Chapter 316
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 316
Chapter 316. In Lanzhou (3)
In any case, we began to ask around to find out where the carriage had gone.
“A large cart pulled by three horses is not a common sight. Horses are quite expensive.”
Three horses large enough to pull a cart could buy a small tile-roofed house.
That's why a horse-drawn cart was quite a conspicuous sight.
“The people who attacked it must have known that. Besides, this is a residential area. So they must have disguised themselves as merchants.”
“I think so too.”
There was a fixed route that the cart could take, so we asked people around that area.
Fortunately, people were kind enough to answer my questions.
“Come to think of it, I saw a group of merchants passing through here at that time.”
“Do you know which trading company they belonged to?”
“Let me see... Yes, they had the emblem of the Oh Trading Company.”
The Oh Trading Company.
That was the largest trading company in Gansu Province.
That meant either they were deceiving us, or that company was really behind this.
However, I leaned toward the former.
The Oh Trading Company had no reason to do such a thing, nor was it their style.
If I keep asking around, I'll be able to figure out when they shed their disguises.
“Just to be sure, are you certain?”
“Of course, I've lived here for decades. By the way, he's a very handsome young man.”
“Hahaha, thank you.”
“He looks just like Yoon-seok.”
“What?”
“This woman's son. He looks more like my son.”
“Are you hungry? I just made some dumplings. Would you like some?”
“Thank you.”
After asking around, I returned to the meeting place and found Pal-gap already there.
“Did you find out anything about the young master?”
I nodded at Pal-gap's question.
“It looks like he went that way.”
“But did people tell you everything without hesitation?”
“Yes. They were very kind. They even shared their dumplings with us.”
Pal-gap shook his head as he looked at the dumplings in my hand.
“The world is rotten after all.”
“What? You mean these dumplings are rotten?”
“No, I didn't say that.”
As we were asking around about the whereabouts of the cart, a man approached us.
“Are you sent by the highest authority?”
He was referring to the emperor, and I could smell a strong fragrance.
He must be a fellow student.
Only court officials could be court officials, and because of the nature of their work, they always carried scent bags to mask the smell of urine.
The scent emanating from the man was the same scent I always smelled from the court officials in the imperial palace.
“Who are you?”
“I apologize for startling you. I am a court official in charge of this area.”
“You are a Cheongwan, aren't you?”
“Yes. I was anxiously waiting after reporting the disappearance of the Royal Guards to my superiors. Then I heard that you were looking for a carriage, so I hurried over.”
“I see. I'm glad we were able to make contact sooner than expected.”
“Yes. And we have found the place where the Royal Guards are believed to have been taken.”
“That's good news.”
We followed him.
Thanks to him, we didn't have to go through so much trouble, but something seemed suspicious.
Soon, we arrived at a mountain keep.
“That's the place.”
We looked at the mountain keep from a distance. There seemed to be about ten people standing guard outside.
The repulsive aura they gave off was proof that they were Black Swordsmen.
“Do you know anything about what's going on inside?”
“I couldn't find out that much. But from what I've seen, I've heard the cries of children coming from inside. It looks like they're holding kidnapped children there.”
“I see.”
Bang No-sa nodded.
“Then the men who kidnapped the children must have kidnapped the Royal Guards as well.”
“What should we do?”
“What else can we do but rescue them?”
I asked in response.
“But I don't think we should just rush in without knowing anything about their strength.”
Bang No-sa nodded in agreement.
“You're right, we don't know the layout or situation inside. Then we need to find someone who can tell us what's going on inside.”
Bang No-sa explained his plan to us.
“First, I will lure some of the guards over here. When I give you the signal, you subdue them.”
“Understood.”
“And you.”
Bang No-sa said to a member of his class named Cheong-gwan.
“It could be dangerous, so stay out of harm's way.”
“It's okay. I've also trained in martial arts, so I can take care of myself.”
“Heh heh, if we fail, we'll need someone to let others know what happened, won't we?”
“...You're right.”
“So hurry and get out of the way.”
“I will. But how are you going to lure them away?”
“Ah, I'll try roasting some meat.”
“Hmm, that's certainly a method. I wish you success.”
With that, the official descended the mountain, and Bang No-sa looked at his back and asked me.
“I'm hungry. Aren't you hungry?”
I smiled at Bang No-sa's question.
“I'm hungry too.”
“Didn't you just eat dumplings?”
“Didn't you have one too?”
Bang No-sa smiled at my retort. Then he looked around and pointed to a spot, saying to his attendant, “Seok-baek. Light a charcoal fire.”
“Yes, sir.”
The attendant immediately lit the charcoal fire, and when the fire was lit, the bodyguard disappeared somewhere and soon returned with a deer.
The servant immediately began to light the charcoal, and upon seeing this, the bodyguard disappeared somewhere and quickly returned with a deer.
Before we knew it, the deer meat was placed on a grill over the charcoal.
Sizzle.
“Are you carrying charcoal and a grill around even at a time like this?”
“Of course! I can't eat vegetables, but I have to eat meat. Meat is my favorite food. Meat!”
Oh, that's just like me!
I quickly sat down in front of him and said,
“That's right. Meat is the truth, and a world without meat is a bleak world.”
“Hahaha. That's right.”
When the meat was almost cooked, the old man fanned it with a fan to direct the wind toward the mountain keep.
“What are you doing?”
“What do you mean? I'm trying to lure those guys out.”
“What?”
“Sit down. Let's eat the meat that's cooked. If you cook it any longer, it will burn, and then it won't work.”
“You're right.”
With that, I sat down in front of him and picked up some meat.
“Did you really mean to lure them out with the smell of grilled meat?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you meant to separate your classmate, Cheong-gwan.”
Bang No-sa smiled at my words.
“You noticed it too.”
“Yes. Something seemed off to me.”
There were two things that I found strange.
The first was that I heard a child crying.
That man's inner arts were only second-rate.
At that level, no matter how much he concentrated his energy on his ears, it would be difficult to hear the sound from the mountain keep.
The second thing was that he had a disgusting aura of black magic.
“He is definitely a suspicious guy. But I knew he was suspicious as soon as I entered the house.”
“What?”
“First of all, the circumstances described in His Majesty's letter were strange. There had been no news for three days, and even though some time had passed when we arrived, it had been less than a month.”
I checked the dates and nodded.
“However, when I looked around the house, it felt like more time had passed. The layer of dust was more than a month old.”
I was a little impressed that he could tell just from the thickness of the dust.
“Then, could it be? Is he the one who told the enemies about the Royal Guards' secret house and let them in so easily?”
“That's my guess.”
Of course!
“But can the smell of meat really lure the enemies here?”
“There must be quite a few people staying in that mountain keep. Ten guards means there are more than that inside.”
“That's right.”
“I asked the people earlier about the number of carts heading there. I counted them, and the number is gradually decreasing.”
Bang No-sa smiled.
“Even if all of that is food, it doesn't add up. If that's the case, will they have enough to eat?”
“You're right.”
“The smell must be irresistible. Still, they won't come easily. They're smart, after all.”
“What?”
What are you talking about?
“The way I see it, they're in a pretty desperate situation right now. They may have been abandoned by their superiors. That's why they took the drastic measure of kidnapping the Royal Guards.”
Bang No-sa said as he ate the meat.
“They wouldn't have thought of that normally, but the existence of a traitor made them decide to do it.”
“I see.”
“They didn't burn down the safe house to buy time to gather information about their superiors.”
“If they burned it down, they would be investigated much more quickly.”
“That's right. And if we rescue even one of the Royal Guards, will that guy, Cheong-gwan, be safe?”
“There's no way he'll be safe.”
“That was his idea. In the end, it was his own mistake that led to his downfall.”
We talked about this while eating venison.
It's quite delicious when cooked like this.
Meat tastes best when grilled over charcoal.
After we had eaten our fill, he said, “Shall we get up?”
“Well, shall we get up now?”
“What?”
“Where do you think Cheong-gwan went? He must have gone to inform them of our presence. Then they will bring the soldiers here. That will be our chance to rescue the Royal Guards who were captured.”
“Then what is the smell of grilled meat?”
“Yes, it's to lure them here.”
Only then did I realize the true purpose of grilling the meat.
Of course, filling our stomachs was a bonus.
* * *
Cheong-gwan had always been rich.
He volunteered to become a eunuch because he was told he could earn a lot of money, and he entered the imperial palace as a court official.
While there, he had the opportunity to become a classmate.
His classmate dealt in information.
And information is money.
However, he had to avoid places with many people watching, so he deliberately came to Gansu, far from the imperial palace, and from then on, it was his world.
He began to sell the information he obtained to others for money.
He amassed a considerable fortune, but then problems arose.
Samurai from the Royal Guards were dispatched to investigate a series of disappearances in northern Gansu.
They discovered the corruption of the Qing officials.
“How dare those who are supposed to serve as the eyes and ears of His Majesty the Emperor seek personal gain! I will report this to the emperor!”
It was a serious matter.
If things continued as they were, not only would he lose all his wealth, but his life would also be in danger.
However, he could not just die like this.
He decided to stab the Royal Guards in the back and immediately went to the mountain keep where he believed the children were being held.
He sold the information about the Royal Guards to them.
They ambushed the Royal Guards, kidnapped them, and tried to extract information from them. However, they did not reveal anything.
It didn't matter. If they died during interrogation, this matter would be settled.
His corruption would be cleared.
“Besides, I got rid of all the documents related to me.”
However,
another problem arose.
People appeared who were searching for the carriage that had taken the Royal Guards to the mountain keep that day.
As expected, they were sent by the emperor and were searching for the whereabouts of the Royal Guards.
This was serious.
If they rescued the Royal Guards, his corruption would be exposed to the world.
So he approached them first.
Fortunately, they did not suspect him in the slightest and even took precautions for his safety while carrying out their plan.
This was his chance.
He secretly headed for the mountain keep.
“What is going on?”
The men at the mountain keep recognized him and did not stop him.
“This is an emergency. Where is the Boss?”
“He is inside.”
“I need to see him urgently.”
He met with the boss and explained the situation.
“So, they said they would lure us over with the smell of grilled meat? Hahahaha! What idiots.”
The boss laughed at them, but soon began to grit his teeth.
“It's a good plan, though. Especially in the current situation.”
He kidnapped the children on orders from his superiors. However, after taking the children several times, he heard nothing further from his superiors.
Even the food supplies were cut off.
Just as he was growing impatient, the Royal Guards appeared and told him that they were involved in the current situation.
That's why they kidnapped them and are beating them.
They haven't talked yet, but it won't be long now.
In that situation, people with more information appeared.
“Then it's only polite to respond.”
Boss smiled.
“Kids. Listen up.”