Chapter 386
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 386
Chapter 386. Ear Auction (5)
Soon, the auctioneer arrived, and I asked him.
“So, can I get the real elixirs today?”
“I'm sorry, but I need to find out more about what happened.”
“I see.”
“Would it be okay if I searched you to prevent any trouble?”
If I refused a body search here, he would definitely think something was suspicious.
I stood up and said, “If it's to clear up the misunderstanding, I'll do it. But do we all have to be searched?”
“I'm afraid so. Due to the circumstances, we have to search everyone.”
“Yes, given the circumstances...”
“In that case, as we are women, please have a female officer conduct the search.”
“Yes, of course.”
Soon, a woman dressed in red entered the room, and we were each searched.
Of course, nothing was found on us.
Geum-ryeong had hidden the items elsewhere beforehand.
After the body search was over, I asked the auctioneer.
“Is the misunderstanding cleared up now?”
“Yes. I am very sorry.”
“Actually, we have to leave here the day after tomorrow at the latest. Will we be able to receive the items by then?”
“I will do my best. In two days, I will hang a blue ribbon on the third floor of the Yeongryeong Inn nearby. When you see it, please come to that place.”
“Then we will wait for your call.”
We got up from our seats and left the building.
Then, we looked around the merchants' tents and headed for the exit of the flea market. We had finished what we had to do here.
Then we heard someone shouting.
“Please, I beg you! Sell me this sword!”
When we turned around, we saw a man bowing his head in front of a tent selling weapons.
“I'll pay you back somehow in the future...”
“You know who I am, and you're selling this to me for half price?”
“I'm just... Please, I beg you.”
Looking closely, he saw that the man was arguing with the merchant over a sword on the counter.
The price tag said 1,000 nyan.
That was quite expensive.
It seemed that he was trying to pay half and leave the rest on credit.
Did that sword have some kind of story behind it?
Judging from his appearance and behavior, he did not seem to be an ordinary martial artist. He was also reluctant to reveal his identity.
He begged again earnestly.
“If I don't get this sword, I will die.”
“Your situation is unfortunate, but these are the rules here. And we also have to give a significant portion of the sales price to the owner of this place, so we cannot make an exception for you.”
His tone was gentle, but his eyes were cold.
“Please, I beg you.”
He prostrated himself in front of him, but the merchant remained cold.
Well, you can't do business here without that kind of attitude.
He was a good merchant for even listening to him this far.
But I wondered what was so special about that sword that he was begging so desperately.
I approached the sword and took a closer look.
Judging from its aura and material, it was a valuable sword.
But who was this man?
As I turned my head, the man's upper garment rose, revealing a scar on his back.
“...!”
That scar in the shape of the Chinese character “之” (ji)...
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, but it was definitely that scar.
In my previous life, the Moyong Clan was loyal to the Martial Alliance. This was evident from their active participation in the Martial Alliance's activities.
However, it wasn't always like that.
It was only after the new Clan Head came to power that they started acting that way.
The clan head was not the first son of the previous clan head, but the third son.
Normally, the eldest or second son would succeed, but due to circumstances, the third son became the clan head.
I heard that the eldest son was perfect as the next clan head, but he was expelled from his position as Young Master due to an unfortunate incident.
And I knew the eldest son well.
In my previous life, I met the Green Forest Bandits while passing through the land of Yingning, and he helped me.
His name was Murong Taige.
He was expelled from his position as Young Master and was leading the clan's armed forces.
Through that connection, I became quite close with him.
Whenever I visited the land of Yingning, we would drink together, and in the summer, we would go to the river to swim.
That was when I saw his scar.
When I asked him about it, he said it was from fighting with bullies when he was a child.
It was such an unusual scar that I couldn't forget it.
I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a goblin mask, but I'm sure it was him.
He felt sorry for the Moyong Clan, which was being tossed around according to the will of the Martial Alliance.
“What's the point of me saying this? The head of this clan is already... that guy.”
“...”
“I'm so upset. If only he hadn't lost that sword! Then he wouldn't have been pushed out of his position as Young Master!”
“What sword are you talking about?”
“It was the sacred sword passed down through our family for generations, given to me by my grandfather. It was a sword that only revealed its true form in the hands of the direct bloodline of the main family. But... one day, it disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes. I tried very hard to find it, but in the end... I couldn't find it. And having lost the trust of my grandfather and the senior members of the clan, I was forced to step down from my position as Young Master.”
Then that sword must be the one that Young Master Murong lost.
He must have been searching for it and found out that it was here.
However, the large sum of 1,000 nyang is preventing him from getting the sword back.
In my previous life, I wondered
what would have happened to the Moyong Clan if Moyong Taegul, not Moyong Sung-gil, had become the Young Master.
Regardless, I was happy to have this opportunity to repay the kindness I had received in the past.
I approached him and the merchant.
“Is this sword worth a thousand pieces of silver?”
The merchant who was selling the sword nodded in response to my question.
“Yes, it is.”
I took ten pieces of silver worth a hundred pieces each from my pocket and handed them to him.
There are two types of bills.
Signed bills and unsigned bills.
Signed bills are used to collect money on behalf of the person whose name is written on the bill, while unsigned bills are used to collect money from the place where the bill was issued, as the amount has already been paid when the bill was issued.
Of course, the bills I brought with me were unsigned bills.
I couldn't reveal my identity.
And in places like this, people usually use unregistered slips.
“Please check it.”
The merchant checked the slip and nodded.
“It's a real slip.”
“Then this sword is mine?”
“Of course. Thank you for your business.”
As soon as the transaction was complete, the young man who had been begging to buy the sword, Murong Taige, waved his hands in confusion.
“Hey, you can't do that.”
“What do you mean?”
“The transaction between me and the merchant is not complete yet.”
The merchant replied coldly.
“What transaction? The rule in this flea market is that whoever pays first gets it!”
“That's...”
A bewildered voice.
I smiled wryly and handed him the sword.
“Take it.”
“...What?”
“It's yours now.”
I continued.
“I bought it just to give to you as a gift. So please take it.”
A dazed look.
Seeing those familiar eyes, I smiled.
“Don't lose it again.”
I forced the sword into his hands and turned away without looking back.
“Who are you?”
“It is not polite to ask that here.”
“But...”
“Just think of it as a trick by a goblin.”
With those words, I left the ear shop and returned the mask.
Then I moved quickly.
I could sense the presence of those who were following me.
So I increased my speed as much as possible and ran through the land of Yingning, changing my route frequently.
After running for about a moment, I couldn't sense anyone following us anymore.
I said to the Palace Head Bing Haerin.
“You did well to hold back.”
“The future of Bing Palace depends on my actions.”
“That's a good attitude. Let's keep that up and do one more thing.”
“What do you mean?”
I smiled and continued.
“I'll tell you when we get back.”
A short while later, we returned to the Trading Company.
I stopped by my quarters and then headed back to Byeonghaerin's quarters.
“Please take this first.”
“...?”
She tilted her head, took the basket, and opened the lid.
“...!”
She looked at me with a surprised expression.
“Oh my! What is this...”
“That's right. These are the elixirs that were stolen from the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“But you said they were fake...”
I didn't answer her and said something else.
“I'm going to spread a rumor that you, the Captain of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, brought these to sell. The disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace will arrive tomorrow, so they will spread the rumor.”
The fact that the disciples were coming was already known to Bing Haerin, the Palace Head.
“There will definitely be someone who approaches the Palace Head.”
“...Is that person the culprit who did this?”
“It's highly likely.”
Unless we find the real thing and bring it back, he won't be able to escape from the clutches of the owner of the ear piercing shop.
***
A fairly large house next to the residence of the Trading Company Head, Lim Cheong-mil.
The owner of the house was a man named Cho Seok, and he was preparing to leave at any moment.
One of his preparations was to sell the Northern Sea Ice Palace's elixirs, which he had obtained, at an auction in Gui-mae-jangsi.
He hated the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
It was because of the Northern Sea Ice Palace that his family, who had once lived in luxury, had fallen into ruin.
While living with dreams of revenge, he was presented with a good opportunity.
Someone approached him and told him how he could get his revenge.
“The Northern Sea Ice Palace sells those elixirs to obtain food. However, due to a poor harvest, it is difficult to obtain food at the moment. Wouldn't it be interesting if the elixirs that the Northern Sea Ice Palace brought to sell were fake?”
“The Northern Sea Ice Palace is starving! Hehehe. Just hearing that makes me happy.”
“With your wealth, you can easily pull it off.”
Even though his family had fallen, he was still rich.
He told him the details of his plan.
“...Once you have stolen the elixirs, hand them over to the black market in Yingling. You will have to pay a large commission, but it will be worth it.”
“I see. But why are you telling me this?”
“Because I don't like the Northern Sea Ice Palace either.”
He immediately followed the instructions given by the mysterious man and, watching the carts entering the Northern Sea Ice Palace, realized that the man was right.
The amount of supplies heading to the ice palace had clearly decreased.
In any case, he was told to be ready to leave at any time, so he handed over the elixirs to the auction at the slave market held yesterday.
Morning came, and the auctioneer from the flea market visited his residence.
“Hahaha! Welcome!”
It was clear that they had come with the payment for the sale, so he greeted them with a smile.
“Please come in.”
He led them into the reception room.
“Would you like some tea?”
“No, there's no need to bring tea.”
Previously, he had spoken politely, but today the atmosphere was completely different.
The auctioneer looked behind him, and one of the samurai who had followed him handed him a box.
“Check it.”
Cho-Seok looked inside the box.
Inside, instead of the payment, there were medicinal herbs.
However, it was not the real medicine he had handed over, but a fake.
He could tell at a glance because he had marked the real medicine with a sign only he knew to prevent them from confusing the fake medicine they had given him with the real one.
“Why is this here...?”
He broke out in a cold sweat.
He was sure he had handed over the real ones, but suddenly they brought him fake ones.
The fake medicine had come full circle and returned to him!
“It seems you've learned how to appraise medicine.”
“I don't know much about medicine. Hahaha. Those medicines just happened to come into my possession...”
“But it's surprising that you noticed they were fake so quickly.”
“...!”
He opened his eyes wide and said.
He was trapped.
“Now that you've said that, hand over the real elixir you took.”
“What are you talking about? Real elixir? I definitely handed over the real elixir, not these fake ones!”
“The fact that you realized these are fake is proof that you deceived us.”
“....”
“There's no point in talking nicely.”
At that, the warriors behind the auctioneer grabbed his arms and subdued him.
Then, the auctioneer touched his acupoints.
“!”
Despite the excruciating pain, Cho-seok couldn't even scream, even though his blood was being sucked out.
“Huff, huff...”
What felt like ten years passed, and the auctioneer released Cho-seok and said,
“We'll come back tonight.”
Then they left the reception room.
Cho-Seok's vision went dark, and he collapsed on the spot.
He had to find the real elixir somehow...
He hurriedly contacted the person who had told him how to get revenge on the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
He said that person was also in Yingling.
But...
“They say there is no such person.”