Chapter 70 - That’s How We Did It Back Then
9 min read ·
“... Did you just call me book-smart and street-stupid?”
“What else would you call someone who’s good at doing the work but doesn’t know how to get work done? Book-smart and street-stupid, that’s what.”
“...”
“What? You don’t agree?”
Wei Ling shot him a cold glare that made her displeasure plain, and Limon let out a dry chuckle.
“Tell me, genius. Do you know why the princess went out of her way to set up a company like Guardian for me?”
“Because you have neither the desire nor the confidence to run a business, Sword Lord.”
Wei Ling made no effort to hide the jab at his incompetence. Limon shook his head slightly.
“No. She wants me to play the chief eunuch, even if I can’t do the Eastern Depot’s work.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“I’m saying there’s never been a chief eunuch of the Eastern Depot stupid enough to go begging the emperor for money because his budget was short.”
Limon clicked his tongue at Wei Ling’s frown. Her expression told him she neither understood what he meant nor wanted to.
‘Tch. And here I was planning to focus on training for a while.’
He could leave things as they were. Wei Ling was capable, after all; Guardian wouldn’t go under. And since Li Qingyu hadn’t mentioned it outright, she had probably hoped he would step in without intending to ask him to.
‘Guess I have no choice.’
Limon rose to his feet and said bluntly,
“Hey. Show me the way.”
“Where to?”
“Where do you think?”
At Wei Ling’s dubious look, Limon gave her a cold smile.
“To a place that’ll give us money, work, and results.”
Two hours later, five Black Dragon Clan subsidiaries had been torn apart.
* * *
Wei Ling was accustomed to patience. The Voidless Advancing Sword Style she practiced was itself a supreme art grounded in concealment and endurance. And as the secret bodyguard of the calculating, inscrutable Li Qingyu, she had naturally grown used to carrying out her duties in silence without asking questions.
“... What exactly are you thinking?”
But now, despite all those years of training, Wei Ling could not keep herself from asking.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m asking why you’re going around wrecking the clan’s subsidiaries.”
“Isn’t auditing one of our company’s jobs? I’ve just been going around doing some audits. Why do I need another reason?”
Limon answered without batting an eye. In one sense, he had a point. Guardian was responsible for security, protection, and auditing across all the Black Dragon Clan’s subsidiaries.
But Wei Ling had good reason to look at him as though he were the world’s biggest thug and demand an explanation.
“How is storming in through the front door, beating up every guard in sight, and turning the offices upside down an audit?”
Since setting out to build a track record, Limon had done much the same thing at every Black Dragon Clan subsidiary he visited in the name of auditing.
First, he stormed in through the front door.
[“I’m here to see the boss.”]
[“An appointment? Didn’t make one.”]
[“I can’t see him without an appointment? Don’t you people know who I am? Tell the boss to come out here!”]
He raised a ruckus, demanding to see the head of the company on the spot.
[“Oh, you’re stopping me? Going to throw me out?”]
[“Go on, then! I’d like to see you try!”]
And once the security team, guards, or employees converged to stop him, that was that. He knocked them all down, barged into the office, and overturned desks and cabinets until papers and office supplies spilled everywhere.
[“Tch. Young people these days. Back when I was young, a merchant-house master stayed at his business all day. Where do these so-called bosses go gallivanting off to?”]
[“I’ll be back. Tell him to stay put and wait for me next time. Got it?”]
Then he sauntered out without even taking the documents he had scattered. The employees’ stunned expressions as they watched a day’s work trampled under Limon’s feet were like those of people who had lost their country. Even Wei Ling, who had only watched, could hardly bear to meet their eyes.
“Hmm. I suppose it wasn’t much like an audit.”
“You think?”
Apparently he had some awareness of it. Scratching his cheek, Limon shrugged at Wei Ling’s icy retort.
“Still, barging in and cutting a few people down, firing them, or throwing them in prison would be a bit much. Times have changed.”
“... What exactly do you think an audit is?”
“You barge in wherever you like, make a fuss so nobody can work, and beat down anyone who resists.”
“You cannot be serious.”
“Why not? That’s how we did it back then.”
“...”
Limon tilted his head, as though he couldn’t see the problem. Wei Ling was speechless. If he had been playing innocent, she could at least have scoffed at his shamelessness. But his face looked utterly sincere.
[“Team Leader, people don’t usually call that an audit. They call it raising hell.”]
“Is there a difference?”
[“A big one...”]
“Hmm. That’s a surprise. I thought ‘raising hell’ was just what people call an audit these days.”
[“How did people conduct audits back then for you to take that for granted?”]
Perched atop Limon’s head, the bluebird Yu Na-gyeong had asked the question in Wei Ling’s place. Now she shook her head at his brazen answer.
At the same time, she and Wei Ling each had a thought.
‘Your Highness, why did you choose an out-of-date killer like him for a husband?’
‘I’m starting to think the princess made a terrible choice of husband...’
Whether or not he knew what they were thinking, Limon got out of the car and sauntered toward the towering building ahead.
“Hmm. This subsidiary’s pretty big. Must be doing well.”
[“Team Leader, don’t you know where we are?”]
“It’s a Black Dragon Clan subsidiary. You can tell from the name.”
[“No, I mean, don’t you know what Black Dragon Construction is?”]
“Should I?”
[“Most people would. By both revenue and technical expertise, it’s one of the world’s top ten international construction companies.”]
Yu Na-gyeong was dumbfounded.
The Seven Dragon Group had swallowed up wealth across the globe. Among its subsidiaries were several companies that, while not as large as its seven holding companies, rivaled major corporations in their own right. Black Dragon Construction was one of them, a corporate giant that had grown by building Leviathan Hotels around the world.
Limon was unimpressed.
“Still not number one, is it?”
[“... It’s in the top ten among construction companies.”]
“Live as long as I have. Once you pass a hundred or so, even remembering who’s number one in the world becomes a bother.”
Why should he care about some unremarkable company that hadn’t even managed to come out on top? Limon said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“You should be careful.”
Perhaps it was his arrogant attitude. Wei Ling fixed him with a cold stare and continued in an equally cold voice.
“This may not be number one in the world, but unlike the other subsidiaries, it won’t be so easy to cause a scene here.”
“Oh, really?”
Far from tensing at what amounted to a threat, Limon grinned as though he were looking forward to it. The moment the automatic doors opened, he stepped into Black Dragon Construction’s building and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
WHIRR!
“Tell the boss to come out!”
“At your service, sir!”
“... Huh?”
[“Huh?”]
Yu Na-gyeong stared blankly from her perch on Limon’s head. It wasn’t just that the lobby was almost deserted, hardly what she expected of a branch office belonging to a giant company like Black Dragon Construction. The instant Limon shouted, someone had appeared as if he had been waiting for him and bowed a full ninety degrees.
“Who are you?”
“Heh-heh. I’m Wang Gi-neung. I’ve long held you in the highest regard, Sword Lord. It’s an honor to meet you at last, sir.”
“No, I’m asking what you do.”
“Why, I’m the very person you’re looking for, Sword Lord.”
“... You’re the boss here?”
“Allow me to introduce myself properly, sir. I’m Wang Gi-neung, head of Black Dragon Construction’s East Asia division. I look forward to working with you.”
Limon gave the middle-aged man an odd look as Wang Gi-neung bowed again and offered his business card. Then he glanced back at Wei Ling. When she nodded, his expression grew odder still.
‘It’s good that someone more important than I expected has turned up, but...’
Limon knew little about Black Dragon Construction, but he could tell its East Asia division head held considerable power. The man oversaw the entire Chinese Federation of Seventy-Seven States; he had to be one of the company’s key figures.
“Are you really the East Asia division head?”
“Indeed I am, sir.”
“Then why all this groveling? Keep bending over like that and you’ll break your back.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t call it groveling! You’re soon to marry Her Highness, Sword Lord. Showing a man like you proper respect is only natural.”
“Is that so...?”
The mustache curling upward on both sides. The ingratiating smile spread across his face. Even the way he rubbed his hands together like a fly.
Wang Gi-neung looked less like a businessman than a scheming courtier or a sycophant. Limon’s unease lasted only a moment.
‘Well, you can’t judge someone by appearances.’
With the experience of a long life behind him, Limon set aside his first impression and spoke with his usual swagger.
“Why did you come out, though? I asked for the boss here.”
“Oh, surely a man like you needn’t trouble yourself with someone so lowly. Tell me what you need, and I’ll take care of it personally.”
At that, Limon’s lips curved into a peculiar smile.
“You make it sound as though you knew I was coming.”
“How could I have? I merely heard a few rumors that some foolish, lazy people had failed to give you a proper welcome.”
“You heard rumors about something that happened only a few hours ago? You must have excellent ears.”
“Well, I am a member of the Black Dragon Clan, after all. My ears are a little sharper than most.”
Wang Gi-neung said it as though it went without saying. But Limon’s smile only deepened. The other companies he had visited hadn’t managed that supposedly obvious feat, which made it clear Wang Gi-neung was more than a mere flatterer.
‘I thought I’d have to visit ten places or so. Looks like I got lucky.’
“Ah, this is hardly a comfortable place to talk. Shall we step inside? Some fine tea has just arrived.”
“Fine tea, huh... Sounds good.”
Limon saw no reason to refuse. But when Wang Gi-neung led him into a room a short while later, he was taken aback.
An old mural filled an entire wall. There was a crystal chandelier and furniture of every sort. Yet it wasn’t merely the lavish office, decorated as richly as Li Qingyu’s penthouse at the Leviathan Hotel, that surprised him. On the table, pork belly sizzled fragrantly over a brazier beside a bottle of makgeolli, as though its host had known he was coming.
“... When you said ‘fine tea,’ you meant rice wine?”