Go Ask Your Own Head Priest (5)
“This should be the place, right, Team Leader?”
“It, it does look that way.”
The men who had come with the carts reined in their horses and dismounted. A huge dock stretched out before them, packed with a sea of people.
“……Why are there so many?”
“Y-yeah. That’s what I was wondering.”
Loads were piled everywhere, mountains of cargo stacked high and low, and behind them the line of carts seemed to go on forever.
Still, it wasn’t hard to understand.
Right now, sending a boat out on the Yangtze was no different from suicide. And yet this was the one place where ships could be launched safely. In other words, every merchant caravan that had to use the river was going to flood here.
“……I never imagined there were this many caravans on the Yangtze.”
“You don’t usually get to see them all crammed together like this.”
“True.”
The team leader nodded and stared ahead with a tense expression.
“In any case, be careful. This isn’t an ordinary dock. It’s being run by Mount Hua and the Heavenly Alliance, isn’t it? Say the wrong thing, and you’ll be in for a rough time.”
“They’re righteous sects, though. Surely they wouldn’t—”
“Don’t be naïve! Do you know how arrogant those people from the Gupailbang and the Odaesega can be?”
The team leader shook his head as if he were already sick of the thought.
“The people merchants find hardest to deal with are those famed righteous sects and noble families. Plenty of people have trusted the word righteous and ended up getting burned for it. So don’t relax for a second. Think of it as dealing with some lofty government official.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“……Let’s go.”
The team leader swallowed dryly and led the caravan toward the dock.
Who am I supposed to talk to, anyway?
He’d never seen a system like this before, so he had no idea where to begin. The chaos all around only made it worse.
As he kept looking around, his eyes landed on a scholar standing near the center, carrying what looked like a large ledger. He seemed a little different from everyone else.
Maybe there?
The team leader cautiously approached the scholar and asked, “Um… d-do I just take a boat from here?”
The scholar snapped his head around, then beamed at them.
“Welcome, sir!”
“…….”
“You there, water! Bring cold water and wet cloths! Right now!”
“Yes, sir!”
The people bustling around the scholar hurried off, opened a crate, and came running back with water that had been kept in ice and towels chilled to perfection.
“You must have had a long trip. Thank you for your hard work!”
“Here, here you go.”
The team leader accepted the things they thrust into his hands without thinking. The moment the cold gourd touched his palm, all the exhaustion of the journey seemed to melt away.
“Is this your first time here?”
“It is, but… our caravan master said we should come here to board the boat…”
“Ah, I see. Which caravan are you with?”
“We’re from the Hwanho Merchant Guild.”
“Hwanho Merchant Guild?”
The scholar flipped through the ledger in his hands with a brisk rustle.
“Let’s see now—Hwanho Merchant Guild, Hwanho Merchant Guild… Ah! Here we are. Early seventh hour reservation! Early seventh hour means this very ship! You there! Take care of the guests!”
“Yeeees, sir!”
No sooner had he spoken than a pack of burly men rushed in and began heaving the cargo from the carts onto the ship.
“Huh, wh-what? They’re lifting something that heavy that easily?”
A caravan naturally employed people who hauled freight all day long. And yet even those merchants couldn’t help staring in amazement at the sight of the men who had come here. After all, the loads that would normally make a sturdy laborer groan with strain were being lifted two or three at a time and carried off like nothing.
Just seeing that made it obvious these people were no ordinary lot.
“They’re really stronge—”
“Move it! Faster!”
“Run, you bastards!”
“If you’re late, we all die! Move!”
“……”
The merchants stared blankly at the men hauling cargo as if they were fighting for their lives.
No, do they really need to go that far?
The way they worked was even more desperate than the merchants themselves. Considering that laborers usually tried to make work even a little easier on themselves, it was a bizarre sight indeed.
But the scholar before them looked dissatisfied even with that.
“Have you all been eating gruel for every meal? Move faster! If we can’t get all this loaded by the end of the day, I die and you die too! You know what kind of temper that gentleman has, don’t you?”
“Urrrrgh.”
At that, the laborers groaned and picked up the pace even more.
“Move it! Faster!”
“No! This ship can’t take any more! If we load more, it’ll sink!”
“Then tell them to bring the next ship already! What the hell are those water bandits doing? Why aren’t they moving the boats out faster?”
“You there! Stop loading that!”
Watching the laborers’ dogged frenzy, Team Leader Yu Gwan-hong wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
What on earth is this place?
Just then—
“Isn’t that Gwanhong?”
“Huh?”
At the familiar voice, the team leader turned and saw a face he knew well.
“Oh? Brother Imong!”
“You came here too? Well, among the people making their living on the Yangtze these days, there probably isn’t a single one who wouldn’t come here.”
“Yes, Brother. So you’re here too.”
The merchant called Imong walked over and laughed heartily.
“Looks like your head’s spinning.”
“Yes. I can’t make heads or tails of any of it…”
“You’ll get used to it soon enough. I’ve only just barely adjusted myself.”
Imong swept his gaze over the surroundings, then said in an admiring voice, “Aren’t they incredible?”
“They are. This is Mount Hua, after all. When did they build a dock like this, and where did they even find laborers like these? They don’t look like Taoists…”
“Hm? You don’t know?”
“Pardon?”
“Look over there. Over there.”
Imong carefully pointed toward a huge man hauling cargo in the distance. Yu Gwan-hong tilted his head.
“……What about him?”
“Take a good look. There’s no way you don’t know who that is.”
“Huh?”
After blinking for a moment and studying the man, Yu Gwan-hong suddenly flinched.
“T-that… Could it be?”
“That’s right. It’s Peaceful Great Saber.”
“W-why is that man here?!”
Peaceful Great Saber.
He was a famous bandit from Green Forest, based in the Taepyeong Mountain Range north of Jiujiang. With his terrifying strength and ferocious temper, there wasn’t a merchant in the Jiujiang region who didn’t know his name.
Yu Gwan-hong had encountered him a few times himself. Because of Peaceful Great Saber’s notoriety, the Taepyeong Mountains charged higher passage fees than any other mountain.
And yet this monster was famous for his absurd strength.
“Urrrrgh!”
As Peaceful Great Saber strained while carrying cargo, someone passing by kicked him hard in the rear.
“Agh!”
“You bastard, get moving! Faster, you damn fool!”
“S-sorry!”
At the impossible sight, Yu Gwan-hong’s face drained of color.
“W-what… what is this?”
That Peaceful Great Saber had just been kicked in the ass and was apologizing. Then what on earth were these people supposed to be?
“Looks like they’re all from the Green Forest.”
“A-all of these laborers? All of them?”
“That’s what I said.”
……
Yu Gwan-hong was soaked through with cold sweat from head to toe.
Bandits hauling a caravan’s cargo? What kind of insane situation was this? It would be better to trust a cat with the fish.
“I-is this really all right?”
“If you think about it, it’s not such a bad thing. Look—who’s the biggest threat here right now? The water bandits, right?”
“Yes.”
“To stand against water bandits, you need bandits of your own. Would water bandits dare come here so easily if Green Forest warriors were swarming all over the place?”
“W-well, yes, but they’re still bandits…”
“Tsk, tsk. You worry too much. Look over there.”
“Pardon?”
Yu Gwan-hong turned toward where Imong was pointing. A huge banner was fluttering there, and on it, in crooked handwriting, were written a few words.
“What does that say…?”
Squinting, Yu Gwan-hong read the line and gaped.
He didn’t even have the energy left to be surprised anymore.
“……What is that?”
“Apparently it’s a line written personally by the Mount Hua Divine Dragon. No matter how bold those bandits are, do you think they’d dare oppose Mount Hua?”
“……”
Yu Gwan-hong felt a sudden wave of dizziness.
Everything happening here had long since gone beyond the bounds of anything he knew to be common sense.
Taoists ran the dock. Bandits did the work. And those Taoists were from Mount Hua, the very people most famous for beating bandits senseless.
I really don’t know anymore.
Best not to think about it. As long as he made money, that was all that mattered.
“Looks like your cargo’s all loaded.”
“A-already?”
Loading cargo usually took longer than expected. To fill a ship to the brim normally required every skilled laborer you could get, and even then it would take a full day.
But not here. The stack of goods rising aboard the ship was visible to the naked eye. Even a child piling up wooden blocks would have trouble doing it faster than this.
“Then go over to the island and take a look.”
“Not to the other bank?”
“Tsk, tsk. So you really came here knowing nothing at all. Here, they move through the island. They’ve done it that way on purpose so nobody gets stuck hauling cargo by river and runs into water bandits.”
“But then don’t you have to load and unload everything twice?”
“Why does that matter? We’re not the ones doing it.”
Come to think of it, that was true enough.
“Of course, you do have to pay for the ferry twice. But if all you’re doing is moving goods, the ferry fee is nothing. Anyway, I have to go now, so I’ll see you later.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Watching Imong hurry toward the ships, Yu Gwan-hong rubbed his temple. Just then, the scholar who had been barking orders in every direction trotted over.
“You’re the team leader of the Hwanho Merchant Guild, yes? Loading’s all finished. Once you board, you can head straight to the island.”
“W-what do we do when we get to the island?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll handle all the unloading for you. However, the carts you brought can’t be loaded onto the ship, so please rent carts there and move your cargo across to the other side.”
“Ah, the carts…”
“One cart per nyang.”
“……”
The scholar smiled with such good-natured warmth that it almost made the price feel charitable.
“And while it doesn’t matter at a time this early, if you arrive on the island late at night, I’d recommend staying there until morning. These days the demonic factions are making such a mess of things that traveling at night can be dangerous. Lodgings have already been prepared so all of you can stay there.”
“Ah… how grateful—”
“Five nyang per room.”
“……”
“Of course, meals are available as well.”
“……And how much would that be?”
“Hahaha! Eat whatever you’d like, of course.”
“……”
There was no doubt that meal would not be cheap. Not one bit.
“May I ask one more thing?”
“Of course. Ask away.”
“I can see you’re building something over there. What is that?”
“Ah. More people have come than expected, so the waiting area has become rather crowded. We’re building lodgings so they can rest comfortably.”
“Ah. Then that’ll certainly make things more convenient…”
“There’ll also be a simple restaurant for meals, a teahouse for those who want tea, a tavern for drinks, and even a gambling hall for those who want to pass the time.”
“……”
“So please! Come often! We’d love to see you again and again!”
“……Yes.”
“Well then, if you’ll excuse me.”
The scholar, still wearing that friendly smile, turned and shouted with a booming voice.
“Move faster, you lot! The guests are waiting!”
There was spring in the sound of his footsteps as he ran off. Yu Gwan-hong shook his head repeatedly.
I have no idea what’s going on here.
He had lived quite a long time, traveled widely, and seen countless things, and yet the ways of the world still seemed to exceed his common sense every time.
The laborers will be immediately reported if they demand bribes or expect any unnecessary compensation. The bones and flesh of the offending laborer will be separated for you.