Chapter 874: You've Saved Up a Lot of Money, Haven't You?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Where the water had receded, only mud remained. Some houses had collapsed, while others were filled to the brim with mud.

People cleared the area, sinking waist-deep into the thick muck as children and adults alike shed tears. The women struggled to salvage any household goods buried in the mud.

A man and a woman watched the scene from a short distance away.

The woman was Geum Arin of the Golden Dragon Clan.

"Last night's flood caused the levee to break, overwhelming the village. Many people died, unable to escape in time," she sighed at the report from the Golden Dragon Chamberlain standing beside her. "Have new houses built for those who lost their homes."

"Surely you don't mean all of them?" the Chamberlain asked, surprised.

"Yes, rebuild all of them. Also, arrange temporary lodging and send relief supplies."

The Patriarch of the Golden Dragon Clan, Geum Cheonbang, had entrusted the family's affairs to Geum Arin and stepped back from the front lines. Now, she made all the family's decisions.

"It will cost more money than you think," the Chamberlain mumbled reluctantly.

However, Geum Arin was firm. This village was located not too far from the Golden Dragon Clan, after all. "Even so, we can't just stand by and watch those people suffer, can we?"

"We can request cooperation from the Murim Alliance to handle this together," the Chamberlain argued.

"This is our territory. We should be the ones to look after these people."

"Didn't you spend a hundred thousand taels for people from another region last time?"

Geum Arin nodded. She understood the Chamberlain's concern. "Are you worried I'll squander the main family's fortune?"

"That's not it, but…"

Geum Arin smiled. Despite his words, he was clearly worried. "I'm a greedy person, too, but this is something that must be done."

"……"

The Chamberlain's gaze seemed to ask why she had changed so much, but she didn't tell him. "Please proceed at once."

"Yes, I understand."

Geum Arin stood for a moment, watching the restoration work. Not only the villagers but also martial artists with swords at their waists had come to help with the recovery.

The men cleared heavy debris while the women carried out household items from their homes. Some were looking after the children. A fire was lit on one side, and food was cooked to feed the young ones. The clueless little kids giggled and ran around.

Just then, someone spoke from behind her. "Looks like the Golden Dragon Clan is making a lot of money these days."

She turned in surprise to see a middle-aged man standing a short distance away. He had a round face and a portly build, but his presence was incredibly sharp, belying his unassuming appearance.

Geum Arin was taken aback. She a martial arts expert who had once led the secret organization run by the Golden Dragon Trading Company. Although she had been neglecting her martial arts training lately after formally taking over the family's affairs, she still possessed the sharpness to recognize an opponent's skill at a glance.

He's a master.

Yes, this man was a master so powerful that even she had to be on high alert. Worse, the moment she saw him, she knew he had not come with good intentions.

SHHHHK!

A man with pure white hair appeared before her, releasing his concealment. He was Lim Hyuk, her bodyguard. She had deliberately brought only him here to avoid causing a commotion.

Lim Hyuk warned Geum Arin through telepathy. [He is a master. Please be careful.]

Geum Arin nodded. Many things had happened after the rumor spread through the merchant world that her father had stepped down. There were schemes by those who thought she was naive about the world and tried to lowball contract terms, or those who saw her as an easy target and tried to gain some advantage. Many of their methods had failed, but no one had ever confronted her so directly.

Lim Hyuk drew his sword, but the man showed no fear.

From that alone, Geum Arin could tell the opponent's skill surpassed Lim Hyuk's, so she had him step aside. If the opponent had intended to kill her, he would have ambushed her instead of revealing himself.

She asked politely, "May I ask for your esteemed name, Senior?"

"People call me the Bloody Wallet."

Lim Hyuk's expression hardened, recognizing the alias. If the rumors about the Bloody Wallet's skills were true, he was an opponent they couldn't easily handle even if they attacked together.

Geum Arin had also heard of the Bloody Wallet. After all, he was an infamous figure in the merchant world, notorious for latching onto trading companies across the Central Plains like a leech and extorting money from them.

One might think such a scoundrel couldn't be much of a master, but the murim always had its exceptions. They say money can even command ghosts, and the fact that he survived while extorting from the cash-rich merchant world was proof of what a formidable master he was.

The Bloody Wallet enjoyed exerting his influence in the merchant world and took pleasure in ripping them off. The money he extorted this way was squandered on alcohol and gambling. He was also known to spend tens of thousands of taels in a single night at a brothel.

"A person of great renown has graced us with his presence," she said sarcastically.

The Bloody Wallet grinned widely. "How could my reputation compare to yours? I hear the Golden Dragon Clan is busy saving the world these days."

Geum Arin scowled. It seemed her recent good deeds had reached the ears of this money-grubbing demon. "There's a reason for those good deeds."

"What reason?"

"I made a promise. To live a good life."

"With whom?"

Geum Arin smiled. Originally, she wasn't the type to help those in need or make donations, but after becoming the successor of the Golden Dragon Clan, she had not spared any expense in performing good deeds.

She was living with the mindset of atoning for her past mistakes, and following the will of the one person who had helped her become the successor.

"There's someone whose name uses the character for smoke," she answered. "It's a promise with that person, who vanished like smoke."

Of course, the Bloody Wallet had no idea what she was talking about. "Why do you still keep someone who vanished like smoke in your heart?"

Because he isn't just any smoke.

Even now, Geum Arin thought of Geom Yeon from time to time and all the amazing things he had accomplished. It would be nice to see him one more time, but she would likely never see him again.

"Why have you come to see me?" she asked, feigning ignorance despite knowing better than anyone why he had visited. "Please, tell me."

The Bloody Wallet took a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out. It was a contract stating that she would pay three hundred thousand taels in exchange for protection from an enemy.

Geum Arin grit her teeth. He's demanding a staggering three hundred thousand taels!?

"Who is this dangerous enemy written here?" she demanded.

The Bloody Wallet slowly approached her in response. Lim Hyuk tried to block him, but Geum Arin signaled that it was fine. Now that he had presented the contract, nothing would happen until she affixed her seal.

The Bloody Wallet came to her side and looked at the restoration work. A man covered head to toe in mud passed them, pushing a handcart filled with mud and broken furniture.

Watching the scene, the Bloody Wallet mentioned someone. "From what I hear, there's a very vicious bastard in the merchant world. They say he's so greedy for money that he's a madman who isn't satisfied until he's taken everything his opponent has, including their life. I've heard he's like a natural disaster that merchants can't defend against, just like the flood that swept through this place." He turned to look at Geum Arin. "I'm saying I'll protect you from him."

Geum Arin understood. That vicious bastard was none other than the Bloody Wallet himself. In other words, it was a shameless threat—if she didn't hand over three hundred thousand taels, he would take all her money and kill her.

He must have prepared the contract so that he could claim it was a legitimate transaction if the Murim Alliance later took issue with it.

Geum Arin recalled a recent incident in the merchant world. "I heard a rumor recently that the Director of the Nine Dragons Trading Company had one of his arms cut off. Was that the work of that vicious man as well?"

It was publicly known that he lost his arm in an accident, but seeing the Bloody Wallet, she was certain he too had fallen victim to the scoundrel.

The Bloody Wallet's smirk confirmed her guess. "I'd say that vicious bastard showed mercy. He ended it with just one arm."

Geum Arin fumed. When her father was the Patriarch, the Bloody Wallet had never visited the Golden Dragon Clan. Her father's close relationship with the Murim Alliance Chairman was public knowledge.

Now that she had taken over the family's affairs, though, he had shown up as if to make a point, as if he had been waiting for this very moment. Moreover, for him to come to her like this while her father was still very much alive meant that this man not only had the skills but also the audacity of a true madman.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have that much money right now. If you come back later, I'll give it to you then."

"You have money to build houses for those people, though?"

Geum Arin sighed inwardly. It looked like the Bloody Wallet had overheard her earlier conversation with the Chamberlain. That was why he had said, "Looks like the Golden Dragon Clan is making a lot of money these days."

"Alright, let's do this. First, I'll take just the money to build their houses. I'll consider the rest a loan from me to you. I'll only charge one percent interest per day," the Bloody Wallet said, presenting an unacceptable condition.

Geum Arin gave no answer. This man clearly enjoyed this kind of process. The amount of money wasn't important to him. What mattered was the opponent's reaction.

"Ah, you probably haven't heard that rumor," the Bloody Wallet continued. "They say that before the vicious man cut off his arm, the bodyguard protecting the Nine Dragons Director was beheaded. You haven't heard that, have you? Your only concern is money, after all. The Director of the Nine Dragons Trading Company boasted that he wouldn't give any money because he trusted the bodyguard protecting him. In the end, only that bodyguard met a pitiful fate. I heard he had a family, too."

Geum Arin narrowed her eyes. That was a threat to kill Lim Hyuk. The Bloody Wallet was truly arrogant, extorting money and mocking her at the same time.

He followed up his threat by drawing his sword.

SHIIING!

"Let me lessen our Young Lady's worries. People tend to make decisions faster once their subordinate's head is cut off."

He moved to kill Lim Hyuk.

Geum Arin stated coldly, "If you touch us, the Murim Alliance won't stand by."

The Bloody Wallet snorted, confident she wouldn't report this incident to her father. "You're the one leading the family, and you're going to tattle to your father because you can't handle your own affairs? Go on, tell him."

Geum Arin's heart sank. Her appeal to use the Murim Alliance was useless.

"Even if the Murim Alliance comes to investigate, I'll bribe the investigator with half of the three hundred thousand taels. Let's see if he chooses justice or money." The Bloody Wallet smirked, enjoying the situation. For him, there was nothing more thrilling than taking away what was most important to someone. He taunted, "I will kill this man and cut off one of your arms. Then again, even without an arm, someone else will count your money for you. They'll feed you and wash you, too. That's the great thing about being rich."

Geum Arin's expression hardened. Damn it, there's not guarantee we could win in a fight…

"I'll affix my seal," she said in the end. She couldn't lose Lim Hyuk over three hundred thousand taels. She then added, "If you kill him, you'll have to get that seal from my father."

She meant she would die here with her subordinate as well.

"Then I'll just take one arm from this man." The Bloody Wallet raised his sword to cut off Lim Hyuk's arm.

Geum Arin drew her own sword and stood in front of the man who had been her bodyguard since she was a child. "You won't touch a single hair on his head!"

Lim Hyuk stepped in front of her again. He would give not just his arm but his life if it meant she could be safe. "I will be fine, Young Lady."

The Bloody Wallet laughed, "Acting so devoted, how can I not kill him? I'm curious to see the reaction."

He raised his sword high.

SPLAT!

Something flew toward the Bloody Wallet. Thinking it was a hidden weapon, he glanced down in surprise, only to see he was splattered with mud.

He looked up and realized that a young man who had been moving debris with a handcart had thrown mud at him.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? Everyone else is working, and you're just picking fights!" the young man scolded.

The Bloody Wallet was momentarily dumbfounded. He had not only been interrupted, but hit with mud.

Why didn't I sense it? Is it because he has no killing intent?

He stared at the young man, who wore a sword, but showed no sign of having learned martial arts.

Above all, he felt no tension because the young man's face and entire body were covered in mud. A true master would never be doing this kind of hard manual labor.

The Bloody Wallet laughed out loud, amused. "Lost your house, so now you've lost your mind?"

"Could it be?" Geum Arin's eyes, fixed on the young man, grew wider and wider.

When she first saw him, his face seemed familiar. She hadn't recognized him at once because his whole body and face were covered in mud, but when she heard his voice, she knew.

"Geom Yeon!"

Geum Arin had never been so happy to see someone. She was so overjoyed she almost cheered. Surprisingly, the person passing by with the handcart was none other than Geom Mugeuk.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Geom Mugeuk replied, "I was on my way to see you, but I couldn't just pass by when I saw these people suffering, so I was helping out."

"You were on your way to see me? Why?"

"Have you already forgotten? I told you I'd introduce you to some friends next time, didn't I?"

Geum Arin was stunned.

That's right. He did say that. That he had friends who were too pure for their positions. That he would introduce me to such people.

She had interpreted his words to mean that her position as the Young Lady of the Golden Dragon Clan wasn't so great, and that she should just live a good life without making a fuss, but he had really come to introduce her to his friends?

On the other hand, the Bloody Wallet's expression hardened. The fact that this man knew Geum Arin bothered him. It meant he had approached them intentionally.

Indeed, Geom Mugeuk threw an unexpected question at the Bloody Wallet. "You've saved up a lot of money, haven't you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"My friends have such sharp ears. They heard everything. I might have tipped them off a little, too. And… they're all very eager to cut off your arms."

"What?"

"See, there are five others besides me in my group, so not only your arms but your legs have all been claimed. It looks like you'll have to spend the rest of your life lying down, having someone feed you. You're going to need a lot of money."

The Bloody Wallet's expression hardened instantly. This young man's words were too strange to be the mere ramblings of a madman.

Geom Mugeuk continued, "One person in particular got really heated. Why did you have to bring up the Murim Alliance? I'll try to stop him, but he's rediscovered his true nature during this trip and has become very rough and violent. He might even defect to the unorthodox at this rate."

"?" The Bloody Wallet had no idea what this mud-caked young man was talking about.

Geom Mugeuk looked back at the busy construction site. "Now then, allow me to introduce my friends!"