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Taejonbirok Volume 18, Episode 6
Chapter 99: The Lazy Man, Intimidated (1)
“Is it serious?”
Zhuge Liang glared at Wei Yanhu with sharp eyes.
“What do you mean, it’s so bad?”
"Hey, you treated me like a princess, and now you're complaining about favors? Anyone who sees you would think you raised me like a princess without giving me any work to do."
Zhuge Liang's face turned red.
"If you take in those starving on the street and feed them, you should naturally be grateful. Are you saying you don't understand such a simple truth?"
"under!"
Wi Yeon-ho looked at Zhuge Liang as if he was dumbfounded.
“So how much salary did you give me?”
“…….”
“Did you feed him properly? He seemed to be going crazy after seeing the food earlier.”
“…….”
"Since you fed me like that, I'm sure you gave me a good job, right? Not something like sneaking into people's houses like a bat and stealing information?"
Zhuge Liang's lips trembled.
"Oh, you evil employer. Go somewhere and tell them to do something like that and they'll pay you. Is there even one person who would say they'd do it? And what? Grace? Ugh, grace?"
Wi Yeon-ho gave a strong punch to Zhuge Liang.
“This is grace, this is!”
“Hey, this guy!”
Wi Yeon-ho clicked his tongue and said.
"I thought they'd be a bit more disciplined since they're from a prestigious family, but they're acting like thieves. Look, that's human trafficking."
At that moment, Zhuge Liang was startled.
Why does human trafficking come up here?
“This is human trafficking!”
"It's human trafficking! Taking homeless children, holding them hostage, forcing them to work, and exploiting them. If that's not human trafficking, then what else is?"
“What’s so clever about this?”
Zhuge Liang felt like he was going crazy and jumping for joy.
I'd like to refute, but what he said is true. He was right. Actually, after hearing it, even Zhuge Liang felt this was akin to human trafficking.
“We are the Zhuge family. It is an honor to come and work for the Zhuge family.”
"is it so?"
Wi Yeon-ho looked at Woo-il. Woo-il hesitated and couldn't answer, but So-ryeo-gun shook his head firmly.
“No, that’s not true! You human trafficker!”
“No!”
Zhuge Liang looked back in confusion.
People were gathering.
When I kicked the door open and came in, I made such a loud noise that people who came over to see what was going on had their faces hardened when they heard I was a human trafficker.
'no.'
At this rate, the Zhuge family would soon be known as a human trafficking ring. Even the world-renowned Zhuge Liang was left with a sense of loss, as if he had never experienced anything like it before.
“Yeah, yeah!”
Zhuge Liang, who had found a way out, smiled with satisfaction.
“Of course, there’s room for that. If you look at it superficially, that is.”
“You speak as if you are looking at things very deeply.”
Zhuge Liang ignored Wei Yanhu's words. He realized that the more he mixed up his words, the more he would become entangled.
"But the internal situation is completely different. We didn't traffic them; we enslaved them."
"bell?"
Wi Yeon-ho tilted his head.
"Yes. It's paper. It's a contract. We feed them, provide them with shelter, and give them a place to live. In return, they do what we tell them to do."
Wi Yeon-ho asked with a blank expression.
“And you’re not even giving me a salary?”
“Which family gives a salary to their servants?”
“You’re not giving it to me?”
"That's right. There's no need to pay a servant. Just feed him and give him a place to sleep."
When Zhuge Liang spoke confidently, Wei Yanhu sighed.
"hey."
"huh?"
“That’s human trafficking.”
“…….”
Zhuge Liang's face hardened.
“Have you never thought that it would be against the law to bring in someone you don’t know and make them work as a servant?”
Zhuge Liang turned his head, dumbfounded. The Tang dynasty members gathered at the door slyly avoided Zhuge Liang's gaze.
'No, you all do it too.'
Am I the only one who is trash?
Are we the only trash?
Zhuge Liang's face suddenly distorted.
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"Okay, fine. Let's say it's human trafficking. So what are you going to do about it?"
When you are pushed back in logic, you have to cut yourself in the stomach.
If you give up being called a good guy, the world will become a better place. Zhuge Liang was a man who valued face, but he was also someone who would throw face into the trash if it meant fulfilling his needs.
“You admit it?”
"Okay, I admit it. I admitted it. So what?"
Zhuge Liang held up his fan and smiled faintly.
"Do you think you can persecute our Zhuge family for that? No one will sympathize with you. They may look a little different, but they're all doing similar things. Your political alliance…"
“That’s not it.”
Wei Yanhu waved his hand and cut off Zhuge Liang's words.
"You're talking nonsense. I don't need to know that. Didn't you investigate? If you came here to deal with me, you would have investigated who I am."
“What are you talking about?”
“Think about it carefully. How many identities do I have?”
My character for heaven was drawn on the forehead of Zhuge Liang.
'What are you talking about, you punk?'
As for the status I have, it's not really like that…
The fingertips of Jegalmunin, who was searching for information about Wei Yanhu in his head, trembled.
The eldest son of the Guangdong Wei family.
Temporary training instructor for the Political Alliance.
The owner of the unspecified top.
and…….
“Uh, sir…….”
“You know?”
Sweat began to flow from Zhuge Liang's forehead.
“And you probably don’t know this, but my rank is probably higher than you think. I was promoted.”
“That, that can’t be. Isn’t your position an honorary one?”
“Who said that?”
Zhuge Liang could not answer.
"I commend your intelligence for figuring out that my position was honorary. Come to think of it, Zhuge Liang's people probably had a lot of influence in the palace, so it wouldn't have been particularly difficult. But you didn't know this. It wasn't honorary. I was promoted."
As Wi Yeon-ho laughed heartily, Jegal Mun-in shouted urgently.
“You cowardly bring in the law! Let’s fight according to the laws of the martial arts world!”
"what?"
Wi Yeon-ho laughed as if he couldn't believe it.
“I told you I’m the manager. Why is it cowardly for a manager to follow the law?”
“That, that is…….”
Wi Yeon-ho shook his head.
“What do you want to do?”
“What… are you talking about?”
"Do you want to compensate, or do you want to follow the law? Since this is Seongdo, if you just put a chimney in, they'll come rushing in like a pack of dogs. Do you think you can handle that?"
Zhuge Liang's body flinched.
The principle is that the government and the martial arts world should not interfere with each other. But that's just a principle. If the government were to truly intervene in discussions of law, there would be no justification for stopping them.
Moreover, if it was not a power struggle in the martial arts world, but something that clearly involved civilians, there is no room for excuses.
When I first joined the political alliance, didn't I just swing my golden sword once to block the intervention of the commander and destroy the gates of Luoyang?
If the man who wielded that much power had risen to a higher position, it would have been obvious that the Zhuge clan would have been torn apart.
No, that's fortunate.
If the Zhuge clan isn't destroyed, the problem will only get worse. The Zhuge clan pursues both literary and martial arts, and numerous Zhuge clansmen have advanced into the current imperial palace.
But then something like this happens?
The imperial palace was not an easy place to hope to maintain power while providing a sweet prey to his enemies. If this incident resulted in a mass resignation, the blame would fall on Zhuge Liang, who had provoked Wei Yanhu and brought the situation to this point.
If things go from bad to worse, he might have to step down from his position as the head of the household. No, if things really go from bad to worse, the head of the household will suffer as well.
Zhuge Liang, who had quickly finished calculating, opened his mouth with an awkward expression.
“I didn’t think of that. I apologize.”
When you need to bow your head, bow quickly. Zhuge Liang knew when to retreat.
The problem, however, is that Wei Yanhu has a hunting dog-like nature. Once he bites, he won't let go. He's not a good opponent to retreat against.
“I think it’s the wrong person to apologize to?”
"……sorry."
Zhuge Liang quickly bowed his head toward Wuyi.
But Wei Yanho had no intention of letting go. Once he bites, he bites to the end. That was the teaching of his master, Baek Muhan.
“Just in words?”
“…….”
“I’m so sorry.”
Wi Yeon-ho bowed deeply to Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang blinked at the sudden apology.
Of course, there is no way Wei Yanho would have apologized.
"I can apologize verbally, but that's not how you apologize. A true apology is one where you compensate the other person for the pain you caused. So, how much will you pay?"
“So, you’re saying I have to give you money?”
"then?"
Wi Yeon-ho asked back.
"Then how will you compensate me? Will you give me back my lost childhood?"
That's impossible.
"There's no need to nitpick about an apology. Just pay. Giving the other person enough money to satisfy them is a true apology."
“Who on earth would say something like that…….”
“Our master.”
“…….”
Zhuge Liang felt momentarily speechless.
What can I say if the teacher said so?
“No need to say more. How much will you pay?”
Zhuge Liang quickly racked his brain. It was a pity that he, who prided himself on being a highly skilled individual, had to apply his brain to such a task, but there was no other way.
If money can solve a problem, it should be solved with money. Trying to save money unnecessarily could lead to a bigger problem.
“Little brother.”
The title given to Wei Yanho has also changed.
"I have no idea how much compensation I should offer. I'm weak in this kind of thing. So, why don't you set the standard for me, So-Hyeong-Je?"
This way of setting the stage would make negotiations easier. The problem was that Wei Yanho wasn't the type of person to whom such a thing would work.
“Well, it’s simple.”
Wi Yeon-ho turned his head and looked at Woo-il.
“How many years did you work at Jegalsega?”
“It’s difficult to calculate when it comes to work.”
“At what age did you enter the Jegal family?”
“I’m ten years old.”
“How old are you now?”
“I’m eighteen.”
Wi Yeon-ho nodded.
“Eight years. Then, if you give me one nyang of gold per year, I’ll give you eight nyang of gold.”
“Eight nyang of gold?”
"yes."
Zhuge Liang smiled with satisfaction.
'This guy is still young, so he has no sense of money.'
Eight nyang of gold is certainly a large sum. But there's no reason the Zhuge family couldn't afford it. His monthly spending alone exceeds one nyang of gold.
"Good. We'd normally need to discuss it further, but as an apology, I'll add two more nyang, making it ten. Then, let's leave this matter at that."
If I could escape a disadvantageous situation with ten nyang of gold, it would be a relief. At that moment, Zhuge Liang's heart cheered as he thought this, and Wei Yanhu shrugged.
“What are you talking about? It starts here.”
"huh?"
Wi Yeon-ho spat on his hand, rubbed it with both hands, and said.
“Young lady.”
"yes?"
Wi Yeon-ho said with a meaningful smile.
“How many children are currently being held captive by the Jegal family?”