Mo Cheong flinched at the sound of that voice.
He had no idea who was calling out for him, but a fierce instinct told him that if he did exactly what that voice said, he might live.
It was an instinct honed through countless brushes with death.
“…All right.”
“Then, excuse me for a moment.”
In an instant, his acupoints were sealed. As he panicked, the mysterious man spoke.
“Your bleeding needs to be stopped, and moving right now would be dangerous, so I sealed your acupoints for a bit. I’ll release them once it’s safe.”
From that moment on, the sight before his eyes was unbelievable.
It was too dark to see clearly, but he could tell he was slung over someone’s shoulder, being carried away, and that the people chasing him were getting farther and farther behind.
Shaking them off happened in the blink of an eye.
Maybe it was the relief of finally feeling safe, or maybe all the exhaustion he’d been holding back came crashing down at once.
Either way, he blacked out almost immediately.
When Mo Cheong opened his eyes, he looked around and froze.
He was lying under a fine quilt in a spotless room.
“Where is this… ugh!”
He tried to sit up, pain stabbed his side, and he flopped back down.
The pain from the wound in his side reminded him that nearly dying had not been a bad dream.
Just then, the door to the room opened and a man walked in – with a face so handsome it looked almost unreal.
The moment Mo Cheong saw him, he jolted in shock. He knew exactly who this was.
“Y– you’re Deputy Merchant Lord Eun of the Eunhae Merchant Group?”
“I’m glad you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“More importantly… you were the one looking for me, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Why were you… looking for me?”
“Because I need you to help the Changhae Merchant Group.”
Escort Guard Jin Yu had brought Debt Manager Mo Cheong to Nanjing this very morning.
It was the beginning of the Fifth Month.
The timing couldn’t have been better.
Debt Manager Mo’s condition was a wreck. He’d picked up wounds while running for his life…
Well, of course he had. He’d been fleeing those bastards nonstop until now – there was no way he’d be fine.
Still, the fact that he was alive at all was a relief.
Anyway, I called a physician, had him treated, washed up, and changed into clean clothes.
And as soon as I heard he’d woken up, I came straight here.
As expected, he recognized who I was.
I mean, I’ve gotten a bit famous. Even so, the reason I showed my face like this was to put him at ease.
If I kept my face hidden, how could he trust me and go along with anything I asked?
It’s not like what I’m proposing is anything bad.
When I asked him to help the Changhae Merchant Group, regret and anger flickered across his face at the same time.
“So it’s come to that, after all… I had a feeling when I was ambushed on my way back after collecting the payment from the Changhae Merchant Group.”
He pushed himself up.
“Please, just lie down. Your wounds haven’t healed yet.”
“No. I can’t lie down while I’m trying to thank you.”
He insisted on getting all the way to his feet, then bowed his head and cupped his fists to me.
“Thank you for saving my life. And forgive my late greeting. My name is Mo Cheong, and I serve as the Debt Manager in charge of debts for the Baekcheon Merchant Group.”
I also cupped my fists and bowed in return.
“My name is Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group. If you’d help the Changhae Merchant Group, which was unfairly robbed of its merchant group, I’d be truly grateful. And… I’m honestly glad you’re alive like this.”
At my words, Debt Manager Mo suddenly burst into tears.
“Ugh… I survived like this, but my escort guard… lost their life. Just to save me…”
I had a pretty good idea what that felt like.
In my previous life too, it wasn’t just once or twice that escort guards threw away their lives to protect mine.
On the day I died, it had been the same.
“How could anyone put that grief into words? That’s why I don’t dare offer empty consolation – I hope you can understand.”
He nodded quietly at that.
“Then… will you help me? Help the Changhae Merchant Group?”
“Of course. Of course. I’ll do that.”
A little later.
Once he’d calmed down, Debt Manager Mo asked me,
“But for the Eunhae Merchant Group to step in and help the Changhae Merchant Group… you must have a close relationship.”
“No. There’s no relationship at all.”
“Then why?”
“I like fair competition. Going up against someone who’s been pushed into danger by cheap tricks like that… just doesn’t sit right with me.”
At that, his expression changed in a strange way.
What’s with that look? Like someone holding a warm bun in the middle of winter.
“You’re a good person.”
“A good person? There’s no such thing for a merchant. I’m just a trader.”
“I think I understand now why people call you the Handsome Young Hero, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun.”
Ugh!
That title again, here of all times.
And I’m really not some good person. I’m doing this to get revenge on the Baekcheon Merchant Group.
“Ahem, you’re flattering me too much.”
“And modest, besides. Anyway, what do you need me to do?”
At his question, I answered,
“All of this started because the Changhae Merchant Group supposedly failed to repay its debt to the Baekcheon Merchant Group.”
“So what you need is my testimony that I definitely received the money.”
“Exactly.”
At that, Debt Manager Mo fell silent for a moment, thinking, then opened his mouth.
“Hmm… there’s actually a better way than that.”
“What way?”
In response, Debt Manager Mo folded his fingers one by one as he explained,
“When I record a ledger entry, after receiving payment from the debtor, I always get three signatures – mine, the debtor’s, and a third party’s.”
“A third party?”
“In most cases, it’s the County Magistrate of that region.”
“…!”
“If the debtor comes to Luoyang, I get the County Magistrate of Luoyang to sign. If I go to where the debtor is, I get the local County Magistrate there to sign.”
“And no one else knows about this?”
“Only I’m allowed to see the ledgers, so no one else knows. I’ve never spoken of it either. Even the debtors don’t know – I get the County Magistrate’s signature afterward. This time, I stopped by the Changhae Merchant Group in Cheongdo, and on my way back I met the County Magistrate and had them sign.”
Right. If the Changhae Merchant Group had known about this, they would’ve gone to the County Magistrate already and pleaded their case.
The fact that they didn’t means they had no idea.
No, before that, the Baekcheon Merchant Group would have moved to block it.
Anyway, if Debt Manager Mo went through all this trouble, his reason must have been…
“You were worried about the debtors, weren’t you?”
He gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“Seeing how the Baekcheon Merchant Group was operating, it looked like the debtors were going to need that ledger someday. It’s pitiful enough watching them nearly kill themselves trying to repay their debts – they needed something that could at least protect them a little, don’t you think? I just never thought it would end up being used like this.”
With a grim look, he continued,
“And that ledger… I’ve hidden it.”
The Baekcheon Merchant Group.
Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang lifted his brows at an warrior’s report.
“What? You lost him?”
“I– I’m terribly sorry! Just as I was about to take his head, the torch suddenly went out… By the time we lit it again, he had vanished without a trace.”
The one reporting in a trembling voice was a warrior from the guard unit who had been ordered to kill Debt Manager Mo Cheong.
“You’re telling me wiping out one debt manager with barely any martial strength is that hard?”
“I– I’m sorry.”
“Does saying you’re sorry fix anything? Quit flapping your mouth and show me something with your actions!”
“I– It’s just… they sneak around like a rat, so…”
“Enough. Get out of my sight.”
At Namgoong Gang’s irritated outburst, the guard unit’s warrior bolted out of the office.
“Useless fool…”
At his mutter, the deputy standing beside him spoke up.
“Should we not come up with some kind of countermeasure?”
Namgoong Gang shook his head.
“I know Debt Manager Mo’s temperament well. He’s a timid sort, always afraid of getting hurt. If he values his life, he won’t show his face.”
“But…”
“Drop it. There’s no need to worry about him anymore. Right now, trade with the Great Yue Kingdom matters more. How’s the selection of goods for the ships coming along?”
“Of course. Supervisor Ji is handling it well.”
But he knew very well.
He knew Supervisor Ji Taek-mun was choosing goods from merchant groups that slipped him extra under the table.
The reason he kept his mouth shut was simple.
He’d promised him a cut as well.
Just then, something very important tugged at the edge of his memory.
‘What was it? There was something really important about Debt Manager Mo Cheong…’
Once I learned about the ledger’s existence from Debt Manager Mo, I moved right away.
First things first – we had to find that ledger.
Hmm, should I send Escort Guard Jin Yu again this time? I feel like I’m overworking them…
“What’s got you worrying so much, sir?”
“Hm?”
“You just looked like you were chewing on something, that’s all.”
At Palgap’s comment, I nodded and told him what I was thinking about.
Palgap waved it off like it was nothing and said,
“What’s there to worry about? You’ve got Geumryeong, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“A ledger’s not that heavy. Geumryeong can track it down and bring it back.”
“That’s a great idea! Knew I could count on you, Palgap!”
At my praise, Palgap pulled a sour face and grumbled,
“Honestly, I don’t like how that Geumryeong keeps acting like it can climb over my head, but I’ll give credit where it’s due.”
Hey, Palgap?
Geumryeong’s not trying to climb over you – it’s just messing with you, you know?
And it doesn’t care about rank or pecking order. It only cares about money. You’re the only one imagining some rivalry here…
But even if I said all that out loud, it’d just go in one of Palgap’s ears and out the other.
“Anyway, go grab something that belongs to Debt Manager Mo.”
A moment later, Palgap came back carrying the clothes Debt Manager Mo had originally been wearing.
I tapped the sleeve of the robe and called out,
“Geumryeong, come on out.”
“Kui?”
“You want some silver taels, right? Let’s run a little errand.”
“Kui!”
At the words ‘silver taels,’ Geumryeong’s eyes lit up.
“The owner of these clothes has a ledger book. Go bring that book back.”
Geumryeong sniffed around the clothes, then shot out through the window.
And Geumryeong came back… in barely two hours.
Wow, that really is fast.
“Kui!”
Geumryeong dropped what it had been carrying in its mouth onto the table.
Hmm… was the book a little damp because of drool, by any chance?
“Why’d you go to the trouble of carrying it in your mouth? You could’ve just stored it in the Hidden Vault.”
“Kui! Ku–kui! Kui!”
So, what you’re saying is the Hidden Vault only opens if you’re with me or I give permission?
“And if I’d told you to put it in the Hidden Vault, you would’ve done that?”
“And lugging it all the way here in your mouth was hard work?”
Ah, that one’s on me.
I scratched the back of my neck and said,
“From now on, when it’s something like this, just store it in the Hidden Vault and bring it that way. Got it?”
“Kui!”
“Here, your silver tael.”
Geumryeong gulped down the silver tael I offered, looked very pleased, and dove straight into my sleeve.
I opened the ledger and went over its contents.
Wow. This was way more incredible than I’d expected.
It was a list of everyone who owed debts to the Baekcheon Merchant Group – which meant they either had close ties to Baekcheon or were people who couldn’t easily refuse Baekcheon’s demands.
For us, who would someday have to keep them in check and stand against them, this information was worth its weight in gold.
And in that ledger was exactly what I’d been looking for.
A record proving that the Changhae Merchant Group had completely repaid its debt.
I got to my feet and headed for Debt Manager Mo.
“Here. We’ve found it.”
I went into the guest room where Debt Manager Mo was staying and handed him the ledger.
Debt Manager Mo took the ledger with shaky hands and stammered,
“Th– this… you found it this quickly?”
“I’m fairly capable.”
“Remarkable. I thought it would take at least five days, no matter how fast you moved.”
“So this is the ledger you were talking about, then.”
“It is.”
“Then let’s officially get things underway. Ah, and now that we have this, if you prefer, we’ll keep your whereabouts completely secret.”
“I’ll be fine. But… I’m counting on you.”
There were countless meanings packed into that simple ‘I’m counting on you.’
I calmly nodded.
“All right.”
Leaving Debt Manager Mo’s room, I turned to Palgap.
“Tell Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un of the Changhae Merchant Group that I’d like to meet.”
“Got it, sir.”
“And I need to go pay a visit to the County Magistrate.”
That evening.
I met Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un at a nearby restaurant.
It didn’t matter even if others saw the two of us meeting.
Merchants from different groups getting together for a meal was nothing unusual.
After I waited a bit, Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un stepped into the private room I’d reserved.
“Welcome.”
“Ah, it’s good to see you like this.”
Deputy Merchant Lord Song Un’s face had deteriorated a lot in that short time. No surprise – the stress he’d been under had to be unimaginable.
“Please, have a seat.”
He sat down, and before long, the dishes were brought in.
“I’d like to offer you a drink, but with the prohibition order, that’s not possible. Please have some tea instead.”
“Thank you.”
His throat must have been parched – he downed the tea in one go.
“What have you been up to lately? It’s been hard to see you around.”
He let out a sigh, then spoke with a strained voice and a shadowed expression.
“Watching everything I devoted my entire life to – everything that belonged to the Changhae Merchant Group – fall apart… it hurts too much. So I’ve just been… not looking at it at all.”
“I see.”
“But what can I do? Things have already turned out this way…”
His tone was thick with resignation.
“Still, thank you for remembering and calling for someone like me, who’s now nothing at all.”
“Why talk like that?”
I smiled.
“The truth is, I asked to see you because I came across something very interesting.”
I opened the ledger toward him and slid it over.
“This handwriting looks familiar, doesn’t it?”
Song Un’s eyes went wide when he saw it.
“Th– this is…!”
–TL Notes–
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