Long, grown-out lashes.

Beneath them, deep eyes shone brightly in the moonlight.

Her light makeup made her look pure and youthful, yet the red court dress that subtly accentuated her figure made her feel like a mature woman instead.

From one angle, she looked like a fairy maiden; from another, like a courtesan.

It felt strangely novel that so many different pictures could exist in a single person.

Moreover, once you heard her introduction, yet another new picture was laid over her.

"Allow me to offer my greetings. This humble girl is called Jeong Soeul of the Silver River Merchant Group."

Her courtesy was neither excessive nor lacking.

A natural elegance, steeped into her entire body over many years, could be seen.

"The Silver River Merchant Group, you say..."

Before I could finish speaking, a smile formed on Jeong Soeul's lips.

"Yes. It is the very Silver River Merchant Group you know of, Young Master."

There was deep pride in her voice.

No wonder, since her father was Jeong Simho, counted alongside Wangga Manor as one of the Four Great Merchant Magnates of the World.

Her family had engaged in commerce for generations, wielding enormous influence over the old territory of Wei with Henan as their base.

Wangga Manor, which controlled logistics to the southeast with Anhui as its center, was both their rival and their business partner.

But then...

"Why has that Silver River Merchant Group come looking for me?"

At my question, Jeong Soeul turned her head toward Wang Soso.

Wang Soso turned her head sharply away with a "Hmph."

"In recent days, I heard of Young Master Jin's fame shaking the world and wished to request a meeting out of admiration, but for some reason, my feelings did not seem to be properly conveyed to you. Thus I braved this discourtesy and came running here myself."

"Hah! What utter nonsense!"

Wang Soso tried to cut in, but Jeong Soeul did not listen to her to the end and looked up at me again.

Her large eyes were exceedingly moist.

Like a clear lake that made one feel an urge to throw oneself in at any moment.

"Young Master Jin, you are more dignified and far grander than the rumors say. ... My heart is beating so fiercely that I cannot look at you for long."

"... Hah! Good grief! ... Hah! Good grief!"

Her beautiful appearance, her bewitching figure, and her innocent words were more than enough to shake a man's heart and head.

"Oh dear... I have said all manner of things. Please forgive my discourtesy."

Jeong Soeul bowed her head once more.

Strangely, every time she moved, a different fragrance drifted from her.

If it had been a sweet scent just a moment ago, now I sensed the cool floral scent of a fresh wildflower.

'She's skilled.'

What was most surprising was that every gesture and every tone in her words was utterly natural.

As though everything had been decided and was flowing according to the natural order.

No matter what man it was, so long as he had any awareness that he was a man, he could not help but fall for her.

I would have been the same.

'If I hadn't known who she was, that is.'

Smiling softly, she signaled to her servant with her eyes and received an invitation.

Like her court dress, it was made of red silk embroidered with golden thread.

"Would you accept this humble girl's wish to get to know you a little better, Young Master?"

The invitation was offered to me in a snow-white hand.

"Jin oppa..."

Wang Soso, who had tried to cut in abruptly, clamped her mouth shut in frustration at Jeong Soeul's leisurely gaze.

She must have realized that cutting in recklessly without the other party's consent was an inelegant act.

I withdrew my gaze from Wang Soso and looked at Jeong Soeul.

"Lady Jeong..."

"Please call me Little Eul."

'Not a chance.'

"... Lady Jeong. There is one thing I would like to ask."

Though I did not bother changing how I addressed her, not a single wrinkle appeared on her face.

"What is it?"

"Is this invitation something Lady Jeong is sending personally, or is it being sent in the name of the Silver River Merchant Group?"

"Hoho. Does that make a difference?"

"Of course it does."

"..."

For a moment, a trace of fluster appeared on Jeong Soeul's face before quickly vanishing.

"Hmm... I am not sure I understand. Would you tell me?"

"If it is a personal invitation, I will refuse it. If it is being sent through the Silver River Merchant Group, Wang Soso has already refused it, so there is no need for me to accept."

"...!"

Jeong Soeul and Wang Soso's eyes both widened.

Seeing them like this, they looked like two rabbits startled at the same time by a tiger.

"... A-at any rate, are you saying you refuse?"

Perhaps this was the first time she had ever been refused like this, because Jeong Soeul could not hide her fluster.

"Why..."

She tried to continue her question, but soon closed her mouth.

I could see her mind turning as she tried to grasp how the situation was unfolding.

I did not give her any more time and moved.

"Then I will be on my way."

When I walked ahead first, Wang Soso stuck out her tongue at Jeong Soeul and then followed after me triumphantly.

Why do you look even happier than I do?

"Jin oppa!"

Wang Soso, glued closely to my side, whispered quietly.

"As expected, my eyes were not wrong. As expected, there is no one but you, Jin oppa."

I was about to ask what she meant, but stopped.

Because there was nothing more wicked than whispering in front of someone who had just been rejected.

For some reason, I felt a burning gaze on the back of my head.

#

After entering the office, I told Father and Lord Wang about what had just happened.

But their reactions were a little strange.

"Sowoon, my friend... as expected, Wangga Manor should be yours..."

"Father!"

"Ahem... My apologies. In any case, Taesan. Did you not tell him?"

"..."

A complicated silence passed among the three of us, as though something else had happened.

"... I did not particularly want to burden him with it."

At Father's plain answer, Lord Wang shook his head.

"Honestly..."

"Has something happened?"

"Well... if something has happened, then I suppose something has happened."

As the Daecheon Merchant Group advanced into Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, the number of goods they needed to supply had increased, but things were not going smoothly.

Most of those who visited Hangzhou as tourists were children of high officials and nobles, or people of elevated status.

And goods that met their standards were usually manufactured in Hebei.

However, the vast majority of Hebei's artisans belonged to the Silver River Merchant Group or to merchant groups connected to it, so they were in a situation where they could not bring in goods directly without the Silver River Merchant Group's permission.

"Of course, the Silver River Merchant Group also needs grain and silk from Jiangnan, so we agreed to an equivalent exchange, but they have been dragging their feet without actually stamping the contract."

"Does the Silver River Merchant Group have some other route for receiving grain or silk?"

Lord Wang nodded.

"Not as much as Jiangnan, but they also have supply networks in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Hunan."

The Silver River Merchant Group's main trading partner was Wangga Manor.

However, after learning that Wangga Manor needed luxury goods because of the Daecheon Merchant Group, they had presented other conditions.

"This must be related to the invitation that woman brought earlier."

"The Silver River Merchant Group is celebrating the one hundred eightieth anniversary of its founding. I hear they are gathering people to display martial arts there."

If song and dance were essential to an ordinary banquet, then what those with enormous power like the Silver River Merchant Group always displayed alongside them was their own influence.

They wanted to boast of just how powerful they were.

As a condition of the contract, the Silver River Merchant Group was demanding that I attend the banquet.

"So they want me to come and dance for them to liven up the mood."

The easiest way to display one's influence was to show an outstanding person moving according to one's word.

From a martial artist's perspective, displaying one's martial arts before countless people was an utterly humiliating thing.

The sight of a remarkable person coming to perform tricks would certainly be enough to show their influence.

"The Silver River Merchant Group has a close relationship with the Shaolin Sect. In particular, the second son of that household is also from the academy. You must have heard of him. Jeong Sogun."

I nodded.

Because records remained in the Mantong Bureau that he had risen as high as Grand Banner Chief-class.

"If it is Meteor Spear Jeong Sogun, I know of him as well."

Moreover, if I displayed half-baked martial arts in a place where an outstanding expert from the Murim Alliance was present...

'I'd be far more likely to embarrass myself instead.'

To lay out such a stage and invite me...

Their intention was so obvious that I almost laughed in disbelief.

"Once they learned that you are the representative of this class, they began demanding it even more persistently."

Come to think of it, had I not received countless invitations personally as well?

The position of Murim Academy representative was one that greatly stirred people's curiosity.

On top of that, I was a disciple of a small-fry sect, so their curiosity must have been doubled.

'As for me, I threw them all away without even looking because they were bothersome.'

It was not strange that such demands would come through Father as well.

"There is no need to concern yourself with it."

Father spoke firmly.

"We are making enough profit even without selling luxury goods. There is no need for you to attend a gathering you do not want to attend."

Father said that, but I thought a little differently.

"No, why not?"

"Hm?"

"Do you know how much profit is left in luxury goods? Why would we refuse that just to preserve a bit of pride?"

"..."

"I want to build a pond in each hall of the Taiyi Sect."

"And here I thought you called that a waste of money..."

Father's expression became that of a man betrayed.

"Of course, when you don't have money, it is a waste. But when you have more than enough, isn't that merely leisure?"

Father's expression hardened as he asked me.

"So... you are saying you will go?"

Wasn't that obvious?

I immediately nodded.

"Of course. Isn't it a place where I can earn money? I would go twice, no, five times."

The profits from luxury goods could not be compared to manufactured products.

Necessities were swayed by cost-effectiveness, but rich bastards were madmen who thought their pride was wounded if the price was cheap.

This, I could guarantee as someone who had diligently wiped the asses of scions from families that swaggered about the Murim Alliance.

Those bastards went crazier the more expensive something was.

This was truly like picking up money while swimming in shallow water.

And I was supposed to refuse this just to protect some petty pride?

'Moreover, this event probably isn't simply about the Silver River Merchant Group inviting me to save face.'

They had sent their precious daughter just to invite a disciple of a sect barely bigger than a speck of snot.

Even though they must have expected that their face would be terribly damaged if I refused.

Of course, I could not know whether this was the Merchant Group Leader's idea or Jeong Soeul's.

'Jeong Soeul herself did not seem to have thought she would be refused in the first place.'

The problem was that she had visited at night rather than during the day, when many people would be watching.

If Jeong Soeul had been confident on her own, she would have come during the day.

But she had come at night.

In the end, the fact that she moved at night had to be seen as the scheme of someone else.

'So they even calculated that I would refuse.'

From the smallest details, I could sense the furtiveness unique to those in power.

Even if I let this pass for now, similar things would probably continue to happen.

After all, a bulging awl suddenly poking out of one's pocket would bother an ordinary man and a saint alike.

If it was going to be a troublesome thing I had to go through anyway, it would be better for me to strike first.

At the very least, if I struck first, I could see the other side's openings before they saw mine.

While I was lost in other thoughts for a moment, Lord Wang's voice reached me.

"As expected... this insane obsession with money. And even the venomous heart that will stop at nothing for the sake of its goal."

Lord Wang was looking at me with a strangely dreamy gaze.

"As expected, what flows inside your body must be the blood of a merchant, not a martial artist! Would you truly consider becoming a merchant?"

He isn't mocking me as some bastard obsessed with money, is he?

#

I specifically instructed them not to respond to the invitation first.

For now, since I had already expressed my refusal to Jeong Soeul's face, answering immediately would not suit the situation, and...

'It is also a chance to see how persistent they are.'

I told them to wait and answer only after another invitation came, partly to see how much attention they were paying to us.

["What if no more invitations come?"]

Father asked that question, but I shrugged.

If they did not come, then they did not come.

Father was far too rigid when it came to things like this.

The next day, after meeting Baek Haegwang, fainting once, and waking up, I was on my way to meet Jang Dowon as promised when I saw a strange sight at the training ground.

Not only Saryeon, but the Geum-eun-dong Brothers seemed to be teaching the junior disciples of the Taiyi Sect, and the content was a little strange.

"Listen well! Eldest Senior Brother said this moving cultivation is the one and only hope that will keep your lives attached in any situation."

"Eldest Senior Brother said that Jianghu is a place where you lose your life if you let down your guard for even a single instant! From what I have experienced, that is most certainly true!"

"Eldest Senior Brother said you must train thoroughly, and train again, just to use it once in actual combat!"

"You have to listen carefully to Eldest Senior Brother! If you listen well, you can always live!"

Putting aside the fact that they were planting a strange fantasy about me, they were describing Jianghu in such a frightening way that they were scaring the children.

'At this rate, the children might get frightened and run away instead...'

Just as I was about to enter the training ground to tell them to take it easy...

"""Yes! We will keep it in mind!"""

... A resounding roar of an answer came back.

"..."

What is this? The children are taking it seriously too.

"From now on, I will correct your Lesser Heaven Sword Technique from the beginning. Those who are prepared, step forward first!"

At Geumpyo's words, the junior disciples began rushing forward with no one wanting to be second.

I debated whether to stop them or not, then turned around.

It felt a little excessive, but it was still better than being lacking.

They would handle it well on their own, surely.

I headed straight for the smithy.

It was a large smithy made by tearing down the wall of one of the Taiyi Sect buildings and expanding it.

I had even made him a stall so that Jang Dowon could do business whenever he wanted, but Jang Dowon himself had blocked off the entire stall.

"You must not have much work. Seeing you resting like th..."

Before I could finish speaking, Jang Dowon grabbed sand from the floor and scattered it at me.

I quickly dodged with the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps.

"No, why are you throwing sand at a person?"

"A person? Are you a person? If you were a person, you would have a conscience! What kind of person has no conscience!"

Come now, it was only a little joke."

"Jooooke? You call asking me to make a weapon in half a year before the forge fire is even lit a jooooke?"

But there really had been no helping it.

Knowing that the Demonic Cult bastards were moving in secret throughout Jianghu, and having gathered all the materials for the Red Light Sword, how could I simply wait for it to be made according to the original history?

Moreover, in my past life, Jang Dowon had indeed made the Red Light Sword in half a year.

Well, the man in this life did not know that.

I deliberately spoke while pretending to read his expression.

"There was no helping it, Elder. For the peace of Jianghu..."

"... Tsk."

Seeing Jang Dowon click his tongue with a frown, a slight unease spread through me.

Had he perhaps failed to make it?

In any case, in my past life, Jang Dowon had created the Fifteen Divine Artifacts with his grudge against the Demonic Cult poured into them.

If he had no grudge yet, perhaps he could not make it...

THUD.

"...!"

As if to make a mockery of my expectations, Jang Dowon threw down a long object wrapped in cloth.

"I will not ask where you obtained that ominous object. Still, you would do well to use it carefully. It is surely not an object of the mortal world."

The ominous object he spoke of had to mean the Blood Sea Jade.

Now the remaining question was whether he had digested it well, just like in my past life...

GULP.

With a tense heart, I slowly loosened the cloth.