That night.
I quietly called for Escort Guard Jin Yu.
“You called for me?”
“Yes. There’s something we need to handle tonight, and it’s going to keep us busy. Will that be all right?”
“Of course.”
A little later.
We slipped outside through one of the merchant group’s secret passageways.
The reason we were moving this quietly was simple – I wanted hard proof.
One of the places that made me decide to conduct this inspection was a brewer operating under the name Yang Family Green Wine.
Their liquor was unusual in that it carried a pale green tint.
On the surface, they were stubborn craftsmen devoted to preserving a tradition that had lasted for over a hundred years.
The liquor itself tasted good too, so people trusted it and kept buying it. Once they’d had a taste, they kept coming back for more.
And in my previous life, once brewing for trade was permitted, countless merchant groups – unlike now – jumped into the liquor business.
Because word spread fast that selling liquor overseas was profitable.
In the middle of that, one merchant group partnered with Yang Family Green Wine and sold that liquor to the Great Yue Kingdom.
But then, of all times, the secret behind the liquor came out through a whistleblower, and the whole thing escalated into an issue between nations.
Trade had nearly been cut off, so not only Yang Family Green Wine but that merchant group too was completely ruined.
Maybe because I’d ordered them to gather the most famous brewers from each region, a few problematic places had slipped in among them, including Yang Family Green Wine.
Still, it was a relief I caught it before the liquor trade really got underway.
Before long, we had left the merchant group and changed into black clothes at a safe house I’d prepared earlier.
“Have a safe trip.”
“Right.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Lee Pil saw us off.
We started checking the places on the list one by one. This was what a real undercover inspection looked like.
The first place we headed to was Yang Family Green Wine.
A quick look told me the liquor had already been brewed.
Green liquor could be made fairly quickly compared to other types.
Which meant the secret ingredient had to be somewhere nearby.
I started searching the places where they kept their ingredients. If memory served, they hid that ingredient somewhere no one would think to look.
For example, the ceiling.
Some parts of the ceiling hung lower than others, so I searched those areas.
Oh! Found it.
I carefully took a little of what had been wrapped in cloth and tucked it into my robes.
– Let’s go.
– Yes.
At my Voice Transmission, Escort Guard Jin Yu nodded, and we headed for the next distillery.
It wasn’t as bad as Yang Family Green Wine, but it was still one of the places with problems.
.
.
.
After checking every single place – the problematic ones and the others too – we returned to the safe house.
“You’re back?”
“Did you find anything?”
Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Lee Pil greeted me as they asked, and I nodded.
“Yes. Let’s go.”
As we stepped out of the safe house, Palgap said,
“Wow, the sun’s already coming up.”
“Hm?”
Just as Palgap said, the eastern sky was growing bright.
That’s right. We had stayed up all night.
It felt like only yesterday I’d sworn not to overdo it anymore, that my family would be heartbroken if I ruined my health…
Why am I tearing up?
As soon as I got back to the detached residence, I organized the evidence I’d gathered and immediately began Breathing Meditation.
Whew, I feel a little better after that.
When I rose from my seat, I saw a familiar face entering the courtyard.
“Master!”
It was Master Gwak Myeong-hyeon.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes, Master. I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you sooner.”
“That’s all right. Hyeong-jin told me you had returned.”
Ah…
Come to think of it, Master was one of the people I absolutely should’ve informed as soon as I got back.
I was the Snow Wind Palace’s Young Palace Lord in name, and I still made a mistake like this!
I quickly dropped to my knees in front of him.
“I’m sorry! This disciple was foolish and failed to report my return to you.”
At the sight of me kneeling, Master looked flustered and tried to stop me.
“No. I know you’ve been busy, so get up.”
“No. This unworthy disciple is too ashamed before you to lift his head.”
“I’m not the kind of person who cares about such things.”
Master spoke sharply.
“So get up. And if you are the Snow Wind Palace’s Young Palace Lord, then you must never kneel so carelessly before anyone. Even me.”
The resolve in Master’s gaze was so firm that I had no choice but to rise.
“I’ll overlook it as a matter of personal conduct. But as the Snow Wind Palace’s Young Palace Lord, I will not. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Good.”
Only then did Master’s expression soften a little.
Still, after not seeing him for a while, he seemed even stronger than before…
It even felt like his realm had risen higher.
He had already felt like an impossibly towering iceberg before, but now it was as if that iceberg had grown even taller.
“The truth is, I came because I thought I might check on my disciple’s progress after so long, but…”
Master looked at my face and slowly shook his head.
“This isn’t a time for training. It’s a time for rest.”
“What?”
Wasn’t this the same man who always pushed me brutally hard and said people didn’t die that easily?
Wasn’t he someone who never skipped even a single day of endurance training?
Did I really look that bad, if even Master was telling me to rest?
“But even if I say that, you won’t rest, will you?”
“I’m sorry. I still have too much I need to do…”
“Then handle the most urgent matters first, and call for me after that. Can you do that?”
That much, at least, I could manage.
And with Master asking me like that, of course I had to agree.
“Understood.”
“Then get whatever rest you can.”
With that, Master left the detached residence.
All right, then. Time to move.
After breakfast, I went straight to Father.
“Father, I’ve finished the inspection.”
“So soon?”
“Yes. I carried it out in secret last night.”
“Tsk tsk. No wonder you look exhausted.”
Father clicked his tongue and looked at me with concern.
“So, what did the inspection turn up?”
“I’ve put everything together here.”
Father accepted the scroll I handed him, unrolled it, and frowned.
“Hm… you’re saying four of the fifteen places are unfit?”
“That’s right. Three of the four can still be corrected if we issue orders for improvement, but one is beyond saving.”
I continued.
“I intend to visit those places today. I’ll issue corrective orders to the three, and as for the other one, I’ll inform them we’ll be withdrawing all support.”
Father thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Do it.”
After rising from my seat, I headed first for Yang Family Green Wine.
“Anyone there?”
At Palgap’s shout, someone came out a moment later.
“Who are you?”
“We’re here from the Eunhae Merchant Group. This is Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“Gasp!”
At that, the man hurried back inside, and before long a group of people came out to greet me.
“What brings you here?”
“I came to see how the brewing was going.”
“I see. As it happens, we’ve just finished a batch. Would you like to sample it?”
“Gladly.”
They soon brought out a bottle and a cup and poured me a drink themselves.
A clear, shimmering green liquid.
As I raised the cup toward my lips, heavy smiles slowly began to spread across their faces.
“Hoo.”
I touched the cup to my lips, then lowered it again.
“The ingredient in this. What exactly is it?”
“What?”
“Was the secret behind this green liquor really poisonous herbs?”
At my words, they flinched in shock – then immediately flew into a rage.
“What are you talking about? Poisonous herbs?”
“How dare you slander our family’s liquor like that?”
“So what if you’re the Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group? Are you trying to force this accusation on us so you can drive down the value of our liquor?”
They shouted at the top of their lungs, loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood, and before long people began gathering one by one to see what the commotion was about.
Ha, so this was how they wanted to play it?
There was only so much shamelessness I could tolerate.
“Oh, this is unbearable! What a miserable injustice!”
“For over a hundred years our family’s liquor has stood proud, and now he says it’s made with poisonous herbs? What an outrage!”
They went so far as to collapse onto the ground and wail.
Most people automatically assume the ones with money or power are villains, while the ones without are victims.
A rotten kind of bias.
No, actually, it’s less bias than it is simple projection.
People tend to sympathize more easily with those whose circumstances feel closer to their own.
Of course, it’s true that some people build wealth or power by sucking others dry, so someone rich and powerful may be more likely to be the villain.
But that isn’t always the case.
Like right now.
It looked like they expected the crowd to side with them, curse me and the Eunhae Merchant Group, and rush to defend the poor, powerless side.
But they’d only recently moved here, so they probably didn’t understand.
Not what the Eunhae Merchant Group meant in Hubei.
Not what the name Eun Seo-ho meant.
“What’s going on?”
“Huh? He insulted their liquor by saying it was made with poisonous herbs?”
“If Handsome Young Hero said that, then there’s got to be a reason.”
“Exactly! The Eunhae Merchant Group wouldn’t say something like that for no reason.”
“…”
At that reaction, the family of brewers behind Yang Family Green Wine looked plainly rattled.
That only made them throw an even bigger fit, but I didn’t so much as blink.
“Go ahead and keep screaming if you want. I’ve got time.”
“Huff, huff…”
Making a scene took stamina too.
It didn’t take long before they ran out of breath and started panting.
Now they were finally ready to listen.
I held out the cup they had poured for me and said,
“Yang Family Green Wine is famous for its green liquor. The truth is, I’d only ever heard of it before today – I’d never had the chance to actually try it. But the moment I smelled it just now, I understood the secret behind this liquor.”
I continued.
“You used Thirst-Inducing Herb.”
At my words, they visibly jolted, though they quickly tried to hide it.
“Thirst-Inducing Herb was once used as a green dye. But because of its toxicity, no one uses it anymore. Once someone is exposed to it beyond a certain amount, they develop a constant craving for it.”
That was right.
The secret behind Yang Family Green Wine was that they used Thirst-Inducing Herb to make anyone who drank the liquor become addicted to it.
“And that is why using Thirst-Inducing Herb now – not only as a dye, but even to color food – is prohibited by national law.”
“T–that’s absurd!”
“We never used that poisonous herb!”
“And how could you possibly know just by the smell?”
“The Eunhae Merchant Group is famous for medicinal materials. And I’m the Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Do you really think I wouldn’t know?”
“…”
“You tried to cover the scent with other medicinal ingredients, but you couldn’t fool my senses.”
I went on.
“And if you didn’t use Thirst-Inducing Herb, then why is the hem of your robe stained green?”
Every eye followed where I pointed.
The man at the end of my finger glanced down at his hem, then went pale.
“W–when did this get on me? I was trying not to let it stain – guh!”
He clapped a hand over his mouth too late. Everyone had already heard him.
Part of his robe hem had been dyed green.
Because I’d made a dye from the Thirst-Inducing Herb I took before dawn and brushed some onto him earlier when no one was looking.
The stuff was potent. Even a little was enough to stain instantly.
“Tear this place apart. There will be Thirst-Inducing Herb here.”
“Yes!”
My escort guards immediately began searching the place.
And before long, Escort Guard Jin Yu – who had come here with me at dawn – found it.
Good. They hadn’t moved it yet.
“At this point, I suppose we’ll need to bring in Lord Ji Hyeon.”
I turned them over to the Magistrate’s Office.
They had broken national law, so it wasn’t something the Eunhae Merchant Group could punish on its own.
After dealing with Yang Family Green Wine, I immediately went to the other three distilleries.
The reason they’d been judged unfit was because of things like sanitation and poor-quality ingredients.
I pointed out each of their problems one by one, and they trembled so hard their foreheads nearly struck the ground.
Which made sense.
To them, the Eunhae Merchant Group was practically a lifeline.
Without their contract with us, not only would they have lost the chance to brew liquor – they likely would’ve struggled to survive the famine at all.
There had been no malice behind it, so I ended matters with corrective orders.
But Yang Family Green Wine was different.
They could’ve caused us catastrophic losses, and they had effectively violated their contract with us.
I’d be collecting compensation from them in full.
Anyway, this is what I told them.
“This is your final warning. If I catch this again, I’ll treat it as a contract violation and demand the compensation stated in the contract. Even if I have to force you into labor to get it.”
“Yes, yes!”
“We understand.”
“Brew it again.”
“Yes.”
Once even the corrective measures were finished, I returned to the detached residence.
Master had told me to call for him once I’d handled the most urgent matter.
Through Geumryeong, I sent him a message.
Geumryeong came back in no time, and not long after that, Master arrived as well.
“It seems you’ve finished your urgent business.”
I cupped my fist in salute and answered,
“Yes, Master. Everything urgent has been taken care of.”
“Then do you have a few days to spare?”
Why was he asking that? Did he have something in mind for me?
I quickly worked through my schedule in my head, then answered.
“I should have about three days free.”
“I see.”
Master nodded, then walked toward me. And then he smiled.
Huh? Why is he smi–
My thoughts didn’t get any farther than that. Master’s fist slammed straight into my stomach.
Thud!
As my consciousness faded, I heard Master’s voice.
“I was wondering what the best way would be to make you truly rest, and this seemed the most effective.”
Only then did I understand why Master had told me to call for him after I finished the urgent work.
I never expected he was planning to put me to sleep by force…
–TL Notes–
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