I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 94

Lee Gun couldn’t tell from Lee Hak-lin’s expression whether it was a question or a statement.

“It’s true, isn’t it? You were in Gaebong for a while and even volunteered to support the war effort with the Namgoong family, right?”

“Chief, that was for the Mookdo Association…”

Lee Hak-lin’s smile vanished at Lee Gun’s blunt words.

“I’m not blaming you for taking pocket money from Jo Gwang-yun. I’ll say it again: didn’t I tell you to speak frankly?”

Lee Gun slammed his head on the floor again.

“I’m not brothers or close friends with Jo Gwang-yun. But I won’t deny that we trust each other.”

“Trust?”

Lee Hak-lin scoffed, as if dumbfounded.

“Not friends, not sworn brothers, but you trust him? And you even take money from him? You little…! You’re either being used for money or it’s just a business relationship. Where do you get off using the word ‘trust’?”

Lee Gun closed his mouth. He knew that saying anything more would just sound like a lame excuse.

Lee Hak-lin calmed his anger and paced around for a while before speaking again.

“Cut off contact with Jo Gwang-yun until I give you separate instructions. If you do anything behind my back, you’ll die by my hand. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Chief. I will.”

“Get out.”

Lee Gun got up and quickly left the room. He didn’t know what was going on, but Lee Hak-lin had started watching Jo Gwang-yun again.

He was in a hurry.

He had to get a carrier pigeon to Gaebong quickly to inform Jo Gwang-yun of this fact.

After Lee Gun left, the martial artists of the Bi-gak [Secret Faction] entered.

“Did you call for us, Chief?”

They bowed their heads, but Lee Hak-lin had no time to spare.

“Go to Dongting Lake immediately. Find the brothel or inn where the Lord stayed.”

There’s always someone who lacks tact.

“Chief, why go all the way to Dongting Lake…? Wouldn’t it be easier to ask the people who accompanied the Lord?”

The tactless man realized his mistake when the man next to him frowned and glared.

He realized that it had to be done without the Lord’s knowledge.

“If it’s the Lord, it would be a brothel rather than an inn. He’s not one to sleep without a woman, is he?”

“Do whatever it takes. Anyway, find out about the Lord’s whereabouts. Especially who he met.”

“Yes!”

“Time is short. Move quickly.”

As the Bi-gak martial artists rushed out, Lee Hak-lin slumped into his chair and let out a long sigh.

Lord Hyuk Si-mok isn’t one to calculate money. He just needs to have money to spend. He doesn’t know how much he spends, and he doesn’t care how much money is left.

He’s not interested in accumulating wealth either. He has no family and no bloodline to pass on his wealth to.

All he does is eat what he wants and take any woman he likes.

The fact that he, who wasn’t even interested in Jo Gwang-yun, is suddenly showing such greed means that someone must be instigating him.

The most concerning thing is that he even mentioned the internal conflict of the orthodox sects. The fact that he, who isn’t a deep thinker, even considered the political situation was the most unsettling.

What is the Lord’s true intention?

* * *

“What is Hak-lin doing?”

“He called the Bi-gak members and sent them somewhere. It seems they went to Dongting Lake.”

“He’s going to investigate my whereabouts?”

Lord Hyuk Si-mok lifted his glass with a bitter expression.

“That guy has changed a lot too. He used to rush to Gaebong without a word, but now he’s investigating me instead?”

“Isn’t it because the orthodox sects are involved, so he’s being careful?”

Hyuk Si-mok glanced at the man kneeling and speaking cautiously, then suddenly threw his glass.

“You little…! Are you taking Lee Hak-lin’s side too?”

“No, Lord. How could I? I misspoke for a moment. Please forgive me.”

The man screamed as he prostrated himself.

“Stop talking nonsense and send the inspectors to check Jo Gwang-yun’s businesses. Find out how many stores he has, how far his commercial power extends, and how much wealth he has.”

“Yes, sir!”

As the man hurriedly got up and tried to leave, Hyuk Si-mok called him again.

“And keep a close watch on Lee Hak-lin. See what else he’s up to.”

“Yes.”

Hyuk Si-mok, left alone, picked up the bottle.

He was increasingly dissatisfied with the current Mookdo Association. Now that they have plenty of money, everyone is slacking off and pretending to be carefree.

He decided to take this opportunity to tighten the reins and bring back the tense and brutal nature of the Black Moon Society.

* * *

“Lee Gun.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“You were in Gaebong, so you know Jo Gwang-yun well, right?”

It hadn’t been long since Lee Hak-lin had called for him, but now the head of the inspection unit was also mentioning Jo Gwang-yun.

What on earth is going on?

“Yes. He is an excellent merchant.”

“Hey! I don’t care if he’s excellent or not. You’re in charge of this matter.”

“Just tell me what to do.”

“It’s the Lord’s order. Investigate all of Jo Gwang-yun’s businesses. Gather the men, investigate, and submit a report.”

“Are you talking about Gaebong?”

The head of the inspection unit frowned.

“Didn’t you understand me? I said all of his businesses, not just Gaebong!”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

Lee Gun began to piece together the two fragments of the picture: Lee Hak-lin’s attitude and the Lord’s orders. And the pieces fit together without much difficulty.

The Lord has begun to covet Jo Gwang-yun’s money.

“Hurry up. This is an order directly from the Lord. If you take your sweet time, your head will be on the line.”

What an opportunity!

Lee Hak-lin had prevented him from doing anything, but this was the Lord’s order. Even if he said he was going straight to Gaebong, Lee Hak-lin would have no choice but to stand by and watch.

Lee Gun immediately went to see Lee Hak-lin.

“Chief. It’s Lee Gun.”

Lee Hak-lin faced him with a displeased expression.

“I told you to stay still like you were dead. What’s going on?”

“It’s about the inspection unit.”

“The inspection unit?”

“Yes. It’s the Lord’s order to find out the size of the Jo family’s operations throughout the Central Plains. So I’ve been put in charge of it.”

“What? You?”

Lee Gun quickly waved his hand at Lee Hak-lin’s fiercely raised eyebrows.

“It’s the inspection unit leader’s order, just because I was in Gaebong. Please confirm it.”

Lee Hak-lin’s eyebrows lowered again.

“Anyway, I have to go to Gaebong. It’s unavoidable, so I came to ask for your permission.”

As expected, Lee Hak-lin only made a displeased expression and didn’t stop him.

He only gave a warning.

“If you say anything unnecessary, you’ll die by my hand. Do you understand?”

“Of course, Chief. I’ll just go and check the situation.”

Lee Gun bowed his head to Lee Hak-lin, who waved his hand dismissively, and left.

Lee Hak-lin, left alone, muttered to himself.

“Is he serious…?”

It was hard to believe that the Lord, who was the world’s greatest loafer, would be greedy for money, but he was moving so quickly that he wondered if his guess might be wrong.

At first, he tried to find the guy who instigated the Lord, but even that seemed too late. Whoever instigated him, if he had solidified his thoughts to this extent, he had crossed a line that couldn’t be changed.

A few days later, the Bi-gak martial artists who had gone to Dongting Lake to investigate returned. But their report was different from Lee Hak-lin’s expectations.

“They went to all the high-end brothels around Dongting Lake for ten days. They didn’t leave Dongting Lake from the day they arrived until the day they returned.”

“There was no sign that he met anyone in particular. Since the Lord was there, the sects in Anhyang, Sangeum, and Sangdeok around Dongting Lake all came out to greet him, and they took care of him like shadows for ten days.”

“Unless the Lord secretly went somewhere alone late at night, there was nothing special.”

Lee Hak-lin thought he had done something unnecessary.

Wasn’t Hwajoo a master who could make hundreds or thousands of eyes blind? If he moved alone at a late hour, no one would notice.

“You’ve worked hard. Stay where you are until further instructions.”

Lee Hak-lin decided to lie low until the inspection unit’s report came out. If he didn’t move, the Lord might move first.

* * *

Jo Gwang-yun didn’t even have time to enjoy his reunion with Lee Gun, whom he had met after a long time.

Because a bolt from the blue came out of his mouth first.

“The Lord is coveting the Jo family.”

It was such a threatening statement that Jo Gwang-yun couldn’t say anything for a while. The first words he finally uttered were meaningless.

“Is it real?”

“If it weren’t, why would he order an investigation into the entire Jo family?”

“The Lord gave the order himself…?”

“Yes. And Lee Hak-lin also forbade me from contacting you, Jo. He was worried that information might leak out.”

“Even Lee?”

“Yes. I honestly can’t believe it either. Neither the Lord nor Lee has ever shown greed for wealth. The funds coming into the Mookdo Association right now are enough. The Lord spends a lot of money, but it’s enough to cover it.”

Jo Gwang-yun quickly racked his brains.

If the Mookdo Association comes forward and puts pressure on him, the only place he can ask for help is the Murim Alliance [Martial Arts Alliance], but they won’t move. All he has is Mo Yong-hwi.

He thought of the Great Master too, but immediately dismissed it.

No matter how outstanding his martial arts are, he is just an individual. It is impossible for him to stop the Mookdo Association alone.

After thinking for a while, Jo Gwang-yun found something out of sync, like mismatched gears.

“Is the Lord’s target me?”

“It’s certain without further discussion.”

Lee Gun was a little frustrated by Jo Gwang-yun’s question in this situation where there was nothing more to confirm.

“If it’s certain, why am I still alive and well in Gaebong?”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t that right? They’re the ones who came to my warehouse in Shinyeong in the middle of the night and kidnapped me. If they coveted the Jo family, they could just send a master like Lee Hak-lin again and kidnap me again.”

Jo Gwang-yun speculated on their actions from the Mookdo Association’s point of view.

“Is there any need to investigate the Jo family’s wealth? They can just drag me to the Mookdo Association, put a knife to my throat, or torture me severely and confirm the Jo family’s wealth from my mouth.”

Lee Gun’s expression also changed. It wasn’t because he was thinking about whether he was right or wrong. It was because of his tenacity in thinking about the opponent even though someone was targeting him.

“No matter how crazy I am about money, would I value money more than my life? If they were acting like the Black Moon Society, it would be robbery. But they’re starting an investigation? Is this the true nature of the Mookdo Association’s Lord?”

Lee Gun thought Jo Gwang-yun’s words were correct.

Come to think of it, Lee Hak-lin was strange too. If the Lord had ordered him to bring all of the Jo family’s wealth, he would have sent a master to Gaebong that day to secure Jo Gwang-yun’s safety first.

But so far, he hasn’t taken any special measures.

“Could it be that they’re investigating the Jo family’s wealth and trying to leave enough so that it doesn’t go bankrupt? Because they have to keep squeezing it in the future.”

It was Jo Gwang-yun who said not to cut open the goose that lays golden eggs. But now the goose has turned into gold.

If they take all of the Jo family’s accumulated wealth, there’s no need to keep squeezing it. Isn’t it wealth that the Lord can’t spend even if he’s reborn several times?

And one more thing.

“Was the leader of the Black Moon Society someone who calculates things so carefully before doing things?”

Lee Gun couldn’t answer this question.

The group that acts as they please and simply is the Black Moon Society.

The current behavior is not at all like the Lord.

End