The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 61

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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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Red Dragon Emperor — Chapter 61

Chapter 61 — Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild Master Yeom Yu-gwang

There is a saying: the enemy of my enemy is my ally.
By that logic, Wang Ji-gyeong had become no different from an ally—someone with whom Yi Hwan would have to stand against the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild, their common adversary. Of course, Yi Hwan had engineered that situation himself.
‘I made the right choice to think differently.’
His original aim had been to eliminate Wang Ji-gyeong.
Clink.
Yi Hwan gazed down at the tea.
It was Longjing Tea that Yi Young had prepared for him.
‘I still possessed such feelings?’
In his own era, Yi Hwan had been a man of ice and stone—ruthless, without mercy.
For the sake of his ambitions, he had spared neither method nor moral scruple, and through such means had achieved the unification of all under heaven.
As a result, history had enshrined him as a figure of greatness in the Martial World, yet he had never been a chivalrous hero—far less a true hero at all.
“Master, what troubles your thoughts so deeply?”
Cheol Mu-ok’s voice pulled him from his reverie.
Yi Hwan finished the last of his tea and rose.
“Did you say there was a gathering?”
“Yes. It is time to depart soon.”
Today, Wang Ji-gyeong would attend a gathering. And the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild Master would be present as well.
Despite having been threatened twice by the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild, Wang Ji-gyeong had not wavered. It was his faith in Yi Hwan that sustained him.
Yi Hwan knew this.
Yi Hwan stepped outside.
Ju Tae was waiting there, dressed in a neat white robe with his hair carefully groomed—so transformed that he appeared to be an entirely different person.
“Are you beginning to adapt?”
“Walking at your side, each day feels fresh and new. Shall we go now?”
The three moved toward the main gate.
The carriage and guards stood ready, but Wang Ji-gyeong had not yet appeared.
Whoosh—snap, snap!
Everyone bowed their heads before Yi Hwan.
By now, Yi Hwan was imprinted upon every mind as their leader. It was the natural consequence of the Martial World’s cardinal rule: strength takes precedence.
Yi Hwan mounted his horse and waited for Wang Ji-gyeong to emerge. And no one now objected to his bearing.
Shortly after, Wang Ji-gyeong came out.
Dressed in a more lavish formal robe than usual and carrying a folding fan adorned with gold, his appearance spoke to the weight he placed upon this gathering.
Before boarding the carriage, Wang Ji-gyeong addressed Yi Hwan.
“I rely upon you for this journey as well.”
The procession began to move.
It was an unusually bright day. Yi Hwan wished to savor this brilliant sunlight.
“We will go slowly.”
“There is not much time remaining.”
“No matter. We will arrive deliberately after the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild.”
Laughter drifted from within the carriage at Yi Hwan’s words.
“Hahaha!”

* * *

The Hall of Heroes.
Built long ago in the era of the Yeon Dynasty to commemorate the legendary heroes who had once roamed the realm, it was here that the gathering would take place.
Four men would attend.
Each was a magnate of renown throughout the land.
Whoosh!
Despite the oppressive heat, a cool breeze circled the Hall of Heroes. The towering peaks and rushing waters nearby tempered the sun’s ferocity.
Three men were already seated there.
“Wang seems unusually late. Might he have mistaken the hour?”
“Surely not. Let us wait a moment longer.”
The two middle-aged men spoke without concern. But the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild Master harbored very different thoughts.
‘Deliberately arriving late to establish pride? A laughable fool.’
A middle-aged man posed a question to him.
“I hear you’re thinking about venturing into the inn business as well—is that true?”
“Nothing’s been decided yet.”
“That means you could do it?”
“If there’s money to be made, is there anything I wouldn’t do?”
At the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild master’s retort, another middle-aged man furrowed his brow.
“Enough, please. If you stretch your tentacles into everything like that, won’t we all get dragged through the mud? We’re already catching flak for being wealthy. Ahem!”
A stifled laugh.
“Coming from a man who profits off selling the bodies of courtesans, that’s rich.”
“What did you say?!”
That was when it happened.
“Wang Ji-gyeong has arrived.”

* * *

Yi Hwan stared toward the carriage.
His eyes naturally went first to the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild’s guards, but he didn’t see Sang San Hyeol-do.
[His wrist is broken, so it seems he hasn’t come.]
At Cheol Mu-ok’s Sound Transmission, Yi Hwan fixed his gaze on the Hall of Heroes. He still couldn’t tell who the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild master was.
But he soon found out, courtesy of Wang Ji-gyeong’s mocking words.
“That one in the formal robe—he’s the Guild master. Doesn’t he look like a snake?”
“Shoulders back, climb slowly and confidently.”
“Ahem! Got it!”

* * *

Yi Hwan deliberately parked his carriage right beside the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild’s.
The eyes that fell upon Yi Hwan varied sharply. Some gleamed with hostility; others bore unmistakable tension.
Yi Hwan took his seat on the driver’s bench.
That was when Cheol Mu-ok hurled a remark at the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild’s guards.
“Step back. You stink.”
“Watch your tongue, why don’t you?”
“What if I won’t?”
……
The resistance ended there.
No one dared step forward. Ju Tae swept them with a glacial stare, then leaned his body at an angle against the carriage.
“Where’s Sang San Hyeol-do? Did he scare and run off?”
“What?”
“Oh, thinking you’ll give it a try?”
……
When Ju Tae’s eyes flashed, the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild guard who’d bristled bit his lip hard and withdrew a step.
Cheol Mu-ok laughed.
[That fellow seems naturally gifted for this sort of thing.]
Yi Hwan laughed as well.
He kept his eyes on the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild master. The angle prevented him from seeing the man’s face clearly, but the way he sat rigidly upright radiated a completely different presence than Wang Ji-gyeong’s.
‘In a world ruled by gold, that man is the apex predator. If I tear him and the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild down, I can overturn the entire board.’
The easiest method existed.
Simply kill the Guild master here. But doing so would provoke the Empress and the Second Prince, and what would unfold afterward was impossible to predict—so it couldn’t be done.
It came down to whether one had powerful backing or not.
That was when it happened.
The Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild master turned his head toward where Yi Hwan sat.
Across the distance, their gazes locked. But that moment lasted only an instant.
The Guild master’s eyes shifted away.
Yi Hwan smiled coldly.
‘I can’t kill him now, but I can’t let this slide either.’

* * *

Unlike before, no loud voices rang out today.
Yi Hwan watched Wang Ji-gyeong descend from the Hall of Heroes. His expression seemed considerably more at ease—he must have gotten a satisfactory result.
His gaze shifted to the figure descending behind Wang Ji-gyeong.
The head of the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild was coming down. Their eyes locked once more.
Yi Hwan took a deliberate step forward.
The guild master flinched and hastily gestured to his guards. Several of them rushed to block his path, but Yi Hwan came to a stop before Wang Ji-gyeong.
To any observer, he appeared merely as part of the escort—yet the guild master felt his chest lurch, as though the ground had given way beneath him.
That was when it came.
[You’d do well to keep that unsightly thing on your shoulder in good care.]
‘That bastard!’

* * *

Cheol Mu-ok and Ju Tae were absent from the honor guard escorting the procession back to the residence. They had reached a secluded spot, donned the masks they’d prepared in advance, and vanished.
They returned only long after the party had arrived at the mansion.
The two entered Yi Hwan’s quarters.
The scent of blood hung heavy in the air.
“How did it go?”
“We thinned their ranks by half. His courage should be properly shattered by now.”
“Any injuries?”
“Not a scratch.”
“I’m fine as well.”
Cheol Mu-ok and Ju Tae had just returned from their assault on the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild. Of course, Yi Hwan had brought Ju Tae along from the beginning for precisely this purpose.
“Wash up and eat.”
“Yes.”

* * *

Somewhere in the city.
Yeom Yu-gwang, the master of the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild, sat with his face flushed crimson. On the return from his meeting, two masked assailants had descended upon them without warning, and he’d lost half his guard contingent.
Though he raged with fury now, at that moment he had trembled with pure terror.
Recalling the brutal spectacle of those events, goosebumps still rose across his entire body.
Yet anger burned equally fierce.
‘All the silver I poured into recruiting them…’
The masked ones had overwhelmed the guards he’d hired at enormous expense. Their savagery had been without measure—so brutal that Yeom Yu-gwang, watching from the window, had been forced to look away.
‘It has to be that dog’s handiwork!’
Yeom Yu-gwang trembled as he recalled Yi Hwan and the warning he’d issued.
Bang!
Unable to contain his rage, Yeom Yu-gwang brought his fist down upon the table.
The teacup flew from impact, shattering without mercy, and water pooled across the floor.
“Is anyone there!”
Clatter!
A middle-aged man rushed in, panicked.
He surveyed the disorder and approached Yeom Yu-gwang.
“Go at once to the Sangchun Inn and secure Masters more formidable than Wang Ji-gyeong’s escort—spare no expense! Relay this to them!”
“Understood.”
“Wait!”
The middle-aged man, about to leave, turned back.
“Contact our branch in the Jin Kingdom as well. Recruit Martial World Masters from there too. As many as possible, and as quickly as you can. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master.”
As the man withdrew, Yeom Yu-gwang walked to the window and flung it wide open.
Clang!
The flush had risen all the way to his neck and chest—a measure of his fury. But there was another reason for his anger, one that burned even hotter. It was Wang Ji-gyeong.
‘What in the world does that dog think he’s relying on, to swagger about like that?’
Wang Ji-gyeong had said something at the meeting.

We wish to forge an accord with the Song Clan. I would hope that future disputes over commercial rights will not arise. Should you ignore this warning and continue as before, I will not stand idle.

It wasn’t so much his words as his bearing that rankled.
Throughout the meeting, he had radiated an unmistakable air—as though he could extinguish someone of Yeom Yu-gwang’s standing whenever he pleased.
‘Form an accord with the Song Clan? Has this fool forgotten whose backing I have?’
His frame trembled with cold rage.
The more he thought about it, the more his rage ignited, until a twitch seized the corner of his eye—a tell that betrayed his fury.
‘If you’re going to play it that way, I have no choice either. Up until now, I’ve been lenient while expanding my commercial rights, but from this point on, there’s nothing left to negotiate. Wang Ji-gyeong.’

* * *

The Imperial Palace.
Crown Prince Yi Tae-ji sat across from his strategist.
“I wonder what expression Master Yeom is wearing now.”
“Why didn’t you meet with him, sir?”
“A man who trusts in his wealth and forgets there’s a world beyond it needs to be brought into line—if not, he might just turn and bite me. Better to establish discipline now while I can.”
“If you push too hard, it could backfire. Next time, I’d urge you to meet with him personally. But there’s another matter—word is spreading widely that Wang Ji-gyeong has joined hands with the Song Clan.”
“Who is Wang Ji-gyeong?”
“A man who’s accumulated wealth rivaling the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild through moneylending. The underworld calls him the Shadow Emperor, but if the rumors are true, we should investigate who’s backing him.”
“Is the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild moving into usury as a preemptive strike?”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case. If that were his motive, he’d have no reason to join forces with a crumbling clan like the Song family. What troubles me is that Wang Ji-gyeong—who surely knows exactly who stands behind the Yellow Dragon Merchant Guild—is moving so aggressively. That suggests……”
The strategist’s voice trailed off.
Yi Tae-ji’s eyes flashed as he spoke.
“He might be connected to the Crown Prince Palace.”
“Precisely. That’s what I fear most—the Crown Prince Palace itself. If the Crown Prince Palace has formed some kind of alliance with Wang Ji-gyeong, this could become serious. Our advantage over the Crown Prince Palace right now is financial superiority. If that falters, our grand enterprise will suffer delays.”
The ease drained from Yi Tae-ji’s face entirely.
Bang!
“Mobilize the Golden Robe Guard and gather intelligence as quickly as possible! If the Crown Prince Palace is involved, we must report it to the Empress at once and crush it in its infancy! And contact the provincial governor—tell him to intensify surveillance on the Song Clan and Wang Ji-gyeong!”
“Understood.”
As the strategist withdrew, Yi Tae-ji sank deep into his chair, his gaze hardening.
‘If it’s true, I’ll root it all out entirely.’

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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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