The Vice-Leader Announcement Ceremony (2)
There's no way an old man of that caliber wouldn't recognize its worth.
I don't know why he's selling it so cheaply, but…
If I could leave a good impression on this man — a figure so prominent that even the Chief Inspector greets him, and someone once known as the Ghost Mask Officer — it might make it easier to ask for help later.
Life is unpredictable, after all.
I smiled gently and said to the old man,
"Please just accept it. Honestly, I should be paying you more, but that's all the money I have right now."
"This… is the payment for the item?"
"Yes, it is."
The old man gave a faint, unreadable smile and said,
"Alright then. But I can't let you leave just like that, so I'll throw in a bonus. Pick anything you like."
"Excuse me? You really don't have to…"
At my hesitation, the old man waved me on to choose quickly, and I had no choice but to look around the shop.
That was when my eyes kept drifting back to the inkstone made of Duanxi stone I had seen earlier.
"Um, would it be alright if I took this one? I know it's shameless…"
"It's fine. It's been used before anyway, so the price is lower than a brand-new one."
And so, I left the general store with a mirror, a fan, a bracelet, and even a Duanxi inkstone in hand.
***
The old man watched the backs of those leaving his shop.
A handsome young boy who could make many girls cry, a servant who looked like a bear, and two guards with sharp auras.
Among them, it was the young boy who caught the old man's interest.
'His name was Eun Seoho, wasn't it?'
Never neglecting to gather information about his surroundings was a long-held habit from his days as an officer.
Thanks to that habit, he had been able to capture every murderer who committed crimes in his district.
So of course, he knew who Eun Seoho, the youngest son of the Eunhae Merchant Group, was.
And yet, there was one stain in his life.
Others might scoff and say it's not such a big deal, but to him, it remained his greatest regret.
He once tracked down the perpetrator of a murder case, but failed to catch him.
The culprit was an assassin.
The old man gently rubbed his thigh.
That's where he bore the sword wound gifted to him by the assassin he failed to apprehend.
'Still stings.'
Even now, he still dreams of that day.
There's only one way to escape the nightmare.
To catch that assassin.
That's the reason he, though retired, runs a general store here.
This place was one of the assassin's known bases.
He hoped that by operating a general store here and gathering information, he might one day catch the assassin.
'That young master has quite the luck.'
The old man knew too.
The item Eun Seoho had just bought — it was a treasure (기물).
Even so, the reason he sold it for such a ridiculously cheap price was because the store itself was a treasure.
He didn't know the full story behind it.
But after purchasing and operating this store for a while, he had come to realize the truth.
If someone caused a ruckus and broke items in the store, they would suffer losses equal to the value of what they destroyed.
Also, if someone haggled and tried to lower the price of something, they would similarly lose out equal to the item's value.
So the old man deliberately named low prices, so buyers wouldn't be harmed.
He already had plenty of money, so there was no real need to make more.
Those who caused chaos — well, that was their own doing. Nothing he could do about that.
But no one had ever tried to pay more than the asked price — until Eun Seoho.
That's why he was looking forward to it.
What would Eun Seoho gain, now that he'd dealt with a treasure in the form of a store?
"Ah!"
Just then, Eun Seoho, who had just left the shop, called out.
"Sir."
"What is it?"
"The Eunhae Merchant Group is holding a big banquet the day after tomorrow. It's the day my eldest brother will be publicly announced as the Vice-Leader of the group."
"Oh! That's a truly joyous occasion."
"Yes, I thought it would be nice if you came and enjoyed yourself, so I wanted to let you know."
"Are you inviting this old man?"
"Yes."
Eun Seoho smiled and said,
"Then, I'll see you there."
And with that, he turned and walked off down the road.
The old man smiled faintly and muttered to himself.
"Having been invited like this, it'd be rude not to go. Don't you think?"
Creeeak.
As if responding to his words, one of the shop's windows creaked open on its own.
Watching this, the old man let out a hearty laugh.
***
The next day,
I circulated my qi and finished my morning training.
There was still some time before breakfast, but I quickly set out.
Before heading to the dining hall, I had to visit elder brother Jeong-ho's residence.
Since he hadn't officially become Vice-Leader yet, he was still staying in one of the residence quarters attached to the main house, like me.
At that moment, elder brother Jeong-ho, who was standing in the yard, saw me and greeted me with a bright smile.
"What brings you here so early in the morning?"
"I wanted to give you something."
"...?"
I pulled a small box from my sleeve and held it out to him.
"Here, a gift."
"A gift?"
"Congratulations on becoming the Vice-Leader."
"But I'm not the Vice-Leader yet."
"The announcement ceremony is tomorrow, right? But you'll probably be busy starting early tomorrow morning, so I wanted to give this in advance. I actually meant to give it yesterday, but you were out in the evening."
"Ah, I went to meet Lord Jihyeon for a bit."
In order to run a merchant group, it was essential to build rapport with the Jihyeon of the district the group belonged to.
Since elder brother Jeong-ho was soon to be officially named Vice-Leader, he had gone to greet the local magistrate.
"Anyway, here. Take it."
At my words, elder brother looked a bit shy as he accepted the gift.
Then, he opened the box.
"This is nice!"
The gift I gave him was a bracelet.
Made of silver and engraved with a beautiful landscape, it was stylish enough for a man to wear without hesitation.
It was the bracelet I bought yesterday evening at the general store on West Street, near the entertainment district.
Which meant — this bracelet was a treasure.
"What do you think it is?"
"A bracelet?"
"That's how it looks, right? But it's not."
I smiled and continued.
"It's called the Flying Silver Arrow."
At my words, elder brother tilted his head and asked,
"'Arrow'? The character si means vow. Why is it called that?"
"If you imbue it with internal energy and swing it, thin silver-colored numbing needles shoot out like arrows."
"Numbing needles? You mean… it's a hidden weapon?"
I nodded.
Just as he said, the Flying Silver Arrow was a concealed weapon.
In my previous life, it had belonged to an assassin known as the Red-Feathered Guest.
An assassin with a distasteful habit — he would leave a red feather in the mouth of his victims.
He was captured due to a ridiculous mistake, and when he was caught, his weapon was revealed.
Despite his martial arts skills not being particularly exceptional, the reason he had managed to carry out assassinations for so long without being captured was precisely because of that hidden weapon.
It was only a few years before my death that I learned about the mirror, fan, and this Flying Silver Arrow I bought yesterday at the general store.
Not just the Flying Silver Arrow, but the mirror and fan as well — they were all tools used by members of the dark sect to kill countless people.
Because it was discovered that all those items had come into the world through a single general store, the shop's owner had to endure harsh consequences.
After the old man who had owned the store died, the new owner disposed of the remaining items.
So, before they could fall into the hands of wicked people and be used to murder the innocent, I brought them with me.
What crime does a tool have?
The real question is how it's used.
This time, it's in elder brother Jeong-ho's hands, and it will be used in a way that he won't regret.
But I couldn't say it like that directly, so I made something up.
"Once you become Vice-Leader, you might face even more danger than now. You know that, right?"
"True."
"I want that to protect your life."
"Thanks."
elder brother Jeong-ho smiled and asked,
"Just from the explanation, this seems like no ordinary item. Where and how did you even get it?"
"Ah… I happened to come across it while walking through the market yesterday."
"Really?"
"You know what they say — treasures always find their rightful owners. That one was meant to find you. Why are you questioning it so much? Just take it!"
"Hmm, hmm-hmm. Well, with your personality, I'm sure you got it the proper way."
The elder brother took the bracelet out of the box and put it on his left wrist.
"Fits well."
He let out a chuckle.
"Let's go eat breakfast."
Elder brother Jeong-ho and I headed to the dining hall.
By then, our family had already arrived and were seated.
"Apologies for being late."
"Sorry we're a bit late."
"It's fine. We just got here too."
Grandfather looked at elder brother Jeong-ho and said,
"To think Jeong-ho is finally becoming the Vice-Leader! This truly brings me joy!"
"It's thanks to the guidance of Grandfather, Father, and the others."
To elder brother's words, Father nodded and said,
"It's because you've followed along so well. Isn't that right?"
At Father's words, Mother laughed gently.
"Of course."
At that moment, the servants brought in bowls of porridge.
This morning's meal was chicken porridge.
In the warm and harmonious atmosphere, everyone enjoyed breakfast and had tea afterward.
While everyone was savoring the tea, I spoke up.
"Um, Father. I have something I'd like to suggest."
Father nodded calmly.
"Go ahead. What is it?"
"For tomorrow's banquet celebrating the Elder brother's appointment as Vice-Leader, how about stationing physicians around the banquet hall?"
"Station physicians?"
"Yes."
I continued,
"At Grandfather's birthday banquet last time, I saw a guest suffer greatly due to sudden indigestion. If a physician had been present at the banquet, treatment could've been given immediately."
"Hmm…"
"Tomorrow is the Elder brother's Vice-Leader announcement. It's the official start of his role as heir to the merchant group. I don't want a minor issue to ruin the atmosphere."
"True, an incident like that during a festive banquet would kill the mood for everyone around."
At that moment, Grandfather chimed in.
"Just as Seoho said, having physicians present would be a good idea. It's the day our eldest grandson steps into the world of commerce — we can't allow any complaints."
With both Father and Grandfather agreeing, the matter was settled smoothly.
***
With elder brother Jeong-ho's announcement ceremony approaching tomorrow, the entire merchant group was bustling all day.
There was much to prepare — from setting up the banquet hall to arranging food.
So, all available manpower from the merchant group was mobilized.
The Finance Pavilion was especially busy.
Hosting a banquet costs money, and calculating and handling those expenses fell to the Finance Pavilion.
And since this was a top-priority task, the normally busy Finance Pavilion was even more hectic than usual.
Which, of course, meant I was busy too.
I let out a small sigh as I reviewed the budget plan for ingredients needed for the banquet.
Ah, this part's wrong.
Glancing at Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo So-Ak, I quickly corrected the mistake.
I could have reported the error, but it's better to cover minor mistakes like this.
You might say, Why go through the trouble? Just report it and have it sent back for correction, but this is all for my own reputation.
.
.
.
It was the end of the workday.
Even though I had been sitting all day, my back didn't hurt at all.
Maybe it was the physical training method my master had taught me, or maybe it was just my constitution, or perhaps my internal energy…
Even after working nonstop all day, I only felt a little tired.
As long as I'm not in pain, that's all that matters.
The compound was filled with people rushing about, busy with preparations for tomorrow's banquet and announcement ceremony.
Suddenly, I spotted someone familiar and tilted my head.
"Elder brother, where are you coming back from?"
At my question, elder brother Jeong-ho looked at me and nodded.
"Ah, Seoho. Just getting off work?"
"Yeah."
"I was checking out the separate residence I'll be staying in from tomorrow."
"You'll be formally moving into your own residence? Congratulations!"
Elder brother scratched his cheek at my words.
Once a child of the Merchant Lord finishes all their training and officially becomes Vice-Leader, they're given a separate residence within the inner compound.
It signifies that they are now an independent being, and a true adult.
"I'll invite you over once it's all set up."
"I'll be looking forward to it! I'm curious how it looks."
That's what I said, but in truth, I already knew what his residence looked like.
In my past life, I often visited his residence to discuss work.
Suddenly, I could almost hear elder brother Jeong-ho's drunken mumbling in my head.
"If I had just listened to what Woojin said back then and paid more attention, he wouldn't have died. He really loved that room in the separate residence…"
That memory surfaced, and my gaze shifted to the young guard standing behind elder brother Jeong-ho.
His name was Jeon Woojin.
A warrior personally chosen by the Elder brother, who had protected him for over five years.
According to the late Chief of External Affairs, he had extraordinary talent and was expected to reach the peak level before the age of forty.
But tomorrow, Jeon Woojin will die.