Murim Troubleshooter Chapter 14 : A Strange Outing

Chapter 14: A Strange Outing

Yesterday afternoon, a small storm swept through the trading company.

It was a storm nad “Geum Yado.”

There was virtually no physical damage.

But the words that storm spewed seed to leave scratches on soone's heart.

“…Do you also think I'm not fit to be the Trading Lord?”

A liquor cup rolled across the sandalwood desk.

Sniffing it, it seed to contain rectified spirit used for disinfection.

This stuff must have an incredibly high alcohol content—can a person really drink it?

“Mujin, why aren’t you saying anything?”

The one who usually didn’t even touch alcohol had, of all things, downed so infamously potent spirit.

Sitting alone in the Trading Lord’s office, Eun Hwaran was staging a lonely “I had a drink” scene.

“Can’t I just leave?”

“No.”

In the end, I beca the target of her drunken rambling.

Though she usually showed a composed and sharp deanor, after so alcohol bombardnt, she looked slightly disheveled.

I figured I might as well fill my stomach and plopped down to start devouring the snacks.

Oh, what’s this? They even had candied fruits?

“I’m trying to fill the gap my father left behind too. But that’s no easy feat.”

Candied fruits are preserved confections where fruits are soaked in honey to enhance longevity via osmosis.

And since they’re soaked in honey, you can tell these are pricey treats in this era.

In wuxia novels, it’s like every stray dog or cow is chewing on them.

“Are you listening?”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

I once did a brief stint undercover at a company. The agency had been hired to root out industrial spies.

That’s when I learned how to deal with a drunk superior.

“You say you’re working hard, but the Head Escorts and regional lords don’t seem to acknowledge it…”

“Mmhm, they didn’t acknowledge it.”

Just echoing the end of their sentences is enough.

After about two bottles of soju, they can’t tell the difference anyway.

“The rate of gathering goods isn’t what it used to be, and once strange rumors spread and the rchants cut off the loans, the traders started blaming

without knowing the full situation.”

“I see, so they all blad you.”

I popped a piece of candied fruit into my mouth and continued the comntary.

“And even when the escorts are late on deliveries, it’s because we’re being thorough, but the escort warriors grumble about their allowances being late… Isn’t that frustrating?”

“Exactly, that must’ve been very frustrating.”

I bit into a mooncake shaped like the full moon. As expected from a dedicated chef—delicious.

“With things going so awry, I began to wonder—maybe I’m just managing things poorly?”

“So that crossed your mind too.”

It seed like she’d been bottling things up, and Geum Yado’s words pressed the trigger.

I tore off a leg from a rolled-up dried squid.

“…You’re not really listening to , are you?”

Oops. She wasn’t as drunk as I thought. And she noticed.

Eun Hwaran’s gaze toward

gradually sharpened.

“Your mind is in a tangled ss right now. But in the end, it’s all about untangling it step by step, isn’t it?”

The shadow under her eyes stood out starkly against her pale skin. No need to look inside—I could already imagine the knotted ss in her head.

“…You think that’s easy?”

“What’s so difficult about it?”

Despite her high position as Trading Lord and the many subordinates under her, she was still in her early twenties. Back on Earth, she’d be just entering the workforce.

The burden on her shoulders was imnse, and everyone expected her to sohow handle it all. Of course she couldn’t afford to sound weak.

It was no wonder she seed ntally burdened.

“First, let’s resolve the sericulture issue. Based on those results, persuade the regional branches to reopen the loans, then use the extra funds to hire more escorts and wanderers. That should ensure a successful delivery, right?”

As the saying goes, Climbing high starts from low. When things get tangled, all you have to do is tackle them in order.

I crunched down on a sugar-soaked mulberry. Quite the delicacy, this one too.

“You’re… quite the talker for a kid.”

Eun Hwaran murmured, her mind fogged from alcohol.

She looked at

like she was staring at so kind of curious creature.

“Start with the sericulture issue, huh… Co to think of it, sothing awfully suspicious happened with that.”

“What happened?”

“You heard before that the Sericulture Officer sent by the governnt went missing, right?”

Of course. That’s why they entrusted full authority over the sericulture chamber to soone like —clutching at straws, basically.

“So I hired a tracker to find traces of the Sericulture Officer. But they said there’s absolutely no sign—he just vanished.”

That sounded ominous.

The imperial household pulling tricks on a trading company they themselves granted rights to?

“Maybe you didn’t grease the right palms?”

“…You really have no filter, do you.”

Guanxi was serious business. If you wanted to run a business in the Central Plains, a little bribery was essential.

“Still, doesn’t this all sound really suspicious to you?”

“Yes, definitely slls fishy.”

But there’s no way she, the Trading Lord, wouldn’t know such basics. There must be so hidden force behind the scenes that we don’t know about.

This is why you need to be cautious when taking on governnt-backed projects.

“It’s already like this now—I can’t even imagine how much they’ll nitpick on the actual inspection day.”

Exactly. Even if sothing unfair happened, who could you even complain to?

This wasn’t a ti where you could expect fairness and justice.

“So Chief Jin and I decided we wouldn’t give them the slightest excuse to find fault. We’re going to be perfectly prepared… So, can you help?”

Sothing in the flow of the conversation gave off ominous vibes.

Yes, this slled like overti work.

“I’m already helping though.”

“Then just help a little more. Try to raise the silkworm survival rate to at least ninety percent.”

So she didn’t call

over for drunken whining—she wanted to throw a crunch-ti task at .

What a terrifying woman.

I needed to get out of this place.

“Seriously, I’ll just be going now.”

“I said no.”

As if she had been expecting this, Eun Hwaran tightly grabbed my arm.

Her eyes said, You ca in on your own, but leaving isn’t your choice.

“I’m counting on you, Mujin.”

A desperate plea from a beautiful woman—sothing that could stir a man’s heart.

But I, Dan Mujin, had ten years of experience as a troubleshooter. I’d long since grown numb to clients trying to get more work for cheap.

“I’ll double the reward I ntioned last ti.”

“…….”

In this world without a labor standards act, a boss who properly pays for overti?

And even doubles it?

I silently scratched my chin.

I could feel the smooth skin of a boy.

From what I’ve seen, she wasn’t the type to speak empty words.

Whatever it was, she’d definitely give more.

“Can you do it?”

The pay changed the conversation.

Since I never knew when I’d be broke again, I had to earn while I could.

“I’ll do my best, dear custor.”

Hence, my deliberation didn’t last long.

Let there be no flaws in the sericulture chamber.

Under the moonlight, at the training ground.

“So you’ve beco an important figure in the sericulture chamber?”

Hwang Geolgae asked as he chewed on dried squid.

Sober for the first ti in a while since the alcohol ran out.

The saha world of five defilents still seed filled with anguish and suffering.

“And because of that, you might be late to training?”

I craved alcohol.

I had tried to reach enlightennt through ‘freedom from hindrance’ like the high monks practicing Muhaehaeng.

But now that my hazy reason had returned to clarity, the Primordial Heavenly Lord felt more distant than ever.

If I had just one more drink, I might’ve felt sothing.

“Yes, the Trading Lord sincerely asked .”

“Heh, what talent do you have besides killing people?”

“I’m pretty good at raising bugs.”

A truly bizarre statent.

It’s not like I was from the Sichuan Tang Clan known for raising venomous insects.

“Anyway, I’ll be late for a while. Even if Whirlwind Steps is tough, I’ll try to practice the Starfall Heart Cultivation whenever I can.”

“You brat, who said you could? This old man hasn’t given permission yet.”

I was dragged into doing odd jobs, and now they say I’m the backbone of the operation.

Hwang Geolgae looked at

with doubtful eyes, unsure if he should believe it.

At that mont, sothing radiating a strong alcohol scent flew out from my chest.

The intense sll that cleared the nose made Hwang Geolgae’s eyes widen.

“This is rectified spirit. I bet with two bottles of this, you could really et the Primordial Heavenly Lord.”

…Gulp.

Perhaps due to involuntary abstinence, his eyes stayed glued to the bottle.

His right hand unconsciously crept toward it.

“Ahem, hurry and give it to .”

He knew how to grease the wheels.

Hwang Geolgae took it with a smirk and popped the cap.

It slled potent—just the thing to get drunk on.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

With those words, Dan Mujin turned around.

He tried to use the mont Hwang Geolgae let his guard down to slip away.

But a sharp question flew in from behind.

“What did she promise you?”

That cheeky brat wouldn’t work so hard for free.

It seed the Trading Lord, Eun Hwaran, had promised sothing.

So hastily that he even forgot his own principles.

“I don’t know yet. Whatever it is, it has to be better than a warehouse assistant’s pay.”

A warehouse assistant’s base salary wasn’t even enough for daily als.

When I explained that, Hwang Geolgae stroked his beard with a displeased face.

“The Evil Star will wait for a mont when your mind wavers.”

Just like the inner demon that tornted him, it would try to dig into even the smallest opening.

Greed, one of the three poisons, could easily serve as its steppingstone.

“So don’t neglect your training, and build enough inner energy to resist the Evil Star.”

That was the only way to survive.

Even if I held great wealth, Hwang Geolgae warned again not to falter.

“I’m trying hard because I want to live too, but building up inner energy is just too slow. Is this really an ultimate cultivation thod?”

“……”

You only see as much as you know.

Hwang Geolgae barely held back the curse rising to his mouth at my doubt.

“That’s why I’m telling you to accumulate good karma to enhance your lacking inner energy.”

The Heaven-Slaying Star gains power through killing karma and loses power through good karma.

He had already hinted at a way to suppress the Heaven-Slaying Star and even a thod to steal the power of stars.

“You’re such a frustrating kid, tsk tsk.”

Hwang Geolgae clicked his tongue and chugged the clear liquid from the bottle.

“Puh!”

Then he had to spit it back out imdiately.

His tongue and palate felt like they were burning.

What kind of liquor was this?

“Ah, that one’s a bit strong.”

Only after he drank it did Dan Mujin casually say it with a smirk.

That was the kind of drink TV personalities on Earth would shout “challenge” and drink.

How Eun Hwaran managed to drink it remained a mystery.

“Anyway, I get that I need to build up good karma, but it’s not easy. I’m busy just trying to make a living.”

You could only do good deeds when the opportunity presented itself.

And it was hard to define where good karma ended and bad karma began—grumbling was inevitable.

“If you seek it, opportunity will co. And if you hold a firm standard, that becos your gauge.”

Hwang Geolgae swirled the bottle while sounding like a Zen master.

That’s life.

A process of finding answers through trial and error.

And through that, one also finds enlightennt.

“Anyway, don’t be swayed by imdiate gains. Look to the distant future. Then you’ll earn sothing even more valuable.”

You could read ten fathoms into the sea, but not even one into a person’s heart.

Whether that kid would truly avoid the wrong path and overco the Evil Star… was sothing only ti would tell.

“Honestly, I have no idea what you’re saying, but I’ll try my best.”

Young martial artists these days.

Even when an elder gave life advice, they’d listen with one ear and let it out the other.

“Well then, off you go. Since the Trading Lord needs you, there’s no helping it.”

“Yes, I’ll keep training whenever I can.”

Dan Mujin bowed hastily and tried to leave.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

But Hwang Geolgae’s voice stopped him again.

Thinking another lecture was coming, the boy turned his head.

“That rectified spirit… bring

a few more bottles.”

Hwang Geolgae tapped the pale liquor bottle as he spoke.

It was a mysterious liquor that set a thousand fires wherever it touched.

“…You’ll die, Hwang Noya.”

“It’s fine. I won’t die.”

Waving his hand, he just told

to bring it.

Did he not know that’s the most common last line from n?

Unable to see past the liquor in front of him—just who was really blind to the future?

Dan Mujin shook his head.

***

Lined on either side were street stalls, and the bustling boulevard of Beijing rang with the shouts of rchants hawking various goods.

A man in a blue official uniform, having exited the imperial palace gate, spoke in a cautious voice.

“From here on, you must forget your original identity and beco the fourth daughter of the Ohga Family.”

He was instilling the identity of the fourth daughter into the veiled young woman.

She nodded silently at his earnest insistence.

Her accessories and clothing were matched to that of a moderately wealthy household.

“Cheonsugong, it feels like I’m going on a secret incognito trip, just like the stories.”

Having been trapped in the palace due to external threats, she seed intrigued by this rare outing.

And that appearance was enough to set the uniford man on edge.

“Princess, I must remind you again, you must follow my instructions out here.”

You never knew what trouble might arise outside the palace.

That’s why he had wanted to go alone, but if royalty was involved, the only one who could exert authority was this very woman.

“Of course, Cheonsugong.”

“My na is Cheonggong. You promised to call

that.”

“Yes, Cheonggong.”

May this outing be safe and without incident.

The man silently offered that prayer as he took his first steps toward a certain trading company.