As the Flower Carp Ferry began to move, the other boats that had gathered to help also started moving.
Just like in my past life, the nearby boats pitched in without hesitation.
Of course, since we had approached first and carried out the rescue, the others only needed to take passengers aboard.
Soon, our boat arrived at the pier near the Daegun Ferry.
The passengers who had nearly drowned when the Daegun Ferry’s boat capsized didn’t stay quiet.
They all rushed over to the ferry house and began protesting.
But—
“Take a look at the notice. It clearly says we are not liable for any accidents.”
On the wall, in bold letters, it read:
[There will be no compensation under any circumstances.]
“Our losses are huge too, you know. Now go home. If you keep making noise, we’ll report you to the County Office.”
The shopkeeper of the Daegun Ferry came out, acting like he was in the right.
The passengers had no choice but to grumble and walk away.
“Unbelievable!”
“Damn it!”
“I’ll never use the Daegun Merchant Group again!”
Clicking my tongue, I shook my head.
I expected this, but really, people like that come in all kinds.
As far as I know, the shopkeeper of the Daegun Ferry is the Merchant Lord’s third son.
I don’t know how he was raised, but his attitude toward customers—arguably the lifeblood of any business—is rotten to the core.
Even if this incident hadn’t happened in my past life, I’m sure they would’ve gone under sooner or later.
Even if you want to avoid responsibility by posting that sign, you could at least pretend to apologize.
But no, he threatens to report them instead. That kind of shamelessness is something else.
Thanks to that, I’d gained another justification.
I turned around and headed straight for the County Office.
When I arrived, I immediately asked to see the County Magistrate.
“Who are you, and where are you from?”
“Tell him Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group, is here.”
Thanks to the Eunhae Merchant Group’s reputation, I didn’t have to wait long.
“So, you wanted to see me?”
“That’s right. I, Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group, pay my respects to the County Magistrate.”
“What brings you here?”
“Are you aware of the Daegun Ferry boat that sank in Lake Dongting last night?”
“…I am.”
“I’m here to request an official investigation. It was clearly due to the ferry house’s negligence, but they’re denying all responsibility.”
The County Magistrate clicked his tongue.
“There was no negligence on their part. It was a mysterious accident that happened in the dark.”
“The investigation’s already concluded?”
“Of course. I personally visited the scene.”
When exactly?
I hadn’t seen even a shadow of the County Magistrate there.
Then, with a faint smile and a soft tone, he said,
“I know the Eunhae Merchant Group has a fine reputation, but bullying a small merchant group like this doesn’t reflect well on you.”
It’s certain now.
This County Magistrate took a bribe from the Daegun Merchant Group.
“Is that really what you believe?”
“It’s not about belief. It’s just the truth.”
“Would it be alright if I reported those exact words to His Majesty?”
I let out a sigh and pulled the Censorate Inspector’s plaque from my robe, holding it up for him to see.
“Hm? What is that…”
The moment he saw it, the County Magistrate’s face turned pale.
“Gasp!”
I raised a hand, signaling for silence, and spoke in a low voice.
“I’m acting under a secret edict from His Majesty. If you expose my identity, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”
“…”
“Do you understand?”
He nodded repeatedly, face ashen.
To drive the point home, I took out the imperial scroll and showed it to him.
“His Majesty has granted me full authority to order investigations at my discretion. The report on this case will go straight to the palace.”
I smiled as I continued.
“You said the investigation was already completed, right? And that you personally visited the scene? Then please explain it to me so I can draft the report properly.”
The County Magistrate lowered his head and spoke in a trembling voice.
“T-to be honest, I lied about investigating the scene last night!”
Just as I thought.
I remained silent, signaling him to continue, and he confessed everything without resistance.
“The Daegun Merchant Group bribed me to cover it up… I submitted a false report.”
“I see.”
“I’ll launch a proper investigation right away! Please, just overlook it this once.”
“Hmm…”
“Please! I have an aged mother to care for, and a wife and children to feed.”
“Haah… fine. Just this once. But if I catch wind of something like this again, I won’t let it slide.”
“Thank you! Truly, thank you!”
He kept bowing his head.
I had no intention of punishing him harshly.
It’s true that most officials live on modest stipends, and it’s not as if he committed a grave crime.
Still, seeing this reminded me of the County Magistrate of Sunyang County.
As our merchant group expanded, their demands for bribes kept growing.
I should pay them a visit sometime soon.
I looked at the County Magistrate and said,
“County Magistrate.”
“Y-yes, please speak.”
“This investigation must be thorough. From Gap (甲) to Gye (癸), shake it all down.” (TL Note: Basically, from the lowest rank to the highest rank)
“I will do so.”
.
.
.
On my way back to the Flower Carp Ferry, I ran into a family.
It was the child I’d rescued the night before, along with his parents.
“Ah! You’re the Handsome Great Hero!”
“I’m embarrassed to be called a great hero. I’m not even old enough for that.”
“Then I’ll just call you young hero. Are you headed somewhere?”
“I’m on my way to the Flower Carp Ferry. But… is the child alright?”
“Yes. The physician said he’s fine, so we just got up.”
“Any lingering pain?”
“None.”
“That’s a relief.”
Seeing the genuine relief on my face, the child’s father bowed in salute.
“It’s all thanks to you, young hero. We’ll never forget this favor.”
He bowed deeply and introduced himself.
“Forgive the late introduction. I am Hwang Bon-ji from Guizhou. This is my wife, and the boy you saved is our son, Hwang In-seon.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group. This is my Attendant, and these are my Escort Guards.”
I smiled and returned their greeting.
“Then, we’ll take our leave.”
“Yes. Safe travels.”
I bowed once more and passed them, heading toward the Flower Carp Ferry.
The boat-capsize incident that had happened in my past life.
It was extremely rare for the Emperor to get involved in an incident of that scale.
Normally, something like this wouldn’t even reach the palace, but the reason it did was because of that man.
Scholar Hwang Bon-ji.
He had once been slandered and forced to return to his hometown, but the Emperor valued his talent and later summoned him back to the capital.
However, in the meantime, he crossed a river he could never return from. Because of that, the Emperor ordered an investigation.
And that’s when he learned about the capsized boat on Lake Dongting.
In my past life, Scholar Hwang Bon-ji had planned a grand celebration for his son’s birthday.
Wishing to instill a heroic spirit in his son, he hired an Escort Bureau and brought his family to Lake Dongting.
But their funds were limited, and in the end, they chose the cheaper option—the Daegun Ferry.
Tragically, the boat capsized. In the chaos, his wife and son drowned first.
Crushed with grief, Hwang Bon-ji soon followed.
When the Emperor heard what had happened, he was furious.
From what I saw, he wasn’t so much mourning the family as he was fuming over the loss of a capable official who could’ve lightened his burdens.
Anyway, that’s how the Daegun Merchant Group met its end.
I don’t plan to let them off easy this time either.
“Welcome.”
As I neared the Flower Carp Ferry, Shopkeeper Gang hurried out to greet me.
“I thought there wouldn’t be any customers after what happened last night, but there’s quite a crowd.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
He laughed, a bit embarrassed.
“To be honest, I’m surprised myself.”
He said he didn’t know why this was happening, but I felt I did.
It was because of his constant emphasis on safety.
Earlier, I stopped by a nearby shop and overheard an interesting conversation.
“But didn’t a boat flip over?”
“If you’re worried, just use the Flower Carp Ferry.”
“Is it safe?”
“They take safety so seriously, it’s almost annoying.”
Thinking back on that, I chuckled to myself. A truly good person is someone who’s recognized by others.
This business is about to ride the wind.
By the way…
What was that thing I saw last night?
When I dove into Lake Dongting to rescue the boy, I saw a rock on the lakebed.
It felt strangely familiar, and something in me insisted that I needed to return.
Could it be… a trace left by Snow Wind Palace?
The Patriarch did say he’d left traces scattered around.
But still, it hasn’t been long since I returned from the North Sea…
Either way, I need to check.
At that moment.
The Daegun Merchant Lord was in a foul mood.
“So we’re just giving up on that boat?”
“Yes.”
Deputy Oh Jin-chuk answered cautiously.
“I asked around. The boat’s too big and completely sunk. They say recovering it is impossible. If we try to dismantle it underwater, the cost would exceed the boat’s value.”
“…”
A young man sitting nearby spoke up.
“Father, does this mean I can’t do business anymore?”
“…”
“I finally got serious about work, but even the Heavens are against me.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“…Yes.”
The Daegun Merchant Lord frowned and asked his deputy,
“How much did that boat cost again?”
“Three hundred silver taels.”
At that, he clutched his throbbing head.
Where did it all go wrong?
Was it trying to steal the Flower Carp Ferry’s customers?
Or maybe it was lowering prices to undercut them and cramming in too many passengers?
‘If we carry twice the passengers, we earn twice as much.’ That’s what I’d said…
The sailors fiercely objected, but they couldn’t go against my word.
Just then—
“Merchant Lord! Something terrible’s happened!”
“What is it?”
“Constables from the County Office are here!”
“Constables?”
Confused, he stepped outside and saw dozens of constables already in the courtyard.
“What is this…? Ah, County Magistrate!”
He hurried over.
“What’s going on? And why so many constables?”
“We’re here to investigate the accident from yesterday. Please cooperate.”
“I thought it was already ruled an accident with unknown cause! Why this sudden change?”
He whispered in a low voice.
“Were the gifts not enough?”
“That’s not it.”
“Pardon?”
“No matter how much I enjoy gifts, my life is more important.”
“…!”
His body froze at those words.
If the County Magistrate was worried for his life, that meant something serious was happening behind the scenes.
The Daegun Merchant Lord’s vision went white, and he collapsed on the spot.
‘Damn it. I’m screwed!’
That night.
I brought Escort Guard Seo Wu and Palgap with me to the lakeshore, where I’d seen that rock.
“So you saw something at the bottom of Lake Dongting?”
“Yeah.”
“And you won’t sleep until you check it out?”
“Yeah.”
Seo Wu sighed.
“I really need to learn Water Techniques. They’re more useful than I thought.”
“They come in handy. No harm in learning more.”
I stripped off my outer clothes and handed them to Palgap. Wearing only a thin jacket and pants, I stepped into Lake Dongting.
“I’ll be back.”
“Be careful.”
“Please be careful.”
I nodded and slipped into the water.
Hooo…
I slowly began circulating the Ice Sea Assimilation Method.
My body temperature dropped as I merged with the water.
Then I activated the Ice Sea Water Severance Technique.
Like a fish, my body moved freely through the water.
I headed toward the spot etched into my memory.
It was pitch dark all around, but thanks to the Ice Sea Assimilation Method, my vision remained clear.
After swimming for about half a ke, I found the sunken Daegun Ferry boat.
The rock should be nearby.
I looked around slowly.
“…!”
There it is.
I smiled and swam over.
Familiar characters were carved into the rock.
[Heir of Snow and Wind, prove your worth.]
While maintaining the Ice Sea Assimilation Method, I placed my hand on the stone.
Wuuung.
A vibration spread, and familiar patterns emerged across the surface.
At that moment, I remembered the time the Patriarch locked me up and forced me to learn the True Snow Twelve Form Sword.
That was truly rough. And now, I have to do it again?
Then the rock vibrated once more.
Woong. Woong.
Is it just me… or is the rock begging me not to leave?
–TL Notes–
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