Chapter 281
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 281
Chapter 281. To Hebei Province (2)
I brought the two warriors to my guest quarters. Pal-gap placed tea in front of us as we sat in the reception room.
“Have you been listening to such insults?”
The two warriors bowed their heads at my words.
“We apologize. It is our fault that you had to hear such words.”
“It is our fault.”
“Don't say that. It is their fault. And I saw that they have quite a few colleagues.”
“Ah... Yes.”
“That's right.”
“Please continue to be friendly with them. They will be a source of strength for you.”
“We will.”
I looked at the two warriors. Their eyes were filled with determination.
The pride they had in being from a prestigious orthodox sect and the arrogance of being first-class warriors had completely disappeared.
I felt proud that they were growing in a good direction.
It seemed like they would be able to stay with me for a long time.
“And if you ever encounter that gang again, don't hold back.”
“Yes?”
“But if you don't hold back...”
“Ah...”
I knew what they meant.
“It's okay. You two won't be dismissed. You don't belong to the Eunpung Corps, but to my personal guard. What can they say when I, your liege, say I won't dismiss you?”
I chuckled.
“But it'll be a headache if you do it in public, so just call them to a quiet place and deal with them. Hahaha.”
“Hahahaha.”
Seeing him laugh awkwardly, I guess he thought I was joking.
Um, I wasn't joking...
Anyway, let's get down to business.
“The reason I called you two is because I have to go to Beijing.”
“Then when will you be coming?”
“It won't take long. So just keep training hard.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If anything happens while I'm away, tell the servants in this annex or my Hyung-nim. You can also go see the Chief Administrator. He will either send me a message or take care of it himself.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“I look forward to seeing you both grow.”
After giving Myung-jong and Chang-woon their instructions and sending them away, I headed for the Chief Administrator.
This was because I was concerned about the group that had insulted Myung-jong and Chang-woon in the dining hall earlier.
“Come in.”
“I have something to tell you.”
The Chief Administrator offered me a seat.
“Please have a seat.”
I sat down and began to speak.
“I am going back to Beijing.”
“I heard. Are you going with Master Peng?”
“Yes, that's right. That being said, I would like to ask you to take good care of Myeongjong Musha and Chang-un Musha.”
“Don't worry. I will make sure they are well protected.”
“Thank you. Actually, I came to see you because something unfortunate happened today.”
“Something unfortunate?”
I explained everything that had happened at the restaurant. It might seem like I was tattling, but I wanted to alert the Chief Administrator.
“What! You mean something like that happened?”
As expected, the Chief Administrator was completely surprised, as if he had no idea.
He should have known about it by now...
This means that there is a problem with the system of reporting to the Chief Administrator.
“Chief Administrator, did you really not know about this?”
“...”
“I think you need to take a closer look at the training instructors. This could undermine the discipline of our Trading Company.”
“If it weren't for your words, I would have made a big mistake. Thank you for letting me know.”
The Chief Administrator expressed his gratitude with a stern expression.
He disliked paperwork and was serious about martial arts, but his father would not have appointed him as Chief Administrator for no reason.
He would do well even with this much.
.
.
.
Today is the day we leave for Beijing.
It didn't take long for everyone to pack their belongings.
However, since Master Pang was coming with us, we had to make a few extra preparations for him.
It was the end of November.
Winter was slowly approaching.
Master Pang said he would travel on horseback. I couldn't ride in a carriage while our guest was riding a horse.
So I decided to travel on horseback as well.
We decided to load the carriage with various items.
“Then I'll be off.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“Yes.”
In response to my greeting, Master Pang also bowed to my father.
“Thank you for your generous hospitality. Take care.”
“Take care of him.”
We set off for the Peng Family in Hebei.
The Peng Family was a family based in Beijing. It was a day's journey from the imperial palace, and many of its members were involved in the military.
However, the current emperor favored the Huangbo Clan, so the Peng Family was now in a slightly disadvantaged position.
The elder at the general store was also from the Huangbo Clan.
Clatter, clatter.
Only the sound of horse hooves could be heard regularly.
There was no need to hurry, so we didn't ride fast.
I looked at Master Pang.
With his mouth shut and silently riding his horse, I wondered if this was his true self.
The middle-aged servant accompanying him acted as if this was normal.
And Master Pang remained alert even while traveling, constantly scanning his surroundings. His attendant was the same.
I felt that they must have gone through a lot of hardship.
By the way, his attendant is very skilled...
I felt that there must be a story behind it.
Could it be that the person who drew the sketch of my missing uncle was that attendant?
I wasn't one to chat much, but if I kept going like this, I felt like I was going to burst.
“Master Peng.”
“Yes.”
“You're a skilled horseman. Who taught you?”
“Oh, there's someone in my family who specializes in teaching horsemanship. I learned from him.”
“As expected of a prestigious clan. You even have someone who teaches horseback riding professionally.”
“Come to think of it, Captain, you are also quite good at riding.”
“Ah, I...”
Come to think of it, when did I learn how to ride a horse?
I smiled and mumbled.
“I learned when I was a child.”
Pal-gap nodded and explained further.
“At that time, the Chief Administrator said that you were a natural at horseback riding.”
Ah, now I remember.
When I was thirteen, the Chief Administrator taught me how to ride a horse.
But it was a small pony, wasn't it?
Ah...
In my previous life, I only learned horseback riding in earnest after I recovered from my illness.
That means I have never learned horseback riding in earnest in this life.
“Perhaps because you were good at riding small ponies, you seem to be good at riding large horses as well.”
Master Pang agreed with Pal-gap's words.
“That's right. Ponies and big horses are basically the same.”
Fortunately, it seemed to go well.
As we traveled while talking about this and that, it grew dark.
“I think we should stay at the Samwol Inn as planned today.”
I nodded at Seo Woo's words.
“Let's do that.”
“Yes.”
The Samwol Inn was located in a place where we could arrive just in time for dinner if we left Bon-dan in the morning, so it was a favorite inn of our Eunhae Trading Company.
I knew that the inn was named Samwol because it had opened in March.
“How would you like your rooms? Would Master Pang and his attendant like separate rooms, or would you prefer to share a room?”
Master Peng answered my question.
“We will take one room.”
Seo Woo and Pal Gap asked the innkeeper for a room and a meal, and we each went to our rooms.
When we came down after washing up, Master Peng and his party were already downstairs.
“You're already down.”
“I'm just a quick washer.”
“I see.”
We each ordered food, and soon the waiter brought it.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you.”
As I was picking up my chopsticks, I noticed something strange.
It was Master Peng, who was picking at his food like Lee Pil.
Lee Pil had that habit due to his childhood experiences, but...
Come to think of it, his chopsticks didn't seem to be the ones provided by the inn.
Noticing my gaze, he flinched. Then, scratching the back of his neck, he said,
“I'm sorry. I can't digest my food unless I look at it like this...”
“You must have had a hard time traveling the martial world.”
“Ah...”
He smiled bitterly.
“It was quite eventful.”
His words made the attendant beside him sigh.
“What can I say? It would take over a hundred books to write it all down.”
Master Pang smiled wryly.
“I've had many experiences where I narrowly escaped death. The first thing that comes to mind is when I encountered the bloodsucking monster.”
“I heard that the bloodsucking monster died a few years ago.”
“It's not widely known, but it was actually my young master who killed the bloodsucking monster.”
The bloodsucking monster was, as its name suggests, an old man who sucked blood. He craved youth and sought the blood of young women.
As I recall, his body was found in this life just as it was in his previous life.
So the chivalrous warrior who beheaded him was Master Pang?
“Is that really true?”
Master Pang nodded in response to Lee Pil's question.
“At that time...”
His explanation sounded like a story told by a storyteller.
To summarize, he went to look for his uncle, but realized that it was not him, so he killed him to escape.
Honestly, his martial arts skills were not that strong, but his speed was so fast that he could have been a ghost, making him a very difficult opponent.
So, he dressed up as a woman to deceive him, wrapped some candy he had in his luggage around his neck to make his teeth stick together, and tore off both of his arms with his bare hands.
As expected of someone from the Peng Clan, he was born with tremendous supernatural powers.
No, more than that, he was very quick-witted.
“But why didn't you reveal that to the world?”
“Well... At the time, I didn't want to reveal my past.”
As I recall, in my previous life, I was treated like a hero for killing a blood-sucking monster, even though I was just a nobody...
I'm glad I finally heard that story.
After dinner, we went to our rooms and went to bed.
.
.
.
I woke up feeling uncomfortable.
How can I sleep with such a killing intent in the air?
I grumbled to myself as I got out of bed.
I could sense Seo Woo and Jin Yu in the rooms to my left and right.
Of course, with the killing intent I was giving off, there was no way they wouldn't notice.
I sent them a telepathic message.
“Who do you think they're after?”
I immediately heard their reply.
“It's Master Pang.”
“It's Master Pang.”
My guess was right.
I sent another telepathic message to the two warriors.
“Let's go.”
At the same time, I heard the door open, and I opened the door and went out.
“...!”
The two masked men were startled to see us, but they immediately rushed toward us as if to silence us.
Puk!
Tak!
But they were no match for us. We quickly subdued them and knocked them unconscious.
After removing the poison pills from their mouths, we dragged them into my room.
In the meantime, Pal-gap had woken up and prepared some ropes.
Pal-gap is reliable.
We tied them up, and Seo-woo slapped them across the face to wake them up.
Smack!
“Ugh!”
Smack!
“Huh!”
They blinked their eyes and quickly rolled their tongues.
“Are you looking for this?”
When they saw the poison pills on the table that I pointed to with my finger, their eyes were filled with despair.
“You really have no fear. How dare you target me in Hubei Province.”
They glanced at each other and shouted at me.
“I don't know how you know that, but it's true!”
“Now that we've got you, you're a dead man!”
Hey, guys.
I can see what you're doing.
It seems like you're trying to hide the fact that your target is Master Pang...
By the way, do they know who I am?
If they did, they wouldn't be so bold in trying to take my life, would they?
Suddenly, an interesting thought occurred to me.
“Is that so? Hehehe. What an interesting choice you have made. To make an enemy of someone working for His Majesty the Emperor.”
Their eyes flashed wildly.
They didn't expect me to mention the emperor.
“As you may or may not know, attacking an imperial inspector is considered treason against His Majesty the Emperor. As it happens, there is a Master of the Royal Guards whom I know well nearby.”
“No! We...”
“I will tell him the truth!”
I smiled and put my index finger to my lips.
“Shh! That's enough.”
“...”
“We'll hear the details after you've been thoroughly tortured by the Royal Guards. It wouldn't be any fun if you confessed now, would it?”
Whether it was because they were frightened by my words or not, they trembled and begged for mercy.
“Please let us confess.”
“We'll tell you everything. So please just kill us!”
“I'm a little curious. What's the truth?”
“We... came to take the life of Master Pang Gang-un.”
“Who sent you?”
“That...”
One of them closed his eyes tightly and replied.
“The Young Master of the Peng Family in Hebei.”