Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 31

Gu Long Chronicles (31)

“Really? Why is the Jongnam Sect snooping around our manor?”

Hwa-rin was inspecting the Gu Long Tower construction site when he heard that people from the Jongnam Sect had come and asked various questions.

‘Did Elder Song Cheol order this? No. I told Elder Song Cheol everything about our manor… Then, is someone other than Elder Song Cheol investigating the manor? Why?’

“Perhaps they are curious about the large construction project. Please don’t worry and focus on the construction. We need to hurry a bit to meet the deadline.”

“Understood.”

Hwa-rin left the construction site and headed to the fabric store run by Danri Soso.

The fabric store had been expanded to include a tailoring and sewing facility for making clothes, and it also sold accessories such as rings, earrings, and trinkets.

Danri Soso’s sewing skills were well-known not only to the courtesans in nearby brothels but also to the daughters of wealthy families in Sanyang County, so her store was always crowded with people.

Hwa-rin heard at the fabric store that the Jongnam Sect had also inquired about Gu Long Manor.

“Is Song Cheol checking whether my words are true or not?”

If they had visited the construction site and the fabric store to ask about Gu Long Manor, he figured they would do the same at other businesses.

“I was going to benefit from my senior, but I wonder if there’s going to be a problem. I guess people should use their big brains instead of small tricks.”

Hwa-rin decided to check if the Jongnam Sect’s people had visited the other businesses as well and went straight to them.

He heard that the Jongnam Sect had visited two inns, two brothels, the fabric store, and the loan shark’s office.

“By the way, Manor Lord.”

“Why?”

“Someone from the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild came and expressed their intention to buy this store.”

“Hwamyeong Merchant Guild? I heard they are a huge guild, but do they also do business in alleys like this?”

“Wouldn’t merchants do anything if it makes them money?”

“I guess so. Where is that person?”

“They are at the inn.”

“Really? Then tell them I’ll meet them. I want to hear what conditions they’ll offer.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

While the manager went to fetch the person from the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild, Hwa-rin asked the servant for tea.

“Bring the tea when the guest arrives.”

“I will.”

About a quarter of an hour later, a woman came down from the second floor with the manager, walking lightly.

“This is the Manor Lord of Gu Long Manor.”

The manager introduced Hwa-rin to her, and she gave a slight bow with a light smile.

“Please sit down.”

Hwa-rin spoke while examining her closely.

‘She doesn’t seem to have trained in martial arts, and judging by her heavy makeup, she seems to have a lot of experience dealing with people…’

“Nice to meet you. My name is Won Ja-ok, and I work for the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild.”

Hwa-rin also revealed his name to her, who introduced herself in a clear voice.

“My name is Joo Hwa-rin.”

Upon hearing the Joo surname, Won Ja-ok looked slightly surprised.

“Are you perhaps from the Hwang family?”

Hwa-rin narrowed his eyes slightly at her words before changing his expression.

“People from the Hwang family wouldn’t be running an inn. But does a large guild like the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild also run such inn businesses?”

“Hoho, everyone starts like this.”

When the servant brought the tea, she spoke to Hwa-rin.

“How about alcohol instead of tea?”

Hwa-rin nodded.

“Let’s have alcohol.”

From her tone, Hwa-rin judged that she wasn’t just here to buy the inn.

“How about moving to a room instead of having a drink here?”

Feeling something strange in Won Ja-ok’s words and eyes, Hwa-rin shook his head.

“Let’s do it here. It’s too risky for a man and a woman to drink alone in a room.”

“Hoho, surely the gentlemanly Manor Lord wouldn’t try to do anything to me, and then I would to the Manor Lord…”

‘It’s not martial arts, but sinister sorcery she has learned.’

Usually, when meeting a stranger, one would be concerned about their martial arts skills, not think they would have learned sinister sorcery.

‘Is she trying to do something to me with sorcery that’s not even in the family records?’

When it comes to sorcery, there is no one in the Central Plains [the central region of China, often considered the cradle of Chinese civilization] who is more skilled than Hwa-rin.

As the rightful successor of the Baegyo [likely refers to a specific school or sect of martial arts or sorcery], known as the master of all sorcery, and also the now-vanished leader of the Baegyo, the soul-stirring technique that Won Ja-ok was subtly displaying in front of him seemed laughable.

‘Is this the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild’s business tactic?’

Hwa-rin decided to play along and see what she would do.

“I guess men aren’t the only ones who have such fantasies.”

“Hoho, aren’t women people too? Women also feel attracted when they see a handsome man.”

“I see. Then, from your perspective, how am I? Do you think women would like me?”

“Well, everyone has different thoughts, so I can’t say for sure, but I like you.”

“Haha, is that so? In what ways?”

“You’re young and look manly, aren’t you? Above all, you run several large and small businesses as the Manor Lord of a manor, so you must have a lot of money.”

Won Ja-ok’s eyes were faintly tinged with red.

It was a type of soul-stirring technique to steal the other person’s heart after gaining their favor, but it wasn’t anything great.

This type of soul-stirring technique had the disadvantage of not working well if the other person was wary.

“How did you make so much money, Manor Lord? Did your family provide the money?”

“I earned it with my life while fighting. In war, the victor has the right to take the spoils.”

Won Ja-ok flinched and then asked with an exaggerated expression to hide her embarrassment.

“Oh my, were you a wanderer then?”

“I was a soldier. So I lived on the battlefield for a long time.”

“Ah, I see.”

Won Ja-ok asked Hwa-rin things she was curious about, and Hwa-rin answered her questions, adding some exaggeration and lies based on the truth.

“Hoho. So you must be skilled in martial arts, Manor Lord.”

“There’s nothing to be skilled about. It was just a struggle to survive.”

“I see. Don’t you think we’ve become a little closer after having this conversation?”

Won Ja-ok spoke and came to sit next to Hwa-rin from across the table.

“I feel good having this conversation for the first time in a while. Would you pour me a drink?”

When Won Ja-ok held out her glass, Hwa-rin filled it. The manager and servant shook their heads at this sight.

“That sly thing is acting strange.”

“I know, right? I wonder if our Manor Lord will sell the inn to the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild. We’re finally getting decent monthly salaries.”

“That’s what I’m saying. I’m worried we might go back to the Red Fox Gate days.”

The two secretly eavesdropped on Hwa-rin and Won Ja-ok’s conversation with anxious eyes.

Hwa-rin wanted to laugh but held it in and played along with Won Ja-ok’s intentions.

“I heard you have many businesses besides this inn. What kind of businesses do you have?”

“Besides this place, there’s an inn…”

When Hwa-rin answered her question, Won Ja-ok was convinced that he had fallen for her soul-stirring technique and asked another question.

“I heard you’re doing a large-scale construction project in Sanyang County. Is it true that it’s a licensed gambling den?”

“That’s right. It was hard to get the license, but we were able to get it in the end.”

“You’re really amazing. I heard that the Lord of the County doesn’t issue licenses for gambling businesses. Is there perhaps a way?”

“I just kept demanding they issue it, so they did.”

“Really?”

“What benefit would I get from lying? I just kept going every day and demanding it until they issued the license because the Lord of the County was annoyed.”

“That’s easy.”

“You just didn’t receive it because you didn’t go until they issued the license. If you keep going and bothering them, the Lord of the County will eventually give in.”

“I see.”

Hwa-rin smiled along with her, who was smiling brightly.

“Then how about selling that gambling den to our Hwamyeong Merchant Guild? We’ll give you good terms. Of course, if you transfer the gambling den license and rights, we’ll give you enough money to live off for the rest of your life.”

Only then did Hwa-rin realize that the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild’s goal was not the inn but Gu Long Tower.

“I have enough money to use for the rest of my life. I also have a few questions I’m curious about. May I ask them?”

A blue light flickered in Hwa-rin’s eyes, and his voice lowered. Won Ja-ok tilted her head and looked at Hwa-rin, and their eyes met.

Won Ja-ok’s red eyes turned blue with Hwa-rin’s, and she wore a slightly dazed expression.

It was a phenomenon that occurred as Won Ja-ok’s soul-stirring technique was being devoured by Hwa-rin’s illusion technique.

“Is the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild’s goal Gu Long Tower?”

“I guess the name of the building you’re building is Gu Long Tower. Yes, that’s right. To be exact, it’s a legally operating gambling den.”

“I see. So the reason you said you would buy this inn was to approach me.”

“It wouldn’t be easy to meet the Manor Lord if we didn’t use this method. And we could also build a friendship naturally.”

“After building a friendship?”

“We would sleep together.”

“Sleep together?”

“So we were planning to spread malicious rumors about the Manor Lord and make it impossible for you to take root in Sanyang County, at least.”

Hwa-rin chuckled.

“The plan is crude, but it would be effective if it worked. People’s word-of-mouth is that scary.”

Hwa-rin asked about the Jongnam Sect just in case.

“I don’t know about that.”

“I see. Would you like another drink?”

Hwa-rin offered Won Ja-ok alcohol, and she accepted and drank the alcohol Hwa-rin gave her.

“I heard that the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild’s main business is grain distribution. Where does the guild buy grain from?”

“We have several sources. Among them, we buy a lot of grain from the Travil Kingdom, one of the Saekmok countries [referring to a group of nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples].”

“The amount of grain produced in the Central Plains is also considerable.”

“Competition is fierce to secure grain in the Central Plains, but the Travil Kingdom imports grain exclusively, so we can buy it cheaper than in the Central Plains. However, transportation costs are quite high, but if we use the guild’s escort agency, we can secure a lot of cheap and good grain.”

“There was such a method. And the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild’s other businesses…”

Hwa-rin asked Won Ja-ok in detail about the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild, and she told many business secrets of the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild, having fallen for his soul-stirring technique.

After hearing about the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild, Hwa-rin said.

“I think I’m a little drunk. How about you go up and rest today, and we’ll talk again tomorrow?”

“Ah, now that I think about it, I drank a lot.”

“Manager!”

Hwa-rin called the manager.

“Please escort this person to their room.”

The manager carefully supported Won Ja-ok and went up to the second floor using the stairs.

At that moment, Hwa-rin’s telepathic message was heard in Won Ja-ok’s head.

– When the manager escorts you to the room, you will rape the manager to satisfy your desires. The pleasure of your love affair with the manager will be a pleasure you have never experienced before.

While listening to Hwa-rin’s telepathic message, Won Ja-ok’s eyes gradually turned blue.

– After that, every time you try to kill the manager out of shame, you will remember the pleasure you felt that day, and each time you will come to the manager, rape him, and fall into the same pleasure.

It was a kind of safety device to ensure the manager’s safety.

Hwa-rin thought that if he made her sleep with someone other than himself, she wouldn’t try to seduce him, and she wouldn’t bother him because of this.

“So the ones targeting Gu Long Manor now are the Eumsa Sect [likely refers to a specific school or sect of martial arts or sorcery] and the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild, and the Jongnam Sect’s purpose is still unclear, so let’s watch them for now…”

Hwa-rin sat for a while and thought about how to deal with the Eumsa Sect and the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild.

“Excuse me…”

At that time, the servant approached Hwa-rin and asked carefully.

“Are you selling the inn to the Hwamyeong Merchant Guild?”

“No, how long has it been since I bought the inn to sell it? Don’t worry about selling it and work hard to earn a lot of money. If you say you’ll buy the inn, I’ll sell it to you at a cheap price.”

“Really? Is that true?”

“There’s no reason to lie after drinking expensive alcohol. But you know I won’t sell it at an absurdly low price.”

“Yes. Thank you. I will work really hard.”

Hwa-rin smiled brightly.

‘Ah, was tomorrow the day the sorcerers were coming?’

When the sorcerers came, the elders of the Eumsa Sect would bring warriors and open sects in Sanyang County and Sangnam County, so he was planning to take care of the sorcerers before that.

‘If I kill them, they will also find out that the warriors they sent to burn down the manor were defeated.’