The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 88
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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 88
– What happened to the Young Household Head?
– I do not know.
– How can you not know? You were with him at the end.
– His younger brother witnessed his final moments.
– Aset merely believes firmly. How can I trust such baseless faith?
The conversation with Namgung Hong revealed quite a lot.
Though these weren’t things Xie Baowei was particularly curious about.
Still, it was necessary information.
That was also why the Namgung Family had specifically called for Xie Baowei.
“Eh? You received all of that?!”
Late at night, Samjeoljo and Namgung Hee quickly left Tianjian Hall.
Though he thought they had moved quite busily, it was still late.
It was because the conversation had dragged on.
This is why there’s no end once you start listening to old men’s stories.
“Ahem.”
Xie Baowei nodded with a proud expression.
It wasn’t very visible because Chun-gil was swaying his body, seemingly pleased to be running after so long.
This fellow had gained some weight, probably from eating and resting well all this time.
“We’re not late, are we?”
“They said Sangseunghaeseop doesn’t easily break promises.”
Akmungi spoke at length for the first time in a while.
I thought cobwebs had formed in his mouth. It must be because he’s well aware of Zhang Jing’s reputation.
Look at those sparkling eyes.
It was a look he had never shown me before.
“Who knows.”
Xie Baowei was being unnecessarily spiteful.
Hwahung Trading Company’s manor was on the outskirts of Qiulong Town, so they rode quickly.
It was almost time for the night curfew.
Since he was bringing answers, it would be perfect to wrap things up quickly, return, and have a drink before sleeping.
Especially since he had heard that good liquor was being brought out from the warehouse and even Master Chu had been called. (Someone must have overheard the conversation about going to the warehouse when leaving the medicine shop earlier. Truly befitting a master’s generosity.)
It was tiring to calm down Dangyeonhwa who was charging forward with double determination, but thanks to Akmungi stepping in appropriately, they managed to wrap things up well.
“…I guess we have to trust them.”
Whoa, whoa. Snort.
Chun-gil let out a long breath.
The sound of hoofbeats clattered from the remaining momentum before finally stopping.
The three members of Samjeoljo looked at each other and held their breath.
Before their eyes, the large manor they had visited in the morning stood silent under the moonlight.
“It’s quiet.”
“It’s usually time for people to be asleep.”
Their softly lowered voices spread widely.
Night carries both light and sound far away.
Gulp. The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard.
Was it Dangyeonhwa? When he looked, all eyes were on him. It must have been me.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“I was just thirsty.”
Dangyeonhwa nodded as if to say it was fine.
She had a very cheeky expression.
Looking at her face, she seemed to have relaxed a bit. Even though I told her not to come.
He dismounted Chun-gil and tied the reins.
As a guest, he couldn’t very well ride in on horseback.
Just in case, he felt around his waist for his sword and his chest for daggers and such.
He wanted to bring his spear… but wouldn’t that make it look too much like he came to fight?
After roughly preparing, he looked at the children and saw they had ready expressions.
He glanced at Namgung Hee standing beside them.
The support from Tianjian Hall was just her. Only one person.
“You can still back out.”
“I was told to assist the Alliance’s guest. …It was the Family Head’s request.”
Hwahung Trading Company had entered Qiulong Town two months ago.
Their purpose was to open a logistics warehouse and a small trading company, separate from the iron ore mine.
They knew from the beginning that it was connected to the Southern Dragon Alliance.
Things became urgent a month ago.
It was after the Household Head’s order to return to the main family was issued.
Namgung So and part of the main family came to the hall, explained the situation, interfered, provoked, and eventually quarrels broke out, leading to fights.
Namgung Hong simply remained silent.
“…Well, what could happen?”
Sigh. Right, well… even if a fight breaks out, it’s the Namgungs who will fight.
It’s not my fight.
Xie Baowei nodded.
Though he was a bit anxious, attacking envoys had always been something only ruffians without manners would do.
Xie Baowei trusted Sangseunghaeseop’s reputation.
“Let’s go in.”
This time, Xie Baowei carefully opened the side door first.
The door opened quietly.
“Ahem. Is anyone there…? Ah?”
The manor in the morning and the manor at midnight gave completely different impressions.
With the broken debris and bloodstains that hadn’t been completely cleaned up, it was an even more eerie sight.
Even though the moonlight was bright, the inside of the building was extremely dark due to the shadows cast by the roof.
Had they come too late?
Since they couldn’t wake everyone, they headed toward the workers’ quarters attached to the west side along the main gate.
Normally they would have shaken the main gate to open it, but as they had seen in the morning, it wasn’t in a state that could be opened.
Looking from behind as they passed, they could see it was all falling apart, held up only by firmly driven nails.
“Sorry for the late hour. Is anyone there?”
The surroundings were quiet. Something was strange.
It was excessively quiet.
Not only Xie Baowei, but all three others had grabbed their weapons.
Wait.
One, two, three.
After waiting a moment, Xie Baowei carefully pushed open the door of the room attached to the westernmost front.
Creak.
Click.
The unmaintained door made a small sound, but it didn’t matter.
Xie Baowei bit his lip.
…No one, there’s no one.
“Captain Xie.”
Dangyeonhwa frowned.
Akmungi quickly ran to open the doors of other rooms as well.
They were all empty.
There was no one in this manor.
All the people had evacuated.
“We need to go to Tianjian Hall.”
“No.”
Dangyeonhwa urgently grabbed his arm.
Xie Baowei shook his head.
No matter how much the Southern Dragon Alliance boasted about the naval officers of Biewo Camp, they weren’t stupid enough to directly assault Tianjian Hall.
Unless they really planned to remove all nameplates and engage in a bloody battle between the Southern Alliance and the Southern Dragon Alliance.
Xie Baowei’s eyes turned toward Namgung Hee.
“Do you have any idea where they might be?”
Namgung Hee bit her lip and pondered deeply…
Soon, she raised her head.
“Yes.”
“Lead the way.”
The four figures disappeared in an instant.
The sound of horse neighing echoed through the night sky.
Horseshoes struck the ground.
***
Tianjian Hall wasn’t just a place where the Namgung Family had simply built a manor.
Tianjian Hall was the place that transported people from the Namgung Family and the Southern Alliance along the Yangtze River waterway that curved around Qiulong Town.
Qiulong Town itself was a large village, and based on this land, it was the entrance to the Southern Alliance that extended to all sorts of places like Qichun, Wuhan, and Jiangling.
Considering that the Four Gates Blood, formed by the four major sects of Hubei, was based in Wuhan, one could understand why Unkeum’s achievement in stabilizing Tianjian Hall was so remarkable.
“Taihui Hall?”
“Captain Xie knows too little.”
While Namgung Hee rode ahead, Dangyeonhwa gave a brief explanation.
Taihui Hall was a kind of bank, tea house, and information broker all in one.
Just like the current Southern Dragon Alliance, there was a time when the Namgung Family was desperate to establish even a single manor on this land.
The small liaison office of the Namgung Family, barely established despite fierce opposition from the Four Gates Blood, wasn’t the enormous manor it is today.
“Yeah. I got it, so keep it short.”
“Geez. Really.”
Dangyeonhwa shook her head.
Riding horses, they quickly arrived at the center of the village.
The moonlight was still serene, and the sounds of night birds and insects filled the air from all directions.
At this point, all four had to slow down.
They walked slowly, calming the snorting sounds of their horses.
Only the clip-clop sounds and Dangyeonhwa’s voice echoed.
“Hero Unkeum initially just went out to the market. Not for days, but for weeks. Accumulating that into months. And so a year passed.”
He did nothing, they say.
Since he wasn’t originally skilled in martial arts, he would get beaten by Four Gates Blood members disguised as ruffians, ignored by merchants, and even his own sect members turned their backs on him, calling him strange.
Nevertheless, he continued going to the market.
For a year like that. When a handsome, good-natured man sits around doing nothing, anyone would become curious.
Especially if he was sociable and spent money freely.
By then, not only the unmarried maidens of Qiulong Town’s market, but also married women and their husbands, their fathers and mothers, sons and daughters all came to love Namgung Hong.
Only then did he make his move.
“It started as a small stall. He sold black tea from Anhui, but people gathered not so much to drink the tea as to talk with Namgung Hong.”
After that, it was easy. The idle Namgung Hong was actually a member of the Namgung Family, which had tremendous financial power and information backing him!
Though people already knew this, those already captivated by Namgung Hong’s terrifying charm couldn’t dare refuse him.
So, well. What followed was the same as how other wealthy merchants dominated markets.
He invested in those who had substance but lacked funds, exchanged currency, bought and sold information, and brokered not just work but people…
“Later, neither the Four Gates Blood nor the government office could stop Tianjian Hall’s influence. No, rather they became his customers.”
The symbol of that was Taihui Hall.
The place where Namgung Hong first set up his stall. The center of Qiulong Town’s market. The largest building.
“Impressive.”
Xie Baowei muttered in front of the three-story pavilion of Taihui Hall.
On a night when some slept and others stayed awake.
Before the traces of a person who had become a symbol of an entire region through their lifetime, Xie Baowei nodded his head.
“…You may not realize it now due to your great sorrow, but this land is not a place that the Namgung can easily hand over just because someone tells them to.”
Namgung Hee, who had been quiet until now, spoke softly.
Even if he was a worthless father, blood was still blood.
It wasn’t this large building, but this land itself that was also her source of pride.
Xie Baowei also acknowledged this.
If such circumstances existed, then regardless of what kind of person Changtian Sword was, it would be difficult to easily erase Unkeum.
Perhaps that was precisely why they intended to escalate matters.
What would stand out in a conflict with the Southern Dragon Alliance wouldn’t be negotiating power, but military force.
“It’s quiet.”
After tying up Chun-gil once more, Xie Baowei surveyed the surroundings.
The night was quiet. There wasn’t even anyone on patrol.
Normally, you’d see at least a few drunks stumbling about, but tonight everyone seemed to have gone to bed early.
Perhaps everyone had sensed the unusual atmosphere without exception.
“Is this not the place either?”
Dangyeonhwa spoke cautiously.
Xie Baowei shook his head.
No.
This silence was different from before.
While he didn’t blindly trust things like intuition, Xie Baowei’s senses honed on the battlefield hadn’t dulled even in peacetime.
Xie Baowei unconsciously gripped his sword.
“…It’s quiet though?”
Hmm. Was he wrong?
…Had peace lasted too long?
It was just as Xie Baowei slightly loosened his grip on the sword hilt.
Swish!
Clang!
Something heavy tore through the night air.
“Mm.”
“Uncle Jin!”
“Senior!”
Shing!
Each of their weapons gleamed as they caught the moonlight.
Xie Baowei shook his throbbing hand to relieve the numbness.
A whip? An iron ball?
…No, it was a rope.
“How pleasant to see you again.”
“…Captain Zhang.”
Zhang Jing emerged from the shadows.
How had he concealed this aura?
A murderous intent that made skin tingle blew over like sea wind.
In an instant, they were surrounded on all sides by people from Biewo Camp’s three divisions.
More than ten, but less than twenty.
There was no time to determine the exact number. It felt like his face would be smashed if he looked away.
Xie Baowei smiled.
“Haha. I asked you to wait a bit, but you’re quite impatient.”
Due to his tension, only the corners of his mouth lifted, creating an awkward smile.
Dangyeonhwa poked his waist from behind.
I’d like to be more natural too, kid.
Zhang Jing took another step forward.
The rope with a thick knot at the end spun with a whirring sound in his hand.
That sound is no joke, is it?
“Well now. I brought something we could discuss.”
Hoo.
He took a deep breath.
His body couldn’t afford to freeze up.
Breathing. Breathing was important.
Xie Baowei spoke leisurely.
His hand remained firmly gripping his blade.
Zhang Jing finally opened his mouth.
Here it comes.
“Discussion sounds good.”
Swish!
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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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