Chapter 153
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: An Uncanny Connection
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Neung So-mil could tell at a glance that this man was the one in charge.
His gaze and aura were anything but ordinary.
With a relaxed smile, Neung So-mil began to look around.
“What a splendid view.”
This was by no means an empty compliment.
The twin pagodas, bathed in the sunset and glowing gold, created a mystical atmosphere.
Moreover, the fourth floor of this pavilion was a perfect vantage point, offering a complete view of the pair of pagodas that symbolized Yeongjo Temple.
“Who would have ever imagined that a place with such romantic charm could be a branch of the Black Point?”
It was then that a frigid voice cut him off.
“You say *he* sent you?”
Neung So-mil smiled and nodded.
“Just as you see.”
Yeop Dan-yeong re-examined the letter in his hand.
—Consider the bearer of this letter to be me.
That was the entire message, with no context whatsoever.
And at the end, the name Beom Gye-wi was scrawled in a messy, chicken-scratch scrawl.
“How am I to verify the authenticity of this letter?”
As Neung So-mil smiled faintly, a sinister killing intent flowed from Yeop Dan-yeong’s eyes.
“If you cannot prove it…”
“Will I disappear? Without a trace?”
Yeop Dan-yeong’s eyebrow twitched.
Neung So-mil let out a soft sigh and met Yeop Dan-yeong’s gaze.
“Let’s stop with the pointless prodding. Wouldn’t it be better for both of us to quickly finish the task at hand and part ways cleanly?”
“…”
“I assume an introduction is unnecessary? You must have already figured it out.”
He was right.
The moment Neung So-mil stepped into the Shanxi branch, Yeop Dan-yeong had recognized him.
The former head of the New Commerce Guild.
But now, the master of the Divine Demon Trading Company.
However, the more he dug into his background, the more suspicious things kept surfacing.
It was one thing that he had been arrested on suspicion of handling information related to the Martial Alliance and imprisoned in the Thunder Prison.
But after escaping the prison and vanishing, he reappeared in the martial world less than a year later as the master of the Divine Demon Trading Company.
The problem was that during his escape, a significant number of the Martial Alliance’s elites were wiped out by an unknown master.
In the current martial world, masters of that caliber could be counted on one hand.
The moment he realized this, Yeop Dan-yeong had halted his investigation.
Warning bells were ringing in his head.
Stirring up a rabbit hole only to have a tiger leap out was a disaster he only needed to experience once.
The information he had obtained from Baek Un-hwi, an inspector of the Martial Alliance.
Passing that information on to the Jangrak Guild had been the root of his troubles, summoning a being more feared than a natural disaster to this very place.
He never wanted to experience the terrible feeling he’d had back then ever again.
It was then that Neung So-mil spoke again.
“There is a simple way to verify the letter’s authenticity.”
“…?”
“You can kill me.”
Neung So-mil continued leisurely.
“Then he will come for you next.”
“…!”
Yeop Dan-yeong’s face contorted.
Though phrased politely and indirectly, it was a clear threat.
To him, it was an unbearable insult.
But what was even more unbearable was that the threat had worked perfectly.
As Yeop Dan-yeong glared at him as if to devour him, Neung So-mil spoke once more.
“Are you truly going to let this opportunity slip by?”
“Opportunity?”
Neung So-mil nodded at Yeop Dan-yeong’s question.
“I came, not him. What better opportunity could there be?”
“How is this an opportunity?”
“An opportunity to end the relationship where you are dragged around by him, and change it to a contract between equals, where you can pursue mutual interests.”
Neung So-mil continued his explanation.
“The Divine Demon Trading Company has financial power, and you, Branch Chief, have information. And I am someone who values information more than anyone else.”
Yeop Dan-yeong’s eyes wavered.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means that if this goes well, we can become a source of strength for each other. In the future, if trust is built, the Divine Demon Trading Company could even become your sponsor.”
“You want to be my backer?”
Yeop Dan-yeong scoffed.
“Do you have the ability to do so?”
From what he had gathered, the Divine Demon Trading Company was not yet even among the top ten trading companies in the Central Plains.
But Neung So-mil pointed out something he had overlooked.
“It took only a year to achieve what we have so far.”
Yeop Dan-yeong had to admit this point.
The growth rate of the Divine Demon Trading Company was unprecedented in the history of the martial world.
“Furthermore…”
After pondering something for a moment, Neung So-mil smiled and continued.
“An incredible product will soon be released to the world. Through it, the Divine Demon Trading Company will expand its influence at a pace incomparable to anything before.”
“A product?”
“It’s a shame I can’t tell you yet, as it’s still confidential. But you will find out soon enough. The entire Central Plains will be in an uproar.”
Yeop Dan-yeong’s eyes glinted coldly.
There had to be a good reason for his opponent to make such a bold claim.
“Now, make your choice.”
Having seized control of the conversation, Neung So-mil pressured Yeop Dan-yeong with a gentle smile.
“Will you join me from now on? Or…”
At Neung So-mil’s next words, Yeop Dan-yeong’s shoulders flinched and tensed.
“Will you deal with him directly?”
Yeop Dan-yeong fell silent.
It was a complete checkmate.
He had no choice.
Smiling, Neung So-mil took something from his robes and placed it on the table.
*Clink.*
“What is this?”
“The payment for the request. To obtain information, one must naturally pay the price.”
“How dare you! What do you take us for!”
Yeop Dan-yeong finally unleashed his pent-up anger.
The pouch was so small it could barely hold four or five silver ingots.
It would have been better not to offer any money at all; this was a blatant insult.
After all that talk about being equals and building trust, he was trying to employ them for a pittance!
Then, he suddenly felt something was off.
In Neung So-mil’s calm eyes and expression, there was no trace of scorn or ridicule.
Belatedly, Yeop Dan-yeong opened the pouch before him and checked its contents.
“…!”
Yeop Dan-yeong’s eyes widened.
Yuanbao.
And not just any, but ten gold yuanbao, each weighing ten nyang.
With one nyang of gold being equivalent to fifty nyang of silver, this alone was worth more than a hundred silver ingots.
Yeop Dan-yeong finally re-evaluated everything Neung So-mil had said.
They were not thoughtless, empty words.
Realizing this, he saw the man before him in a new light.
“A man who truly knows the value of information is different. I think we’ll get along quite well.”
Neung So-mil smiled and nodded.
“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”
At those words, Yeop Dan-yeong felt a surge of emotion.
The sorrow and injustice he could never confide in anyone.
He never thought anyone in the world would understand, but unexpectedly, that single phrase from Neung So-mil, a man he had just met, was a comfort.
“In truth, there are few who can understand you as well as I can, Branch Chief. My situation wasn’t much different.”
Neung So-mil explained why he had been arrested by the Martial Alliance.
“I, too, had to be dragged around by a fearsome person. In the end, I lost the New Commerce Guild, which I had built my entire life. Well, what could I do to survive? I had no choice but to dig into the Martial Alliance’s affairs as ordered.”
“True, Senior Beom is not a reasonable man.”
“It wasn’t him.”
“Hm?”
“It was someone else for me.”
“No matter how fearsome that person is, how can they compare to the one called Mang Mountain’s Thistle…”
But he quickly shut his mouth at Neung So-mil’s next words.
“The Blood Hand Honored One.”
“…!”
“In my case, I had to bring information to him.”
Yeop Dan-yeong stared silently at Neung So-mil.
The sight of Neung So-mil sighing with a bitter look in his eyes didn't feel like someone else's story.
“He would just snatch away the information I worked so hard to gather, as if he were collecting something he’d left in my care…”
“I know. That feeling…”
As they say, a widow understands a widower’s heart. Feeling a sense of kinship in their not-so-different circumstances, Yeop Dan-yeong nodded.
“Bastards.”
Yeop Dan-yeong, who had muttered to himself, suddenly realized his slip.
What if Neung So-mil repeated what he’d said?
However, Neung So-mil feigned ignorance and asked.
“What did you just say?”
“…”
“My apologies. I was lost in thought for a moment and didn’t hear you.”
“…Thank you.”
Neung So-mil smiled and extended his hand.
“Let’s work well together.”
Yeop Dan-yeong clasped his hand.
“Let’s.”
It was the moment a new relationship of trust was forged, based on their mutual bond.
The process hadn't been easy, but Neung So-mil had ultimately succeeded in winning Yeop Dan-yeong’s heart.
***
Dan Ak-seon’s group found a nearby restaurant for a meal, ordered several dishes, and chatted.
As they continued their conversation in a consistently cheerful atmosphere, the food arrived.
Beom Gye-wi suddenly looked at Dan Ak-seon with a puzzled expression.
Dan Ak-seon had placed a pair of chopsticks at an empty seat.
“Is someone else coming?”
At Beom Gye-wi’s question, Dan Ak-seon gave a slight smile.
“Just in case.”
“…?”
“We don’t know when Master Neung will be back.”
Those words tugged at Beom Gye-wi’s heart.
It was a small, trivial gesture, but Dan Ak-seon’s thoughtfulness in preparing a place for the one who had left seemed incredibly admirable and lovely.
As they were eating.
“Huh?”
Dan Ak-seon suddenly turned his head and looked out the window.
“What is it?”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s question, Dan Ak-seon tilted his head.
“I thought I felt Master Neung’s presence.”
Following Dan Ak-seon’s gaze, Cho Ak-ryang turned his head and smirked.
“It must be your imagination.”
Beom Gye-wi also smiled and nodded.
“That’s right. If he were nearby, there’s no way we wouldn’t know.”
Unless one was a supreme master specializing in stealth, it was impossible to evade the senses of those two.
“I suppose so. That’s strange.”
Nodding, Dan Ak-seon resumed his meal.
But not long after, he looked up again.
At the same time, a peculiar light flickered in Han Seol-hwa’s eyes.
“I don’t think it’s your imagination.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
At her words, Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi belatedly turned their gazes out the window.
Sure enough.
They could feel a faint presence approaching from a distance.
A familiar aura.
It was Neung So-mil.
Han Seol-hwa threw a jab at the two bewildered men.
“Amateurs.”
Embarrassed, Cho Ak-ryang’s and Beom Gye-wi’s faces contorted.
But that was only for a moment.
“But how did Physician Dan sense he was coming?”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s question, Beom Gye-wi also tilted his head.
“Right? And from so far away.”
After a short while, Neung So-mil’s figure, running swiftly from a great distance, came into view.
But the strange thing happened after that.
Neung So-mil headed straight for the restaurant where Dan Ak-seon’s group was staying and entered.
“I found you!”
Neung So-mil exclaimed, panting heavily, his breath catching in his throat.
Cho Ak-ryang, on the other hand, couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
“How did you know we were here?”
“Huh? How did I?”
Faced with the two men’s interrogating gazes, Neung So-mil answered with a flustered expression.
“I just somehow felt like you would be here.”
He hadn’t thought about it deeply, so he couldn’t explain why, but for some reason, he felt that Dan Ak-seon would be in this place.
If so, the other three would naturally be with him.
Cho Ak-ryang, however, couldn’t shake his suspicion.
Of all the countless places, to pinpoint this exact spot.
It was too much of a coincidence to be mere chance.
Especially since they hadn’t given him any prior notice.
“Quench your thirst first.”
Dan Ak-seon handed Neung So-mil a cup of moderately cooled tea.
“Thank you, Valley Lord.”
Accepting it with a grateful expression, Neung So-mil gulped down the tea.
*Thud.*
Placing the teacup down, Neung So-mil let out a long breath.
“I feel alive again. I ran non-stop from Shanxi to here for half a day.”
A look of surprise appeared in Cho Ak-ryang’s eyes.
“You covered that distance in just half a day?”
Come to think of it, his running speed earlier had been incomparably faster than before.
‘Wait a minute.’
Cho Ak-ryang stared intently at Neung So-mil.
‘Right, this guy has also been learning the Dignified Fire Divine Arts, hasn't he?’