“… the ones who came in before, wasn’t that the young master of the Eunha Merchant Guild?”

“I guess so.”

“… how much is our work going to grow?”

Baek Cheon looked at the hall with an anxious face.

Even Hwang Jongi was being made to attend to the place where Chung Myung and Hyun Jong were in.

“Is this even the right thought?”

“…well.”

“I don’t understand. Why are you anxious?”

When Yu Yiseol asked, Baek Cheon’s face contorted.

“Yes, of course, starting a new business on Mount Hua is good. But it isn’t something to worry about either.”

“Right.”

“But the problem is that he is the one leading the business, you know, that one. Has anything he has ever guided or planned ever ended peacefully?”

Yoon Jong added with a serious face,

“And the backlash usually falls on us.”

“That is what I mean.”

Baek Cheon looked at the hall with an uneasy expression.

“This time, it should end without an incident.”

Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong sighed at this.

“… the business is already good enough.”

Hwang Jongi opened his mouth after pondering for a while, looking at the map placed on the table.

“This is quite…”

On a whim?

No, no…

It cannot be called an act based on a whim. Because there were many escort services that have been trying to shorten the time to transport goods.

There were many who would pay money for time saved.

But…

‘This is an idea others cannot implement either.’

Normal escort services wouldn’t even dare to hire the disciples of a clan that called itself ‘the Ghost Clan’.

Regardless of the money or profit they would bring, the warriors of the clan itself would feel ashamed to do such trivial work.

And since this was Mount Hua and Chung Myung, they were even attempting to say something like this…

But…

‘The question is if the Ghost Clan and its leader will understand this.’

Hwang Jongi looked at Do Un-Chan with a worried face. At the same time, Do Un-Chan remained silent for a bit before speaking up,

“That… Young Disciple.”

“Yes?”

“It isn’t that you don’t understand. I did try to…”

“No. It seems like you still don’t understand.”

“No, I do understand, but.”

“No. It seems like you don’t.”

Hwang Jongi’s serious face softened.

‘This isn’t a matter of understanding or not.’

He forgot for a moment that it was Chung Myung who was pushing this deal, which meant this monster would get something done.

“I fully understand. This is a big money-earning business.”

“It isn’t like that.”

But, a little support would be required. Hwang Jongi turned to Do Un-Chan and said,

“It seems that the rumor about a clan leader not being selected is true. But, Young Leader, how much profit this will bring is not even understood, but I can say that the money earned is a lot more than what you are thinking.”

“… Uh?”

“This cannot be considered regular escort work. How many disciples of the Ghost Clan are there? They will not be able to work like normal escorts.”

Do Un-Chan tilted his head.

“Then…”

“When it comes to doing business, there are situations when time is more important than thousands of coins. If you are competing for goods, there are times when one has to move things as quickly as possible.”

Jo Gul, who was next to him, nodded his head, and Hwang Jongi continued smoothly,

“That’s the people we will be aiming for. The ones who want things to move the quickest. Those who can pay afford to pay as much as possible in order to get things done as quickly as possible. And then…”

He paused for a moment and stroked his chin,

“Those who want to show off that they can get things moved quickly will offer their assistance.”

“Uh? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Haha. That is a bit difficult to say, so let’s skip over that.”

Hwang Jongi smiled bitterly.

It would not be easy for them to understand the showing off of money to others. No matter how much they tried to explain, only experiencing the situation would tell them.

“And if you do it well, you can get around a hundred times the normal rate for moving one package. And that is a very large amount.”

“Ah. Hundred times.”

At that time, Chung Myung gave an excessive reaction.

“No, Young Disciple. This is really….”

“Hahaha. Hwang Jongi, your master seems to have made an exaggeration. Moving one thing for a hundredfold is… Hahahah!”

“No, this…”

Hwang Jongi stopped speaking and stayed silent.

Chung Myung’s eyes were smiling, but not his mouth.

‘A…’

And something flashed through his mind. If the leader of the Ghost Clan found out that this would bring huge profit, their demand for money would emerge.

‘…he is making sure they know.’

To think that he, who was a merchant, forgot about such things and this child didn’t… was scary in a sense.

“Anyway!”

Chung Myung slammed the table,

“This is a great thing for the Ghost Clan too! I mean it!”

Do Un-Chan, who was thinking deeply, tilted his head.

“But I don’t understand it at all… if it was such an important thing, then why haven’t any escort services directly hired warriors to carry things?”

“With what means would they hire them?”

“… Uh?”

“It isn’t just a matter of getting the fast warriors out there, they have to actually find them first. If hiring such people was an easy process, then the entire nation would be swept up in that wave.”

In particular, skilled warriors who were faster than average were rare to come across. But that wasn’t appropriate to say.

“And even if they are hired, there is another problem.”

At Hwang Jongi’s words, Do Un-chan tilted his head,

“Now, what is that….”

“If you hire someone that will escort it, it has to be an expensive or valuable item worth sending quickly. Or a document that holds especially important information. But what if there is someone who steals it?”

“…the customer will be angry.”

“Yes. No matter how hard one tries, it is hard to get a single person to run while also fighting off many at the same time, all across this vast land.”

Do Un-chan nodded.

“So being fast isn’t enough. There has to be someone who looks after them. Even if something is lost, the compensation will be huge, and the money the item brings will cause problems. As the case stands, the client might kill them. This is a scenario where mistakes aren’t allowed.”

The former might not be known, but the latter was something that anyone could understand.

‘Death.’

Do Un-Chan’s gaze turned to Chung Myung, and he felt a chill run down his spine as the young disciple smiled at him.

“Eh. Would you do something like that? If the cost was one’s life.”

See…

Hwang Jongi was smiling as he said,

“And if compensation is an issue, Eunha will give credit to this business. It shouldn’t happen, but if something does occur, the Eunha Guild will compensate the funds.”

And as for Mount Hua…

It wasn’t just once or twice that Mount Hua took a leap, such as when they went ahead with the tea trade business. It was clear that Mount Hua was turning into a business magnate.

“Above all, there is a trust which has been built for a long time between Eunha merchants and the officials. If we start a business and put our name on it, everyone will trust us with these things.”

So come on!

Come over, man! We are going to make money!

Hwang Jongi’s eyes were filled with desire.

A business that no merchant guild had managed to pioneer in this nation. And if they could use this right, not just money but also his Eunha Merchant Guild’s reputation would rise.

Hwang Jongi, who knew how much money fame could bring, was happy.

“But…”

But contrary to the expectations, Do Un-chan had a bland response.

“I do understand everything and that this is a good chance, but…”

He seemed a lot firmer.

“I am sorry, but I will have to decline.”

“… Young Leader?”

Do Un-chan shook his head at Hwang Jongi’s question.

“I am a person who has decided to dedicate my life to raising my clan up. Money isn’t important for our clan. The important thing is to regain our past honor, and if you are a warrior, you might understand what I mean.”

Do Un-Chan, who thought he won as he gave a resolute response, looked at Chung Myung as he gave his response.

But the reaction that came back shocked him.

“What?”

“…”

“No, is this man dreaming or something?”

“Chung Myung, he is a guest.”

“But he is dreaming.”

“Even so…”

The more Hyun Young thought about it, the more absurd this man looked.

Chung Myung looked at Do Un-Chan and clicked his tongue.

“Mister. No, Young Leader.”

“… Uh?”

“Do warriors live by digging soil?”

“…”

No? We eat to live…

“Mister, have you ever been to Shaolin?”

“I-I have never been there.”

“Even Shaolin, the most famous sect, wakes up each morning to sweep a place for its guests to come and pay their respect. Have you, Mister, learned martial arts more diligently than the brats from Shaolin?”

“…”

“Listen here, Mister.”

“Uh?”

“A sect needs money to grow.”

“…”

“On the Central Plains, there are one or two clans that have become famous in their regions, and they have managed to gain great fame. Yet, such sects or clans rarely last long. Why do you think so?”

“…W-Well.”

“Because they don’t have money.”

“…”

The eyes of Do Un-Chan shook violently. It was a logic he had never heard in his life till now.

“No. My words are right. I wonder if you don’t have the heart to be large and prosperous like Shaolin. Well, martial arts are something to be practiced under a waterfall, right? So no matter how hard you try, you will be living off tree roots and mud then!”

Logical or not, the strong claim of Chung Myung shook the roots of Do Un-Chan’s heart.

The voice of Chung Myung continued to grow stronger and stronger.

“Money! First is money! To be honest, in order for the Ghost Clan to succeed, you have to have the desire to change first. Think about it. Who would even join the Ghost Clan? Even I wouldn’t give it a go.”

Hyun Young nodded with a happy face at this touching speech.

Chung Myung continued to stare at the man.

“You said you wanted to revive your clan to its glory?”

“Y-Yes.”

“What will you even revive?”

“…”

“Do you think that if your martial arts get stronger, your clan will be revived? Surely your clan is fast. If rumors spread about it, will anyone even come and join a destitute clan?”

Do Un-Chan shook his head as he continued to listen.

“First is the entrance! The entrance of a martial arts sect should be grand! Huh? The land in a huge city is expensive, enough to build a royal palace! Huh! All you have is ‘Ghost Clan’ written on the board! Just once, get it out open!”

From the start of his speech, Chung Myung’s eyes were shining.

“If you want to revitalize your clan, then earn money! Money! A moneyless clan will end up as just another middle-class clan no matter what they try to do!”

“…”

“If you knew how much money the Nine Great Sects have made all the while, you would die! What is the point of learning martial arts from morning to night in a rural village or on a mountain? Those bastards are rich enough to make it easy like that! They have so many and yet have the money to feed them all!”

“…that is true, but…”

“Say it. A clan is money!”

“Uh… Clan is money!”

“Do you know why Mount Hua is doing well these days?”

“… Because it has money?”

“Now you know!”

Only then did Chung Myung nod. However, Do Un-Chan just felt like his eardrums were going to burst.

But he knew one thing for sure.

‘Money.’

Of course, this wasn’t something he had avoided thinking about. The Ghost Clan also had a great name in the past.

And right now, they were thinking about how to feed their existing members. But to take orders from people and deliver…

‘Not getting rich because they are strong, but they are strong because they are rich.’

Haha.

How can those who don’t have money to put in their mouths even train their martial arts all day?

These were the words that touched his heart.

If another sect had made such an offer, he would have been suspicious of them. But here was none other than Mount Hua. Why would Mount Hua, who is the best right now, try to cheat the mere Ghost Clan?

“That… can I ask one more question?”

“Ask anything.”

“… if we set out to do this, can we really make enough money to revitalize my clan?”

Chung Myung smiled and reached out as he grabbed Do Un-Chan by the shoulder.

“Young Leader.”

“Uh?”

“Who should learn to fish?”

“That… fisherman.”

“Did you hear about Mount Hua five years ago?”

“… No.”

“Now?”

“That….”

The entire world was talking about them.

“Right? We are great.”

“….”

Do Un-Chan couldn’t respond to Chung Myung’s words, which instilled confidence in him.

“We were really at the bottom. Huh? No, it wasn’t even the bottom. We were the sect that climbed up from the drain!”

“… Chung Myung. Isn’t drain a bit too harsh?”

“Trust me and leave this to me. I will make the name of Ghost Clan resound all over the world! I am not the kind to do this to anyone!”

This was the decisive blow.

“W-Well, if you say that, we have no choice but to answer so.”

“Right. Right. Now, make the right decision here. Elder?”

“Come on. Where is the Clan Leader’s Seal? We can get this done, right?”

“Kuak! As expected!”

In the blink of an eye, a contract was written, and the seal was stamped onto it.

Do Un-Chan, who finished signing it, nodded, looking shocked. But even then, he was a bit excited.

‘This is a good chance.’

Regardless of everything else, The Mount Hua Sect did achieve something everyone wanted. Even if they cannot make a lot of money, being on their side could help the Ghost Clan out a…

“Chung Myung ah…”

At that time, Hyun Jong, who had been watching this, spoke with a sad face.

“Yes?”

“… this isn’t cheating, right?”

“Eh. Me? No way! Hehe.”

Chung Myung smiled, scratching his head, and in an instant, Do Un-Chan’s face began to distort.

‘I can… really trust you, right?’

But unfortunately, the documents were already signed.