I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 90

Aftermath Negotiations (2)

Jo Gwang-yun walked along the manor wall, accompanied by carpenters and stonemasons.

“Add a few more accessible gates and double the wall’s height.”

“My lord, doubling the current height is more than enough. At twice the height, even someone on horseback won’t be able to see inside,” one of the stonemasons replied.

Jo Gwang-yun shook his head.

“The height isn’t just about preventing prying eyes. It’s a statement of qualification.”

“Qualification?”

“Someone intimidated by the wall’s height will be curious about what kind of place this is, but they won’t dare to enter. But someone with high authority and a lot of wealth will be able to look past the intimidation.”

The size of the manor and the height of the wall would become symbols of the club, a measure of status, unlike a brothel where anyone could come and go.

As Jo Gwang-yun explained his requirements, a few beggars stealthily approached.

“The elders are busy. Go beg somewhere else, you brats,” a carpenter said, trying to shoo them away.

Jo Gwang-yun noticed the knots tied around their waists.

“They have business with me. Leave them be.”

The Beggar Clan members bowed to Jo Gwang-yun and said, “Clan Leader, the Murim Alliance [a coalition of martial arts clans] is urgently looking for you.”

“The reason?”

“We don’t know. They just said to come to the Murim Alliance urgently…”

“I can’t abandon my work here and rush over without knowing why.”

“Clan Leader, this is a direct order from the Alliance Leader…”

“Order?”

The beggars flinched at Jo Gwang-yun’s glare.

He wasn’t a Murim master, so his eyes weren’t sharp in a martial sense. But the coldness of a man who had seen death emanated from him.

“I’m not a martial artist from a lower branch of the Murim Alliance, and I’m not under the protection of the Moryong Family. Am I someone who has to follow the Alliance Leader’s orders?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant…”

“Does the word ‘order’ have another meaning?”

“I’m sorry. I misspoke. I meant request.”

The beggar, seemingly the leader, quickly bowed his head and tried to smooth things over.

“There was no special message, but it must be to discuss the annihilation of the Namgung Family and the future of Anhui Province, which has become a land without an owner.”

“A land without an owner?”

The beggars exchanged worried glances, unsure what fault Jo Gwang-yun would find this time.

“Our Changryong Clan risked our lives and won the war. So the rights to Anhui Province belong to our Changryong Clan. Why is the Murim Alliance interested? Are you planning to steal what we won with our blood?”

“No, it’s to prepare for possible provocations from the Demonic Factions [evil martial arts sects].”

“I refuse the request.”

Jo Gwang-yun said curtly and moved on, the beggars hurrying to keep pace.

“Clan Leader Jo, just a moment.”

Jo Gwang-yun glared at the beggars blocking his path and said, “You only had to deliver a message. Even though you clearly know why the Alliance Leader is looking for me, you acted arrogantly. The reason I’m not rushing to the Murim Alliance is entirely your fault. Where do you dare to throw your weight around?”

At Jo Gwang-yun’s scolding, one of the quick-witted beggars quickly bowed deeply.

“Please forgive us. It was the presumptuous behavior of beggars who have learned nothing. Please forgive our insolence and respond to the Alliance Leader’s request.”

He glared at the other beggars, who all prostrated themselves on the ground.

“Please forgive our rudeness.”

At the beggars’ unanimous response, Jo Gwang-yun cleared his throat and nodded.

“I will leave two days after finishing my work here. Know that and go back.”

* * *

Jo Gwang-yun stopped by Gaebong before going to the Murim Alliance. He couldn’t go empty-handed and just listen to their countermeasures. He had to prevent the Murim Alliance from even mentioning Anhui Province.

Jo Gwang-yun anxiously awaited Yeom-shin’s return from Anhui Province, hoping the Namgung Family’s collateral clans would accept the new proposal.

He also sent messengers to the minor factions belonging to the Murim Alliance, confident they would accept his proposal.

While waiting for a reply, he wasn’t bored, thanks to Great Master Kwon Joong-won.

“I was looking forward to a big fight with the Namgung Family, risking life and death, but was it just a zerg rush [overwhelming numbers]?”

“Isn’t numbers the basis of all battles? Even the greatest strategist, Master Gongmyeong [Zhuge Liang], led as many as 100,000 troops to the Northern Expedition. It’s not a zerg rush to strike the Namgung Family, the best martial arts family, with a thousand troops. It’s an appropriate number.”

“You’re still just talking… tsk tsk.”

Great Master Kwon Joong-won clicked his tongue, dissatisfied.

“I bet you stayed far away and just gave instructions?”

“Unfortunately, your master’s only disciple is a strategist, not a warrior.”

“Shut up. Am I Master Gongmyeong? Am I raising a strategist disciple? You will soon fall into the fun of learning martial arts like me and even quit business. There’s not much left.”

The Great Master left behind cryptic words and continued to nag him to focus on internal energy training.

Jo Gwang-yun considered telling him about his child but decided against it. He thought it would be better to wait until he had raised him to a position where the Great Master could rest assured.

After the Great Master’s nagging ended, Jang Cheon-yang’s report followed.

“Hwang-yu of the Continental Battlefield, whom Clan Leader sent, is quite a good person. I said I would give him whatever he wanted, but he said a decent house would be enough.”

“That’s not all, is it? You’re not the type to judge someone as a good person just because they don’t want money, are you?”

“He said the gold he received from Clan Leader was enough. Instead, he says he will take responsibility for one castle.”

“A castle?”

“Yes. He says he will establish the Jo Family Battlefield in a key location in Shanxi Province.”

“Shanxi, where our disciples died…?”

“Yes. He says that his relationship began with the upheaval in Shanxi Province, and he will become the person in charge there to repay Clan Leader.”

Jo Gwang-yun asked Jang Cheon-yang again, “What do you think? Do you think Hwang-yu has the vision to see far ahead?”

Hwang-yu was a veteran of the Continental Battlefield. He understood the status a person in charge of a castle would have when the battlefield grew.

But Hwang-yu didn’t know the Jo Family Battlefield’s financial management system. Even if the lower branches didn’t need to know the details, the person in charge of a castle couldn’t be ignorant.

How would he accept the fact that they were expanding the business using customers’ money?

“He didn’t seem like someone who would be satisfied with just two gold bars. He must have bigger ambitions. Isn’t having a long-term perspective about giving up what you can have right now and having bigger ambitions?”

“Then take him, teach him, and make a judgment. If you don’t think he’s suitable, throw a few more gold bars at him and end it.”

“I understand. Oh, congratulations on the great victory.”

Jang Cheon-yang, about to leave, brought up what he had forgotten.

A few days later, Yeom-shin arrived in Gaebong with a bright face.

“Here it is.”

Jo Gwang-yun unfolded the signed agreement Yeom-shin handed him. Thirteen clear handprints marked the document.

“Four said they would think about it more, but it’s only a matter of time.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“No. It wasn’t that difficult because Clan Leader made appropriate proposals to those who hesitated.”

Jo Gwang-yun’s appropriate proposal was to give them a one-year grace period.

Hanging the Changryong Clan’s signboard as soon as the Namgung Family disappeared would appear as betrayal and treason rather than surrender.

The signed agreement meant they would unite in the shadow of the Changryong Clan, but they wouldn’t reveal that fact to the outside world. They would proudly display the Changryong Clan’s name about a year later, when the Namgung Family was forgotten.

Jo Gwang-yun, holding the signed agreement, set off for the Murim Alliance.

* * *

People from the Murim families gathered at the Murim Alliance, waiting for Jo Gwang-yun.

As if on cue, they stopped whispering when Jo Gwang-yun appeared. Only the Alliance Leader, Moryong-hwi, welcomed him.

“You’ve worked hard doing great things. Has the next Clan Leader not been elected yet?”

“We are discussing it internally. We have agreed that the person who receives the absolute support of all disciples will take the position of Clan Leader.”

“Isn’t that person only Clan Leader Jo?”

Moryong-hwi smiled knowingly.

“I will only provide support. I am not qualified to be a Clan Leader.”

He implied he would only play a supporting role. Moryong-hwi knew better than anyone that even if the Changryong Clan established a new Clan Leader, he would only be Jo Gwang-yun’s puppet.

“So, how was it after fighting a big war? The sacrifice was great, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t think you called me here just to hear about the fight. I want to hear the main point.”

The Sacheon Tang Family exploded, sneering. As the family most friendly with the Namgung Family, they were waiting for an opportunity to criticize.

“You bastard! How dare you talk carelessly in front of me? If you test my patience, you will get hurt.”

Moryong-hwi gestured for them to quiet down. If he revealed his emotions, it would become a mess again. To avoid being manipulated by the sly Jo Gwang-yun, he had to remain calm and cool-headed.

“I know enough about the power of the Changryong Clan. Don’t be too sharp, and let’s discuss the post-war processing.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to discuss. This was a war between the Changryong Clan and the Namgung Family, so our Changryong Clan will take care of it.”

“If that were the only way, why would I ask you to see me? Anhui Province, where the Namgung Family disappeared, is no different from land without an owner. What if the Demonic Factions, who have been suppressed until now, act up?”

“What do you mean? We have to suppress them with force.”

Moryong-hwi sighed. He needed to admit that he lacked the capacity to make progress and was only stubborn.

“Do you still have the strength left? Or are you planning to move the Changryong Clan to Anhui Province altogether? If so, I won’t say anything more.”

“I think the Alliance Leader misunderstood.”

“What do you mean?”

“Anhui Province is not a land without an owner. And when the Changryong Clan says we’ll take care of it, we don’t mean we’ll occupy Anhui Province. It means we will return it to its original owner.”

Chwicheo, who had been silent, spoke up. “The original owner?”

“The Namgung Family was the owner of Hwangsan, but not the owner of the entire Anhui Province. The original owners who spread throughout Anhui Province and protected it are the collateral clans of the Namgung Family, aren’t they?”

“Collateral clans…”

Jo Gwang-yun reminded the Murim Alliance, who only remembered the Namgung Family, of the hidden names.

“I have already met with them and finished talking. Since the Namgung Family, who only ate the fruits thanks to the collateral clans, has disappeared, I told them to take care of their share. They have become the owners of Anhui Province. Is there a problem?”

The true owner of Anhui Province, which they had never expected, appeared.

If they protect Anhui Province, other Murim families, let alone the Murim Alliance, cannot enter it recklessly. Weren’t they the clans that had grown up in Anhui Province for a long time?

In particular, the words ‘Namgung Family, who only ate the fruits’ became a dagger and stabbed the people of the Murim families.

This was because they were no different from the Namgung Family in using collateral clans like limbs.

They were thinking about how to divide Anhui Province, but they could not hide their embarrassed expressions when the story unfolded in a completely different direction.

“We are worried about the actions of the Anhui Province Demonic Factions. Even if they are collateral clans of the Namgung Family, will they have the power to stop the Demonic Factions?”

“They have united as a result of this incident. Even if someone targets only one clan, all of the nearly twenty clans will fight to the death as if it were their own business. They can stop them enough.”

The Hwangbo Family, who had been silent, opened their mouths. Seeing that they were even going against the Alliance Leader’s instructions to keep their mouths shut, they must have been greedy to advance into Anhui Province.

“They will stop the mediocre guys. But if the Sado Alliance [evil alliance] comes forward, will they be able to do it with their power alone?”

A stupid guy can’t hide his stupidity wherever he goes.

Jo Gwang-yun smiled and said, “If the Sado Alliance moves, the Murim Alliance should naturally stop them, shouldn’t they? That’s what the Murim Alliance was created for… Isn’t that right, Alliance Leader?”

Moryong-hwi sighed again.

For some reason, whenever that Jo Gwang-yun appears, everyone feels like they are being played in that guy’s hands.

End of Aftermath Negotiations (2)