Acquiring the Murim with Money - Chapter 43

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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 43. The Golden Appraisal Trust

Two days later, in Yangyang on a bright morning. The waterways thrummed with vitality unlike anything seen before.
Word of Mukyong Chaejae’s collapse and Changhae Escort Agency’s rise to dominance spread like wildfire. Those who had abandoned escort work in the past or taken other employment to avoid Mukyong Chaejae’s shadow began drifting back one by one. And there were quite a few young people of Yangyang who had once dreamed of becoming Escort Agents but hadn’t dared under Mukyong Chaejae’s thumb—now they wanted to work under the newly risen hero, Jin Muyeon. When word came that even those lacking martial prowess could apply as ordinary cargo handlers or logistics administrators, the line of applicants outside Changhae Escort Agency stretched from the docks beyond the alley entrance.
Jin Muyeon saw the queue and hurried to Baek Unhui.
“Senior, what should I do? I need to select new members, but I can’t just pick anyone, and there are so many applicants—I’m nervous.”
“The Agency head should conduct careful interviews and personally select each person.”
Jin Muyeon turned to look back at the line, then faced Baek Unhui again.
“I’m not sure what to ask them.”
“Then don’t ask anything.”
Jin Muyeon blinked.
“Ask them to show you. If they have martial skill capable of protecting Escort Cargo, show that. Otherwise, show how well you can handle a boat, how fast you can tie knots, how safely you can move cargo. Just watch their actions. Words can be fabricated, but hands cannot lie.”
Jin Muyeon nodded and turned to face the crowd. Standing before the line, he announced:
“For those applying as ordinary handlers, please carry that cargo there up to here. We’ll interview the fastest first.”
Gwak Daeho soon positioned himself beside Jin Muyeon, helping him assess the applicants rigorously. Though Gwak Daeho offered experienced counsel from the side, Jin Muyeon made the final selection carefully, one by one. His gaze showed absolute resolve without a flicker of doubt as he chose the new members.
With Yangyang’s waterways opened, basic cargo volume more than doubled from before, and Changhae Escort Agency—already proven capable—stood firmly as Yangyang’s preeminent Escort Agency under the overwhelming support of the Yangyang Merchant Union. The volume and variety of cargo handled by Changhae Escort Agency exploded, and its organization grew ever larger to match.
“The Biancheok Clan’s Yangyang branch information network is now completely operational. From now on, not only Luoyang news but even Yangyang news will arrive every morning and evening, even if we leave for Gyunjuseong immediately.”
Byeok Soyeon spoke with a confident smile. Beneath the solid protection of Changhae Escort Agency and the Yangyang Merchant Union, the Biancheok Clan’s intelligence network had taken perfect root in Yangyang.
“Now we truly have nothing to worry about.”
“We’ll finish training the staff and managers we hired at the Yangyang branch and depart on the next boat with the Agency head.”
“The cargo’s all packed. We’ll set off in another hour.”
So Ryang came running with an abacus, speaking as he approached.
Gyunjuseong had once bustled with active commerce, but Mukyong Chaejae’s tyranny had reduced cargo volume to less than half.
Baek Unhui, So Ryang, Ju Yakgyeong, and Hyegwang led eight of Changhae Escort Agency’s vessels laden with supplies toward Gyunjuseong, where Wudang Mountain stood.

That afternoon, at Taepyeong Money Exchange, the largest merchant house in Gyunjuseong.
Outside, the street was chaos—people clamoring to acquire goods—but inside the executive office, laughter rang out in leisurely contentment.
“Heh-heh-heh, thanks to those Mukyong Chaejae dogs blocking the waterways, we’ve been raking in silver hand over fist.”
“Indeed. The Wudang Mountain temples are in a frenzy—they don’t have paper for talismans or incense—so what can they do? We set the price.”
Large merchant houses like Taepyeong Money Exchange were hoarding necessities and temple supplies on the pretext of the waterway blockade, deliberately inflating prices. Paper bundles that normally sold for one tael skyrocketed to three taels, then five taels by yesterday, yet the priests and merchants who needed to maintain their temples had no choice but to pay through the nose.
As they leisurely sipped tea, a shop employee burst in, face drained of color.
“Director! Big trouble!”
“What’s all this fuss?”
“The waterway is open! Mukyong Chaejae is destroyed, and Changhae Escort Agency from Yangyang has arrived at the port with eight vessels loaded with an enormous quantity of cargo!”
“What?!”
The Taepyeong director’s teacup shattered against the floor.
“Incense, medicinal herbs, and paper are flooding into the market right now! And the quality is good—the price is half of what we’re selling!”
The inflated prices collapsed instantly before Changhae Escort Agency’s massive supply offensive. Large merchant houses, having stockpiled inventory meant to sell at inflated prices, suddenly found themselves buried under mountains of worthless goods.
“Damn it! Start selling everything in the warehouse at half price if you have to! You want us all to go under holding this inventory?”

While the large merchant houses panicked, dumping goods at ruinous prices and the Gyunjuseong market fell into chaos, Baek Unhui summoned the leading representatives of Wudang Mountain’s lay temples to an inn.
“Isn’t it tiresome—commodity prices swinging wildly overnight like some sort of game?”
Baek Unhui spoke with ease as he poured tea.
“Why not establish a regular supply long-term contract with our Changhae Escort Agency? Whether the waterways are blocked or open, whatever the season, we guarantee to supply premium goods at stable prices, always with priority delivery.”
For priests tired of hoarding schemes and profiteering, it was like rain in a drought. Assured they wouldn’t need to pay exorbitant prices, the temple representatives rushed to affix their seals to the contracts.
So Ryang clicked his abacus beside Baek Unhui.
“Fifty temples on long-term contract, complete. Even factoring in price fluctuations, our profit margin is minimum thirty percent.”
Having secured complete control of Gyunjuseong’s basic necessities and temple supply distribution in a single day, Baek Unhui’s attention turned immediately to the next scheme.

Gyunjuseong, drawing pilgrims and priests to Wudang Mountain, had become a vast “antiques market” where all manner of rare books, martial artifacts, and medicinal materials traded hands.
But where rare goods and demand were abundant, so too were swindlers. Truth be told, more often than not people simply didn’t know an item’s true value. The shortage of proper appraisers was to blame. Genuine treasures sold for pittance while counterfeit medicines fetched high prices, leading to daily brawls over disputes.
Baek Unhui rented a storefront in the heart of the market and hung a sign.

Golden Appraisal Trust

Standing on a platform, Baek Unhui called out to the market crowd:
“Just one second! One second to identify authenticity and determine value. Items deemed genuine will be immediately converted to cash on the spot!”
“One-second appraisal? That young fool has lost his mind.”
“Come now, let’s see if this bronze censer is genuine or fake!”
Baek Unhui pulled a subtle thread of energy to his eyes as the merchants thrust their wares toward him with skeptical expressions.
His irises shimmered with a soft golden light, and the Golden Divine Eye activated. Transparent characters floated into his field of vision.

[Target: Corroded Bronze Censer]
[Description: The patina on the surface is false. Common counterfeit, mass-cast in Jiangxi Province three years ago. Value: 1 coin.]

“A fake. Counterfeit goods. Not worth so much as a single coin—take it and go.”
The merchant flinched and stepped backward.
The next person offered an ancient text covered in soil. At first glance it looked like worm-eaten refuse, but the Golden Divine Eye illuminated its truth.

[Target: Hua Tuo’s Secret Medical Treatise (Incomplete)]
[Description: Partial volume of the legendary physician’s work, believed lost. Medical value: exceptional. Estimated market price: minimum 1,000 silver taels.]

Baek Unhui’s expression never wavered as he spoke.
“I can authorize a secured loan of three hundred taels immediately. Interest is two percent monthly. Will you pledge it?”
“T-three hundred taels?! I’ll pledge it at once!”
‘I’ll need to keep this safe. The old master would be delighted to see it.’

In half a day, the market’s rarest medicinal herbs, classical texts, artifacts, and rare materials flowed into Baek Unhui’s warehouse under the guise of collateral for discounted loans. Nine out of ten items were nearly worthless, but genuine treasures came in steady. The crown jewel was an unassuming-looking volume labeled “Taiji Theory Manuscript”—assessed at inestimable value. Since Baek Unhui paid fair prices for the genuine items, even if the original owners hadn’t recognized their worth, the merchants and residents who desperately needed quick silver began to wear smiles of relief.
Then ruffians notorious throughout the market for bleeding desperate merchants dry forced their way in uninvited. In their hands they carried a sack of junk and a dented iron shield they’d torn from the blacksmith’s forge at the end of the alley.
“Hey, you’re the one who appraises things in a second, right? This is scrap from legendary treasures forged by a master smith. We’ve got a whole pile here—no questions asked, just hand over a hundred taels of silver right now!”
The ruffians’ brazen attempt at strong-arming the market into an extortion racket made the surrounding merchants hold their breath. So Ryang frowned and moved to summon the Changhae Escort Agency’s escort agents, but Baek Unhui raised a hand to stop him.
Baek Unhui quietly swept the Golden Divine Eye across the sack the ruffians had thrown down.
It was nearly all garbage, but wedged deep in one corner lay a distinct bundle of black metal coins, caked thick with soil and grime.

[Description: A legendary craftsman’s whimsy—scraps of meteorite left over from forging a divine blade, poured playfully into coin molds. Each coin weighs ten times more than ordinary currency and possesses the Qi-Breaking Property, capable of tearing through protective barriers and inner-power defenses.]

He rose with a quiet chuckle and kicked the sack lightly with his foot.
“A hundred taels? You march in here with garbage that wouldn’t even fetch a copper from a junk dealer and try to extort me? I could report you to the magistrate right now for theft and coerced sale of stolen goods.”
“W-what did you just say?! This bastard’s playing games—you trying to get yourself killed?!”
The ruffians, little more than street thugs, scowled menacingly and reached for their sword hilts, but a chill of killing intent swept across Baek Unhui’s gaze. The thug leader suddenly recalled the rumors that Baek Unhui had demolished the Mukyong Chaejae, and his breath caught in his throat.
Baek Unhui produced five taels and tilted his chin toward the sack of coins and miscellaneous goods.
“I owe scum like you nothing—not a single coin. But I’ll pay you for the trouble of hauling all this heavy metal here. Take it and get out.”
“Tch, what garbage luck! Fine, let’s go, boys.”
The ruffian, mindful that escort agents from the Changhae Escort Agency or constabulary might arrive and cause him real trouble, figured five taels was better than nothing and snatched up the coins and fled.
Baek Unhui quietly instructed an escort agent who had just finished tallying the cargo and come to report to seek out the blacksmith later and compensate him generously, then picked up the bundle of black coins still caked with soil and grime.
In size they were no different from ordinary currency, but the weight settling into his palm and the density were formidable. Baek Unhui discreetly channeled inner power into one of the black coins and flicked it free.
Using his thumb and middle finger, he launched it toward the iron shield the ruffians had discarded—not with the Heavenly Gold Throw, but infused with pure inner power.
Whoosh—!
There was no piercing cry. A clean hole punched through the center of the thick iron shield, and the black coin embedded itself deep into the brick wall beyond. The penetration was terrifying. It was a hidden weapon of absolute power capable of piercing ordinary shields and protective barriers as easily as cutting tofu—and all without invoking the Heavenly Gold Throw. In the right circumstance, it could even be recovered and reused.
‘A merchant leader who beats people with money itself. It fits my concept perfectly.’
Baek Unhui smiled with satisfaction and carefully separated some seventy black coins from the bundle of over a hundred, securing the rest firmly at his waist.
“Amitabha. These are no ordinary goods. Not only does he smell money—he sniffs out treasure. Baek’s talents never cease to astonish, no matter how many times I witness them.”
Hyegwang clicked his tongue in admiration, while Ju Yakgyeong laughed helplessly.
“We came to watch sword techniques from Wudang Mountain Daoists, and instead we’re cleaning out the market.”
Hyegwang and Ju Yakgyeong had just finished a quick tour around Gyunjuseong since arriving, and were making idle conversation when suddenly a thick stench of alcohol wafted into the appraisal stall.

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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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