I turned my head toward the direction the arrows had come from.
There were countless ships in the distance, but what caught me off guard was the flag flying from the vessel at the very front.
That was the flag of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Which meant the lead vessel was one of the Eunhae Merchant Group’s merchant ships.
Then those arrows must have been fired by the Eunhae Merchant Group’s archers, the ones trained in Archer God Man Jeong’s Heaven-Shattering Bow.
I’d watched them train before, but I hadn’t realized just how powerful they were. Seeing them in actual combat was downright terrifying.
Ah, this isn’t the time to be admiring them!
Thunk!
Thud!
The arrows embedded in the ship carried the unmistakable smell of oil.
Which meant staying aboard this ship was dangerous.
They were firing from such an enormous distance that they probably had no idea we were on board and were simply attacking every pirate ship in sight.
I turned to one of the Hainan Sect warriors who had come to reinforce us.
“What’s your signal for retreat?”
“Pardon?”
“We need to retreat immediately. Right now!”
He must have heard the urgency in my voice because he hurriedly raised a whistle to his lips.
Pweee! Pwee! Pweee! Pwee!
The instant the signal rang out, the Hainan Sect disciples aboard the other ships immediately broke away from the pirates and leaped overboard.
Arrows were also slamming into the ships on either side of us, so the chaos gave everyone the perfect opportunity to escape.
We jumped overboard as well.
Still, it’d be a shame to leave completely empty-handed.
I shot toward the captain at full speed and struck him hard.
“Ghk!”
The impact knocked the captain unconscious.
I grabbed him by the back of his neck and jumped straight into the sea with him.
The pirates belatedly tried to stop me, but they didn’t stand a chance.
“C–Catch him!”
“He’s taking our captain!”
At that exact moment, flaming arrows began raining down upon the ship.
“Aaaagh!”
“D–Damn it! Fire!”
Listening to the pirates scream behind me, I pushed hard through the water until I finally reached the beach.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
I took Escort Guard Seo Wu’s outstretched hand and climbed out of the water, then handed over the pirate captain I’d dragged ashore.
“He’s an important witness. Make sure he doesn’t kill himself.”
“Understood.”
The rest of the Hainan Sect warriors appeared to have made it back as well. Commander Do Jin and Warrior Cheong-ryu approached me.
“Whew… That was far too close. What in the world was that?”
I answered Commander Do Jin’s question.
“Ah, those were merchant ships from the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“What? But how can merchant ships possibly have that kind of firepower…?”
“They’re used for trade with the Great Yue Kingdom, so we put a little extra effort into making sure they could handle pirates.”
“You call that… a little?”
I gave him an awkward smile and turned my head away.
Now that I’ve seen it myself, I suppose ‘a little’ is pushing it.
“More importantly, the pirates already knew about our operation.”
Their expressions immediately hardened at my words.
“That’s right. This is extremely serious. None of our operations have ever been leaked before. If those pirates knew exactly what we were planning…”
“Someone told them.”
They must have already reached the same conclusion, because their fists clenched tightly.
Still, pirates attacking at a time like this, combined with someone feeding them information…
Looks like the people behind all this are finally preparing to wrap things up.
From the perspective of the people involved in the corruption, the greatest thorn in their side was undoubtedly the Hainan Sect.
Their martial strength was formidable enough, but more importantly, they commanded overwhelming support and respect from the people of Hainan Island.
If those people wanted to clean up everything they’d been profiting from and flee, there was no way they could avoid the Hainan Sect’s watchful eyes.
So they brought in pirates to draw the Hainan Sect’s attention elsewhere.
Fortunately, it seemed the Heavens were on our side. The timing happened to coincide perfectly with the return of the Eunhae Merchant Group’s merchant ships from the Great Yue Kingdom.
The moment the Eunhae Merchant Group’s ships spotted the pirates, they attacked without hesitation, then calmly continued on their way.
Looks like telling them to eliminate pirates preemptively whenever they encountered any along their trade routes really paid off.
I should thank them properly once I get back.
More importantly, they couldn’t have arrived at a better time. If they hadn’t shown up, our entire operation would have ended in failure with nothing to show for it.
And if that had happened, I wouldn’t have had nearly as much leverage when it came time to push for the construction of an anchorage for the Eunhae Merchant Group’s ships here.
Meanwhile, the pirates who had landed and pushed inland had almost all been dealt with.
Watching their heads being mercilessly cut off and their bodies thrown into the sea might seem brutal, but in truth, it was the best option.
Pirates had a peculiar sense of camaraderie. Lock one of them in the Underground Prison, and sooner or later other pirates would break him out so he could go right back to piracy.
Even if they served their full sentences, most simply returned to their old ways the moment they were released.
Considering that, executing them outright was better for everyone in the long run.
The expressions on the soldiers’ faces as they carried out the executions made it obvious just how badly they had suffered at the pirates’ hands.
I had a pirate of my own to deal with, so I suppose I should get moving.
I dragged the captain I’d captured toward the Hainan Sect.
It was the perfect place for a serious conversation without anyone else interfering.
On the way, I made a request of Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am.
I asked him to bring Warrior Jang Won, who was evacuating with Lady Seohyang, to the Hainan Sect.
Warrior Jang Won happened to be quite skilled at interrogation, and since we were carrying out this operation under the Emperor’s command, it wouldn’t be wise for me to handle everything entirely on my own.
I needed to give the Embroidered Guard their share of the credit and keep them informed. That way, there wouldn’t be any trouble afterward.
It would also make it easier to ask for their help in the future.
Once I reached the Hainan Sect, I asked the Sect Leader for somewhere secluded.
“That won’t be difficult. There’s a detached annex over that way that we hardly ever use.”
With Warrior Cheong-ryu guiding me, I took the pirate captain into the annex and tied him securely to one of the pillars.
He struggled desperately to escape, but there was no one here who would come to his rescue.
After waiting for a while, Warrior Jang Won arrived at the annex.
“Oh! I heard what happened! You managed to wipe out the pirates successfully.”
“Yes. One of the Eunhae Merchant Group’s merchant fleets happened to be passing by and lent us a hand.”
“That truly was fortunate.”
He continued.
“But why did you call me here? And who is that man?”
I explained everything that had happened.
Warrior Jang Won immediately understood what I was getting at.
“I see. That man is the pirate captain, and you captured him because someone on Hainan Island is secretly working with the pirates. And you called me here because you want to find out who that traitor is.”
“Exactly.”
“I understand.”
Warrior Jang Won flexed his fingers.
Crack! Crack!
“Leave him to me. I’ve been meaning to put my skills to use.”
The pirate captain must have instinctively sensed what was about to happen because his face went pale with terror.
Before leaving the annex, I gave him one final warning.
“The sooner you tell him everything you know, and tell him the truth, the less painful this will be.”
.
.
.
I left the captain in Warrior Jang Won’s hands and stepped outside.
That was when Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am spoke to me.
“Sir, Lady Seohyang asked me to pass along a message.”
A message from Lady Seohyang?
“Go ahead.”
He relayed Lady Seohyang’s message, and after hearing it, I gave my Escort Guards several instructions.
Then Escort Guard Seo Wu and I headed toward the coast.
We went to the area where the pirate ships from earlier had burned and sunk.
“Why have we come here?”
“Ah… It seemed like a waste to leave all the valuables on those pirate ships down there.”
“Pardon?”
“When I boarded one of the pirate ships earlier, I saw how Geumryeong reacted. There must’ve been quite a lot of treasure aboard. So I thought I’d go retrieve it. It’d be a shame to just leave it there.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu nodded thoughtfully at my explanation.
“You have a point, but those pirate ships have already sunk into deep water. How exactly do you intend to retrieve anything?”
“I have Water Arts, remember?”
“Ah… Right.”
“So don’t worry. Just wait here for a while.”
I asked Escort Guard Seo Wu to keep watch over the area, then entered the sea while still wearing my night clothes.
The outfit even had a hood that covered my head, which let me dive underwater without my hair getting in the way.
In fact, Water Arts were one of the Hainan Sect’s specialties.
Since the Hainan Sect was based on an island, it would be difficult for its members to move freely across the surrounding seas without martial arts suited to the water.
Their Water Arts, however, had a limitation.
They couldn’t dive very deep.
How did I know?
Because there were no valuables left inside ships that had sunk in the shallow coastal waters, while ships lying in deeper waters far from land still had their treasures sitting untouched.
By contrast, the Water Arts I had learned – the Ice Sea Assimilation Cultivation Method and the Ice Sea Water-Severing Art – allowed me to descend to far greater depths.
Geumryeong happily paddled through the water with those tiny arms and legs.
I’d promised Geumryeong one gold tael.
Geumryeong darted all over the seabed, finding every expensive item still remaining in the sunken ships, and I swept all of it into my Hidden Vault.
I’m already looking forward to seeing exactly what I collected once I open the Hidden Vault later.
I spent a long while thoroughly stripping every sunken ship in the area before finally returning to shore.
“You’re only coming back now?”
Escort Guard Seo Wu hurried over to me. Judging by his expression, he had been genuinely worried.
“Were you worried?”
“Yes. You didn’t come back out even after daybreak.”
Come to think of it, judging from how bright it was, morning had already arrived. That meant I’d spent several hours underwater.
“Hahaha, sorry. Treasure hunting was more entertaining than I expected, and I completely lost track of time.”
By now, though, the pirate captain should have started talking.
“Let’s return to the Hainan Sect.”
“Yes.”
I headed back to the Hainan Sect, took off my night clothes, and changed into my usual clothing.
Then I made my way to the detached annex.
“Well, well. You finally decided to come back?”
Warrior Jang Won was waiting in front of the annex.
“It looks like you had quite a difficult night.”
“It was nothing. He talked much more easily than I expected. Let’s go inside.”
I entered with him and saw the pirate captain hanging from the ceiling.
“…”
Well, no wonder he talked more easily than expected.
At that moment, I renewed a promise to myself.
I would never, under any circumstances, do anything that might put me on the Embroidered Guard’s bad side.
“Just as you suspected, there really was someone secretly working with the pirates. It seems a man named Cheon Cheon-bok was the one using the pirates to carry out their plans.”
“As far as I know, the person protecting Cheon Cheon-bok is the Prefect.”
“Then if we arrest Cheon Cheon-bok and interrogate him, he should lead us straight to the Prefect.”
“Most likely. But is there really any need to go through the trouble of taking them down one at a time? We’re going to arrest both of them anyway. We might as well strike simultaneously.”
“You have a point. Then I’ll handle the Prefect. I’ll take command of the Imperial Guards currently stationed around Xuwen County and arrest him.”
“Then I’ll take Merchant Lord Cheon.”
“In that case, I’ll provide you with reinforcements…”
“That won’t be necessary. I already have something in mind.”
After Warrior Jang Won left, we remained quiet and behaved as though nothing had happened.
There was no sense creating a commotion before he returned with the Imperial Guards and alerting our targets prematurely.
Several hours later, Warrior Jang Won arrived on Hainan Island with the Imperial Guards.
The moment I heard the news, I headed straight for the Chaehong Merchant Group.
The people guarding its entrance were the warriors Cheon Cheon-bok had summoned from the Unorthodox Sects – pirates, in other words.
“I’m Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group. Is the Merchant Lord inside?”
“Please wait a moment.”
They were visibly uneasy now.
The pirate force they belonged to had just been annihilated, so of course they were nervous.
That was probably why, unlike before, none of them tried to pick a fight with me.
“He says you may enter.”
“Thank you.”
I went inside and waited in the reception room.
Cheon Cheon-bok entered soon afterward, and I could see the same unease in his eyes.
“What brings you here? Your pearl jewelry is nowhere near finished yet…”
I smiled inwardly at the sight of him.
He must be wondering what in the world had happened for the pirates to be annihilated overnight.
Those pirates had probably been an extremely important part of whatever Cheon Cheon-bok and the others were planning.
And now that such an important piece had suddenly disappeared, they had to be scrambling to figure out what to do next.
“Thinking about it, I realized I never properly thanked you for introducing me to such high-quality pearls. So I came to see whether you might join me for a meal, both as thanks and as a chance to talk.”
“You’re very considerate. Thank you.”
“Then shall we go?”
The reason I was lying to lure him away like this was simple: I wanted to avoid an unnecessary confrontation.
If his people started fighting in the middle of town, innocent civilians could easily be caught in the crossfire.
I left the Chaehong Merchant Group with him and headed to the restaurant I had reserved beforehand.
“Welcome.”
Since Palgap had already arranged everything for us, we were immediately escorted to a private annex.
There was one problem, though.
No food had been prepared inside.
“W–What is this…?”
Realizing that something was wrong, Cheon Cheon-bok immediately tried to retreat.
But,
Thud!
My fist was faster.
After subduing Cheon Cheon-bok, I loaded his unconscious body into a sedan chair and headed back to the Hainan Sect.
Then I went to the detached annex where the pirate captain was hanging and strung Cheon Cheon-bok up right beside him.
Bang!
At that moment, the door swung open and Warrior Jang Won entered.
But judging by his expression, things hadn’t gone particularly well…
“My apologies.”
“What happened?”
“It seems they caught wind of us. The Prefect of Hainan Island, Geum Sa-gyeon, has already fled.”
People like that always seem to develop an irritatingly sharp instinct for danger.
A short while later.
I headed to the Prefectural Office.
There was no longer any reason to conceal my identity, so I could walk around openly now.
I had ordered some of the Imperial Guards to head to the Chaehong Merchant Group and subdue the warriors there from the Unorthodox Sects.
As a result, there weren’t many Imperial Guards left at the Prefectural Office.
I headed for Geum Sa-gyeon’s residence.
There were obvious signs that he had packed in a great hurry.
Even if he escaped from here, the only place he could realistically flee was Guangdong.
But Imperial Guards were already spread throughout that entire region, so there shouldn’t be anyone there he could turn to for help.
Well, it didn’t matter.
He was already in the palm of my hand anyway.
Lady Seohyang’s message had been about precisely this possibility, so I’d taken precautions in advance.
I looked at one particular object in his room and let out a quiet laugh.
An empty box.
It was the box that had once held the Golden Toad I’d received from the Mu Merchant Group as collateral.
He must have decided that it was the most valuable thing he could grab in such a desperate situation, so he took it with him when he fled.
But what should I do?
That thing’s a fake.
–TL Notes–
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