Chapter 458
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 458
Chapter 458. So that was the real reason (2)
Hearing that, everyone tensed up and reached for their swords, but I calmly drank my tea.
Mmm, the tea is delicious.
Drinking tea while listening to the sound of rain is very elegant.
“Hey, can't you hear that sound?”
“Yes, I can. And there's no need to worry. It's just the Musanpa priests guiding the unfortunate guests who died in the guest house.”
There was another reason why I was so calm.
I couldn't sense any evil energy.
But with all the missions we have, wouldn't we run into the Mosanpa priests?
You react as if this is your first time.
I asked, just in case.
“Have you ever seen the Mosanpa priests guiding the unfortunate guests?”
Master Kwon Jik replied to my question.
“Yes. We are not often dispatched outside, and even when we are, we avoid people as much as possible.”
So that's why.
In fact, it is not that common to encounter the Moosangpa priests.
So even if you've heard about them, you can't help but feel nervous when you actually encounter them.
If you move in strict secrecy, you will never encounter the priests.
“I see.”
“You seem quite familiar with them.”
“Yes. When traveling on official business, I meet them once every few years.”
“I see.”
“And we have no reason to avoid people on purpose.”
But then something happened that made me feel uncomfortable.
The energy of the Mosanpa Daoist suddenly changed direction and moved closer to us.
I put down my teacup and asked them for their understanding.
“And it is an unwritten rule that we must entertain the Mosanpa Daoist who leads the dead. So, may I entertain the Mosanpa Daoist for a while?”
They looked perplexed at my words.
“Um...”
“I understand your situation. However, unless we tell him who we are, he will not know.”
I continued.
“And if we entertain the Daoist priest of the Mosan sect, I don't know if heaven will bless us, but unexpected good fortune may come our way.”
Convinced by my words, Master Kwon Jik agreed on behalf of the others.
“All right. Let's do that.”
Clang, clang.
A loud clanging sound rang out, but it soon stopped.
Then a middle-aged man with a thick beard entered the cave where we were staying.
It was the master of the Mosan sect.
“Excuse me. My name is Hae-ul, and I am a member of the Mosanpa. May I take shelter from the rain here for a while?”
“You are Master Hae-ul.”
I stood up and bowed.
“Please sit down. Have you eaten?”
“I haven't been able to due to circumstances.”
Hearing this, I looked at Pal-gap, who quickly got up from his seat and moved.
“We haven't had dinner yet either. Please join us.”
“Thank you.”
Pal-gap quickly made some hot soup, and we all sat around and ate it.
It had dried jeonbong (thin pancakes) in it, which made it fragrant and delicious.
The Royal Guards were all impressed by the quickly prepared meal.
I couldn't help but feel proud.
Pal-gap's cooking skills were truly excellent.
After we finished eating, we drank tea and I asked Hae-ul.
“Where are you coming from, Master?”
“I am coming from down there.”
“Then are you coming from the direction of Guizhou?”
“Yes, to be precise, I'm from Yunnan.”
Good.
The color of the dye on Haeul Dao's body can only be obtained from a plant that grows near Yunnan.
That's why I asked, and sure enough, I was right.
“How are things over there?”
Ha-eul Dao shook his head heavily in response to my question.
“It's hard to say that things are going well. Other areas are fine, but Chun-gyeong-seong, located in the west, is strictly guarding against outsiders.”
“That's strange. Even though Yunnan is a remote place, it is still part of the empire, so how can they prevent outsiders from entering?”
“I'm not sure, but I heard that the Magistrate of Chunjing City has been missing for some time.”
“What?”
“And his son has started ruling the tribe in his place. In my opinion, this is more likely the son's decision than the Magistrate's.”
“That could be.”
That's how we got information about Yunnan from the Taoist priest.
We'll have to get more detailed information once we arrive in Yunnan, but it's good to have some information in advance.
“By the way...”
He looked at the Royal Guards behind me and said.
“The aura of the dead I am leading and those people are similar.”
At his words, the Royal Guards looked at me as if to say, “What the hell is he talking about?”
They tried to control their expressions, but I could see right through them.
However, this was not something to be taken lightly.
As soon as I heard his words, I asked him with a serious expression.
“Did you say similar energy?”
“Yes.”
Ha-eul Doshi's martial arts skills were at their peak.
In addition, thanks to his skills in dealing with ghouls, he was highly skilled at sensing energy.
Ha-eul Doshi probably meant that the energy of the dead was unique to the martial arts of the Imperial Palace.
“Not long ago, we recovered a body floating in the river. However, due to their deep sorrow and lingering attachments, they are unable to tell us their exact hometown. They desperately want to go to the Imperial Palace, so we are taking them there, but I wonder if this is the right thing to do...”
“The Imperial Palace?”
“Yes. That's why I'm asking you, if you don't mind, to see if you know who they are.”
Ah...
I thought I knew why Master Mosanpa changed direction and came to the cave where we were.
We were his target from the beginning.
Anyway, if the master said so, we should check it out, right?
With that in mind, I looked at Master Kwon-jik, who nodded with a serious expression.
“Of course.”
He also felt the need to check it out.
Swoosh.
It was still raining heavily.
I followed Master Hae and Grand Master Kwon Jik out of the cave.
Two corpses were standing under a rock next to the cave.
They were protected from the rain by the rock above them.
The corpses' faces were pale from being soaked in the rain.
If Pal-gap saw them, he would have been so scared that he would have lost his mind.
However, Master Kwon Jik's face froze when he saw the ghouls. Master Han Seok was the same.
“Wh-what... What...”
They couldn't say anything else and sat down heavily.
“Do you know them?”
Master Kwon Jik answered my question with difficulty.
“They are... my colleagues.”
As I thought... Those ghouls are the Royal Guards.
Master Hae's intuition was correct.
Master Kwon Jik clenched his fists and asked Master Hae.
“Did you say you found them in the river?”
“Yes.”
“Please tell me the details... the whole story.”
“We found them in the river with stab wounds.”
Stab wounds? But I don't see any stab wounds...
Noticing my confusion, Master Hae-eul explained further.
“At the time, he was completely naked, so I found some clothes and dressed him. Even if he is dead, he wouldn't want to return to his hometown naked, would he?”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Then, please tell us where we should take these dead bodies.”
Kwon Jik hesitated at those words.
He wanted to ask him to take them straight to the imperial palace. But that was impossible.
Many people would faint at the sight of corpses walking around.
Then I had a good idea.
“There is an inn called Se-poong in Hebei. If you explain the situation to the innkeeper, he will take care of the dead.”
Master Kwon Jik was startled by my words and turned to look at me.
He looked as if he didn't know where that place was.
“I heard about it from Master Jin.”
“I see.”
“By the way, were the two deceased masters on a mission?”
“They were sent ahead of us to the place we are going.”
“...”
After thinking for a moment, I asked Master Kwon-jik.
“It may not be proper to do this to the deceased who died for the imperial family, but may I take a look at their bodies?”
“Is that really necessary?”
“I'm sure you're grieving the loss of two of your comrades. But I think the best thing we can do now is to prevent more deaths.”
“You're very calm.”
I smiled bitterly at his words.
“I need to be cold-hearted in order to get revenge.”
“Revenge... Yes, that's right.”
Master Kwon-jik nodded. Anger flashed in his eyes.
“I will allow it.”
“Thank you.”
As I grabbed his collar, Master Han-seok said, “I will help you.”
“I'll... help you.”
Master Kwon-jik nodded.
“I'll go tell the others.”
“Understood.”
Master Kwon-jik returned to the cave, and I began to examine the bodies of the dead with Master Han-seok.
Although they looked like standing corpses, we couldn't ask for the corpse magic to be undone.
If the necromancy was broken, they would crumble to dust.
As I examined their bodies, I noticed something strange. These marks look like they were cut from the skin.
I checked the other bodies just in case.
They also had similar marks.
The locations were different, but the size was similar.
Could it be?
I asked Master Han Seok.
“Master. Do you have any tattoos on your body?”
“Tattoos? What kind of tattoos are you talking about?”
I glanced at Master Hae and sent him a telepathic message.
“It's a tattoo that indicates your status as a member of the Royal Guards.”
“...!”
His eyes widened.
Just by looking at them, I already knew the answer.
.
.
.
The rain stopped as if it had never rained so heavily.
The sky was full of stars.
“Now that the rain has stopped, we should go.”
The Moosunpa Daoists mainly moved around in the dark, so it was still dark outside and they were ready to leave.
I took a pouch out of my pocket and handed it to him.
“It's not much, but I hope it will help the deceased on his way home.”
“Thank you.”
Master Kwon also handed him a wallet.
They had collected a little money from the other Royal Guards.
“Please take good care of our comrade.”
“I will fulfill my duty.”
The Daoist said and began to shake the bell.
Ting, ting.
The Daoist moved while reciting a prayer that sounded like a lament, and the two Royal Guards followed him.
The spell of the Mosanpa allows the gangshis to return to their families.
To be honest, I don't know how it works. If I knew, I would be a Mosanpa Taoist.
Those Royal Guards must have had families too. It was only right that they should go to where their families were.
However, they said they were going to the Imperial Palace, not to their families.
That means they desperately wanted to go to the Imperial Palace.
I don't know if it was because of their loyalty to the emperor or because of their feelings for their fellow Royal Guards.
But what is clear is that they were sincere about their position as Royal Guards.
After the storm had passed, the cave where we were staying was filled with grief and anger.
I sat in front of the bonfire and said,
“Master, I think there must be a reason why those two dead men wanted to go to the imperial palace. Perhaps they wanted to warn their colleagues to be on their guard.”
“Be on their guard? What do you mean?”
I continued with what Master Kwon Jik had said.
“The tattoos on the bodies of the two dead men had been cut off.”
Master Han Seok responded to my words.
“That is a mark indicating their status as Royal Guards. However, ordinary people do not know that.”
I nodded.
“Furthermore, looking at their fatal wounds, they were stabbed from the front. The Royal Guards did not even have time to react before they died instantly. What does this mean?”
“They trusted their opponents. And their opponents deliberately removed the Royal Guards' markings before throwing them into the river.”
“Then why did they remove the tattoos?”
“...I don't know.”
Master Kwon shook his head, but another master next to him spoke up.
He was one of the masters I had just met.
His name was Cheong-ak.
“I think it's because it would be problematic if others found out that the bodies were Royal Guards.”
Master Cheong-ak continued his reasoning.
“In my opinion, the killer did this to hide his identity. If the bodies are not identified as Royal Guards, it would be impossible to know what mission they were on, right?”
“That's true.”
Master Kwon nodded in agreement.
“But there are still questions. If that was the reason, it would have been easier to just burn the bodies, so why did they remove the tattoos and throw them into the river?”
Seo Woo, the warrior, answered the question.
“It was probably because of the weather. At this time of year, that area is extremely humid and rainy. If you are not used to the climate there, it is difficult to burn a body.”
“I see.”
Master Kwon Jik summarized.
“In other words, we must be wary of our allies.”
Hearing this, Master Han Seok bit his lip.
He seemed to be thinking about what had happened before.
At that time, he had almost been killed by his classmate, Dong-chang, whom he had thought was his ally.
I swallowed a bitter laugh.
In my previous life, I had also been badly treated by someone I thought was my ally.
However, I still felt uneasy.
It seemed that the scar from the tattoo removal meant more than just that...
At that moment, I felt something bulging in my sleeve.
I told everyone that I had to go out for a moment, left the cave, and took out Geum-ryeong.
There was a letter tied to its tail.
It was a reply from Miss Seo Hyang.
I opened the letter.
Huh?