Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 152:

Black Market

After obtaining the necessary information from the heads of the North Wind Escort Agency and Geumwang Village, Mu-jin gathered the bandits of Black Bear Village.

“Now, everyone take your share.”

“What do you mean by ‘take your share’?”

The bandits wore puzzled expressions at Mu-jin’s sudden remark.

“Many people have died, and we’ve caused quite a commotion. It looks like pursuit will come soon, so I’m telling you to divide the spoils we’ve collected until now.”

“Ah…”

A brief exclamation escaped their lips, and a deep glint of greed appeared in the eyes of the bandits.

Mu-jin was fully aware of this but paid no attention to it.

While the bandits were busy squabbling over the goods they had looted from North Wind Escort Agency and the treasures they had previously gathered…

“Are you really going to just let them go like that?”

Mu-gyeong asked Mu-jin with a puzzled look.

Not only were they letting the bandits go, but they were also giving them a heap of gifts.

“Ah, perhaps you want them to settle down and turn over a new leaf, and that’s why you’re giving them a substantial amount of money?”

When Mu-gyeong shared his guess, Mu-gung, Cheongsu Dojang, and Mu-yul looked impressed.

“You are indeed a Buddhist.”

“Haha, as expected of Comrade Choi Kang-hyuk.”

“Wow! So smart!”

At their reactions, Mu-jin wore a look that seemed to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Turn over a new leaf? Those guys?”

There was no way the Beggar Sect would stop begging, and such a thing was simply not going to happen.

“…Then why are you giving them gifts?”

“They’re not gifts. They’re bait.”

“Bait?”

“We raided the Shinchun Escort Agency, and there’s no way they’ll stay quiet.”

“Ah! So you want them to chase these people instead of us?”

“Exactly. Most of the things there are not money but items, so to convert them into money, they’ll have to sell them at the black market or somewhere. In that process, they’ll leave traces everywhere, giving our pursuers plenty to follow.”

Killing all the bandits here and leaving was also an option, but doing so would increase the chance of being tracked.

Even if they tried to erase their traces as they moved, if all traces pointed in one direction, they would inevitably be caught someday.

But if countless traces were scattered in all directions?

Even Shinchun would take a considerable amount of time to find them.

‘Since we raided the Dragon Scale Thread, we need some insurance.’

Especially since they had stolen the belongings of the Wolf King, there was a risk that he would pursue them.

Realistically, to Mu-jin and his group, a master of the Wolf King’s level was no different from the Grim Reaper.

‘So, take as much as you can.’

Mu-jin smiled grimly at the bandits who were fighting to take as much treasure as possible.

They wouldn’t know. The treasure they were so fiercely gathering would become a talisman summoning the Grim Reaper.

* * *

After dealing with both the bandits of Geumwang Village and the fake escorts from the agency with the bandits of Black Bear Village, the bandits cheerfully bid farewell to Mu-jin’s group, each carrying a substantial amount of travel money, and scattered in all directions.

Confirming their departure, Mu-jin’s group lightly packed and left the mountains.

After two days of travel using lightness techniques along the mountain paths, they reached their destination, Gyerim.

A place renowned for its natural beauty in Guangxi Province.

Mu-jin, having identified the exact location where the black market would be held through Geumwang Village, secured a lodging nearby.

“Let’s take a day off and enjoy the scenery of Gyerim.”

Since they had about a day’s grace period until the black market opened, Mu-jin’s group unpacked at the inn and went sightseeing.

Among the most famous places in Gyerim was the Li River.

‘Wow. I never thought I’d see this place in person, having only seen it on YouTube and TV.’

Along the broad and long Li River, lush green foliage and towering rock formations created a unique landscape.

And along the river, unique wooden boats that could only accommodate one or two people floated.

These boats weren’t the typical sailing vessels but were simply made by tying together five or six long wooden logs about the thickness of a person’s arm.

Each boat had a fisherman enjoying fishing with one or two birds.

“Let’s make one and ride it too!”

Seeing something fun, Mu-yul and Ling-ling excitedly ran towards the visible foliage.

Following Mu-yul, Mu-jin’s group cut down some trees and made disposable wooden rafts.

In the modern era, even with various tools, it would have taken a day to complete, but thanks to their martial arts skills, breaking the wood was not difficult.

As Mu-jin’s group approached the river with their rafts, an old man spoke to them.

“Hohoho. Are you planning to fish with those rafts?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hmm. Why not hire the locals instead?”

“Is there a problem?”

The old man, after taking a fish from a basket made of tree branches and feeding it to the bird on his shoulder, spoke.

“Without these birds, it’s difficult to fish here. These birds locate the fish and guide us through the water.”

“Are you referring to that bird?”

“Yes. It’s called a cormorant.”

“Ah, so you suggested hiring the locals because of that.”

“Hohoho. These birds are quite tricky. They only obey their owners, who have trained them since they were chicks by feeding them regularly.”

“Is that so?”

At the old man’s words, Mu-jin tilted his head. It was understandable because…

“Oh, really!? There are fish over there!? Thank you!”

Mu-yul was already friends with one of those supposedly difficult-to-train cormorants, who wasn’t already domesticated but wandered freely.

Following Mu-jin’s gaze, the old man’s jaw dropped in astonishment.

“This, what is this?”

The old man’s mouth was agape with saliva dripping out, his sixty years of accumulated common sense shattered.

‘…Is he going to collapse?’

It didn’t seem good for the old man’s heart.

‘I can’t help but feel like that guy chose the wrong profession.’

Mu-jin thought Mu-yul should have become a druid instead of a monk.

Regardless of the others’ astonishment, Mu-yul, who had just befriended a cormorant for the first time today, observed the movements of the cormorants gliding on the river.

“Hut-cha!”

Imitating the movements of the cormorants, Mu-yul jumped into the water and immediately caught a fish with his hand, leaping back up.

He had mimicked the movements of the cormorant using the techniques of the Crane Fist.

‘As expected.’

Mu-jin thought if Mu-yul were sent to the savannas or the Amazon for ten years, he would probably create not just five, but a hundred Shaolin techniques.

‘Ah, he would only create the movements, not the internal techniques.’

Most likely, he would end up like Tarzan.

* * *

After enjoying the Li River with the human cormorant, Mu-jin’s group returned to their inn and savored the famous dishes of Gyerim.

The next day, they spent the daytime sightseeing around Gyerim and returned to the inn in the evening for dinner.

“Shall we go?”

As night fell, they donned the bandit costumes they had brought along and secretly left the inn.

The black market of Gyerim did not open in the middle of the village. It opened at intervals at night in the outskirts, near the village where Mu-jin’s group was staying.

“Ho.”

When they arrived at the location they had learned from the sub-chief of Geumwang Village, they found the area, which had been deserted during the day, now bustling with people who had appeared from who knows where.

Some people wore masks or veils to conceal their identities, while others walked around openly despite being in such a place.

Temporary tents and stalls made of wood and cloth were set up everywhere, and the lit lanterns made the place look like a night market.

“There were no such places during the day.”

“Did those people come and set all this up?”

When Mu-jin’s group looked at the vendors selling goods and asked, Mu-jin shook his head.

“No, there’s a separate organization that manages this, called Amcheonhoe.”

“Amcheonhoe!?”

“The Amcheonhoe of the Seven Demons?”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Oops!”

Although it was a well-known secret, there was no need to attract attention, so Mu-jin cautioned them.

Black markets and underground markets were held all over the Central Plains, but the black markets managed by Amcheonhoe were mostly in the territory of the unorthodox factions.

However, these guys, who lived in the mountains and were clueless about the world, had forgotten that this place was managed by Amcheonhoe and were now deeply immersed in the night market scene.

“Let’s try that too.”

“Oh, I’ve never seen that food before.”

Having completely lost their aversion to eating meat, they looked at the food on the stalls with bright eyes.

“It seems like they sell everything here.”

They were fascinated by the various weapons, clothes, and treasures displayed at the stalls.

Even though they were dressed conspicuously like bandits, they didn’t care about the snickers from the stall owners and others on the street.

“Where do they get all these goods?”

At their naive question, Mu-jin answered with a sly smile.

“Where else? They are all stolen goods. Things obtained by theft or murder. Illegal goods that can only be sold in an underground market.”

“……”

Only then did they start to realize that this was not a night market, but an underground market.

For the group’s benefit, Mu-jin explained a few more things.

“That herb they’re selling there is probably either poison or a drug.”

“And that black powder being sold secretly over there. It’s probably gunpowder that only the royal family is allowed to use. If caught with it, you’ll be charged with treason.”

As Mu-jin provided explanations, the group’s excited expressions turned tense.

However, Mu-jin’s purpose was not just to show them the horrors of the underground market.

His main goal was to disrupt the plans and growth of the shadowy forces of Shinchun.

And this Gyerim black market was also connected to Shinchun.

To be precise, the head of this Gyerim black market was a subordinate of Shinchun.

Though Hyeok Jin-gang of the Demonic Alliance was associated with Shinchun, not all unorthodox factions were the same.

After all, the Demonic Alliance was just a ‘temporary’ alliance formed to oppose the orthodox factions.

Meanwhile, Hyeok Jin-gang sought to control all unorthodox factions, and the person who ensured Amcheonhoe’s absolute support for Hyeok Jin-gang was the head of Amcheonhoe’s Gyerim branch.

This head of Amcheonhoe’s Gyerim branch had, in just a few years, managed to make the Gyerim black market the second largest among the hundreds managed by Amcheonhoe, earning him the position of vice president.

Using this influence, he had supported Amcheonhoe’s absolute backing of Hyeok Jin-gang.

Mu-jin’s group moved deep into the black market to find out the secret behind how this head had expanded the market so significantly.

Soon, the most horrendous scene unfolded before their eyes.

“Ah! Please, spare me.”

“Heh heh heh. Crazy bitch, do you think I would kill you? Do you know how much money I can make by selling you?”

A middle-aged man dragging a woman shackled at her limbs.

“Mommy!”

“Hic.”

Children crying out for their parents, not understanding anything.

“……”

Someone who had lost all will to live, their eyes devoid of hope.

“A piece of gold. Any more is impossible.”

And people buying and selling these individuals.

A slave market.

A hellish scene of humans buying and selling other humans was laid out before their eyes.

The Gyerim black market.

This place was an evil den that would grow to boast the largest slave market in the Central Plains within a few years.