In no time, they drew their swords and charged at us.
“I’ll rip you to shreds and feed you to the wild beasts! Uaaah!”
There were about ten of them.
When they first ambushed us, I could’ve sworn they had at least twice that number.
Maybe because we held back during that first clash, they still didn’t really grasp what we could do.
So with that half-baked impression, they’re charging in, thinking numbers are on their side.
Well, to be fair, it’s me and my Escort Guards who are the weird ones.
It’s not exactly common to see this many people our age gathered together at Peak realm or even first-rate.
People say you don’t know who’s stronger until you test it, but there are plenty of times you can tell without bothering.
Like right now.
Thwack–!
“Oof!”
Slash!
“Gah!”
The ones who ambushed us dropped in an instant.
I strolled over, unhurried, to the one who looked like their leader.
“I’m not saying a word. Just kill me!”
“From what you slipped earlier, you sounded like you know exactly who your higher-ups are. You really plan on keeping your mouth shut?”
“That’s right.”
So that’s how you want to play this… What should I do with you?
I thought it over for a moment, then slowly grinned.
Why was I even agonizing over this? If he doesn’t want to talk to me, I can just make him talk in front of someone else.
“Tie this one up nice and tight.”
“What do you plan on doing with him?”
“I’m going to present him to His Majesty the Emperor as a gift. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.”
At my words, the man’s face went deathly pale, and he hurriedly tried to bite through his tongue.
Thwack–!
“Urk!”
Yeah, that’s not happening.
I kicked him in the back of the head to stop him, then sealed a few pressure points so he couldn’t move.
“What about the others?”
“We take them along, of course. When you come back from a trip, you’re supposed to bring at least a little souvenir, right? They’re perfect as gifts for His Majesty.”
Two died in the fight, so we had eight left.
Coincidentally, we also had eight people, so tying them up and dragging them along wasn’t that big of a deal.
“So, shall we go back and finish our dinner?”
We’d only had a bite of the roasted venison earlier before getting interrupted.
We bound the Unorthodox Sect lot and hung them from trees so they couldn’t try anything funny.
Then we sat back down around the campfire and started eating our venison again.
“Palgap, you got any pepper?”
“Sure do.”
“Sprinkle some on this, at least.”
Pepper’s a bit pricey, but nothing beats it for getting rid of that gamey smell.
If we’re eating anyway, we may as well make it taste good.
“Gulp!”
I heard someone swallowing their drool behind us, but we completely ignored them and calmly finished our meal.
The next morning.
We reached the ferry dock at Nanzhou. While we were looking around for a boat, I spotted a familiar face.
“Well now! Aren’t you Handsome Young Hero?”
It was the captain and crew of the boat we’d taken the last time we came to Nanzhou.
“It’s good to see you again.”
“But, uh, who’s that crowd behind you?”
“Ah… Unorthodox Sect warriors. We’re escorting them.”
He nodded, looking like he understood the situation right away.
“In that case, you’ll be needing a safe, fast boat.”
“Exactly. We’re looking for a boat headed to Gaebong.”
At that, he broke into a wide smile and said,
“Looks like we finally have a chance to repay our debt. How about using our boat? We can head for Gaebong right away.”
“But just our group won’t fill all the spots. Wouldn’t you be taking a loss?”
“Repaying a favor always comes with a bit of loss, doesn’t it? Please don’t turn us down.”
I really appreciated that. Once we arrived, I’d definitely be adding a little extra to the fare.
“In that case, we’ll gladly impose on you.”
That said, we’d come straight to the dock, so we weren’t prepared for a river journey at all.
We still needed to buy provisions and various supplies, and the problem was the people we’d brought along in ropes.
Their pressure points were sealed and they’d been trussed up tight, so there shouldn’t be an issue, but you never know.
Then I suddenly remembered something I’d gotten not long ago.
“You mean this?”
“Yeah. If you still have some left, please give me a bit. I think I can put it to good use too.”
“Well, you did work hard this time, so I’ll spare some. Here.”
“Thank you.”
It was the sleep poison I’d gotten from Elder Bang this time. We just had to feed it to them.
According to Elder Bang, even half a grain of rice’s worth was enough to knock someone out for a solid ten hours.
That’s why he called it sleep poison, not a sleeping drug.
And because it was that potent, the side effects from taking too much were supposedly no joke.
They said you could sleep for days without waking, and even after you came to, you’d feel like you were still dreaming and your head would stay foggy. And of course, if you lie there doing nothing but sleep for days, you end up malnourished, your limbs lose muscle, and just moving around becomes a struggle.
Still, as long as the trip is comfortable for me, that’s what matters, right?
If they suffer the side effects, that’s their own damn fault.
.
.
.
Just like Elder Bang had said, they couldn’t resist the sleep poison and fell unconscious in no time.
Just in case they were faking, I jabbed them here and there with a needle, but they didn’t even twitch. They were out cold for real.
Even so, you never know, so I left Escort Guard Jin Yu and Escort Guard Chang Un to watch over them, then took the rest of our group to buy what we needed.
“This time we won’t be fighting the current, so the trip will be much faster. But the boat will rock more too, so please be careful.”
“Got it.”
With that, the boat set off.
He had a nightmare.
In it, an absurdly handsome ghost was tormenting him.
“This is Brutal Hardship Duck Stew, Brutal Hardship Fried Noodles, Brutal Hardship Dumplings, and Brutal Hardship Wine. Please enjoy.”
“No! I don’t want any more brutal hardship!”
“Please eat. If you don’t, all that brutal hardship will just go to waste.”
“Huaaagh!”
He woke up screaming.
But all he could do was blink in disbelief.
He’d jolted awake after hearing something unbelievably horrible, and that handsome ghost from his dream was right in front of his eyes.
“G–ghost, aaagh!”
“Hey. Isn’t it about time you pulled yourself together?”
“Aaagh! G–ghost!”
Smack!
His cheek burned, and only then did his mind finally clear.
“There, you seem calmer now. Is this another side effect, too?”
The young man who’d been muttering something incomprehensible, Eun Seo-ho, spoke up.
“We’re here. This is Beijing.”
At Eun Seo-ho’s words, his expression went blank.
Beijing? What was that again? It sounded like something he should know.
“Ah!”
He remembered drinking the tea Eun Seo-ho had given him.
And… he’d just felt drowsy and nodded off for a moment, but now this was Beijing?
He simply couldn’t believe it.
“You must’ve been exhausted. You slept like a rock the whole way here.”
A teasing smile played on his lips.
In truth, when he’d heard they’d be traveling by boat, he’d secretly rejoiced.
His specialty was Water Techniques, something no one else there knew.
He’d planned to wait for a chance and escape, but it was already far too late.
“Drag him along.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Imperial Guard shoved the gag back into his mouth and started dragging him away again.
A sudden thought struck him.
If he’d just obediently spilled everything about his higher-ups when Eun Seo-ho first asked… maybe he would’ve been granted a clean, comfortable death.
I watched the ones being dragged away by the Imperial Guard.
Anyway, that sleep poison Elder Bang gave me works insanely well. I should ask and stock up on some more.
Right then, Palgap spoke up.
“By the way, why do you think that guy screamed and called you a ghost, young master?”
“Guess he wasn’t fully awake yet, who knows. Anyway, I’m heading into the imperial palace, so go on ahead to our quarters.”
“Understood.”
With that, I followed the eunuch into the imperial palace. The moment I stepped inside, a prickling sense of unease ran through me.
I couldn’t explain it, but it felt bad.
Was there something about them I didn’t know?
“Wait a moment!”
I hurried toward the direction the Unorthodox Sect group I’d brought in had been taken.
“Huh?”
But there was no trace of them anywhere.
Where are they? Which way did they go?
The eunuch came panting after me a moment later.
“As far as I know, the dungeon is this way. So where could they have gone?”
“N–now that you mention it, that is strange.”
At my words, the eunuch also started glancing around, looking flustered.
He clearly had no idea what was going on either.
I closed my eyes and focused my Qi sense. Fortunately, I was familiar with their Qi.
That disgusting Unorthodox Sect Qi.
Where are you? Which way did you go?
“…!”
I opened my eyes and said,
“Over there!”
I pointed in one direction and sprinted off.
Seeing how well the eunuch kept up behind me, I could guess which organization he belonged to.
Eastern Depot, huh.
The place I headed for was a rarely visited corner of the imperial palace.
And there I saw the Imperial Guard swinging their swords down at the Unorthodox Sect members I’d handed over.
What the hell do they think they’re doing?
I needed to stop them right away, but there was a problem.
Inside the imperial palace, you’re not allowed to bring weapons, which meant I had nothing on hand to block them with.
Ah!
An idea flashed through my mind. I pulled a silver tael from my pocket, poured Qi into it, and hurled it at them.
Whoosh–!
Clang!
The blade and the silver tael collided with a loud clanging sound.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?”
At my sudden appearance, they started murmuring in confusion.
“D–dammit.”
After hesitating for a moment, they all rushed at me at once.
They’d realized I was unarmed and were trying to wipe me out to the last.
As if I’d just stand here and take that!
Whoom–!
Thwack–!
I used the Imperial Palace Martial Art to evade their attacks and take them down one by one.
With no weapons, the only martial art I could really use right now was the Imperial Palace Martial Art.
Of course, I also had the techniques my master had taught me, and Extreme Yin Soul Ice Combat.
But those weren’t things I could casually display in front of others, and they were far too dangerous to use inside the imperial palace.
They were just too tyrannical.
Right now, my goal was just to subdue them or buy time, so I stuck to the Imperial Palace Martial Art.
Thwack–!
Thud–!
Strange. There were definitely about eight Imperial Guard at first, so where did the other four go?
Either way, I managed to subdue the four in front of me.
It took a bit of time since I couldn’t use weapons and my Imperial Palace Martial Art was still rough around the edges.
These guys were clearly in league with the ones I’d captured. They were trying to kill them to shut their mouths.
I felt like I finally understood why the Emperor had summoned Elder Bang to the palace.
The faction opposing His Majesty’s will had grown big enough that things like this were happening even inside the palace.
So he needed someone specialized in cracking them down.
And Elder Bang was the perfect person for that job.
To be honest, I’d already started guessing as much when I left the palace with that letter last time.
But seriously, who are these people?
Just then, the eunuch who’d been guiding me came running with a squad of Embroidered Guard warriors.
I’d wondered where he’d disappeared to. Turns out he went to get reinforcements.
“Young Master Eun Seo-ho! Are you all right?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
“What in the world happened here?”
I explained everything from start to finish.
“…and that’s how I ended up subduing them.”
“How could something like this happen inside the imperial palace! I truly apologize.”
The eunuch and the Embroidered Guard apologized to me and tied up the ones I’d beaten.
Then they started to haul them all away.
At that moment, the leader of the Unorthodox Sect group I’d brought violently shook their head and tried to write something on the ground with their foot.
Looked like they had something to say.
I asked them to remove the gag for a moment, and one of the Embroidered Guard did so.
Was it rage at his higher-ups for trying to kill him instead of rescuing him?
Or had he overheard something he never should’ve heard?
He spat the words out roughly, almost like he was chewing them.
“I’ll tell you everything.”
“What?”
“About this entire affair, everything! I’ll tell you every last detail.”
Looked like the higher-ups behind this Unorthodox Sect group had really screwed up this time.
After wrapping that up, I went to have an audience with the Emperor.
“Your humble merchant, Eun Seo-ho, has returned after carrying out Your Majesty’s command.”
All right, time to put this silver tongue to work.
While I was enjoying that thought, the Emperor snorted and asked,
“So, how much are you planning to bleed me for?”
“Huh? Where’s that coming from all of a sudden?”
“Do you think I don’t know you by now? You’re obviously plotting to squeeze something out of me.”
Ah, busted.
If I said something like, “How could you say such a thing? I would never,” then His Majesty would definitely reply, “Is that so? Very well,” and wipe the slate clean.
No way I’m letting that happen!
Do you know how much money I poured into this mess?
I decided to go on the offensive.
“As expected of our wise and sagacious Emperor. I’m moved to tears by how perfectly Your Majesty understands your humble merchant’s heart.”
I thought of something sad and let a tear drip down.
“What a load of crap.”
He even saw right through the forced tears. Hahaha.
Even as he said it, he didn’t actually look displeased. If anything, I could see a hint of gratitude toward me.
“So, how much are you planning to bill me for?”
“I’ve prepared an itemized list.”
I quickly pulled another sheet of paper from my sleeve and held it out.
It was the list of expenses I’d put together before coming to the palace.
“Hah, thoroughly prepared, aren’t you.”
His Majesty took it from the head eunuch and looked it over.
Then he narrowed his eyes and fixed me with a stare.
Okay, I need to choose my words carefully here.
“Your benevolent Majesty, every single one of those expenses has a very good reason behind it.”
–TL Notes–
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