#10: It Begins With Me (5) — The Patriarch of Sichuan

As if calling out to a close friend, the young man’s tone was utterly unreserved.

Seol So-ha watched the young man with the same unreadable expression and unchanging gaze.

“Ah!”

The young man exclaimed.

Brushing back her silky, lustrous black hair, Seol So-ha’s appearance was nothing short of dazzling.

After staring at her for a long moment, the young man suddenly felt a finger jab his side.

“Oops.”

He recovered himself quickly and bowed formally with clasped fists.

“My apologies. I never expected to meet you here, and blurted out your name without thinking.”

“That’s all right.”

For an instant, everyone on the fourth floor felt a chill run down their spines.

Not for any obvious reason. It was just because Seol So-ha’s voice was so dry.

It was a somewhat low voice for a woman, and as beautiful as her looks, yet it chilled the air strangely. It was an almost unnaturally emotionless tone.

Only two people managed to keep straight faces after hearing it.

One was Jin-hyeon; the other was the gaunt young man.

The young man, Lee Yong-do, laughed and said,

“If we’d known you were coming, we’d have invited you up to the fifth floor, this is awkward now.”

“That’s fine.”

“Haha, have you been well?”

“Yes.”

Her tone was unbearably stiff.

Others visibly flinched, but Lee Yong-do did not. In fact, the more he talked to her, the brighter his face became.

“I had planned to come see you this time, but that fool went off ahead with his attendants. If I’d gone earlier, I might have had the chance to see you.”

“……”

“Hahaha! Your taciturn ways remain unchanged.”

“Have you finished speaking?”

Lee Yong-do flinched for a moment.

It wasn’t only him. The young man with the swollen face, and the other young men who had been following Lee Yong-do down the stairs, all winced.

Seol So-ha looked at the chubby youth and said,

“Your friend is badly hurt. Shouldn’t we call a physician?”

“Huh? Ah, him?”

Lee Yong-do snickered and gave the young man a light boot to the head.

The chubby man’s face flushed red—humiliating, as if a bare kick would have been kinder.

“He’s no friend of mine. Who would keep someone like that as a friend? It’s embarrassing.”

“……”

“He’s just a fellow who trailed along. He suddenly lost his head and tried to climb up, so I taught him some manners.”

Lee Yong-do burst into a nasty laugh at that.

It was a cruel laugh that made onlookers’ mouths clench.

“Ah hem!”

“Cough!”

All the patrons on the fourth floor cleared their throats and left—apparently paying and moving elsewhere.

As a result, only Seol So-ha’s party and Lee Yong-do’s party remained.

Lee Yong-do didn’t care who left.

“By the way, Lady Seol, what brings you to Purple Blue Pavilion at this hour? That fellow Lee Yong-dan told me you’ve been busy with your training every day.”

“Is there some problem?”

“Problem? No, I’m just happy to see you, simply happy.”

Lee Yong-do walked toward Seol So-ha, hands clasped behind his back.

“How about joining us? If you prefer this table, we’ll move down.”

“Forgive me, but I am currently hosting a guest.”

“A guest?”

Lee Yong-do turned to look at Jin-hyeon.

“Ah, this one?”

He spoke as if just noticing, but he had seen Jin-hyeon and Do Min from the moment they came down to the fourth floor. He had only pretended not to.

“Let’s see…”

Lee Yong-do gave Jin-hyeon a long once-over.

Not a casual glance—he openly inspected the man’s body. No one would enjoy that.

Lee Yong-do, after scrutinizing him, snorted and said,

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Lee Yong-do of the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild.”

Seol So-ha’s rocklike expression stiffened slightly.

Do Min bowed her head a little; if she’d raised it, she feared she couldn’t hide the blazing anger in her eyes.

Jin-hyeon nodded.

“I am Jin-hyeon.”

“……”

That was the end of introductions.

Jin-hyeon didn’t bother to stand. If the other party didn’t offer proper courtesy, he saw no reason to bow.

And he was a little surprised at his own behavior.

‘Was I always like this?’

He hadn’t been.

Once upon a time, as the Divine Iron Merchant Clan’s young master Kyung Se-hwi, he had been polite and kind to everyone—almost naively so.

Jin-hyeon realized anew how much he’d changed.

That the Kyung surname and the name Se-hwi no longer fit him.

“…Hmm.”

A look of clear displeasure crossed Lee Yong-do’s face.

He was a man who spoke frankly.

“You know of our merchant guild”

“I know of it.”

“Oh?”

His expression seemed to say that if you know us, why the stiff attitude?

No one in Sichuan did not know the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild. Especially Jin-hyeon—he certainly could not have been unaware.

One of Sichuan’s Three Great Merchant Guilds.

Along with the Divine Iron Merchant Clan and the Fragrant Brocade Merchant Guild, the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild was counted among Sichuan’s top three merchant guilds.

The Divine Iron Merchant Clan rose on ironworks, the Fragrant Brocade Merchant Guild was famed for silk, but Mighty Tiger dabbled in everything that could be traded.

They had no singular specialty, yet they far surpassed the other two in the variety of goods they handled. If it made money, the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild would do it.

Hence, among the three, their reputation was the poorest. It wasn’t that they were thugs, but only in relative standing among the three merchant guilds did they fare worst.

‘I never expected to be looked at this way.’

They were all called one of the Three Great Merchant Guilds. Even someone busy hammering iron had heard the Mighty Tiger Merchant guild name countless times.

“How amusing.”

Lee Yong-do grinned.

“You say you are guests of the Seol Clan?”

“That is so.”

“If you are guests of the Seol Clan, then you are also guests to us. I failed to recognize such distinguished company.”

Jin-hyeon cocked an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“Haha, you didn’t know? Our merchant guild has ties with the Seol Clan going back generations. We’ve been trading for over seventy years.”

“Is that so?”

“We might as well be family. So you are my guests as well.”

“So you’re close to the Seol Clan.”

Lee Yong-do gave Seol So-ha a subtle look. She still showed no readable expression.

‘Same as always.’

That inscrutable face, and voice.

At first he’d thought her an odd woman, but over time there was something irresistible about her.

And now he was completely smitten—she was nothing like the easy women he normally pursued.

Lee Yong-do cleared his throat a couple of times and said,

“Our ties run generations deep, so naturally we’re close. Who knows—before long we may be even closer.”

A faint curve tugged at Jin-hyeon’s mouth.

Having seen wars, strife, and every kind of battle—he knew Lee Yong-do’s intentions all too well.

“Right, good luck with that.”

Lee Yong-do paused for a moment.

Good luck with that? There was something oddly provocative about the phrasing.

Lee Yong-do frowned and said,

“Our guest might want to watch his words.”

“Is that so?”

“The world is a rough place. One wrong remark and a family’s ruined. I seem to be older, so take this as a senior’s advice and heed it well.”

“Very well, I shall.”

His tone was somewhat crude, but at least he’d been understood.

Normally, he might have slapped him, but Lee Yong-do’s attention was fixed on Seol So-ha, and after a few drinks, his confidence was twice its usual measure.

Snorting, Lee Yong-do glanced at Jin-hyeon and held out his hand to Seol So-ha.

“How about it? Shall we take your guest up to the fifth floor…….”

“Teacher Jin.”

Seol So-ha bowed her head to Jin-hyeon.

“This place has become too disorderly. Shall we move to another restaurant?”

“But our food hasn’t even come out yet?”

“I fear the meal will sit badly if you eat here.”

“My stomach can handle it……. Fine, let’s do that. But my debts keep piling up.”

“As I said—Teacher Jin is a man worth ten thousand gold. If you say such things, my father will be offended.”

“And what would I become if you say that?”

The three rose from their seats.

Lee Yong-do’s face, which had seemed confident, twisted into displeasure in an instant.

“Lady Seol?”

Seol So-ha looked at Lee Yong-do.

He had started to speak with a smile—but then stiffened. The look Seol So-ha gave him was far colder than usual.

Seol So-ha stared at him for a long moment, then spoke.

“This person, is the family’s, honored, guest.”

Each word came out clipped—her voice sharp as an icicle and as fierce as a blizzard.

A tone Seol So-ha had never used before.

Do Min’s face drained of color.

“Even if justice has fallen to the ground, who would treat a stranger, especially one who’s another family’s guest so rudely on their first meeting?”

“……Lady Seol?”

“Why do you keep crossing the line?”

“!”

“Aren’t you ashamed of your behavior?”

“L-Lady Seol?!”

“The reason I didn’t step in earlier is that I did not dare to interrupt the conversation Teacher Jin was having. There is nothing more offensive than a junior rudely intruding on the conversation of their senior.”

Shaaak.

A faint shimmer wavered around Seol So-ha.

“Since we have generational ties, I may forgive rudeness up to a point. But I will not tolerate disrespect directed at anyone other than myself.”

“……”

“If it were up to me, I would question you further, but.”

Seol So-ha glanced at Jin-hyeon.

Jin-hyeon shook his head slightly.

“If the family’s honored guest does not wish it, I will let today’s insult pass.”

Lee Yong-do’s face contorted bit by bit.

Seol So-ha continued coolly.

“If this happens again, it will not end with a warning.”

“……Did you just say warning?”

“While we’re at it, I’ll offer one piece of advice as a senior: cut back on the drink. It’s useless to be half-deaf at an age younger than mine.”

Having snapped at him coldly, she turned to Jin-hyeon.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes. I’d like to leave now.”

The three of them walked past Lee Yong-do.

It was then.

“You fucking…….”

A voice loud and coarse enough for everyone on the fourth floor to hear.

“What the hell is my luck today? Starting with that pig bastard, everything’s fucking shit, isn’t it?”

Lee Yong-do glared at Seol So-ha.

His face was flushed, and his eyes—bloodshot and fierce—burned like someone entirely different.

“Did you just warn me? Me?”

Seol So-ha halted.

Do Min trembled. There was the audible gulp from her pale throat.

Lee Yong-do’s mouth curled into a vicious smile.

“Seol So-ha.”

“……”

“I treat you with courtesy because you’re a woman, and you think I’m easy?”

“……”

“Unbelievable. Have you forgotten who made your petty little family prosperous? Who lifted that third-rate thug family that can only swing a blade a little to where you are now?”

Lee Yong-do’s mocking face twisted like a demon.

“We gave charity to those poor nobodies, and this is the thanks we get—this fucking shit. Shall I have your clan thrown into the street? Return you to the ruined house of seventy years ago?”

Seol So-ha’s shoulders twitched slowly.

“I give you miserable dogs a scratch on your chins because you’re cute, and now you try to bite the hand that feeds you. You damned—!”

“Pahah.”

A sigh like the sound of air leaving a pig’s bladder echoed through the fourth floor…

Crack!

Seol So-ha’s head tilted to the left.

Snap!

Then—to the right—snap!

The atmosphere turned palpably ominous. With a single sigh and a few gestures, the air on the fourth floor grew unbearably heavy. Do Min’s eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

“…It’s happened.”

Jin-hyeon glanced down at Do Min, scratched his head, and said,

“Lady Seol.”

“……”

“Listen… you don’t have to watch your step for my sake.”

No sooner had Jin-hyeon spoken than Seol So-ha turned her body.

Lee Yong-do, about to spit another string of curses, froze mid-sneer. Seol So-ha’s face had contorted into something more terrifying than any specter.

Kwaduk!

A single brutal kick shattered a chair to pieces.

Seol So-ha bent, grabbed a chair leg, and swung it cleanly.

Whoom! Whoom!

As she wielded the wooden club, it sounded as if she were swinging an iron hammer.

Lee Yong-do swallowed hard.

“Y-you crazy bitch. What are you doing? You’re trying to threaten me—!”

“I will count to ten.”

“What?!”

“Iif you apologize politely to Teacher Jin and to me before I count to ten, I’ll let you leave unscathed.”

Rage flooded Lee Yong-do’s face again.

“You lowly fucking……!”