Chapter 274

The Five Kings Under Heaven exist in the Central Plains.

And when people say the White King, a lot of images come to mind.

But the most famous one is this:

Wealth God.

Or the name Coin King.

It’s said to be the White King’s most common sobriquet—yet the name Coin King always trails right after it.

Literally, the king of money.

Wherever the White King goes, money follows. If he walks along a river, there’s gold and silver sitting in the water.

If he stops mid-stride, a gold bar might fall out of the sky.

Ridiculous, sure.

But it also says just how many achievements the White King has that tie back to money.

Just look at the Murong Clan.

They were originally known as a famed sword family, but with the Namgung Clan standing in front of them, the Murong Clan never really got to shine.

Once the White King rose as Clan Head, that story changed.

The White King didn’t devote himself to the sword.

Of course, his talent was outstanding. He reached absolute mastery through the sword—so it wasn’t like he lacked ability.

But...

Even more than his genius with the blade, what stood out was his grip on wealth.

He was born to make money move—and to make it come to him.

The Murong Clan was already a great house, so they weren’t exactly poor.

But maybe that wasn’t enough for him, because he started meddling directly with the merchant groups under their banner.

And the result?

In just a few years, the merchant groups run by the Murong Clan rose into the top tier of the Central Plains.

He shoveled in money by the cartload. A gold mine was found in a mountain he bought. A merchant group—or a person—he “touched” would later grow into something massive and end up benefiting the Murong Clan.

And the organizations he created?

...The Merchant Lords’ Union.

Merchants are the kind of people who look at even human beings as money, chasing nothing but their own profit.

And he unified them into a single union.

How insane is that?

To me, it’s the same level as unifying those dark faction bastards.

Scum who act on nothing but greed and desire.

Unifying them would be about as hard as it gets.

And the White King did it.

I didn’t know what happened inside that union.

But the point was simple: he pulled off something brutally difficult—and his reputation and influence had already spread across the entire Central Plains.

The master of money.

Murong Hyeok, the White King.

I came here to meet him.

“Sit.”

“Ah, yes.”

The moment I arrived, I found the White King inside an inn that had been completely emptied out.

I dragged a chair over and sat down, then asked,

“Did you rent out all of this?”

“I like it quiet.”

“...Seriously.”

If he wanted quiet, he could’ve just found a quiet inn.

Renting out the whole place—what kind of lunatic stunt was that?

This was money-burning on a level that almost felt unreal.

But I wasn’t shocked. I knew what kind of man the White King was.

This much is nothing.

Money overflowed for him. Spending this wouldn’t even leave a mark.

“So why did you ask to see me?”

I went straight to the point.

“What did you want to ask that you rented out an entire inn? From what I hear, this is the best place in Henan County.”

How important could it be?

I put the question on the table—

And the White King quietly ate whatever was on the plate in front of him.

“...What are you eating?”

“Honey pastries.”

“No, I can see that.”

Why was he eating honey pastries here?

“I heard this inn makes them well.”

“...Clan Head. Just to be sure, I have to ask.”

“Ask.”

“Did you rent this place because the honey pastries are good?”

“......”

“Answer me.”

“I didn’t say I would.”

Ah.

He told me to ask, but he wasn’t going to answer?

Unbelievable.

I didn’t even need the answer. It was obvious.

This guy is something else.

The White King liked sweet things. He didn’t look like the type, but—shockingly—he was.

And the funniest part was—

“If your daughter finds out, she’s going to be shocked. Seriously.”

Even Murong Yeongsun—the White King’s daughter—didn’t know.

A secret only I knew.

No. Now it was a secret only I knew.

The White King finished the honey pastries, casually wiped his mouth with a cloth, and looked at me.

“What is the Small Moon Unit Leader?”

He asked while looking past me—toward the Small Moon Unit Leader standing a bit farther behind.

“He’s my guard. I’m heading to Mount Hua, so the Moon-Thread Sword attached him to me.”

“The Small Moon Unit Leader?”

“Yes. I’m surprised too.”

The Small Moon Unit already had more than enough to do. Handing over the strongest man among them as my escort was strange—whether you were me or the White King.

“I see.”

After a moment, the White King nodded as if he’d accepted it.

“It seems the Moon-Thread Sword holds you in high regard.”

“...What?”

What was he talking about now?

“...All of a sudden?”

“There’s the question of danger, but judging by the circumstances, that’s what it looks like.”

“Hm.......”

I hadn’t thought of it like that. But... yeah. If he attached the Small Moon Unit Leader to me, did that mean he thought well of me?

I was just about to feel a little pleased—

“Troublesome.”

The White King murmured softly.

“I already marked you.”

“...What?”

“Never mind.”

He slid the empty plate aside and continued.

“Two left. You know that, right?”

“.......”

My tongue clicked with regret.

He meant the wishes.

I’d used one. Two remained.

He said he’d grant me three—so there were two left.

“...Thank you.”

I started with that.

“It was urgent, so I blurted it out. I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

He’d said he’d grant anything, but—

I didn’t expect him to kill a commander without hesitation.

“It was simply a promise I had to keep.”

“...Still.”

Because of that, the White King almost got dragged into something big.

Whatever the reason, he executed a commander.

And he had to endure an investigation afterward.

If Jegal Jin hadn’t been unaware of what my eyes were—

The White King, and even the Murong Clan itself, might have been shaken.

No matter how much people called him the Wealth God...

If you make an enemy of the Martial Alliance, things get messy.

To properly run a great house and its merchant groups, you needed the Martial Alliance’s power behind you.

If you turned them into enemies, you’d never be able to move the way you wanted.

The White King knew that—and still granted my request.

Even if it was a wish.

No—

Even if you call it the price of your daughter’s life.

The White King was a strange man.

“...Anyway. Thank you.”

“That’s enough.”

He waved a hand like he was swatting the gratitude away. The funny part was—

“...When did you order more honey pastries?”

“Just now.”

He’d ordered them so quietly I didn’t even notice.

“...If you eat like that, it’s bad for you. Clan Head.”

“It’s been a while. I’ll be fine.”

“No, if you like them that much, just tell your daughter and eat them.”

The White King kept the fact that he was crazy for sweets from Murong Yeongsun.

So he probably didn’t eat them at home, and only did this at times like this.

He ate in silence for a moment—

Then said,

“I’ll ask.”

“Huh? Ah, you’re done already?”

He’d quietly finished again—and asked me:

“Do you have any intention of getting engaged again?”

“.......”

Heavy. Sticky.

I hadn’t eaten anything, but my throat felt like it clogged shut.

“...Hahaha. That’s a joke, right?”

“Does it sound like a joke?”

“...Probably not.”

Look at that face. Did he look like a man who tossed jokes around?

That was why it was even more flustering.

“Suddenly talking about engagement. We already—”

Didn’t we already break it off?

But he cut in.

“That was your desire. I simply granted it.”

Not a wish.

A request.

Back then—around the time that happened—I’d said it to him after receiving his help.

Please.

—Let me break the engagement.

Let me break it off with the Murong Clan.

Murong Yeongsun still believed the broken engagement happened by her will.

But—

“I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t.

This broken engagement was closer to my will. Ridiculously, the White King never intended to honor Murong Yeongsun’s wishes in the first place.

“The reason?”

He asked calmly, like my refusal was nothing special.

What could I even answer?

There wasn’t some complicated reason.

It was simple.

“Because I don’t want to.”

I didn’t want it.

I didn’t want an engagement with her.

“I see.”

The White King nodded.

And that was it.

“.......”

“.......”

He didn’t ask for more. Maybe he didn’t need to.

His plain reaction made me hesitate—

Then—

“Then get up.”

“...Yes? Ah—yes.”

The White King dismissed me. Literally: get out.

What? That was it? That was the whole point...?

“...You called me just to ask that?”

“Yes.”

“Then why the inn—”

So he really rented it just to eat honey pastries?

This was insane.

I started to move—

“One more thing.”

Without looking at me, the White King asked,

“Yes. Ask any—”

“‘I don’t want to’—is that my daughter?”

He cut me off.

“Or is it you?”

“.......”

I froze.

I couldn’t answer.

Too late. I should’ve said something—anything.

But I didn’t.

“That answers it.”

The White King nodded, satisfied.

“I think I need to eat more honey pastries. Go on, then.”

“...Understood.”

Damn it.

Always too sharp, this old man.

I bit my lip in secret and walked out of the inn.

*****

After Bang Sungyeon left—

Inside the inn, Murong Hyeok toyed with the freshly delivered honey pastries, and his expression changed.

The man who’d kept his face blank the whole time finally let a faint smile surface—only after no one was left.

“This won’t do.”

He murmured softly.

“No matter how I think about it.”

The White King reaffirmed a certainty he’d held for a long time.

—Clan Head, are you out of your mind?

Like that moment when a kid—barely in his teens—stared straight through him and spoke.

—If you keep going like that, your daughter will die. Wake up. If you don’t want to lose your daughter too—

Back when that childish rebuke stabbed into his chest.

“I can’t give him up.”

He couldn’t give him up.

Whether it was the Blue Moon Sect, or the Jegal Clan.

Thinking that, the White King chewed and swallowed a honey pastry.

He had always gotten what he wanted.

This time would be the same.

Even if what he wanted was a person.

*****

The sun set, and night came.

By the time the two shichen I’d expected had passed, darkness finally fell.

In a quiet outskirts area with no lanterns lit, people gathered.

“Everything is ready.”

A martial artist in a Martial Alliance uniform reported to Jegal Jin.

Jegal Jin nodded.

“The food is sufficient, and the carriages are well-maintained. This will be enough to reach Shaanxi.”

Jegal Jin said it—and I heard him.

“...Yeah. It looks that way.”

“‘It looks that way’ means something else is bothering you?”

“Of course there is.”

If I had to pick one—

“That I have to go.”

I meant it. I didn’t want to go so badly it made me want to die.

“...Ah. I don’t want to go.”

“Save the pointless talk for the road. I don’t particularly want to hear it.”

“...Yes, sir.”

He was an old man with no sense of humor.

And honestly, it wasn’t even a joke.

I really didn’t want to go.

But—

...Yeah. In the end, I have to.

Staring at the carriages being prepared in the darkness, I let out a long sigh.

Mount Hua.

The moment had finally come where I had to go there.