Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 187
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C187. It Won’t Take Even Half a Day
The Boss of Cheonhwabang, Seong Yi-wol, and her three division leaders barely dared to breathe.
It had never crossed their minds that they would encounter a master of such caliber.
Great fish swim in deep waters.
Cheonhwabang is nothing more than a third-rate sect, whose members are easily astonished by the mere manifestation of sword energy.
For them, witnessing an advanced technique like Yeon Jeokha’s was enough to faint from shock.
When Yeon Jeokha turned around, Seong Yi-wol and the three division leaders took a step back, startled.
They didn’t dare to look him in the eye and lowered their gaze.
“Wow! To grill the fish, I need to start a fire, but I don’t have any firewood.”
Hearing Yeon Jeokha murmur, Seong Yi-wol ordered the division leaders.
“Firewood, bring some firewood.”
The three leaders began searching for dry branches suitable for making a bonfire.
Once a pile of firewood accumulated to the side of the rock, Yeon Jeokha took out a flint stone from his chest and threw it.
The flint stone fell next to the pile of firewood with a metallic ‘clink.’
Seong Yi-wol, who was standing idly, rushed towards the flint stone.
At this moment, she had to anticipate Yeon Jeokha’s desires and act accordingly.
She crouched down and began to light the fire with the flint stone.
Despite trying several times, she couldn’t easily start the fire.
It had been more than ten years since she had done household chores, so she lost quite a bit of time in the process.
It took her nearly seven minutes to finally get the fire going.
When the branches began to burn, she stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Just when she thought she could take a breather, she heard Yeon Jeokha’s voice.
“Wow! I need salt and liquor…”
Seong Yi-wol quickly instructed Ju Hwa-yeong.
“Hwa-yeong, go quickly to the inn and get salt and liquor. Ga-yeon, you’ll grill the fish. Eun, make sure no curious onlookers approach.”
“Yes.”
The three leaders responded in unison and sprang into action.
Ju Hwa-yeong ran towards the inn, Su Ga-yeon began to prepare the fish, and Go Eun took care of sending the disciples back to the inn.
With Seong Yi-wol in charge, everything was quickly organized.
Yeon Jeokha, after ensuring that everything was going according to plan, turned his gaze back to the river.
The sword, which had been on the rock, moved on its own again.
Splash!
Another carp was skewered on the sword and flew back to the rock.
Su Ga-yeon removed the carp, gutted it, and prepared it for grilling.
The two carps, skewered on branches, began to grill over the fire.
Yeon Jeokha continued to catch fish until he had a total of five before relaxing.
He watched as Seong Yi-wol and the three division leaders diligently grilled the fish under the direction of a fifty-year-old woman.
He observed the scene for a moment, deep in thought.
After a while, Seong Yi-wol offered a plate with a well-grilled fish.
“I’m not sure if it’s to your liking.”
Yeon Jeokha bit into the fish without saying a word.
The salty taste and tender texture made it delicious.
He reached out for a bottle of liquor that was beside him.
The bottle floated in the air and moved toward his hand.
Seong Yi-wol, with trembling hands, offered a cup of liquor.
“May I pour you the liquor?”
Yeon Jeokha handed her the bottle with a smile.
Seong Yi-wol, trying to calm her nerves, poured the liquor.
Her hands trembled slightly due to the tension.
“Ahjumma, are you sick? You’re not old enough for your hands to shake like that.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just very nervous.”
“Why did you do something that makes you so nervous?”
Yeon Jeokha surprised her with his question, causing her to pause for a moment.
“I’ve committed a grave mistake. Please forgive me.”
“It’s not that serious. I’m not that bad.”
“Thank you.”
“The inn belongs to my friend.”
“I didn’t know that Old Nam Cho-gyeol was your friend! If I had known, I would never have acted this way.”
“Are you crazy? Why would I be friends with an ugly old man like him? My friend is Nam Su-gyeong.”
“Ah, so Miss Nam is your friend.”
“You took all the supplies from Hwasang Village, right?”
“Yes, from now on I will provide them free of charge.”
“No, a deal is a deal. Just sell them cheap. In return, make sure no one bothers the inn. Understand?”
“Yes, yes.”
Seong Yi-wol nodded vigorously.
She wanted to say that she would provide the supplies cheaply and wouldn’t charge for protection, ensuring the inn’s safety.
“Don’t tell my friend or the old man about this, and make sure to handle everything well.”
“Thank you. I’ll do as you asked.”
“Ahjumma.”
“Yes?”
“Once is understandable because you didn’t know. If you do it twice, you’ll be disrespecting me. And I promise you’ll be breathing incense behind a screen.”
“No, it won’t happen again.”
“If you don’t want to drop your chopsticks, make sure the inn doesn’t have any problems.”
“Yes.”
“You can go. Ah, one more thing.”
Yeon Jeokha pointed at Ju Hwa-yeong.
Ju Hwa-yeong, who was among the leaders, was startled and opened her eyes in surprise.
“Yes?”
“You seem to be quite impulsive.”
“Please forgive me. I didn’t know my place and overstepped.”
“You know what you’re doing. Take care of my friend. It seems someone has been bothering her for a long time. Ask her who it has been.”
“Yes, yes.”
Ju Hwa-yeong smiled brightly and nodded her head.
This was a blessing in disguise.
If she befriended Yeon Jeokha and his people while taking care of the inn, it could be beneficial for Cheonhwabang.
Yeon Jeokha turned back towards the river, ending the conversation.
Seong Yi-wol and the three leaders bowed their heads and quietly withdrew.
Kaifeng.
Sambobang.
In the morning.
The Interior Division Leader, Yak Daemong, went to see the leader, Nok Ilchwi.
Nok Ilchwi, hungover, frowned at the sight of him.
“What’s the matter?”
“The owner of the Bingke teahouse came this morning. He says the sub-leader has been causing trouble every three or four days, overturning everything and making it impossible to do business.”
“What are you talking about?”
Nok Ilchwi straightened up in his seat.
The sub-leader causing trouble woke him up from his hangover-induced lethargy.
“The sub-leader seems to have been courting a woman named Nam Su-gyeong for two years. Recently, the woman worked at the teahouse.”
“And?”
“A month ago, the woman disappeared without a word. Since then, the sub-leader has been wreaking havoc at the teahouse, demanding to know where she is.”
“Why did the woman run away?”
“It seems the sub-leader hit her because she rejected his advances.”
“Tsk tsk! There are plenty of women out there, why chase after one who doesn’t want to be with him?”
“I also think the leader should do something before the rumor spreads further.”
“Who is this woman?”
The leader showed interest, and Yak Daemong explained.
“Her name is Nam Su-gyeong, she lives alone with her grandfather.”
The leader frowned upon hearing she was a woman from a good family.
He had thought she would be a worker at the teahouse, but that wasn’t the case.
“Go fetch the Exterior Division Leader and the sub-leader. Bring them here immediately.”
“Yes.”
Yak Daemong carefully withdrew.
After about thirty minutes, the Exterior Division Leader, Wan Ja-kyung, and Nok Dampyeong entered the office together.
Upon seeing Nok Dampyeong, Nok Ilchwi threw the inkstone on his desk.
Nok Dampyeong quickly dodged, but the stone shattered against the wall.
Crash!
“Father, why?”
“Why? You wretch! What have you been up to lately?”
“What have I done? I’ve just been overseeing the shops.”
Nok Ilchwi snorted.
“Overseeing! And that’s why you’re wrecking a teahouse? All because a woman ran away? Do you call yourself a man?”
“Did the teahouse owner say that? That bastard!”
Nok Dampyeong got angry, and Nok Ilchwi slammed his hand on the table.
“Shut up! You’re the sub-leader of Sambobang, and you’re out there wrecking shops that pay for protection? How can you call yourself the sub-leader of Sambobang?”
“It’s a misunderstanding. It’s the owner and the workers’ fault. They’re hiding the woman who was with me and pretending not to know anything.”
“Misunderstanding or not, if you wreck that teahouse again, I won’t forgive you. Understand?”
“…”
Nok Dampyeong looked down at the floor, unsatisfied.
Nok Ilchwi, furious, grabbed a brush pot.
“You still have the nerve to stand there!”
Nok Dampyeong finally responded reluctantly.
“I’m sorry.”
Nok Ilchwi, trembling with anger, set down the brush pot.
“Do you think she’s the only woman in the world? Why chase after one who doesn’t want to be with you? Did you lend her money?”
“No.”
“Then why are you looking for her? Are you that lonely? Do you want me to find you a wife?”
“I’m not interested in getting married yet.”
“Don’t do anything so foolish again. If I hear another word about you causing trouble, I won’t forgive you.”
“…yes.”
“You must have a lot of free time. I’m going to assign you a task.”
“A task?”
“Yes, in the coming days, I want you to take control of Hwasang Village. Wan Daemong, what do you know about Hwasang Village?”
“Yes, there are ten shops, including an inn. It’s half an hour from Kaifeng, so it won’t be hard to manage. Fortunately, neither Haomun nor Cheonhwabang has intervened yet. Now is the perfect time to take control of Hwasang’s commercial area.”
Nok Ilchwi looked at Nok Dampyeong.
“Did you hear that? There’s no clear owner in the village yet. Go and bring the shop owners to Sambobang. Can you do it?”
“Do it? With Wan Daemong, they won’t say a word. I can do it in less than half a day.”
Wan Ja-kyung laughed heartily.
“That’s right. No one would refuse Sambobang’s offer.”
Nok Ilchwi, worried, cautioned.
“Don’t threaten them into selling their shops. It’s not worth the investment. We just want to get ahead of Cheonhwabang. Understand?”
“This isn’t new to me. I’ll do a clean job.”
Nok Dampyeong confidently smiled at Nok Ilchwi.
This was an opportunity for redemption, and he was determined to do it well.
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