Chapter 533

He wasn’t tall or of large stature.

He didn’t give off much of an imposing presence either. The only unusual thing was his exceptionally fair and clear skin, which looked smoother than a woman’s.

The young man wore the Tang Family’s distinctive outfit with a green sash and sword, and swept his calm gaze over the procession of merchants.

The people the merchants brought crowded in front of the Tang Family Estate, filling it completely. Yet the procession still hadn’t ended and stretched out long.

The young man just stared without speaking, making the merchants very uncomfortable.

If he came out to greet them, shouldn’t he say something?

Moreover, seeing that he came out alone, he didn’t seem to be just a gatekeeper…

Trill.

Boom boom boom…

The young man looked at those noisily blowing trumpets.

“What are you doing making such a racket in front of someone’s house?”

Such an insolent tone!

He spoke quietly, yet over a thousand people clearly heard those words. The trumpeters and drummers in particular even felt an illusion of thunder in their ears.

“…”

“…”

The trumpeters and drummers stopped playing in shock. The trumpet and drum sounds vanished all at once.

Only then did everyone realize.

They knew who the young man was.

The Poison Dragon.

Since no one had seen the Poison Dragon directly, they hadn’t recognized him, but the atmosphere they felt was clearly that.

A delicate appearance unbefitting a martial artist.

However, contrary to his appearance, a murderer who had killed countless people.

A master of the highest level in jianghu who had defeated all the renowned powerhouses, including Yunnan’s Poison Sects, the later generation prodigies of the Three Dragons and Four Phoenixes, the Zhuge Family, the Zoroastrian Cult Leader, the Thunder Emperor of the unorthodox path, and even the absolute master Great Buddha Beom-bon.

He wasn’t deliberately emanating an intimidating aura, but from the moment they realized the young man was the Poison Dragon, everyone’s mouths went dry.

He quietly looked at each person one by one, and his steady gaze sent chills down their spines. They couldn’t meet his eyes. A sense of fear permeated.

Jin Ja-gang said nothing for over fifteen minutes. The silence was even more terrifying.

The merchants gritted their teeth. They were being overwhelmed in spirit by mere silence. This wouldn’t do.

The elderly chief merchant of Huizhou Merchant House stepped forward and spoke calmly.

“Greetings. We received the family head’s letter and came to settle the promissory notes.”

Then Jin Ja-gang clasped his fists in greeting as if it were natural and raised his arm to point inside.

“Welcome. We’ve been waiting. Please come in.”

It was just an ordinary greeting of guests, so the merchants were momentarily bewildered. They even wondered if they had perhaps misunderstood.

However, a few perceptive ones had already grasped the meaning of Jin Ja-gang’s actions.

If you don’t act rudely, I’ll also be courteous to you.

Returning the other party’s actions in kind.

The perceptive ones suddenly remembered that such a personality trait of the Poison Dragon had been well-known.

If he treats others with courtesy when they treat him courteously, doesn’t that mean he does the same when the other party causes harm!

Just as he had responded with silence when the procession made a racket earlier.

And that meant…

If he knew about the merchants’ actions, he would never forgive them!

Jin Ja-gang’s principle.

No matter how insignificant, regardless of martial arts skill or status, he kills.

Thinking Jin Ja-gang would overlook them because they didn’t know martial arts was a miscalculation.

Wang Yeon, the greatest figure in the merchant world, was also an ordinary person who didn’t know martial arts, but he too died by Jin Ja-gang’s hand.

Would he consider them ordinary people and overlook them?

Absolutely not.

It had been barely half an hour since meeting, yet over a thousand people were overwhelmed by Jin Ja-gang.

The head of Jiangsu Merchant House was the most frightened.

He rolled up his silk robe dragging on the ground and hesitantly backed away.

“I, I absolutely won’t go inside there.”

Jin Ja-gang looked at the head of Jiangsu Merchant House.

“You came to receive money.”

“It, it’s fine. It’s not such a large sum for me, so I’ll consider it received.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Ji, Jiangsu Merchant House…”

Jiangsu Merchant House was one that acted closely with both the Wudang Sect and Yangtze River Sword Gate. The Wudang Sect greatly trusted Jiangsu Merchant House.

But even they were all in league together.

Perhaps Taoist Haewol’s lonely death fighting at the Yangtze River was also because of this person.

Jin Ja-gang’s eyebrows rose.

Jin Ja-gang bit down hard and said.

“Am I a bandit?”

He was just not holding a sword, but he was more frightening than a sword-wielding bandit. However, no one could say such words.

The head of Jiangsu Merchant House saw Jin Ja-gang’s expression and put on a servile smile.

However, Jin Ja-gang suppressed his anger and said curtly.

“This isn’t something for me to resolve, so you should talk with the acting family head. First, please let the heads of each merchant house enter.”

A Tang Family maid came out and guided the great merchants.

The great merchants entered in a line as if being dragged into hell.

Jin Ja-gang watched their backs until they all entered.

* * *

About fifteen great merchants faced Tang Ha-ran. Very fortunately for them, Jin Ja-gang didn’t join the meeting. Only a few Tang Family clerks were present.

Dealing with Tang Ha-ran was much better than with Jin Ja-gang. Though her eyes were somewhat sharp, she was a slender woman, which somehow put them at ease.

“You’ve come a long way.”

The great merchants felt relieved by Tang Ha-ran’s courteous greeting.

Tang Ha-ran had the clerks lay out the promissory notes and ledgers on the table. Large and small notes were neatly stacked.

“We’ve been holding these promissory notes but haven’t been able to process them easily. Since quite a few notes have reached their deadline, we’ve gone to the trouble of inviting you here for settlement.”

The great merchants looked at each other.

Did they really summon them just for settlement?

Tang Ha-ran asked.

“Do you have something to say?”

The great merchants signaled to the chief merchant of Huizhou Merchant House. The chief merchant stepped forward as representative.

“First, though late, congratulations on becoming acting family head.”

Tang Ha-ran smiled slightly and accepted the greeting.

“Thank you.”

The chief merchant of Huizhou Merchant House, as if showing his age wasn’t for nothing, continued the conversation.

“When first coming here, I worried whether you’d be someone we couldn’t communicate with, but now that I’ve met the acting family head directly, I’m relieved to think you’re someone we can talk to.”

“If we can resolve problems through communication, there would be no better case.”

Does that mean she’ll kill them if they can’t communicate? The great merchants tensed.

The chief merchant of Huizhou Merchant House didn’t back down and spoke directly.

“I won’t beat around the bush. Straight to the point, how did you obtain these promissory notes?”

Tang Ha-ran’s eyes narrowed.

“Does the source of the promissory notes matter?”

The great merchants were on edge. They couldn’t retreat. Their lifeline was in the other party’s hands, but justification was on their side.

“It may be rude, but the promissory notes the acting family head holds were issued legally and owned by Lord Wang. But now they’re before the acting family head, so we’re curious about the reason.”

“Promissory notes can be transferred, and regardless of reason, payment must be made if the matching halves align, as I understand.”

“Correct. However, there’s no way such a large amount was transferred for free. Though unlikely, if these are promissory notes obtained illegally, trading them goes against merchant ethics. We must regrettably stop the transaction here.”

The tone was almost threatening.

They didn’t know how she planned to pay, but even if the merchants received money from the Tang Family right now, when the final settlement was completed, the Tang Family would gain much more profit.

Therefore, if the transaction stopped, it would ultimately be the Tang Family’s loss.

Moreover, since promissory note relationships were complexly intertwined with large and small merchant groups, if they didn’t settle in order, the merchant world would face great chaos.

That would ultimately remain entirely the Tang Family’s responsibility for illegally robbing the promissory notes.

This was the move the great merchants held. To not be swayed by the Tang Family’s hand but rather take control themselves!

This was the decisive moment. If they retreated now, they would die without securing justification. But without justification, not a single coin could be extracted from them. Risk making the entire merchant world an enemy, or gain profit under the great merchants’ lead. Tang Ha-ran had to choose between the two.

However, Tang Ha-ran asked back with a relaxed expression.

“That reason is what I’m curious about. What do you mean by illegal methods?”

The chief merchant of Taihu Merchant House emphasized from the side to support the chief merchant.

“Promissory notes have the same value as cash. If someone kills a person and takes them… if that happens, it’s the same as theft. We can’t recognize the validity of promissory notes obtained through theft.”

He said outright whether they had killed Wang Yeon and taken them.

Tang Ha-ran nodded.

Flinch.

The great merchants’ shoulders shrank momentarily. Their minds raced trying to figure out what that nod meant.

Tang Ha-ran smiled a slender smile that appeared graceful and said.

“In jianghu, besides robbery, there’s one more legitimate reason for killing someone and taking their money. Do you happen to know what that reason is?”

There’s a reason for killing someone and taking money?

The great merchants tensed their stomachs and forced smiles.

“How could there be a legitimate reason for killing someone and taking money?”

“They said the Tang Family’s acting head has clear judgment and distinct separation of public and private matters, so we must have thought wrongly…!”

The smile disappeared from Tang Ha-ran’s face. The atmosphere suddenly became cold, and the great merchants couldn’t finish their words and mumbled.

Tang Ha-ran looked at the great merchants coldly and said.

“These are promissory notes my husband collected as a blood debt.”

Every hair on the great merchants’ bodies stood on end. Goosebumps rose on their necks and arms.

Blood debt!

In jianghu, what justification was more important and took highest priority than revenge, than blood debt for one’s enemy?

“Th, that’s…”

They had to respond somehow, but words wouldn’t come. They felt dizzy as if suddenly struck.

They couldn’t have imagined it.

Blood debt!

The chief merchant of Shaanxi Merchant House squeezed out words and forced himself to speak.

“We’re civilian merchants! What do we have to do with jianghu…!”

Suddenly Tang Ha-ran stood up abruptly and struck the table with her palm.

Crack!

The table’s four legs broke instantly and the tabletop shattered, slamming to the floor. Promissory notes and ledgers spilled sideways.

The great merchants froze.

Those white, slender fingers had destroyed a table as thick as an adult’s handspan in one strike!

Tang Ha-ran, with killing intent in her eyes, spoke in a voice cold as frost.

“So, did civilian merchants create chaos in the unrelated jianghu and try to profit? Did you divert the Five Fatal Poison Pills and incite rebellion in martial sects?”

After learning the merchant world was the mastermind, all questions were answered.

The Five Fatal Poison Pills transported using the merchant world’s distribution network had been diverted, similar poisons to the Pills were created from materials brought in through the merchant world, and they were delivered to the rebellion leaders of each sect through merchant world connections.

“…”

“…”

The great merchants’ knees went weak and they couldn’t speak properly.

“Th, th, that was…”