Monopolizing Fortunes (181)
Monopolizing Fortunes (181)
Namgung Seol-rin scolded him.
"There's no way that's true."
"That's what I'm saying! He didn't even do that, so how did he uncover their identities in such a short time?"
"That's Do Tong-dal for you! Is there anything Tong-dal can't do once he sets his mind to it?"
"Still, this is... ugh—! Fine, I lost. But since I won the bet, why did you call us to Beijing? To show off?"
"It seems the Society Leader had ties with the Beggars' Sect while serving as a eunuch."
"Damn! Beggars are the easy ones. It's bad enough having to beg."
"Just in case, we should also uncover his identity outside the imperial palace. And please use the intelligence networks of the Beggars' Sect and the Northern Unorthodox Alliance to identify the people involved in the Won Merchant Company massacre."
Baek So-gu scratched his head with a troubled expression. Dandruff fluttered down, turning the table white.
"That's no easy task."
Namgung Seol-rin spoke.
"Tong-dal already uncovered the Society Leader's identity. Are you planning to leave everything about stopping the martial world bloodshed to him?"
"No, I'm not saying I won't do it. I'm saying it's difficult."
Do Tong-dal spoke.
"We can find out his identity outside the palace through Elder Hwang Chi-wang, who was a Revenge Society spy. He's still alive, right?"
"I kept him alive just in case."
"Oh, right! Please release the real Bae Cheong-dong now. His identity has been fully exposed, so there's no need to keep pretending to be Bae Cheong-dong."
"That guy seems like a born beggar. I'll just leave him as a Beggars' Sect disciple. This is a good chance to reform him."
"Do as you like. You're close with the former Sect Leaders of Mount Hua and Jongnam, aren't you?"
"They've already retired, so it's been a while since I've seen them."
"Go find them and talk about the Won Merchant Company."
"They'll be shocked."
"Making only those responsible take responsibility is the way to shed the least blood. If we can't uncover that, there's no choice but for Mount Hua, Jongnam, and the Revenge Society to fight an all-out war. Even that alone will cause considerable bloodshed, and if we're not careful, it could spread into an even bigger fight."
In a fight between the orthodox and unorthodox factions, no one knows where the sparks will fly. There's no guarantee that a great orthodox-unorthodox war won't break out.
Do Tong-dal spoke to Ha Su-ran.
"I'd like you to mobilize the Northern Unorthodox Alliance's intelligence network as well."
"Of course we'll look into it. We want to avoid a great orthodox-unorthodox war by any means on our side too. Just in case, I'll station alliance warriors in Luoyang."
The Society Leader made a promise, but promises aren't always kept.
"I was going to ask you to do that, so I'm grateful you offered."
Baek So-gu, who had been sighing heavily, asked.
"Anything else you need me to do?"
"No."
"Then this old man will get moving first. What a workload at this age."
Baek So-gu grumbled and disappeared. Baek So-gu was heartbroken that the Beggars' Sect, a symbol of chivalry, kept getting entangled with the Revenge Society.
Baek So-gu thought, 'Once this is over, I should step down from my position.'
* * *
Ha Su-ran was just spinning her wine cup around in circles. She had called Do Tong-dal out, saying she had something to say, but for a long time she remained silent.
He could roughly guess what she was going to say. And the words he had guessed came out of her mouth.
"I'd like to hear an answer to what I said last time."
He didn't want to make things awkward for her by asking, 'What did you say?' He hadn't had the presence of mind to think deeply about it until now.
When Do Tong-dal's answer was delayed, Ha Su-ran quietly stood up.
"I understand."
It was enough to wound her pride. She was the greatest beauty under heaven, a woman countless men hung themselves over, yet even after confessing first, all she got from Do Tong-dal was silence.
Once Ha Su-ran disappeared from view, Do Tong-dal let out a long sigh. He was looking down through the window from the upper floor of the tea house, and he could see Ha Su-ran growing distant.
Do Tong-dal couldn't help but hesitate. He already had three women. Yeon Ja-yeon, Ja Su-yeong, and Namgung Seol-rin.
Even the imperial princess, Ju Seo-in, was trying to get involved with him. If Ha Su-ran came along on top of that, could he handle it?
Then his thoughts suddenly turned to the question, 'Is this something I need to handle?'
Isn't the most important thing between a man and a woman their feelings? If they like each other and that affection doesn't harm others, isn't that enough?
When his thoughts reached the question, 'Do I like Strategist Ha?', the conclusion became simple.
Do Tong-dal went outside through the window instead of the stairs. It was noon, full of warm sunlight. There were many people coming and going, and hundreds of eyes watching, but Do Tong-dal didn't care.
He ran in the direction Ha Su-ran had disappeared. He climbed onto walls and rooftops to look for Ha Su-ran, but she was nowhere to be seen.
He felt that if he lost her here, he would never get another chance. It doesn't take a long time or many reasons for affection to turn into hatred.
Do Tong-dal, who had been running through the streets bumping shoulders with people, eventually let his shoulders droop.
He had lost Ha Su-ran. Like a fool, he had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he had failed to think about her.
"You fool."
Do Tong-dal turned around, muttering those words, and thought his heart had stopped. Ha Su-ran was standing less than one jang away.
Her black-and-white eyes above her face veil stared at Do Tong-dal without the slightest waver.
"At least you know you're a fool."
Her ears were sharp enough to catch his muttering.
"Well, a thug should at least know his place."
"Since you chased after me, let's keep this short and simple. I won't ask you to stop being a thug, and I won't be jealous because you have other women."
"I like you."
Do Tong-dal simply revealed his feelings honestly. He had rejected Ha Su-ran for various reasons, but in the end, the most important thing of all was his feelings.
"Who just comes right out and says it like that?"
"Because it's the one and only reason I caught you."
When Do Tong-dal's answer didn't come, it felt like the sky was falling. When many people used that expression, she had wondered, 'What does that feel like?'
Ha Su-ran, being too smart, had never experienced such a difficult situation. But that was how she felt then.
The longer she waited for Do Tong-dal's answer, the more the collapsed sky pressed down on her.
She had run out because she couldn't bear it. It felt like she had lost the whole world. She had once thought that men were nothing, that she didn't need that species.
That was before she met Do Tong-dal.
But now her life had crumbled because of that man. She could finally understand the hearts of the young men who had taken their own lives because of her.
'So they weren't fools. This is natural.'
It was probably lingering attachment. She should have sat there just a little longer. Maybe he just couldn't answer because it was so sudden.
Because of that lingering attachment, when she looked back, she saw Do Tong-dal standing on a rooftop. She didn't know why, but she hid in an alley.
Her heart was racing like a mouse's, and her face burned.
'Is he looking for me?'
That was possible. But something urgent might have come up. So Ha Su-ran hid and watched Do Tong-dal.
The sight of Do Tong-dal climbing over someone's wall and looking around here and there could not be explained by anything other than searching for Ha Su-ran.
She wanted to tease Do Tong-dal more for making her wait, but instead, she was the one who couldn't hold back and came out.
"You always talk so smoothly."
Passersby glanced at the two of them. It was only natural that a man and a woman standing face to face, with the woman even wearing a face veil, would draw attention.
"Let's go somewhere without people."
"That sounds dangerous."
"Are you scared?"
"Not at all."
"What are you two doing here?"
The two of them were startled by Namgung Seol-rin's voice suddenly cutting in.
"Huh? Seo... Seol-rin."
"Seo... Seol-rin, you're here."
Namgung Seol-rin looked back and forth between the two of them with a strange expression.
"Since when did my name become Seo Seol-rin instead of Namgung Seol-rin?"
"I... I was just surprised because you appeared so suddenly."
"You were surprised, but I think there's another reason."
Namgung Seol-rin, who had been staring blankly at Ha Su-ran, suddenly let out a sigh.
"I knew this would happen. I mean, what man could refuse you, Sis? I felt bad that he was dragging his feet, but now that it's actually happened, I feel relieved."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Namgung Seol-rin linked arms with Ha Su-ran and pulled her along.
"Did that guy accept your confession in a crowded place like this?"
"No, it wasn't exactly that..."
"Then what?"
"Well, we were originally at the tea house..."
Do Tong-dal stared blankly at the backs of the two women as they walked away, chatting softly.
He had accepted Ha Su-ran's confession, but he was instantly left out. Still, seeing the two women getting along so well didn't make him feel bad.
"This is the last one. Strategist Ha is truly the last."
Do Tong-dal vowed again and again.
* * *
"Seo Won-sul. He's a capable merchant. Three-tenths of the tea traded in Beijing goes through Seo Won-sul. But the real money is in salt."
Because salt was strictly controlled by the state, only licensed merchants could trade it.
"He has a tight grip on the illegal salt trade, not just in Beijing but all the way to Hebei Province."
"You came all this way and still showed off your business acumen. Good work."
Not wanting to lose to Baek So-gu, Ha Su-ran also held out an envelope.
"First, here's a list of people from the Mount Hua Sect and Jongnam Sect who are directly responsible for the Won Merchant Company massacre."
"You didn't find this out this quickly. You've been investigating this for a while, haven't you?"
"I thought it would be necessary. But honestly, if we're going to fight those people, we'll ultimately have to be prepared to fight both Mount Hua and Jongnam."
Do Tong-dal unfolded the paper inside the envelope. The first names he saw were those of the two sects' Sect Leaders.
And the names written below them numbered eighteen across the two sects combined.
"Is this accurate?"
"I thought it was too many too, so I checked twice, three times. More might come up as the investigation continues."
That was certainly true. The number of people from Mount Hua and Jongnam who attacked the Won Merchant Company would be higher, but most of them were probably disciples who just followed orders.
He had thought that even at most, the two sects combined wouldn't exceed ten people, but the number far surpassed his expectations.
"Even though Stone Milk Essence and Three-Leaf Nine-Branch Herb are rare elixirs, for this many people from orthodox sects like the Nine Great Sects, not even unorthodox sects, to participate in a bloodbath..."
Baek So-gu, who received Do Tong-dal's gaze, also nodded heavily.
"Actually, I did some investigating beforehand too... and there were a lot."
Do Tong-dal shifted his gaze back to the list.
"Two are Sect Leaders, and most of the rest are Elders."
"They hold all the key positions in both sects. I think it's a natural result, since they had to control the sects to cover up the sins of that day."
A deep furrow formed between Do Tong-dal's brows. If there were more than twenty people across both sects, including the Sect Leaders and Elders, then it would be difficult to just weed out the chaff and eliminate them.
"It seems this will get quite big."
Baek So-gu asked.
"What was your original plan?"
"It was for those with grudges to gather and fight simply. I thought that even combining Mount Hua and Jongnam, there would be no more than ten people at most."
"Hah—! I was shocked too while investigating. For so many people to participate in such a heinous act just for some elixir. I never imagined the spirit of the orthodox sects had fallen this far. I've lived too long and now I'm seeing this."
Baek So-gu finished his speech with an old man's grumbling: 'I need to die soon. When you get old, you need to die soon.'
"Maybe there's something else besides the elixir."
"Huh?"
"There's always something behind events that defy expectations. Finding that out won't be too difficult."
"Not difficult?"
"The victim is still alive. We can just ask. The problem is that the situation has gotten bigger, isn't it?"
"I just wish we could shed as little blood as possible..."
When Baek So-gu stared at him intently, Do Tong-dal spoke with a displeased face.
"Don't make that pitiful face like a molting puppy."
Ha Su-ran spoke.
"Shouldn't you also postpone meeting the former Sect Leaders of the two sects?"
When Do Tong-dal nodded in agreement, Baek So-gu asked.
"Why is that?"
* * *