Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: A Growing Suspicion
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“It’s all thanks to you.”
“Thanks? Don’t be silly.”
Peng Won-gil was busy praising Zhuge Min for the events of the last few days.
After all, hadn’t his own standing risen dramatically since the clash with the Demonic Cult?
Not only had he received a letter of praise from his father, but even the old guards of the Peng family, who usually ignored him, had reached out to ask for news.
It was all thanks to Zhuge Min’s strategy.
If he hadn’t helped, how could he have ever dreamed of becoming the branch manager, let alone so successfully seizing the commercial rights of the Samun Association?
“That damn Third Young Master of the Demonic Cult. How dare he ignore the Peng Family? I barely managed to contain my boiling anger.”
“You did well. Haste rarely leads to good things.”
“That’s thanks to you, too. Didn’t you tell me to be patient?”
“I may have said so, but it was you who showed restraint. The credit is all yours.”
“You think so?”
“Of course.”
As Zhuge Min smiled faintly and patted him on the shoulder, Peng Won-gil’s expression grew even more pleased.
“You’re a truly good friend.”
“You’re only just realizing that now? Hahaha.”
“Here, have some. It’s Longjing tea, which I hear you’re fond of. I had it specially procured for you.”
Just as Peng Won-gil was cheerfully handing over the Longjing tea that a maid had brought, a voice called out.
“Branch Manager. It’s Hwang Uk.”
“Hm?”
A voice from outside was calling for him.
Peng Won-gil’s face crumpled into a scowl as he shouted.
“These bastards! I told them not to disturb me when I’m with my valued guest!”
“…”
But unlike Peng Won-gil, Zhuge Min wore a look of doubt.
He knew Patrol Leader Hwang Uk well.
He was a thoughtful, upright man who always did his best at his assigned tasks. A man far too good to be serving under a petty person like Peng Won-gil…
So why would a man like that come now?
Especially if he was requesting an audience despite the branch manager’s orders, it meant this was not something to be taken lightly.
Above all, wasn’t there a sense of urgency in his voice?
“To think they have the gall to treat the branch manager, who will one day control not just the Samun Association but all of Shaanxi, like dirt. The discipline in our branch is a mess. I’m embarrassed for you to see this.”
“…”
“Wait here a moment. I’ll go give him a piece of my mind.”
“Wait.”
“…Huh?”
Peng Won-gil, who had been rising with a clearly displeased face, paused awkwardly at Zhuge Min’s touch.
“Would the patrol leader really disturb you this early in the morning without a proper reason?”
“Hm?”
“Even if you’re going to scold him and restore discipline, shouldn’t you at least hear his reason first?”
“Is… is that so?”
“Yes, of course.”
“If you say so… Ahem! Come in.”
Peng Won-gil shouted toward the outside. He had accepted Zhuge Min’s words, but his voice was still thick with displeasure.
Only after permission was granted did Hwang Uk step inside, apologizing before he even began to speak.
“My apologies for disturbing you so early in the morning. You gave orders not to be disturbed, but I judged the matter to be urgent…”
“Of course it had better be. You came here ignoring my command.”
“…”
“Speak. What’s so urgent that you’d disregard my orders?”
Despite the sarcastic tone, Hwang Uk reported without hesitation.
“Yuk Dae-myeong, the master of the Eunyang Merchant Guild, visited the Demonic Cult’s branch.”
“Eunyang…? The one that deals in silk?”
“That is correct.”
“…So what?”
Peng Won-gil’s face contorted.
The guild was so small it couldn’t even fill a single small boat. Its profits from trade were negligible, so the Peng Family branch had excluded them from their list of potential allies from the start.
And now, just because someone like that visited the Demonic Cult’s branch, this man had ignored his orders and interrupted his time with Zhuge Min?
What would Zhuge Min think?
Peng Won-gil could feel his face flush with embarrassment.
“You crazy bastard!”
“…?”
At the sudden outburst, Hwang Uk’s eyes widened in shock.
“Why is that an urgent matter that has you making a scene first thing in the morning! Who cares if the likes of the Eunyang Merchant Guild went to the Demonic Cult!”
“That’s… that’s not it… The Eunyang Merchant Guild has been doing business in the Samun Association for a long time. They have built up quite a bit of trust in the merchant community…”
“Shut your mouth!”
“…”
As Peng Won-gil raised his eyebrows and roared, Hwang Uk clamped his mouth shut.
“So what if they have trust?”
“…”
“Does their share of the Samun Association’s market even amount to ten percent?”
“No, it does not, but…”
“Then what? Are you saying people will be swayed just because they sign a new contract with the Demonic Cult’s branch?”
“That is…”
“So what’s the problem? Was I supposed to know about the movements of a piddling little guild like that!?”
As his voice grew louder, Hwang Uk shrank back like a turtle pulling its head into its shell.
But no matter how he thought about it, he felt he had to speak. In his judgment, the situation seemed far from ordinary.
“But… it’s not about Eunyang. The rumors circulating in the market these past few days have not been good…”
“Rumors? Did you just say rumors?”
Already furious, every word from Hwang Uk now grated on Peng Won-gil’s ears.
He abruptly stood up and strode toward Hwang Uk.
“Hey, Hwang Uk!”
“Yes, Branch Manager.”
“What is your position?”
“P-Patrol Leader, sir.”
“Right, Patrol Leader. And a man like you dares to speak of mere rumors in front of me?”
“Sir?”
“If you’re the patrol leader of the Peng Family branch, then act like one! Instead of investigating and reporting the facts, what’s this? Rumors?”
“…”
“And you’re making such a fuss over the movements of some third-rate guild like Eunyang?”
As Peng Won-gil jabbed a finger into his chest, Hwang Uk could no longer bring himself to speak.
“You ignorant, irresponsible fool! How can I entrust great matters to a man like you!”
“…I apologize.”
“I can’t stand the sight of you! Get the hell out!”
“But…”
*Slap!*
As Hwang Uk tried to add another word, his head snapped to the side.
Though he had always been arrogant, Peng Won-gil, angered by his subordinate talking back in front of Zhuge Min, had slapped him across the face.
“B-Branch Manager?”
“Out!”
“…”
As Peng Won-gil glared and pointed toward the door, Hwang Uk, his face burning with shame, clenched his jaw and retreated.
But Zhuge Min, despite his awkward frown, did nothing to intervene.
Peng Won-gil’s actions were excessive, but it was a Peng Family matter, was it not? There was no need for him to get involved.
More importantly… the Eunyang Merchant Guild weighed on his mind.
And rumors?
“Hmm… Won-gil.”
“Yes?”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to take you up on that tea another time.”
“Huh? Why is that?”
“I just remembered I had an urgent matter to attend to. I’ll take care of it quickly and arrange to visit again in a few days.”
“W-Will you?”
“Yes.”
After Zhuge Min gave a slight bow and left, Peng Won-gil let out a sigh.
What a pathetic display.
In front of Zhuge Min, who would be a great help in his future rise as a power in Shaanxi, he had shown himself to be a fool who couldn’t even control his own subordinates.
How could Zhuge Min trust him and devise strategies for him now?
“That Patrol Leader…”
Blaming Hwang Uk for everything, Peng Won-gil ground his teeth and went to find him.
* * *
After leaving the Peng Family branch, Zhuge Min, with a hardened expression, called for his attendant warrior.
“Changseo.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Find out why the Eunyang Merchant Guild visited the Demonic Cult’s branch and what these rumors circulating in the market are about.”
“Sir?”
“Hurry. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Understood.”
After Changseo rushed off, Zhuge Min organized his thoughts as he walked back to his residence.
Eunyang…
As Peng Won-gil had said, it was a guild too small to warrant concern. It was hard to believe that a meeting between them and the Demonic Cult could affect the Peng Family’s control over the Samun Association.
But rumors?
If Hwang Uk went so far as to report them, their content must be serious.
And Neung Un-bi.
The moment he first appeared in the Samun Association, he had picked a fight with Peng Won-gil and beaten him to a pulp.
Zhuge Min, who had been there, remembered the situation clearly.
Not content with just beating Peng Won-gil, he had, with just a few words, turned everyone present to his side.
Using not only the Orthodox-Demonic Pact but even Jin San…
He couldn’t help but admire the man who had walked away with both moral justification and compensation money.
It was by no means an easy feat, turning a sudden confrontation to one’s own advantage.
And he had definitely looked at him.
Though he had pretended not to notice, Neung Un-bi must have been aware of him.
He was not someone to be taken lightly. With both martial skill and a strategic mind, he had all the makings of a treacherous hero.
Just in case, he had been watching him.
There was no need to order his subordinates.
In fact, using his warriors might have alerted him.
So, he had observed him himself.
After all, it wasn’t as if Neung Un-bi had any allies in the Samun Association, right?
Then, just in time, he had gone out.
On a boat…
He hadn’t been able to confirm what had happened.
What he did upon his return was to have the Haeryong Escort Agency set sail.
A ship loaded with the same cargo as the Peng Family’s contracted merchant ships, heading for the same destination.
Even for Zhuge Min, it was difficult to grasp his full intentions.
He hadn’t brought many attendant warriors, as he was officially here to study at an academy, after all.
The lack of manpower severely limited the information he could gather. Naturally, he had no choice but to rely on the Peng Family branch.
He had merely been suspicious, pondering to find an answer. It was in the midst of this that he had visited the Peng Family and heard about the Eunyang Merchant Guild.
And rumors as well…
He had a feeling that all of it was connected to Neung Un-bi.
“Damn it, the Samun Association was about to fall into my hands…”
Zhuge Min stopped in his tracks and glanced back at the now-distant Peng Family branch, licking his lips.
Peng Won-gil. Did they think he was helping this incompetent fool, who couldn’t even earn his family’s recognition despite being from the direct line, for no reason?
It was because he was easy to use.
It had been his plan from the start. He would use him as a shield to take over the Samun Association and then observe the situation.
The Samun Association was a land that both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions had coveted but never been able to possess. This was because of Mak Cheong-ju of the Blue Waves, who treated all the rivers under heaven as his domain.
The reason that he, one of the absolute figures of the Unorthodox Faction, was given the title ‘Wave’ rather than ‘King’ or ‘Emperor’ was because no other word suited him better.
Though he seemed to be living quietly now in his old age, there was a time when his every step sent tremors of tension through both the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions. When he moved, the great merchant fleets of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers moved as one.
Their immense numbers were like a great tide.
That was why neither the Nine Sects, the Five Great Families, nor even the great clans of the Unorthodox Faction dared to provoke him lightly.
And that was precisely why the Samun Association had remained unclaimed territory.
So, Zhuge Min had put Peng Won-gil forward to observe the situation.
To see how Mak Cheong-ju would react when the Peng Family’s branch swallowed the Samun Association.
“Neung Un-bi.”
As Zhuge Min softly muttered Neung Un-bi’s name, his face grew cold as ice.