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The old man was likely the person in charge here, or someone with a comparable position. After all, among the various martial world items sold here, elixirs would be the most valuable.

“What kind? Pills? Herbs? Pellets?”

“Any kind will do.”

“Are you running an errand?”

The old man only heard my voice because I had covered my face with a wide-brimmed hat. In fact, I had slightly altered my voice. It was best to conduct such business in secret.

In my early days as the Alliance Leader, I often had to wear human skin masks. That’s when I learned how to modulate my voice. Thanks to that, I could produce several different voices. I was using one of those voices now.

“No.”

“A capable young man, I see. Well then, have you been here before?”

“No.”

Despite my brief answers, the old man kept asking questions. I guessed why he kept throwing questions at me.

In the past, we used to assess people by exchanging such conversations. The Black Market was a brutal place back then. Both customers and the market itself were dangerous.

This old man, trying to assess me through various conversations, must have been working here for a long time.

I answered all his miscellaneous questions without showing any dislike. Although my answers were brief, the old man seemed satisfied.

“You have manners, unlike most young people these days.”

In truth, I hadn’t answered everything just to hear such praise. I was considering future visits, now that I had initiated a transaction.

“You’re quite lucky, young man. No elixirs have come into our branch for the past six months.”

It seems elixirs are truly scarce in this era.

“But as luck would have it, an elixir came in just two days ago.”

“What kind is it?”

“It’s the Thousand-Year Broken Yang Herb[1].”

The Thousand-Year Broken Yang Herb! Known to provide ten to fifteen years of inner energy, it was exactly what I wanted.

“How much?”

“Forty-four thousand nyang.”

Dammit! It was fifteen thousand nyang more than what I had.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but all items sold in the Black Market have fixed prices. If you’re worried about being overcharged, feel free to check with other branches.”

That was something I already knew.

There were two reasons why the Black Market had grown to be the largest among trading places.

First, the Black Market never betrayed its customers. There were never cases of fake goods, customer secrets being leaked, or customer money being stolen.

Second was the fixed price system.

All branches of the Black Market across dozens of locations in the Central Plains had the same prices for goods. When prices changed, they changed simultaneously across all branches.

While the Black Market’s prices were never cheap, people used it because they believed they wouldn’t be overcharged there.

This was why the Black Market had been able to thrive for such a long time.

“I guess it will sell quickly even if I don’t buy it?”

“Probably so.”

With elixirs, if you couldn’t buy them when available, you might not be able to buy them for months or even years. Indeed, as the old man said, it was lucky that the Thousand-Year Broken Yang Herb was available now.

But there was nothing I could do.

“I don’t have enough money prepared, so I’ll have to wait for next time.”

As I was about to stand up, the old man asked,

“Why do you want to buy an elixir?”

“To become stronger, of course.”

“And once you’re stronger?”

There were several reasons. I spoke the first one that came to mind.

“I’ve been unfilial all my life and only recently matured. So I thought I’d try to be filial.”

The old man stared at me blankly for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“Hahaha. That’s the most absurd thing I’ve heard in all my years of doing business here.”

“Why is that?”

“Because among all the martial artists who’ve tried to buy elixirs, there’s never been a filial one.”

I understood what he meant. I had been the same. When obsessed with becoming stronger, one tends to neglect those around them.

I had planned to make up for my lack of filial piety to my mother once I became the world’s greatest. But my mother didn’t wait that long.

This life will be different. I intend to take care of everything that shouldn’t be missed.

“It seems I’ve missed the chance to become the first filial son.”

Then the old man said something unexpected.

“I’ll give you ten days. If you can bring the money within that time, I’ll sell it to you. Exactly ten days.”

Whether he was reminded of his own parents, or whether he liked my polite manner, he was showing his own form of kindness.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“This old man believes that elixirs have their destined owners. Prove it to me.”

I bowed to him and left.

Can I really find an additional fifteen thousand nyang within ten days?

***

Despite my recent positive actions, there was one person in the family whose opinion of me hadn’t changed.

“I don’t trust you.”

It was the Chief Steward. The same old man who had cursed at me when I woke up.

“May I ask why?”

“It’s intuition, intuition. You’ll show your true nature and cause trouble someday.”

You stubborn old man. Instead of just doubting, try believing when you should.

The elders in the Martial Righteous Alliance’s Council of Elders were just like this. As greedy as they were suspicious, and just as stubborn.

I whispered in his ear,

“Chief Steward. Do you happen to have any money?”

The Chief Steward’s eyes widened. His expression seemed to say, ‘See, I told you so.’

“Not a chance as long as I’m alive!”

He strode away quickly.

I smirked as I watched him go. Though he was a stubborn old man, he was also someone essential to the Byeok Clan Sword Manor. Especially as a doctor, he possessed quite excellent skills.

Anyway, this is a big problem.

Three days had already passed out of the promised ten. Time kept passing, but I had no way to get the money.

There was one method.

I could go to the Yang Minor Faction and squeeze Jeong Yeo. If I quickly disposed of various things, I might be able to gather about fifteen thousand nyang.

But if I did that, my relationship with Jeong Yeo would plummet. He would view me as a leech trying to suck money and harbor other thoughts.

Although it’s not a small amount, it’s too much of a waste to lose trust over fifteen thousand nyang. I had planned to use the Yang Minor Faction for something bigger.

As I was conflicting over this, Gwang-du sensed my worry like a ghost.

“You’re worried about something, aren’t you?”

His intuition is almost on par with Gal Saryang. Though he’s wrong about the content.

“You miss Miss Song again, don’t you? Even though you said you didn’t like her, you still miss her, right?”

“I need some money.”

Gwang-du had already retreated a fair distance.

“Come on, just when we were getting closer, you ask to borrow money?”

“I haven’t asked to borrow yet.”

“I can tell. So how much? Alright, I can lend you up to fifteen nyang. But you must pay it back.”

“I need fifteen thousand nyang.”

“Gasp!”

“Within seven days.”

Gwang-du blinked his eyes with an incredulous expression.

“That’s an amount I’d need to be reborn fifteen times to earn. And that’s only if I wasn’t ripped off by a nasty tavern owner.”

Gwang-du sat down next to me.

“What about the compensation money you brought from the Yang Minor Faction?”

“It’s not enough.”

“Are you trying to buy an estate or something?”

“I’m trying to buy something more important than that.”

In my past life, I had never worried about money issues. So I thought that money-related problems might be my weakest point now. I wished there was a sharp young steward around instead of old men like the Chief Steward.

“Talking about money reminds me of the past. You caused trouble then too, trying to get money. That’s how we ended up in debt to the Yang Minor Faction.”

“How on earth did I end up owing twenty thousand nyang?”

“The Master cut off your money supply because you kept causing trouble. In the end, you went after a wanted criminal for the bounty, trying to get money, but ended up becoming his hostage. He extorted a large sum from us instead.”

You really did every foolish thing possible, didn’t you?

“But with martial arts skills in such a state, how did you even think of doing that?”

“It was because you were influenced by senior warrior Gong.”

“Senior warrior Gong?”

“Yes. He’s the Martial Righteous Alliance’s Qufu Branch Leader.”

My heart raced at the mention of the Martial Righteous Alliance. How long had it been since I heard that name?

“So? What do you mean by being influenced?”

“You started hanging out with him and got ideas about being a righteous hero.”

“Is that so?”

I felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

A branch leader of the Martial Righteous Alliance associating with such a good-for-nothing, and a young one at that?

“What was the state of our family at that time?”

“It was at its lowest point. That incident became the final blow that tipped our fortunes.”

“I see. So this senior warrior Gong is the local branch leader. Then who was this wanted man?”

“A man named Gwak Dosu[2]. He’s an evil man who invaded the Oh family’s estate in Shandong, stole their wealth, and massacred the entire family. They say he’s committed multiple thefts and murders besides that.”

I’ve never heard of him. Well, I suppose I can’t know every such person.

“How much was the bounty set by the Martial Righteous Alliance?”

“It was five thousand nyang at the time.”

Five thousand nyang means he was classified as an extremely dangerous criminal.

“And such a person just took the money and let me go? Doesn’t that seem strange?”

“Senior warrior Gong mediated. Thanks to that, you saved your life.”

“How did he mediate?”

“I don’t know the details.”

“Did Gwak Dosu demand as much as twenty thousand nyang?”

“No, it was fifteen thousand nyang. I believe five thousand nyang was given to senior warrior Gong as a reward for mediating.”

“He took a bribe?”

“We shouldn’t call it a bribe. The Master gave it to him.”

“Father might give it for saving his son. But a man in public office should refuse.”

And it didn’t seem like Father would have offered it first, given his personality. The man probably hinted at wanting money first.

After hearing the whole story, I had strong suspicions. This senior warrior Gong might be in cahoots with Gwak Dosu.

Could they have pulled off a scam together, using the unlimited trust given by the position of a Martial Righteous Alliance branch leader? Exploiting the inevitable parental concern over a child’s problem.

“Has Gwak Dosu been caught?”

“I haven’t heard any news of his capture yet.”

Seeing me nod, Gwang-du pretended to be startled.

“Surely you’re not thinking of trying to catch him?”

“I have to. Such a trash bastard took fifteen thousand nyang from us, we can’t just let that go.”

“It’s dangerous! He’s known to be a truly vicious man!”

“Then lend me all your money first.”

“I’m sure you could catch him, Young Master. You handled the Yang Minor Faction situation so easily, after all.”

“Hahaha.”

Then Gwang-du said with a serious face,

“Then I’ll go with you. I can’t lend you money, but I’ll gladly be your right arm.”

I understood Gwang-du’s concern well, and I could have taken him along to give him some experience.

But this matter needed to be dealt with quickly and decisively.

I had a feeling that if I handled this well, I might be able to solve the money problem while resolving this issue.

“That right arm is still just for show, so focus on practicing your martial arts diligently. Tell my parents something appropriate. Say I’ve gone into seclusion for training for a few days.”

As I left the house, my eyes had turned cold.

If those two had colluded to swindle twenty thousand nyang?

You better be prepared.