The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

The words Jang So-gil had been hoping for finally came from Jin Sangran's mouth. But Jang So-gil did not show it, and instead, with a blunt expression, he retorted.

"I understand that you are capable merchants. But why should we hire you?"

"That is because you are also a capable merchant. There is no way you wouldn't know our value."

"Me, a merchant? On what grounds do you say that?"

"How many pure martial artists in the world would know how to handle Yellow-Green Gold silk soaked in rainwater?"

"There could be some."

"I saw the contents when you untied your bundle. The clothes you are wearing now are also luxury items, but the items in your baggage were all, without exception, luxury items and genuine articles. Even my father's eye for things is not that good. Is a person with such an eye really a simple martial artist?"

"Top-special grade, pass!"

Jin Sangran was so capable that Jang So-gil couldn't help but shout it out. Her discernment to distinguish genuine articles, her eye for people, and her ability to read the situation were all top-top grade.

When he shouted like that, Jin Sangran flinched in surprise. Then she narrowed her eyes and glared at Jang So-gil.

"Have you been testing me all this time?"

"Think as you please, young lady."

"You were testing me."

"There's no time to argue, so let's get to the point. If I said I would hire you, you must have been thinking of setting conditions."

"That's right. My condition is..."

"You want to go back and retrieve your goods, so you want me to escort you to your merchant guild in Yunnan. Since it will soon be the rainy season, you must be worried about your silk or iron getting damaged. And you probably feel it's a waste to leave behind the property you left."

"...!"

"In a situation like that, that's about the only choice you can make, so there's no need to be so surprised. And it's even more obvious if you think about other reasons."

Jang So-gil could tell what Jin Sangran was thinking.

It was obvious that if they returned to Yunnan now, they would encounter the Diancang Sect. Another fight would break out, and Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan would have to fight the Diancang Sect to the death.

This fight might seem unnecessary to Jin Sangran. But in fact, it was something she absolutely needed.

'Because she needs to check the skills of her employer.'

A merchant is weak. They need to be protected by someone. They wouldn't want to see their employer, who is supposed to protect them, be weak and get beaten by ruffians. She needed to know how well they could fight against the Diancang Sect, whether they were stronger or weaker than the Diancang Sect.

But there was something Jin Sangran didn't know.

'There won't be any fighting even if we go to Yunnan now.'

The Martial Alliance was heading to Yunnan. On the way, the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Emei Sect would also join. Yunnan would be pacified with overwhelming force. Even if they just stayed put here, the Diancang Sect would be annihilated anyway.

So, all they had to do was rest in the shrine for a few days and then return to Yunnan, and the matter would be resolved. If returning home was their goal, there was no reason to borrow the strength of Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan.

'If I put my mind to it, making an unfair contract right now would be a piece of cake.'

In exchange for escorting them on the way to Yunnan, what conditions would he propose?

A share of the jewelry that would be left in Jin Sangran's merchant guild? The building? The connections?

He could demand anything.

'I could even make them work for free.'

She was desperate right now, and what she could offer was little.

And the amount of information they had was different.

It was all too easy to play Jin Sangran using this difference.

Jang So-gil thought that far and chuckled.

"Don't worry too much. The advance party of the Martial Alliance will soon arrive in Yunnan and rescue the people."

"What? Is that really true?"

"It's true, of course. The Emei Sect will also arrive within a few days. Do you know of the Emei Sect?"

"I do. They are the heroines of Mount Emei, aren't they?"

"That's right. True heroines."

Even Jang So-gil did not disparage the Emei Sect. There was a reason. It was because only the Emei Sect had formally protested to the Sichuan Tang Clan when the Great Slaughter of the Great Cloud Guild in Sichuan became known.

He had heard that even though they were a sect that usually did not get deeply involved in the affairs of the secular world or the martial world and lived in seclusion, they had fiercely criticized the Tang Clan's lawlessness when they belatedly learned the truth.

If the Emei Sect had not been a closed sect that did not even create secular disciples. If they had had even one means of gathering information from the outside world, might the Great Cloud Guild have met a different end?

It was a meaningless what-if, but in any case, because only they had shown righteousness, Jang So-gil had developed a slight favor for the Emei Sect.

"The advance party and the Emei Sect will rescue the people in distress, and after that, the main force of the Martial Alliance will arrive and begin sanctions against the Diancang Sect. The Diancang Sect will be annihilated. So if you rest for a few days and then go back, the only things that will interfere with your return home will be the Green Forest, thieves, or tigers, so you can achieve what you want without having to rely on us. There is no need to hire us for the purpose of returning home."

"...There are quite a few things that can interfere."

"The world is a harsh place, that's not something I can do anything about."

"I wasn't complaining. Thank you for your kindness."

"Don't mention it. Then, since the situation has changed, let's go back to our previous conversation. So, how do you plan to compensate for deceiving us and making us fight the pursuers from the Diancang Sect?"

Jin Sangran smiled brightly.

"How about jewelry worth a thousand silver taels and three horses. Two able-bodied porters who can ride horses and know how to read. And one capable merchant who was a former vice-general manager of a first-class merchant guild?"

"Let's write the contract after dawn. Welcome."

* * *

Perhaps because she was tired, Jin Sangran soon fell fast asleep. Yang Gwan, who had been fanning and drying the Yellow-Green Gold, finally voiced the question he had been holding back.

"Young Master So, why did you tell her everything about the Martial Alliance's affairs?"

"Why? Are you dissatisfied that I didn't take advantage of her?"

"It's not that I'm dissatisfied. That young lady's situation is pitiful, so it's a good thing if things turn out well. But it doesn't match your personality, Young Master So."

Jang So-gil, who had been closing his eyes and hugging the White Azure Divine Sword, suddenly opened his eyes.

The way he spoke was very strange.

"What's wrong with my personality?"

"To put it nicely, aren't you a complete scoundrel?"

"If that's putting it nicely, what is it when you put it badly?"

"I can't bring myself to say it. Can I say it?"

He wanted to throw something with his internal energy, but he had no internal energy left.

It was a hassle to get up and do something, and to use the true qi of the White Azure Divine Sword was a killing move.

So, Jang So-gil glared at Yang Gwan with a mixture of sleepiness, exhaustion, and annoyance, and Yang Gwan stealthily changed the subject.

"Anyway, I thought you would have found some weakness and made a slave contract or something, Young Master So."

"For a passing connection, or for someone who deserves it, I do find weaknesses. But for someone I will use importantly, there must be no falsehood."

"Someone you will use importantly..."

"As I said last time, what's important for a merchant, before ability, is trust."

"You did say that."

"I am also a merchant. My own trust is also important."

"Ah, ahh..."

"What in the world can an employer who can't even give proper trust to their employee do? What's the point of deceiving them in the first place? What would be gained by binding and restraining a person with a lie that will be discovered in less than half a month and then signing an employment contract? When they find out the truth, they will only feel resentment and betrayal. Such a contract is extremely flimsy. They can betray you at any time, and they can backstab you at any time."

"So that's why you told her everything."

Yang Gwan nodded his head as if in admiration. Jang So-gil clicked his tongue and half-closed his eyes. He thought he could finally sleep, but Yang Gwan rained on his parade again.

"But then, why does that young lady want to be hired by you, Young Master So? Can't she just go back and rebuild her merchant guild?"

"Because the Diancang Sect will disappear."

"What? Isn't it a good thing if they disappear?"

"Half of the people in Yunnan are slash-and-burn farmers who moved because they couldn't stand the harsh taxes, half of the remaining half are of mixed blood with the Southern Man people, and the rest are of an unsavory sort. The government has abandoned Yunnan, and the peace of Yunnan was maintained by the Diancang Sect. Now that the Diancang Sect is gone, who will maintain the peace?"

"Won't the Martial Alliance do it?"

"It's a land that doesn't even make money, why would the Martial Alliance go there? Yunnan is not the sky of the Central Plains. The Martial Alliance will only punish Diancang and then return to its original place."

"Then the remaining place will become a mess, won't it!"

Anyone could easily predict the future of Yunnan.

Due to the vacuum left by the Diancang Sect, criminals would swarm even more, and an endless fight would begin until someone seized hegemony.

"So the best course of action is to organize what you have and leave for another place. Yunnan will no longer be a land where a proper merchant can live. It will become a world of ruffians ruled by blood and violence."

"Shouldn't the government do something!"

"They won't just stand by. If this situation drags on without a clear group seizing hegemony and it seems like it can't be controlled, the government will step in."

"Then it will be too late, so she has to get out now."

Jin Sangran's judgment was very excellent. By knowing the information about the Martial Alliance, she figured out that Jang So-gil was related to the Martial Alliance, and from the contents of the bundle, she grasped his capabilities as a merchant. And from Jang So-gil's words, she read that he was a trustworthy person and bet her future on him. It was a rational choice.

"Then can I sleep now? I can't sleep because you keep talking to me."

"Ah, I'm sorry. Sleep well..."

Yang Gwan tilted his head slightly.

Something was bothering him. What was it?

As he thought deeply, his eyes shot open.

"Wait a minute, Young Master So."

"What is it now. If it's about the night watch, I'm not switching with you."

"That's not it. You said earlier that there should be no falsehood with someone you will use importantly."

"That's right."

"Then why did you lie to me at first? You pretended to be well-off when you had nothing and deceived me."

Jang So-gil grinned.

"You foolish fellow. That's because you're someone who deserves it."

"...!!"

"Kekeke. Then, good luck with the night watch."

"Yoooung Maasteeer Sooooo-!!"

Yang Gwan's roar spread through the shrine.

* * *

Jin Sangran's father, Jin Cheol, started as an ore merchant, grew his power, and became a self-made man, making the Jincheol Merchant Guild a first-class merchant guild. Therefore, the foundation of the merchant guild was limited to Yunnan, and many of the employees were former miners.

Strong and sincere young men. Jin Cheol had raised them by teaching each of them how to read and ride a horse, so they were all steadfastly loyal.

"Young Miss!"

"You're safe! I'm so glad. How many others are there?"

"I am the only one here."

"...I see."

Jin Sangran had disbanded the eighty employees before fleeing. And among them, a part of those who had truly believed her words had survived. It was because they had hidden in closets pretending not to be merchants, pretended to be lodgers at inns, or hidden tightly in the houses of acquaintances, so even the Diancang Sect could not find them all.

But none of those who had not believed her words had survived.

"Fools... I told them to run away."

Most of them were found as corpses in the Jincheol Merchant Guild. She looked for more survivors, but the one who had entrusted himself to the government office was robbed of his wealth and abandoned to die, and the rest were in a similar situation.

Jin Sangran burst into tears, but before an hour had passed, she came to her senses, organized the household goods of the merchant guild, and took care of the documents.

In the end, the number of survivors, including the porter who had fled with Jin Sangran, was only seven. They all promised to enter Jang So-gil's command.

As he wrote the contract, Jang So-gil scratched his chin with a reluctant look.

"Is it really okay to give just this much?"

"High-quality tea, high-purity iron ore. And cheap labor costs are the pride of Yunnan."

"No, no. Still, this is too cheap. It should be raised a little..."

"Master, it would be better to give a bonus later when you are in a good mood because the sales are high, but you shouldn't raise the basic salary. You have to save when you have to save."

"Even so, this isn't even half the price."

"You can think of half as a protection fee. In Yunnan, half of the salary is originally treated as a protection fee."

"If you did this in Sichuan or Luoyang, you'd get stabbed..."

"Isn't that why regional sentiments arise?"

Jin Sangran said so with a tear-stained face and held out the contract. Jang So-gil sighed and accepted the contract, and from this day on, Jin Sangran and the other seven became official employees of the Great Cloud Guild.

"With this, I can finally create a merchant guild. It's a very good start."

Yang Gwan openly grumbled to the satisfied Jang So-gil.

"She's capable because she's an important person. Hmph."

"Ah, this fellow, really..."

This fellow is strangely petty. Jang So-gil kicked Yang Gwan's butt with annoyance.

But this time, Yang Gwan had no intention of just taking it, and had used the Shaolin Diamond Art, so his butt was truly like steel. When he kicked it, a metallic sound, 'kang-', rang out.

"Ack! My shin!"

(End of Chapter)