Escort Guard Jin Yu soon joined me.
"What happened?"
I pointed to the unconscious man at my feet.
"Well, the thing is… he passed out."
"You knocked him unconscious, then."
"No, that's not what happened. I just made a little joke, and he fainted on his own."
"What in the world did you say to him…?"
"I told him I'd come to drag the man who tormented my descendants into the afterlife…"
I grumbled despite myself.
"I didn't expect a Peak expert to be this fainthearted."
"If you wear that mask in a situation like this and say something like that, anyone would be terrified. On top of that, your Qi is Yin in nature, so he must've had no choice but to think you were an actual ghost."
"…Ah."
Now I felt a little embarrassed. Come to think of it, fainting was understandable.
"What did you do with the man you were responsible for?"
"He's right here."
Escort Guard Jin Yu tossed the man he'd dragged over onto the ground.
Thud.
It was another unconscious Unorthodox Sect warrior.
Before long, the other escort guards began joining me one after another.
"Looks like everyone has been dealt with."
"Yes. They have."
They hadn't stopped at sealing their acupoints. Their arms and legs had also been securely bound.
It was a precaution in case the acupoint seals wore off.
"Then let's wake them."
"Yes."
Escort Guard Lee Pil took a small bottle from inside his clothes and held it beneath their noses.
"Ugh!"
"Ghk!"
They woke almost instantly.
Seeing their reactions, Escort Guard Lee Pil smiled.
"It's a new batch of Awakening Incense I made. Seems to work quite well."
Just as he said, every last one of them looked as though their minds had snapped wide awake.
"If it were me, I'd rather crawl into a manure pile than smell that again."
Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am shook his head as he spoke.
Which meant he'd smelled it before.
Just what kind of stench could it possibly be…?
No, that wasn't important right now.
I looked at the captives.
"There's something I'd like to ask…"
Before I could even finish, the man who had fainted began nodding frantically.
"I-I'll talk! I'll tell you everything you want to know, so please, can't you just pass on peacefully to the afterlife? I was wrong! Please forgive me! I didn't want to do any of it! I only did what the people above me ordered!"
I blinked at the intensity of his response.
Did he still think I was the ancestral ghost protecting Springview Fortress?
This bastard must be absolutely terrified of ghosts.
Well, martial arts and a fear of ghosts were two completely separate matters.
If he wanted to keep misunderstanding things this conveniently, I certainly wasn't going to correct him.
It wasn't as though I enjoyed watching people get tortured, scream, and writhe in agony either.
The man beside him widened his eyes and shouted.
"No! What in the world are you saying? These people are…!"
Hmm. I should probably knock that one out again.
He'd only get in the way.
Thwack!
After knocking him unconscious once more, I turned back to the man who was practically sobbing as he begged for mercy.
"Very well. I'll hear what you have to say first, then decide whether you're worthy of forgiveness."
.
.
.
A short while later.
The man who had begged me for mercy was lying on the ground as a corpse.
His name had been Hwang Gu, and he said he belonged to the Asura Blood Cult.
"Our goal is to restore the Blood Cult and usher in a new age ruled by the Blood Cult."
Unfortunately, he didn't know where the Asura Blood Cult's headquarters were located.
"Letters appear on my desk without any of us noticing. That's how we communicate with them."
"Then how do you contact them from your side?"
"If we leave a letter on the desk, it disappears."
Which meant there was no way to contact them first and lure them here.
Whoever came to retrieve the letter would immediately notice that something was wrong with this inn.
It was also impossible to ask Geumryeong to track the Asura Blood Cult using the scent on one of their letters.
Every trace of scent had been thoroughly erased.
"Judging by how often we've exchanged messages until now, their contact should come here three days from now."
"I see. Then how did you learn about the Sword Tomb in Springview Fortress?"
"That… I don't know the details either, but I heard they discovered something inside a cave near Springview Fortress. They studied what they found and eventually concluded that the thing they were looking for was somewhere beneath Springview Fortress. To excavate it, they needed the entire fortress emptied."
"So you decided to massacre my descendants?"
"I'm sorry! It wasn't my decision! I only did what the people above me ordered!"
"Then why did it end up in the Imperial Palace's hands?"
"I don't know that either. From what I heard, there was a theft. They interrogated the man they suspected of being the thief, along with his entire family, but they never recovered it. In the end… they killed the whole family."
Did that mean the Manor Lord of the Luoyang manor I'd purchased had been the thief?
I asked several other questions as well, and he answered every one without hesitation.
"By the way, if you're this terrified of ghosts, weren't you ever afraid that the vengeful spirits of all the people you've killed would come back for you?"
"Ah, that's because I have a talisman."
He lifted the wooden plaque hanging around his neck.
"An Elder of the Asura Blood Cult made this talisman for me. They said that as long as I have it, the vengeful spirits of anyone I kill won't be able to find me. So I never worried about that."
"But since I'm not one of the vengeful spirits you killed, the talisman doesn't work on me?"
"Hehe, exactly. I've told you everything I know, so please, just pass on peacefully now."
I snorted with laughter.
"You know that's an insult when you say it to someone who's still alive, right?"
Perhaps it was because my tone had suddenly changed, or perhaps he needed a moment to understand what I'd just said, but he merely blinked.
Then the realization dawned on him, and he shouted in fury.
"You tricked me! You son of a bitch!"
"I'm not sure what makes you think you're in any position to curse at me. Either way, thanks to you, I heard quite an interesting story."
I continued with a smile deliberately meant to needle the trembling man.
"Looks like that talisman of yours was a fake. Why else would things have turned out this way? Isn't all of this happening because the resentment of every innocent soul you killed finally piled up high enough to come crashing down on you?"
The Unorthodox Qi surrounding Hwang Gu was mixed with an overpowering stench of blood.
It was proof of just how many people he'd killed.
At my gesture, Escort Guard Jin Yu drew his blade without hesitation and cut down Hwang Gu and the unconscious man beside him.
I gave the two Unorthodox Sect warriors' cold corpses a brief glance.
The Asura Blood Cult, huh…
What an obvious name.
I'm not exactly gifted at naming things myself, but apparently there were people even less creative than me.
I hadn't managed to learn where the Asura Blood Cult was located, but we'd still gained quite a bit.
We now knew both their objective and their true identity.
More importantly, their contact would be coming in three days…
We needed to hurry.
"Then let's get moving."
"Yes."
We stripped the corpses of the Unorthodox Sect warriors – no, the Asura Blood Cult warriors – and dumped the bodies nearby.
There were plenty of wild animals in these mountains, and they were always hungry.
It was a somewhat cruel way to dispose of them, but considering all the innocent people they'd murdered, perhaps this would bring their victims' vengeful spirits at least a little peace.
We doused their clothes in oil and burned them, buried what remained, then burned the inn itself to the ground before heading back.
And before returning to our quarters, none of us forgot to bathe and apply scented oil.
Young Lady Seohyang might be disturbed if she caught the scent of blood on me.
Besides, we needed to erase every trace that could prove we'd been responsible.
.
.
.
We set out again as soon as dawn broke.
The Fortress Lord's solution was simply to bring the entire situation into the open.
Our exploration of the Springview Fortress Sword Tomb hadn't exactly been conducted in secret to begin with, so there was no way we could secretly move everything we'd found there.
Which was why we decided to transport the treasures openly instead.
Of course, we weren't merely going to announce everything and leave it at that.
We spread word that, by the Emperor's command, every treasure discovered inside the Sword Tomb would be transported to Beijing, and that the Fortress Lord of Springview Fortress had been so devastated by the news that he'd fallen ill.
His son had already been taken hostage, and now even the treasures had been seized from him. The story was that the Fortress Lord had become bedridden from sheer rage and grief.
Since this would inevitably damage the Emperor's reputation, Commander Gwon Jik and the other Embroidered Guards expressed their concern.
But I managed to persuade them.
"If we don't do this, Springview Fortress will once again be endangered by people seeking those treasures. Do you really want the hometown of Her Highness the Princess's future Imperial Son-in-Law, the very place where Her Highness will be living a few years from now, to be reduced to ruins?"
"Ahem… Of course not."
"If they believe the Fortress Lord still possesses those treasures, they'll take his family hostage."
"They certainly would. Those people aren't the sort to show mercy or restraint."
"And if that happens, wouldn't that do far more to tarnish His Majesty's glory?"
"…"
"Besides, infamy only lasts for a moment. If His Majesty uses those treasures to govern wisely and improve his people's lives, that infamy will soon turn into praise. Frankly, do you really think one or two ugly rumors are enough to diminish His Majesty's glory?"
"Of course not."
With that, the persuasion was complete, and we loaded the gold and silver we'd discovered onto several carts.
Commander Gwon also kept the promise he'd made to me earlier.
"Warrior Jang Gal. Warrior Song Cheong."
"Yes!"
"You called for us?"
"These are the carts you'll be pulling. Just like when we came here, you'll pull them all the way back to Beijing."
"…What?"
"Why do you look so surprised? Didn't you say you wished to undertake a penance to restore the devotion to His Majesty that had grown lax in your hearts?"
"…"
"Keep at it. Once this assignment is over, I'm certain you'll both emerge as Embroidered Guard Warriors with even greater loyalty than before."
Gold and silver were remarkably heavy for their size.
An ordinary person would struggle just to carry a single ingot for any real distance.
Having to drag an entire cart piled high with gold and silver ingots would be absolute hell.
"Young Master. You appear to be in quite a good mood."
"Hm? What are you talking about?"
When I tilted my head at Palgap's words, he pointed at his eyebrow.
"When Young Master's left eyebrow rises just a little, it means you're angry. But when the left eyebrow droops slightly instead, it means you're in a good mood."
He'd even noticed a habit I wasn't aware I had. As expected of Palgap.
"More importantly, are you satisfied now?"
"Who knows?"
I looked at those two, who wore expressions as though they'd just been shown the gates of the afterlife.
"I think I'll know once we reach Beijing."
"Young Master. I have a request."
"What is it?"
"If I've ever done something wrong to Young Master, or if there's anything about me that's displeased you, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me immediately. I'll do everything I can to correct it."
"You're doing fine. Why are you suddenly saying that?"
"Because I feel as though I might've done something to offend Young Master without realizing it."
As he said that, he stole a glance at Warrior Jang Gal and Warrior Song Cheong, who were wrapping layer after layer of bandages around their hands in preparation for pulling the carts.
Now that was unfair.
It wasn't as though I treated my own people that cruelly.
– Kui!
Exactly, Geumryeong. At least you understand me.
– Kui! Kui!
You're saying you'd appreciate one silver tael, then?
And that when you told me you smelled money at the bottom of the chest earlier, I shouldn't think you're going to forget I still owe you for that?
Fine, I'll give it to you.
But Geumryeong, why are you suddenly being so polite?
.
.
.
The Fortress Lord of Springview Fortress and his family didn't come out to see us off.
That was deliberate, meant to make the rumors we'd spread seem even more believable.
Of course, we'd already said our private farewells in secret the night before.
And so, we left Springview Fortress in full view of everyone.
Our expedition numbered over a hundred people, but when the prize was said to be the treasure of a Sword Tomb, there would inevitably be reckless fools willing to take their chances.
So I'd spread several other rumors in advance.
[The treasure discovered inside the Springview Fortress Sword Tomb is poisoned. A single touch will kill you.]
[A soldier became greedy for one of the gold ingots, touched it, and died.]
[Forest Bandits from a mountain stronghold tried to seize the gold ingots and were completely wiped out by the poison.]
To lend those rumors credibility, every one of us wore masks that covered our noses.
We also behaved as though we were trying to keep as much distance from the gold ingots as possible, and I ordered everyone in the group to act as though the rumors were completely true.
Naturally, even that wasn't enough to stop every moth eager to throw itself into the flame for a chance at the gold.
We dealt with those people without mercy.
That was possible because we received assistance from the Provincial Commander everywhere we went.
The Provincial Commander was responsible for military affairs throughout an entire province.
With the Provincial Commanders of Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, and Hebei providing support as we passed through their provinces, we were able to reach Beijing without incident.
I'd actually hoped to meet the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Guizhou on our way back to Beijing, but circumstances didn't allow it, so I had no choice but to leave that meeting for another time.
"You've been through quite a lot."
At Commander Gwon Jik's words, I responded modestly.
"Not at all. I merely did what needed to be done."
I respectfully cupped my hands in salute before adding one final warning.
"Please don't let your guard down until the very end. Forgive me for saying this, but even the Imperial Palace isn't perfectly safe, is it?"
"Of course. Don't worry."
"Thank you. Then I'll take my leave."
After exchanging farewells with Young Lord Yeon Yu-mun and the Princess as well, I returned to the Beijing Branch.
Naturally, a mountain of paperwork was there to welcome me.
Sigh…
.
.
.
That night.
Warrior Jin Yeong came to see me.
"Greetings, Warrior Jin Yeong."
"You look exhausted. This assignment must have been quite grueling."
"Hahaha."
I simply laughed without saying anything.
Truthfully, it wasn't the journey that had left me looking worn out. It was the paperwork I'd been buried in until moments ago, but there was no need to tell him that.
"Prepare to enter the palace immediately. His Majesty has summoned you."
I promptly straightened my clothes and followed Warrior Jin Yeong to the Emperor's study.
"This humble merchant, Eun Seo-ho, greets Your Majesty."
As I dropped into the deepest possible bow, the Emperor's voice reached me.
"Did you enjoy saddling me with such an ugly reputation?"
"…"
"And yet, strangely enough, I didn't hear the name Handsome Young Hero mentioned even once this time. Almost as though someone had gone out of his way to make absolutely certain of it."
Ah…
He caught me.
–TL Notes–
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