Chapter 457: Isn't It Great to Be Out in the Central Plains?

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Are you a little calmer now?"

At Geom Mugeuk's words, Hwang In nodded and replied, "Yes, thanks to you."

Contrary to his words, Hwang In's heart was still pounding. He hadn't trembled this much during the tense situation itself. It had all passed in a blur.

Rather, it was only after everything was over and he realized he had truly been on the verge of death that his heart began to race like mad.

That was why he couldn't return to his own quarters in that state and was drinking water in Geom Mugeuk's room.

He gulped down the water so fast that he choked on it. He only managed to calm down after coughing several times. The events that had just transpired felt like a dream. The fact that he had almost died still didn't feel real.

"That martial arts you used at the end… Never mind."

He hadn't seen it directly because he had closed his eyes, but he felt it wasn't something he should ask about carelessly, so he shut his mouth.

Recalling the sight of the dead Money Ghosts, his breath hitched again.

He didn't know much about martial arts, but there were some things he could tell. Those men were not the type to die so easily.

The martial arts displayed by the man before him must have been the ultimate martial arts of a mysterious clan.

"What should I do now?" With Jeon Nak dead, a new worry plagued Hwang In.

"When that fearsome person he mentioned finds out Jeon Nak is dead, he'll come for me first."

Even Jeon Nak was terrifying, so how much scarier would the person he warned about be? He might even wet his pants.

Should he just run far away? He considered it for a moment, but he couldn't do it. What would he do for a living if he abandoned the Yellow Road Trading Company and fled?

"Please, stay with me. You can't leave my side for even a moment."

"I cannot do that. Every moment is precious to me right now. I have no time to spend with you."

"Then what do I do when that person comes? The news of Jeon Nak's death will have to reach him, so he probably won't show up right away. No. If I'm unlucky, couldn't he just drop by unexpectedly while passing through?"

Just then, Geom Mugeuk asked abruptly, "Are you only afraid of the person who is coming, and not of me?"

For a moment, Hwang In flinched. Come to think of it, this was the man who had killed Jeon Nak and the Money Ghosts in a single move.

If he was going to be afraid of someone, it should be this man. For some reason, he had felt at ease and had momentarily forgotten how terrifying the man was. This wasn't someone he could just complain and whine to.

"I'm sorry." Hwang In bowed his head.

Geom Mugeuk spoke to the dejected man. "If someone comes looking for you, bring them to me."

Hwang In's expression brightened. He had been terrified that Geom Mugeuk would tell him to handle it himself since he was also involved.

Now, this man was the only one he could trust.

"Oh, what about the remaining Money Ghosts?"

"We will take care of them, so don't worry."

His words were reassuring.

Through the window, he could see the courtyard. The corpses that had been strewn about earlier were all gone. Not a single drop of blood remained on the ground.

Just as the Money Ghosts who had entered the building before had vanished, the corpses were also gone. Hwi had cleaned everything up in a short amount of time. Since these were people who handled matters so efficiently, he could surely trust them.

Once his heart had settled, Hwang In spoke cautiously. "I would like to continue with the deal I mentioned before."

Hwang In desperately wanted to seize this opportunity. Now that he had personally witnessed how strong his martial arts were, he was even more reluctant to let it go.

"You said your dream was to become the owner of the world number one Trading Company?"

"That's right."

"Are you sincere?"

"If I weren't sincere, I wouldn't have joined hands with someone like Jeon Nak."

Geom Mugeuk stared intently into his eyes and asked, "Wasn't it because you weren't sincere that you joined hands with him?"

Geom Mugeuk's words continued, striking a nerve with Hwang In.

"I may not know much about the world of commerce, but I do know this. To become the owner of the world number one Trading Company, you must become a person worthy of that position."

Hwang In listened silently to Geom Mugeuk's words.

"In that dream of yours, I believe there should be no room for Jeon Nak, for me, for my father, or for that fearsome person who is to come."

Hwang In couldn't understand what he meant. "Then what should be in that dream?"

"A merchant. A merchant with the ability to lead the world number one Trading Company. A merchant with trust and honor, with negotiation skills and crisis management abilities, with intelligence and leadership, and with insight into the world and an eye for people. Is there room for anything else here? Is there space for this stench of blood and this cold sword to interfere?"

Hwang In was so ashamed his face flushed. When he asked himself which of the qualities Geom Mugeuk mentioned he possessed, he couldn't confidently answer a single one.

After being lost in thought for a long while, Hwang In announced his decision. "With the mindset of starting anew, I want to join hands with the Ju Swordsmanship Family. May I write a new agreement and send it to them?"

Geom Mugeuk could see that he wasn't a completely worthless person, at least.

That was why he nodded. In truth, it wasn't a permission granted for Hwang In's sake. It was for Ju Hyangwol of the Ju Swordsmanship Family.

She was probably still worrying about how to handle this matter. The Ju Swordsmanship Family was still facing difficulties and needed to be reborn through this opportunity.

Therefore, this one phrase was for Ju Hyangwol.

"I will be watching."

How could he not understand that it meant 'don't try any funny business'? Hwang In bowed his head and replied politely. "Thank you for your permission. I will take my leave now."

As he walked out into the courtyard where corpses had lain just a moment ago, Geom Mugeuk gave him one last piece of advice.

"Don't be so mesmerized by your dream that you forget reality. Your world is not here, it is there. I am someone who will vanish like smoke, but the Ju Swordsmanship Family will remain."

The next morning, I headed to my father's quarters.

"Father, may I come in?"

"Enter."

When I entered, my father was checking several messenger pigeons. They were sent by Sama Myeong from Headquarters. Matters that urgently required my father's permission had arrived by express messenger pigeon.

"Are you working even when you're out here?"

"You'll see when you sit in my seat one day."

I waved my hands in an exaggerated gesture of refusal. "No, thank you. Please pass it down to me later, much later."

"So you're telling me to keep suffering like this?"

After a brief pause, I asked my father, "If I inherit it, will you go traveling and have fun? If you promise me that, then I'll think about it."

Father didn't answer.

Not wanting to prolong the awkward silence, I smiled and changed the subject. "Alright. Let's get some practice in. Is there anything I can help you with?"

At that, my father handed me one of the messenger pigeons. It detailed the recent movements of a certain family.

Finally, my father revealed our objective. "The reason we are going to Shaanxi is because of the Golden Dragon Clan."

A name far grander than I had anticipated came up. The Golden Dragon Clan.

They were a family known for being one of the five wealthiest in the Central Plains. A true symbol of immense riches.

They weren't just one of the sects with a lot of money. The Golden Dragon Clan's Patriarch, Geum Cheonbang, was not only well versed in the world of commerce but also renowned in the murim as an absolute master of the clan's secret manual martial arts, the Golden Dragon Divine Art. Consequently, the Golden Dragon Clan had numerous masters who followed him.

"At some point, the Golden Dragon Clan began secretly absorbing and operating Trading Companies."

It was plausible for wealthy families to secretly acquire a Trading Company. The problem lay in what came next.

"So the Yellow Road Trading Company was one of those."

Father nodded. "They used martial artists to aggressively expand the Trading Company and earned a lot of money. But that money didn't go to the Golden Dragon Clan."

"So that vast sum of money was siphoned off somewhere."

Sama Myeong, who had detected the Golden Dragon Clan's strange movements, began a full scale investigation and found a clue that they were connected to the shadow forces.

Indeed, considering the scale of the shadow forces' activities so far, it would take a group on the level of the Golden Dragon Clan to handle them.

"The person coming this time must be the one secretly responsible for the Golden Dragon Clan's external affairs."

Since the operation was conducted in secret, the dead Money Ghosts were likely not direct martial artists of the Golden Dragon Clan, but hired hands from the outside. Except for Jeon Nak, they probably didn't even know they were working for the Golden Dragon Clan.

"Since it involves supporting them with a large sum of money, the Patriarch would naturally have to approve it. In that case, the mastermind is either in a position to persuade the Patriarch, or…"

After a brief pause, I added, "They've already seized power within the Golden Dragon Clan."

The Ju Swordsmanship Family's Patriarch, Lim Sohwa, entered her daughter's quarters.

Her daughter, Ju Hyangwol, was sitting at her desk, looking at something. Surprisingly, it was a book. When was the last time she had seen her daughter reading a book?

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, you're here?"

Ever since the day she met the heir of the Yellow Road Trading Company, her daughter had been acting differently.

"I was reading a book that details contracts."

"Why that?"

"The Yellow Road Trading Company sent over a new agreement in advance."

"Let me see."

Lim Sohwa read the agreement. After a few lines, she quickly lost focus. She could read martial arts manuals all night and find them interesting, but this kind of writing just wouldn't register.

"So I was looking up the words I didn't know well."

She never thought the Yellow Road Trading Company would send a new agreement. She had wondered what kind of trick this was.

"This time, they sent an agreement without any poison clauses."

"And you would know just by looking at it?"

In the past, she would have definitely flared up at those words. She would have taken it as a dismissive remark.

But now, tucked away in her clothes was a piece of paper with the words 'Let's not get angry' written at the top.

Was it because she was thinking, 'I shouldn't get angry'? She thought that from her mother's perspective, it was a reasonable thing to say. Right, that's possible.

That was the next phrase written below 'Let's not get angry'.

Right, that's possible.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to sign it as is. I plan to have it double checked."

"By whom?"

"By someone who knows these things well. I'll tell you after I get back."

Lim Sohwa was angry. Why couldn't she just accept the agreement? What was this about an investigation when she didn't even know what she was doing?

However, she didn't get a chance to get angry. Her daughter's attitude toward her was somehow different from usual. Her daughter, who used to snap at her fiercely, was speaking so gently and calmly that she couldn't just lash out.

"I'll be back! Oh, and make sure you eat well!"

Lim Sohwa was most surprised by her daughter's last words. When had she ever heard her say to eat well? No, had she ever heard it before? Now, she was the one worried about her daughter.

Ju Hyangwol's expression was bright as she left the family estate.

She felt proud for having finished a conversation with her mother without raising her voice again. By speaking kindly with the intention of being patient, she found there was no reason to fight with her mother.

Of course, she still had a persistent feeling of crisis, as if things were bound to explode properly at least once.

"It seems you can sign the agreement."

Ju Hyangwol was delighted at Geom Mugeuk's words. She had asked Geom Mugeuk to look over the agreement sent by Hwang In. And the result was the same as her own assessment.

"It's all thanks to you, Master, that they changed their minds."

"No. It is because you, Young Lady Ju, asked for my help."

If she hadn't asked Geom Mugeuk for help at the inn that day, she would have entered a different fate.

"My relationship with my mother has improved, too. That's actually why I'm anxious. I'm worried that all the pent up tension will explode in a big way."

Geom Mugeuk asked back with an unconcerned expression, "What if it does explode?"

Geom Mugeuk's solution was simple. "Something that would have exploded ten times has been reduced to just once."

"What if it builds up and then explodes?"

To her worry that the explosion would be ten times worse, Geom Mugeuk decisively cut through her concerns. "If you endure, and endure again, it might explode in a big way when it finally does. Did you come here today after enduring your mother?"

She recalled her conversation with her mother and soon shook her head.

It wasn't that she had suppressed her feelings. It was closer to trying to see her mother from a different perspective. With a mindset of, 'That's possible.'

"Then it will be fine. What you're worried about is due to a misunderstanding."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a common misconception we have. The misconception that if a good relationship suddenly explodes, it will be a huge explosion."

"Isn't that true?"

"On the contrary, if you keep having small fights, it's bound to explode in a big way someday. Those small fights may seem insignificant, but they scratch at a person's heart and serve to escalate the atmosphere. Conversely, if you maintain a good relationship, something that might have been a big explosion will instead be a small one. Do not doubt the power of those moments when you exchanged good words, one by one."

The last part especially resonated with her. She still felt good about having ended the conversation with her mother without raising their voices.

Ju Hyangwol stared at him. It was as if her gaze was saying…

How can you be so good with words?

It would take a very long time to learn. I've spent a lifetime to become who I am now.

"Well, I'll be going then. Thank you so much for today."

As Ju Hyangwol gave her thanks, Geom Mugeuk said, "Since you're already here, you should go see the safest vault in the murim."

Geom Mugeuk sensed that she wanted to see his father. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Father is taking a walk in the backyard. Let's go."

As she followed Geom Mugeuk toward the backyard, she stopped in her tracks. "I'm sorry, but I'll just go today. Please just pass on my regards later."

"I will."

As she turned away, her steps quickened unconsciously. It wasn't because seeing him kept reminding her of her own father. It was because she felt she shouldn't meet him.

Watching her retreating figure in the distance, Geom Mugeuk spoke as if to himself. His gaze was on her, but his words were for the person who was surely listening clearly from far behind him.

"Isn't it great to be out in the Central Plains? You get to check your popularity like this. Father, when we get to Shaanxi, let's have a popularity contest."

I can't see my father's face right now, but I can somehow imagine it. The image of my father, not refusing this contest with a haughty expression.