Cold sweat ran down the man’s whole body. Thick beads of sweat kept tracing his sides and back.
But the man did not feel it at all. If a blade were to pass over him now, he might not be able to focus on the sensation or the pain.
The reason was exceedingly simple.
Because pain is only a fleeting thing. Would soone whose head was bitten by a tiger care about a wound on the back of their hand?
Moreover, the person the man faced now could not even be compared to a re tiger.
“Hmm.”
A low, sibilant sound escaped, and the man’s body involuntarily flinched and shrank.
“It seems you do not like the tea.”
“W-what? N-no... How could that be? Certainly, absolutely not, Alliance lord.”
“Who is there?”
Before the man could finish speaking, the attendants who had been waiting outside the door imdiately entered.
“Bring fresh tea. Warm it properly.”
“Yes.”
The attendants retrieved the teacup set before the man and left the room with polite movents. Seeing that, the man bit the inside of his lip without realizing it.
He was afraid his failure to drink the tea might have upset the person before him.
“Hmm.”
At that mont, the gaze fixed on the man ford a strange crescent-shaped curve. It was a smile that in no way felt malicious.
But the person eting that smile could not possibly feel at ease.
“There is no need to be so nervous, leader.”
“I-I’m sorry. I just...”
“No, no. I’m not blaming you. I understand completely.”
It was indeed a soft, warmly affectionate voice.
“However... Leader, you needn’t fear so much.”
“Y-yes! Of course...”
“If I had intended to harm you, leader, I wouldn’t have needed to resort to such a shabby thod, would I?”
The aning behind those words was clearly benevolent, and the phrasing was not improper. The problem was the speaker himselfJang Ilso of the banded forces. Even innocent words, when spoken by Jang Ilso, seed to beco chilling.
“...I understand.”
The one called leader nodded helplessly. Seeing that, Jang Ilso smiled faintly again.
“I know how the world thinks of , but I’m not as wantonly cruel as you might imagine. Especially toward those I find valuable, I’m closer to a gentle sort of person.”
Not knowing how to reply, the man fell silent. Jang Ilso’s eyes curved fully.
“Is it hard to believe?”
“N-no, of course not! Alliance lord! I-I believe you!”
“Hahaha!”
Jang Ilso laughed as if amused, wore an alluring smile, propped his chin lightly, and stared intently at the man.
“The reason I arranged this eting is that I will need Leader’s assistance in the future.”
“...How could soone like , rely a rchant, be of any help to soone as exalted as leader?”
The man glanced nervously at Jang Ilso. Jang Ilso simply stared at him without speaking. Realizing he’d chosen the wrong words, the man imdiately changed his tone.
“B-but if even my ager strength could help Alliance Lord, I would gladly break my bones and renew myself! I would give my life in loyalty!”
It was an excessively extre vow of loyalty, but Jang Ilso’s expression remained unchanged.
After silently watching the man for a long mont, Jang Ilso finally opened his mouth in slow speech.
“Loyalty...”
How to describe the emotion in that voice?
“A rchant’s words are so soft and sweet, but...”
Jang Ilso’s gaze was still gentle, yet it swept over the man’s entire body like a living venomous snake.
“They are equally dangerous and empty.”
For a mont the man’s blood ran cold. Each quietly spoken word rang through his mind like a repeated bell. Knowing that hundreds or thousands of heads could fall in an instant according to this capricious devil’s mood, he could do nothing but prostrate himself.
“The... the punishnt for my reckless mouth...”
“A rchant’s work is ultimately profit.”
“...”
“Isn’t that so?”
Beads of sweat welled on the man’s forehead.
Jang Ilso began slowly.
“I am aware that because of the situation along the Yangtze, rchants in Southern lands have suffered ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) great losses. As Alliance Lord of the Four Sects Alliance, I apologize.”
The mont the word ‘apology’ ca from Jang Ilso’s mouth, the man’s face drained of color.
“W-who are we to say you must apologize? Wasn’t it a decisive asure to stabilize the realm? Who could not see that?”
“A decisive asure... hah hah hah.”
At the word ‘decisive asure,’ Jang Ilso snorted with mockery as if he couldn’t help it.
“I’m grateful if you think so. In any case, I’m not asking you to give up profit and sacrifice yourself for the Four Sects Alliance. Rather, I’m proposing that we find a way to help each other.”
“...Help us, you say?”
“It’s simple.”
Jang Ilso brought the teacup in his hand to his lips and took a very slow sip, a gesture that showed he didn’t much care whether the man opposite him burned inside with worry.
“Leader.”
“Y-yes! Alliance Lord...”
“If rchants need profit, what the Four Sects Alliance needs is stability.”
“...Stability, you say?”
“Everything needs a solid foundation. Isn’t stability the most important thing for that?”
Of course, it was true.
Yet the reason he had to ask was because the one who said it was Jang Ilso. Considering his past actions, words like ‘radical’ or ‘extre’ suited him far more than ‘stability.’
“That may be so, but...”
“In truth, the lives of commoners in the Southern Lands are hardly stable right now.”
When Jang Ilso said this with a slight sigh, the man looked at him in surprise.
‘Is this really Jang Ilso, the Hegemony Lord?’
Of course the man knew it was true. Who else in the world wore such splendid attire? Even if there were two such figures, who besides Jang Ilso here in the Four Sects Alliance could control the terrifying leaders of the Evil Sect with a re spoon?
Seeing the man’s evident surprise, Jang Ilso gave a strange smile.
“Why? Is it strange to hear such words from ?”
“N-no, not at all, but...”
“Ha. There’s nothing strange. Leader, it is true that I am the head of the Evil Sect and have killed many people; I am certainly a murderer.”
“...”
“However... that does not an I should needlessly oppress the common people. What I want for in Southern lands is rely stability and order.”
The man opened his mouth several tis and closed it again, unsure what to say that would not offend Jang Ilso’s inscrutable mood.
“So I make this request. rchants pursue profit, and they sotis forget that profit exists because there are people to buy goods.”
When the man thought he had no idea of the intent, Jang Ilso casually continued.
“I know that since Four Sects Alliance took control of the Southern Lands, the rchant guilds there have been secretly hiding and stockpiling grain and goods.”
“A-alliance Lord...”
“Ah.”
Jang Ilso waved a hand heavy with ornants as if to tell him not to interrupt.
“Do not misunderstand. I’m not blaming you for that. When tis are perilous, hunkering down is sotis wise.”
“...Th-thank you for understanding.”
For a mont it felt as if his soul had fled and barely returned. The man felt he would rather beg to have his head struck off cleanly.
At that mont, Jang Ilso’s wet eyes narrowed slightly.
“But there are limits to pursuing profit. To hoard grain while people starve is beyond the pale, is it not?”
“...”
“I understand you hold great sway over the rchant guilds in the Southern Land. The na Sim Yi-Gyeong of the Nanjing rchant Group is held in the highest regard in the Southern lands.”
“...You flatter .”
“So go and announce this: release all the grain stored in the warehouses. Bring the other goods you have gathered to the Four Sects Alliance. They will be used to rebuild Hangzhou.”
Sim Yi-Gyeong’s body began to tremble. The words he least wanted to hear had finally co from Jang Ilso’s mouth. The world blurred before his eyes. While he wished soone would just cut his throat, an utterly unexpected offer reached his ears.
“And charge for the goods. I will have them paid within a month.”
“...Excuse ?”
So stunned was Sim Yi-Gyeong that he repeated the question in a dazed voice.
“I said I will pay for them. Why the surprise? Did you think I would have them stolen from you?”
“N-no, of course not. Alliance lord!”
“Hahahahahaha!”
Finding the reaction amusing, Jang Ilso jostled and laughed loudly.
“Good, good. But... do not be overly greedy when setting prices. I like a person with ambition, but I despise one who overreaches. Do you understand?”
“O-of course. Who would be greedy in a matter that benefits all people!”
“Hmm.”
A snort escaped from Jang Ilso. Sim Yi-Gyeong watched cautiously.
“W-well, if I simply announce it...”
“And.”
“Y-yes! Alliance Lord!”
“I will open the Yangtze to you; resu trade with Northern regions.”
At that, Sim Yi-Gyeong’s eyes widened.
“There is one condition.”
“...What is it?”
“Ensure that the grain and goods taken from the warehouses reach not only the large cities but also the villages where the poor live.”
“...”
“Just as blood runs through a person’s veins, let the lifeblood of logistics flow again through all of the Southern lands. The sa applies to goods traded with North.”
“If that can happen, we will welco it. After all, rchants live by the flow of goods, do they not?”
Sim Yi-Gyeong continued, sweating coldly.
“But... right now in Gangnam, moving goods is impossible. If anything valuable goes out on the roads even a little...”
“Looters would strike?”
“That is...”
“Accept that risk.”
“Excuse ?”
Surprised, Sim Yi-Gyeong asked, and Jang Ilso smiled softly.
“Only the first one or two tis. After that, no one will think of looting. Once those who first touch the goods see their flesh picked away bit by bit over a month as they die, they’ll think twice.”
A chilling cold ran down leader Sim’s spine at those words.
“So leader, quickly mobilize the rchant guilds to distribute grain and goods across the realm, and send what you’ve stockpiled to Northern Lands to earn profit. But ensure the proceeds of that profit reach all of the Southern lands. That is the condition Four Sects Alliance sets for the rchant guilds. In return, the guilds will be allowed unrestricted trade in the Southern lands.”
“T-thank you, Alliance lord!”
“Don’t ntion it.”
Jang Ilso smiled quietly. Seeing that, a small doubt arose in Sim Yi-Gyeong’s heart.
“...But...”
“Hmm?”
Perhaps it was courage on Sim Yi-Gyeong’s part. Nomore accurately, it was a sense of discomfort he felt.
Jang Ilso, the Hegemony Lord is the most reviled leader of the Evil Sect in the realm. For him, having completely taken control of Four Sects Alliance, to first spend his own funds to save the starving people of Southern lands felt terribly incongruous.
So Sim Yi-Gyeong finally asked, putting aside a rising fear.
“Why are you doing such benevolent governance... ?”
“Is it strange?”
“...”
“Or is there so reason you think this should not be done?”
“N-no, it’s not that.”
“Well?”
Jang Ilso said with a deep smile.
“I’m not as bad a person as people think, am I?”
“B-bad person? That’s utterly unfair! I would never even entertain such a thought for a mont.”
Jang Ilso laughed pleasantly, lowered his gaze slowly, and smiled.
“It’s a good thing. A very good thing. While the world misunderstands , I’m truly grateful that at least you, Leader, understand.”
“...”
“You pursue profit, Leader, and I pursue stability; we can form a mutually beneficial relationship. I look forward to working together.”
“Yes! Alliance Lord! I will do my best.”
The normally pale Sim Yi-Gyeong felt a flicker of excitent rise on his face.
Although he felt his life had been shortened by a decade, at least he could now sell his stockpiled goods and reopen blocked trade routes.
He might not make huge profits right away, but being able to resu logistics was itself a gain.
And since Jang Ilso seed more anable to discussion than expected, it might not take long to seize huge profits through this opportunity...
“Ah. By the wayone more thing.”
“Yes?”
Sim Yi-Gyeong looked up in surprise. At that mont, he saw it.
The unbearably chilling light pouring from Jang Ilso’s beautifully curved eyes.
“Just in case, pass this thoroughly through the guilds: I, Jang Ilso, am a man who likes to make examples.”
“...”
“Isn’t the difference between a person and a pig that people know gratitude? One who understands gratitude receives kindness as kindness. But if soone does not receive my kindness as kindness...”
Jang Ilso lightly licked his red lips.
“Leader, you will co to knowonce again, in a sowhat different waythat the man the world speaks of and the man I truly am are sowhat different.”
All the strength drained from Sim Yi-Gyeong’s body.
“Please drink the tea I had brought out. Consider it my courtesy. Hahahahaha!”
As Jang Ilso rose laughing loudly, an attendant brought out the tea and set it before Sim Yi-Gyeong.
That day, Sim Yi-Gyeong could not finish that one cup of tea even after more than an hour.
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