Chapter 225
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 225
Chapter 225. Want to do some work? (4)
The Green Forest Bandits immediately ran up the mountain and hid in a suitable place.
Clatter, clatter
They heard the sound of wagon wheels moving along the mountain road, and soon the escort party appeared.
The group was smaller than expected.
They should have been suspicious of why the group was so small.
However, blinded by hunger and greed, they could only see the size of the cargo on the cart.
“With that size... It must be grain!”
“It's definitely grain!”
Soon, the bandits were within striking distance, and the boss gave the signal.
Squeak!
At the sound, the Green Forest Bandits rushed forward in unison.
“Hee-hee! It's the Green Forest Bandits!”
“Run away!”
“Give up the cargo!”
“Just take the horses and the goods!”
Seeing the Green Forest Bandits, the bandits neatly abandoned the cargo and fled as fast as they could.
It was completely different from how they had fought desperately to protect the cargo earlier.
However, the Green Forest Bandits were so elated by their easy victory that they did not think deeply about why the bandits had given up the cargo so easily.
“Look at those bastards running away like their tails are on fire.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Let's see what the cargo is.”
“Yes!”
At the boss's command, the Green Forest Bandits removed the mats covering the cargo on the cart.
Soon, a solemn silence fell among them.
“...”
What appeared before them was...
“What is this?”
“It looks like a block of ice.”
“Ice? Frozen water?”
“...”
The Green Forest Bandits looked at each other and slowly backed away. It was obvious that the Boss was very angry.
“There might be something important inside that ice.”
Hearing this, the Green Forest Bandits cheered and rushed forward.
“Oh! As expected of Boss!”
“That makes sense.”
“Let's break it open.”
“Yes!”
At the boss's command, the Green Forest Bandits took out their weapons and began to strike the ice.
How many hours passed?
After striking the hard ice over and over, they finally broke it all.
However... there was nothing inside the ice.
It was just a large piece of ice from the beginning.
It was a great movement of ice that drove the Green Forest Bandits crazy.
* * *
The work proceeded smoothly.
I approached one of the ice miners who was taking a break and asked him.
“Does the sake taste good?”
“Wow! This is Mingju! Mingju!”
“Hahaha! We are grateful that you call our Eunhaesangdan sake Mingju.”
After receiving permission to drink from Master Jin, I asked the warriors Yeo-eung and Seo-woo to get some of our Eunhaesangdan sake.
There was a branch of Eunhae Trading Company in nearby Gijoo, and the liquor produced by Eunhae Trading Company was sold throughout the country, so it was not difficult to obtain.
Therefore, the liquor that the ice makers are drinking now is all from Eunhae Trading Company.
This is my strategy.
Most people who drink liquor tend to stick to a particular brand once they find one they like.
So, if we get them used to the taste of our Eunhae Trading Company's liquor, they will become connoisseurs who enjoy Eunhae Trading Company's liquor.
“Oh! This is really delicious!”
“It sticks to my mouth, which is a problem.”
Furthermore, there were also Royal Guards here.
At that moment, a group of people could be seen returning from afar.
They look like the ones who left with the goods the other day.
“They were on their way there when the Green Forest Bandits stole the goods.”
“Is anyone hurt?”
“Fortunately, no.”
“Come here and have a drink to warm yourselves up. We have plenty of ice.”
That's right.
There was a lot of ice. There was an enormous amount of it.
We expected the Green Forest Bandits to target the goods, but it didn't matter.
“Should we bring the Green Forest Bandits here and put them to work?”
We considered it for a moment, but quickly shook our heads.
They were rough men, so bringing them here would probably cause more trouble than it would be worth.
.
.
.
Another half month passed.
During that time, we broke a considerable amount of ice, which was transported to reservoirs and farmlands in various locations with the help of the escort agency.
At first, we lost some ice, but as word spread, the Green Forest Bandits didn't even look at the large pieces of ice.
Thus, the “upper stream ice removal operation” was proceeding smoothly.
As we reduced the amount of ice, the speed at which it froze began to slow down.
After all, you can't fool the seasons.
It was now early March.
At that time, the leader of the ice workers approached Master Jin.
“Master Jin. Seeing that the ice is beginning to melt, I think we should finish the work soon.”
“Is it already time?”
“Yes. In my opinion, we should finish the work tomorrow and leave. If we're not careful, the workers could fall into the water.”
“That would be terrible. Do as you say.”
“Thank you.”
That meant the work was finished.
Did that mean he could finally return home?
After receiving a letter from Master Han Jae-ik, I went to Taegyeong County in Henan and stayed there for quite a while before heading straight to Beijing. And now that I'm here... It's been almost two months since I've been home.
Ah, I miss my family.
I hope Gun-hyeok and Bo-yeon haven't forgotten my face.
I approached Master Jin-yeong.
“Now this great undertaking is coming to an end.”
“That's right. Thanks to you, the Emperor is being praised throughout the Central Plains.”
Farmers are experts in farming, so they were very worried about the lack of snow this winter.
Amidst such circumstances, ice spread to reservoirs everywhere, alleviating their concerns about drought.
“I only expressed my opinion. It was His Majesty and the Masters who carried out this task.”
“But without your suggestion, this task would never have begun. And there would have been considerable damage.”
I smiled awkwardly.
“Thank you. Once this is over, I would like to quietly slip away and return home.”
“What are you talking about? You are the one who deserves the credit for this. His Majesty the Emperor has said that he will greatly commend you for your work. I think you should be there to receive the praise.”
“No, as I said before, I am a little weak, and if I stand in such a place, I will fall ill.”
I smiled and continued.
“And the credit should go entirely to the Royal Guards and those who worked hard.”
“You...”
“So please do not refuse my request.”
I bowed with my hands clasped together.
Now that I have said this, please understand and do not hold me back.
I want to go home quickly.
I glanced at Master Jin.
He was so moved that his eyes were red, and it seemed as if tears would fall if he touched them.
“But we have our pride…”
“From the beginning, I only mentioned it because I wanted the loyalty of the masters, who have been working hard as the emperor's hands and feet, to be rewarded.”
“Ugh! Why are you so kind? I understand. I have no shame, but I will accept your kindness.”
Great!
“Thank you for granting my unreasonable request. I will leave as soon as I confirm that the work is finished tomorrow.”
“So be it.”
I bowed my head in gratitude and quickly approached Pal-gap and the bodyguards.
“Why are you so excited?”
Pal-gap asked in a low voice.
“Is it that obvious?”
“No one else will know.”
“Pack your things. I'm going home as soon as tomorrow's work is finished.”
“That's why you were so excited.”
That was when it happened.
“...!”
Suddenly, I felt a sharp sensation run through my entire body.
An unknown sense of foreboding...
“Ugh! Get out of the way!”
“The ice is cracking!”
I quickly looked toward the sound. The ice seemed to have melted more than I thought, and it couldn't support the weight of the workers.
Crack!
The ice cracked, and several workers fell into the water.
Splash!
In an instant, it became chaos.
“Evacuate!”
“Huh!”
The ice floated back up due to buoyancy, but there was no sign of those who had fallen beneath it.
The Royal Guards rushed toward the ice, but they were also panicked and didn't know what to do.
Of all days, this had to happen yesterday!
I urgently called out to Master Jin-yeong.
“Master Jin-yeong! Please melt the ice!”
“Huh? I understand!”
Master Jin-yeong summoned his inner arts and fired a heat ray at the ice.
The other Royal Guards also came to their senses and began to break the ice.
But at this rate...
“We have to go in and rescue them ourselves!”
“I think you're right.”
But we had no idea how deep they had sunk.
And even martial artists cannot survive in water for long.
There is a reason why there is a separate term for water martial arts.
Movement is very limited in water, and it is difficult to use martial arts freely.
Even the Royal Guards could drown if they weren't careful.
"....
However, I have the ability to save people who have fallen into the water.
Of course, I had to keep my martial arts skills a secret, but that was no reason to ignore people dying right in front of me.
Then how would I be any different from the Martial Alliance or the Baekcheon Trading Company?
With that in mind, I took off my outer clothes and said to Pal-gap.
“Prepare some warm bath water so that those who have fallen into the water can soak themselves!”
“What?”
I took a deep breath and jumped into the water.
Splash!
My body was submerged deep into the water.
Then I began to use the Ice Sea Technique.
For some reason, I remembered when I had learned about the techniques of Seolpunggung from my master.
Thanks to that, I was able to quickly adapt my body to the cold water using the Ice Sea Mental Technique.
As I went a little deeper, I saw workers swaying back and forth, unconscious.
Huh?
At that moment, the royal order appeared from my sleeve and pushed the workers toward me.
Thanks to that, I was able to quickly bring them to the surface.
Puff!
When I poked my head outside, I saw the Royal Guards.
“Here, take them.”
“Uh, uh...”
The Royal Guards were taken aback, but they accepted the workers I had rescued.
There were seven people in the water.
We had to hurry to rescue them all, and Geumryeong was a great help.
Geumryeong was so brave.
I'll have to give him a silver coin later.
Just in case, I asked Master Jin.
“Are there any more people in the water?”
“No, we rescued all seven!”
He held out his hand and said,
“Come up now.”
“Yes.”
I took Master Jin-yeong's hand and climbed out. The bodyguards and soldiers rushed over to me.
“Here are some warm blankets.”
“Have some warm tea.”
“Thank you.”
I was led by their hands and sat obediently in front of the bonfire.
“Were you worried?”
“Not at all.”
Seo Woo replied calmly.
“How many years have I served my Liege? Would I panic and worry over something like this? But...”
He turned his head and looked at the Royal Guards.
“They're not like that.”
Indeed...
“The ones I saved...”
The one who answered my question was Master Jin-yeong.
“They're all safe. We rescued them quickly, so their lives are not in danger.”
Not only Master Jin-yeong, but all the other Royal Guards approached me.
“Why on earth did you jump into the water without thinking?”
“I'm sorry. But I couldn't just leave them there to die, could I?”
I smiled and continued.
“If we can save them, we have to do whatever we can, right?”
“You really are…”
Master Jinyeong shook his head.
“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to resolve a situation that could have left a stain on our reputation. I am truly grateful.”
He bowed his head to me, and the others followed Master Jin-yeong's lead.
I felt embarrassed...
“By the way, swimming seems to be your specialty. It was amazing how you rescued the workers so quickly.”
I naturally evaded the question.
“I was born and raised not far from a river, so I've been confident in my swimming since I was a child.”
“I see.”
Master Jin-yeong continued.
“Now that this is settled, we must finish our work.”
“Then, as I said earlier, I will quietly disappear.”
“Are you sure? I'm just asking again, just in case.”
“Yes. However, I apologize in advance for leaving without saying anything.”
“...”
The look in his eyes feels uneasy.
“I already asked for your permission earlier. I hope you won't change your mind now.”
“Ha... I understand. Do as you wish.”
“Thank you.”
As they left, the ice seller and his workers approached me and expressed their gratitude.
It was fortunate that no one was hurt, considering that it was all because of what I said.
.
.
.
Early the next morning.
I left as I had told Master Jin.
“My lord, you seem light on your feet.”
“Hahaha! Of course. I'm going home.”
Seo Woo laughed at my words.
“I miss my wife too.”
Although I had to go home and immediately start preparing for Jin-ho's wedding, I still felt good.
I was finally going home!