Blast Thunder Bomb.
A lethal weapon that scatters iron fragments upon explosion, shredding anything nearby.
If it kills instantly, that’s merciful. It’s a weapon designed to cause excruciating pain—and it was now inside the carriage.
I’d anticipated the ambush targeting our carriage.
I just hadn’t expected it to involve a Blast Thunder Bomb.
“Son of a—!”
Before it hit the floor, I grabbed it and hurled it right back out the window.
I aimed straight at the masked figure retreating after throwing it.
Fortunately, none of our men were in that direction.
At the same time, I grabbed Father and Jeong-ho by the collars and yanked them down.
“Get down!”
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion rocked the area.
Shrapnel flew in all directions.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Fragments struck the carriage from every side.
A few even punched through, embedding themselves inside.
“…”
If that thing had detonated inside… I didn’t even need to imagine the outcome. Just thinking about it was enough to make me curse.
“What… What the hell is going on…”
The door flew open, and Deputy Yun Chung-jin appeared, his face pale.
“Are you all alright?!”
“We’re fine.”
Jeong-ho followed up.
“Thanks to Seo-ho reacting in time, we’re unharmed. Something flew in through the window, and he picked it up and threw it right back out.”
“Thank heavens you’re safe.”
Soon the situation was under control.
Meanwhile, I started analyzing what had just happened.
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t about the salt retail rights.
Even if we didn’t arrive in Beijing on time, the salt retailers were already selected.
There was no point in taking this risk. Even without us, the merchant group still had Jeong-ho and the core members back home.
Which meant… this was personal.
A grudge against us.
The Murim Alliance, maybe?
I shook my head.
The current Murim Alliance had no reason to target us.
If anything, they’d prefer to foster us for future use. They wouldn’t dare antagonize the imperial court just for this.
Attacking an imperial escort was practically an act of treason against the Emperor.
Unless… they were already in open rebellion.
Ah…
A few likely culprits suddenly popped into my mind.
The same ones who attacked Merchant Lord Jin U-rim. The Dong Clan Merchant Group.
I went to find one of the Embroidered Guard martial artists, the person most likely to know Beijing’s latest intel.
“Excuse me, sir. May I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
His demeanor had shifted since we departed.
Where he’d felt like an unyielding stone wall before, now there was a touch of warmth.
“Ask anything. If I can answer, I will.”
“I’d like to know about the Dong Clan Merchant Group.”
“Ah… May I ask why?”
Seeing the troubled look on his face, I explained what had happened in Sichuan.
At that, his expression softened, and he nodded.
“So the benefactor who saved Merchant Lord Jin… was you, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun. I owe you my gratitude.”
“That’s… a bit embarrassing.”
“Had you not saved Merchant Lord Jin back then, we, the Embroidered Guard, would’ve faced dire consequences.”
I started to understand why his attitude toward me had changed.
Not that I minded.
“The Dong Clan Merchant Group… you can consider them gone. Everyone involved in that incident was executed.”
“I see.”
“However… a few managed to flee before they could be caught.”
“Fled?”
“Yes. Among them… the second son of the Dong Clan Merchant Lord.”
In a forest deep within Henan Province.
Inside a hidden cave, a man exploded in rage.
“Damn it! Failure?!”
“We succeeded in drawing the escorts’ attention long enough to toss the Blast Thunder Bomb into the carriage…”
“And? Then why the hell did we fail?!”
“Someone inside threw it back out before it could detonate… so…”
“What kind of bullshit is that?!”
He kicked a nearby rock, sending it crashing against the wall.
His name was Dong Wu-yeok.
Second son of the Dong Clan Merchant Lord.
He’d been away on a long trade expedition. On his way back, he heard the news.
The Dong Clan was wiped out by imperial order.
Not only his family, but even some of the senior merchants were dragged into the palace and executed.
He stood in the marketplace near the imperial city, staring at the severed heads of his father and elder brother displayed on pikes.
Rage consumed him.
He couldn’t understand.
What crime had been so severe that it warranted this level of cruelty?
Dong Wu-yeok swore revenge.
Gathering the surviving members of the merchant group who escaped with him, he set up a base deep in Henan.
Then he started investigating.
It didn’t take long to learn the truth.
His father had attacked Merchant Lord Jin U-rim—and failed, thanks to interference from someone with the Eunhae Merchant Group.
When the Emperor heard of it, he flew into a rage and ordered the extermination of the Dong Clan.
It was justice for a crime committed.
But Dong Wu-yeok refused to accept that.
‘That’s nothing more than routine in merchant competition. How could that warrant total annihilation…’
There was also one truth he consciously ignored.
Attacking an ordinary merchant lord was one thing. Attacking a merchant lord operating under an imperial decree was entirely different.
But Dong Wu-yeok, blinded by vengeance, refused to think logically.
All he wanted was revenge.
Revenge against the Emperor.
Revenge against Merchant Lord Jin U-rim.
One day, he caught wind that the merchant groups assigned to salt retail were headed to Beijing.
The moment he heard it, he made up his mind.
Attack the Eunhae Merchant Group.
He’d heard that Jin U-rim had a deep connection with them, grateful for their aid.
Even the Emperor reportedly held the Eunhae Merchant Group in high regard for rescuing Jin.
If the Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group and his party were assassinated on their way to Beijing…
‘Then maybe they’ll understand even a fraction of the pain I carry.’
Targeting the Eunhae Merchant Group wasn’t just out of necessity.
It was something he was all too happy to do.
He already hated them.
‘This is all your fault. If you hadn’t saved Merchant Lord Jin, everything would’ve ended cleanly. You brought this upon yourselves. Don’t even try to claim innocence!’
He spent the last of the Dong Clan’s remaining funds acquiring Blast Thunder Bombs.
Because he wanted them to die painfully. Horribly.
And yet… it failed.
“Uh… Young Master.”
Hearing his subordinate’s hesitant voice, Dong Wu-yeok lifted his head.
“You’ve got something else to say?”
“Well…”
The hesitant merchant finally spoke.
“Must you really pursue revenge this way, Young Master?”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We still have money left. I hoped you’d use it to start over… I don’t believe the late Merchant Lord would’ve wanted to see your life ruined like this…”
Smack—!
Dong Wu-yeok’s fist flew into the merchant’s face.
The man tumbled backward as Wu-yeok spoke coldly.
“You’re overstepping.”
“…”
“My life is mine to decide. Keep your mouth shut.”
“…My apologies.”
The merchant lowered his head and sighed inwardly.
‘If I stay here… I won’t die a peaceful death.’
.
.
.
He stepped out of the cave.
After the suffocating darkness inside, the sunlight and fresh air hit him all the harder.
Carefully avoiding the guards posted around the cave, he made his way to a spot farther away.
He inhaled deeply.
It felt like if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to breathe at all.
Then someone approached him.
It was one of the underlings who served beneath him.
“Sir… what happens to us now?”
“…I don’t know.”
“But… attacking a convoy under the palace guards’ banner… isn’t that a crime punishable by exterminating three generations?”
He was right.
A convoy flying the banners of the palace guard represented the Emperor’s authority.
To attack them was treason.
The sentence was extermination of the entire family.
“But… but we didn’t know! We truly didn’t! If we had known… if we had…”
The merchant patted the young man’s trembling shoulder.
Seeing his tearful face made the merchant’s own heart grow heavy.
I was perched on a tree.
I’d tracked the traces of the culprits who targeted us.
It wasn’t difficult.
Thanks to the abilities I gained through the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art, I could easily sense the heavy killing intent they left behind.
I told everyone I was stepping away to relieve myself and slipped into the forest with Palgap.
Then I told Palgap I’d be back within a quarter of an hour and came here alone.
Master’s No-Trace Step left no footprints, no presence. It was fast—lightning fast.
It took me less than fifteen minutes to reach this spot.
And there, I saw something unexpected.
A conversation between a man who seemed to be a senior merchant and his subordinate.
I also overheard what happened inside the cave earlier.
It could be summed up in one word.
A complete mess.
I came here because I was furious.
I was given another chance at life—and it had almost been wasted in an instant.
More than that… my father and Jeong-ho nearly died right in front of me.
So of course I was angry. Furious.
But these people… whether I got my hands dirty or not, they were doomed to die miserably.
I was just curious. Curious about the face of the fool who orchestrated this.
Strangely, as I observed them… the anger drained out of me.
Pity took its place.
Their only crime was obeying the orders of the second son of the Dong Clan.
They hadn’t even known the convoy bore the banners of the palace guard and Embroidered Guard.
Even if they’d hired Unorthodox Sect thugs, it was still a crime.
But… what crime had their families committed?
In my previous life, no one from the Dong Clan had escaped.
But now, the second son had fled.
It happened because I’d found the culprits sooner than I did back then.
This ambush was the result.
And it wouldn’t end here.
From now on, I’d continue changing the future—and with every change, countless threads of fate would unravel differently.
But…
I hated unnecessary bloodshed.
In the previous timeline, these men were never caught up in anything like this.
The use of the Blast Thunder Bomb infuriated me… but this hadn’t been their idea.
I made a decision.
I’d give them a chance to live.
I leapt down from the tree, picked up a pebble, and tossed it in their direction.
Plunk.
Startled, they quickly scanned their surroundings, then cautiously crept closer.
“What was that?”
“Just… a rock?”
“A rock…?”
I tossed another.
Then another.
By the third, their curiosity overpowered their fear. They edged closer, trying to figure out who was throwing rocks.
And at that moment—I stepped into view.
“…!”
“Shhh.”
In a blink, I sealed their pressure points.
They couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.
“First, let me introduce myself. I’m Eun Seo-ho. Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“…!”
Their eyes widened in shock.
“Yes. I was one of the people in that convoy… the one you attacked.”
“…!”
“So… why am I here? I came to give you an opportunity.”
“…?”
“Honestly, you’re pitiful. Your only crime is following the orders of the wrong master. And now you’re about to lose your heads because of it. Must be frustrating, huh?”
I let out a light chuckle.
Their eyes betrayed their emotions completely.
“Soon… soldiers will arrive here. I sent someone to notify the garrison.”
“…!”
That wasn’t a bluff.
An Embroidered Guard martial artist went himself. No garrison would dare ignore an order like that.
“By my estimate, you’ve got… maybe two hours. Whether you die here guarding that lunatic Dong Wu-yeok, or grab what money you can and vanish… that’s up to you.”
“…”
“Of course, palace guards will hunt you. You’ll need to stay hidden for about two weeks.”
That’s karma. They should be able to handle that much.
“When I reach Beijing, I’ll arrange to call off the pursuit.”
I’d ask Merchant Lord Jin U-rim to help. It could be done.
“And why would I do that?”
They blinked, then nodded as if to ask.
“Because… I pity you.”
I continued.
“I’ve given you your chance. Whether you take it or not… is up to you.”
“…”
“But make one thing clear. Dong Wu-yeok cannot be among those who escape. If he tries, I’ll end that attempt myself.”
With that, I released their pressure points.
Then I gave them a small smile and sprinted back to where Palgap was waiting.
I gave them a chance.
The choice… was theirs.
–TL Notes–
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