The Mu Merchant Group was a place that had suddenly vanished without a trace one day in my previous life.
Countless people had suffered losses because of it.
Those who received supplies from the Mu Merchant Group had been caught off guard, but the larger problem lay elsewhere.
The businesses that had delivered goods to them never received the payments they were owed.
Some of them had even gone bankrupt or taken their own lives because of it.
Common decency demanded that a merchant group announce its closure at least a month in advance and settle its affairs with everyone involved, yet they had quite literally disappeared overnight.
The Imperial Palace had launched a thorough investigation, but strangely enough, the entire matter had eventually been swept under the rug.
Fortunately, the Eunhae Merchant Group had no dealings with them, so we hadn’t suffered any losses.
Come to think of it, that happened around the time the famine came to an end.
Then it should be about a year from now.
Honestly, since they had nothing to do with our merchant group, I hadn’t given the matter another thought.
But now that I had stumbled upon this affair, perhaps even the heavens had been furious about what happened back then.
In other words, they wanted me to deal with it.
Based on everything I’d learned so far, I could make a fairly good guess about what was happening.
The Mu Merchant Group was probably responsible for converting the grain and other goods embezzled by corrupt officials in Guangdong and Hainan Island into money.
Then, once the famine ended and it came time to collect taxes, those officials must have gotten too greedy and swallowed far more than they could hide.
Their brazen actions would have enraged the Emperor, prompting him to dispatch a large force of Imperial Guards and Embroidered Guards.
But thanks to their connections within the Imperial Palace, the culprits must have learned of it in advance and quickly dissolved the Mu Merchant Group.
By the time the Imperial Guards and Embroidered Guards arrived, the local officials had already cleaned everything up, leaving them with nothing to investigate.
There was no evidence.
The fact that they still hadn’t been caught meant even their account books were spotless.
The only ones who had suffered were innocent people caught in the middle.
What a pack of filthy bastards.
But now that I knew what they were doing, they wouldn’t be getting away so easily.
I had no intention of letting them.
Steeling my resolve, I thanked the waiter.
“I see. Thank you for telling me.”
“Think nothing of it. Hahaha. I’m glad I could be of help to the Handsome Young Hero.”
“…”
I suppose I should give up on traveling while hiding my identity.
With a bitter smile, I sank back into thought.
Now that I had discovered the Mu Merchant Group’s existence here, I should deal with them first.
Unlike Hainan Island, Guangdong was part of the mainland.
If they noticed anything suspicious or received word from Hainan Island, there was a good chance they would flee immediately.
When driving prey into a trap, one always had to block its escape routes first.
Otherwise, it would simply run away.
Furthermore, the Emperor had ordered me to strip these people of every last coin they had accumulated through their crimes.
I couldn’t allow them to escape.
After finishing our meal, we left the inn and headed toward the Mu Merchant Group.
Escort Guard Jin Yu quietly joined us near the Mu Merchant Group.
– Is this the place?
– Yes. I confirmed that the man following us entered this building. But how did you know to come here?
– Apparently, the Mu Merchant Group sold the grain that had been kept in the sacks marked with Escort Guard Lee Pil’s Tracking Incense.
– I see.
As we exchanged Voice Transmissions, I examined the Mu Merchant Group.
I could sense blood-tinged Unorthodox Qi coming from inside.
In other words, this affair involved more than a few corrupt officials.
Was that why the Murim Alliance had refused to intervene, hiding behind the excuse that the government and the martial world must not interfere in each other’s affairs?
Based on everything that had happened so far, it was already clear that the Murim Alliance had connections not only to the Unorthodox Factions, but also to the Blood Cult.
There was one more thing I knew for certain.
If I destroyed the Mu Merchant Group, someone was going to be absolutely furious.
Wasn’t this what they called killing two birds with one stone?
I liked the sound of that.
I headed toward the merchant group’s entrance.
It wasn’t particularly late yet, so our visit shouldn’t be considered discourteous.
One of the gatekeepers spotted us and asked,
“What brings you here?”
“My name is Eun Seo-ho, the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Deputy Merchant Lord. I don’t have an appointment, but I came hoping to meet whoever oversees your rice transactions.”
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho…”
“Are you perhaps the Handsome Young Hero?”
“Yes, I am. Though the title is far more than I deserve.”
At my answer, they hurriedly bowed their heads.
“It is an honor to meet you, Great Hero.”
“Please, allow us to escort you inside.”
They respectfully led me in.
This epithet certainly came in handy at times like this.
I had already been well-known, but apparently my performance in the friendly matches at the Murim Grand Assembly and my rescue of the people in Luoyang had made me even more famous.
I hadn’t expected them to turn me away at the door, but they were even more welcoming than I had anticipated.
As we waited in the Reception Room while drinking tea, someone soon entered.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Wang Seok, Senior Supervisor of the Mu Merchant Group.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
We exchanged polite greetings and took our seats.
“What brings the Handsome Young Hero here at this hour?”
“Ah, I must leave for Hainan Island soon, so I had little time to spare. I hope you’ll forgive me for visiting so late.”
“What? You’re going to Hainan Island?”
He asked as casually as he could.
“May I ask what business is taking you there, provided the question isn’t too intrusive?”
“It concerns the merchant group. I hope you’ll understand that I cannot say anything more.”
Information was power to merchants.
At times, it could even mean the difference between life and death, so prying into another merchant’s affairs was considered a serious breach of etiquette.
The fact that he had asked so readily meant he wasn’t a true merchant.
Either that, or he still hadn’t completely set aside his suspicions about me.
“Of course! Of course! Please forgive my impertinence.”
“Not at all. Thank you for understanding.”
I continued.
“The reason I visited your merchant group is that I ate at an inn nearby today, and the rice was remarkably good. Naturally, the inn’s cook deserves some credit, but even the finest cook cannot make good rice without quality grain.”
“Hahaha. Y-Yes, of course.”
“Which is why I would like to purchase that rice.”
“Pardon?”
“I would like to acquire roughly twenty thousand sacks. Would that be possible?”
“Twenty thousand sacks…”
He swallowed hard.
He was probably calculating how much profit he could make from the deal.
“Y-Yes, it is possible.”
“How much per sack?”
“Five silver taels.”
Considering the normal price was one silver tael, that was quite expensive.
Even so, the price had already fallen somewhat because it was currently harvest season.
And once the merchant ships trading overseas returned with massive shipments of grain, the price would fall even further.
“That seems reasonable.”
“The Mu Merchant Group prides itself on honest dealings.”
I barely restrained myself from laughing at his brazen declaration.
Truly honest merchant groups never needed to announce how honest they were.
“I’ll take your word for it. First, I would like to inspect a sample. Would that be possible?”
“Of course. Please wait a moment.”
He stepped outside and soon returned carrying a small measure of rice.
“Here it is.”
I pretended to examine the rice, and at that moment, Escort Guard Lee Pil sneezed beside me.
“Achoo! Ahem. My apologies.”
That was our signal.
It meant this rice had come from one of the sacks coated with Tracking Incense.
“This is excellent rice.”
“Of course. That old man certainly knew how to judge rice…”
“Excuse me?”
“Ah, I was referring to the supervisor who purchased the rice for our merchant group.”
What a poor excuse.
He had obviously been talking about the Hainan Sect Leader.
“Very well. Let’s sign the contract.”
“Ordinarily, a contract of this size would require a deposit equal to half the total value. However, as you know, rice of this quality is exceedingly difficult to procure. We will have to pay in advance to secure it, so…”
“Are you asking me to pay the full sum in advance?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“Hmm…”
When I pretended to hesitate, he grew anxious and hurriedly made another proposal.
“In exchange, the Mu Merchant Group will provide collateral.”
“What sort of collateral?”
“Please wait a moment.”
He left the Reception Room again and returned with a box in his hands.
He opened it and showed me what was inside.
“This.”
A large golden toad rested within the box.
“This should be more than sufficient collateral for our transaction.”
“Hmm…”
When I didn’t immediately accept it, he asked with concern,
“Is there something about it that displeases you?”
“I was merely reminded of something that happened in the past. At the time, our merchant group accepted a gold object much like this one as collateral. After the transaction was completed, we returned it, only for the other party to accuse us of replacing it with a counterfeit and demand compensation.”
I continued in a mild voice.
“You wouldn’t happen to be planning anything similar…”
“Hahaha! Of course not! The Mu Merchant Group would never commit such a shameless act.”
“That’s reassuring. The incident was so outrageous that our merchant group called upon every connection at our disposal to expose their crimes. And that merchant group…”
A cold smile touched my lips.
“Still, the entire process was terribly inconvenient.”
“Hahaha.”
He laughed heartily again before continuing.
“You have nothing to worry about. Even if this collateral were somehow replaced with a fake, the Mu Merchant Group would never hold you responsible.”
“Do you not trust our merchant group? What do you mean, replaced with a fake?”
“Oh! That was a slip of the tongue. In any case, regardless of what happens, we will make no claims concerning the collateral.”
“Would you be willing to put that in the contract?”
“Of course.”
Once the contract was finalized, I handed him a bank draft on the spot.
It was worth a staggering one hundred thousand silver taels.
“Ah, by any chance, do you know much about the pearls of Hainan Island?”
“I cannot say that I do. Why do you ask?”
“My wife, who accompanied me on this journey, mentioned that she wanted jewelry made from pearls.”
“I see. Hmm. In that case, you should seek out the Cheon family on Hainan Island.”
With the transaction complete, I rose from my seat and left the Mu Merchant Group carrying the golden toad.
Since Geumryeong hadn’t made a sound, the toad was undoubtedly fake.
That meant they intended to run before they ever delivered the rice.
Well, they were probably already preparing to flee, and I had merely given them the final push they needed.
But that didn’t matter.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu.”
“Yes.”
“Keep watch over them. The moment they withdraw the money from the Geumsan Money House, report to me immediately.”
“Understood.”
At that moment, Warrior Jang Won called out to me from behind.
“Handsome Young Hero.”
“Please, just call me Deputy Merchant Lord Eun. That epithet is somewhat embarrassing.”
“If that is what you prefer… Very well, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun.”
“Yes?”
“What exactly are you planning? Our objective is to investigate the Mu Merchant Group, isn’t it?”
“That is correct.”
“Then why would you conduct business with them instead? Worse, you handed them an enormous sum of money!”
Of course. Since he didn’t know what I was thinking, he couldn’t understand why I had paid them one hundred thousand silver taels in advance.
I calmly explained.
“I understand why this may be difficult for you to accept, Warrior Jang Won, but this is simply my way of investigating.”
“…?”
“Perhaps it’s a method only a merchant could use.”
I quietly studied him.
The uprightness I sensed from him reminded me of a steadfast pine tree.
In other words, there wasn’t even the faintest trace of Unorthodox Qi within him.
That was a relief.
The man assigned to assist me directly wasn’t a traitor like the ones involved in the Springview Fortress incident in Yunnan.
However, that didn’t mean there were no traitors among the others.
If the only problem lay on Hainan Island, the investigators dispatched there could never have been identified and eliminated so quickly.
That meant some of the Embroidered Guards stationed here were secretly working with the enemy.
Well, the history of men betraying others for personal gain was as old as civilization itself.
“Warrior Jang, there is something I would like to ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you know every person dispatched here?”
“Of course.”
“Then is there anyone among them you find suspicious?”
His expression hardened at my question.
“Are you suggesting there is a traitor among us? I find that deeply offensive. Every one of us has sworn loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor. How could you make such an insulting accusation…!”
“Have you not heard what happened at Springview Fortress in Yunnan?”
“…”
His mouth closed, unable to offer another rebuttal.
So he did know.
There was no way he wouldn’t. The Emperor had said he arranged for them to witness the traitors’ gruesome fates personally as a warning.
Even if Jang Won hadn’t seen the corpses himself, he must have heard what happened.
“And yet you still object to what I said?”
“…”
“As you suspected, I believe there is a traitor among your ranks. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the enemy to accurately identify and swiftly eliminate agents who had been dispatched under concealed identities.”
I continued.
“Ironically, it was precisely because the Embroidered Guards are so capable that I realized a traitor must exist.”
“…”
Judging by the uncertainty flickering in his eyes, he must have vaguely suspected the same thing.
His defensive reaction just now was probably born from disgust at himself for doubting his comrades.
He was a good man.
“However, you are not the traitor.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
“I can tell simply by looking at you. But if you insist on an explanation, your eyes do not resemble those of a man scheming to stab me in the back.”
He furrowed his brow and asked,
“Is that why you asked me not to speak about you inside the inn?”
“That is correct.”
I had made the same request of the innkeeper. His Qi was equally clear, so he wasn’t conspiring with them either.
“Now, to answer the question you asked me earlier, those people are currently suspicious of me. By conducting business with them directly, I completely erased those suspicions. Furthermore…”
“Furthermore?”
“I gained a perfectly legitimate reason to enter their building and examine it openly. And while I was inside, I set a snare of my own.”
.
.
.
We returned to the inn.
The innkeeper informed us that he had secured a ship bound for Hainan Island.
Then, around noon the following day, Escort Guard Jin Yu hurried back and delivered his report.
“My lord, they’re making their move.”
–TL Notes–
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