novelraw Chapter 145 : Betrayal from Within
Chapter 145 : Betrayal from Within
Chapter 145: Betrayal from Within
There was nothing money couldn’t do.
Even martial artists with their noses in the air, and lofty figures from the Imperial Household, all scurried about seeking solid funding sources in this world.
He had believed, without a shred of doubt, that with wealth and power in hand, he would command even the martial artists and stride down a golden, unshakable path.
But today, a gaping hole had been torn in that plan. A massive hole.
Crash!
Expensive gold-bronze incense burners and various precious metals came crashing down, swept away by hands thick as rice cakes.
Geum Hwangdo glared murderously at the returning martial artists of the Man Geum Trading Post, who had come back battered and broken.
“What’s missing?”
At minimum, they were First-rate martial artists. Among them was even a Peak Master. Do they have any idea how much money he had poured into hiring them?
And they made such a ridiculous blunder at the most critical moment?
“Uh, Eun Yanggon... That brat suddenly made a scene about needing some fresh air…”
“You should’ve stopped him! No matter what it took!”
“…We went to stop him, but then we were suddenly ambushed by a masked assailant.”
You lot were hired specifically to beat down exactly that kind of assailant.
Geum Hwangdo pounded on his own chest in frustration.
“So who the hell were these attackers?”
He had heard the courtesan who lured Eun Yanggon away also had an unclear background.
Whoever they were, it was clear they’d approached with a plan.
“According to internal intel, it seems a troubleshooter named Dan Mujin was hired.”
The goat-bearded chief steward of the Man Geum Trading Post bowed his head as he spoke.
“…What? A troubleshooter? You’re telling me all this mess happened because you couldn’t even handle a damn fixer?”
The more he heard, the more absurd it sounded. Geum Hwangdo let out a scoffing laugh.
“He’s not just any fixer, Father.”
At that moment, Geum Yado bit his lip and stepped forward, beginning to explain about the man.
“What, so he’s not just a fixer?”
“Remember that brat who got in our way when we tried to bring down Eunseong through the sericulture scheme?”
“…You mean the one who stood up to the eunuchs back then? That kid became a troubleshooter?”
Geum Yado nodded solemnly. That brazen boy who had persistently disrupted Man Geum’s plans from the beginning.
And recently, it seemed he’d achieved some kind of martial breakthrough and had been making a name for himself as a troubleshooter.
Rumor had it he’d played a major role in Sichuan’s Tang Clan as well.
“Seems like he’s reached Peak Master level. Also, I heard he and Eun Hwaran have a close brother-sister-like relationship.”
And supposedly, he’d even recruited a Second-rate wanderer who had reached Peak Mastery into his office. For a mere troubleshooter, his strength was not to be taken lightly.
“With skills like that, why’s he wasting his time playing fixer?”
“Beats me.”
It was a question and answer wrapped in confusion.
Why wasn’t he working for some wealthy trading company, getting paid handsomely?
Why was such a formidable martial artist running errands like some lowly fixer?
“So, what do we do now, Father?”
Geum Yado, once almost Eun Hwaran’s husband, asked as he tried to swallow his rage.
At his question, Geum Hwangdo silently glanced in the direction of the Eunseong Trading Company.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Of course I do.”
Geum Hwangdo nodded, as if he had everything figured out.
His expression was sly, like a gambler holding a strong hand.
“Even if Eun Yanggon has fallen into their hands, the plan will only shift slightly. There’s no real problem.”
They had someone planted among them. If the client disappeared, what could a mere troubleshooter even do?
Besides, with no direct blood relatives left to lead the Eunseong Trading Company and Escort Agency, they would naturally start to flounder.
In that case, the only remaining option would inevitably be Eun Yanggon.
“Eun Hwaran, I’ve had enough of seeing that old hag’s face. Give the order to execute the plan.”
“Yes, Father. I’ll move immediately.”
With eyes gleaming as if finally rid of a long-standing nuisance, Geum Yado bowed deeply.
And so, the long chain of grudges passed down from the previous generation seemed to be drawing to an end today.
“M-M... My apologies…”
A man, his lips swollen from a beating, stammered an apology.
Eun Hwaran partially hid her expression behind an open fan, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him.
Her gaze made it clear she still couldn’t believe we’d managed to extract this guy from the Man Geum Trading Post without causing a scene.
She glanced over our group with a subtle air of admiration.
“It wasn’t me. She did most of the work.”
I gestured toward Jo Harang, who was still dressed in a fluttering silk outfit, though her sleeve had been torn.
“Ahem.”
Having successfully completed a mission that didn’t require strength but charm, Jo Harang was rather smug with herself.
As if to prove her allure was on par with Juwol-a’s, she struck an odd pose.
“Back when I was a wanderer, all I did was swing a sword around mindlessly… This kind of fixer job isn’t so bad.”
She confessed that she had once walked a path soaked in the blood of evildoers.
But since joining our office, she’d experienced many strange and novel things, and she smiled faintly.
“Right? Earning money, not killing anyone—what’s not to like?”
Though we did have to do all sorts of ridiculous things like this.
Still, I was used to it by now.
“By the way, why are you still dressed like that?”
I swallowed the words ‘it doesn’t suit you.’
Jo Harang swayed and smiled like a typical courtesan, still wearing her silk dress.
“Because I look good.”
She fiddled with her skirt hem while glancing into the bronze mirror in the Trading Lord’s Office. Hard to believe this was the tiger of Mount Sung who could decapitate a villain without mercy.
“Well, I guess…”
“I know it doesn’t suit me, so spare me the comments.”
Visually, she looked like a beauty out of a painting—it did suit her. It just felt a bit off because it clashed with her usual personality.
“So, Eun Yanggon Orabeoni… Just what kind of mess are we in this time?”
Eun Hwaran, who had remained silent, finally approached the swollen-faced Eun Yanggon and spoke with a complex expression.
The weariness in her voice made it clear this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
“It’s all my fault… I… I’ve brought shame upon myself…”
Eun Yanggon, unable to meet her gaze, finally spoke in a low, crawling voice.
The infamous scoundrel of that cursed family was now bowing his head and sincerely asking for forgiveness—so much so that Eun Hwaran stared, eyes wide in disbelief.
“…What’s gotten into him?”
She looked at me with an incredulous expression, as if saying that even after her father, Eun Jincheong, had scolded him harshly and she had tried countless times to reform him, nothing had worked.
“How’d you manage this?”
“I just… smacked him around a bit when he started talking nonsense.”
He said nonsense about how he was going to be the next Trading Lord, so I just gently set him straight.
To knock some sense into him, that is.
“How badly did you beat him?”
“Hmm… About the same way Master used to beat me?”
“…Mujin, that usually kills people.”
Eun Hwaran muttered, clearly baffled.
I knew that well. That’s why I measured my strength.
I made sure to pour in just enough of Hwang Geolgae’s punching technique—something that didn’t do lasting harm but hurt like hell.
“But the results are incredible…”
“Right?”
She seemed amazed that her brother, who had been completely out of control no matter how much scolding or advice he got, was finally acting sane.
As expected, a mad dog needs a club. I couldn’t tell if his apologies were sincere, but at the very least, it seemed he wouldn’t cause more trouble.
“Orabeoni, what on earth were you thinking, placing your trust in the Man Geum Trading Post? Do you not know how bad things have been between Eunseong and Man Geum recently?”
“W-Was it that bad? I just went because they’ve always been generous to me since back then…”
Sigh.
That was exactly the scheme Geum Hwangdo had been using to devour the Eunseong Clan.
Eun Hwaran rubbed her temple like she had a headache she couldn’t live with.
“S-Still… you’re calling me Orabeoni. I thought you’d completely cut me off…”
“It’s not because I see you as family. I already have someone I consider that.”
She glanced at me.
That was kind of touching.
“You brought in that thug… as family?”
Eun Yanggon looked between us with disbelief, perhaps remembering the beating.
“What do you mean that thug? Mujin helped me so many times when I was at my lowest. And he never even asked for anything in return.”
I shrugged in front of Eun Yanggon without saying much.
His expression twisted strangely. A mix of resentment and bitterness.
“So, what was Geum Hwangdo’s plan? How exactly did he say he was going to get rid of me and devour the Eunseong Trading Company?”
She cut straight to the point, and he hesitated before responding.
“I-I don’t know exactly… I just overheard…”
“Overheard?”
“He said once you were gone, and the Trading Company was destabilized, then he’d make his move.”
“Gone.” Yeah right. That bastard Geum Hwangdo wouldn’t leave any loose ends. That was a hundred percent assassination.
Saying “gone” was just to reassure this fool.
Eun Hwaran seemed to realize the same thing, narrowing her eyes in sharp rebuke.
“Gone far away? Only you would believe something so naive.”
“T-That’s…”
“So then, how were they planning to make me disappear? Tell me.”
She snapped her fan shut and tapped her palm with it.
“I’m not exactly sure… but they said someone on the inside of Eunseong is already working with them. Since it worked once, it’ll be easier the second time…”
A traitor inside the Eunseong Trading Company.
If I had to guess—poison, or an assassin. No external master breaking in. Even someone like Hwang Geolgae wouldn’t catch that easily.
“They did it once already…?”
She muttered that to herself, then her face darkened as she remembered something.
“Father. The former Trading Lord… he was in great health, and then suddenly died under mysterious circumstances.”
There had been suspicious signs back then, too. But between escort missions being repeatedly wrecked and the sericulture operations shaking, everything was too chaotic to focus on it.
When a trusted insider stabs you, it always hurts more than when a stranger does.
“Who could it be…”
The previous Trading Lord had treated his subordinates like family and led with fairness, which made the betrayal all the more bitter for her.
“Why would someone do this…”
Even the kindest people become paranoid when faced with betrayal.
I didn’t want to see Eun Hwaran turn into that kind of person. So I stepped forward.
“Noona, let me handle this one.”
Trust me. Just like always.
She looked at me silently upon hearing my offer.
“…You think you can do it?”
I was the one who once sensed an assassin even the great Eastern Depot missed.
How could anyone hope to hide their intent from someone like me, born with the Heaven-Slaying Star?
“Just leave it to me.”
I puffed out my chest and scanned the inside of the company with confidence.
From then on, I became Eun Hwaran’s shadow.
Wherever she went, our office staff followed closely.
Now that we knew there was a traitor targeting her from within, we couldn’t let our guard down.
And as I stuck by her side, I realized just how busy Eun Hwaran’s day-to-day life was.
“Alright, so I’ll take that to mean the Sichuan expansion plan is progressing well, Branch Chief.”
The previously struggling Trading Company and Escort Agency were now expanding again, meaning the number of people she had to meet daily was no joke.
Anyone could suddenly whip out a poison needle or swing a blade.
“Ahem. But how can an outsider attend an internal Trading Company meeting?”
Naturally, many people from beyond Beijing didn’t recognize my face.
And since both Ilhong and I had rather attractive faces, there were even slight misunderstandings—thinking perhaps the Trading Lord had a lover.
“He’s not an outsider. He’s family.”
“Wha…?”
Each time, she’d boldly stamp that label on me, calling me her younger brother.
I’d never had something like family before. Every time I heard that, it warmed my heart just a bit.
And so the never-ending escort duty continued.
I was starting to understand why the shadow under her eyes never left.
“If only you’d take the Head Escort role, this Noona could finally rest easy.”
“You still haven’t given up on that?”
“Oh, I’ll never give up.”
Every time we sat down for a quiet meal in the Trading Lord’s Office, she kept at it with her persistent persuasion.
She probably wanted to keep someone reliable like me close.
With all the stakeholders and parties of interest constantly circling her, it was no wonder her head hurt. Having someone firmly on her side must be a relief.
“Trading Lord, thank you for your hard work today. And to you too, Dan Mujin Gongja—here are some meat dumplings.”
And then there were the welcome faces who always came with steaming-hot dishes.
Like the exclusive cook of the Trading Lord, who had been bringing us delicious food ever since my days as a warehouse assistant.
Guard duty might be dull, but at least working for the rich meant you were well fed.
“Meat dumplings!”
Jo Harang, who had been surviving on hollow dumplings due to our budget, beamed with joy.
Ilhong’s eyes sparkled too, seeing delicacies laid before her.
“Wow, how long has it been since we had Dongpo pork?”
I was about to take a bite of the lovingly prepared dishes when I suddenly felt someone chuckling.
Not heard—felt.
Turning my head, I saw a red palm twitching, almost as if it were laughing.
I immediately activated my Heaven-Slaying Eye and scanned the area.
“Trading Lord, this is freshly caught river fish. I’ve seasoned it with spices from the Western Regions.”
The chef cheerfully offered a plate of steaming freshwater fish soaked in aromatic spices.
On instinct, I grabbed his wrist.
He’d always been one of my favorites—bringing us warm dumplings and snacks every time.
“…Ajusshi, why?”
His eyes bulged wide in disbelief.
“…!”