Chapter 315
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 315
Chapter 315. In Lanzhou (2)
I was the one who was taken aback.
Why is he here?
At that moment, the doorkeeper saw him and quickly bowed his head in greeting.
“Young Master Lee, have you arrived?”
No way...
He greeted me and asked.
“Have you finished your work already?”
“Um... Is Bang Hyo-myeong here?”
“Yes, he is my father.”
“....”
A moment later.
I sat down with the boy's father in the reception room of the Bang family's house.
His name was Bang Eun-seok.
He said he was the second son of Bang Hyo-myeong.
“So you came to see your father?”
“Yes, that's right.”
“I had no idea that you came to see my father. Do you know him?”
“I just heard about him from someone. Hahaha. Is something wrong?”
I asked because the atmosphere in the room seemed a little agitated.
“Oh, yes. There was an event at home. That's why I rushed here from Gyeongbuk.”
“Excuse me, but may I ask what you do in Gyeongbuk?”
“I am a comrade of Bu.”
A comrade is second in command. In terms of rank, it is equivalent to a fifth-rank official, which is quite high for a local government position.
“Why are you out here without any bodyguards? The world is so dangerous these days...”
“I can't involve others in my personal affairs. My father would scold me.”
“....
At that moment, I sensed someone outside the door.
He's here.
Soon, the door opened and an elderly man who looked to be around 60 entered.
”Did you ask to see me?“
I quickly stood up and greeted him with a clasped hands greeting.
”Yes, sir. I am Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Trading Company.
“Your name is Bang Hyo-myeong, is that right? It's nice to meet you. Please sit down.”
“Thank you.”
At his invitation, I sat back down and glanced at the man who had entered with him.
He seemed to be oblivious to my gaze, standing by the door and looking only at Bang Hyo-myeong.
He appeared to be a bodyguard, and his martial arts skills seemed to be at their peak.
He seemed very nervous, as if he had noticed the status of me and my party.
“So why did you ask to see me?”
At that question, I quickly turned my gaze to Bang Hyo-myeong.
“Actually, I wanted to see you because I was asked to deliver a letter.”
“A letter?”
“Yes.”
I handed the letter to Bang Hyo-myeong, and he accepted it.
“Open it. I need to make sure you read it.”
He tilted his head at my words and opened the letter.
When he saw the contents, his face contorted.
“Damn it.”
He looked at me with a twisted expression and asked, “Do you know what this is?”
“Do you know what this letter says?”
“I don't know. I haven't read it, so how would I know?”
“Yes, your cheerful expression confirms that you haven't read this letter.”
“What?”
What does my cheerful expression have to do with the fact that I haven't read the letter?
He handed me the letter curtly.
“Read it.”
I took the letter back and read it.
The opening was a greeting to his close friend and vassal, Bang Hyo-myeong.
Then came his resentment for leaving him and...
[You thought that was the end, didn't you? You old fool. You didn't think I would summon you like this, did you?] It was somewhat childish...
The fact that they could do this meant that they were very close friends. But they seemed to be about 20 years apart in age. Could they really be close friends?
Well, let's leave that aside.
“My servant, Jinyeong, a warrior of the Royal Guards, is in trouble. I want you to take care of it first. He has disappeared, and we cannot find him anywhere.”
The emperor asked Bang Hyo-myeong to find Jinyeong.
I thought the emperor was just upset about Jinyeong's disappearance, but I didn't know he was so concerned.
[I believe you can find him.]
The letter conveyed the emperor's firm trust in Bang Hyo-myeong.
The problem was...
[The guy who delivered this letter is quite interesting. It would be fun to have him around. So, take him with you and find the military officer and bring him back.]
I couldn't help but sigh.
Damn it.
I thought my mission was over once I delivered the letter... but I was wrong.
It wasn't over until it was over.
“Now your expression is worth seeing.”
“You're more mischievous than I thought.”
“Then what's so great about you, the one who brought this letter?”
He turned his head and glanced at his second son before continuing.
“To be honest, I didn't think you would bring his letter. I couldn't imagine you jumping into the rapids with a letter like this in your possession to save a child.”
Ah...
Actually, I didn't have the letter in my possession at that time.
I put it in my bag just in case.
By the way, I carry an inkstone in the pouch given to me by the emperor, but it's a bit inconvenient.
Ah, my mind has wandered.
“What's more, you're not an official or a martial artist, but a merchant, and a famous one at that, known as Seonhaengmi.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Anyway, I am grateful to you for saving my grandson.”
He continued.
“But... it seems that you brought the letter secretly. Are you being pursued?”
“...Actually, yes.”
“That is why you refused my son's offer to stay.”
Bang Eun-seok, who had been listening to our conversation, asked with a puzzled look.
“What are you talking about? Who is that letter from? No, wait, wasn't that person connected to my father?”
Hearing this question, Bang Hyo-myeong sighed and asked me.
“How much should I tell you?”
“I haven't heard anything.”
“I see.”
Bang Hyo-myeong nodded and said to his son with a complicated expression.
“The person I served for a long time is calling me back again.”
“What? Then what?”
“As you just heard, the situation is not good. So, for the time being, keep your family in order and be on your guard.”
“Yes, sir.”
After giving his instructions, he took out a piece of paper and a pen from beside him, wrote something down, and handed it to his second son.
“Take this. Give it to your older brother and tell him to do as it says.”
“Yes.”
“Go on, then.”
I was taken aback by his words.
“What? Now? You're leaving without even telling the rest of the family?”
Seeing me like that, Bang Seok smiled and said.
“He has always been an unpredictable person, so it's not surprising that he would suddenly disappear. Still.”
He continued.
“He has never been wrong in anything he has said.”
His tone and expression conveyed his deep trust.
.
.
.
A moment later.
Bang No-sa left the house with us, accompanied by his servant and bodyguard.
Even though we were leaving the house suddenly, the servant and bodyguard seemed unfazed, as if they were used to this kind of thing.
Still, it seemed like he was rushing too much...
“Excuse me, Elder. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Is there a reason for such a sudden departure?”
“Is that what you call it? We don't know when the pursuers will catch up with us.”
At first glance, Bang No-sa's words seemed reasonable. But this case was a little different.
“Actually...”
I told him the whole story about how I had shaken off the pursuers.
“That's why they're probably heading toward Guangdong Province. By now, they may have realized that they've been tricked and are chasing after us again.”
Bang No-sa sighed at my words.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Couldn't you have told me that earlier?”
“I'm sorry. You were so quick to make a decision, Elder…”
That was true. Bang No-sa had acted so quickly that I hadn't had a chance to say anything.
“Hmm.”
Bang No-sa cleared his throat.
“What can we do? We've already told them everything and left the house. There's nothing we can do now.”
Yes, you're right.
At that moment, Pal-gap whispered to me.
“Young master.”
“Why?”
“Don't you feel like you're looking in a mirror?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing.”
The letter from the emperor also mentioned the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Master Jin-yeong.
Master Jin Yeong had headed for Lanzhou and sent a letter saying that he had arrived there, but then he disappeared.
Master Jin Yeong had been assigned to investigate a series of disappearances in northern Gansu Province.
Local officials had reported several cases of young children disappearing in northern Gansu Province.
The county and prefectural authorities must have been unable to solve the cases.
“What a terrible thing to happen...”
Judging from Bang No-sa's reaction, he seemed completely unaware of the situation.
After all,
the northern part of Gansu Province is not very populous, and many of the villages there are closed off, so there is not much interaction with the outside world.
“First, we must search for traces of this Jin-yeong in Gansu Province.”
“You're right.”
We headed for the Royal Guards' secret hideout, where we believed Jin-yeong, the Master, had last stayed.
On the way there, I kept wondering why the emperor wanted to call Bang No-sa back and why he asked him to find Jin-yeong, the Master.
As far as I could see, he was just an old man who had retired from a mediocre government position and returned to his hometown.
“It's nice to travel with someone rich. But you seem to be spending a lot of money on me. Is that okay?”
I smiled and replied to Bang No-sa's question as we left the luxury inn.
“It's nothing for me.”
“Really?”
“But this is not my personal business, it is official business. Furthermore, His Majesty the Emperor would never ask me to spend my own money on official business.”
The innkeeper laughed heartily at my words.
“Hahaha. I think I understand why His Majesty the Emperor called you an interesting fellow.”
“Is that so? I don't really know.”
“People are never aware of such things.”
I tilted my head slightly at his words and looked at Pal-gap, who was nodding vigorously.
“Pal-gap?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“...”
I'm just saying something very obvious, but he finds it funny. Something's not right.
That afternoon.
We arrived at the Royal Guards' safe house in Lanzhou.
It was an ordinary house that would be suitable for a moderately wealthy family.
However, it was completely silent, as if no one was there.
I concentrated my senses, but couldn't sense anything.
“It looks like no one is here.”
“I see.”
Bang No-sa replied and said to me.
“Then be careful and follow me, stepping only where I step.”
“What?”
I asked, but instead of answering, Bang No-sa looked around carefully.
“Wheel tracks from a cart. Something was carried away. There are no signs that the gate was forced open. But there are traces of a struggle throughout the building...”
“...”
“Judging from the marks that look like something was dragged, do you think they subdued someone, loaded them onto a cart, and took them away?”
After looking around, he looked at me and asked.
“What do you think?”
“There are no signs that the door was broken, so it seems that someone was bribed to open the door. Perhaps the person who was bribed opened the door or made someone else open it.”
“That's right.”
“And although there didn't seem to be many attackers, strangely, there aren't many signs of a fight. It seems likely that they were overpowered without putting up much of a fight, in which case they were probably poisoned.”
“Excellent!”
“It seems they loaded the subdued men onto a cart and left.”
“I agree with your assessment. There were probably five men here. Their physiques were...”
I don't know about the other four, but one of them looked very similar to someone I know.
It was Master Jin.
A warrior of Jin's caliber should have been able to resist the poison to some extent.
But if he was subdued without even being able to fight back, then the enemy must be quite powerful.
Just by looking at the traces, Bang No-sa was able to determine the number of allies and enemies, their physiques, and even their martial arts skills.
“Still, there's a chance they're still alive.”
“Why do you think so?”
“There are no bloodstains. And the fact that they didn't burn down this building, which contains traces of themselves, means that they want to buy as much time as possible.”
He continued.
“There is a difference between a Royal Guard going missing and being killed.”
“...”
“Then what does it mean that they brought him here alive and said they need time?”
For a moment, I imagined a gruesome scene covered in blood.
“We must hurry.”
I thought I understood why the emperor had summoned Bang No-sa again and asked him to find Master Jin.
Bang No-sa was no ordinary official.
He was an excellent investigator with keen observation and judgment skills.
“They took it away using a cart, so we should start by asking around.”
Then he examined the wheel tracks of the cart. He was estimating the size of the cart based on the width of the wheels.
Huh? Can't you tell just by looking?
“It's a fairly large cart pulled by three horses.”
“How do you know that?”
“I'm the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company. This is easy.”
Then why are your eyes suddenly shining?
You're scary...