Mercenary Harem in Murim Novel

In another place, Astrid had just arrived at Peng Manor, riding a carriage. Jack accompanied her as she entered the manor.

When she arrived, a servant led them to a meeting room, and she was greeted by a familiar face, Peng Sheng, the head of the Peng Clan and her father. He looked older than when they last met. His hair had turned greyer and he seemed to have lost weight, but he was still healthy, except for his legs that weren't functioning.

A beautiful woman sat next to him. She was Tang Yuxuan, Peng Sheng's wife and Peng Li-Yue's mother.

They looked at Astrid who sat next to them with a frown.

Peng Sheng looked like he was trying hard not to scowl, but he managed to maintain his composure despite his obvious displeasure.

"What's the meaning of this?" He demanded angrily.

Astrid didn't flinch or back away, even though she was scared. Instead, she replied with a cold voice.

"You asked us to meet you in order to talk about a job that Peng Clan wanted to hire from the Mercenary Union." She spoke with a flat tone and an indifferent face. Her gaze fixed on them without wavering. "We're here for that reason alone. Please, state your business."

She was scared of Peng Sheng. But she had to stay firm and resolute in front of him, even though she felt her heart racing and sweat running down her neck. Still, she held her head high, staring at him with an expressionless look.

The man looked taken aback by her response. He glanced at Tang Yuxuan and then back again at her before answering.

"And why should I?" he retorted.

"Because I am responsible for the Mercenary Union branch in this city.. I am the Branch Manager of Mercenary Union, Astrid. It's an honor to meet you, Lord Peng Sheng. I hope you don't confuse me with someone else." She replied politely and gave him a bow. She knew her status was far below Peng Sheng's and she had to treat him with respect.

But not too much, or she would be a doormat.

As someone who also held authority, albeit not in the same position as Peng Sheng, Astrid still had to keep her dignity.

"Branch manager, you said?" Peng Sheng raised an eyebrow. "You? Who was nothing but a useless woman? You, who left your family in shame? You, a disgrace to our name, hold a power and position as high as the branch manager of such an influential organization?"

She bit her lip, but she remained silent and kept her gaze locked on Peng Sheng's eyes, not flinching nor averting her gaze. It was hard, but she had to maintain her composure and remain calm in order to deal with this man properly. Her father had never approved of her choices, so it didn't surprise her if he acted like that.

"Lord Peng Sheng, if you don't have anything else to discuss, we'll take our leave," Astrid said.

"No, stay."

A woman next to him interjected, stopping Astrid from standing.

"We will continue the talk about the collaboration between the Peng Clan and the Mercenary Union... Branch Manager Astrid." She said politely.

Tang Yuxuan, Astrid's mother, smiled at her and nodded. "Thank you for coming to meet us today. I hope we can work out something good together."

There was no coldness that Astrid could feel from her. It seemed like she was neutral and open to any suggestion that Astrid had.

"Alright. What kind of collaboration do you want with the Mercenary Union, Lady Peng?" She sat again and began talking about their deal, not wasting any more time on pointless things.

"We wish to hire your organization to protect our clan. There have been some... incidents lately, and we believe we need more security measures."

Tang Yuxuan explained, and then looked at her husband who refused to meet her eyes. He just sat there, glaring daggers at Astrid.

"I understand." She replied calmly. "Do you know who your enemy is? What kind of threats do you face?"

"We have no clue, and it was always at night."

"Night, huh?"

She then pondered a bit, and Jack chimed in, giving advice.

"If it's a nighttime assault, it's better to send people to perform a night watch."

An unknown attack always happened at night, huh?

Such a common thing happened a lot. Most of the time, the culprit was the spy or insider. If not, then it's someone from outside that didn't want to reveal himself.

"Yeah. That's why we will need your people." Peng Sheng finally opened his mouth, agreeing with the suggestion, "How much do we have to pay?"

An arrogant statement like usual, but that was normal. Astrid had expected this already. The Peng Clan had been in decline, but they still had enough wealth and money.

"We can send a mercenary group composed of 10 people to guard your manor. Their job will be to keep an eye on your manor, day and night. It will be a permanent job so we will rotate them regularly." Astrid stated.

"As for payment, the normal rate will be applied, 50 Gold every month per team. But we can discuss the payment in private after we've established the details." She then turned to Jack who was writing something on paper.

Jack handed her the paper and Astrid checked its contents before handing it over to Tang Yuxuan, "That will be our first proposal."

Upon seeing the paper, both Peng Sheng and Tang Yuxuan's eyes widened.

One, they had never seen such a high quality paper. Two, they never expected Astrid to prepare something like that beforehand.

Doing something like this meant they already knew what Peng Clan wanted to discuss. And the content in the paper showed the agreement and terms that both sides could reach.

In summary, they were prepared for the negotiation. It wasn't something made on the spot.

How scary their information network must've been to know the problem before meeting them.

"Please look through our offer. I think it should be reasonable enough." Astrid added, "But if there are any changes you'd like to make, please tell us and we can discuss the terms again."

She gave them some time to look at the paper and consider the offer, while she waited for them to finish reading. She noticed that Peng Sheng's face changed as he looked at the paper.

After a moment of silence, Peng Sheng finally spoke up, "We will agree to this, but you have to make sure your mercenaries are trustworthy. And that includes their behavior. I don't want anyone from my house getting assaulted by your men!"

"Understandable." She nodded, and continued, "The Mercenary Union has a set of rules to ensure our clients are protected against any form of harassment or assault. If someone from our side breaks those rules, they will face severe consequences."

Astrid paused before continuing her explanation. She wanted to make sure that both of them understood everything clearly before making their decision.

"We can sign a contract with your clan, ensuring the safety and security of everyone involved in this deal. If you have a guard arrangement on your own part, our mercenaries can adjust themselves to help you."

Astrid then turned her head toward Jack, "Do we have a contract that we can show to our clients?"

"Here." Jack nodded and pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it to her.

She looked at it briefly and nodded her head in satisfaction, before showing the paper to Peng Sheng.

"Is it satisfactory, Lord Peng?"

Peng Sheng stared at the contract, and he couldn't help but frown. The content was pretty detailed and easy to understand, and it covered everything that should be discussed. There was nothing wrong with this.

And because there was nothing wrong with it, he gazed at Astrid. Her appearance was slightly different fro the one in his memory, with her hair cut short and wearing clothes that showed her body lines. However, there was no doubt that she was his daughter.

Gritting his teeth, he bore the frustration of not realizing how competent she had become in this short of a time. If she stayed, the Peng Clan would prosper even further with the support of the Mercenary Union behind them.

She had always been a troublemaker in his eyes, always doing whatever she wanted, not following the rules of the family and not caring about her reputation.

To be frank, she had always been a failure for him. Even if he didn't do anything to her, her fate would never change. That was his belief.

But now...

He had no idea that she would rise up to become a successful woman.

And she was already declared dead in public, so there was no way she could go back to being Peng Clan's princess anymore. The fact that he had to deal with her as a representative of Peng Clan also made him feel bitter.

"You..." Peng Sheng didn't speak again. His face was red from anger, and his hands clenched into fists. His eyes stared daggers at her. He wanted nothing more than to yell at her right now.

Seeing her husband acting like this, Tang Yuxuan chimed in. She knew what her husband thought about Astrid. The poor girl was treated harshly by him, but it didn't mean she hated her own daughter.

"Peng Sheng." She warned her husband. "Priority."

"I know. Let's sign the contract." He muttered and nodded to Astrid, who was still sitting there waiting patiently. "You've got a deal."