Love Ballad of the Tyrant King

Chapter 40: Woobin, Chooses an Auspicious Day

Lee Jaseung admitted it without resistance.

"Of course, it could be me. The Demonic Cult shouldn’t ever be underestimated. They might have arranged my victory."

Their eyes met in the air. Baek Seolyoung, staring intently at Lee Jaseung, asked bluntly.

"Are you a Demonic Human?"

"In this situation, would my answer even matter?"

"It does."

Lee Jaseung looked at her for a moment, then answered calmly,

"No."

At that, Baek Seolyoung’s slightly tense expression relaxed.

"I thought so."

"How can you believe me so easily?"

When he asked, Baek Seolyoung stared at him quietly and shook her head.

"You don’t seem like a good person."

Lee Jaseung looked a little dumbfounded.

"Impressive you can say that to someone’s face."

"But at least, you’re not someone who would dance on a string for others."

"I might, for money. Or if someone I cared about was being held hostage."

"Would you really?"

A moment of silence passed between them. Baek Seolyoung looked him in the eyes.

It was the first time for Lee Jaseung to be looked at so boldly by a woman, and he felt slightly unsettled.

"No."

"See? I was right."

Her expression softened again.

"You seem to have a lot of faith in your intuition."

"Yes. I do."

She answered confidently. But more than intuition, it was an emotional judgment.

Since meeting him, he had constantly provoked her.

That provocation had never been fake or theatrical. It was a sharp insight that pierced through to the essence.

Yes, he was someone who possessed something that stirred her.

And it went beyond gender. It was a matter of human essence. If he had only seen her as a beautiful woman, he wouldn’t have said any of the things he had.

He saw her not as a woman, but as a person. At least that part wasn’t so bad.

She thought she had done well in bringing him.

Though they were to be married, it didn’t feel like he was a friend yet. If she had to choose one side, he felt closer to an enemy.

But even if he were an enemy, the result wouldn’t change.

Keeping enemies closer than friends seemed like the wiser choice for now.

* * *

At the same time, the atmosphere in the Lord’s room of the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan was very serious.

"They’re supposed to receive one hundred million silver coins, you said?"

Hae Cheon-in’s voice trembled as he asked the question.

"To be precise, one hundred twenty million silver coins."

The person who answered was Mo Gweon, his right-hand man.

A jackpot beyond imagination had exploded in the recent gambling on the tournament winner.

At Wind and Cloud Merchant Union, they had bet two million silver coins on Seop Mu-pyeong, and incredibly, he had won against all odds.

"Why the hell did those lunatics bet two million silver coins on Seop Mu-pyeong?"

Mo Gweon nearly replied, “To win big, obviously,” but shut his mouth. He knew from experience that when Hae Cheon-in was angry, it was best not to provoke him.

Normally, those who ran gambling houses profited from commissions. They didn’t care who won or lost. But this case was different.

The Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan had placed a massive bet on Jin Yang, Lee Jaseung’s opponent.

It was an unspoken rule that organizers must not place bets. They knew more and more accurate information than anyone else. But they had used intermediaries to place a huge bet. The cost of that illegal action was now devastating.

"Our clan’s loss is about seven million silver coins."

"Damn it!"

Hae Cheon-in slammed the table. The loss was now seven million and six thousand silver coins. The expensive six-thousand-silver coins table broke in two.

Counting the profit they had expected to make, the real loss was closer to twenty million silver coins.

Worse yet, the money bet on Jin Yang hadn’t even been theirs. They had borrowed it from various places, and starting next month, even covering the interest would be hard.

The Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan was famous, so nothing would happen immediately.

But they would be in the red for at least the next six or seven years.

"Have they been paid yet?"

"Not yet. We told them the accounting house had issues and we’d pay in a few days."

Hae Cheon-in asked what should have been obvious and got a very non-obvious answer, then asked another question he should not have.

"Weren’t they suspicious?"

"I’ll cover it up well enough. I’ve already arranged things at the accounting house. It’ll look fine on the surface."

Under normal circumstances, Hae Cheon-in would have complimented Mo Gweon’s tidy work, but this was not the situation.

"Wind and Cloud Merchant Union, you said?"

Hae Cheon-in’s eyes narrowed, and a chilling aura rose. Mo Gweon swallowed hard not because of the scary gaze, but he knew what thoughts contained in those eyes.

Hae Cheon-in’s intent was simple.

Eliminate Wind and Cloud Merchant Union and take the one hundred twenty million silver coins.

Mo Gweon had served him long enough to know exactly the kind of man he was, and he knew what he needed to do now.

Hae Cheon-in was never the type to speak such intentions aloud. It was Mo Gweon’s job to say it for him. That was how he had remained as his right hand for so long.

"That’s one hundred twenty million silver coins. We might as well eliminate Wind and Cloud Merchant Union and..."

Then, Hae Cheon-in exploded.

"You madman! What are you saying?"

"My apologies."

Hae Cheon-in said nothing and just stared at Mo Gweon.

His gaze seemed to say something like, why are you not continuing? Don’t I need you to voice all the dirty, filthy things for me?

Mo Gweon knew exactly what Hae Cheon-in wanted to hear.

"As you know, the Wind and Cloud Merchant Union is quite large in scale. Destroying them will be no easy task. But still, they’re just a merchant association.”

That meant eliminating them wouldn’t be difficult with brute strength.

And now came the key reason they could launch such an insane plan.

"The Demonic Cult got involved in this tournament, didn’t they?"

Hae Cheon-in held back a smile. He too had been thinking of them. If not for the Demonic Cult’s involvement, this idea would never have been considered.

If a place like the Wind and Cloud Merchant Union was destroyed, the Murim Alliance would investigate relentlessly.

But if the culprit was the Demonic Cult?

The name alone had the power to explain everything, no matter how irrational it was.

"I will find a way to proceed without putting blood on our hands."

Hae Cheon-in walked to the window.

"How useless!"

But a satisfied smile spread on his lips.

They could hire an assassin group, then silence them afterward. Mo Gweon would handle it well. After all, he was skilled in such matters.

If they could take that money, the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan could rise to become the greatest power in the world.

His son’s involvement with the Demonic Cult had caused great distress, but perhaps it had happened so that this good fortune could follow.

Hae Cheon-in smiled brightly and looked up at the clear sky.

‘So this is what they mean by blessings come in disguise.’

But he didn’t know. That said blessing in disguise, was no blessing at all.

* * *

Lee Jaseung and Dan Woobin were walking out of the Northern Sky Clan. The celebratory banquet scheduled for the evening had been canceled.

Even if Yang Sebang had been a rival, they couldn’t hold a banquet when one of their Elders had died.

"The wedding will be held on an auspicious date, two months from now."

Dan Woobin, if it were up to him, would have held it the very next day.

But this was a major event, a marriage involving the head of the most prestigious clan in the world. It was on a different scale than building a tournament stage.

They needed to invite guests from all over the Central Plains and prepare many internal matters as well. Two months was the earliest date they could manage.

"Starting today, you’re the prospective groom of the Northern Sky Clan. That means you’ll be able to come and go from the clan freely."

"That means I now have responsibilities, doesn’t it?"

"Haha, exactly."

He was about to joke, “Our lord is quick to notice,” but stopped himself because it felt too much like something Mujin would say.

Sometimes, when watching Mujin joke around with Lee Jaseung, Dan Woobin felt a bit envious.

That was the influence why he found himself acting like Mujin at times.

Dan Woobin spoke calmly.

"The core of the Northern Sky Clan consists of the Four Dragons and the Seven Halls. You must first gain control of the Four Dragons."

"Didn’t their leader change recently?"

"Yes, to someone named Peng So, who was practically raised by Yang Sebang."

When eliminating Yang Sebang and his men, Dan Woobin had considered eliminating Peng So too.

But the Four Dragons were a symbol of the clan.

Taking out Peng So along with Yang Sebang would have caused too much chaos, so they left him alone.

"Now that Yang Sebang is dead, dealing with Peng So will be easy. If we bring him to our side, the Four Dragons will follow. He’s a calculating man. He’ll come along easily."

"What about the heads of the Seven Halls?"

"They are a mixed group. But regardless of whom they follow, they are loyal to the clan. We will need to win them over one by one."

Lee Jaseung nodded. He would absorb them all using his position as the future husband of the Lord. Of course, he planned to rush this process.

The Demonic Cult had intervened. Yang Sebang had been eliminated. Right now, things were temporarily patched up, but there was no telling what would reopen the wound.

Just then, a subordinate from the Three-Eyed Pavilion arrived with a report.

Dan Woobin’s face stiffened slightly.

"The Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan says there’s an issue with the accounting office and will delay the payout by a few days."

At this, Lee Jaseung smirked coldly. Dan Woobin recognized that smirk well and silently offered his condolences to the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan.

"Still, maybe there really is a problem at the accounting office- "

"You believe that?"

"No."

Dan Woobin sighed.

"Of course not. They’ve already rigged things. I bet they placed a separate bet on Jin Yang too. Now they’re stalling for time while deciding what to do."

Dan Woobin had accurately grasped the situation, as if he were watching from the inside.

"I knew they were corrupt, but not this much. They’re worse than us even though we are the Unorthodox ones."

"What do you think they’ll do next?"

"They’ll destroy the Wind and Cloud Merchant Union and try to take all the money for themselves."

That terrifying answer came without hesitation. Dan Woobin was certain of it. He knew just how tempting one hundred twenty million silver coins would be to corrupt people.

"Now that word of the Demonic Cult’s involvement is out, if they get caught, they’ll pin it on them."

"They won’t act themselves. They’ll hire assassins."

"Yes. Most likely..."

Dan Woobin trailed off and paused to think. Lee Jaseung guessed what the rest of that sentence would have been. That missing piece would be key to solving this incident.

"First, I’ll contact all the assassin organizations under us. If any requests related to the Wind and Cloud Merchant Union come in, they are to report it immediately."

"What if they don’t report?"

"They obviously won’t. They’ve never had good relations with the previous Black Way Alliance.

We’ll send our people to watch them. Fortunately, we already have eyes on the assassin groups currently in Heaven’s Gate."

"And the chance for them to hire assassins outside of our network?"

"Impossible. To eliminate a group like the Wind and Cloud Merchant Union, they’ll need a proper assassin organization, and all the reputable ones are tied to us in some way."

At Dan Woobin’s confident response, Lee Jaseung nodded.

Then, Dan Woobin asked seriously,

"If they do send assassins... how far are you willing to go?"

Lee Jaseung answered without hesitation.

"They are trying to wipe out an innocent clan for money."

His eyes turned sharp and asked with a cold tone.

"Why shouldn’t we go all out too?”