The Heavenly Demon of Namgung — Chapter 30: The Reward
On the day of the appointed meeting, when the sun had climbed to its zenith, Namgung Cheon left his quarters.
His destination was the Self-Recommendation Pavilion, which stood at the very heart of the clan. He went straight to the topmost floor—a space where one could take in the whole of the Namgung estate at a glance, all the way out to the skyline of Hefei, and where Jegal Hwa often drank her tea alone.
By the time he arrived, the door was already open. Jegal Hwa leaned against the railing and did not so much as glance at her son as he stepped up behind her. Her gaze was fixed on the vast expanse of the clan grounds far below.
Namgung Cheon regarded her back for a moment, then spoke.
"I've come because there is something I must report to you."
Even at his words, her eyes remained turned outward. A brief silence settled between them.
"Cheon-ah."
Her voice rang out, low and quiet.
"What do you see when you look out there?"
Her gaze was still on the view beyond. Namgung Cheon walked over slowly and stood at her side, looking out the window.
Pavilions rising as if to pierce the sky. The busy figures of the clan's retainers and servants moving about their duties. And enclosing it all, walls as tall and imposing as a fortress rampart—a scale and majesty that would not have been out of place in an imperial palace.
Such was the face of the Namgung Clan, the sovereign power of Anhui.
Namgung Cheon took in each of those pavilions one by one, then spoke.
"I see walls that I must climb over."
Then his gaze shifted toward the Family Head Hall.
"And beyond those walls, I see Changcheon—a sky I have not yet reached."
At that answer, Jegal Hwa turned her head for the first time to look at her son. An intrigued light flickered in her eyes.
"Do you believe you can reach that sky?"
"I will reach it."
The answer came without a moment's hesitation. Jegal Hwa studied her son's eyes for a while, then a faint smile touched her lips.
"A good answer. But—is it about the Baekcheon Merchant Troupe that you've come to report to me?"
Namgung Cheon nodded, and she asked with a light laugh,
"What is your family name again?"
"Namgung."
"A man of Namgung never doubts the steps he takes."
She turned her gaze back to the window.
"I know what you intend to do tonight. Go, and see it through as you will. Only—"
Her voice sank low.
"Every outcome, you must bear alone. That is the path a Namgung must walk. The path of the Sword Emperor's son."
Namgung Cheon bowed with full formality.
"I will bear it in mind."
With that, he turned without a trace of lingering regret and descended the stairs.
His presence faded into the distance. Jegal Hwa, left alone, gazed for a moment at the now-empty spot where her son had stood. Then she fixed her eyes once more on the Family Head Hall towering far away, and a deep smile spread across her lips.
"One day, I wonder—the day may come when the sword in the heavens above is no longer lonely."
When night fell, an odd stillness hung over the top floor of Geumokru.
The Hwangbo Clan, the Shandong Ak Clan, the Four Black Alliance, the Nambyeok Merchant Troupe, and the Baekcheon Merchant Troupe—people of utterly different temperaments and aims, all waiting for one man.
Ak Mookyeol sat with a teacup in hand and his eyes closed. His senses were already sweeping through every current of energy in the room: the anxious flutter of Sagong Pyo's fan beside him, the cold silence of Ak Soyu across the table, the restless breathing of Hwangbo Gun beside Ak Soyu, and even the faint tremor of Baek Jungseon seated at the far end of the room.
A strange assortment, this.
So Ak Mookyeol thought to himself. Ak Soyu, who had not exchanged so much as a glance with him, was likewise lost in his own thoughts.
A few days earlier, a letter from Namgung Cheon had arrived at the clan. It had caused quite a stir.
The terms written in that letter were undeniably unprecedented. If it succeeded, we would lay our hands on an enormous profit.
Ak Soyu slowly tilted the teacup in his hand. The tea's surface rippled with the garish light of Geumokru's lanterns.
The darkness hidden behind all this splendor. A murky band of profiteers, glittering on the surface, that might rot through and burst at any moment. That was what the Four Black Alliance meant to Ak Soyu.
And we are to join hands with such people?
My father even told me—if the Namgung Clan intended to deal directly with an unorthodox sect, I was to refuse.
Yet here he was, and not only was an unorthodox sect present, but the very commander of the Black Wind Squad itself, Ak Mookyeol. Ak Soyu simply could not fathom Namgung Cheon.
Just then—
"Everyone has gathered, I see."
Every head turned toward the door as if on cue. Namgung Cheon and Mujin entered the room. Mujin immediately leaned against the wall by the door with his arms crossed, his gaze settling on Ak Mookyeol.
There was no emotion whatsoever in those eyes, but Ak Mookyeol read the warning buried within them.
Don't cause trouble.
Namgung Cheon, meanwhile, wasted no time in taking the seat of honor. He swept his gaze across the occupants of the room one by one, then spoke.
"I'll dispense with preliminaries and get straight to the matter at hand."
Namgung Cheon laid out the structure of the deal concisely. The Nambyeok Merchant Troupe would hand its goods over to the Baekcheon Merchant Troupe, which would then distribute them throughout the north of the river by borrowing the trade networks of the two great clans.
The moment the explanation ended, Sagong Pyo of the Nambyeok Merchant Troupe rapped his fan against the table with a sly smile.
"I've heard the explanation well enough, but one question comes to mind. In this arrangement, our Nambyeok Merchant Troupe's share seems rather small, doesn't it?"
It was an attempt to keep hold of the negotiating reins. Namgung Cheon merely smiled lightly and turned the question back on him.
"Your share, is it? Then let me ask you this."
Namgung Cheon's gaze traveled between Sagong Pyo and Ak Mookyeol.
"Could the Nambyeok Merchant Troupe sell its goods directly north of the river on its own?"
It was a question too obvious for words. At that single line, Sagong Pyo's mouth clamped shut. For an unorthodox faction like theirs to peddle goods in the north, where the orthodox sects stood firmly entrenched, was simply impossible.
"......"
When Sagong Pyo failed to produce any answer, Namgung Cheon continued coldly.
"And yet if you still believe your share is too small, then you are welcome to treat this meeting as though it never happened."
Namgung Cheon leaned slightly forward, as if about to rise from his seat. In that instant, Ak Mookyeol let out a short sigh and sent a quiet transmission to the stone-faced Sagong Pyo.
Enough. This is already an order from the Commander himself. Conduct yourself properly.
At Ak Mookyeol's words, Sagong Pyo swallowed dryly and opened his mouth.
"Forgive my idle prattle. Please, continue..."
Namgung Cheon gave a brief nod and returned to his seat. Then he drew a bound document from his sleeve. It was a contract.
He first placed a copy before Ak Mookyeol and Sagong Pyo.
"This is the goods trade agreement between the Baekcheon Merchant Troupe and the Nambyeok Merchant Troupe."
Before he had even finished speaking, Ak Soyu spoke up.
"One moment. There is something that must be made clear, young master."
"Speak."
Ak Soyu looked back and forth between Sagong Pyo and Ak Mookyeol as he continued.
"If that contract bears the name of our Ak Clan, then this discussion ends here and now."
At Ak Soyu's sudden declaration, the air in the room froze over. Even Hwangbo Gun stared at him in bewilderment. A glint of contempt flashed across Ak Mookyeol's eyes.
But Namgung Cheon, as though he had anticipated the reaction, showed not the slightest stir. He drew two more contracts from his robes, setting one before Ak Soyu and one before Hwangbo Gun.
"And these are the northern distribution agreements between the Baekcheon Merchant Troupe and each of the clans. Only the names of the two great clans will appear on these."
The contracts Namgung Cheon presented bore nothing but the names of the Baekcheon Merchant Troupe and each clan. Nowhere upon them appeared the name of the Nambyeok Merchant Troupe or the Four Black Alliance.
Namgung Cheon had sidestepped the worst scenario Ak Paesan had feared—with a flawless solution.
Ak Soyu let out a hollow laugh.
If it's structured this way...
The two great clans and the unorthodox faction would never be directly linked.
Then in the future, neither the other clans nor the Alliance will be able to call us out on it.
He had obeyed his father's command. At the same time, he had preserved the enormous profit the clan stood to gain. There was no reason left for Ak Soyu to withhold the clan's seal.
Thump.
Namgung Cheon pressed the Namgung seal onto his contract and spoke.
"With this, those who trust none of the others need not share the same boat—and yet, since each party knows clearly what they must do and where they must not overstep, isn't that rather convenient?"
At those words, a bitter smile curled Ak Mookyeol's lips. He took the seal from the still-hesitant Sagong Pyo's hand as if snatching it away.
Thump.
Ak Mookyeol slammed the seal down onto the contract hard enough to make the sound ring through the room. Then, staring straight at Namgung Cheon, he said,
"Your mind works quite well indeed. I trust it will stay that way."
A month later, in the Family Head Hall of the Namgung Clan.
A heavy stillness hung over the gathering of the Clan Head, Jegal Hwa, and every elder. All eyes were fixed on Grand Elder Namgung Gyeong, who stood at the center of the hall.
In his hands was the ledger that the third young master, Namgung Cheon, had personally submitted only days before. Namgung Gyeong swallowed once, then began his report in a trembling voice.
"...These are the profits the Baekcheon Merchant Troupe has reaped over the past month."
He turned the first page of the ledger.
"A net profit of five thousand silver nyang from the trade with the Hwangbo Clan. A net profit of five thousand silver nyang from the trade with the Shandong Ak Clan."
"Good heavens!"
Gasps of astonishment burst out from all around.
One month. Ten thousand silver nyang of profit in a single month—an amount that exceeded the yearly budget of a middling sect.
But the Grand Elder's report did not end there.
"And this is merely the record of direct trades with the two clans. The total value of the goods sold through their distribution networks is... beyond even our ability to estimate."
The faces of the elders, Seventh Elder Namgung Do foremost among them, drained white. When the report concluded, a heavy silence descended upon the Family Head Hall once more. Not a soul dared to open their mouth.
It was Jegal Hwa who broke that silence. She rose from her seat and, sweeping her gaze across the elders who still had not recovered from their shock, declared:
"The third young master has proven that he can resolve matters that cannot be cut down with a sword."
Her gaze traveled slowly across the assembly.
"As publicly promised, I grant him the qualification to represent Namgung at the coming River-Along Martial Assembly."
At those words, the faces of several elders stiffened.
Representative of the River-Along Martial Assembly. It meant the surest stepping stone toward the position of Young Clan Head. But this time, no one dared raise an objection.
The results had proven everything.
Once Jegal Hwa took her seat, Namgung Mugang—who until now had silently watched everything unfold—spoke for the first time.
"You've worked hard."
A quiet utterance. Namgung Mugang studied his son for a moment, then continued.
"However, your attendance at the River-Along Martial Assembly is merely the fulfillment of a promise. It cannot be called a full reward for your merits."
"......!"
The entire hall stirred. A reward bestowed by the Clan Head himself. Its value was beyond imagination.
"Speak."
Namgung Mugang fixed his gaze steadily on Namgung Cheon.
"Tell me what you desire."
Without avoiding that gaze, Namgung Cheon sank briefly into thought.
A reward.
He had already obtained a peerless treasure of a sword. In swordsmanship, too, he had found his own path. But was that enough?
No.
The Sword Emperor, Namgung Mugang. And the eldest young master, the Sword Dragon, Namgung Hwi. To surpass them, his current strength would not suffice. He needed more overwhelming power. He needed faster growth.
At that moment, a place surfaced in his mind—the forbidden ground of the Namgung Clan, a place he had never once set foot in. The Namgung family's guarded secret, said to open its doors only for the masters of the clan. Surely, in that place, there would be something to lift him one step further.
Namgung Cheon spoke quietly.
"Grant me the qualification to enter the Heavenly Martial Vault."