Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 438

438. The Number One Merchant Guild

Geum Hye-rin’s treatment took longer than expected.

Il Ah-young sat waiting in a chair, with Yeong Ho-jun quietly seated across from her.

Neng Hwa-young stood motionless in front of the door.

‘Hoo.’

Il Ah-young sighed softly.

Before she knew it, the afternoon sun was streaming through the window.

Considering the general assembly had started in the morning, half a day had passed.

Neng Hwa-young hadn’t moved at all, and Yeong Ho-jun had only occasionally fanned himself.

It was when Il Ah-young bit her lip slightly out of impatience that…

Swish.

Neng Hwa-young flinched, and Yeong Ho-jun turned his head.

As expected, the door opened.

Clunk.

The Guest Elder appeared, wearing his usual expression.

“It is done,” he said.

“Th-Then, what about Young Miss Geum?” Neng Hwa-young asked, her voice trembling.

“There is nothing to worry about. Go inside and see.”

The light in Neng Hwa-young’s eyes, which had been unmoving, flickered.

She immediately stepped into the room.

Thud.

Just as Neng Hwa-young entered, Un-hyeon was covering Geum Hye-rin with a blanket.

Rustle.

Geum Hye-rin kept her eyes closed and didn’t move at all.

Neng Hwa-young immediately approached the bedside.

“H-How is she?”

“She is fine now,” Un-hyeon answered, looking down at Geum Hye-rin.

Geum Hye-rin’s expression looked peaceful, but Neng Hwa-young was still uneasy.

“Um, her consciousness…”

“She has only fallen asleep. Let her rest well.”

Only then did Neng Hwa-young let out a sigh of relief.

Looking closely, Geum Hye-rin’s breathing was even, and her complexion looked much better than before.

“…Thank you.”

Un-hyeon smiled at Neng Hwa-young’s words.

“You should thank the Elder.”

“Of course, I will. But if it weren’t for you, Young Miss Geum would have…” Neng Hwa-young couldn’t finish her sentence.

Even though she was standing outside, she clearly knew that Un-hyeon had essentially saved Geum Hye-rin’s life.

“Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Un,” Il Ah-young, who had approached unnoticed, handed Un-hyeon a clean cloth.

Un-hyeon lightly wiped away the sweat.

“Please rest. I have prepared tea in the next room. The Elder is there as well.”

“Thank you.”

Un-hyeon said with a smile, glanced at the sleeping Geum Hye-rin once, and then left.

Step, step.

“You have worked hard, Alliance Lord,” Yeong Ho-jun, who had been waiting, bowed his head and said.

“Hard work? Ah, and that Lee Yu-geol…”

“We are already investigating,” Yeong Ho-jun smiled slyly and said. “Everything will be over tonight.”

“Thank you,” Un-hyeon nodded.

Then, he turned and headed to the next room.

The Guest Elder was already sitting there, drinking tea.

Un-hyeon brought a chair and sat next to the Guest Elder.

The soft scent of tea seemed to warmly envelop Un-hyeon.

***

Hoaam Merchant Guild Main House.

The first day of the general assembly ended, and night deepened, but deep within the main house, the Elder Council meeting was beginning.

The expressions of the nine elders were all hardened, but their eyes couldn’t hide their excitement.

This was the moment when the Elder Council, which had been a nominal institution when the former Guild Lord Lee Ho-am was alive, was emerging as the real power to determine the owner of the Hoaam Merchant Guild.

Internal Affairs Chief Lee Hak-bung and Lee Ho-am’s son, Lee Yu-geol, were also shining their eyes.

After tonight, one of the two would become the new owner of the Hoaam Merchant Guild.

“You have worked hard, Hak-bung,” Elder Lee Heon-seong, with a long beard, said.

To his left and right, eight other elders sat surrounding Lee Hak-bung and Lee Yu-geol.

Internal Affairs Chief Lee Hak-bung bowed politely.

“I have done nothing. It is all thanks to the help of the elders.”

“No, no. Being able to hold the general assembly safely in a situation where we lost Ho-am and Seo-yeon is all thanks to your efforts.”

At Lee Heon-seong’s words, the other elders had to manage their expressions to appear somber.

Losing Lee Ho-am was a huge blow to the Hoaam Merchant Guild, but it allowed the Elder Council to seize real power.

“It is a great relief that Yu-geol is safe,” Elder Lee Yong-hong suddenly said.

Lee Yong-hong, with sharp eyes, stroked his short beard and said, “If we had lost even Yu-geol, the Hoaam Merchant Guild would not have been able to maintain its lineage.”

In the past, the Moonjung Merchant Guild, which was once counted among the Three Great Merchant Guilds of the world, was torn apart when the main house burned down and the son who would inherit the family died.

The fact that Lee Yu-geol, the son of the deceased Lee Ho-am, remained was, at least for these elders, a great comfort.

“Now, then,” Elder Lee Heon-seong, who had spoken first, looked around at the other elders. “Everyone knows the situation, so I won’t say much. How about Hak-bung taking the position of Guild Lord, and Yu-geol succeeding Hak-bung?”

Lee Hak-bung had a calm expression, but Lee Yu-geol’s face was distorted.

At first glance, it seemed reasonable, but there was no way that Lee Hak-bung, who had risen to the position of Guild Lord, would willingly hand over the position to Lee Yu-geol.

It was unknown how long Lee Hak-bung would remain in the position of Guild Lord, and if he used the Guild Lord’s immense authority, he could bury someone like Lee Yu-geol in an instant.

“That is not right,” Lee Yu-geol said with a distorted expression.

The elders’ faces frowned all at once, but Lee Yu-geol continued to speak.

“I acknowledge that the Internal Affairs Chief has admirably managed the absence of my late father. However, if the Internal Affairs Chief becomes the Guild Lord, the Hoaam Merchant Guild will lose two things.”

“Two things?” Elder Lee Yong-hong, with sharp eyes, asked.

Lee Yu-geol nodded.

“The first is the loss of the great hand of Blood Duke Moon Wang, who helped the Hoaam Merchant Guild rise to become one of the Three Great Merchant Guilds of the world, and the second is the failure to avenge the Changryong [Azure Dragon] Sword Lord who harmed my late father. No, not only will we fail to avenge him…”

Grit.

Lee Yu-geol said, grinding his teeth. “We will end up being his dog.”

The elders began to stir.

“What are you talking about? Did the Changryong Sword Lord harm Ho-am?”

“Isn’t Blood Duke Moon Wang already dead?”

A low voice echoed through the murmuring elders.

“Just because Blood Duke Moon Wang is dead, does that mean all his money has disappeared?” Elder Lee Yong-hong, with sharp eyes, spoke with a sneer. “Some of you may know, but there is another big hand. The one who controlled the Heroic Alliance was also that big hand, and the Dark Heaven Martial Emperor was also just his henchman.”

The elders were silent.

The existence of the ‘big hand’ that Lee Yong-hong was talking about was something they had already been thinking about.

It was already known that Blood Duke Moon Wang, the Heroic Alliance, and the Dark Heaven Martial Emperor were related to each other, so it was not an exaggeration to guess that they had a backer.

But the problem was that all the transactions they had with him had been cut off by the death of Blood Duke Moon Wang.

“…Then, is there a way to contact the backer of Blood Duke Moon Wang?” Someone asked cautiously.

If they could connect with the backer of Blood Duke Moon Wang, they could not only recover the huge losses caused by the suspension of transactions, but also expect another big deal.

“That won’t do!” Internal Affairs Chief Lee Hak-bung said with a surprised expression. “That is the same as antagonizing the Changryong Alliance! If this gets out to the Changryong Alliance…”

“That is why it won’t work,” Lee Yu-geol interrupted Lee Hak-bung’s words with a sneer. “How can the Hoaam Merchant Guild grow if the one who is supposed to be the owner of the guild only thinks about being a loyal lackey of the Changryong Alliance?”

Lee Hak-bung frowned.

“You don’t know the situation at all! Do you think there is any merchant guild that can survive antagonizing the Changryong Alliance right now! Do you really think that the head manager of the Maun Merchant Guild sent us an envoy to pay respects to us!” Lee Hak-bung shouted out of frustration.

However, Lee Yu-geol’s sneer did not disappear.

“The Internal Affairs Chief has a very narrow view,” Lee Yu-geol said with a bitter smile. “Who said we should antagonize the Changryong Alliance? If we outwardly stay close to the Changryong Alliance, but secretly resume transactions with the big hand of Blood Duke Moon Wang, wouldn’t we be able to expect greater profits than other merchant guilds? And someday, when we have enough power…”

Gnash.

Lee Yu-geol gritted his teeth. “Then we will be able to uncover the truth about my late father’s death.”

Lee Hak-bung was dumbfounded.

He said it was the truth, but Lee Yu-geol’s mind was already made up.

“Yu-geol! Do you think the Changryong Alliance is that easy to deal with? Hide their eyes and join hands with the backer of Blood Duke? It is a big mistake to think that the world will play according to your will!” Lee Hak-bung, who was shouting, said to the elders. “Elders! This is absurd! Walking a tightrope between the living Changryong Alliance and the dead Blood Duke! From the beginning, they are not even comparable, and if this leaks out…”

Lee Hak-bung couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘annihilation’.

Lee Yu-geol sneered.

“Why? Do you think the Hoaam Merchant Guild will collapse? Like the Moonjung Merchant Guild?”

Lee Yu-geol, who was sneering, said to the elders. “Did you see that? This is the second reason I mentioned. How can someone like this avenge my late father?”

The elders began to murmur.

Everyone knew that Internal Affairs Chief Lee Hak-bung was definitely trying to get on the Changryong Alliance’s good side.

Everyone had seen the favor Lee Hak-bung had shown to the Chief Military Officer of the Changryong Alliance at the Grand Banquet.

At the time, the elders thought it was natural.

But now, after hearing Lee Yu-geol’s words, they couldn’t shake the feeling that Lee Hak-bung was leaning too much to one side.

“…The truth about Ho-am’s death will be revealed in due time,” Elder Lee Yong-hong, with sharp eyes, said. He had been siding with Lee Yu-geol from the beginning. “If we want to compete with other merchant guilds, the Changryong Alliance alone will not be enough, will it? If we want to rise to the position of the Number One Merchant Guild in the world.”

The elders swallowed hard.

‘The Number One Merchant Guild in the World.’

The Number One Merchant Guild in the World does not only mean the largest merchant guild.

A position that monopolizes all the wealth and transactions in the world, and earns a huge amount of money just by putting its name on it.

A huge golden castle that makes money in good years and even more money in bad years, and never wavers at any time.

That was the meaning of the Number One Merchant Guild in the World.

Therefore, none of the Three Great Merchant Guilds in the world could be said to be truly the best.

Not until they killed their opponents.

Elder Lee Heon-seong stroked his long beard and cleared his throat.

“Ahem, I understand both of your intentions well.”

“That won’t do! Elder! In the current situation…”

“Be quiet!” Lee Heon-seong frowned and said to Lee Hak-bung. “We all have our own thoughts.”

‘Hoo-eoeo.’

Lee Hak-bung sighed inwardly.

If even the moderate Lee Heon-seong was showing this kind of reaction, it was clear that most of the elders had already fallen for Lee Yu-geol’s words.

To that sweet sound of ‘The Number One Merchant Guild in the World’.

Lee Heon-seong looked around at the elders and said, “Hak-bung and Yu-geol have said this, so what should we do?”

A moment of silence flowed.

But it wasn’t long.

“Let’s vote. According to the method we have decided,” another elder said.

Lee Yong-hong, who was siding with Lee Yu-geol, nodded, and Lee Heon-seong also let out a low sigh.

“I understand. Then, let’s vote…”

Clunk.

“Stop.”

The door opened with a clear voice.

The elders frowned all at once and turned their heads.

To break into the Elder Council of the Hoaam Merchant Guild, of all places, was not something a sane person would do.

The moment the elders were about to get angry at what the warriors guarding this place were doing, their eyes widened.

“Oh oh.”

Someone sighed.

Swish, swish.

A woman as beautiful as a snowflake was coming in.

The woman, who was so beautiful and dignified that even the elders were captivated at once, was none other than the Moonju [Sect Leader] of the Bukhae Ilmun [North Sea First Gate], whom they had seen during the day.

Swish.

“If you start voting like this,” the Moonju of the Bukhae Ilmun, who had stopped, said in a sharp voice. Her eyes, looking at the elders, were as cold as ice. “I will have to kill you all.”

The red lips of the Great Palace Lord sparkled brutally.