Chapter 77

‘What is this?’

Seeing the people knocking on the door so urgently, even Jutae, who always maintained his composure, was utterly bewildered.

He couldn’t easily understand it.

Why had those who had mocked and ignored them just yesterday suddenly changed their attitude completely?

He gave a few coins to the servant who was the only one who went in and out of the residence and asked if anything had happened last night.

“Oh, don’t even mention it! This incident has made not only Nanchang but the entire Jiangxi Province a hubbub.”

He realized that an unprecedented event had occurred, one he couldn’t have even imagined.

At dawn, a massive explosion occurred at Poyang Lake. The ground shook, and a deafening roar echoed as if the sky was collapsing.

It was a natural disaster.

However, the problem was that the explosion had caused the grain merchant ships, which were anchored, to sink to the bottom of Poyang Lake.

The merchants, who were suddenly struck by this disaster, turned pale and urgently sought out other ships while investigating the cause of the explosion.

After examining the shattered remains of the ships, a shocking fact was revealed.

“Damn, even the heavens are indifferent. Who would have known that the most temperamental person in the world, the Explosive Thunder, would appear yesterday?”

Indeed, the Explosive Thunder, one of the eight great treasures of the martial arts world, who created the Explosive Thunder Bombs, was the culprit behind the massive explosion at Poyang Lake.

‘Could it be...!’

At that moment, the image of the old beggar he had slapped came to Jutae’s mind.

The old man, who had been humiliated by a young girl, had merely smiled coldly and disappeared.

Could it be that the old man’s true identity was the Explosive Thunder, whose existence was shrouded in secrecy?

‘...But how did the Duke know this?’

Jutae was chilled to the bone. This was not a prediction but a prophecy.

However, he quickly cleared his mind.

‘A soldier only follows orders.’

The servant continued speaking.

As time passed, the merchants could no longer hide their anxiety.

Each merchant had specific trading partners and deadlines, so they were in a hurry. If they missed the deadlines, they would suffer enormous losses.

Then, about an hour ago, another shocking piece of news reached them.

It was discovered that dozens of Explosive Thunder Bombs were still submerged in Poyang Lake.

As a result, many ship owners who were about to head to Poyang Lake began to show reluctance. They couldn’t risk their ships being destroyed.

Ultimately, Poyang Lake, which had always been bustling with ships, became completely empty for the first time.

With the situation like this, the grain merchants had no choice but to opt for the next best option.

The only remaining option was land transport.

This led to a surge in demand for carts.

However, obtaining carts was not easy.

Originally, they were supposed to travel by ship, so the distance to their destinations was considerable.

The carts they needed had to be very sturdy and large enough to carry a significant amount of grain.

Moreover, with the prediction of heavy rain, they needed carts with roofs, as waterproof covers would not suffice.

Naturally, such high-quality carts were in short supply, and no store had many in stock.

With everyone rushing to get them, finding carts that met these criteria became as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.

However, the grain merchants, who were frantically searching, thought of one place.

A security company that possessed no fewer than 40 of the highest-quality carts.

Three days passed quickly.

During this time, the grain merchants were fiercely competing to secure the 40 carts from Baiyun Security Company.

“Please take my money!”

“No, why can’t you take the money I brought?”

“Hey! My family is about to end up on the streets. Please show some mercy and sell to us!”

“Listen, who isn’t in a hurry? I came first, so get lost!”

“What are you saying! You scoundrel!”

Fights were breaking out in front of Baiyun Security Company’s residence.

Jutae, thinking the time had come, opened the door and faced them.

As soon as they saw his face, numerous leaders began shouting their offers.

“Was it 5 gold pieces? I’ll take all 40 carts for 8 gold pieces.”

“Tsk! Any merchant should charge double the price. We’ll give you 10 gold pieces!”

“Ha! We’ll give you 13 gold pieces.”

The price of the carts, which had been bought for 1 gold piece, had skyrocketed.

The highest offer came from the Li Flower Merchant, the family of the girl who had slapped the old man in front of Dengwang Pavilion.

They were the largest and most prosperous grain merchants from Shandong.

They offered three times the price, 15 gold pieces, and promised to give Jutae a generous kickback.

However, Jutae was not swayed by such trivial tactics. He firmly implemented Yushinyun’s third command.

-Third, no matter how much money is offered, do not be swayed.

Do not make contracts with other merchants; sell all the carts to Tianhua Merchant from Shaanxi Province at the original price of 5 gold pieces.

Jutae caught the shoulder of Xu Zifeng, the leader of Tianhua Merchant, who was trying to leave amidst the competition.

Xu Zifeng, who had already given up and looked like he had lost all hope, said:

“Me? We can only offer 5 gold pieces.”

When Jutae told him he would sell all the carts at that price, Xu Zifeng’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.

“Thank you, thank you! Sob, Sir, you don’t know how important this trade is to me. I will never forget this kindness! Please, if the Duke ever comes to Shaanxi, tell him to visit me. Please, tell him!”

Yushinyun chose Tianhua Merchant to create a sense of indebtedness in Xu Zifeng, who was hiding a significant secret.

In the future, Tianhua Merchant would be useful.

The other merchants, who had not expected this turn of events, disappeared, spewing curses.

However, Jutae sold all 40 carts for 5 gold pieces each, earning a total of 200 gold pieces, a sum equivalent to 20,000 silver pieces.

But Yushinyun’s command in the letter did not end there.

Jutae began to buy up all the tea in Nanchang with the 200 gold pieces.

The wealthy people of Nanchang marveled at this crazy move, but a few days later, Yushinyun’s foresight proved correct again.

This time, Jutai’s ability came into play.

“The interpreter is completely wrong. If you follow his advice, you will suffer a huge loss.”

He discovered a Persian merchant, who was being cheated by a fraudulent interpreter at a shop where he was trying to buy tea.

Jutai, who could speak Persian, helped the merchant.

The Persian merchant introduced himself as Mahaji and said he was on his first trading journey from Persia to the Yan Kingdom.

He was extremely grateful, saying he had almost suffered a significant loss.

“Ha ha! Well, since we’ve met like this, it’s a matter of fate...”

At that moment, Jutai used his unique charm to carry out Yushinyun’s fourth command.

And back to the present.

Baiyun Security Company, Qingyun Hall.

Lao Da Xiong and Lao Jianhu still couldn’t believe what was happening.

“...400 gold pieces. 40,000 silver pieces.”

The bill of sale in front of them clearly stated 400 gold pieces.

The 200 gold pieces earned from selling the carts had doubled.

This was the result of the substantial commission from selling the exotic goods Mahaji had brought from Persia in Nanchang and the payment for the tea sold back to Mahaji.

“Ha! I thought this was a dream or a hallucination. It’s real!”

“It’s more than the 30,000 silver pieces needed to support the official escort. Truly remarkable, Duke!”

Lao Da Xiong and Lao Jianhu, finally regaining their composure, couldn’t help but marvel.

But the happiest person seemed to be Qu Zhanggui, who had been under immense stress. His mouth was stretched from ear to ear.

Yushinyun quietly approached Qu Zhanggui and patted his shoulder.

“You’ve been through a lot. Now that everything in the security company is back to normal, don’t worry and lead the company well.”

“Sob! I am just grateful!”

Qu Zhanggui, moved by Yushinyun’s words, replied with a voice tinged with emotion.

Everyone’s eyes, filled with boundless admiration, turned to Yushinyun.

Yushinyun then spoke in a loud voice.

“With this, our security company has expanded beyond Zhejiang to the entire nation, and beyond the nation to foreign lands. Now, find ways to more actively utilize Mahaji’s trading company as a bridgehead!”

“Yes!”

At Yushinyun’s words, a burning passion began to ignite in the hearts of everyone in Qingyun Hall.

If Baiyun Security Company were to become a massive force in the future, this day would be recorded as the beginning.

‘This is incomparable to the small escort missions we’ve done so far. If these large-scale missions succeed every year, our security company will gain unimaginable financial power.’

‘...If we can secure even one of the three official escort contracts, it might not be impossible to aim for the largest security company in Jiangnan, beyond just the best in Zhejiang.’

Yushinyun looked at his satisfied subordinates with a satisfied gaze. Then, he stood up and spoke.

“Let’s wrap up the meeting here. I have some overdue work to do.”

Yushinyun walked steadily towards the door.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and lightly tapped his forehead.

“Oh, I almost forgot. And due to our agreement with the Tianmu Cai Zhu, our security company can now freely use the mountain paths of Tianmu Mountain. Keep this in mind when planning future escort routes. That’s all.”

His final words left a cold silence in Qingyun Hall.

“...Yes?”

The subordinates, looking at the now empty doorway, wore blank expressions once again.

A short while later.

Darkness had fallen outside.

Yushinyun, after creating a clone in his bedroom, set out alone for the first time in a long while.

“Finally arrived.”

He reached a place he hadn’t visited in a very long time, surrounded by thick fog.

‘Well, let’s start, shall we?’

Looking at the blood-red land of Xuewu Valley, his eyes gleamed with greed.

Martial World: Reincarnation of a Legendary Ranker