Chapter 85
The warehouse door burst open, and a person was thrown inside.
As the person fell to the floor with a thud, dust, perhaps from not being used for a long time, billowed up.
"Cough, cough—"
The person coughing as if his lungs were about to be torn out by the dust was Jin Tae-jin.
Yeo Jong-su, after ruthlessly throwing him, who was bound hand and foot and couldn't move, slammed the door shut.
And then, as if he were a gatekeeper guarding the place, he crossed his arms and began to stand guard in front of the door.
For some reason, he was carrying out Unhwi's orders as if they were a heavenly decree.
It could be that he was brainwashed by Unhwi, or it could be that his survival instinct was choosing the best way to survive.
Jin Tae-jin, trapped alone in the warehouse, tried to twist his body to untie the ropes on his hands and feet, but it was useless as they were tied so tightly.
After struggling for a long time, he gave up everything and went limp, looking at the window on the warehouse wall.
There, the bright moonlight was shining on him.
The moonlight not only shone on him, but also on every corner of the warehouse, so that the inside of the warehouse was clearly visible.
As he naturally turned his head to look around the warehouse illuminated by the moonlight, he felt a surge of emotion for no reason.
This was the first warehouse he and Wang Hyeon-seong had built after starting the Eungnam Merchant Guild.
He seemed to have vaguely heard that it was too old and dilapidated and infested with rats, so they were going to leave it empty for a while to repair it.
"Sob, sob..."
He just shed tears silently.
Until he first built this warehouse, his heart was full of ambition.
The ambition to grow the Eungnam Merchant Guild into the best merchant guild in the Central Plains with his old friend, Wang Hyeon-seong.
But as time passed, Wang Hyeon-seong still had the ambition and passion of that time, but he had changed so pathetically.
He was so ashamed of himself for having his heart stolen by greed, envy, and jealousy, and for pointing a knife at his closest friend.
If the day broke like this and the people of the Wudang Sect or the Martial Arts Alliance came here, he would surely be a dead man.
Even if he didn't die, he might be crippled somewhere and rot in prison for the rest of his life.
Now that things had come to this, he regretted his thoughts and actions so much.
Tears streamed down his face in shame, and he even sobbed quietly.
How long had he been regretting like that?
"You can't. Great Hero Unhwi said not to let anyone in..."
The voice of the man who had carried him was heard from just outside the warehouse door.
He thought his name was Yeo Jong-su, and although he would normally not even associate with such a low-ranking martial artist, now that he had put down the background of the Eungnam Merchant Guild and the position of manager, for him who did not know martial arts, he was as scary as the grim reaper.
'Did someone come?'
It seems someone wanted to go in here, and he was blocking them.
He naturally listened to the sound outside.
He was curious who had come to see him.
"Even if you are the Guild Master, I am not a member of the merchant guild, and for me, Great Hero Unhwi's orders are absolute. If I don't listen, the Great Hero might kill me. Please... heot!"
Although he couldn't hear the other person's voice, he heard a surprising word from Yeo Jong-su's voice.
'Guild Master!'
There is only one Guild Master in the Eungnam Merchant Guild. His close friend, Wang Hyeon-seong!
He thought that Wang Hyeon-seong had come here to save him.
To save his close friend secretly from the terrifying Taoist masters of the Wudang Sect.
At that time, he heard a clinking sound.
It seems that Wang Hyeon-seong had given Yeo Jong-su a few silver coins.
Even a rotten fish is still a fish, and he is a merchant who has handled money all his life.
Just by hearing the sound of metal pieces clashing, he could distinguish whether it was a silver coin or a copper coin.
"Haa... I can't help it. Just for a moment. Really, just for a moment."
In the end, Yeo Jong-su let Wang Hyeon-seong into the warehouse.
Jin Tae-jin rejoiced inwardly.
Although he had done a terrible thing, he still thought he only had his friend.
He promised himself that if he got out of here, he would sincerely apologize and repay Wang Hyeon-seong.
'And that little brat...!'
At the same time, a murderous intent welled up from the depths of his heart.
The target was, of course, Unhwi.
Everything went wrong when that guy appeared.
Now that he was tied up here and thinking about it, because of that guy, the plan to use the Geoungbangdo to kill him had failed.
Because of that guy, the assassin sent to Xiangyang also seemed to have failed to do his job.
And crucially, because of that guy, it was all revealed that he was a member of the Baekma Merchant Guild and was involved with the Black Society.
And the annihilation of the Black Society was also all because of that guy.
'At the center of all things was that little Taoist bastard named Unhwi. That guy, I will definitely someday...!'
As he was thinking that far, the old door opened with a creak.
And Wang Hyeon-seong, entering with the moonlight.
The moment Jin Tae-jin saw him, tears welled up in his eyes. It seems he still had tears to shed even after crying so much a little while ago.
"Hyeon-seong...!"
"Jin Tae-jin..."
Wang Hyeon-seong approached Jin Tae-jin.
And he leaned over towards the collapsed Jin Tae-jin and reached out his hand.
Jin Tae-jin thought he was going to untie his ropes.
But Wang Hyeon-seong, instead of untying the ropes, put his hand into Jin Tae-jin's bosom and began to grope.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
"What do you mean, what am I doing?"
Cheol-keong—
When Wang Hyeon-seong pulled his hand out of Jin Tae-jin's bosom, a bunch of keys was in his hand.
He held the bunch of keys up to the moonlight to check their authenticity and then said, "I knew for a long time that you were carrying around a duplicate set of our merchant guild's warehouse keys. And that you were often taking things you needed or selling valuable items separately to make money."
"......!"
"I should have recovered them earlier, but I just remembered, you know? Because I don't know what you'll be up to with these."
And Wang Hyeon-seong walked to the door without looking back.
Jin Tae-jin called him urgently.
"Hey, Hyeon-seong! Wait a minute, listen to me. Please!"
"No, I don't want to hear it."
"It'll just take a moment. Just a moment...! Are you really going to cast me out? How long have we been together...!"
Although he spoke with tears in his eyes, Wang Hyeon-seong didn't even bat an eye and reached the door.
And only then did he turn his body slightly and look at Jin Tae-jin.
Jin Tae-jin had his last hope, but a dry voice came out of Wang Hyeon-seong's mouth.
"Although there's still a long way to go, you also know well what has allowed the Eungnam Merchant Guild to come this far in this short time, don't you?"
"The decisiveness to give up without regret if it's not right...?"
At Jin Tae-jin's immediate answer, Wang Hyeon-seong smiled for the first time since coming here.
"You know well. That's it. Then I hope we never see each other again."
"W-Wait, wait!"
Kwang!
Although Jin Tae-jin called him desperately, in the end, the door slammed shut with a thud.
And coincidentally, dark clouds began to gather from somewhere, covering the moonlight, and the inside of the warehouse became pitch black.
It was as if it were showing Jin Tae-jin's future in advance.
***
The next day.
After sleeping soundly for a night, my stamina was fortunately fully recovered.
It goes without saying, but the Eungnam Merchant Guild treated me with the utmost hospitality.
When I woke up from sleep, warm water for bathing was already prepared, and after bathing, clean clothes were prepared.
And when I came out after getting dressed, a breakfast that was a little too much to be called breakfast was prepared right away.
My Master and I had breakfast and then went to see Wang Hyeon-seong to sort out the events of last night.
The first thing we did was to send a letter to the Wudang Sect.
My Master wrote down in detail what had happened here on a large piece of paper, and even wrote that since Jin Tae-jin, who was no different from a culprit, was being held here, they should send people to take him to Wudang.
Wang Hyeon-seong said he would send the letter in the fastest way he knew, and along with that letter, he also wrote something and sent it.
"May I ask what you wrote?"
At my Master's polite question, Wang Hyeon-seong smiled and answered immediately.
"I wrote a greeting of thanks for sending such great people in advance, and my intention to increase the amount of sponsorship to the Wudang Sect by half."
"By half?"
"Yes. If it weren't for you Taoist masters this time, I might have been holding onto the sinking Eungnam Merchant Guild and been buried with it. Although I suspected that Jin Tae-jin was committing embezzlement and misappropriation, I had no idea that he was targeting the merchant guild so directly. Rather, I feel sorry that I can only increase it by half due to the current situation of the merchant guild. I promise that as the merchant guild grows, the amount of sponsorship will also grow."
Before I could even answer his words, he handed each of us a small box.
When I opened it, there were as many as five gold coins inside.
Perhaps my Master's also had the same thing.
"Since I was born a merchant, I can only think of money as a suitable reward for both the Wudang Sect and you Taoist masters, so I have prepared this simply. Please think of this as a token of my gratitude and an apology for putting your lives in danger."
He said, bowing his head deeply and not getting up.
It even felt like a silent pressure that he would never get up until I said I would accept it.
I looked at my Master and shot him a thought.
'Master, please say you'll accept it. Please!'
Five taels of gold can do a lot.
You can buy a really good weapon, or you can buy underwear made of heavenly silkworm silk.
Since clothes made of heavenly silkworm silk are thin and light but cannot be cut by an ordinary sword, just wearing them inside greatly increases your survivability.
Perhaps for my senior brothers who have just come out to the martial world, it would be no different from having an extra life.
Of course, since it doesn't block the impact, it would hurt like hell.
Is that all? I can also buy elixirs for my senior brothers who are always suffering from a lack of internal energy, and I can also buy delicious things for my senior brothers... wait a minute.
Why do I feel like I've only been thinking about my senior brothers' things since a while ago?
"I understand. Then I will gratefully accept it."
Unlike my expectation that he would not accept it, my Master nodded.
Perhaps my Master is highly likely to buy information from the Haomun with money.
So it seems he decided to accept it because there are many places where money will be needed here and there.
Only then did Wang Hyeon-seong raise his head with a smiling face.
And then he looked at me and said, "I am truly sorry to Taoist Master Unhwi."
"For what?"
"I wanted to give a big reward to you as well, but I gave so much only to Taoist Master Hyeon Yang..."
"I also have five, and my Master also has five."
"Ah! What I gave to Taoist Master Unhwi was for you to share one with each of your senior brothers."
For a moment, I couldn't hide my disappointed expression, and my Master let out a small laugh.
At that laugh, I also laughed for a long time and then said, "Yes. I will deliver it well to my senior brothers. Thank you."
Although it feels like something was given and then taken away, I don't feel that bad.
Perhaps because I had already made up my mind to use most of it for my senior brothers anyway.
"Then I'd like to discuss something important now..."
My Master and I each put the boxes in our bosoms and then focused on his story.
"It's about the Baekma Merchant Guild."
"I was just about to talk about that."
My Master answered, but I remained silent.
In fact, in my past life, perhaps because Jin Tae-jin's scheme had succeeded, the Eungnam Merchant Guild had disappeared, and the Baekma Merchant Guild had come to dominate the entire Hubei Province.
But now I have saved the Eungnam Merchant Guild.
So the future related to this is a future I cannot know, so there is no need for me to add my words.
"There is sufficient justification, and there is a witness. In fact, Jin Tae-jin is just a subordinate, and the real culprit who tried to bring down the Eungnam Merchant Guild is the Baekma Merchant Guild. If the Guild Master wishes, I can go back to Wudang, lead my disciples... and bring down the Baekma Merchant Guild."
While listening to my Master's words, which were filled with killing intent, Wang Hyeon-seong, perhaps because he got goosebumps, lightly brushed his arm.
It seemed that he was realizing that the place he was with was one of the strongest military organizations in the Central Plains (although its status has fallen a lot now).
But, perhaps because he soon gathered his mind, he looked straight into my Master's eyes and said, "I appreciate your words, but I don't want to do that."
"Then do you have a plan?"
"I will go with the orthodox method. I want to dominate Hubei Province with better goods and better prices."
He spoke smartly without being pushed back an inch even against my Master.
At that dignified aspect of Wang Hyeon-seong, it seemed as if his future self, who had become one of the top merchants in the Central Plains, was overlapping.
(End of Chapter)