Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 9

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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 9. The Sword Demon Plays with Fire
Baek Un Trading Company.
They were among the most prominent power-holders in Hefei, having amassed considerable wealth through their silk trade and brokerage operations.
Though they hadn’t always been wealthy.
It was only after they began their transshipment business on the Yangtze River that the money began to flow in torrents.
So much wealth did they accumulate that the main mansion of Baek Un Trading Company now occupied most of the prime real estate surrounding Tian’e Lake in central Hefei.
From within the compound’s whitewashed walls, the sound of guqin music drifted through the air.
“Hah! Eat your fill, everyone! Here, wine and food flow like an endless spring!”
Cui Xia Pavilion—its name meaning a place drunk on sunset, with a view of Tian’e Lake spread below.
Baek Won-ui, heir to Baek Un Trading Company, raised his cup and bellowed with unrestrained cheer.
“Hehe! You’re magnificent, young master!”
“Ah! Even the heavens must marvel at the spirit of Baek Won-ui!”
“I’ve never seen anyone drink Five Grain Liquor like water before!”
“A banquet at Baek Un Trading Company truly is something else!”
The pavilion was alive with celebration.
Painted courtesans in gossamer robes spun and danced while flushed-faced men guzzled wine as though it were water.
“Hehe! Worry not—enjoy yourselves! What we’ve earned today is hundreds of times more than what we’ve spent!”
A portly man seated at the table of honor bellowed this proclamation.
With courtesans draped on either side and attendants bringing him food, he was Baek Won-ui.
“Oh! Young Master Baek—has something fortunate occurred?”
When one of the men posed this question, Baek Won-ui launched into his boast as though he’d been waiting for just such an opening.
“Haha! Indeed it has! Today, several thousand bolts of the finest Neng Luo and Bi Luo silk arrived from Jiangxi!”
“Several thousand bolts!”
“They’re bound for Beijing, traveling up the Yangtze.”
“Beijing? You don’t mean… could the destination be…?”
As the man’s eyes widened, Baek Won-ui nodded with visible satisfaction and announced proudly:
“Exactly! These silks are bound for the Imperial Palace!”
“Heavens! Young Master Baek—when did you establish trade with the Imperial Household?”
“Oh, not long ago. This is our first transaction, actually.”
In truth, Geumnung Trading Company—one of the ten greatest trading houses in the realm—was the principal party to the deal, and Baek Un Trading Company merely served as an intermediary.
Yet Baek Won-ui held himself as though he personally conducted business with the Imperial Court.
“Truly remarkable!”
“Ah, it’s nothing so grand. We accepted the commission at a modest profit, simply happy to serve the nation.”
Yet everyone present understood the reality.
Trading with the Imperial Household was never merely about financial gain.
It was a form of prestige.
The Imperial Court dealt only with the finest establishments.
Even if Baek Un’s role was merely as a middleman.
“Congratulations! This proves that Baek Un Trading Company is supreme—not merely in Hefei, but throughout Anhui Province!”
“Hahaha!”
“Anhui Province? Trading with the Imperial Household means supreme under heaven, does it not?”
“Puhaha!”
As flattery rained down from all corners, Baek Won-ui’s mouth stretched from ear to ear.
“Indeed—supreme under heaven! Our Baek Un Trading Company shall expand its power ever further!”
“Hehe, magnificent, young master! Here!”
“And here!”
As courtesans on either side vied to feed him delicacies with their chopsticks, Baek Won-ui accepted the morsels with evident satisfaction.
Even a stray dog passing by would have recognized that Baek Won-ui was the center of attention.
Everyone else was merely decoration meant to inflate his pride.
‘If we establish dealings with Baek Un Trading Company, our family will soar!’
‘Just securing one business concession would…’
‘Connected to the Imperial Household? Then perhaps…!’
The guests willingly played the sycophant, dreaming of scraps from the table.
And they began competing fiercely for Baek Won-ui’s favor.
“Indeed, the greatest family under heaven cannot be far off!”
“Hm, the greatest family under heaven… There were those in Hefei who once bore such a title.”
“Ah, you mean the Namgung Clan? Surely they’re among the lowest ranks of the Hundred Great Families now?”
“The sun set on the Namgung long ago.”
Those who’d read Baek Won-ui’s mind began tearing down the Namgung Clan.
“Puh, let’s not be too harsh. After all, the Namgung are the very roots of our Baek Un Trading Company, are they not?”
When Baek Won-ui showed such modesty, the crowd only grew more eager to flatter him.
“Ha ha, quite right! Oh, I heard the news—that you’re taking a daughter of the Namgung Clan as a concubine, is that so?”
“A daughter of the Namgung Clan? You mean Namgung Sang-a?”
“Oh! Isn’t she the first beauty of Anhui Province?”
“Pfft! She is lovely, I’ll grant you that.”
As Baek Won-ui nodded in agreement, the flattery from the crowd redoubled.
“Well then, it seems the Namgung Clan is no longer the root of Baek Un—rather, the reverse!”
“If a Namgung daughter serves you, sir, it would certainly be so!”
“Even if tarnished by time, the Namgung sword would be a great strength to the Baek Un Trading Company.”
The crowd carried on as though the marriage were already settled.
Pleased by this, Baek Won-ui nodded with satisfaction and spoke.
“Heh heh, when I take Sang-a as my concubine, I shall throw a grand feast.”
“But will that be all right? Daughters of martial families are said to have fierce temperaments, aren’t they?”
One man spoke with apparent concern, and Baek Won-ui burst into loud laughter.
“Ahahaha! Women like that grow obedient once you’ve broken their spirit once!”
“Ah, you are truly remarkable, sir.”
“What can a mere Namgung do? The clan’s debt to the main house alone is three hundred thousand taels!”
“Three hundred thousand taels!”
“That’s highway robbery!”
“So she’s not really a concubine at all—more like you’re bringing in a maidservant for hire, wouldn’t you say?”
“Ha ha! That’s a bit much!”
The Namgung Clan and Namgung Sang-a became the evening’s entertainment—pleasing gossip for lesser men.
The fall of a house once praised as the greatest clan under heaven was a matter of delight to such people.
“To take a daughter of a fallen house as a concubine! What mercy, what compassion!”
“Ahahaha! I suppose my heart is too soft.”
“At this rate, dealing with the Imperial Palace, won’t you eventually become a Prince Consort?”
“Ho, a Prince Consort, you say……”
Prince Consort.
The Emperor’s son-in-law.
Husband of an imperial daughter?
It was flattery thick with artifice, yet Baek Won-ui found the words genuinely pleasing.
‘Why shouldn’t I become a Prince Consort? An imperial daughter. An imperial daughter……’
Baek Won-ui licked his lips.
First to take Namgung Sang-a as a concubine.
Then to accept an imperial daughter as his wife?
“Ha ha ha! How deliciously sweet…… Ugh!”
Lost in such honeyed dreams, Baek Won-ui’s eyes snapped wide open.
An impossible sight had filled his vision.
“Hmm?”
“What is this?”
“Is the sunset rising?”
“That can’t be. It’s already past the Hai Hour—past nine or ten at night. The sun set long ago.”
Over Cui Xia Pavilion, a red glow burned in the night sky.
But it was not a sunset.
“T-t-th……!”
“F-f-fire……!”
“Fire! Fire!”
A raging inferno descended upon the Baek Un Trading Company, devouring the great whale-like roof tiles one after another.
Baek Won-ui could not tell if this was dream or waking life.
Because within those flames…….
“No, no! Not the silks bound for Beijing……!”
Thousands of bolts of the finest silk, arrived from Jiangxi and destined for Beijing.
Were being shredded by the fierce jaws of flame and turning to ash before his eyes.
“No—no no no! Douse the fire! Empty all the waters of Tian’e Lake into it!”
Those silks were not the property of the Baek Un Trading Company—they belonged to the Geumnung Trading Company.
But if an accident befell goods in transit, they became the responsibility of the transporting merchant.
In other words, he would have to pay a fortune in compensation for cinders.
“No! No no no!”
And worse still—those silks were goods destined for the Imperial Palace.
This was the first order, and a disaster of this magnitude had just struck.
“My princess……! The Prince Consort……!”
Baek Won-ui’s sweet dream crumbled to bitter ash, scattering into the void.
* * *
One hour earlier.
A dark shadow appeared before the whitewashed wall of Baek Un Trading Company.
Though cloaked entirely in black silk, the small frame and sword at the waist could not be concealed.
Tap! Tap!
Ho Yeon, perched in a pine tree beside the wall, twisted his mouth as he gazed askew at the resplendent pavilions.
“Hmm, they’re doing well. Makes my blood boil.”
―What in blazes are you plotting?
At Cheon Roe Geom’s question, Ho Yeon answered.
“Oh, nothing much. Just paying a little visit.”
―A visit?
“Hold on. This needs concentration.”
Ho Yeon severed his connection to Sword-Heart Resonance.
Whoosh!
As he channeled his inner energy into his eyes, Ho Yeon’s pupils shimmered with jade-blue light.
Drawing on his heightened Eye Power, Ho Yeon began surveying the Baek Un Trading Company.
‘The outer section—servants’ quarters? That side looks like guest rooms……’
The Baek Un Trading Company sprawled in the grand siheyuan layout, with more important facilities clustering toward the inner courtyards.
‘Stables? No, wait. What have the horses done wrong?’
Slip.
Ho Yeon’s eyes shifted.
‘The dining hall? Want to starve them? No, that pig will order from outside. No point troubling the servants.’
Slip.
Ho Yeon’s eyes shifted.
‘A library? Not there either. Maybe for a martial clan, but a trading house would never keep peerless secrets.’
Slip. Slip. Slip.
Ho Yeon’s blue eyes moved swiftly, taking in everything within the Baek Un Trading Company.
Then.
‘Hmm? What’s that?’
A suspicious building came into view deep within the inner courtyard.
It appeared to be an ordinary storage house, yet armed men carrying torches and wearing swords patrolled it vigilantly.
‘Oho? Something valuable hidden away? That’s my target.’
Ho Yeon’s eyes gleamed as he fished two pebbles, smaller than fingernails, from his sleeve.
Whoosh!
Tossing them over the wall, the stones began rolling across the ground.
No one paid attention to the little pebbles tumbling as if caught by the wind.
So the stones reached the warehouse entrance without drawing a soul’s suspicion.
Slip.
Ho Yeon extended his index and middle fingers to form the Sword Seal Finger, then flicked his hand upward.
Instantly, dozens of pebbles several zhang away lifted into the air, responding to his gesture.
Slip. Slip.
Following the movements of the Sword Seal Finger, the pebbles drifted toward the warehouse’s ventilation opening and vanished inside as if sucked in.
“Hehe, now then. Say hello to each other.”
Tap! Tap!
Ho Yeon flicked his fingers.
The pebbles inside the warehouse began striking one another.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
Ho Yeon continued flicking his fingers until heat rose in his head and a metallic taste filled his nose, then withdrew his Psychokinesis.
“Phew. That do it?”
Leaning against the tree, he waited a moment.
The one he was waiting for soon revealed himself.
Crackle! Crackle!
A crimson Fire Demon lifted its head shyly from within the warehouse.
The pebbles Ho Yeon had thrown were none other than Flint Stones.
“F-fire! Fire!”
“The silk warehouse is burning!”
“Bring water buckets! Hurry!”
“Wake everyone sleeping!”
Ho Yeon smiled faintly as he watched the commotion unfold in the dead of night.
“So that was a silk warehouse, was it? Quite the direct hit.”
Watching the Fire Demon rear up its upper body in an instant, Ho Yeon burst into delighted laughter.
“Heh, lovely. Expensive things really are worth their price, aren’t they? Wouldn’t you agree, old man?”
Click.
As Ho Yeon placed his hand on the Cheon Roe Sword and reconnected the Sword-Heart Resonance he’d severed, a voice shrieked out in alarm.
—You lunatic brat! Is that a light greeting? That’s arson!
“I’ve heard that in some regions of the Western Regions, sticking out one’s tongue is a form of greeting. So why shouldn’t there be a place where arson counts as one?”
—There isn’t!
“Well, if there isn’t, so be it.”
Tap-tap.
Shrugging his shoulders, Ho Yeon descended from the fir tree and began moving away from the Baek Un Trading Company.
“Ah, I should get home soon.”
All that playing with fire had made him need to urinate.

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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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