Acquiring the Murim with Money - Chapter 21

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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 21. Hostile (Physical) Merger and Acquisition.

The office of Baek Un Trading Company the next day.
“According to the ledgers, I’ve become fabulously wealthy. Yet reality is rather harsh.”
In the office of Baek Un Trading Company, So Ryang set down the abacus, his eyes hollow with exhaustion.
“Baek Un-hui, you’re here? I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so I went ahead with it, but I’m worried we’ve overextended ourselves. We’ve drained nearly every coin from the company to acquire all these operations. The company’s only just stabilized, and after the Yellow Jade Thorns incident, we’ve had to scale back the limited-edition tea and pastry business considerably. Our cash flow isn’t healthy right now. We’ve got to feed all the workers we just took on, transport medicinal herbs, and the expenses are piling up like mountains.”
“Our core business is running smoothly, so the cash flow will improve steadily. The next limited edition will be out soon too. Still, we should deal with the immediate pressure first, shouldn’t we?”
Baek Un-hui chuckled and pulled a crisp voucher from his robes, setting it on the table.
“I’ve asked our generous financial backer for some covering fire.”
“This… this is an Unmarked Voucher for ten thousand taels from Geum Shin Money House?!”
So Ryang’s jaw fell open.
“Seo Ha-rin handed it over without hesitation. Said if we can neutralize Pung Cheon Trading Company definitively, he’ll even waive some interest.”
Baek Un-hui spoke with ease, but his mind was working coldly through the situation.
‘Of course it’s not free. Geum Shin Money House has no interest in clashing directly with Pung Cheon either. The whole Jeon Seo-gu problem aside, they want to use us to contain Pung Cheon’s monopolistic reach over Naksang’s interests. The cash infusion is welcome, but too much outside money means they’ll have the leash around our necks.’
“Anyway, we’ve put out the immediate fire. Send people out now to get all the newly acquired operations running full throttle. Let’s turn the screws on those Pung Cheon bastards.”

* * *

Four days later. The Herb Processing Workshop south of Naksang, newly acquired by Baek Un Trading Company.
“Hey, you lot! Drop what you’re doing and get out! As of today, the Azure Dragon Society is taking over this workshop!”
Dozens of thugs from the Black Path burst in, kicking the door aside and brandishing their weapons menacingly. They were riffraff belonging to the Azure Dragon Society, which boasted the largest numbers in Naksang.
But the workers hauling herbs reacted nothing like the thugs expected. Rather than fleeing in fear, they set down their loads, grinned wickedly, and picked up clubs and pickaxes.
“Ha! We’ve bled ourselves dry working under Master Pung. What makes you alley-rat dregs think you can waltz in here and claim the place?”
The rough-hewn workers from Cheong Soo Faction were sneering as they positioned themselves against the Azure Dragon Society, when Gwang-du, the transport section leader who’d been inspecting the processing equipment, stepped forward with a massive hammer slung across his shoulder.
“The supervisor was right to warn us about flies trying to swarm in. Men, ready the Hundred Needle Tubes! Let them have it!”
“Yes, Section Leader!”
The workers simultaneously raised metal contraptions fastened around their wrists.
Born from Dang So-yu’s design and Gwang-du’s craftsmanship—a simple-to-operate but devastating self-defense weapon, the Concealed Weapon Tube.
Pfft-pfft-pfft-thunk!
As the trigger was pulled, a torrent of paralysis needles rained down, striking the thighs and knees of the thugs in the front ranks.
“Aaahhh! My legs!”
“W-what—these aren’t ordinary workers!”
“Scatter before your skulls get smashed, you dogs!”
Gwang-du whirled his hammer in broad arcs and charged forward; the decimated Azure Dragon Society thugs, legs paralyzed and numb, fled in panic, dragging themselves away.
Similar skirmishes erupted at Baek Cho Market and the Wharf, and the Azure Dragon Society’s coordinated assault was repelled on all fronts.

* * *

“So we half-killed the ones who attacked and drove them off. But the problem is, there are so many of them that they keep lurking around, looking for a chance to torch our operations.”
As Gwang-du rushed into the office with his report, Baek Un-hui’s eyes gleamed with intent.
‘If they can’t win in a legal market, they’ll resort to force to destroy asset value?’
Gu Sang, standing nearby, added a note of concern to his voice.
“The head of the Azure Dragon Society, Gwak Dae-san, is a first-class master with a name in Naksang. On top of that, he’s hired wanderer masters for pay and brought in even a former-generation Black Path master as a guest expert—this Dok Go Cheon, I believe. The thugs under him are mostly rabble, but there are hundreds of them. Careless action could lead to serious losses.”
“Lots of numbers and a solid backing? Then why waste time snipping at tails? We cut off the head and take the banner.”
‘The justification for a counterattack is perfect, and this might even be an opportunity.’
Baek Un-hui rose smoothly from his seat. Instead of anger, a cold, ruthless merchant’s smile crossed his face.
“Master Dang, have you heard the rumors that the finest silk—’Thousand-Year Snow Fragrance,’ the kind presented even to the imperial court—is hidden in the underground warehouse of their headquarters, Man Hong Tower? Why don’t we take a leisurely stroll by and have a look?”
“I was just getting restless sitting at home and thinking of going out anyway. So what are you waiting for? Lead the way.”

* * *

Man Hong Tower, a vast pleasure house in the heart of Naksang.
In the private chamber on the highest floor, Gwak Dae-san, the Azure Dragon Society master, lounged with courtesans on either side, sipping wine.
“Hah-hah! The Pung Cheon Trading Company promised us half of Baek Un Trading Company’s territory. Smashing a few of those merchant dogs’ storefronts is child’s play!”
Across from him sat a sharp-eyed wanderer swordsman and a white-haired former-generation Black Path master with a sinister aura, the Blackblood Demon Hand, Dok Go Cheon, both lounging with cups in hand.
Bang!
Suddenly, a sturdy wooden door shattered to splinters. Through the dust, Baek Un-hui walked in with unhurried grace.
Behind him stood Pung Geun, a towering figure, and Baek Yeon-hwa, as sharp and deadly as a masterfully tempered blade, with Dang So-yu trailing a step behind, hands clasped behind his back in an air of indifference.
“Yes, yes—you’re from the Baek Un Trading Company! How dare you crawl into a place like this! Boys!”
As Gwak Dae-san bellowed and signaled, dozens of thugs waiting outside drew their weapons and surged toward the cell like a dark tide. At the same moment, the wanderer master seated before Gwak Dae-san and Dok Go Cheon rose to their feet, murderous intent pouring from them.
“Pathetic fools. I’ll tear you to shreds with these hands—”
Dok Go Cheon was drawing up his energy when—
“Well now. Are you going to keep munching on age and rush into a children’s squabble, hastening your own demise?”
Dang So-yu, who had been standing at the back as if merely observing, drew a massive large needle with a faint blue sheen from his robes and casually released a ripple of power.
Dok Go Cheon, spotting Dang So-yu only now, quickly did the calculations in his head. Once he’d finished his mental math, he cleared his throat and brushed off his sleeves.
“Ahem! The wine has gotten the better of me today, and it wouldn’t be proper for me to involve myself in the squabbles of these young upstarts.”
Dok Go Cheon swallowed hard, subtly withdrew his power, and stepped back. He’d lived well on generous pay and respect, but he had no intention of risking his life against someone of Dang So-yu’s caliber.
“S-sir?! After all the compensation you’ve received, what do you mean by this?”
As his most trusted backer withdrew at lightning speed, Gwak Dae-san’s face flushed with shock and betrayal.
Panicked, Gwak Dae-san shouted at the wanderer master beside him.
“Ya Sal! Cut down that giant first!”
“Die!”
The wanderer master drew his blade and rushed forward.
“Lord Pung!”
At Baek Un-hui’s cry, Pung Geun roared with vigor and clashed with the wanderer master.
Clang!
The wanderer’s swift blade cut viciously, but Pung Geun repelled it with overwhelming toughness and raw power, driving his massive fist forward methodically, backing the wanderer into a corner.
“Damn it! Boys! Strike down that company master first!”
Dozens of Azure Dragon Society fighters poured into the cell entrance and charged at Baek Un-hui in unison.
“Quite the crowd. Here we go—watch your heads!”
Baek Un-hui began flicking his fingers in rapid succession. One-coin copper pieces shot out like gunfire.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
“Head! Shoulder! Chest! Foot! Knee!”

Whistle-thwack! Aaargh! Whistle-whistle-gasp!

With each of Baek Un-hui’s calls, coins infused with inner energy struck with perfect precision.
“Hck! The attack pattern itself is simple. Just listen and block it!”
A sharp-witted Azure Dragon Society captain barely deflected one coin and shouted.
“Oh, you’ve figured out my technique? Then let’s try again—head!”
Whistle-thwack!
“Aaaaagh! You said head, so why—!”
The captain, who’d raised his arms to block the head strike, collapsed foaming at the mouth, clutching his groin.
Baek Un-hui laughed wickedly and fired coins in rapid succession.
“Sorry, my tongue got ahead of me! This time—vital point!”
“Aaaah! My nose!”
“Up! Down! Up! Up! Down!”
“Y-you demon!”
The Azure Dragon Society men fell into complete panic. Block high and coins pierced the groin; block low and the bridge of the nose shattered.
Using the cheapest one-coin pieces to utterly shatter the enemy’s will to fight—a vicious technique that even boasted remarkable cost-efficiency.
Dozens of Black Path fighters hired by the Azure Dragon Society couldn’t even properly enter the room, writhing on the floor and screaming.
As Pung Geun pressed the wanderer master and Baek Un-hui flicked coins, Baek Yeon-hwa slowly drew her blade and stepped forward.
Gwak Dae-san, his indignation rising, unsheathed the massive large blade on his back.
“You think Gwak Dae-san falls so easily? How dare a woman draw steel and intrude on men’s business? Your face is quite pretty, isn’t it? I’ll make sure you never wear that proud expression again—I’ll throw you into the lowest room of the pleasure house myself and make you weep every night!”
At those vile words, Baek Yeon-hwa’s eyes turned coldly dangerous.
“······Your tongue is long indeed. That filthy mouth of yours speaks no more.”
“Wretched woman!”
Gwak Dae-san’s large blade descended like lightning with a terrifying sound, carrying the crushing weight of a first-class master’s blow. Baek Yeon-hwa raised her blade to deflect it, but the tremendous force drove her back several steps.
Clang! Clang!
Their weapons clashed fiercely in the narrow cell. Gwak Dae-san, a true master who’d clawed his way up from the depths of the Black Path, fought without gaps, and his heavy blade struck with menacing precision.
‘Every strike is heavy and sharp. But···’
Baek Yeon-hwa drew up her Dantian power. Days ago, the moment Baek Un-hui acquired the Baek Cho Market, he’d swept up all its finest medicinal herbs and asked Dang So-yu to craft a special elixir—the Hundred Herb Clear Blood Pill.
That elixir, which had vastly expanded her inner energy, now spiraled explosively through every meridian of her body.
“Die!”
Gwak Dae-san, grinning viciously as if victory was within reach, swung his blade wide—and in that unguarded moment—
Whistle!
Baek Yeon-hwa’s form shimmered like heat haze before his eyes. A subtle move born of expanded inner energy and recent enlightenment.
“What—what on earth—!”
A cold flash of steel traced a crescent arc behind Gwak Dae-san’s back.
Crack—!
“Ugh…….”
With a dull thud of something striking the floor, blood fountained from Gwak Dae-san’s throat.
For a man of his experience and skill in the Martial World, such a pathetic end should have been impossible—yet Baek Yeon-hwa’s Inner Energy and insight, superior for her years, combined with his own careless moment of contempt for a woman, had proven merciless.
The Black Path magnate who ruled Naksang’s pleasure quarters and back alleys met an ignominious end.
Baek Yeon-hwa wiped the blood from her blade and turned around.
In one corner of the room, Pung Geun had a Wanderer master pinned to the floor, breathing hard as he shook the blood from his knuckles.
The moment fortune turned against them, most of the rabble fled. Apart from the Baek Un Trading Company’s people, not a single man remained standing.
Those who walk the Martial World—especially those bound to the Black Path—rarely live long. Dok Go Cheon had not endured to his age without reason. From the start, he had watched and waited; the moment the fighting began, he slipped away faster and quieter than anyone. Dang So-yu had kept his movements in sight but made no move to stop him.
Baek Un-hui laughed softly and rifled through Gwak Dae-san’s robes, pulling out a blood-stained seal and a bundle of secret ledgers.
“This is the price for attacking the Baek Un Trading Company. From this day forward, all the pleasure quarters and inns the Azure Dragon Society once managed, and all the back alley commerce of Naksang, belong to us.”
The moment Baek Un-hui’s fingers closed around the seal and ledgers, a torrent of scalding Inner Energy surged from his fingertips toward his Dantian. It was a sweet rush of growth, enough to wash away in an instant his anxiety over the additional debt he had drawn from the Geum Shin Money House.

Making Merger and Acquisition in the Martial World, Chapter 21

Author
Song Bbun-bol
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yoon Tae-ri
Cover Design
Sik

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260907057.0021

ⓒ2026, Song Bbun-bol

※ This electronic book is protected under the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part of this work may be reproduced or modified 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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