Chapter 304

Chapter 304
## Chapter 304. The Rising Star of the Black Path, the Black Flame Dragon (2)

—

The carriage that departed from the Eun-ha Merchant Group headed toward Hefei once again.
And on the way back, we encountered a welcome flag.
“Oh? The Dae-cheon Merchant Group!”
While intending to enter an inn, I discovered the flag of the Dae-cheon Merchant Group on a carriage.
“Ah, Young Master Jin.”
As I stepped inside the inn, the warriors and merchants who were eating rose all at once and acknowledged me.
“Are you on your way back from the Eun-ha Merchant Group?”
At the question from Manager Go-jung-tak, I nodded my head.
He then asked carefully.
“……Did you wrap up the business you went for well?”
Being a manager, he seemed to have a lot of interest in the transaction that took place with the Eun-ha Merchant Group.
“Yes.”
I handed the contract I brought from the Eun-ha Merchant Group to Go-jung-tak.
Go-jung-tak carefully examined the document and could not hide his surprised expression.
“It truly was successful……!”
“It seems you were expecting it?”
“Don’t even mention it. I was so distressed because I couldn’t pick up the money rolling around in Hangzhou.”
Go-jung-tak put on a pained expression, and we shared a round of laughter.
“But……. Why is it that the Manager is out here all the way?”
Normally, a manager does not move far from the merchant group.
It was generally their job to determine the value of goods and calculate the costs of transportation or distribution.
“Moreover, I noticed there was no flag of a security agency. Did you not use a security agency?”
“Ah…… that is.”
Go-jung-tak scratched his cheek with his finger.
“For cost reduction, we mostly move directly within the merchant group for short distances. Moreover, for this trade mission, most of the items were of high value relative to their volume, so I moved personally.”
“I see.”
Indeed, it was a custom not to use a security agency for short distances or safe trade missions using the official roads.
Because using a security agency itself added to the cost, making them less competitive.
“This turned out well. Since you are on your way to the Dae-cheon Merchant Group anyway, let us move together with us. Our porter has excellent cooking skills.”
The servant who had accompanied us to the Eun-ha Merchant Group also had no small amount of cooking skill, but I readily nodded my head.
It was also because I wanted to see how the Dae-cheon Merchant Group moved.
‘It is truly at the level of a “mulberry field turning into a blue sea” (Sangjeon-byeokhae).’
When I thought back to what I was doing around this time in my past life, I was looking for a job to try and earn even a few pennies.
Because Gye-cheol-yeong had entered the Martial Academy through special recruitment, and the disciples of the Tae-eul Sect did not even dare to think about taking the regular martial examinations.
It was a situation where several years remained until the mandatory service of the Martial Alliance.
Since I could not just play and eat every day at the sect, I looked for a job, but since what I saw and learned was “stealing,” I naturally looked for work as a security escort who lived by the blade.
‘But it was out of the question.’
I tried hard to find a job as an escort, but no place would hire me as one.
Where would there be a security agency that would hire someone with humble skills and no experience or connections?
In the end, while working as a porter for the Gye-ryong Merchant Group, I barely managed to make ends meet and earned only enough to bring some money back to the sect.
However, in this life, the Dae-cheon Merchant Group, established under the name of the Tae-eul Sect, existed, and countless people worked and earned money at that Dae-cheon Merchant Group.
I no longer needed to be anxious about whether the sponsorship funds from the Gye-ryong Merchant Group would decrease.
I didn’t need to stand before people I disliked and make sounds of distress.
I could feed the children training at the sect three meals a day, and I didn’t need to make them wear mended martial robes.
Thinking that way, my mood improved, and I called the waiter.
“What is the best liquor you have here?”
“We have So-hong-ju and Geum-jon-cheong.”
“Ten bottles of Geum-jon-cheong.”
“Ah! Yes!”
The waiter bowed his head as if his waist would break and then darted into the kitchen.
The people of the merchant group who were listening to my order beside me could not hide their surprised expressions.
“Young Master, we are still in the middle of a trade mission……”
“Yes, I know. So let us just have it simply as an accompaniment to the meal.”
Go-jung-tak eventually let out a small sigh at the expectant gazes of the people.
“Everyone heard, right? Drink only to the extent that you do not get drunk.”
“““Yesssss!”””
Even Go-jung-tak, whose face had been stiff, had his face relaxed before he knew it after smelling the scent of the Geum-jon-cheong.
While such a harmonious meal continued.
Clatter!
The door opened roughly, and a group of giants entered the inn.
They did not seem to be customers; the waiter who was coming out of the kitchen intended to serve them but sighed and went back to the kitchen, and the giants, instead of finding seats to sit in, scanned the interior of the inn.
‘These bastards look filthy.’
Their fierce faces and the way they blatantly revealed their large weapons made it clear at a glance that they were Black Path fellows.
‘Did they come to find a debtor?’
As they scanned the audience with glaring eyes while emitting a sinister aura, the people eating at the inn all tried hard not to meet their eyes.
I also stayed still since it was not something for me to care about.
“Here! Where is the Dae-cheon Merchant Group!”
Eh?
Slide—
Eh??
Suddenly, did Go-jung-tak, who was sitting next to me, not rise from his seat?
‘What is it?’
Go-jung-tak politely formed a fist-palm salute.
“I offer greetings to the Great Heroes. I am Go-jung-tak of the Dae-cheon Merchant Group.”
“Yeah. The money?”
“It is here.”
While saying that, he handed over a small money pouch.
And the giants opened that pouch and examined the interior.
“It seems the business situation of the Dae-cheon Merchant Group is good lately. Drinking expensive liquor since broad daylight.”
The gaze of the giant who confirmed the pouch turned toward the Geum-jon-cheong placed on our table.
“That is all thanks to people like the Great Heroes.”
Bang!
Damn, you startled me…… No, more than that, my Geum-jon-cheong……!
As a thick hand slammed down on the table, I instantaneously checked the bottles of Geum-jon-cheong.
Phew, they are safe.
But that bastard, did he just slam the table?
“If that is the case, should you not pay more for the toll fee!”
Soon, a thunderous voice echoed inside the inn.
Despite the ignorant shouting, Go-jung-tak did not lose his polite attitude.
“……I shall try to discuss it with the Merchant Group Leader.”
“Good. Then we shall also deliver that to our Sect Leader.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Then, the giant and his gang turned their bodies as if it were natural.
Watching the series of events, I thought.
What kind of dog-like situation is this?
I rubbed my forehead and called out to stop them.
“Wait…… wait, wait, wait.”
At my voice, Go-jung-tak was shocked and quickly approached.
“Young Master Jin. I will explain it to you.”
“No. Manager, stay back for a moment, and hey, you! You, come here.”
The giant opened his eyes glaringly and pointed to himself with his finger.
“Brat, are you talking to this Great One (Bon-jwa) right now?”
“‘Great One’ my ass, you’re about to die, you ‘Great One’……”
“Y-Young Master!”
I poked the pressure point of the manager who was clinging like a leech and then walked forward.
“Give that money here.”
“……What?”
“That is the blood-like money of the Dae-cheon Merchant Group, so hand it over here.”
A moment of silence lingered in the inn.
The atmosphere became so heavy that even the sound of swallowing saliva sounded like a roar.
Following that, the giant burst into a mad laughter.
“Hahahahahahaha!”
As the giant laughed and looked at his companions, the companions also burst into laughter just like the giant.
“Hahahaha!”
“Khahaha!”
“How dare this crazy bastard…… you must be frantic to die!”
Then, he soon swung a fist the size of a watermelon.
Thud!
Instead of blocking or avoiding, I took the punch as it was.
However.
“Urgh…….”
The sound of a groan flowed from the giant’s mouth, not mine.
The fellow showed an appearance of trying hard not to show the pain felt in his fist.
First, let’s loosen up the wrist.
“Since you hit me once. It’s my turn now, right?”
I didn’t know what kind of situation was going on.
Hmm, there must be some circumstances I don’t know about.
Yes. Well, I understand all that.
“This crazy bastard has lost his fear and gone insane……!”
“Enough.”
Still, seeing them take my blood-like money right before my eyes made my anger soar.
“Clench your teeth tightly.”
An anger that could not even be compared to when I met the demons.

—

Toll fee.
Normally, it refers to the cost a user pays when passing through a path with an owner.
The government office that paved the official road receives a toll fee at the entrance of the castle, and the Green Forest Stronghold that paved the path in the mountains receives a toll fee on the mountain path.
I heard that Waterway Strongholds guide the waterways and receive toll fees as well, but well, I don’t know about that.
I simply could not understand the toll fee these bastards were receiving.
“You guys didn’t pave this road either, so why are you receiving a toll fee?”
The giant, who was kneeling with his eye area turned bruised and blue, frowned and replied.
“……Bo-ho-tong-haeng-yo (Pwotection toww fee).”
“Why can’t this bastard speak properly! Shall I knock out more of your teeth?”
Whether he wanted to protest that he couldn’t pronounce properly because his teeth were knocked out.
The giant looked at me with eyes that said he was dying of injustice, but well, so what?
As I was glaring with hawk-like eyes, Go-jung-tak, who was standing beside me, opened his mouth instead.
“Young Master Jin. The term ‘Protection Toll Fee’ is something that was created recently.”
“Protection Toll Fee?”
Go-jung-tak let out a small sigh and nodded his head.
According to what I heard, until now, Black Path sects lived while receiving protection fees only in places where they had a definite power of their own.
If they caused a fight in a place where the White Path sects belonging to the Martial Alliance were present, it would immediately lead to a Black Path subjugation, so they could not dare to invade the power or have a conflict of interests.
However, after the Sa-heuk-ryeon was created, many Black Path sects began to slowly invade the sphere of influence of the White Path.
Just by being affiliated with the Sa-heuk-ryeon, they could escape the possibility of being unilaterally subjugated for the time being, so they began to gradually expand their power.
However, since the Sa-heuk-ryeon did not step forward for incidents where they caused a fight without a justification first or provided a pretext, they could not recklessly take away the existing White Path sphere of influence.
And the plan they came up with as a desperate measure was the “Protection Toll Fee,” which was somewhere between a protection fee and a toll fee.
Wow, what kind of mysterious bullshit is this?
“No, so what I’m saying is that I don’t understand! You don’t receive protection, and the road isn’t yours either, so why do you receive a protection toll fee!”
“…….”
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
“Awe you dawyng to insuwt ouw Hang-mun-bang (Anus Sect)?”
“Hang-mun-bang? Is your sect’s name the Anus Sect?”
“You! You dawyng fwow!”
At the sight of the giant glaring with his eyes wide, the Black Path fellow behind him quickly answered instead.
“I-it is the Sang-mun-bang.”
“Sang-mun-bang?”
It was a sect I had never heard of before.
“Manager.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“By any chance, do things like this happen often?”
Go-jung-tak hesitated for a moment and then confessed as if he had given up.
“It has been continuously increasing ever since the Sa-heuk-ryeon was created.”
“Heh…….”
So it means these goddamn bastards found a new business field thanks to the Sa-heuk-ryeon.
I tapped my temple and asked.
“How much do you normally get shaken down for?”
“It is not much. Since it is much cheaper than using a security agency directly, other merchant groups also tend to do it this way.”
“So, how much?”
“About ten times in one province……”
So it means they get shaken down once in every village they stop by.
I turned my head toward So-so Wang.
“Do you guys pay the same way?”
“Uh…… I believe we don’t pay.”
Wow. Look at these bastards?
“So it means you only take from those who look easy.”
Damn, did creating the Sa-heuk-ryeon bring about such a side effect?
Heh, you dare to pick my pocket!
“Y-Young Master Jin. I know you are angry, but how about stopping here?”
“No, why? With this money, we could give performance bonuses to the porters and stay at a better inn during breaks, couldn’t we?”
“That is because you are here now, Young Master…… but we don’t know how things will turn out with ha-ko (harmful retaliation)…… no, how things will turn out later, do we?”
What the manager was worried about was ultimately the continuous stability of the trade mission.
Even if they don’t get their money taken now, they might turn into bandits in a later trade mission.
That is what he was most worried about.
I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders.
“It just needs to be safe later as well, right?”
“Yes?”
So, to put it the other way, it means if I make these guys never turn into bandits, we won’t get our money taken and the trade mission can be done safely.
I kicked the toothless giant fellow.
“Hey, Anus Sect.”
“……!!!”
Then the giant glared at me as if to kill me.
“Guide me to your Sect Leader.”
“Awe you weawwy dawyng to die?”
“Why would I die? I’m saying let’s talk a bit.”
“Hmm?”
Whether my story was not delivered properly, the giant and his underlings wore dazed expressions.
Instead of the giant whose pronunciation was strange because his teeth were knocked out, an underling carefully asked me.
“That…… by any chance, do you know our Sect Leader?”
“How would I know a Black Path nobody!”
Whether something was not expected, the Black Path underling fell into thought.
Then he hesitated again and asked me.
“By any chance, what might your name be……”
“So-un Jin.”
Even though they heard only three syllables, the Black Path underling’s face turned white.
“Th-the Rising Star of the Black Path, the Black Flame Dragon?!”
“Surely……! D-do you mean the Black Maitreya?!”
Yes, that’s me, you sons of bitches.