Chapter 41
Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Elder’s Judgment
"Kuaaaak! Hold on a second!!"
The guy rolling on the ground thrust his palms forward and shouted loudly.
I snorted at the sight.
"Even a Flower Realm expert pulling the begging stance? Why not keep going?"
I lifted the sheath upward again, and Chu Munrak hurriedly opened his mouth.
"I admit defeat! You're the superior one!"
What obvious nonsense.
Anyone seeing this—even a child—would know that much, yet he said it so shamelessly.
I wasn't beating him to prove martial superiority or decide a victor.
I was just venting the frustration built up from training.
"So what?"
I swung the sheath at him once more.
Thwack!
Properly struck on the head, he clutched his crown with both hands and made a wronged face.
"Urk... why? Didn't I admit defeat?"
The old bastard's expression irritated me, but I decided to hear him out for once.
"So what?"
"...What do you want?!"
What did I want?
Nothing, really.
If I had to think of something...
"A woman? Money?"
That was it.
Hearing me, he raised his voice as if he'd realized something.
"I get it! I'll specially hand over that Eun Garyeon and the Eun Merchant Group to you!"
"What crazy talk is that?"
Not his to give, and yet so brazen.
Noticing my gaze, he quickly continued.
"Wait, just wait a moment!"
He reached into his bosom.
I half-expected hidden weapons, but what emerged were a few sheets of paper.
"Promissory notes for the Eun Merchant Group!"
"Oh? Promissory notes?"
I snatched the papers from Chu Munrak's hand and started reading.
He'd already lost the will to fight and stayed silent as I read them all.
"40 gold taels, 50 gold taels... total of 200 gold taels?"
All the debts the Red Serpent Sect had bought up from the Eun Merchant Group.
I knew he'd ordered it, but I never dreamed he'd carry them personally.
"Ahem, how about it? With those, you can take that Eun Garyeon however you..."
I cut him off and smacked his head with the sheath.
Thwack!
"Kuaaaak! What's the problem now?"
"As expected of an unorthodox bastard. You think this lets you do whatever? Where's the law saying a debt lets you claim her body?"
Of course, if they couldn't pay, paying with their body was fair game.
But you had to wait until the due date, right?
I read the notes again.
"Hmm... but the due date's already passed?"
A wicked thought surfaced, but I suppressed it.
I couldn't stoop to his level.
"Exactly. So using it as a pretext to force her, even the authorities wouldn't make a big fuss..."
Thwack!
"Urk... why again..."
"Your voice just annoys me."
He clamped his mouth shut in a hurry at my words.
Leaving him behind, I fell into thought for a moment.
'Kill him? Or not?'
Of course, I'd come here fully intending to kill him.
But seeing him now, devoid of fighting spirit, I hesitated a bit.
Truth be told, in this life, he hadn't wronged me at all.
Past life aside, tearing him apart felt less justified now...
'Let bygones be bygones.'
It was in the past.
It only soured my mood, nothing more.
And killing him right now posed a slight problem.
Bringing the promissory notes meant the Red Serpent Sect knew he'd come to the Eun Merchant Group.
If I killed him here?
'Who knows how the Four Black Alliance would react.'
The Eun Merchant Group would suffer, and even I wasn't quite ready to take on the entire alliance yet.
On the other hand, sparing him had its merits.
I knew from experience he was the perfect pawn to exploit repeatedly.
He seemed quick on the uptake, too.
He'd probably be useful in rebuilding the Eun Merchant Group.
After a moment's deliberation, I realized it wasn't my call to make.
"Hey. Follow me."
"Where..."
"Paak!"
As I raised the sheath, he flinched and shrank back.
Then he bowed his head deeply in resignation.
"Ah, got it."
I walked toward Eun Garyeon, dragging him along.
As I hauled Chu Munrak, the Jang punk—who had come to his senses—gasped in shock.
"Why are you bringing that guy...?!"
He jumped up and blocked Eun Garyeon's path.
But my business wasn't with him.
"Move, punk. I have a question for the merchant lady."
The Jang punk hesitated at my words before stepping aside.
Eun Garyeon's puzzled face came into view.
"Eun lady, think carefully before you answer."
"...Pardon? Yes, I understand."
"This is Chu Munrak. An elder of the Four Black Alliance. He orchestrated the Red Serpent Sect's moves, and Im Jungdo infiltrated your merchant group on his orders. Oh, and he killed your father, too."
"Ah, no! That was my disciple acting on his own..."
Feeling wronged, Chu Munrak piped up from behind.
I bestowed another sheath upon him.
Thud!
"Mmgh..."
One good hit, and he sealed his lips tight.
Should've done that from the start.
"The Eun Merchant Group's downfall and your current plight? All his doing."
Eun Garyeon nodded calmly as she listened.
But rage overflowed from her eyes.
"That said, he's a Four Black Alliance elder. Killing him here—I don't know what backlash the merchant group would face. And when that happens... I probably won't be around."
She nodded again.
No need to explain what the Four Black Alliance was.
Even a commoner would know it as the massive unorthodox powerhouse.
I grinned and posed my final question to her.
"So, kill him? Or spare him?"
At my words, Chu Munrak behind me spoke up urgently.
"Wait! Just hold on!"
Normally I'd have smacked him again, but I gave him a chance as his last plea.
Sensing it, he dropped to his knees and began pleading with Eun Garyeon.
"I'm sorry. I sincerely apologize. If you spare me, I'll pay 1,000 gold taels in atonement and teach that young man my martial arts—no strings attached."
Chu Munrak pointed at the Jang punk.
Suddenly part of the bargain, the Jang punk's eyes went wide in panic.
Eun Garyeon, too, blinked in surprise at the offer of martial arts instruction.
Non-martial or not, as a merchant, she knew the immense value of techniques taught by such an expert.
To aid her decision, I questioned Chu Munrak.
"Martial arts? Which one? Intangible Qi Technique?"
"Ahem! Yes! My signature Intangible Qi Technique is..."
"I can teach you that too."
He flinched in shock.
I'd clubbed him with the sheath so much, even I'd forgotten I'd used it.
"W-well then, 2,000 gold taels and something else...!"
Chu Munrak desperately continued.
Eun Garyeon shook her head.
"No. Compensation won't change anything."
As if anticipating what came next, he tried to scramble up.
And Eun Garyeon stared straight into my eyes.
"Please kill him."
She said it decisively.
At the same moment, Chu Munrak circulated his qi.
"Like this, I'll...!"
Heavenly Extreme Sword Technique.
One Flash.
My sword had already been drawn, slicing through Chu Munrak's throat.
Blood spurted from the empty neck.
The headless body toppled to the ground.
Chu Munrak, elder of the Four Black Alliance.
He met an end far too pathetic for a Flower Realm expert.
"Ah..."
Not expecting my swift move, Eun Garyeon gaped and let out a gasp.
The Jang punk, too, blinked in stunned silence.
"What... what is this...?"
I sheathed my sword and asked Eun Garyeon.
"Satisfied?"
She hesitated at my question, then slowly nodded.
"...Yes. I'm satisfied."
"Good."
Late to the game, the Jang punk scowled at me.
"You bastard... you planned to kill him anyway, didn't you?"
Because I'd acted without hesitation, he posed a fair question.
He wasn't wrong.
"Yeah, pretty much."
I'd rattled off excuses earlier, but truthfully, I wanted him dead.
Past life or not, he still pissed me off.
'If she'd chosen to spare him, I would've tried persuading her.'
I'd planned to explain how vile he was, how many victims he'd left in his wake.
Easy enough to dig up via the Shadow Gate Sect.
But luckily, Eun Garyeon chose death.
No hassle for me.
At my nonchalant response, the Jang punk raised his voice in protest.
"If you were gonna kill him anyway, you could've done it back there! Why ask the merchant lord such a thing..."
"So she'd feel like she got her revenge personally."
I pulled the trigger, but she sealed his fate.
Grasping that subtle difference, the Jang punk fell silent.
"Thank you... thank you, Mok Xiaoxie."
Only now realizing it was truly over, transparent tears streamed from Eun Garyeon's eyes as she offered her gratitude.