Chapter 96
Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Rivals and Nicknames
"Ga-ga...?"
Eun Garyeon unwittingly repeated it to herself several times.
What kind of word was "Ga-ga"?
A pet name a woman used for her beloved lover.
Of course, she knew that Mok Jimyeong liked women and had plenty of them.
She was already aware that a woman named Somwol, presumed to be from the Shadow Gate Sect, was connected to him.
But...
"I still call him Young Master Mok..."
She called him Young Master Mok, while Somwol called him Silver Lord.
But this woman was calling him "Ga-ga"?
On top of that, the way Mok Jimyeong addressed that woman was "Hui-a."
He politely called her "Miss Eun."
Eun Garyeon unwittingly shot Mok Jimyeong a glare before hurriedly pulling herself together.
It wasn't time to give up yet.
After all, she'd known from the start that he'd be meeting lots of women.
"Right. It's just a nickname, nothing more."
Eun Garyeon smoothed out her stiff expression and forced the brightest smile she could muster.
"I'm Eun Garyeon, head of the Eun Merchant Group. May I have your name?"
Though she'd asked for the woman's name, it was really a question about her position and background.
Head of a merchant group at just twenty-one.
And the Eun Merchant Group wasn't small by any means.
There had been some tough times, but they'd overcome them, and now the group was growing steadily.
It wasn't famous across Shanxi Province as she'd once boasted to Mok Jimyeong, but its name was spreading again throughout Beijing.
Eun Garyeon had asked with full confidence in her own background and position, but...
"I'm Moyong Hui of the Moyong Family. I bear the unfortunate nickname of Sword Phoenix."
"S-Sword Phoenix?!"
No matter how much of an ordinary merchant Eun Garyeon was, with no real stake in the martial world, there was no way she hadn't heard of the Sword Phoenix.
In fact, she'd been learning martial arts from Jang Yunho, planning to show off to Mok Jimyeong.
She thought her skills had improved quite a bit, but...
"The Sword Phoenix? There's no way I could compete with that."
One of the Five Dragons and Five Phoenixes was far superior to Jang Yunho, who was teaching her.
No, even before that, the Moyong Family background was a problem.
What kind of clan was the Moyong Family?
One of the Five Great Families of the righteous factions, like the Sichuan Tang Family.
And the Eun Merchant Group that Eun Garyeon ran was reviving just from trading with the Sichuan Tang Family.
Put extremely, ten Eun Merchant Groups combined couldn't match a single "Five Great Family."
Eun Garyeon glanced at Mok Jimyeong in utter disbelief at this story.
But his expression confirmed that her words were true.
"...The Moyong Family for real? And this woman is the famous Sword Phoenix?"
In the past, Eun Garyeon had invited Mok Jimyeong to run the Eun Merchant Group together.
To be precise, it had been more of a confession than an invitation.
At the time, Mok Jimyeong had refused her feelings, saying he had things to do.
But Eun Garyeon hadn't given up on him.
"Hearts can change at any time."
Mok Jimyeong was still young and full of vigor.
But wouldn't he age someday?
Even if he enjoyed meeting many women now, when he got older, he'd want to settle down—and she was certain it would be by her side.
There was a formidable rival in Somwol, but it didn't worry her much.
Marriage was a union of families, after all.
No matter how outstanding Somwol's looks or abilities were, she was ultimately a courtesan.
She could be a concubine, but never the principal wife.
Whereas she herself?
Head of an entire merchant group.
The Mok Family Clan, where the eldest was set to inherit.
Mok Jimyeong, the third son, would eventually have to strike out on his own.
When that time came, the Eun Merchant Group was prepared to rename itself the Mok Merchant Group...
"Sword Phoenix? The Moyong Family?!"
Suddenly, an overwhelmingly powerful rival had appeared.
Looks, background, abilities—there wasn't a single aspect where she could win.
As Eun Garyeon's heart grew unbearably heavy,
Moyong Hui's own heart wasn't at ease either.
"This woman is the head of the merchant group here?"
Mok Jimyeong had spoken as if he had deep ties to the Eun Merchant Group.
He'd even said they'd arrange lodging there for Yang Hwajeong.
At the time, Moyong Hui had simply been relieved that Yang Hwajeong had a place to stay and hadn't thought much of it.
But upon arriving at the Eun Merchant Group and seeing this woman's appearance, she'd been speechless.
"She's beautiful..."
Moyong Hui had never once thought her own looks were inferior anywhere, but Eun Garyeon was a stunning beauty.
What she envied most was her figure.
Unlike Moyong Hui, whose chest was ridiculously large, Eun Garyeon's beautifully balanced curves—slim where they should be, full where they should be—were exactly the ideal body she'd always dreamed of.
And that wasn't the only issue.
"A past connection."
Moyong Hui had fully anticipated that, given Mok Jimyeong's martial prowess and the nature of his Blissful Creation Art, he'd met many women in the past.
But when he'd traveled all the way from Shandong to Liaoning just to meet her, she'd vaguely assumed he'd sorted things out with any others.
So what was this?
"And the head of a merchant group, no less...?"
Eun Garyeon was shocked by Moyong Hui's background and abilities, but Moyong Hui knew that to Mok Jimyeong, the Moyong Family pedigree and Sword Phoenix title meant nothing.
He was a man who'd defeated the Moyong Family head at just over thirty.
Before someone destined to become the World's Greatest Martial Artist, a Five Great Family background or Sword Phoenix moniker was laughably insignificant.
But being head of the Eun Merchant Group was different.
Wasn't he already asking the group for a favor regarding Yang Hwajeong?
"I couldn't even help Sister Hwajeong..."
She knew Mok Jimyeong liked her and always treated her with care, but the time they'd known each other was far too short.
Because of that, this preexisting woman named Eun Garyeon nagged at her terribly.
The first to snap out of it between the two women was Eun Garyeon.
"Ahem, ahem. Could you introduce the others as well?"
At her words, Mok Jimyeong hurriedly introduced the rest.
"This is Cheon Woojin, one of my subordinates. And this little one is his junior brother."
"Hello. I'm Baek Rihyeon."
Hearing Baek Rihyeon's introduction, Eun Garyeon felt a slight relief on one side.
The young child Mok Jimyeong had suddenly brought along.
She knew the chances were slim given his age, but she'd worried he might be Mok Jimyeong's son.
"With Young Master Mok, you never know."
But hearing he wasn't a Mok relaxed her inwardly with a sigh of relief.
"And this lady is Yang Hwajeong, the little one's mother."
That made Eun Garyeon's heart even lighter.
She'd wondered if this quiet woman was another rival, but thankfully, she already had a child.
"Hello."
"Yes! Nice to meet you!"
Seeing Yang Hwajeong's stiff response, Eun Garyeon glanced at Mok Jimyeong.
Noticing her look, he gave an awkward smile and replied.
"Truth is, she doesn't have anywhere to stay right now. If it's okay, could the Eun Merchant Group let her stay here?"
"Oh, that's easy. Don't worry, Young Master Mok."
"It's not just crashing for free—she can work here too. She's served in a famous family as a maid for a long time, so she can handle most things inside the merchant group."
She'd be fine even just feeding and housing her, but if she could work, that was even better.
The Eun Merchant Group was seriously short-staffed right now anyway.
"Come to think of it, there's a perfect job for her!"
Eun Garyeon quickly sorted her thoughts and tossed another question at Mok Jimyeong.
"So, just help this lady, then?"
Meaning, was that the end of it?
Understanding, Mok Jimyeong shook his head.
"I'll be staying in Beijing for a while. About a month?"
"Where will you stay? Shall I prepare the building you used last time?"
"Yeah, if it's still available, that'd be great."
The building from last time was the one her uncle Eun Taehyeok had used—the one Mok Jimyeong had half-forcibly occupied.
But at those words, Moyong Hui's heart sank.
"Ga-ga even has a separate building here...?"
He'd refused her father Moyong Hwan's offer of a room in the Moyong Family estate.
Yet here, he even had his own building to stay in.
How long had he stayed here?
Had they lived together, perhaps?
oblivious to Moyong Hui's inner turmoil, the two continued their conversation.
"I'll have it cleaned up later, then. By the way, Young Master Mok."
"Yeah?"
"The reason you went to Liaoning Province—was it perhaps..."
Eun Garyeon's gaze landed on Moyong Hui.
Mok Jimyeong cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Ahem, how about we talk about that later?"
At his response, Eun Garyeon narrowed her eyes again.
"Guess I'll have to prepare a drinking table tonight."
"...No need. I'm good. I need to stop by Silver Flower Pavilion tonight anyway."
"Oh, you haven't seen Sister Somwol yet?"
"Yeah, we came straight here after arriving in Beijing."
The more she heard of their conversation, the more anxious Moyong Hui became.
"Who's this Somwol person? And what's Silver Flower Pavilion?"
Mok Jimyeong's unknown past kept surfacing.
She wanted to ask him everything right then, but seeing their friendly exchange, she couldn't bring herself to interrupt.
And so, Moyong Hui could only fidget in place.