Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Part 5 - Single Hand
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“You want these letters?”
Yeon Baek-ha thought to herself.
Right now, the Eldest Young Master’s smile was like the temptation of a demon.
She considered what might happen if she refused this offer.
But she didn’t need to think twice.
No matter what means her father, Elder Yeon, employed, there was no way to secure the business rights.
She could tell just from her father’s current situation, where he’d been sidelined for nearly a year.
If that were the case, as the Eldest Young Master said, all that awaited was an endless plunge into the abyss.
But.
What if she incurred a debt to the Eldest Young Master here?
That was obvious too.
Right now, the Yeon father and daughter stood here to decide their fate.
Incurring a debt close to a life-saving favor before the negotiations even properly began would mean losing all meaning to the talks.
But.
At this point, wasn’t surviving somehow the priority, debt or no debt?
With no path behind them, no matter how the negotiations with the Eldest Young Master went, it would mean death in the Sword Clan’s political arena.
And just as Yeon Baek-ha’s heart tilted toward grasping the Eldest Young Master’s outstretched hand, Elder Yeon’s mouth opened.
“We refuse.”
Behind his calm expression, a firm rejection shone through.
‘Father?!’
Shock appeared on Yeon Baek-ha’s face, and the Eldest Young Master’s smile deepened.
“Are you sure? You’re saying you don’t need these letters?”
‘Father! Even now…!’
Elder Yeon simply closed his eyes and crossed his arms.
“We don’t need them.”
At those words, the Eldest Young Master burst into loud laughter.
“Well done. Well done indeed. Your choice is truly the right one.”
The only one wearing a bewildered expression was Yeon Baek-ha.
‘Why?’
At that moment, the Eldest Young Master looked at her.
“You know the reason, don’t you, Sojeo?”
“The reason…?”
Staring blankly at his face for a moment, Yeon Baek-ha startled and bowed her head.
“T-this girl does not know.”
The Eldest Young Master nodded coolly.
“It’s the difference between ‘zero’ and ‘a number close to zero.’”
The riddle’s answer was another riddle, but the exceptionally sharp Yeon Baek-ha grasped its meaning.
“Incurring a debt to you here means complete defeat, but with the mission, since you’ve shown it’s possible, there’s at least a sliver of hope—is that what you mean?”
“Excellent.”
The Eldest Young Master said with elegant poise, clapping lightly.
“As expected of the one Elder Yeon chose as his successor.”
“Y-you overpraise me.”
Even as she humbly demurred, a new question inevitably lodged in Yeon Baek-ha’s mind.
‘How did the Eldest Young Master realize Father chose me as successor?’
She soon found the answer herself.
‘Because I’m here with him.’
As if reading her thoughts, the Eldest Young Master continued.
“You must understand this, Sojeo. Your father right now bears on his back the fate of the entire Yeon family and all his subordinates, who are like family to him.”
Yeon Baek-ha gritted her teeth.
Yes.
She had been tempted to take the demon’s hand over just her father’s elder position.
But her father, under all that burden the Eldest Young Master mentioned, had chosen a path to survival.
“Remember it. The choice your father made. That is the choice of a true gambler.”
Yeon Baek-ha bowed deeply.
“I will keep it in mind.”
Indeed.
Her father had brought his successor to this unfavorable negotiation.
Uncertain how much of their bottom line would be exposed, how much humiliation they’d endure in a negotiation with their fate on the line.
He had brought her to show it all.
The clear resolve in Yeon Baek-ha’s eyes not to miss a single thing deepened further.
Watching her with interest for a moment, the Eldest Young Master turned to Elder Yeon with a light smile.
“In truth, though I asked, your will doesn’t matter in this matter.”
At the Eldest Young Master’s absurd statement, even Elder Yeon couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
“What do you mean?”
Just then, a maid’s voice came as if on cue.
“I have brought the list as Master commanded.”
“Bring it in.”
Receiving the ledger with the list from the maid, the Eldest Young Master said.
“As I mentioned earlier, this is merely my own way of repaying your congratulations.”
Elder Yeon couldn’t refuse even this courtesy.
‘What on earth is the Eldest Young Master thinking…?’
While Elder Yeon pondered, trying to fathom the unfathomable depths of the Eldest Young Master’s intentions, the Eldest Young Master quickly flipped through the ledger.
“Hm. This one will do.”
The Eldest Young Master summoned the maid and ordered her to fetch the one he had chosen.
* * *
In a corner seat of the waiting area.
No one dared approach the spot where the Northern War Merchant sat.
They would glance from afar now and then, checking the old man’s movements, but none dared approach.
Such was the fame and fear carried by the name of the master of one of the largest military supply conglomerates in the Northern Territories.
His loyal servant quietly asked the old man, who sat silently lost in thought.
“…If you keep sitting there without eating, it’ll harm your health.”
But the old man brushed it off.
“Has there still been no contact from anywhere?”
“None.”
“As expected, someone with connections to meet the Eldest Young Master wouldn’t connect easily.”
“...”
The old man crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
“No helping it then. We can only wait and hope Tengge blesses us.”
The old man muttered like a sigh.
“…To think meeting someone who buried himself in seclusion for so long would be this difficult.”
Sighing at his master’s stubbornness, the servant asked.
“Is meeting this Eldest Young Master truly that important?”
“Yes.”
The old man asserted.
“That he’s emerged from seclusion at this time, and I happened to pass through Luoyang—it’s heaven’s fortune.”
The old man sneered.
“By now, the other Northern conglomerates are probably scrambling to prepare upon hearing the news.”
“What connection does the Sword Clan’s Eldest Young Master have to the North…?”
At that moment, a voice interrupted the servant.
“Are you Dong Ga-hyu, called the Northern War Merchant?”
It was a clear, melodious voice like a nightingale’s.
Only then did Dong Ga-hyu and his servant realize the entire floor they occupied had gone silent.
As servants hurriedly stepped aside, they saw a woman dressed in attire far superior to the maids of Won-gak Pavilion they had glimpsed before.
“Indeed. This old man is Dong Ga-hyu.”
Won-gak Pavilion’s senior maid, Illyeong, looked down at the old man with haughty eyes and declared.
“My master, the Eldest Young Master, wishes to see you. Follow me at once.”
The old man’s eyes flashed.
* * *
Hearing the name the Eldest Young Master had instructed the maid to fetch, Elder Yeon let out a deep groan.
After a moment’s hesitation, he spoke to the Eldest Young Master, who was savoring the freshly brewed tea the maid had brought.
“Eldest Young Master. That old monster is not an easy one to handle. Rather than that, allow me to take your letters and go to the North myself to—”
The Eldest Young Master shook his head.
“This matter requires more than just resourcefulness; it’s crucial not to provoke the other side’s pride.”
He looked at Elder Yeon.
“A Northern war hero and elder of the Luoyang Sword Clan would provoke the pride of General Guo Gui and the Governor just by existing. It would only make it harder for anyone to extend a hand first.”
The Eldest Young Master added.
“Moreover, the one playing the ‘matchmaker’ must be able to humble themselves and sometimes roll in the mud. It doesn’t suit you.”
Elder Yeon gave a wry smile.
“But that old monster wields immense influence in the North and is arrogant beyond measure. Isn’t he unsuitable for such delicate work?”
“Is he?”
The Eldest Young Master smiled enigmatically.
“Though I’ve never met the old monster you speak of, I believe he’s the type who’d pretend to die if ordered.”
Yeon Baek-ha inwardly shook her head.
She had long heard from her father about the infamous notoriety of the Northern War Merchant.
Elder Yeon spoke in a frustrated tone.
“That cantankerous old monster would never…”
Just then, the maid’s voice rang out.
“Master. I have brought the one called Dong Ga-hyu as commanded.”
“Let him in.”
With a gesture meaning to see for himself, the Eldest Young Master pointed toward the office entrance.
As soon as the office door opened, a voice boomed through the room, unbelievable coming from an old man.
“To the rightful grandson of the Luoyang Sword Clan, the Eldest Young Master—we celebrate the end of your seclusion! May your fortunes ever prosper, may you live ten thousand years without bound, and may all your endeavors succeed—!”
Without even stepping fully inside, the infamous old monster prostrated himself in a grand bow at the entrance.
“...”
Yeon Baek-ha could swear she’d never seen her stern father wear such a bewildered expression in her life.
* * *
Even after entering the office, Dong Ga-hyu spent a good while invoking the names of every Daoist deity, practically singing the Eldest Young Master’s praises.
Yet toward Elder Yeon, with whom he shared past ties from the Northern wars, he merely nodded curtly—a glimpse into his true nature.
“Do you have any guess why I called you?”
The old man then unleashed his booming voice once more.
“This lowly merchant dares not! How could I presume to guess the wisdom of the lofty Eldest Young Master…!”
The Eldest Young Master clicked his tongue.
“Utterly useless.”
Before the Eldest Young Master finished speaking, the old man flung himself flat on the floor and cried out.
“Of course, it must be about the military facility repair contracts for the four Northern regions!”
He had guessed it the moment he saw Elder Yeon sitting in the office.
Truly, the title of Northern War Merchant was no empty fame.
“Yes, that’s right.”
The Eldest Young Master asked Dong Ga-hyu, still flattened on the floor.
“Can you handle it?”
After a moment’s mental calculation, the old man wailed as if in gut-wrenching agony.
“…Please kill this servant!”
The Eldest Young Master tossed two letters toward Dong Ga-hyu on the floor.
“Then, with these, can you?”
Still prostrated, Dong Ga-hyu snatched them up, read the contents, and shouted.
“I shall devote this one body to fulfilling the Eldest Young Master’s will!”
“Perhaps giving both letters was too much…?”
As the Eldest Young Master slyly approached to take one back, the old man began banging his head on the floor.
“Please understand! Eldest Young Master! Have mercy on this pitiful old man…!”
The Eldest Young Master chuckled and looked at Elder Yeon.
“Elder Yeon, it seems the matter is already resolved, no?”
As Elder Yeon wore a dazed expression and tried to speak, Dong Ga-hyu cried out again.
“Please! Trust only this Dong Ga-hyu, faithful limb of the Eldest Young Master!”