Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 152



Only Noblemtl

152. The Big Guys of Beijing (2)

Suddenly, the atmosphere became strange. Yeo Hong-won, who had been hostile to me until now, had nothing to say. Of course, Yeo Hong-won was not an isolated island here.

There is a reason why Yeo Bul-jin was called the King of Shang. It meant that he was the most influential merchant among the merchants of the Central Plains and had a merchant group.

“Hmm. It’s a good thing that the King of Geumgeom takes care of promising juniors, but there’s no need to discourage others, right?”

The speaker was Hong Suk-ui of Namwon Sangdan. Namwon Sangdan was also famous for having the Namwon Pyo-guk in Gangseo.

In addition, the Hong clan (洪氏) is a new clan among the 15 clans of Huizhou.

It would have been impossible to just leave alone Yeo, who could be called the representative of the Sin tribe among the 15 clans of Huizhou, which were divided into the Gu clan and the Sin clan.

“I also want to be friends with the Whiyoungsangdan, but I am worried that the way my senior is taking care of the Whiyoungsangdan might be a bit excessive.”

This time, it was Son Chung-won of Janggyeongsangdan. Janggyeongsangdan is also one of the 15 divine clans of Huiju. Considering that Son Chung-won of Janggyeongsangdan also greeted me first, it seemed like his words about wanting to be friends with me were not a lie.

“I don’t understand this. Are you talking about persecuting the owner of the Hwiyoung Group right now? If you’re not going to persecute him right now, then why are you complaining so much about what I’m saying?”

But Na Han-geol did not bend. On the contrary, when Na Han-geol showed signs of discomfort, the people who took Yeo Hong-won’s side became ambiguous.

If it were Yeo Bul-jin, she would be able to directly refute Na Han-geol’s words, but Yeo Hong-won is not in the position to refute them.

“I don’t have any feelings for the Whiyoungsangdan. But I’m curious about that. If we become enemies with the Whiyoungsangdan, won’t we become enemies of the world’s best?”

Jin Deuk-myeong of Jinjinsangdan said indifferently.

His words had a slightly different meaning than those of the others before him, because he was from the same Shanxi dynasty as me.

What Jin Deuk-myeong was saying now was, were they going to break the blood alliance of the four families of Shanxi just to take care of one new member?

Even though the 15 clans of Huizhou are divided into the Shin clan and the Gu clan, in the end, the Gajae clan side with the Ge clan and responds together when an external enemy appears. Even though the 4 clans of Shanxi clan have conflicts in minor matters, they are ultimately from the same blood alliance that originated in the same region.

In the end, the problem was that the Huiyeongdan did not belong to the four families of Shanxi, nor to the fifteen clans of Huizhou.

“Nammun Sangdan has no intention of joining this opinion.”

In fact, the Nanmen Shangdan in Guangdong had no intention of interfering with this matter.

Although the Shanxi and Huizhou merchants stand out in the Central Plains, of course that is not all.

Sometimes, when talking about the three major merchants of the Central Plains, the Guangdong merchants are mentioned. However, the Guangdong merchants were those who focused on maritime trade, so their influence in the Central Plains was weaker than that of the Huizhou or Shanxi merchants.

Moreover, since there was a maritime ban in place, their power was greatly weakened. That was why they had no desire to get involved in this matter.

“So, what do you think? Me, Danju.”

Jin Deuk-myeong urged. Na Han-geol was slightly pushed back. The merchants, including Yeo Hong-won, also became slightly more excited when the upper part of the four houses in the same mountain were crooked like that.

“I like that my senior cares about his juniors, but this time, I think he’s going too far ahead of himself.”

“Please speak with less alcohol intoxication.”

Now, he has turned me into someone who makes mistakes when drunk.

The situation was flowing into a strange battle of wits. Even though they are the four Shanxi families, they are not at the level of sharing the same fate. That is why the clash between Jinjin Sangdan and Cheonha Sangdan was not particularly unusual.

Still, I had to think about whether there was a reason for him to take care of me while provoking the feelings of the four main characters of the same Shanxi Province.

It was a complicated situation. Everyone was silent and watching what was going on.

And I had a gut feeling that this was the right time for me to speak up.

“Please stop. I have no intention of becoming the best friend in the world right now.”

The ambiguous situation was summarized in one word.

Not only I, but also the other shareholders were surprised by what I said.

The situation has become very clear. Since the Whiyoung Group has rejected the hand of the Cheonha Sangdan, there is no reason for them to fight each other.

“Poohaha! The world’s greatest swordsman has become a dog chasing a chicken.”

Jin Deuk-myeong laughed out loud. But Na Han-geol wasn’t the kind of person who would get excited or blush here. He just calmly observed the situation.

It was embarrassing for me to be like that, but the only person who could tease him was Jin Deok-myeong, a member of the same Shanxi Four Families.

Now, the target was the Hwiyoung Group that had kicked away the roof of the world’s best.

“You are a very arrogant young man. Your attitude towards your seniors is also very wrong.”

Jin Deok-myeong said while clicking his tongue. As Jin Deok-myeong took the lead, Yeo Hong-won also seemed to gain confidence.

Originally, the Shanxi merchants and the Huizhou merchants were enemies, but in the end, they were both merchants, so they did not act so stiffly in this situation. The merchants were a group that could quickly unite and split up if they had a common enemy.

“Then, since Senior Geumgeom has given his opinion, I will also give my opinion on behalf of Cheonsu Sangdan. I think it would be difficult for Hwiyeongsangdan to enter the Jungsangryun.”

“Is that the King’s opinion?”

The royal guards of Yunjangsangdan expressed their curiosity at Yeo Hongwon’s words. They also knew that Huijusangin had made every effort to recruit the shamans.

But I couldn’t help but wonder why he was trying to antagonize the Hwiyoungsangdan, which had a non-partisan faction.

“No. My father has given me full authority in this meeting of the Central Committee.”

“Haha. Are you already starting the successor training? Well, it’s a good experience to judge for yourself.”

The audience laughed heartily. Yeo Hong-won answered while pounding her chest, as if she was proud of having been given full authority.

“Yes. This is my personal opinion. I stake my honor on it.”

That was probably true. He was not a person of such small character that the King would order him to lie, and Yeo Hong-won was not a person of such great character that he would lie without the King knowing.

“I see. I didn’t really think much of it either, but I don’t like the way that kid is acting, so I’m thinking of opposing him.”

Jin Deuk-myeong, who had been watching, added a word.

“It’s not a bad idea to bond with the Shanxi merchants after a long time.”

Yeo Hong-won responded immediately. In a situation like this, there was no one who would take the side of the Whiyoungs.

At least wanting to be friends was something you could do when you weren’t taking any risks, not in a situation like now.

From then on, it became a place where people, led by Yeo Hong-won and Jin Deuk-myeong, would criticize the Hwiyoungsangdan.

“Anyway, it seems like young people these days find the top job very easy. It’s because they don’t start out as servants but go straight to the top.”

“I heard from Hubei that he is a guy with no sense of propriety. He was lucky enough to buy and sell one item and come here.”

This was actually somewhat expected.

This was because whenever a new recruit came to the middle-class, there was always this kind of antagonism or initiation ceremony from the seniors. So, in a way, Jin Deuk-myeong and Yeo Hong-won were talking as usual, and Na Han-geol, who was at the top of the world, was saying something unusual.

But it was really strange. It was something that had definitely happened in the past, and the bickering and nagging between merchants was a daily occurrence, but it was strangely irritating.

They rushed into the Whiyoungdan with such gusto that they even spit, but I couldn’t understand it. To be exact, it just seemed the same.

I looked around briefly and then opened my mouth.

“Excuse me, Miss Yeo.”

“What? Miss? Are you calling me right now?”

Yeo Hong-won looked at me as if she found it ridiculous. I nodded.

“Look at this, look at this, seniors. This guy is so shameless. If the world order isn’t going backwards, is there any need to give wings to this guy?”

It’s strange to think about it again. In the past, it wouldn’t have bothered me at all, and I could have just laughed it off, so why does it bother me? I thought about it for a moment and figured out why Yeo Hong-won is bothering me now.

“Why are you babbling so much?”

I jumped up and approached Yeo Hong-won. Yeo Hong-won smiled proudly as he watched me approach, but soon began to panic. From his perspective, I had gotten too close.

“What, what are you doing?”

The distance between my face and Yeo Hong-won’s was so close that I could fit a fist between them. I looked down at Yeo Hong-won, who was slightly shorter than me.

“If you’re going to be so picky, just give me a warm one.”

“… … What, what?”

Yeo Hong-won looked flustered as if she didn’t know I would react like this.

There was only one reason why I was annoyed by him now. I was no longer a complete merchant. I was a merchant with a somewhat unmanned mind.

There are very simple ways to solve it with fists or a knife, but it was frustrating and annoying to keep going around and around with words.

“I’ve learned some martial arts, so why don’t you persecute me? Call an escort. Or, since I won’t use my internal energy, you can just take me on.”

“What, what are you doing? Are you a black bastard?”

“Heukdo-rani. How harsh of words to speak to a disciple of the shamanist faction.”

The merchants looked at me and Yeo Hong-won in shock. It seemed that no one had ever thought that the Central Federation, and especially the big shots, would act so ruthlessly here.

But for a martial artist, it was quite natural. It was no wonder that the guesthouse was one of the three places where martial artists frequently fought. If there was a fight and someone insulted me, martial artists would immediately draw their swords.

That’s why I got attention among the merchants because I acted like a martial artist.

And the merchants have always historically had to lose to the unmanned. This is because it is an ancient truth that the fist is closer than the law.

Even the merchants who had been chatting excitedly until now became silent because of the murderous aura I was giving off.

This is because, since ancient times, people have been unable to help but feel infinitely small when faced with a threat that comes before them.

“Hmm. I’m Danju. What should we do when a young man like this is persecuting us with his meager power?”

In the end, Jin Deuk-myeong ended up asking Na Han-geol for help, even though he was out of shape.

Because the only person who could stop me now was Na Han-geol, one of the five greatest swordsmen in the world. However, asking for help from someone I had just mocked was clearly a dirty thing to do. Jin Deuk-myeong also knew that fact, and his face turned red.

“Haha. Stop it. Junior. I’m okay because I’ve swung a sword a bit, but these people have only ever handled paper and a brush.”

“I wonder.”

I just shrugged and stepped away. As I stepped away, the tension that had been taut in the room suddenly eased.

Only then did the merchants realize that they had been fooled by my trickery and they trembled.

By making a show of force once, I naturally handed over the initiative to Na Han-geol. I was also responding to the words of Cheon Ha-sang-dan, who said that he would become my close friend while helping Na Han-geol, who was ambiguous about how to respond.

I laughed heartily, not being so stupid as to not even realize it. Jin Deuk-myeong and Yeo Hong-won, who had lost the flow of the game and were unable to do anything, trembled.

But that doesn’t mean you can say anything to me here. If you persecute me again, I’ll just show my martial artist nature again.

Then someone suddenly stood up and became indignant.

“Wh, Brother Muk! I think Brother Muk’s actions just now were inappropriate. This is a place for merchants, not for martial artists.”

I looked behind me. Absurdly, the one who was indignant was Na Hyeon-wi, who had come with me.

“I want to teach my seniors manners, so come out and have a go at it!”

Na Hyeon-wi gained momentum. He had a sad expression on his face, contrary to what he was saying.

I looked at Nahan Geul naturally. Nahan Geul moved his lips and then turned his eyes away as if he didn’t see me when we met. He was using the phoneme and I caught him.

It seemed that it was I who had blown the wind into Na Hyeon-wi. I thought I could understand why I had blown the wind into her.

It seemed like Na Han-geol was curious not only about me as a merchant, but also about me as a warrior.