I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 85

Business in the Central Plains From Today – Volume 85 (85/212)

< Loot 1 >

As the entire Changryong Clan departed Hwangshan, Jo Gwang-yun visited the Hwangshan magistrate’s office with only a handful of Hana Association members.

The Hwangshan magistrate was aware of the previous day’s chaos but chose not to intervene personally.

In his view, it was merely a squabble between martial artists, and death was a risk they willingly accepted.

However, the person at the heart of the conflict—the instigator, no less—had come seeking an audience.

Having heard that Jo Gwang-yun was a merchant martial artist, the magistrate, figuring he had nothing to lose, agreed to meet him.

“I deeply apologize for disturbing the magistrate’s peace last night. I humbly ask for your understanding,” Jo Gwang-yun said, bowing deeply.

“Well, it concerns the martial world, so there’s no need for such formality. Please, have a seat.”

“I am overwhelmed by your Excellency’s boundless grace,” Jo Gwang-yun replied, maintaining a humble posture as he carefully sat.

“I heard the Changryong Clan emerged victorious. Is that correct?”

“It was a hard-fought battle, but we managed to prevail by a narrow margin.”

“If you won, why didn’t you leave immediately? Why are you here to see me?”

“We wish to erase all traces of the conflict to avoid causing any further inconvenience to Your Excellency.”

“Erase the traces?”

Jo Gwang-yun seemed embarrassed, avoiding eye contact as he explained, “Due to the intense conflict, there are over a thousand bodies…”

“What? Over a thousand?”

Hwangshan had always been under the Namgung Clan’s influence, so conflicts between martial arts factions were rare. Minor disputes were the norm, with martial arts incidents typically involving only a few casualties.

He knew this was a major fight, but he expected, at most, a few dozen deaths, not a thousand.

A thousand casualties were more akin to an armed conflict in a border region.

“W-What on earth happened?”

“It was a fight where both clans risked everything. I apologize for causing you concern in so many ways,” Jo Gwang-yun said, bowing his head again.

“So? How do you propose to erase the traces?”

“The Namgung family has been annihilated. Most of the buildings are burned to the ground, leaving nothing but ruins. If the bodies are left to rot, an epidemic may break out. Therefore, we plan to dig a large pit on the site and bury them all.”
A place where a thousand bodies are buried. A huge mound will be built.

“That mound will stand as a testament to the Namgung family’s fall and a demonstration of the Changryong Clan’s power. It will serve as a warning: any family or force that dares to clash with the Changryong Clan will meet a similar fate.”

“If Your Excellency could provide support in the form of government soldiers and laborers, I will ensure the cleanup is handled efficiently.”

Jo Gwang-yun produced a lump of gold from his sleeve. The magistrate’s eyes lit up at the sight of the gleaming yellow metal. However, his eyes widened further at the item that emerged alongside the gold.

“What is that? Is that a spirit tablet [a plaque representing the spirit of a deceased person]?”

“Oh, this? It’s nothing,” Jo Gwang-yun said, feigning a mistake as he quickly tried to put the spirit tablet away.

“It is not nothing. It looks like a spirit tablet of someone important. What is it?”

Jo Gwang-yun reluctantly retrieved the spirit tablet again.

“It was given to me by the military commander of Hapcheon, along with a hundred soldiers.”

“A hundred soldiers?”

“Yes. He was concerned that innocent people might be caught in the crossfire between the two clans. They guarded the Namgung family’s perimeter and controlled access.”

“Oh ho. I heard you were a merchant, but you’re different from most martial artists. You possess a commendable heart that cares for the people,” the magistrate said, then shouted outside, “Hey, summon the military officer immediately!”

The military officer, arriving promptly, bowed his head.

“You summoned me?”

“How many people are currently assigned to public works?”

“Two hundred are deployed to repair the earthen fortress.”

“Bring them and all the government soldiers here immediately.”

“All of them…?”

“Yes. Don’t leave anyone out.”

“Understood.”

As the military officer retreated, the magistrate said cheerfully, “Take them and use them as you see fit.”

“Thank you for your Excellency’s great generosity.”

“Not at all. Isn’t it my duty to deal with gruesome corpses? I should be thanking you for taking care of it for me,” the magistrate said smoothly, slyly pocketing the lump of gold. “Make sure to distribute this evenly among the laborers and government soldiers.”

“As rumored, Your Excellency is a paragon of integrity,” Jo Gwang-yun said, offering flattery before adding something that would please the magistrate even more. “It’s likely that all the Namgung family’s bloodline is gone from this world. However, many of the family’s slaves are still alive. How would Your Excellency like to take in those who have nowhere to go?”

Slaves were valuable commodities, and Jo Gwang-yun’s words were akin to offering the magistrate unclaimed silver coins lying on the ground.

The magistrate’s mouth widened.

*As expected, it always pays to listen when a merchant requests an interview. You never lose.*

After leaving the magistrate’s office, Jo Gwang-yun gave instructions to the captain of the archer unit, entrusting him with the government soldiers and laborers provided by the magistrate.

He also met with ten members of the Silent Path Society and asked them for one last favor.

“Thanks to you, we were able to greatly reduce the damage to the Changryong Clan. I offer my sincere gratitude.”

“I’d say we earned our keep, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course. You’ve done more than that.”

“But why did you hold us back?”

“I have one last difficult request to ask of you.”

“Difficult again? Hehe.”

Asking a martial artist for a favor usually meant killing or crippling someone—always involving a fight.

The Namgung family was gone. Now, there was no one in Hwangshan they couldn’t handle.

“Tell us who it is. We’ll kill them cleanly.”

* * *

Most of the Namgung family’s buildings were reduced to ashes, with smoke still rising from the embers.

The only structure untouched by the flames was the Namgung family’s main training hall.

Inside, dozens of adults and children, dressed in tattered cotton clothes, huddled together in fear.

“Hong Moon Jong, you son of a bitch! I shouldn’t have let you die so easily!” Seo So-gang roared at the top of his lungs in the Namgung family’s main training hall. The surviving members of the Namgung family trembled before the terrifying Demonic Realm expert.

Seven of his comrades, who had fought alongside him, were dead, including Yoo Hong-cheon and Noh Deuk, whom he considered friends.

He had initially consoled himself with the thought that the price of losing his friends was the Namgung family’s vast wealth. But that wealth had turned out to be nothing more than a burned-down mansion, an empty shell. All he had gained for his troubles was ruins!

He had searched the house relentlessly, even the dry well, but found nothing—no gold, no silver, only stones.

“I’ll ask one more time: tell me where you hid it. Otherwise, everyone here will be dead before noon.”

At Seo So-gang’s signal, a large man beside him grabbed a child who couldn’t have been more than six years old. A woman, presumably the mother, screamed and struggled desperately, but the man knocked her down with a single kick.

“The women only know how many sacks of rice are in the storeroom; they don’t know where the real treasures are hidden. I don’t know whose kid this is, but if I start slitting throats one by one, the father will eventually come forward.”

At another signal, the large man twisted the child’s wrist. The child’s thin, piercing scream drowned out the adults’ cries.

As the child’s small wrist bone snapped, the child fainted.

Seo So-gang, his eyes bloodshot, stared at the unconscious child and shouted again, “Twist its neck and kill it, then grab another brat!”

The man’s large, rough hand gripped the child’s neck, ready to apply fatal pressure.

“W-Wait a minute!” A middle-aged man stood up abruptly, tears streaming down his face.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the stable keeper.”

Seo So-gang frowned.

“Are you saying you buried it all in the stable?”

“No. I once prepared a cart. At that time, I vaguely overheard that there were many items to be sent to the Daeryuk battlefield [referring to a large mainland battle].”

Suddenly, a voice erupted from the crowd: “You bastard! Can’t you keep your mouth shut!”

The stable keeper retorted without backing down, “My child is dying! What crime has that young one committed!”

He turned back to Seo So-gang, a desperate expression on his face. “It’s true. I clearly heard the words ‘Daeryuk battlefield.’ Please, just spare my child’s life, sir.”

Seo So-gang’s gaze had already shifted from the stable keeper. He pointed to the old man who had shouted moments earlier.

The Hong Moon men seized the old man by the hair and dragged him forward.

“Who is this guy?” he asked the stable keeper, who quickly replied, “He’s the chief manager.”

“Chief manager? Oh ho. The vault keeper.”

Seo So-gang approached the chief manager.

“Listen carefully. Will you go to the Daeryuk battlefield and bring back everything you entrusted there, or will you die here?”

The chief manager gritted his teeth and replied, “Kill me here. Considering the grace I received from the Lord, I must protect the last legacy of this family.”

“Bullshit,” Seo So-gang scoffed at the chief manager’s unwavering resolve. “Even if you try to act like a loyalist, you’re no different from the horses and cattle in the stable and barn.”

Seo So-gang pointed to those who were trembling in fear. “You may think you’re different from them, but there’s not much separating you.”

Seo So-gang grabbed the chief manager by the collar and threw him back into the crowd.

“You said you’d die here? Then I’ll kill you—not with my hands, but with theirs…”

No one understood Seo So-gang’s words yet.

“You guys make him say he’ll go to the Daeryuk battlefield. If I don’t hear the words I want from his mouth, all the brats here will die. Start!”

If they didn’t find the Namgung family’s wealth, the children would die first.

The slaves swarmed the chief manager.

“Chief Manager, please save our child’s life! Even though they inherited lowly blood, aren’t they still lives that haven’t even bloomed yet?”

“Chief Manager, please save us!”

Men and women alike clung to the chief manager, unable to hide their distress, but he remained steadfast.

“Listen, everyone. What kind of family is this? Isn’t it thanks to the elders of this house that you haven’t gone hungry? This is the last legacy of such a person. I can’t protect it, but I can’t hand it over with my own hands.”

But as time passed, the slaves’ earnest pleas turned into threats.

“You bastard! Do you really want to die by my hand?”

When he didn’t yield to the threats, violence erupted.

“You son of a bitch! My child is going to die!”

As a few male slaves began kicking and punching, the number gradually increased. Eventually, even the women joined in, biting the chief manager, who screamed in agony.

“S-Save me! Please stop!”

Seo So-gang gestured to the Hong Moon martial artists when the chief manager was on the verge of losing consciousness.

They kicked away the slaves and dragged out the chief manager. Seo So-gang asked again, “What do you say? Will you follow my words?”

“S-Save me,” he said, helplessly clinging to life, having reverted from a loyalist to his original state as a family slave.

“A guy whose will crumbles after a few punches is pretending to be a worthless loyalist… Stop pretending and get up.” The chief manager mustered the last of his strength and barely managed to stand.

“Lead the way. We’re going to the Daeryuk battlefield.”

Seo So-gang left the Namgung family compound with the chief manager.

The Silent Path Society martial artists, who were monitoring the Namgung family from afar, clicked their tongues in admiration as Seo So-gang emerged.

“Wow, that Jo Gwang-yun… He’s got quite the brain. How can everything he predicts come true?”

“I know. According to him, that guy is heading to the Daeryuk battlefield now.”

“But did he say to kill him on the way there, or on the way back?”

“I don’t know. Let’s just kill him when we find a secluded spot.”

They quietly followed Seo So-gang.

< Loot 1 > End