After thoroughly searching the area with my two Escort Guards, I finally found something suspicious.
It looked like a bracket meant for hanging a torch, except this place had Night Pearls embedded in the walls, so there was no need for torches.
And yet, the bracket showed clear signs of use.
When I pulled it downward, there was a grinding sound, and a hidden door slid open.
Come to think of it, how much money did they spend installing all this?
The moment the door opened, the thick stench of blood assaulted my nose.
And judging by the rotten reek mixed into it, whatever had happened here had been left untouched for quite some time.
Just what the hell happened in here?
Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am, who had come with me, seemed to realize something was seriously wrong as well. Their expressions hardened.
Unlike the area we were standing in, it was pitch-black beyond the door.
Fortunately, I had Night Pearls.
I took three Night Pearls fitted with cords from my pocket and handed two of them to the Escort Guards.
We each hung one around our necks before heading inside, and almost immediately, I sensed Unorthodox Qi deeper within.
There were three Unorthodox warriors inside.
– Let's each take one.
– Understood.
We briefly covered the light from our Night Pearls, approached without making a sound, and knocked all three Unorthodox warriors unconscious.
I couldn't sense any other Unorthodox Qi nearby.
While Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am tied them up, Escort Guard Seo Wu and I searched the area.
Several caves had been dug into the surrounding rock, and from one of the larger ones came a faint groan.
“Ugh…”
I followed the overwhelming stench of blood until I saw someone hanging from the wall.
Uh…
Is that even a person?
For a moment, the thought genuinely crossed my mind. That was how horrific the man's condition was.
I had no idea what they'd done to him, but there wasn't a single untouched patch on his naked body.
I started toward him, only to stop short and bite my lip.
I could sense the distinctive Qi of Imperial Palace Martial Arts coming from him.
Perhaps sensing someone's presence, the man raised his head.
But the torture seemed to have damaged his eyesight, because he couldn't tell who had approached him.
“Ha! Who is it this time? Please, spare me whatever pointless games you've come up with and just kill me already.”
His voice had been reduced to a hoarse rasp.
I spoke to him.
“Warrior Jin Yeong has been very worried about you.”
At my words, the man flinched.
“My name is Eun Seo-ho. Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group. His Majesty sent me here to put an end to the corruption on Hainan Island.”
Instead of calming down, however, the man raised his voice.
“How dare you use His Majesty's name for your lies! And Jin Yeong? I don't know anyone by that name.”
“Whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you.”
Still, maybe it was a good thing Warrior Jang Won hadn't been the first one to find him like this.
If Warrior Jang Won had seen him in this state, the shock would've been considerable.
“Escort Guard Seo Wu.”
“Yes.”
“Go outside and tell Escort Guard Myeong Jong and Escort Guard Chang Un to bring reinforcements here.”
“Understood.”
“And if possible, ask them to bring someone from the Embroidered Guard as well.”
“Yes.”
Still, looking at his condition, he needs treatment immediately. Ordinary Golden Wound Medicine isn't going to be enough for this…
No helping it.
After watching Escort Guard Seo Wu head outside, I walked over to a nearby table that seemed to serve as both a dining table and a tea table.
I picked up something that looked like a bowl, then pulled Geumryeong out of my sleeve.
– All right, Geumryeong. Here's the gold tael I promised you before.
– Kui! Kui!
The moment Geumryeong saw the gleaming gold tael, its eyes lit up, and it began panting excitedly.
Naturally, drool immediately started pouring from its mouth.
Whoa!
I quickly caught it in the bowl, and once I'd collected enough, I handed Geumryeong the gold tael.
– Kui!
Geumryeong took the gold tael in its mouth and crawled back into my sleeve.
I could feel its tail happily fluttering around inside. It must've really liked it.
I chuckled before carrying the bowl of Geumryeong's saliva over to the man hanging from the wall.
Then I carefully spread it over every part of his wounded body.
He tried to reject my touch, but considering he couldn't move…
Hmm… I wonder if it'll work on his eyes too?
The damage to his eyes is an external injury as well, so who knows?
With that thought, I carefully applied some of Geumryeong's saliva to his eyes as well.
I emptied one of the liquor bottles nearby and poured the remaining saliva into it.
A liquor bottle, huh…
Come to think of it, I heard the young Merchant Lord of the Mu Merchant Group was also caught drinking bootleg liquor.
Apparently, that meant his punishment would be even harsher.
Tsk. Couldn't he have held out a little longer? The Prohibition Decree will probably be lifted soon anyway.
That was when it happened.
“Hmm?”
I turned toward the sound and saw the Embroidered Guard man blinking his eyes.
His gaze was focused now.
Wow… Geumryeong's saliva is ridiculously effective.
Ah, what a wonderful little creature.
I walked over to him and cautiously asked,
“Can you see a little better now?”
“Who are you?”
“Didn't I explain that earlier?”
“…You were telling the truth?”
“Yes.”
“My apologies.”
His manner of speaking instantly became much more respectful.
I shook my head.
“There's no need. I completely understand the circumstances.”
He glanced toward the three Unorthodox warriors Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am had tied up and said,
“When you can't see, you start suspecting everything.”
“Understandable. Just hold on a little longer. The Imperial Guards will be here soon.”
He looked startled by my words.
“Then does that mean you've exposed Cheon Cheon-bok for what he really is?”
“Of course. He's already been arrested and thrown into the Underground Prison.”
“Then what about the Prefect here?”
“He's in the Underground Prison too.”
“And Guangdong's…”
“The Mu Merchant Group's Senior Supervisor, the County Magistrate, and a man named Mo Gyeong are all sitting in the Underground Prison as we speak.”
“Ha… That's truly remarkable. I think I understand now why His Majesty favors you so much.”
“…”
That's… a good thing, right?
His Majesty had an unfortunate habit of giving more work to the people he favored.
I gave a bitter laugh inwardly before saying,
“I was fortunate. The pirates Cheon Cheon-bok summoned happened to invade Hainan Island, and the merchant ships belonging to the Eunhae Merchant Group took care of them.”
“I see.”
I asked him,
“Are there any other survivors?”
“I don't know. Search the caves around here first. If you're lucky, some of them may still be breathing.”
Resignation seeped into his voice.
In other words, he believed the chances of finding anyone else alive were slim.
Escort Guard Seo Wu returned just then, so I ordered him and Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am to search the surrounding caves.
“And… there's a writing desk over there.”
“Yes.”
“Open the drawer beside it.”
I immediately walked over and pulled the drawer open.
Hmm…
Inside was a large stack of bloodstained papers, so I took them out and began reading.
They weren't formal records, and the handwriting was extremely rough, but I had no trouble understanding them.
[The higher-ups requested information on the Embroidered Guard, so we began interrogations in order to obtain it. We pulled out their fingernails and toenails…]
The documents contained records of the torture they'd carried out, along with whatever information they'd managed to extract from their victims.
This makes my blood boil.
Those fucking bastards.
And the people they'd interrogated weren't limited to the Embroidered Guard. There were members of the Eastern Depot among them as well.
For all the effort they'd put into torturing people, however, they hadn't learned much.
Well, not every member of the Embroidered Guard or Eastern Depot was a traitor like Mo Gyeong.
A short while later.
The Imperial Guards arrived, accompanied by someone fairly high-ranking within the Embroidered Guard.
“What! Aren't you Agent O Sam-ryeong?”
“To see you again while I'm still alive… It feels like a dream.”
As expected, he recognized him.
“Thank you! Truly, thank you! If it weren't for you, we might have come this close to our comrade and still failed to find him!”
He thanked me over and over again.
“There's another survivor here!”
My Escort Guards found one more survivor in another cave, this one a member of the Eastern Depot.
They also discovered human remains in a different cave. Apparently, the dead had been burned there.
I had them use the Geumryeong saliva I'd stored in the liquor bottle to treat the Eastern Depot survivor.
Once we had their testimony, the investigation began moving at an astonishing pace.
Those connected to the conspiracy who hadn't yet been brought in were swiftly arrested and dragged away.
Meanwhile, I began recovering the wealth they'd carefully accumulated, piece by piece.
Even I was stunned by the sheer amount of treasure we recovered.
There was enough here to exempt Hainan Island and Guangdong from taxes for several years.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I truly don't know whether I should be pleased or furious.”
The man speaking to me was the Crown Prince.
The Emperor had dispatched the Crown Prince to deal with the aftermath of this incident, and he had crossed over to Hainan Island yesterday.
Considering the case involved even high-ranking officials in Guangdong, an ordinary official probably wouldn't have possessed enough authority to deal with everything involved.
And before long, the Crown Prince would be heading to Nanjing.
Since Guangdong fell under Nanjing's jurisdiction, His Majesty probably intended for the Crown Prince to clean things up there as well while he had the opportunity.
“You can do both.”
At my answer, the Crown Prince gave me a hollow look.
“If it weren't for you, they would have continued bleeding this empire of its wealth.”
That's not quite true.
They would've probably cleaned everything out and disappeared before long anyway.
But obviously, I couldn't say that aloud, so I simply nodded along.
“Still, I'm glad we caught them. His Majesty sent me before it was too late, and both the Embroidered Guard and the Imperial Guards moved quickly when the time came.”
“I knew you'd say something like that.”
With those words, the Crown Prince held out a scroll to me.
It was an ornate scroll decorated in brilliant gold and red.
Since it had come directly from the Emperor, I immediately rose from my chair, dropped to my knees, and received the Imperial Decree with both hands.
Then I opened it.
[I have heard of your accomplishments. Well done. As expected of my man, you have not disappointed me. In recognition of your merit, I hereby officially grant permission for the naval base you requested to be established, along with a designated anchorage there for the Eunhae Merchant Group.]
I cheered inwardly.
The instant I read the Imperial Decree, it felt as though every hardship I'd endured up to this point had been washed away.
This was exactly why I'd gone through all that hell!
I carefully tucked the decree into my sleeve before returning to my seat.
“By the way, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun. I heard your wife came here with you. When did you get married?”
The Crown Prince's next words nearly made me spit out the tea I'd been drinking.
“Cough!”
“Oh dear! Are you all right?”
“Cough! Cough! I'm fine.”
I hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief, wiped my mouth, and explained.
“Actually, I only said that to lower their guard and protect my deputy at the same time.”
“Ah, so that's what happened.”
I was already twenty-four years old.
In the Empire, that was more than old enough to have married.
That was why no one had thought anything strange of it when I introduced Young Lady Seohyang as my wife.
“You two looked better together than I expected, though.”
The Crown Prince gave me a teasing smile before turning toward the Eunuch attending him.
“Bring me that thing I mentioned.”
“Yes.”
The Eunuch left the room and returned a short while later carrying an elegant box.
“Take it.”
“What is this?”
“You'll know once you open it.”
I accepted the box from the Eunuch and opened it.
Huh? This is…
Inside was a beautiful hairpin adorned with pearls.
And the pearls set into it were the very ones Young Lady Seohyang had personally chosen.
Seeing my surprise, the Crown Prince explained,
“An artisan came to the Chaehong Merchant Group with it. According to him, Cheon Cheon-bok had commissioned the piece. We also found the commission order you wrote in one of his desk drawers.”
“Ah…”
I explained what had happened.
“I suspected the Chaehong Merchant Group, so I arranged the commission as an excuse to investigate them.”
“There's no need to explain. I don't suspect you of anything so pointless.”
They'd disguised themselves as a merchant group dealing in pearls, and the fact that no one had uncovered them until now meant their legitimate pearl business must have been flawless on the surface.
Which was probably why the artisan had actually completed the commission and brought it here.
“But why are you giving this to me?”
“It's a gift.”
“Excuse me?”
“I paid for it myself. And even if I hadn't, something of this value is well within my authority to release to you.”
“But…”
“Ahem. Now I'm offended. Are you saying I can't even do this much for you?”
“N-No, Your Highness!”
“Then take it. Give it to someone, throw it away, keep it for yourself – do whatever you want with it.”
.
.
.
After discussing the remaining matters with the Crown Prince, I returned to the inn where we were staying.
“You're back?”
Young Lady Seohyang greeted me warmly.
Seeing as she was already waiting on the first floor, she must have known I was on my way back.
“Has anything happened while I was gone?”
“No. I've been perfectly safe. Palgap took very good care of me too.”
I turned toward Palgap.
“Good work. Thanks.”
“I only did what I was supposed to do, sir. No need to thank me for that.”
He rubbed a finger under his nose as he spoke, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
Meanwhile, other people began emerging one after another and gathering around me.
It was almost as though they'd all been waiting for my return.
“We heard what happened! They said you fought for us!”
“We don't even know how we can begin to thank you.”
“This is a gift of gratitude from our tribe.”
They were the chieftains of several tribes living throughout Hainan Island, and each of them had brought me a different gift.
There was a frog carved from stone, clothing woven from cloth covered in elaborate patterns, and a brilliantly painted dagger.
As I accepted the gifts, I realized I'd accomplished one of the goals I'd come here for.
Outsiders were not permitted to possess the gifts they'd given me.
In other words, by giving them to me, they were declaring that they genuinely accepted me as one of their own.
I thanked each of them personally before seeing them off.
“Whew. I think I'll head upstairs and get some rest now.”
“Yes. You should.”
“Um… Deputy Gwak. There's something I'd like to talk to you about. Would you come up to the room with me for a moment?”
Young Lady Seohyang and I went upstairs together and entered the room.
“What did you want to talk about?”
At her question, I gave her an awkward smile and held out the box I'd carried back myself.
“It's a gift.”
She took it, opened the lid, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh! This is…”
Looks like she never saw the finished piece.
I picked up the pearl hairpin and carefully placed it in her hair.
“It suits you.”
Her face turned red.
Whew, why did it suddenly get so hot in here?
Looks like I'll be taking a cold bath tonight.
–TL Notes–
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