Backroom Deal (2)
Hyeong-ok noona asked in response to my words.
"You know I'm heading out to compete tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, I know."
"And yet you come to me with a request... What on earth is it?"
"Well, you see..."
I explained the whole story.
Soon, Hyeong-ok noona pressed her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
"Haa, you idiot..."
"That's exactly what I said."
"Alright. Wait here a moment. I'll go talk to Master and come back."
"Yes."
A short while later, Hyeong-ok noona emerged. But she wasn't alone; she was with the other disciples.
They had to move as a group of four, after all.
Soon after, we arrived at the Yeonpung Guest Inn.
"Oh! Hyeong-ok, you've come!"
"Welcome."
"Greetings to Uncle and Aunt."
Hyeong-ok noona bowed politely and then spoke gravely.
"I heard from Seo-ho. Apparently, Brother Jin-ho is being stubborn."
"Yes."
"Don't worry. I'll talk some sense into him."
"Please do."
At Mother's words, Father quickly added,
"But don't push him too hard."
"Don't worry. I've got plenty of experience myself, so I know the right measure."
"R-right."
Hyeong-ok noona glanced at me.
"Then, could you show me the way?"
"Ah, yes!"
I hurriedly led Hyeong-ok noona to Brother Jin-ho's room.
"Hyung, it's me."
A prickly voice came from inside the room in response.
"Just give up. No matter what anyone says, I'm competing in the next match."
"I'll try to persuade you, but it won't be me doing it."
"Huh?"
I flung the door open.
In the center of the room stood Brother Jin-ho, bandages wrapped around his chest.
He couldn't hold back and trained already, huh.
Man, he's stubborn.
His ribs are broken, for crying out loud.
No, that's not stubborn—that's just stupid.
Sigh.
Brother Jin-ho spotted Hyeong-ok noona standing beside me and flinched.
"Haa, Brother Jin-ho."
"H-Hyeong-ok."
Brother Jin-ho was a year older than Hyeong-ok noona.
But he feared her just as much as I did.
"What are you doing right now? I heard from Seo-ho. You injured your ribs during today's match."
"W-well, yes, but..."
"And yet you're still going out for the next match?"
"Yeah! I can't miss this chance! My reputation has to become a shield for the Eunhae Merchant Group."
"And you end up crippled in the process?"
"Huh?"
"You're saying you'll chase empty past glories. Seems like you're misunderstanding something. Even if you make a name for yourself, do you think rumors of you being crippled won't spread?"
"Uh..."
"Do you think those targeting the Eunhae Merchant Group will say, 'Hey, there's this cripple Eun Jin-ho who was hot stuff back in the day, so let's not touch them'? Or maybe, 'There's this cripple Eun Jin-ho who was hot stuff once, but he's nothing now, so we can mess with them freely'?"
"......"
"Why can't you grasp something so simple, brother? Has all that intense training turned your brain to muscle too?"
"N-no, that's not..."
"It's not? Then what is it? And do you think Uncle and Aunt will say, 'Aigoo, our son is so great! Sure, his body's crippled, but as long as his name shines'?"
"......"
"Why can't you consider Uncle and Aunt's heartache, the pain of shedding bloody tears? And the Outer Division Leader who has to watch a perfectly healthy disciple throw himself into the fire—why ignore his feelings?"
"......"
"And what about your wife and the child you're expecting? Wouldn't it be so happy if you're crippled, can't even share a bed with her anymore, and can't hold your own kid? Right?"
"Uh, th-that's..."
"Why only look at the present and not the future? If you don't want that, then don't do it."
"......"
Brother Jin-ho was battered by the barrage of words, reduced to a tattered mess, and shot me a desperate look.
A plea for rescue.
But hyung, it's too late.
You should've straightened up your mind before I brought Hyeong-ok noona here.
I said to Hyeong-ok noona,
"Then, I'll head down. You two cousins have a nice private chat."
"S-Seo-ho! Don't leave me alone!"
Brother Jin-ho desperately reached out toward me, but...
Grab.
Hyeong-ok noona caught his hand and said,
"Brother, you shouldn't hold up a busy person. Seo-ho, go take care of your business."
"Yes, noona."
I smiled and closed the door.
Click.
"It's resolved, but I'm worried if Young Master Jin-ho will be alright."
I nodded at Palgap's words.
"He'll be fine. It might take time to heal that mental wound... but it's still better than him competing, reopening his injuries, and causing a real disaster."
"That's true."
With Brother Jin-ho sorted, there was more to do.
Earlier in the match, Young Master Ji Kyung-hwa had looked disappointed when he realized Brother Jin-ho hadn't died. That stuck with me.
"Palgap. I'm stepping out for a bit."
......
A short while later.
I left the inn with my guard warriors.
With the preliminary rounds of the main tournament in full swing, the Murim Grand Assembly was burning hot.
Which meant there were fools picking fights.
I used to think it was the alcohol, but thanks to the years-long alcohol ban, I learned something.
There are plenty of people who do reckless things stone-cold sober.
Of course, they don't in situations that obviously spell trouble for them.
That would make them actual lunatics.
It's like selective rage disorder.
In my eyes, both cases are equally insane.
Anyway, that's why it's best to bring guards.
I didn't need all six, but given my purpose for leaving the inn—and the unpredictability—I took all of them.
My destination was the Ji Clan manor.
The place most likely to yield clues.
We soon arrived at the Ji Clan manor.
It was considered a prestigious house, but not on the level of the Nangong Clan, so its scale was smaller too.
Well, the Nangong Clan was absurdly huge anyway.
As I watched the manor for a moment, someone emerged from inside.
It was none other than the Ji Kyung-hwa Young Master I was after.
His guards weren't striding out boldly; he was glancing around suspiciously.
- Let's tail him.
- Yes!
We concealed our presence and quietly followed.
He headed to a small manor on the outskirts of Luoyang.
An abandoned manor?
Several presences flickered inside.
I had the other guards watch from afar and slipped inside with only Jin Yu Warrior.
He was the only one at super first-rate specialized in stealth and infiltration.
Once inside the manor, we traversed the rooftops tracking Young Master Ji Kyung-hwa's presence.
Focusing my power on my hearing near him, voices drifted in.
"What a shame."
"P-please, just one more chance!"
"You're already eliminated. A chance? As if."
"......"
"A deal's a deal. You failed to follow our orders, so we can't fulfill our end. Regrettable, but what can we do?"
"If you don't pay the debt, our clan is ruined!"
"That's the Ji Clan's problem."
"Please, I beg you!"
"Then we're done here."
The man brushed off Young Master Ji Kyung-hwa coldly and left.
Soon, Young Master Ji Kyung-hwa let out a heavy sigh and exited the manor.
Chance.
I sent a sound transmission to Jin Yu Warrior.
- Take Seo-u Warrior and Yeo Eung-am Warrior and track the ones who just left.
- Yes!
Jin Yu Warrior vanished, and I stealthily tailed Young Master Ji Kyung-hwa while signaling the rest to follow me.
We shadowed them and blocked their path in a deserted area.
"We meet again."
"Who are you?"
"I have questions. Mind sparing a moment?"
Young Master Ji Kyung-hwa shook his head at my words.
"No time. Step aside."
"You nearly killed my brother. On purpose, right?"
"......!"
He flinched.
Hit the mark. As expected, he tried to dodge.
"What nonsense? I was shocked too! By the way, 'brother'? Are you from the Eunhae Merchant Group?"
"Yes."
"How rude! Even if I injured your brother, coming here to cause a scene!"
"That hurts my feelings. Be honest. How much debt do you have?"
"......!"
"How much debt that you'd take such threats?"
His eyes widened impossibly.
"H-how do you...?"
"I asked how much. No half-baked scheming. When it comes to money, few can match me."
He clenched his fist tight before finally speaking.
"Thirty thousand nyang in silver."
"Don't insult me. The Ji Clan threatened over that pittance? I told you, no half-baked games."
"......Three million nyang in silver."
"That makes sense. Though I suspect it's more."
He flinched again at my words.
I had a rough gauge of the Ji Clan's power, so estimating the debt scale wasn't hard.
Lessons from my past life—I'd steadily tracked major clans and sects' strengths.
"Anyway, how'd you rack up that fortune in debt?"
"......"
He bit his lip, silent.
"No amount of extravagance explains that. Investment? Gambling?"
His eyes wavered.
"Ah... Lost money on investments, then gambled to recoup?"
He flinched again.
Easy read, this guy.
"My lord! Don't get involved!"
At the guard's warning, I replied coldly,
"I get the loyalty, but I'm saying things that could help your lord right now, so stay put. Can you pay off that debt?"
"......"
The guard retreated with an embarrassed look, and Young Master Ji Kyung-hwa's eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"Does that mean you can pay off our clan's debt?"
"The Eunhae Merchant Group is already ranked twentieth among the top hundred guilds, and evaluations say we'll climb higher this year. Is that answer enough?"
"......"
He dropped to his knees before me.
"You won't forgive that sum for free! I'll do anything—please save the Ji Clan."
"My lord..."
In my previous life, they succeeded in killing Jo Un Warrior and got support, so the Ji Clan didn't fall.
But accepting such backroom deals meant a lifelong leash.
Looking back, their actions in my past life often puzzled me.
This was the reason.
This time, I'll hold the leash.
"First, the deal. Why try to kill my brother."
"......"
"And become an ally to the Eunhae Merchant Group. Accept those terms, and I'll cover the debt."
He answered without hesitation.
"Understood."
No need to agonize. Reject me, and the Ji Clan crumbles.
"I don't know much about them. Recently, they somehow knew our plight, came to the main house, and made the offer."
"And you trusted them?"
"They showed credible proof."
The proof? Capturing scammers who'd tricked them into investing, smashing gambling dens, etc.
"Hah..."
"What?"
"It was their scheme from the start."
"What do you mean?"
"Why else could they so easily catch investment frauds or wreck gambling halls?"
I continued,
"They couldn't leave the scammers or dens intact, or it'd expose their involvement. So they stepped in themselves."
"......"
Falling for such a simple ploy. But considering the Ji Clan's nature, it fit.
Unlike other clans, they were a murim house utterly devoted to martial arts.
And foes targeting them would've eliminated the clan's brains while plotting.
Blinding and deafening them.
Whisper sweet lies in their ears—who wouldn't fall?
Martial obsessives knew nothing of business, easy marks.
By the time they woke up, too late.
Why'd a martial-only clan suddenly eye business?
I'll dig into that later.
"......Grind."
Young Master Ji Kyung-hwa gnashed his teeth.
He told me about them.
"He said once in the main tournament, kill the opponent without fail. There must be a death in this friendly sparring."
"Why?"
To my question, he replied,
"I don't know. I asked out of curiosity, but he just told me to shut up and do it."
"I see."
"Anyway, I'll cooperate fully."
"Good. Proper attitude."
I hadn't expected easy answers on the motive.
"We'll ask the reason from the one who just left."