Acquiring the Murim with Money - Chapter 22

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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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Episode 22. Bank Run

The next day, in the Baek Yun Trading Company Office.
Before Baek Yunhwi, who held a bundle of business rights and smiled contentedly, lay a Gold Pouch and a piece of Han-cheol that had been discovered in Gwak Daesan’s secret vault.
“You called for me.”
The door opened, and Gusang entered carefully.
Baek Yunhwi slipped the Gold Pouch into his robe and tossed the Han-cheol to him.
“This is a truly rare metal—the kind that’s difficult to obtain even with money. I want you to find and bring here a master craftsman capable of working this Han-cheol properly.”
“This isn’t an ordinary thing. I’ll take responsibility and search thoroughly throughout Nangyang and the surrounding areas.”
Gusang barely caught the Han-cheol, which emanated a chill, and answered while wiping beads of sweat from his brow.
Baek Yunhwi watched him with a sharp gaze.
‘That’s right. An excellent manager must know how to place the right talent in the right position.’
“These are the business premises we seized from Cheongryong-hoe yesterday. Five taverns and entertainment houses of various sizes, eight inns, and the back-alley shops to boot. From now on, you’ll oversee and manage these places. We’ve only cut off the head of Cheongryong-hoe; many of their middle managers remain in place. I’ll have a word with the Master of Yeolmudang, so go around with the Heuksabang people and make use of anyone worth keeping, but sweep out the rest without hesitation.”
“Me, me? Really me?”
Gusang’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Yes. You’ve understood the ways of the back alleys since your time with Heuksabang, and your mind works quickly. But one thing—the evil practices those Cheongryong-hoe bastards engaged in: binding women with debt and squeezing them, extorting table fees from merchants—all of it ends today.”
Baek Yunhwi added quietly but firmly as he lifted his teacup.
“Transform this shadowy enterprise into a legitimate one. Release those forced to stay here after paying them their owed wages, and pay fair wages to the courtesans who remain. Especially with the inns—win through meticulous service and quality. Make these places that steadily generate ready capital for our company’s expansion. You can do this, can’t you?”
It was a moment of vertical ascension from a back-alley thug to a respectable manager of a major trading company’s subsidiary. Gusang’s eyes began to redden with emotion.
“I swear it, and swear it again! I’ll repay your kindness by grinding my very bones to produce golden eggs!”
As Gusang bowed deeply in gratitude and withdrew, Soryang, who had been watching, clicked his tongue.
“Impressive. So you’ve turned the tables—those who Pungcheon sent as blades to starve us out have become tools you’ve stripped clean. In this arena, you’re probably the finest in the Central Plains.”
“I’ll take it as a compliment. And have Gusang checked periodically to make sure he’s managing properly and not skimming anything.”
Baek Yunhwi smiled as he planted the banner of Baek Yun Trading Company on the Cheongryong-hoe territory on the Nangyang commercial map.
“Well, the back-alley cleaning is done. Shall we begin the real hunt?”
Soryang adjusted his glasses and asked with a grave expression.
“Are you thinking of striking the Pungcheon Trading Company Main Hall? Even if the knife they were wielding from the shadows is broken this time, it won’t be easy. True, they hit problems when they were caught counterattacking over the Bieon Wall incident, but they’re such a massive whale. Just because we’ve picked up a few peripheral operations doesn’t mean that enormous headquarters will collapse easily.”
“I know. If Gong Jayang has time, he’ll weather this crisis without much difficulty.”
Baek Yunhwi drew out an old notebook from deep within a drawer.
It was Gusang’s Secret Ledger, obtained when he had subdued Heuksabang and brought Gusang into the fold.
“That’s why now is the right moment to use this.”
As Soryang unfolded the notebook, his eyes widened.
“This is… the sordid record of how Pungcheon Trading Company secretly enlisted the power of underworld thugs like Heuksabang to oppress small merchants in Nangyang, deliberately delayed payments, and forcibly seized businesses at rock-bottom prices.”
“Exactly. And while Pungcheon Trading Company grips and shakes Nangyang’s commerce, many people on the surface appear obsequious but harbor deep resentment inside. What happens if this ledger becomes a spark?”
A devilish smile crossed Baek Yunhwi’s lips.
“Release every agent of Cheon Yi Mang and Heuksabang. Spread word across Nangyang’s streets that ‘due to reckless expansion and the disappearance of Jeon Seo-gu and his associates, Pungcheon Trading Company’s coffers are completely empty.’ And plaster these ledger entries in the marketplace: ‘They were planning to strip you dry through backroom dealings, and if you don’t receive payment immediately, those promissory notes will become worthless paper.'”
A classic Bank Run operation. When trust in the market collapses, even the most solid megacorporation must kneel before the tidal wave of creditors.
Soryang shuddered at Baek Yunhwi’s plan, but quickly gathered the notebook and dashed outside.

* * *

A few hours later, before the Pungcheon Trading Company Main Hall, which boasted the greatest scale in Nangyang.
The massive gate, which should have been guarded rigidly by escort warriors, was now covered black with hundreds of merchants and commoners.
“Give me my money! Convert this promissory note to silver right now!”
“Rumors are rife that the coffers are empty! Give me my payment at once!”
The enraged crowd shook the gate of Pungcheon Trading Company as if to tear it apart.
The contents of the Secret Ledger that Heuksabang had spread across Nangyang’s streets had ignited the crowd’s anxieties and long-harbored resentments.
Inside the headquarters, Gong Jayang, the master of Pungcheon Trading Company, listened to the noise outside with eyes gone cold and measured.
“Master! Disaster has struck! Merchants have descended demanding immediate payment on promissory notes! We can’t cover even half of them with the money in our coffers right now!”
Despite his subordinate’s urgent report, Gong Jayang did not panic hastily. In his eyes burned the peculiar venom of a veteran who had weathered the treacherous Merchant World.
“Stop your flapping. Someone deliberately leaked the ledger while chaos was unfolding and spread malicious rumors to incite the mob. Have Cheongryong-hoe called at once and cut down whoever’s agitating at the front. Make an example, and these rabble will scatter.”
“That’s… the Cheongryong-hoe people say their headquarters was destroyed last night and Gwak Daesan fell!”
“What? That bastard Gwak Daesan fell in a single night?”
Only then did Gong Jayang’s brow furrow.
His arms and legs had been severed without warning, and the noose was tightening from all sides. As Gong Jayang swallowed his rage and desperately devised countermeasures, the rear door swung open, and leisurely footsteps echoed forth.
“The master of Nangyang’s greatest trading company seems to have quite the headache.”
Baek Yunhwi, dressed in fine silk robes and accompanied by Punggun and Baek Yeonhwa, strode into the inner courtyard. Gong Jayang’s eyes turned sharp and slitting.
“The whelp of Baek Yun Trading Company! So it was you all along! How dare you set foot in Pungcheon’s headquarters again, you shameless wretch?!”
A chilling aura erupted from Gong Jayang’s entire body. As a vicious killing intent poured forth, Baek Yeonhwa and Punggun reflexively stepped in front of Baek Yunhwi.
“My, the Guild Master’s presence is quite fierce.”
Baek Yunhwi shrugged his shoulders as if startled.
“I’ve built this company through countless sword fights in the sandstorms of the Western Regions. If you thought me merely a merchant playing with an abacus, that would be a grave miscalculation!”
Gong Jayang growled, drawing his blade halfway from its sheath.
“Put the sword away. I’ve come to resolve those creditors screaming outside for you.”
Baek Yunhwi withdrew a Geum Shin Money House Note from his breast and waved it.
“It seems your company’s financial arteries are temporarily blocked. I’ll pledge payment using Geum Shin Money House funds under the Baek Yun Trading Company name—that should extinguish your immediate crisis.”
Gong Jayang’s eyes grew cold. In this world, there was no such thing as a free meal.
“······You mean to strip away my company’s signboard.”
“Surely the Pungcheon Trading Company isn’t some hole-in-the-wall shop that crumbles so easily, is it? All you need do is transfer just two things—the Nangyang North Gate Trading Post and the Silk Monopoly Distribution Rights, the very heart of the Pungcheon’s operations.”
At those words, Gong Jayang let out a hollow laugh, then wore a cold, mocking smile.
“Laughable fool. I know full well you’ve procured funds from Geum Shin Money House, but it’s absurd to think your company’s mere creditworthiness can cover all the bills Pungcheon has issued.”
Baek Yunhwi’s brow twitched slightly. Gong Jayang had read through to the very limits of Baek Yun Trading Company’s capital with precision.
“So you thought I’d keep playing along in whatever game you’ve rigged? You expect me to hand over both the trading post and the silk distribution rights for a pittance? Once you extinguish today’s fire, you’ll come back tomorrow to devour what’s left of my company. I won’t fall for such transparent schemes, even if I have to sell everything at a loss to those creditors instead!”
The bearing Gong Jayang radiated was that of a cornered beast at cliff’s edge.
‘Extraordinary indeed. Even in such straits, he remains ice-cold, unbroken, and has even calculated my financial limits in reverse. He truly has the seasoning of one who once dominated Nangyang.’
Baek Yunhwi inwardly marveled, tapping away at his mental calculations. If he pushed too hard here, Gong Jayang was the type who might truly overturn the table. A true merchant knew how to compromise at a reasonable point and secure his gains.
“Very well. I acknowledge your acumen, Guild Master. Then let us reach a realistic and rational compromise. I’ll leave the Silk Monopoly Distribution Rights with you. In exchange, simply transfer the rights to the Nangyang North Gate Trading Post with certainty. Should you refuse even this, I shall simply withdraw.”
Gong Jayang’s teeth gnashed. Losing the North Gate Trading Post alone would deal the Pungcheon a grievous blow, forcing them to share Nangyang’s hegemony with Baek Yun Trading Company. But if he couldn’t calm the mob outside right now, the trading post, the silk rights, everything could become ash.
“······Very well. I shall transfer the trading post rights.”
Suppressing a pain as if his very entrails were being torn away, Gong Jayang pressed his seal firmly onto the Transfer Contract.
As Baek Yunhwi’s hand closed on the contract, a brilliant system window materialized before his eyes.

[Notification: Ownership of the Nangyang North Gate Trading Post has been transferred to the System User!]
[Strategic Asset Acquisition—Rival’s Core Holdings. The corresponding value is reflected in real-time across the System User’s Internal Power Portfolio.]

Whooooosh—!
Since his assets had accumulated to a certain degree lately, he’d noticed his Internal Power growth seemed to plateau, as if the system were skimming a hefty commission along the way.
But this time, the scale was unmistakably different. An influx of Internal Power unlike anything he’d experienced before crashed through Baek Yunhwi’s entire body.
Baek Yunhwi’s form wavered for an instant, but his physique, forged through the Cheongpung Yeon Gol Dan, steadied against the surge.
‘Kekeke. A feast indeed—a most exquisite feast!’
Suppressing the laughter that threatened to burst forth, Baek Yunhwi bowed respectfully toward Gong Jayang, who was still radiating killing intent.
“An excellent transaction, Guild Master. I look forward to healthy competition beneath the same Nangyang sky ahead.”
It was an exhilarating moment—Baek Yun Trading Company rising from Pungcheon’s shadow to stand as one of Nangyang’s two great pillars, confirmed in both name and substance.

Money-Powered Jianghu Acquisition Episode 22

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

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260907057.0022

ⓒ2026, Song Jjun-vol

※ This e-book is a work protected under the Copyright Law of the Republic of Korea.
No part of this work may be reprocessed or reproduced in any form without permission from 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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