Chapter 10

“Since we’re on the topic—how’s the situation with the mine?”

“...Well, it’s the same as usual. The warriors from Yangnyeong are occupying it, interfering... I think it’s only going to get worse.”

“Sounds like the extraction of the Cold Jade Crystals is being delayed.”

“If all we’re dealing with is a «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» delay, we’re lucky. We haven’t been able to mine at all, actually. With Yawoon Sang—who was receiving the crystals on a regular basis—dead, I’d say the damage is going to spread. Not just to the Cheongwoon Trading Company, but to the other merchants and local residents too.”

The conclusion was simple.

There was a lot to be done.

I looked silently at Inspector Seong, and he offered an awkward smile.

“...Um, I’ll go carry out the order you gave me earlier.”

He turned around to leave, but stopped after a few steps.

“And the supplies we had stored in the yard have all been moved to the warehouse.”

“You must’ve worked hard.”

“That’s nothing... not even worth calling effort.”

“Then since you’ve been working so hard, how about one more task?”

I pulled the ledger I had tucked inside my robe and tossed it lightly.

Inspector Seong caught it, looking puzzled.

It was the face of someone thinking, Why are you handing this to me?

“It should list the people who were exploited under Yawoon Sang’s rule. Some of them are dead, some still alive. Separate them, and return what’s owed.”

“...All of it?”

“Not all. Leave out the spiritual pills and cultivation resources.”

“...Why... are you doing this?”

“Because it happened while I looked the other way.”

“...”

“This all started because of me. If I don’t take responsibility, how am I any different from Yawoon Sang?”

“...Understood. I’ll identify the dead and the living, and repay as much as possible.”

“If it’s not enough, take the remainder from my personal funds.”

“...Understood, young master.”

With a nod, I turned my gaze back to the sky.

It was truly beautiful.

Starting tomorrow, things would get very busy—so for now, I intended to enjoy this brief moment of peace.

****

The man with four knots on his belt—Wonsam, the Branch Leader of the Yangnyeong Division of the Beggar’s Union—suddenly burst out in rage.

“Seol Unwi! That son of a bitch!”

Next to him, the Vice Branch Leader Jeong Gaesan flinched, quickly adding,

“Sir... Maybe don’t say ‘son of a bitch’... It’s Seol Jungcheon’s son. Seol Jungcheon’s.”

If Seol Unwi’s a son of a bitch, then who's the bitch?

As Jeong Gaesan implied, it would be Seol Jungcheon.

Wonsam cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly changed his words.

“They say a tiger fathers dogs—well, under the White Tiger, a damn mutt’s been born.”

“Mutt” wasn’t the worst insult, honestly.

Better to insult the kid than his father.

“He’s illegitimate, right?”

“Yes. He’s a bastard.”

“Figures.”

“Sorry?”

“That bastard kid probably just realized something. That with the Everlasting Snow Palace behind him, he can run wild like a madman and no one will stop him. What a filthy... I mean, he’s like a damn insect.”

“...”

“That mongrel’s gotten cocky. Less than a dog. Even ripping him apart wouldn’t be enough for a mutt like him.”

To be frank, Wonsam didn’t give a damn whether Yangnyeong and the Snow Compression Branch were at war or not.

Let them fight all they want.

But touching someone from the Beggar’s Union?

That was a different story.

Arrogant little bastard.

While Wonsam ranted furiously, Jeong Gaesan quietly pulled out a cloth from inside his robe. It was filthy with old stains, but still necessary.

Wonsam took it and wiped the bits of food stuck to his face.

“That bastard Ice Snow Sword Scar—why the hell is he venting on me, huh? Acting like a lunatic.”

“Throwing his leftover food was a bit much. We may be beggars, but we’re well past the point of eating scraps left on someone’s plate.”

“You think that’s the point?”

“...Sorry.”

“Click. And the head of the Jurisdiction Sword Sect had to enter seclusion now of all times...”

The current head of the Jurisdiction Sword Sect was a master of the Five-Origin Martial Stage.

He entered closed-door seclusion about a year ago and hadn’t emerged since.

If it went long, it could last for years. The issue was that during this period, the one exercising real authority over the sect was Ice Snow Sword Scar.

Jeong Gaesan cleared his throat and spoke.

“From the look of things, Ice Snow Sword Scar is going to visit the Snow Compression Branch today. Shouldn’t we do something about that?”

“Of course we should. One of our Three Tie members was killed. We can’t just sit on our hands.”

“So, what will you do?”

“What do you think? Isn’t he near Yangnyeong right now?”

“You mean...?”

“Yes. Him. The Vice Commander of Sword Press City.”

Sword Press City managed all the small towns in and around Yangnyeong.

Its Commander was a Seven Tie member of the Beggar’s Union—and the Vice Commander was a Six Tie.

A Six Tie: Cheonsugang.

Jeong Gaesan swallowed hard.

“...Are you really going to call him?”

“I am. That bastard brat’s treating the Beggar’s Union like garbage. Someone needs to tell him to watch where he lies down before he starts acting like he owns the place.”

“...That’s... true.”

“And while we’re at it, maybe we can squeeze a little something out of the Everlasting Snow Palace too.”

Jeong Gaesan didn’t try to stop him. Honestly, there was no point. Wonsam wasn’t the kind of man who listened to anyone once his mind was made up.

And more than anything, he was obsessed with authority. If that Cheonsugang guy told him to lick the food crumbs off his own face, Wonsam would probably do it without hesitation.

A man rotten with greed—this was clearly an opportunity to him.

Jeong Gaesan clicked his tongue inwardly.

Who knew how this would turn out?

****

Seolap was a small city.

Actually, calling it a “city” was a bit much. But it didn’t quite feel right to call it a village either. It sat somewhere in between—a place that didn’t fully belong to either category.

By contrast, neighboring Yangnyeong was undeniably a city.

Administrative divisions were separated into province (ju), district (gun), and county (hyeon).

All five nations in the martial realm followed this same structure.

Officials were only dispatched starting at the county level, and below counties came towns, villages, and hamlets.

Now, in the neighboring Yang Empire and the far-off Moon Laurel Nation, there were “fortresses” (seong) ranked above provinces, but the total number of those across both countries was four at most. It was a structural quirk unique to those two nations.

Seolap, on the other hand, didn’t belong to any country.

It was land owned solely by the Everlasting Snow Palace. That’s why it was simply called “Seolap.”

But if one were to force it into the usual classification, Seolap could be considered roughly equivalent to a village.

Seolap-ri.

And its neighbor, Yangnyeong, was Yangnyeong County.

There was a difference in scale—but the real difference wasn’t about size. It was about quality.

The strongest expert in Seolap was someone at the level of Samhwa Meditation Hall.

But in Yangnyeong County, there were masters who had reached the Five-Origin Martial Stage. More than five Samhwa-level martial artists lived there too.

And yet, Yangnyeong had never made a move to swallow Seolap. For one very clear reason.

Because Seolap—and myself, who resided in Seolap—carried the bloodline of the Everlasting Snow Palace.

Laying a hand on Seolap meant provoking the Everlasting Snow Palace. And what kind of lunatic would ever try to touch a Northern giant like that?

They simply didn’t have the power to mess with the Frozen Heavens.

But watching closely from a distance—that was another matter.

The palace didn’t care about being checked.

After all, a fair fight was a fair fight.

A conflict with reason behind it was still a legitimate dispute.

The situation here was simple.

There were two mines between Seolap and Yangnyeong.

The Cheongneung Mine and the Seolhan Mine.

The Cheongneung Mine belonged to Seolap.

It was clearly within our territory, and Seolap was the rightful owner.

But the Seolhan Mine was a different story.

It was located along the border between Seolap and Yangnyeong. Technically, it was supposed to be under “joint administration,” but that had never happened.

Even that might’ve been tolerable.

We could’ve simply gone and claimed half of the Seolhan Mine’s share, or renegotiated the terms and resumed joint operations as agreed upon.

But it had been six years.

For six years—from the moment I arrived as the branch lord of Seolap—Yawoon Sang had served as the acting branch lord. Though there had been multiple changes in the rank-and-file staff, that position had never once changed hands.

For six years, even the Cheongneung Mine—which lay clearly inside Seolap’s borders—had been under the de facto control of Yangnyeong’s sects.

The Seolhan Mine too was fully under Yangnyeong’s grasp.

It wasn’t just a matter of getting robbed blind.

We’d been turned into utter pushovers.

Time to fix that.

I arrived at the Cheongneung Mine with my subordinates.

Mining was still in progress, but the people overseeing the workers looked entirely unfamiliar.

One glance was enough to tell—they weren’t from Seolap.

I walked straight toward them. They noticed me, and their expressions immediately soured.

I spoke curtly.

“Explain.”

Cheonpung stepped forward from behind me and quickly opened his mouth.

“They’re warriors from Yangnyeong. Judging by their uniforms, they’re from the Long Sword Sect.”

“And yet they’re managing the place?”

“Yes. They’re claiming quality control is necessary because impurities were found in the latest batch of Cold Jade Crystals.”

“Quality control, huh...”

“And that excuse keeps changing. Sometimes they say they received intelligence about illegal smuggling and are conducting an investigation. Other times, it’s about ensuring smooth trade between the regions, so they’ve taken on ‘supervisory authority’... There’s no end to the reasons.”

“I’m just a former figurehead, so my memory might be off—but has it always been like this?”

“...Yes. Always.”

I paused in thought and asked,

“They’re still mining. So who does the Cold Jade Crystal they’re digging up go to?”

“...To Yangnyeong.”

“So let me get this straight. It’s Seolap’s mine, but Yangnyeong manages it. Yangnyeong’s people are doing the mining. Yangnyeong transports and sells the minerals. And Yangnyeong profits from it.”

Cheonpung shut his mouth with an uncomfortable look.

There was no need to say more. The situation was obvious.

Even the records in the ledgers were worse than I imagined.

This whole setup had been orchestrated by Yawoon Sang and the sects of Yangnyeong.

They bribed each other.

Shared the profits.

If Yawoon Sang had gone into business instead of martial arts, he probably would’ve become a tycoon.

I lifted my gaze and stared at the men looking confused directly in front of me.

“So you're from the Long Sword Sect?”

“...Yes.”

“And you’re overseeing things here?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Well, because that’s how it’s always been.”

“‘Always,’ huh... You think this is Yangnyeong County?”

“...Look, we’re warriors of the Long Sword Sect. And since we’ve received intelligence that Cold Jade Crystals with impurities were being circulated, we’re conducting an investigation. Please come back tomorrow.”

“This is Seolap’s mine. Are you seriously telling the owner to come back later?”

“Come on... What are you talking about? This mine belongs to Yangnyeong.”

“Based on territorial maps, this mine is within Seolap. The original discoverers, the ones who first planted the flag—all of them were from Seolap. And yet you’re spewing bullshit.”

“...”

“So, this mine belongs to Yangnyeong? You ready to take responsibility for those words?”

The warrior from the Long Sword Sect paused to think, then smiled in an odd way.

“...Ah, now I get it.”

“Get what?”

“You’re here to ask for a share of the ore, just like Yawoon Sang used to... I’ll report it up the chain and arrange a new round of negotiations soon.”

Unbelievable.