abcnovels
Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Chapter 52 – Closer (1)
A carriage entered the estate.
The people in the carriage were Go Sun-gyeong, the owner of Shandong Merchant Association, and Baek Jung, the manager.
As the carriage stopped, Baek Jung said with a fearful face:
“President, it’s dangerous to meet him directly. Please leave it to me and wait here.”
“It’s fine.”
Go Sun-gyeong opened the carriage door and got out. Baek Jung hurriedly followed. This place they had come to with just an old coachman and no guard warriors was the headquarters of the Night Merchants.
Night Merchants existed all over the central plains. Even in this Shandong province, there were Night Merchants in every major city. It was unknown whether they were one organization or different organizations under the same name.
There were many rumors about the Night Merchants. From rumors that they were an organization ruled by a single person, to speculations that several people joined forces to rule, to stories that different organizations operated under the single name of Night Merchants.
Anyway, there was one common point.
No matter which region’s Night Merchants, they were extremely cruel and vicious, and therefore terrifying entities.
In any case, Go Sun-gyeong had borrowed money from this Night Merchant, which was the largest in Shandong.
A man with an ordinary appearance guided the two to a room. He had a comfortable impression, but thinking that he was a swordsman of the Night Merchants, they couldn’t even meet his eyes.
In the room, a middle-aged man in his fifties was waiting. Since he was wearing a human skin mask, his age or first impression wasn’t important.
The man introduced himself as Ya-cheon (Night Sky[1]).
“Tsk, you lost 100,000 taels without even using it?”
“That’s right.”
Go Sun-gyeong was desperate. It was either die or faint. No, he was already in a state of having fainted and woken up several times.
“Please help me.”
“How?”
“Find the lost money for me.”
“Haha. It’s not like finding a child’s lost toy. How could that be easy?”
“If I can’t find that money, my company will go bankrupt. Then you won’t get your money back!”
At that moment, the smile disappeared from Ya-cheon’s face. He already looked somewhat dry due to wearing the human skin mask, but when he became serious, his face became very frightening. His polite attitude also changed completely.
“Hey, do we look easy to you?”
His voice lowered, and a thick killing intent gushed out.
Even in this situation, Go Sun-gyeong didn’t back down.
“How could that be? I’m just stating the reality.”
“Shut up! Before I rip your mouth apart.”
The killing intent that flew out was enough to make the skin tingle, so Go Sun-gyeong closed his mouth.
Ya-cheon glared coldly and warned:
“Let me tell you what happens if you don’t repay my money. First, I’ll throw your wife to a bunch of beggars. She’ll have to take a hundred beggars a day. I’ll sell your daughter to a brothel, and your son will have to board a fishing boat. Unless he jumps into the sea from exhaustion, he’ll never be able to get off for life. As for you, I’ll gouge out your eyes, cut out your tongue, sever the tendons in your limbs, and throw you into the marketplace to beg. I’ll have that guy next to you drag you around.”
Go Sun-gyeong and Baek Jung’s faces turned pale.
“So if you don’t want to repay, then don’t. Consider it paying 100,000 taels for a good show.”
Go Sun-gyeong swallowed hard and said with a fearful face:
“I know who stole the money.”
“Then go and find it.”
“I’m saying it’s someone I can’t handle with my own power.”
“Who is it?”
“Ma Jeongsu.”
At that moment, Ya-cheon’s eyes lit up.
“Isn’t he the one who was supposed to receive that 100,000 taels from you?”
“It’s a ploy to pocket twice the money.”
“Evidence?”
“Ma Jeongsu has people capable of robbing my money.”
“There are many skilled martial artists in the world, that’s not enough.”
“No! It must be him! Who else would dare to target money meant for a collaboration with the Heavenly Blade Sect?”
Ya-cheon nodded as if acknowledging that point, and Go Sun-gyeong quickly said:
“If you find the money, I’ll consider it as borrowing three more tenths. I’ll consider it as borrowing 130,000 taels. So please find it for me.”
“You’re asking us to mess with the Heavenly Blade Sect? And if we get destroyed in the process, you don’t have to repay the money. Is that right?”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Ya-cheon smiled. It was a smile that felt even scarier than when he was angry.
He spoke in the gentle tone he had used when they first met:
“Go back and figure out how to repay the money. You’re not the type to crumble so easily, are you? That’s why I lent you the money. Go. You’ll regret it if you forget what I said.”
Go Sun-gyeong left the room with slumped shoulders.
When they left the estate in the carriage, Baek Jung, who had been terrified, finally opened his mouth:
“Didn’t I tell you it would be useless?”
But Go Sun-gyeong had already calmed down. The desperate and fearful look from earlier had disappeared.
“I had already anticipated that he wouldn’t be understanding of my situation.”
“Then why did you go?”
“He will find out that I lost the money. Maybe he already knew. Anyway, he’ll soon realize that I won’t be able to repay the money. I went to buy time before he does what he said earlier. If he knows that Ma Jeongsu has the money, he’ll look for ways to recover it. Because he’s greedy. Thanks to that, I buy time.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Baek Jung admire Go Sun-gyeong. Although things hadn’t been going well lately, he was still his master who had been through thick and thin.
“Do you really believe it was their doing?”
Go Sun-gyeong sighed and turned his gaze to the window.
“If not them, then who else?”
Meanwhile, a man entered the room where the two had left. He was a swordsman named Gu-cheol[2], Ya-cheon’s most cherished subordinate.
“Someone has informed us of the whereabouts of the person who stole the 100,000 taels.”
“Who on earth?”
“They sent a letter without revealing themselves. What should we do?”
Ya-cheon pondered for a while. But the conclusion was already set. 100,000 taels was a large enough sum to take any risk.
“Go and check it out. But be fully prepared.”
***
When Si-gon regained consciousness, he was in a clearing in an unfamiliar forest.
The first doubt that came to mind:
‘Why didn’t they kill me?’
If, as he felt, the person who attacked him this time was the same one who had attacked him at the safe, it was truly incomprehensible.
Was it because he had drunk too much? Or was it because of the blow he received yesterday? His head was throbbing and he felt dizzy.
‘I need to get out of here first.’
Si-gon staggered as he tried to walk.
At that moment, men appeared in the area. There were about ten men, and they had a strange atmosphere about them.
They all carried swords, but they didn’t seem like formal martial artists. However, they didn’t look like bandits either. They weren’t ronin, nor were they assassins. There was a kind of unpleasant stickiness about them that was different from being fierce or rough.
Si-gon grabbed his sword handle and asked quietly:
“Who are you?”
One of the men stepped forward. It was Gu-cheol, the man who had reported to Ya-cheon earlier.
“Night Merchants.”
He introduced himself with just one word.
Si-gon could feel it. The other party took considerable pride in the fact that he was a warrior of the Night Merchants. Also, that he hoped to intimidate the opponent with that name.
Of course, Si-gon wasn’t the type to go along with that intention. To him, the Night Merchants were just trash.
“You, do you know who I am?”
“I know you’re someone bold enough to dare touch the Night Merchants’ money.”
At this point, there should have been an immediate reaction.
What nonsense are you talking about? But at this moment, Si-gon didn’t judge the situation properly. It was because he believed that Flower Fan Elder had stolen the money.
He thought that the other party had found out that Flower Fan Elder had stolen the money and came looking for him. Since Flower Fan Elder and he were on the same side, it was natural for them to suspect him.
Si-gon spoke in a slightly softened tone:
“I understand why you’re doing this, but it’s a misunderstanding.”
Of course, to Gu-cheol’s eyes, it looked like he was admitting guilt.
“If there’s a misunderstanding, we should clear it up. Come on, explain.”
With the other party responding like this, Si-gon was at a loss for words. He needed to talk about Flower Fan Elder’s betrayal, but he had no reason to tell these people about it, nor did he want to.
Si-gon became furious.
The urge to kill these trash-like bastards in one stroke welled up. But thinking about yesterday’s incident with Ma Jeongsu, he felt he couldn’t make such a rash move. He tried to endure, but then…
“Let’s see your pockets.”
“What? Are you saying you want to search my body?”
“We’re in the same line of work. We need to have something to report to our superiors. If you’re innocent, it shouldn’t be a difficult thing, right?”
Si-gon’s anger rose to the top of his head.
“You bastards, if you don’t find money on me, I’ll break all your necks…”
The next moment, Si-gon’s action of reaching into his chest suddenly stopped.
Slowly, his hand came out holding a bundle of promissory notes.
Gu-cheol said mockingly:
“You have a lot of money.”
“This money… is not mine.”
“Of course it’s not. It’s ours.”
Si-gon said irritably:
“Damn it! This is a trap! How did you know I was here? Someone must have informed you. That bastard is trying to frame me! Otherwise, would I have taken out the money like an idiot? You should have enough brains to figure that out, right?”
Gu-cheol nodded.
“Alright, I’ll believe you. But you’ll have to come with us. Explain directly to our elder.”
Si-gon felt it. Whether they believed his words or not, if he went with them, he would fall into great trouble.
His head was throbbing from the hangover, and his heart was full of various angers. The conclusion he reached was this:
‘Let’s kill them all first and think later.’
The moment he made up his mind, he drew his sword and rushed towards them.
The swordsmen drew their swords and blocked in front of Gu-cheol.
Slash!
Si-gon cut down the man at the very front.
The second man fell in succession.
Just as he was about to cut down the third man, something was launched from Gu-cheol’s hand.
Bang!
With an ear-splitting explosion, a hidden weapon was fired.
He barely managed to deflect it by swinging his sword. It was powerful enough that he almost lost his grip on the sword.
But the hidden weapon wasn’t just one. Another hidden weapon fired by another man was launched.
Bang!
He twisted his body, but this time he couldn’t dodge perfectly.
Thud!
Something sharp lodged into his shoulder.
“Damn!”
Si-gon leaped and swung his sword.
Swish! Thud!
He pierced the chest of the man who had fired the hidden weapon. The man who was stabbed by the sword grabbed it desperately.
“Damn it!”
He twisted and pulled out the sword. The man’s fingers were severed.
But it didn’t come out completely. He felt that strength wasn’t entering his arm.
‘Poison!’
The hidden weapon that had hit his shoulder earlier was coated with poison.
Whoosh!
To make matters worse, a third hidden weapon was fired.
Thud! Thud!
The hidden weapon hit Si-gon’s back squarely.
“Aaaaargh!”
Si-gon screamed and swung his sword wildly. Another man’s head was cut off.
But his movements gradually slowed down.
Thud!
A sword attacking from behind penetrated Si-gon’s back and protruded out.
Blood gushed out in spurts.
“…To such pathetic bastards…”
He swung his sword, but there was no one to be hit by that sword.
Instead, he couldn’t avoid the men’s swords.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Unable to endure any longer, Si-gon fell down dead. This was a result that could never have happened in a normal fight.
Si-gon’s body condition wasn’t normal, and he didn’t know that the opponents would use such terrifying hidden weapons. What they used were projectile-type hidden weapons that were banned in the martial world. And they were even coated with poison.
Gu-cheol irritably stabbed his sword into the corpse.
“You son of a bitch! How dare you swing your sword at us!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Gu-cheol and the surviving men mutilated the already dead corpse.
I was watching this scene from afar with cold eyes.
It was the moment of cutting off both wings of Ma Jeongsu.
I didn’t bring in the Night Merchants just to kill Si-gon. If I had wanted to kill him, I would have done it myself.
There was another reason for bringing them in. I intended to make it look like Ma Jeongsu was killed by them by entangling him with the Night Merchants.
I don’t care whether the Night Merchants suffer retaliation from the Heavenly Blade Sect or not. The Night Merchants are an organization that should disappear from this martial world anyway. If the Heavenly Blade Sect doesn’t take revenge, they will eventually disappear by my hand.
Now the remaining issue was that mysterious woman. She had been observing the entire situation from beginning to end.
In a situation where Flower Fan Elder was known to have betrayed, if she had any intention of protecting Si-gon, she wouldn’t have left him alone.
But she showed no interest in them at all.
Here are two curious points. Setting aside who she is for now.
First, even if Ma Jeongsu is in a situation where he might die, will she really just observe?
And second, just how skilled is she?