Chapter 406
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 406
Chapter 406. The Long-Awaited Harvest (1)
While I was talking to the commander, the bodyguards had captured all of the attackers.
Of course, they also collected all of the poison they had brought to kill themselves.
Seeing this, the commander was amazed.
“Amazing. It seems like you've done this before.”
“Isn't the upper world a fierce place? We often have to deal with people like this.”
I chose the one with the best weapon.
For martial artists, weapons are as coveted as martial arts skills, so it was likely that the one with the best weapon was the leader.
Following my instructions, a Myongjong warrior splashed cold water on his face.
“Guh!”
Startled, he came to his senses and looked at me, biting his lip as if he realized what was happening.
“They must be wanderers.”
“That's right.”
“Their clothes and weapons are all different.”
Wanderers were divided into two groups according to their tendencies.
White wanderers and black wanderers.
White wanderers earn money by doing legitimate work such as escorting, while black wanderers earn money through illegal activities such as ambushes and assassinations.
These guys are probably black wanderers.
He said with a sly smile.
“By the way, I'm sorry. You won't get what you want even if you torture me.”
“So you're not going to tell us who sent you.”
“We don't know. How can we tell you anything when we don't know anything?”
How shameless.
But then again, you have to be shameless to be the leader of the Black Wanderers.
“So how much did you get?”
“What?”
“You know how much money you got, don't you? You don't know? If you're that old and don't know how much money you got, you must be stupid.”
“I received ten taels of gold!”
“I see. But you're a high-ranking official of the second rank, and you killed Dao Zhisheng, a member of the Shandong Yue family, and all you got was ten taels of gold? Are you naive, or are you just short on cash?”
“Damn it!”
He gritted his teeth at my words and shouted as if he were chewing on something.
“If I succeed in this task, they promised to remove me from the Martial Alliance's wanted list!”
Ah, so that's why you agreed to do it for such a small amount of money.
Ten taels of gold is probably just enough to cover your expenses.
You're very clever.
“So you took this job because you had no choice, regardless of the conditions?”
“Then what?”
“That means your client is someone who can remove your name from the Martial Alliance's wanted list.”
“...!”
His eyes widened at my words.
“That means the person who hired you is someone high up in the Martial Alliance.”
I smiled slyly.
“That's different from what you said earlier. You said you didn't know anything.”
“...”
He looked confused.
Swoosh.
Seo Woo, the warrior standing behind me, drew his sword.
“Then tell me everything you know.”
.
.
.
A moment later.
I glanced at the leader of the ragged wanderers. They couldn't even walk properly, let alone hold a sword, but I didn't feel sorry for them.
Being a black wanderer means that they have taken the lives of many innocent people, and being on the Martial Alliance's wanted list means that they have been extremely cruel.
Through the author, I confirmed that the person who ordered this was a member of the Martial Alliance.
I also found out that the request was to kill the Dao Commander and that he spoke with an Anhui accent.
At this point, we had found out everything we needed to know.
“Anhui Province, the captain of the Baekcheon Trading Company was a member of the Namgung Clan, right?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
And the Namgung Clan is based in Anhui Province.
“We'll have to investigate this thoroughly.”
The words of the Dao commander were filled with deep anger. And no wonder, anyone would be angry if someone tried to kill them.
The next morning, we headed back to Luoyang.
We had done everything we could do here.
However, just in case, we kept some distance from the Dao commander and his men and accompanied them to Luoyang.
There were no further attacks until the commander arrived in Luoyang.
It must have been difficult to hire the black wanderers last time, so it must have been even more difficult this time.
The commander arrived in Luoyang, and we confirmed that he had entered the castle.
Now it was the commander's turn to take action.
He was a military commander who had risen to the rank of Captain in the military, so he would do well.
Moreover, since he had a personal grudge, it was obvious that he would take revenge.
Tsk, tsk. Stupid Captain Namgung Kang, why did you do such a thing...
I turned my head and said to my party.
“Let's go on our way now.”
“Yes. Where are you going?”
“We're going to Hangzhou.”
* *
At the Baekcheon Trading Company, a beating so severe it was hard to watch was taking place.
Pock! Pock!
The one kicking unilaterally was Captain Namgung Kang.
And the one being beaten was Jitaekmun's head guard.
“Damn it! You're nothing but a manager with no skills! You bastard! Did I make you a manager so you could work like that?”
“I'm sorry... Guh!”
He let out a painful groan.
As soon as he returned to Baekcheon Trading Company after being called, Namgung Kang kicked him as he expected, and has been beating him ever since.
He was already covered in blood, but Namgung Kang had no intention of stopping.
“I entrusted you with the Changhae Trading Company, and even though you couldn't even run it properly, you lost it to someone else? Just die, you bastard!”
The other managers and employees stood around nervously, watching the scene unfold.
They couldn't bring themselves to intervene because they knew Namgung Kang's temper.
Then, it happened.
“Captain.”
“What is it? Now!”
The servant cowered at his harsh response and said in a small voice.
“I just heard that Commander Akyung is heading to the Martial Alliance.”
“What?”
“Commander Akyung has entered the Martial Alliance...”
“Damn it!”
At those words, Namgung Kang gritted his teeth.
He had found some decent black wanderers and hired them, but they had failed.
“Why did they fail? Even with that old man's bodyguards, they should have been able to take him out.”
Four of the black wanderers he had hired were at the peak of their powers.
He had been confident that the mission would be successful as long as no master of the highest level intervened...
But masters of the highest level were not common.
Then, this was not the time to stand around.
He had to hurry and fix this situation.
He immediately headed for the prison, and only then did the people carry Ji-taek, who was lying like a rag, to the physician.
A moment later
When Namgung Kang arrived at the prison, he saw his second-in-command and the guards who had been escorting Mo Cheong.
“Please spare our lives!”
“We only did what the Trading Company boss told us to do. Why are you doing this to us?”
Namgung Kang smiled coldly at their words.
“Where are you trying to frame me now?”
“Captain!”
“How could I have trusted you people with such evil intentions! Ugh!”
“...”
Namgung Kang's words made them realize
that they would have to take the blame for his crimes and die in his place.
Naturally, they were filled with rage.
“You son of a bitch!”
“How could you abandon us who were loyal to you!”
Namgung Kang spoke to them in a low voice.
“That's how the world works.”
Swoosh.
He drew his sword, entered the prison, and cut off the aide's neck.
Squish!
Thud.
The adjutant's head rolled on the floor. Seeing this, the captain of the escort suddenly remembered what Mo Cheong-hyeong had said.
“Hah! You'll end up just like me.”
He closed his eyes.
“Just as you said... I ended up like this. I wanted to live a little longer, but that little bit wasn't even two months.”
But he refused to die like this.
“Mo Cheong-hyeong, you prepared a way to kill me, but I prepared a way to at least put up a fight.”
Thud!
He took out the dagger he had secretly brought in and hidden through the prison guard.
Then he threw it at Namgung Kang.
Swoosh!
His neck was severed, but his last desperate act was effective.
This was because the captain of the guards imprisoned in the prison never dreamed that he would have prepared such a hidden weapon.
Puk!
“Ugh!”
The dagger pierced Namgung Kang's left eye.
“Ugh! Damn it! You bastard! Call a physician! Call a physician immediately!”
There was chaos at the Baekcheon Trading Company, and all the physicians rushed in to treat Namgung Kang's eye.
“Will my eye be okay?”
“I'm sorry.”
“...
That answer explained his current situation.
Unable to hide his disappointment at losing one of his eyes, his servant cautiously spoke to him.
”Captain, the Martial Alliance has sent word. The Elder is coming.“
”...
The pain of losing his eye still tormented him, but it was a call from his father, one of the leaders of the Martial Alliance.
No matter what happened, he had to go immediately.
A moment later.
Namgung Kang arrived at the Martial Alliance and headed for his father's quarters.
“Captain Namgung Kang of the Baekcheon Trading Company is here.”
The door opened and his father appeared. And then...
Puck!
A teacup flew toward him, hitting his forehead and drawing blood.
Namgung Kang bit his lip at the cold, chilling gaze.
He had a gut feeling.
He would be lucky if he could walk back today.
* * *
We retraced our steps and arrived in Hangzhou.
The scenery of West Lake was breathtaking even when seen again.
“It's really beautiful.”
Seo Hyang, who was standing next to me, exclaimed in admiration.
“I think I did a good job as your aide. I get to see such beautiful scenery.”
“But isn't it hard for you to travel so much?”
She smiled shyly at my words.
“If I can see scenery like this, I don't mind the trouble.”
“But why did you come to Hangzhou?”
I smiled at Pal-gap's question.
“Why do you think I came?”
“Is it because of the Yangyang Martial Arts Academy?”
“That too, but I have a more important purpose. I'm going to buy up all the taverns in Hangzhou.”
That was why I brought Young Mistress Seo Hyang with me.
“Let's go to the Yangyang Martial Arts Academy first.”
“Yes.”
We headed for the Yangyang Martial Arts Academy, where the children of the Yangyang Martial Arts Academy and Principal Yeom Jin-yeon greeted us warmly.
“Welcome.”
“I apologize for not visiting you for so long.”
“Not at all. Thanks to your support, we had a warm and full winter.”
After greeting the children, I followed Principal Yeom to his office.
“Please have some tea.”
“Thank you.”
Principal Yeom offered me tea and then calmly began to speak.
“It's already been two and a half years since you moved here.”
“Yes, it has.”
It had already been two years since the famine began.
“So, is the tavern you built on the site of the former martial arts academy doing well?”
He smiled faintly and replied to my question.
“We're not even making a tenth of the money we invested.”
It was just as I expected.
That's to be expected, given the location of the tavern...
On top of that, the prohibition on alcohol has been enforced, which is adding insult to injury.
He must have thought that building a tavern there would be a huge success, so he built it there.
He even kicked out the Yangyang Martial Arts Academy.
But he doesn't know yet. He doesn't know the consequences of forcing the Yangyang Martial Arts Academy out.
“It's almost June, so the weather is perfect. You should start preparing to move.”
Before that, let's take a look at the taverns.
I left the Yangyang Martial Arts Academy and walked through the red-light district of Hangzhou.
Before the prohibition of alcohol, this place was bustling with people.
But now, it was eerily deserted.
Of course, the red lanterns that used to light up the area were not lit.
With a shortage of oil and no people around, there was no reason to light the lanterns.
Pal-gap asked in surprise.
“Young master, is this the place I know?”
“Yes, it's the place you know.”
“Famine is truly frightening.”
I nodded.
As we walked, I stopped in front of a cloth shop run by Wei Zhunde, the head of the district.
There were few colorful silks, and most of the shop was filled with practical cloth.
He was quick to react.
While I was looking around the store, Captain Wei Jun-deok came running over, startled.
“Captain, you're here?”
“How have you been?”
We went inside, and Captain Wei Jun-deok served me tea.
I had already had tea, but I had to drink it since he was serving it to welcome me.
“It seems you are holding up well despite the poor harvest.”
“Yes. It is a little difficult, but thanks to your advice, we are managing somehow.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
“By the way, what brings you to Hangzhou?”
Instead of answering his question, I got to the point.
“I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“Are there any taverns for sale in Hangzhou?”
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and replied.
“For sale... There are a few.”
“The situation must be very difficult.”
“That's true.”
“What about the ones that aren't for sale?”
“They are not much different. They are barely holding on, so they haven't been put up for sale yet.”
“I see.”
“But why are you asking?”
I smiled and replied to his question.
“Because I intend to become the owner of these taverns in Hangzhou.”