Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 15

The Danri Family Siblings

As soon as Danri Hyukjin regained consciousness, he caused a ruckus, threatening to kill Hwa-rin.

“Get a grip. How long are you going to live like this?”

Danri Soso shouted at the wildly raging Danri Hyukjin, who then yelled back even louder.

“It’s none of your business how I live my life. Worry about how to take care of the old geezer and our sister lying in the room.”

“What kind of language is that? Hano has done so much for us…”

“For us my ass, he’s just old and has nowhere else to go, so he’s leeching off us. Don’t look for me anymore!”

He shouted at Danri Soso and stormed out of the house. Danri Soso’s eyes turned red with emotion as she composed herself and went back into the room.

“Young lady…”

“Don’t mind what Hyukjin says. It’s nothing new.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Hyukjin knows very well how much Hano has done for us. It’s just a fit of pique, so Hano, don’t pay any attention to it and take good care of yourself so you can get up soon.”

“If Young Master Hyukgwang were here, the young master wouldn’t be like this…”

“Hano, stop talking about my older brother.”

Danri Soso spoke firmly.

Danri Soso didn’t have good feelings about her older brother, who had run away from home as if escaping from hardship.

“I’m sorry, young lady.”

“Get some rest.”

Danri Soso left the room. She sighed involuntarily, realizing there was nothing she could do in the current situation.

“Is anyone home?”

A strange voice was heard from outside. Danri Soso wiped her eyes once with her hand and went outside.

“Young master…”

It was the man who had carried Danri Hyukjin yesterday.

“It has happened again today.”

Danri Hyukjin was on his back, unconscious.

Hwa-rin laid Danri Hyukjin on the floor.

“I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s nothing. Were you hurt by my brother?”

“Your brother probably got hurt more than I did.”

“Ah… I will warn him.”

“You really should. If he meets the wrong people, he could be in serious trouble. And here’s some money for treatment and living expenses since your brother won’t be able to move for a while.”

“No, it’s okay. The money you gave us before…”

She refused, but Hwa-rin pressed the money into Danri Soso’s hand and left her house.

“Young master!”

Danri Soso called out to Hwa-rin.

When Hwa-rin turned around, Danri Soso asked what his name was.

“My name is Joo Hwa-rin.”

“Yes. I am Danri Soso, and my brother is Danri Hyukjin.”

“Ah, so you are from the Danri family. I have committed a great discourtesy.”

Hwa-rin bowed to Danri Soso. Danri Soso felt burdened by Hwa-rin’s excessive politeness, but she was also secretly pleased that someone remembered her family.

“It’s nothing. The Danri family no longer exists.”

“Why do you say that? You are still here.”

“But…”

“I don’t know the details, but just because it’s hard now doesn’t mean it will be hard in the future. If you keep looking at the same place, you may become frustrated, but if you turn your eyes to another place, you might find unexpected hope.”

Hwa-rin said this to Danri Soso and left the house.

Danri Soso repeated Hwa-rin’s words.

“If you turn your eyes to another place, you might find unexpected hope…”

Then she looked at Hyukjin lying on the floor. One of his eyes was bruised black.

“Joo Hwa-rin, the young master, you said.”

* * *

About a month after Hwa-rin came to Sanyang County in Seoseo Province, he was able to find a house. It was a house that came up for quick sale, and coincidentally, it was the former main residence of the Danri family.

Hwa-rin bought the house and hung a sign, which read ‘Nine Dragons Manor’.

“Your Majesty.”

“When I left the palace, I gave up that position, so please call me Young Master or Lord of the Manor from now on.”

The Emperor had given Hwa-rin not only the house and land but also the servants to work in the house.

Among them were seven martial artists from Dongchang who had mastered martial arts, and twenty people to manage the manor, repair it, and do odd jobs.

Hwa-rin sold the house and land, turned it into money, came here, and bought the Danri family’s former residence with that money.

“Yes, Lord of the Manor!”

As Nine Dragons Manor took its place in the former main residence of the Danri family, it became the talk of the town in Sanyang County.

Thanks to the Lord of Nine Dragons Manor, the local bullies could not run rampant, so the merchants in the market and the merchants in the streets could not help but feel favorable to Hwa-rin, the Lord of Nine Dragons Manor.

“Anyway, those rich bastards…”

Danri Hyukjin resented Hwa-rin when he heard that he was the Lord of Nine Dragons Manor, but he didn’t pay much attention to it.

He would rush at Hwa-rin with all his might, and every time he did, Hwa-rin would knock him unconscious and take him to his sister.

A normal person would have been fed up with this kind of tenacity, but it didn’t work for Hwa-rin.

“I’m sorry every time, Lord of the Manor.”

“It’s okay. I’ve grown fond of him now, and I even miss him when he doesn’t come.”

Hwa-rin laid Danri Hyukjin on the floor and smiled at Danri Soso.

“This is a presumptuous question, but are you satisfied with the work you are doing now?”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t deliberately find out, but as I lived here, I heard about the work you do, young lady.”

“Ah…”

Danri Soso gave a slightly awkward smile and opened her mouth quietly.

“I don’t know how to do anything else. At least I know how to mend clothes, so I live like this.”

“I see. Have you ever thought about running a store?”

“A store?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve thought about it, but there’s the financial problem, and I’ve never run a business before.”

Hwa-rin listened to Danri Soso’s words and made a suggestion to her.

“I’m going to start a business in my manor that can generate profits.”

Danri Soso wondered why he was telling her this.

“Instead of opening a new store, I’m thinking of taking over an existing store. Would you like to run it?”

“Me?”

“Yes. I need to generate profits in the manor through various businesses, but I don’t know anyone in particular.”

Danri Soso looked at Hwa-rin with a strange look, wondering if he wanted something from her.

“You don’t have to look at me like that. As I said a little while ago, I need to generate profits in the manor.”

Hwa-rin told Danri Soso his thoughts.

“You can give 30% of the profits to the manor on the condition that the manor provides the store and the goods.”

“You’ll provide the store and the goods?”

“Yes. You have to pay for the goods. I’ll supply them cheaper than other merchants, but we have to make a profit too.”

“Ah…”

“However, the monthly profit must be at a certain level. That way, we can continue to invest. So, if the monthly profit is not guaranteed to a certain extent, we’ll have to look for someone else under the same conditions.”

Danri Soso seemed to know what Hwa-rin meant by these words.

“If you do well in business and word gets around, others will want to run a store in the manor, so if you’re interested, you really have to work hard.”

Danri Soso nodded.

“But what kind of store are you thinking of opening?”

“What kind of store are you confident you can run?”

“As the saying goes, ‘What you’ve learned is what you steal,’ so I’d like to do sewing and make or repair clothes.”

Hwa-rin nodded.

“Then how about a fabric store?”

“A fabric store?”

“Yes. It would be good to not only sell clothing fabrics but also make custom-made clothes for customers.”

“Ah…”

“Then the manor will prepare it, so please take charge of it.”

“Thank you.”

Hwa-rin had received a request from Danri Hyukgwang, but he did not directly help them. He knew that it would not help them.

He had to create an environment where they could become self-sufficient and live independently.

Danri Soso, watching Hwa-rin’s retreating figure, wondered if she had been bewitched by something, so she pinched her cheek, but it didn’t seem to be the case as she felt the pain.

Then she turned her head and looked at her brother lying on the floor.

“Hoo…”

She couldn’t help but sigh when she saw him.

“When will he become a person?”

* * *

“So? No tribute came from Danri Hyukjin?”

“That’s right. Recently, a manor called Nine Dragons Manor has been established in Sanyang County, and it seems that the lord of the manor is preventing the merchants in the market and the merchants in the streets from paying protection money.”

“That has nothing to do with me. I just need to receive the fixed monthly tribute from Danri Hyukjin.”

The Black Serpent Clan, a heretical sect based in Sanyang County, Seoseo Province, is said to be a third-rate martial arts clan, but it is clearly a sect with a foothold in the martial arts world, and the local bullies who are active in each market are most afraid of these third-rate sects.

Therefore, they pay a certain amount of tribute to the third-rate sects every month and receive their protection to some extent, extorting money from the merchants in the market and the merchants in the streets in the name of protection money.

The local bullies of Danri Hyukjin were also under the protection of this heretical sect, which was the Black Serpent Clan.

The leader of the Black Serpent Clan is called Im Chung, the Black Serpent of the Martial Arts World, and is a first-class master who is known to some extent in Sanyang County.

He gathered second- and third-rate martial artists to create a clan called the Black Serpent Clan and lived in Sanyang County without being mindful of anyone.

“But did you find out about the Lord of Nine Dragons Manor?”

“There is nothing known. Judging from his actions, he seems to be from the orthodox faction, but it is not clear whether it is a martial arts manor or a commercial manor.”

“Did you check through Haomun?”

“I haven’t contacted them yet.”

“Haomun would have figured it out to some extent.”

The martial artists cannot help but pay a lot of attention to newly created manors or clans.

It is their habit to obtain more information before taking action, as they can create a situation where their rice bowl is at stake, but also their lives.

“Find out more through Haomun. How many martial artists are there in the manor, how many servants are there, and what kind of guy is the lord of the manor.”

“I understand.”

“The movements of the orthodox guys are suspicious these days, so don’t miss even the smallest change.”

“I’m keeping a close eye on it.”

“Okay. And send the kids to get my money from Danri Hyukjin from that guy.”