The Key to Favor
The expressions of those watching the scene were varied.
Some stared with wide eyes in shock.
Others looked bewildered, unable to grasp what had happened.
And some struggled to suppress their laughter.
Jang Muhwi, of course, belonged to the last group.
He walked slowly toward the guard warrior and spoke.
“Just as I thought.”
“If it weren’t for Clerk Jang, we would have been in serious trouble.”
The guard warrior opened his right hand.
A key rested in his palm.
Jang Muhwi glanced briefly in a certain direction.
It was toward the mid-level clerk who owned the burly man—Sa Mun-u.
Sa Mun-u’s father had built his fortune through usury.
The burly man was one of the hired hands employed by that father.
And the key hidden in the burly man’s robe had originally been on the desk of the senior clerk in charge of the office.
It appeared to be the key to the safe containing confidential documents kept by the senior clerk.
There was no reason for that key to be in the burly man’s possession.
If there was a reason, there was only one.
Someone had tried to smuggle the key out through the burly man.
And if someone had known about it in advance and tipped them off?
Then the situation was clear enough that no further confirmation was needed.
Someone tugged at Jang Muhwi’s sleeve from behind.
When he turned, the senior clerk stood there with a broad smile.
His name was Mun U-ik.
Mun U-ik grasped Jang Muhwi’s hand tightly.
“If it weren’t for Clerk Jang, we would have been in serious trouble. Thank you.”
“Not at all. I only did what needed to be done.”
“No, that’s not true. It’s your first day, yet you’ve already achieved something like this. Not just anyone could have done it. If it weren’t for you, I would have found myself in quite an awkward situation.”
From Mun U-ik’s expression alone, one might have mistaken Jang Muhwi for having saved the entire country.
Just then, Mun U-ik seemed to remember something and looked toward the captain of the guard warriors.
“Arrest the clerk who hired this man immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
The guard warrior dashed off at once.
Sa Mun-u stood there, glancing around with a dazed expression.
It was only natural—he had been watching the burly man’s thuggish behavior, planning to report it to Senior Clerk Mun U-ik so that the thorn in his side, Clerk Jang, would be expelled from the merchant group today.
But contrary to his expectations, Senior Clerk Mun U-ik had appeared and taken Clerk Jang’s hand.
Sa Mun-u could not understand what he was seeing.
On top of that, another question arose.
The guard warriors were now running straight toward him.
Thud, thud, thud.
The guard warriors who rushed over quickly subdued Sa Mun-u.
“You’ll have to come with us.”
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“It’s Senior Clerk Mun’s order.”
“Why me…?”
Sa Mun-u could not finish his sentence.
The guard warriors were pressing him roughly.
Dragged to the scene, Sa Mun-u looked around blankly.
At that moment, Mun U-ik’s voice rang out like a whip.
“You wretch! Who ordered you to do this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking why you tried to smuggle the key to my safe outside.”
“When did I ever…?”
“The evidence is right here, yet you still deny it?”
Mun U-ik thrust the key right in front of Sa Mun-u’s nose.
“I’ve never seen this key before.”
“Hah. It was found in your servant’s robe, and you’re still trying to deny it? You should be begging for forgiveness, yet you have the nerve to act shamelessly? Or has your liver come out of your belly? Just what were you thinking, joining the Jangryong Merchant Group and pulling something like this?”
Mun U-ik, visibly agitated, fired off questions without pausing for breath.
But Sa Mun-u only rolled his eyes left and right, as if he truly had no idea what was going on.
This only infuriated Mun U-ik further.
Just then, the burly man regained consciousness and let out a groan.
“Ugh…”
All eyes turned to him.
Though awake, the burly man could not move an inch.
The guard warriors had him pinned down.
Senior Clerk Mun U-ik looked at the burly man.
“Why did you do it? If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll have your head right here.”
At Mun U-ik’s signal, a guard warrior raised his sword.
In that instant, the burly man quickly opened his mouth.
“Y-Young Master Sa only ordered it! I don’t know anything! P-Please forgive me, my lord!”
The sudden confession made Sa Mun-u, who had been listening, explode in rage.
“What do you mean I ordered it, you bastard!”
But that was as far as he got.
Jang Muhwi, who had approached from the side, clamped a hand over Sa Mun-u’s mouth.
“How dare you wag that wicked tongue so freely… Can you still call yourself a clerk eating the merchant group’s rice after this?”
Jang Muhwi’s rebuke came without the slightest hesitation.
Mun U-ik, who had been watching, smiled.
At the same time, everyone nodded in agreement.
The evidence was clear, and there were more than enough witnesses.
More than just a few people had seen the situation unfold.
Every clerk in the office had gathered because of the sudden commotion.
On top of that, over ten additional guard warriors had joined them.
Sa Mun-u’s mouth was covered, and his eyes trembled.
The burly man was no different.
Neither of them realized they were saying different things.
What the burly man had confessed was that he had tried to frame Jang Muhwi and his servant.
But to anyone listening, it could only be understood as an admission that he had tried to smuggle the key out.
In the blink of an eye, both the burly man and Sa Mun-u were bound and kneeling.
The situation was over.
While everyone swallowed dryly, Jang Muhwi stepped in front of Mun U-ik.
“Senior Clerk. If I had reported it even a little earlier… things wouldn’t have escalated this much. I’m sorry.”
“Haha. There’s no need to say that. If we hadn’t caught the evidence like this, that slippery eel would have turned the merchant group upside down. And besides…”
Mun U-ik turned his head.
There stood Ma Uiryong, who had not said a single word since earlier.
Ma Uiryong looked blank, as if he had no emotions at all.
Mun U-ik patted his shoulder.
“You did well too. I saw earlier that you’re quite strong.”
“Huh?”
“You helped your master accomplish something big.”
“I did…?”
“Haha. Even the servant is this humble!”
Mun U-ik looked around.
Everyone nodded like bobbleheads, as if they agreed.
Their eyes shone with the same light.
In this moment, Jang Muhwi and Ma Uiryong were heroes.
They knew this was the first time Mun U-ik had praised anyone like this.
Even to them, Jang Muhwi and Ma Uiryong’s performance had been remarkable.
Under their gazes, Ma Uiryong suddenly came to his senses.
The current situation felt extremely awkward to him.
Many people had looked at him with fear before.
But this kind of gaze was new.
Everyone was looking at him with genuine, warm eyes.
Not even his father or the people of his clan had ever looked at Ma Uiryong like that.
Suddenly, an overwhelming emotion welled up in Ma Uiryong’s chest.
Just then, someone wrapped an arm around Ma Uiryong’s shoulder.
When he turned, it was the captain of the guard warriors.
He was a martial artist with a build as large as the burly man’s.
What the captain showed was goodwill.
“You did well. Your strength is impressive.”
“Thank you.”
By now, the typical servant’s speech pattern had become second nature to him.
Ma Uiryong found himself smiling without realizing it.
After exchanging glances for a moment, the captain spoke.
“How about working with me?”
“That is…”
“One of my subordinates returned to his hometown, so there’s an opening. You’re too talented to just be a servant. If you guard the main gate of the Jangryong Merchant Group, you’ll be able to make a name for yourself anywhere in the martial world.”
“Me, doing that kind of work…?”
Ma Uiryong trailed off.
The sudden situation left him flustered.
To Ma Uiryong, being a guard warrior was not a position of honor.
The warm, genuine expressions from everyone were fine, but this was different.
At that moment, a familiar voice struck the back of Ma Uiryong’s head like a blow.
“That’s fine. While serving as my servant, he can also handle guard duties in his spare time. His income will double. I’ll allow it. That should be possible, right, Senior Clerk?”
The owner of the voice was, of course, Jang Muhwi.
Jang Muhwi looked at Mun U-ik.
Mun U-ik beamed.
“Of course. You’ve got quite the bold spirit. Why don’t we leave the cleanup to the warriors and have a cup of tea together?”
“Me, with you, Senior Clerk…?”
“Don’t call me ‘Senior Clerk.’ How big is the age gap between us? Come along.”
Mun U-ik pulled Jang Muhwi along.
In that instant, someone let out a cheer.
“Whoa!”
Whoever started it, the cheers did not stop.
Once Jang Muhwi and Mun U-ik disappeared, the captain of the guard warriors grabbed Ma Uiryong.
“Let’s go have a drink.”
“I…”
“No need to be shy.”
The captain dragged Ma Uiryong away.
Ma Uiryong’s eyes wavered like a sailboat caught in a storm.
Ma Uiryong had a vague sense of it.
It was Jang Muhwi who decided his fate!
Even so, after a moment, Ma Uiryong smiled faintly.
He had just realized he had not eaten a single meal today.
Rapid progress!
This was not about scholarly or martial achievements.
It referred to Jang Muhwi’s position within the merchant group.
Thanks to his merit in protecting the safe key, Jang Muhwi had become the right-hand man of Mun U-ik, a senior figure in the office, in the blink of an eye.
Mun U-ik was known for never giving his trust to anyone, no matter how many years passed.
Yet Jang Muhwi had become his right-hand man in a single day!
While Jang Muhwi took it for granted, everyone else was envious.
As Jang Muhwi entered the office, someone approached him.
“Clerk Jang, how about a cup of tea later? My treat.”
“Haha. I already have plans, so maybe next week.”
Jang Muhwi smiled apologetically.
But he did not feel sorry in the slightest.
The person acting friendly now was the same one who had tried to trap Jang Muhwi along with Sa Mun-u.
His name was No Mun-sik.
The interesting thing was that as soon as Sa Mun-u was dragged away, No Mun-sik, who had claimed to be his closest friend, immediately cut ties.
He even went around badmouthing Sa Mun-u.
But Jang Muhwi had no time to pay him any mind.
It was true that he already had a week’s worth of appointments lined up.
When Jang Muhwi entered, everyone waved at him.
“Come on in.”
“You’re early again today.”
Amid their warm welcome, Jang Muhwi sat at his spot by the window.
At first, Jang Muhwi had been stuck in a corner with no sunlight.
Yet within a few days, he had secured a prime seat with a full view outside.
On top of that, there was even a partition so that others’ gazes could not reach him.
All of this was Mun U-ik’s consideration.
The phrase “feeling like a lifetime had passed” fit the situation perfectly.
Of course, Jang Muhwi was not satisfied yet.
Though he had earned trust, he had not yet qualified to enter the secret office that handled classified matters.
Now, in addition to trust, he needed to demonstrate skill.
Did Jang Muhwi possess the abilities required of a clerk?
There was no way someone born as a martial artist like Jang Muhwi would have such skills.
But Jang Muhwi did have the ability to make it look like he possessed those skills.
Jang Muhwi was organizing his plans in his head when a hand suddenly reached in from the window.
Jang Muhwi casually accepted the note.
The person outside the window was not from the Haomin Sect, but Ma Uiryong.
Ma Uiryong, dressed in a guard warrior’s uniform, was looking at Jang Muhwi.
Jang Muhwi smiled and spoke.
“You can go now.”
“Understood, Young Master.”
Seeing Ma Uiryong’s lips curl up slightly, Jang Muhwi chuckled.
It seemed he was quite immersed in his roles as both guard warrior and servant.
Jang Muhwi quietly unfolded the note.
What Ma Uiryong had delivered was a list of merchant groups scheduled to pass through the main gate.
Looking over the list, Jang Muhwi’s lips curled upward.
“Now it’s time to begin in earnest.”