“Do you know what Gang Jun from the Taegyeong Sect did to me at Gyeongsu Market, Bu-rin?”
“Isn’t the fieldwork your responsibility? Don’t pin this on me! I’ve collected all the money owed from the Taegyeong Sect!”
“Exactly, so now give back all the money you received. Don’t get it? Bu-rin. I’ll say it again, you took an unstable assignment from a sect that wasn’t properly vetted and handed it to me without any warning, leading me to suffer and that kid Gang Jun tried to stab me in the face!”
“If you do the intermediary work, you get to keep the intermediary fee, no questions asked. But in this case, you were just a lackey. I don’t know how much money you merrily pocketed, but that amount is woefully inadequate to cover the complete compensation for what took place in Gyeongsu Market.”
“You brought money? You can’t even properly collect what’s due and you call yourself an intermediary? What kind of fee is that for someone who didn’t even take care of their own share? Given the bond we’ve had, I won’t ask you to cover what you failed to collect, but just take the travel expenses from going back and forth between the Hwang Gold Clan and the Outcast Inn and accept that.”
“How dare you! How dare you say that in front of me, Bu-rin of the Hwang Gold Clan!”
“You have two choices. Either get proper compensation, fill in for my losses, and take the intermediary fee, or spit everything out here and just leave.”
Seeing Bu-rin breathing heavily in agitation, I maintained my calm demeanor.
This is business.
It’s a reasonable request.
I stared at Bu-rin, leaving no room for doubt. It seemed Bu-rin realized I wasn’t just trying to pressure him, but that I was serious, and his excitement began to settle.
“Even if Ho Cheon-an is highly regarded among intermediaries, can he really keep living as an outcast after crossing an intermediary…”
“My money.”
I cut off Bu-rin’s words.
“Money in your pocket, or go collect money from the Taegyeong Sect. Until then, you’re not an [intermediary] to me. You’re just a debtor who has to retrieve the money.”
“And if I can’t do that?”
I laughed. Bu-rin’s pale face trying to act tough was amusing.
“I’ll make sure you can’t escape paying up. Including my labor costs for collection.”
Thus, the hunt for Bu-rin begins.
* *
Clank. Rumble.
“Is this what normal collection looks like?”
“Huh? No.”
Despite running the Black Shadow Qi Technique, I could feel the Black Cat watching me.
It seemed she was genuinely wondering if such antics could work, but she did her job well and just licked her lips.
“But in the end, avoiding friction with intermediaries while being an outcast is impossible. Intermediaries profit by squeezing out the share of the outcasts. You must take care of your own.”
“Stirring up open conflict with intermediaries like this is a poor choice.”
“That’s true. But what I’m doing right now is partly your fault too, isn’t it?”
“Senior Ho, blaming me after doing what you wanted is quite unbecoming.”
Caught?
“Was yesterday’s incident really that big a deal?”
“Surely, in monetary terms, it’s quite ordinary. Adding up the compensation won’t even amount to half of a big incident.”
“Then why go to such lengths?”
“Because I don’t have time. I need to keep those intermediaries in line, or it’s going to be inconvenient for me.”
“What time? Time to go gambling?”
“…Where did you hear that?”
“My classmates mentioned it.”
Wow, did Jeong Sam and Yeo Jin-sang talk behind my back? Why do I feel embarrassed every time those classmates of mine act foolishly?
“Senior Ho, come on, be honest with me. What’s your intention?”
“Seriously, why don’t you trust me? I’m spilling out guidelines I learned nowhere and you should just focus on absorbing it with gratitude.”
“What’s there to learn from this mess?”
The Black Cat waved a flyer melodramatically, then grabbed a handful and scattered it into the air. Watching the flyers roll on the ground, I wanted to say something, but I’m glad she didn’t stop.
“First of all, you can see the reality of intermediaries who act like high-ranking officials at the Outcast Inn.”
Intermediaries can’t be from noble bloodlines. The prestigious bloodlines involved in the civilian, government, and merchant businesses can only be those who aren’t mulled with rumors about associating with outcasts.
But let’s think rationally.
The activities of intermediaries eventually impact their clan’s reputation negatively. They might brag that their bloodlines can’t associate with such rumors, but can those clansmen really look at those intermediaries kindly?
While the arbitration profits are generally significant, for a clan that can operate as an intermediary, they’re not that attractive.
They’ll just think of it as giving out one job to a clan member and ignore the inconvenience.
“Secondly, specifically at the Outcast Inn, you can learn a method to counter those intermediaries who rampage like wild boars.”
“Hmm.”
The Black Cat’s delinquent attitude slightly shifted toward the right direction.
“I didn’t particularly care for someone like Bu-rin…but still, for an intermediary, he sort of represents information, and it’s unfortunate such people are reinforcing bad preconceptions about information brokers… We have to deal with those who tarnish the perception of the information trade…”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. Got it, Senior. I’ll make sure to learn properly.”
Shwaaar!
Suddenly filled with motivation, the Black Cat mixed hidden weapons and techniques as she scattered flyers. The flyers shot up into the sky, clumped together in the air, then exploded, scattering everywhere.
As people heard the sound of flyers falling like snow from the sky, I could hear the whispers.
“By the way, what are these strange symbols?”
“Special symbols that grab people’s attention and stick in their memory. Their effect is so excellent that many have adopted these symbols.”
“Ohhh…”
We reached the Hwang Gold Clan. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they hold the wealth of Sacheon in their hands.
Standing in front of their palace-like mansion, I could already feel the affluence just from watching.
The huge gate, big enough for sixteen horses to enter in a row, and through the open gates, countless buildings comparable to palaces appeared.
I stopped the cart I was pulling in front of it.
“Whether it’s a prestigious family or whatever, if a truck or rather a cart gets stuck, it cannot move.”
Goblin-hunting is best when it’s a roadkill.
* *
The Hwang Gold Clan.
Indeed, the Hwang Gold Clan has a rich history as a merchant family.
“That doesn’t mean there haven’t been any crisis.”
The owner of the Hwang Gold Guild, known as the most affluent guild in Sacheon, has a history marred by waves of turmoil. Despite being wealthy, they often engaged in shady profits and expanded excessively with capital, causing many side effects.
Faced with greedy investments, they’ve drawn funds from various places and made numerous enemies, not to mention many questionable decisions along the way.
Yeo Il-ye found the splendid scenery of the Hwang Gold Clan tainted with all sorts of filth.
Even behind the chief officer allegedly leading the charge was an air of stench.
“Meeting with the Family Head directly is unexpected.”
The power of the Hwang Clan reaches throughout Sacheon. As the leading merchant of Sacheon, they invested heavily to maintain amicable relations with the martial sects.
Jeomchang also received numerous gifts from the Hwang Clan. It’s a common occurrence for distinguished figures from Sacheon to properly interact. Though Yeo Il-ye came to the Hwang Clan with a letter sent by a disciple without expectation, having a Family Head personally greet her was still surprising.
Could it be a treatment of their rising reputation?
Or perhaps, is that person really connected to that incident back then?
“That’s a meaningless assumption.”
Yeo Il-ye shook her head. The Family Head of the Hwang Clan wasn’t someone who could be encountered by just anyone. By entering the Peak Stage and defeating renowned experts in Sacheon, she earned the right to meet him.
Even if the Family Head had something to do with that event, it wouldn’t have been easy for someone of Yeo Il-ye’s status to gain an audience with him.
Extreme polarity leads to transformation—fire becomes cold.
Yeo Il-ye recalled the teachings given by her benefactors and steadied her heart. Even without closing her eyes, her inner vision unfolded clearly.
The grand structure forged from refined iron. Such immense buildings of the great Hwang Clan were not merely buildings; they appeared robust and solid.
However, there remains a gaping hole at its base.
“Is it regret? Grudges? Remorse?”
Having burned in unrestrained hatred, she had wrongly directed her anger toward the outcast, and now there was no one by Yeo Il-ye’s side. Ever since losing her parents, no one dared to approach her, revealing her teeth in rage and swinging her nails in defense.
The hole created when the mansion burned down still remained exposed, even though Yeo Il-ye’s heart had since been refined and cooled.
Revenge.
Yeo Il-ye did not know if revenge could fill the hole in her heart. Yet, she genuinely loved her parents and simultaneously cherished that estate. The tribesmen who had secretly fed her sweets despite her mother knowing. The attendants who ran after her, fearing she’d hurt herself while climbing trees.
All of that has turned to ash, and she could not bring them back.
With no option left but to spill blood to soothe their grievances.
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