Regressed by the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 14

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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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I had been struck by Regression at the hands of the Heavenly Demon.
Baekryeongmok (4)
“Let’s have another meal together next time.”
“Yes, please take care on your way in.”
“That’s what I should be saying. Go safely, all of you.”
As I waved my hand, Seo Gijang and the other secretaries bowed respectfully, then fled from the Gaekjan with the swift retreat of an ebbing tide.
And there before me now stood the red-faced young man, uncertain what to do, his head bowed.
“Ju Chosaeng. Junior secretary of Geumhwaboo.”
“How does the young master know my name?”
“Come. Let’s find somewhere quiet to talk.”
At my word, Ju Chosaeng followed, his steps falling into rhythm with mine.
*
*
*
I led him toward the High-class Tavern and seated myself in a private chamber suitable for conversation.
“Speak freely.”
Once Seol Ha, who had accompanied me, stepped out and closed the door for my protection, I studied the young man I’d brought with me in measured silence.
At first glance, he was nothing but an ordinary person—entirely unremarkable.
His face and build were so commonplace that one could pass him on the street and forget his features within moments.
And yet I had sought him out precisely because I knew what he would come to do within Geumhwaboo in the days ahead.
Before the Regression, Ju Chosaeng had been tasked by Geon Aseong—who faced the collapse of Geumhwaboo—with concealing illicit funds; he had vanished together with those funds, leaving no trace behind.
In truth, he had been one of the principal causes that drove Geon Aseong toward Demonic Possession via Obsession.
“I’ve made inquiries about you. A man with such an innocent face shouldn’t be content as a mere junior clerk.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand your meaning, sir. As you’ve said, I am merely a secretary attending to mundane tasks.”
“Drop the pretense and show your true colors. Must I expose how you’ve fabricated phantom numbers in the ledgers and used them to conduct other business?”
……
“When one collects the defective silk and cloth scraps discarded from the textile workshop, the annual loss typically amounts to about half a percent of total production. That much is expected.”
Ju Chosaeng swallowed dryly.
“But when I examined the ledgers, the discarded items appeared to hover at or near that average half percent. In terms of the textile scale, it’s negligible—no one would give it a second thought. But I found it oddly nagging.”
I paused to take a sip of tea before continuing.
“No matter how many skilled craftspeople are at work, such consistently identical and precise losses year after year—that strains credulity. Explain it to me.”
“After all, we who keep the ledgers are only human, so…”
“These ledgers were too meticulous to be mere error. And I’ve learned that it’s you who manages the discarded-goods accounts exclusively. So—shall we discuss where the funds created by this discrepancy have been flowing? Should I say it, or will you?”
When I fell silent, Ju Chosaeng sprang to his feet and threw himself prostrate upon the floor.
“Kill me, I beg you, and please bury this matter. I will become a slave if you demand it.”
“You look too weak to be of any use anyway.”
“Please—I implore you. Only do not touch the Yugyangso. Those children know nothing.”
It was only then, hearing those words, that I truly understood what Ju Chosaeng lived for.
“Is that the orphanage where you were raised?”
“Yes, I beg your mercy…”
“So the funds you’ve scraped together have flowed into gruel filling those children’s bellies, into cloth and blankets covering their bodies. Blood and flesh that should have been mine?”
“I shall take my own life here and now.”
“Will that settle matters?”
Despair flooded Ju Chosaeng’s face.
I rose from my seat and lowered myself before him, kneeling on one knee.
“Work for me from this moment forward. Then I will bury this affair.”
“Command me as you will!”
“Keep the funds flowing into Yugyangso as they do now. And when the time comes, I shall grant you far greater authority. I’ll raise your wages substantially, and in due course you will manage the ledgers of all operations under Geumhwaboo. Every single one.”
“Me? But surely that role belongs to the Deputy Director…”
“Listen carefully this time. You’re quick with numbers—why so slow with understanding how people move? I said ‘when the time comes.'”
……
“That ‘time’ arrives once I have grounds sufficient to pin down the Deputy Director. From now on, you will sift through every ledger and trace his illicit funds. And do you think any of the other secretaries will object to having their work lightened?”
“Then…”
“Yes, Geumhwaboo has drifted like a ship without a captain. Much money has been leaking away carelessly. A mere secretary like you has managed to exploit gaps in the accounts—do you truly think the Deputy Director has not?”
……
“And that man, who played puppet to the eldest while watching the second’s face—you believe he incapable?”
In that instant, a light flickered across Ju Chosaeng’s eyes.
He had caught the way I spoke of the second, Geon Aseong, as though he were a stranger.
Yet he dared not open his mouth, only watching my face with caution.
“I am Geon Gon, already dead by common knowledge. In other words, the one you must serve is not the mad lunatic Geon Aseong, but the one called contemptible—Geon Gon himself.”
“I… how…?”
“Why would I reveal the truth that holds my life over my head to someone I’ve never met?”
Ju Chosaeng said nothing, only lifted his head and stared up at me in a daze.
“I’m telling you we’re in the same boat. That I don’t think of you as a card to be used and discarded.”
“But what if I… what if I should betray you?”
“Then I’ll have to accept it. I’ll need to shed the ill-fitting clothes I’ve worn all this time anyway. But…”
I laughed sharply.
“I won’t regret my methods.”
“…….”
“Think it over carefully, and decide for yourself how to move. And when the time comes and the Deputy Director’s slush funds appear in the ledgers, report it to me immediately. After that, if things go smoothly, we’ll bring down the Deputy Director, and you’ll take the position instead.”
“Deputy… you mean Deputy Director?”
“That’s right. From then on, you’ll manage all my funds. Send money where I tell you to send it, hold back what needs to be held back, spend where it needs to be spent. And I promise that when the time is right, we’ll expand the Yugyangso you’ve been supporting and move it to a safer location.”
“…….”
“Once you’ve made up your mind, act immediately. Oh, and wait a moment.”
I approached quietly, balling my fist as I drew near to Ju Chosaeng.
“There’s no personal feeling in this. You’ll suspect that I called you out separately anyway, so I need to leave some evidence that I got rough with you over the ledgers.”
The frightened Ju Chosaeng hastily drew in a sharp breath.
My fist was already moving, lightly tapping his eye socket with a soft tap before withdrawing.
“Aaaah!”
Ju Chosaeng, who had been kneeling, toppled backward with a thud.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes!”
Watching Ju Chosaeng cry out loudly, I felt a new certainty settle over me.
“Well, the man has more spirit than he looks.”
Ju Chosaeng stared at me with a bewildered expression.
“Director Ju’s personal feelings really show through, don’t they?”
At the word “Director,” Ju Chosaeng’s eyes widened, and I offered him my hand.
“Get up. We have work to do. You need to claim the official position that’s been reserved for you.”
Ju Chosaeng stared at my hand for a long moment before taking it and rising to his feet.
“Next time, I’ll make sure to come up with a different reason. This one wasn’t very satisfying.”
Ju Chosaeng gently massaged his bruised eye with his palm, then sighed.
With this, another foundation for swallowing up Geumhwaboo had been laid.
*
*
*
After meeting with Ju Chosaeng, I climbed into a carriage and spoke softly with Seol Ha inside it as it moved.
Since becoming a Peak Expert, I had always used the Sound Wall whenever discussing important matters, so no one else could hear.
This technique, which blocked sound using inner energy, was only possible for those at the Peak Expert level.
“They’re really going to pretend the marriage proposal never happened?”
“Yes, they agreed quickly once I accepted such an unfavorable trade.”
I gave Seol Ha a brief account of my conversation with Jegal Lin, excluding the details about the oath-sealing technique.
“…….”
“And so I ended up with a fortune in Baekryeongmok.”
“But you don’t have that kind of capital left from the previous investment, do you? You haven’t even recovered those funds yet.”
“Right. Borderline bankrupt, one might say.”
“Surely you’re not planning to abandon your identity and flee now?”
Watching Seol Ha grip her sword hilt tightly, I let out a hollow laugh.
“Why would I flee so suddenly?”
“Wherever you go, I go.”
“There’s still plenty to gain from Geumhwaboo. Until then, I’ll have to live as Geon Aseong.”
“Then what will you do about the capital you spent on the Baekryeongmok?”
I shrugged.
“Sell it again.”
“But they already have a large stockpile of herbal substitutes for Baekryeongmok. Would they really buy it back from you at the price you want? I don’t understand why you made this trade at all.”
“Well, they probably will.”
“What? How can you be so certain?”
“Baekryeongmok isn’t something that can be substituted so easily.”
“But the Jegalse Family, who are said to be knowledgeable in all things, wouldn’t have fallen for that without knowing it… How are you so confident?”
“Sometimes people with too much self-confidence can’t bear the word failure, and their wise insight grows clouded. They don’t see that if they simply wait and look back, a solution often emerges on its own.”
This was from my own experience.
I had lived for ninety-odd years, and time was never merely something that flowed past me.
Countless failures, challenges, and hardships had forged me into something harder, while every regret drove me forward, spurring me to grow.
And so, even today, I took those old trials as lessons and became, inch by inch, a better version of myself.
Always with humility, patience, and care.
“Truly, young master, you’ve become someone different from the person I once knew. Sometimes it feels as though I’m speaking with a seasoned adult who has weathered every conceivable storm.”
“But you’re older than me, aren’t you? Regrettably, that makes you the aged one. Ha-ha-ha.”
“Yes, I know that well.”
Seol Ha’s expression had gone cold. She glared at me, then turned her head away sharply.
And yet the air between us had grown distinctly chill.
What had I done wrong?
I scratched the bridge of my nose in silence.
I’d only spoken the truth.
It seemed unlikely we’d have any meaningful conversation before we reached Nanju.
*
*
*
“Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoot!!”
Jegal Lin burst into laughter as her carriage rattled forward.
How utterly delicious.
The sensation of grasping someone in your grip, of bending them to your will—it was always exhilarating.
Geon Aseong, the second son of Geumhwaboo, had proven to be nothing more than a man of raw strength and glaring weaknesses.
—So your dream is to become the director of Geumhwaboo, yes? Then I’ll proceed with a genuine marriage—either to your older or younger brother—and crush you beneath my heel. The current situation is quite insulting, after all.
—Forgive me. That was never my intent….
—It’s fine. What I did wasn’t entirely right either, so let’s settle this with a simple business arrangement for the sake of relations.
—A business arrangement?
—Regarding the acquisition rights to Baekryeongmok.
“Hee-hee.”
The memory of Geon Aseong trembling at her threats, then leaning forward with greed-laden eyes—it was almost too much.
Of course he’d want to win the succession war for director of Geumhwaboo.
—Baekryeongmok is in such high demand in Nanju that it’s practically impossible to find. Since I’ve monopolized the entire year’s production, you could expect to gain ten times what you pay me, I’d estimate.
—But then, why don’t you sell it directly yourself?
—Father dotes on his only daughter so much that he vehemently opposes me engaging in anything as pedestrian as commerce. Why else would I offer such an absurd price? Truthfully, I’m hoping we can develop a better relationship, which is part of why I’m bringing this up.
—Very well. However, I’m currently tied up in a major investment and have little liquid capital.
But the Baekryeongmok acquisition rights you’ve proposed do sound quite promising. If I should fail to repay any funds you advance later, I’ll pay double whatever losses accrue. Naturally, after I’ve confirmed the stock myself.
—Five times. That’s the only way I can feel secure.
—Agreed.
Recalling Geon Aseong from that memory, she couldn’t help but laugh.
Once a contract was signed, even if something went wrong later, what could he possibly dare to protest?
Jegal Lin cracked open the carriage door and released a pre-written carrier pigeon into the air.
It was bound for Wang Ruju—her former business partner, whom she’d disposed of.
He was only watching for a chance to make a comeback.
If she fed him this tidbit, he would surely fly straight to the master of Yongcheollyeon and share the intelligence.
Whoosh—
What if she let the Yongcheollyeon in Nanju know that the owner of the Baekryeongmok supply wasn’t the daughter of the Jegalse Family head herself, but rather the second son of Geumhwaboo—someone with far less martial strength and influence in the jianghu?
Yongcheollyeon would be absolutely desperate to raid that warehouse without leaving a trace.
Even if they didn’t, it made no difference to her.
Without their help, she’d still pocket thirty percent of whatever losses were incurred.
“A windfall.”
A soft, unbidden hum escaped her lips.
No matter how exceptional Geon Aseong’s Foresight Index might be, it would be nearly impossible for him alone to counter Yongcheollyeon’s movements.
Though the marriage itself was nothing but a hollow arrangement.
This was proper repayment to Geon Aseong for having rejected her and brought her shame.

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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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