Chapter 11
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 5.2
Chapter Title: Chapter 5: Juyang City
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"Back then, I thought misfortunes were dogging my every step. But looking back now, they were nothing more than events that were bound to happen."
In order to haul even one more crate of goods, he should have hired twice the usual number of merchants and servants. Yet he didn't.
This brought on the first stroke of bad luck.
Even though he knew the wagons couldn't bear the weight, he stubbornly ignored it.
He figured they'd held up fine so far, so they'd manage this time too.
This invited yet another piece of misfortune.
Of course, with the wagons grinding to a halt due to those prior mishaps, it became impossible to stick to the schedule.
In such a situation, the right course was to admit his mistakes and regroup.
But he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge his errors.
That ushered in the third calamity.
The situation only worsened from there.
Problems snowballed beyond his control, dragging out the timeline further and further.
"What... what is this!"
He couldn't believe the reality unfolding before him.
Even a nightmare couldn't be this horrific, he thought.
His face aged a decade in that single trading journey.
"It's over... it's all over."
The compensation he owed already exceeded the value of the goods he'd brought.
On top of that, he had to repay the massive loans he'd taken against his reputation. Despair left him at a loss.
True to his responsible nature, he tried to explain his plight and find a way out.
He scraped together enough through grueling negotiations to pay it all off—but that was the end of it.
Once word spread that he'd gone bust, they took everything of value.
In an instant, his family was out on the streets.
"Might as well die! What's the point of living like this!"
He'd thought he was on the verge of soaring high, only to be cast down into the dirt. It shattered him to his core.
This was when An Yeong came looking for him.
"How can a grown man crumble after one failure?"
"You look like a lady of high standing... How dare you insult me like this!"
How pathetic must he seem for her to say that? A thousand fires of indignation blazed in his heart.
Her next words made him doubt his own ears.
"Three years. Serve under me for three years, and I'll clear all your debts."
"...Do you even know how much I owe? Spare me the nonsense and be gone!"
"I don't know the exact figure, but this should cover it, no?"
She pulled a promissory note from her bosom and handed it to him.
Wang Sam stared at it, his eyes widening in shock.
It was issued by the Golden Merchant House, the top trading firm in Honam, for a staggering three hundred taels of gold.
"Th-this...!"
"Just help me with my business for three years."
"..."
Wang Sam accepted An Yeong's offer.
After taking it, he learned why she wanted him specifically.
She'd decided to start a trading business for her son, but she knew little about commerce herself.
She needed to hire someone knowledgeable, but she couldn't just pick anyone.
The other ladies were watching her closely, even if not openly.
"Reputation first. Talent second."
So she spent a full year searching for the right person.
That's when she heard about Wang Sam. Investigating further, she grew increasingly impressed.
"He could have run. But he chose to honor his commitments."
It wasn't something just anyone could do.
An Yeong met him, moved by his story. Though utterly broken, his eyes still burned with pride.
Even after the promised three years, he didn't leave her side.
By then, he'd earned a tidy sum in bonuses—enough to restart his own venture. Yet he showed no interest.
"That day, I was reborn. I'll help the matriarch elevate the An Family Merchant Group to the pinnacle of Hobuk."
He'd found a new purpose.
It wasn't impossible.
His disciple—and matriarch—An Yeong had even greater business acumen than he did.
With the Jang Family as backing, claiming dominance in Hobuk seemed well within reach.
He valued loyalty above all.
Even if the matriarch cast him aside, he wouldn't abandon his honor.
No—even if she did, he could never let go of it.
To such a man, this current task was a trifle.
"It's wonderful that the young master has taken an interest in this. Now we needn't worry about succession."
He was genuinely thrilled that An Hoe would head the branch.
It eased half of the matriarch's greatest worry: convincing him to become an An Family man, not a Jang. The closer the An Merchant Group grew to him, the more natural it would become.
In less than ten days, the caravan to Juyang City was assembled.
Since they were establishing a branch, its scale was twice that of a typical expedition.
Naturally, it required twice the manpower.
After double-checking the cargo at the center of it all, he approached An Hoe's wagon.
"If anything's inconvenient or unclear, don't hesitate to speak up."
"Thank you. I'll leave it all to you, Manager Wang."
An Hoe nodded with his usual languid air.
Wang Sam retreated with a warm, affable smile.
"I was worried, but now I can relax."
An Hoe sank into the plush seat of the wagon, utterly content.
Song Hwa eyed his demeanor with a hint of unease.
"Young master, shouldn't you at least go say hello?"
"Hm? Why bother?"
"..."
His sudden shift baffled her.
These were people she'd be seeing for months, at least. With the branch setup in Juyang City, they'd be together that long.
As the future branch head, An Hoe should get to know them.
"We're going to be working closely with them for a while. You haven't even properly greeted them yet."
"It's fine. No need for formalities. Manager Wang will handle everything."
"...But you're the branch head."
"Just a title. He'll run the branch anyway. That's how it should be~."
"Uh... alright. Got it."
His drowsy voice and expression didn't inspire confidence, but Song Hwa nodded along.
Truth be told, she was glad the young master was getting involved in family affairs.
She knew the matriarch's situation, much like Wang Sam did.
'We shouldn't expect too much from him right away.'
Song Hwa thought this might actually be the better approach.
His natural laziness could easily be mistaken for sloth.
Better to let Manager Wang take the lead, as the young master said.
An Hoe was relieved at how readily she accepted it.
'She seems pretty upset I'm the branch head. No point sticking my neck out and drawing fire.'
Better to delegate full authority to Manager Wang from the shadows.
Besides, he had no intention of holding the position long-term.
He hated being away from home. Once he sorted the Mi Family issue, he'd return without a second thought.
Handing reins to Wang Sam made the process smoother.
'Good thing the concealment array I set up in this wagon is working perfectly. Was a bit worried since I rushed it.'
That's why he insisted on this lavish wagon unfit for a trading trip.
The merchant crew shot him envious glances, but he couldn't care less.
Even a single extra layer of concealment formation drastically reduced the pressure on him.
"Gotta practice some techniques for the branch on the way. This is ideal."
He'd mastered the Two Forms Divine Art and cultivated the Nine Yang True Scripture, but those were internal arts only.
They laid the foundation, but didn't include techniques to manifest that energy.
Of course, as a divine warrior, he didn't strictly need them.
His casual gestures and lazy swings were peerless martial arts in themselves.
"With this mediocre body? I'd court qi deviation in a heartbeat!"
That was putting it mildly.
His body would explode before qi deviation even kicked in.
So he needed arts suited to his current flesh.
"Third hierarchy is plenty."
No need to struggle with second-hierarchy techniques.
Unless it was Blade Lord level.
Anything less, third was more than enough.
Fortunately, he knew plenty of third-hierarchy arts.
As an imperial hero through dealings with the empire, he'd reviewed their vast archives.
In the process, he discovered something intriguing.
Not all third-hierarchy martial worlds were the same.
"They called them parallel universes, right?"
Parallel universes resembled his own world but diverged due to historical events.
Some were similar, but most had vastly different people and histories.
Among them was a world doomed by the Heavenly Killing Star he'd once feared, and another basking in a golden age under the unprecedented Murim Alliance.
The art An Hoe wanted to learn came from the world ruined by the Heavenly Killing Star.
"Ruined doesn't mean the martial world vanished."
That world truly deserved the term "dark age."
Innumerable lives were lost.
Astronomical resources and infrastructure vanished.
Nations as such ceased to exist.
A century later, hope seemed extinct.
"Yet some rose to fight back."
In a world devoid of light, they pressed on.
They couldn't touch the Heavenly Killing Star, but his demonic followers? Different story.
They fought to survive, sparing no means to slay the fiends.
Starting with baring their visions unreservedly.
The resulting arts belonged to neither righteous nor demonic sects.
"Purely efficient, battle-proven techniques for slaying demons."
Without the third-hierarchy limit, countless heroes would have chosen them.
An Hoe's first art had derived from there—perfect for demons and their minions.
Even after securing second hierarchy, he'd used one sword art from it.
Subduing Demon Sword Art.
True to its name, a ferocious, ruthless blade style.
"What's unique is its foundation in Daoist principles."
When An Hoe first learned that, he could hardly believe it.
It was like water turning to fire.
The Subduing Demon Sword Art didn't merely follow Daoist teachings.
It dissected them solely for demon-slaying.
The result was among the strangest of third-hierarchy oddities.
And for good reason...
"The Subduing Demon Sword Art isn't just a blade that cuts demons. It's the blade demons wield."
Daoists pursue the Dao to awaken to it, behold it, understand it.
The Subduing Demon Sword Art did the same.
To cut demons, it pursued them, beheld them, sought to understand them.
Inevitably, the wielder became a demon—and thus was born the Dao of solely slaying demons.