Chapter 166
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 166
Chapter 166. A Guest in the Middle of the Night (3)
It was a pitch-black night with no one to be seen.
I took Seo Woo and Jin Yu with me and headed to the place where Master Cheongsu had collapsed.
The reason I took only those two was because they were the strongest.
We had to move quickly and quietly.
“Come to think of it, I heard that the reason Daoist Cheongsu was able to save your life was because of the money your liege gave him.”
“Yes, that's what he said.”
The Daoists of the Mosanpa sect mainly traveled on mountain roads late at night, so it was difficult for them to write receipts.
Therefore, they needed silver coins or bronze coins that could be used anywhere, so I gave them some silver coins to put in their wallets.
Thanks to putting them in his left pocket, he was able to save his life.
“I believe it was not the money I gave him, but the good deeds of the Daoist priest that saved his life.”
The two warriors nodded in agreement.
The good deeds of Daoist Cheongsu were undeniable.
Soon, we arrived at the place where we had found Daoist Cheongsu and began to search for traces of the bandits.
They had stolen five corpses and moved them, so it was impossible that they would not have left any traces.
“There are footprints here.”
“There are broken tree branches.”
The two experienced warriors quickly found traces, and we followed them.
“That's it.”
As we continued on, we saw a mountain keep.
It seemed that they had taken over the Green Forest Bandits' mountain keep and were using it as their base.
Bonfires were burning everywhere, and there was a large, makeshift warehouse.
Clang
Clang
With the sound of a bell, three ghouls moved into the warehouse.
Seeing this, I laughed inwardly.
Not just anyone can lead ghouls by ringing a bell.
You have to put your power into the bell, and it's not something you can do just by ringing it any old way.
It is only possible after long training in martial arts at the sect, just like learning martial arts at the Mosan sect.
In other words, the person holding the bell was a Taoist priest of the Mosan sect who had joined the Hwan Cheon Dan.
At that moment, someone approached them.
I concentrated my inner arts on my ears and could hear their conversation faintly.
“Three this time. Then, so far...”
“One hundred and three.”
“When will we achieve our great cause by gathering them like this?”
A calm voice answered the impatient question.
“We have no choice. Don't be impatient. We must proceed slowly.”
“In that case, wouldn't it be faster to bring people here and kill them to make ghouls?”
An irritated reply came back.
“Are you trying to exhaust me to death? How much power does it take to make one corpse? It would be faster to steal the corpses made by other sorcerers.”
“I see. I hope our captain becomes emperor as soon as possible.”
From that conversation, I understood why they had stolen the corpses.
It takes a tremendous amount of power to create a corpse, so they were stealing them in order to collect many.
I wish he would become emperor...
I had a hunch, but sure enough, it was the Hwancheondan I knew.
Seo Woo whispered with a stern expression.
“Liege, I think that's enough.”
“Yes, you're right.”
We quietly left the mountain keep and headed toward the village.
As we walked away, Seo Woo-musha washed his face and sighed.
“It's more serious than I thought. A group of rebels plotting treason...”
Jin-yu Musha added.
“Not only are they ghouls, but the warriors are also quite skilled. There seem to be about a hundred of them, and some appear to be at the peak of their abilities.”
“You figured that out?”
Jin-yu Musha nodded in response to my question.
“It's a skill I learned as an assassin. In order to carry out an assassination safely, it's important to accurately assess the situation around you.”
“That is a very useful skill.”
“Yes. It has saved my life many times.”
“Can I learn it too?”
“Of course.”
“Please teach me later.”
Ah, that's not important right now.
“By the way, the people we saw earlier don't seem to have good intentions for the ghouls.”
“Yes, gathering more than a hundred of them means they intend to use the ghouls as soldiers.”
“Still, it's fortunate that there aren't many of them yet.”
Seo Woo asked.
“What do you intend to do, my liege?”
“I've heard that it is customary not to refuse a request from Daoist Mosanpa.”
“That's right. But there is no law that says we must accept. And Daoist Cheongsu will understand the situation.”
“That may be true. But will we feel at ease if we just let them go?”
“...”
Jinyu Musha said worriedly.
“But it's impossible for us to defeat them on our own.”
“That's right. We'll probably end up getting killed.”
I nodded and continued.
“But we don't have to help them by wielding our swords, do we?”
The two warriors looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“You remember what they said earlier. Then the answer is simple.”
“Ah...!”
Only then did the two warriors seem to realize what I was thinking.
“We don't necessarily have to solve this problem ourselves. It's enough to let them know about it.”
I returned to the village and headed for my room at the inn.
I immediately wrote a letter and tapped my sleeve.
“Geumryung. Come out.”
“Kui?”
“I need to deliver a letter to the elder at the general store. I need to get a reply as well.”
“Kui!”
I tied the letter to Geumryung's tail, and she took off, kicking the ground.
In an instant, she was gone, a mere dot in the sky.
She really is fast.
Actually, it might have been better to deliver the letter to the emperor directly.
However, he did not want the emperor to know about Geum-ryung yet, so he decided to ask for help from the elderly man at the general store, whom the emperor trusted.
And if he sent Geum-ryung and she was misunderstood, it would be troublesome.
The emperor already had his eye on him, but he had no choice.
He did not have any connections with the sects in the area, and he did not want to attract the attention of the Martial Alliance.
That's why I decided to let the parties involved resolve the matter themselves.
And there's still plenty of time.
* *
The emperor muttered to himself as he worked late into the night.
“I won't be able to go to bed early again tonight. I wish I had someone I could trust to help me with my work...”
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.
Then, suddenly, he remembered a talented person he had his eye on.
Eun Seo-ho.
He must be nineteen now.
“He's almost twenty, so should I bring him here next year and put him to work?”
While he was thinking about it,
thud.
A warrior came down from above and prostrated himself.
“Your Majesty, this is an urgent message from Elder Hwangbo Hui.”
“Give it to me.”
The warrior politely handed over the letter, and the eunuch standing behind him took it and presented it to the emperor.
As the emperor read the letter, his expression grew increasingly stern.
The emperor placed the letter on the table and ordered the eunuch in a cold voice.
“This is troublesome. Call the Royal Guards.”
* *
I woke up early in the morning, finished my breathing exercises, and when I opened my eyes, Geum-ryeong was looking up at me.
There was a letter hanging from her tail.
“You've already been there. Thank you for your hard work.”
I patted Geumryung lightly and read the letter.
It said that I had delivered my message to His Majesty the Emperor and that he would probably summon the Royal Guards to deal with the matter.
And then came the last sentence.
“You have also requested assistance from the Taoist priests of Mosanpa. By the way, is the incident calling you, or are you calling the incident?”
It was the exact same words my father had said to me not long ago.
I don't know. I'm not sure myself.
Two days later
A warrior dressed in black came to see me.
“Are you the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company?”
“Yes, I am Eun Seo-ho.”
“This is a letter from His Majesty the Emperor.”
Upon hearing this, I immediately bowed.
“I accept the letter from His Majesty the Emperor.”
Then I raised my head and said to him.
“But am I really worthy of receiving a letter from His Majesty the Emperor? It is an honor that my descendants will boast about for generations to come.”
I even shed tears of joy.
Ka!
Even I thought it was perfect acting.
I acted so exaggerated because I didn't like the look in his eyes.
He was a member of the Royal Guards.
If he found me suspicious, he could imprison and torture me without the emperor's permission.
Then his eyes softened a little.
“It's all right, take it.”
“Yes.”
I carefully took the letter and opened it right there.
“....
For a moment, I almost failed to control my expression.
”He told me to go with you and let you know the location of the rebels.“
”I see. Hurry up. I have troops waiting outside the village."
Of course, that wasn't all.
What on earth did the elder at the general store write in his letter to the emperor?
Just then, the Mo Shan Pa priests arrived, and soon the operation to wipe out the Hwan Cheon Dan began.
“Attack! They're rebels!”
“Ugh!”
“How did they get here so fast?”
“We're done for! The ghouls!”
In their desperation, they brought out all the gangsters they had gathered.
However, the Mo Shan Pa priests did not stand by and watch.
With the sound of bells ringing,
they recited a ritual prayer, and the gangsters collapsed as if they had been torn apart.
They had broken the gangster spell.
The rebellion that had caused chaos in Shandong and Beijing in their previous lives ended as a minor disturbance in this life.
As expected, when poisonous weeds are still sprouts, all you need is two fingers.
.
.
.
“With your help, we were able to recover the bodies of the poor dead.”
Master Cheongsu clasped his hands together and expressed his gratitude to me.
“No, it was all done by the other Moosangpa Taoists and the Royal Guards.”
“Still, we know that you were the one who started the solution.”
I scratched my cheek.
“Therefore, we at Moosangpa have decided to consider you our benefactor. If you ever need our help, please do not hesitate to ask.”
With that, he handed me a wooden token.
I said it was not necessary, but Daoist Cheongsu insisted, so I had no choice but to accept it.
Daoist Cheongsu and the other Mosanpa Daoists decided to perform a ritual to return the body to its hometown.
Now we must return to our work.
Pal-gap approached me and asked.
“When are you planning to leave, young master?”
“It's about time to go.”
At that moment, the warrior who had led the Royal Guards in the punitive expedition approached us.
“You worked hard.”
“Not at all. What hardship did I endure?”
“By the way, it seems that His Majesty the Emperor is quite fond of you.”
“What?”
“He said that if anyone touched you, he would cut off their wrists.”
“...”
“So I wondered if you were perhaps the Emperor's secret child.”
Could that be why he looked at me suspiciously when he saw me?
Did I overreact?
No, rather, Your Majesty.
You said you would cut off my wrists if I touched you.
“Hahaha, Your Majesty's hidden child? No, that's not true. I'm just a captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Yes, I think so too. But in fact, that's a big deal.”
“What?”
“It means that you have won His Majesty's heart. And His Majesty never lets go of the people he has chosen.”
“...”
That was when it happened.
In the distance, a carriage with the imperial flag approaching could be seen.
Damn it, you're going this far?
The letter I received earlier said that they knew I was going to the North Sea and that they would send a carriage for me, so I should come to the imperial palace without making excuses.
When Master Jin saw the carriage, he smiled.
“It seems he cares about you more than I thought.”
“...”
“You will be working at the imperial palace soon.”
Master Jin-yeong's words were meant to be lighthearted, but to me, they were nothing short of insults.
I have no intention of becoming a slave to the emperor in Beijing.
I must make Eunhae Trading Company the world's best trading company and take revenge on the Martial Alliance and Baekcheon Trading Company.
I cannot allow myself to be captured by the emperor like this.
But there was no way I could refuse the carriage the emperor had sent to take me to Beijing.
“The carriage is incredibly comfortable.”
I nodded in agreement with Palgap's words.
The other bodyguards were riding horses and following the carriage I was in.
“By the way, will I be able to see those children when we get to Beijing?”
“Children?”
“The children at the academy.”
“Of course...”
A thought flashed through my mind, and I couldn't help but smile.
Yes, there was a way.