WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 301: The Black Flame Dragon Shows Himself (5)
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The enormous merchant groups that divided the realm into four could no longer be considered ordinary trading companies that bought and sold goods.
They were powers in their own right.
Markets unto themselves.
Entities that might as well have been worlds unto themselves, capable of holding millions of lives in their hands.
The Eunha Merchant Group in particular had grown by handling nationwide distribution through its deep ties with government officials centered in Beijing. It was inseparable from Beijing's power.
The other Three Great Merchant Houses, including the Wang Family Estate, found the Eunha Merchant Group burdensome because of the immense power bound up with it.
Unlike the martial world, which remained separate from the government, the commercial world could not be separated from official power.
If even the Three Great Merchant Houses felt that way, weaker merchant groups could not even breathe easily before the Eunha Merchant Group.
No matter how closely they might be connected to a great martial sect.
Once they entered the world of commerce, money decided who stood above whom.
‘He should know that better than anyone...’
Wang Soso let out a sigh as she watched Jin Sowoon cheerfully drink in the annex he had claimed after beating up Eunha Merchant Group martial artists, with an extravagant spread of food and liquor before him.
Could he really drink so calmly in the middle of enemy territory after causing such a scene?
“...Brother Jin. Are you all right?”
“Hmm? Is there something you don't like? Should I call the person in charge?”
“N-No.”
Wang Soso hurriedly shook her head.
Every time he called for the person in charge, the Eunha Merchant Group's compound thundered from the internal energy in his voice.
It was no longer a matter of whether they were being ignored. The problem was that he acted like someone without even a trace of shame.
Unable to say that aloud, Wang Soso quickly changed the subject.
“Um, Jeong Sogun. He's your senior at the Academy, right? I heard that to rise through the Martial Alliance, your seniors' evaluations and support from those above are important. Is it really okay to act so recklessly?”
“Rise through the ranks?”
Jin Sowoon drained his cup as if she had said something utterly unimportant.
Only Wang Soso grew more anxious at the sight.
“Yes. I heard good connections are essential if you want to rise in the Martial Alliance.”
“Connections...”
“Everything in the world comes down to people, doesn't it?”
Even her father had people he always looked after without expecting anything material in return.
The heads of great sects and officials he was close to.
Skilled craftsmen and the people responsible for leading them.
Whenever something big or small happened to those people, Wang Geumsan made time from his busy schedule to visit them, congratulate them, comfort them, and encourage them.
Wang Soso had heard since childhood that people were the most important thing in business.
Yet how could Brother Jin...
Unlike Wang Soso, whose eyes shook with confusion, Jin Sowoon calmly refilled his cup.
“Connections aren't made just because you're nice to someone.”
He emptied another cup.
“First, you have to be on equal footing with them, or above them, before a connection can even form.”
“What... do you mean?”
“It means that if you don't have a position worthy of the other person's respect, a connection cannot be formed in the first place.”
His words made Wang Soso reconsider the connections people made, and she found herself nodding.
Come to think of it, every connection Wang Geumsan had built was only possible because the Wang Family Estate existed.
While Wang Soso was lost in thought, Jin Sowoon continued.
“No matter how much I grovel before Jeong Sogun, he won't support me. If anything, he'd use me instead.”
“And that means you have to cause a scene?”
“Hey, to be precise, I didn't cause a scene. They started it.”
Hadn't he reacted as though he had been waiting for them to provoke him?
The question came to mind, but Wang Soso did not interrupt him.
Listening to him felt as though she were hearing secrets about the hidden workings of the world that she had never heard from her father.
“Then... what if you wanted Jeong Sogun's help? You'd have to build a connection with him, wouldn't you?”
“Why force a relationship with someone you're uncomfortable with? Just give Jeong Sogun what he needs and get what I need in return.”
“...”
It was a simple and clear answer.
A transaction only needed to fulfill both sides' needs.
Applying that to Jeong Sogun was another matter.
Jeong Sogun lacked nothing. His looks, martial arts, and family background were all exceptional.
He was arrogant, but nobody could fault a man in his position for being arrogant.
Because he truly lacked nothing.
Wang Soso cautiously voiced the question in her heart.
“But... he won't need anything.”
A transaction could only happen if she possessed what the other person wanted.
Jin Sowoon stopped with his cup halfway to his lips.
Then the corners of his mouth slowly stretched into a smile.
“Then...”
As his lips parted slowly, Wang Soso unconsciously held her breath.
“You make him need something.”
“...”
The words seemed to hang in the air, yet she had the strange feeling that Jin Sowoon really could do it.
‘What... what is this?’
It was a strange feeling she had never experienced, not even when meeting the remarkable people Wang Geumsan had introduced her to.
Wang Soso became even more curious.
“...I'm sorry for asking so many questions.”
Jin Sowoon nodded easily, as if he was enjoying himself.
The corners of his eyes had curved into crescents, and he wore a relaxed smile.
“Then, Brother Jin, the Great Heaven Merchant Group will still have to keep trading with the Eunha Merchant Group. In a case like this, you'd have to maintain those connections. What are you planning to do?”
“Where did I say connections came from?”
“...Respect.”
“Then do you know where respect comes from?”
Wang Soso was about to answer money or status, but she shook her head after realizing that was not it.
There were countless people with high office or great wealth whom Wang Geumsan did not respect.
Jin Sowoon watched her, then set his cup down on the table and spoke quietly.
“Fear.”
“...Pardon?”
“You don't necessarily have to stand above them. But...”
Jin Sowoon's eyes flashed.
Wang Soso swallowed without realizing it.
“When they make the mistake of provoking you, you have to make them fear that it could bring great harm upon them. That alone is enough to draw respect from anyone.”
“What if... the Eunha Merchant Group decides not to trade with us?”
“For a merchant group leader, credit is life itself. They're the sort who would empty their entire fortunes to preserve it. Besides, if they cancel a deal over something that began with their own mistake, how far do you think their credibility will fall in the eyes of the world?”
A chill spread through Wang Soso's entire body.
There had been no threat, no killing intent, nothing at all, but she felt as though she had glimpsed an abyss she should never have looked into.
‘Had he planned everything from the beginning?’
When trouble had arisen at the entrance, she had thought Jin Sowoon had changed after seeing him resort to force.
The Jin Sowoon of the past, a disciple of the once-weak Taeul Sect, would never have acted like that.
Now that he had recovered the Taeul Sword Emperor's martial arts and become the Academy's top student, she thought such a change was acceptable.
But after hearing him now, that was not it.
Jin Sowoon was not someone who acted as he pleased out of pride.
He was acting according to careful calculations.
Come to think of it...
“Damn it! When that bastard went off to take the Martial Arts Academy's regular examination, whether it was an examination or a festival for martial world lunatics, I should've just seated him at the Wang Family Estate! Damn it!”
Whenever Wang Geumsan drank too much, he lamented like that again and again.
She understood it because she knew how impressive Jin Sowoon was, but her father's regret lasted several times longer than it did whenever he missed out on another talented person.
‘Was I the one who failed to see Brother Jin properly?’
Jin Sowoon, who laughed carefreely and trembled as though drunk on the scent of liquor, suddenly seemed like a different person.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Is something on my face?”
“N-No.”
“Did you sneak some drinks without me knowing? Your face is red.”
“What? How could you say that to a lady? I would never do such a thing!”
“Ha ha ha.”
As Wang Soso flared up, a voice came from outside.
“Young Master Jin.”
The voice was more polite than ever.
“It is time for you to attend the banquet.”
Wang Soso looked at Jin Sowoon.
He set down his cup and grinned.
“Then shall we go receive some respect?”
Anticipation filled Wang Soso's heart as she wondered what Jin Sowoon would do next and what results it would bring.
Then...
“That martial artist...”
Jin Sowoon stopped as he was rising and tilted his head.
“Didn't that sound a little forceful?”
“Pardon?”
What was he talking about?
That had been the most polite person she had seen since entering the Eunha Merchant Group...
“Not the voice. What was said. ‘It is time for you to attend the banquet.’ Doesn't that sound like we're being forced to attend?”
“...”
Uh... that felt like a stretch.
Before Wang Soso could say anything, Jin Sowoon strode to the door and flung it open.
Bang!
The martial artist outside must have heard their conversation, because the martial artist's face had already gone pale.
“Y-Young Master Jin, I didn't mean...”
Jin Sowoon grinned at the martial artist.
“You should've asked whether we intended to attend the banquet first.”
The martial artist squeezed their eyes shut as if they had given up.
Jin Sowoon's voice then rang through the annex once more.
‘What? Was this calculated too?’
Yet he looked as though he was enjoying this too much. Had she been mistaken?
#
We headed for the banquet hall under the martial artist's guidance.
The moment I entered, I had to work hard to conceal my surprise.
‘It looks bigger than Taeul Sect's Grand Training Ground...’
The Grand Training Ground was outdoors to begin with.
Yet this banquet hall had an open ceiling all the way to the roof, making it feel spacious despite being indoors. Its sheer scale was enough to overwhelm anyone.
And that was not all.
‘There's more?’
The second and third floors had railings overlooking the banquet hall.
Government officials and important figures from the Eunha Merchant Group stood there, looking down at the hall.
That alone was overwhelming, yet at the far end of the banquet hall stood a door twice the size of the entrance through which we had come.
It was such an odd structure that I could not tell what purpose it served, so I looked at Wang Soso.
“Soso, do you know what that door is for?”
“Hmm, they probably open it when the banquet hall is too small and they need more space. It's likely also a place for entertaining important guests.”
“...”
Would they ever fill such a massive banquet hall with people?
And if it was a place for entertaining important guests, couldn't they just build a separate annex?
“People who think they're important care an awful lot about where they sit. That door is built a little higher than this banquet hall, isn't it?”
As she said, we had to climb about ten more steps to reach the enormous door.
“If you sit up there, you'll have a wide-open view of the banquet hall. It'll also be easier to watch the dancers' performance. That's why they built it attached to this place.”
There really were people in this world with more money than they knew what to do with.
Then I looked at Wang Soso again.
“How do you know so much about this? Have you been here before?”
“No. This is my first time too. The Wang Family Estate has a similar building, so I guessed.”
“...”
Right. She was the daughter of an obscenely wealthy family too.
“Ah, and it would be better to call you Eldest Senior Brother here. You came as a member of the Taeul Sect, after all...”
“No, call me Brother Jin.”
“Pardon? But...”
“That is enough. Drop those distant forms of address between us.”
“...Really? Is that all right?”
I had clearly let myself become too relaxed just because I had earned some pocket money.
I had been treating Wang Soso like a younger girl from the neighborhood.
From now on, I should treat her like my real younger sister.
Wang Soso, who was like a younger sister to me, looked surprised.
“...But nobody seems friendly.”
Of course they did not. I had caused such a scene from the moment I arrived.
Those with power probably frowned at how uncouth I looked, while those without power were too afraid of being punished for appearing close to me to even meet my eyes.
“Where should we sit?”
I asked the martial artist standing beside us as stiffly as a wooden statue. The martial artist flinched and asked in return.
“May I show you to your seats?”
“Why are you making me ask twice?”
The martial artist flinched again.
The martial artist quickly gestured toward our seats with both hands.
They were in the very front row, which appeared to be the place of greatest honor in the banquet hall.
Now that was better. They should have done this from the beginning.
“You're finally doing your job properly.”
“Yes. ...The person in charge must have paid special attention to it. Th-Then, please enjoy yourselves.”
Fearing I might say another word to them, the martial artist hurried out of the banquet hall.
The silence that had fallen when we first entered lasted only briefly. Once the music began and the dancers resumed their performance, everyone returned to enjoying the banquet as though we did not exist.
The problem was that they truly acted as though we did not exist.
“Seriously, nobody is coming over.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. I thought at least someone would come introduce themselves.”
I did not expect it from officials or merchants, but some people in the martial world were spirited.
I thought some might even provoke me to save the merchant group leader's face.
Not a single one did.
Then...
“My father told everyone to make sure no trouble occurred.”
A delicate woman's voice reached us.
I turned toward it and saw Jeong Soeul in a magnificent court robe bright enough to dazzle the eyes.
Instead of the alluring red she wore the other night, she now wore a white robe embroidered with golden thread.
She looked like a fairy who had descended from heaven.
Even so, every step revealed her slender legs through her skirt, enough to make countless men's hearts race.
“It is good to see you again, Young Master Jin.”
Jeong Soeul bowed elegantly.
I rose from my seat and returned her greeting with a cupped-fist salute.
“It seems we meet again.”
Strangely, she behaved as though she had forgotten everything that had happened a few days ago.
“I have been eagerly awaiting today.”
“Hah!”
Wang Soso snorted in disbelief, but Jeong Soeul continued to ignore her.
“I noticed it last time as well, but you are very skilled at dealing with people.”
“Of course... As you may be thinking, I have dealt with many men. Some have even called me a prostitute because of it.”
I had only meant to call her foxlike, but this woman really had always been so reckless with her words.
Wang Soso had been glaring at her fiercely, but even she seemed startled by such blunt speech and widened her eyes like a rabbit.
“But you are the first man who has truly made my heart flutter.”
“What?”
My brow furrowed before I knew it.
That was not the kind of thing I expected to hear from Eumbeom, the person who would someday surpass her own brother and seize the Eunha Merchant Group.
Seeing my surprise, Jeong Soeul covered her mouth with her sleeve as her shoulders shook.
“Oh my! It seems I finally surprised you, Young Master Jin.”
Jeong Soeul burst into bright laughter, apparently delighted by something.
What was this woman, seriously?
“More importantly, what did you mean earlier? What trouble?”
“It seems the other guests were displeased by your coming all the way here, Young Master Jin, so Father cautioned them not to make trouble over it.”
So instead of restraining me to prevent me from causing a scene, he had pushed everyone else back?
They really did not stop playing their little games of one-upmanship.
“I see.”
“Hmm... You are not surprised after all?”
“Why would I be surprised?”
“Most people would feel burdened or flustered in a situation like this.”
I answered as though it were nothing.
“Why would I feel burdened when I have done nothing wrong?”
For an instant, Jeong Soeul's eyes seemed to flash.
“You truly are an interesting person. Still...”
She paused, stepped closer, and whispered.
“I hope you will not go too far, Young Master Jin. A broken toy does not inspire possessiveness.”
She gave a slight bow, then walked to another table as though nothing had happened and began speaking with the others.
“...What was that woman saying?”
“She told me not to keep acting up if I don't want to be broken.”
“...What?”
Wang Soso's eyes returned to their fierce glare as she was about to say something else.
“The merchant group leader is entering!”
A martial artist's booming voice rang through the banquet hall.
I turned toward the entrance, then suddenly became curious.
My seat was in the very front row of the banquet hall.
Then where exactly would the merchant group leader sit?
Unlike me, who had turned toward the entrance, everyone else continued looking ahead.
At last, the door twice the size of the entrance began to open.
“Ha... ha ha.”
I could only laugh hollowly as I watched it open.
Beyond it lay a space even more lavish than the banquet hall, just as Wang Soso had said.
Approximately twenty people sat around tables arranged in the shape of the Chinese character for eight.
At the seat of greatest honor sat the Eunha Merchant Group's leader with an imposing air.
‘Wow... Look at these bastards.’
They had been holding their own banquet while treating the entire hall as a spectacle.
Then the martial artist shouted again.
“I shall now call your names. Come forward in order and offer your greetings to the merchant group leader!”
The martial artist spoke as though this were the most natural thing in the world.
These bastards had really set the stage well.
Footnotes:
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