Welcome to the Blood Storm
Haejeonggol.
On the southern hill of Gyounam, a thin ribbon of water ran toward the sea.
It was barely a ditch—too meager to deserve the name of valley—yet the tent village that had settled along it was called Haejeonggol.
Some fifty people lived inside a stockade of logs, and oddly enough the pavilion raised in the front courtyard had been built with real care. The rear yard, by contrast, was ten times larger, and more than fifty small tents stood in rows there.
Those were the quarters of the children who had come to Haejeonggol.
Sleeping apart might have looked like consideration at first glance. In truth it was meant to choke off any bond of fellowship. Nothing draws people closer than sharing meals and bedding, so here the sleeping places were divided, and once rations were issued the rule was to eat alone inside one's own tent.
"Welcome."
Walk the ditch, pass through the wooden-fence gate, and a small pavilion shaped like a traveler's inn came into view. The peculiar arrangement spoke perfectly of Gu Donggu, boss of Haejeonggol: show only the neat pavilion and the tidy front yard; hide the wretched children in the rear garden.
"It is an honor to receive your visit."
When he bowed deeply at the waist, his thick belly folded into three layers. Long eyebrows hung like caterpillar bristles; the flesh of his jaw was toad-like. Beneath small round eyes that did not match his bulk sat a blunt nose with a wart beside it, and the wart quivered whenever his thick lips moved, drawing every eye.
"Quite a picturesque view."
The visitor was a man in his mid-forties, dressed in red even under the heat of summer.
"I have prepared fine tea."
Gu Donggu served it like an aged shopkeeper and flung open the doors on the pavilion's first floor so the sea flooded into the room. He loved this scenery—not because he loved it himself, but because he loved to display it.
"It is an honor that you have visited Haejeonggol. I hope you will accept this humble token of my sincerity."
A box finished in red lacquer was set upon the table. Inside the half-open lid lay ginseng that anyone could see was of the finest grade.
"I prepared the very best among the ginseng that crosses the sea."
Smuggled goods obtainable only in Gyounam and the nearby harbors. Leftover after delivery to the royal household—sometimes the finest pieces were deliberately set aside for the black market.
"Ahem. There won't be any... complications, will there?"
"If there are any, they rest with me."
Meaning he would take the blame. At that point the journey had proven worthwhile, and the visitor's expression brightened.
"What was it you insisted you had to say?"
"My greatest purpose was simply to meet Elder Hwangbo."
"Haha. You sly fellow."
They pretended not to know, but both understood the meaning of this meeting. Otherwise no bribe would have been prepared in advance, and no one would have come out to a valley this far from town. In the end this was the process of negotiation—and the one at a disadvantage is always the one making the request.
"Elder. The Haomen will run Gyounam's black market. Naturally more ships will come and go, so the escort bureau will have more work as well. Entrust it to me, and I will produce results worthy of the Shandong Escort Bureau's name."
"What dangerous talk! Our Shandong Escort Bureau does not transport illegal goods!"
The Shandong Escort Bureau. An escort agency run by the Hwangbo Clan, controlling seven-tenths of all escorted cargo that moved through Shandong Province. Operated by a cousin of the current Hwangbo Clan head, so that even bandits never dared touch it within the province.
"Of course not. We will never handle goods bound for the black market. Even without that, there is no shortage of cargo. If the clan is to manage the trade goods it brings in directly, shouldn't there be a responsible man at the harbor?"
The man who had been berating him now stroked his chin and nodded—not because he particularly agreed, but because the words he wanted to hear had finally been spoken.
"I trust you, of course, but escort work is not something I can decide alone, is it?"
"If the Deputy Escort Chief—the real power of the Shandong Escort Bureau—cannot decide, then who on earth can?"
Below the Escort Bureau Master himself, aside from the Escort Chief, three Deputy Escort Chiefs held the real authority. That much was true.
"We do need to add another foothold at the harbor..."
As the Deputy Escort Chief let the sentence trail off, Gu Donggu seized the moment and dropped to his knees.
"Give me one chance, and I will become your most loyal dog, Elder!"
It was exactly the sight the Deputy Escort Chief had wanted.
"Hwangbo Seung? Who's that?"
"Deputy Escort Chief of the Shandong Escort Bureau. Think of him as the man in charge of the eastern part of Shandong Province."
Ja Gangcheon bit into a crisp apple and waited for Cheongu to continue.
"Gu Donggu of Haejeonggol has been meeting Hwangbo Seung often lately. It looks like they're going to set up a Shandong Escort Bureau outpost in Gyounam."
An outpost was one step below a branch office—smaller in scale and authority. Even so, that did not mean there was any limit on the profits.
"They never had an outpost before?"
"Until now it was run on contract. There's a place called the Gyounam Escort Agency that operates around the harbor. They signed a contract with them and left transport as far as the nearby branch offices in their hands."
"So they'll cancel the existing contract?"
"Most likely. Maritime trade keeps getting livelier. It's become too big a prize to leave alone."
"And this Gu Donggu wants to swallow it."
"He's wanted to run one of the Hwangbo Clan's enterprises for a long time. Branch chiefs of escort bureaus or merchant houses are limited to Hwangbo blood, so outpost master is the highest goal he can aim for."
"He's exploiting children and all he dreams of is being an outpost master?"
"Being the outpost master of the Shandong Escort Bureau is no low position. It's a seat that brings both money and power."
In Shandong Province, after all, no one would dare touch an escort bureau run by the Hwangbo Clan. On the contrary, people who wanted a connection would come paying their respects. All of that turned into wealth and power.
"Annoying, but nothing that collides with us, right?"
"For now, no. We aren't planning to run an escort bureau."
"Then we'll watch for a while."
Having settled the matter for the moment, they went into training and met So Yeondok toward evening.
"I pay my respects to the Manor Lord."
So Yeondok had come to the manor with a slight man who looked to be in his early fifties.
"I received word from the Merchant Lord. You were looking for an expert in medicine preparation."
"Ah! Please, come in."
When it came time for introductions, the man abruptly bowed.
"At last I can greet you properly! Thank you so much for saving my daughter! I will spend the rest of my life repaying the Manor Lord's grace!"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Tears even dripped from the man's eyes, and Ja Gangcheon was taken aback. Fortunately So Yeondok explained at once.
"He lived alone with his daughter until they were dragged into the black market. They locked the fourteen-year-old girl in a brothel and forced the father to brew drugs. They used the daughter as a hostage against the father, and the father as a hostage against the daughter."
At that vicious treatment Ja Gangcheon's face twisted of its own accord.
"Good thing we wiped them out."
"Yes, Manor Lord. Thanks to you, this family was set free."
Ja Gangcheon let out a long breath and smoothed his expression.
"You've been through a lot."
"Thank you, Manor Lord! I, Yang Mosu, will follow the Manor Lord's will until the day I die!"
A connection born of chance had returned as a bond of fate. Ja Gangcheon felt a strange but warm emotion, and his mood lifted.
"Consider the greeting just now repayment enough for the favor."
"How could I..."
"Instead, help me."
"Yes, Manor Lord!"
So Yeondok had brought him, so there was a measure of trust already, but meeting the man face to face erased even the last small doubt.
"Then both of you, come with me."
They arrived at the reception hall. Ordinarily they would have gone to the rear garden to talk, but not today. That meant a confidential conversation was needed.
"You come in too, hyung."
"Yes, hyung-nim."
Ja Gangcheon did not discriminate against Panseok for being simple.
"How is your daughter doing now, sir?"
"The Merchant Lord has taken her in. She is learning the merchant house's work."
So Yeondok took up the thread.
"The child is quite skilled with numbers. She will be a great help to the merchant house."
"That's good to hear."
Once he judged the atmosphere sufficiently relaxed through casual talk, Ja Gangcheon cleared the tea table and set three sheets of paper on it.
"Please take a look at these."
Yang Mosu snatched up the papers as if he had been given an order. Fortunately the writing on them was something he could read.
"These are pill formulas."
The first sheet listed no fewer than seventeen medicinal ingredients, their proportions, and the method of preparation.
"Hmm. I've never seen a combination like this. Three ingredients are ground completely and dissolved in boiling water. The four mixed agents made that way are then aged into elixir pills."
His expression had grown serious without his noticing. And when he looked at the second sheet he was startled again.
"This appears to be a salve for external application. Many precious herbs go into it, and a few poisons as well. Ah—there are also antidotes. It is composed of three pairs of poisons and three pairs of antidotes. The residue left after neutralizing the toxins seems to become the main ingredient."
As if taking an examination, he spoke on the third sheet as well.
"Hmm. This one is truly unusual. Astragalus, angelica, and ligusticum—excellent for restoring vitality—are the main ingredients, yet it includes auxiliary materials that maximize each of their properties. The proportions are a little strange, though; ordinarily that would reduce the effect instead."
When he finished explaining everything he set the papers down. Ja Gangcheon spoke of the formulas without delay.
"The first medicine is a painkiller. The second is a trauma salve for wounds. The third is a health pill that restores energy."
Yang Mosu nodded as if he had expected as much.
"I plan to make these and sell them from now on."
The manor household already knew.
"Manor Lord—who created these formulas?"
He asked about the source because of trust in the medicine. Selling faulty medicine would not end with the merchant house simply going under. If someone were badly hurt, the authorities would get involved.
"For everyone's sake I won't say. But one thing is certain. There is no finer formula in the world than these."
When Ja Gangcheon showed such firm confidence, So Yeondok decided simply to accept it. His trust in Ja Gangcheon was absolute.
"Sir—is there a way to make the medicine while keeping these formulas secret?"
"I did a great deal of that while making aphrodisiacs. I can't keep everything secret, but if I handle the core mixing myself, no one will be able to copy it. The workers receive only ingredients that have already been combined."
"Good. Then prepare the core ingredients here at the manor. This will be the safest place."
"Understood."
"Uncle Sojang, step outside with me for a moment."
Outwardly he was the Merchant Lord, but the title "Sojang" still felt natural. He was in fact the labor-hall chief as well, so many people still called him that.
When all the talk was finished, Ja Gangcheon called So Yeondok out to the rear garden and showed him a single book.
"I didn't say this while Uncle Mosu was present. The formulas for those medicines started from this book."
"You don't have to show me."
"It means we share the responsibility. I didn't hide it from Uncle Mosu because I don't trust him—because this is safer."
So Yeondok was privately pleased. It sounded like recognition as a member of the manor household.
When he looked at the book, he blinked.
Four characters written on the cover.
Chosan Medical Compendium
A medical treatise created by Ok Chosan, the Ten Absolute Hands—counted among the Ten Great Heroes of the Murim and the supreme master of finger techniques. Originally a physician, he had dreamed of a single perfected medical text; many had seen only the cover, and none had ever seen what lay inside.
"Regretting that you looked, aren't you?"
So Yeondok stood dazed, swallowing dryly.
"Welcome to the center of the blood storm."