Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 178

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

Third-rate Martial Arts Family, Greatest Under Heaven – Episode 178
A piercing wail shattered the peace of the Baek Family compound.
“Ugh, ugghhhhh! Money! We don’t have enough money!”
A desperate cry that reverberated through the entire Supervisor’s office.
The retainers passing nearby flinched momentarily before regaining their composure.
“Oh dear, it seems Han Supervisor is troubled again.”
“Our Baek Family’s influence has grown several times over recently. If the money keeps flowing out at the same rate, it’s bound to run short.”
“That’s true.”
These were cries I heard every day just a few years ago.
Hearing them again after so long felt nostalgic, stirring memories of the past…
“Wait a moment.”
“What is it?”
“Did the Supervisor experience rejuvenation? His voice sounds like a boy before his voice breaks?”
“Hmm? Now that you mention it, you’re right?”
The two retainers, their eyes wide open, exchanged glances before quietly opening the Supervisor’s office door to peek inside.
Young Scholar Seo, still appearing quite young, sat with his head in his hands, dirt smudged on his cheeks.
“At this rate, the Baek Family will go bankrupt! Everyone! We’re redrafting the financial plans! Starting today and finishing in three days!”
Bankruptcy. At this rate, true bankruptcy awaits. The incoming revenue is limited while expenditures are growing exponentially.
The Baek Family’s sphere of influence had expanded several times over in just a single year.
Unlike the Black Path, the White Path requires exponential spending when taking over new territories.
Unlike the Black Path, which simply intimidates and extorts tribute money, the White Path must integrate into the local commoners and win their hearts.
In simpler terms, it means spending money in that region and establishing oneself as a landowner or influential figure.
‘Just in the Gilju region alone, I need to establish dozens of new business ventures…! And the costs involved… ugh!’
Young Scholar grabbed the back of his neck. Not yet even twenty, and already his head throbbed as if he might collapse.
A true man must play in the big leagues and seize opportunities when the tide comes in.
With that mindset, I attached myself to the Baek Family’s Young Master and successfully obtained the position of strategist that even the Family Head heeds.
Yet… I clearly succeeded, but…
‘I was deceived. I never imagined there would be this much work…!’
I cannot enjoy the status and power.
Why? The work is too overwhelming.
For that single reason alone!
‘Wait. Why am I even… drafting financial plans in the first place?’
Time began flowing backward in Young Scholar Seo’s mind.
The reason why I, a strategist, am handling the Supervisor’s duties.
Surely, while discussing the Baek Family’s future with Han Supervisor…
Ah.
I remembered.
“Han Supervisor! Where did you go!”
Han Supervisor, who had been enjoying the scenery in the back garden of the office, creaked open the door and poked his head in.
His face wore a smile completely devoid of any trace of worry.
“Young Scholar Seo, why are you looking for this old man? My goodness, your face has taken quite a beating.”
“…Supervisor. This is hardly the time to be enjoying leisure, is it?”
“True. One misstep and we face bankruptcy.”
“Yet you seem remarkably at ease.”
“Hehehehe. Now that I think about it, as your senior, I should impart some wisdom to you, Young Scholar Seo.”
“Wisdom, you say?”
“Take it easy. Just take it easy.”
“T-take it easy?”
With so much to do and the leadership unable to devise solutions, facing the brink of ruin—and he speaks of taking it easy?
“Hehehehe, Young Scholar Seo. Lighten that expression. First, ease your mind—re-lax. Yes? Let it go. There’s no need to redraw plans with austerity measures just to pinch pennies.”
Young Scholar Seo found this utterly incomprehensible.
An unbidden thought crossed his mind.
‘Could this be the very corruption of outdated customs?’
Though the Baek Family was now called a rising clan, merely a decade ago they were nothing but a third-rate martial family.
Facing crisis yet failing to grasp the situation, spouting platitudes about ease—Han Supervisor’s demeanor could only appear to him as a relic of the past.
Naturally, his tone grew curt.
“Without a convincing reason, my respect for you, Supervisor, will surely diminish.”
“A reason? There is one. Soon enough, the Minister will send a purse of silver.”
“Pardon?”
Young Scholar Seo, wearing an expression of disbelief, pressed further.
“You would have us abandon our immediate efforts for such a reason alone?”
“Merely? The crisis is but illusion—there’s no need for unnecessary scheming.”
As Young Scholar Seo struggled to comprehend, Han Supervisor continued.
“If you truly cannot understand, shall we make a wager?”
“A wager? Ha! Excellent! Any wager at all!”
Young Scholar Seo’s tone was somewhat presumptuous. Han Supervisor smiled and offered his observation.
“All you’re doing is drafting an austerity budget, aren’t you? Trust this old man and simply wait. People’s goodwill flows from full purses, after all.”
“And if problems arise?”
It was a petulant remark, yet Han Supervisor’s pleasant expression never wavered.
‘A family grows only when it has people like this.’
“True, problems may arise. So let’s do this—separate from our wager, draft a new financial plan according to your scheme by three days hence.”
Having finished speaking, Han Supervisor departed once more to savor his leisure.
Watching him go, Young Scholar Seo thought that a superior with no solutions could hardly serve as an example.
“Come now, everyone! Let us labor! Three days! We must secure the means to avert bankruptcy within three days!”
He toiled desperately, scrounging and scraping together every remaining coin to forge a financial plan that might somehow sustain them.
That day, Young Scholar Seo felt a sense of accomplishment and relief so profound that tears nearly came to his eyes.
“We did it! We succeeded! Everyone! We’ve done it!”
In that moment, the door to the Supervisor’s office burst open.
“Urgent news! Someone from Sichuan has arrived with money in hand! Word is it’s a deposit for some contract…!”
“…”
“….”
“….”
So, I’d been bleeding money and scraping together austerity measures because we were broke, and now money suddenly appears…?
“How much is the advance payment…?”
“Enough to relieve our financial difficulties for at least the foreseeable future, they say!”
“Then… what about… our efforts over the past four days?”
The sense of loss was as profound as the relief had been exhilarating.
It was so overwhelming my head felt dizzy.
At that moment, Han Supervisor slipped through the open doorway.
“Didn’t I tell you fortune would smile upon us, Young Scholar?”
“This can’t be….”
Han Supervisor was the sort who grew so anxious about anticipated financial troubles that he’d hound the Family Head relentlessly.
That was precisely why he’d been savoring this moment with an expression and bearing that evoked images of celestial immortals and bodhisattvas.
Because….
“My whiskers were tingling, and I had a feeling the Young Master would send another bundle of money.”
“These past four days… how can this be… no!”
Young Scholar Seo sprang to his feet, hope blooming across his face.
“Our efforts weren’t in vain! After all, saving finances is always good! Everyone, thank you for your hard work!”
“No. Return to the original plan, Young Scholar.”
“What? Why, Vice Supervisor!”
“Didn’t I say it? Goodwill flows from the purse.”
It was like this, you see.
If I don’t have money to treat my subordinates to a generous dinner right now, I can’t dangle the promise of a feast as bait while putting them through hellish training.
In this world, greasing palms is essential, and so any budget must have some room for flexibility.
Though if you spend too much, that becomes corruption itself.
“Young Scholar Seo. Care to make another wager? I don’t think this old man will lose this time either.”
“…Sigh. I’ll return to the original budget.”
Han Supervisor gazed at Young Scholar Seo with a warm smile.
There was still much to teach, but the pleasure of guiding someone at my side was truly incomparable.
Setting aside that the person himself was naturally gifted and intellectually sharp.
“Then keep up the good work, Young Scholar! Ahahaha!”
Young Scholar Seo watched Han Supervisor depart, his lips twitching.
Unable to contain himself, he opened his mouth.
“Isn’t this too much, Vice Supervisor?”
Jin Geum-bo, a man from the fallen Taiyuan Jin Family whose life’s ambition was discovering the Sword King’s Gun, spoke up.
“What do you mean?”
“I understand the Young Master conveniently sent money from Sichuan. But what if luck had been even slightly different? The main family could have actually gone bankrupt!”
“Young Scholar Seo.”
“Yes, Vice Supervisor?”
“I think I need to tell you something.”
“What do you mean?”
“While you, Young Scholar Seo, were wracking your brains over the financial plan, the Supervisor was running about in all directions with the Family Head to secure funds.”
“What? But he seemed so composed in front of me?”
“He even managed to secure the funds in the end. Even if the Young Master hadn’t sent money, we wouldn’t have gone bankrupt. The Supervisor wasn’t simply idling about, relying solely on the Young Master.”
“….”
From the atmosphere, it seemed only the Vice Supervisor had known this.
It meant that Han Supervisor had shown no sign of this before me and the other clerks of the Supervisor’s office.
The reason he hadn’t mentioned it even after successfully securing the funds was probably—
“….”
Until now, from what I had observed, Han Supervisor was a man who had lucked into his current position and authority as the family grew.
Managing finances well was naturally expected of a Supervisor, and beyond that, there was nothing particularly remarkable enough to admire.
Especially over the past four days, I had even felt considerable disappointment, but….
‘He deliberately didn’t tell me. As a result, both I and the clerks of the Supervisor’s office wasted effort, and if not for the Vice Supervisor, I wouldn’t have even known that fact.’
Human actions always came with various reasons attached.
There were two reasons why Han Supervisor had acted that way.
One positive reason, and one negative reason.
Only Han Supervisor himself would know which reason was the correct one.
For some reason, I had a feeling the answer was the former.
“Vice Supervisor.”
“Speak.”
“Now that it’s become clear the Supervisor did indeed pass his duties to me, I wanted to say this.”
“….”
“I must work even harder.”
Thus, the Young Scholar Seo, who would one day discuss the conquest of all under heaven as a strategist, learned one more lesson today.

* * *
Sichuan had been a remote frontier region for generations. It lay far from the heart of the Central Plains, situated beyond treacherous terrain like the Sword Gorge and the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.
Yet simultaneously, Sichuan had always been a place where wealth flowed abundantly.
The reason was simple.
It was the nexus of commerce where all manner of goods converged, and the land itself produced rare agricultural treasures—tea and silk cocoons among them.
Among these merchants, Jin Yeong-gil had earned the title of one of the Three Greatest Magnates Under Heaven through nothing but the silk trade—Shu brocade, to be precise.
‘He supposedly suffered from illness for nearly fifteen years before passing away, so he must still be bedridden even now.’
The illness afflicting the magnate Jin Yeong-gil was only diagnosed after his death.
The absurdity was so profound that even Yang Hwi, who stood far removed from the upper echelons of society, had heard the rumors and scoffed at them.
“Elder brother. Can you truly cure that magnate?”
“Of course I can, my boy.”
“You certainly have the skill, but would someone of such stature as one of the Three Greatest Magnates even grant us an audience?”
Someone of that caliber would scarcely receive anyone unless the Dang Family formally sent Dang-gun, their true patriarch.
As one of the most prominent figures in the upper echelons, his dignity had to be preserved.
In other words, no matter how bedridden he was, someone from the Baek Family—who held no renown in Sichuan—could not simply appear before Jin Yeong-gil.
However.
“Don’t worry. We’ll definitely get an audience.”
“Oh, you have a method?”
“Yes. Trust me, trust me.”
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. The grandest estate in all of Chengdu.
Yang Hwi, brimming with confidence, rapped upon the gate and spoke thus to the gatekeeper who inquired of his identity:
“The foremost physician under heaven has sent his disciple to treat your master’s ailment—open these gates at once!”
Chu Dal and Baek Heon-so, standing to either side of Yang Hwi, were genuinely aghast.
To such a degree that both of them nearly screamed internally.
‘This bastard! So your “method” was just a bluff!’
‘Elder brother! Impersonation is—impersonation is—surely crossing a line far too egregiously!’

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