TSBIRBV Ch 23

Chapter 23 The Tang Clan of Sichuan (2)

“Mmm, isn’t having a lot of money a good thing?”

Samrang asked in her characteristically unhurried, almost languid tone.

“Well, sure…”

Yegyeol muttered in a tone that clearly meant not at all.

He was ignorant of prices in the Central Plains. In his previous life, Yegyeol had been an orphan from birth. From the time he could remember, he had been part of a beggar gang in Hangzhou run by an unorthodox sect, going out to beg each day. The moment even a single copper coin landed in his hand, it would be snatched away under the pretext of “tribute,” and he survived on whatever food scraps he could scavenge that weren’t fit for the trash heap.

Before he grew old enough to be crafty, it had never occurred to him to try to hide some of the begged money for himself. With no money in hand, he had never gotten a chance to actually buy anything. He would just suck on his fingers in front of a candy shop rich with sweet smells—until the shop owners drove him off, saying that the sight of a little beggar was bad for business.

If he had grown up that way, he likely would have become a pickpocket. Luckily, before it came to that, he entered Kunlun.

After that, he never had to worry about money. Kunlun, being one of the Nine Great Schools (Gupa-ilbang), was relatively wealthy. Training robes were provided by default—he never had to patch and reuse frayed clothes—and he had three meals a day, never going hungry. Compared to the days when failure to beg meant starvation or a beating, life there was a paradise, and Yegyeol had been thoroughly content.

Some disciples with families would sometimes save up an allowance to use when they went out. But orphaned Yegyeol had no such source of income.

If you had family, your master might give you some as well… he thought.

But Baekyang Jin-in was not the type to fuss over a talentless disciple.

And after being reborn, I’ve come to rely completely on Senior Brother, he reflected.

He had no idea how much the visits from physicians cost, or the medicine expenses to save his life. His food, clothing—none of these had been provided carelessly, so they must have cost a fair sum. Back then, his plan had simply been to make himself a burden to Haryang, tangled up tightly in debt.

“But not even knowing how much money you have, when you’re a guild master—that’s a bit of a problem, isn’t it?”

Yegyeol’s voice turned dryly sarcastic. Even looking at the ledgers Jinyoung had shown him, he hadn’t been able to grasp the scale or financial state of the Qinghai Trading Company. The silver and gold written there meant little to him without understanding their value.

And yet, just three or so copper coins could buy a meal.

“The trading company’s pretty big, isn’t it?” he asked, in a tone that almost sounded like a gangster collecting from a back alley.

“We have some scale, yes,” Samrang admitted without denial.

“Would it be a problem if the company is too successful?”

After all, if they’d already reached their goal without even trying, wasn’t that a good thing?

Samrang tilted her head slightly. If the target would just drop dead on their own, that’d be ideal for me, she thought. More time for sleep.

“Of course not,” Yegyeol said with a bright smile, before attacking his noodles with almost combative energy.

Having a lot of money and a big company wasn’t inherently an issue. But he was puzzled.

He was now certain that Senior Brother’s identity wasn’t just that of a merchant. Judging by Baekyang Jin-in’s reaction, the reason for his expulsion wasn’t simple, either.

Yegyeol didn’t care who or what Je Haryang was. What mattered—what troubled him—was his Senior Brother’s attitude toward him.

The closer he got to the many layers of hidden truth, the less he understood what Haryang actually wanted from him.

If I can’t work it out with my head, I’ll just throw my body at it.

With that conclusion, he drained his noodle soup down to the last drop. As he set down his chopsticks, Samrang, who had been sipping bamboo-leaf liquor, blinked wide-eyed.

“You’ve already finished?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Answering cheerfully, he thought to himself—drinking down every ounce of Jinyoung’s brainpower wouldn’t suddenly give him administrative skills. No point brooding over it.

For now, he’d just watch and do what he did best.

When they returned to the estate, Yegyeol crossed paths with Jin Sam—the man he’d been avoiding earlier. The difference now was that Yegyeol greeted him with a pleasant smile.

“Shame you’ve already eaten dinner,” Jin Sam said.

“Oh, it’s fine. I just wanted to look around Chengdu, so one of the escorts showed me around.”

“I should have tended to you myself, Master Wen, since it’s your first time here,” Jin Sam lamented with a shake of his head.

Yegyeol listened to his chatter without a trace of annoyance.

Samrang trailed two steps behind, pretending to stand guard but quietly tilting her head at his change in demeanor.

“Phew. As you know, Master Wen, the Tang Clan is being very firm about raising their escort fees—it’s quite the problem,” Jin Sam said gravely, clearly believing Yegyeol had finally opened up to him.

“The reason our company is able to move in and out of Chengdu so smoothly is thanks to the Tang Clan’s protection, but if we keep rejecting their proposal, things will get troublesome.”

Truth be told, his words sounded reasonable enough even to Yegyeol. In this era, without modern communications, proximity trumped imperial authority—it was human nature. In Chengdu, the Tang Clan’s influence was unquestionable.

“And then there’s the Green Forest gang. The reason they haven’t touched our valuable goods is because they know the Tang Clan’s green banner flies with our caravans.”

The Green Forest was a confederation of mountain bandits scattered across the Central Plains. While the name might suggest a formidable organization, in truth only the so-called Eighteen Forts of the Green Forest were strong—the rest were just ragtag groups.

Around Sichuan, no bandit fort would dare risk antagonizing a family as powerful as the Tang Clan, one of the Five Great Clans.

“But if the deal with the Tang Clan falls through and we hire a different escort agency, clashes with bandits will be unavoidable. If it comes to open conflict, the expensive goods we bring from the Western Regions could be damaged.”

His whining was convincing enough that Yegyeol shook his head slowly.

“It’s three copper coins for a bowl of noodles, and they’re asking to raise escort fees in terms of gold coins? Does that make sense?”

“…Pardon?”

Not grasping what he meant, Jin Sam blinked.

Half to himself, Yegyeol clicked his tongue and then explained,

“This is a service we’ve been paying for all along—it’s like protection against thieves. Just because there are a few more thieves now, how do they justify suddenly charging more? And on top of that, the goods we sell to the Tang Clan as part of this escort arrangement are already priced lower than normal, aren’t they?”

Midway through, he began to think the Tang Clan had simply shifted careers—from guards to thieves.

Jin Sam seemed surprised that Yegyeol knew the details of their dealings so well.

“Yes, we do generally sell to them at a discount…”

“They’re making sure they’re not the only ones losing out—how can you trust that kind of partner? At least bring a compensating benefit to the table.”

Yegyeol grumbled. If it were his company alone, maybe he could be generous—but this was the company Senior Brother had trusted him with.

“I’ll try to work out a compromise, based on your opinion, Master Wen,” Jin Sam said seriously—as if ready to carry his words on his back.

Quite a loyal merchant, Yegyeol thought.

“Anyway, that’s just my opinion. You do what you do best. I’ll be observing again tomorrow, so don’t be too obvious about me being the boss.”

“I will bear your words in mind and act wisely,” Jin Sam said with an easy smile before withdrawing to his own room.

Samrang, watching this exchange, found Yegyeol’s manner surprisingly firm and cool. He might not yet be used to giving orders, but he had no hesitation.

As an occupational hazard, Samrang was a habitual observer. Even so, she found him difficult to figure out.

No wonder Jinyoung finds him suspicious, she thought.

So far, she’d never seen him meet with any third party.

The only odd thing she’d noticed was that during company work, he’d draw some strange pattern on paper—later inking over it so completely she couldn’t tell what it had been.

Truly a man full of secrets, she mused—ironically enough, not far off from Yegyeol’s own evaluation of Je Haryang.

“I miss Senior Brother,” Yegyeol murmured.

“Shall I send a carrier pigeon?” (jeonse-eung, 전서응 — traditional messenger bird)

“He can’t exactly drop everything and come right away—no point tormenting some poor bird. We just have to wrap up this Tang Clan deal quickly and go back to Qinghai.”

Samrang smiled faintly.

“What if the negotiations drag on?”

“Oh, in that case… maybe we’ll just find another escort agency.”

So much for the grand ambition of making the Qinghai Company one of the Three Great Trading Guilds—now he seemed more interested in getting it over with.

“Well? Go on—start looking for a good escort agency.”

“After just one day?”

“If there’s no fire under you yet, I’ll light one.”

Yegyeol grinned like a mischievous child.

“You can even grumble while doing it—say I’m a spoiled brat of a young master. I’ll let it slide.”

Samrang’s eyes narrowed slightly as she muttered under her breath,

“Oh, how generous you are.”

Footnotes:

• Gupa-ilbang (구파일방) — “Nine Factions, One Clan,” a common grouping for the largest orthodox martial sects.
• Green Forest Eighteen Forts (녹림십팔채) — the strongest bandit fortresses among the Green Forest confederation.
• Jeonse-eung (전서응) — literally “messenger hawk” or “carrier pigeon,” a traditional courier bird used for long-distance urgent communication.