhwa approached them and searched their pockets.
He took the money they carried. After all, the dead had no use for it, and no one would blame him for claiming it.
Then he collected all the swords they had been carrying.
“I should get a decent price if I sell them to a blacksmith.”
Having gathered everything worth taking, Cheonhwa left the scene.
* * *
“We received word from the Gangso Merchant Group. New gambling houses have opened at Taihu and Hongze Lake. The city lord can issue permits for tourist areas, and it seems he’s planning to grant one to that gambling house.”
“They’re opening a gambling house legally?”
“Yes. That’s why the Gangso Merchant Group has their eyes on it.”
Chae Yeo-dong, the lord of Wolyeong Moon, was speaking with the first elder, Yeom Tak.
“Then we just need to seize the operating rights of that gambling house and hand them over to the Gangso Merchant Group?”
“That’s right. Since it’s a legal business, they’ve requested that we arrange for the Gangso Merchant Group to acquire the operating rights through a monetary purchase so there won’t be any repercussions later.”
“This is ridiculous. They support us with a huge sum and then treat us like servants?”
Yeom Tak frowned, clearly displeased with the Gangso Merchant Group’s request.
“Still, their massive financial support has been a great help in running the sect.”
“Even so, this is too much.”
“Merchants are always like that, aren’t they? They think everything can be solved with money. Taking money from people like that isn’t difficult. We just need to pretend to cooperate and make sure we get everything we can out of them.”
“Even so. Wouldn’t it be better if we operated the gambling house ourselves? The profits from a gambling house would be no joke.”
“Us?”
“Yes. We need our own businesses to secure stable revenue, don’t we? And with a gambling house, there’s not much to manage. We could send one trusted subordinate and have the local thugs handle the day-to-day operations. Then all the profits would be ours.”
It was an attractive proposal, but Chae Yeo-dong thought it would be difficult given their dealings with the Gangso Merchant Group.
“That would be problematic. Doing so would create a rift between Wolyeong Moon and the Gangso Merchant Group.”
Chae Yeo-dong opposed Yeom Tak’s idea.
“It would be more beneficial to obtain shares and receive monthly payments proportional to those shares.”
Though displeased, Yeom Tak accepted Chae Yeo-dong’s words.
“Then what should we do? Shall I dispatch some warriors? There are already men in Suzhou, so I’ll contact them and have them handle the gambling house issue as well.”
“Please do. Send someone to the Hongze Lake group to convey our intentions and take measures to acquire the operating rights of the gambling house from them.”
“Understood.”