Regressed by the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 15

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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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Returned to the Heavenly Demon.
Baek Ryeong Mok (5)
The Yong Chul Ryeon’s main lodge in Nan Zhou.
Cheong Ya, wielder of the Hei Li Kuang Lang Spear.
In Nan Zhou, he was known as someone who found rivals difficult to locate—a wanderer-born strongman who had clawed his way to his current position.
He had seized roughly a dozen guest inns across Nan Zhou as private enterprises based on the Yeom Wang Chae, and using that wealth as foundation, he had established the Baek Ma Sang Dan, monopolizing various business rights including escort services, and was now in the throes of expanding his influence.
Yet something had kindled a glint of appetite in his smile.
Slick—
He moistened his parched lips with his tongue and erupted into laughter. “Hehehehe.”
“The precious daughter of the Je Gal Family must have been stewing in quite the injustice, haven’t they? Leaking word directly that the ownership of the Baek Ryeong Mok has changed hands straight to us. Let me strip one fool bare and see what comes of it.”
The man prostrate before him was someone who had recently entered into business with Je Gal Lin and purchased quantities of Baek Ryeong Mok.
A man who had once operated a Giru in a reasonably favorable location, he had lost everything helping Je Gal Lin.
“I’ve brought useful information, so offer me a table of wine and a meal, and send me on my way. Having lost my entire fortune, how bitter my heart must be.”
“The meal table shall be provided. Please, allow me to serve you, sir. I will attend to you with all my devotion.”
“Wang Baek, who lost his entire fortune to me, means to serve me?”
“Yes!!”
“Ahahahaha.”
As Cheong Ya burst into laughter, those among his subordinates who heard it roared with mirth.
But in an instant, as Cheong Ya cut short his laughter and his face hardened, the hall fell quiet once more.
Cheong Ya walked with heavy footsteps and stood before Roo Joo.
“Then approach that man and properly seduce the second son of that Hwang Geum Jang. After that, if you manage to keep him pinned at a wine table, I’ll bestow a great reward upon you. Who knows? I might return that lost Giru of yours.”
“I shall do it!!! I will certainly succeed and earn your favor, sir!!”
“Yes, yes. Now go.”
Shortly after Roo Joo was dragged away, Cheong Ya opened his mouth to his trusted confidant.
“When the time comes, make him disappear without a trace—neither rat nor bird shall know. There’s no point keeping him alive; he’ll only rot like a rotten tooth.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And gather all information regarding that second son of Hwang Geum Jang and make thorough preparations. A hunt yields the sweetest harvest only when conducted with full force.”
Contrary to what was known,
Cheong Ya’s true birthplace was a barren desert, and he was born of a bandit gang that knew neither blood nor tears.
A vicious laugh filled the hall.
*
*
*
Not long after arriving in Nan Zhou and staying at a guest inn, a fellow named Wang Baek came calling for me.
“So you’re the one who formerly served the young lady of the Je Gal Family?”
“Yes, sir. I am Wang Baek. It is an honor to make your acquaintance.”
“Quite the connections you have, it seems? You know who I am, and you’ve come seeking me out despite not long having arrived.”
“The young lady sent word to me and gave me strict instructions.”
“Strict instructions?”
“Yes. To attend to you well and to render whatever aid I could.”
“Hmm… aid. I’m not so close to the young lady that I’d be in need of help from one of her people.”
“Hahahaha. Is that so?”
Wang Baek’s eyes rolled.
I struck a conversational chord to redirect the topic.
“But I’ve heard there was a business partner who handled the smaller expenses. So what’s the reason you came looking for me? To claim ownership of the Baek Ryeong Mok?”
“Absolutely not. How could I? I withdrew my hand from that affair long ago.”
“I hear the young lady took such a dislike to her father’s trading ventures that she abruptly ceased involvement. Is that true?”
“Indeed. The sudden cessation of the undertaking we were pursuing caused considerable dismay. However, when I learned that you had newly acquired it, my joy knew no bounds.”
Je Gal Lin, whom I had struck with the Byeon Seong Sul technique, must have explained me in considerable detail through a messenger.
Je Gal Lin’s business partner had no idea that I already knew the full truth, and was now expending every effort to deceive me.
But that villainess is a villainess through and through.
Not content with stripping me bare to recover her funds, she’d even sent word to her business partner to attempt ruining me even more thoroughly.
Transparent as ever—
It was clear she wanted to use this partner to set the Yong Chul Ryeon in motion and ensnare me further.
“Pardon? What do you mean by that, sir?”
“Your reason for seeking me out is transparent as glass.”
……
“You’ll wine me and show me favor, then accept some small favors in return to scrape together a pittance. Am I right?”
“Good gracious, how could you say such a thing…”
“Stop with the false modesty. In any case, this is my first time in Nan Zhou, so I’ll entrust the smaller arrangements to you. Spread word to the proprietors of the physicians’ halls, martial academies, guest inns, and brothels in this district that I possess all quantities of the Baek Ryeong Mok. After confirming the warehouse and negotiating prices, we’ll discuss the wine table.”
“Yes. I’ll proceed exactly as you’ve instructed.”
Wang Baek’s smile turned sinister.
His face screamed it plainly: ‘This fool knows nothing about Baek Ryeong Mok. Easy prey.’
*
*
*
Western Outskirts of Nan Zhou.
The desolate warehouse, empty of any living soul, was being managed by ronin hired by Je Gal Lin and a man who appeared to be his right hand.
Whether they’d received word in advance or not, once they verified my identity, they handed me the receipt confirming receipt of the Baek Ryeong Mok.
Then they vanished like the tide retreating.
After that, I ordered Seol Ha to guard the place and followed Wang Baek to the Giru he’d arranged.
Just as I’d instructed, the Giru had gathered those interested in acquiring Baek Ryeong Mok.
But as expected, they all offered laughably low prices—far below what I’d paid Je Gal Lin. After haggling fell apart, the meeting dissolved in failure.
When I let my fury show in appropriate measure, Wang Baek—who’d been watching carefully—finally opened his mouth.
“I… sir.”
“Shut your mouth and get out. Don’t you see what that cursed Je Gal Family woman did to us? You knew, didn’t you? That damned herb destroyed the market value of Baek Ryeong Mok, made it worthless. You knew all along and dumped the whole inventory on me!!”
“Absolutely not, sir. If I’d known, I would have told you immediately! I’m someone who wants nothing more than to help with whatever you undertake. Please, trust me.”
Wang Baek prostrated himself before me with a voice and eyes brimming with sincerity. When I stood silent for a moment, he carefully revealed his true intent.
“Would it be acceptable if I introduced you to someone?”
“Who?”
“The man who holds absolute authority over the land where Baek Ryeong Mok grows. Cheong Ya, the head of the Yong Chul Ryeon. Surely he could help you recover at least some of your losses, no?”
“You’re saying I should negotiate with him to minimize the damage, even if it means taking a loss?”
“If I’ve spoken out of turn, I apologize….”
I stared at him for a long moment before speaking.
“Bring him.”
“Sir?”
“I said bring him here! That Yong Chul Ryeon head or whatever he is!!”
At my shout, Wang Baek hurried out of the room.
I didn’t miss the faint smile that flickered across his face as he left.
Once he was gone, I sat back down and calmly raised a cup of wine to my lips.
“Hmm, not bad at all.”
It seemed the time had come to twist the ending those vultures had been anticipating.
Plunder was never the work of the weak.
*
*
*
The Giru around me had fallen into an eerie silence.
Drunken patrons.
Courtesans attending to them.
Servants carrying food.
The noise from all that crowd had faded, then vanished entirely from around me.
Like birds sensing catastrophe and fleeing.
Thump, thump, thump.
At that moment, someone kicked open the door to my room.
“So you were looking for me?”
A man with the bearing of a tiger stepped through the open doorway.
The guards lined up behind him carried the scent of blood beneath their fine silks.
“You’re the head of the Yong Chul Ryeon?”
“Cheong Ya is my name.”
At my question, Cheong Ya grinned widely.
“Most men would wet themselves just seeing my face, yet you carry yourself with such poise. Quite bold for a young master. So the rumors about you crushing several promising disciples lately—they’re true, then.”
“Are you planning to keep talking from the doorway? It’s awkward for both of us.”
“Come in. The rest of you stay out here.”
Wang Baek, visible over Cheong Ya’s shoulder, remained outside the door along with Cheong Ya’s men.
Thump.
The door closed, and Cheong Ya sat across from me. He leaned back arrogantly in his chair, the Black Spear he’d been holding resting against his side.
“I heard about your situation on the way here. I’ll be direct—I want to buy that inventory.”
I smiled faintly.
“Then the business should be simple enough.”
“How much are you asking?”
“One cartload of Geum Tak, more or less.”
“What?”
Cheong Ya’s face darkened in an instant.
And for good reason—one cartload of Geum Tak amounted to roughly two coffers’ worth of gold.
It was four times the sum Je Gal Lin had been swindled of in the first place—a staggering fortune.
Enough to purchase a hundred prize stallions without breaking stride.
Likely, he would have to put up not only the funds he’d wrung from Je Gal Lin, but his entire network of ventures as collateral just to meet that price.
“Wang Baek—or rather, Roo Joo—tells me you’ve already grasped Nan Zhou’s true state of affairs and rage over it. Or have I misread the situation?”
“So Wang Baek’s your lapdog working from that quarter, is he? He’s fulfilled his hunting hound duties admirably. Though I too have eyes and ears that function well enough.”
…….
“I’ve learned that the Seok Ryeong Cho you’ve scattered about to bleed Je Gal Lin dry cannot substitute for Baek Ryeong Mok.”
Cheong Ya’s brow twitched.
With reason.
The curative effects and side effects of Seok Ryeong Cho hadn’t been properly documented yet—because Seok Ryeong Cho was a medicinal herb discovered only recently by Cheong Ya himself.
No matter how cunning and unscrupulous Je Gal Lin might be, he couldn’t possibly know everything that lay beyond the written word.
But I am a Ma In—one versed in far more knowledge about the future than most.
“This much hardly warrants alarm.”
“Soon enough, it will become clear that the Seok Ryeong Cho you’ve spread about has no efficacy, unlike Baek Ryeong Mok. Then men seeking the true herb will multiply again, and I alone hold the supply of Baek Ryeong Mok—do I not?”
I drew a piece of Baek Ryeong Mok bark from my robes and chewed it like an ox.
“Delicious. I’ll forget all about Pung To Byeong soon enough.”
“I know not where you heard such a thing, but if I refuse to purchase your stock of Baek Ryeong Mok now, you’ll return empty-handed. On this land, not a soul fails to heed my will. If you wish to avoid my displeasure, know this: there will be no buyers for your herbs.”
“Now you resort to naked threats?”
“Hwang Geum Jang is a merchant house, not a martial clan, is it not? Moreover, none may lay rough hands upon me on this soil without just cause.”
“Because you’re a master of considerable strength who dominates Nan Zhou?”
“You grasp it well.”
When I fell silent, Cheong Ya seized the wine bottle whole and drained it in one long pull, then added, “We shall see what comes to pass.”
“That’s something you’d do well to worry about right now. Until now, you thought keeping me here was your intention.”
“What are you—”
“Is it easier to have you skulking in your hidden depths, pulling strings through subordinates? Or easier to bring you here and clean up the mess you’ve made of Nan Zhou?”
!?
“Don’t cry out. It will be over in a moment.”
I drew the blade I’d leaned against my side in a single fluid motion.
Cheong Ya’s head separated from his neck in an instant.
A brilliant shimmer of Ja Gi bloomed from the tip of my sword.
His fatal mistake was singular in nature.
He had not seen himself as the weaker party in this place.
He expired without so much as a cry, and passing his corpse, I called out to his subordinates waiting beyond the door.
“You there—come inside, all of you. It’s finished.”
Through Byeon Seong Sul, Cheong Ya’s voice flowed from my lips in an instant.
Unaware of any deception, they filed dutifully into the room.

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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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