A short while later.
We gathered in the meeting room again and decided to put my proposal into action.
With Branch Chief Seong Jun-baek’s help, we thoroughly prepared by gathering information and making every arrangement we could.
A few days later, the day of the plan arrived.
“Please, be careful.”
With Branch Chief Seong Jun-baek seeing us off, we left the Yunnan branch and headed for Springview Fortress.
During the journey, Escort Guard Seo Wu’s experience proved invaluable.
Back when he worked as an Escort Chief at the escort agency, this had been his territory.
“Don’t ever touch the sap from that tree. It’s poisonous.”
“I could withstand poison at that level.”
“You might, but the horses won’t. Or are you planning to walk after losing them?”
“…”
“That grass has roots that taste surprisingly good. Dig them up, roast them over a fire, and they’re sweet enough to eat.”
“Is that so?”
“But don’t eat the stalks or leaves. You’ll be miserable with stomach trouble.”
After getting help like that a few times, they stopped arguing with Escort Guard Seo Wu from then on.
And so, we safely arrived at Springview Fortress.
Armed soldiers were standing guard, and the moment they spotted us, they rushed over.
Chaeng–!
Then they leveled their weapons at us and shouted,
“Turn back! No outsiders are allowed in here!”
But I calmly dismounted, cupped my fist toward them, and said,
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group. I heard that a great undertaking is underway here, so this humble merchant came hoping he might be of some help. I ask that you not turn me away.”
At my words, they exchanged glances and began whispering among themselves.
“The Eunhae Merchant Group?”
“The Eunhae Merchant Group? That huge merchant group?”
“Why would someone from there come here?”
I slipped them silver taels and said,
“I’d be grateful if you’d at least pass word along inside.”
“Ahem! R, right. Understood.”
One of the soldiers went inside, and a little later he came back out and said,
“They said to let you in.”
“Thank you.”
Led by that soldier, we entered.
I discreetly swept my gaze across the inside of the fortress.
One look at the faces of the people coming and going told me enough about the situation here.
Just as I’d expected, they looked deeply strapped for resources.
We were taken to what seemed to be the Fortress Lord’s residence and shown into a reception room.
As I sat there drinking tea, a man walked in.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“I am Yeon Yu-mun, eldest son of Springview Fortress’s Fortress Lord.”
So this was the Fortress Lord’s eldest son.
He looked younger than I’d expected. Mid-twenties, maybe?
And behind him stood two men, as if acting as his guards.
“Is the Fortress Lord away at the moment?”
For just an instant, his eyes wavered.
But I didn’t let on that I’d noticed.
“For a matter like this, there’s no need for my father, the Fortress Lord himself, to come out.”
“That may be true from your position, Young Lord, but from mine, this is a very important matter.”
I continued.
“I’m offering to lend a hand to Springview Fortress’s great cause. It would be troublesome if my sincerity were conveniently forgotten later.”
“You needn’t worry about that.”
“I’m a merchant. I’ll need a written guarantee. Better yet, one bearing the Fortress Lord’s seal.”
He hesitated for a moment, then asked,
“Before that, there’s something I’d like to know. How did you learn about what we’re doing?”
“You think too little of the Eunhae Merchant Group’s information network. I have to say, I’m a little hurt.”
“Ah, my apologies. Then I’m curious. How much are you planning to contribute?”
“To start with, would this be enough?”
I gave a glance, and Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am and Escort Guard Lee Pil set down the box they were carrying.
Thud!
Then the two Escort Guards opened it.
Inside, it was packed with silver and gold taels.
At the sight of it, Yeon Yu-mun stared back and forth between me and the box in shock.
“Y, you’re serious?”
“Merchants express sincerity with money. Does this convince you that I mean what I say?”
Meanwhile, the eyes of the two men standing behind Yeon Yu-mun were already glinting with greed.
I kicked the lid shut.
Bang!
The hinged lid slammed closed with a loud crack.
Smiling, I said,
“But you only get this after I receive a written document bearing the Fortress Lord’s own handwriting, certification, and seal.”
“…”
I saw one of the men standing behind him lightly nudge Yeon Yu-mun in the back.
“Of course. Though I think it may take some time.”
“I can wait a few days.”
“But among the people who came with you, why are those men wearing masks?”
Then the man on the left behind him asked that question.
As expected, they weren’t going to let it slide that easily.
The ones wearing masks were the Embroidered Guards who’d come with me.
Since they would know the faces of the Embroidered Guards and Eastern Depot people stationed here, we had them wear masks.
Of course, I’d already expected that question, so I answered without missing a beat.
“You seem very interested in my escort.”
“As the Young Lord’s guard, it’s a natural concern.”
“Merchant work isn’t always clean and honorable, is it? That’s why I keep men like them around. I just thought they might be useful for this matter.”
“So the man they call Handsome Young Hero has that side to him too? Unexpected.”
“That just means I work hard to protect my reputation. Reputation makes money too, after all. Heh.”
“But from our side, we can’t ignore uncertainty. Have them remove their masks and show their faces. If not, this deal is off.”
“That’s hardly difficult.”
I ordered them,
“Remove your masks and show them your faces.”
“We obey.”
They took off their masks.
But their faces looked completely different from their real ones.
Because they’d already come wearing Human-Skin Masks.
Of everything we prepared for this plan, those Human-Skin Masks had taken some of the most time and effort.
What I’d read back at the Sichuan Tang Family turned out to be unexpectedly useful. Specifically, the records in the study inside the cave where the real Tang Yeon-chil had been imprisoned.
Using the knowledge I picked up then, I made them from pigskin, and they turned out fairly convincing.
“…”
After seeing their exposed faces, the two men nodded.
“That’s enough.”
“Then may they put their masks back on now?”
“They may.”
At my words, they put their masks back on.
The reason they’d come wearing both Human-Skin Masks and regular masks was simple – wearing Human-Skin Masks for too long was hard.
In this hot, humid climate, they not only caused painful rashes on the wearer’s real skin, but the masks themselves could lose their shape.
So the plan was to show their faces once like this, remove suspicion, and then have them continue wearing only regular masks afterward.
“But are they really your guards?”
The man on the right asked that this time.
Seriously, these bastards were suspicious to the bitter end.
Still, with their lives on the line too, I couldn’t exactly blame them.
“What would it take to convince you?”
“If one of them barked like a dog…”
“Number Six.”
“Yes!”
At my call, the masked man stepped forward.
Obviously, I couldn’t call the warriors by name, so we’d assigned them numbers from Number One to Number Six.
And Number Six was So Un, the one I’d thoroughly beaten into line.
“Kneel, and bark.”
At my words, he dropped to his knees.
“W…”
But he hesitated, unable to do it right away.
Smack–!
I slapped him across the face and fixed him with a cold stare.
“Are you trying to humiliate me in front of them?”
“I, I’m sorry! Please forgive me, Deputy Merchant Lord!”
“I’ll give you one more chance.”
“Woof! Woof!”
So Un barked like a dog in front of me, and I caught his chin and lifted his face.
“Don’t ever disappoint me again.”
“I’ll remember that.”
There was still fear in his eyes when he looked at me.
Good thing I followed Young Lady Seohyang’s advice.
I turned to them and said,
“He’s still lacking in discipline, so he embarrassed himself a little. Is that enough for you?”
At my question, he nodded.
“That leaves no room for doubt.”
“Get up and return to your place.”
“Yes!”
So Un hurriedly got to his feet and stepped back into place.
“So how long will I need to wait?”
At my question, Yeon Yu-mun answered,
“Not very long. He should return in a day or two.”
“Then I trust you can at least provide us a place to stay in the meantime?”
“Of course. Though… deciding to invest in us… what exactly are you after?”
“I only care about profit. And when profit is involved, merchants like us don’t care what we have to walk through to get it.”
.
.
.
A little later.
We were shown to our lodgings.
It was an annex inside the Fortress Lord’s residence.
I spread out my senses and checked the area for anyone secretly listening in on us.
Once I confirmed there was no one, I cupped my fist toward So Un.
“You’ve worked hard. That couldn’t have been easy to endure.”
“If it’s for the mission, what does my pride matter?”
A very admirable attitude.
“It looks like everyone only needs to keep the Human-Skin Masks on through tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
This time, it was Gwon Jik who answered.
Because of how important this mission was, they’d agreed to keep speaking to me with full respect even when we were alone.
One slip would be disastrous.
Still, when I’d asked Yeon Yu-mun earlier, ‘Is the Fortress Lord away at the moment?’ the emotion that flashed through his eyes had been rage.
And he’d behaved like nothing more than a puppet for the men standing behind him.
I asked Gwon Jik,
“Those men standing behind Young Lord Yeon earlier… were they Embroidered Guards?”
At my question, they nodded.
Just as I thought.
Now I understood the situation.
This wasn’t something Springview Fortress had started on its own.
The Fortress Lord’s side had simply been threatened by those bastards.
And yet the Empire had razed the place, and the Fortress Lord had died a horrific death.
Damn…
What a pack of utter trash!
They’d used this place thoroughly for their own benefit, then discarded it. Bastards so vile I’d still be angry after chewing them alive!
Back then, the Emperor must not have been in any state to judge properly. Not after losing his son.
What father stays calm after his son dies?
But at some point, he must have learned the truth.
I didn’t know the full chain of events behind Imperial Prince Ju Hyeon’s death, but I did remember that the Emperor had come to Yunnan and held a memorial rite.
The Eunhae Merchant Group employees stationed in Yunnan had written back about it.
At the time, I’d wondered why the Emperor had gone all the way to Yunnan just to perform a rite. So there had been a reason.
It may have been his own form of apology, but what did that change?
It wasn’t as though the dead would come back.
On top of that, when Prince Seongbo suppressed Springview Fortress back then, the Eunhae Merchant Group had also suffered considerable losses.
We hadn’t been able to supply Pu’er Tea, and we’d been dragged into requisitioning materials as well.
Which meant this time, I had to set things right before something like that happened again.
Still, there was one thing I didn’t understand.
Why was I sensing Unorthodox Sect Qi from those men?
Inside the Fortress Lord’s residence in Springview Fortress.
Yeon Yu-mun stood in the center of its most lavish room.
“Well done. Keep doing as you’re told, and you won’t wind up like the Fortress Lord.”
At those words, Yeon Yu-mun lowered his head and bit his lip.
Then he recalled what had happened a month ago.
Imperial envoys had arrived, and he’d been sick with worry that, just as always, they would come only to squeeze more out of them.
But this time, the envoy group had included an Imperial Prince, and that prince had caught on to the envoys’ brutality.
Fearing what would happen to them if that came to light, they threatened the Fortress Lord with weapons and said,
“From today on, we’ve decided to use this place as the base for founding a new nation.”
Naturally, the Fortress Lord protested that the idea was madness, and as a result, he was imprisoned after having his left arm cut off.
After that, he became nothing more than a puppet forced to obey their orders.
“By the way, can that Eun Seo-ho really be trusted?”
“Why? You’re uneasy?”
It was obvious they didn’t care about Yeon Yu-mun in the slightest, considering how casually they talked right in front of him.
“You heard it yourself from others when you entered the imperial palace. They said he was someone favored by the Emperor. And the men who came with him are suspicious too.”
“That’s true. The main Embroidered Guard force should be arriving soon.”
“They’re absolutely not Embroidered Guards. Would those prideful bastards bark like dogs in front of some lowborn merchant?”
“True enough. That’d be ridiculous.”
“Exactly. No matter how much they call Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho Handsome Young Hero, at the end of the day he’s still just a merchant obsessed with money. That’s all.”
After talking like that for a while, they turned to look at the man seated in the place of honor.
“So what do you think?”
At the question, the man in the seat of honor raised his head.
“From what I saw, that seems highly unlikely.”
“Then we’re accepting the support?”
“Yes. With that money, our great cause will benefit enormously.”
Only after finishing their exchange did they finally look at Yeon Yu-mun and speak to him.
“You’re still here?”
“…”
“You may leave.”
“Yes.”
With a bitter expression, Yeon Yu-mun stepped out of the room.
Concealing his grief, he was heading back to his quarters when he encountered a handsome young man.
A beautiful face standing beneath the moonlight.
It was Eun Seo-ho.
“Ah, we meet again. The moon was beautiful, so I came out to look at it.”
“I see.”
“If it wouldn’t be too presumptuous, I’d like to look around the residence a little.”
At those words, Yeon Yu-mun nodded.
Honestly, he didn’t want to go back inside feeling like this anyway. And since they had already decided to accept Eun Seo-ho’s support, he didn’t think there would be a problem.
So the two of them strolled through the residence, exchanging a few light words as they went.
As they walked beside the pond, Yeon Yu-mun heard Eun Seo-ho’s Voice Transmission.
– So where exactly is the Fortress Lord being held?
At that Voice Transmission, Yeon Yu-mun whipped his head around in shock.
“So you really are… Ghk!”
But he couldn’t finish.
Because Eun Seo-ho kicked him straight into the pond.
Splash–!
–TL Notes–
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