I wish they would all just die. (3)
“Ugh. That scared the hell out of me.”
“…”
“I really don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if we’d been found out. Anyway, judging by the fact that they haven’t come looking for us so far, they didn’t find out, right?”
“They say the darkest place is right under the lamp. No matter how skilled those bastards are, they wouldn’t have thought we’d come back here.”
“Haha. Exactly.”
Tang Soso, who had been watching her Sahyeongs, spoke in a slightly lowered voice.
“Sago.”
“Yes?”
“…Am I the weird one here? Weren’t we already screwed the moment they spotted us?”
“That’s right.”
“Uh… We may not have gotten caught, but the moment we ran into the Eastern Depot, they found out that we’re trying to get close to them.”
“Yes.”
“Then isn’t our plan already gone half-ruined?”
“You’re right.”
Having gone this far, Tang Soso could no longer stand it and pointed at her Sahyeongs, who were still snickering among themselves.
“Then why are those guys acting like that?”
“…”
Yu Iseol met Tang Soso’s eyes without answering. At the strange emptiness in her gaze, Tang Soso squeezed her eyes shut.
“It’s all right.”
“Hm? Why?”
“There’s still one person left. Someone who still has their wits about them.”
“Huh?”
Tang Soso turned her head at those words. Someone who still had their wits about them? Besides those screeching monkeys, who else could there be…
“Ah…”
Pity welled up in Tang Soso’s eyes.
In the darkest corner of the lodging, someone sat sprawled on the floor. Jwa Gohak, looking as though all the color had somehow drained out of him, held a bottle of liquor in one hand and muttered incessantly to himself.
“I’m finished. It’s all over. I’m an idiot, a complete moron. What have I done… I never should have listened to those crazy Taoist bastards…”
It was understandable.
The disciples of Hwasan had, in any case, been brought into this matter after accepting a commission. Strictly speaking, they were more like mercenaries. Even if things went wrong, it would not cause them any serious trouble.
But Jwa Gohak?
“From the looks of it, in terms of seniority, he seemed to be in a position roughly equivalent to our Daesahyeong. Won’t he be excommunicated from the sect if he botches this job?”
“Will it end with just that?”
“Ah…”
There was nothing to be done. They could only pray for his soul.
“But…. what are we supposed to do now?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, we have to consider the whole thing pretty much ruined at this point. It doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to investigate either Do Hyeon or the Director of the Ministry of Revenue any further.”
“Mm.”
At Tang Soso’s words, even Hwasan’s disciples, who had been joking around while deliberately turning a blind eye to reality, turned to her with slightly stiffened expressions.
“It’ll be difficult, right?”
“It wouldn’t be impossible if we gritted our teeth and tried to investigate, but… unless they’re idiots, they’ll strengthen their guards and surveillance, and that would make things even more dangerous. And if they happened to discover that we came from Hwasan.”
The image of Hyun Jong charging at them with the Plum Blossom Sword clenched between his teeth and his disheveled hair hanging loose flashed through everyone’s mind.
“….I’d rather fight the Heavenly Demon.”
“We definitely won’t be allowed to die peacefully.”
“We might be thrown into the Repentance Chamber for three years.”
“Wouldn’t that be better? Compared to getting three years of lectures from the Sect Leader.”
“I-I feel like I’m going to die just imagining it.”
The danger had grown far too great. So, if they thought about it calmly, it was only right to withdraw at this point.
“Mm.”
Having more or less understood the situation, Baek Cheon turned his head slightly and looked at Chung Myung.
“What are you going to do?”
“About what?”
“Are we going to keep going like this?”
“Hmm.”
Chung Myung shrugged and spoke in a calm voice.
“Well… I know the situation has become more dangerous, but that doesn’t mean we can just back out now.”
“Why? Because of the promise we made to Yurim? If this is about Hanbin, wouldn’t it be better to find a safer way?”
“It’s not because of that.”
“Then?”
Chung Myung smirked and tapped his temple a couple of times.
“Think about it. Something like this has happened, and then the seven guys who came to work at the merchant guild all disappear at the same time. What do you think will happen?”
“…The Eastern Depot’s pursuit squad would chase us to the ends of hell.”
“Exactly, right?”
Baek Cheon let out an awkward laugh.
Now that he thought about it, Chung Myung was right. They weren’t in a situation where they could simply pull out whenever they pleased. The Eastern Depot had lost the enemy right in front of the Grand Eunuch, so they would surely be tearing through Beijing with bloodshot eyes by now. If they made one careless move in a situation like this, those three years of Hyun Jong’s lectures really would become a reality.
“Then?”
“Well, we’ll just drag this out for a while. Things should quiet down a little after two or three days, so even if we pull out, we can do it then.”
“Hmm.”
A hint of suspicion crept into Baek Cheon’s gaze as he looked at Chung Myung.
“Tell me honestly. You’re up to something, aren’t you?”
“Huh?”
“There’s no way you’d agree to back down this easily.”
“Ha… Sasuk, just what do you take me for? Do I look like some lunatic who’d pick a fight with the Imperial Palace without a second thought and just cause trouble first and worry about it later?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah.”
“Hearing you put it that way makes me even more certain.”
“….You brats.”
As affirmative answers came from every direction, as though they had all been waiting for it, Chung Myung gritted his teeth.
“I’m telling you, that’s really not it!”
“Are you sure?”
“What would I even gain by fighting those Eastern Depot bastards?”
“…It doesn’t seem like the people you’ve beaten so far got beaten because they had anything particular to give you, though?”
“Right. If you did something like that, you’d be a bandit. But you’re Chung Myung.”
“…Is Chung Myung worse than a bandit?”
“Isn’t he?”
“…”
At a loss for words, Chung Myung let out a low groan. He had plenty to say, but it felt as though nothing he said would get through to them. Was this why they said a person’s usual conduct was so important?
‘No, that’s not it. What’s wrong with the way I usually behave?’
He might have been a little rough, but there had always been a reason for it, hadn’t there… been one?
“Ahem. Anyway, not this time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We’ll check just one thing and pull out right away.”
“One thing? What?”
Baek Cheon tilted his head. What was Chung Myung planning to confirm in the middle of all this?
“You know, those mysterious goods that were supposed to be coming in here.”
“Oh, those.”
Baek Cheon nodded, finally seeming to understand. The Grand Eunuch had barged in out of nowhere and complicated matters somewhat, but hadn’t they originally been waiting here precisely to find out what those goods were?
“Let’s just check that one thing.”
“Hmm.”
When Baek Cheon fell into thought, Jo Geol clicked his tongue and scoffed.
“Tsk, tsk. This is the problem with people who only think they’re smart.”
“What?”
“What’s the point of checking that?”
“…What do you mean, what’s the point?”
“Think about it. If those were really problematic goods, would they keep sending them to this merchant guild – the one where we showed ourselves – at a time like this?”
“Huh?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. This won’t do. You have to use your head.”
At Jo Geol’s confident words, Baek Cheon casually asked.
“Geol. But is it really possible to suddenly halt goods that were already scheduled to be transported?”
“It’s not particularly difficult. All they’d have to do is hold them back for about ten days, after all. If the goods were difficult to store, they wouldn’t have transported them this way in the first place. Just stash them somewhere no one knows about, and that’s the end of it.”
“Hmm. I suppose you’re right.”
“That’s why I’m telling you this is all pointless. We should stop wasting time and get out of here quickly…”
It was then.
Bang.
“S-Sirs! Sirs!”
“Huh?”
At the sudden commotion, the disciples of Hwasan whipped their heads around. Hong-ga, who acted as the leader among the workers, rushed in with an urgent look on his face.
“What’s going on?”
“Th-They’ve arrived.”
“Huh? What has?”
“You know those crates I mentioned before – the ones I said we didn’t know where they came from or where they were going?”
“……Ah.”
“They’ve just arrived. You’ll take a look, won’t you?”
“…”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Everyone’s heads turned in unison towards the same place.
“…Th-This can’t be.”
Looking utterly flustered, Jo Geol quickly latched onto Hong-ga.
“A-Are you sure? They could just have similar packaging. Right?”
“What? No, Sir. I may not look it, but I’ve spent years learning the ins and outs of this merchant guild. For most goods, I can tell just from their packaging what they are, where they came from, and where they’re headed.”
“…”
“But I’m telling you, a large quantity of goods I don’t recognize came in. I’m certain, judging by how the merchant guild workers evade the questions whenever I ask them.”
“…”
“But why are you acting like this?”
“Ah, no. This can’t happen…”
Thud.
At the sensation of someone gripping his shoulder, Jo Geol flinched and turned around with a tense expression.
There, he found Chung Myung smiling brightly at him.
“I’d like you to continue what you were saying earlier….”
“…”
⠀
“What are you doing? I told you to move them carefully!”
Yeom Malsaeng fussed loudly as he urged the workers on.
“Didn’t I tell you not to handle them like ordinary goods? You must not drop them. Carefully stack them neatly inside.”
“Yes, Sir!”
The disciples of Hwasan watched the scene with blank expressions.
“Those are the ones, right?”
“Hmm.”
All they could see were large wooden crates piled high. They looked a little worn, but they did not seem particularly different from the loads they had been moving all this time.
“Are those really the ones? They look ordinary.”
“I suppose they would. If it were obvious even from the outside, wouldn’t there already have been some trouble?”
“True enough.”
Convinced by Tang Soso’s explanation, they exchanged subtle glances.
“What should we do?”
“There’s no need to draw attention to ourselves. How about we help move them, take note of where they’re stored, and sneak in tonight?”
“What if they get moved again before nightfall?”
“Surely they wouldn’t go that far. I think this is better than drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves.”
“Hm.”
Just as everyone was about to agree, Chung Myung casually strode towards the workers.
“Hey, hey, you punk! What are you trying to do!”
Completely ignoring Baek Cheon’s urgent shout, Chung Myung went over to the stacked crates, tapped the one in front of him a few times, and looked at Yeom Malsaeng.
“We just have to move these, right?”
“Ugh.”
Yeom Malsaeng grimaced the moment he saw Chung Myung’s face.
“Shall I not?”
“What do you mean?! You’re just trying to slack off again! I’ll be watching you with my own two eyes, so get moving right now. Carefully! Understood?”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Heave-ho.”
Grinning, Chung Myung hoisted the crate onto his shoulder. Then he began walking towards the warehouse.
No one paid any attention to Chung Myung. No one except the disciples of Hwasan, who had sensed that something unusual was about to happen.
And sure enough, as Chung Myung carried the crate, a grin suddenly spread across his face.
“Wh-Whoa! Whoaaaa!”
He suddenly staggered as if he had tripped over a stone.
“C-Careful!”
“Woops.”
After spinning the crate over his head a couple of times, Chung Myung pretended to lose his grip and slammed it into the ground.
Crash!
The crate Chung Myung had hurled down smashed against the ground and shattered into pieces. The goods inside went flying, scattering in every direction.
“Huh?”
The disciples of Hwasan widened their eyes in surprise.
They had already expected something unusual to be inside that crate. But the objects revealed before their eyes far exceeded their expectations.
“Those…”
“Yes.”
Around twenty long objects made of metal. They were far, far too familiar to the disciples of Hwasan.
“……Swords.”
Brand-new iron swords, cleanly forged.
Weapons that had no place here in Beijing, the Imperial Capital.
Special Spinoff Chapter 69 >>>
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