The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 89

Seven gold coins are not a small amount of money, despite their small weight and volume. Seven gold coins are a large sum of money that most people will never see in their lifetime.

Of course, since he has served Wang Hyeon-seong all his life and lived in the Jeongsan Wang family, seven gold coins may not feel like such a large sum of money to the old man.

But, what surprises him is how a young Taoist from Wudang, and a Taoist who has just taken his first step into the world, can have such a large sum of money.

To be honest, it's not all my money.

Because it's a collection of the two taels that Gwak Seok-san gave me from the White-Faced Gentleman's slush fund and the five taels that Wang Hyeon-seong gave me as a reward.

I gave each of my senior brothers a gold coin, but they all said they had no use for it and entrusted it to me again.

So I got permission from my senior brothers and decided to invest all this money.

'Oh-ho...?'

As I was thinking this, the old man's eyes suddenly became calm again.

Seeing that, I immediately thought that I had chosen the right person.

Because whether he thought it was rude to show such surprised emotions in front of people, or whether he thought that I was capable of having this much, it is not an easy thing to compose oneself and control one's emotions so quickly.

"The amount is larger than I thought."

"Yes. That's why I said I was investing."

"But why me? What do you trust me with to entrust me with such a large sum of money..."

"Well, your identity is certain. And we also fought together, risking our lives for the Eungnam Merchant Guild at the Xiangyang safe house."

"It wasn't so much that we fought together..."

"No. If the old man hadn't confronted them with his sword until the end, those guys would have harmed the old man and run away long ago. Thanks to the old man, I arrived and subdued them, and I was able to quickly confirm who the culprit was. We fought together."

At my words, the old man's eyes widened.

I heard from Wang Hyeon-seong that he felt guilty for not having done anything in this matter and for having run away to the Jeongsan Wang family.

Well, although that is true, I thought that if I fanned the flames in his heart like this, he would be a person who would be on the same boat as me.

Just as his loyalty to Wang Hyeon-seong pierces the sky, I will also create a sense of camaraderie with him and plant a trustworthy person in the Central Plains.

"And our Wudang and the Eungnam Merchant Guild are on the same boat, aren't we? So it means that you, old man, and I are colleagues on the same boat. If I can't trust my colleagues, who can I trust?"

"I see... although all I can do is run small errands... I will do my best."

"That alone is truly appreciated."

I bowed sincerely.

When it comes to money matters, even if I do well a hundred times, if there is a swindler in the middle, it's nothing to lose all the money.

That's why a trustworthy person is important, and the old man Gyu-sam is perfect for that.

Although I didn't say it to the old man, there is another reason why I chose him.

In fact, since it is the old man Gyu-sam who manages Wang Hyeon-seong's bills and account books worth hundreds, thousands of taels, I thought he wouldn't be greedy for my few taels.

"I'm not asking you to do it for free. I'm also thinking of giving you a corresponding reward."

"No. It's just an errand, so you don't have to go that far. Even though I may look like this, I have enough money..."

"So I wasn't thinking of rewarding you with money directly. I'll give you something better."

"Something better?"

"Information. Anyway, if I want to invest, I have to tell you, old man, where and what to invest in, right? Then, old man, you can follow my investment destinations as much as you like. Then you will surely make a lot of money."

"Ah... I understand."

The old man mumbled his answer.

He doesn't believe my words.

To be honest, I can fully understand this reaction.

How much would a little kid who has just come out to the martial world know about investment?

But, I'm confident.

Although the old man doesn't believe my words now, I'm sure that after a little while, he'll be more excited and invest his own money.

"Then where should I put this money first?"

"There is a place called the Cheongeum Money Market not far from here. Go there and open an anonymous account, and please tell the owner of the money market to invest in the Jiangxi Province paper market."

"Jiangxi Province?"

"Yes. If you just say that, the owner of the money market will take care of it well."

"Although I don't know much about the market, isn't paper currently mainly produced and sold in Anhui Province? Although Jiangxi Province is a province right next to Anhui Province, this is the first time I've heard that they make and sell paper there..."

"There is a small paper market in Jiangxi Province now. In the future, that place will become very promising."

As the old man said, the largest paper market in the Central Plains is currently in Anhui Province.

And it's in Hefei, Anhui Province, where the Nangong family is located.

But in the not-so-distant future, a big fire breaks out in the Anhui Province paper market.

The fire started from a lightning strike on a tree, but because of that small fire, half of the huge market burns down and the market function is paralyzed.

But just because such a thing happens, it's not like the people looking for paper will disappear.

They started buying paper from the paper market in nearby Jiangxi Province in a hurry, and the paper from Jiangxi Province was of better quality than the paper from Anhui Province.

With this as an opportunity, the Jiangxi Province paper market grows explosively and eventually develops into the best paper market in the Central Plains.

"For now... since you're asking me to do that, I will do so."

"Yes. And I might bother you with similar things from time to time. Please help me out then."

"Of course. Please feel free to tell me anytime."

Although he answered well and will probably carry out my request properly, the suspicion has not disappeared from his face yet.

But, that face will soon change to surprise, and surprise to praise.

***

A few more days passed.

Today, I also went to Yicheng to guard the important goods of the merchant guild, and in the evening, I had a big spar with my senior brothers.

And after roughly learning the moves of the Returning Cloud Sword Art that my busy Master took the time to teach me, I went to see someone.

"Heave-ho! I've moved all the things here to the inner warehouse, manager. What should I do next?"

"What more do you want to do? If you've moved all the things here, you've already finished the work of several workers, haven't you? Go and rest now."

"No. I know how to handle internal energy, don't I? I can move several times more than others. And you pay me more for that, manager, don't you?"

"Hehe... I've been eating the merchant guild's food for twenty years, traveling around the merchant guild, but this is the first time I've seen a martial artist doing manual labor in a place like this. Of course, I pay you for the work you do, but that's just loose change for martial artists."

"Before I learned martial arts when I was young, I did a lot of things like this. I learned martial arts somehow because I hated this kind of life... but maybe a pine caterpillar should eat pine needles, I feel much more comfortable and good on this side."

The person I went to see was Yeo Jong-su.

After sending Jin Tae-jin to Wudang, I had told Yeo Jong-su that he could leave now.

I even poured water into a gourd and sprinkled it on his body, saying it was a medicine that would erase the Ten Thousand Mile Fragrance.

But Yeo Jong-su said he wanted to stay here.

He said that since it had come to this, he wanted to leave the martial world and live a normal life.

He has no family and no one he knows in the martial world.

So he said that wherever he settled down would be his home, and since this was also fate, he would get a job as a porter at the Eungnam Merchant Guild.

To be honest, when I heard that story, I wondered if he was up to some trick.

But since he was a free man as promised,

Whether he stayed here and worked as a porter or a merchant was up to him, so I told Wang Hyeon-seong and got him a job.

'Wang Hyeon-seong is also a great person.'

I didn't hide anything about Yeo Jong-su.

That he was originally a member of the Geoungbang, and that he was caught trying to kill me and came here.

And that he was a person who had learned martial arts, albeit weakly.

But Wang Hyeon-seong is also no ordinary person, and after hearing this story and meeting Yeo Jong-su once, he put him in as the lowest-ranking porter.

Saying that since he had learned martial arts, he would be strong.

And so, a few days passed, and I have been secretly watching him like this from time to time, and he is working better than I thought and is not causing any trouble.

"Hey. You. Even if you're comfortable, my heart is uncomfortable for making you work! Rest and come out tomorrow."

"I understand, manager. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Since it's late today, don't come out at dawn again tomorrow, but come out after lunchtime! I won't give you any work even if you come out anyway."

"Yes. I'll see you at dawn tomorrow, manager!"

"You brat!"

Perhaps because he couldn't hear the manager's words, he insisted on coming out until the end, and only after hearing that he would be given work in the morning did he turn his steps to return to his quarters in the merchant guild.

And on the way to the porters' quarters, he found me waiting.

"Huh... Great Hero!"

"I told you not to call me Great Hero. It's embarrassing if other people hear."

"It's embarrassing to call you 'great person', and it's a little strange to call you 'elder', so I called you Great Hero..."

"Call me Taoist master. Taoist master."

"Ah... I understand, Taoist master!"

I stood with my legs crossed and said to him, "What's your scheme?"

"Scheme?"

"I don't think a person can change overnight like this. Why on earth are you working so hard? I actually thought you would run away after a few days."

I deliberately chose only mean words to provoke him, but Yeo Jong-su, far from getting angry, even smiled faintly.

He said as if he had truly attained enlightenment, "I just like the simple life of earning a day's living and eating for a day. The life of a martial artist doesn't suit me. You, Taoist master, have made me realize that."

"Then are you going to live like this for the rest of your life?"

"No. Not for the rest of my life like this. I hope I can work hard as a porter here and build a foundation to become a warehouse keeper."

For some reason, I felt sincerity in his words.

Although it was because of me, it seems he has felt a lot in the process of going back and forth between life and death.

"For now, if I work here, I don't have to worry about who to bully today, or whose things to take... so it's really good."

"Okay. Don't do bad things from now on and live well."

"Yes, Taoist master."

I exchanged a few words of small talk with him and then just sent him away.

For some reason, I had a feeling that I would not see Yeo Jong-su again from tomorrow.

My heart felt a little restless, so I was watching his back until he was out of sight, and then someone came up behind me.

"Yeo Jong-su."

"Ah, Master. Do you know Yeo Jong-su?"

"Of course I do. Isn't he the one who was guarding Jin Tae-jin that day? And he's also the one who told us that the Black Society was moving."

My Master remembered Yeo Jong-su accurately.

I was about to say something, but my Master interrupted me and said, "The reason you're feeling strange is because you've directly witnessed a person's life change greatly because of you. You've changed a person's life."

"Now that you say that, I suddenly feel a lot of pressure."

"Really? I thought you didn't feel any pressure at all."

"I'm also a person, Master. What do you think I am?"

"Well. A cunning old fox who has lived for decades?"

My Master, after saying that himself, couldn't stop laughing at how funny it was.

I looked at my happily laughing Master and asked him inwardly, 'Can I change your life someday?'

In the future, my Master does not exist in the Wudang Sect.

Surely, a moment will come when the cause of that will be revealed.

I hope that I can be of great help at that moment.