TSBIRBV Ch 84

Chapter 84 The Trading Lord Is on Leave (1)

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

At Yegyeol’s question, Samrang narrowed her eyes.

“Is that a real question?”

It had been fine up to the point of going to drink with a direct descendant of the Namgung clan. But right after proving he could hold his liquor, he suddenly went to the Black Spot. And that wasn’t all. Drunk, he palmed him off on her disguised as a Thousand-Year Thunder Lizard Net and then shut himself in a room with his lord.

And then they did not come out for two whole days.

On the third day at last, when Yegyeol showed himself, his face was smooth as a peeled egg.

‘If the Black Ghost weren’t another identity of my lord… my head would have rolled…’

Feeling a pointless chill, Samrang adjusted her collar.

When she’d first been assigned to bodyguard duty, the lord had told her to let Young Master Mun do whatever he liked. Only, with this incident, it had become clear that this sort of deviance did not fall under “whatever.”

Though no related order had yet been given, Samrang was already certain.

Je Haryang had taken Mun Yegyeol into his arms again.

Samrang did not presume to judge her lord’s choices. In truth, taboos of the rivers and lakes were not of much importance to her.

Hence, when Haryang first took Yegyeol, though she was surprised, she did not consider it a problem.

Because there had been a clear purpose: detoxification.

But this time, there wasn’t even that pretext.

Mun Yegyeol crossed the threshold of the Black Spot drunk, and somehow, he dragged the Black Ghost to bed.

‘Isn’t he far too cherished a person to embrace merely out of desire?’

She had been born and raised half her life among the orthodox, but the remaining half she had lived as a hound of the demonic path. That was time enough for all doctrines and taboos of the martial world to crumble within Je Haryang.

Yet Je Haryang cherished his disciple to a fault.

Enough to ignore the dying words of Kunlun’s late head and set foot into a forbidden precinct.

He never denied a title that had already lost its meaning when he was cast out, and because he was his disciple, he placed all manner of things into Mun Yegyeol’s hands.

Time in Cheonghae alone not sufficing, Haryang even donned the skin of the Black Ghost to come to Sichuan.

He might say it was to lull the Six Houses of the Demonic Way into carelessness, but had it not been for Mun Yegyeol, he would have chosen some other method.

‘He’s not aiming to unify the martial world… and yet he’s been away from the Ten-Thousand-Daemon Mountains so long.’

Samrang scrutinized Yegyeol’s glossy face. Even the easygoing Samrang felt perturbed, while his face overflowed with delight.

“What exactly did you do at the Black Spot? Didn’t I warn you twice, thrice to be careful of the Black Ghost, and you heard not a word?”

‘Surely Young Master Mun hasn’t seen through the lord being the Black Ghost?’

The sudden doubt made Samrang shake her head inwardly.

Her lord’s skin-mask was so perfect one could feel warmth upon touching it, and his disguise technique had reached the level of unfolding as naturally as breath. Even the voice‑changing draught was one Samrang herself could not use; it burned the vocal cords.

Unless one was a master of Je Haryang’s exalted realm, it wrecked the throat beyond use. With no antidote of meaning, one had to heal with one’s own vitality; there was no way Young Master Mun could pierce such meticulous masquerade.

“I’m broadening my connections.”

Yegyeol answered shamelessly.

“It’s necessary to run the Cheonghae Trading Company well. I need to raise it to the ranks of the Three Great Trading Houses of the Central Plains.”

Samrang almost asked if he still hadn’t given up on that dream, then kept her mouth shut.

“As expected, Samrang understands.”

“Hoo…”

Her sigh held a blend of feelings. Yegyeol feigned ignorance.

Still, given that she breathed not a word about the Black Ghost’s identity, it seemed his senior brother had chosen his subordinates well.

“You’ll be coming to Sichuan often now, won’t you?”

Samrang asked for confirmation. She needed to ascertain Yegyeol’s intentions in advance.

“It seems that way.”

“What shall I tell the lord?”

Under Samrang’s piercing gaze, Yegyeol replied briskly,

“To senior brother… Mm, let’s say the poison’s aftereffects made me rely on the Black Ghost’s help.”

After feeding him every last spoonful of congee, it was Je Haryang himself who had kindly supplied the cover story.

Fond of getting something for nothing, Yegyeol gratefully pocketed the excuse.

“If the lord learns the truth, he’ll faint.”

Though she felt reluctant to depict Je Haryang as delicate, Samrang managed it with a calm face. She wanted to know what on earth Yegyeol was thinking.

“Count on Samrang.”

Yegyeol answered brazenly, paused, then added,

“And in fact, it isn’t a lie. I really did get aftereffects from that damned poisoning attempt.”

Meeting his eyes sidelong, Samrang wore a look of exasperation.

She had watched him not merely run but fly beside her—what “aftereffects”?

“To remain his senior brother’s disciple… there’s no other way.”

To Samrang, it would sound like sheer nonsense. In any case, Yegyeol was not trying to explain it to her.

His target was his senior brother, who would inevitably hear what he said.

“Let’s hurry back to Cheonghae. Senior brother will be waiting.”

Wrapping up with Samrang, Yegyeol urged her on. Swallowing a sigh, she told him,

“Once we return to the manor, don’t come looking for me.”

“For what?”

“I’m going to take a superb vacation—at least until your next excursion.”

“Do I cause that much trouble?”

“Given the nature of my profession, even someone with patience like mine is rare, but at this rate I’ll die of pent‑up anger.”

Knowing her temperament made that unlikely, yet seeing her use it as a pretext, Yegyeol laughed.

“Do as you like. I’ll inform senior brother.”

Thinking on it, had it not been Samrang, an ordinary person serving as his bodyguard might have keeled over long ago.

The one he guarded strayed from sight, then even went into Sichuan’s perilous black market and slept with a cadre there; worse, he asked his employer to hide that it had ever happened.

If nothing else, wouldn’t that earn one a magnificent case of stress‑induced gastritis?

‘Well, there’ll be plenty of times to make use of Samrang going forward, so better treat her well.’

“I mean it. Five meals a day, and I’ll drain a tub of liquor each time. And I won’t come out of the armory all day.”

“Sure, sure.”

“And then—”

All the way back to Cheonghae, Yegyeol listened with unusual generosity to Samrang’s vacation plans.

At first, it seemed she started out of spite, but as she talked, she grew lively and chattered on, quite excited.

“May I take the Thousand-Year Thunder Lizard Net and give it some training?”

As the manor came into view, Yegyeol cut her off at once.

“No.”

“Isn’t it a talent far too precious to waste?”

Samrang, impatient, said,

“When it burned down that mountain stronghold last time, I thought it was just randomly calling down lightning. But watching how it adjusted force to my various trials when making the cinnabar‑red wood, I felt it could hardly be called a mere spirit-beast. If we could refine that ability just a bit more, it would be a tremendous help.”

Well…

‘That’s because Baembaem is the mascot and I’m the one using the power.’

Unable to tell the truth, Yegyeol only shook his head.

Samrang pressed him persistently.

It felt like watching a master in some field, thrilled to have found a peerless prodigy, saying, “Honored sir! Entrust the child to me, and I will make of them the greatest talent in the world!”

‘Mustn’t give in.’

Hearing variations of “Baembaem is a genius! Baembaem is best!” was tempting, but Yegyeol held fast to reason.

He had to con the whole Central Plains; it wouldn’t do to squander his capital so soon.

“No is no, no matter what you say.”

Isn’t that right, Baembaem? he asked, and Baembaem, draped around his neck, bobbed its head.

If anything, that made Samrang’s eyes shine brighter.

“You’re truly hard‑hearted.”

Yegyeol was a formidable opponent. No matter how much sweet talk she poured on, he wouldn’t budge.

“Then, how about teaching it infiltration techniques?”

Even after being rejected several times, Samrang was relentless.

“Hm?”

At her suggestion, Yegyeol showed interest for the first time.

“It understands speech, and it has a special knack for slipping into most buildings.”

When Yegyeol nodded, Samrang’s eyes lit up.

“There’s no guarantee a room will always be empty, like when we dealt with Hangsu. If we teach the Thousand-Year Thunder Lizard Net—no, Baembaem—the art of hiding itself, it will surely be of great help.”

Since it would ultimately be training for Baembaem’s safety, Yegyeol’s heart shifted a little. Stroking the dainty horn atop Baembaem’s head, he considered, then answered,

“…That much wouldn’t be bad.”

Having finally won permission, Samrang, delighted, punched the air.

“Yahoo!”

It would be hard to find even a skyscraper in her name that could make her look that adorable.

“Why are you so happy…?”

Yegyeol shook his head. She had licked her lips greedily whenever she looked at Baembaem, but he hadn’t expected quite this.

“Just the existence of a spirit-beast that can infiltrate changes the landscape of the trade! And if I’m the one to train it, I can also gauge its limits. If others find out, they’ll be green with envy.”

At Samrang’s muttered “let them be sick with jealousy,” a faint madness showed.

“Trade? Others?”

Yegyeol didn’t miss the words and asked. But whether too excited to hear, or realizing she’d slipped, Samrang sprinted off, pretending not to hear, and darted into the manor.

A bodyguard overtaking the one she guarded — an unheard-of sight. Clicking his tongue, Yegyeol followed.

‘Is she careless, or does she trust me too much?’

The more he experienced her, the looser she seemed — and yet, at critical moments, there was not a gap to be found.

‘All of senior brother’s subordinates are fascinating.’

Yegyeol’s eyes sharpened.