Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 67 - I Always Think of You (5)

Chapter 67 – I Always Think of You (5)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“That young fellow has a more frightening side than I expected.”

“Indeed. Even I was seeing it for the first time.”

Wang Song and Hyeong Tae-seong both clicked their tongues in amazement. The side Muk Hui-yeong had shown them at the end had been nothing like his usual self. Yet they could tell that it wasn’t something improvised on the spot, but another side of him that had already been fully formed long ago. That was how practiced and natural that side of Muk Hui-yeong had seemed.

“It’s impressive. At that age, it isn’t easy to possess so many different sides. Usually a person needs a great many experiences before he develops such a multifaceted nature.”

“That’s true. Being cold when one must be cold and warm when one must be warm is truly difficult.”

“I’ve met quite a few men called great merchants. Do you know what they all had in common?”

“Please instruct me.”

“Their warm sides were all different from one another, but their cold sides were all identical, as if cast from the same mold. Especially when something of theirs is being taken away, they seem to become the most rational and the most cold.”

“Is that so? I would’ve thought merchants would become agitated when their goods were being taken from them.”

“That is what makes them different from ordinary merchants. Didn’t you see it earlier? Even after I prodded him several times, he simply laughed it off. It means a great merchant isn’t a man subordinate to money.”

“Are you really comparing the Company Lord of Radiant Crystal Merchant Company to those great merchants? He’s still just a greenhorn who hasn’t even founded his merchant company half a year ago.”

“That’s exactly why it’s amusing. It’s also the reason I came here in person.”

Wang Song grinned. Hyeong Tae-seong nodded. When Muk Hui-yeong first rose as the Divine Physician of Hubei by curing the people’s illness, he’d seemed no more than a righteous lay disciple of Wudang. Then he abruptly founded a merchant company and became a merchant, and now he was showing the face of a cold merchant. As a fellow human being, Hyeong Tae-seong couldn’t deny that he found him an interesting man.

“In any case, you should make your preparations as well, Councillor. If we’re to do as that fellow suggested, you will end up quite busy too.”

“I will do so.”

The proposal Muk Hui-yeong had put forward was far more radical and drastic than the one Wang Song had presented. Hyeong Tae-seong let out a sigh inwardly. He had only wished to do something for the sake of the people, so he had no idea how it had escalated this far. Now a storm would descend on Hubei’s Provincial Administration Commission, which had remained quiet until now.

The very next day, Wang Song, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, came to the Hubei Provincial Administration Commission and revealed his identity. His purpose was an audit for corruption.

***

The eunuchs withdrew from Radiant Crystal Merchant Company like the ebbing tide. That didn’t mean we could immediately resume business, however. On paper, the search still hadn’t ended. Even so, people felt relieved just from no longer seeing those obnoxious eunuchs inside Radiant Crystal Merchant Company.

Even the people I’d told to take paid leave came back one by one and helped sort out the documents. The place had been overturned so thoroughly that it really was too much for Jo Chung-heon to handle alone. From my perspective, there was no reason to stop people who were willingly coming out. I was grateful, of course, but I also suspected that our wages, which were among the best in the business, were what truly moved them.

“You’re amazing, Company Lord.”

“In what way?”

“To think you’d even bring the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate into this. As expected, you had no intention of simply taking this lying down.”

I only gave a faint smile. In Jo Chung-heon’s eyes, I could now see not merely admiration, but even respect.

“All of Hubei is in an uproar right now. It isn’t often that the Censorate openly singles out a high official like this and declares he is corrupt. Rumors are everywhere that Radiant Crystal Merchant Company is standing behind it.”

“So it seems.”

To be exact, we were merely scratching one another’s itches, but to outside eyes it would seem as though Radiant Crystal Merchant Company had placed the Censorate behind itself. That wasn’t especially bad for me either.

“So this is someone you got to know while acting as the Divine Physician of Hubei before.”

“Yes.”

“I was stunned. If I’d known you had a connection to the Censorate, I wouldn’t have spent all this time worrying.”

“Haha. My apologies for not telling you beforehand.”

“It only makes the Eastern Depot look ridiculous instead. Isn’t the fact that they searched Radiant Crystal Merchant Company on the Vice Minister of Revenue’s orders something everyone in Wuhan knows?”

Jo Chung-heon was chattering away with open excitement. It wasn’t just him, either. Among the others who had come in to work at Radiant Crystal Merchant Company, that topic had become the common theme of conversation. Namely, the fact that the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate had publicly declared that he had come to audit the Vice Minister of Revenue for corruption.

Ordinarily, the Censorate often handled the corruption of high provincial officials quietly in order to preserve its relationship with the Provincial Administration Commission, and even when noise was unavoidable, it would provide solid evidence so that gossip wouldn’t spread.

This time, however, not only had it provided no clear evidence, it had also named the target of the audit from the outset, ensuring that the people would set it on their tongues. That alone was an unspeakable disgrace to the Vice Minister of Revenue and to Hubei’s Provincial Administration Commission.

Jo Chung-heon spoke excitedly for a while, but then his expression grew slightly darker.

“But what are we supposed to do? If the Censorate turns the Provincial Administration Commission upside down like this, won’t it become hard for us to do business in Wuhan later?”

“Who knows. We’ll see when the time comes.”

I’d already relayed that point to Wang Song in rough terms. That wasn’t within my jurisdiction. It was a matter for Wang Song and the Provincial Administration Commissioner to coordinate between themselves.

Wang Song was rampaging exactly as I had suggested. If a man of the Censorate moved this violently, then for provincial officials, and for the central officials connected to the province, it would be nothing short of hell. This was something I’d only heard secondhand, but apparently the Chief Director of the Eastern Depot in charge of Hubei had tried several times to meet the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and had failed every time. I hadn’t even told Wang Song to go that far, but as expected of a third-rank official, he was displaying astonishing conduct.

He clearly understood that making the Chief Director of the Eastern Depot, in other words Yi Hwan, desperate wasn’t a matter of meeting him and pressuring him, but of refusing to meet him at all.

“At any rate, it doesn’t seem like the eunuchs will be coming back, so start restoring operations little by little. Carefully, of course. The situation still isn’t over.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Jo Chung-heon answered in a bright voice. It must have been enjoyable, in its own way, to get the merchant company moving again after it had sat frozen for nearly a month.

“And give me that.”

“Pardon?”

“The staffing expansion report and the reorganized chart.”

“Ah, yes.”

Jo Chung-heon immediately handed me the documents. He must’ve been terribly busy spending the past half month sorting through the papers the eunuchs had overturned, yet somehow he’d still found the time to finish these. I entered the Company Lord’s room and began reviewing them.

“As expected, you’re still as good as ever.”

I couldn’t help but admire it. Jo Chung-heon’s report was so immaculate that there wasn’t a single point that needed touching. Capable people truly do handle work well.

He had laid out the grounds for expansion and the added costs with exact calculations in a way that was easy to grasp at a glance, and every point on the reorganized chart had its reason, leaving me no choice but to nod.

“So then, how much does this make…”

I started to calculate mentally, but when I realized the sum was larger than I’d expected, I took out an abacus and began clicking it.

If a subordinate had already processed good material into information and laid it out for me, then gathering it up and deciding on a direction was the leader’s task. Here I calculated everything at once, including the cost of renting or buying a building, severance for the temporary errand boys we’d hired, taxes to be paid to the Provincial Administration Commission, and partial repayment of the money I’d borrowed from the lay disciples that really ought to be returned soon.

“This is quite a lot.”

When I finished calculating, it came out to just over three thousand nyang of silver. As I was about to put the abacus away, I realized I hadn’t included Jo Chung-heon’s and the staff’s bonuses, so I started calculating again.

“Roughly thirty-five hundred nyang…”

The money I could spend on myself came to around fifteen hundred nyang. The fact that the amount I could use personally was comparatively small next to what I’d earned left a bitter taste in my mouth, but if it was an investment for future growth, then it couldn’t be helped.

I pushed myself up from the desk and headed straight for the safe. Fifteen hundred nyang. It was a small sum to me, but in truth it was an enormous quantity of silver, enough to be difficult even to carry for a short distance.

“The smell of silver is always wonderful.”

I spread both arms and soaked my whole body in the scent of silver. Better than forest bathing is money bathing. There is nothing that restores the body and spirit more than breathing deeply in a place surrounded by wealth.

“All right. Time to spend some money.”

After finishing my money bath, I clapped my hands once. Along with that clap, the Martial Talent Shop began to rise before my eyes again for the first time in a while.

***

Yi Hwan sat crookedly in his chair with a cold expression. In front of him, Jin Mu-byeok, the Vice Minister of Revenue, sat with his knees drawn together and a nervous expression entirely unsuited to his rank.

“What exactly is going on here?”

“Even I didn’t expect the Censorate to come out this hard.”

In terms of the ranking of central officials, the Chief Director of the Eastern Depot was fifth rank, while the Provincial Administration Commission’s Vice Minister of Revenue was lower third rank. The difference in grade was enormous, yet Jin Mu-byeok didn’t hesitate to bow his head. That was how much power the office of Chief Director of the Eastern Depot carried beyond what its rank alone suggested.

“You neglected to mention that he had a connection to the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, didn’t you?”

“The one time they met before was when he was acting as the Divine Physician of Hubei. He did seem to gain some favorable impression then, but there was absolutely no reason to think he’d come all the way down from Beijing like this.”

“Haa.”

The fine forehead of Yi Hwan furrowed. Jin Mu-byeok swallowed hard. As far as Jin Mu-byeok was concerned, the Chief Director of the Eastern Depot was the strongest connection he could use in Hubei. Yet to think his enemy would drag in the Censorate here. Jin Mu-byeok ground his teeth.

“That lowborn merchant bastard…”

Originally, Jin Mu-byeok had still felt a slight sense of guilt. Since Jin Mu-byeok had the backing of the Wuhan Merchant Association and the Zhuge Clan, he had felt he had no choice but to pressure Radiant Crystal Merchant Company. But now that matters had reached this point, even Jin Mu-byeok wanted in earnest to bury Muk Hui-yeong.

Waving a hand fan before himself, Yi Hwan spoke.

“The situation is more serious than you think. The Divine Physician of Hubei isn’t just some ordinary commoner. He’s a subject of considerable support in Wuhan. While it was one thing when he was suspected of being a spy of the Demonic Cult, if that suspicion lacks grounds then his own words will definitely regain force.”

“I agree. If he were alone, it would’ve been impossible, but the Censorate will step forward and support what he says.”

“At least you understand that.”

“There is only one method.”

“And what is that?”

“Muk Hui-yeong has to die.”

Yi Hwan’s eyes narrowed. But in Jin Mu-byeok’s eyes there already burned a red hatred that could no longer be stopped.

“If it’s the Eastern Depot, then surely you can deal with this quietly as well. Of course suspicion will remain, but once the mouth of the Divine Physician of Hubei is silenced, the Censorate’s rampage will weaken. The Censorate, too, will find it burdensome to make enemies of both the Eastern Depot and the Hubei Provincial Administration Commission over a single commoner.”

Yi Hwan thought about it for a while, then smiled deeply. Thinking about it, this was one of the Eastern Depot’s main duties in the first place.

“That’s an opinion I like hearing, for a change.”

“Good. We have to kill him before they can make this matter even bigger.”

Yi Hwan smiled as he looked at Jin Mu-byeok, whose eyes glittered. Jin Mu-byeok believed that if Muk Hui-yeong only died, then everything would be resolved. Strictly speaking, Jin Mu-byeok’s corruption was a separate matter. Yi Hwan believed there was no way the Censorate would go after a Vice Minister of Revenue without grounds in the first place.

High officials who always made solemn noises and pretended to be rational inevitably lost their reason and showed their true colors once their own necks were at stake. As a man of the Eastern Depot, seeing that side of people was a different kind of pleasure.

“Then shall I be on my way?”

“You’ll carry it out immediately?”

“It’s best to strike while the iron is hot. After all, we’ve already placed surveillance on him.”

Jin Mu-byeok smiled as though reassured. Yi Hwan smiled as well. He disliked Jin Mu-byeok as a man, but in the end they were on the same boat.

Yi Hwan quietly donned black martial robes and a bamboo hat. It was the clothing the Eastern Depot always wore when carrying out assassinations. Then he waited until night fell. Muk Hui-yeong didn’t really have a separate residence in Wuhan, and so he slept in Radiant Crystal Merchant Company’s warehouse. That meant that at midnight Muk Hui-yeong would be entirely defenseless.

It felt refreshing to cross through the night again, stepping on walls and rooftops. Before long Yi Hwan reached the warehouse of Radiant Crystal Merchant Company.

There wasn’t even anyone standing guard over the warehouse. Since all the Green Forest Twelve Forms had already been sold and there was nothing left to guard, it seemed they had withdrawn the guards as well. Of course, even if there had been guards, there was no way they could have stopped an assassination by the Chief Director of the Eastern Depot.

Working his Silent Concealment Art as he advanced, Yi Hwan cautiously spread out his senses. He immediately picked up the aura of a single person lying still in complete quiet.

Silently, Yi Hwan lifted the roof and slipped into the ridge beam. In truth, he could’ve simply opened the door and killed him, but he wanted to savor the feeling of performing an assassination properly for the first time in a while.

All that remained was to pierce the room’s ceiling and send a throwing blade down. Yi Hwan walked on the very tips of his toes. A rat darted swiftly across the rafters, but Yi Hwan did not waver.

‘I told him not to make such a show of himself.’

For a moment Yi Hwan lamented the fate of Muk Hui-yeong, who had ignored Jin Mu-byeok’s warning. Before long he had reached the top of the ceiling over the room where Muk Hui-yeong was sleeping.

“Farewell.”

Yi Hwan’s throwing blade, filled with a sharp blue force, pierced the ceiling and flew down without a sound. Only the sound of it striking the floor rang clear.

Yet Yi Hwan instinctively sensed that something had gone wrong. He hadn’t heard the sound of the blade cutting flesh at all. Yi Hwan immediately peered into the room through the hole the blade had made.

Inside the room there was only a single candle burning dimly and the throwing blade stuck uselessly into the bare floor. Yi Hwan’s startled eyes rolled as he searched the room.

“Why don’t you come down?”

Before Yi Hwan even saw Muk Hui-yeong, a voice came from inside the room. When he looked toward where the voice had come from, Muk Hui-yeong was already gazing up through the broken ceiling and smiling.