Chapter 617
Chapter 617
Chapter 617. The Missing Letter (4)
It was a navy-blue thread.
A navy-blue thread... Could it possibly be the Blue Thread Guest?
The Blue Thread Guest.
He had the peculiar habit of leaving an indigo thread at the scene of his crimes, but what was talked about even more than his elusiveness was his infamy.
Because he did not hesitate to kill in order to steal wealth.
In any case, if this is his doing, the matter becomes easier.
Because I, too, have no need to show him any mercy.
I immediately headed to Lord Ak to report this.
"Oh! What is the matter?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"I just investigated the ship, and I found this." (Eun Seoho)
"Is this not a navy-blue thread?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Yes. That is correct. I found it where the box had been." (Eun Seoho)
Lord Ak immediately called Vice Young Master Ji Seokmun.
"Have you by any chance seen this where the box was?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"No. I searched truly thoroughly, so if that had been there, I would have found it." (Ji Seokmun)
"Hmm..." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak let out a groan, then said with a troubled expression,
"Judging by this thread, is the culprit the Blue Thread Guest? And if this was there while the box was being searched..." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"If the culprit truly is the Blue Thread Guest, it means he is still here." (Eun Seoho)
"There is also the possibility someone is impersonating the Blue Thread Guest." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak fell into thought.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" (Eun Seoho)
"Not in the current situation." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Understood. If you need my help, you may call me at any time." (Eun Seoho)
After saying that, I withdrew from before him and returned to the inn.
He says he does not need my help for the time being, so there should be no one to interfere.
Shall I start acting in earnest?
I do not know whether it is the real Blue Thread Guest or someone impersonating the Blue Thread Guest, but leaving a thread today was his mistake.
Because Geumryeong can smell even the faintest scent.
"Geumryeong!" (Eun Seoho)
"Kui!" (Geumryeong)
"You remember the scent of the thread I showed you today, right?" (Eun Seoho)
"Kui!" (Geumryeong)
"You only need to find the owner of that thread. Then I will give you one nyang of silver." (Eun Seoho)
"Ku! Kui!" (Geumryeong)
Geumryeong’s eyes shone, and then he vanished like an arrow.
And not long afterward, he returned.
Judging by the time, it means he is not that far away.
Well, it would not be easy to go far while carrying something that heavy.
"Let’s go!" (Eun Seoho)
"Kui!" (Geumryeong)
I ran after Geumryeong, and behind me, Warrior Seowoo and Warrior Jinyu followed.
Because speed was the priority for this matter, I had selected only those two.
We arrived at a manor.
To think the Blue Thread Guest’s safe house was in Nanjing!
"Shall we go in?" (Warrior Seowoo)
At Warrior Seowoo’s words, Warrior Jinyu shook his head.
"There appear to be mechanical formations. Entering carelessly would be dangerous." (Warrior Jinyu)
"It seems you know something about mechanical formations?" (Warrior Seowoo)
At Warrior Seowoo’s question, he nodded.
"In the past, I received countless training sessions in detecting and passing through mechanical formations. So I still have a particular sense for mechanical formations." (Warrior Jinyu)
The bitterness in Warrior Jinyu’s voice as he said that made me feel just how grueling and cruel that training must have been.
"Then I think it would be wise to listen to that advice." (Warrior Seowoo)
I nodded.
"That is correct. Just because our realms are high does not mean we should enter recklessly." (Eun Seoho)
But we had to enter that place.
What Geumryeong accurately brings back are expensive and precious things.
Letters are not included in that.
In other words, I have to go inside personally and bring back the letter.
There is a possibility that he burned the letter, but he probably did not.
It is a letter written in the script of the Maraeseo Kingdom.
He is a greedy man who does not even hesitate to kill in order to steal money, so he will not damage it before finding out exactly what its contents are.
Suddenly, a good idea came to mind.
---
That evening.
A notice was posted in the market of Nanjing.
[Blue Thread Guest, look closely. The treasure map you obtained this time is a map of the treasure vault of a legendary great thief of the past, which has slept for hundreds of years. It is not an object you can handle. Therefore, this senior One-Stone Blade God will come to take it tonight.]
The people who saw that notice gathered in twos and threes and chattered.
"Oh! If it is the One-Stone Blade God, is he not the thief who stole the Alliance Leader’s treasure from the Murim Alliance Leader’s storehouse?" (Bystander)
"What about the Blue Thread Guest? They say he robbed the house of the richest man in Zhejiang Province." (Bystander)
"I wonder if the Blue Thread Guest is superior? Or if the One-Stone Blade God is superior?" (Bystander)
"But what does it mean that the Blue Thread Guest got his hands on a treasure map?" (Bystander)
"A legendary great thief’s treasure vault, they say?" (Bystander)
A man wearing a bamboo hat slipped past beside those people.
The veins on his arm were bulging.
"How dare he send a challenge to me!" (Blue Thread Guest)
His identity was none other than the Blue Thread Guest.
Because his pride was quite strong, he was extremely displeased by the One-Stone Blade God’s challenge.
"But that is a legendary great thief’s treasure map?" (Blue Thread Guest)
A few days ago, he had happened to overhear the sailors’ conversation. It was about the treasure that the king of the Maraeseo Kingdom was sending to his daughter being on the ship.
So he immediately began acting.
Taking advantage of the moment when the martial artists standing guard changed shifts, he slipped inside and hung the box from the ceiling, and while they fell into confusion because of it, he secretly took it and left.
And later, he quietly placed a navy-blue thread there.
When he returned to the manor he was using as a safe house and opened the box, there was a considerable amount of gold and silver treasure and one scroll.
When he unfolded the scroll, it was filled only with letters he could not understand at all.
He thought about burning it, but it was a scroll made of silk and even covered with gold leaf.
Just in case, he had left it as it was, but it seemed that scroll was truly precious.
"I must immediately find someone who can read the script of the Maraeseo Kingdom and decipher it." (Blue Thread Guest)
First, he needed to crush the pride of that person called the One-Stone Blade God.
"I should operate the mechanical formations inside the manor at maximum power." (Blue Thread Guest)
Thinking so, he headed to the manor.
The problem was that among those who saw that notice, there were quite a few people seeking a share.
"A treasure map?" (Black Path Martial Artist)
"A legendary great thief’s treasure." (Black Path Martial Artist)
"That brat Blue Thread Guest got his hands on something quite precious." (Black Path Martial Artist)
"He has something unfit for his station." (Black Path Martial Artist)
"If it is a treasure map, that is my specialty." (Black Path Martial Artist)
Like that, those seeking a share flocked to one place in order to find the Blue Thread Guest’s whereabouts.
That place was none other than the Hao Clan.
Thanks to the notice someone had posted, the Hao Clan’s Nanjing branch earned a large income.
---
I was looking outside through the window of the inn.
Because the place where I had posted the notice was right in front of the inn where I was staying.
"So, does the fishing seem to be going well, sir?" (Palgap)
At Palgap’s question, I nodded.
"Yes. It is the best." (Eun Seoho)
Even among the people I just saw, there were five famous figures.
It was a notice I posted, but it is truly effective.
There are various reasons, but first, it is to keep the Blue Thread Guest from destroying the letter.
And also to make flies gather.
I quietly leaked information about the manor where the Blue Thread Guest was staying to the Hao Clan.
As a result, the Hao Clan member at the inn where I was staying was grinning broadly.
In any case, if I make flies gather like that, thanks to those who enter first, the hidden mechanical formations will reveal themselves.
They may be injured or die because of it, but I do not particularly care.
They are all vicious people who go around killing civilians when things do not go their way, so reducing their numbers a little with this opportunity would not be bad.
Some may think I am cruel, but once they learn of those people’s deeds and their future actions, they will think the same as I do.
If there are people I do not want to risk their lives needlessly, I plan to stop them before they enter the Blue Thread Guest’s manor.
In any case, that is how I will profit from the fight.
Shall I head out soon?
A moment later.
I and my guards headed to the Blue Thread Guest’s manor.
And seeing what was happening inside, we had no choice but to laugh.
"Well, now. It is chaos." (Eun Seoho)
It was exactly as I said.
Clang! Clang-clang!
People swinging swords.
"Uaaagh! I will not let this go! You bastard!" (Black Path Martial Artist)
Even people groaning in pain after being stabbed by spears that sprang out of the mechanical formations.
Countless people were trying to enter that manor, probably because I had written that I would come tonight.
The thought of striking first before the One-Stone Blade God arrived.
"It is finally open!" (Black Path Martial Artist)
"Uwaaaaa!" (Black Path Martial Artists)
Did they say there is no warrior who can withstand a group beating?
In the end, as the mechanical formations were undone one by one or their effects ended, the path began opening.
And a little distance away from us were people watching quietly, seemingly to profit from the fight just like us.
* What shall we do? (Warrior Seowoo)
At Warrior Seowoo’s question, I answered casually.
* The Blue Thread Guest is not someone who would give up his possessions so easily. So we will do as planned. (Eun Seoho)
---
The Blue Thread Guest gasped for breath.
"These damned bastards!" (Blue Thread Guest)
He had raised the power of the mechanical formations installed in his manor to the maximum and was waiting for the One-Stone Blade God.
Because the notice said he would come tonight.
But his prediction was thoroughly wrong.
"Blue Thread Guest! Good things should be shared, right? Hehehe." (Black Path Martial Artist)
"I hear you have the treasure map of a legendary great thief. Hand it over!" (Black Path Martial Artist)
"What kind of bullshit is that? No. You bastards." (Blue Thread Guest)
"If you refuse, we have no choice but to take it by force!" (Black Path Martial Artist)
The black path people, whose eyes had turned over at the provocative words in the notice Eun Seoho had posted, had barged in recklessly.
At first, the mechanical formations blocked them, but because there were so many of them, the mechanical formations also began losing function.
In the end, quite a few of them entered the manor.
Clang! Clang-clang!
After that, a chase of pursuing and being pursued unfolded.
But there was a reason the Blue Thread Guest had maintained his high reputation for so long.
At the moment of absolute peril.
Bang-!
He threw a smoke bomb and obscured the vision of those chasing him. Naturally, those who let their guard down lost track of the Blue Thread Guest.
Meanwhile, the Blue Thread Guest quickly escaped through an escape route he had made.
They say a clever rabbit has three burrows.
The Blue Thread Guest was a man like a cunning rabbit, and that was why he had made an escape route in advance.
The terrain was quite rough, but through the devices he had prepared here and there beforehand, he was able to quickly get out of that place.
"Hoo, I really barely escaped death." (Blue Thread Guest)
He took the scroll from his chest and grinned.
"Hehehe. It is a shame about what I left at the manor, but it is fine. As long as I have this." (Blue Thread Guest)
At that moment.
Swoosh!
The scroll vanished from his hand in an instant.
At this, he was startled and looked around, then discovered a group of people.
The eyes of the masked person standing among them were extremely cold.
He felt an inexplicable sense of fear and pointlessly acted tough as he stayed on guard.
"W-who are you! How dare you do such a thing?" (Blue Thread Guest)
"Who else? Someone looking for this." (Masked Person)
"It is mine. Give it back, you bastard!" (Blue Thread Guest)
"How will you prove it belongs to you?" (Masked Person)
"Because I had it." (Blue Thread Guest)
"Hah! Spoken like a thief. Saying it belongs to you because it was in your hand is ridiculous." (Masked Person)
At that composed appearance, the Blue Thread Guest raised his guard sharply.
"Then let us do this. I deciphered that. So let us find the treasure and split it in half. What do you say?" (Blue Thread Guest)
But the person holding the scroll snorted at that offer.
"You deciphered it? How amusing. Then you would know, would you not? That this is not a treasure map." (Masked Person)
"What? What are you talking about?" (Blue Thread Guest)
"Why do you think this is a treasure map? Shall I guess? Because you saw the One-Stone Blade God’s challenge. Because it said there that this was a treasure map with the location of a legendary great thief’s vault written on it." (Masked Person)
"..."
"But that was a lie." (Masked Person)
"What... do you mean by that?" (Blue Thread Guest)
"I deliberately wrote that to keep you from burning this. Thank you for preserving it so carefully." (Masked Person)
"That cannot be... It seems you are the one lying right now." (Blue Thread Guest)
"Think whatever you like. But if you can read the script of the Maraeseo Kingdom, you will know that this is not a treasure map. It is simply a letter from the king of the Maraeseo Kingdom to his daughter." (Masked Person)
---
I looked at him leisurely.
The Blue Thread Guest at first made an expression as if he could not believe it, but soon his face began twisting more and more.
He must have realized that my words were true.
"Uaaaaaagh! You were toying with me?" (Blue Thread Guest)
"You should not have touched that ship’s box from the beginning." (Eun Seoho)
The reason I stepped forward in this matter was because I was worried that the relationship between the Maraeseo Kingdom and the Empire might worsen due to this incident.
Because Brother Seonil’s situation would become awkward.
Also, thinking of it from a human perspective, it is a father’s letter sent from a homeland far away.
If she could not receive it, how much would the heart of that daughter, the princess, ache?
"I will not let you get away with this!" (Blue Thread Guest)
He charged at me, swinging a dagger, but,
Thwack!
You should not disregard my guards.
I glanced at the Blue Thread Guest rolling on the ground unconscious and said,
"Tie him up. It seems we will be adding another achievement to Lord Ak’s record." (Eun Seoho)
.
.
.
When we returned to the Blue Thread Guest’s manor, the place was under tight guard due to the soldiers Lord Ak had brought.
And those who had been aiming for the treasure map were watching from far away.
The reason they could not rashly lay a hand on it was probably because they knew Lord Ak’s prestige.
The reason Lord Ak could arrive at the right time before others looted the wealth there was because I had tipped him off.
"Oh! You have come?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Yes. I have captured the Blue Thread Guest. And..." (Eun Seoho)
I held out the letter.
"Here, I have also recovered the letter from His Majesty the King of the Maraeseo Kingdom." (Eun Seoho)
Lord Ak received the letter from me and laughed softly.
"I think I understand why His Majesty the Emperor favors you. In any case, it will become troublesome because of those who believe this letter is a real treasure map. Will you be fine?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"There is no problem." (Eun Seoho)
I looked at the unconscious Blue Thread Guest I had tied up and said,
"Because this man can take all the blame. We will say that he burned the treasure map." (Eun Seoho)
Lord Ak, who looked at me for a moment, cautiously asked,
"Mm... Have I perhaps wronged you in any way?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"No, but why do you suddenly ask that?" (Eun Seoho)
"It is nothing. Just please do not forget. I am on your side." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Why is he suddenly acting like that?