Chapter 333
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 333
Chapter 333. This is Trouble (2)
I said, thinking nonsense.
“Then let's collect snow.”
“Yes, sir.”
When snow piles up, it becomes like ice.
Therefore, we collected snow in several trays and stacked them in a special box.
Then we sealed them tightly again.
“Let's go back now.”
“Yes.”
We returned to the North Sea branch and immediately prepared to leave.
“Are you leaving already?”
I bowed my head awkwardly at the branch manager's question.
“I'm sorry we have to leave so suddenly. But this is an urgent request, and we've already fallen behind schedule.”
He looked disappointed at my words.
“I can't keep you any longer. I'll make sure you have plenty of food.”
“Thank you.”
I picked out the light and small items from among the gifts I had received and gave the rest to the branch manager.
Being in the North Sea, supplies were scarce there. They would come in handy.
The temperature would start to rise as soon as we left the North Sea, so I had to keep the box cool.
With that in mind, I put my hand on the box to blow some energy into it, but I was startled.
“Huh? What is it?”
The energy was moving too easily, just as I had thought.
In fact, moving energy as you think is quite difficult.
When I first started practicing qi cultivation, it took me an hour to draw the energy from my qi center and circulate it through my acupoints.
As I reached my peak, I was able to move my energy much more easily than before, but I still had to be very careful.
Now... that wasn't the case.
I just thought about it, and my inner arts moved. It was as if my hands and feet were moving.
Could it be?
I closed my eyes and observed my body.
“...!”
Soon, I realized what had happened.
My qi center had grown larger than it had been a few days ago, and my blood vessels had become wider.
Suddenly, I remembered the last words Heavenly Demon had left me with.
“Judging by your achievements, it seems that this incident was not a complete loss for you.”
At that moment, The Heavenly Demon realized that I had surpassed the peak and reached the highest level.
That must be why he said that to me.
“What's wrong?”
Seeing me standing there in shock, Seo Woo asked with a worried look.
“Ah... I just realized something.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems like my level has risen.”
“What? You just realized that now?”
Seo Woo Musha looked even more surprised than I did. I asked with an embarrassed expression.
“So everyone else knew?”
“Yes. We found out that day.”
The six bodyguards nodded.
“...
Feeling embarrassed, I looked away toward the distant mountains.
Seeing this, the bodyguards smiled and congratulated me.
”Better late than never.“
”Thank you very much.“
I scratched the back of my neck and accepted their gratitude.
”Thank you.“
”We must work harder. How can we protect our Liege if our skill level is lower than his?"
The eyes of the warrior Seo Woo, who said this, were burning brightly, and for some reason, I felt scared.
Anyway, I blew my energy into a special box containing the eyes of the cart and made them cold.
Then, we departed for Gui Zhou, seeing off by the people of the North Sea branch and the tribesmen.
As I rode my horse, I thought about what had happened in my past life.
At that time, the daughter of the Pojeongsa of Guizhou Province died a few months later.
It was around autumn when the weather was getting cooler.
That meant we still had a little time.
Of course, that didn't mean we could procrastinate.
The Pojeongsa asked me to bring it as soon as possible because the future I knew could change.
As I headed for Beijing, I could clearly feel the season in the clothes of the people I saw.
I had forgotten that it was summer because I had been in the North Sea.
When we arrived in Beijing, it was already August.
I told my bodyguards to guard the box and went to Hyungpung-guk to take care of some business.
It felt good to wash and fill my stomach after such a long time, but I was sad that I couldn't rest and had to work.
I had to leave for Guizhou again the next morning, so I had no time to rest.
However, I couldn't neglect my duties in Hyungpung-guk.
While I was working, Pal-gap came to find me.
“Young master! Young master!”
“What is it? What's going on?”
“The Minister of Justice is here.”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head and asked again.
“Are you sure it's the Minister of Justice from Guizhou?”
“Yes, it is.”
Why is someone as important as the Minister of Justice still in Beijing?
I hurried to the reception room.
“Greetings, Mr. Po-jeong-sa.”
“It's been a long time.”
“Didn't you return to Guizhou Province?”
“My work took longer than expected, and I just finished. I heard you had returned, so I thought I would stop by.”
“Yes, I returned today.”
“Did you bring the eyes?”
“Yes, I brought them. Shall I show you?”
He nodded in response to my question.
“If possible, I would appreciate it.”
Po-jeong's eyes were filled with a mixture of expectation, eagerness, and doubt.
He hoped that I had brought the eyes, but he was not sure if they were the real ones.
I went with him to the carriage.
On a cart stored in one corner of the carriage was a special box.
“Are you here?”
As I approached, the two guards standing guard over the cart bowed their heads to us.
“It is the Minister of Justice.”
Upon my introduction, they bowed their heads to the Minister of Justice as well.
“I've come to check the snow. Please take out the box.”
“Yes, sir.”
The guards opened the box and opened the lid of a small box inside.
The two guards took out a plate from the box.
“This is snow. We selected the cleanest snow from the North Sea. You can touch it.”
At my words, he reached out and touched the snow.
Then he looked surprised.
“It's real... It's real snow!”
“Your daughter will love this.”
“Of course she will!”
The Poet looked excited.
Then he tilted his head and asked, “But how is it possible for snow not to melt in this heat? It's truly mysterious.”
“But how can the snow not melt in this heat? It's truly mysterious.”
In response to his question, I pointed to the ornament attached to the inside of the box.
“It's thanks to this artifact.”
“Artifact?”
“Yes. It's an artifact that spreads cold air around it. Thanks to this artifact, the snow doesn't melt even in the summer.”
Of course, it was a lie.
There was no reason to brag about my abilities.
I deliberately said that the device was used to maintain the cold temperature in case of an emergency.
The ornament was just something I bought at a street market. I bought one with a blue gemstone to make my story sound more convincing.
This request will be very beneficial to our Eunhae Trading Company.
And the rumor that the governor of Gijou Province requested our help must have spread far and wide.
In such a situation, someone with a grudge against us might try to interfere.
We must be prepared for that.
With my energy imbued in it, I was able to track the whereabouts of the trinket.
The martial arts technique of the Imperial Palace came in handy at times like this.
I could track it by putting a little bit of my energy into it. Of course, there was a possibility that a thief, not someone trying to interfere with us, would target the toy.
It didn't matter.
Either way, I would still get the better of them.
“Amazing!”
The official expressed his admiration at my explanation.
“Now that you have confirmed it, can I put it back?”
“Ah! The snow will melt! Quickly put it back in the box.”
“Yes.”
I put the snow back in the box, secretly drew up my energy, blew cold air into it, and sealed the box tightly.
“Can we leave tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“Then let's go to Guizhou together tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.”
This was unexpected good fortune.
If he went with Po-jeong and his party, he would save money and have an easier time.
The Green Forest Bandits would not attack them, and he would not have to deal with any trouble from the officials.
In addition, due to the battle with the strange man named Man-kyung in the North Sea and the long journey, the bodyguards were not in the best condition.
Therefore, I welcomed Po-jeong-sa's proposal with both hands.
The next morning.
We got ready and waited for Po-jeong-sa and his party.
“Young master, Po-jeong-sa is about to arrive.”
Po-jeong-sa had sent someone ahead, and I gave final instructions to the people of Hyungpung-guk and asked the branch manager of the Beijing branch to take good care of them before leaving as the second-in-command.
Then, I left the Beijing branch with the box.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Actually, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep well.”
“It will be a long journey. It's important to get a good night's sleep.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
The Po-Jeong-Sa nodded with a satisfied smile.
Soon, our position in the Po-Jeong-Sa's procession was decided, and it was right in the middle.
Right behind the Po-Jeong-Sa.
That meant that what we were carrying was very important.
We departed for Guizhou Province.
“From here, we will take a boat from Jinan down the Yangtze River and travel through Shanxi Province via the Zaling River and Wujiang River to Guizhou. Is that okay?”
Baekho, who was our guide for the journey, said.
As the head of the provincial administration, Pojeongsa had his own troops to protect him.
The unit consisted of 100 soldiers, and their commander was also called Baekho.
It was the same title as the commander of the Baekho So.
“It's fine. The sooner we get there, the better.”
Traveling by boat was much faster than traveling by land.
However, water could be dangerous on this journey.
Snow melts instantly when it comes into contact with water.
That's why the special boxes were carefully waterproofed with candle wax, but we still couldn't let our guard down.
Master always travels like this, feeling so tense. Once again, I realized that the work of an escort agency is not easy.
Since we were traveling with the Pojeongsa, we didn't have to go through the tedious procedures of passing through a city.
Thanks to that, we were able to board the ship comfortably.
This time, because there were so many of us, we had to arrange for a large ship.
Still, I was satisfied because it meant we would be safer.
“Depart!”
With the captain's shout, the ship set sail.
* * *
Po Jeong-sa Dong-hwi had several aides.
Of course, under the Po-Jeong-Sa, there were six departments similar to the six ministries of the royal court, and administrative tasks were divided among them.
Apart from that, there were many other tasks that the Po-Jeong-Sa had to do, so the presence of aides was essential to help him.
Among them, one of the two aides accompanying the Po-Jeong-Sa of Guizhou Province on this trip, Pyeong-Tak, quietly came out onto the deck of the ship.
“Why do I have to steal when I'm not even a thief! Damn it!”
He grumbled to himself.
There was a reason why he had to do such a thing.
It was the day when he made a mistake and was severely punished by the Po-jeongsa.
He was drinking alone at a tavern to calm his anger and cheer himself up.
That was before the prohibition on alcohol was enacted.
A man with a friendly face approached Pyung-tak.
“Wait! Who are you? Aren't you the second lieutenant of the commander?”
“You have the wrong person.”
Not wanting to be bothered, he said so, but the man smiled and sat down in front of him.
“I know you work very hard. In fact, you have done me a favor in the past.”
“Me?”
“Don't you remember? But then, it's usually only the recipient who remembers favors. Ha ha ha.”
He brushed it off so smoothly that he thought that was the case.
“You shouldn't drink alone. Let me buy you a drink.”
That's how he ended up getting a free drink. But it wasn't really free.
His name was Mae-yeom.
He said he was a member of the Insight Trading Company, one of the most prestigious trading companies in Giju.
He always bought him drinks, so he felt sorry and agreed to his requests.
That was the beginning.
Mae-yeom thanked him and gave him a big gift, and feeling flattered, he couldn't help but agree to even bigger requests.
That's how their relationship of favors began, but Pyung-tak couldn't escape from its shackles.
In fact, he didn't even realize that he was sinking into a quagmire.
He was just happy that he was being treated well and praised.
Then one day, Mae-yeom said to him.
“The daughter of the Pojeongsa wants to see snow...”
“How do you know that?”
"Our trading company has quite a lot of information. So, when Po-jeong-sa is looking for a trading company to work with, please recommend our Insight Trading Company.“
”Are you guys capable of getting snow this summer?“
”Of course."
Having received the request, Pyung-tak planned to recommend Insight Trading Company, which Mae-yeom belonged to, to Po-jeong-sa.
However...
Something maddening happened.