Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#021

Jiao-nan’s commercial sphere was unique.

Unlike Zhejiang Province or Fujian Province, there weren’t many trading ships heading overseas.

Instead, it served as a hub for moving export goods produced in the North to the South, and conversely, moving imported goods from the South to the North and inland.

With the addition of a developed fishing industry, various goods were mixed together, creating a structure that was favorable for smuggled goods outside the law to enter.

This commercial structure inevitably led to the creation of many merchant guilds. This was because each product had different distribution networks and transportation methods. As a result, each merchant guild moved according to thoroughly planned strategies, emphasizing their specialization.

However, a small ripple occurred in this Jiao-nan.

Ice, which could be considered essential for distribution, began to be sold at low prices.

Due to ice appearing at half the price, merchant guilds that had been reducing their shipments to inland areas began recalculating their abacuses.

-We can supply ice consistently even in summer.

The East Sea Merchant Guild confidently promised steady supply and signed supply contracts with merchant guilds.

Their ice supply quickly found stability except for the first few days, because the East Sea Merchant Guild had supplemented their workforce on a large scale.

This was not simply recruiting merchant guild members, but the result of acquiring the Haelyong Labor Office.

“Lord. We want to join forces.”

“We’ve decided to trust and follow Guild Leader brother.”

The process of their merger all took place at Deungmyeong Manor. Originally, this talk first came up thanks to the Spring Festival meeting.

While discussing the ice business, the merger was brought up and they eventually became one.

Instead of the name Haelyong Labor Office disappearing, So Yeon-dok was given the position of Maritime Division Leader, directly below the Subordinate.

Their merger didn’t end with simply supplementing manpower. The labor office’s connections immediately created greater demand.

-Ships are wanting ice.

Initially, merchant guilds heading inland showed interest, but soon ship owners began ordering ice.

Since ships could be equipped with ice storage depending on their use, demand exploded.

Ships coming and going began carrying goods they couldn’t carry before.

When spring passed and summer arrived, the East Sea Merchant Guild had become the busiest merchant guild in Jiao-nan.

May, when flowers were in full bloom.

The Eastern Trade Guild began expansion construction of their brewery.

This was because they now had the means to acquire shops near the brewery.

“Selling ice while utilizing Donghaejoo has been a great help. Now we’re receiving separate orders for Donghaejoo as well.”

As ship owners’ demand for ice exploded, priorities inevitably had to be established.

For this purpose, ship owners actively bought Donghaejoo, the East Sea Merchant Guild’s main product. This was because it was the fastest way to deepen their relationship with the East Sea Merchant Guild.

Since Donghaejoo’s quality was already well-known, selling it at other ports wasn’t difficult, so Donghaejoo purchase quantities naturally increased, and it even became the main product in some places.

From the Eastern Trade Guild’s perspective, they were making even more profit beyond just ice sales.

“Guild Leader. At this level, it seems we could operate ships again.”

“No. This year we’ll focus on selling ice and Donghaejoo. We’ll prepare well for direct trade and start from next year.”

By May, the previously cheap ice prices were gradually rising.

“We must secure definite profits from ice this summer. We’ll focus on this for now.”

Jo Pilseong chose to seize the opportunity firmly rather than being greedy.

“How is the labor office?”

“About 30% of Jiao-nan’s sailors have joined as members of our labor office union.”

“Excellent.”

“Please speak comfortably, Guild Leader.”

“Haha. I’ll do so after this summer passes. Until then, we all need to stay alert. Since this is an opportunity given by the Lord, we must make full use of it.”

“Of course. Just give us any orders.”

So Yeon-dok was finding stability after joining the East Sea Merchant Guild.

It felt like he had put down half the burden he’d been carrying on his shoulders. Moreover, since the East Sea Merchant Guild treated their members well, the brothers who had come with him from Haerongbang were also satisfied.

‘Though not many remain.’

Even after disbanding Haerongbang, many brothers couldn’t endure the difficult labor office life and left.

‘The ones who remained will go to the end together.’

There were only about twenty of them.

“Now. Let’s move.”

After finishing the dawn meeting, they returned to their respective positions.

This year’s summer was exceptionally hot.

And as hot as it was, the East Sea Merchant Guild was busy. They even had to use sailors as workers.

-Wages are paid according to work done.

As the Eastern Trade Guild promised more wages, ice endlessly left the manor and returned as heavy silver coins.

Thanks to this, the 10 guild members connected to Ja-gang-cheon solved their lodging and meals entirely at the manor.

They couldn’t show Bingokgo to strangers.

The East Sea Merchant Guild earned money comparable to large merchant guilds in the Trade Market beyond Nambu Market from ice alone.

With Donghaejoo also gaining popularity, the East Sea Merchant Guild became the hottest name in Jiao-nan.

Autumn, after the hot summer passed.

“What is all this?”

Boxes full of silver coins were placed on the main wooden floor.

“It’s payment for the ice we’ve supplied so far.”

This was the amount calculated for the past 6 months.

As promised, the East Sea Merchant Guild paid 30% of sales as payment for ice.

“It’s five thousand taels of silver.”

It was truly an enormous amount of money. Since ice was made just by pouring water and the East Sea Merchant Guild dispatched the manpower, the five thousand taels of silver was pure profit.

“It’s still not enough to build a ship, right?”

“It won’t be sufficient. But an annual profit of about seven thousand taels of silver is definitely not small.”

“True. We could buy a manor like this every year.”

Ja-gang-cheon stared at the silver coins neatly arranged in the boxes, then made a regretful sound.

“Should I just sell a few martial arts manuals? Is there a way to sell them secretly?”

“Hold back for now. It’s too early to invite a blood storm.”

“I suppose so?”

Ja-gang-cheon had changed from before.

“I like this peace too.”

He was developing affection for human relationships.

Selling martial arts manuals carried the risk of destroying all of this.

“More than that, the thing we were worried about has happened.”

Worry cast over Cheon-gu’s face, which had been bright until now.

“What’s wrong?”

“It seems Hao-mun has dispatched people to Jiao-nan.”

Ja-gang-cheon found that name very unpleasant.

***

Hao-mun members are everywhere.

In terms of scale, Hao-mun was the only group that could rival the Beggar’s Sect.

However, they were looked down upon because the individual members and their skills weren’t outstanding.

-They look down on them but can’t treat them carelessly.

This was the attitude of martial artists toward Hao-mun members and Hao-mun’s founding intention.

“The existing Hao-mun members continuously meet with several people, and judging by their attitude, it seems a superior has come.”

“How many came?”

“The person presumed to be the highest ranking is Cheon Byeong-il, who came as a worker at Maehyanggiru. The people he frequently meets number five.”

The level of information was quite high.

“How did you find this out?”

“I gathered information from beggars, waitstaff, the Donghai Merchant Guild, and all the merchants.”

This was what Cheon-gu had figured out by regularly meeting with those people.

“I’ve been keeping watch ever since we encountered Hao-mun last time. You might not know, but many people treat you favorably when they hear you’re from Deungmyeong Manor. It’s easy to find out who came from where.”

“Because we eliminated the Black Society?”

“That’s right. Thanks to that, the work was easy.”

Even so, discovering Hao-mun’s appearance on his own was an amazing ability.

“We won’t have much time. Once Hao-mun moves, our information network will be exposed too.”

No matter how outstanding Cheon-gu was, he couldn’t match Hao-mun’s long experience and manpower.

This meant now was the only time to discover their movements first.

“But Maehyanggiru was affiliated with Hao-mun?”

“I don’t know the internal details exactly, but that place is definitely the center.”

Ja-gang-cheon fell into thought for a moment.

“We can’t just leave them alone, can we?”

“Having information about you spread isn’t a good thing. There’s the matter of burying the Ice Crystal, and there’s also the secret warehouse. If Hao-mun keeps digging and the secret manuals are revealed, you’ll end up at the center of a bloodbath just like you said.”

Cheon-gu’s words were right.

Moving the cart to Mudang Mountain was one thing, and currently he was using the Ice Crystal.

Just revealing the existence of the Ice Crystal would be proof that Gwigokdo’s treasures had made it to the outside world.

“Was I being too complacent?”

Ja-gang-cheon, who had asked himself this question, soon shook his head.

“It was something I had to do.”

Taking out the Ice Crystal was partly to help the Donghai Merchant Guild, but it was also chosen to build a boat to go to Gwigokdo. And there were many more things he had to do in the future.

Moreover, if surveillance became stricter, he would have to be careful about training within the manor too.

Even with walls, they couldn’t hide everything.

‘I hate being interfered with.’

He didn’t want to be cautious because of Hao-mun.

“You’re right. But if we carelessly provoke Hao-mun, we’ll just be giving them justification.”

What Hao-mun did best was walking the tightrope.

They would maintain a precarious line, and when their opponent crossed it, they would ruthlessly exploit that justification.

“So this is why Mother called them shit. I feel bad.”

Ja-gang-cheon frowned and for a moment felt wronged.

“Why should I have to worry because of those bastards?”

“You’re always worrying about something.”

“But it’s Hao-mun who came in with a purpose.”

“That’s right.”

“Then Hao-mun should be the one doing the worrying.”

This was Ja-gang-cheon’s logic.

If you want something, you should make the effort yourself.

When that gets reversed, people feel wronged.

That was exactly how Ja-gang-cheon felt right now.

“Let’s go. I need to pass the worrying onto them.”

Ja-gang-cheon headed toward Maehyanggiru where Cheon Byeong-il was said to be.

The giru district was quiet.

“Oh my! The handsome young masters seem to be in a hurry. Wait just one hour and come back!”

“Young master! I’m fine even now. Shall I set up a drinking table? Shall I spread out bedding?”

The courtesans who were preparing for business threw jokes at the two young ones.

Though these were embarrassing words for mid-teen boys to handle, strangely the two seemed completely unfazed.

“Why are they acting like that?”

“They’re teasing us.”

Ja-gang-cheon didn’t realize those words were jokes in the first place, and Cheon-gu had come here often while running errands. The giru was the main sales outlet for Donghaejoo.

“Mi-hyang. Those kids must not know you’re old either. They’re not even looking at you.”

“Shut up! You bitch! Cover up your neck wrinkles!”

“What? You crazy bitch!”

From Ja-gang-cheon’s perspective, it was an interesting place.

“Why are they suddenly fighting?”

“Women always fight over things like that.”

“It’s not our fault, right?”

“No.”

The two stood in front of the building at the very end of the row of giru.

Maehyang-ru.

Though small in scale, it was a thriving place where customers lined up every night, and above all, it was famous for having high-quality courtesans.

Through the open door, they could see men sweeping the courtyard, musicians preparing to perform, and women dressed in colorful clothes.

“Hello, sir.”

Ja-gang-cheon entered without hesitation.

“Young masters. We’re not open for business yet.”

“I came to meet someone.”

A forty-something servant who had been sweeping the courtyard looked up.

“Who are you looking for?”

He maintained his ingrained courtesy while giving them suspicious looks.

“I came to meet someone named Cheon Byeong-il.”

“Who?”

“Cheon Byeong-il from Hao-mun. He’s here right now, isn’t he?”

His tone was as if he had come to meet a close cousin.

“There’s no such person here…”

Thud!

Ja-gang-cheon stomped his foot with all his might and unleashed his True Energy.

The vibration he created shook the entire giru beyond the courtyard.

The servant’s face turned white from the tremendous shock.

“You knew who I was from the beginning.”

At the cold voice, the servant gulped. Then a voice came from elsewhere.

“I am Cheon Byeong-il.”

“Why do you people always come out only after someone gets in danger?”

He wore the same clothes as the servant, but had fair skin and neat hair.

Though he was in his mid-forties with a slender build, he had well-balanced muscles and gave a manly impression with his beard extending down from his sideburns.

“I came because I hate being watched.”

Cheon Byeong-il, dispatched from Hao-mun, had expected this moment would come someday.

Clashing with surveillance targets during missions was a frequent occurrence.

‘Even so, this is the first time I’ve encountered such a crazy bastard.’

Coming to a giru and immediately asking for Hao-mun was crazy enough, but he had displayed his power to force him to appear.

“Shall we move to another location?”

“Are you giving me orders?”

This was another unexpected response.

‘If I answer yes… I might die right here…’

He felt intense pressure. It was because Ja-gang-cheon’s coldly hardened gaze lacked emotion.

‘Those are eyes that could do anything.’

It was completely different from what he had assessed so far.

-He’s affectionate and gets along well with people. He’s very generous to his own people, and considering his contract with the merchant guild, he doesn’t seem to have much greed for wealth.

This was the information about Ja-gang-cheon he had gathered so far.

But the person he faced directly had an atmosphere that was vastly beyond that information.

“I would like to request. Would it be alright if we talked in a different place?”

“Guide me.”

Fortunately, Cheon Byeong-il was able to escape from the uncomfortable place.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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