Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 69

Weapon-Eating Heir 69

The seventh son of the Sungmoo Lee family, Lee Jae-hak.

While the next generation of the Sungmoo Lee family distinguished themselves in martial prowess, Lee Jae-hak was a genius in business.

People said he was a businessman who might face setbacks, but never utter defeat.

Occasionally, he might stumble, but he was an aggressive businessman who ultimately achieved victory.

Such a man wanted to work with me!

‘Why…?’

Baek Cheol-soo concealed his doubts while acting as humble as possible.

He was called a human butcher for his merciless killings, but he was a man who knew how to use his head.

There was no obvious reason for the Sungmoo Lee family to approach him specifically.

The black market was an attractive commodity, but not enough to move the Sungmoo Lee family, let alone a direct descendant.

‘Is this for real?’

Doubt was his first instinct.

Because it was the Sungmoo Lee family, no less.

No matter how much the White Bone Clan expanded its power in the Korean underworld, it was just child’s play in front of the Sungmoo Lee family.

‘It seems certain that he is related to the Sungmoo Lee family, but I can’t be sure if a direct descendant is really involved.’

Baek Cheol-soo was continuing his thoughts when it happened.

“You have eyes that harbor insolent thoughts.”

“…I apologize.”

“My lord is too lenient with the likes of you. Enough to entrust even this to me.”

The man took out a long object wrapped in cloth that he was carrying on his back.

“…!”

“Don’t be nervous. If I intended to cut you down, I would have done it the moment I stepped in here.”

The man said, removing the cloth.

It was a short spear.

To the untrained eye, it looked more like a sword than a spear.

The blade was thin and long, extending in a wavy pattern.

The handle was shorter than the blade.

A weapon that looked extraordinary at first glance.

Baek Cheol-soo recognized that weapon.

‘Baekjeol!’

The demonic spear, Baekjeol.

A legendary demonic spear known to have been forged with dragon veins and fed with the blood of a sea dragon.

The spear, which Lee Jae-hak was known to have obtained from the corpse of a sea dragon he slew in the Northern Sea during a mission a few years ago, was quite well-known in the world.

“You know what this is, right?”

“I know it’s the demonic spear Baekjeol. But why doesn’t it have any energy…”

“It’s sealed, of course.”

The man’s eyes turned cold.

“I can’t help it if you don’t believe me, but I want you to know that my lord doesn’t need to choose you. There’s no need to use you if you continue to be so disrespectful.”

The man leaned deeply against the back of the sofa very naturally.

Baek Cheol-soo’s eyes gleamed.

“I apologize. The name of the Sungmoo Lee family is too lofty for lowly people like us. So, if you have any intention, please tell us so we can understand.”

“My lord is interested in the black market you created.”

“The black market… you mean?”

“Yes.”

“It’s just a place created to make a few bucks.”

“My lord will judge that. My lord intends to expand the size of the black market and take control of the underground market.”

Baek Cheol-soo’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

‘A direct descendant of the Sungmoo Lee family is extending his hand into the underworld?’

The world of the underworld also makes money.

And if it’s Lee Jae-hak, who is particularly skilled in business, rather than other direct descendants, it’s not particularly strange to see such a move.

The moment he thought that far, Baek Cheol-soo felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss.

“Do I… have a choice?”

“No, you don’t.”

Of course not. The answer was already determined the moment the name Lee Jae-hak was mentioned.

If he refuses, a direct subordinate of the direct line will come tonight, or even right now.

Then his life is over.

“But if you become my lord’s faithful dog, you can become the chairman of a solid group in the light, and build your own kingdom in the dark that no one can touch. Of course, my lord will be behind you.”

Baek Cheol-soo swallowed hard.

It was a condition that he couldn’t refuse anyway.

A lifeline had been thrown to him.

No, a pillar had come down.

A thick and solid pillar named Sungmoo Lee family.

“…What should I do?”

Baek Cheol-soo’s eyes gleamed.

“Don’t be mistaken. I’m going to test you now.”

The man smiled meaningfully.

* * *

Baek Cheol-soo sent Lee Jae-hak’s subordinate to the suite and called Jung Jin-soo.

“That guy was a subordinate of the direct line.”

Jung Jin-soo’s eyes shook.

A subordinate of the Sungmoo Lee family’s direct line. Moreover, judging by his appearance, he was from a branch family.

It was an enormous status for wanderers [independent martial artists or mercenaries].

“Aren’t you curious who it is? He said he’s a subordinate of the seventh son, Lee Jae-hak.”

Baek Cheol-soo told Jung Jin-soo the story he had with the man.

Jung Jin-soo’s eyes widened.

“Is that true?”

“I’m not sure. But he showed me this.”

Baek Cheol-soo threw a dark lump of iron on the table.

“Chief Jung doesn’t know what this is, right? It’s a demonic weapon called Baekjeol. It’s quite a famous thing. It was also known that Lee Jae-hak obtained it in the Northern Sea.”

Baek Cheol-soo’s eyes gleamed.

“I said I understood for now, but I can’t quite believe it. So, Chief Jung, please check it out.”

“Haven’t you been trying not to touch the Sungmoo Lee family? If the other party has any ulterior motives…”

Jung Jin-soo trailed off.

Baek Cheol-soo smiled strangely.

“If he’s really Lee Jae-hak’s subordinate, it’s okay, and if not, it’s okay because we caught someone impersonating Lee Jae-hak.”

Baek Cheol-soo took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

“If there’s nothing fishy, think about what to do with this when the next black market opens. If we show it properly, we’ll have a huge opportunity.”

Baek Cheol-soo smiled bitterly.

Jung Jin-soo lowered his head deeply to avoid showing his distorted expression.

* * *

I was guided to a suite in the building.

It was because of Baek Cheol-soo’s request for a moment to process the conditions I had set.

The conditions I set were three in total.

The first condition was the sale of Baekjeol.

It was given with the intention of testing their potential to see if they could sell a troublesome item like a demonic spear.

‘It’s not even the real Baekjeol in the first place.’

I chuckled.

The Baekjeol I gave was not the actual demonic spear Baekjeol, but just a fake spear made with Mujin [a fictional metal with unique properties].

As evidence, the ring that was always on my finger had disappeared.

Even if Baek Cheol-soo has doubts and examines it, he won’t be able to find out.

Mujin was a unique weapon that even the Sungmoo Lee family’s technology could only find out ‘that there was something,’ but could not obtain any meaningful results.

Moreover, it can’t be used unless it’s me who directly fed it blood.

There’s no need to worry about losing Mujin if things go wrong.

‘Since I already have Judo’s ability that I absorbed, I can just recover it if a problem occurs.’

The masterpiece-level sword, Judo, that I received from my seventh brother.

Judo’s ability is to make it return to my hand even when it’s far away.

Since I’ve already imbued it with magical power, I can summon it to my hand like a boomerang within a certain distance at any time.

The second condition was to check the ledger.

Baek Cheol-soo hesitated at this point.

There was a moment of hesitation, but he had no choice but to bring it in the end.

The last condition is the customer list.

Those three things are necessary to smoothly finish this work.

‘He’s probably racking his brain right now.’

Baek Cheol-soo is a person who knows how to use his head.

Even if I showed him Baekjeol, he won’t trust me 100 percent.

He’ll try to check it somehow, but there will be no information coming out.

‘The real Baekjeol is already sealed.’

Not a sacred object, but a demonic object.

Moreover, it’s a demonic spear that devours its user.

Before being swept up in unnecessary noise, the seventh brother quickly sealed Baekjeol and blocked all information.

‘That’s right.’

I recalled the face of the man who was with Baek Cheol-soo when he came earlier.

‘It was definitely a familiar face…’

Baek Cheol-soo kicked everyone out for a private conversation, so I couldn’t see him in detail.

At that time, a low ringtone was heard from one side of the room.

When I pressed the button on the intercom, the figures of that man and Baek Cheol-soo were visible.

“I gave you the best room, but I don’t know if you liked it.”

Baek Cheol-soo said with a smile.

“Did you prepare everything I asked for?”

“I brought the documents you ordered. Would you like to see them right now?”

I naturally sat in the upper seat of the sofa, and Baek Cheol-soo and the man sat side by side.

“This person is the one I entrust with the practical affairs of various businesses. It will be more convenient for you to hear the explanations of the documents you ordered directly from my subordinate.”

Baek Cheol-soo said, pointing to the man.

“I’m late for the introduction. My name is Jung Jin-soo, Chief.”

The man bowed his head in the most polite posture. And he took out thick documents one by one and put them in front of me.

In that moment, I doubted my ears and eyes.

Jung Jin-soo.

When I heard that name, the identity of the familiar face came to mind.

* * *

Jung Jin-soo began to explain in a calm voice.

“This is a table summarizing last year’s sales, and this side is…”

I was skimming through the documents that Jung Jin-soo was introducing, trying to calm the shock.

And I glanced at the man who was continuing the explanation in a businesslike tone while flipping through the documents.

‘Jung Jin-soo… Could it really be that Jung Jin-soo?’

In the memories before the regression, I knew him.

I couldn’t not know him. He was quite, no, quite a famous person.

None other than the third brother’s man.

‘Seolgeom (舌劍) [Tongue Sword – a person who uses words as weapons]. The third brother’s brain.’

People called Jung Jin-soo that.

After the father’s death, he was the one who came to the fore when the third brother began to compete with the first brother for the position of head of the family in earnest.

He was called Seolgeom because he used his head and tongue like a sword, and even the first brother could not avoid struggling against Jung Jin-soo.

‘There are hands, and there are no burn marks. Is he really the one?’

The Jung Jin-soo I saw was missing his left hand. Also, he used to wear an eyepatch to hide the hideous burn mark that ran from his right forehead to his right shoulder.

‘No matter how I look at it, it’s the same person. The growth of the White Bone Clan was thanks to Jung Jin-soo being attached to it, not just Baek Cheol-soo’s business acumen.’

Baek Cheol-soo alone would have been able to handle the wanderers’ nest or the underground business.

However, Jung Jin-soo’s contribution was great in the process of coming to the surface after that or expanding the size of the black market.

No matter how much Baek Cheol-soo knows how to use his head, there were many things that he couldn’t just pass over as having good business acumen.

But if Jung Jin-soo covered that part, it makes sense.

‘He doesn’t seem to be related to the third brother yet. Was he under Baek Cheol-soo before that?’

Jung Jin-soo being here was an unexpected variable.

‘What should I do?’

There’s no need to revise the plan even if Jung Jin-soo is there.

However, I have many thoughts about the value and danger of the person named Jung Jin-soo.

The 고민 [worry/concern] was short.

I looked at Baek Cheol-soo.

“Baek Cheol-soo.”

“Yes.”

“What are you going to do with Baekjeol?”

“I’m thinking of holding an auction on the day the black market opens to sell it. It will be an auction made up of only reliable customers, so you don’t have to worry about security.”

“When does the black market open?”

“It opens in three days.”

“I’ll participate directly at that time too. Before that, I want to take a look around the things that will be on the black market.”

Baek Cheol-soo had a sullen expression.

“Well… the items are a little far away. Moreover, that place is so shabby that it’s not a place for a warrior of the Sungmoo Lee family to go.”

I snorted and said as if it were nothing.

“I already know that the items are in the wanderers’ nest warehouse. Did you think I wouldn’t even know that?”

Baek Cheol-soo and Jung Jin-soo both had shocked expressions at my words.

It was a renewed feeling of fear at the Sungmoo Lee family’s intelligence.

“Then I will guide you myself. Would you like to go right now?”

I silently got up from my seat, following Baek Cheol-soo.

“….”