Chapter 384
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 384
Chapter 384. Burial (3)
It is clear that they hired someone who could make such an elaborate fake and that they dared to do this to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Just look at how Captain Bok-Yoon treats Palace Head Bing-Hae-Lin. The Northern Sea Ice Palace is feared in this region.
Were they threatened or did they agree to cooperate?
It's too early to tell.
First, I plan to sneak into the residence of Trading Company Head Lim Cheong-Mil tonight, the night before the auction.
If my hunch is correct, we will find something.
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I had breakfast with Captain Bok-im-gil.
Of course, Captain Bok-Yoon was also present, along with Princess Bing-Hae-Lin, Jin-Ho, and Head Escort Ha-Cheol.
I heard that the Gwangjun Trading Company has breakfast with important guests.
That is why our group had breakfast together.
After breakfast, I met with Captain Bok-Yoon separately.
“First, here is some information about Captain Im Cheong-Mil.”
He handed me some documents.
Yesterday, I asked him for information about Captain Im Cheong-Mil.
Our Eunhae Trading Company's intelligence is good, but it can't be better than Gwangjoon Trading Company in this region of Liaoning.
“You were very quick.”
“Of course. There's nowhere in Liaoning that our Gwangjoon Trading Company doesn't have eyes and ears.”
“Thank you. I will repay you for this favor.”
“Don't think of it as a debt. I don't consider it a debt either.”
I smiled at his words.
“May I open it here?”
“Of course.”
I opened the envelope, took out the paper inside, and read it.
The name was Lim Cheong-mil.
He was fifty years old.
He was a well-known figure in the Liaoning region and the captain of the Cheongmil Trading Company, which was named after him.
His father was a shaman who fell to his death from a cliff while gathering medicinal herbs.
His mother raised him alone with great difficulty, and he also worked as a shaman until he accidentally came across a miracle drug and used the money to start a medicinal herb business.
If the Northern Sea Ice Palace was doing business with him, that meant he was a fairly large and trustworthy merchant...
Then, the following information caught my eye.
“Lim Cheong-mil, the head of the trading company, has recently been attending fewer meetings with other merchants in Liaoning. He only attends important meetings.”
This was really suspicious.
Meetings are very important to merchants. They are a place to socialize and obtain information at the same time.
Information is money, and there was no way that Lim Cheong-mil, the captain of the trading company, would not know that.
That night.
I left Bok-Yoon's house with Jin-Yoo. There was a place I had to go to today.
It was the house of Lim Cheong-mil, the captain of the trading company.
In order to solve the mystery of his suspicious behavior, we had to infiltrate his house.
Since we weren't going there to fight, I only took Jin-yu, who was skilled in infiltration.
The house of the Trading Company's captain was not far away.
It was a fairly large tile-roofed house, and the main building of the Trading Company was right next to it.
“Let's go.”
“Yes.”
We immediately ran and jumped over the wall. Then we immediately noticed something suspicious.
- Liege, there are more martial artists than I thought.
I nodded at Jin-yu's telepathy.
Of course, a large trading company would need martial artists to protect it, but even considering that, this was excessive.
It seemed as if they were preparing for war with another trading company.
Furthermore, they did not appear to be working together in an organized manner.
Not only martial artists and sects, but also the guards of trading companies are usually well-trained.
They have to move together in an organized manner.
However, that was not the case with these men.
There was something sloppy about them, as if they were...
Wanderers?
There were a few who looked like they had been trained, but they were strangely timid.
“Let's go to the office.”
“Yes.”
We headed for the office of Captain Im Cheong-mil.
Fortunately, the lights were off and there were no guards, so we were able to sneak in safely.
The interior was just an ordinary office.
Then something caught my eye. It was a mark left on the back of a chair.
It was a small mark, but it was clearly made by a sharp weapon.
Why is this mark here... Ah! He was threatened!
When a sword is held to the neck, it leaves a mark in this exact spot.
I remembered one piece of information about Im Cheong-mil that Bok-Yoon had given me.
“About two months ago, mysterious weapon sounds were heard from the Cheongmil Trading Company.”
This trading company and mansion were taken over by them.
Now I understood why Im Cheong-mil, the head of the trading company, had to do what he did.
They threatened the head of the trading company with their overwhelming power and forced him to do their bidding.
From the captain's perspective, he had no choice but to obey in order to save his life and his family.
This raises another question.
Who threatened Im Cheong-mil, the captain of the trading company, to do this?
And what is their purpose?
We took everything we could from the office.
There seemed to be a secret place where something could be hidden, but I didn't bother to look there.
No one would be foolish enough to touch the secret safe while they were watching us.
Even if they found the safe, they would have searched it thoroughly.
When we left the office and moved to another place, I sensed that guards were approaching, probably on patrol.
We quickly hid and kept quiet.
“I wish you would give me some of the money you got from selling the elixirs.”
“You'll get a lot for them.”
“Did you say the auction is tomorrow?”
“To be exact, it's tonight. It's already dawn.”
To be honest, those elixirs are a pain, so it would be better to dispose of them at the ear shop.
Having those elixirs is proof that they are the ones who led this operation.
From what I hear, it seems that the elixirs are not their real goal.
Did something like this happen in your previous life?
After thinking about it carefully, I sighed inwardly.
After all, it was a time when I was struggling to survive a famine, so I had no time to learn about the situation elsewhere.
However, I do remember that a few years later, the Palace Head of the Northern Sea Ice Palace came to the Central Plains.
I remember it clearly because the entire martial arts world was trembling at the time.
At the time, the Northern Sea Ice Palace was moving around freely, so their purpose was not well known, but it was clear that wherever they went, bloodshed followed.
Now I think I understand why.
Something similar must have happened in my previous life around the same time.
That's why the situation at the Ice Palace became increasingly dire.
That means they were cheated more than once...
Solving food problems by hunting and gathering is fine for a day or two, but it's impossible for years.
In any case, the Northern Sea Ice Palace is not stupid. They must have conducted their own investigation and realized that someone was plotting against them.
That's why the Palace Head of the Northern Sea Ice Palace took action himself.
I wouldn't have been able to stand it either.
Perhaps the wanderers who participated in this incident or their forces are the ones seeking revenge.
If so, the purpose of this incident becomes clear.
Their purpose in doing this is to destroy the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
How dare they do this to the Northern Sea Ice Palace!
For something like this to be possible, they must either be powerful enough to withstand the anger, or have a grudge so deep that they are willing to burn everything they have.
Suddenly, I remembered what Bing Hae-rin had said before.
“The Northern Sea Ice Palace has more enemies than you think. Once we appear in the martial world, we cause a bloodbath, so we have many enemies.”
“A favor may last less than fifty years, but a grudge can last a hundred years.”
I still don't know if this is because of a grudge or simply a power struggle.
But I would rather they had killed him with a sword than do something like this.
I sent a telepathic message to Jin-yu.
“Let's go back.
Yes.
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It was morning.
Today was the day of the auction for the half-moon earring.
I went to see Captain Bok-Yoon.
”You seem busy.“
”No, not at all."
He was looking through documents in his office when he stood up.
“I have some time to talk.”
He offered me a seat, and I sat down at the table in his office.
He poured tea himself and served it to me.
“What is the matter?”
“I have a few questions. Have any new groups arrived in Yeon-nyeong recently?”
“Hmm...”
After thinking for a moment, he nodded.
“Come to think of it, a trading company did come to Liaoning and settle down. I've never heard of them before.”
“Did all of the people in that trading company have weapons?”
He flinched at my question.
“How did you know?”
I replied calmly.
“According to my investigation, they appear to be wanderers disguised as a trading company.”
“I see... No wonder. Their behavior was a little different from that of ordinary merchants. But after a while, I thought they were just people called by the captain of the Cheongmil Trading Company to ask for help...”
He also looked as if he understood the whole story.
“So, do you know anything about the man who led the Trading Company?”
“Of course. I still have some information I gathered earlier.”
Captain Bok-Yoon stood up, walked over to the bookshelf, and manipulated something.
A hidden bookshelf appeared, and Captain Bok-Yoon searched through it before taking out a document and handing it to me.
“I'm glad you didn't throw it away just in case.”
“Isn't that bookcase a secret?”
He answered my question without hesitation.
“Yes, it's a secret bookcase. We can't leave background investigation documents like this out in the open, can we?”
“Can I take a look at that?”
“Hahaha. I don't think it will hurt me if you know about it.”
He had such deep trust in me.
Even though we were just friends, I was grateful that he trusted me so much.
“I will repay your trust.”
I clasped my hands together in gratitude and began to read the document.
It contained a brief description of the man's appearance and some basic information.
His name was unknown, and his surname was Cho.
He was in his forties and was said to be a merchant who had been active in Sanse.
Overall, there was very little information.
If there was so little information, it was likely that he was using a false identity.
At that moment, Captain Bok-Yoon asked,
“Are you going to the graveyard tonight?”
“Yes, I plan to.”
“Then may I accompany you?”
“I don't think there's anything you can get there. Is this for me?”
His eyes wavered at my question.
That's right.
“Thank you, but I can't accept that.”
“What? Why not?”
“It's a dangerous place. With your wedding coming up, you could get into trouble if you go to such a dangerous place.”
There is order there too.
However, as it is a place where illegal goods are traded, knife fights often break out.
It cannot be said that there is no possibility of getting caught up in such a situation and suffering harm.
I smiled and said gently.
“Now, Captain Bok's body is no longer your own.”
After thinking for a moment, he nodded.
“You are right, Captain Eun. I will take good care of myself from now on.”
“You have made the right decision.”
“Then are you going alone?”
I shook my head at his question.
“Of course not. I have my loyal bodyguards with me.”
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At midnight, I left the Trading Company with Seo Woo and Jin Yoo.
We were dressed in black.
There were several restrictions on entering the Gui Maengsi, one of which was that we had to wear black clothes.
This was probably to prevent our identities from being revealed through our clothing.
I asked my two bodyguards.
“Have you ever heard of Gui Maengsi?”
Both bodyguards nodded in response to my question. Seo Woo answered first.
“I've only heard about it. When I was traveling on business before, a member of a trading company said he had visited the Gui-mae Market.”
Jinyu followed with his answer.
“I did a little more research. I heard that someone I was after was going to attend the Gui-mae Market, so I tried to find out if I could work there. I came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to carry out my mission there.”
Seo Woo asked,
“Why is it impossible to kill someone inside the Gui Maengsi?”
“It's because of the person who hosts the Gui Maengsi, the owner of the Gui Maengsi.”
“The owner?”
“Yes. He is the reason why order is maintained in the Gui Maengsi. He is a very dangerous person.”
It was just as Jin Yu said.
The Burial Ground had an owner, but no one knew his name, and he was only referred to as “Blood Sea.”
He was given this name because when he raised his sword, blood would flow like the sea.
He was also called the Dark King because he ruled like a king in the darkness.
Thus, he was called the Blood Sea Dark King.
His nickname is terrifying, and his skills are just as terrifying.
It is believed that he has reached the level of a master swordsman.
It is unclear why such a formidable person would open a sword festival and gather people.
I said to the two bodyguards.
“Today, you must not draw your swords under any circumstances.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We will keep that in mind.”
After walking for a while, I stopped.
Then, looking into the darkness, I asked, “What is going on here?”