Chapter 42
Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Cleanup and Foresight
The situation had finally come to an end.
The mastermind behind it all, Chu Munrak, was dead, and the Red Serpent Sect thugs had slipped away at some point.
However, the Eun Merchant Group was in a horrific state.
Nearly a hundred people had died in a single night.
The deaths of the Red Serpent Sect underlings or Chu Munrak could be chalked up to a fight between martial artists, but the slain Eun Merchant Group employees were a different story.
Many of them were ordinary folk who knew nothing of martial arts.
'That crazy bastard Chu Munrak.'
He hadn't intended to leave any survivors, unleashing far too much brutality.
After facing such a brush with death, hardly any employees remained loyal enough to stay with the Eun Merchant Group.
'On top of that, their salaries had been overdue lately.'
Though we'd fended off Chu Munrak and escaped the Red Serpent Sect's scheme, the Eun Merchant Group was as good as finished.
The only ones left were Eun Garyeon, that Jang fellow, and three employees.
"Eun Sojeo, what are your plans now?"
"First... we need to clean this place up."
Eun Garyeon looked around as she spoke.
Bloodstains scattered across the floor, chunks of human flesh, and the sprawl of corpses.
She was right—cleanup was the top priority.
But that wasn't what I wanted to hear.
"Are you planning to stay here and keep going?"
"Of course. Where else would I go? This is the Eun Merchant Group."
"What about the Four Black Alliance? No, the authorities will come sniffing around soon enough—how do you plan to handle that?"
This was inside Beijing proper.
That madman Chu Munrak had carried out a massacre right under the emperor's nose.
Sure, he must have been confident he wouldn't get caught...
'But now that he's dead, who's supposed to clean up the mess?'
No matter the saying about officials not meddling in martial affairs, something this big would force their hand.
Yet Eun Garyeon declared boldly,
"The Eun Merchant Group didn't do anything wrong."
"Well, true enough. Hmm... So you're set on rebuilding the Eun Merchant Group?"
"Naturally."
Her expression was resolute.
'As expected...'
I'd figured as much.
Now that I'd heard her intentions, it was time for me to do my part.
I pulled a signal flare from my robes—one I'd prepared in advance.
And fired it into the sky.
Whoosh—boom!
A green firework bloomed against the sunset sky.
Eun Garyeon eyed my actions with puzzlement.
"Mok Sohyeop, what was that...?"
"Just wait. I'll lend a hand to you hardworking folks."
I stopped there and crossed my arms.
No need to explain everything upfront.
About half a gak later,
A hundred or so people began filing in through the Eun Merchant Group's main gate.
Leading them was a woman who...
"You've had a rough time, Eun-gong."
...was Somwol, the Brothel Hall's candidate successor.
"Rough time? More importantly, can you help clean this up?"
"Understood."
At my words, Somwol immediately rallied her people and issued orders.
Shadow Gate Sect members scattered throughout the Eun Merchant Group in an instant.
'Having subordinates to command really makes things easier.'
To explain why she was here instead of in Taiyuan would take us back about a month.
—The cart drivers' Chaodang, the porters' Gaegodang, and our Brothel Hall aren't on good terms... But in two months, we can count on their help.
In our first conversation at the Silver Flower Pavilion, she'd said getting aid from the other halls was tough due to bad relations.
The Shadow Gate Sect operated with each hall moving independently, after all.
And only one person could command them all.
The Shadow Gate Sect Leader.
Somwol hadn't become the sect leader in that short time, of course.
But she had connections with the other halls' candidates.
The day I arrived in Beijing, the Silver Flower Pavilion madam contacted Somwol right away, and she began persuading the others.
'Though "persuading" might be a stretch...'
Word was she'd half-forced them, bending them to her will through sheer martial might.
Thanks to the boosted inner energy from our nights of passion, it had been a breeze, apparently.
In any case, she'd wrapped up the "negotiations" and arrived in Beijing four days ago.
"Mok Sohyeop, who are these people...?"
Eun Garyeon stared in confusion at the Shadow Gate Sect members invading her merchant group.
I introduced her to Somwol.
"Talk it over with her."
Then I stepped back.
'My job here's done.'
The debt the Eun Merchant Group owed the Red Serpent Sect was gone.
The IOU was safe in my robes.
The issue now was manpower.
And the Shadow Gate Sect could provide that.
Cart drivers, porters—the urgent needs were met by their surplus members.
The Four Black Alliance and the authorities were the real problems...
'But that's for Eun Sojeo to handle.'
I couldn't meddle there.
The silver lining was, as she'd said, the Eun Merchant Group was innocent.
This was Beijing.
If she came clean to the authorities, even the Four Black Alliance wouldn't dare retaliate openly.
'They might not even bother with revenge.'
Unorthodox groups weren't bound by such tight-knit loyalties.
Hell, they might even celebrate an empty elder seat.
In any case, the immediate fires were out.
The Eun Merchant Group could rise again.
"Did the talk go well?"
"Yes, Eun-gong. First, the porters and cart drivers each received one nyang of silver..."
I waved her off, cutting Somwol short.
"Enough, enough. No need to report the petty details to me."
Truth be told, neither the Eun Merchant Group nor the Shadow Gate Sect meant much to me.
All I'd done was connect the two.
Somwol smiled faintly at my attitude.
"Understood. I'll handle the minor matters myself. So, what about Eun Taehyeok?"
"Eun Taehyeok?"
After a moment's thought, I recalled he was Eun Garyeon's uncle.
"He's still alive?"
"Yes. We caught him trying to flee Beijing."
"Hmm, discuss that with Eun Sojeo too."
Not my business.
What I was curious about was something else.
"How'd things go with the authorities?"
"That wrapped up smoothly as well. With so many survivors, it shouldn't cause major issues."
Fair enough.
The Eun Merchant Group was the victim, after all.
"What about the Four Black Alliance?"
"They probably won't act separately. Tensions with the Murim Alliance are heating up by the day, so they're in no position to move lightly."
"Murim Alliance?"
News to me.
But mulling over the past, a forgotten fact surfaced.
'Ah, the Orthodox-Demonic Great War kicks off next year, right?'
The war between the Murim Alliance and the Four Black Alliance.
That two-year conflict had produced countless casualties and heroes.
Why had I forgotten such a pivotal event?
'Because it never touched my life back then.'
As the Flowery Playboy hopping between brothels, it was just a distant tale.
The Murim Alliance was in Henan, the Four Black Alliance in Anhui.
My Mok Family Clan was on the opposite side in Shanxi.
For me, the Great War was mere tavern gossip over drinks.
'I think Jeong Mutae and I had some heated debates about it...'
Arguing how the Alliance should move, what the Four Black Alliance would do.
Vague memories of such armchair strategizing.
If the war had dragged on, even our rear-line Mok Family might have felt ripples, but it ended in just two years.
Thanks to a certain martial artist's mediation: Cheon Seonwoo.
'The Martial Emperor.'
Cheon Seonwoo had appeared out of nowhere, defeated both the Four Black Alliance Leader and the Murim Alliance Chief, earning his moniker.
In any case, the Orthodox-Demonic Great War was set for next year.
"But... in the middle of all this, Chu Munrak came here personally?"
Was the guy insane?
Somwol shook her head at my words.
"We suspect that's exactly why he moved himself. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense for him to target the Eun Merchant Group now after ignoring them for four years."
"Yeah, that tracks."
I nodded, then a key realization hit me late.
'Wait, I know the future, don't I?'
Regression had me focused on women and martial arts; I'd overlooked it.
The major historical events etched in my mind.
"Somwol. Does the mood right now feel like the Orthodox-Demonic Great War is coming?"
"The Great War?"
Somwol startled.
I could tell without her answer.
No matter how heated, no one was thinking full-scale war.
But it would happen.
"If it does break out, how do you think the Eun Merchant Group and Shadow Gate Sect would fare?"
"Eun-gong, the odds of the Great War are extremely low. We've had skirmishes, but no all-out war in a century..."
"Just suppose. Hypothetically."
Somwol pondered seriously at my insistence.
"It depends on when and where it happens, and how long it lasts. Taking the Great War from a hundred years ago as reference..."
"No, next year, in Anhui and Henan provinces. For two years."
"Two years is surprisingly short, but assuming your scenario, Young Master..."
It seemed the Eun Merchant Group could grow much larger.