CLS-Chapter 54

Chapter 54 

“Can’t you keep your hands up properly?”

Ha Dae-bung raised his arms high. Having knelt with his hands raised for nearly half a shijin already, his arms were trembling and his knees had long since gone numb. Pitifully, the area around his eyes was bruised black and blue.

Anyone who saw him would think he looked quite pitiful, but in reality, he wasn’t pitiful at all.

“Tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue as he watched Ha Dae-bung.

“A person should have some conscience!”

Ha Dae-bung had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths. No, even if he had something to say, he couldn’t bring himself to voice it.

What could he possibly say in this situation?

The person before him was someone from the Censorate, one of the three great powers of the imperial palace. Given the nature of the Censorate, to a merchant like Ha Dae-bung, this man was several times more terrifying than the Eastern Depot or the Imperial Guards.

Since he had tried to swindle money from such a person, his family could be utterly destroyed and the Silver River Money House could completely collapse.

“If it were up to my temper, I’d want to send a letter all the way to Beijing to finish this…”

“M-My lord, please spare me.”

Ha Dae-bung shed tears as he grabbed onto Wei Yan-ho’s legs.

Wei Yan-ho kicked Ha Dae-bung away.

“Who told you to lower your hands!”

“Hiiik!”

Ha Dae-bung quickly knelt and raised his hands high again.

“Tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue and let out a deep sigh. Destroying a money house like this would be nothing, but then there would be no end to the troublesome matters that would follow.

Moreover, if things went wrong, he might have to face the Director of the Censorate. That was absolutely out of the question. Wei Yan-ho had plenty of righteous spirit, but his ability to act was worse than a three-year-old child’s.

“Hey.”

“Yes! My lord!”

Ha Dae-bung scurried over on his knees like lightning, right up to Wei Yan-ho.

“Are you going to do it again?”

“Absolutely not, my lord! Unless I’ve gone mad, how could I possibly do such a thing!”

“The interest rate?”

“I’ll change it to the imperial palace’s recommended rate immediately.”

“Really?”

“Oh, my lord! I don’t have ten lives to spare—how could I dare lie to you! If you forgive me just this once, I’ll live honestly and never forget your grace for the rest of my life.”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Ha Dae-bung with eyes full of suspicion.

“They say you shouldn’t trust what merchants say.”

Though suspicious, Wei Yan-ho had no other choice.

“The necklace!”

“Here it is!”

Ha Dae-bung held out the necklace like lightning.

“Money!”

“Pardon?”

“Hand over the money you swindled.”

“Yes!”

Ha Dae-bung took out one nyang of silver from his chest and offered it.

Tears welled up slightly, but this was the only way to smooth over the situation. However, Wei Yan-ho snorted.

“Are you joking?”

“Pardon?”

“You took a ten-nyang item and lent one nyang for it, so didn’t you swindle nine nyang?”

“Yes…”

Ha Dae-bung hid his flowing tears. He wanted to protest that there was no money house anywhere that would give the full ten nyang for a ten-nyang item, and even if there were, where would you find a case of taking away all the remaining money… but what could he do when Wei Yan-ho held the sword handle?

Ha Dae-bung silently took out a ten-nyang silver note and placed it on Wei Yan-ho’s palm.

Ha Dae-bung considered several times whether to retrieve the one nyang that was already placed on his palm first, but he didn’t have the courage to pluck the beard of the King of Hell.

But Wei Yan-ho’s reaction was still not favorable.

“Are you really treating this as a joke because I’m speaking nicely?”

“W-What do you mean…?”

“When you borrow, it’s ten nyang, but when you repay, it’s thirty nyang. Isn’t that right?”

Ha Dae-bung’s hands trembled.

Thirty nyang of silver would be a tremendous loss.

No matter how much the Silver River Money House was a place that couldn’t be ignored anywhere, it wasn’t at the level where they could easily dismiss thirty nyang of silver. However, the logic Wei Yan-ho was using was the same logic they had been using all along, so there was no way to escape.

Ha Dae-bung took out two more ten-nyang notes with trembling hands and offered them to Wei Yan-ho.

Only then did Wei Yan-ho seem satisfied as he accepted the notes and tucked them into his chest.

“Calculations must be thorough. Now then, hand it over.”

“Pardon? What else…?”

Wei Yan-ho frowned.

“Should I just stab you through, really!”

“Oh, my lord!”

“This is the money you swindled from Seongsu Market! Now we need to resolve the problem between you and me, right? Don’t you know about the human feelings that sprout in the coming and going of money?”

Wei Yan-ho was boldly demanding illegal bribery. Ha Dae-bung cursed him inwardly as someone who deserved to be struck by lightning, but outwardly maintained the most cheerful smiling face possible.

“Then how much…”

“Use your judgment, use your judgment.”

Ha Dae-bung swallowed dry saliva and took out a ten-nyang silver note from his chest and offered it to Wei Yan-ho.

Wei Yan-ho silently accepted the note, tucked it away, and stood up.

“M-My lord, I will truly live virtuously.”

“No, you don’t need to.”

“Pardon?”

“Now people who will take care of things will come. Ten nyang should be enough to send a letter to Beijing. If it’s not enough, I can add some of my own money!”

Ha Dae-bung rushed over like lightning and grabbed Wei Yan-ho’s pants, clinging to them.

“Oh, my lord! That was just money for you to wet your throat on your way out! The real payment is separate!”

“Let go! You’re pulling my pants down!”

“My lord, please spare me!”

Only after Ha Dae-bung coughed up an additional five nyang of gold was he able to calm Wei Yan-ho’s anger.

“Live virtuously.”

“Of course! My lord! I’ll become someone who wouldn’t produce a speck of dust even if shaken!”

Wei Yan-ho snorted at Ha Dae-bung’s answer, opened the door, and went outside.

Creak.

A moment later, the door opened and a servant entered.

“Did he leave?”

“Yes. He’s gone.”

Ha Dae-bung shouted.

“Damn bastard! Son of a bitch who’d eat the liver of a flea! Anyway, those who eat the nation’s salary are rotten to the core! Compared to those bastards, we’re bodhisattvas, bodhisattvas! Damn! That young punk already knows the taste of money… May he trip and break his nose, that rotten bastard!”

Bang!

At that moment, the door panel flew off and grazed Ha Dae-bung’s cheek as it passed.

“…”

Drip.

The door panel had flown so fiercely that Ha Dae-bung’s cheek was lightly cut, and a drop of blood trickled down his cheek.

Ha Dae-bung looked at the door with a pale face.

Behind the flying door panel, Wei Yan-ho stood with his face twitching.

“How…”

Ha Dae-bung’s mouth opened and closed.

Wei Yan-ho raised his hand and pointed to the desk. There lay a small golden sword gleaming with light.

“I was walking away when I realized I’d left it behind.”

Ha Dae-bung looked back and forth between the golden sword on the desk and Wei Yan-ho, then spoke with difficulty, half-laughing and half-crying.

“I-I could bring it to you…”

“How could I trouble you with such a thing? A young man like me? If a rotten official made you do such work, I’d be struck by lightning and die. Right?”

“…Hehe, my lord… What I meant wasn’t that…”

“You see, all troubles come from the mouth. What sin could you have?”

“R-Right, my lord!”

“It’s that damn loose tongue that’s the problem! Today, let’s get a beating until that mouth says it was wrong on its own!”

“Hiiik! My lord, I’m sorry!”

“You keep your mouth shut! The mouth has to speak, the mouth! If you speak, it’s invalid!”

“What on earth does that mean… Ugh! Oh, my lord, please spare me!”

“I said the mouth has to speak, not you!”

“Hiiiiiik!”

The sound of a pig being slaughtered echoed through the Silver River Money House.

The townspeople came out and whispered about the unusual commotion, but no one knew what was happening inside.

***

Bang!

The door panel that had been picked up in winter and hung at the entrance was cleanly shattered.

Beggar’s Sect lesser leader Jang Il felt like tears might well up.

‘Still, that door blocked the wind and was really nice…’

Now where could he find such a door panel again?

But Jang Il didn’t have time to feel sad.

A disaster more terrifying than sadness was now bearing down on him.

“Is it true?”

“Please calm down! Ahem, I said calm down!”

Jang Il looked at the person who had broken through the door and grabbed him by the collar.

This young man was spewing fighting spirit as if facing a mortal enemy, and he had to be calmed down first.

Otherwise, the entire hut might fly away.

Even though he was a lesser leader of the Beggar’s Sect, it was difficult to handle the young man before him. When the Demon-Repelling Sword, called the greatest talent among the later generation masters, lost his reason and charged forward, who could remain unscathed?

“I asked if the letter was true.”

Jang Il nodded.

“It’s true.”

The young man stared at Jang Il with bulging eyes for a long time.

“Truly?”

“I said it was true.”

Slowly.

The young man looked into the air as if his soul had left him and relaxed his grip. Jang Il let out a deep sigh.

‘If I ever associate with the Wei family again, I’m not human.’

Whether knowing Jang Il’s feelings or not, the young man stood there blankly for a while and then muttered.

“He was alive.”

Jang Il wanted to get angry.

Is this the attitude to show to someone who informed you of your younger brother’s news after five years? No matter what, isn’t this too rude? He was about to shout, but feeling too many emotions swirling in the young man’s appearance, he kept his mouth shut.

‘Right, it’s been five years since news of his younger brother, so it’s understandable. Generous me should endure!’

Jang Il tried hard to think that way.

Then, the young man Wei San-ho looked at him.

“So where is the kid now?”

“Huh?”

“Where did he go?”

“Well? He said he was going to the martial world, but I’m not sure exactly where?”

“Which direction?”

“Well…”

Sparks flew from Wei San-ho’s eyes.

“You don’t know?”

“No, well… There were documents he asked me to investigate, so I think it might be one of those…”

“The documents?”

“Well, the kid took those…”

“Then?”

“No, even if you ask me like that…”

“He came here to get information and left, but you don’t know where he went?”

Jang Il wanted to cry.

‘What am I supposed to do?’

Why don’t any of these Wei family members make sense?

If other people came to a branch of the Beggar’s Sect and caused such a disturbance, they would immediately be treated like dogs on a hot summer day and chased out, but he couldn’t do that to this young man before him.

It would end up like trying to catch a dog on a hot summer day only to get teeth marks in a beggar’s behind.

How could a branch level handle the Demon-Repelling Sword, whose reputation was renowned throughout the land?

Wei San-ho looked ready to draw his sword at any moment.

“He also received information from the Hao Clan, so if you ask them…”

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go to that Hao Clan. What are you dawdling for?”

“No, I can’t go there anymore…”

“Hurry!”

Jang Il stood up and made his resolution once again.

‘After today, I won’t even piss in the direction of Guangdong!’

With that, Jang Il headed toward the Hao Clan branch with the heart of a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

And at the Hao Clan branch, another great outcry echoed.

“You brought the Demon-Repelling Sword because you had no one else to bring? Today, you die and I die, you beggar bastard!”

“No! I didn’t mean to do that! Please calm down, Ghost Lady!”

“Shut up! Today I’m going to settle this with you once and for all!”

“I said I didn’t mean to do that! Ahhh! I’m really going crazy!”

This time, Jang Il had to get a black eye on the opposite side.