Geom Mugeuk’s words flew like a dagger and pierced the heart.

“If you’re a merchant, shouldn’t you make a deal?”

Hwangin often showed pride in being a merchant.

But he knew this pride was like a sandcastle that would collapse at the first wave of truth. At decisive moments, he had always handled things not by honest trade but by deploying his warriors.

“Originally, you should have come alone and proposed this to me. I want that agreement back. What do you want? Isn’t this what a true merchant does? Understand what I want and offer accordingly. A merchant is someone who does what a sword cannot.”

Without realizing it, Hwangin bit his lip hard. His earlier irritation at Geom Mugeuk’s words in the inn—that merchants should settle accounts properly—stemmed from this wounded pride.

After a brief silence, Hwangin’s gaze turned toward the building where the warriors had entered.

“What happened to those who went inside?”

“That, I don’t know either.”

“Did they poison them or something?”

Geom Mugeuk smiled.

“My father detests poison. There’s even someone who feels hurt because of that.”

Hwangin couldn’t make sense of what was meant.

Geom Mugeuk stood up.

“Well then, if you’re curious, let’s go in.”

Geom Mugeuk led the way inside.

Hwangin wanted to rush out the main gate, but he couldn’t.

Even if he could run away, what could he say to Jeonnak when he returned like this? That he fled without confirming the fate of the three warriors he cared for? Jeonnak wouldn’t believe it. He would think no one just lets him leave.

With a fearful heart, Hwangin followed Geom Mugeuk.

Walking down a neatly arranged corridor, there were no bodies or signs of a fight. Not a single drop of blood splattered on the flowers in the vase on the display cabinet.

They were supposedly skilled enough to kill the head of Seodo Sect.

“Where on earth did they disappear to?”

Hwangin thought maybe the three were sitting in the room at the end of the corridor, drinking tea. Please let that be true! Or perhaps they killed the Seodo Sect’s head and now are exchanging trivial jokes while looking at the corpse.

But what if it was the opposite?

All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind as they reached the room at the end of the corridor.

When they entered, Geom Woojin sat at the table drinking tea.

The warriors were not in the room.

“Father, the merchant we saw at the inn came again.”

Geom Woojin looked at Hwangin, who was staring out the window.

“I greet the Sect Leader.”

Hwangin greeted in a trembling voice.

Geom Woojin looked at him with a stern expression. The same eyes as when they met at the inn, but the heart receiving it was different.

Hwangin wanted to continue greetings but was too curious to hold back.

“The people who came first entered this building. Have you… seen them?”

Honestly, he wanted to ask outright if he had taken care of them.

Geom Woojin shook his head.

Geom Mugeuk already knew: it wasn’t his father who dealt with them but Hui.

Unless there was an order to admit them, Hui would never have left ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) those who came to the house targeting his father alone. To Hui, it was like ‘How dare they!’

Probably, he silently took down each warrior as they entered, without a drop of blood or a single scream. This was the skill of the chief guard of Cheonma at the time.

“Then where did those people go?”

Hwangin cautiously looked at Geom Mugeuk. Shouldn’t he be curious too? Yet he looked so calm.

At that moment, a thought flashed through Hwangin’s mind.

‘Could it be? These people?’

Like the protagonists of secret stories quietly passed down in the martial world.

‘A secret clan that has hidden their strength all this time?’

And then another thought.

‘Then one of the young successors can’t bear the confinement, enters the martial world, competes in the So-ryong tournament, and wins? Eventually, because of that, the clan head comes out into the world.’

He didn’t find this natural story absurd. Without such a background, how could a lone regional sect warrior win the So-ryong tournament and instantly make three warriors disappear without a sound?

It was a possible story. The martial world was full of secrets and mysteries.

Thinking this way, he understood even the incomprehensible ease he had seen from these people at the inn.

At the same time, a surge of fear rose.

‘They might kill me too to protect the secret.’

The secret of the mysterious force must be kept hidden.

‘If not…’

Hwangin looked at Geom Mugeuk. Seeing those clear and deep eyes far from killing intent, he dared to hope.

‘There might be a chance.’

A chance from heaven to make Hwangin’s merchant guild the best in the world.

At last, Geom Woojin broke the silence.

“What brings you here?”

Should he answer honestly? That he came to get the agreement back? No, to take it away?

Hwangin recalled Geom Mugeuk’s words.

“If you’re a true merchant, you should make a deal.”

Taking a deep breath, Hwangin said to Geom Woojin.

“I came to make a deal with the Sect Leader.”

Geom Woojin listened silently.

“Please make this guild the best merchant guild in the world.”

If someone heard that, they might call him crazy. They might ask if he could betray Jeonnak so quickly just because three warriors disappeared.

But this was not betrayal.

It was a scale for survival. At least for this moment, he had to be a true merchant. The accounts had to be exact.

“In that process, I will dedicate not only the money earned but half of all future profits for life.”

An instinctive gamble thrown at the opponent who might kill or spare him.

Jeonnak he knew was a butcher without blood or tears.

If he lost the three warriors he cherished, would Jeonnak just leave them? No way. If a fight broke out, he had to side with the winner.

‘I will bet my fate on these people.’

Because they were in front of him now.

Soon, Geom Woojin replied briefly.

“I will discuss it with my son.”

Hwangin was convinced by this reaction that his guess was correct.

An ordinary sect might have reacted differently:

— Make your guild the best in the world? What nonsense is that?

But he said he would consult with his son. It seemed that discussing it might actually make it happen.

Geom Woojin had nothing more to say and turned his gaze out the window as he drank tea.

“Well then, let’s leave.”

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Hwangin bowed respectfully to Geom Woojin.

Following Geom Mugeuk, Hwangin left the room. As he stepped out, a sigh escaped without his knowledge.

Once outside the building, Hwangin asked Geom Mugeuk.

“Did I make a mistake with the Sect Leader?”

“You didn’t make a mistake. But the terms of the deal weren’t exactly excellent.”

“What do you mean?”

“You offered money as the price for the deal.”

Geom Mugeuk smiled faintly and added,

“My father also has a lot of money.”

Hwangin argued,

“The amount I guaranteed isn’t just a lot, it’s huge.”

“My father’s fortune is even more immense.”

What was this nonsense? The guild was supposed to give half the profits, but he compared it to an individual’s wealth.

This person said things Hwangin couldn’t understand from time to time.

“Well, now you sound more like a merchant.”

Hwangin inwardly felt relieved at Geom Mugeuk’s gentle expression. At least he didn’t seem likely to kill him.

Then naturally his worry shifted back to Jeonnak.

“If he finds out the three who came together died, he won’t stay still. He’ll gather all his subordinates and come to kill you.”

“Three hundred subordinates?”

That was a joke Geom Mugeuk made earlier. That his father would only draw his sword if three hundred came—it no longer sounded like a joke.

“In total, there are about thirty. But among them, there are some more skilled than the ones who came earlier.”

Geom Mugeuk stared at Hwangin for a moment. As the smile disappeared from his face, Hwangin expected important words about his life.

“Go back and bring that person here.”

Hwangin was startled. What could this mean? That they intended to lure Jeonnak here to kill him?

“He might suspect me and kill me.”

“You might betray us.”

Hwangin understood. This was a test. If he passed, they would join hands. The scales in his mind teetered wildly. One wrong choice now meant death.

“If I bring him? Can you handle it? He’s a much stronger expert than those who came earlier.”

“Whether we can handle it or not is for you to decide. But know this: your dream is so big you’ve invited a very dangerous person.”

He would think that the dangerous person was the one who joined him, but the person Geom Mugeuk meant was his father.

“So decide carefully. There will be no backing down from this deal.”

To cut to the chase, Hwangin chose the secret clan.

The reason was simple. The fact that the other side left the decision to him meant they had confidence that even if he betrayed everyone, they could handle it.

Of course, this was a temporary choice.

He planned to straddle both sides and observe. The scales always go up and down, don’t they?

For now, he would bring Jeonnak to them. If the Seodo Sect kills Jeonnak, he would join them as originally planned. If Jeonnak wins, he would side with him as if nothing happened.

What bothered him was that Jeonnak had backing, but that was a worry for later. The current concern was how to bring Jeonnak without arousing suspicion.

He thought about it several times. Should he say the warriors summoned him? Then one of them could come, why send him? Three must be there, right? No, such reasons wouldn’t work.

After much thought, he came up with a method.

“I want to absorb the Seodo Sect into our side.”

Jeonnak’s eyes showed suspicion. He had sent three warriors but returned alone saying this.

Without revealing his inner thoughts, Jeonnak calmly asked,

“Why suddenly try to bring them in?”

“After talking, I liked your successor.”

“For what reason?”

“He reminded me of the merchant’s way (商道) that I had recently forgotten.”

Jeonnak frowned slightly. His very existence was the opposite of the merchant’s way. Now talking about it made him angry.

“This is surely a sect that will be useful in many ways. Trust my judgment.”

Only now did Jeonnak ask about the warriors.

“Where are the warriors who went together?”

“I told them to hold them. Just allow it. I will go and get the signature on the agreement. I think the fact that they had the agreement from the Joo Sword Sect was meant to bring about this connection.”

He never said to go with him. Jeonnak, who was suspicious, would immediately sense danger.

“I haven’t followed you well so far. Please leave this matter to me this once.”

Hwangin was truly acting with all his might. He had to. Because he could die right there.

Jeonnak looked at Hwangin silently and accepted his request.

“Good. Bring them too.”

“Thank you. I will go right now and get the signature.”

Turning away, Hwangin inwardly shouted,

“Say come with me! You should suspect me!”

Just as he opened the door to leave—

“Let’s go together.”

Turning back, Hwangin deliberately hardened his expression.

“I can handle it alone. You don’t have to come.”

“Let’s go together. I want to see for myself what kind of person changed your mind.”

Though born from suspicion, that suspicion was flawless. He secretly ordered the remaining warriors to follow him quietly before setting out.

Late at night, Geom Mugeuk and Geom Woojin lay side by side on a netted hammock, looking up at the night sky.

“This is your first time lying on a netted hammock, right?”

“Yes.”

“This is another first experience with my father!”

Geom Mugeuk was truly happy. In the past, he had hoped his father would acknowledge such feelings, but now he didn’t care. He believed his father understood.

Even if he didn’t know, it didn’t matter. He planned to keep conveying his feelings from now on.

“I’ll hang this hammock between the fingers of the large statue in front of the Cheonma Tournament. If you’re bored, lie there and rest.”

If hung between the tilted fingers, the whole Demon Sect would be clearly visible. Of course, he didn’t think his father would lie there.

“You’re planning to lie there?”

“When will you teach me the martial art that reads people’s minds?”

After a while, looking at the night sky, Jeonnak and Hwangin arrived there.

Seeing the two lying on the hammock, Jeonnak was inwardly baffled.

‘Did I really have to get permission just to bring in those guys?’

Warriors playing while lying side by side on a hammock? He had never seen such warriors before.

Geom Mugeuk rose from the hammock.

“You’re back!”

Seeing Geom Mugeuk smile brightly at them, Jeonnak felt a strange sensation. For a martial artist, his expression was unusually bright.

Jeonnak’s gaze lingered on Geom Woojin lying on the hammock.

Geom Woojin was staring at the stars in the night sky. Seeing that, Jeonnak unconsciously followed his gaze upward.

He didn’t know why he looked up. It just felt natural to look because that person was looking.

Even while looking at the most beautiful stars, Jeonnak felt an inexplicable unease. So he realized:

‘Something has gone wrong.’

 

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