Chapter 12

That was extremely useful information.

Seol Unwi turned his head and looked at Yang Deoksu. He walked toward the man, whose face was full of fear.

“This mine belongs to Seolap. What made you think you could dig here?”

“...I...”

“Not only did you mine, but you even sold the ore and pocketed the money. You must’ve been ready to die for that.”

“I... I was just... following orders...”

He kicked without hesitation.

BOOM—!

A deafening explosion rang out as Yang Deoksu’s chest caved in. The man was flung backward and slammed into the wall. He hacked up blood, trembling violently, then went limp.

Seol Unwi turned again. Miners and porters came into view.

There were forty-eight miners in total.

And twenty porters.

“I plan to hire all of you.”

Everyone gasped, stunned. Clearly, that wasn’t the answer they had expected.

“This was a fight between martial artists. Between those in charge. None of you are martial artists. You’re just ordinary people, trying to get through each day.”

Even if I go too far at times, I still uphold a certain line.

And this is that line.

Martial artists and civilians.

Those who bear responsibility, and those who don’t.

These people were only doing a job for pay.

There was no need to slaughter them all.

“Turns out the Cheongwoon Trading Company in Seolap is looking to hire miners and porters. If you're interested, step to the right.”

Some of them had guts.

A man with a thick beard stepped forward and asked me directly.

“If we don’t step out... will you kill us, like you did Inspector Yang?”

I let out a short laugh.

“I promise. I won’t kill you.”

“...”

“Oh, and come to think of it, I forgot to mention—if you relocate to Seolap today, you’ll each be paid three silver taels.”

It didn’t take long for them to make a decision.

Every single miner and porter moved to the right.

I quietly gestured behind me.

“Wonyang, come here.”

He was the smallest among the branch members—so small, it was hard to believe he was even a man.

And that’s because he wasn’t.

She was a woman, dressed as a man.

She clearly wanted to be seen as a man, so I had referred to her that way. But right now, I needed him.

Wonyang was one of the two men I had looked at earlier.

Should I say he stood out?

He shined. A gem I hadn’t seen in a long time.

I said to him:

“Take the Cold Ridge Jade Crystals piled over there and deliver them to Cheongwoon Trading Company.”

“And should I distribute three silver taels each from the branch’s funds?”

I smiled.

“Unlike a certain someone, you don’t need things repeated twice. Very convenient.”

Cheonpung flinched, and Wonyang gave a martial salute before turning around and starting to lead the miners and porters away.

I watched them go, then opened my mouth again.

“The rest of you, follow me.”

Cheonpung asked, “Where are we going?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

My gaze drifted toward the snow-covered hill.

“We’re heading to the Seolhan Mine.”

Beyond that hill, and another ridge past it, lay the Seolhan Mine.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

****

Seol Unwi and the branch members arrived at the Seolhan Mine.

And there, they witnessed a very unexpected scene.

Seol Unwi smiled faintly. The other branch members looked confused.

It was understandable.

Signs of retreat were everywhere.

Not a single person carried a sword, and all that remained were about a hundred people and five to six hundred geun of Cold Ridge Jade Crystals—none of which were even properly loaded onto carts.

The miners and porters had slumped to the ground as if they had given up completely. Some bore cuts and bruises on their faces and bodies.

Among them, a man with long hair, scholarly in appearance and the least disheveled, looked up at Seol Unwi and smiled politely.

“It’s an honor to meet the new ruler of Seolap—Star of the Everlasting Snow Palace.”

“Star of the Palace?”

“Oh, it’s a nickname I came up with. Do you not like it?”

“Like it or not, if that’s what people want to call me, I don’t see the point in objecting.”

Seol Unwi stepped forward and faced the man directly.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Han Seokhyeon.”

“Your position?”

“I’m a low-ranking inspector of the Universal Trading Company.”

“A low-ranking inspector, huh... Mind explaining the current situation?”

Han Seokhyeon, as he had introduced himself, answered quietly.

“The man stationed here as manager was Supreme Inspector Jo Wolun of the Universal Trading Company. He had posted some martial artists from the Long Sword Sect and the Juryung Sword Sect here—but only a few. I’m sure you know why.”

Of course.

It was obvious.

Until now, no one had dared to touch Seolhan Mine or the Cheongneung Mine.

Seolap? There were insiders cooperating already, so there was no need to act openly. And the mines were located right between Yangnyeong and Seolap.

The fact that there had been twenty Long Sword Sect martial artists stationed at Cheongneung Mine was the real anomaly. Usually, there were maybe ten, sometimes twenty at most.

Their job was to monitor the miners, make sure they were doing their work properly, and more importantly, ensure they weren’t stealing ore.

“In short, we heard that the Long Sword Sect had been annihilated at the Cheongneung Mine. Supreme Inspector Jo Wolun immediately gave the order to ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) retreat... and this is the result.”

“Couldn’t escape in time? Or...”

“We were abandoned.”

“You seem surprisingly calm.”

“When you expect nothing, you’re never disappointed.”

“That’s true.”

Han Seokhyeon smiled faintly.

“Take all of this Cold Ridge Jade Crystal with you. And...”

Han Seokhyeon hesitated for a moment, then continued in a quiet voice.

“Please hit me. Hard. In the face.”

Seol Unwi’s eyes gleamed. That was an unexpected suggestion.

“I heard the person in charge at the Cheongneung Mine was killed. Is that true?”

“It is.”

“Then right now, I’m clearly the one in charge here. Everyone else ran.”

“So, you’re begging for your life?”

“Yes. I may be the one in charge, but I’m still just a low-ranking officer. I firmly believe that keeping me alive will be more beneficial to you than killing me.”

A smile formed on Seol Unwi’s lips.

A merchant, bargaining with his own life.

“This is the best I can do. If I pass out, it’ll look like I resisted. And the fact that the Cold Ridge Jade Crystals were taken will prove I did my duty. If I survive, I can plan for what’s next.”

Han Seokhyeon paused in thought, then added,

“And the men with swords—none of them stayed to protect us. They didn’t even look back. Do you know what they said before they ran?”

“What did they say?”

“They told us to carry all the ore. If they had time to say that, they could’ve carried some themselves. Bastards—nothing but thugs.”

“Sounds like you weren’t entirely without expectations.”

“I won’t deny it. I thought it was fine to push the miners and porters hard. If something happened, those guys were supposed to protect us. That’s what I believed... But I was mistaken.”

“When you see the world through rose-colored glasses, disappointment is inevitable.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not about your mindset. The world itself is like that. Reality is brutal, soaked in blood.”

“...Is that the kind of world you live in, Branch Leader?”

“It is.”

“That must be hard.”

“Do I look like I’m struggling?”

Han Seokhyeon stared at Seol Unwi for a moment before shaking his head.

“I wouldn’t know. You’re far too deep for someone like me to judge...”

“You mean me?”

“I’ve heard it’s been six years.”

“If you mean the six years I spent as a puppet, then yes.”

“You seem so different now. Like... you were preparing for this all along.”

Seol Unwi let out a dry chuckle.

“Preparing, huh... Do I really look that way?”

“You’ve already clashed with the Juryung Sword Sect, the Long Sword Sect, and by extension Yangnyeong itself. But you show no concern. You must have a plan.”

It seemed the man had a big misunderstanding.

“I don’t know what your plan is. But there must be allies of yours inside Yangnyeong too. Someone like you, who’s planned everything this far, wouldn’t leave that to chance. So I’ll be blunt—”

Han Seokhyeon lowered his head slightly.

“I just want to live. Please take all the Cold Ridge Jade Crystal here, and spare our lives.”

He never intended to kill them in the first place.

All the ones worth killing had already fled—who was left to execute?

More than anything, Seol Unwi found himself liking this man, Han Seokhyeon.

His assumptions were one thing, but more importantly, even in this situation, the man hadn’t lost his composure.

It was impressive, honestly. Even while begging for his life, he was already preparing his next move. More than that, he had drawn a clean line between himself and the Juryung Sword Sect.

“They abandoned us anyway. Take it all. Oh, right—before you do, like I said earlier, please hit me hard.”

“To create justification?”

“Yes. We want to make it look like it was stolen from us, nothing more.”

Seol Unwi stared quietly before tossing a question.

“You’ve been begging for your life this whole time... but you haven’t once said what you can offer me in return.”

“Ah...”

“If I go along with your little game, what exactly do I gain?”

“I’ll provide you with constant intel.”

“Intel?”

“Yes. On the inner workings of the Universal Trading Company, and what’s happening in Yangnyeong.”

“I thought you already assumed I had people planted in Yangnyeong.”

“I still do. But when it comes to information, cross-verification is the foundation, isn’t it?”

Unexpectedly, Han Seokhyeon was starting to look like raw ore to Seol Unwi.

Unpolished, but with potential.

“I’ve already had everything stripped from me by those bastards in Yangnyeong. I’ll tell you everything.”

A man who draws a clear line between loyalty and gain.

Who thinks not only of survival, but of what comes after.

The Universal Trading Company.

It had a grand name, but Seol Unwi had never heard of it before. Still, Han Seokhyeon—that name might be worth remembering.

“Are you satisfied with your current position as an inspector?”

“Until today, I was somewhat content. But now? Not really.”

Seol Unwi stared at him for a moment, then said plainly,

“One hit won’t be enough.”

“Pardon?”

“You need to look like you almost died. Only then will it seem real.”

Han Seokhyeon gave a bitter smile.

“So even to create justification, you need real skill, huh?”

Seol Unwi stepped forward.

Han Seokhyeon shut his eyes tightly. Then, at his ear, Seol Unwi whispered:

“There’s only one inspector in the Seolap Branch.”

Han Seokhyeon opened his eyes.

“If you want to swim in deeper waters, say so.”

He didn’t even have time to respond.

CRACK—!!

Seol Unwi’s fist smashed into Han Seokhyeon’s face with merciless force, and the man crumpled to the ground.

Seol Unwi gave the order.

“Secure the Cold Ridge Jade Crystal.”

The moment he spoke, the branch members moved swiftly into action.