The God of Death and the God of War - Chapter 87

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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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Evil Hegemon Martial God

Chapter 87

Salt is an essential element of life.

In some ways, it was also an essential element of a nation.

Wasn’t it because there was salt there that Gaozu was able to raise an army in Bashu?

Salt was so closely connected to life that if salt prices fluctuated, life would inevitably become difficult.

But the problem was.

The current world where the people lived was also far too precarious.

“No, my lord… Is this what you call salt?”

“If that’s not salt, then what is it?”

“No, how can salt be this yellow?”

“What do you want me to do about your eyes being wrong! Shut your mouth and get lost!”

“Ah, no. My lord!”

The salt that Yangmin brought out was a pale yellow color.

While it was natural for some yellow earth to come out during the salt refining process, this was different.

It was too much even by those standards.

They had mixed yellow earth directly into the salt before selling it.

The quality of salt monopolized by the state was arbitrarily poor like this.

So it was natural for the people to be interested in illegal salt instead of official salt.

This was especially true in a reality where rumors spread that the ruler of the Great Ming, who had governed the Central Plains for decades, had grown old and senile.

“Hah, life is so harsh.”

“Consider yourself fortunate. If a war between princes were to break out…”

“Shh shh! Hey, you fool. Do you want to lose your head if someone hears you!”

“Bah! Kill me if you want to kill me! Whether I starve to death or get my head cut off!”

Those who knew even a little about how the world worked shuddered as they kept a close eye on the political situation.

The chaos in the imperial family was the root of all problems.

When the Empress, who was the primary consort, died, the Emperor elevated a new Empress, and by a twist of fate, the Empress immediately bore a son.

Then the new Empress naturally became greedy.

She decided to put her own son on the imperial throne.

For this, funds were needed, and what was mainly used for this was official salt.

By selling cheap salt at regular prices, they could pocket all the difference.

Because the country was run this way, the people’s lives could only become increasingly harsh.

But in such a situation, like the saying that even a mouse hole has its day in the sun, a ray of hope appeared.

“H-here it is.”

Deep night, dark alley.

In a secluded corner where not a trace of human presence could be found, Yangmin tremblingly handed over something.

Clink-!

From the sound of coins, it was a money pouch.

The target to whom Yangmin handed the money pouch was a Black-robed Man covered by a black mask and jet-black cloak.

The only thing with color was the single character “Snow” wrapped around his left shoulder.

He briefly checked the money pouch and then pulled out a bundle from his chest.

Swish.

As if telling him to check it once, when the Black-robed Man nodded his head, Yangmin swallowed dry saliva and opened the bundle.

Though it was deep in the night, the snow-white salt immediately caught his eye.

“Th-thank you.”

Nod.

The Black-robed Man nodded his head and disappeared as if melting back into the darkness.

Yangmin stared blankly at where the Black-robed Man had disappeared, then shook his head.

“Th-this is ghostly business…”

The Black-robed Man was a member of the illegal salt merchant group Seollyeon Guild that had appeared like a comet.

They wore black masks covering their faces and cloaks, with absolutely no conversation.

They only accepted the set price and provided salt that matched it.

Illegal salt merchants were essentially lawbreakers.

Naturally, they could only be mainly ruffians, scoundrels, and criminals, so violence, threats, and coercion usually followed.

But the new illegal salt trade had none of that, as mentioned earlier.

The common people who had been suspicious during the first transaction had no time for such suspicions as the transactions continued.

Because salt of unbelievable quality fell into their hands at unbelievable prices every time.

-B-but is this price really correct? You’re not coming back later to… are you?

So the common people would ask this when they met Seollyeon Guild.

But each time, the Black-robed Man of Seollyeon Guild showed the same reaction.

Shake shake.

He would firmly shake his head once and then disappear like a shadow.

* * *

Merchants are sensitive to information.

More precisely, it would be correct to say they thirst for information.

Information was the greatest weapon and shield that merchants possessed, and depending on how they used it, the results would differ like heaven and earth.

It was natural that Seollyeon Guild caught the attention of such merchants.

“You must have heard about Seollyeon Guild too?”

“Of course. I’ve already done business with them several times.”

“Really? How was it?”

“What’s to say? They’re like goblins. I have no idea how such people appeared.”

Seollyeon Guild truly appeared like a bolt from the blue.

They appeared without warning and began sweeping Changsha’s illegal salt market with high-quality salt and clean transactions.

“I’ve been hoarding in advance.”

“Expecting those guys to raise prices later?”

“That’s right. They’re selling cheap now because they’re first throwing down the gauntlet in the market, but will they do so later?”

“Oh my. I should do that right away too! Since salt doesn’t rot anyway, I should be able to consume it somehow!”

Whether in tea houses or taverns, when merchants gathered, they had such conversations.

Their common interest was one thing.

‘Just what kind of place is Seollyeon Guild?’

Not only was the salt white as snowflakes, which was amazing, but its flavor was excellent and enhanced the taste of food.

With such quality, even the Wealthy Individuals who had looked down on illegal salt as something only commoners used showed interest.

“How on earth did they make such salt?”

“Well, it must have taken tremendous effort. There seem to be no impurities at all.”

“But even so, such prices are possible?”

“Ugh, that’s what’s puzzling.”

Both commoners and Wealthy Individuals praised Seollyeon Guild’s quality.

Official salt was no comparison, and other illegal salt couldn’t compete either.

Illegal salt was better than official salt, but it wasn’t overwhelming.

Commoners had sought it because it was cheaper than official salt and edible, but now that a far superior alternative had appeared, other illegal salt lost its place in the market.

“Huh, just what kind of person is Seollyeon Hoeju?”

“Definitely not an ordinary person. Looking at how they produced such salt and their method of attacking the market, they must be a genius among geniuses.”

“That must be it? The amount being distributed is extraordinary, but there are almost no traces?”

“Right. They’re both meticulous and bold enough to make you wonder if they’ve lost their mind…”

When the conversation reached this point, everyone naturally closed their mouths.

Then they gulped and checked left and right.

The rough and dangerous realm of illegal salt.

The owner of a meticulous and bold temperament.

If such a being existed, there might be subordinates everywhere.

“A martial artist… right?”

“Perhaps? I heard he’s supposedly the owner of incredible martial arts.”

“That’s ridiculous. The greatest wealthy man in Honam Province is also a master?”

“How long will he remain Honam’s greatest wealthy man? Changsha is just the beginning. Soon, Seollyeon Guild’s salt will spread throughout the entire Central Plains.”

“Then….”

“That’s right, it won’t be long before the Seollyeon Hoeju becomes the greatest wealthy man in the Central Plains.”

Everyone in Jangsa Land marveled at Seollyeon Guild and showed curiosity.

Some envied the cushion of money they sat on, while others felt jealous.

But there were those in Jangsa Land who couldn’t just leave this alone.

Namely, the existing salt smugglers.

* * *

“What bastard dares!! To stick his head into my territory!!”

Crash!

An explosive sound burst forth along with the angry roar.

It was the sound of a thick wooden table splitting in half.

“B-Bunta-ju! Please calm down and compose yourself….”

The subordinates tried their best to calm the fury of Domok-san, the Changsha branch leader of Hyeol-yeom-bang.

But Domok-san’s rage was not at a level that could be calmed by such things.

“Compose? Do I look like I’m in a state to compose myself! You maggot-like bastards!”

“S-sorry.”

Hyeol-yeom-bang was a salt smuggling organization based in Guangdong Province below Honam Province, but they also controlled Changsha’s salt market.

Since Honam Province, where Changsha was located, was inland and had no foundation for producing salt on its own, Hyeol-yeom-bang, positioned in the closest location, had firmly grasped the salt smuggling market.

“How much did they look down on us to dare sprinkle salt in Changsha!”

“….”

“If the guild leader and ‘that person’ from the imperial family find out about this, how much will they look down on us!”

It was natural for Domok-san to explode in anger.

As mentioned earlier, Changsha was land that couldn’t produce salt on its own.

Therefore, they only needed to monitor the cargo flowing in from outside without worrying about anything else.

But they had been blindsided.

And quite thoroughly at that.

‘Damn it, where the hell did these guys get their salt?’

This wasn’t the level of a peddler selling small amounts.

The scale identified so far already reached sixty percent of the volume that Hyeol-yeom-bang had been supplying.

With cargo volume at this level, the production site and distribution network should have been revealed long ago, but the identity of these Seollyeon Guild bastards remained a complete mystery.

‘At this rate, Changsha won’t be the only problem.’

They needed to be wary of these Seollyeon Guild bastards spreading beyond Changsha to nearby areas.

And if that happened….

‘We’re finished.’

Incredible quality with cheap and reasonable prices.

Though only rumors about Seollyeon Guild were circulating for now, the winds of Seollyeon Guild reaching Guangdong Province would happen in an instant.

Already, those seeking Seollyeon Guild’s salt were gradually emerging.

What needed to be done now was clear.

They had to stop Seollyeon Guild before it spread throughout the entire nine provinces.

“Prepare for war.”

Domok-san said with his eyes gleaming coldly.

“We’ll sweep away those Seollyeon Guild bastards the moment we find them.”

“…!”

“Our Hyeol-yeom-bang has been too quiet lately. Don’t you think?”

Hyeol-yeom-bang wasn’t a name they had given themselves.

It was a name that stuck because they turned all those who opposed them into pools of blood.

Now it was time to teach the challengers and adversaries the origin of Hyeol-yeom-bang once again.

“First, recover all the salt those bastards scattered. And while we’re at it, beat up those who bought their salt instead of ours as an example.”

“Yes, Bunta-ju!”

“And I’ll give you two days to find out where their main base is.”

The subordinates flinched at Domok-san’s order.

Seeing their clearly hesitant attitude, Domok-san frowned and asked.

“What’s the problem?”

“Uh… but how should we find their main base…”

“You idiots! Contact them saying you want to buy salt, then beat them up and you’ll find out where it is!”

At Domok-san’s sharp rebuke, the subordinates nodded eagerly in agreement.

“Oh, that would work!”

“Amazing, Bunta-ju!”

“We’ll execute it right away!”

Just as Domok-san’s orders had been given and it seemed the meeting would adjourn.

“Ah, this is itchy.”

“…?!”

Suddenly, a strange voice interjected.

Unless he was insane, who would spout such nonsense in Domok-san’s presence?

Everyone turned pale and looked toward where the voice came from.

“Aaaaah!”

“M-monster!”

The executives of Hyeol-yeom-bang scrambled to their feet in panic.

It was because of their colleague’s face.

The face belonged to a colleague they knew, but it was grotesquely distorting like molded clay.

“Tsk, is it because it’s a cheap human skin mask? This is the problem.”

Crack! Creak!

Then strange sounds were heard.

It was the sound of the colleague with the distorted face grabbing and stretching his own face.

“…?!”

“A-a human skin mask?!”

A human skin mask was a tool for changing into another person’s face.

An unidentified intruder had infiltrated Hyeol-yeom-bang wearing a human skin mask.

But even though the human skin mask had crumpled and his identity was exposed, wasn’t he calmly stretching the mask to wear it again?

“Who are you?”

Domok-san watched this spectacle quietly, then asked while emanating killing intent.

“Me?”

The intruder pointed to himself and asked back, then grinned and said.

“Seollyeon Hoeju.”

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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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