Chapter 466: Then Why Does It Feel Like We Lost?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Geom Mugeuk looked at Geum Arin and smiled.

"I'm sorry for laughing again."

Although he apologized, his smile was clearly meant to provoke her.

She didn't realize it. Every casual word and every single laugh from Geom Mugeuk was carefully calculated.

"I'm not joking."

When she put on a serious face, Geom Mugeuk finally wiped the smile from his.

"Are you asking in earnest?"

"Yes, I'm serious."

An unexpected sum came from Geom Mugeuk's lips as he stared at her.

"Thirty thousand taels."

Geum Arin asked back with a puzzled expression.

"Thirty thousand taels, you say?"

They sold themselves for a mere thirty thousand taels?

She thought these martial artists, strong in martial arts but ignorant of the world, had been deceived by the Milky Way Trading Company. Learning this fact beforehand was a heaven sent opportunity.

"Did they tell you your value was only thirty thousand taels? You've been tricked by them!"

Geom Mugeuk remained completely unfazed, instead showing a strange smile.

From that expression, Geum Arin realized she had misunderstood something.

"You didn't sign a contract with them for thirty thousand taels, did you."

"Of course not."

"Then what's the thirty thousand taels for?"

"It means if you want to hear how much they offered, you have to pay thirty thousand taels."

Geum Arin's face hardened in an instant.

Geom Mugeuk, on the other hand, calmly explained the reason. "You spoke as if you could offer more money than the Milky Way Trading Company. Shouldn't you at least show you're willing to pay thirty thousand taels for a question so that I can trust you?"

Geum Arin was at a loss for words. She could have argued that the price was too much for a single question, or she could have gotten angry. She could have told him to just say no if he didn't want to answer.

However, that would be a very cheap looking reaction. Trying to obtain such important information without any cost was probably a mistake in the first place.

This man before her seemed so easygoing, yet he was truly not to be underestimated. The way he calmly cornered a person proved it.

Watching Geom Mugeuk empty his cup and say, "Come on, let's just drink," Geum Arin sent a voice transmission to Lim Hyuk.

[Go to the bank and get thirty thousand taels.]

[Young Lady, we're investigating the Continental Bank anyway, so we'll find out the amount.]

[I know. This isn't the price for the question. It's the price of our momentum. Get it.]

[Understood.]

A short while later, Lim Hyuk came over and handed her a bank draft.

He had withdrawn thirty thousand taels from the bank. The money for running their secret organization was supported by the Golden Dragon Clan. Since that money couldn't be used without permission, this sum was entirely her personal funds.

"Here you go. Thirty thousand taels."

Geom Mugeuk apologized with a sorry expression.

"It seems I've hurt your pride. I apologize."

"It's not because of my pride."

"Then what is it for?"

"It's to express my sincerity in wanting to bring you over to my side."

Her instincts were whispering to her to make this man her ally.

She felt a sense of crisis. If this inscrutable man became an enemy, no master from her family would be able to handle them.

He was the kind of person who could be laughing comfortably like this one moment, then stab her to death the next, saying, 'What can you do?'

"Now, please tell me."

Geom Mugeuk, who had been staring at her quietly, revealed the amount.

"Two million taels."

A truly enormous sum had come out.

"If you want to hire us, you have to give us two million taels."

It was a startling amount, but Geum Arin wasn't surprised, as if she had expected it.

"You're not surprised."

"Because I think you all are worth that much."

She tried her best to get on Geom Mugeuk's good side.

"Did the Milky Way Trading Company offer two million taels? Or did you ask for it?"

"No. The money we received from the Milky Way Trading Company was one million taels."

"Then why two million taels?"

"We have to break our deal with them and make a new one with you. We need to receive double for us to have a proper justification, don't you think?"

Geom Mugeuk stared at her and added another question.

"Two million taels, can you give it?"

Geum Arin couldn't answer.

If only it were a decision she could make herself.

[I'll give it to you. From now on, you're my person.]

She might have really said that. Even if they failed to live up to the price, she definitely would have said it. Her instincts wanted it.

However, the person with the authority to decide on this matter would consider it an absurdly large sum. It was an amount that would never be approved, no matter how much she emphasized their importance.

With an expression that said he knew this would happen, Geom Mugeuk returned the thirty thousand taels.

"Why are you giving it back?"

"I was trying to see your resolve. Money wasn't the objective."

After returning the money, Geom Mugeuk was the first to rise from his seat.

"Well then, let's meet again next time."

Geom Mugeuk even paid for the drinks before leaving the place.

Left alone, Geum Arin drank the alcohol in front of her. The instinct to grab him and the reality that she couldn't still complicated her heart.

Sensing her dampened mood, Lim Hyuk sat in the seat Geom Mugeuk had occupied.

"The Milky Way Trading Company invested a whopping one million taels."

Compared to the surprised Lim Hyuk, Geum Arin was calculating things differently.

"No, these people were had by the Milky Way Trading Company."

"They were had?"

"If it were just one person for a single mission, it would be a huge sum, maybe even a record breaker. But there are three of them."

The other two were no ordinary people either. They were his father, who was hard to describe in words, and his uncle, who was a master of stealth.

"I don't know if there are more, but let's assume it's just the three of them. Then it's roughly three hundred and thirty thousand taels per person, right?"

"That's right."

"And you heard what that man said earlier, didn't you? He believes they'll eliminate the secret organization and take its place. In other words, those people are thinking about the work that comes after. It means they're thinking in terms of years. If we assume it takes at least three or four years, they're not even getting a hundred thousand taels per person. They get to use masters of that caliber freely, and on top of that, they'll be earning the money we used to make. When you look at it that way, you could say they were hired for a really cheap price."

Lim Hyuk nodded. After hearing her explanation, he realized it wasn't such an expensive price after all.

He asked cautiously. "The secret organization the Milky Way Trading Company commissioned… is it… us?"

He was asking if their organization was the target.

Geum Arin nodded.

"Yes, it's definitely us."

Although he had expected it, the thought that they were the targets made Lim Hyuk serious as well.

He remembered Hwi's stealth technique. If he approached silently and killed Geum Arin, could he really protect her?

"We've got a fire at our feet."

For the first time in a long while, Lim Hyuk felt like having a drink.

"What do you plan to do now?"

Her deliberation was not long.

"We have to bring them to our side. If we just leave them be, it's only a matter of time before we're taken down."

Lim Hyuk couldn't bring himself to say that he would protect her, so she shouldn't worry.

"It's a staggering two million taels. The Patriarch will never approve it."

"We'll have to haggle as much as possible. I'm of a merchant family's bloodline, after all."

At those words, Lim Hyuk knew she was serious. She was really going to try to recruit them.

"What if they don't stay put? Should we try to kill them?"

"There's one more problem. Even if the Patriarch approves and we succeed in bringing them to our side, what about the Milky Way Trading Company? Will they stand by quietly after we snatch them away?"

"The Milky Way Trading Company values its pride."

However, she was confident that the Milky Way Trading Company couldn't do anything.

"They value money more. How much would it cost to eliminate those three? They assigned them a value of one million taels, so trying to eliminate them would cost at least that much, right? What if they fail in the attempt? What if masters of that level decide to retaliate? How much would it cost to stop them then?"

She shook her head firmly. "The head of the world's number one trading company would never make a losing deal. In the end, it means that even if we bring them over, nothing will happen."

This was why Lim Hyuk trusted her. Because she judged things so intelligently.

His last worry was this.

"Wouldn't the Milky Way Trading Company know that the Golden Dragon Clan is behind us?"

That was something even she couldn't do anything about.

"Do we have the luxury to worry about the clan right now? Let's save our own necks first."

Geum Arin poured Lim Hyuk a drink.

"Just one glass. We should still have a celebratory drink. We got our money back and extracted all the information we wanted."

She got her money back, obtained the information she wanted, and they even cheerfully clinked glasses.

But the alcohol Lim Hyuk drank after so long tasted bitter.

Then why does it feel like we lost?

Yong Jamyeong strolled through the courtyard.

He would walk a few steps and look at the building, then walk a few more steps and look again. The place he was looking at was the room where the Demonic Cult Leader was staying.

He wanted to see Geom Woojin. He wanted to meet and talk with him, but he didn't dare muster the courage to visit.

I only have three days.

As he was pacing back and forth, Geom Woojin came out of the building.

"Cult Leader!"

"Director Yong."

Seeing Geom Woojin's face, Yong Jamyeong's heart stirred again. Who would have thought he would feel this way looking at someone at his age?

"Are you going out somewhere?"

"I was thinking of getting some fresh air. Would you like to come with me?"

"Won't I be a bother?"

"Not at all. Let's go."

Yong Jamyeong happily followed Geom Woojin.

He had the three masters from the Trading Company wait at the residence instead of following. Normally, this would be unacceptable. But since it was revealed that the benefactor Yong Jamyeong had been searching for was the Heavenly Demon, the martial artists readily complied.

The two men walked slowly toward the marketplace. It could have been an endlessly awkward situation, but surprisingly, they chatted about various things.

"How are your children?"

"I have three sons."

"That must not be easy."

Yong Jamyeong guessed what Geom Woojin meant. He meant the succession battle would be fierce.

"I don't plan on passing the family business down to my children."

Geom Woojin looked at him with a somewhat surprised expression.

"None of them have the qualities to lead the Trading Company. And even if one did, I had no intention of passing it down."

Just because they lacked the qualifications didn't mean they lacked greed. He knew all too well how much those around them, if not his own sons, would poke and prod. So he planned to publicly announce from the start that he wouldn't pass it down to anyone.

"I plan to give them enough wealth to live comfortably for generations and forbid them from interfering in the Trading Company's affairs in any way. The Trading Company will be entrusted to someone who knows the business better than anyone and can be trusted. The livelihoods of the many people working at the Trading Company and their families are at stake."

Geom Woojin stared at him and said calmly, "That's admirable."

The praise was sincere. How could he not know how difficult this decision was? Yong Jamyeong was a man whose thoughts were as admirable as his reputation.

At that, Yong Jamyeong revealed his honest feelings.

"If I had a son like the Young Cult Leader, I would have passed down all my wealth to him. He would handle it well on his own. In that respect, I'm very envious of you, Cult Leader."

When was the last time he had revealed his honest thoughts like this? He especially couldn't easily talk to anyone about his children's issues.

"He's still a wild and immature child. So please, Director Yong, look after him well in the future."

Though his words said that, Yong Jamyeong could feel that Geom Woojin was proud of his son. As a fellow father, how could he not feel that emotion?

Just then, a single cart approached them from up ahead.

The two men's gazes naturally turned toward it.

An old man held the reins of the donkey drawn cart. An adult and a child were sitting in the cargo bed behind. The adult was Geom Mugeuk, and the child was the old man's granddaughter.

"Here, it's all done."

What Geom Mugeuk handed over was a small doll carved from wood.

For something he had whipped up with a dagger on the way from the market, it was quite well made.

"I love it!"

The child happily accepted the wooden doll.

As the cart passed by Geom Woojin and Yong Jamyeong, Geom Mugeuk got off.

"Bye bye!"

Geom Mugeuk bid farewell to the child. As the cart moved away, she waved her hand, holding the doll.

After sending the cart off, Geom Mugeuk explained to the two men.

"Ah, the cart fell into a ditch, so I helped pull it out."

Yong Jamyeong looked at Geom Mugeuk with a new light in his eyes.

One could help pull out a cart, but riding in that cart and making a doll for the child inside was not an easy thing to do.

He glanced at Geom Woojin. He was looking at his son with an expression that said, 'You're meddling in all sorts of things,' but he could feel it. He was watching with pleasure. That's why I said I was envious.

"Where are you two headed?"

"I'm going to get some fresh air with the Cult Leader."

Geom Mugeuk could imagine how much Yong Jamyeong had wanted to create this moment. And how difficult it must have been to arrange.

"How did the matter you went for turn out?"

He had gone to the Continental Bank with Yong Jamyeong and made it seem as if he had received one million taels. When that news spread, the woman had come to find him.

"I quoted two million taels. Of course, considering you, Father, I should have quoted a billion taels."

Yong Jamyeong was inwardly surprised. Didn't those words mean he already had his opponent wrapped around his finger?

"You earn money better than I do."

"Unfortunately, this money has to be shared," Geom Mugeuk said to his father. "The money we earn this time will be split exactly three ways."

Hwi's reply came from the empty air.

"I am fine."

Given his personality, there was no way he would dare to accept the same amount of money as the father.

"You must accept it, as it's the price for selling the three of us as a package deal to them."

Hwi's firm refusal was heard again.

"I do not need it."

"I know. That you're the most expensive bodyguard in all of murim."

Hwi had probably never heard such words from anyone.

That's why he said it deliberately. For the man with the greatest skill who could never once boast proudly. For the man who never even got the chance.

Splitting the money like this was a sign of gratitude. It was the only chance to give a material reward to him, who had dedicated his life to his father.

"In the field of bodyguards, aren't you the Heavenly Demon and the head of the Milky Way Trading Company, Uncle?"

"Please do not say such things."

It had been a long time since he had heard Hwi's flustered voice.

Geom Woojin's lips curved into a faint smile as he watched Geom Mugeuk. It was a smile that said, 'You rascal, stop teasing him.'

"I know you've saved up a lot of money and that you don't have time to spend it. That's why you have to take it. You don't have time to spend it, but you can live with the pleasure of knowing, 'I have this much money I can spend.' Oh, and when Father steps down from the Cult Leader position, you should retire too, Uncle, and live while spending money like water."

After a brief pause, Hwi said, "I will serve the Cult Leader until my last moment."

It meant that even if his father stepped down as Cult Leader, he would serve him until he died. Hwi was truly a symbol of loyalty.

His father, who had only been listening, finally stepped in.

"Accept it."

No persuasion was needed. With that one word, he could no longer refuse.

"Understood."

Then, he gave his son a mission. This too was a father's consideration for Hwi.

"So, get as much as you possibly can."