Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 117

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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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Episode 117. A Sword Demon’s Chance Meeting
Trickling.
Splash!
Beyond the window, the gentle murmur of flowing water was broken by something striking the surface.
“The silk carp must have snapped up an insect that landed on the water.”
“It would seem so.”
“Even a mere creature seizes opportunity when it comes. Should a man do any less?”
A refined-featured man in an azure robe smiled broadly.
His right lip corner was bisected lengthwise by a scar, creating an unsettling asymmetry.
“Remember Seizing Opportunity While Passing. When a gap appears, one must exploit it.”
“I shall keep it in mind.”
“Of course, this Society created that gap in the first place. Hehehehe.”
The man, Yu Hee Seong, laughed.
People spoke of the Nine Heavens Struggle as merely the old friction between Gucheon Seong and Baekga Maeng rising to the surface.
But the truth was far different.
“Isn’t it amusing? Sa Ma Hwan, called the Greatest Mind Under Heaven, employing such foolish tactics?”
“It is because you stand above the head of the Brilliant Thousand Schemes.”
“Mil Wee, you needn’t flatter me. Truly, I am nothing special.”
Yu Hee Seong shook his head dismissively, turning his gaze to the man in night clothes crouched in the corner.
“Sa Ma Hwan, on the other hand, is a true genius. When I consider his talents, it would be stranger if he were not a genius.”
Mil Wee maintained his silence at Yu Hee Seong’s words.
He knew well that a response was not what was desired.
“He thinks he uses this Society, but does not realize the opposite is true. Do you know why?”
Yu Hee Seong answered his own question before a response could come.
“When one errs completely, paradoxically it feels as though one has struck the target perfectly. Hehehehe! The Brilliant Thousand Schemes is so capable that his very competence becomes his weakness.”
On the face of Yu Hee Seong, the Society’s commanding general and the Heavenly Master of Brain Heaven, a dark exhilaration was plain to see.
‘Ah, this is true power! This sensation of moving the world as one wishes—what could I trade it for?’
An addictive sensation that no amount of gold and jewels, no matchless beauty could exchange for.
Yu Hee Seong felt truly alive.
Savoring that intoxicating sensation, Yu Hee Seong spoke with relish.
“Most people live by convention and die without thought. They simply wish to become wealthy, to become strong—such simple desires.”
“…….”
“They do not understand that ‘why’ matters far more than ‘what.’ How pitiful. If they do not know why they wish to be wealthy, why they wish to be strong, what meaning has their life?”
“…….”
“My dream of overthrowing Zhongyuan alongside this Society is no mere ambition to become the absolute sovereign of a new world.”
Snap!
Yu Hee Seong raised his hand. It trembled finely with excitement.
“I am a man who savors the very process of overthrowing Zhongyuan itself. That is why I, foolish though I am compared to Sa Ma Hwan, can surpass him.”
“Those who know are not equal to those who love, and those who love are not equal to those who enjoy—is it not so?”
“Ha, now you quote Confucius. You have truly become a man of Zhongyuan.”
Yu Hee Seong laughed with genuine delight at Mil Wee’s words.
Those who know cannot match those who love, and those who love cannot match those who find joy in it.
“Your words ring true. Let us savor this moment, for soon the financial troubles that have plagued us will be resolved.”
“In a few months’ time, the Jiangnan Three Merchant Alliance will fall entirely into the Society’s hands.”
“Excellent news indeed. Hehehehe!”
Yu Hee Seong laughed at Mil Wee’s words.
Two years prior, the Reform from Boiling to Sun-Drying had been proclaimed, and sea salt production had begun.
The salt that had been in desperately short supply now overflowed, and the people sang the praises of Princess Eun Cho Ae’s benevolence.
But for the Society, which had grown wealthy through smuggled salt trafficking via the salt houses, it was a catastrophe—a revenue stream drying up.
‘Because of this, we have faced difficulties in recruiting talent and bribing officials. Now, at last, I can breathe freely.’
Yu Hee Seong nodded with the expression of a man whose aching tooth has finally fallen out.
“This Three Merchant Conference will be held in Zhejiang, I’m told?”
“Yes, key figures have been gathering in Hangzhou one after another.”
“Remember the silk carp’s lesson. When opportunity comes, one must seize it.”
“Of course. Our preparations are complete. You need not worry, sir.”
At Yu Hee Seong’s repeated admonitions, Mil Wee’s eyes gleamed as he gave his assurance.
“This task falls squarely within the expertise of our Yin Kill Gate shinobi.”
* * *
When a man and woman arrived at the Cheonnam Iron Forge, located south of Hefei, pandemonium broke loose.
“Oh my! Our Young Master—no, Young Master Ho Yeon, is that not you!”
“It’s been a while, Master Ho.”
“Ha! Congratulations on winning the Yongbong Conference! I really ought to forge you a Renowned Sword as a gift, but…….”
Ho Il Chi, the master of the Cheonnam Iron Forge, studied Ho Yeon’s waist.
Then he smacked his lips.
“With two Divine Swords already at your side, I doubt anything I craft will measure up.”
“Nonsense. Swords are never in excess.”
“But what brings you here? I only reported to the clan head yesterday that we’ve run out of iron.”
“Hmm?”
At Ho Il Chi’s words, Ho Yeon’s brow twitched as if he’d heard something absurd.
“The forge is out of iron? What do you mean by that?”
“Well, we’re in wartime, aren’t we?”
“If we’re at war, iron ought to be flooding in. Why would it be scarce? Has the price skyrocketed?”
“Iron prices leap about like madness day after day.”
“Do we not have money? I told you to use my personal funds if needed.”
Ho Yeon tilted his head.
The Namgung Clan’s current income was staggering.
The harvest from fields in the north and the proceeds from tea leaves cultivated in the western domain.
Though the scale had shrunk due to wartime, if he factored in the money earned from the escort business, he could buy all the iron he wanted.
“These days, money alone doesn’t guarantee you can find goods. The Jiangnan Three Merchant Alliance has imposed complete control over military supplies.”
“The Jiangnan Three Merchant Alliance?”
“A consortium of the Anhui Merchant, the Zhejiang Merchant, and the Jiangsu Merchant. Their influence is formidable—two of the top ten merchant companies in the realm are among them.”
“The Jinling Company from Zhejiang and the Nanjing Company from Jiangsu, correct?”
Nan A, who had been listening to the exchange between Ho Il Chi and Ho Yeon, interjected.
Ho Il Chi nodded in response.
“Precisely. Because of them, iron costs more than gold these days. If we can’t source it locally, we have to bring it from afar, and the transport costs are ruinous.”
“Hell, these people are absolute madmen, aren’t they? Does Father know?”
“Of course. The clan head has already discussed it with the Haehoo Company master and decided to send men to Hangzhou.”
“Tsk. Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Ho Yeon clicked his tongue, recalling last night’s drinking gathering.
When something like this came up, they should have consulted him—instead, it looked like Father was trying to handle it alone again.
‘This is a sickness too, a real sickness.’
Ho Yeon shook his head and spoke to Ho Il Chi.
“What I need is premium Hundred-Refinement Steel or better.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, I have quite a bit stockpiled from before.”
“I need at least eleven blades.”
“Eleven? Are you forming a new unit?”
“No. One is for me. The other ten are for someone else.”
“……?”
Ho Il Chi, unable to grasp Ho Yeon’s meaning, cocked his head in confusion.
But since these words came from Namgung Ho Yeon himself and no one else, he simply complied without further question.
“Come inside then.”
“You go and pick them out. I’ll settle the bill. I have somewhere else to be, so I’ll head in first.”
As Ho Yeon spoke to Nan A, she blinked and replied.
“Master. I have money too, you know?”
“What money does a nun have?”
“I receive a generous allowance.”
“Ha, use that to buy yourself sweets then. Master Ho, send the other ten blades to the clan.”
“Of course! I’ll see to it!”
Click-clack!
Watching Ho Yeon’s retreating figure as he spoke his piece and vanished swiftly, Nan A muttered softly to herself.
“……I really do get a lot, though.”
* * *
Central district of Hefei.
On prime real estate beside Tianea Lake stood a building bearing a plaque that read “Haehoo Company.”
It had originally been the Baekwon Company before the Haehoo Company acquired it less than a year ago.
Despite only two years of history, the Haehoo Company had earned the reputation of being Hefei’s finest merchant establishment.
“Hmm…….”
From the office of this thriving Haehoo Company came the sound of troubled murmuring.
It was the voice of Sang Gwan Hae, known as the Golden Hand for his success in every venture he undertook.
Though his ample bearing and broad earlobes gave him the gentle countenance of a Buddha, no one dared to underestimate a man who had achieved such great success at so young an age.
“Phew, I never knew the transshipment business could be this difficult. These territorial disputes are no joke.”
Sang Gwan Hae pressed his temples, muttering to himself.
He had recently purchased merchant ships from the Baekwon Company—vessels the government had managed—and thrown himself into the transshipment trade.
But for months now, he had nothing to show for his efforts except mounting losses.
“They control the Yangtze River—the lifeblood of Zhongyuan—as though it belongs to them alone.”
Sang Gwan Hae’s brow creased with frustration.
Transshipment was a form of cargo transport, and it was the primary income for countless merchant companies based along the Yangtze.
And they carved up the river into territories, dividing the profits among themselves.
‘That’s why goods crossing the Yangtze skyrocket in price. We have to satisfy each of their appetites one by one.’
But if he used the overland route instead, it would take twice as long.
For merchants whose lifeblood is time and trust, they had no choice but to swallow their pride and meet these demands.
Sang Gwan Hae had attempted to break that custom by launching a direct-transport operation, but he had tasted nothing but defeat.
The merchants who held the Yangtze’s interests in an iron grip had fiercely opposed the Haehoo Company’s movements.
“Four ships destroyed already. Any other company would have folded under that blow.”
Ships that mysteriously sank for reasons unknown?
Nonsense.
Sang Gwan Hae knew who was behind it.
“Those pathetic fools from the Nanjing Company! And they call themselves one of the ten greatest merchant houses under heaven!”
Sang Gwan Hae’s anger burst forth.
The Nanjing Company, which controlled Jiangsu’s Nanjing, was a premier merchant house that had risen alongside the Yangtze itself.
Nanjing’s position was exquisitely strategic—they controlled the junction where the Yangtze met the Grand Canal.
The Grand Canal was an indispensable waterway for anyone sending goods northward.
The Nanjing Company’s influence was as formidable as a grand elder brother overseeing the entire Yangtze.
“They say they have thick ties with the water courts—they’re not merchants, they’re pirates!”
Fortunately, there was one bright spot: the ships traveling to and from Beijing remained untouched by them.
Or rather, they couldn’t touch them.
Those ships carried tea leaves destined for the imperial household and high officials of the Silver Dynasty.
So Sang Gwan Hae had been minimizing his losses by smuggling other goods aboard those protected vessels.
“I swear that I will settle this matter once and for all at the Jiangnan Three Merchant Alliance council.”
Just as Sang Gwan Hae was steeling himself with that resolve, the young boy he kept as an accounting apprentice and servant burst through the door, his face flushed with excitement.
Bang!
“M-Master! Your brother’s here!”
“My brother?”
“Our Ho Yeon is here!”
“M-my younger brother?!”
Sang Gwan Hae shot to his feet.
If asked to name one person inseparable from his life, he would unhesitatingly choose Namgung Ho Yeon.
“Bring my life’s noble person to me at once! No—I’ll receive him myself!”
Thud-thud-thud!
Brushing past the servant, Sang Gwan Hae hurled his substantial frame forward.
A strong premonition seized him—something fortunate was about to happen.
For Namgung Ho Yeon was one blessed abundantly by the God of Wealth.
“Ho Yeon! My brother has arrived!”

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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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