Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 163

Nine Dragons Chronicle (163)

Although Hwa-rin orchestrated the Eight Route Navy’s capture of the Hwa Myung Merchant Group red-handed in smuggling and human trafficking at sea, the Navy couldn’t trace the smuggling ring’s leadership back to the Merchant Group itself.

Under brutal interrogation, the captured smugglers confessed to operating from a manor called Nokpyeong Farm in Joheon County, Habuk Province. However, no such manor existed.

Hwa-rin knew the Hwa Myung Merchant Group was the true culprit, but he kept this information from the Eight Route Navy.

He considered a swift legal end too lenient for those who dared covet what was his. He intended to personally dismantle the Hwa Myung Merchant Group and seize everything they owned.

Hwa-rin visited Prince Yeongchin’s residence in Gangso Province, met his uncle, Prince Yeongchin Joo Young-woon, and reported the smuggling operation. Afterward, he traveled to the Eight Route Navy’s supply depot in Haeyeom County, Jeolgang Province.

“How did you secure a deal with the Eight Route Navy?” Baek Gun-seong asked.

Baek Gun-seong, unaware that Hwa-rin was the ninth son of the current emperor, assumed Hwa-rin had used his merchant skills to strike the agreement.

“I won the bid. It’s easy to sway a few key generals. Nothing beats this,” Hwa-rin said, making a money gesture with his fingers.

“You’re truly impressive. I thought you were just a muscle-bound simpleton,” Baek Gun-seong said.

Hwa-rin glared at Baek Gun-seong, who offered an awkward smile. Hwa-rin, looking at him with a hint of pity, scooped up So-woon, who was walking beside him.

“So-woon, are you tired?”

“I’m okay. I’ve walked a lot with my brother.”

“Still, it’s not good to walk too much. Uncle will give you a piggyback ride.”

Hwa-rin hoisted So-woon onto his back and said to So-cheon, “Keep a close watch on our surroundings.”

“The surroundings?”

“Yes. You want to become a merchant who amasses all the wealth in the Jungwon [Central Plains], right?”

“Yes, so I can buy So-woon delicious food and pretty clothes.”

Hwa-rin and Baek Gun-seong chuckled, thinking So-cheon was just being a child.

“To become a successful merchant, you need to develop a discerning eye.”

“A discerning eye?”

“Yes. That ‘object’ can be a person, a thing, a language, a thought, or even an ideal like a dream.”

So-cheon sometimes struggled to understand Hwa-rin’s words, but he diligently listened and tried to remember.

“Then, what do I need to do to develop a discerning eye?”

“That’s a good question. There’s Dasamryang [多三良 – See a lot, hear a lot, think a lot].”

“Dasamryang?”

“See a lot, hear a lot, think a lot.”

“See, hear, think…”

“It sounds simple, but it’s not easy at all. You need to cultivate the habit of Dasamryang from a young age through constant practice.”

So-cheon found Hwa-rin’s words challenging.

“Is that all I have to do?” So-woon, still on Hwa-rin’s back, asked.

“No, you also need to practice Dasamryang here.”

“Again?”

“Read a lot, write a lot, speak a lot.”

“Ah…”

So-woon, younger than So-cheon, grasped Hwa-rin’s meaning more quickly.

‘So-woon’s comprehension is sharper than So-cheon’s.’

Despite the age difference, So-woon often understood Hwa-rin’s lessons.

“So, when meeting people, you need to speak logically and persuasively.”

Baek Gun-seong nodded in agreement.

“For a merchant, trust is more valuable than any material possession.”

Hwa-rin wasn’t concerned whether So-cheon and So-woon fully understood at that moment.

He knew there would be other opportunities to explain, and they would eventually grasp the concepts.

“In any interaction, your words and actions subtly influence the other person’s perception of your trustworthiness.”

“Words and actions?”

“Yes. Your choice of words, your gestures – anything that inspires confidence. It’s not about putting on a show, but about training yourself so that such words and actions come naturally.”

“Looking at you, it’s hard to imagine you ever building trust,” Baek Gun-seong quipped. Hwa-rin smirked.

“There’s a way to deal with gangsters, and a different way to deal with merchants. Didn’t you see how Dongseo Dok of the Yeongcheon Merchant Group treated me? They were practically offering me their liver and gallbladder.”

Baek Gun-seong had been puzzled by Dongseo Dok’s unusually subservient behavior toward Hwa-rin during their visit to Hanam Province.

“When someone places their trust in me, they become blindly devoted. Of course, some betray that trust, but I’m not like that.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“That’s why I’m telling you to develop your discerning eye.”

‘It’s not wrong, but strangely, I don’t trust him.’

Baek Gun-seong found Hwa-rin’s logic strange but not entirely flawed, leaving him feeling constantly swayed by their conversations.

“So, So-cheon and So-woon, stick with Uncle, see a lot, hear a lot, think a lot, and read a lot of books. Learn to distinguish your own thoughts from those of others, and always strive to organize your thoughts logically in writing and speak confidently. Got it?”

“Yes!” So-cheon and So-woon answered enthusiastically.

“Good. Because you answered so well, Uncle will buy you delicious food when we reach the inn.”

So-cheon and So-woon beamed at the mention of delicious food.

‘He’s a truly unpredictable guy.’

* * *

Hwa-rin parted ways with his group in Gangso Province and traveled to Jeolgang Province alone.

Baek Gun-seong had wanted to accompany him, but the task was a merchant’s affair, not a martial arts one, and only authorized personnel could enter the military camp.

Hwa-rin’s first act in Jeolgang Province was to visit the Hao Moon [Good Moon] branch and provide a detailed account of the smuggling incident off the coast of Dalian Port in Yo-nyeong Province.

He knew that news of Hwa-jeong-guk’s demise would naturally reach Hwa-jeong-soo through the Seoseo Province branch of Hao Moon. While Hwa-jeong-soo grieved and raged, Hwa-rin planned to systematically devour the Hwa Myung Merchant Group.

Next, he worked to establish an unofficial communication channel with the assassin alliances. He located the person in charge of the secret Dongchang [Eastern Depot – Ming Dynasty secret police] network, used his persuasive skills to win him over, and gained access to their intelligence.

“Even a mongrel dog can be a hunting dog if needed, and Seo Dae-yeong can be a great asset in situations like this.”

His previous high-ranking position in Dongchang proved invaluable in locating and utilizing their unofficial network.

“Seoseo, Sanseo, Hanam, Gangso, and Jeolgang are now connected. By utilizing the waterways of the Jang-gang [Yangtze] River in Gangso Province to locate and secure the unofficial networks in Anhwi and Hobuk, we can establish a reasonably comprehensive intelligence network in the northeastern Jungwon.”

Rather than immediately expanding into the southeast, southwest, and northwest, he prioritized creating reliable methods to link the information from his existing Hao Moon and Dongchang networks, ensuring faster and more accurate intelligence delivery. He believed that gradually building such a system would create a more robust and effective intelligence organization than any other in the Jungwon.

“By combining the information from the assassins and the merchants, we can quickly distinguish between false and genuine intelligence.”

Hwa-rin planned to complete this network within five years, launching the full-scale assassin alliance simultaneously with the lifting of the seal [referring to a restriction on his powers or activities].

“Even with the seal lifted, the Sa-hyeol Alliance [Four Bloods Alliance] and Jeongcheon Alliance [Righteous Heaven Alliance] will still be monitoring the Nine Dragons Territory [Hwa-rin’s domain]. To avoid their scrutiny, it’s better for the Nine Dragons Territory to be perceived as a merchant enterprise rather than a martial arts family.”

He knew that even with an assassin alliance, he would be outmatched against the Jeongcheon or Sa-hyeol Alliances. Therefore, it was crucial to conceal the assassin alliance until he had amassed sufficient power.

“Upon returning to Seoseo Province, I need to find a manor in Hwaeum County and entrust its management to the Danrise siblings to further expand the merchant operations.”

Hwa-rin mentally organized his future tasks.

“First, I need to sort through the spoils acquired from dismantling the Sa-pa [Evil Sect] sects. And I must eliminate the remaining elements of the Baekma Temple [White Horse Temple] this time to prevent future problems.”

Hwa-rin gazed at the sky.

Even with the fastest possible travel from Jeolgang Province to Sandong Province, where Baekma Temple was located, it would take three days. Handling the task and returning to Gangso Province would take another day and a half.

“If they hear that everyone at Baekma Temple is dead in the meantime, they’ll suspect me.”

Hwa-rin intended to delegate the task to the assassins, but one detail troubled him.

“There are people within Baekma Temple who know Jugun, Namgung Soo-yeon, and Dong-chun.”

Based on information Lee Do-moon had provided, he deduced that someone from Baekma Temple had been a member of the Mengho Sasa Blood Battle Squad [Fierce Tiger Four Death Blood Battle Squad]. Like Namgung Soo-yeon and Dong-chun, they had escaped when the squad was attacked and returned to their families.

“The ideal solution would be for Soo-yeon to handle that individual without any sacrifices, but Soo-yeon is also under surveillance.”

Hyuk Ji-seok and the martial artists of the Nine Dragons Special Forces were also being watched, leaving only one option.

“I can’t fully trust that Dong-chun guy. I’m not sure if I can rely on him.”

* * *

The atmosphere within the Hwa Myung Merchant Group had become oppressively gloomy.

The servants at the main house, though unaware of the specific reason, sensed the tension simply by observing Hwa-jeong-soo’s demeanor. As if by unspoken agreement, they meticulously watched the brothers’ every move and worked harder than usual to avoid any missteps.

“Still no contact?”

“No, brother. All those involved in the smuggling operation have been arrested, but Jeong-guk’s whereabouts remain unknown.”

“Am I asking because I’m unaware of that? I’m asking because there’s been no contact, when there should have been by now.”

Hwa-jeong-soo’s anger flared, causing his younger brothers, Hwa-saeng-bang and Hwa-jeong-wook, to lower their heads. His dissatisfaction with them was evident on his face.

From Hwa-jeong-soo’s perspective, his feelings were understandable.

Hwa-jeong-guk was the brother who had endured countless hardships alongside him to build the Hwa Myung Merchant Group. Hwa-saeng-bang and Hwa-jeong-wook had joined the merchant group after it had already achieved some success, making their perspectives inherently different from Hwa-jeong-guk’s.

“Nothing went wrong, did it?”

“The second brother must have escaped the scene. He may have been injured, or he may have decided it was too dangerous to return directly to the main house, so he’s likely hiding for a while, right?”

“This concerns your brother. Don’t be so quick to dismiss it. Think more seriously.”

When Hwa-jeong-soo’s anger rose, the two younger brothers exchanged glances and bowed their heads again.

“I’m worried. Saeng-bang, go to Gangso Province immediately and secretly search for Jeong-guk.”

“I will. But brother, don’t worry too much. Your younger brother will be safe.”

“I know. Just hurry back. And Jeong-wook, you stay here and protect the merchant group. I think I need to travel to Yunnan Province for a while.”

“Why Yunnan Province?”

“I need to visit Daeri Sega [Great Benefit Family] to see if I can secure some funding. I’ve heard that the mainland merchant groups are aware of our financial difficulties and are unwilling to lend us money. I’m considering meeting with the head of Daeri Sega.”

The Hwa Myung Merchant Group’s situation was that dire.

“I’m sorry, brother.”

“I’ll find the money myself. Saeng-bang, hurry to Gangso Province and search for Jeong-guk’s whereabouts.”

“Yes, I will.”

“Lord!”

A voice called from outside.

“What is it?”

“Someone came and asked me to give this to you, Lord.”

“Come in.”

The door opened, and a servant entered, handing Hwa-jeong-soo a letter.

“What is this?”

“I don’t know. A young man came and told me to give it to you, Lord, and then left.”

Hwa-jeong-soo received an envelope containing a letter.

Hwa-jeong-soo tilted his head, tore open the envelope, and unfolded the letter, his eyes scanning the faintly visible words.

[Your brother, Hwa-jeong-guk, entered Dalian Port to avoid bad weather, but the Eight Route Navy caught him smuggling, and he jumped into the sea to avoid capture. If you want more details, come to our branch. A small fee will be required to access the related information.]

The letter was from Hao Moon.

Hwa-jeong-soo, after reading the letter, leaped from his seat.

“I’ll be back!”

Hwa-jeong-soo stormed out of the room.

“Brother! Brother!” Hwa-saeng-bang and Hwa-jeong-wook followed, calling after him, but he had already vanished from sight.