Chapter 480: Sometimes, a Parent Must Win

TL: FoodieMonster007

"It seems the mastermind we're looking for has a deep connection with an assassin organization."

First, I had to accurately inform my father and Hwi of the situation.

"Why do you think so?"

Hwi's question was whether it could simply be a case of the Golden Dragon Clan putting out a contract.

"As far as I know, a large assassin organization like the Hell Mansion prioritizes a thorough investigation of the contract target. Especially for a large-scale killing like today's."

Hwi nodded in agreement with my words.

"You're right."

"Considering the date we arrived here, they wouldn't have had time to investigate properly. And it doesn't seem like they sent them knowing our true identities either."

This time, I added my thoughts while looking at my father, who was standing by the window.

"Because if they knew the target of the contract was you, Father, they would never have accepted it. If they had pushed ahead anyway, all the top-class assassins of the Central Plains would have had to come."

Would my father really enjoy getting entangled in a fight with assassins? He must be annoyed by the smell of blood wafting from the window right now. That's why I said it. I was trying to lighten his mood, even if just a little.

"Therefore, this isn't a routine contract. The mastermind must have a deep connection with an assassin organization. Whoever it is, they must be in a position to mobilize the Hell Mansion's assassins in a short time, skipping the investigation."

Hwi nodded as if in agreement.

"You're the expert on assassins, Uncle, so I'll be counting on you from now on. Please, teach me about assassins in particular."

If I learned about the world of commerce from the head of the Milky Way Trading Company, I intended to learn about assassins from Hwi.

Normally, he would have politely declined, but given the situation, Hwi readily accepted.

"Very well."

I didn't miss the opportunity and threw a joke at my father, who was still standing by the window.

"Father, Uncle Hwi will take care of everything. Let's just go fishing."

At my joke, Geom Woojin replied without turning around.

"If you're going to put Hwi at the forefront, you take responsibility and protect him."

I was surprised by the unexpected words, and so was Hwi.

There are times when my father surprises people, and this was one of them.

"No, please take a joke as a joke! How am I supposed to protect the person who's the best at protecting people in this world?"

Father kept looking out the window as if it wasn't a joke, and Hwi gave me an awkward smile.

This was the first time the Cult Leader had directly expressed concern for his well-being.

The heart of the man named Hwi could not be moved no matter how much money you offered, even if you split a fortune three ways or gave him all of it. However, a single remark like this from the Cult Leader genuinely pleased his heart.

He was grateful to the Cult Leader, but he had to admit one thing.

This is all thanks to the Young Cult Leader.

"Uncle, it looks like you'll have to teach me about bodyguards now, not just assassins."

Looking troubled, Hwi tried to excuse himself.

"I'll go clean up the bodies."

But I stopped him.

"Leave the bodies as they are."

My gaze turned toward the Patriarch's Hall, far off in the distance.

"We should make the person who sent them clean them up."

"You sent assassins?"

Geum Cheonbang was truly dumbfounded.

His son had learned martial arts, but only to the extent expected of the eldest son of a successful Trading Company. If anything, Geum Arin's martial arts skills were stronger.

"How could you…"

He didn't need to hear the answer. 'He' must have been involved in this ridiculous affair. However, he hadn't realized his son had been influenced to the point of unhesitatingly calling for assassins.

"You mean to tell me you did something this important without even discussing it with your father?"

Geum Cheonbang shouted, but his son showed no sign of remorse.

"It was to protect that person."

Geum Cheonbang was aghast, but what mattered now was not the reason, but the result.

"Fine. Let's say that's the case. But do you even know what kind of people assassins are? They're the kind who use the contract as a weakness to extort money from you for the rest of your life."

"Only third-rate assassins do that. The people I sent are not third-rate."

"You have no experience hiring assassins, do you?"

Geum Ahyuk looked into Geum Cheonbang's eyes and asked back.

"Why do you think I have none?"

"You brat!"

Geum Cheonbang roared. He was so angry he didn't know what to say. He was a man who rarely got agitated, even amidst all the disputes in the world of commerce. After all, he had spent his life in battles where the one who got excited first lost.

However, he had lost this time. It was a complete defeat at the hands of his own son.

Unlike the agitated Geum Cheonbang, Geum Ahyuk was calm.

"By now, they should be dead."

As if the matter was already over, Geum Ahyuk rose from his seat.

"Get some rest, Father."

The moment his eyes met his son's, who was bowing politely, Geum Cheonbang's heart sank.

It was an utterly cold and frigid gaze. He had seen that unfamiliar look several times recently, but today it was the most alien.

And with that, Geum Ahyuk left the Patriarch's Hall.

WASPEAR!

The teapot and teacups on the table fell to the floor and shattered. It was the first time he had broken something out of anger.

He was usually such a patient man. But when it came to his son, it was hard to endure.

Geum Cheonbang took a bottle of liquor stored in a side cabinet and drank it straight from the bottle.

Whenever he heard people say that raising a child was the hardest thing in the world, he thought it didn't apply to him. He had been so proud of raising a child that others envied.

However, as if to make him pay the price for all the moments he had boasted to others, his son had changed drastically.

He resisted the urge to throw the liquor bottle as well and set it down on the table. Now was not the time for breaking things, but for damage control.

How do I handle this?

It was a problem if the killing succeeded, and a problem if it failed. If this killing succeeded, his son would try to solve future difficulties with this method. No, perhaps he was already in that state.

What if it failed? What if it was revealed that his son had hired assassins?

Both scenarios were things he didn't want to imagine.

Just then, the door to the main hall opened.

CREAK.

Looking at the door, Geum Cheonbang hoped.

He hoped his son would come back and say, 'I'm sorry for handling this without consulting you, Father.' Then they could somehow work together to come up with a solution.

"There's no one guarding outside."

The person who stepped inside was Geom Mugeuk.

Seeing him, Geum Cheonbang's eyes widened in shock.

The killing failed.

Geum Cheonbang forced himself to calm down and greeted Geom Mugeuk.

"I had my subordinates step away for a moment."

He had dismissed all his subordinates to have a private talk with his son.

Don't tell me he overheard our entire conversation?

What if he heard that my son sent the assassins? If so, my son's life was in danger.

"I happened to see him on my way here. A young man was leaving the Patriarch's Hall. Was that perhaps the First Young Lord?"

"That's right, I was talking with my eldest."

Geum Cheonbang's heart pounded as Geom Mugeuk mentioned his son.

Is he testing me? Or is he implying that he heard our conversation?

His guilt made all sorts of unnecessary thoughts run through his mind.

"He was as tall and handsome as I'd heard. He truly had the air of a Master."

Those words had always been pleasant to hear, but not today. He recalled that unfamiliar gaze looking at him.

"So? Did you exchange greetings?"

"No, I only saw him from a distance."

"And yet you saw his face in such detail."

"I have good eyes."

Geom Mugeuk looked around and then pointed to a distant wall.

"Do you see the leaves on the flower pattern on that wall?"

"They're too small, I can't see them."

"There are nine of them. You can go and check."

This man had collected money from the Hundred Immortals Sect and made the assassination fail.

And now he was telling him to go count the number of flower petals.

This unknowable special quality seemed to exist in a literally unknowable realm.

"Never mind the petals. What brings you here at this hour?"

"I came because I have something urgent to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Assassins broke into my residence."

Geum Cheonbang feigned surprise.

"Assassins? Is that true?"

He acted as if he knew nothing at all. He had all sorts of experience in the deceptive world of commerce. He was more confident than anyone at hiding his true feelings.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Fortunately, I'm fine."

"And the assassins?"

"They've all been dealt with."

"I'll send men at once to clear away the bodies. I'll also provide you with a new guest hall."

"Thank you."

Normally, he should have said he would investigate the bodies to find out which organization the assassins came from. However, he omitted those words. He was in a situation where he had to hide even the existing evidence.

Geum Cheonbang called his subordinates and hurriedly sent them to the guest hall.

"Clean up the bodies and move the people there to a new guest hall."

"Understood."

Before the subordinates could leave, Geom Mugeuk stepped forward.

"But shouldn't we investigate the bodies to find out which organization they came from, instead of just cleaning them up?"

Geum Cheonbang was inwardly flustered but managed to speak calmly.

"Of course, we should."

"You should also sound the alarm and strengthen the security around the Patriarch's Hall."

"I was just about to do that."

As if that was truly his intention, he repeated Geom Mugeuk's words as an order to his subordinate.

A moment later, the loud sound of a bell could be heard from outside.

Geum Cheonbang's mind was as chaotic as the ceaselessly ringing bell. He knew full well that his son was the one who did this.

Assassins in the main family residence?

The mere fact that assassins had infiltrated made his whole body tremble. His chest tightened at the thought that men who killed for money had roamed inside the Golden Dragon Clan.

Anger and bewilderment. At least these two emotions, he didn't have to feign.

"You should be careful from now on as well, Patriarch."

"What do you mean?"

"There were quite a lot of assassins. If someone didn't grant them entry, doesn't that mean the Golden Dragon Clan's security was breached?"

Was he testing him? Or was it a warning? Geum Cheonbang couldn't figure out Geom Mugeuk's intentions. He seemed to know nothing at all, yet at the same time, he seemed to know something.

"I will thoroughly strengthen the security from now on."

Geum Cheonbang originally had a pathological fear of martial artists.

He was confident he could overcome any hardship when dealing with merchants, but he became extremely anxious when entangled with martial artists.

They were unreasonable, unpredictable, and drew their swords first. He had feared and disliked them since he was young.

He was even afraid of the martial artists of his own family. What if someone, won over by a rival Trading Company, suddenly drew a sword and stabbed him? This life, which he desperately did not want to end, would be over in an instant.

It must have been because of this fundamental fear.

That he had hoped his sons would handle matters with martial artists in his stead.

That he had hired an expensive martial arts Master for his daughter, who was the most talented of his three children.

That he had entrusted the matter with him to his eldest son.

Even though he knew full well that avoidance always demanded such a high price.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a little startled."

Geom Mugeuk asked, as if to himself.

"I wonder who on earth tried to kill me?"

To Geom Mugeuk's meaningful question, Geum Cheonbang struggled to answer calmly.

"Wouldn't you know that better than I?"

"True! I've lived a life where I've made many enemies."

The reason Geom Mugeuk had come here at this hour was to confirm if Geum Cheonbang was involved in sending the assassins.

Because if he showed up alive and well on the very day the assassins were sent, right after the killing was supposed to have taken place, the culprit would surely reveal a clue.

And Geom Mugeuk was able to figure out who sent the assassins.

It wasn't because of Geum Cheonbang's bewilderment, which he couldn't completely hide no matter how experienced he was.

It was because of that.

Geom Mugeuk's gaze fell upon the shattered teacups and teapot on the floor.

"Did you throw them?"

"No. I dropped them by accident."

"It's not easy for them to shatter so completely, is it?"

He could tell from the broken teacups. The one who sent the assassins was the son, Geum Ahyuk. Geum Cheonbang must have just found out and revealed his anger.

"Raising children isn't easy, is it?"

Geum Cheonbang was flustered by the sudden question.

"What's that all of a sudden?"

He must think I threw them because I was angry at my son!

Contrary to Geum Cheonbang's urgent desire to keep the topic away from his son, Geom Mugeuk turned the subject to himself.

"I was talking about myself. Because I give my father a lot of trouble."

"A truly troublesome son doesn't even know he's being one. Still, what can you do? No matter how much trouble they cause, they're still your child, aren't they? They say no parent can win against their child."

Then Geom Mugeuk said abruptly.

"But aren't there times when a parent must win against their child?" ! The moment he heard those words, Geum Cheonbang was certain.

He seems to know something. He thinks Ahyuk sent them.

All this pressure was Geom Mugeuk's intentional act. Mistakes are always made when one is rushed and flustered. And that mistake would lead him to the mastermind.

"You should ask for advice next time."

Geom Mugeuk added with a smile.

"When it comes to that, my father is the best."

"Your father?"

"He's the foremost expert in the field of parents winning against their children."

The next day, Geum Ahyuk greeted the two people entering his office with a stiff expression.

"I know you don't usually like me, but is there a need to scowl like that?"

Geum Ahyuk's expression wasn't stiff because of his younger brother. It was because of Geom Mugeuk, who had entered with Geum Ajong. A man who should have been dead had arrived.

Until the emergency bell rang last night, he had been in a good mood. He was thinking he would soon hear news that the Western Blade Sect, staying in the guest hall, had been annihilated.

However, he had never imagined the news that all the assassins were dead.

"This here is the expensive two-million-nyang guy my younger brother brought. You know him, right?"

At Geum Ajong's introduction, Geom Mugeuk offered a polite clasped hands greeting.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Geom Yeon."

Geom Mugeuk was treating Geum Ahyuk as if nothing had happened last night.

"I've heard a lot about you, First Young Lord. That's why I really wanted to meet you."

"What have you heard?"

"That you're the leading candidate for the next Patriarch?"

Geum Ahyuk glanced at his younger brother. There was no way that brat would have said anything good about him.

"That remains to be seen. I'm busy today."

He was kicking them out right after the greeting.

Geum Ahyuk returned his gaze to his desk and didn't look up again.

Geum Ajong knew his older brother's personality well, so he knew it was useless to say anything more here. He shot Geom Mugeuk a look that said they should just leave for today.

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

Geom Mugeuk, who had been about to turn and leave after his farewell, turned back as if he had just remembered something.

"Oh, right. Our First Young Lord isn't asking, is he?"

Geum Ahyuk looked at Geom Mugeuk with a gaze that asked what he was trying to say.

"Didn't you hear the news that assassins broke into the guest hall where I was staying yesterday?"

"I heard."

The emotion in Geum Ahyuk's cold eyes was clear. So? You want me to worry about you?

"Aren't you curious? What kind of assassins they were, why they came to kill us. What kind of idiot sent them."

Seeing the tension enter Geum Ahyuk's eyes for a moment, Geom Mugeuk baited his hook with curiosity and leisurely cast his line.

"I think I know who it was."