Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 26

Nine Dragons Chronicles (26)

Nine Dragon Tower

“So, you’re saying the large building being constructed in Sanyang County is a gambling den?”

“That’s what I hear. And from what I understand, it’s a legitimate gambling den authorized by the Lord of the Castle.”

“What? Authorized by the Lord of the Castle?”

The man, his eyes wide with surprise, wore a thoughtful expression.

“Master, if we don’t move first, the Jongnam Sect [a prominent martial arts sect] will plant their flag there first.”

While Sa Do-hyung, the leader of the Eumsa Sect, the foremost evil sect in Shanxi Province, known by the martial title ‘He Who Steals Lives with a Thousand Hands,’ was deep in thought, Chief Manager Sa Ma-woo brought up the Jongnam Sect, suggesting they might act first. The mention of the Jongnam Sect’s name caused Sa Do-hyung to frown and glare fiercely at Sa Ma-woo.

Receiving his gaze, Sa Ma-woo swallowed hard and tightly shut his mouth.

Sa Do-hyung, as his martial title suggested, was known for his cruel nature, possessing hundreds of ways to steal a person’s life. He was infamous for taking the lives of even his own allies without hesitation if they displeased him.

Sa Ma-woo waited for Sa Do-hyung to gather his thoughts and speak first.

‘Why did I have to be assigned under this guy…’

Sa Ma-woo lamented his fate, but it had been decided years ago, and since then, he had been fulfilling his role as Chief Manager in the Eumsa Sect.

In the martial world, if one were to name families renowned for their intellect, the Zhuge family would be on the righteous side, and the Sima family on the evil side.

While the Zhuge family used their exceptional minds for the sake of their family, the Sima family did not.

The Sima family, belonging to the Blood Demon Alliance, would send their family members to serve and assist any sect with a certain scale that desired the brains of the Sima family.

The Sima family’s outstanding intellect multiplied the growth of the sect several times over, leading many evil sects to appoint members of the Sima family as Chief Managers to run their sects.

After pondering silently for about a quarter of an hour, Sa Do-hyung asked Sa Ma-woo,

“When will the building be completed?”

“Given the scale of the building, I believe it will take at least five months, or six at the most.”

“Six months, huh…”

There was still a significant amount of time left, but as construction progressed, rumors would spread, attracting other sects from the surrounding areas.

“Did you say the owner of the building is Gu Longjang?”

“Yes, that’s correct. He entered Sanyang County two months ago and is running a fabric store and an inn there. He also operates inns and brothels in Sangnam County, and coincidentally, the businesses run by Gu Longjang are the same ones that the Black Snake Clan and Red Tiger Gate used to operate.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s known that Gu Longjang acquired the buildings, land, and businesses of the two sects, but it’s not known from whom he acquired them.”

“Then we might be able to wrap things up easily.”

“What do you mean…”

“Since he took what belonged to the Black Snake Clan and Red Tiger Gate, we should naturally take it back.”

“But if he acquired it through legitimate procedures, we won’t be able to interfere.”

“That’s their problem, and our situation is different.”

Sa Ma-woo sensed that one more task had been added to his list.

“I will prepare accordingly.”

“Prepare well and take all of Gu Longjang’s businesses.”

* * *

Hwa-rin explained to the courtesans working at Ohsong House how she would operate it from the perspective of the new owner, and she accepted applications from those who wanted to work with her for a period of five days.

“What’s going on? Are you going to work, sister?”

“She said it might be tough for a while, but we can earn more. And I don’t have any savings, so what would I live on if I left here?”

Although Ohsong House was a branch of the Hao Clan, not everyone who worked there was a member of the Hao Clan. Some of them were members of the Hao Clan, and the rest were ordinary courtesans, so those who didn’t know the internal affairs were worried about where to go.

“How about working at Hwayang House down there?”

“Don’t even think about it. Haven’t you heard the rumors that the owner there rips off the girls’ earnings?”

“Really?”

“He lends money to the girls and charges exorbitant interest.”

“Then what should we do?”

“What else? Either stay here or go somewhere else besides Hwajeong House. It’s one of the two.”

“Are you staying?”

“How many times do I have to say it? I have nowhere else to go, so I have to stay here.”

“Okay.”

In the end, half of the courtesans working at Ohsong House went elsewhere, and half remained to continue working there. Most of those who remained were members of the Hao Clan.

Hwa-rin gathered all the courtesans who had decided to stay and work.

“The construction will take about two months. Since we won’t be able to work during that time, I will give you each two gold coins as a monthly stipend for three months.”

“Are you saying you’ll give us a monthly stipend?”

One of the courtesans asked.

“Yes. Since you’ve decided to stay and work, you are now part of the Gu Longjang’s household. I think it’s right for me, as the owner, to take on the minimum responsibility, so it won’t be a loss for you.”
The courtesans were very pleased with Hwa-rin’s decision. Two gold coins were about the same as a family of four’s monthly living expenses. So, naturally, it was enough—no, a little more—for the monthly living expenses of a courtesan living alone.

Moreover, two gold coins was a better income than working at a brothel.

“However, it’s not like I’m just going to give you two coins each month without any conditions.”
The eyes of the delighted courtesans changed.

“I don’t know how much longer you’ll be working as courtesans, but you need to spend some money to maintain your appearance in order to maintain your dignity while working as a courtesan so that you can work as soon as the brothel is completed. So, the condition of this arrangement is that you must maintain the same appearance as you do now every month.”

“If we keep that up, can we receive two gold coins every month for three months?”

“That’s right.”
The courtesans didn’t think it was a difficult task.

“Okay, Owner. But when will you give us the money?”

“If you accept the conditions, this establishment will give you the monthly stipend tomorrow. And if you don’t have a place to stay until the construction is finished, you can live at the Gu Long Inn while eating and sleeping there. Of course, you have to pay for room and board.”
The courtesans said they would do so because they needed a place to stay.

“I’ll only charge you half the price for room and board, so it won’t be a bad deal for you.”

“Thank you, Owner!”
The remaining courtesans expressed their gratitude to Hwa-rin.

“Let’s work well together in the future. You will never lose out.”

After finishing the conversation with the courtesans, Hwa-rin left Ohsong House to take care of other business.

“I’ve finished most of the preparations. Once the business is stable and Danri Soso and Danri Hyukjin have the ability to lead the business, I can leave it to them.”
Hwa-rin was planning to take care of the two siblings that Danri Hyukgwang had asked her to look after in this way.

However, she had no intention of handing over Gu Longjang and the businesses it operated to the two of them entirely.

It was said that cultivating oneself, managing one’s family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world were all interconnected [a Confucian ideal].

To achieve her goals in the martial world, Hwa-rin believed that Gu Longjang must first establish itself and maintain stability.

To do so, Gu Longjang needed its businesses, and the money earned from those businesses had to be sufficient to support the household of Gu Longjang.

The starting point was the brothel and the inn, but gradually, she would expand the business and proceed with ventures that could generate profits little by little. She would entrust that work to Danri Soso and Danri Hyukjin so that they could live more prosperous lives.

The beginning of that was the gambling den called Gu Long Tower.

“When the brothel and gambling den become famous, flies will flock to the rumors, and I can use that as an excuse to achieve what I want.”
Hwa-rin was planning to start the path she wanted to take, the path she had promised her father, the current emperor, from Shanxi Province.

“Hyukgwang hyung [older brother] wouldn’t be dissatisfied, would he?”
Hwa-rin said, looking up at the sky.

The cool breeze that blew at that moment seemed to be answering yes on behalf of Danri Hyukgwang.

“Okay. Watch over me from heaven. I will make sure that Hyukgwang hyung’s two siblings live happily and well.”

* * *

“How is the matter with the Gu Longjang owner being handled?”
Hwa Jung-soo, the owner of Hwa Myung Merchant Group, asked his younger brother, Hwa Jung-guk, the chief manager.

He was asking about the progress of the matter because he had confidently boasted in the past that he would attach a woman to the Gu Longjang owner to spread strange rumors and damage his reputation.

“I’m sorry. I can’t see any progress.”

“What progress? Did you say he has a wife and children?”

“That’s not it. But he doesn’t seem to be interested in women, and he hasn’t been seen meeting a woman privately even once.”

“Does that have anything to do with what you said?”

“I was going to bribe the woman if he met one, spread rumors that the Gu Longjang owner and that woman were meeting, and then spread malicious rumors.”

“Is that so?”

“Forcing him to meet a woman or arranging an accidental encounter seemed artificial and crude, so I wanted to use a natural relationship as much as possible, but the work hasn’t progressed yet because there is no woman he is meeting.”
Hwa Jung-soo nodded.

“It’s good to be natural. But if it takes too long, it’s not good for us either. It was said that three people can make a tiger [a Chinese idiom meaning a lie repeated often enough becomes believable]. Sometimes, it’s a way to make people believe it through artificial methods.”

It meant that if three people conspired, they could create a lie that a tiger appeared. It was said that even lies are considered true if repeated by many people many times, and it was a method mainly used by those who incite.

Hwa Jung-guk bowed his head.

“Invest several people and spread any rumors. Then there will be a reaction. If you see that reaction and spread more malicious rumors, people will eventually have no choice but to believe it, and their trust in him will fall.”

“I understand. I will do so. And Dongseo Dok, the head of the Yeongcheon Merchant Group, contacted me and said he wanted to meet with you to talk.”

“Me?”

“It seems they want to meet about the grain transportation matter you mentioned last time.”

“Tell them I’m not interested. We have nothing to apologize for.”

“But I don’t know how they’ll react…”

“At best, they’ll interfere with the grain transportation.”

“If the transportation is damaged…”

“Then we’ll destroy their mines. Then they’ll know who’s losing more.”

“Brother, if we do that, we may have to fight a full-scale war with the Yeongcheon Merchant Group.”

“Why, are you worried that we’ll be eaten by the Yeongcheon Merchant Group?”

“That’s not it, but we’ll suffer damage, and then there will be merchant groups rising up from below. It will take a long time for the merchant group to recover from the damage while keeping them in check.”
A faint smile appeared on Hwa Jung-soo’s lips.

“It will be as you say. Dongseo Dok of the Yeongcheon Merchant Group doesn’t know that either, so a full-scale war won’t happen as you think.”
Hwa Jung-guk wore a dubious expression.

“I’m busy, so notify them that I can’t set a date to meet and watch the situation. Then it will flow as I say.”

“I understand.”

Since the head of the merchant group, Hwa Jung-soo, said this, he had no choice but to bow his head.

“I’ll take care of that matter myself, so focus on spreading malicious rumors about the Gu Longjang owner.”

“I understand.”

“And always be prepared to buy the Gu Longjang’s manor, land, and their businesses, and when he can’t stand it, approach him and take over everything he has. Especially make sure to take over the building that is being newly built.”

“The building that is being newly built?”

“After looking into it, I found out that a gambling den will be built there. A legitimate gambling den that operates with the permission of the Lord of the Castle.”
Hwa Jung-guk’s eyes widened at the words ‘legitimate gambling den.’

“Is that true? Even the Cheonha Daesangin Daeryuk Merchant Group couldn’t do that.”

“So, even if you don’t do anything else, make sure to take over that building and make it so that we can operate it.”

“I understand. I will prepare more meticulously and make it so that he can’t even breathe.”

“Get out.”

After Hwa Jung-guk bowed his head and left, Hwa Jung-soo tapped the surface of the desk he was sitting at with his fingers as a habit.

“If Dongseo Dok gets angry, he’ll try to get help from the Blood Demon Alliance.”

Since they are receiving tremendous help from the Blood Demon Alliance, they can’t not give help.

“Then I have to get in line with the Jeongcheon Alliance, but if I do that, a lot of money will go out every year, so Jongnam would be better than the Jeongcheon Alliance.”

He thought that the worldly sect would be easier to talk to than the Taoist sect.

In fact, the Jongnam Sect was a worldly sect, and not only had worldly disciples from the Jongnam Sect established sects and settled down in various parts of the Central Plains, but they were also exerting influence in various fields.

“Come to think of it, Jongnam Mountain, where Jongnam is located, and Sanyang County are close by.”