I asked Geumryeong.
– What's wrong?
– Kui. Kui!
Ah…
So, because that was left behind for the descendants living here, Geumryeong wasn't supposed to eat it?
I hadn't even said I was giving it away…
Still, Geumryeong had a point.
The treasure at the place marked on this map had been left by the ancestor who settled in Springview Fortress for his descendants.
At first, I'd thought it belonged to no one.
The Emperor had told me to bring back anything valuable before anyone else could get their hands on it, but circumstances had changed.
Taking an inheritance a father had painstakingly prepared for his son or grandson would basically be stealing it right out from under them.
But there was another problem.
Could Springview Fortress actually protect this treasure?
There was a reason people said preserving a clan was harder than founding one.
But that was a problem for later. First, we had to find the treasure.
None of it mattered until we actually found it.
So that was what the line I'd seen earlier, [Do not look above. Look below. We have always been at the bottom, and there lies our true comfort], had meant.
Look at the bottom of the box.
We left Sword Tomb and immediately gathered everyone.
Thirty people in all.
We had selected only those we could trust to keep their mouths shut.
I gathered all my Escort Guards, while Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun brought only the warriors he trusted.
We moved quickly and soon reached the place shown on the silk map.
It was a shrine inside Springview Fortress dedicated to the Marquis of Wuxiang.
The Marquis of Wuxiang did have ties to Yunnan.
He had captured Meng Huo, who ruled this land, seven times and released him seven times, until Meng Huo was finally so impressed that he surrendered to him.
Then he left without stationing a single soldier or official here.
That was why the people of Yunnan held the Marquis of Wuxiang in such high esteem – enough to build a shrine to him.
– Kui! Kui!
Judging by how Geumryeong was happily swaying its rear from side to side, there had to be an enormous amount of treasure here.
– You can't eat any of it anyway. You're still that happy?
– Kui! Kui!
It already knew that, so apparently I needed to read the room. Hahaha.
Fair enough. Some things were nice just to look at.
“Are you certain this is the place?”
At Commander Gwon's question, Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun nodded.
“Yes. I'm certain.”
He continued.
“I think I know why my ancestor stored the wealth here as well. He must have believed the people would never tear this place down because of their respect for the Marquis of Wuxiang. And in fact, doing so is considered taboo throughout Yunnan.”
“Then let's go in.”
And so we entered the Marquis of Wuxiang's shrine.
First, we should show our respects.
We bowed before the portrait of the Marquis of Wuxiang.
Then I took down the hanging scroll bearing his portrait, carefully rolled it up, and placed it to the side.
Meanwhile, Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun followed the instructions written on the silk.
He turned the sturdy wooden bar that had held the large portrait scroll of the Marquis of Wuxiang twice to the left, twice to the right, seven times to the left, and three times to the right.
Rrrrrrk.
The entire wall where the scroll had hung began sinking into the floor, revealing a wall of earthen bricks behind it.
I carefully felt the bricks, then lightly rapped them with my fist.
Thump, thump.
Hollow.
“Let's break through this earthen wall.”
Commander Gwon nodded at my suggestion, and we all rushed in to tear it down.
It hadn't been built to withstand much in the first place, so the earthen bricks broke apart easily.
Behind it, a hidden door came into view.
Commander Gwon pulled the handle to open it, but the door didn't budge.
“It might be different if Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun tries opening it.”
“Ah! You may be right.”
At my suggestion, Commander Gwon stepped aside and Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun came forward.
The moment he pulled the handle, the door opened as easily as if it had never been stuck at all.
Our eyes widened when we saw what lay beyond.
It was because of the wealth piled inside.
There was enough gold and silver to make even Geumryeong wag its rear.
There was so much that the entire chamber seemed to glow yellow.
Moving all of this wouldn't be easy.
Then something caught my eye.
Something utterly out of place in a room like this – a bloodstained scroll.
Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun picked it up and unrolled it.
It was written in the Imperial Language, so everyone there could read it.
[This wealth is meant for our descendants. Honored one who has come into possession of it, if you return this wealth to my descendants, we will repay your kindness even beyond death.]
Perhaps because of the blood staining the scroll, the plea felt even more desperate.
It wasn't advice for the descendant who eventually found it, nor a warning meant for an enemy. It was a plea.
Maybe the Springview Fortress ancestor who hid this here had known that one day it might fall into the Emperor's hands.
That would explain why he'd left a letter like this.
“What do we do now?”
“Transporting it will be a problem too. There's no guarantee someone won't skim some off along the way…”
If that happened, Commander Gwon would be held accountable by the Emperor.
We had found the treasure, but this wasn't a situation where we could simply celebrate.
So this was the burden that came with being the one in charge.
I said to Commander Gwon,
“Commander, let's call the Fortress Lord first. I think we should discuss this with him.”
“That would be best.”
.
.
.
A short while later.
The Fortress Lord arrived at the Marquis of Wuxiang's shrine after receiving word from Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun.
“What's happened? I heard it was urgent.”
“Yes, it is.”
Commander Gwon spoke for all of us.
“We need your help with this, Fortress Lord, and we also need you to make a decision. But before that, I should explain everything from the beginning.”
He paused to catch his breath, then turned to me.
“Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho, you explain the rest.”
“Yes. I'll explain.”
I told the Fortress Lord the whole story.
“…and that's why we followed the map drawn on the silk to this place.”
“I see.”
“Then we found this inside.”
I led the Fortress Lord inside.
“…”
Thud.
The moment he saw the piles of gold and silver filling the chamber, the Fortress Lord's legs seemed to give out, and he dropped to the floor.
“Good grief! Are you all right?”
“…It's real, isn't it?”
“Yes. Of course. Master Craftsman Cha verified it.”
“I can hardly believe it.”
I picked up one of the pieces and handed it to him.
“Try biting it.”
At that, the Fortress Lord cautiously bit down on it, then stared blankly at the clear tooth mark left behind.
“So it is. Real gold.”
After collecting himself, the Fortress Lord asked calmly,
“So why did you call me here?”
“We have to transport all of this to Beijing.”
I continued.
“This was left behind by your ancestor, Fortress Lord. So I'll make certain it is ultimately used for Springview Fortress.”
The Fortress Lord slowly shook his head.
“You don't have to go that far.”
“Pardon?”
“To tell you the truth, I was happy when I first saw all of that. But…”
The Fortress Lord looked down at his empty sleeve.
“If that treasure remains here, Springview Fortress will suffer through that nightmare all over again.”
He clenched his remaining hand into a fist.
“Countless people would come after this land for the sake of that gold and silver. If Springview Fortress can remain safe, then we don't need any of it!”
“…”
What happened last time had clearly left a deep scar on the Fortress Lord.
That was why he was willing to turn away even this staggering fortune in gold and silver.
Then again, knowing what had happened in my previous life, I couldn't deny his choice.
If there was one good thing that had come from what he endured, it was that he could now face reality without illusions.
“And didn't you say it yourself? The letter our ancestor left told us to prioritize survival above all else.”
“Yes. That's right.”
“I don't think this treasure would help us survive. If anything, it would do the opposite.”
“Understood.”
I nodded.
“I'll respect your decision. In return, please help us get all of this safely to the Imperial Palace.”
“Very well.”
We put our heads together for a while, and eventually the Fortress Lord came up with an ingenious solution.
“Ah! This should work.”
.
.
.
Once everything was settled, we each returned to our quarters.
Escort Guard Jin Yu had already returned to mine.
“How did it go?”
“As you ordered, my lord, I followed them and located their superiors. They're here in Yunnan.”
“How strong are they?”
“From what I saw, they aren't anything exceptional. Around twenty people in total, with two Peak martial artists among them.”
“Then we should be able to handle them on our own.”
“More than enough.”
I rose from my seat.
“Then let's go deal with them.”
We still had to escort the gold and silver found in the Marquis of Wuxiang's shrine to Beijing.
If they learned about it, things would get troublesome, so we needed to eliminate them as soon as possible.
.
.
.
Night fell.
I left my quarters with my Escort Guards.
As we neared the place Escort Guard Jin Yu had described, I took a smiling mask out of the Hidden Vault.
“Tonight, we're wearing these masks.”
“Understood.”
“It's been a while since we used these.”
We put on the smiling masks and finished preparing for the raid. Then Escort Guard Jin Yu asked,
“Should we take them alive?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“We only need a few pieces of information. Leave alive whoever can give us what we need, and clean up the rest.”
The Emperor had told me, “While you're searching Sword Tomb, uninvited guests will probably interfere. There's a good chance the people behind them are also the ones who plotted to seize Springview Fortress. Find out who they are.”
He had asked for information about them, not for prisoners.
The Emperor knew it too.
Bringing them back alive would be difficult.
Their backers would try to silence them on the way by killing the captives, and stopping that would be extremely difficult.
Innocent people could end up dying for no reason, or someone could be forced to take responsibility for the failure.
The Emperor wanted his people spared from that sort of burden.
He really was a good man.
Even if he did work me half to death. Damn it.
The Unorthodox Qi tinged with the stench of blood grew thicker with every step. That confirmed this was indeed the base of the people who had infiltrated Sword Tomb.
We approached the place.
It was disguised as an inn.
I closed my eyes and focused my Qi senses.
I couldn't sense the presence of any ordinary guests inside.
Then again, no ordinary traveler would come all the way out here to stay the night.
– I'll explain the plan.
While Escort Guard Jin Yu and I dealt with the two Peak martial artists, the other five warriors would take care of everyone else.
Still, they'd stationed two Peak martial artists here!
That showed just how important Sword Tomb was to them.
– Let's go.
– Yes.
Escort Guard Jin Yu and I shot forward like arrows and sent out sword winds to extinguish the lights.
In an instant, the inn went dark.
The people inside panicked and fell into chaos, but we had already adjusted to the darkness and moved without hesitation.
And once someone reached the Profound Realm, simply sensing Qi was enough to move around without difficulty.
Escort Guard Jin Yu and I located the two Peak martial artists and headed straight for them.
* * *
Hwang Gu was a Peak martial artist.
He held a fairly high position in the organization.
His skill had earned him that much.
His latest assignment had sent him to Yunnan.
Out here, he could conduct operations freely without constantly watching his superiors' moods.
But lately, his standing had weakened considerably.
A year ago, he had carried out an operation with Springview Fortress's envoys, the Embroidered Guard, and the Eastern Depot to swallow Springview Fortress whole.
But the operation had failed.
And now, the Imperial Palace had dispatched forces to search Springview Fortress's Sword Tomb.
When his superiors learned of it, they naturally put pressure on him.
“Find out everything you can from them! Especially how they learned there was a Sword Tomb in Springview Fortress!”
To carry out that order properly, he had sent the subordinates he trusted most, but…
“The spirit sleeping in the Sword Tomb must have been enraged.”
“We heard it clearly. It said it wouldn't let us get away with this!”
“It was terrifying, I swear!”
With them babbling like that, Hwang Gu couldn't help finding the whole thing absurd.
But he couldn't exactly report that nonsense to his superiors.
He already knew how they would react.
Instead, he sent a letter reporting what his subordinates had told him – that they had found a hidden chamber – and received a reply.
The order was to steal whatever was inside when the group left for Beijing.
So he was currently planning the operation.
If this failed, his life was as good as over.
With his skills, they probably wouldn't kill him outright, but he would lose all the power and status he had now.
Then he would be reassigned under people who had once ranked beneath him, and to him, that was no different from being told to die.
His pride would never allow it.
“So… would it be better to poison the stream when they pass through here and take them all down that way?”
He muttered to himself as he scribbled on a sheet of paper with his brush.
Fwoosh!
The light suddenly went out. A moment later, a cold sensation touched the back of his neck.
He swallowed hard and turned his head. In the darkness, a white smiling mask gleamed beneath the moonlight.
“So you're the bastard who's been tormenting my descendants!”
“W–who are you?”
“I've come to drag the man who tormented my descendants down to the afterlife.”
His whole body began trembling.
‘Were my subordinates telling the truth?’
No living person could radiate such a deathly chill.
‘It has to be the Qi of the underworld…’
Hwang Gu finally fainted.
Thud.
“H–hey? Come on, how can you pass out just because I made one little joke?”
–TL Notes–
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