The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 105

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

105
The Struggle for the Sword
As promised, Bo Hyeon-seung provided an express vessel to Woo Geom-san.
Though Hongjo Bang’s express vessel was smaller than the ships of Punglim Fort, it was said to be much faster.
Boarding the express vessel, Woo Geom-san suddenly looked back.
Ning Yunxiao and the Ha Baek-jin father-daughter duo were already aboard, acting as if it were only natural. They were understandable. After all, they had valid reasons to accompany Woo Geom-san.
The problem lay with the others.
Gong Pyeong-hae and Yi Se-gyeong were boarding the ship right behind Ha Baek-jin and his daughter.
Two of the three vagrants who had brought Ha Yeong-ryeong along were following them.
Woo Geom-san questioned them.
“Wait, why are you two following us?”
“I must repay the kindness I received from Baek-jin.”
“I intend to look after Yeong-ryeong until she is completely recovered.”
Gong Pyeong-hae and Yi Se-gyeong each offered a different excuse.
He had already heard that both of them owed a great debt of gratitude to Ha Baek-jin. Since they claimed they were repaying a kindness, even Woo Geom-san could not stop them.
And so, just like that, the number of companions grew yet again.
Once aboard, Ha Yeong-ryeong showed an interest in Ning Yunxiao.
“What’s your name?”
“Ning Yunxiao.”
“Yunxiao? That’s a cool name. Nice to meet you! I’m Ha Yeong-ryeong.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“What’s with that tone?”
“With what?”
“There’s barely any age gap between us, so why speak so formally? Just be comfortable.”
“Still, how could I…”
“Just call me big sister. I’ll treat you comfortably too. Got it?”
“…”
“Answer me!”
“Yes! I mean, yeah!”
“Good! Keep it up.”
Ha Yeong-ryeong smiled brightly and patted Ning Yunxiao on the shoulder.
Whether she had taken a liking to this young boy or not, she kept him right by her side wherever she went.
Unable to put up a single shred of resistance against Ha Yeong-ryeong, Ning Yunxiao was dragged along.
Ha Baek-jin let out a sigh and spoke to Woo Geom-san.
“Phew! Her true colors come out the moment she feels a bit better. My apologies!”
“Was her personality originally that bright?”
“Except for when she was sick, she’s always been rather spunky. The problem is that she’s a bit too spunky.”
“Well, it’s better than being gloomy.”
“Please keep thinking that positively.”
“Do not worry about it.”
“By the way, where is our destination?”
“Do you truly intend to follow me?”
“I am not a man who breaks his word. Did I not tell you? I will dedicate everything to you like your cow or horse.”
“I was wondering who Yeong-ryeong took after, and she’s the spitting image of you, brother.”
“Are you insulting me?”
“…”
“Haha! I jest.”
Ha Baek-jin burst into a hearty laugh and slapped Woo Geom-san on the shoulder.
Now that his daughter was cured, the dark expression he wore when they reunited had vanished without a trace, and his original jovial personality had returned.
While a cheerfulness that exceeded expectations was slightly burdensome, it was still far better than gloominess.
Woo Geom-san pulled a wooden box from his robes and handed it to Ha Baek-jin.
“Take this.”
“What is this?”
“It is a spiritual elixir called the Yeong-bo Vitality Pill.”
“A spiritual elixir?”
“Yes, grandfather made it before he passed away.”
Hearing Woo Geom-san’s words, Ha Baek-jin’s expression shifted.
If it was a spiritual elixir personally crafted by none other than Baek Ho-yang, it was bound to be a priceless treasure.
Excluding his own master, the person he respected most under heaven was Baek Ho-yang.
“Is it truly alright for me to accept something so precious?”
“Have Yeong-ryeong take it once every three days. It will help restore her vital Qi.”
“Thank you!”
Ha Baek-jin did not say another word about repaying the favor.
For he had already made a firm vow deep within his heart.
***
Jinjiang, where the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal intersect, had been renowned as a strategic transportation hub since ancient times.
Goods transported from the northern canal would shift to the Yangtze River or the sea at Jinjiang, while goods arriving from the sea would travel upstream via the canal or the Yangtze River.
Items shipped from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River also spread across the realm through the canal or the sea.
If the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal were the blood meridians carrying blood, Jinjiang was like the heart supplying that blood to the meridians.
Because of this, dozens of large ships repeatedly entered and left the port every single day.
Massive vessels unseen in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River were a common sight in Jinjiang.
Where ships gathered and people crowded, wealth was bound to accumulate.
Jinjiang was no different.
Since it was a place that so many ships and people absolutely had to pass through, the riches scattered here were truly staggering.
Consequently, numerous factions had fought since long ago to claim hegemony over Jinjiang.
The clashes escalated into wars, staining Jinjiang and its surrounding areas with blood.
The final victor of this struggle was none other than the Woo Family Manor.
The Woo Family Manor had defeated countless enemies and challengers to seize dominion over Jinjiang.
The massive wharf where ships arriving from the sea, the Yangtze River, and the canal were required to anchor, the storehouses, and numerous lodging facilities all belonged to the Woo Family Manor.
Thanks to this, the Woo Family Manor earned an astronomical amount of money simply by sitting still.
Although the sects with shipping rights were lumped together as part of the Seven Great Water Sects, no sect could dare match the Woo Family Manor in terms of sheer financial interests.
The Woo Family Manor was situated right in the middle of a grand avenue accessible from all directions, a mere three hundred paces away from the wharf.
The avenues branching out from the Woo Family Manor were connected to every corner of Jinjiang like a spiderweb.
The center of transportation was Jinjiang, and the center of Jinjiang was precisely the Woo Family Manor.
As if to prove that fact, the main gates of the Woo Family Manor stood wide open, and countless people stood in long lines waiting to enter.
At the main gate, eight martial artists stood guard, keeping watch with eagle eyes to see if any suspicious individuals approached.
It was at that moment.
A carriage dashed toward the Woo Family Manor at a rapid pace.
The martial artists, who had assumed a defensive posture, soon relaxed their tension.
They had spotted the flag symbolizing the Woo Family Manor attached to the roof of the carriage.
It was a flag permitted only on carriages ridden by those of the direct lineage of the Woo Family Manor.
In other words, someone from the direct line of the Woo Family Manor was riding inside that carriage.
Without encountering any resistance from the martial artists, the carriage passed through the main gate and entered the inner grounds of the Woo Family Manor.
The carriage came to a halt in the middle of a vast training ground, and a woman who appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties stepped down.
Her long, flowing hair was as dark as ebony, and her pale face, which stood in stark contrast to it, possessed an elegant beauty.
The woman wore a practical, short, half-collared robe over simple white light martial attire.
Stepping out of the carriage, the woman tightly pursed her lips as if she were furious, yet even that expression managed to look beautiful.
With brisk steps, the woman crossed the training ground and entered the large building straight ahead.
A plaque reading ‘Financial Hall’ was visible, but the woman did not grant it even a glance, keeping her eyes fixed solely ahead.
After traversing a deep hallway, the woman arrived in front of the innermost room and paused to catch her breath.
Changing her expression to a gentle one as if she had never been angry, she knocked carefully on the room door and spoke.
“Uncle! It’s So-ha. May I come in?”
“Enter.”
A dignified voice from inside the room granted her permission to enter.
The woman carefully opened the door without making a sound and stepped inside.
Upon entering the room, the first thing that caught her eye were the bookshelves lining three sides of the walls. The bookshelves were packed tightly with ledgers, leaving not a single gap.
On the remaining side, a large window looking out cleanly over the estate was thrown wide open.
At a large desk positioned in front of the window, an elderly man with a stylish, three-pronged white beard was reading a ledger.
Although the woman had entered, the old man did not look up, skimming through the ledger with a sharp gaze.
With his eyes still fixed on the ledger, the old man spoke.
“Wait a moment. I am looking over this month’s closing ledger.”
“Yes!”
The woman replied, gently biting her lip.
Rustle! Rustle!
Only the sound of the old man turning pages echoed inside the quiet room.
In the room filled with a suffocating silence, the woman waited for the old man to finish his work while biting her lip.
It was nearly half a quarter of an hour after the woman began waiting that the old man closed the ledger.
Thud!
Closing the ledger, the old man raised his head to look at the woman.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting. It was content that I had to verify immediately, so it could not be helped.”
“I understand, Uncle!”
“That is a relief. What brings you here at this hour? A child who usually never sets foot in the Financial Hall.”
“I heard you issued a bank note to the Oh Family Merchant Group?”
“Has that already reached your ears?”
“And a three-month maturity note at that.”
“That is correct! They asked me to pay the shipping fees a few days ago, so I issued them a three-month bank note.”
At the old man’s look which seemed to ask what the issue was, the woman flared up and raised her voice.
“The Oh Family Merchant Group is a place we have done business with since grandfather’s generation.”
“And?”
“They are not just an ordinary client; they are like a blood ally.”
“Stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point.”
“Since grandfather’s generation, we have always settled their payments with silver ingots. Yet suddenly, you give them a bank note? Moreover, one they have to wait three months to cash in? This makes no sense.”
Despite the woman’s words, the old man replied without a single change in his expression.
“I also respect the contracts and traditions of the previous generation. It is precisely that kind of trust that served as the fertilizer allowing our Woo Family Manor to grow to what it is today. However, times have changed.”
“Uncle!”
“This month’s profits have decreased by ten percent. We took a loss last month as well. Profits are on a downward trend. Our own circumstances are urgent, so we cannot hand over precious silver ingots simply because of tradition and past relationships. With that money, we can stably manage the capital flow of this manor for at least several months.”
“Even so, to issue a bank note that can only be exchanged for silver three months from now? Are you saying you will abandon the trust built up since the previous generation so easily?”
The woman’s eyes as she looked at the old man were filled with rage. Yet, the old man met her gaze completely unbothered.
The absence of any emotion whatsoever in his expression and gaze made him terrifying, as if one were looking at a snake.
The woman had feared the old man since childhood.
The old man’s name was Woo Gyeong-mun.
He was the younger brother of the Lord of Woo Family Manor, Woo Jang-myeong, and the head of the Financial Hall, the most critical department within the Woo Family Manor.
As its name suggested, the Financial Hall was the place that managed the wealth and funds of the Woo Family Manor, an essential organization that could not be entrusted to an outsider. Therefore, the Lord of the Manor, Woo Jang-myeong, had given the position of Head of the Financial Hall to his younger brother, Woo Gyeong-mun, to manage.
Woo Gyeong-mun had been quick with calculations and possessed an extraordinary financial sense since his youth.
Because of that, his becoming the Head of the Financial Hall could be called a natural course of events.
As if it were his true calling, Woo Gyeong-mun demonstrated outstanding competence as the Head of the Financial Hall.
Under his management, the wealth of the Woo Family Manor doubled, and the cost of losses decreased noticeably.
As a result, he enjoyed the absolute trust of the Lord of the Manor, Woo Jang-myeong, firmly securing his position as the second-in-command.
The problem arose when the Lord of the Manor, Woo Jang-myeong, collapsed five years ago.
When the perfectly healthy Woo Jang-myeong suddenly collapsed and failed to regain consciousness, his eldest son, Woo Mun-san, became the Lord of the Manor to lead the family.
From that point on, Woo Gyeong-mun’s overstepping of authority began.
By settling payments arbitrarily or delaying them, cracks began to form in the trust with the merchant groups they had traded with for a long time.
Woo Mun-san warned Woo Gyeong-mun several times not to do so. However, he would only clear the payments properly at the time of the warning, and once a little time passed, he would delay payments again or issue bank notes like this instance.
A bank note was, literally, a certificate promising to exchange it for silver taels later.
Since it was issued under the name of the Woo Family Manor, there was no fear of default no matter how much time passed.
The issue was that most of the small-to-medium merchant groups with urgent circumstances could not afford to wait until the bank note was exchanged for silver taels.
The same went for the Oh Family Merchant Group, which had raised an objection through the woman this time.
The Oh Family Merchant Group also had merchants and escort bureaus lining up waiting to be paid, yet the Woo Family Manor had issued them a bank note instead.
Learning of the situation, the woman could not contain her rage and rushed to Woo Gyeong-mun.
The woman’s name was Woo So-ha.
She was the fourth child of the Lord of Woo Family Manor, Woo Jang-myeong, and a heroine who was currently practically leading the Woo Family Manor.
Woo So-ha spoke to Woo Gyeong-mun.
“I cannot tolerate delaying payments just to stabilize our capital. Hand over the silver taels or silver ingots immediately.”
“Do you realize that what you are saying right now is an overstepping of your authority?”
Woo Gyeong-mun’s chilling gaze pierced into Woo So-ha’s chest like a dagger.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————