Acquiring the Murim with Money - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 11. Physical Strength Is Commercial Strength!

‘Merely lining customers up to sell is amateur work. Real merchants exploit a database of loyal patrons—extracting advance payments before even producing the goods. That’s the subscription model.’
That afternoon, led by Donggi, Baek Unwhee’s servant, a troop of small operatives from the Cheoni Network carried elegantly packaged letters to fifty of Nakyang’s finest mansions.
By that evening, the social circles of Nakyang were in upheaval.
“My goodness! You received an invitation with a Purple Jade Token from Baekun Trading Company?”
“Alas, our servants arrived late last time, so we missed out on nearly all the Royal Jelly Honey Paste. I received nothing myself. But you should have seen how Lady Yi held that token on her table—such airs she put on!”
The mere fact of being among “the chosen fifty” functioned as a powerful symbol of wealth and status in Nakyang’s upper echelons.
Noblewomen who failed to receive invitations sent servants to Baekun Trading Company with bribes, demanding the tokens be sold to them.
Half a day, nothing more.
All fifty Purple Jade Tokens sold out the instant the invitations were dispatched. Not a single pastry baked, not a sack of flour purchased—yet through nothing but cunning merchant tactics that wed a customer database to exclusivity, five hundred silver taels flowed into Baekun Trading Company’s coffers as advance payment.
Whoosh!
The moment the advance payments arrived, energy surged into Baek Unwhee’s Dantian, and a golden notification blazed across his vision like a popup.

[Notification: Established VVIP Subscription Model through Loyal Customer Database]
[Secured massive advance payment and intangible asset value surge (brand loyalty). Real-time reflection in practitioner’s Inner Power portfolio!]

“Staggering, truly. To drain a thousand taels in a single day with nothing but a name and no goods delivered.”
Dang Soyou, watching from a distance, let out a hollow laugh, while Baek Yeonhwa stood transfixed, staring at the swelling coffers.
“Well, the company vault is nicely stocked now and my Inner Power’s solid as stone.”
Baek Unwhee patted the now-heavy purse of coins and turned to regard Baek Yeonhwa and Dang Soyou.
“Shall we go finish cleaning up the foundation?”
As Baek Unwhee turned with buoyant steps, his eyes glimmered with golden light.

* * *

Baek Unwhee’s party headed straight for the Black Snake Gang Headquarters in Nakyang’s outskirts.
The headquarters was already on the verge of collapse. The disabled gang leader Jo Cheol and the wounded action commander Jo Sik had been quietly murdered by someone, and the remaining stragglers were frantically packing their belongings.
“Hey! I claimed this leader’s chair first! Don’t touch it!”
“Vice-leader! That leg’s broken!”
Vice-leader Gu Sang was a rare sort of man in the criminal underworld—one who grasped the unwritten rules of alleyway survival and possessed wit enough to use them.
Lacking any real martial prowess but risen to vice-leader through cunning alone, he was the first to sense the crisis and swiftly claimed everything of value. The remaining gang members were too busy squabbling over each other’s bundles to notice.
Crash!
“Oi, brothers! Off so quickly without collecting your severance?”
The warehouse door shattered as Baek Yeonhwa and Baek Unwhee strode in side by side.
“You’re with Baekun Trading Company?”
The Black Snake Gang remnants, burdened by their past crimes and lacking martial skill, bolted for the exits without hesitation.
Baek Yeonhwa, cutting off their escape route, brought the flat of her sword to Gu Sang’s shoulder—the first to flee—and pinned him gently.
Thwack!
“Agh! My bones!”
When Baek Unwhee joined in, flicking a few coins, the rest of the gang members were sprawling on the ground in seconds.
“Y-you are···!”
Already desperate, Gu Sang felt his mind reeling at the sight of Dang Soyou entering casually alongside them. Why was that infamous physician-toxicologist, notorious for both medical skill and poison, walking alongside Baekun Trading Company?
“We’ve committed no real crime! We only did as we were ordered! Please, spare our lives!”
Gu Sang clung to Baek Unwhee’s feet as though he would lick his shoes.
Already having discerned through the Golden Divine Eye that Gu Sang possessed exceptional cunning, Baek Unwhee spoke.
“Gu Sang, you must know better than anyone how Feongtian Trading Company swallowed Nakyang’s commercial sphere these past three years.”
“I—I know nothing···”
Baek Unwhee cut through Gu Sang’s stammering denial and continued.
“I had hoped you possessed enough wit to secure yourself a lifeline. Disappointing. Do you think Jo Cheol and Jo Sik were eliminated by whom? Do you imagine you can escape Feongtian Trading Company simply by running?”
Baek Unwhee regarded the trembling man’s eyes with cold clarity.
“Come to think of it, there’s no need to go as far as Feongtian. What you’ve done to our company alone justifies killing you where you stand. So here’s my final offer: prove you’re worth something. Do that, and I’ll open a path to your survival.”
The Black Snake Gang remnants, kneeling on the ground with only their eyes moving, stared at Gu Sang with desperate hope. His pupils trembled violently.
He seemed to reach a decision, swallowed hard, glanced about carefully, and withdrew a small Account Ledger from deep within his robes.
“···That fool Jo Cheol, he just beat anyone who couldn’t pay and moved on. But something felt off about it all.”
“Off?”
“The merchants whose shops we terrorized into debt—when they went under, Feongtian Trading Company representatives would appear days later and buy the land and buildings at rock-bottom prices. I’ve got a nose for suspicious things, so I recorded all the dates and transaction details.”
Gu Sang handed over the Account Ledger with a servile smile.
The moment Baek Unwhee snatched it up, he felt his Inner Power condense firmly around it. Now certain of the document’s value, he pored over the Account Ledger with meticulous care.
“So here we have Old Man O’s soup restaurant, Mr. Park’s fabric shop, Ilsin Trading Company—most of them are properties Feongtian Trading Company covets, or competitors that stand in their way. Does the Black Snake Gang strangle them with usury, and then Feongtian Trading Company swaggers in as the ‘savior,’ swallowing up the choicest morsels for themselves?”
It was an Account Ledger that could prove Feongtian Trading Company’s filthy, illegal acquisitions. Gong Jayang would have cut every tail that might appear in the records, but unless he eliminated everyone involved through murder, evidence always surfaced somewhere.
“Good. More useful than I expected. I’ll show you the path to survival. Take refuge in our Trading Company until the Feongtian matter is settled. Stay quiet, and when I need you to act, you’ll do your part.”
The faces of the Black Snake Gang’s remnants flushed with hope at Baek Unwhee’s words, but Gu Sang was the sort of man who guarded his own life above all else.
“Surely that role doesn’t require us to stake our lives, does it? As you can see, our Martial Arts are weak. Going against Feongtian Trading Company and hitching ourselves to Baekun Trading Company—that’s rather… ha ha…”
Gu Sang spoke with careful calculation. Unable to hold back any longer, Baek Yeonhwa cut in coldly.
“When you were skulking about causing trouble, you were bold enough. Now you’re hesitant? Perhaps it’s better to cut your lifeline right here.”
Toward Gu Sang, whose face had turned the color of death again, Baek Unwhee spoke—as if he’d prepared this moment, the whip and carrot flowed seamlessly together.
“You won’t officially enter our ranks. Think of it as temporary contract labor, yes? According to the contract, you’ll do only what’s asked of you. Surely that’s fair compensation for saving your lives?”
“Indeed it is. We’ll trust in you, sir.”
The Black Snake Gang’s remnants, including Gu Sang, whose form of address had already shifted, nodded earnestly.
‘Where has Jo Cheol hidden all the money he’s accumulated over the years? I don’t see anything particularly valuable here…’
Baek Unwhee released an aura of the Great Heaven Capital Work, which resonated particularly keenly with his sensitivity to wealth.
‘Found it!’
Behind the wall where Jo Cheol’s chair had stood, he sensed the pure, golden essence of refined metal. When he pried open the hidden compartment, he found a Pure Gold Ingot accumulated over time and bundles of silver coins.
The moment the gold ingot touched his palm, a response came.
Whoooosh!
His Dantian grew heavy, and he felt his Inner Power threshold rising.
“Hah… nothing beats actual assets like gold for building power.”
When Baek Unwhee closed his eyes and opened them again, a golden gleam flashed momentarily around him. Dang Soyou, watching from the side, clicked his tongue with interest.
“Well, look at that fellow. He touches the gold ingot and his Inner Power increases? The more I watch, the more he becomes a subject worth studying.”
Now Baek Unwhee held Feongtian Trading Company’s secrets in his grasp, and had drawn even the darkness of Nakyang into his own ledgers.

* * *

Before the massive bronze lion statue of Feongtian Trading Company.
Poong Geun stared down at his bundle of possessions with hollow eyes.
The words he had just heard from Gong Jayang lodged in his chest like a hidden blade.

“Is that enormous muscle purely for show? A security captain who collapses at a single coin—it’s pathetic. Get out.”

His shoulders, which he had forced to swell to meet the intimidating demands of his employment, sagged helplessly.
In truth, he was a simple man who felt joy only in the growth of his muscles. But maintaining this massive frame required an enormous food budget—meat, specifically.
To manage the several pounds of meat he needed daily, he had no choice but to serve as Feongtian Trading Company’s dog, despite it going against his nature.
“Sigh… my supply of Meat Qi is cut off now. If my muscles start to waste away…”
As he sat in a tavern outside Feongtian Trading Company, sighing heavily, a shadow fell across his table.
“There you are. I found you, captain.”
When he looked up, there stood Baek Unwhee, the man who had brought him to his knees with a single coin, smiling broadly.
“You are? Ah, my rudeness yesterday—I apologize. I had my reasons… But who are you, and how did you find me? What is this about?”
Thanks to the Golden Divine Eye, Baek Unwhee already knew the truth: Poong Geun was an undervalued treasure, the surest foundation upon which the Trading Company’s inner strength could be built. He slid a plate of sliced beef toward him.
“Feongtian Trading Company lacks the eye for talent. To discard a man of your caliber over a single mistake—it’s foolish.”
Poong Geun swallowed hard, mesmerized by the lustrous sheen of the beef, and asked.
“Did you… come to mock me?”
“No. I’ve come to invite you as a partner. I’m offering you the position of Master of the Training Hall at Baekun Trading Company. The conditions are simple: train our people and our family members.”
Baek Unwhee added with a disarming smile.
“Pork, chicken, eggs daily—and if you need it, fish as well! Unlimited meat is guaranteed.”
Poong Geun’s eyes widened. Unlimited meat! To a man devoted to strength, it was a sweeter offer than any treasure.
“Do you really mean… truly mean I can eat as much as I want? Not just me, but the people receiving training as well?”
“We don’t stint on investment in the Trading Company’s future.”
And so Baekun Trading Company gained a new member to manage its strength and provisions.

* * *

After Poong Geun’s arrival, Baek Unwhee called together all the Trading Company’s members and gave his order.
“If you lack strength, everything you possess can be taken from you at any moment. You must build strength to protect yourselves and our Trading Company. I intend to spare no expense in this effort. Going forward, the morning training sessions overseen by Master Poong Geun are to be attended without exception—whether you’re a senior administrator or a common laborer.”
‘A Trading Company is where money flows, and it’s always exposed to danger. There are other ways—hiring more guards, for instance. But this path makes everyone stronger and safer more efficiently.’
Training to protect and strengthen the entire Trading Company’s assets was organized with perfect specialization.
Master Poong Geun of the Training Hall was put in charge of External Strength and physical conditioning.
Beyond muscle training, Poong Geun would periodically adapt the foundational forms of the Iron Muscle Strengthening Method he had mastered and pass them on to the others. His goal was to ensure that everyone learned at least basic Self-Defense Martial Arts.
“Alright, starting now—Duck Walk for the first ten to finish! Anyone slow gets an extra quarter-hour of Horse Stance.”
Baek Yeonhwa, the chief of guards, oversaw Inner Power cultivation and foundational swordsmanship.
During the days when the Baekun Trading Company flourished, Baek Yeonhwa had studied diverse martial arts from many masters, learning various sword techniques and Breathing Methods. She taught the most practical and effective Breathing Method to everyone in Cheongsu Village and to any laborer who wished to learn. She also directly instructed those with talent in foundational swordsmanship.
“Without a foundation of Inner Power, even the mightiest frame is nothing but a hollow cake. Learn to breathe deeply and gather your Qi in the Dantian.”

* * *

Poong Geun no longer needed to force a stern expression. Instead, he had become an evangelist of the Way of Muscle, expounding it with genuine enthusiasm. Watching this with quiet satisfaction, Baek Unwhee saw Poong Geun approach, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Master Baek, don’t just stand there watching. Come join us. Your Inner Power overflows right now, but the vessel holding it is far too thin.”
Baek Unwhee’s expression hardened.
“Lord Poong, I… I’m the manager. I should focus on running the company and its strategies…”
“Strategy means nothing if your body gives out! Come on—five hundred rounds of Horse Stance, let’s begin!”
Baek Unwhee understood at that moment. This recruitment would exact a tremendous price from his own body: severe muscle soreness.

Acquiring the Jianghu with Money Episode 11

Author
Song Jjeonbol
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yun Taeri
Cover
Sik

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260907057.0011

ⓒ2026, Song Jjeonbol

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transformed in any form without the permission of the author and publisher.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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