Book 18 Chapter 4

The darkness of the night burns in crimson.

―The Carnage of the Blue Dragon Silver Crest

*Fwoosh!*

As if resisting the pitch-black darkness of a moonless night, red flames spewed hot heat, driving away the night. Under this ferocious resistance, the night’s darkness turned a faint gray, and a mansion was reduced to black ash, scattering in the heat amidst a storm of raging flames. The price for illuminating the darkness was charcoal, ash, and death.

“Grrr! How did they know about this place?!”

A heavy groan escaped from Yoo Jae-ryong, the master of the Blue Dragon Silver Crest. His sword, having cut through the battlefield, was already stained red with the blood of over ten assailants. However, his lone strength was insufficient to face all of them. He had two beings he needed to protect. The distance from the outer to the inner courtyard was less than ten paces. Yet, to traverse that seemingly short distance, Yoo Jae-ryong had to risk his life. Dozens of warriors had already perished, helping him escape.

Just reaching the main hall, the Blue Dragon Hall, had been a struggle.

“This should buy us some time.”

But he was also aware that it wouldn’t be for long.

Most of the Silver Crest’s strength had already been lost. The only reason he remained standing was that as the father of a pair of siblings, and as the keeper of ‘it,’ he still had things to do. He looked at his children, whom he had desperately protected until now.

The two children trembled with fear, looking at their only source of solace. The current situation was a fate too heavy for children to bear. Even knowing this, a father’s heart felt as though it would shatter, having to pass on an even greater karma.

“Young-ah, Sun-ah, this is as far as I can go. This father can no longer protect you. Five years ago, I promised your mother, who went to heaven before us, that I would protect you no matter what… It seems I cannot escape the accusation of being a liar. I am sorry. It is all this father’s fault for being incompetent.”

“Father!”

His son, Yoo Kyung-young, cried out. He was only thirteen years old.

“Dad!”

His daughter, Sun-ah, called out to him with a trembling voice and rushed into his embrace. She was only seven years old, a naive child. It was commendable that she didn’t burst into tears and wails.

Jae-ryong stroked his daughter’s hair, his eyes glancing at his son, who was biting his lower lip, and spoke in a heavy voice.

“Young-young!”

“…Yes, Father!”

The boy was desperately trying not to cry. Though he must have been terribly afraid, the child was visibly holding back. Though young, he was clearly aware of the fate that awaited him. He had always been a precocious and intelligent child. He was certain that one day he would make a name for himself in the martial arts world, in finance, and in the moneylending industry, but it seemed he would not see that day. The sounds of clashing weapons and dying screams echoing from afar were growing closer. Time was running out.

“There isn’t much time! Take this!”

What he took from his embrace were two brocade pouches.

“This is…”

“Open it.”

At his father’s command, Yoo Kyung-young immediately opened one of the brocade pouches. Inside were dozens of papers, crumpled and folded into squares. The boy picked one up and unfolded it. Inside were dizzyingly complex characters, as if a snake had twisted and coiled itself thousands of times. Characters that ordinary people could never decipher. Even the most learned scholar could not read these characters. Yet, the boy could read them at a glance.

The characters written on the paper were ‘Dangja-che’ (當字體).

“This… this is…!”

Dangja-che is a special script used only in pawnshops, referring to complex and highly variable characters modified from cursive script. It was intended to prevent outsiders from noticing what happened within the industry, and above all, it was difficult to forge. Consequently, it was also difficult to learn and write quickly. However, anyone involved in the moneylending business had to master this script. It was used not only on pawn tickets but also on all the Silver Crest’s related documents.

Yoo Kyung-young had also been acquiring dozens of types of Dangja-che under his father’s strict tutelage since childhood. As each pawnshop or Silver Crest used different scripts, it was necessary to learn multiple types. However, the Dangja-che written on these papers was not from the Blue Dragon Silver Crest.

“These are some of the pawn tickets and silver I saved for a rainy day. You will need money to escape. Do not carelessly reveal them in front of others. You are the son of the Blue Dragon Silver Crest master, so I trust you know how to handle and use money.”

The amounts written on the tickets were incredibly astonishing.

“If the Blue Dragon Silver Crest is destroyed today, the tickets issued by our Blue Dragon Silver Crest will become worthless scraps of paper tomorrow! I believe you will use those tickets as capital to rebuild our family business someday. Though you are young, you have seen and learned much by my side since childhood.”

Indeed, Yoo Jae-ryong had taught him many of the qualities required to be a moneylender. This industry, like many others, adopted an apprentice system based on strong and closed customs and traditions for hiring and training employees. Thus, it was traditional for employees to enter the shop from a young age and undergo rigorous training. Trust and credit are not built overnight. For this reason, employees were often hired based on lineage, relatives, or connections, and sometimes, connections, blood ties, and school ties were considered more important than ability. However, due to the nature of the work, this was never criticized. This was especially true for the eldest son who was to inherit the business. Now, Yoo Jae-ryong realized it was time for his final lesson.

“What is money?”

Yoo Jae-ryong asked.

“Money is like a wild horse.”

Yoo Kyung-young replied immediately. He remembered the saying because his father often used it. His father always liked to compare money to a horse.

Yoo Jae-ryong nodded.

“You remember well. Then do you know its meaning? Why did this father say money is like a horse?”

“That…”

The boy was speechless. He had often heard the phrase "money is a horse," but he had not been able to grasp its underlying meaning. Not knowing the hidden meaning implied that money, as mere "pieces of horse," would be utterly useless.

“…I do not know. Please teach me.”

“As you said, money is like a wild horse. If you cannot control it, it will harm you. But if you tame it well, it can carry you ten thousand miles and bestow the world upon you. Just as the Qin dynasty unified the world with horses. This is the last lesson this father can give you. So, engrave it in your heart and do not forget it.”

That was the last enlightenment he could offer his son. How he would engrave that enlightenment in his heart and use it as sustenance was now entirely up to his son.

“I will remember, Father.”

Yoo Kyung-young replied stoutly.

“Never forget. This teaching is the last inheritance I can give you.”

Then what about the second brocade pouch?

Yoo Kyung-young, out of curiosity, shook the second, tightly sealed brocade pouch.

There was only one item inside. As his son carelessly tried to open the second brocade pouch, Yoo Jae-ryong quickly stopped him.

“Stop! You must never open it. And you must not be curious about it. It is better not to know what is inside. Just remember that it is an item you must absolutely protect. You must never lose it. Even if you lose everything in the first brocade pouch, you must protect what is in this second one.”

Yoo Kyung-young was surprised by his father’s resolute demeanor.

‘What on earth could this be… that makes my father, who is a pawnshop man to the bone, give up money?’

“Take that and go to one place.”

“Where?”

Yoo Jae-ryong said.

“Nanchang!”

* * *

“It’s too late!”

Standing in the midst of hell, with burning pavilions and corpses as a backdrop, the voice of the Blood-Clad Man was filled with displeasure. From ahead, the sounds of fierce weapon clashes and dying screams mixed in chaos. The operation was behind schedule. According to plan, no one who belonged to the Blue Dragon Silver Crest should be breathing by now. Time was not on their side. It was their biggest enemy. They had to finish it before the Amipa intervened. The longer it took, the greater the risk of Amipa intervention. They had to end it before that.

The problem was the boundary between the outer and inner courtyards.

The Blue Dragon Silver Crest had two walls. It wasn’t always two. When this Blue Dragon Silver Crest first started as a pawnshop, it was small like any other business. It was so small that it was often ridiculed as the size of a booger. People even asked if there was even enough space to sit. As the business prospered, buildings were gradually added. Finally, the small wall was demolished and a new one was built. Inside were various areas like a typical pawnshop.

But the growth did not stop there. As the business grew, people were needed to operate it, and as people were hired, more buildings were needed. So, several dormitories were built for the guards of the Silver Crest and the resident employees, and the cramped stables were expanded. Of course, space for carriages was also needed. Warehouses were also increased. However, the idea that demolishing and rebuilding the wall built less than three years ago would be a waste occurred to them. The funds already spent were precious. Moreover, now that it had grown this large, adding another boundary seemed effective. Thus, the outer and inner courtyards naturally came into existence. At that time, the newly built wall was destroyed by mysterious masked assailants, and now only the wall surrounding the inner courtyard remained.

There was no contest in terms of strength from the outset. They were experts in combat and killing, while the others were people who sat at desks counting money and calculating on abacuses. Comparing them was an insult to their professionalism. However, despite this, the invisible traps and various mechanisms installed at the boundary between the outer and inner courtyards had held them back. If a frontal assault wasn’t possible, they would immediately switch to an indirect approach. What interested merchants was not fair play but economic efficiency.

“Is this the persistence of merchants…?”

Although the Silver Crest business was usury, making profits by circulating money rather than physical assets, it was still a merchant business as long as it made a profit. They, who had used all sorts of methods to make a profit, were now resorting to all sorts of irregular methods to eliminate enemies more efficiently. Progress was too slow. They couldn’t wait any longer. They needed to push their subordinates a bit.

“Tell the squad leaders! We are not so idle as to keep incompetent people as squad leaders! You have half an hour! If you cannot clear a path within that time, you will all be demoted! I’ll have you start by cleaning the latrines again!”

“Yes!”

After the messenger, who had received the Blood-Clad Man’s terrifying order, ran off, he soon felt the sound of sword fights noticeably, or rather, audibly, increase.

* * *

“Nanchang? Do you mean that Nanchang located next to Poyang Lake?”

Yoo Kyung-young asked in disbelief, questioning his own ears.

“Yes, that Nanchang.”

It was natural for the boy to be surprised.

Nanchang was too far from this land of Sichuan. It would be too perilous for two young siblings to travel alone. They would have to cross several provincial borders. It was unclear whether it would take two months or three. A month was not even factored in. That was assuming they encountered no threats along the way.

“I… I don’t understand, Father!”

The best place to flee was Amipa. A day would have been enough. Yet, to Nanchang, so far away? Even though he was young, he couldn’t understand the discrepancy. However, Yoo Jae-ryong shook his head with absolute certainty.

“You must not go to Amipa!”

He had already sensed what his son was worried about. But he had no choice but to force his son onto a difficult path rather than an easy one.

“Why not?”

“These are the ones who attacked us with chilling meticulousness. They wouldn’t have come without knowing our relationship with Amipa, so the routes to Amipa are probably all blocked by now. You two moving together will be easily discovered. No beast willingly walks into a trap. No matter how cunning and meticulous they are, they wouldn’t think that you two, in your young bodies, would go all the way to Nanchang. Strike them by surprise. Do you understand?”

Only then did the boy understand his father’s hidden intention.

“Yes, Father. I understand now.”

“I am sorry that I can only show you the difficult path, not the easy one. But that is the only way to survive. No matter how hard it is, you must endure.”

Yoo Kyung-young nodded with a resolute expression.

“After reaching Nanchang, what should I do?”

“Take that brocade pouch and meet Grand Master Tie Quan Ma Jin Ga.”

“Grand Master Ma Jin Ga? The ‘One Punch Invincible, Two Punches Unnecessary’…?”

Although still young, he remembered hearing that name. As a young man of the martial arts world, he had heard a lot about Cheonmu Academy, the dream of all.

“Yes, it refers to Grand Master Ma Jin Ga, the head of Cheonmu Academy.”

Jae-ryong took out an jade token from his embrace and handed it to his son.

“Take this token and meet the head of the academy. The shadow of Cheonmu Academy will protect you.”

Did our family have such high-profile acquaintances? It was completely new information. But time was truly short, and his father could not answer his questions.

“Ah, and I’ll give you this too.”

Yoo Jae-ryong took off the necklace he was wearing and put it on his son. A large key shining in gold hung in the center of the necklace.

“This key is…”

Yoo Jae-ryong nodded.

“Yes, it is the ‘Yellow Dragon Key’ (黃龍匙), the key to opening the secret vault of the Blue Dragon Silver Crest.”

He held the dazzling golden key in his hand, injected internal energy, and began to rub it. Smoke puffed out, and the gold plating on the key began to peel off. Pure gold was too soft to be used as a key, so what was inside was naturally iron. The Yellow Dragon Key instantly became an Iron Dragon Key.

“Gold can sometimes blind people. You still lack the strength to protect that golden light. Cultivate your strength. So that you can protect your wealth. And then, someday, you will rebuild the Blue Dragon Silver Crest. At that time, this key will shine golden again.”

*Rumble!*

Yoo Jae-ryong turned a candlestick on the wall to the left, and a bookshelf behind it opened to the left and right, revealing a secret passage. The eyes of the boy and girl widened.

“To think such a valuable item was installed in our house…”

Yoo Kyung-young voiced an opinion befitting a merchant’s son. He had been trained to appraise the value of things since he started walking. It was not difficult to roughly estimate the value of such an item.

Secret passages operated by mechanisms were difficult to build, the process was complicated, and the number of experts who could build them was few. That meant it cost a fortune to build one. Even in this crisis, the boy was moved by these facts.

“Now, follow me!”

The screams stopped. The weapons that had been roaring like thunder had also fallen silent.

*Screech!*

With an ear-piercing sound, the door opened. And a man dressed in black walked in. Yoo Jae-ryong stood behind the bookshelf with a sword in his hand, his eyes burning with an ominous glint.

“Who might this be? Master Yoo of the Blue Dragon Silver Crest? Where have all your subordinates gone, leaving you to guard your lonely house?”

The masked man who led the way spoke in a glib voice. He was in a very good mood, having been the first to arrive.

“Let’s introduce ourselves first. Due to my profession, I cannot reveal my real name, so you can just call me ‘Blood Mark.’ My title is Chief Squad Leader.”

“Shut up, you wicked enemy! I have no desire to hear the alias of someone hiding their face behind a mask. What grudge do you have against our Silver Crest to do this?”

“Grudge? How could there be such a thing? We have no grudge.”

Blood Mark’s answer was, in a sense, very honest and straightforward. And it was also something that drained Yoo Jae-ryong’s spirit.

“Then why? If you have no grudge, what is the reason for such a cruel act?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

Blood Mark sighed behind his mask and retorted.

“Humans are beings who can commit such cruel acts without wanting anything. Look at the wars between nations. When a powerful nation invades a weaker one, is it because of a grudge? It’s simply because the weaker nation coincidentally possessed something the stronger nation needed. A very coincidental thing! Isn’t the so-called justice they declare merely a plausible excuse to incite people? Master Yoo, you are a merchant, yet you don’t understand this simple principle?”

A sigh, whether of lament, sorrow, or boredom, escaped from Blood Mark’s lips.

“Do you need money?”

Blood Mark shook his head.

“We don’t care about money. Even if we had it, it would be secondary. Have you ever seen a powerful nation attack a weaker one because it lacked money? What powerful nations always want is not money, but potential value that can generate profit for decades to come.”

Yoo Jae-ryong’s anger flared at the preachy tone, as if a teacher were lecturing a student. It was clear that they were doing this deliberately.

“Then you must have come to the wrong place. There couldn’t possibly be such a thing in a small Silver Crest like this.”

“Don’t play dumb, Master Yoo. We know everything. So, give up on pretending. Just hand over ‘it.’ Then we will leave quietly.”

At that condescending tone, Yoo Jae-ryong finally exploded.

“What, leave quietly? You sons of bitches! Are you saying that so easily when a mountain of corpses is piled up outside?”

As his anger erupted, curses naturally spilled out. Forgetting his status, he swore profusely, so enraged was he. His composure had already shattered like a mirror falling from a castle tower.

“That matter is truly regrettable. But what can we do if you don’t give it quickly? Besides, we took a hit. We never expected you to set your own mansion on fire… Were you trying to raise a signal fire? So, how could we not be in a hurry? It was unavoidable.”

Blood Mark remained maddeningly calm. However, when the pavilion suddenly caught fire, Blood Mark himself could not help but be flustered.

In fact, the fire was not started by the other side, but by them. They were on a secret mission. Setting fire in the middle of the night was like loudly proclaiming, ‘I’m causing trouble here.’ So, if a fire broke out, they were in a position where they had to rush to extinguish it. However, the initial firefighting effort was a clear failure. The fact that the fire spread so quickly and widely suggested that some kind of mechanism had been in place all along. Such a thing could not happen without meticulous preparation.

“So, there was an unforeseen delay. The casualties also increased. It is truly regrettable.”

Still, thanks to that, Yoo Jae-ryong was able to buy time. However, there was one aspect of his prediction that was wrong. It was the enemy’s excessive skill in handling matters. If this continued, they were likely to be annihilated before Amipa’s reinforcements arrived. No, in fact, they were already annihilated. All that remained was himself.

“But what exactly is ‘it’? Even if I don’t know what ‘it’ is, we don’t have any such ‘it’.”

Yoo Jae-ryong calmed himself and continued speaking. He needed to buy more time. It was not yet profitable.

“Don’t play dumb, Master Yoo. We know everything…”

Blood Mark’s words, which had been responding obediently, suddenly cut off. He glanced around a couple of times, as if looking for something.

Yoo Jae-ryong felt a sense of foreboding. And his premonition proved correct.

“Huh? Now that I think about it, I don’t see the children.”

The tone suggested he knew everything.

‘Could they have found out even about the children’s whereabouts?’

Fortunately, the children had already escaped through the secret passage.

“That’s strange. I looked for them and couldn’t find them, so I thought they must be with you…”

The masked man had already ordered his subordinates to secure the children’s whereabouts. After all, they couldn’t just kill precious hostages.

“The children are not here.”

At Yoo Jae-ryong’s answer, Blood Mark’s expression hardened considerably. The fact could be clearly sensed even through the mask.

“That’s not an interesting story. Well, fine. I can guess. After all, the only place they could go is Amipa. They’ll be caught soon, so my apologies.”

“You bastards, what sin have those children committed! Leave those children alone!”

Yoo Jae-ryong screamed at the top of his lungs. He wanted to appear as flustered as possible. Of course, inwardly, it was the opposite.

‘Please… please… please…….’

He prayed inwardly and struggled fiercely, or rather, raged. He hoped their attention would be diverted to Amipa.

Blood Mark gave orders to a few of his subordinates. It was likely an order to strengthen the guard on the routes to Amipa. He felt some of the assailants leaving the burning mansion. Yoo Jae-ryong shivered.

Blood Mark’s gaze flickered towards him.

“Don’t worry. You will meet the children soon.”

And perhaps, it would not be in this world.

“What is it you truly want?”

They didn’t need money, and their actions suggested they didn’t need honor either. And yet, to call them bloodthirsty murderers felt wrong, as they were handling matters too professionally.

“Master Yoo, are you truly asking because you don’t know, or have you become senile? I will speak plainly. What we need is simply a ‘key’.”

At those words, Yoo Jae-ryong felt as if the ground he was standing on was crumbling into darkness. He desperately tried to prevent his legs from collapsing.

‘How… how could they know that?’

How did they discover the secret he had kept buried in his heart his entire life?

“I… I refuse! How can I hand over the heart of the Silver Vault, which is everything of the Blue Dragon Silver Crest, to wicked enemies like you! It’s absurd!”

Then, Blood Mark clicked his tongue and said in a coaxing tone.

“Oh, why are you acting like this, Master Yoo! You well know that the key I’m talking about is not that key, don’t you? I know it too. Don’t I?”

“I… I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Yoo Jae-ryong replied with a flustered voice.

“This is truly regrettable. You continue to deny it with your words, but your voice is trembling right now. Hey!”

“Yes!”

The subordinate officers in the third and fourth positions replied.

“Bring the two children here immediately! It seems you won’t come to your senses unless you see your children dismembered before your eyes!”

“Uh… where should I look?”

*Thwack!*

The masked man’s fist flashed at the idiotic question from his subordinate, who was ranked fourth, failing to live up to his position.

“You fool! If the children and their father came here together, where did they go if they disappeared from here? Did they soar into the sky, or sink into the earth? There must be a secret passage somewhere! Find it!”

“Yes!”

The twenty-odd subordinates who entered the main hall with him responded in unison.

Then, Yoo Jae-ryong cried out in a hurry.

“No! Not the children!”

Yoo Jae-ryong shouted and lunged towards one wall. Then, holding his sword, he glared around menacingly. As if no one could touch that spot.

“Not the children, never!”

Seeing that, Blood Mark’s eyes gleamed. A triumphant smile formed on his lips.

“You were fooled, Master Yoo!”

“……!!”

“Heh heh, it seems the secret passage is over there.”

“Th-this!”

A truly desperate groan escaped Yoo Jae-ryong’s lips. Anyone could tell he was flustered. He seemed horrified that his mistake had given the enemy a clue.

“Shamyeong! Gyeok-un!”

At the command, two masked men rushed towards Yoo Jae-ryong. Blood Mark, who had been standing with his arms crossed, added one more sentence behind his rushing subordinates.

“There is still an answer I need to hear! Do not kill them!”

The two masked men, Shamyeong and Gyeok-un, who charged at Yoo Jae-ryong, showed a different level of agility compared to the other masked scum whose souls had become his under his sword. These two were among the most skilled in their group, and they continuously pressed Yoo Jae-ryong. In fact, these two were ranked second and third among the twenty-odd men who entered the main hall. The man with the single-edged sword approaching, aiming for his left arm, was Shamyeong, ranked second, and the large man wielding the spiked sword like a windmill, aiming for his right arm, was Gyeok-un, ranked third.

“Found it!”

A subordinate specializing in searching for mechanical devices exclaimed.

“Good!”

“No!”

One was delighted, and the other screamed. However, he ignored the scream and pulled the rope he had found with all his might.

‘They made it this simple! How foolish!’

For someone like him, finding such a mechanism was as easy as eating a cakewalk.

*Grrr-ng!*

The machine only follows the principles given to it; it does not distinguish between master and enemy. Through a series of processes, the mechanism was activated, and the tightly closed passage finally opened its black mouth with a crack.

“You absolutely cannot pass!”

Yoo Jae-ryong shouted in a desperate voice and rushed to block the passage.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

However, he was blocked by the swordplay of Shamyeong and Gyeok-un and could not achieve his goal.

“Chase them!”

Yoo Jae-ryong, believing that those two were sufficient, watched as over a dozen masked men quickly leaped into the opened secret passage.

“I’m looking forward to what happens next, Master Yoo!”

Yoo Jae-ryong replied to Blood Mark’s mocking words.

“Indeed. I am truly looking forward to it. What happens next.”

At that moment, a deep smile was clearly on Yoo Jae-ryong’s lips. The desperate eyes that were full of despair moments ago had vanished, replaced by a confidence of victory. Blood Mark’s eyes widened.

At that very moment,

“Kuaaaaaaaang!”

“Uaaaaaaaang!”

“Kkweeeeeeek!”

The masked men who remained guarding the rear were momentarily under the illusion that the place their comrades had leaped into was not the Blue Dragon Silver Crest’s secret passage, but the gates of hell. That’s how utterly tragic, horrific, and dreadful the screams that echoed from beyond the darkness of the door were, beyond what could be imagined in this world.

“……”

When the screams stopped, a silence and stillness filled the main hall, so profound that one could hear a hair fall.

“It seems I was the one who was fooled, Squad Leader Hyol!”

In return for his previous mockery, Yoo Jae-ryong also showed the most mocking smile he could muster.

At his feet lay Shamyeong and Gyeok-un, who moments before had been pressing him with the intent to behead him, now cut in half at the waist.

* * *

“Huh? Huh?”

Surprise burst from the boy’s lips. It was understandable for Yoo Kyung-young to express surprise. The direction his father led the children’s hands was the opposite of where the expensive secret passage had opened.

“Huh? Ah, Father?”

There was no answer. Yoo Jae-ryong strode confidently towards a very common wardrobe.

“This?”

“Hurry!”

Yoo Jae-ryong opened the small door of the wardrobe, quickly pulled out a few clothes, then squeezed himself inside the door, barely large enough to fit, and began to tinker with something diligently. The work was finished quickly.

“Now, hurry and get inside. Quickly!”

“Wh-what is this?”

Confused, unable to understand what was happening, Yoo Kyung-young asked. Fortunately, he received an answer this time.

“That mechanism is fake. No, the mechanism is real, but the passage is fake would be more accurate.”

“Huh?”

“This is the real secret passage.”

“He-here?”

The height of the wardrobe was only about an adult’s waist. Moreover, the door was truly unremarkable and tiny. It was certain that the passage would also be unremarkable. It was like…

“Like a cat hole?”

His father read his son’s mind perfectly.

“Th-that… Uh, yes……”

The son, whose true feelings were exposed, flushed red and trailed off. Even though he was young, he knew that this was not the time to be picky. But his father did not criticize him.

“Son, I’ll give you one more piece of advice. Never be fooled by the flashy exterior just because it’s expensive and impressive. The important thing is substance, not flash. A merchant does not care about appearances. What a merchant should care about is true profit (利). Never forget that fact.”

There was no more time for leisurely explanations. Yoo Jae-ryong added only one sentence. A moving farewell was omitted in favor of effective use of time.

“Protect your sister well.”

Yoo Jae-ryong hugged his children tightly and pushed them into the wardrobe. The boy and girl, with tear-soaked faces, quickly crawled inside.

Soon, the wardrobe swallowed the children whole and returned to its original state as if nothing had happened.

“Kyung-young, Sun-ah, I’m counting on you!”

He closed the wardrobe with a solemn expression. He did not attach a lock.

“You two… must… must survive.”

He did not show tears. There was still not enough time for the children to escape. From now on, he had to buy time.

“This is my last business deal.”

He even defined this as a business deal.

“If I don’t leave the highest profit, it would be embarrassing.”

The saying that time is like gold is wrong.

Time cannot be measured, quantified, weighed, or held in hand. Therefore, it is more expensive than gold. Time would prefer not to be treated as being of the same level. Because, of course, it’s an insult to its pride.

It wouldn’t be a losing deal.

“If Father were here, I wouldn’t have suffered such humiliation…”

He resented himself for not inheriting even a tenth of his father’s abilities. He resented his missing father, yet he had never felt his presence so desperately as he did today. But there was still hope.