Namgung Heavenly Demon - Chapter 29

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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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Chapter 29

Inside Akmugyeol’s office.

The rough voices of subordinates moving the wounded could be heard faintly from outside the door.

Akmugyeol stared intently at Namgung Cheon, who sat with a calm expression.

It had been barely ten days since they met in Hefei.

But the man before him had become a completely different existence from that time.

‘Has his realm risen again in such a short time?’

An utterly unbelievable growth rate.

But the groans of his subordinates coming from outside proved that it was reality.

At the same time, a thought arose.

‘Could I…’

Could he suppress the Black Wind Division that had even deployed the Black Death Sword Formation so leisurely?

Of course, the forces remaining at headquarters now were only about thirty percent.

Moreover, most of those who could be called elite were away on missions.

‘Even so, those groaning outside are also Black Wind Corps members.’

Those who trained to death and carried out missions crossing the line between life and death.

And Namgung Cheon had subdued such men without killing a single one.

‘Subduing while keeping them alive is far more difficult than killing.’

The moment he acknowledged that fact, a cold bead of sweat trickled down Akmugyeol’s spine.

It was then.

Namgung Cheon, who had been maintaining silence, quietly opened his mouth as if reading his thoughts.

“Have you found your answer?”

“…What do you mean?”

“The answer to whether you can defeat me.”

At those words, Akmugyeol’s face, which had been struggling to maintain composure, instantly hardened.

But he was a pillar of the Sipbangjin, the master of the Black Wind Division.

Soon he gathered his emotions and coldly retorted.

“You seem to think this is Anhui.”

Killing intent flashed in Akmugyeol’s eyes.

“I acknowledge that you’re strong. But the moment you leave this room, all the Black Wind Division members will tear your body to shreds. Will that arrogance of yours still remain?”

Killing intent poured from Akmugyeol’s entire body.

A clear threat.

But Namgung Cheon, even while receiving that killing intent with his whole body, spoke without changing his expression.

“Do you still think I came here to fight?”

Namgung Cheon rose from his seat.

He approached and stood by the window where the Black Wind Division members outside were clearly visible.

“If I had set my mind to it, none of those bastards outside would be alive.”

“…”

“I didn’t kill them because I have something to discuss with you. When we talked last time, I thought you followed reason rather than emotion, but I suppose I was mistaken.”

Having finished speaking, Namgung Cheon turned as if he really intended to leave.

At that moment, Akmugyeol opened his mouth.

“…Sit down.”

It was a voice suppressing anger.

Namgung Cheon sat back down with a faint smile on his lips.

Akmugyeol swallowed dryly and got to the point.

“Speak. Why exactly did you come to find me?”

Namgung Cheon answered the question as he sat down.

“I came to propose a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes. A deal related to your Nambyeok Trading Guild.”

“…What?”

Akmugyeol doubted his own ears.

It was so absurd he almost let out a hollow laugh.

To storm into the Black Wind Division and talk about trading companies.

“…You’ve lost your mind. This place has nothing to do with the Nambyeok Trading Guild. If you’re going to continue such nonsense, leave.”

Akmugyeol’s expression crumpled menacingly.

Then Namgung Cheon shook his head.

“No, I didn’t come to talk with the Black Wind Division master, but to speak with a high-ranking master of the Sable Alliance.”

“…”

“Moreover, with someone who would even talk with a young master of the Namgung for the Sable Alliance’s benefit.”

The Sable Alliance’s benefit.

At those words, Akmugyeol’s anger subsided somewhat.

“…Continue speaking.”

At Akmugyeol’s considerably softened attitude, Namgung Cheon leaned forward and opened his mouth.

“The Nambyeok Trading Guild’s maritime trade goods sell very well in Gangnam, don’t they?”

Akmugyeol glared at Namgung Cheon before slowly nodding.

“So what.”

“Have you ever thought about how much profit would increase if you could properly sell this north of the Yangtze River, in the land called the Central Plains?”

At Namgung Cheon’s words, Akmugyeol’s pupils wavered for a moment.

The Nambyeok Trading Guild was already reaping enormous wealth.

If they could extend their reach to Gangbuk as well?

‘The profit would be beyond imagination.’

However.

“As if your precious Orthodox Faction bastards would just let that happen.”

A cynical rebuttal.

At those words, Namgung Cheon pointed to himself with his finger.

“That’s why I’m needed.”

“…What do you mean?”

Akmugyeol looked at Namgung Cheon with puzzled eyes.

Namgung Cheon continued.

“The Nambyeok Trading Guild hands over goods to the Namgung’s Baekcheon Trading Company. And we sell those goods in Gangbuk under the Namgung name.”

“…!”

“It’s a very simple story. You sell goods and gain profit, we gain margin in Gangbuk.”

Namgung Cheon pointed to his chest once more as he spoke.

“Moreover, there’s no worry about trade being cut off. No one in the Orthodox Faction would dare block a Namgung trading company.”

A proposal with no reason to refuse.

No, it was a proposal that shouldn’t be refused.

But Akmugyeol thought he needed to address one thing.

“However, what if this fact reaches the ears of the Murim Alliance? It would get quite noisy if it became known that you joined hands with the Heterodox Faction.”

For a prestigious Orthodox Faction, joining hands with the Heterodox Faction could be a fatal weakness.

But Namgung Cheon shrugged as if it was no big deal.

“That’s for us to handle. It’s not something you need to worry about.”

At that indifferent attitude, Akmugyeol let out a hollow laugh.

After a long silence, Akmugyeol opened his mouth.

“…I’ll report to the Alliance first.”

At those words, Namgung Cheon rose from his seat.

“I’ll return and wait for an answer.”

“No, the answer is probably already decided.”

At Akmugyeol’s firm words, Namgung Cheon briefly stopped walking.

Akmugyeol continued speaking.

“I’ll send a trading guild master to Hefei to discuss specific contract terms. You decide the location.”

Instead of answering, Namgung Cheon walked toward the door.

And just before grasping the door handle, he threw out his final words without looking back.

“Ten days from now, let’s meet at Geumokru in Hefei.”

With those words, Namgung Cheon left the Black Wind Division without any lingering attachment.

The office left alone.

Akmugyeol stared silently at the empty chair where Namgung Cheon had sat for a long while.

Then he quietly muttered to himself.

“…Really, what a crazy bastard in every way.”

* * *

At the border of Anhui and Jiangsu, in the office of the Baekcheon Trading Company’s guild master.

The young guild master Baek Jungseon was buried in a mountain of ledgers.

His bloodshot eyes, as if he had stayed up for several nights, were blankly following rows of deficits marked in red ink.

‘Another failure?’

The brush rolled weakly from his fingertips.

On the floor lay crumpled traces of his agonizing deliberations over the past few months, scattered about.

To revive the trading company his father had left behind, he had done everything he could.

He had even visited the main house of the Namgung Family just a few days ago.

It was to meet the Third Young Master, Namgung Cheon, who had been ordered to save the trading company.

He had harbored vague expectations based on the unbelievable rumors about the Third Young Master that had been circulating recently.

But.

‘I couldn’t even meet him.’

A hollow laugh escaped him.

The young master who was supposedly being sent by direct order of the family head wasn’t even at the family estate.

‘Without even a word.’

So he had reached a conclusion.

The family, and that new young master who was supposed to come, had absolutely no intention of saving this trading company.

‘Don’t expect anything.’

Just like when Second Young Master Namgung Jin came, he would obviously just make a big fuss and then leave.

Baek Jungseon hung his head with a deep sigh.

That’s when it happened.

Creak—.

The door opened with a squeaking sound.

There was no one who would visit at this late hour.

And so quietly at that.

Baek Jungseon turned toward the door with eyes full of wariness.

Though his face was shrouded in darkness as he stood backlit by moonlight, it was immediately clear who he was.

Expensive silk clothes and two swords hanging at his waist.

It was the Third Young Master of the Namgung Family, Namgung Cheon.

Baek Jungseon stared at him blankly.

‘You’ve finally come.’

There was no joy or anything of the sort.

But he was the guild master of a Namgung Family trading company.

No matter how rotten his insides might be, he couldn’t lose his manners in front of Namgung blood.

Baek Jungseon raised his heavy body and bowed his head respectfully.

“Baek Jungseon of Baekcheon Trading Company greets the Third Young Master. I visited to meet the Third Young Master regarding trading company matters but couldn’t see you and had to turn back not long ago… I never expected you to come personally like this.”

“It’s fine. Please sit.”

Namgung Cheon lightly accepted his greeting and stepped inside.

His gaze slowly swept over the traces of failure that filled the room.

Then he pointed with his chin at the highest pile of ledgers on the desk and said.

“No answer will come from digging through that pile of documents. The method is wrong.”

“…!”

That single statement stabbed at Baek Jungseon’s pride.

All his desperate efforts had been denied.

“What do you mean by wrong…”

Just as Baek Jungseon was about to say something, Namgung Cheon cut off his words.

“I’ve looked through Baekcheon Trading Company’s ledgers and plans.”

“What?”

Instead of answering his question, Namgung Cheon precisely picked up what seemed to be the oldest ledger from the desk.

It was a ledger from thirty years ago, when Baekcheon Trading Company was at its most prosperous.

“The previous guild master had outstanding business acumen. He took risks and directly formed connections with maritime forces in the South Sea, releasing rare goods that no one else could obtain into Gangnam and amassing enormous wealth.”

He turned the ledger and opened another from the period when Baekcheon Trading Company’s decline had begun in earnest.

“But you, Guild Master, only tried to protect the path the previous guild master had opened. While Nambyeok Trading Guild was carving new paths and encroaching on Gangnam, you only repeated the foolish act of building higher walls.”

Namgung Cheon’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“Your opponent has more money and a wider information network than Baekcheon Trading Company. Yet you, Guild Master, are still trying to fight only in the same way on the same ground. How could you possibly win?”

Baek Jungseon was at a loss for words.

Namgung Cheon was accurately seeing through his failures as if he had been by his side watching everything for the past few years.

It was a reality he had wanted to deny but had no choice but to acknowledge.

“…Then what should I do?”

Desperation seeped into Baek Jungseon’s voice.

To that question, Namgung Cheon spoke quietly as if he had been waiting for it.

“Shouldn’t you start anew?”

“…What?”

Baek Jungseon looked at Namgung Cheon with puzzled eyes.

Namgung Cheon didn’t give any further detailed explanation and simply conveyed his business concisely.

“Ten days from now, at the hour of the Boar, come to the top floor of Geumokru.”

“…”

“You’ll hear the detailed story at that meeting. Since it’s a meeting where the fate of the trading company hangs in the balance, don’t forget to come.”

Leaving only those words, Namgung Cheon turned around without hesitation.

Left alone, Baek Jungseon stared blankly at the retreating figure of the man who had appeared like a storm, left only cryptic words, and disappeared.

Having left the trading company, Namgung Cheon looked up at the night sky and thought about the next step.

‘Now the basic things are prepared. But this alone isn’t enough.’

His gaze turned toward the northern sky.

‘I’ll need people to guarantee this deal.’

Namgung Cheon turned his body toward Hefei.

It was to write two letters bound for Shandong.

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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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