Chapter 160 : Lee Seowon (4)

Jin Seong-un’s iron sword and Seo Yu-gyeom’s Heaven-Slaying Dagger collided head-on.In the darkness of the night, a sudden flash of light erupted, followed by a thunderous roar.

Kwaaaaaang—!

Seo Yu-gyeom was sent flying and crashed straight into the wall.

At the same time, Seomun Ak and Jang Gwang, who had taken positions to Jin Seong-un’s left and right, suddenly thrust out their fists.

Clear waves of Martial Fist Qi rippled from their strikes.

‘Got him!’

Having fully immersed himself in the rhythm of the fight, Seomun Ak cheered inwardly. He had successfully struck from an angle no human could possibly dodge.

His judgment was correct. The speed and trajectory of his and Jang Gwang’s punches were so precise that even an accomplished martial artist would have been unable to evade.

Thus, Jin Seong-un did not dodge.

“?”

As confusion flickered across Seomun Ak’s face—

Jin Seong-un’s hands glowed with a dark crimson light.

Tap.

He grabbed their fists directly.

Strangely enough, the Martial Fist Qi they had unleashed dissipated the moment it came into contact with that crimson aura.

Blood Demon Qi destroyed and consumed everything.

Even if it was an inner force cultivated by martial artists.

As Seomun Ak and Jang Gwang stood dumbfounded, like children whose candied fruit had been snatched away—

Jjeoooong—!

Jin Seong-un released his strength to both sides.

The two of them were soon sprawled neatly on the ground.

Having felled three opponents in an instant, Jin Seong-un turned his head to look toward Geumun Inn.

‘Is it him?’

At the third-floor window of Geumun Inn.

A figure, pale and delicate to the point it was hard to tell whether it was man or woman, was watching him.

The moment their eyes met, the figure hastily pulled back out of sight.

Jin Seong-un recalled the Merchant King’s advice.

— A person who can shake the board like this is rare even in the upper circles. If possible, take this audacious strategist under your wing.

The Merchant King had always emphasized ‘people.’

His philosophy was that commerce was about winning hearts.

Of course, Jin Seong-un had no intention of recruiting people blindly. Especially not someone who had oppressed small merchants and driven them from their livelihoods.

Lee Seowon had spent the past few days observing the training at Seong-un Inn.

No—since they had been training so openly, it was more accurate to say he had simply been watching.

‘Ah.’

Each time their eyes met, his heart would skip strangely, and he would instinctively duck away…

But he could not bring himself to stop watching.

He had yet to figure out what purpose lay behind such reckless actions.

As usual, while watching the training, he suddenly heard Ha Ju-yeon’s voice from behind.

“Is there still no way to drive out those bizarre beggars? Their stench alone has driven away all the guests.”

Lee Seowon turned with a grave expression.

“If they’re elders of the Beggars’ Union, then even from the first floor, they could hear us.”

Ha Ju-yeon went pale and clamped his hand over his mouth.

Of course, the office was entirely sealed by a formation, so no sound would leak outside.

For him to forget something so basic—just how thoughtlessly was this lord living his life?

Lee Seowon sighed in exasperation and turned back to watch the training again.

It didn’t take him long to grasp Seong-un Inn’s intention.

.

.

.

The next morning.

The streets, which had been silent ever since the original residents of Yichang were driven out, were bustling once more. Most of those walking about were martial artists.

Lee Seowon quickly realized the reason.

Because of the fierce training that had been going on day and night at Seong-un Inn, the high officials and scholars residing in Yichang felt threatened.

Parents who had sent their children here to study had especially hired large numbers of escorts.

‘…So this was it.’

Naturally, not all those escorts could afford expensive meals and wine.

Inevitably, the number of patrons at Seong-un Inn increased.

Meanwhile, Geumun Inn, where the Mad Rooster had stubbornly entrenched herself, had been unable to serve food for several days.

Their strategy of ‘upscaling the district’ had instead become Geumun Inn’s downfall.

“What on earth is going on?”

Lee Seowon simply could not understand.

Who at Seong-un Inn was orchestrating such a skillful scheme?

But that was not the end.

Unable to endure the stench any longer, Ha Ju-yeon returned from an outing, storming up to the third-floor office.

He grabbed Lee Seowon by the shoulders and said:

“Call back those we drove out at once.”

“…Excuse me?”

The ones driven out would, of course, be the original merchants of Yichang.

Lee Seowon stared at him in disbelief. How could Ha Ju-yeon possibly summon back those he had personally oppressed and half-forced out?

As Lee Seowon looked at him intently, Ha Ju-yeon continued.

“I just met with the officials from Buncheng, and their complaints were through the roof. They were practically blaming me for everything—it was ridiculous.”

“What exactly is the problem?”

Ha Ju-yeon still fumed as if he had been publicly humiliated, ranting in an agitated voice.

Though he rambled incoherently, Lee Seowon understood him perfectly.

In short—

Because of the threats posed by Seong-un Inn’s training, high officials and scholars had brought with them a massive influx of escorts and attendants into Yichang.

The problem was, they had no place to acquire the daily necessities of life.

Of course. It was Ha Ju-yeon himself who had dismantled the local marketplace.

Thus, those who had followed Ha Ju-yeon’s lead into Yichang now found themselves both endangered by martial artists’ reckless training and deprived of basic comforts.

Naturally, word of this began to sour their opinion of Man-geum Manor and Ha Ju-yeon alike.

“No, that won’t do. We can’t call back the people we once drove out. Instead, we should contact Man-geum Manor and rebuild the market with our own people…”

“That’s impossible.”

Ha Ju-yeon’s brows furrowed sharply into an inverted V. His eyes glared at Lee Seowon, demanding an explanation.

Unperturbed, Lee Seowon replied in a calm tone.

“As you know, the Master of Man-geum Manor sees and hears everything in the world. That is made possible by the two Chief Stewards.”

The Inner Chief Steward, Jang Ji-hyeon, and the Outer Chief Steward, Yoo Won-ho.

Two people leaned in, listening inside and out as they reported everything that happened in the world to the Master of Myriad Gold Manor.

Of course, it was highly likely that what was happening in Yichang had already reached the ears of the Master of Myriad Gold Manor.

And the Master of Myriad Gold Manor, as Lee Seowon had concluded…

“If word has begun to spread among the administrators and retainers that the Manor’s reputation is suffering, the Master of Myriad Gold Manor would not help us. It would be a loss to him.”

“…….”

In short, he meant they would cut them loose.

Ha Joo-yeon bit his lip for a moment, then swallowed his words and scratched his head.

He himself thought his father measured even family matters strictly by profit and loss.

“Th-then. What should we do, then?”

Ha Joo-yeon felt utterly helpless.

The huge shadow of Myriad Gold Manor had been removed in an instant, and he felt thrown alone into the world. The only person he could rely on was his strategist, Lee Seowon.

Lee Seowon turned his head and looked toward Seong-un Inn.

“…the balance has tipped.”

Through the change in the commercial district, the balance that had leaned toward the Geumun Inn had, within a few days, returned to level—and before they even blinked, it had tilted again toward Seong-un Inn.

The method had been so simple that Lee Seowon found it almost laughable.

They had merely sent a few beggars and run training sessions among themselves.

No one could have expected such a simple action to produce that result.

In other words, their opponent had identified that small weak link and used it to flip the board with ease.

‘…Who on earth are they?’

Lee Seowon was lost in thought, staring out the window. Suddenly his complexion went pale.

“H-Head Scholar?”

A scholar whom they had recruited to Yichang as part of the commercial district’s upgrading was approaching the Geumun Inn.

Even from afar one could tell by his gait that he was extremely angry.

He was Son Eung-yang, a master of Zhu Xi studies of the age who had refused an office at the imperial Hanlin Academy and had devoted his life to training disciples; he was also Lee Seowon’s teacher.

In front of Son Eung-yang, Lee Seowon bowed his head deeply and kept repeating apologies.

This was why Son Eung-yang was furious.

His disciple had pleaded and, having persuaded the Master of Myriad Gold Manor to help train more disciples directly at the Manor, had come to Yichang.

Yet in Yichang there were martial artists walking the streets with swords at their waists, and violent drinking brawls erupted day and night, making it impossible to concentrate on study.

“I believed in your ambition to make Yichang a hub of Ming learning—did you deceive me?”

“M-Master. That is not—”

Lee Seowon kept his head bowed.

Ha Joo-yeon had to endure the scolding beside him. Because Son Eung-yang had direct ties to the court and was a scholar even the Master of Myriad Gold Manor respected, Ha Joo-yeon had no other recourse.

Son Eung-yang’s scolding, his lecture, and the ensuing sermon on the ways of the world lasted for about two shijin before they finally ended.

He warned that if this situation was not resolved within a few days, he would move the academy back to Taewon in Shanxi, and then left.

Ha Joo-yeon and Lee Seowon remained behind like white ash slumped in their chairs.

Lee Seowon spoke with a sigh in his tone.

“The administrators, the students, their parents, even my master. All those our liege brought here have begun to resent him.”

“I did not bring them; it was your stratagem, surely.”

Ha Joo-yeon shifted the blame lightly.

Of course Lee Seowon would not accept that.

“I am my liege’s sword. If a sword stabbed someone, the fault lay with the hand that swung it, not with the sword.”

“…….”

Ha Joo-yeon could not win an argument with Lee Seowon.

He felt the urge to tear that mouth apart. But in this worst of situations, if even Lee Seowon were gone, he had no hope at all.

“Then present your true strategy now. The problem is no longer just the Guest Dragon; my father’s temper is the greater issue.”

Lee Seowon nodded.

What if the Master of Myriad Gold Manor took great offense at this incident?

‘A man who could deal with even his own child.’

That was how Lee Seowon had assessed the Master of Myriad Gold Manor.

“Dispose” could mean merely banishing someone to a place out of sight, but in the worst case it could mean condemning them to a lifetime in the imperial prison for sullying the Manor’s dignity.

Lee Seowon lifted his head from where it had fallen weakly and stared at his liege’s foolish face.

‘He must not be without that man.’

Lee Seowon intended to make him the Master of Myriad Gold Manor. For years he had endured at the side of that foolish man for that purpose.

He would not allow affairs to be ruined over nothing more than an inn and a fight between inns.

Lee Seowon then spoke.

“First, summon back everyone who was driven out.”

“Face…”

“Save your face and you will die.”

Lee Seowon spoke firmly.

He was not using a metaphor; he meant it. A life spent inside a prison was death in every meaningful sense.

Ha Joo-yeon bit his lip and then said, “Summon them all back.”

“We will have to offer them a premium.”

“…Why?”

“The Sangwon Cloth Shop hasn’t been open for several days. I was puzzled, but I understand now.”

Someone from Seong-un Inn had caused this situation, and the cloth-shop owner was their closest associate.

It was highly likely that the rotund owner had gathered the expelled merchants together. He was very talented at that sort of thing.

He would organize something like a merchants’ association and wait for the right moment.

Seong-un Inn, which had the market in its grip, had probably anticipated that Ha Joo-yeon would have to call the small merchants back.

“The advantage in negotiation lies with the small merchants. They will only return for a bonus.”

“This is truly infuriating.”

Ha Joo-yeon scratched his head irritably, then looked up and said, “Can’t we just kill them all?”

Lee Seowon stared at him.

Ha Joo-yeon let out a deflated laugh and said, “I’m joking. How could we possibly kill those kinds of people?”

But Lee Seowon’s expression remained hard.

Then, in a rare tone of firmness, he said, “Do not.”

“Huh?”

“The thought you are entertaining just now. I know it was not a joke. But it is a line you must never cross. It would be against the Way, and besides…”

Lee Seowon frowned as if with a headache and continued.

“That kind of risk is absolutely unacceptable. For me and for my liege alike. They are doing business with us face to face now, but they are martial artists of a level we cannot ignore. Do not give them a pretext to unsheathe their swords.”

He warned several more times after that.

No matter how much he warned, and no matter how much Ha Joo-yeon tried to pass it off as a joke, Lee Seowon remained uneasy.

He rose from his seat. It seemed he had to go to Seong-un Inn in person.

They had so easily thwarted the great stratagem—the change in the commercial district—and had also perfectly handled the treatment of the small merchants that Lee Seowon had privately worried about.

This was not the work of ordinary merchants.

They had to find out who devised this plan if they wanted to make anything work going forward.

“I will go to Seong-un Inn.”

“Shall I come with you?”

“…No.”

If that fellow came along, things that could be done would not be done.