“Ohh! Now that you are here, please sit next to me and pour me a drink.”
The emperor-like life he had been living in the past had made the distribution of Jeong Pyun-ho too large. Sehwa stood opposite Jeong Pyun-ho with the table set, and with the Jinsu Sacrament in between.
“You seem to be very drunk.”
“Hangzhou is in my grasp, so what else can drunk people say? Don’t do that, come here.”
Jeong Pyun-ho knocked on the empty seat to the left, but Sehwa did not move. “It’s expensive. How much money have I spent here so far! Good! How much do you charge?”
“You’re going to die right now.”
“I’m not listening. For now, sit down!”
At this, Jeong Pyun-ho leaned back and grabbed Sehwa’s wrist. Then, suddenly with Jeong Pyun-ho, the center of gravity shifted sharply forward, and he nailed his face to the table. Bang! The plate on the table shattered with the sound and food splashed in all directions. “My sister is getting hot again. Children, come this way.”
When Jinha motioned for her, three of her courtesans flocked around her. “Eww… This year is really.…!”
Memorization was then shot towards Jeong Pyun-ho, who was stretching his waist. Eight memorizations then passed through Jeong Pyun-ho’s cheeks and ears and disappeared through the screen. It was so fast that he realized that Sehwa had memorized it only after feeling the bitter pain on his face.
In addition to this, something lay right in front of his eyes. It was a long hand with more than one character placed close enough to touch the pupil. It seemed that the long hand could pierce not only the eyes but also the bones. Sehwa’s low voice could then be heard by Jeong Pyun-ho, who swallowed back visibly.
“You are a guest only when you drink quietly. Have you forgotten who called you?”
“Ah… You remember.”
“I can kill you here and ask you to send another branch manager to the Iron Blood Room.”
Sehwa’s voice was calm and sounded rather creepy. Even if such a thing happened, it was unlikely that the Cheolhyeolbang would confront the manor. In other words, it would mean that the relationship with Oseon Manor was more important than Jeong Pyun-ho’s life to the Cheolhyeolbang.
“It will never happen again.”
In any case, his humility saved his life. Sehwa smiled softly. “Dae-in, the food seems to be cold, can you serve it again?”
“Ah… No. It would be good to go see you today.” Hangzhou was indeed like a heaven, but only if one was careful with Oseon Manor. Jeong Pyun-ho, who was leaving the area, then ran into Hwang Seo-min, who had been running in a hurry.
“You are a smart person! Drinking at Oseon Manor…!”
Hwang Seo-min, unable to finish speaking, was hit by Jeong Pyun-ho’s fist and stretched out on the street.
* * *
Namgoong Hye-yeon offered her Seonyudan to Jeon Yeon-hong with a shy expression. “It sounds trivial, but Woo-bin won’t hurt her.”
At this, a smile crept up on the corner of his lips. “This is Seonyudan. It is a medicine that Namgung Sega treasures quite a bit… Did you steal it?”
“Yes? Oh no. My father told me to bring it.”
Knowing how much Namgung Sega cared for Seonyudan, he couldn’t believe Namgoong Hye-yeon’s words. “Thank you. After eating this, our Woo-bin should be well.”
“Where is Woo-bin now? Can she meet?”
“Well… He doesn’t like meeting outsiders these days.”
It was sad to be referred to as an outsider, but Jeon Yeong-hong continued. “But wait, you are not an outsider.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
After leaving the reception room, Hong headed to the basement training room. These days, Geom Woo-bin hardly ever came out of the underground training room and was just concentrating on training. The Blood Lion also had a child here, but the heart of Geom Woo-bin, who had the party involved, was quite terrifying.
After opening the two doors, Jeon Yeong-hong came in and almost burst into tears when he saw Geom Woo-bin. After all, improving oneself by using ice crystals was accompanied by the greatest pain imaginable by a human being.
And so, once a day, Geom Woo-bin would find himself exhausted. He couldn’t even lift a finger. He was definitely in that state now – he was shivering from the cold, and sweat was pouring down his forehead like rain. Jang Mandok was giving Geom Woo-bin a lot of blood.
That was all he could do with the Blood Lion. He couldn’t say that Namgung Hye-yeon had come, and she was about to turn around, but Woo-bin then asked who was there in a difficult voice.
“Namgung Hye-yeon has brought Seonyudan, the elixir of Namgung Sega, and I think she should just send it back today.”
At this, Geom Woo-bin struggled to raise his upper body. ‘No. It’s come a long way for me, so I’ll have to see.’
“But it’s hard to even move…”
With much effort, Geom Woo-bin changed into his clean clothes and took his brush, ink, and paper. As he entered the waiting room, Namgung Hye-yeon stood up. Surprised to see Woo-bin with a shaven head, she soon showed a wide smile. “Long time no see.”
“A-Ah, yes.”
Fortunately, the single-letter answer came without stuttering. “Woo-bin. Would you like some fruit?”
Shaking his head, Woo-bin picked up his brush and wrote ‘Shall we go out?’ and then she showed it to Namgung Hye-yeon. Namgung Hye-yeon, who was unfamiliar with his writing, had a strange expression on her face, but she quickly nodded.
At this, the two left Oseon Manor and walked along the river. Geom Woo-bin, who stopped her at a riverside where soft grass grew, pulled out one of the blades of grass. He very much wanted to hear the grass flute that he had learned from Seo Seok-san in the past.
As Geom Woo-bin sat down on the grass, Namgung Hye-yeon took a seat next to him. She didn’t need to say anything further. Woo-bin blew on his flute to express his gratitude. Whether the song was exciting or sad, in the end, it was important that his heart was in it.
Namgung Hye-yeon was the first to find out that a grass flute could make such a pure sound. In addition to this, it was the first time she found herself crying whilst listening. She turned her head and bit her lip, but in the end, a humming sound slipped through her lips. After she had finished playing, Geom Woo-bin tapped her shoulder.
Turning her head, she saw the words he wrote, ‘I’ll be fine.’
“Yeah, I know. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Geom Woo-bin laughed, and Namgung Hye-yeon knew she had to force a smile.
– You are a good friend. Thanks.
That was the last thing that Geom Woo-bin wrote to her that day.
* * *
Kwak Bong was startled by Jo Ja-myung’s words.
“What? Jeong Pyun-ho is going to die soon?”
“I am not going to leave this in the hands of Jo Hwang-se. They will for sure hire an assassin.”
“Then, if you get caught by a Cheolhyeolbang, it would be dangerous no matter how much money Jo Hwang-se has.”
“I’m sure I won’t get caught. It says in the contract that the Hangzhou branch will run for at least six months, right?”
“It was an agreement between the two sides without any disagreement.”
“I need to apply for another four months, but Hwang Jo-gil is not a very patient person.”
“What will happen if Jeong Pyun-ho dies?”
“A new person will be dispatched from the Iron Blood Chamber. It is impossible for them to simply withdraw after Suha has been killed by someone. This is what Jo Hwang-se is aiming for. Taking one stone and killing two birds.”
“Could you explain in an easy-to-understand way?”
“In conclusion, the Cho Hwang-se family is using the strategy of chaebol-initiative between the Cheolhyeolbang and the Dong clan.”
“Why is the Dongsi Doga appearing all of a sudden?”
“The Cheolhyeolbang has set up a branch in his front yard, so why is he sitting still in the Dong family road?”
“Yeah?”
“He took the drug from Jo Hwangse.”
“Aren’t you too sure?”
“The fact that the iron ore mines in Yeohang-hyeon are for the King is known to anyone with any interest in this area. However, it suddenly moved to Dongsi Road.”
“It could have been sold.”
“The Dongsi Doga has been salivating for the iron ore mines for a long time, but the reason they couldn’t get it was, of course, because of the lack of money. But how did you suddenly have dozens of millions of nyang? In my view, it was given to me by the Emperor Jo Huang as a condition of ignoring the establishment of a branch of the Iron Blood Guard in Hangzhou.”
Kwak Bong rolled his eyes and waved his hand. “Ah, I don’t think so. Did Jo Hwang-se spend tens of millions of dollars trying to get rid of our Oseon Manor? If you know what the Oseon Manor is like, you won’t even be able to fight it. You won’t even be able to spend that much money. Aren’t I right?”
He felt proud of himself for being smart, but Jo Ja-myung had a smile on his lips. “So, the conclusion I have come to is that it is not Oseon Manor that Jo Hwang-se is aiming for. Of course, you would have thought that the Iron Blood Chamber would wipe out the Wu Manor. At first, to Hwang-se, Oseon Manor was just a foundry that could be easily removed with just money. After the Iron Blood clan gets rid of the Wu Xian Manor, will they quietly leave Hangzhou? If it has been successfully removed, that is.”
“It has never happened, so it would make no sense. But if you have to guess… They are not the type to leave easily.”
“Right. They’ve had a taste of money in Hangzhou. This is where the Dongsi Doga comes into play. Jo Hwang-se will back away because he no longer has a relationship with the Iron Blood. Since two tigers cannot live on the same mountain, isn’t the battle between the Dong clan and the Cheolhyeolbang an inevitable event?”
Only after listening to that point did Kwak Bong understand the painting that Jo Ja-myung drew. “So, the death of Jeong Pyun-ho means easier work for Jo Hwang-se. He will be able to kill an ugly guy who only lusts for money, and because of that, he will be able to force the main camp of the Iron Blood Chamber to come to Hangzhou. That’s smart.”
Then, he tilted his head. “Then what about Oseon Manor?”
“From Jo Hwang-se’s point of view, it’s still a foundry that can be dealt with at any time. The Dong clan and the Cheolhyeolbang clan will still fight. Yes, it is different from the original plan, but the result will be the same.”
“Of course, I will be furious, but will the Iron Blood Chamber move as planned? They are very cautious.”
“In that regard, General Oseon Manor and Kwak Bang should come forward and get it over with.”
“What…?”
“They’re threatening the Iron Blood Ark so that they will not retreat from Hangzhou.”
Rather than fighting an enemy who didn’t know how strong he was, he would bet his money on a side that wouldn’t lose anything. However, after Jeong Pyun-ho would die, things would inevitably change. If one was to go around looking for the culprit, they would inevitably run into a natural dynasty.
There might be an ensuing war that would depend on the survival of the Iron Bloods. In order to make a threat, however, they would need to have the right intimidation to get them to make that decision. “Can you? If it is difficult, we will find another way.”
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“Ah… I believe this is not enough.”
It didn’t make sense to say that, though, no matter what angle the other tried to view the situation in.
“All five of us will have to come.”