Chapter 43
“...And if you're caught secretly using our maintained path without paying, you'll have to pay a thousand times the original toll fee.”
Kim Mun and Ha Ryang nodded repeatedly, sensing a chill from the man's words.
“Ah, we understand.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.”
“As long as you're careful about that, then...”
“May we enter now?”
“Of course. With a toll pass, you can freely use our Pavilion. Oh, before you go in, I wanted to ask, are you perhaps injured?”
The man pointed at Ha Ryang, whose appearance was a mess, and asked. Ha Ryang showed the scratches all over his body and replied.
“I fell on the Mountain Path before coming here...”
“In that case... hey, Youngest. Bring that thing from inside.”
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
At the man's command, the young man called Youngest immediately went inside and brought something out. When they saw what it was...
“Wound medicine?”
“Yes, it’s wound medicine. Your injuries seem severe, so apply it before you go in.”
...It was indeed wound medicine.
Upon seeing the wound medicine, the two men were touched and smiled faintly.
“Hmph... I’ve never seen such kind-hearted young men.”
“I will never forget this kindness.”
As Ha Ryang said this and reached out to take the wound medicine...
“Haha, you can forget my kindness, but you still have to pay. It’s one silver tael.”
“What...?”
...The man dodged Ha Ryang’s hand and, still smiling, stated the price.
One silver tael.
“What kind of...!”
“One silver tael...! It doesn’t even look like High-Grade wound medicine! For one silver tael, you could buy three of those!”
As Merchants, their calculations were precise.
It was Mid-Low Grade Product wound medicine, not High-Grade.
For one silver tael, they could easily buy three of those.
The two Merchants were indignant and protested against the exorbitant price.
“No, Mister. If this were flat land, I wouldn’t sell it at this price. But this is a mountain, isn’t it? If it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t be able to get wound medicine anywhere else here.”
“Th-that’s true, but...”
“Wow, you’re really making me feel bad. We cleared the path, built the Pavilion, and even offered you wound medicine because we were worried about your injuries, and you complain about the price? I’m genuinely hurt. Just give back the toll pass and go back the way you came, down that Steep Path.”
“Ah, no. My apologies. W-we’ll pay now.”
...The man, feigning hurt, made the two Merchants feel petty.
When he even threatened to take back their toll passes, the two had no choice but to open their wallets.
Having grown accustomed to the comfortable path, they had no confidence in going back down that steep path.
After spending another silver tael for the wound medicine, they stepped inside. This time, they saw other people enjoying alcohol and snacks.
The two, who hadn't eaten properly due to their detour, couldn't take their eyes off the people tearing into meat with their drinks.
*Gulp*.
At that tempting sight, their mouths watered, and an unbearable hunger washed over them.
“Excuse me... I suppose the alcohol costs money too? How much for a bottle?”
“We don’t sell our alcohol individually. We sell a bundled product of two bottles of Jukyeopcheong and Wild Boar Meat for one silver tael.”
“...What?!”
At those words, Kim Mun and Ha Ryang were startled once again.
Selling just two bottles of alcohol and a meat snack for a silver tael! How many times had they inflated the price?
And besides...
“...No, we only wanted one bottle of alcohol. Why is everything sold as a bundled product?”
The two, who only intended to briefly satisfy their hunger with a single bottle of alcohol, were naturally flustered by the unexpected overspending.
“Haha... please understand that selling products in bundles is my... no, our business policy.”
“Alright... even if that’s the case, isn’t it too much to ask for a silver tael for two bottles of alcohol and Wild Boar Meat?”
“Haa... it seems I’ll have to explain this to you, as you’re first-time visitors today.”
The man’s expression was filled with confidence as he said this. He approached the two and whispered.
“The truth is, we’re closely connected with the Haomun.”
“Haomun...? Why bring them up suddenly?”
“You know the Haomun also runs a brewery, right? All the Jukyeopcheong here comes from the Haomun Brewery.”
Since the Haomun is a Sect made up of all sorts of people, it naturally owns a Brewery.
“And how delicious is the alcohol from the Haomun Brewery? Look, that mister over there is happily drinking. Oh, it’s going down so smoothly.”
“...”
Just then, a man sitting at the front table was gulping down alcohol with an expression of pure bliss, making the words even more credible.
“If we sold such delicious alcohol cheaply, it would be disrespectful to the liquor itself. And should I tell you about our Wild Boar Meat? We catch a boar that absorbs the spirit of Muak Mountain and roast it whole, and that...”
“Ah, we understand. We understand, so please bring us the Jukyeopcheong and Wild Boar Meat.”
Such was the man’s persuasive power that it captivated their hearts...
The two sat down and were soon making unplanned purchases.
“We’ve run out of water, so... do we have to pay for water here too?”
“We fetch water from the Muak Mountain Mineral Spring, which absorbs the spirit of Muak Mountain, and that...”
“...”
...And so, the two men’s wallets were completely emptied.
“Haha, please come again next time! And spread the word to other merchants about this wonderful place!”
“Haha! We will! We’ll definitely come again!”
The two Merchants, who had initially looked skeptical, left with pleasant, alcohol-flushed expressions.
Ultimately, these people would stop here every time they passed through Hunan Province. They would become our ardent Regular Customers.
It couldn't be helped; for merchants whose daily lives were arduous journeys, this place was an oasis in the desert.
They might hesitate at the high prices, but they couldn't *not* come.
“Youngest.”
“Yes, Elder Brother.”
“Did you write down everything I said and did today?”
“Yes, I wrote it all down.”
“Use that as a manual and have everyone follow it. Ugh, these Bandit bastards have no way with words...”
Originally, when I first conceived this business, I didn't intend to be so hands-on. But my Bandit Subordinates couldn't properly entertain customers, so flies were buzzing around.
So, until the business was properly established, I decided to work directly and set an example for them.
“We have to sell diligently like this to make money! If we only collect toll fees, that’s just the cost price, you know?”
“Still, more and more people are coming, and our sales are steadily increasing. But, Elder Brother.”
The Youngest, after giving a positive outlook, spoke with a worried expression.
“...Our method is less aggressive than before, but... will it really attract the Murim Alliance’s attention to this extent?”
“Youngest. I can put my hand on my heart and say this: I am currently doing the most conscientious work of my life.”
“...It’s not exactly “conscientious” when we’re making several times the profit, though?”
“If it were the old days, we wouldn’t be thinking about making a profit; we’d just take everything.”
“Ah...”
I pointed to the silk merchant drinking happily over there and said.
“Do you know how frustrated I’ve been all day today? If I had taken everything that silk Merchant Mister had, I could have built three Pavilions like this, but I held back and only took five silver taels. Do you know how I feel?”
“...You’ve worked hard.”
“If I’m being so careful around the Murim Alliance, doing Conscientious Business, and even clearing Mountain Paths, and they still come to send an Extermination Squad? Then...”
“Then...?”
...We’ll become gangsters. At that point, we’ll just charge straight in.”
“Hmph... I really hope the Murim Alliance doesn’t come.”
“Yes, let’s pray every night that those bastards don’t come.”
We looked up at the sky for a moment, then cleared the tables left by the customers together.
**
Anhui.
The Murim Alliance Headquarters is located in the center of the Jiangnan Murim, a place where goods from all over the world gather.
Among the hundreds of Martial Artists who came and went daily, the busiest place was... the Dark Hall, which collected information, constantly monitored the world’s situation, and conducted Espionage Activities.
The Dark Hall had many other duties, including interrogation, counter-espionage, and spy selection. In addition, it was responsible for updating the Murim Public Enemy List based on the information it collected, so those affiliated with it had no days off.
Mayu, the military advisor in charge of the Dark Hall, also tirelessly sifted through mountains of documents.
“Indeed... there’s so much...”
The information flowing into the Dark Hall was vast, sent by Beggar's Sect Branches spread throughout the world.
Mayu’s job was to meticulously review it and record major events.
“A dispute between Simwolmun and Myeonganpa in Shaanxi... This is Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect territory, so they’ll handle it themselves... The Kunlun Sect Leader seems to have a cold... This is nothing special either...”
High-tier Information and top-tier information had already been reviewed, leaving only less important matters.
Mayu, already fatigued from several days of overtime, knew this and casually skimmed through the information, but...
“Bandits in Hunan are uniting into one... what is this?”
...There was one piece of information that instantly banished his sleep.
“A Bandit who appeared like a comet quickly consolidated the surrounding bandits. Merchants call him the Bandit King... Ha! Have those Beggar's Sect fellows finally gone mad? They put this in Mid-low Tier Information?”
If what was written was true, it was enough to dispatch an Extermination Squad immediately. The unification of Unorthodox Faction Members was not an issue to be overlooked.
However...
“I should immediately put this “Bandit King” on the Murim Public Enemy List. And form an Extermination Squad... huh?”
...Mayu flinched when he read the next piece of information in the document.
...But these fellows aren’t causing any trouble; they’re clearing Mountain Paths, building Pavilions, and creating Rest Stops at various points for Merchants to rest.”
...Are these really Bandits?
Furthermore, the next sentence stated that Merchant satisfaction had increased as a result.
“This is a bit ambiguous...”
Mayu couldn't help but fall into contemplation.