Acquiring the Murim with Money - Chapter 39

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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 39. Raiding the Black Dragon Sect’s Main Base

Baek Un-hui’s party headed straight for the Provincial Office. Gwak Dae-ho fell in behind Jin Mu-yeon. Hye-gwang and Ju Yak-gyeong took positions on either side. Baek Un-hui followed a step behind.
Jin Mu-yeon, arriving at the entrance, drew one long, deliberate breath.
“You’re truly not coming in?”
Baek Un-hui replied.
“I have my own work to attend to. Besides, this is something Changhai Transport Station and you as its master must handle.”
“Alone?”
“You have these three with you.”
Hye-gwang pressed his palms together, speaking respectfully.
“I am here.”
Ju Yak-gyeong crossed her arms, a faint smile playing at her lips.
“And so am I.”
Gwak Dae-ho nodded firmly.
“Master Jin. Let’s go in.”
Jin Mu-yeon nodded and pushed open the door.

Inside the Provincial Office.
The office of Administrator Wi Jun.
He held the true administrative power of Namyang’s magistracy—a man in his late fifties with a bloated face and small, narrow eyes. He had been conducting illicit dealings with Baek Geum-jeon for roughly two years.
Jin Mu-yeon stood before him.
Hye-gwang and Ju Yak-gyeong flanked him, with Gwak Dae-ho at his back.
Wi Jun’s gaze swept over Jin Mu-yeon and his companions from head to foot as he spoke.
“Welcome, welcome. To think the renowned Transport Master himself would visit, along with disciples of Shaolin and Emei—what an honor. What brings you all the way here?”
“We’ve come regarding a report on the Black Dragon Sect.”
Wi Jun’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“The Black Dragon Sect is already under observation by this office. There’s no need for Changhai Transport Station to involve itself.”
“You observe, yet in two years, nothing has come of it.”
Wi Jun’s expression began to harden imperceptibly.
Jin Mu-yeon placed a stack of documents on the table.
“These are records of everything the Black Dragon Sect has committed in Namyang over the past two years. By silver alone, it exceeds ten thousand taels.”
Wi Jun glanced at the documents, then spoke without reaching for them.
“Such records are easy to forge. I’m not even certain they’d hold as evidence.”
“There are witness statements as well.”
Jin Mu-yeon placed a second stack on the table.
“Handwritten confessions from Black Dragon Sect water bandits. I received them just this morning.”
Wi Jun’s face went rigid, and his eyes began to waver.
Jin Mu-yeon reached for a third set of documents, then paused. These were the records of illicit dealings between Wi Jun and Baek Geum-jeon that he had received from Baek Un-hui.
Jin Mu-yeon held the documents in his hand, silent for a moment.
Wi Jun spoke.
“Transport Master Jin. Why do you hesitate?”
Jin Mu-yeon looked down at the papers in his hand.
Baek Un-hui had said that if he presented this, Wi Jun would likely kneel first. But.
‘What does it change if this man kneels?’
Jin Mu-yeon did not place the documents on the table.
Instead, he met Wi Jun’s gaze.
“Administrator. You know full well what the Black Dragon Sect has done in Namyang these two years.”
Wi Jun offered no answer.
“My father was killed. Lured into a trap by the Black Dragon Sect. Fishermen have lost their boats. Merchants are buried under debt. Even now, people in Boatman Village go hungry every day.”
Wi Jun looked away.
Jin Mu-yeon continued.
“Whether you were complicit in that or not, I honestly don’t know. And frankly, that’s not the important question right now.”
“Then what is?”
“The Black Dragon Sect is coming down here.”
Wi Jun’s eyes darted wildly as he stared at Jin Mu-yeon.
“They mean to strike with their full force—their main base. Our Transport Station is the first target, but it won’t end there. There are countless people in Namyang who stand against them.”
Wi Jun went completely pale.
“If the Provincial Office doesn’t stop them.”
Jin Mu-yeon spoke quietly.
“Many people in Namyang have already suffered greatly. If we do nothing, they will suffer far worse—many will die or be wounded. And once it reaches that point, there may be no turning back.”
The room fell silent.
Jin Mu-yeon did not place the documents he held on the table, but continued speaking.
“I didn’t come here to threaten you, sir. I came to ask for your help. This is the last chance to set things right. The lawless water bandits need only be stopped from openly ravaging Namyang—all the naval forces need to do is block them. After that, we will ensure no one suffers further because of them. Please, help us.”
Wi Jun regarded Jin Mu-yeon for a long moment.
His gaze drifted toward the pile of documents, then away again.
“I will send Paeng Mu-jin to lead the naval forces.”
Jin Mu-yeon bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
As they left the Provincial Office, Hye-gwang spoke in a low voice.
“Why didn’t you produce the third document?”
Jin Mu-yeon replied.
“If I had shown it, he would have had no choice. But a man cornered like that doesn’t seem likely to help properly.”
He continued as he walked.
“Besides, that man is greedy, certainly, but he didn’t strike me as a great villain capable of deciding that people should die. If anything, cornered, he might choose an even darker path.”
Hye-gwang and Ju Yak-gyeong stopped at the same moment.
They both regarded Jin Mu-yeon for a moment, then spoke simultaneously.
“Amitabha. Remarkable.”
“You’re more formidable than we thought.”
And at the same moment, they glanced at each other.
Gwak Dae-ho regarded Jin Mu-yeon for a long while before speaking.
“Your father taught you to read people well.”
Jin Mu-yeon stopped.
“I didn’t learn that from my father. I wish I had learned more from him back then. I was too foolish.”
“Then from whom?”
Jin Mu-yeon paused to think, then answered.
“From Baek Un-hui.”
Gwak Dae-ho said nothing. Then he let out a short, audible laugh—his first genuine laugh since Jin Cheol-san’s death, though he himself did not realize it.

* * *

A modest inn near the Provincial Office in Namyang.
A bundle of documents organized by So-ryang and a gold toad fell onto the table where Paeng Mu-jin, dressed in shabby civilian clothes, was drinking. When Paeng Mu-jin lifted his head with the sharp gaze of a predator, Baek Un-hui sat across from him, wearing a measured smile.
“Who are you?”
“A merchant of Namyang, here to unblock your troubled breath, sir.”
Baek Un-hui did not speak at length. He simply tapped the documents on the table with his finger.
Paeng Mu-jin began scanning the papers with suspicious eyes. After turning only a few pages, his rough breathing cut through the silence of the tavern.
Clear evidence of Baek Geum-jeon colluding with the Black Dragon Sect and fleecing the common people. Moreover, even the bribes exchanged between the Provincial Commander and Baek Geum-jeon. As Paeng Mu-jin turned page after page, his face hardened.
“This… this is… if handled properly, this could be enough to take the head of Namyang’s Provincial Commander. Why have you brought this to me? Do you want money?”
“Money? I have more than enough of that.”
Baek Un-hui drew the line firmly.
“I need no justification either. You’ll obtain that naturally when you lead your naval forces to crush the Black Dragon Sect and restore peace to Namyang.”
Paeng Mu-jin’s thick fists trembled. The final authority to order deployment lay with the Provincial Commander. As a soldier, he could not disobey his superior’s orders and had been forced to overlook the Black Dragon Sect’s outrages—now that old bitterness surged back up.
“What is it you want?”
“Tomorrow night. The Black Dragon Sect’s main force will come down to the Riverside Wharf. Please move your naval forces then.”
Upon hearing this, Paeng Mu-jin’s face flushed with anger. He seized the table and trembled with rage.
“So those lawless water bandits are coming openly now? These bastards… these damned bastards…! But no matter what documents I have, I don’t have the authority to move the naval forces on my own. Even if I succeed in removing the Provincial Commander with this, a new one will come.”
“That problem will be solved soon. The Changhai Transport Station’s station master is in negotiations with the Provincial Commander right now.”
Suddenly, Paeng Mu-jin’s expression brightened slightly.
“Ah, so you’re one of theirs. That Jin Mu-yeon of Changhai Transport, the one everyone’s been talking about in Namyang? If it’s him, I suppose I can trust this.”
“Yes. A mere deployment order won’t suffice. It’s you the naval forces trust and follow, isn’t it, sir? Please go now and prepare for deployment. Oh, and the enemy force will be no small matter. If you’re reluctant to engage directly, you can simply lead your fleet to pin them down. That alone will be enough.”
“What are you saying! I will show you the true power of the government’s regular warships. These arrogant water bandits have run wild without knowing fear—I will not let a single one return intact.”
Baek Un-hui rose from his seat.
“Your words alone are reassuring. We merchants of Namyang will handle the rest of the cleanup on the river.”

* * *

Late at night.
So-ryang placed the day’s tally on the table.
“Look.”
Baek Un-hui’s eyes gleamed with golden light.

[Three swift vessels seized: estimated value four thousand silver taels.]
[Water Bandit testimony secured: grounds for Provincial Office damages claim.]
[Expected confiscation of Black Dragon Sect assets used to compensate affected merchants: estimated compensation above three thousand silver taels.]
[Official cooperation from Namyang Provincial Office naval forces. Value incalculable.]

So-ryang set down his abacus and spoke.
“All of this in a single day.”
Jin Mu-yeon knocked and entered.
“Sir! On the way back earlier, I ran into some of the elders from Boatman Village and explained the compensation arrangements to them. They said they never expected it—they were so grateful that you were looking out for their share too.”
“You did well.”
“But you’re the one who made it all happen.”
“What was settled at the Provincial Office today, and everything else—that’s all the Station Master’s doing.”
Jin Mu-yeon tilted his head, then smiled wryly.
“You’re strange, sir. Always giving the credit to others.”
Baek Un-hui said nothing.
Jin Mu-yeon paused at the doorway.
“But sir.”
“Yes?”
“We’re really winning this, aren’t we?”
Baek Un-hui gazed out the window and spoke quietly.
“We’ve already won. They don’t know what we know. And more than that—all of Namyang has turned their backs on them completely now.”
Jin Mu-yeon nodded once at those words and left.

* * *

The next evening. Darkness so complete that even the moon hid behind clouds.
High overhead, the Qingfeng let out a long, piercing cry toward the riverside of Namyang.
Shrieeeeek—!
It was a signal. From Muk-su Island, the Black Dragon Sect’s stronghold, more than thirty vessels of the main fleet under the Sect Master’s command emerged from their berth. The operation had begun.
At that very cry, all of Namyang moved like a single organism.
“Full fleet, set sail! Our target is the Changhai Transport Station—and everyone who aids them! Show them what happens when anyone dares stand against the Black Dragon Sect. Show them annihilation.”

At the same moment. Muk-su Island.
After the main force had departed for the Changhai Transport Station, only a skeleton crew remained—a handful of sentries, personnel to manage the moored vessels, a few wounded, and those assigned to miscellaneous duties.
Byeok Hyeong-geom surfaced and gave a signal.
Tap.
A pebble touched the water’s surface.
From the darkness, the martial artists of the Biecheon Sect emerged silently onto the island, their reconnaissance having been completed earlier using sound-echo scouting.
One of the martial artists reported quietly to Byeok Hyeong-geom.
“Three men guarding vessels at the eastern dock. Four more at the western warehouse. The barracks hold three wounded and approximately ten others who appear to be laborers.”
No Gak spoke low from beside him.
“All the real fighters are already gone with the main force. As for those laborers in the barracks—they’re remnants of the old Black Dragon Sect. Most of the strong ones from before are dead or scattered. Only those skilled at ship modification and maintenance remain, and they’re sleeping inside the inner barracks now. We just need to neutralize the few standing guard.”
Byeok Hyeong-geom nodded, gesturing silently to the martial artists. They dispersed without sound.
The ambush met almost no resistance. The three at the dock fell to the Blood Point Strike technique; the four at the warehouse barely managed a sound. The three wounded in the barracks gave up trying to reach for weapons.
Byeok Hyeong-geom made a full circuit of the island to confirm.
No Gak followed, speaking quietly.
“The Sect Master’s quarters are that way.”
The Sect Master’s room lay deep within the main building. It was locked. Byeok Hyeong-geom flicked open the lock with his blade and stepped inside.
Documents were stacked on a table. Debt records, toll collection ledgers, correspondence with Baek Geum-jeon. The sort of things So-ryang would be delighted to see.
One of the martial artists was searching through a corner drawer when he spoke.
“Master.”
Byeok Hyeong-geom approached.
Inside the drawer lay a small Jade Medallion. No larger than a palm, bound with thread the color of blood. A pattern was engraved upon it, but it belonged to no sect Byeok Hyeong-geom recognized. He had never seen this mark before—from any school.
Byeok Hyeong-geom picked it up.
A strange sensation. As though it held no Qi, yet Qi emanated from it nonetheless. An indescribable unease crept up through his fingertips.
He wrapped the medallion in cloth and tucked it into his robe.
‘I need to show this to Baek Un-hui.’
Byeok Hyeong-geom and his martial artists ransacked the room methodically. From the safe they recovered bundles of silver—roughly three thousand taels—and four small gold toads. One pouch of jewels.
Nothing else of consequence emerged. Having gathered what had value and the miscellaneous documents, Byeok Hyeong-geom set out toward the barracks with No Gak.

Wealth and Martial Merit: Acquisition and Consolidation, Episode 39

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

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260907057.0039

ⓒ2026, Song Jjun-bol

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or entirety of this work may be reprocessed or reproduced in any form without the express 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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