Chapter 33
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 33
Chapter 33. Announcement of the New Captain (4)
In fact, it was when Eun Seo-ho was very young, so he didn't remember, but Eun Jeong-ho had made a promise to Eun Seo-ho.
It was a promise that he would keep his word to Eun Seo-ho.
That oath and his courtesy toward the guests were in conflict, and he sighed.
“How can I be trusted as a merchant when I can't even keep a promise to my younger brother?”
Eun Jeong-ho said to the maid.
“Tell him that something has come up and I can't meet him. And tell him that I will visit him later to apologize for my rudeness.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Eun Jeong-ho then said to Jeon Woo-jin.
“Let's go to the banquet hall.”
“Thank you for listening to my advice. I will take you there now.”
* * *
Meanwhile,
the guest waiting in the waiting room couldn't hide his embarrassment at the maid's words.
“Damn it! This is a disaster!”
The guest clutched the sword hidden under his skirt.
“Sir, please come to the banquet hall.”
It was an order to leave.
He had no choice but to get up and head to the banquet hall, and the maid tilted her head as she watched him leave.
It was because he looked awkward as he walked.
It couldn't be helped.
The guest dressed in gorgeous palace attire and wearing a wig was not a woman, but a man.
He was an assassin called a “faceless guest.”
He was called a faceless guest because no one knew his true face.
Not only could he use a technique called “bone manipulation” to change his appearance at will, but he was also skilled at disguising himself using a mask.
Thus, he could sometimes appear as a young man, an old woman, a child, or even a beautiful woman.
However,
he was confused because he knew that his target had come to the door and left, so he ended up not paying attention to his walking.
“Oh no! How could I let something like that shake my composure! I still have a lot to learn.”
He quickly corrected his gait.
He had received the request five days ago.
The request was to assassinate Eun Jeong-ho, the eldest son of Eunhaesang Trading Company, or at least to injure him so severely that he would be unable to carry out his duties.
He had no idea why someone would make such a request.
As far as he knew, Eunhae Trading Company was a highly respected trading company in the area, and Eun Jeong-ho was also a person with a fairly good reputation.
But that didn't matter to him.
“If I get caught up in details like that, I won't be able to do this job.”
He had received a lot of money, so he couldn't give up now.
Besides, he didn't have much time.
If the real person he was disguising appeared, his identity would be revealed.
The nameless man entered the banquet hall.
He listened to the lively music and the noisy conversations of the people eating and drinking as he searched for the person he was looking for.
After searching hard, he finally found Eun Jeong-ho.
He was talking with a guest, then went to a corner and sat down on a rock.
He looked tired, so it seemed like he was taking a break.
This was his chance.
The faceless man did not miss the opportunity.
He kicked the ground and lunged toward him.
He already had a plan in his head.
“I'll slash the bodyguard with one sword, then slash my target with the other sword. Then, I'll quickly take off the woman's clothes and hide among the crowd. That will be perfect.”
As he expected, the bodyguard, Jeon Woo-jin, noticed something was wrong and drew his sword to stop him.
“Young master! It's dangerous!”
“Ugh!”
However, the masked man's sword was quick and swift.
Unable to keep up with his speed, Jeon Woo-jin ended up being struck in the chest.
However, Jeon Woo-jin was tenacious.
He endured the pain and blocked the masked man until the very end.
Clang!
“How can he move? His sword skills must be quite advanced.”
Meanwhile, the warriors of Eunpungdae who were standing guard nearby rushed over.
Assassination required perfect planning.
Even the slightest mistake would result in failure.
Therefore, it was a failure.
The masked man turned around without hesitation.
If he delayed any longer, it would be difficult to escape.
He had survived as an assassin until now because he had always fled without hesitation when he sensed that a mission was about to fail.
That was when it happened.
“Ugh!”
Something was wrong.
His legs felt unnatural.
“What is it? Why are my legs suddenly...”
His legs began to stiffen, and it was impossible to escape with his legs frozen in place.
The Eunpungdae soldiers were closing in, and soon they were within striking distance.
“Damn, I didn't want to use this.”
He quickly took out the smoke bomb he had hidden in his sleeve.
It was quite expensive, so he had been carrying it around for emergencies.
This special smoke bomb had a long duration and wide range, so even with his uncomfortable legs, he could easily block people's view and hide among them.
Bang!
He threw the smoke grenade, and smoke filled the air.
“I can't miss this chance to change my clothes... Huh?”
He felt something missing.
The feeling of emptiness turned into pain. His right arm had been cut off.
“Aaaah!”
When the smoke cleared, he found himself face to face with an old man holding a sword.
He knew the old man as the owner of a general store in the entertainment district, but the sword in his hand looked familiar.
“Huh! No way... You! Gui-myeon-po?”
“I finally caught you.”
* * *
I was confused by the situation.
It was around the time when the incident happened, so I headed to the reception room to look for Jung-ho.
Then, I heard something unexpected from a maid.
“The Captain said he has something to do and cannot meet the guest in the private room.”
What does that mean?
So, Hyung-nim didn't meet the guest in the private room. Did something unexpected happen?
Or did he follow my advice and leave the place as Ujin suggested?
I was at a loss because I didn't know what was going on.
Ah!
There was something more important than that.
“Then what about the guest in the private room?”
“The guest has returned to the banquet hall.”
“What?”
“Why?”
“No, it's nothing.”
I hurriedly went to look for Hyung-nim.
I was worried that the assassin might be after Jung-ho again.
I found him sitting on a rock, taking a break.
At that moment!
Someone dressed in colorful palace clothes rushed toward him.
“...!”
As I expected, the assassin wasn't giving up.
Just as I thought, Woo-jin stepped forward and a fight broke out between them.
I quickly sent an emergency signal.
“Everyone, to my area!”
Then, the Eunpungdae who were nearby hurriedly ran to where Hyung-nim was.
And they realized the situation.
“It's an assassin targeting the Purple Mist Pills!”
“Don't let him get away!”
I could see defeat in the assassin's eyes.
I knew instinctively that the assassin was trying to escape, so I shouted to Jung-ho.
“Jung-ho! Use your hidden blade!”
“Huh?”
Jung-ho's expression was blank for a moment, but then his eyes focused, and he immediately used his hidden blade.
Shush! Shush!
The hidden blade pierced the assassin's leg.
It didn't matter that his legs were covered by his skirt.
They were supposed to be hidden weapons, after all, so they should be able to pierce a skirt.
“Ugh!”
Thanks to the paralyzing effect of the hidden needles, the assassin lost his balance and seemed to be caught.
But at that moment, a smoke bomb exploded.
I bit my lip.
“Damn it!”
I had prepared Bi-eun-shi to prevent the assassin from escaping, but now we were about to let him get away again.
That was when it happened.
Thud
There was a sound of something falling to the floor, followed by a bloodcurdling scream.
“Ugh!”
A moment later, the smoke cleared, and I saw a familiar face.
It was the old man from the general store, holding a sword with a unique hilt.
The hilt was shaped like a fierce tiger with sharp teeth and claws.
The assassin looked at the old man in pain and was shocked.
“What! You... You're Gui-myeon-po?”
“I finally caught you.”
At the words of the old man from the general store, the assassin collapsed to the ground.
He seemed to be thinking about something, but before he could say anything, the old man kicked him swiftly in the chin.
“Ugh!”
Pock!
“Guh!”
Poisonous blood spurted from the assassin's mouth and rolled across the floor.
“You can't escape to the underworld.”
“...”
Seeing this, I understood why Gui-myeon-po was feared by murderers.
He was flawless.
At that moment, my father and Chief Administrator Go ran over. It seemed as if they had rushed over as soon as they heard the commotion.
“Jeong-ho! Are you all right?”
My brother nodded at my father's words.
“Yes, Father. I'm fine. I'm sorry for causing you worry. However, while trying to protect me, Ujin...
Jeong-ho turned his head and looked at Ujin.
The physician who was treating Ujin said,
”Ujin is fine.“
”Really?"
“Yes. With about half a month of rest, he should be able to move without any problems. We were lucky to be able to treat him right away.”
Hearing the physician's words, Jung-ho's face finally relaxed.
His father nodded and said,
“It's a good thing we followed Seo-ho's advice and stationed physicians everywhere!”
“Yes, Father.”
“By the way...”
His father turned his head and looked at the man who had caused the commotion and the old man in front of him.
At that moment, Chief Administrator Go Il-pyeong looked at the old man and asked politely with a startled expression.
“Are you the owner of that sword?”
“Yes, I am.”
Hearing this, Chief Administrator Go bowed his head with clasped hands.
“I am Go Il-pyeong, the chief administrator of the Eunhae Trading Company. I am a junior of your senior, No Seon-bae.”
Everyone was surprised by Chief Administrator Go's politeness and began to murmur.
This was understandable because Chief Administrator Go was also a master swordsman with the title of Ilgeomjincheon.
The fact that he was being so polite meant that the other person must be someone very important.
And he was indeed such a person.
The old man waved his hand.
“Don't worry about it. You're being too polite to a retired old man.”
“Please don't say that, sir.”
Chief Administrator Go asked the old man.
“May I ask what is going on here?”
“I will explain.”
Jeong-ho stepped forward, and my father nodded and asked.
“What on earth happened?”
My brother told him the whole story.
After hearing the story, Chief Administrator Go said to the old man.
“So you stopped the assassin who was targeting our captain. Thank you very much.”
“I only did what I had to do. I should be thanking you.”
“What?”
The old man looked at me and said,
“Thanks to your youngest son inviting me here, I received a very unexpected gift.”
At those words, Go Il-pyeong looked even more confused.
“You know that I used to run a general store in Seoga, right?”
“Of course I did. If I had known you were my senior, I would have come to see you long ago. Please forgive my rudeness.”
“I deliberately hid my identity and ran a general store there. It was to catch this guy.”
The assassin was already firmly bound by the Eunpungdae warriors.
“I followed orders and fulfilled my duty, but there was one man I couldn't catch. It was this guy.”
“You mean that guy is... a nameless assassin?”
“You know him well.”
“But how did you know he was a nameless assassin?”
“It's because of this.”
The old man kicked the severed arm that had fallen to the floor and turned it over. Then, a peculiar scar on the inside of the arm became visible.
“The sword technique I have mastered leaves a peculiar scar on my opponent. And this scar is the one I left when I let this guy escape.”
The old man approached the masked man and roughly grabbed his handsome face.
Then, his skin peeled off, revealing another face.
“And this is the face I saw!”
It was the moment when the masked man's true face was revealed in broad daylight.
So, the assassin that the old man called Gui-myeonpo had been trying so hard to catch was the masked man?
Was that masked man the assassin who caused a ruckus at Jung-ho's captain's promotion banquet?
I couldn't help but laugh at this unexpected connection that I didn't know about in my previous life.
Still, is it a good thing?
Thanks to him, the old man fulfilled his lifelong wish, and we were able to capture the assassin who was after Jung-ho's life.
“We have to hand this guy over to the authorities... But he caused such a commotion here... Let's do this. I know a thing or two about interrogation, so I'll help you. What you want is the mastermind behind this, right?”
The chief administrator saw his father in the old man's proposal, and his father nodded.
“We will accept your offer.”
“Then please lead the way.”
“Yes.”
With that, Chief Administrator Go took the old man and the unidentified man and disappeared.
However, that did not settle the matter.
The commotion was so great that the guests were still murmuring, and the atmosphere had not calmed down.