A short while later, Geumryeong returned.
– Good work!
– Kui!
– You did exactly what I told you, right?
– Kui-kui! Kui!
It did exactly as I’d instructed, so could I stop worrying and get its Gold Taels ready?
Yeah, all right.
I chuckled and sent Escort Guard Lee Pil a Voice Transmission.
– We can return to the inn now.
We used a dog hole again on the way back, though it wasn’t the same one as before.
Because these weren’t secret passages, each dog hole could only be used at certain times, and right now we had to take one on the other side.
We quietly slipped out of the Murim Alliance through the dog hole and returned to the inn.
Escort Guard Seo Wu, who had been keeping watch from the roof, spotted us and quickly lowered a rope.
We climbed up and entered through the guest room window.
Someone was lying on the bed, but I wasn’t alarmed.
It was merely an illusion of me created with the Illusion Mirror.
I left the illusion in place and went straight into the Hidden Vault.
The Golden Buddha Statue sat on the floor.
I smiled at the Qi emanating from it.
It was the genuine Golden Buddha Statue Artifact.
In other words, Geumryeong had succeeded.
This would’ve been difficult if the statue had been even a little larger.
I really couldn’t be prouder of Geumryeong.
The more I thought about it, the more certain I became that meeting Geumryeong was the greatest stroke of luck I’d had in this life.
Daybreak came.
I went downstairs to the first floor for breakfast.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. Very well indeed.”
It had been an extremely satisfying night.
I returned the server’s greeting and sat down at a table.
“I heard you prefer porridge for breakfast. Shall I have some prepared?”
“Yes, please.”
The server soon brought enough porridge for everyone, and we had a light meal.
“We plan to depart sometime this morning.”
“Understood.”
Now, when would the Alliance Leader notice that the Golden Buddha Statue was gone?
Just then, a group entered the inn.
The insignias at their waists marked them as Murim Alliance martial artists.
Speak of the devil.
They swept their eyes around the room, spotted me, and approached.
“Are you Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho?”
“I am.”
“We have a few questions for you. Come with us to the Alliance.”
“May I ask what this concerns?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
Haa… How irritating.
I already knew why they wanted me, but that high-handed attitude – ordering me around as though I were beneath them – grated on my nerves.
They had to know I was the Handsome Young Hero. Yet, they were acting this way because I was a merchant.
There was a simple way to deal with people like this.
I clasped my fists and said,
“If I can be of assistance, then of course I should cooperate.”
As I spoke, I discreetly let the notarized document the Alliance Leader had given me yesterday slip from my hand.
“Oh, no! That’s far too valuable!”
I hurriedly reached for it, but the man planted his foot on the document and said,
“I’ll inspect it first.”
“I don’t mind, but… are you certain that’s wise?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“The Alliance Leader personally wrote that document for me yesterday. In other words, Great Hero, you’re currently standing on a document written in the Alliance Leader’s own hand.”
The man’s face instantly drained of color.
Then another Murim Alliance warrior behind him said,
“A mere merchant possessing a document personally written by the Alliance Leader? It must be a lie.”
“Then feel free to examine it yourselves.”
They picked up the footprint-stained document and unfolded it.
Their faces soon turned deathly pale.
Naturally.
The document I’d handed them was a genuine notarized certificate written and officially sealed by the Alliance Leader himself.
I let out a sigh.
“To think the Alliance Leader’s authority has fallen so low! What a truly lamentable state of affairs!”
The man swallowed hard and asked,
“But how did you come to possess this document?”
So now he remembered how to speak politely.
“I went to Mount Tai under the Alliance Leader’s orders and received it as payment. Now, would you kindly return it? It may have a footprint on it, but it remains a precious document.”
“Ah, I–I’m terribly sorry.”
He hastily returned it to me.
“Now then, what problem were you hoping to question me about at the Murim Alliance?”
“Well…”
He glanced around, then lowered his voice.
“The truth is, a thief broke into the Alliance.”
“A thief?”
“Yes. An Artifact kept in the Alliance Leader’s bedchamber has disappeared, and the entire Alliance is in an uproar. Since the Artifact only arrived yesterday, we’ve been conducting an extensive investigation into everyone who entered the grounds that day.”
That Artifact is currently inside my Hidden Vault.
Even so, I put on a concerned expression.
“My goodness! To think such a thing could happen inside the Murim Alliance.”
“That’s why everything is in such chaos.”
He sighed as though the ground itself might cave in.
I nodded readily, as though I understood his predicament.
“Given the circumstances, I’ll cooperate. However, I must return to Beijing urgently, so I can’t spare much time.”
“Thank you. It shouldn’t take long.”
I followed him to the Murim Alliance.
The entire place was in chaos.
I was led into a room where an investigator sat waiting.
The man who had escorted me said to him,
“This is Great Hero Eun Seo-ho, the Handsome Young Hero. He says he entered the Alliance yesterday under the Alliance Leader’s orders.”
“I see. I’ll handle the rest.”
The martial artist clasped his fists and left the room. The investigator then said to me,
“Please, sit.”
I sat across from him, and he asked,
“I was told you entered the Alliance yesterday under the Alliance Leader’s orders. What was the purpose of your visit?”
“I cannot tell you.”
The investigator furrowed his brow.
“Why not?”
“It would be improper to divulge a mission entrusted to me by the Alliance Leader. Bring me his permission, and I’ll answer.”
Inside the Murim Alliance’s Alliance Leader Hall.
The Alliance Leader was currently in an exceedingly foul mood.
The Golden Buddha Statue Artifact he had kept in his bedchamber had vanished without a trace.
His bedchamber was under such tight guard that entering it without permission should have been impossible.
On top of that, the Artifact had been stored inside a vault protected by layer upon layer of Trap Formations. Stealing it should have been impossible unless the culprit was a ghost.
He had gone in that morning to inspect the Golden Buddha Statue, only to discover it missing. He could scarcely remember ever being so stunned.
In its place, he had found a single stone and a letter.
He had tried to trace the culprit by reading the Qi lingering on the stone, but it had been exposed to far too many people, making the attempt useless.
The stone had clearly been left behind to mock him.
That only worsened his temper.
The letter pinned beneath the stone was a notice announcing the thief’s next crime.
One month from now, I will come to claim the Deepwater Zither (奫瑟), the Namgoong Clan’s treasure.
He had therefore dispatched one of the Alliance’s martial divisions to the Namgoong Clan.
He had also summoned the Tiger Justice Division and ordered them to find the culprit immediately. A sweeping investigation was now underway.
The crime had most likely been committed in the predawn hours, which meant the thief might not have left Luoyang yet.
“Alliance Leader.”
“What is it?”
“Investigator Gong wishes to see you.”
“Send him in.”
The door soon opened, and Investigator Gong entered.
“What is it?”
“I am currently investigating the matter. We first called in everyone who entered the Alliance yesterday for questioning, and Great Hero Eun Seo-ho, the Handsome Young Hero, is among them.”
Eun Seo-ho had entered the Murim Alliance yesterday to deliver the Golden Buddha Statue, so naturally, there would be a record of his visit.
“I attempted to question him about why he entered the Alliance, but he says he won’t speak unless he has your permission.”
A pleased smile appeared on the Alliance Leader’s face.
He had thought Eun Seo-ho was merely a capable and ambitious merchant, but this proved the young man also took loyalty and discretion seriously.
“There is no need to investigate him.”
“Pardon?”
“He’s the one who brought us the stolen Artifact.”
“Ah, I see.”
“He carried out that mission alongside Team Leader Won of the Dragon Fang Division’s Sixth Team.”
“Even so, shouldn’t we verify his movements? He knew the Artifact existed.”
“You have a point. Then question him only about his activities last night. That should suffice, shouldn’t it?”
“Understood.”
I waited in the interrogation room while enjoying the refreshments they’d served me.
These cookies are surprisingly good.
The tea, on the other hand, was poorly brewed.
The investigator returned just as I was finishing the last cookie.
“Ah, did you speak with the Alliance Leader?”
“Yes. Do you know where the Golden Buddha Statue was being kept?”
“Don’t tell me the stolen Artifact was that Golden Buddha Statue?”
“Answer only what I ask.”
“Wasn’t it in the Alliance Leader’s bedchamber?”
“How do you know that?”
He sharply demanded an answer, but I replied as though it were nothing.
“The man who brought me here told me earlier. He said an Artifact stored in the Alliance Leader’s bedchamber had vanished, throwing the entire Alliance into an uproar. Since it had only arrived yesterday, you were conducting a major investigation into everyone who entered the Alliance grounds that day.”
He pressed a finger to his brow and thought it over.
“In that case… would you tell me what you did yesterday?”
“Certainly. After leaving the Murim Alliance, I went straight to the inn. I unpacked, ate dinner, returned to my room, and went to sleep.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes. I slept so soundly that I didn’t wake until morning.”
“Is there anyone who can confirm that?”
“My attendants and escort guards can. You can also ask the inn’s servers. They saw me enter my room after dinner last night, and they saw me come out for breakfast this morning.”
“Understood. Please wait here a little longer.”
“Then could I trouble you for another plate of these cookies? The more I think about this, the angrier I get. I need something to eat while I calm myself down.”
“What exactly are you so angry about?”
“How could I not be angry? I was already busy, yet I went through all that hardship to travel to Mount Tai, and now someone has gone and stolen the very thing I brought back!”
“…I’ll have another plate brought in.”
.
.
.
The investigator returned a while later and said,
“Thank you for your cooperation. You may leave now.”
I rose and said to him,
“Thank you. And please, make certain you catch that thief.”
“We will.”
I clasped my fists and walked out with a faint smile.
Sorry, but you’ll never catch that thief.
The Golden Buddha Statue wouldn’t see the light of day anytime soon, so they would never find the culprit.
I had deliberately instructed Geumryeong to leave a stone and a false notice inside the vault in the Alliance Leader’s bedchamber.
I wanted it to look like the work of a professional thief.
The false notice also deliberately claimed that the Deepwater Zither, a treasure of the Namgoong Clan, would be stolen next.
I’d long since mastered the art of disguising my handwriting, so there was nothing to worry about on that front.
The Deepwater Zither was both a treasure and a weapon kept by the Namgoong Clan – a zither that produced an extraordinarily beautiful sound.
I knew of it because, in my previous life, I had once heard a member of the Namgoong Clan boasting about it.
They were probably tightening their defenses at this very moment.
A month from now, they’d realize it had all been for nothing.
The Namgoong Clan and the Murim Alliance would suffer some inconvenience because of me, but the Murim Grand Assembly was only a few months away.
Soon, they wouldn’t have any attention left to spare for the Golden Buddha Statue theft.
I returned to the inn.
“My Lord!”
“You’re back, My Lord!”
“Young Master!”
“I’m fine, so don’t worry. Did the investigator come to the inn earlier?”
“Yes. He came and asked us all sorts of questions. He also called in several servers and grilled them.”
He seemed quite meticulous and thorough.
Good thing I’d prepared my alibi so carefully.
“You’ve all worked hard as well. Now, let’s pack up and leave at once.”
“Yes.”
We gathered our luggage, went outside, and mounted our horses.
— Neeeeigh!
Yes, I know you feel stifled.
The River-Crossing Horse seemed rather frustrated. Riding it would also get us there faster, so I decided to ride it hard all the way to Beijing.
Thanks to the River-Crossing Horse’s relentless pace, we reached Beijing in only a few days.
Speed was certainly useful, but it was exhausting.
“Deputy Merchant Lord!”
“Third Deputy Merchant Lord, you’ve returned?”
“Yes. We made it back safely. Nothing happened at the Branch while I was away, did it?”
“Everything has been perfectly peaceful.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
I immediately headed for Brother Jeong-ho’s office. I needed to report that I’d returned.
When I reached the office, the escort guard outside greeted me.
“You’ve returned?”
“Yes.”
“He’s inside. You may go in.”
The moment I saw Brother Jeong-ho, I flinched.
Brother Jeong-ho was poring over documents with deep shadows beneath his eyes, muttering under his breath.
“Eun Seo-ho, you bastard. I swear, I’m not letting you get away with this. Eun Seo-ho, you little…”
The terrifying intensity rolling off him made me take an involuntary step backward.
Brother Jeong-ho, why are you being so terrifying?
.
.
.
It wasn’t until much later that I finally rose from behind the desk.
Brother Jeong-ho had dumped all the work on me and gone off to sleep, so I had no choice but to finish it in his place.
Well, it had been my work to begin with. Of course I should do it.
By the time I’d dealt with the most urgent matters, night had already fallen.
“Deputy Gwak.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s take a short walk.”
I left the office with Young Lady Seohyang and strolled through the rear garden.
“Thankfully, it isn’t nearly as hot at night.”
The Seventh Month was already nearly over.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve learned the Heavenly Flow Art, but the heat doesn’t bother me much.”
“That’s good.”
I drew a small package wrapped in red paper from my sleeve and held it out to her.
“Here. This is for you.”
“For me?”
“I saw it while I was in Shandong and thought of you, so I bought it.”
“May I open it?”
“Of course.”
She unwrapped the package, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Rouge?”
“Yes. Buying only the rouge case felt a little incomplete, so I bought the rouge to go with it. Do you like the color?”
“I do. Very much.”
“I’m glad.”
Feeling strangely embarrassed, I looked up at the sky.
Ah, I forgot to give Geumryeong its Gold Taels.
–TL Notes–
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