"One hundred taels of gold."

"One hundred taels of gold?"

"Yes."

Cheonyeong nodded as if it were obvious, and Gongsun Cheok's expression became one of disbelief.

"You know this is the Gongsun family, right?"

"That's why I'm saying it."

"What?"

Gongsun Cheok's face flushed red.

One hundred taels?

What was this if not mockery?

"Are you joking?"

"I'm serious."

"What? You bastard!"

As the indignant Gongsun Cheok glared, Cheonyeong looked up at him slightly.

"Listen, Gongsun Cheok."

"Uh, yes."

It was chilling.

Under that piercing gaze, his breath caught and he couldn't speak.

Those eyes...

"You're the one making a mistake."

"What?"

"When exactly was the Gongsun family at its peak?"

"What?"

"You only have this one estate, don't you?"

"..."

"And it's not even being maintained properly. The Gongsun estate with everyone gone. Ah, soon you might not even be able to keep this."

"What?"

Gongsun Cheok's eyes trembled slightly.

"I hear you're addicted to gambling?"

"..."

"Judging by the situation, soon you'll hand over the estate for less than half of one hundred taels, let alone the full amount. Or maybe you'll use it to pay off debts."

At Cheonyeong's sharp words, Gongsun Cheok trembled with clenched fists.

"An crumbling estate for one hundred gold taels—I don't think it's a bad deal?"

At Cheonyeong's words, Gongsun Cheok collapsed and sighed.

His words were right.

The Gongsun family was no longer what it once was.

All that Gongsun Cheok held in his hands was a uselessly vast estate.

He had already wanted to sell it.

Gambling debts were accumulating, and the interest on money borrowed at high rates was growing daily. Creditors harassed him constantly, and ultimately the estate had been seized as collateral.

Far from paying back the money, he had squandered it on entertainment. According to Cheonyeong's words, the entire estate might be forfeited.

But at that moment.

A sinister thought flashed through Gongsun Cheok's mind.

Wait, no. No, that's not right.

This fellow who identified himself as the Tang Family Head didn't know the estate was already mortgaged, did he?

If he sold it without revealing that the estate was mortgaged...

Yes, he'd just pocket the money.

If he took the money and left this place, what could that bastard do about it?

Actually, he was already tired.

The blood on his own hands.

The resentful cries of his dead brothers seemed to echo every night, and for a long time he couldn't sleep without alcohol.

"You... why do you have such a sinister expression?"

"Yes?"

"What are you thinking?"

As Cheonyeong's eyes narrowed, Gongsun Cheok hastily waved his hands.

"That is... I was just thinking of a fair price."

"A fair price?"

"One hundred taels is too little."

"What?"

"This is the Gongsun family estate. A place where Gongsun descendants have settled and lived for generations."

"So?"

"Offer more."

"What?"

At Gongsun Cheok's words, Cheonyeong burst out laughing.

More?

He found it absurd.

Contemplating with a sinister expression, speaking of the Gongsun family's heritage... was this just a trick to raise the price?

Cheonyeong, with a mocking smile, asked Gongsun Cheok.

"So? How much do you want?"

"Well..."

Gongsun Cheok, furrowing his brows in thought, slowly held up two fingers.

"Two hundred! Two hundred taels would be enough."

"Two hundred?"

It was infuriating.

This bastard should be reasonable, but immediately doubled the price?

At the absurd demand, Cheonyeong glared with narrowed eyes and sighed.

"Well, fine. Let's do that."

"...?!"

"Two hundred gold taels."

"Really?"

As Cheonyeong nodded, Gongsun Cheok's eyes widened with joy.

"But there's a condition."

"What condition?"

His body tensed.

"You leave with nothing but yourself."

"Nothing but myself?"

"Yes, you don't take anything from here. If you agree to that condition, the two hundred gold taels will be yours."

At Cheonyeong's words, Gongsun Cheok hesitated.

Two hundred taels—it was still far too little for selling the Gongsun family, but...

"Fine. Two hundred taels and I'll leave with just myself!"

He made the decision with what seemed like boldness.

He seemed to think it looked impressive.

"Then wait, I'll issue a promissory note."

"A promissory note?"

"Why?"

"I prefer actual goods."

"Actual goods? Can you carry two hundred taels?"

"Why would I carry it? There are so many servants."

At Gongsun Cheok's words, Cheonyeong shook his head.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

"What?"

"You can't take anything from the Gongsun family estate. The same goes for the servants."

"..."

"Do you understand?"

"Yes. I understand. Issue a promissory note."

"Good, wait."

Cheonyeong headed directly to the largest money exchange at Dongting Lake.

Since it was such a large amount as two hundred taels, the verification process was complicated.

Only after the Tang Family and messengers went back and forth, and Oweng Gae came to vouch for him, could he obtain the promissory note.

A mid-tier martial family of Sichuan with two wharves.

The promissory note was issued, and Cheonyeong immediately went to find Gongsun Cheok.

"Leave now. From now on, this place belongs to the Tang Family."

"This is outrageous!"

With an elated expression, Gongsun Cheok's eyes were fixed only on the promissory note.

There is a beast called Greed.

It had a dragon's head, but a dog's body, ox hooves, a monkey's tail, and a body covered in snake scales.

Born with excessive greed, it consumed everything in the world, then consumed its own body, so the world returned to nothingness.

But what world returned to nothingness?

Consumed by its own greed, what ultimately disappeared was itself.

Gongsun Cheok was no different from Greed.

Though he drove his nephew and brothers to death, he never repented and remained trapped in that greed.

Unaware that he himself would become nothing.

Perhaps he would be found as a corpse on some nameless riverbank.

"Um... what should we do?"

After Gongsun Cheok left, the servants gathered in front of the hall asked, observing Cheonyeong's expression.

"Well, shall we have dinner first?"

"Yes?"

"It's evening, isn't it? Let's think about what to do slowly and prepare food first."

As Cheonyeong spoke with a bright smile, the servants nodded in confusion.

There was no rush.

It would take a while for the Tang Family's people to arrive.

"By the way, elder."

"Yes?"

"What is your name?"

"My name?"

"Yes, I need to call you when necessary."

"I am... Wang Shik."

"Then until your position is decided, I'll call you Wang Noya."

"No, Noya?"

The elderly Wang Shik opened his eyes wide in surprise.

How could someone who had bought even the slave documents of the Gongsun family use respectful language toward a servant?

"Ah, Wang Noya."

"Yes?"

"Does the Gongsun family have a library?"

"There is one."

"Please show me. Have my meals sent there."

"Understood."

Now he had to search.

Records about Gongsun Yuan that must be left somewhere in the Gongsun family.

Surely within those records would be information about Samyang Shengong's Bigup.

He was being chased by unknown people and asked his successors to find and nurture him.

* * *

Late into the night.

Cheonyeong was searching through every book that existed in the Gongsun family.

"Family Head! Family Head!"

At the urgent call, he went out to find Oweng Gae waiting with a bright smile.

Having met at the money exchange and vouched for the promissory note, he knew the Gongsun family estate had passed into Cheonyeong's hands.

"What brings you on this night?"

"Did you forget?"

"Yes?"

"Didn't you ask me to thoroughly investigate the process by which ruffians took over the Gongsun family's property?"

"Ah! That's right."

Cheonyeong nodded at Oweng Gae's words, then was surprised to see the stack of papers in his hands.

"The investigation is already complete?"

"Of course! When Oweng Gae works, I work well!"

"Ah..."

At the expression clearly showing he wanted his abilities recognized, Cheonyeong let out a light exclamation and asked with narrowed eyes.

"You didn't do it carelessly, right?"

"What? How could you think that of me? I wouldn't do anything carelessly for your request. I sent all the men out and investigated thoroughly, so don't worry."

"Then thank you."

Pleased at Cheonyeong's smiling appearance, Oweng Gae looked at the books scattered in the library behind him and tilted his head.

"What are you looking for?"

"Ah, I'm just browsing through various things about the Gongsun family. I was thinking of taking a break anyway. Let's have some tea and review what you've investigated."

Cheonyeong, speaking vaguely, headed toward the pavilion, with Oweng Gae following eagerly behind.

"Yes! I'll explain everything step by step!"

Cheonyeong asked Wang Noya to prepare tea and, sitting in the pavilion, asked.

"By the way, what about Successor Beggar?"

"Oh, I almost forgot! Successor Beggar said he would investigate the matter you requested and come here as quickly as possible."

Oweng Gae took out a crumpled letter from his pocket.

It was as he said.

Having seen the handwriting several times, Cheonyeong could recognize it as written by Baekta himself.

He promised to find out, so he would search through records from several hundred years ago if necessary.

Baekta kept his promises well.

And knowing that his requests always benefited him, he would work even harder.

"Then where..."

Cheonyeong picked up the first page of the stack of papers Oweng Gae brought.

"Ah! Those are people who run promissory note exchanges. I heard..."

At Oweng Gae's explanation added to the written records, Cheonyeong couldn't close his open mouth.

Gongsun Cheok.

What kind of bastard was this?

Calling him "stupid" wasn't even sufficient description.

What did he learn from his father and older brothers?

He had given away the Gongsun family's businesses so easily.

How was this possible?

Cheonyeong excused himself from Oweng Gae and ran to the library, retrieving a bundle of contracts he had found while searching through books but had ignored.

Contracts Gongsun Cheok had made while serving as Family Head.

"Ha!"

Only a hollow laugh came out.

Just skimming through, there were countless clauses in the contracts that were disadvantageous to the Gongsun family.

Responsibility, more responsibility.

Everything was the Gongsun family's obligation and responsibility.

If he had just concentrated and read carefully, he would have known... but how did he sign underneath?

And why was his handwriting unnecessarily forceful?

"This bastard is insane. He really intended to ruin the family."

Probably those ruffians had sweet-talked Gongsun Cheok in front of him.

Drinking together, becoming sworn brothers, building familiarity repeatedly—he must have trusted them completely.

So he signed these absurd contracts.

Only later did he realize something was wrong, but the contracts were already written this way. Every time problems arose in business, he bore all responsibility and paid compensation.

Of course he had no choice but to hand over the businesses for a pittance.

The taverns and wine houses, shops, promissory note exchange operations, and merchant group management rights.

All contracts had the same problem.

"Sigh. He was targeted, targeted. The stupid bastard took the bait eagerly. The family couldn't help but be ruined."

Now sighs came more from despair than surprise.

"Ah, and! Gongsun Cheok had many debts."

"Debts?"

Cheonyeong frowned and read the paper Oweng Gae handed him.

Gambling debts, unpaid bills at the taverns and wine houses he lost.

"Even... loan sharks?"

"Ah, yes. The loan shark debts were quite substantial. Oh! And now that I think about it, the Gongsun family estate was also mortgaged."

"...?!"

At Oweng Gae's words, Cheonyeong's eyes widened.

"What did you just say?"

"Huh? You didn't know?"

He didn't know.

Suddenly, the sinister expression on Gongsun Cheok's face before mentioning two hundred taels came to mind.

"You... surely? This bastard?"

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

He sold a mortgaged estate... to him?

That stupid bastard?

No, that stupid bastard tricked him?

Him?

Crunch!

Cheonyeong crumpled the paper forcefully, and with bloodshot eyes, asked Oweng Gae.

"Where is this bastard Gongsun Cheok right now?"

"It seems he tried to sneak away, but was caught by the gambling den gang and dragged off? He had debts there too."

Crack! Thud thud thud!

The sound of teeth grinding and the sound of rapid footsteps echoed simultaneously.

Cheonyeong ran faster than he ever had in his life.

With all his might...

You're dead today.

(End of Chapter)