Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 56 - I Am a Merchant Company (2)

Chapter 56 – I Am a Merchant Company (2)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“There won’t be any traders willing to deal with Radiant Crystal Merchant Company from now on. The moment we invoked the Zhuge Clan’s name, they said they’d obey without asking questions.”

“There aren’t many customers who buy as many books as the Zhuge Clan. They have no choice but to watch which way the wind blows.”

Zhuge Yan nodded as if satisfied. The man from the external business division relaxed when he saw Zhuge Yan’s expression. At least for today, it seemed the deputy hall master would pass quietly.

“What books are they selling, anyway?”

“The Green Forest Twelve Forms.”

“The Green Forest Twelve Forms?”

In the Central Plains, books counted as expensive goods. They were truly things only wealthy households bought, while poor people had to take their pickaxes and hoes out to the fields. So ordinary commoners tended to buy only a few truly necessary books such as the Thousand Character Classic in their whole lives.

But the Green Forest Twelve Forms was a martial manual for commoners. Households with means usually had at least one inherited martial art anyway. It was the sort of book only commoners who normally bought no books would use. In Zhuge Yan’s view, it was an incredibly stupid product choice.

“Wouldn’t they have failed even if we hadn’t interfered?”

“I believe so as well.”

“But since we did interfere, they’ll be ruined completely.”

“Exactly.”

Zhuge Yan smiled. The subordinate from the external business division felt a chill run down his spine. Zhuge Yan only smiled when he was trampling someone. That smile was filled with twisted malice.

“So why did he have to overstep?”

Zhuge Yan had intended to treat Muk Hui-yeong fairly well if he came in bowing his head. That was because he bore the name Divine Physician of Hubei, and because Zhuge Yan thought saving the East Lake Merchant Association had not been due to luck alone. Zhuge Yan did not look down on people who were actually capable.

Of course, no matter how capable he was, he had failed to understand his place and raised a hand against the Zhuge Clan, so this was the treatment he would receive. He had surely gone into some degree of debt in the process of founding his merchant company and buying those books. Muk Hui-yeong would end up dumping all those books at a loss and going bankrupt.

“Heh heh heh.”

Imagining Muk Hui-yeong’s smug face twisting up naturally brought a laugh to Zhuge Yan’s lips. The subordinate stared in fascination at Zhuge Yan, who had laughed twice in a single day. But the instant their eyes met, Zhuge Yan stopped smiling cold.

“By the way, what happened to the Wuhan market survey I told you about last time?”

“Pardon? Ah, we’re still working on it.”

“When did I tell you to do it, and you’re still working on it? Have you lost your mind?”

In an instant, the cold of a northern blizzard swept through the deputy hall master’s office.

“I’m sorry. I’ll finish it and bring it in as fast as possible.”

“Why do something you’ll have to apologize for?”

“That’s because Hall Master gave me another task to do…”

“That phrasing was too casual. Are you asking to be friends with me? Do I look like your friend?”

“I apologize.”

“Why drag it out and embarrass me when one ‘I apologize’ ought to be enough?”

“I apologize! I think I must’ve gone mad for a moment.”

“‘I think’? So maybe you went mad and maybe you didn’t? From where I’m sitting, it seems you simply are mad.”

“Kuh…”

Under the assault of Zhuge Yan’s tongue, which was enough to numb the mind, the subordinate finally lost consciousness, foaming at the mouth and collapsing. Zhuge Yan clicked his tongue, then called people in and had them drag the fainted man outside. It was an ordinary scene in the Zhuge Clan’s external business division.

***

As always, inns had their gossipmongers. If that was true even in a rural place like Junxian, then it hardly needed to be said for a bustling city like Wuhan.

“I heard the Black Dragon Gate thrashed the Thousand Snakes Gang this time?”

“Then is the Black Dragon Gate the dominant power now?”

“That’s right. Even if you bowed your head to the Thousand Snakes Gang now, there’s nothing left to get out of it. If you’re going to bow to someone, you might as well bow to the strong.”

“Kya. Back-alley fights really are impossible to predict even a day in advance. Who would’ve thought the Black Dragon Gate, that bunch of weaklings, would conquer Wuhan just because one expert joined them?”

“So true.”

The talk heard in inns usually had a lot to do with the lives of common people. Ordinary people were more likely to run into people from the unorthodox side than from the orthodox sects. Orthodox sects rarely came looking for commoners, but men of the black path came to extort money.

“But who is that one expert?”

“What, you don’t even know that? Flamefire Ghost Hand Mun Il-ji entered the Black Dragon Gate as its new deputy gate leader.”

“Mun Il-ji? Who’s that?”

“What, you don’t know Mun Il-ji? He was a famous wanderer in Zhejiang.”

“Isn’t he like that Jeon Gil-sang from the Wuhan Merchant Association, just another nobody?”

“Jeon Gil-sang of the Wuhan Merchant Association? That man’s reputation was later exposed as empty bragging, and he got beaten half to death. He was lucky not to die. How can you compare him to this one? Flamefire Ghost Hand is a black-path man even the magistrate’s office keeps an eye on.”

“Ohhh, I see.”

I nodded and jotted down the gossipmonger’s information on a small scrap of paper.

The gossipmonger shot me a wary glance. He seemed to think that if I happened to be connected to the Thousand Snakes Gang, his head might come off through sheer bad luck.

“But who might you be? You don’t look like someone from around here.”

“How can you tell whether I live here or not when I’m wearing a bamboo hat?”

“A man like me can tell just by smelling it.”

The gossipmonger lifted his chin and sniffed loudly, drawing laughter from the people listening nearby. The sight amused me too, so I chuckled and removed my bamboo hat.

“Huh? That’s a face I’ve seen somewhere.”

“Hmm, it’s an ordinary enough face. Where did I see it?”

“There’s something oddly slick and foxlike about him.”

I smiled bitterly at the people’s assessment of my face. Then one of them finally recognized me.

“Divine Physician of Hubei?”

“You still remember me.”

“Good heavens, of course I do. My own nephew survived thanks to Divine Physician of Hubei.”

At the words Divine Physician of Hubei, people’s gazes all turned toward me. Naturally, they were favorable gazes because of what I had done in Wuhan.

“If it’s the Divine Physician, then I ought to buy you a drink. Bring out a bottle of Bamboo Leaf Green!”

The gossipmonger laughed and threw an arm around Muk Hui-yeong’s shoulders. I put on a pleased expression and let myself be dragged along. No matter how competent Jo Chung-heon was, there was always a difference between information gathered on the ground and information gathered elsewhere.

Certainly, I had heard there was an unorthodox expert named Mun Il-ji, but I had not known what level he was at. Now I did.

“But for what reason is Divine Physician of Hubei investigating the unorthodox factions in Wuhan?”

“Investigating? I’m no constable, so what investigation are you talking about?”

“Then what were you scribbling just now?”

As expected of a sharp-eyed gossipmonger. I merely shrugged.

“I founded a merchant company, and merchant companies get involved with black-path people all the time, don’t they? So I wanted to know a bit in advance.”

“Ahhh. That’s right! Come to think of it, you’re the man who saved the East Lake Merchant Association!”

“It’s mutual benefit.”

“But what’s your merchant company called?”

“Radiant Crystal Merchant Company.”

“Never heard of it. Are you doing business somewhere else?”

“No. I founded it, but I haven’t started selling goods yet.”

“Aha. So you’re still in the preparation stage. If Divine Physician of Hubei is the one selling it, what is there people wouldn’t buy?”

The gossipmonger laughed heartily and slapped my back. I hadn’t really thought that far, but I did briefly consider that the name Divine Physician of Hubei might prove useful. Of course, it would not influence sales to a meaningful degree. Merchant companies, in the end, competed on quality and competitiveness.

“That’s right, that’s right. If you’re a merchant company, you’ve got to keep good ties with the black path too. But as Divine Physician, you don’t really need that, do you?”

“Why not?”

“Aren’t you a lay disciple of Wudang? What black-path fellow would dare touch the merchant company of a lay disciple of Wudang?”

“I intend to avoid borrowing the sect’s power as much as possible.”

“You’re a very admirable young man. Most people would be thinking of borrowing it.”

I’d like to borrow it too. But I was a little different from the other lay disciples. They were already glaring at me for refusing to become a main-sect disciple and founding a merchant company, so there was no way they’d help me gladly. Of course, I had no intention of explaining circumstances like that, so I merely brushed it off.

After that, I loosely played along with the gossipmonger and the others and extracted what information I could. Broadly speaking, the force holding Wuhan in its grasp was indeed the Black Dragon Gate, just as Jo Chung-heon had found.

Its gate leader was originally an unimpressive street ruffian, but it seemed he had some old tie with Mun Il-ji and invited him in as deputy gate leader. In the jianghu, one’s network was part of one’s ability.

“Anyway, thanks for the drinks.”

I gave them a rough farewell and left the inn. It seemed the name Divine Physician of Hubei still had influence in Wuhan, and the people looked as though they wanted to keep me there longer, but there was no reason to stay after I’d already extracted everything I needed.

I unfolded the paper Jo Chung-heon had organized for me once again. It even showed where the unorthodox factions in Wuhan were located. Since black-path headquarters usually had no signboards hanging out front, they ought to have been hard to find, but seeing how quickly he had tracked them down, he truly was capable.

“Now then…”

I spread out a map of Wuhan and marked the locations of all the unorthodox organizations. Then I returned to Radiant Crystal Merchant Company’s office. Everyone except Jo Chung-heon had already gone home. That made sense, since it was evening.

Why hadn’t Jo Chung-heon gone home? Because I had told him to wait. It might seem unfair, but Jo Chung-heon did not appear to mind.

“You’ve returned, Company Lord.”

“You’re ready to go out, right?”

“Go out?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t tell you to wait for no reason, Foreman.”

“That’s true enough.”

Jo Chung-heon looked at me with suspicion. I could tell what he meant without him saying a word. His eyes were asking what sort of trip this was at this hour.

“Where are we headed?”

“We’re going to the Thousand Snakes Gang first.”

“Ah.”

It seemed he had more or less expected that. After all, I was the one who had set the unorthodox factions of Wuhan in order.

“And not during the day?”

“Black-path boys usually sleep during the day and move at night. So to them, this is daytime. Since we’re the ones going to them because we need something, we have to work on their clock.”

“…But is this really all right?”

“What is?”

“If I remember correctly, you’re a lay disciple of Wudang, Company Lord.”

“So?”

“Does it make sense for you to associate with unorthodox factions?”

“Right now, I’m not a lay disciple of Wudang. I’m the Company Lord of Radiant Crystal Merchant Company.”

“Understood.”

I nodded. Jo Chung-heon was good at speaking frankly in moderation. He would speak his mind, but the moment it seemed I had some thought behind what I was doing, he would cut himself off. In that sense, he was an ideal subordinate.

“Company Lord. Just in case, let me say this. The strongest force in Wuhan is the Black Dragon Gate. The Thousand Snakes Gang used to have influence in the past, but I hear they’ve fallen far behind the Black Dragon Gate.”

“Yes. I know. I heard the Black Dragon Gate has practically locked down all of Wuhan these days.”

“Yes. So you did know.”

“Because you put it in order for me.”

“Then may I ask why we’re going to the Thousand Snakes Gang before the Black Dragon Gate? If the Black Dragon Gate learns we visited the Thousand Snakes Gang first, they’ll be offended.”

“We’re not going to the Black Dragon Gate, so it doesn’t matter.”

Jo Chung-heon tilted his head. I simply spread out the map of Wuhan and showed it to him.

“The Black Dragon Gate’s location… isn’t marked?”

“Right. Since we’re not going there.”

Even more doubt appeared on Jo Chung-heon’s face.

“Why not?”

“If the Black Dragon Gate has all of Wuhan in its grip, then they’re earning a lot of money and their noses will be that much higher. Trade happens when both sides need something. If not, it’s just begging.”

Only then did Jo Chung-heon let out a sound of realization. He still was not yet a merchant with deep enough experience, so even something basic like this still had the power to surprise him.

“I’ve learned something, Company Lord.”

“It’s nothing much.”

I kept walking with a smile on my face. Before long, what looked like an abandoned house with its main gate half broken came into view.

Both Jo Chung-heon and I were briefly left speechless by the ghastly state of the building. But the map said this was definitely the place.

“Let’s go in.”

Since one side of the gate was nearly smashed apart and the inside could already be seen, there seemed no need for the formality of knocking.

The moment I stepped into the entrance, a flash of steel flew for my throat out of the darkness. I stopped in place and raised both hands. It was a sign that I had no intention of fighting.

Only then did Jo Chung-heon see the blade held to my throat and gasp.

“Who are you? This isn’t a place just anyone walks into. If you’re looking for somewhere to sleep rough, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

“Isn’t this the Thousand Snakes Gang?”

“…It is.”

The black-path man with the drawn sword answered in a stupid tone, as though he had not expected that we had entered knowing it was the Thousand Snakes Gang.

“I am Muk Hui-yeong, Company Lord of Radiant Crystal Merchant Company. I came because I have business to discuss. May I perhaps meet your Gang Leader?”

“Business?”

The Thousand Snakes Gang man looked utterly bewildered. Seeing that startled reaction, it seemed I had indeed come to the right place.