Acquiring the Murim with Money - Chapter 35

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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 35. Martial and Commerce. And Chivalry Are No Different.

Cheongpung watched from the sky, tracking the Mungryong Faction’s Fast Ship in real time. As Byeok So-yeon transferred that information onto a map, Gwak Dae-ho, versed in the ways of water, charted a route that would avoid them as much as possible.
The Escort Agents, bewildered at first, quickly grew accustomed to this method.
Jin Mu-yeon, who had emerged to oversee the escort operation, examined the map while watching Cheongpung glide gracefully overhead with admiration.
“Wow, you’re truly impressive. It’s amazing that the bird understands human speech, but how do you communicate with that bird?”
Byeok So-yeon laughed, looking slightly at a loss for words.
“Cheongpung is no ordinary bird.”
“Then what is it?”
“Among all the mountain beasts of Bichu Peak, the most exceptional Mystical Spirit. And since Cheongpung and I resonate with each other, we can share our senses to some degree. But we’re nearly the same age, so please feel free to call me more informally.”
“Ah. Yes, Byeok. Thanks to you, we made it safely today. I’m truly grateful!”
After speaking with Byeok So-yeon, Jin Mu-yeon spotted Baek Un-hui and rushed toward him like an excited puppy.
“Brother! Sharing senses with a bird through Resonance—it’s miraculous, isn’t it? Thanks to you, we safely transported the cargo today. Oh, and earlier the Gu Clan Merchant House sent in a request for escort with cargo, people, and even a ship all at once—what should we do? The scale is quite substantial.”
Jin Mu-yeon’s appearance had transformed beyond recognition—from a terrified figure suffering under the Mungryong Faction’s oppression just days ago, he had become a confident Escort Agency Manager praised by merchants of Namyang and riverside residents alike.
And because he followed Baek Un-hui around so much, calling him “brother” this and “brother” that, even Baek Un-hui was beginning to feel somewhat exasperated by it.
Baek Un-hui closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
“So-ryang, you handle the details of the Gu Clan Merchant House contract.”
“Understood.”
“Manager Jin.”
“Yes, brother!”
“You lead the escort operation while commanding the Escort Agents—it’s reassuring to see. You’ve improved even more than yesterday.”
Jin Mu-yeon shrugged and broke into a bright smile.
Behind him, Gwak Dae-ho watched the scene, quietly chuckling as he turned toward the Escort Agents. His expression was half exasperated and half proud.
“Oh, brother! Did you hear? People say I resemble Father and that I’m magnanimous like him. I never would’ve heard such words without you. I’m truly grateful.”
“Manager Jin is doing well.”
“No, I only do what you tell me to. But it all works out. These days I’m trying to learn by watching your every move, everything you do. But brother, there’s not much age difference between us—how do you know all these things?”
Baek Un-hui laughed softly.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time.”
“How long?”
“If I count my past life, nearly thirty years?”
“What?”
“I was joking.”
Jin Mu-yeon tilted his head in confusion before dashing off toward where the Escort Agents were beginning their unloading.
So-ryang, who had been working his abacus nearby, spoke up.
“Don’t you think that Manager Jin is gradually becoming more useful?”
“It wasn’t that he lacked ability—I think he was just paralyzed by fear.”
“So now he’s lost all fear?”
“Perhaps not. But maybe now he has things he can trust—things that allow him to overcome his fear.”
The next day.
The Mungryong Faction, gritting its teeth and divided into ambush positions across two Fast Ships, finally spotted the Changhai Escort Agency’s vessel.
Hye-gwang and Ju Yak-gyeong had been eager to make a showing but, thanks to Cheongpung, had nothing to do and were growing bored.
Hye-gwang, who had appeared to be in meditation with his eyes closed on the signboard, drew his staff the moment the Mungryong Faction’s black flag came into view. But Ju Yak-gyeong was even faster. Just as Hye-gwang sprang up, she was already standing at the bow, unleashing Sword Aura. The two Fast Ships that had been approaching quickly changed course and fled.
The rumors continued to spread and swell.
“You hear about that? They say there are incredible masters aboard the Changhai Escort Agency vessels.”
“My friend, you’re slow with your news. You mean those bald siblings? I saw them myself the last time the boat came in. They shine just as brilliantly as the light of their Chivalrous Action—you can spot them from far away.”
“Is that so? I should go see them myself. I heard more than ten Fast Ships rushed at them yesterday and all fled.”
People continued to throng to the Changhai Escort Agency, and the queue of those actually seeking to entrust their shipments grew steadily longer.

That night, Hye-gwang and Ju Yak-gyeong sat side by side in front of the warehouse at the dock. Both were gazing at the river.
Hye-gwang spoke first.
“Ju So-yeon. Today I was too hasty.”
“I didn’t expect them to flee so quickly.”
“Yet in a way, thanks to you, no innocent person was hurt today. That is enough.”
……
After an awkward silence, Hye-gwang clasped his palms and spoke.
“Both you and I must think again about what true Chivalrous Action really is. I descended from Sungsan for the first time into the secular world and faced Mountain Bandits I had only heard of in stories. When I helped you defeat them as you fought them already, I felt pride. It was my first Chivalrous Action, and I had delivered the Buddha’s teachings upon evildoers. But something I heard at an inn in the village at the foot of the mountain—it kept me awake that night.”
Ju Yak-gyeong’s expression grew bitter as she reflected the sword in the firelight.
“In fact, that was my first Chivalrous Action too. After catching a few bandits, I went to the village feeling proud, but not many thanked me. There are more than five bandit dens on Bogwu Mountain alone. I can’t find all of them hidden deep in the mountains, and even if I did and eliminated them, nothing much would change. Some people even spoke resentfully, saying even fiercer villains might come instead.”
It was then that Baek Un-hui came walking toward the warehouse and spotted the two of them.
“You’re still here.”
Hye-gwang rose to his feet and spoke.
“Welcome, friend. These past few days together, what I’ve witnessed has been truly impressive. It seems quite different from what this humble monk learned in the mountains.”
Ju Yak-gyeong folded her arms and spoke.
“I’ll grant you that. To be honest, at first I thought you were just a merchant with a smooth tongue.”
“At first, you say? So your view of me has changed now?”
Ju Yak-gyeong paused a moment, then laid her sword across her lap and spoke.
“Well. In a way. The way you move reminds me of Martial Arts. Reading your opponent’s strength, finding the gaps, waiting for the moment to strike.”
“Martial and Commerce are not so different in the end. And through this, I’ve come to understand that the path of Chivalry is not different either.”
Hye-gwang clasped his hands and added,
“In truth, your Chivalrous Actions reach far wider and deeper than either of ours.”
“That’s right. I’ll give credit where it’s due. I’ve seen with my own eyes how people who wore terror and helplessness now carry hope and live their lives anew. And though not a drop of blood was shed, in mere days you’re already being praised throughout Namyang as a hero of justice. It’s all thanks to you.”
Baek Un-hui shook his head and spoke.
“It was only possible because both of you were here. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
“That’s true enough. Our part was considerable as well.”
Hye-gwang nodded with his characteristic candor, and Ju Yak-gyeong looked at him in disbelief.
“What’s with you all of a sudden?”
“Isn’t it the truth?”
“Even if it is, how can you just admit it like that?”
“Isn’t it more of a problem to speak falsehood? This humble monk lives with truth and without deception.”
Baek Un-hui watched the two of them and smiled quietly.

* * *

The delegation of the Bichu Clan, led by Byeok Hyeong-geom, finally arrived in Namyang.
Seeing the scale of their numbers, one could feel how much the Bichu Clan had staked on this endeavor. Fifteen elite martial artists including Byeok Hyeong-geom, fourteen Resonance Birds in their care, and fifty trained Carrier Pigeons.
Byeok So-yeon greeted Byeok Hyeong-geom at the dock and spoke.
“Master. I’ve been waiting. Why are you so late?”
“Young Mistress. Has all been well with you? Both the main house after we departed and our own journey here required considerable preparation.”
Byeok Hyeong-geom clasped his fist in salute as he spoke. Behind him, the martial artists of the Bichu Clan descended one by one.

That evening.
Hye-gwang and Ju Yak-gyeong, both Martial Art Enthusiasts, never neglected their training for a moment, nor were they miserly by nature. Thus, each night in the training hall within the Escort Agency, there took place drills that bordered on real combat under the guise of sparring. And under the lead of Hye-gwang and Ju Yak-gyeong, alongside Baek Un-hui, Byeok So-yeon, Gwak Dae-ho, and ten Escort Agents who had remained with the Agency to the end, nearly all participated without fail in these midnight sessions.
But tonight, the martial artists of the Bichu Clan filled the ranks instead of the usual few.
Beyond the training hall where drills were underway, in the main office of the Changhai Escort Agency. Baek Un-hui unfolded a map of the Namyang region across the table.
Gathered around the table were So-ryang, Byeok So-yeon, Byeok Hyeong-geom, Gwak Dae-ho, and Jin Mu-yeon.
Baek Un-hui pointed to the map and spoke.
“No matter how many Fast Ships the Mungryong Faction possesses, they cannot completely block all the tributaries. And the main routes currently used by the Changhai Escort Agency are here, here, and here. However—”
He pointed to another section of the map.
“This sector is still completely blockaded by the Mungryong Faction. Normally, the most vessels should pass through here. And do you know the current situation of the establishments in this sector, those that are difficult to circumvent?”
Gwak Dae-ho spoke gravely.
“Before Master Baek arrived, quite a few were in the same predicament as the Changhai Escort Agency, or have already collapsed.”
“Correct. It’s always the same—pressured by the Mungryong Faction, they’re forced into sudden debt, and then the Baekgeum Finance House collects on those bonds. They use force to suppress and law to consume.”
So-ryang worked his counting beads.
“We’ve identified roughly eighty percent of the specific debt relationships and scale of those establishments.”
Baek Un-hui raised his eyes from the map.
“We’re going to acquire those bonds—all of them if possible.”
“There’s our brother! Your scale of thinking is different indeed. But can you really absorb those establishments so easily?”
“No, I have no intention of absorbing them completely. And truthfully, we don’t have enough capital to pay it all at once anyway, nor do we need to. Most of these places are on the brink of collapse, their value essentially zero at this point. We’ll give those struggling merchants breathing room and buy them time instead.”
So-ryang swept his counting beads across the table and added his voice.
“We’ll contract with them on better terms than the Baekgeum Finance House, reducing interest. The only condition is that they become family under the Changhai Escort Agency’s roof.”
Byeok Hyeong-geom, who had been listening quietly, offered his thought.
“It should be a good opportunity for them as well, though I wonder if they’ll seize it properly.”
“On the surface, it looks like we’re taking a heavy loss, so there won’t be many who oppose. The real problem comes after we take them under our wing. If we can’t quickly restore those establishments to profitability, we’re in danger too.”
Jin Mu-yeon’s expression brightened as he looked toward Gwak Dae-ho.
“Everyone looks so serious. But your brother will solve it in no time. Either way, those people become family of the Changhai Escort Agency, so wouldn’t that be good for everyone?”
“Pardon?”
“Well, when there are more people, we become stronger!”
Baek Un-hui nodded to Jin Mu-yeon, whose eyes shone bright, and spoke.
“That’s right. They’re broken now, without a shred of strength, but if we all join forces together, they’ll be back on their feet in no time.”
Gwak Dae-ho watched Jin Mu-yeon with quiet satisfaction, his shoulders lifted slightly, then spoke in a low voice to Baek Un-hui.
“May I stand alongside you at the negotiation table?”
“Please step forward yourself, Director Gwak. We’ll support you from behind.”
A faint gleam crossed Gwak Dae-ho’s eyes.

Acquiring the Martial Realm Through Commerce Episode 35

Author
Song Jjweonbol
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yun Tae-ri
Cover Design
Sik

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260907057.0035

ⓒ2026, Song Jjweonbol

※ This digital book is protected under the copyright laws of the Republic of Korea.
No part or all of this work may be reprocessed 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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