Chapter 120
Trading Company's Youngest Son Chapter 120
Chapter 120. The real mastermind is close by (5)
Dang Jo-woong came to the annex where I was staying.
He looked nervous at today's disciplinary meeting, but now that it was clear that he had been framed, there was no reason for him to look bad.
He looked at me with sparkling eyes and asked, “Are you really spending time with me today?”
“Are you really going to spend time with me today?”
“Yes.”
“Because of what happened this morning, I thought it wouldn't be possible today! I'm really happy.”
“Yes, I'm happy too.”
The passion emanating from Jo-woong was so intense that even I felt uncomfortable.
His gaze, as if he were looking at a legendary hero, was also uncomfortable.
I'm not that kind of hero.
I felt guilty because I had agreed to spend time with Jo-woong today in order to use him.
I'm sorry, Jo-woong.
But I have no choice.
This is the only way to avoid attracting the attention of the Vice Captain.
If the person who wrote the real evidence in my pocket is Dang-yeon-chil, then the person who conducted the experiments must also be Dang-yeon-chil.
If so, there must be a place where the experiments were conducted.
And that place must be inside the Sichuan Tang Clan.
In order to find that place, I must first avoid attracting the attention of Vice Captain Dang-yeon-chil.
I plan to spend time with Jo-woong at the Sichuan Tang Clan while pretending to be friends, and uncover the true intentions of Captain Dae-chul.
“Um... Excuse me, Eung-gong.”
“What is it?”
“Would it be okay if Su-bin also spent time with us today?”
“With Miss Su-bin?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to ask why, but for some reason, my intuition told me not to ask.
“Yes, let's do that.”
At my words, Jo-ung immediately sent for his servant.
After Jo-ung's wet nurse died, they tried to hire a new one, but Jo-ung refused.
I understood his feelings, as he had almost been kidnapped by the nanny he trusted and followed, and she had died right in front of him.
Therefore, he was assigned a servant, who was trustworthy as he had been selected by the Clan Head.
A moment later
“I'm so happy to be able to spend time with someone as handsome as you!
”Are you busy?"
“No, I don't. Even if I did, I would come.”
She looked very excited.
I took Tang Su-bin and Tang Cho-woong with me and walked around the Sichuan Tang Clan.
At first, people looked at us with curious eyes, but soon they lost interest, thinking, “They're just out for a walk.”
This was the sea I wanted to see.
As I looked around, I came to a place where there were few people.
I had never been here before.
It looked like the entrance to a garden, but for some reason, the atmosphere was gloomy.
“Where is this?”
Dang Su-bin answered my question.
“I didn't have time to come here yesterday. Actually, this place is a little dangerous for outsiders.”
“Dangerous?”
“Don't you wonder where the Sichuan Tang Clan gets the poisonous herbs and poisons like those in Dokgaksasa?”
“No way! Is this where they get them?”
“Yes.”
I looked at the red door in front of me.
The sign on the door read “Baomanlin.”
It means “forest full of treasures.”
Looking at it, one would think that gold and silver treasures are hidden inside, but this is the Sichuan Tang Clan.
For the Sichuan Tang Clan, treasures are ingredients used for poison.
“I understand why you didn't tell me about this place.”
Then we must pass by without hesitation.
If Miss Tang said it was dangerous, then it must be a truly dangerous place.
At that moment, when I saw the name of the forest, “Baomanlin,” something came to mind.
In my previous life, it was a big deal when the third son, Tang Yichil, surpassed the first and second sons and became the young master of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Rumors spread about this, and I gathered as many of them as I could and analyzed them.
Rumors are not to be trusted, but the truth is often hidden within them.
Among those rumors, there was one about Bowmanrim.
“I'm talking about the third son who became the new Young Master. I heard that he trained alone in a secluded forest to hone his skills.”
“His secret training ground is a forest where the Sichuan Tang Clan has hidden their treasures for generations, and there are rumors that he obtained a hidden secret technique there.”
Regardless of the truth behind the rumors, based on what was visible on the surface, it was clear that the place where the Vice Captain had been seen was none other than the Bo Man Forest.
There was a strong connection between a forest where treasures were hidden and a forest full of treasures.
And if there were rumors that he had been training here, it meant that he had been coming here quite often.
That means there is something here.
That means I have to go into this forest.
Damn it.
It's gloomy, and I really don't want to go in.
Besides, after hearing Dang Su-bin's warning, I don't want to go in even more.
However, I had a strong feeling that I would be able to uncover the true identity of the Vice Captain if I went in.
I asked Miss Dao.
“Can I go in here?”
“What?”
She asked back, startled.
“You want to go in there?”
“Yes. I'm just curious about what's inside. Is that okay?”
Dao thought about it for a moment.
“I'm sorry. I'm asking too much of you…”
“No, it's fine.”
She shook her head.
“The work area and this area are places that Jo-woong can go to, so it should be fine.”
“Thank you.”
“But you must stay close to me. And hang the special ID card I gave you around your neck so that it is close to your skin.”
“Why?”
Dang Su-bin explained.
“Actually, the special ID cards are made of poisonous juice. Normally, you have to put them in your mouth, but they have a very strong poisonous effect, so just touching your skin is enough to neutralize the poison.”
I wondered why she told me not to lose the special ID card, but now I understand why it has such a powerful effect.
“Just carrying it on your body will block some of the poison, but it's more effective if it touches your skin.”
“Then isn't it enough to just hold it in your hand?”
“That's right. But we are martial artists who have to fight with our hands, and we don't know what might happen in there, so it's better to have both hands free.”
“I see.”
After that, she gave me a few more precautions.
“Keep my words in mind.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Let's go in.”
We entered the private quarters.
I looked behind me.
Three bodyguards were following me. Yoo-eung-am is currently in the annex.
This is because we couldn't rule out the possibility of uninvited guests visiting to find the missing evidence.
Lee Pil, bodyguard.
Seo Woo, bodyguard.
And Jin-yu, bodyguard.
All of them were my trusted allies who would protect me.
It was dangerous to reveal everything to them, but I felt that it would be disrespectful to them to try to solve this problem on my own.
Pal-gap was also dissatisfied with this.
I decided to ask for their help and immediately sent them a telepathic message.
- Just listen.
“...!”
Their eyes widened slightly, then returned to normal.
"I am currently searching for a secret place hidden in this forest.
Any clue will do. If you find anything that looks like a secret place, please report it to me.
But you must do this in secret. Don't stray from the group. I'll be very sad if you get into danger.
They responded to my telepathy with a slight nod.
The forest was very quiet.
You couldn't even hear the sound of insects. The silence felt strange.
But it seemed that I wasn't the only one who felt that way.
“Huh? That's strange.”
“The insects aren't chirping.”
I asked them.
“Do insects usually chirp?”
“Yes. There are not only poisonous insects here, but also quite a few ordinary insects. So when you come here, you are usually greeted by the sound of insects chirping... It's strange.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“If the insects aren't chirping, does that mean a predator stronger than them has appeared?”
“I don't see any snakes either.”
“There are a lot of snakes here, too.”
“Yes. There are quite a lot of snakes, which is very helpful for my research on poison. But strangely, I don't see any snakes. Could a new poison have appeared?”
Miss Dao and Cho Woong tilted their heads.
But for some reason, I thought I knew the reason.
I remembered how yesterday, as soon as the poisonous snake came out of its cage and caught my eye, it ran away to the corner in fear.
At the time, I thought it was because of the gold bell in my sleeve, but the gold bell was comfortable in my sleeve and didn't come out unless it was necessary.
And the poisonous snake ran away when it caught my eye.
Then was it really because of me?
That was highly likely.
Why?
The most likely reason was my Hyunryongseong body.
Dragons are kings and rulers.
Could there be something about my Hyunryongseong body that even I don't know about?
Come to think of it, I had never seen any insects in Sichuan or Yunnan.
Hmm...
That's good, right?
I smiled. That meant I would be safe in this forest as long as I stayed here.
But if Miss Tang Soo-bin, who didn't know that, decided it was dangerous and wanted to go back, I would be in trouble.
“That's possible. There's no law that says insects have to cry or snakes have to appear, right?”
“Well, that's true.”
“And there must be someone who takes care of this place, right? If something happened, they would have notified the family first.”
“You're right.”
The two nodded in agreement and moved forward.
After walking for about a minute, we saw a stone staircase in front of us.
As we climbed the hill, we heard the telepathy of Jin-yu Musha.
- Liege, I have something to tell you.
- Speak.
- I found suspicious footprints.
His telepathy continued.
- The footprints were at the bottom of the stairs, but they were cut off at the side of the stairs.
Hearing that, I stopped in my tracks.
In order to explain that the footprints were not in front of the stairs but on the side, one assumption was necessary.
From the beginning, the side of the stairs was the destination.
As expected of a Jinmu warrior.
Perhaps because he specialized in pursuit and assassination, his eyes were incredibly sharp.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I think we will be able to discover something very important.”
I called out to Miss Tang Soo-bin.
“Excuse me, Miss.”
“Yes?”
“It looks like you dropped something on the stairs. Could you go back and get it?”
“I can't.”
We returned to the bottom of the stairs. I pretended to look for something and headed toward the side of the stairs.
Sure enough, there were faint footprints next to the stairs.
If there are footprints here, that means the device is nearby, right?
I examined the side of the stairs closely. Then, Jin-yu pointed to a spot.
- It's here.
It was just one of the many stones stacked on the side of the stairs, but it was the only one that was worn down.
I pressed it.
At that moment,
there was a loud noise.
The stones in front of me were pushed aside at once, revealing an entrance wide enough for two people to pass through.
It was natural for Tang Su-bin and Cho Woong to be surprised by this.
“Huh? What is that?”
“There is a Taoism cave.”
I said innocently.
“Judging by your reactions, this is your first time seeing this too, right?”
“Yes.”
“I had no idea.”
“Should we go in?”
At my words, Miss Dao's maid tried to stop her.
“Miss. We shouldn't go into unfamiliar places.”
“But I'm curious. It's okay. This is still a work area, so it's not dangerous.”
“That may be true, but…”
“You go and call the others.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
The maid sighed and left the bamboo forest to call the others.
“Let's go inside.”
“What about Eung-gong?”
“Yes. Jo-woong is dangerous, so he should stay here. But that means you'll have to go in alone. How can I let you go by yourself?”
My words made Daeng-soo-bin's face turn slightly red.
“Exploring an unfamiliar place with a handsome man. I'm excited.”
“...”
I cleared my throat.
“Let's go.”
We left Jo Woong, his servant, Lee Pil, and Pal-gap outside and went inside.
The space was damp with moisture.
However, there were night pearls embedded in various places, so we had no trouble moving around.
The torches had to be constantly tended to, and the smoke had to be allowed to escape, so that's why they used these expensive things.
How long did we walk?
“Huh?”
Dang Subin's eyes widened, and I smiled.
It seemed like we had found the right place.