Chapter 56

Chapter 56.

Cold snowflakes piled up on Jin Sowol’s shoulders as she knelt before the door of the inner hall.

Even in the mountain wind that cut at the skin, she did not move at all.

Uncheon looked down at her indifferently.

The backs of her hands were split and cracked from gripping the spear shaft, and thick calluses had formed over every joint.

They were not the hands of a woman raised gently, but the traces of a martial artist.

“I heard that Jin Muyang’s spear arts displayed the majesty of the Black Dragon. And yet now his daughter wishes to call herself a mere gang member?”

A cold silence swept across the training ground.

Little Dragon and the gang members held their breath and watched the corners of the Gang Leader’s lips.

“If only you will accept me...... I will devote myself to the gang with the spirit of selfless service!”

A faint curve formed at the corners of Uncheon’s mouth.

However, the voice that followed was as cold as ice.

“However, I have no intention of accepting you as a gang member.”

Jin Sowol’s shoulders visibly shrank.

It was the consequence of the commotion she had caused, claiming she would reclaim the name of the Black Dragon Gang.

She bit her dry lips and lowered her head.

“......I understand. I apologize for my presumptuous rudeness.”

Just as her voice, mixed with despair, settled low over the snowy ground, Uncheon’s voice struck the training ground like a thunderbolt.

“Instead, as of today, I appoint Jin Sowol as a temporary instructor of the Black Dragon Gang.”

“......!”

Jin Sowol raised her head in shock.

“The years contained in your spear art are too precious to rot away as an ordinary gang member. Prove the blood and sweat you shed alone to the gang members. And seize your qualifications for yourself. That is my way.”

Jin Sowol’s shoulders trembled faintly.

Temporary or not, it was a position of teaching the gang members.

Jin Sowol’s black eyes trembled slightly.

Though temporary, it was a weighty position responsible for the Black Dragon Gang’s martial force.

He was treating her, someone who had caused a sudden disturbance, as a comrade, and as a martial artist whose ability he acknowledged.

“......I obey your command. I, Jin Sowol, will stand at the vanguard of the Black Dragon Gang.”

Jin Sowol clenched her fist tightly and bowed her head deeply.

“I like your resolve. Little Dragon, bestow upon her the Black Dragon Gang’s old flag. It seems it is time for her to reclaim her martial arts.”

Uncheon gestured with his chin and instructed Little Dragon beside him.

Both Little Dragon and Jin Sowol’s mouths fell open.

“...You knew?”

“H-How?!”

“I saw your martial arts. An ordinary spear pursues the straight line, but your methods also place weight on the curve that coils and turns. A method that overcomes the resistance of a flag and governs the wind... That does not appear to be merely an irregular spear art, but a banner art.”

In other words, Jin Muyang’s true martial art was not a simple spear art, but a martial art that used a banner spear with a flag attached.

Uncheon had seen through it after only one duel.

Jin Sowol’s eyes filled with astonishment.

After her father laid down the Black Dragon Gang’s flag, Jin Sowol had practiced the martial art alone, thinking of it as an “irregular spear art.”

But the Gang Leader had seen through to its foundation in a single duel.

“M-May I ask one thing?”

Jin Sowol spoke in a trembling voice.

“Of course.”

“Then if I wield not a spear, but a banner... can I become stronger than I am now?”

“If you can handle it properly.”

“......!”

“Compared to a spear, a banner is not easy to wield. You must learn staff arts and spear arts, of course, as well as the principles of controlling a fluttering flag. If you cannot learn it properly, you will only expose your weaknesses. However... if it reaches its peak, it will be more powerful and more irregular than spear arts. Is that all you wished to ask?”

At Uncheon’s answer, fighting spirit blazed in Jin Sowol’s eyes.

That alone made it clear what choice Jin Sowol would make.

“Y-Yes, it is!”

“Jin Sowol, accustom your hands to the banner spear, and teach the gang members long weapons, including staffs and spears.”

Uncheon turned his head and gestured at Little Dragon with his chin.

“Little Dragon, you guide her. Make her learn this gang’s rules and our current training system.”

“I obey your command! I, Little Dragon, am once again awed by your insight, Gang Leader!”

Little Dragon answered loudly, then came back carrying a dusty black box from deep within the storeroom.

“Sister, do you understand now? Why I, Little Dragon, cast away all my pride and served that man...?”

Little Dragon approached Jin Sowol with his usual sly patter, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“......I am sorry, Little Dragon. I thought you had sold the Black Dragon Gang to some nameless nobody, but you had grabbed the tail of a dragon ascending to the heavens.”

At Jin Sowol’s apology, Little Dragon shrugged with his characteristic sly smile.

“I knew it the moment I saw him. That he was not someone who would remain at a mere one-hundredth rank on the Wind and Cloud Ranking....”

“You were quite clever even as a child. I thought you only grew more cunning as you grew older... but you are rather impressive.”

“Haha... In any case... please open the box.”

When the lid was opened, an enormous flag engraved with the pattern of a black dragon revealed itself.

Flutter—.

The sound of the flag spreading in the mountain wind sounded like the roar of a dragon.

Little Dragon murmured in deep emotion.

“To think this flag would stand on the training ground again.......”

Just as the conversation of those who had cleared away their misunderstanding continued, a ringing shout came through the wreckage of the main gate.

“The Ilwol Merchant Guild requests an audience with the Black Dragon Gang Leader!”

The ringing shout shook the training ground.

A man wearing a bamboo hat pulled low over his face was offering a clasped hands greeting as he pushed through the snow.

“Wh-What?”

“No way, one of the Central Plains’ Ten Great Merchant Associations?”

In an instant, the training ground froze.

‘The Ilwol Merchant Guild? That enormous merchant guild that holds the gold veins of the Central Plains is offering congratulations first?’

‘Has the Black Dragon Gang already reached that level?’

Awe settled in the gang members’ eyes.

Uncheon, on the other hand, was calm.

It was clearly something Yuha, the Young Guild Master of the Ilwol Merchant Guild, had arranged.

‘That fox has set up a stage. What is he plotting this time?’

Leaving the murmuring gang members behind, Uncheon quietly gave an order.

“Little Dragon, escort the guest to the office. And.......”

“Understood. I will do so!”

The Gang Leader’s office.

The charcoal fire in the brazier burned with crackling sounds.

Uncheon faced the man who had come from the Ilwol Merchant Guild.

“I am Geum Budong, Qinghai Branch Manager of the Ilwol Merchant Guild.”

His aura was neatly restrained, and his eyes were sharp.

He radiated the pressure of a major figure responsible for the economy of an entire province.

“Did Yuha send you? State your business first.”

Geum Budong smiled benevolently, took something from his bosom, and placed it on the table.

Clink—.

What Geum Budong carefully placed on the table with a metallic sound was the Demonic Martial Hall Master’s Black Iron Plaque, exquisitely split in half.

It was the token Yuha had once paid when he moved the Life-and-Death Exalted One for Uncheon’s sake.

‘So he means for me to repay the debt.’

Uncheon tapped the cold Black Iron Plaque with his finger.

“You seem to have come to recover your investment. Very well. What does Yuha want?”

Geum Budong answered with a smiling gaze.

“The Young Guild Master evaluated the Black Dragon Gang’s location as a natural acupoint connecting Cheonsan and the Central Plains. Therefore, he wishes to purchase the nearby land, including the Black Dragon Inn. We will pay the highest price the merchant guild can offer.”

Uncheon subtly glanced at Little Dragon.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Immediately, Little Dragon, who stood beside him, could not hold back and rose to his feet.

“We have only just laid our foundation, and you are telling us to hand over the land! Is a great merchant guild trying to oppress us with its power?”

Little Dragon’s anger was reasonable.

On the surface, it looked as if a great merchant guild was pressuring a small or mid-sized faction to seize its interests.

‘He showed the Black Iron Plaque for merely that?’

However, Uncheon looked at the crack in the Black Iron Plaque and tried to read Yuha’s intent.

‘No... This is a proposal to plan for a future farther away than the immediate present, and for a higher place.’

The Black Iron Plaque was not a threat telling him to repay a debt, but a token of friendship and trust extended by Yuha.

‘Are you telling me to trust you?’

Uncheon looked down at the Black Iron Plaque on the table once more.

Uncheon stopped Little Dragon and spoke calmly.

“First, let us hear the demands to the end. There should be additional clauses, such as security authority and trade conditions, correct?”

A strange light appeared in Geum Budong’s eyes.

It was composure more merchant-like than a merchant’s.

“Very well. There are three demands. First, the Black Dragon Gang will be responsible for the security of the district where the merchant guild enters. Second, exclusive trade with the Ilwol Merchant Guild and the use of the Ilwol Merchant Guild’s promissory notes. Third, maintenance and regularization of the sparring stage.”

“You are telling us to become dogs guarding the merchant guild?”

Little Dragon flared up again, but the abacus beads in Uncheon’s mind were moving differently.

‘Granting security authority means they will officially acknowledge us as the martial force of this region. Exclusive trade means a monopoly on supplies, and regularizing the sparring stage means they plan to forcibly draw in foot traffic.’

Yuha was not simply trying to swallow the Black Dragon Gang.

‘If he were, he would have swallowed it long ago. The fact that he came after I took office as Gang Leader means... he wants to raise the stakes?’

It was like Yuha.

Far from recovering his investment.

He had the boldness to invest several times more.

It was a proposal for mutual growth, to raise the Black Dragon Gang into a major force in Qinghai and make the gold veins of the Ilwol Merchant Guild flow.

That was how Uncheon interpreted the Ilwol Merchant Guild’s proposal.

However, even so, he could not let it pass weakly like this.

“I will accept. However, we also have conditions.”

At Uncheon’s immediate answer, Geum Budong’s eyebrows twitched.

“Not refuse...... but accept?”

“Yes. In exchange, first, do not touch the essential land needed for the Black Dragon Gang’s expansion. Second, it will be a lease, not a sale. Three-tenths of the commercial profits generated will be the Black Dragon Gang’s share.”

Even Little Dragon beside him broke into a cold sweat, thinking Uncheon was making an unreasonable demand.

‘G-Gang Leader! I know you ordered me only to oppose him no matter what... but is this really all right?’

Little Dragon had, according to Uncheon’s command, found fault with whatever Geum Budong said, but at this point, he wondered whether he should stop Uncheon, not Geum Budong.

“Three-tenths?! That would make the merchant guild’s profit...!”

“My demands are not finished yet. Lastly, as the price for the exclusive contract, regularly report to us every month the martial world information secured by the Ilwol Merchant Guild. We wish to receive shared information as equals, not as simple underlings.”

Clack!

At that instant, the abacus beads Geum Budong had been flicking slipped out of place and made a sharp sound.

Calculations more ruthless than a merchant’s.

Geum Budong’s brow furrowed.

If the Black Dragon Gang sold the land, it could obtain tremendous wealth.

However, the new Black Dragon Gang Leader was not tempted by that. By choosing to lease the land and share information, the Black Dragon Gang had chosen to look to the future rather than immediate profit.

‘If one calculates it, from the merchant guild’s perspective... it is not exactly a loss. But... how subtle. Refusing to hand over the land, turning it into a lease to secure long-term profits, and even obtaining an information network....’

As a merchant, Geum Budong had experienced all kinds of hardship, but this was the first time he had encountered such ruthless calculations.

It felt as if he were facing Young Guild Master Yuha.

“Hrmm... That is....”

However, there was only one thing.

The only thing that bothered him was that the Black Dragon Gang was still an absurdly small force compared to the Ilwol Merchant Guild.

At that moment, Uncheon stepped forward and drove in the nail.

“To sell the land now is to sell the future. Branch Manager, would you work with a faction that easily sells its future? Or would you prefer to grow with a faction that looks farther ahead?”

Uncheon’s words were exact.

Geum Budong felt in his bones why Young Guild Master Yuha had left the Black Dragon Gang alone until now, then sent him only after the new Gang Leader had taken office.

[The Young Guild Master seems to have taken a liking to a child named Uncheon. However... the Ilwol Merchant Guild’s affairs must not be conducted for private reasons. Verify him thoroughly!]

Before his departure, the Twin Elders had earnestly instructed him to verify Uncheon, but Geum Budong’s heart had already begun to lean.

‘In the end... business is the work of people. If this man is the Gang Leader of the Black Dragon Gang, then the Black Dragon Gang’s future is truly bright!’

Geum Budong inwardly apologized to the Black-White Twin Elders.

‘Honored Black-White Twin Elders... even if I try to find fault any longer, there is nothing left to fault. Young Master Yuha’s eye was correct.’

Geum Budong set down the abacus and bowed his head to the Black Dragon Gang Leader.

“Black Dragon Gang Leader, from this day onward, the Qinghai Branch of the Ilwol Merchant Guild is allied with the Black Dragon Gang.”

“Of course. Coordinate the detailed matters later with Little Dragon, the Chief Steward of the Black Dragon Gang.”

Geum Budong clicked his tongue in admiration, gathered the signed documents, and withdrew.

When the door closed and silence came to the office, Little Dragon, who had been glaring fiercely until just moments ago, grinned and bowed at the waist.

“Gang Leader, was my acting decent?”

Uncheon set down his teacup and answered briefly.

“Thanks to you, the negotiation was easier.”

“Heh heh. All I did was oppose whatever the Ilwol Merchant Guild said, just as you ordered.”

“Even so, your improvisation was good.”

Jin Sowol, who had watched the scene from behind, wore a blank expression.

‘That was acting?’

Throughout the negotiation, Jin Sowol had thought Little Dragon was truly angry.

And yet, it had actually been instructed by Uncheon.

‘Gang Leader... Just what are you?’

The martial prowess to subdue a spearman empty-handed.

The scheming to obtain what he wanted against a great merchant guild.

And even the command ability to place a cunning bastard like Little Dragon on his palm and use him.

Before she realized it, Jin Sowol was gripping her spear shaft even more tightly.

A thrill ran down her spine as she felt that she truly might see the Black Dragon ascend to heaven.

“In any case... it is about time we start preparing.”

“Yes. If even Sister Jin Sowol, who was in closed-door cultivation, heard the news and came... the speed at which the rumor is spreading is unusual. More martial artists than before will flock here.”

***

At that time, at the Black Dragon Inn.

Martial artists with fierce expressions were scraping down the Wind and Cloud Ranking written on the notice with the tips of their greatswords.

[One-Hundredth Rank. Black Dragon Uncheon]

“Black Dragon? He takes only the hundredth seat and uses the name of a dragon. He is arrogance itself.”

One man crushed his wine cup and tore down the notice.

“Let us see... what his skills are like.”