If that's the case, then it's highly likely that House Master Baek wasn't taken by illness but was murdered.
So then, what in the world were they trying to achieve by putting so much effort into Lotus Courtesan House?
I thought about it for a moment, and the answer came quickly.
This place is one of the five major courtesan houses in Hubei.
Fundamentally, it's a place that sees a lot of foot traffic.
And since many of the entertainers here are exceptional, those with wealth and refinement frequently visit—making it a perfect place to gather information on them.
And also to spread rumors to them, and to win them over.
In other words, this place had been planned as a secret branch of the Murim Alliance.
There was a reason the wealthy of Hubei in the future I experienced were oddly favorable to the Murim Alliance and the White Heaven Merchant Group.
They had been subtly won over here.
I barely held back a laugh.
I had just prevented this place from becoming a secret Murim Alliance outpost.
At the same time, a chill ran down my spine.
All I did was prevent the fire at the Finance Pavilion, which would have caused great losses to the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Because of that, the documents in the archive were not lost, so there was no risk of losing money.
Ah Seung and his family would be safe.
Yeo Chang-Ui's life was saved.
Even the one who should have taken the night shift tonight was safe, and In Dae-Soo who would have resigned in guilt, would now go on to live happily with his family.
Honestly, that's as far as I had thought.
But the causal chain resulting from me preventing the fire had twisted even this far.
Who knows how far the consequences of my actions will spread?
But one thing was clear.
It wasn't going to be in favor of the Murim Alliance or the White Heaven Merchant Group.
And that alone satisfied me.
"Um, young master?"
A voice broke through my thoughts.
The personal guard who had accompanied me was looking at me with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, sorry. Let's head back."
"Yes."
We returned to the office, and I reported everything I had uncovered to Father.
"And there was a strange emblem on the wall. It was a combination of a cloud and a peach blossom, and I'm certain it's the mark of an organization that seeks to deceive the world."
At my words, Baek flinched and shouted.
"Th-that's nonsense! That's just the crest of the Dowoon Merchant Group!"
"Dowoon Merchant Group?"
I feigned ignorance, pretending to be surprised.
"..."
Father's gaze turned cold.
"Dowoon Merchant Group, you say… a merchant group, huh."
He looked at House Master Baek.
"If you seek mercy, you must pay the corresponding price. You still plan to keep your mouth shut, knowing that?"
"T-that is…"
Baek hesitated, but under continued pressure, he finally confessed everything.
"…That's how it happened. I don't know much about them! I just accepted the offer they made, that's all!"
"Tsk tsk."
Father clicked his tongue at his words.
No doubt frustrated at how short-sighted this House Master was.
Then Father issued an order to the Chief of External Affairs Go.
"Hand him over to the authorities."
"Understood."
Having secured Lotus Courtesan House, the question now was how to operate it.
"But I'm not sure if we should continue holding on to Lotus Courtesan House."
At Father's words, as he looked over the accounting ledger, the Chief of Internal Affairs Yoo, nodded.
"Should we put it up for sale?"
"That can't happen!"
Startled, I cried out, and the two of them looked at me in surprise and asked.
"Why not?"
"I apologize, it's just that…"
I trailed off, rapidly thinking.
I had just barely prevented a secret Murim Alliance branch from forming right in front of our merchant group. If we sold this courtesan house, all that would have been for nothing.
But I couldn't say that outright.
One day, I would have to, but not yet. I needed to give a plausible reason.
"Lotus Courtesan House will be important for our Eunhae Merchant Group. We must not sell it."
"Important, you say?"
"Yes. Isn't it crucial for us to understand what our customers want?"
"That's true."
"And their evaluation of the products we sell is just as important."
At my words, Chief Yoo smiled knowingly.
"I believe I understand what the young master is suggesting. You mean we should turn Lotus Courtesan House into a center for gathering information and promoting our merchant group."
As expected of Chief Yoo. He picked up on it instantly.
"Yes. And also use it to generate word-of-mouth."
"A good idea. But we don't know how to run a courtesan house. What do you propose for that part?"
"We can keep Chief Manager Seo in place. He's been running Lotus Courtesan House well so far, and he'll continue to do so."
Father, listening to our exchange, nodded.
"Hm. And what do you think, Yoo?"
"If we're going to continue operating it, he's the most suitable. He has a good reputation among the staff and is acknowledged for his management abilities."
Chief Yoo continued.
"Just looking at the ledger told me everything. Ledgers never lie."
"Good. Let's go with that."
"Thank you."
I bowed my head in gratitude.
And so, Lotus Courtesan House would fulfill the same role it had in the future I experienced.
Only the owner had changed.
From the Murim Alliance to the Eunhae Merchant Group.
At that moment, I remembered a method I'd used in the past.
"And what if we provided our merchant group's silk to the entertainers here for free, to have dresses made?"
"To the entertainers? But…"
"This is a courtesan house, yes—but the women here are not prostitutes, they are entertainers. So there's no need to worry about the sort of concern Father may have."
"That's true."
When I used to run the Eunhae fabric store, I provided silk for free to the famous courtesans and entertainers of various taverns and houses.
These women captivated men with their beauty and talent.
Of course, fine silk looked even better on such women, and thanks to that, the Eunhae fabric store made considerable profit.
At my suggestion, Father looked at Chief Yoo. After a moment of thought, Chief Yoo nodded.
"There's merit to that. People are naturally drawn to beautiful things."
That said it all.
"We should discuss this later with Pavilion Master Yeon."
It was certain my proposal would be accepted.
Father was truly a good man.
Running a merchant group is like walking through a forest of cold-hearted judgment, where there's neither blood nor tears.
Even so, Father had managed to steer the Eunhae Merchant Group so well because he always listened to the people around him.
And when a decision had to be made, he made it decisively.
Just like taking over Lotus Courtesan House and handing House Master Baek to the authorities.
He also had Ah Seung handed over to the authorities, but asked for leniency on his behalf.
Father promised to help them resettle, if they wished to find a new home.
Truly, Father was a good person.
Yeo Chang-Ui and I were granted a vacation.
It was a reward for successfully completing the mission, and we received a generous bonus as well.
When Father said I'd be getting a break, Chief Yoo looked like he had a lot to say.
Especially since he now had more work to do due to the proposals I made—yet the assistant he was planning to rely on was going on vacation.
But vacation was a right that had been given to me.
I pretended not to notice that look asking me not to take time off and help instead, and gratefully accepted the vacation.
.
.
.
I returned to my room, lay down on my bed, and fell into thought.
'Thankfully, nothing serious happened this time, but...'
A sigh escaped me.
Even though I could use martial arts, pretending that I couldn't yet was frustrating.
If the fact that I could use martial arts hadn't been a secret, I would've jumped in to subdue the masked man I encountered at Lotus Courtesan House.
And I would've chased after him.
If it were me, I might've at least figured out where he was headed.
It was frustrating to have missed that opportunity.
If I wanted to use martial arts freely in the future, I needed to show that I was learning it.
And it's best to start martial arts training at a young age.
If my martial arts had been stronger, I wouldn't have died so miserably in the end. I wouldn't have just stood by helplessly as those who followed me died.
There was no longer any reason to postpone learning martial arts.
Now that the urgent matters were resolved, I had to go and ask the master who had once taught me martial arts to become my teacher again.
That person was the leader of Prosperous Escort Agency, which was in partnership with the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Is he still working as head escort?
Just then, something suddenly came to mind.
"If only I had returned an hour earlier that day, then my eldest son wouldn't have died."
In that instant, a chill ran down my spine.
W-wait, what day is it today?
I counted the date on my fingers, then jumped up from my seat.
"Damn. It's today?"
***
Mrs. Gwak of the Bamboo Grove was getting ready to go out early in the morning.
Her husband was the head escort of the Prosperous Escort Agency.
So, he was away from home for more than half the year. During those times, she had to take care of the children on her own.
Now and then, the money he sent for living expenses wasn't enough.
When that happened, she had to earn money by helping at banquets or doing piecework sewing.
Today was the birthday banquet of the village chief of the nearby Jang family, and she had agreed to help.
Her hands were known for their skill, so she was always the first to be called when such work was needed.
"Mother, are you going out?"
She had two sons: the elder, Gwak Hyungjin, and the younger, Gwak Junha.
Twelve-year-old Gwak Hyungjin was her reliable eldest son.
"I'm going to the Jang family's house. There's a banquet today."
"You look tired, why don't you just rest, Mother?"
At Gwak Hyungjin's words, Mrs. Gwak smiled and shook her head.
"Tired? I'm not tired at all."
"You're going to work—how could you not be tired?"
"It's fine, it's fine. I get to eat good food too. I'll bring something tasty back."
At her words, the younger son, eight-year-old Gwak Junha, chimed in.
"I want some sweets!"
"Alright, I'll bring some. Study with your brother while I'm gone."
With her sons seeing her off, Mrs. Gwak headed toward the Jang family estate.
Only the two brothers were left at home.
"Junha, it's time to study now."
"I don't want to study."
At his whining, Gwak Hyungjin said,
"Father will be back soon. If you haven't memorized the Thousand Character Classic by then, you'll get in big trouble."
"Okay, big bro. Then let's play sword fighting after lunch."
"That much, sure, I'm okay with."
The two brothers sat down at the table they used for meals and began studying.
Gwak Hyungjin was finished with the Great Learning and was now studying the Doctrine of the Mean.
Learning the Doctrine of the Mean at twelve meant he was quite bright.
They didn't attend an academy, but instead learned both literature and martial arts from their father.
However, martial arts training had to be done only in front of their father.
He said it was dangerous to train alone.
It was lunchtime.
Today's lunch was dumplings.
Each of them had one big dumpling, and as promised, Gwak Hyungjin agreed to play with his brother.
The brothers' games were always the same.
Living in a bamboo forest, the common bamboo became their toys.
Since Gwak Junha suggested bamboo sword fighting today, Gwak Hyungjin decided to go along.
Martial arts training required Father to be present, but simple swordplay with bamboo sticks was okay.
Clack! Clack! Clack clack!
Though he was four years younger, Gwak Junha had sharp physical instincts.
He had a natural knack for spotting openings.
Their father often watched Junha with complex emotions, but the boys didn't know that.
Clack!
"Wah!"
At that moment, Junha's bamboo sword knocked Hyungjin's sword out of his hand.
"Ah! Sorry, big bro!"
"It's okay."
As Hyungjin went to retrieve his fallen bamboo sword, his foot caught on something and he tripped forward.
It happened in an instant.
Thud!
"Aaaaah!"
Gwak Hyungjin's scream echoed through the bamboo forest.
Startled, Junha ran over.
"B-big bro, what's wrong?"
"Ughhh!"
As Junha helped lift his brother, he froze in shock.
Blood was pouring from Hyungjin's abdomen.
Terrified, Junha cried out in panic.
"Help! Somebody please help us! Waaaah!"
He was scared.
He felt like he was about to lose his brother.
Especially since their home was in a remote area.
No matter how much he screamed, no one came, and just like that, Gwak Hyungjin lost consciousness.