This Is Hell (2)
“So it’s settled,” he said.
“……Good heavens.”
Gwak Gyeong, the manager of the Pyeonghwa Merchant Group, gaped wide enough to swallow an egg.
“You mean you actually secured the cooperation of the Beast Palace?”
“Yes.”
At Baek Cheon’s calm reply, Gwak Gyeong lost the ability to speak.
This doesn’t sound like a lie at all.
And yet it was impossible to believe.
The Beast Palace had banned trade between Yunnan and the Central Plains for nearly a hundred years now. Since so much money was at stake, the merchant houses of Sichuan had spent decades trying to change the Beast Palace’s mind.
But even after all that time and effort, they had never been able to break that stubborn resolve. And now these young Daoists had done it?
“Th-then that… exclusive trading right?”
“From now on, all trade in Yunnan will be conducted under Mount Hua’s name.”
“J-just a moment, Daoist. Then what about us…!”
Baek Cheon glanced toward Jo Gul.
Jo Gul smiled and gave a respectful salute.
“Pyeonghwa Merchant Group, which brought us this far, has our gratitude. Any merchant group using Mount Hua’s name will be able to move freely in Yunnan, so nothing will change for now.”
“Ah….”
Relief spread across Gwak Gyeong’s face.
This is no ordinary matter.
If those using Mount Hua’s name could move freely through Yunnan, then it meant Mount Hua would henceforth control trade between Yunnan and Sichuan.
In other words, from now on Mount Hua would hold the trade rights of Yunnan and could manipulate the merchant houses of Sichuan however it pleased.
The Yunnan tea trade generated enormous profits, and any merchant house unable to take part would quickly find itself crushed by its financial limits and driven out of competition.
I can’t afford to keep doing business as usual.
He had to inform the group master as quickly as possible. Only then could they make plans.
And more than anything else…
Gwak Gyeong’s gaze moved to Jo Gul.
The second son of Sahaesanghoe.
Mount Hua wouldn’t want to move directly in Sichuan if it could help it, so they would almost certainly place a proxy there. Blood was thicker than water, and that proxy would most likely be Sahaesanghoe.
Having reached that conclusion, Gwak Gyeong broke into a bright smile and cupped his hands again.
“Congratulations. You’ve gained something enormous.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“Then you’ll be returning to Sichuan now? Allow us to escort you.”
“As far as I know, your merchant schedule isn’t finished yet?”
“That doesn’t matter. We were just about to head back to Sichuan ourselves.”
Gwak Gyeong’s mind raced.
Right now, building rapport with these people mattered more than any trade arrangement. Better yet, if he could serve them as lavishly as possible and carry them straight to Pyeonghwa Merchant Group’s main headquarters, that would be ideal.
If he could stage the group master rushing out to greet them barefoot and all but prostrating himself, there would be nothing better.
But Baek Cheon’s answer shattered Gwak Gyeong’s hopes at once.
“We appreciate the offer, but we’ll have to return separately. Time is pressing.”
“The road from here to Sichuan is extremely rough. The fastest option would be for us to take you ourselves. Horses are hard to come by here.”
“Ah, well….”
Baek Cheon scratched the back of his head.
As he struggled with how to explain, a cloud of dust rose at the far end of the road.
“……Looks like they’re coming over there.”
“Pardon?”
Following Baek Cheon’s gaze, Gwak Gyeong turned—and his eyes bulged.
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
“Run! Run!”
“Heeheeeeeeh!”
Bandits clinging to a huge cargo cart came barreling toward them at full speed, tongues hanging out, panting like dogs.
“Ugh!”
“Arriiiived!”
The bandits skidded to a halt in front of them and, one and all, collapsed face-first onto the ground, gasping for breath. Watching their chests heave up and down made one’s heart ache with pity.
“W-what is going on….”
Gwak Gyeong stared at the crumpled bandits with a face full of bewilderment.
Why does every single one of them have hay in their mouths?
Nothing about this made sense.
Then, with a sharp click of the tongue, someone peeked out from the cargo cart the bandits had been dragging.
“Are they this weak and still planning to make it all the way to Sichuan?”
At that, the bandits lying on the ground jolted as if struck by lightning and snapped their heads up.
“W-we can do it!”
“Please don’t worry! We’re not even t-tired! I swear!”
“Spare us, please!”
Then Chung Myung shook his head and sighed.
“Tch. If I weren’t a Daoist, I’d be doing this differently.”
Tears welled in the corners of the bandits’ eyes.
Is that really something a Daoist should be doing?
Since when did “Daoist” become another word for “demon”? When did the world get this damned cruel?
Mother, I miss you.
Ignoring all of that, Chung Myung hopped down from the cart and tramped over to Baek Cheon.
“I brought the horses.”
“……What’s with the hay in their mouths?”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“Figured they’d get hungry. They’re traveling a long way, so you’ve got to feed them well.”
“…….”
Baek Cheon’s eye twitched violently.
“Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s true these men committed crimes, but even criminals should be treated like people, shouldn’t they?”
“Huh?”
Moved by that sympathy, Chung Myung turned his head and looked at the bandits.
“You heard him. Want some human treatment?”
The bandits went white as sheet and frantically waved their hands.
“N-no! We’re horses! No, what kind of horses would we be? Please, treat us like cattle or dogs instead!”
“I am absolutely not a human being! If I have to become a person, I’d rather die!”
“Moooooo! Baaaaaa!”
“…….”
Watching the scene devolve into chaos, Baek Cheon pressed at his throbbing temple.
“So that’s how it is?”
At the sight of Chung Myung’s grin, a sigh slipped out of him automatically.
What in the world did someone have to do to end up like that?
He didn’t even want to imagine it. Baek Cheon shook his head, and Chung Myung, as if to reassure him, said,
“Don’t worry. I told them I’d let them go if they get us to Sichuan fast enough.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yeah. They just have to get us there twice as fast as the trip here. Then I’ll let them live.”
“……And if they can’t?”
“Hmm. Well….”
Chung Myung tilted his head, his expression oddly uncertain. Baek Cheon, caught off guard by that reaction, asked again.
“Why?”
“No, I’m just wondering whether saying it out loud would actually help with my sagoong and sahyeong’s education, or with those things’ morale. Do you really want to hear it?”
“……No. I’ve changed my mind.”
Sometimes in this world, it was better not to know.
Baek Cheon almost added something, then in the end just shook his head.
In any case, there was no doubt those men were criminals who wouldn’t have a leg to stand on even if they were beheaded.
Baek Cheon turned back to Gwak Gyeong.
“Anyway, that’s how it is. We’ll be taking our leave now. We’ll make our position known separately under Mount Hua’s name, so please wait for that.”
“Ah… If you leave like this….”
Gwak Gyeong started to say something, then shut his mouth. Come to think of it, he had no justification for keeping them here.
Once all of Mount Hua’s disciples had climbed onto the cart, Chung Myung raised his voice.
“All right, let’s—!”
“Um….”
“Hm?”
At the small voice from the side, Chung Myung’s words cut off abruptly. He turned sharply, and saw a tiny child standing there, holding the hand of an even smaller child.
“Huh?”
“Oh. You are….”
Yoon Jong, who had been sitting on the cart, saw the child and jumped down at once. Without hesitation, he walked over.
As Yoon Jong approached, the child, who had been hesitating all this time, bowed deeply.
“Th-thank you.”
“…….”
“Because of you, my little brother got to eat. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Yoon Jong looked at the child in silence for a moment, then nodded gently.
“I’m glad.”
“I’ll never, e-ever forget this. Thank you.”
Watching the scene, Chung Myung glanced around quietly.
Children began poking their heads out from alleys all around, then slowly, hesitantly, making their way toward them.
Some came up to the cart and thanked them directly, while others bowed from a distance before trotting back.
One child clung to Yoon Jong’s hand, another grabbed the hem of his robes and looked on the verge of tears.
Even at a glance, the children’s unadorned sincerity was obvious.
Chung Myung quietly turned his head and looked up at the sky.
“Honestly.”
Senior Brother.
Well….
I may never end up being the kind of person you wanted, in the end… but it looks like there are disciples who can.
Are you satisfied?
For some reason, it felt as though his senior brother was smiling gently down from the heavens.
“Sahyeong! Let’s go already.”
“Mm, got it.”
“We need to hurry if we’re going to buy rice in Sichuan and send it back. They said there’s no grain left here even if you dump money into the place.”
“Right.”
Yoon Jong’s expression turned firm.
After reaching out and patting the heads of the children gathered around him one by one, he said in a low voice,
“Hold on just a little longer. Then you won’t have to starve anymore.”
“……Yes.”
There was not a trace of expectation on their faces. They had probably heard the same words countless times, and so they could not possibly trust them.
But for now, that was enough. His Dao was one of action, not consolation.
After ruffling the hair of the last child, Yoon Jong passed through the children and climbed onto the cart. Then, in a slightly heated voice, he said,
“Hurry up! Time is running out!”
“…….”
“What are you doing?”
“Ah. Right!”
Chung Myung snorted softly and called out to the bandits.
“Let’s go, you bastards!”
“Yes, sir!”
The instant Chung Myung shouted, the bandits who had been sprawled on the ground sprang to their feet as if endless strength had suddenly flooded back into them. Then they hurriedly latched onto the cargo cart. Four pulled from the front, four pushed from behind, and one clung to each side.
“Push until your legs break! Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
The cart began to move. Chung Myung cast one quick glance toward the children, then looked away.
“Let’s go!”
“Hraaahhhh!”
“Heeheeeheeheeheeheeh!”
The bandits shouted their own battle cries as they pushed and hauled the cart forward. Before long, the so-called cart was racing ahead at a speed completely unsuited to its name.
The children stared slack-jawed at the wagon disappearing into the distance, dust billowing in its wake.
And Gwak Gyeong, who had watched every last bit of it, slowly nodded.
“Like a storm, truly.”
“Manager, what should we do?”
“About what?”
“Shouldn’t we report this to the merchant group immediately?”
“We should.”
“I’ll turn the trading route around.”
Gwak Gyeong shook his head.
“No need. Just send one man with a horse.”
“Would that be all right?”
“Yes.”
Oddly enough, Gwak Gyeong felt more at ease than he had before.
Maybe this is for the best.
No matter which merchant group took the lead, upheaval in the profits was unavoidable. If that was the case, then perhaps it was better for Mount Hua to take complete control.
“Take care.”
“Thank you.”
Watching the children wave their little hands so earnestly only strengthened that conviction.
Daoists, huh.
A smile crept onto Gwak Gyeong’s lips before he even realized it.
What a ridiculous thing.
How much hypocrisy had he seen from those so-called righteous sects?
How often had they preached lofty ideals in public, claiming to act for the common people, only to scheme in the shadows to squeeze out one more coin?
And now he was thinking something like this….
Gwak Gyeong shook his head.
He couldn’t judge them from less than a month of watching. Maybe they too would soon reveal their true colors and begin sucking Yunnan dry.
Still….
Gwak Gyeong turned his head slightly.
Watching the children spill out in a crowd to see off the departing cart, something surged warmly in his chest.
They might be a little different.
Yoon Jong’s actions—he had even sold his own sword to feed those children. And the look in his eyes as he patted their heads.
That alone was enough to awaken a faint sort of anticipation. Not as a merchant, but as a human being.
Watching the back of the cart growing smaller and smaller in the distance, Gwak Gyeong unknowingly let a soft smile settle on his face.
“Safe travels.”
To the Daoists of Mount Hua.
“Run! Run, you bastards! What are you slackening your legs for? I’ll gouge your eyes out and pull the ink from them!”
“…….”
“If we don’t make it to Sichuan on time, you die and I die too!”
“……Grrrhh…”
The bandits gritted their teeth and ran with death as their only option, dragging the cart as though their lives depended on it.
And seated at the back of the cart, one man foamed at the mouth as he threatened them onward, driving the speed even higher.
The disciples of Mount Hua looked at one another with dazed expressions.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“……Looks like the part about buying grain for the children was the finishing blow.”
“……And he’s going that far because of that?”
“Apparently.”
The one scolding the bandits was not Chung Myung, but Yoon Jong.
Seeing abuse so severe that Chung Myung himself almost looked gentle by comparison, the Mount Hua disciples all shook their heads.
What?
Dao tools?
Ha.
Hahahahahahaha.