What We Gained (3)
After finishing my conversation with my master, I cupped my hands in a fist and bowed my head. When I looked up again, he had vanished from my sight.
I asked the Seo-u Warrior.
"Has he gone?"
"Yes."
The Seo-u Warrior nodded and said,
"This is just my personal opinion, but it's a shame that someone as remarkable as him has to live as a mere escort captain. The true hero should be him, not me."
"I agree."
Time passed, and the day of the preliminaries' fourth round arrived.
In the bracket for the fourth round with fourteen participants remaining, Jegal Yua Sojeo and Dang Su-bin Sojeo had their names listed.
Dang Jo-ung, who had advanced to the third round via a bye, was eliminated as expected.
And Hyang-ok Nuna was eliminated as well.
In truth, I had anticipated Hyang-ok Nuna's elimination. In my previous life, she had dropped out in the third round during her first appearance at the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament.
She had climbed higher the next time, but this round's heartbreaking loss left her seething with frustration.
I looked at the bracket.
With fourteen entrants in this fourth round, there would be seven winners.
That meant the pairings wouldn't match up perfectly, so some lucky souls would get byes again.
In fact, Dang Su-bin Sojeo had drawn the bye. But she declared, "I refuse the bye!"
The Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament had a rule allowing participants to reject a bye.
It was a product of the Murim Alliance's culture, which prized honor above all.
Thanks to Dang Su-bin Sojeo's declaration, others gained the fortune of byes, and it nipped any potential rumors in the bud.
After all, with the Sacheon Dang Clan heirs consecutively drawing byes, it could easily spark suspicions of rigging.
Whether she rejected it purely for a fair fight or to eliminate gossip was unclear.
But given her slight hesitation when drawing the bye card, the latter seemed more likely.
Dang Su-bin Sojeo was sharp like that.
"We will now begin the fourth round of the preliminaries! The first match is…"
The first matchup was Jegal Yua Sojeo against a young warrior from the Jin Ju-eon Clan.
The Jin Ju-eon Clan was renowned for their fist techniques.
They were also deeply versed in corpse reinforcement arts, applying them to harden their fists, legs, and other body parts.
This made their bodies nearly as tough as steel, posing a danger even from a mere graze.
Her opponent was someone who had racked up wins with this very method.
And Jegal Yua Sojeo excelled in numerical battles.
I wondered who would come out on top.
At that moment, Jegal Yua Sojeo, ascending the arena stage, locked eyes precisely on me and flashed a sly grin.
A look of utter confidence. I couldn't help but wonder what scheme was brewing in that clever head of hers to wear such an expression.
Dong!
With the resounding beat of the drum, the match began.
Each clash between Jegal Yua Sojeo's sword and the Jin Ju-eon Clan warrior's fist rang out like cold steel on steel, sparks flying.
Kang-!
Kkaang-!
His fists really are as hard as steel. How else could they make that sound?
The Jin Ju-eon Clan warrior's attacks were fierce indeed, but Jegal Yua Sojeo's gaze remained calmly composed throughout.
An inscrutable expression that gave no hint of her thoughts.
That seemed to unsettle her opponent, whose movements grew larger.
Which meant more openings to exploit.
Jegal Yua Sojeo's sword sliced through the air, targeting his vital points.
"Hup!"
Unable to fully defend, the Jin Ju-eon Clan warrior's shoulder tore open, blood spraying.
Yet he charged on without surrender, but Jegal Yua Sojeo proved even colder than I'd imagined.
Paak-!
She spun in midair and kicked his shoulder, dislocating it entirely. He could harden his skin, but not the joints.
No matter how tough the skin, reinforcing the joints would rob him of mobility.
That was her target.
The judge declared,
"Jegal Yua wins!"
"Waaaaah!"
The crowd's cheers erupted.
"Baekryak Naenggeom! Baekryak Naenggeom!"
Hundred Strategies Cold Sword.
A new honorific title freshly bestowed upon Jegal Yua Sojeo.
A far cry from the life of Muso Ok-nyeo Yua, who had served as a guard for the Yugang Merchant Group's leader in my previous life.
Yes, this honor was what Jegal Yua Sojeo rightfully deserved.
I watched her wave to the cheering crowd, a pleased smile on my face.
Today, in the fourth round, Dang Su-bin Sojeo was narrowly eliminated.
Had she accepted the bye, she would have advanced to the fifth round.
But this was the limit for Dang Su-bin Sojeo.
More precisely, the limit with her poisons and hidden weapons sealed.
Had she been allowed to use them, she could have climbed much higher, more smoothly.
Now, only the final eight remained.
Two who advanced via byes and six who won their matches, making eight.
And tomorrow, the ultimate champion would be decided.
In my previous life, a young warrior from the Habeok Paeng Clan had taken the victory.
From watching him fight earlier, his skills were exceptionally sharp.
I could tell he wasn't some sheltered scion of a righteous sect, protected in his battles.
He was battle-hardened through real combat.
To reach that level, he'd need at least five years roaming the jianghu. I wondered what had led him to such a life.
Would the Habeok Paeng Clan warrior claim victory again this time?
With some divergences from my previous life, I couldn't be certain.
That evening, I headed to our Eunhae Merchant Group's temporary shop.
The lines weren't as endless anymore, but customers still poured in steadily.
"Young branch leader! You've arrived?"
"You've worked hard."
I listened to the operations update from Manager Yun at the shop.
"So, we still have stock left of the fish bone powder and lime powder."
"Yes. This amount should suffice."
"No need to restock more?"
"No need. Extra stock would just be hard to haul back. As you know, fish bone powder and lime powder harden solid if they touch moisture."
"Right."
That's why transporting it back unused had been such a pain before.
Still… why had the Baekcheon Merchant Group chosen fish bone powder and lime powder for their hoarding scheme?
The reason our merchant group didn't monopolize them was the tricky storage and transport.
We sourced and sold just enough as needed each time.
Warriors bought in limited quantities for the same reason.
Lost in such thoughts, I glanced up at the sky.
Rumble.
The sky had looked ominous for a while now. Rain's coming, isn't it?
The Baekcheon Merchant Group had hoarded a massive amount of fish bone powder and lime powder from the area. They probably couldn't store it all indoors.
Oh dear, Baekcheon Merchant Group.
Why does this feel so satisfying?
I said to Manager Yun,
"Only two days left now. Please manage it well until the end."
"Of course."
We'd dismantle the temporary shop in two days.
The Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament ended tomorrow, but the following day featured a festival celebrating the newborn heroes.
And every merchant group's goal was to sell every last item by festival day.
Hauling inventory back incurred hefty transport costs.
On my way to the inn, I paused mid-step.
Wait a minute…
One cause of this autumn's poor harvest was rain, right?
A prolonged drought ended with a sudden downpour that flattened all the rice crops.
I turned around and headed back to the temporary shop.
"Manager Yun."
"Ah, yes!"
"Doesn't it look like rain?"
"I've already prepared ample tarps, expecting a good downpour."
"Tarps won't cut it."
"No need to worry. Rain doesn't fall that heavily in autumn anyway."
"I know that, but…"
I said with a hardened expression,
"That's an order. Pack all goods securely and move them indoors immediately."
"Pardon? Pulling everything now would mean losses…"
It was still evening; we could sell more until deep night, so withdrawing early meant missed sales.
But it didn't matter. Who'd venture out in a deluge?
"I'll take responsibility. Follow my instructions."
At my firm tone, Manager Yun bowed his head.
"Understood."
I also told the managers of nearby temporary shops,
"Heavy rain tonight. Better bring your goods inside now."
I instructed the Yi Pil Warrior to inform my father, and to notify friendly groups like the Yeonjun Merchant Group and Hongnang Merchant Group as well.
I stood by our Eunhae temporary shop, watching them pack and stow the goods.
Meanwhile, reactions from other managers who'd heard me were split about evenly.
Some ignored it; others immediately sent runners to their merchant lords.
Soon after, responses from those who got replies were again split.
Among those following my advice was the Palin Pharmacy directly across from our shop.
Manager Yang Jin-su nodded at me, and I nodded back.
Alerting nearby merchants about the massive rain had a few reasons.
First, to avoid backlash. If rain hit and they accused us of withholding the warning, that'd be trouble.
Second, the Palin Pharmacy.
It was my hidden cash cow. Couldn't let them take a hit.
Third, to boost my credibility.
Those who heeded me would avoid losses and be grateful, trusting my word henceforth.
Those who ignored it would suffer big time.
And they'd think, 'Should've listened to Young Branch Leader Eun Seo-ho. From now on, I'll heed him.'
These days, Merchant Lord Namgung-gang's mood was utterly foul.
Things weren't going according to his plans.
He'd hoarded fish bone powder and lime powder to sell at ten times the price.
With tournament injuries, people needed it to avoid death, so it should've flown off the shelves…
"They're total bandits!"
"Yeah…"
"No business ethics at all!"
All he'd gotten was curses.
Because the Eunhae Merchant Group—somehow—sold fish bone powder and lime powder at original prices.
Simple: eliminate their stock!
He'd sent people to buy it out, but the lines were too long.
Next idea: torch the warehouse holding it.
Of course, he didn't act directly. The tournament drew plenty of warriors.
So he had a trusted subordinate commission the job.
They balked at first, but a fat payout sealed it.
But… it failed.
And somehow, rumors spread through Luoyang: "The Baekcheon Merchant Group tried to burn the Eunhae Merchant Group's warehouse."
This has to be Du-seok's screw-up, or he blabbed to someone!
Du-seok, one of Merchant Lord Namgung-gang's trusted aides, vehemently denied it.
But once suspicion takes root, it doesn't fade easily.
Plip, plop.
Then, thick raindrops began falling from the sky.
The managers panicked.
They'd expected light rain, but it poured far harder than anticipated.
Autumn rains were usually scant, but this shattered expectations.
Drainage failed; water rose to ankles.
They scrambled to move tarped goods indoors.
"Damn it! The rain should've stopped by now!"
"Hey, you bastards! Get it inside quick! Fish bone powder and lime powder are ruined by water!"
"If it's damaged, you're dead!"
Merchant Lord Namgung-gang boiled with rage.
Then one manager said,
"Calm your anger. Think about it—this rain caught the Eunhae Merchant Group off guard too."
"True enough."
"We hold a large stock, so we saved over half. But their fish bone powder and lime powder is mostly ruined now."
At that, Merchant Lord Namgung-gang quelled his fury, eyes gleaming. A chance to recoup losses.
"Heaven aids us! Fish bone powder and lime powder—we could charge fifteen times the price and still sell out!"