“Will you be alright?”
Im Hyeok asked worriedly.
Having returned from meeting Geom Mugeuk, Geum Arin immediately began drafting a contract. A contract with clean terms, hiding no intentions whatsoever, stating that she would pay two million nyang and join hands with them.
“Will you be okay? You’re doing something crazy.”
At Geum Arin’s answer, Im Hyeok thought it was rather fortunate. At least she had a proper grasp of the situation.
“Why do you trust that person so much?”
The answer was exactly one word.
“Instinct.”
The hand with which she had been writing paused for a moment.
“I didn’t know either. That I would decide my fate by instinct.”
Contrary to her words, she began finishing the contract with eyes full of certainty.
The moment Geom Mugeuk signed the contract, she had to give him two million nyang.
In the upper realm, trust is life. No matter how secretive an organization, since its head was the daughter of the Geumryong Clan head, it was the same as a contract with the Geumryong Clan.
“To pay two million nyang, we would have to combine this year’s operating funds as well as all the profits our organization has gathered. It may still not be enough.”
“I’ll pay it even if I have to borrow money from the battlefield.”
Im Hyeok spoke worriedly.
“The Second Young Master won’t let this slide.”
“I suppose so.”
Objectively speaking, not just her second brother, but anyone would consider this decision rash.
She raised her head, looked at Im Hyeok, and asked.
“Do you think so?”
Though he hadn’t yet seen even the slightest bit of their martial arts, Im Hyeok thought of Hwi. That gaze with which he had looked at him, and his calm advice, could not easily be converted into money.
“No.”
So Im Hyeok respected her instinct. She must have felt the same from Geom Mugeuk.
“Yes, me neither.”
Geum Arin revealed that this choice was aimed at a place further away.
“I made up my mind when that person said he would become a sure ally of mine. That I would use them to become the successor.”
Im Hyeok finally felt that what had to come had come. She had stepped back from the succession struggle of the Geumryong Clan. Until now, she had merely watched the fight between her two brothers from across the river. Now she was trying to jump into the full-fledged succession struggle.
She had expressed it as instinct, but this was following the pull of fate.
“Take this, get it signed, and pay the money,” she said, holding out the finished contract. “What I bought with two million nyang is not our lives, nor the Seodopa. It’s the successor position.”
* * *
“I’ve earned money!”
Geom Mugeuk set three pouches down on the table.
“We received two million nyang and divided it into three. Six hundred and sixty-six thousand nyang each.”
Geom Ujin was the first to take a pouch containing the draft, as if to boast.
“Well done.”
At that, Hwi released his concealment and revealed himself. He truly couldn’t stand receiving the same amount as the Cult Leader, but above that was the Cult Leader’s order to take the money.
“Here, this is Uncle’s share.”
Hwi carefully tucked the pouch into his chest.
“Father, let’s come out often, if only for Uncle Hwi’s sake. What good is money if we have no time to spend it?”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Hwi gave an awkward smile. Even without this money, he had saved a great deal having spent his whole life in the Divine Cult. But as Geom Mugeuk said, he had no time to spend it.
Geom Mugeuk spoke to Yong Jamyeong, who was beside him.
“Would you say a word about how to spend money?”
At the sudden question, Yong Jamyeong held off answering for a moment. He could have talked about money for three days and nights without rest, but since the Cult Leader was listening, he answered modestly.
“There are many people in the world who earn money well, but few who spend it well. I belong to those who earn well, not those who spend well.”
Then he asked Geom Mugeuk’s thoughts.
“Does the Young Cult Leader have any separate thoughts on this?”
“What choice do I have? I’ll have to find someone who spends money well later and take them as a subordinate. That subordinate, I should treat with the best of care. About that much.”
“So you already knew the answer to spending money wisely.”
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Geom Mugeuk conveyed his gratitude to Yong Jamyeong.
“This matter was easy thanks to the Leader.”
Because everything had proceeded from the fact that the Leader of the Eunha Merchant Group had come to find him himself.
But the fact that things had gone well also meant it was time for him to leave. Having received money from them, it was now time for his side to depart.
Several more days had passed since the three days he had initially planned. He had happily spent a few more days because Geom Ujin wished for him to stay longer. It had truly been a dreamlike time.
Geom Ujin had made much time for him, so they had talked a great deal. The time spent with him had truly been enjoyable.
“It was an unforgettable time in my life. If you need me again, please call on me anytime.”
“Let us do so.”
Geom Ujin’s last farewell to him.
“Contact us anytime if you need us.”
Where in the world was there a more reassuring word than this?
With gratitude filling his face, Yong Jamyeong said his goodbyes.
“Then until we meet again, take care.”
Geom Mugeuk came out to the main gate to see off the departing Yong Jamyeong.
“Thanks to you, I’ve fulfilled an old dream. Truly, thank you.”
“It is the Leader’s good fortune. It was also the Leader who remembered my father.”
He had wanted to resolve his long-cherished wish, and fortunately things had worked out well. But it wasn’t as if he had only received.
“Thank you truly for the teachings you have imparted.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s request, Yong Jamyeong had lectured extensively on matters of the upper realm. Since the enemies they had to face were great houses of the upper realm, the more they knew, the more advantageous it would be in battle. Thanks to that, Geom Mugeuk had learned much listening to his discourse.
Giving, and receiving. Now it was time to give again.
“Please contact my father often.”
“To the Cult Leader?”
“I noticed he likes being with the Leader.”
“If so, that is truly fortunate.”
“For your reference, my father likes baduk. If you bring a good baduk board and stones the next time we meet, he will be very pleased.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
Yong Jamyeong looked at Geom Mugeuk for a moment.
He had seen the Young Cult Leader of the rumors, and now he could speak about the rumors. The rumors had been understated. The Young Cult Leader had been underestimated.
Yong Jamyeong, having boarded the carriage, gave his last greeting.
“Stay well.”
The Young Cult Leader, who had shown a relaxed smile the whole time, was no exception at the end either.
“Is there no final lecture?”
Though it must have been said in jest, Yong Jamyeong left him with words he wanted to say.
“Until the very moment of death, money will try to reveal your true nature. Don’t let that fellow catch on.”
Thus, Geom Mugeuk disappeared from sight.
Baek Chong, who was riding together, saw Yong Jamyeong lean his head out of the carriage to bid farewell for the first time. He had always sat solemnly whenever he was in a carriage.
“I’m glad it ended safely.”
Until they came here, they had truly staked their lives with a grim resolve. But the meeting with the Demonic Cult Leader had truly been a rest they hadn’t had in a long time. Yong Jamyeong had, and so had Baek Chong.
“I should meet all the kids when I return.”
He couldn’t remember the last time he had talked with his sons. He was busy with merchant group affairs, and when they actually met, it was awkward. Thus, putting it off, even seeing their faces once became a task. But after meeting this Heavenly Demon father and son, he missed his children.
Yong Jamyeong suddenly thought this.
Perhaps this time, he had met an old benefactor and at the same time gained a new benefactor.
* * *
“Prepare to return to the Great House.”
Geum Arin, having given the order to Im Hyeok, felt her heart pounding already. She had carried out the plan with great momentum, but her father’s scolding was inevitable. She had even lost sleep at night, having nightmares. They were dreams of them taking the money and disappearing. She had another nightmare as well. They had displayed their skills before her father, and they had been truly hopeless.
“I’ll meet that person and set the departure time.”
Just then, someone entered and spoke.
“There’s no need.”
Surprised, she turned to see a man entering.
Seeing him, Geum Arin’s expression hardened.
He was Geum Arin’s second brother, Geum Ajong.
He was the one she had worried about most while executing this matter, yet he had appeared here first. He had quite a handsome appearance resembling Geum Arin, but his personality didn’t match his looks. He was selfish, greedy, and filled with ambition for success.
“How did you get here?”
“How else? I came to stop the house’s money from bleeding away.”
That he had come this quickly meant he had been watching her every move.
“Our older brother is someone who always waits for me to make a mistake.”
Among her two brothers, Geum Ajong was especially wary of her. He suspected that one day their father might pass the Great House to his daughter.
“Two million nyang? You! Are you out of your mind?”
As expected, her brother had a precise grasp of the situation.
“My business is mine to handle. Older brother should mind his own business.”
“Not even knowing you’ve been played by a swindler.”
Geum Arin flinched at the word swindler. It was something she had never imagined hearing.
“A swindler?”
“You spent such a large sum without properly investigating the other party, didn’t you?”
She had nothing to say to that. This decision had been an instinctive one relying entirely on instinct.
“Did you know that the Seodopa produced a winner at the Soryong Tournament hosted by the Murim Alliance?”
It was something she hadn’t known, so Geum Arin flinched. Until now, it had been an obscure sect, but now it was becoming a true sect that had participated in the Soryong Tournament.
Just as she was thinking that since it was a competition to determine late-stage adepts, of course they would have won—
“They barely won after a fierce battle with the Murim Alliance Leader’s granddaughter.”
At those words, Geum Arin’s heart sank.
*It was a close match with the Alliance Leader’s granddaughter?*
No matter that she was the Alliance Leader’s granddaughter, she was only a late-stage adept.
Worry reared its head in one corner of her heart.
*Could it be that they just talk big but their skills don’t match?*
Suppressing the rising worry with effort, she spoke.
“They won, didn’t they? They might have been hiding their strength.”
As if he had been waiting for exactly this moment, Geum Ajong raised his voice with a gleeful face.
“What are you saying? The one called Geom Yeon, to whom you gave two million nyang, did not appear in the Soryong Tournament. The one who won the Soryong Tournament is a man named Seoryong.”
“Then what about Geom Yeon?”
Words like a thunderbolt from a clear sky flowed from Geum Ajong’s mouth.
“Geom Yeon is Seoryong’s servant.”
“!”
Geum Arin sprang up from her seat.
Her pupils trembled.
That person was a servant?
“It’s already a well-known fact that at the time, the Alliance Leader’s granddaughter caused a commotion saying she would marry a servant she had brought with her. She must have been deceived, just like you.”
He treated him like a swindler who went around deceiving women. But if those words were true? If he was really only a servant?
Geom Mugeuk’s figure surfaced in her mind. Had he been unreadable because he was a swindler? Was her nightmare becoming reality?
“I have to meet him.”
Geum Ajong stopped her, who was about to rush out immediately.
“Don’t rush. I’ve already sent people to recover the money.”
Geum Arin was shocked.
“Who?”
“The Money Leeches have gone.”
“It can’t be!”
The words burst from her lips on their own.
The Money Leeches’ original name was Hwanggeumchong. They were shadow experts raised by the Great House, deployed for rough tasks. They were mainly deployed for affairs that must not be revealed to the world—exterminating those who attacked merchant groups, or struggling for commercial rights when pioneering new territories. They truly handled rough and dangerous matters.
Therefore, they were insufferably arrogant within the Great House. Workers and martial artists alike feared and despised them. The decisive reason the Money Leeches were terrifying was that they did not hesitate in means or methods to achieve their objective. Moreover, they did not even cherish their own lives. That was why they were hated, and at the same time, absolutely necessary to the Geumryong Clan.
“They will all die.”
“To whom? To a servant?”
She was confused, but her heart still trusted Geom Mugeuk greatly.
“Yes, to a servant.”
“Are you ill? Well. You wouldn’t have done something like this in your right mind.”
Geum Arin flew out, leaving the quarters.
Geum Ajong ran after her using lightness skill.
“You’ll fall completely out of Father’s favor over this.”
Geum Ajong’s words did not reach her ears. Several scenes rose in her mind.
She pictured Geom Mugeuk truly being a fraud, dead after having been brutally beaten by the Money Grubs. Next, she pictured the Money Grubs reporting that he had already fled and was nowhere to be found.
Conversely, she also pictured all the Money Grubs lying scattered as corpses.
If he killed them all, her father would never forgive Seodopa. In other words, her own plan to use them to become the successor would also be ruined.
Every imagining was the worst possible outcome.
“Sending them without even consulting me was your mistake, Brother.”
“You made the first mistake by giving him money without consulting anyone.”
The two, who had raced like the wind, arrived at the manor where Geom Mugeuk was staying.
Perhaps the situation was already over, for it was quiet inside.
As they cautiously approached the main gate, they heard a sound from within.
Scrape, scrape.
What was that sound?
It sounded like something sweeping the ground.
Swipe, swipe.
There was also the sound of something being wiped.
Just then, someone’s whispering voice came through.
Don’t touch that.
Not only Geum Arin, but even Geum Ajong, who had come with utter confidence, wore a puzzled expression. For a moment, they wondered if they had come to the wrong place.
“Is this the place?”
“I’m certain.”
Geum Arin carefully opened the door.
When the door slowly swung open, a sight unfolded within the grounds that truly surpassed anything they could have imagined.
The Money Grubs were holding brooms and sweeping the courtyard. Other Money Grubs were wiping the walls with rags. They were clearing away broken furnishings and filling in gouges in the ground.
Dark bruises ringed their eyes, and some were limping as they carried loads. One was retrieving a hammock hanging from a tree, his forehead wrapped in a bandage where blood had trickled down. Another was carrying belongings out from inside the building.
The Money Grubs’ movements came to a halt, and all their gazes turned at once toward the two people who had entered through the gate.
Awkward, embarrassed expressions filled the Money Grubs’ faces.
Geum Ajong felt as though he were seeing things.
“What in the world are you doing right now?”
At Geum Ajong’s question, a Money Grub standing near the entrance bowed and said,
“He said he would be leaving soon and told us to clean everything up.”
This was the first time the Money Grubs had ever worn such kind faces.
“Who? Who in the world!”
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk emerged from the building ahead. Looking at Geum Arin, he said cheerfully,
“Thank you for sending people to clean.”
In that instant, emotion surged within Geum Arin. All the terrible imaginings she had carried on the way here were washed away by that emotion.
She was immensely grateful that he had only beaten the Money Grubs and not killed them.
Whether he was an attendant or not no longer mattered. She would not doubt him anymore. Yes, my choice was right.
With a bright expression, Geum Arin said to Geum Ajong, who stood beside her,
“Thank you, Brother. I couldn’t very well make a two-million-nyang attendant clean.”
Absolute Regression, Chapter 469