Chapter 150 : Cheonhwa Merchant Guild
"You wench. You're from the Namgung family."
"Why do you say I'm from the Namgung family?"
"The sword art you used earlier also resembled that of the Namgung family. Well, even if it's not martial arts. The moment you asked about the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild, you were as good as exposed."
"Explain in detail what you mean. Why the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild?"
Murong Yeonhui stroked her chin as if she were thinking and said.
"The Namgung family set up an escort agency before, and recently they've established a merchant guild and are managing it. They've been interfering with the movements of our Golden Merchant Guild at every turn, so they've remained particularly in my memory. Then, recently, along with the momentum of the Namgung family, they've been openly hostile towards us. So I investigated. Who is actually managing the merchant guild, and why are they keeping us in check? But the actual manager was an unexpected person. Was her name Cheon Yeohwa? They said she was the eldest daughter of the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild."
"..."
"Since I've already figured out that a descendant of the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild has infiltrated the Namgung family, it means there's no one other than a person from the Namgung family who would ask about it. The rest of the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild people have all died or been sold as slaves. In fact, as far as I know, the eldest daughter was also sold as a slave, but she escaped a while ago. The General said that the person who helped her was from the Namgung family, so it must be true."
From the time he had infiltrated the Black Market, hadn't Namgung Hui recognized the existence of the General and thought him suspicious?
Not only did he know about the Thunder Sect, but he had even made protective gear with a material called rubber that had a repulsive force against thunder ki.
He should have asked how he knew about the Thunder Sect and what the Three Eyes were during the three-way confrontation.
But because of the story about Sosu Mahu that he had suddenly brought up, he hadn't had the chance.
Namgung Hui glanced at Beak Seolhwa next to him and then continued.
"Whether I'm from the Namgung family or not is not important. What's important now is that you are a person of the Murong family and belong to the Hoicheon Association. And that you are being held hostage by me."
It didn't seem like Hwang Sujin or Seong Sohui would go around revealing things about Namgung Hui.
And it didn't matter anyway.
Since his current identity was a non-existent person, it was enough for the Namgung family to deny that such a person existed.
Because there was nothing other than Murong Yeonhui's deduction to prove it.
"Yes. You are right. You are the one holding the initiative, not me. Then. I will tell you about the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild first. Just as she holds a grudge against our merchant guild. It is true that the Golden Merchant Guild brought about the downfall of the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild."
"Hmph! Not the Golden Merchant Guild. It must be the Hoicheon Association. Stop trying to lump us together by saying 'we'. It's unpleasant."
Hwang Sujin crossed her arms and glared.
She looked ready to throw a punch at Murong Yeonhui if necessary.
Namgung Hui asked Murong Yeonhui.
"What was the reason? Why did you go to the trouble of bringing down a small and medium-sized merchant guild?"
"It's because of the business they had. What else could it be? They were trying to expand their battlefield business, and the Imperial Heaven was watching it closely and then snatched it away."
"Battlefield business?"
"It's called a bill of exchange, a piece of paper with monetary value instead of silver. You might wonder what kind of paper can replace currency, but the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild had a plausible plan and was in the process of implementing it."
Namgung Hui, suddenly smelling money, continued to ask questions.
"What was that plan?"
"Ask Cheon Yeohwa herself, not me. I don't know about such plans. Our side was probably managed by the First General."
'Then the enemy of Cheon Yeohwa should be seen as the Hoicheon Association, specifically the Imperial Heaven, rather than the Golden Merchant Guild.'
"I see. The First General might have supplemented it. Then, the next question, how many of the Hoicheon Association's forces are hiding in the Golden Merchant Guild?"
"It's been about 10 years since I married into the Golden Merchant Guild. It would be convenient to think that about half of them are the Association's forces."
"You wicked woman!"
At Hwang Sujin's shout, Namgung Hui glanced at her and then continued.
"Half? You've recruited a lot. Now, just make a list and hand it over."
"Do you think I know that entire list? Hundreds of people come and go from the merchant guild every day. My memory is not good enough to remember all of them. Perhaps the General might know."
"Even if it's not all of them, you must know the key figures."
"Them. That's not difficult. You'd be suspicious of them anyway, Hwang Sujin."
As Namgung Hui handed her a brush, ink, and paper, about ten names were written down.
Hwang Sujin, who received it, widened her eyes as if she couldn't believe it and said.
"Lies! Chief Steward Yu is on your side?"
"Hahaha. Sujin. At least, that's what I think. What do you think? If it's the smart Chief Steward Yu, he would know well where to stand in line. Wouldn't he have turned his heart away from a kite with a broken string?"
"..."
It could be that she had written it down to drive a wedge between Chief Steward Yu and Hwang Sujin, but even in Namgung Hui's eyes, there was no sign of falsehood in Murong Yeonhui's tone.
Rather, she must have written down the name of the person called Chief Steward Yu with this in mind.
Even if he were to perform the Bone-Separating and Tendon-Grinding technique again, the result would not change.
Because Murong Yeonhui would sincerely believe that she had recruited Chief Steward Yu.
Murong Yeonhui smiled bitterly and continued.
"Then, the last remaining answer. I also do not know the detoxification method for the poison fed to the Young Guild Leader. However, I do know the name. It's called Human-Faced Spider Poison, and I remember it because I fed it to him myself."
"Y-you! You shameless woman!"
The enraged Hwang Sujin threw her palm, but Murong Yeonhui, who had regained her composure, grabbed her wrist.
"You should be grateful that I even told you the name of the poison. And do you think I'm doing this because I want to?"
"You're doing it because it benefits your Murong family and the Hoicheon Association!"
"Hmph! Even you, for one, stepped away from the merchant guild's affairs because you disliked the arranged marriage, didn't you? Think about it. At what age did I marry your father?"
"Was it around 15?"
"Yes. Your father is a man full of desire. He didn't discriminate between material things or women. Do you think I wanted to marry an old man? I sacrificed myself for the family. The sacrifice you couldn't make."
"It's all excuses and justifications. You could have just refused and not cared what happened to the family. Or you could have built up the family in a different direction. You've learned quite a bit of martial arts. And with a decent face, it's possible to get involved with the other Five Great Families."
Wasn't that the direction Namgung Hui had intended to take?
To win the martial arts tournament and choose from among the families that sent him matchmakers.
For some reason, even though he had won the martial arts tournament now, his interest in marriage prospects had waned.
It was probably because of the Blood Cult and Beak Seolhwa's whereabouts.
Murong Yeonhui snorted and continued.
"Hah. There are such things as the circumstances of adults. It's something you don't know well because you're still young. Anyway, I've told you everything now, so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me go."
"I didn't say I'd let you go. And I didn't say I'd spare you either."
"So you're saying a person from the Namgung family will shamelessly abandon their sense of duty?"
"First of all, I didn't say I was from the Namgung family. And even if I were, I have no intention of showing favor to someone who belongs to the Hoicheon Association. Well, alright. If you tell me just this one thing, I'll spare your life."
"What is it? Ask right away."
"Why is the Murong family learning the Sun-Shooting Sword Art of the Diancang Sect?"
Murong Yeonhui looked over Namgung Hui with an interested gaze and said.
"Then how did you recognize the Sun-Shooting Sword Art? The Diancang Sect was annihilated 50 years ago."
"I was the one who asked first. And it's you who has the obligation to answer, not me. Isn't it?"
"That's right. Hmm... To be honest, I also do not know this part. I only know that our family acquired it 50 years ago. Unless it's the family head, how would one know the detailed circumstances? Who would learn martial arts while investigating the origin and source of each and every one? That's something only the high monks of the Shaolin Temple would do."
Even Namgung Hui himself did not know the source or origin of the Wind God Steps or the Phantom Steps.
The only martial arts whose origins he knew were the Divine Thunder Art created by the Blue Dragon.
The Purple Mist Divine Art created by Hak Daetong in memory of a woman named Yu Jaha.
And the Azure Sky Boundless Sword Art created by the first head of the Namgung family.
'Then. For the revenge of the Diancang Sect, I might have to fight the entire Murong family.'
In other cases, he wouldn't have wanted to go that far, but now that it was certain that the Murong family was affiliated with the Northern Heaven, it seemed like a matter of taking care of it on the side.
If he were to face the Murong family anyway, he wanted to recover the manual of the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.
"Alright. With this, I will at least spare your life. Miss Hwang. Here, take her."
Namgung Hui struck Murong Yeonhui's paralyzing acupoint and handed her over to Hwang Sujin.
Now, whether Hwang Sujin killed Murong Yeonhui or let her live was out of his hands.
Even if Hwang Sujin killed Murong Yeonhui, since he hadn't killed her himself, he judged that he had not abandoned his sense of duty.
"T-this changes things, doesn't it!"
"There's nothing to change. I'm not killing you with my own hands, and it's still unknown what Miss Hwang will do to you."
"That's right. I have no intention of killing you. To just kill you, you've done too many things. Haven't you? Mother?"
Murong Yeonhui answered with a resigned face.
"...Whether you roast me or boil me, do as you please. I will not open my mouth from now on."
Namgung Hui, as if the situation with Murong Yeonhui was settled, this time turned his head towards Seong Sohui.
"Little Saintess. By any chance, do you know anything about the Human-Faced Spider Poison?"
Human-Faced Spider Poison.
The Young Guild Leader had also been poisoned by the Human-Faced Spider Poison.
The poison of a spirit beast created by smuggling out a member of the Sichuan Tang family in the Hoicheon Association.
Since there was no proper antidote for it, it was a situation where Namgung Hui even had to infiltrate the imperial palace.
But with the Little Saintess's ability, who knew.
It wouldn't be strange even if she had another detoxification method.
Contrary to Namgung Hui's expectations, Seong Sohui shook her head and said.
"Unfortunately, I do not have the skill to detoxify the poison of a spirit beast. I'm sorry to disappoint you."
At her answer, Hwang Sujin showed more disappointment than Namgung Hui.
Namgung Hui had no need to be discouraged since he had a detoxification method he had been thinking of, but Hwang Sujin had been clinging to her answer as her last hope.
"Miss Hwang. There's no need to be so discouraged. I have a friend in the Sichuan Tang family. That friend said that even if it's the poison of a spirit beast, there is a way to detoxify it. So I'll be sure to introduce you later, so until then, please take good care of your father. Okay?"
"Is that really true?"
"Of course. Why would I lie?"
"Phew... That's a huge relief. I thought my last remaining hope was disappearing, but it seems that's not the case. The heavens haven't abandoned me. By the way, Little Saintess. Who was the person you treated at our merchant guild? It didn't seem to be my father."
Seong Sohui smiled faintly and said.
"That is. It was the Guild Leader."
"Really? Then has my grandfather woken up?"
"Yes. If he just takes good care of his body for a while, he won't be bedridden like before."
"Thank you so much!"
Hwang Sujin grabbed Seong Sohui's hand tightly, her eyes welling up with tears.
Her father was poisoned and bedridden.
And her grandfather, the Guild Leader and the pillar of the family, had also collapsed due to illness.
Fortunately, since the Guild Leader had woken up, they would be able to get back on track now.
At the very least, the merchant guild itself would not fall into the hands of the Hoicheon Association.
'With this much, I can leave with peace of mind. If the Guild Leader joins in, the situation will change rapidly. Then shall I add one more safety measure?'
He hadn't seen Hwang Sujin in a good light at first.
He had even suspected that she might be related to the downfall of the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild.
But since the downfall of the Cheonhwa Merchant Guild was said to be the work of the Imperial Heaven, which had been aiming for the battlefield business, she was not at fault.
"Miss Hwang. I heard from that Murong Yeonhui auntie over there that they were looking for the keys to the secret repository. One is with you, Miss Hwang, and the other two are with that auntie, right?"
"A-auntie?"
Murong Yeonhui, more shocked by the fact that she was called an auntie than by the keys to the secret repository, glared at Namgung Hui.
"You remembered that well. That's right. There are a total of three keys to the secret repository. One was with me, one was with my father. And the last one was with my grandfather. But this auntie somehow stole my father's and my grandfather's while they were collapsed."
"There must be a huge amount of gold piled up in that secret repository. Then I'll find those keys for you."
Murong Yeonhui, who was stiff as a log, clicked her tongue and said.
"Tsk, tsk. You won't find them even if you search my body. And by now, it wouldn't be strange even if they had smuggled them out. It means it's useless to torture me."
"Well, I have no intention of torturing you. Because I have other means."
Namgung Hui smiled brightly and approached the large tree behind the clearing.
Then, weren't there two keys neatly placed under the tree?
As Namgung Hui picked them up and approached the party.
Hwang Sujin and Murong Yeonhui simultaneously widened their eyes and shouted.
"W-why are they coming out from there?"
"No! What kind of trickery is this? Why are the keys I hid here?"