From the direction of the footsteps came a faint light.
“Wh-who’s there?”
“I-I’m going to report this!”
Mandong’s fellow escort guard, shaken, turned and sprinted into the camp while Mandong remained frozen in place.
Soon, the Deputy Merchant Lord of the Jin Family Merchant Group and the Escort Chief of the Daewoong Escort Bureau came out, followed by others.
“Is it a person? Or something else?”
“We don’t know yet. Stay alert.”
The light drew closer.
And then, a face appeared within the lantern’s glow—so strikingly handsome that for a moment, everyone just stared, momentarily forgetting their fear.
Perhaps that was why.
Even though they had been shaken by the ghostly presence, their eyes remained fixed on him, dazed.
“Is everyone alright?”
At his gentle voice, they flinched and stammered.
“W-who are you?”
“Y-you’re human, right?”
“I’m human. We were camping nearby and I heard a scream. I came to check… I’m relieved to see nothing serious happened.”
He glanced around, calm and composed, then spoke again.
“Ah, you’re from the Jin Family Merchant Group and the Daewoong Escort Bureau. I’m Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“Ah…”
At that, the Jin Family’s Deputy Merchant Lord stepped forward in haste and bowed.
“I’m Jin U-jin, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Jin Family Merchant Group. But if you’re over there, then that means…”
“We’re ahead of you.”
Eun Seo-ho pointed toward the road they would need to take tomorrow.
And that was when the realization hit.
All the obstacles they’d carefully left behind for the Changin Escort Bureau and the Eunhae Merchant Group to trip over had been rendered meaningless.
They had passed already.
Deputy Merchant Lord Jin U-jin barely managed to keep his expression neutral.
“I see… I apologize if we disturbed your rest.”
“No trouble at all. But… everyone here seems a bit pale.”
“That’s, uh…”
“Did you perhaps see a ghost?”
At that question, the entire camp flinched.
The Escort Chief of the Daewoong Escort Bureau coughed loudly and tried to speak.
“G-g-ghost? Ahem, what are you talking about?”
“Well, the truth is… the reason we camped over there instead of here is because this place is known for ghost sightings.”
“…”
“Some time ago, I happened to camp here myself.”
The bear-like attendant standing beside him nodded with a grim expression.
“An old man from a nearby village said something strange to me. He asked, ‘You didn’t leave any obstacles on the road, did you?’”
“…!”
They flinched again.
But Eun Seo-ho continued speaking smoothly, as if he hadn’t noticed.
“I asked why he said that. He told me that if you place obstacles on the road and don’t clean them up properly, a ghost will appear here and tap your shoulder.”
“Eek!”
“Eeek!”
“There’s an old tale passed down about this place.”
“A… tale?”
Jin U-jin asked, voice trembling.
Eun Seo-ho nodded.
“There was a woman whose husband had fallen ill far away. She set out with medicine to save him, but someone had left obstacles in the road. Because of that, she arrived just a little too late—only a couple of hours late—and her husband had already passed.”
“…”
“Heartbroken, she died soon after. Her spirit remained here, blaming the one who caused the delay. They say she seeks out the one responsible.”
“…”
“She taps their shoulder to mark them.”
The atmosphere dropped several degrees.
“H-how do we make her go away?”
One of the supervisors asked in a whisper.
“It’s simple.”
“…?”
“Over there is a small stone. They say her spirit lingers around it. If you repent in front of it and do ten forward rolls, she’ll erase the mark.”
“W-what?”
“Forward rolls?”
“Yes. Once the mark is erased, she can’t find you.”
Eun Seo-ho continued casually.
“Back then, someone in our group had tossed some wood into the road. That counted as setting an obstacle, and we all had a rough time. But after doing ten forward rolls there, he was fine.”
“Is that so?.”
“The old man was right. Since then, we never camped here again.”
He smiled faintly.
“Anyway, if you didn’t leave anything in the road, then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Haha… r-right.”
One of the Daewoong escort guards scratched his head.
“But we’ve never heard of any story like that. It’s not like we’ve only passed through here once or twice.”
“If someone in our group hadn’t made a mistake back then, we wouldn’t have known either.”
“…”
At Eun Seo-ho’s firm tone and serious expression, they couldn’t say anything more.
They had already experienced the shoulder-tapping ghost.
And they were guilty.
“The night’s getting late. I’m glad nothing seems wrong. Since we’re all headed to the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition… let’s give it our best.”
I turned back with a hidden smirk.
Was my story really that convincing?
They were absolutely frozen.
But honestly, it wasn’t just the story.
Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Jin Yu had already scared them half to death earlier.
And of course, Geumryeong had helped finish the job.
“Then we’ll head back.”
“Ah, yes…”
We returned to our own camp.
“By the way.”
“Hm?”
“For something you made up on the spot, that was pretty terrifying.”
At Palgap’s words, I chuckled.
“Even I think I’ve got some talent for storytelling.”
That’s right.
The “shoulder-tapping ghost” was something I completely made up.
And now, it was time to enjoy the show.
We went to the nearby cliff overlooking the enemy camp.
The place I had pointed out was clearly visible.
Earlier, we’d set up a small rock there and decorated it just enough to look like a shrine.
After a moment, people began gathering around.
And then—one after another, in groups of ten—they stepped forward.
“We repent of our sins.”
And every last person from the Jin Family Merchant Group and the Daewoong Escort Bureau did ten forward rolls.
That had been the whole point of the ghost story.
Watching them roll around like that was deeply satisfying.
Who told them to mess with us?
The next day.
We resumed our journey to Beijing.
Thanks to last night’s events, the looks the Supervisors gave me were different now—full of trust and even admiration.
They had a hard time holding back their laughter when they saw the Jin Family and Daewoong people rolling around last night.
It looked like their stomachs would burst.
“It’s really fortunate the Third Deputy Merchant Lord is with us.”
“Truly.”
Supervisor Geum nodded, agreeing with Chief Supervisor Seok and Supervisor Yeong.
And so, our journey continued.
.
.
.
A few days later, we arrived in Beijing.
Our first destination was the Yeonjun Merchant Group, where Aunt was staying.
They had grown enough that housing a few more people was no burden at all.
“Come in quickly.”
Aunt and Seon-mi greeted us warmly, likely having received my letter ahead of time.
“I greet you, Aunt. It’s been a while, Seon-mi.”
“Yes, Cousin.”
“But wasn’t Jeong-ho supposed to come this time?”
“That’s right. But he collapsed from overwork, so I came in his stead.”
“Oh no… is he alright?”
“Yes. Thankfully, nothing serious. But if he came all the way here, he’d push himself again and make things worse. So I came.”
“You did well. Even though it’s an official road from Hubei to Beijing, it’s no light journey.”
Aunt turned to the supervisors behind me. I introduced them.
“These are the supervisors accompanying me for the competition.”
It seemed they were familiar with each other, and they exchanged warm greetings.
“It’s been a while. Chief Supervisor Seok, and you two as well.”
“Yes. Have you been well?”
All three of them had been with the Eunhae Merchant Group even before Aunt married into the Yeonjun side.
“You must be tired from the road. Rest comfortably.”
“Thank you, Young Lady.”
I went into the inner quarters.
After washing the dust off and changing clothes, I sprawled across the bed.
“Ugh… riding a carriage for so long is really torture.”
“It’s still better than riding a horse.”
“True.”
Lying there, I began thinking about the Imperial Silk Supplier Competition.
In my past life, I hadn’t participated directly, but I had gathered information in preparation.
There were a few things to be wary of, and I had planned to warn Jeong-ho… but now that I’m here, there’s no need.
The situation’s already a bit different from last time.
Back then, one of the officials judging the contest was Go Seong-il.
He was one of the two who cheated during Cousin Seon-il’s exam and rose to office.
He had the Murim Alliance behind him, so he gave favorable scores to the Baekcheon Merchant Group.
But this time, Go Seong-il is gone.
So the atmosphere has shifted.
Not that it matters.
I have plenty of other information.
And if I can’t manage even this, I have no right to aim for the title of greatest merchant group under the heavens.
Imperial Palace.
In his office, the Emperor was listening to Eunuch Jeong’s report.
“He came as the Eunhae Merchant Group’s representative?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor chuckled.
“Shall I summon him?”
“No.”
The Emperor raised a hand to stop Eunuch Jeong.
“Huh? Why not?”
“Think about it. If I summon that brat, others will notice. And you think this contest will be judged fairly after that?”
“My apologies. My thinking was shallow.”
“I’m more interested in what kind of mess he’ll stir up this time. Hahaha.”
The Emperor’s laughter suddenly stopped.
“But there’s one problem.”
“Eh? What is it, Your Majesty?”
“That brat’s far too handsome.”
The Imperial Silk Supplier Competition had begun.
We arrived at the palace at the time stated in the edict.
By the beginning of the hour of the snake (9 am), we had to be assembled at the palace entrance and report to the eunuch in charge.
Once all groups arrived, we’d be guided to the contest venue.
With Aunt seeing us off, we set out and arrived promptly.
At the gate stood an eunuch holding a roster.
I stepped forward and spoke.
“We are the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
The eunuch checked the list and marked us down.
“We’ll be moving shortly. Please remain here.”
“Understood.”
After a short while, the bell signaling the hour of the snake rang.
“Line up. After receiving your entry pass, wear it and follow that eunuch.”
Leaving Palgap and the guards behind, I entered the palace.
I’d entered this place several times before, but today… my heart beat a little faster.
The venue was located in the Outer Palace.
As we waited—
“Nervous?”
I asked, and Chief Supervisor Seok nodded.
“Yes. A bit. I never thought I’d enter the palace in my lifetime. I can brag about this to my grandchildren.”
“They’ll be proud of you.”
Just then, the eunuch’s voice rang out.
“Her Majesty the Empress, the Consorts, and the princesses enter.”
We immediately bowed.
“We greet Her Majesty the Empress. Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!”
“Raise your heads.”
A dignified voice.
We stood.
The Empress, dressed in resplendent robes, entered with the consorts and princesses.
Since silk was the focus of the competition, the judges were those who used it most—the Empress, the consorts, officials from the Bureau of Appointments and the Weaving Bureau, and two special appointees from the Emperor.
The princesses was here simply to observe.
The Empress, her voice gentle but full of weight, encouraged us to compete fairly.
Looking at her, a memory surfaced from my past life.
Ten years from now, she will be poisoned.
With the very poison I learned about at the Zhuge Family.
Everything pointed to the Murim Alliance being behind it.
If the Eunhae Merchant Group wins this competition, they’ll likely move even faster this time.
Because when they don’t get their way, they get desperate.
Which raised a new question in my mind.
The Murim and the court are supposed to remain in their own spheres. So how did it escalate to the point that they dared poison the Empress?
And worse—how did they succeed in placing a new one in her stead?
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt
GAH!!!
Not just a cliffhanger, but a cliffhanger with a QUESTION?!?