Acquiring the Murim with Money - Chapter 4

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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 4. The Fronting of Geumshin Jeon-dang

Seo Harin possessed an extraordinary gift from birth: the ability to discern the value of objects and the creditworthiness of people by scent alone. Worthless debts reeked of a sewer’s stench, while sound assets carried the cool fragrance of freshly minted gold coins.
After hearing an intriguing tale from Hae Yaksim, the chief administrator, she caught a peculiar aroma as she passed the money house—a fragrance utterly fresh and novel, unlike anything she’d detected even from the wealthiest magnates.
Driven by curiosity, she traced the scent to its source at the Baekun Merchant Guild, only to witness something extraordinary.
A wisp of a man—gaunt, almost sickly—striking down the head of Heuksabang.

* * *

A deep hum resonated through his body.
The moment golden light began to crystallize in Baek Unhwi’s pupils, a sharp spike of pain lanced through his skull, accompanied by violent rejection.
‘Ugh—!’

[Warning: Insufficient Capital]
[Target Seo Harin’s Capital value far exceeds the caster’s liquid assets.]
[Analysis Impossible: DaeCheon Capital Art current stage cannot access complete information.]

A crimson fog obscured his vision as Seo Harin’s data fragmented before him.

[Analysis Target: Seo Harin (Overall Rank: Unknown)]
[Title: Manager, Geumshin Jeon-dang Luoyang Branch]
[Capital Scale: Unknown]
[Age: Unknown]
[Characteristics: Unknown]

A hollow laugh escaped Baek Unhwi’s lips.
The DaeCheon Capital Art was brutally capitalistic in nature. If one’s wealth was vastly inferior to another’s, the art granted no true insight into that person—it was a system built on economic dominance.
‘So my assets are pathetic, then. And this “current stage” business—does that mean I can ascend to the next level once I accumulate enough Capital or meet certain conditions?’
Seo Harin watched Baek Unhwi’s eyes gleam with an odd light, her head tilting slightly as if intrigued.
“The Baekun Merchant Guild’s problem child—their youngest—toppled Heuksabang. And a Commercial Settlement with the Heukdomun Sect, no less. When the chief administrator reported this, I thought it was pure fiction, something possible only on ledgers. But to actually achieve such results···.”
Baek Unhwi fixed her with an easy smile, projecting composure.
He didn’t possess a single copper coin at this moment, yet the vast fortune she commanded was already glimmering before his eyes.
“Surely you didn’t come all this way merely to observe? What brings the lady of Geumshin Jeon-dang to this humble establishment?”
A subtle smile played at the corners of Seo Harin’s mouth.
“You look like a pauper right now, yet the scent you carry—it’s like someone commanding a million taels. How is that possible?”
“I’ve simply picked up a sense of market dynamics. I’m glad my scent pleases you.”
“I’ll need to verify whether you’re all talk or if you truly possess ability.”
Seo Harin withdrew a gleaming nameplate from her sleeve and tossed it to Baek Unhwi.
The Geumshin Chungeum Token—a token of guest privileges at Geumshin Jeon-dang.
Catch.
The instant Baek Unhwi snatched the falling token, his body underwent a startling transformation. Scorching Qi surged violently into his previously empty dantian.
‘This is… pure gold?!’
Baek Unhwi gauged the weight of the delicately crafted gold token. Roughly five taels of pure gold.

[Capital Change Detected: Geumshin Chungeum Token Acquired]

Color returned to Baek Unhwi’s pallid face. Exhausted vital energy swiftly recovered, and strength flooded back into his limbs.
“Unhwi, are you all right? That woman’s gift—is there some trick in it···?”
Baek Yeonhwa grabbed his arm in concern. Though she kept herself hidden and subtly released her martial pressure as a guard, her palms grew slick with cold sweat beneath the weight of another warrior’s aura—yet still she positioned herself before her younger brother.
“I’m fine, sister. Gold truly does have its merits. I feel invigorated.”
Baek Unhwi desperately suppressed the natural rise of his lips as he bowed lightly toward Seo Harin.
“How generous of you to bestow such a precious item.”
“It’s merely an entrance token. Come to the main headquarters of Geumshin Jeon-dang tomorrow at the Chen Hour. I’ve taken an interest in this ‘product’ called Baek Unhwi. I intend to verify personally whether it’s truly worth the investment.”
Seo Harin turned without hesitation and ascended into her carriage. In her wake lingered an aroma both dangerously captivating and faintly reminiscent of gold.

* * *

The following morning, at the Chen Hour.
The five-story tower that rose proudly in the heart of Luoyang, Geumshin Jeon-dang, was nothing short of a fortress of capital. Dozens of armed men guarded the main gate, and those who came and went were all magnates of Luoyang’s commercial sphere.
Baek Unhwi entered with Baek Yeonhwa at his side. The moment he produced the Geumshin Chungeum Token he’d received yesterday, the arrogant gatekeepers bent their backs in perfect unison at a ninety-degree angle.
“The proprietor awaits. This way, please.”
They were led to a special reception chamber at the very top of the establishment. Seo Harin stood there, her eyes fixed on a small box that rested atop a large table. At her side stood Hae Yaksim, the chief supervisor he’d seen yesterday, with visible tension etched across his features.
“You came. Sit.”
‘So she drops the formality every time we meet. Well, when you have that much money, you earn the right to be familiar.’
Baek Unhwi—or rather, Kang Tae-seok before him, who thought nothing of bowing his head before wealth—took his seat across from her. The moment he did, Seo Harin opened the box. Inside lay a brilliant sphere that gleamed with the color of blood, radiating waves of cold.
“There are countless people desperate for money in this world. You’re one of them. In any case, thanks to that desperation, all manner of extraordinary items find their way into Geumshin Jeon-dang as collateral. Go on—use your discernment to tell me the true value of this object.”
Baek Unhwi picked up the sphere. Unlike yesterday, the system responded immediately this time. Assessing the worth of inanimate objects required far less of his Capital than gauging someone’s creditworthiness or inner strength.

[Target: Buk-hae Blood Frost Jade (Defective Item)]
[Market Rate: 2,000–3,000 silver taels.]
[Internal Flaw: Artificial infusion of cold energy and blood qi has caused internal energy discord. Risk of collapse.]

Baek Unhwi set the jewel down on the table.
“The Frost Jade, a treasure found only in Buk-hae. When the Yeolyang Technique is applied to balance the energies, it’s reborn as a Blood Frost Jade that radiates a brilliant crimson light. I’ve never seen one this large before.”
“Right. And I didn’t summon you here just to listen to that sort of explanation. So—what’s its actual value?”
“At this size, you could easily fetch a minimum of two thousand taels. But if I were the one purchasing it, I wouldn’t give you even a hundred.”
Hae Yaksim, standing nearby, widened his eyes in shock.
“What outrageous nonsense! Not even a hundred taels for a treasure of Buk-hae!”
But Seo Harin raised her hand to silence him, her gaze fixed on Baek Unhwi.
“Explain yourself.”
“This Blood Frost Jade is nothing but a glittering time bomb. Frost Jade from Buk-hae is naturally formed over centuries as cold energy slowly accumulates. But this one—someone forcibly injected ice energy into it. And not just that; they mixed in blood qi as well. It looks convincing enough for now, but it won’t be long before it crumbles to dust. A worthless asset. And if you handle it carelessly, the warring energies inside could cause it to shatter outright. I have to say, for a place like Geumshin Jeon-dang to accept a defective item like this as collateral, the Inspection Division’s competence is rather questionable.”
A subtle light flickered in Seo Harin’s eyes.
In truth, this Blood Frost Jade had been the most suspicious among recent acquisitions. Despite what the Inspection Division’s report claimed, her own nose had detected something—the faint, unmistakable stench of rot.
“Impressive. Chief Hae, replace the entire Inspection Division effective immediately.”
Seo Harin rose from her seat and approached Baek Unhwi. A cool, elegant fragrance radiated from her presence, stimulating his senses.
“I like you. You’ve got drive—trying to resurrect the Baekun Merchant Guild even as it crumbles around you. But here’s the thing… it doesn’t make financial sense for me to invest in a guild that’s nothing but a few collapsing buildings and empty promises.”
For a moment, something like possession flickered through Seo Harin’s eyes as she regarded him.
“However, in your case specifically, I think the investment value becomes… interesting.”
Seo Harin pointed to a map hanging on the wall. It showed a slum district south of Luoyang.
“That’s land where Geumshin Jeon-dang intends to construct a major new trade complex. But the residents there refuse to move, no matter how much money we offer them. Using force is beneath us—that’s the tactic of amateurs.”
She added with a cool smile.
“So here’s the proposition: relocate every one of those people within a week—using neither money nor force—and I’ll execute an unsecured loan in your name.”
Behind him, Baek Yeonhwa, who had been watching quietly, spoke with concern.
“Unhwi, securing capital is important, but don’t overextend yourself. The resentment of the poor cuts deeper than any blade.”
“It’s all right. A true merchant must be able to transform resentment into hope.”
Baek Unhwi looked at the map, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
No force, no money. By conventional logic, the task was impossible. But as Kang Tae-seok in his former life, Baek Unhwi had witnessed countless urban redevelopment projects.
“I’ll return tomorrow with relocation agreements in hand.”
“Tomorrow? Ha—so you do have some swagger about you. Good; that’s the kind of confidence a man needs. Now get out.”
‘An unsecured loan…’
The scale of capital that Seo Harin herself would execute would be no trivial sum. If that money actually arrived, it would give the fallen dragon that was the Baekun Merchant Guild a platform to rise again.
Baek Unhwi’s smile grew rich with anticipation. The stage was set to extract funds, entirely by legal means, from Luoyang’s greatest patron—Seo Harin herself.

* * *

At the southern edge of Luoyang, a place known as Cheongsuchae, a vast shadow where the city’s brilliance could not penetrate.
Only half a day’s journey from the glittering heart of Luoyang, yet the very air here possessed a different weight, a different color.
Divided by a single wall, the world bifurcated starkly. Instead of the laughter of silken-clad merchants sipping tea, here there was only the reek of stagnant streams and the dry, rattling cough of children.
Ramshackle hovels of haphazardly bound scrap wood seemed ready to collapse at any moment, and the ground—a mixture of filth and mud—squelched beneath every step with a sickening sound.
“Ugh, the stench… Unhwi, are you really sure there’s anything here called an ‘opportunity’?”
Baek Yeonhwa furrowed her brow, using her silk sleeve to shield her nose. Even as her family’s fortunes crumbled, she had never experienced true destitution, and the raw, unfiltered stench of a slum was a torment she could scarcely bear.
But Baek Unhwi narrowed his eyes and drew the air in deeply. To him, who had clawed his way up from the bottom more than once in his previous life, this smell was no different from the smell of money.
For in a pit of despair that everyone else avoids, the worth of the pearl buried beneath multiplies beyond measure.
“Sister, you see only foul air, don’t you? But I see undervalued premium assets. A golden egg covered in sewage that no one wants to pick up. Everyone plugs their nose and runs now, but once we clean it, oil it, polish it—all of Luoyang will be desperate to own this land.”
Baek Unhwi’s eyes blazed with fervor.
As the two of them ventured deeper into the village’s entrance, the quality of the air shifted abruptly. Through the oppressive silence, rough-looking men began to appear, one by one.
They were not formally trained martial artists, but they carried within them the hardened survival instinct and venom born of harsh lives.
Gwangdu, the bald man at the front, brought his rusted iron cudgel down against the muddy ground with a heavy crack. The dull, weighty sound resonated through the mire.
“What are you doing here? Are you lackeys of Geumshin Jeon-dang?”

Acquiring the Jianghu Through Capital — Chapter 4

Author
Song Jjulttebol
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yoon Taeri
Cover Design
Sik

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260907057.0004

ⓒ2026, Song Jjulttebol

※ This e-book is protected by 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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